Angels Without Wings - 2006 - Japan

Angels Without Wings - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshitachi // 翼の折れた天使たち

 
Late night J-dorama follows four different girls (one per episode) who have gotten lost in Tokyo.
One works as an escort so she can buy expensive fashions.  Another makes adult films.
One works a phone sex line, another is lucky with gambling, unlucky in love.
Each receive unexpected assistance, guidance, and there is something of a closing moral.
I imagine most of the females are idols, trying to break into film.
Watchable, neither cloying nor preachy.  Good stories for those about to fledge.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/tsubasa-no-oreta-tenshitachi-angels-with-broken-wings/english/3225492

Call Her Savage - 1932 - USA

Call Her Savage - 1932 - 7/10

 
Wild child Nasa (an incredibly sexy Clara Bow) leaves Texas for Chicago.
Has a fling with, and marries a cad.  After he dumps her, well, no birth control in the 1930’s.
A hot Pre-Code flick breaks numerous taboos:
A gay bar, girl fights, half-breed allusions, excess alcohol, unwanted pregnancy.
Bow was near the end of her career by this point, with weight problems and national scandals.
Plus, like other Silent stars, she had an absolute phobia of the microphone.
Tawdry throughout, although her next and final film, Hoopla is another good Clara vehicle.

A Haunting In Venice - 2023 - UK

A Haunting In Venice - 2023 - 6/10

 
Detective Hercule Poirot has retired to Venice.
He is not accepting new cases, absolutely not!
Nevertheless, he is intrigued by an upcoming séance.  On Halloween night!
What follows is a locked-room mystery, with good elements and weak ones.
Nice assortment of characters with motives – and yes, there are deaths.
The set design is extraordinarily done;  the house feels massive, gloomy, decaying.
Direction, at times, is heavy handed.  Jump scares, ridiculously loud noises.
Expected of a horror B-movie, not Kenneth Branagh.

Kill Baby … Kill! - 1966 - Italy

Kill Baby … Kill! - 1966 - 6/10  
AKA - Operazione Paura

 
Points for brooding atmosphere, set design, Gothic photography.
Following yet another death, a doctor arrives in a remote village to autopsy the corpse.
A police inspector has already arrived and is being stone-walled by villagers.
Were the deaths murders or suicides?
One busy night, and a forced visit to Villa de Graps, yields an answer.
Stylish Mario Bava film rambles throughout, and the script has more gristle than meat.
Goofy US title, although my German print was Die Toten Augen des Dr. Dracula.
This would benefit from being tightened, or trimmed here and there.