Cold Shores - 2019 - Russia

Cold Shores - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Холодные берега

 
Wife Maria storms out of the car, leaving Mark in a cold fury.
Days later he reports her disappearance, and, of course the police are highly suspicious.
Until a witness surfaces, whereupon the lead female investigator marries him and leaves the police!
Far-fetched?  Wait, Floyd.
Four years later, Mark’s first wife, or a lookalike, resurfaces with amnesia, and his marital wand waves.
Oh yeah, and a serial killer in the area also resurfaces.
The men are boors, the women are fools in this poorly subbed, snaggle-toothed mystery.
Subs were from someone with rudimentary English skills, the subs need a second pass.

El Cid - 1961 - USA

El Cid - 1961 - 5/10

 
Bombastic turkey that helped drive another coffin nail into spectacle films, for awhile.
Charlton Heston plays the Spanish leader against the Moors.
Castle locations, hundreds of extras bedecked in lavish costumes.
Add a mighty length (3 hours) for this medieval epic.
Alas, there is an on-again off-again romance amidst court intrigue.
The pace drags and plods, Heston compensates by overacting.
Action is like an impulsive teenager:  too little, too late, too quick.

Venus Beauty Institute - 1999 - France

Venus Beauty Institute - 1999 - 6/10
AKA - Vénus Beauté (Institut)

 
While stories weave around the three beauticians and the owner, the center of the film is on Angèle.
Already in her forties, she declines an offer to manage a new location.
And the owner reminds her, she is no longer a “girl”.
Nevertheless, Angèle still chases after men, at times with desperation.
Comedy stems from numerous oddball clients.
The undercurrent of women trying to clutch youth is a sad one.

Target Earth - 1954 - USA

Target Earth - 1954 - 5/10

 
Alien robots invade deserted New York City.
How did New Yorkers know about the imminent invasion?  How did they flee so completely?  Where did they go?
Silly me.  A handful of Manhattanites abide.  Alcoholics, suicide types, killers.  Yay humanity.
The pace drags, the story ain’t much.  Run and / or get zapped by beams.
Our formidable aliens resemble robots that kids made out of cardboard refrigerator boxes (with codpiece).
At one point the military want to nuke Gotham.  They should have bombed this film instead.

The Ceremony - 1971 - Japan

The Ceremony - 1971 - 7/10
AKA - Gishiki  //  儀式

 
Post World War II, Masou and his mother return to Japan after imprisonment in China.
They are the latest of the Sakurada family to return, whether they want to or not, into the family fold.
Unspoken is why they were in Manchuria (undoubtedly when Japan claimed it as Manchuko).
Young Masou meets his cousins and begins his role in the clan.
So much of this is told through childhood flashbacks, as the adult Masou and cousin Ritsuko race to an emergency.
Gradually. childhood observations reveal a corrupted family, ruined from within.
One realizes how incestuous relationships are.  The casualness of the rot.
Elements of this escaped me, although I gathered the family is a metaphor for post war Japan.

Three Day Millionaire - 2022 - UK

Three Day Millionaire - 2022 - 5/10

 
Fishing port Grimsby barely survives.  One trawler, one canning factory.
And unknown to all, developers are trying to acquire the town.
Land, you see, they ain’t making it anymore.  Especially seafront property.
Film is a muddle of comedy – camaraderie – caper.
Tell the truth, it is a mess, trying to check off too many tropes.
Let’s not forget romances.  Three of them, no, four!
Feelgood breeze, but this is not Full Monty time.

Night Shift - 1982 - USA

Night Shift - 1982 - 6/10

 
Milquetoast morgue attendant is given graveyard shift.
And a new assistant, the hyper-charged Blaze (Michael Keaton, exceptional).
Soon, they concoct the money-making plan of turning the morgue into a brothel.
The hookers are fashion model dishes.
One of the attendants even falls in love with a prostitute.
Light-hearted Ron Howard comedy glosses the sleazy aspects.
Meant to be a breakout role for Henry Winkler, Keaton grabs the spotlight.

Violent Naples - 1976 - Italy

Violent Naples - 1976 - 7/10
AKA - Napoli Violenta

Inspector Betti transfers to Naples, along with his methods of police brutality.
And Napoli is a hotbed of robberies, beatings, rapes, homicidal chases.
Criminals range from street punks to bank robbers to corporate thieves.
Those white collar slicks in expensive suits.

 
Anyone curious about the Euro-Crime genre, this is a cracking good one!
The violence is extraordinary, the pace is outta control hectic.
Inventive pursuit on a funicular, and memorable scene involving a bowling ball. 

The Other Me - 2019 - Greece

The Other Me - 2019 - 7/10
AKA - Eteros Ego

Greek series picks up after the 2016 film.
Once again, a cryptic serial killer leaves clues.
The first film checked Pythagoras, this mirrors the Labors Of Theseus.
Murders mount and Colonel Barasopoulos asks Dimitris to assist.

 
Dimitris, with Asperger's Syndrome, is not as kooky or weird as most handicapped sleuths.
Sometimes a talky series, there is ongoing history of Theseus referenced.
Sets in this are unbelievably vast and spacious.
The mental clinic alone is a huge installation!

The House Of Mirth - 2000 - UK

The House Of Mirth - 2000 - 7/10

 
Social beauty faces dilemma:  marry for money vs. marry for love.
Even though Lily is thoughtful and selective, choosing is excruciating.
Nor is she skilled at the games, the rivalries, the schemes.
While time as her “most desirable” status, drains from the hourglass.
Another adaptation of an Edith Wharton, this provides stark contrast to The Age Of Innocence.
The latter is gorgeously opulent, where The House Of Mirth is gloom soaked gray.
Stakes seem lower in this, although consequences are harsher.
Not to my taste, yet a darkly powerful film.

Matinee - 1993 - USA

Matinee - 1993 - 6/10

 
Flock, you fans of Horror schlock!
Film impresario Lawrence Woolsey (please, William Castle)  arrives in Key West during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
What for?  He’s promoting a new film, “Mant”, half man, half … you got it.
Castle was the master of gimmicks, and this one includes Rumble-Rama
John Goodman is colossally funny, and he is the star showcased on promotional material.
Nevertheless, the story follows bored teens and puppy love amidst potential nuclear annihilation.
Surely, the producers could have seen the error of the script and made the film about Woolsey.
What remains is alright.  What could’ve been … well … bummer.

Housekeeping - 2018 - Australia

Housekeeping - 2018 - 6/10

 
Sophia works in the Corporate Suites, posh rooms for high tier businessmen.
On the surface, clients seem respectable, although the trashed rooms reveal otherwise.
Hard to tell whether she is repelled by, or attracted to, evident debauchery.
Short thriller of envy, attraction, disillusion.

Maids were frequent customer at an previous workplace of mine.
They bought small UV lights to find stains of dried bodily fluids, anywhere and everywhere.
Stories shared illuminated our revolting species.

Darby’s Rangers - 1958 - USA

Darby’s Rangers - 1958 - 6/10

 
Hollywood tale of the formation of the 1st Army Rangers.
Major Darby is assigned to form and train a battalion based on the British Commandos.
Harsh and grueling training is offset by wartime romances.
Later combat appears filmed on indoor sets.
At times schmaltzy, at times flag-waving, this was once a staple of late night television.
Years later, I thought about the relationship between the prissy lieutenant and the feisty Italian girl.
Those sorts of impulse war nuptials resurfaced in countless Noir films and OTR mysteries.
Yarns where husbands and wives barely knew the other, and schemed murder.

The Waves Of Memory - 2020 - France

The Waves Of Memory - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Les Ondes du Souvenir

 
A corpse is found in a steel mill, shuttered 40 years already.
Who gets the call?  Yes, Detective Clara and her forensic anthropologist boyfriend.
This duo is stale, their relationship spinning in the mud.
The mystery?  The body is soon identified, so this becomes a case of who did it and why.
Back history might resonate with viewers who remember strikes and police conflicts.
The focus, however, remains on Clara and her soppy boyfriend.
There was never much chemistry between the two.  Hopefully, this is their last pairing.