Things To Come - 1936 - UK

Things To Come - 1936 - 6/10

 
Script by H. G. Wells, futuristic film of a seemingly endless war.
The desolation, the exhaustion, the rising of tribes.
The war itself seems a continuation of the Great War (1914-1918), and not at all what WWII would be.
Fascism and totalitarianism was rising during this time, so the themes were in the air, so to speak.
I always rewatch this whenever the library or revival house offers.
Some of the acting is hammy (Ralph Richardson is over-the-top).
The tone can be preachy, and strikes me as too hopeful regarding man’s eventual mastery of his impulses.
Sets and photography by Menzies – THAT is why one watches!

Dangerous Corner - 1983 - UK

Dangerous Corner - 1983 - 6/10

 
One gathers the evening began as a cocktail party until a surprise confession led to interrogations and recriminations.
Not attending is Maurice, who apparently committed suicide following a money theft.
Not everyone believes he stole the money.  Fewer believe he would have committed suicide.
Balance of whodunit and inquisition, all set in one room.
Stagey, talky, and I did get confused early on sorting the relations between six characters.
Subdued, well acted (early Daniel Day Lewis), with a gallery of faces who dominated 80’s - 90’s Brit shows.

Every House Is Haunted - 2023 - USA

Every House Is Haunted - 2023 - 6/10

 
The realtor told them, “The house was haunted.”
For the young couple, the price is affordable, the location away from the city.
It will be a chance for them to heal.
Home, alone, Maya begins to see the ghosts, because she is “special”.
Then more ghosts appear, those who stayed, for a reason.

The Secret Of Roan Inish - 1994 - Ireland

The Secret Of Roan Inish - 1994 - 7/10  

 
Magical film for adults, for families.
Fiona and young brother go to live with grandparents.
Their mother has died, and Pa is increasingly incapable.
Grandma has a long memory, and shares lore and secrets.
One being, a distant ancestor had been a selkie, and that bloodline continued.
And when young Jamie is swept away, it the seals claiming one of their own.
Sweeping coastlines, along with myths and the value of family.
I viewed originally during the initial run in a theater packed with families.  Children were spellbound.

Burden Of Dreams - 1982 - USA

Burden Of Dreams - 1982 - 8/10    

 
The madman and his monomania.  In this case, director Werner Herzog.
Attempting to physically move a 320 ton vessel, letting cast and crew get injured during filming.
The mutual respect / hatred between Herzog and Kinski.  Murders attempted.
An early, outside look at Herzog who has always been maddeningly opaque as a documentarian, as well as an individual.
An essential accompaniment to Fitzcarraldo.
Mere stories, memoirs, recollections are insufficient.
This films the madness, the recklessness, the obsession.
Another documentary of crazy filmmaking – Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse.

Fitzcarraldo - 1982 - Germany

Fitzcarraldo - 1982 - 8/10

 
The madman and his dreams.
Irishman Fitzcarraldo, late to the Peruvian rubber rush, leases a patch of land on the other side of the Andes.
The distance between upper river Ucayali and lower Pachitea is a few hundred feet.
If he could haul a boat to the higher water, then the area could be exploited.
Fitzcarraldo is driven, and lashes his workers (who abandon him) and then another tribe.
Deeply problematic production remains a must-see for arthouse types.
Klaus Kinski is the definition of intense here, while the photography is masterful.

Head - 1968 - USA

Head - 1968 - 7/10  

 
Man, when this TV series concluded, it went out with a bang.
This insane, almost incoherent, spoof of television, film, music, celebrity.
For all its crazy humor, parade of cameos, mile-a-minute comments, there is more apparent depth.
Throughout is the fabrication, the plastic ness of artistic freedom or license.
The implication, by extension, is that everyone is manipulated.
Not just the four Monkees, but the creators and moneymen, as well as the viewers.
All empty puppets.

Pixote -1980 - Brazil

Pixote -1980 - 7/10
AKA - Pixote: a Lei do Mais Fraco

 
Uneducated, unwashed, uneducated.  The abandoned, disposed children of Rio de Janeiro.
Ten year old Pixote is already a petty criminal, message runner for gangs, glue sniffer.
A hellish stint in prison reinforces violent tendencies, erodes humanity.
An unflinching look at the underbelly, the disease that is incarceration, and corrupt law.
Pixote is sympathetic, in many ways funny, even here and there, an innocent.
Until he’s not.
Beautifully ugly film, wrenching at times, otherwise prescient of what is coming.

Black Cat - 1991 - Hong Kong

Black Cat - 1991 - 6/10  
AKA - Hak Mau // 黑猫

 
Hong Kong remake of La Femme Nikita.  Expect action overload and carnage.
Jade Leung plays the highly neurotic girl who is trained (Simon Yam) into the assassin, Black Cat.
Killer action, especially when well-oiled plans go haywire.
Romantic elements merely muddy the proceedings.  Leung at this point, was not skillful enough.
Those scenes range from cloying to maudlin.
Fans of classic Hong Kong films will enjoy (probably fast-forward the dull stuff).
Worth a look for its excessive violence, but this pales next to the Bresson original.

La Femme Nikita - 1990 - France

La Femme Nikita - 1990 - 7/10

 
Nikita is a drug addict, and, accidentally, a cop killer.
Clandestine operation offers a deal: live, but you work for us.
She is cleaned up, trained, and emerges as a very stylish assassin.
First and best of a plethora of lethal femme flicks.
This one has style to burn, as well as emotional hooks.
Anne Parillaud is outstanding.  Remade as the tepid Point Of No Return.

The Wandering Earth 2 - 2023 - China

The Wandering Earth 2 - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Liu Lang di Qiu 2  //  流浪地球2

 
Messy and excessive prequel to 2019’s W E 1.
Whereas the first was juvenile and mindless, this has more reach, and more flaws.
Our sun is going supernova.  Earth first, then the entire solar system.
Two solutions:  move the entire planet – or transfer humanity to computer files.
Terrorism erupts when leaders decide to cancel the Digital Life Project.
Visual eye-candy is tremendous, and the action is go-go-go.
The propaganda is overt.  Those from the West complain, whine, quit.
Only China perseveres, finds solutions, saves humanity.
Three hours.  Important Easter egg in credits.

Abigail’s Party - 1977 - UK

Abigail’s Party - 1977 - 7/10

 
Beverly and Lawrence new neighbors Angela and Tony for a meet ‘n’ drink get-together.
Both couples are, financially, entering middle class.
Socially, however, lower class roots are evident.
Both males are insecure, although Lawrence feigns education and artistic pretensions.
Beverly is the real force: dominant, gauche, tasteless, belittling, pushy.
Very black comedy of the doomed party from Hell.
Like all of you, I have been to these events, sat close-mouthed while “Beverly” annihilated the room ambiance.

Sitting Target - 1972 - UK

Sitting Target - 1972 - 7/10

 
Following a major heist, Harry is pulling a long stretch.
His girlfriend doesn’t want to wait 15 years.
And … well … she met someone.  And – she’s – sorta – pregnant.
Infuriated that another man is sleeping with his woman, Harry busts out.
Hard-nosed Brit Noir benefits from a minimal use of music, which I prefer.
Standout, imaginative photography is flashy yet not distracting.
Macho cast bolstered by a seething Oliver Reed and the ever-alert Ian McShane.

Objective, Burma! - 1945 - USA

Objective, Burma! - 1945 - 6/10

 
Rousing WWII action finds Errol Flynn and company deep in Burma, taking on the Japanese.
Good flag waver, good morale booster, this still gave Flynn subsequent grief.
Burma was ostensibly a British sphere, not States.
Worse, Flynn was making movies instead of serving.  He had tried enlisting in all branches, but was rejected owing to health (malaria, TB, VD).
Enough background.  As a movie, this plays pretty well.  Plenty of gritty action.
Mostly exterior photography, as well, rather than a soundstage.
Flynn good as stolid leader, foregoing his clichéd devil may care flamboyance.