Unseen Forces - 1920 - USA

Unseen Forces - 1920 - 5/10

Young Miriam is cursed with a gift.  She can see around corners.
Meaning, second sight, psychic ability, witchy power.
Early on, she meets young Clyde, and the attraction is immediate and powerful.

 
Years later, they reconnect.  Clyde suffers a social climbing wife, Miriam has unpleasant renown.
Some bless her for her ability, others denounce her as a fraud.
Story by Robert W. Chambers (which I why I chased this down).
Ultimately, this is a maudlin soap opera.  In other hands, how much better this could have been.
A recently found copy is on the National Film Preservation Foundation's website.
(no sound - I queued up Scriabin piano sonatas those worked fine)

The Crimson Canary - 1945 - USA

The Crimson Canary - 1945 - 5/10

 
“And I’m telling you to lay off.  You’re bad for him, you’re bad for the band, and you ain’t so hot a singer,”
Anita causes havoc within the jazz combo.
Not to worry, she soon winds up dead.  And whom do we suspect?
Well, the group has five members.
The plot in this is as haphazard as the music.  Almost all nonstop jazz, a minute of this, two minutes of that.
Coleman Hawkins does one number, Josh White two.
Cast are supporting team standouts, as well as amateurs.

The Lesson - 2023 - UK

The Lesson - 2023 - 7/10

 
Grad student and aspiring writer Liam accepts the job of tutor, prepping young Bertie for Oxford admissions.
Truth be told, Liam wants to brush up against the famous father, J. M. Sinclair, literary lion.
In any event, prepare for the joust, for there are seething undercurrents.
The death of an elder son is a poisoned chalice in the household.

 
Liam, the fledgling writer, is a keen observer of the dynamics.  Better, he keeps his mouth shut.
This is a slow burner, coalescing into a nasty thriller.
Richard Grant, the supposedly retired major author, should keep you glued to proceedings.
In a few ways, this makes a stylish cousin to 2022’s The Menu.

Waiting For You - 2017 - UK

Waiting For You - 2017 - 6/10

Near his death, his father spills a few secrets son, Paul.
“Brown … shoulda been mine … sacks of pearls … still in the house.”
At the funeral, Paul tries talking with his father’s fellow war veterans, now old men.
None are inclined to rake up the past.
Instead, following the slimmest of hints, Paul heads off for France.

 
Where a thicket of reserved characters, locked rooms, and admonitions to mind his own business, interlace.
Quiet mystery (perhaps too quiet for its own good) of the soul far from home, unsure of what he should be hunting for, unaware of how deep into the morass he is heading.

Terra Formars - 2016 - Japan

Terra Formars - 2016 - 5/10

On Earth, over-populated like crazy, bigwigs decide the best plan is to colonize Mars.
First, we terraform the red planet with moss and cockroaches (!).
500 years pass (we ain’t extinct, still eating in Mister Bladerunner Noodle Shops), and Mars is suitable.
Best get rid of them roaches first.  Send in the Marines?  Nope, terrorists, yakuza, street trash.
Who soon find out – shoot, those cockroaches are huge!

 
Jumbo sized, built like bodybuilder contestants, and moving incredibly fast.
Despite a stellar cast, this bug hunt is unbelievably stupid.
Takashi Miike fans, if you feel you must …

Resurrection - 2015 - Argentina

Resurrection -  2015 - 6/10
AKA - Resurrección

Newly ordained priest Aparicio decides he is more needed in Buenos Aires, plagued by Yellow Fever.
Enroute, he decides to detour to his family estate, discovering it all but derelict and abandoned.

 
His brother remains, dying on his deathbed.  His sister-in-law and niece hide in the chapel, terrified.
One servant, taciturn Quispe, tries to warn / assist Aparcio, tend to the family.
Viewers quickly realize the house is beyond healing, beyond redemption.
A slow burn tale of faith, judgment, evil, and the weakness of men.
Perhaps better for those who appreciate the insidiousness of Lucifer, the whisperer of lies.
Few believe in evil nowadays, despite what they witness daily.

Spy/Master - 2023 - Romania

Spy/Master - 2023 - 6/10

 
Romanian Dictator Ceausescu's right-hand, Victor Godeanu, needs to defect.
Long a KGB sleeper agent, Romanian security is beginning to out him.
Bad timing.  Washington, transfixed by the 1978 Camp David talks refuses to commit itself.
Instead, Godeanu is left with a devious and inexperienced CIA handler.
A Romanian series, this steers a wary course.
The US is distracted, Soviet Union formidable, Romanian Intelligence relentless.
Decent espionage thriller, based loosely on Ion Mihai Pacepa, parts are better than the whole.

A Man On His Knees - 1979 - Italy

A Man On His Knees - 1979 - 6/10
AKA - Un Uomo in Ginocchio

 
Word on the street is that a hitman has been hired to whack Nino.
Why?  He is just a simple street vendor.  Small stall where he sells drinks, snacks and papers.
Bad luck.  Nino is in the wrong place, wrong time, and everyone assumes he is involved.
The police, battling gangs, assassins, shakedown artists.
No matter how hard he tries, luck lets him down, over and over.
Set in Palermo, and I imagine (having been there, and having been robbed there) things are still the same.
This is a drama, not Euro Crime, not Thriller.

In The Night - 1929 - France

In The Night - 1929 - 6/10
AKA - Dans la Nuit

Life in the pit is hard, brutal.  Yet, as soon as the whistle howls, he hurries.
Gets cleaned up, dashes to his wedding, and the wild revelry afterward.
He and his bride are ecstatic.  Love is bliss.

 
Until the accident, where he is injured.  Actually, disfigured.  Horribly disfigured.
And true love proves to be a transient thing.
For the attractive wife soon catches the eye of another.

 
Shocking tale of love, treachery, accidents, Fate.
Much of the film is excess.  The wedding and party is exhausting.
The conclusion?  I tossed my foam brick at the screen.

A Very English Scandal - 2018 - UK

A Very English Scandal - 2018 - 7/10  

 
Early 1960’s, Lib-Dem party leader, Jeremy Thorpe initiates an affair Norman Scott.
As with almost all romantic relationships, it comes to a sloppy end.
Jeremy, however reckless, is highly ambitious, and Norman, well, he is emotionally unstable.
He needs his National Employment card for work and health benefits.
Homosexual laws and stigma informs this brief series, but do not be put off.
This is extraordinary funny!  Especially by E02, where Mr Thorpe tries to murder the pesky Norman.
Casting is top notch, the script razor sharp.
Based closely on real events and persons (stick for those credits); truth better than fiction.

BlackBerry - 2023 - Canada

BlackBerry - 2023 - 7/10

 
Rise and fall of the communication device, ubiquitous in the early 2000’s.
The original company is a small software developer, exploited and going nowhere fast.
Until they hire a corporate shark who kicks, shoves and propels them into giddy heights.
For those with adequate memories, BlackBerry leapfrogged the pagers.
The film plays out like a docudrama, covering a lot of territory fairly comprehensively.
Marked as a “comedy” I laughed maybe once or twice, although I enjoyed very much.
Some of the accuracy is sketchy (I doubt the SEC had jurisdiction in Canada).
Note:  I detested seeing that “Sent from my BlackBerry” in emails back when, much as I detest seeing “Sent from my iPhone” today.

The Effect - 2024 - UK

The Effect - 2024 - 7/10

 
Connie and Tristan enter clinical trials for a new drug to combat depression.
She is a psychology major and wants to experience side-effects, he’s for the pay.
As subjects, a couple, they are paired:  boy - girl.
A major side effect is heightened dopamine levels, and interest between the unlikely duo mounts.
The play is a study of attraction and medical ethics.
Also an examination of love.  Is attraction, even spiked by chemicals, enough?
Held my interest, although the dilemmas may resonate more with younger audiences in uncertain relationships.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/national-theatre-at-home-the-effect/english/3268702

Golden Eyes - 1968 - Japan

Golden Eyes - 1968 - 6/10
AKA - Hyappatsu hyakuchû: Ôgon no me

 
After the opening chase, a helicopter with skyhook chasing fleeing chauffeur, the “plot” gears up.
At the center is a gold smuggling cartel.
Justice includes the Japanese police, Interpol, a female race driver and an insurance investigator.
Double crosses are everywhere!
Spy fever was at a height, as were spoofs (Matt Helm, Derek Flint, Max Smart, Lemmy Caution, Shandigor).
This boasts weird assassination attempts, preposterous shootouts, a jazzy score, and silly humor.
If you are in the mood, if you enjoy these carefree parodies, this rollicks along.

The Skeptic - 2009 - USA

The Skeptic - 2009 - 6/10

 
Late at night, the elderly aunt dies suddenly, and her ostracized nephew Bryan inherits the white elephant mansion.
Or so he assumes.
Since his marriage is in rough patch, he decides to move into the manor for a few weeks.
And starts to hear and see “things”.
Good psychological horror film, probably a decade too late (for audiences who need explanations).
Is the house itself haunted?  Or is locked-tight, emotionless Bryan haunted?
One thing for sure, the home and new occupant act as triggers upon each other.
The spacious dwelling (a wonderful character) is immaculate throughout.