No Way Out - 1973 - Italy

No Way Out - 1973 - 6/10
AKA - Tony Arzenta (Big Guns)

 
Under looked crime story mixes Noir with Euro-Crime.
The late assignment came on the day of his son’s birthday.
Afterward, Tony wants out, wants to be a father, not a mob assassin.
His boss will see what he can do, but Tony knows too much.
Syndicate heads from Sicily, Italy, Copenhagen, opt to retire him permanently.
Only the hit goes terribly wrong, whereupon Tony begins a string of vengeance.
Alain Delon, Richard Conte, Anton Diffring bolster a macho cast.
Plenty of chases, beatings, torture, while most speak from the sides of their mouths.
Viewers of Poliziotteschi should enjoy.

Dead Man’s Chest - 1965 - UK

Dead Man’s Chest - 1965 - 5/10

 
Reporters David and Johnny concoct a fake kidnapping to create “a story”.
Johnny, inside a steamer trunk, is in a van when said van is stolen by gangsters.
The van is used in a robbery, the trunk is missing, and for Johnny, time is ticking.
Neither his editor nor the coppers believe David (he is a reporter, after all).
Breezy Edgar Wallace is too lightweight on mystery and comedy.
Fans of later British telly will have a field day spotting future stars (eg: Inspector Morse).

Watch Me - 1995 - USA

Watch Me - 1995 - 4/10

 
Part of the endless string of “erotic thrillers” that packed video aisles during the VHS rental era.
Sexy new tenant Elise moves in, photographer Paul (also the landlord) begins spying.
Not to be outdone, she has her trusty telescope and is soon peeping in turn.
Landlord Paul with attractive girlfriend, with a half dressed model, with a naked specimen.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend, feeling neglected, begins her own frolics.
As always with plots like these, no one bothers with curtains, drapes or blinds.
Softcore for everyone, so say we all.  Watch Me?  Watch something else.
(No one makes flicks like this now; talentless amateurs post their own mattress antics on YouTube.)

Money Mad - 1908 - USA

Money Mad - 1908 - 6/10

 
Our character, begging on the sidewalk, plucks a dropped purse and reaps a windfall.
At the bank, he is exchanging the loot, and is spied on by two lowlifes.
“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit.”
D. W. Griffith would later rework one sequence into “The Musketeers Of Pig Alley” (1912).
Acting is still theatrical.  The bank scene can be viewed several times, a few sideshows.
Needs a restoration from Eastman House or UCLA.

V Efeket - 2024 - Serbia

V Efeket - 2024 - 6/10

 
Exciting Serbian series set among the theatre crowd.
The season opener gives those attending a prop malfunction.
The hanging sequence, well, someone sabotaged (lengthened) the support rope.
All the kicking and struggling by the heroic lead, no wonder it looked so realistic.
Police arrive, as do government agents, since a shady minister owns the building.
And the building used to be over a clandestine government agency.
Cops soon have a series of murders, and suspects, actors, who are trained to lie convincingly.

I believe this is a very good show.  HOWEVER.  The version I viewed had “Whisper” subtitles.
Those were atrociously bad.  A character’s gender was mixed, often thrice in a sentence.
Long patches of dialogue missed subs altogether.  Descriptive words were not remotely accurate.
A I in this case means Artificial Ignorance / Ineptitude / Incompetence.
“Whisper” CANNOT, at this time, decipher Serbian.
Unless you are a native speaker, avoid and wait for proper subtitles.

Closet Land - 1991 - USA

Closet Land - 1991 - 6/10

 
The female has been apprehended by the secret police, and turned over to an interrogator.
She is a writer of innocent children’s stories, so surely this is a mistake.
Claustrophobic, Kafka shrouded film feels very much like a two-act play.
Sexual tension pulses throughout.  Revelations about State surveillance comes as no surprise.
Acting is fine, although the dialogue is heavy handed, the themes obvious.
Preachy film grows more tiresome as the viewing clock ticks

Eat Me, Baby - 2023 - USA

Eat Me, Baby - 2023 - 5/10

 
Provocative title aside, this short is neither a romantic adult foodie yarn, nor configuration #4.
The date went OK.  Dinner, dancing.  Emma even brought Lester to her apartment.
She leaves to change, he’s rounding second base, yet decides to spike her drink.
Any guy could have warned him: girls have eyes in the back of their heads.
Oh, the ensuing unhappiness.

Prince Valiant - 1954 - USA

Prince Valiant - 1954 - 6/10  

 
Game attempt to adapt Hal Foster’s long running Sunday strip.
Technicolor, CinemaScope, location filming in England, hundreds of extras.
Though ten years too late, this evokes those splashy epics of the 1940’s.
Visually, this is beautiful.  Storywise, this based on a comic, so that is simplistic.
Acting is problematic, for every James Mason (who steals the film) there is Sterling Hayward as Sir Gawaine (?).
The biggest shortcoming is Robert Wagner in the title role.  He seems uneasy and uncertain throughout.
Watch for the scenery, costumes and action; overlook those miscast.

Nordland ‘99 - 2022 - Denmark

Nordland ‘99 - 2022 - 7/10

Alex tries to mend things with an ex-girlfriend.  Her current, drug-pushing boyfriend disagrees.
By the end of the episode, Alex has vanished and suspicion swirls in the Denmark village.
Local cops are disinterested, even though he is the second teen to mysteriously disappear.
Who starts searching?  His gun-toting sister, and his friends.

 
Into the illicit drug world, into rural backwoods, broken down cabins, secret lives.
Slow boil thriller has a brooding launch, then grows progressively darker.
Eight half-hour episodes.  Don’t be put off, this is not aimed for ADHD teens.

Mr Holland’s Opus - 1995 - USA

Mr Holland’s Opus - 1995 - 5/10

 
Classical composer (in his daydreams only) winds up being a high school teacher.
Soon finds out being a teacher leaves no time to work on his masterpieces.
Instead, he touches children, helps them along the great path of Life.
Feel-good material goes repeatedly into schmaltz.
First chair performers in high school or college band will eat this up.
Those of us who could barely play our instrument will relive old agonies.
Sentimental piffle.

What The Butler Saw - 1987 - UK

What The Butler Saw - 1987 - 7/10  

 
Geraldine applies for a secretary position, but Doctor Prentice requests she strip nude.
Her clothes disappear once his wife appears, followed by the bellboy who had earlier tried to rape the wife.
Also showing up is a medical inspector, Dr. Rance, who is completely mad.
Keeping up?  That’s the opening ten minute salvo in a riotous Joe Orton comedy.
Laced with more sexual innuendo than a keg-fueled party.
Dialogue is witty, extraordinarily intelligent, and delivered breathlessly.
A live theatre performance is best, yet the cast here is glorious.

Pickup On South Street - 1953 - USA

Pickup On South Street - 1953 - 7/10  

 
Candy is just supposed to deliver an envelope.
Doesn’t know what it contains, doesn’t care.
Doesn’t even know Federal agents are watching her.
One even sees her purse get pickpocketed long before she is aware.
Three time loser Skip is identified, but he refuses to cooperate.
If the Feds want it so bad, someone will be willing to pay large.
Tough Noir packed with thick skinned types.  Richard Widmark leads, and he never bends so much as an inch.  Even when you assume he is about soften, the cynical calculation emerges.
Thelma Ritter heartbreaking as the downtrodden, world weary Moe.

The Business - 2004 - UK

The Business - 2004 - 6/10

 
Frankie is handed a courier assignment, carrying a package to Spain.
Deliver to “wanted by British authorities” Charlie, owner of a trendy nightclub.
Charlie takes a shine to the lad, hires him as a driver, and soon enough he meets the gang.
Including the ferocious, murderous Sammy, the planner of the crew.
For Frankie, it’s sex, drugs and plenty of sunshine.
Fast moving spree revels in the heady 1980’s, the brash era of cocaine.
Propulsive soundtrack lays down hit after hit.

Satanic Hispanics - 2022 - Mexico

Satanic Hispanics - 2022 - 6/10

After a blazing entry, El Paso police find a nest of trafficked dead.
Along with a lone survivor, who repeatedly warns, “You are running out of time.”
And he shares a series of tales.  Misplaced magic, even vampires.

 
Consider, Halloween night, and the old geezer you ridicule, until the fangs are bared.
He has been around for centuries, but Daylight Savings Time still befuddles him.
Funny, bloody, barbed dialogue.

 
Or folk horror, atavistic rituals, scoffed at.
Leave home at your peril, however.

 
Then there are those annoying turistas, forever spying on forbidden rites.
Perhaps even video taping those, launching gruesome consequences.
Anthology series hits more than misses.  Nothing more than B-movies, but funny and good with brews.

Soft Shoes - 1925 - USA

Soft Shoes - 1925 - 6/10

 
Sheriff Pat, rancher out in west Texas, inherits and has to mosey to sin-city, San Francisco.
There, he encounters a cat burglar, Faith, and is soon embroiled in all sorts of mischief.
Action moves fairly well, the comedy is broad, with sly innuendo.
Writer / star Harry Carey is crowding 50 (he ain’t no Tom Mix).  He shows a flair for humor, yet his is still too old for the role, especially in any romantic scenes.
Current print has been wonderfully restored and tinted.  Old time Bay residents might view with nostalgia.

From Beyond - 2023 - Norway

From Beyond - 2023 - 7/10

 
Extraterrestrials arrive on Earth.  Accident, scouting, invasion?
Perspectives move from human observers to alien point of view.
Of course, know-it-all humans begin laboratory experiments.
While others, perhaps emulating Captain Kirk, share intimate relations with the newcomers.
Then, almost overnight, these new things seem to be overrunning the planet.
SciFi short from Norway blends found footage, newsreels, interviews, and is a mix of unexpected and bizarre.

The Reckoning - 2023 - UK

The Reckoning - 2023 - 7/10

 
The rise of Jimmy Saville from local DJ to national icon.
Along the way, “Top Of The Pops” and “Jim’ll Fix It”.
Relentless charity work leads to knighthood, meeting royals, meeting the Pope.
Yet behind the crowd pleasing funster lurks a darker soul.
One with an appetite for young girls, for children.
Cloaked behind fame.
Steve Coogan charismatic and frightening, superb job.

Zontar: The Thing from Venus - 1967 - USA

Zontar: The Thing from Venus - 1967 - 3/10

 
Our alien offers to come to Earth and help solve humanity’s problems.
(Just like politicians, tyrants, megalomaniacs, martinets, from Biblical times onward.)
Fortunately, for Zoltar, it reaches out to the one “scientist” gullible enough to believe a Venusian telemarketer.
In no time flat, our three-eyed, bat-winged, Cthulhu wannabe holes up in a cave and begins global domination.
Bad film, bad acting, ripoff script, and the characters are beyond stupid!
Connoisseurs of trash cinema, this is one dingy brown pile.

To Have And Have Not - 1944 - USA

To Have And Have Not - 1944 - 7/10

 
Ex-pat fisherman rents his boat out to US swells who could only land a fish in a grocery.
Set in WWII Martinique, France has fallen and the Caribbean colony comes under Nazi control.
Fishing gives way to smuggling, trafficking souls barely one step ahead of the Gestapo.
Then there’s a penniless female, stranded, as it were, on an island paradise.
Fast paced Noir boats electric chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, and bristling dialogue.
Bacall sings, Hoagy Carmichael plays piano.

If you desire further adventures (similar), check out the OTR “Bold Venture”.
https://archive.org/details/BoldVenture57Episodes

Alex Edelman: Just For Us - 2024 - USA

Alex Edelman: Just For Us - 2024 - 7/10

 
“I don't know if any of you grew up in a home like this.  We were never allowed in our living room.
Never. The living room is for guests and tragedies. And every piece of furniture is covered in plastic…”
Standup comedian shares painful wisdom, and a long story of going to a White Nationalist party in Queens.
Edelman is consistently funny.  The jokes, the punchlines, land and land and land.
This is NOT hit n miss.  This is a terrific performance.
Captured during a sold out run.
As one would say, can you believe it?
English subtitles = https://subdl.com/subtitle/sd1672290/alex-edelman-just-for-us/english

Fiend Without A Face - 1958 - UK

Fiend Without A Face - 1958 - 6/10

 
US military base (in Canada?) experiments with radar and telekinesis.
Before you can wonder what could go wrong, an invisible “entity” starts killing.
Victims have their gray cells sucked out, brains and spinal cords.
Soldiers are hapless, the base is overrun!
Once exposed, the creatures are laughable and creepy, a weakness of the film.
Especially for young viewers who imagined them to be under the bed or in the closet.
Or teenagers at the drive-in, aware death is everywhere so they better get busy now.
Not one of those so-bad-it’s-good films, but creative yet underwhelming.

Klara’s Box - 2024 - USA

Klara’s Box - 2024 - 5/10

 
Workday dawn, Klara wakes in her car after another night in her car.
At the cafe, she asks for coffee.  Instead, she is offered job.
“Just deliver a package.  Quick, simple.”
Until, midway through her “assignment”, a helpful soul appears to render free advice.
Toxic short of lies, half-truths, deceptions, in talky thriller.
Resolution = punt.

Annie Hall - 1977 - USA

Annie Hall - 1977 - 8/10

 
Through a series of flashbacks, Alvy tries to grasp how his romance with Annie collapsed.
City boy, small town girl new to the city, there is a Pygmalion element.
Childhoods differ vastly, as do outlooks and expectations.
Even the way they view each other, and worry how they are perceived.
Marvelous sequences break the fourth wall, especially with surprise cameos.
Gordon Willis cinematography elevates this from all preceding Allen works.
This is where Allen lost many old fans, expecting more silly farces.
A romantic comedy, wise and bittersweet, for adults.

Skylight - 2014 - UK

Skylight - 2014 - 7/10  

 
Three years after she walked out of her second family, Kyra receives two visitors.
Wayward son Edward, starting his gap year, asking why she left those years before.
“Think,”  Kyra says.  “Just think.”
Then, after Edward departs, the father, Tom, attempting, awkwardly, a pained reconciliation.
Searing performances from Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan of a broken relationship.
Funny, excruciating, contrasting spiraling greed and self-reformation.
Restaurateur Tom made his pile when Kyra was his right hand.
Now, both older, wisdom is a bitter tonic.
Main quibble for me, in an otherwise exceptional play, is the age discrepancy.
Supposedly 15 years apart, they look 30, perhaps 40, years apart.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/national-theater-live-skylight/english/3331454

Western Front - 1999 - UK

Western Front - 1999 - 7/10

 
Excellent, if limited documentary on the Western Front of the Great War.
This really focuses on strategies, key battles, and blunders.
High command, English and French, is shown as especially incompetent.
Millions of lives squandered while officers sipped tea in chateaus.
A couple of lingering survivors, each in their 90’s, shared memories.
Richard Holmes, military historian for Cranfield University, walks old battlefields, while presenting a digest of the war.

All You Need Is Death - 2023 - Ireland

All You Need Is Death - 2023 - 6/10

Anna and Aleks freelance, scouring Ireland for obscure folk ballads.
Their patron / boss / tutor Agnes particularly covets songs that are completely unknown.
They hear of one, passed from one female down to the next, in a remote village.
There, Rita sings Anna the song, not Aleks, for no man has ever listened to it.

 
The song has been passed, but a promise has been broken.
From there, death and the long hunt for the culprits.
Imaginative tale of a cursed song, akin to a forbidden phrase or image.
Pagan sequences from time to time provide a distant history.
I was absorbed throughout.  The ending was an utter fail for me, however.
Felt like the “writer/director/producer” paid crowd service to genre Horror fans.

Confessions Of Boston Blackie - 1941 - USA

Confessions Of Boston Blackie - 1941 - 6/10

 
A counterfeit statue, an auction gone awry, exchange of bullets, a death.
Who is in attendance?  Inspector Farraday.  And who does he suspect?
As always, brisk B-film, packed with action and banter.
In this, Blackie’s “ex” surfaces, to shake him down for money.
Otherwise, Runt and George Manleder return to give Blackie inadequate assistance.
Formula fun.  If you missed something, you didn’t miss much.

Millennium - 1996 - USA

Millennium - 1996 - 8/10  

 
A remarkable series, too dark, too bleak, too far ahead of its time.
Ex-FBI profiler, Frank Black, retired (burned out?), is recruited by the Millennium Group.
In addition to criminal analysis, Black has second-sight, a gift and a curse.
S01 episodes are akin to “monster of the week”.  Serial killers, conspiracy, occult.
The second season delved deeper into the Millennium Group.
Remember, this aired as 2000 approached, along with the dread Y2K phobia.

 
S03 was a retrenchment of sorts, with no overlying arc.
In the end, I think Millennium was too grim, remorseless, for viewers hoping for another X-Files.
I also find it remarkable that this aired on FOX and that FOX gave it a three year run.
A modern media company like Netflix would have whacked it at 10 episodes.
Lucy Butler seems to be more active than ever nowadays.
Fine documentary here.

Demon Ward - 2013 - Japan

Demon Ward - 2013 - 5/10
AKA - Akuryô Byôtô // 悪霊病棟

 
And just how evil is this hospital wing?  Wait till patients receive the bill!
There is the new hospital, where patients who see the apparition, drop dead.
Then there’s the old hospital across the way, where the nurses have to enter for some medicine or equipment, in the middle of the night, no power, just their flashlight.
What lurks within?  Yes, a ghost, demon with black teeth, that bites.
And leaves victims dead or infected.
Half hour horror series is cheap looking, poorly acted, with a copy cat script.
Finale (episode 10) was more compelling, but it took me over three years to get there.

Slaughter Hotel - 1971 - Italy

Slaughter Hotel - 1971 - 6/10
AKA - La Bestia Uccide a Sangue Freddo

 
Posh spa for neurotic females is terrorized by a psychopath wearing a mask and cape.
Weapons of death include a dagger, sword, battle axe.
Said weapons are in the lounge where patients sip cocktails with nurses and doctors.
Oh, yeah, there’s also an iron maiden in the lounge.  Three guesses if it gets used.
What’s wrong with these affluent females?
One is a nymphomaniac (takes her clothes off frequently).
One is a lesbian (takes her clothes off around another female).
One is frigid to her husband (in the hospital, she falls for the ever-cute doctor, Klaus Kinski).
Half decent Giallo, incompetently directed, looks to have been edited by a pet goat.

The Black Shield Of Falworth - 1954 - USA

The Black Shield Of Falworth - 1954 - 6/10

 
Once familiar staple of late night reruns, less so nowadays.
Peasant siblings Myles and Meg are, unbeknownst to them, actually royalty.
Titles stripped, lands seized, all from treachery.
Now the villain has malevolent designs on the king himself.
Luckily, a loyal noble starts secretly training Myles for knighthood.
Gorgeous Technicolor splash boasts costumes and swords, and excellent support.
Tony Curtis, with his Bronx honk, is miscast, though he was a mega star at this time.

Help! - 1965 - UK

Help! - 1965 - 6/10

 
Ringo receives a priceless ruby ring from an adoring fan.
Ordered to return the ring, or become the next blood sacrifice to a Kali cult.
The Beatles second feature is a silly spoof of – I dunno what.
Cartoonish, goofy comedy, the lads even look bored (they were actually stoned).
The script bears much of the blame, as the sharp wit from the first film is missing.
Nevertheless, the musical numbers are outstanding!  The last of the “Invasion” sound.
Film remains empty-headed fun, golden nostalgia for those with long memories.

Ichi The Killer - 2001 - Japan

Ichi The Killer - 2001 - 6/10
AKA - Koroshiya 1  / /殺し屋1

 
Early Miike movie that broke him to a larger audience.
Fanboys already knew him from Fudoh, and earlier titles, the arthouse crowd from Audition.
Wildly inventive yakuza story boasts lakes of splatter, sick humor, and memorable villains.
The “plot” is much too convoluted (perhaps they were unable to condense the manga).
As with so many Miike flicks, the opening act is ballistic, chased with an overlong idle stretch.
If curious, if you have a stomach for brutality and gore, the Japanese cut is the way to go.

The Taste Of Things - 2023 - France

The Taste Of Things - 2023 - 7/10  
AKA - La Passion de Dodin Bouffant

 
Not exclusive to gourmands, for pretty close.
Almost dialogue free for the first twenty minutes as Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) prepares an elaborate meal for Dodin and his fellow gourmands.
A romantic relationship dances about, yet the culinary side definitely predominates.
Leisurely paced, with scenes of preparation, followed with conversations of the fare.
These are “day long” affairs, course after course, leaving this viewer somewhat exhausted.
Adult tonic to juvenile foodie culture.  Those to whom food is “so yummy”.
Side story of a young epicure who seeks apprenticeship could make a possible sequel.

Warriors Of The Future - 2022 - China

Warriors Of The Future - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Ming yat zin gei // 明日战记

 
Earth reels from wars, environmental devastation, toxic air.
A giant meteorite slams into B-16 (Asia somewhere), and a giant, water hungry plant emerges.
Heavy rains are forecast, humanity is at stake, who do you call?
Yes, the marines, or Air Combat Unit.
Mix of tropes here.  From shooter games, to Aliens (even a Newt), to the bug hunt.
Conspiracy stuff, too.
If you want A-C-T-I-O-N, this boasts lots of full screen splatter and it does not overstay.
Veggie brain fun, although it appears Beijing heavily censored this one.

Rock On Fire - 1994 - Hong Kong

Rock On Fire - 1994 - 6/10
AKA - Girl On Fire // Ji mi zhong an zhi zhi ming you huo // 机密重案组之致命诱惑

 
Strap in, or strap on, this Hong Kong Cat III is one nasty piece of work.
A gun deal has blown up, owing to an impulsive cop.
Arms went with one middleman, money with the other.
Police want them, so do the top gangsters involved.
As do a brother / sister hit team from Japan.
That’s the bare bones of an almost incoherent story.
In between, there is a ton of sex.  Consensual, misogynist, brutish.
The female hitwoman is a black widow.  Mounting, mating, murdering.
Some jaw dropping fights, including one between backhoes,
Still, cops or no cops, the hit team own the film.  Mikie Ng Miu Yee should have had a career.

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery - 1939 - UK

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery - 1939 - 6/10

 
Enroute to the big match, an argument in the car.  Bombshell and the striker.
Lovers tiff?  Hardly.  She’s met someone … with money.
Hour later, in the second half, look who drops dead on the pitch.
Heart failure?  Broken heart?  Or was it murder?
Scotland Yard arrives (a breezy Leslie Banks), while teammates evade answers.
Yes, female trouble lies at the root of this quick paced mystery.
Interspersed with football shenanigans.
Wet Saturday film.

Agatha And The Limitless Readings - 1981 - France

Agatha And The Limitless Readings - 1981 - 7/10
AKA - Agatha et Les Lectures Illimitées

 
Sister and brother, both early 30’s, rendezvous at an empty seaside hotel for, perhaps, the last time.
The site where, in their teens, they first “saw” the other, and developed passionate feelings.
Feelings seem mixed.  Neither guilt, nor regret, simply sorrow at the imminent parting.
Dialogue propels the narrative.  Theatrical, arch, stilted, akin to poetry.
The siblings are rarely shown.  Photography lingers on waves, skies, horizons, the beach.
I imagine we ought to consider the tide of memory, surging, shifting, receding.
Not for all tastes, but if one is patient, quite patient, and able to listen, this is deeply rewarding.

The Avengers: S04 - 1966 - UK

The Avengers: S04 - 1966 - 6/10

First season after the departure of Cathy Gale (the formidable Honor Blackman).
This marks the beginning of the Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) era, but is likely NOT the Emma fans think of.
Peel is less intimidating than Gale, more kittenish, more deferential to Steed.
In most episodes, she requires manly rescuing.
Late, very late in the season, Rigg must have asserted herself, and by “The House That Jack Built”, Peel is the cool, calculating partner fans think of.

 
The series, however, is becoming campy, playful.  Not silly, but clearly heading that way.
“A Sense Of History” makes an interesting example.  Robin Hood, arrows, murders, yet a late chance to see vintage Steed, ruthless and a brawler.

Supervixens - 1975 - USA

Supervixens - 1975 - 5/10

 
Russ Meyer nonsense / followup to Vixen (1969), lacks the former’s bite.
Clint works at the gas station, where he probably reeks of gasoline and oil.
No matter, he is ab-so-lutely irresistible to local ladies.
His sexually demanding and insatiable wife, Super Angel.
Persistent customer, Super Lorna, of the pendulous orbs.
In due course, the gasboy meets Super Soul, Super Cherry, I forget who else, all “Super”.
Copious nudity, unrestrained sex, barely a plot as Meyer edged ever closer to hardcore porn.
Trivia: This is where Meyer lured Charles Napier out of retirement and into a long Hollywood career.

Come Blow Your Horn - 1963 - USA

Come Blow Your Horn - 1963 - 6/10

 
Fun artifact of the Rat Pack, of the Chairman, Sinatra.
Sinatra (who was pushing 50 at this time) welcomes his young brother (Bill, 22) into his swinging pad.
The older brother, a ladies man, decides to expose the younger one to soft temptations.
Fast-paced romantic comedy has beautiful women, a Sinatra song, boisterous innuendo.
Has the feel of a play (script by Neil Simon and Norman Lear), along with the winking sensibility of Playboy.
Shallow fun, more for my father’s generation, still entertaining.

Becomes A Woman - 2023 - USA

Becomes A Woman - 2023 - 7/10  

Francie works at Kress, in the music department.
1920’s, this means sheet music, and she sings, on-request, for customers inquiring about a given song.
Francie is a goody two-shoes, does not date, gives her earning to Ma.
Coworker Florry is a cynical Flapper, knows what boys want, likes to party, and knows how to avoid 9 month consequences.
Enter Mr. Kress’s son, rich swell, who sweeps Francie off her feet, and leaves her a gift – 9 months later.

 
That is Act One of three distinct acts.
One set in the sheet music section, the second in Francie’s blue collar, noisy home, the third in Francie’s room.
This is an early female empowerment tale, terribly risqué for its time
Originally written by Betty (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn) Smith in 1931.
Enjoyable, if something of a play of parts, Francie’s journey of experience.

The Secrets Of Finistère - 2023 - France

The Secrets Of Finistère - 2023 - 6/10  
AKA - Les Secrets du Finistère

 
The murder happened years before, and would have gone unnoticed except that the sacred tree fell in a howling storm, exposing the skeletal remains.
The body was laid out in accordance with Druidic rites.  There is a Druid community in the area.
Questions, chief being was this murder or sacrifice?
French mystery combines investigation, apparitions, Druid lore, familial conflicts.
As always with these particular French productions, superb outdoor photography.
This outing, the steep cliffs of Brittany.

Jurassic World - 2015 - USA

Jurassic World - 2015 - 5/10

 
Reboot of Jurassic Park into a giant theme park (20,000+ guests).
There is the money-making park, and there the research InGen, crafting new dinosaurs for military use.
Inside massive containment walls so there is no possibility of escape into –
Wait!  What just happened?
Romance angle does not work, nor do kids in danger.
Dinosaurs are impressive, except they are given anthromorphic personalities.
Please, no matter the size, lizards have lizard brains.
Predictable, family friendly, depending on how much carnage you expose your children to.
Sad that this was beneath derivative.  As is, popcorn for bubbleheads.

Pulp - 1972 - UK

Pulp - 1972 - 6/10

 
The writer of lurid paperbacks is commissioned to ghost write the famous mystery man’s memoirs.
Ex-movie star (played with glee by Mickey Rooney) who starred in 1930’s gangster films.
Now, he lives in isolated retirement on a Mediterranean island.
Nonetheless, the book promises to tell-all, and is already ruffling feathers.
Lighthearted spoof delivers laughs and jokes, in accordance with how knowledgeable the viewer is.
Michael Caine is sardonic and caustic.  Surprise guests include Lizabeth Scott, Lionel Standler, Robert Sacchi.
Location filming on sunny Malta.  Lewis Carroll, red herrings, deadly priests, a romp for enthusiasts.

The Hateful Beast - 1970 - Japan

The Hateful Beast - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Nihon Bôkô Ankokushi: Onjû  // 日本暴行暗黒史 怨獣

 
Two vagabond criminals arrive in the village from Edo.
One seeks dishonest coin, the other murderous revenge.
First things first, the angry one murders a prostitute and tries to frame an old adversary.
Here, events are interesting: as the two foes tell the same tale – differently.  And it is never clarified.
Heady amount of sex throughout, fitting since sex and female betrayal permeate the history.
Brooding tale, borrows from Noir with characters doomed by Fate, personal wounds, flawed assumptions.

Grim Reaper - 1976 - USA

Grim Reaper - 1976 - 4/10

 
Salvation takes but a moment, yet damnation is eternal.
Ma and son Tim are dedicated church goers, while Pa and son Frankie drink and watch football.
Frankie races stock cars, a deadly sport filled with horrific crashes; and one afternoon …
And since Frankie ain’t saved, Hell claims his soul.
Rest of the film is Pa wrestling with faith.
Guest evangelists include Jerry Falwell and Jack Van Impe.  The proselytizing is numbing.
Stock car pileups are a highlight, as are the bizarre Biblical reenactments.
Actors in headgear, robes, Roman Centurions, etc … talking with Southern drawls.
I can only knock this so much.  It was earnestly made, if incompetent.