Three-Body - 2023 - China

Three-Body - 2023 - 7/10
AKA - San ti // 三体

Across the globe, leading research scientists are committing suicide.
Police officer Qiang is assigned to protect nanoscientist, Wang Miao.

 
Which draws both men into a clandestine organization, the Frontiers Of Science.
Into conspiracy, ultimately an invasion.
Very heady SciFi series from China demands an early degree of patience.
Thirty episodes, of which the first 10 feel padded.
Why show a 30 second scene, when you can stretch it to 2 minutes?
Likewise repeat a scene over and over, with various angles, so the audience "gets it".
The characters are somewhat over-the-top and unlikeable at this point, too.
Trust me here, the show settles down and the narrative tightens considerably.
Especially whenever the focus shifts to the Cultural Revolution and the Red Coast base.

Therein lie the seeds for human annihilation.
There is VR gameplay involved and the retro flat CGI is fun.
Science, math, physics and equations throughout.
Outstanding adaptation of Liu Cixin’s novel.
The entire S01 is currently available from Tencent in 4K, with excellent subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-UO8jbrIoM

Dislike that 30 episode commitment?  Reading subs gives you a thinkache?  Prefer a more multi-national cast?
Netflix has an 8-part adaptation in the pipe.

I See A Dark Stranger - 1947 - UK

I See A Dark Stranger - 1947 - 7/10

 
Bridie is a fierce Republican.  Irish Republican.
As England reels in 1944, she decides to help the charming Reich agent with his mission.
Bridie is headstrong, naïve, innocent, while the English – well, they are descendants of Cromwell!
Galloping espionage thriller is shot through with comedy, situations and dialogue.
Script by Gilliant and Launder, plot resembles Hitchcock of this period.

My Favorite Year - 1982 - USA

My Favorite Year - 1982 - 7/10

 
Wonderful homage to early TV, and harking back to the Golden Era of Hollywood.
1950’s, television is live, and the popular variety show has a swashbuckling actor from the ’30’s.
Alan Swann (cough Errol Flynn cough) who has problems with alcohol and ladies.
Newly hired gag writer Benjy (ahem, Mel Brooks) is tasked with keeping the guest safe and sober.
It is all the young man can do to simply keep up.
O’Toole is outstanding, embracing Flynn’s self-destructive tendencies, as well as his grace and charm.
Wonderful, big-hearted comedy, packed with jokes for tourists, and in-jokes for buffs.
When this screened, oldsters still remembered both Sid Caesar and Flynn in their prime.

Disappearing London - 2006 - UK

Disappearing London - 2006 - 6/10

 
Hosted by Suggs (frontman of Madness), this explores ordinary places, now slipping away.
The dogtracks, haberdasher, custom shoes.  The umbrella store, working class cafe.
The tram, bakery, the lido, the tobacco shop, the rivermen….
Suggs is charming throughout, never bemoaning, never complaining.
Many of these places are delightful reminders, yet Time and Progress steamrolls all in its path.
These episodes, I believe, are available on YouTube.  Two seasons.

Konpaku - 2019 - Malaysia

Konpaku - 2019 - 6/10

 
On a dare from his Malay buddies, Haqim approaches a female and asks for her phone number,
The banter is not straightforward.
The female, a Japanese named Midori, asks a handful of tangled questions before giving her number.
From then on, Midori assumes an increasingly prominent role in Haqim’s life.
Entering his dreams, his bedroom, his intimate life.   Midori is a sexual demon, a succubus.

 
Low budget horror from Singapore has a brooding undertone and plenty of jump scares.
Owing to Malaysian Muslim laws, sex is alluded to, with scenes going near brink.
The vampirish Midori, is not only possessive, but also fiercely territorial, as friends discover.

Narrow Margin - 1952 - USA

Narrow Margin - 1952 - 7/10

 
She agrees to testify against the mob, who then put out the hit contract.
Cops are assigned to protect her on the train journey, but the assassins are onboard.
Claustrophobic Noir bolstered with terrific performances by genre icons McGraw and Windsor.
The dialogue sizzles and the suspense never lets up.
B-movie budget, yet the acting and direction more than compensate.
Brilliant hard film, ideal for past-midnight viewing.

Baby Face - 1933 - USA

Baby Face - 1933 - 7/10

 
Turned prostitute by her own father, Lily departs the cheap saloon.
She finds work at a large bank and begins her career ascent.
Sleeping with one supervisor (including young John Wayne) after the next.
Beautifully corrosive film, cynical, jungle survival at points.
The headlong fury of this tapers about two thirds in, and the ending is a whitewash.
Audiences knew better, the moralizing conclusion was tacked on for censors.
Fill in your own end.
Barbara Stanwyck is on fire in this essential Pre-Code stunner.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - 1967 - USA

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - 1967 - 6/10

 
Jack answers a vague classifieds ad and is soon whisked to Europe.
In Paris, he encounters Nikki; then in Monte Carlo, her highly competitive father.
Nikki and family are affluent. So he stays on the case, keeps playing the games.
Confusing thriller as Jack is unsure of his mission.
Soon, however, he realizes the assignment has put him in grave danger.
Early made-for-TV movie is near Hollywood standards, with jazzy Lalo Schifrin score.
Excellent casting of Robert Wagner and Peter Lawford, with Jill St. John.
“Such a needless expenditure of time and energy, like your life itself.”

Oktoberfest: Beer And Blood - 2020 - Germany

Oktoberfest: Beer And Blood - 2020 - 7/10

 
Beer drinkers, raise your steins high!
Circa 1900, rich brewer Prank from Nuremberg arrives in Munich.
His vision is to revamp, modernize, the annual beer-fest.
A mega-tent, instead of seven allotments.
Entrenched rivals regard him as an upstart, an outsider, and crass.
Per the title, expect blood, along with murders, beatings, and carnal relations.
The side story of Prank’s daughter wandered, yet tied in by the end.
I will say, this grew on me as threads coalesced.

They Call Me Trinity - 1970 - Italy

They Call Me Trinity - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Lo Chiamavano Trinità...

 
Half brothers, Trinity and Bambino, set aside their differences to help a powerful landowner.
The rancher wants to chase away Mormon settlers from his land.
The brothers, layabouts and chiselers, eye the owner’s unbranded horses.
Action mixes with chuckles and romance.
Gunfights and stunts are better than expected, although one watches this for comedy.
This spoofs traditional Westerns with jokes and slapstick, and some purists begrudge that.
My younger brother was addicted to these Italian Westerns, his favorites being the Trinity films.
Most I recall as stupid, yet this is a rare good one.  The sequel, if I recall, even better.

Murder In The Canal du Midi - 2020 - France

Murder In The Canal du Midi - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Le Canal Des Secrets

 
Turistas find a dead woman floating in the canal.
Suicide?  No, homicide.  Suspects include her husband, the judge.
As well as her lover, soon enough located, chained in the canal.  Dead.
Typical of generic French mysteries, an inspector and prosecutor team up, male and female.
Rather than succumbing to mating impulses, this pair compensates for each others’ deficiencies.
A few red herrings, as well as twists and overlooked clues, will please genre fans.
Mildly better than most of these not-quite Hallmark films.

Unlucky Day - 2017 - USA

Unlucky Day - 2017 - 6/10

 
Wrong place, wrong time, sweetheart.
Millie witnesses the start of a whack job and is kidnapped.
Once she wakes up, the goons ridicule her bad luck, and rotten love life.
Noir pastiche muddles along, photography lacks contrast and crispness.

Subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/unlucky-day/english/3156582