Wild Guitar - 1962 - USA

Wild Guitar - 1962 - 5/10

 
Country boy motorcycles into Los Angeles with a guitar and a suitcase full of songs.
Lucky breaks hits straightaway when a local TV performer is ill, so he steps before the camera.
No time flat, he is a smasharoo, babe.
Along comes the crooked manager, cynical studio musicians, fake publicity.
Sort of a cross between “A Star Is Born” with “So You Wanna Be A Rock N Roll Star”.
Arch Hall Jr. is winning in this, although I don’t “get” this guy in the doggone least.
Arch Hall Sr. steals the film as the wily promoter / agent.
Superb restoration by Nicolas Winding Refn on his website, though the audio mix is super low.

The World Of Suzie Wong - 1960 - USA

The World Of Suzie Wong - 1960 - 6/10

 
American executive, suffering, I suppose, a mid-life crisis, heads to Hong Kong to become a painter.
On limited means, he cannot afford respectable neighborhoods, so he rooms in a cheap hotel.
Only to realize it is actually a brothel – where he falls in love with the most popular girl working there.
The photography shines throughout, exotic and colorful.
William Holden is too old in some ways, other times he is just right.  (It hurt that I read the bestselling novel and knew his character was much younger.
Nancy Kwan is spectacular in what should have been a career making role.

This was momentous viewing for a younger me, heightened after reading the novel.
I vowed to move to California, attend college there, then emigrate to Hong Kong.
My childhood plans proved difficult, though eventually doable.
Hong Kong, however, took me decades.

The Musketeers Of Pig Alley - 1912 - USA

The Musketeers Of Pig Alley - 1912 - 7/10

 
Every rewatch of this Griffith gem is a potent reminder of how rapid his craft was developing at this stage.
The young couple struggle in a cheap apartment in the new York slum.
In a few minutes, the story packs in the dance hall, the rival gangs, the alley showdown.
While the audience is supposed to identify with and root for the newlyweds, the camera is irresistibly drawn to the flamboyant Snapper Kid.  (Elmer Booth, who would be killed in 1915.)
D. W. Griffith stodgy?  No, this is an exciting outing.

Divided We Stand - 2022 - Germany

Divided We Stand - 2022 - 6/10  
AKA - ZERV

 
After the wall comes down, Germany reunifies in the 1990’s.
Relaxed freedoms, and – Hey!  What about all those East German weapons?
A tiny agency is formed to dispose of them, and ensure they don’t wind up in the wrong hands.
Thing is, major weapons are financially lucrative.
Politicians never seem to have enough money, while arms brokers have cash to splash.
Squabbling team members are East and West, cursed with assumptions and misunderstandings.
Based, not surprisingly, on actual events.  Series bears dark humor throughout.

The Weavers: Wasn’t That A Time - 1982 - USA

The Weavers: Wasn’t That A Time - 1982 - 7/10

 
Essential documentary of the highly influential group.
The Weavers bridged the gap between the Depression folk singers and the later protest songs of the 1960’s.
Much of this is set in Lee Hays’ farm, where an informal picnic leads to a final performance at Carnegie Hall.
Throughout, there is their history, the McCarthy era, and the defiant, sold-out concert at Carnegie in 1955 during the height of their blacklisting.
Something of a wistful turn here, realizing the folkie movement pretty much collapsed in the 1970’s, and has never again regained prominence.

The Old Oak - 2023 - UK

The Old Oak - 2023 - 7/10

 
Sullen regulars watch in disgust as Syrian refugees come and go in their pub.  THEIR pub!
Strikes or no strikes, the best days of the town were over by the 1990’s.
Now, do-gooders and government flunkies shuttle in busloads of Syrians.
More and more of them, into cheap (or free) accommodations and free perks.
“No charity for the homefolk?”  one complains.  Another notes,  “I don’t see you moving them to Westminster or Chelsea.”
Ken Loach film is unflinching in showing both sides.
Grievances and desperation.