Fahrenheit 451 - 1966 - UK

Fahrenheit 451 - 1966 - 7/10

 
Thoughtful adaptation of Bradbury’s prescient novel grows more relevant with each year.
Fireman Montag works to incinerate books.  All books.  Reading has been outlawed.
Instead, the populace is addicted to shallow, mindless television programming.
Montag’s wife is typical.  She is childlike, stunted intellectually and emotionally.
All well and good for him, until he is challenged by another female to actually read one of the books.
Intense thriller, futuristic effects, and a lush Bernard Herrmann score.
Elephant in the room: Instead of outlawing books, stop teaching children how to read.
Books are still banned to this day.
Would-be oppressors do not want citizens to think.

The Deepest Breath - 2023 - Ireland

The Deepest Breath - 2023 - 5/10

 
Take a deep breath, then dive.  Down, down, down, deep as you can.
Then return topside, still using that same breath.
Run out of air, lose consciousness, get disoriented.  Too bad.
In competitions, there are scuba divers, but because of compression they can only observe.
There are “support divers” who risk their lives on a single breath so deep divers can compete.
Early on, in this documentary, I began to dislike key players.
I never bought their stories, the “relationship”, words increasingly rang off-key.

Traitor: S02 - 2021 - Estonia

Traitor: S02 - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Reetur 2

 
Alfred Vint returns, higher this time in the Estonian Defense Ministry.
He still receives payments from his Russian masters, but he is also blackmailed by them..
Intelligence now has him in their sights, however, even as he undermines security further
A smart espionage thriller, low on action such as bullets or explosives.
This is stealth, surveillance, spying, gathering intel.
Vint can be extraordinarily maddening, as he is one slippery bastard.
Both seasons have been quality, and a trailer for S03 shows promise.
Advise you wait for good subtitles; A I remains undesirable.

Femme - 2023 - UK

Femme - 2023 - 7/10  

 
Jules, cross-dressing entertainer, needs cigarettes during the show.
The neighborhood is rough, in the convenience shop thugs wander in.
Insults thrown, Jules replies in kind, and receives a brutal beating.
Much later, he recognizes one of his attackers, and realizes he is a closeted homosexual.
The slow, cold craft of revenge ensues
Deep exploration of fear, rage, identity, inadequacy, even possessive jealousy.
The two performers give their characters a depth that belies their surface simplicity.
Off kilter thriller, not for all tastes, not for phobes.

Eurocrime! The Italian Cop And Gangster Films That Ruled The '70s - 2012 - USA

Eurocrime! The Italian Cop And Gangster Films That Ruled The '70s - 2012 - 7/10

 
Thorough documentary on Italian film subgenre that followed Spaghetti Westerns, concurrent with Giallo.
The Poliziotteschi.
Influences for these films were Bullitt, Dirty Harry, French Connection.
Italian style.  More gunplay, bloody violence, crazy chase sequences, nudity, and corruption.
Key interviewees include John Saxon, Franco Nero, Henry Silva, Antonio Sabato, Fred Williamson, Leonard Mann, Joe Dallesandro, along with writers, producers, directors.
Methods explained.  As with Hong Kong, no sound during shooting.  Stunts real, guns loaded, jumping from speeding cars – yes, the actors did that.
Reasons why these were wildly popular in Italy and much of the world, yet flopped Stateside.
Fast paced, funny, informative, this is an outstanding overview, although not necessarily an introduction.
Filmed just in time, as many of the subjects are now gone.

Blind Corner - 1963 - UK

Blind Corner - 1963 - 6/10

 
Hit composer Paul, his loyal secretary and manager, watch as a new tune swings up the charts.
Missing is Paul’s wife, she of hot skirts and a painter boyfriend.
Paul is blind and in the way, and, well, accidents could be arranged.
Interesting Brit Noir (very late in the Noir run) is loaded with sex and a few twists.
Musical / dance numbers catch one offguard, yet seem typical and fitting.

The Lady In The Death House - 1944 - USA

The Lady In The Death House - 1944 - 5/10  

 
The psychologist, the female being blackmailed, and the prison doctor / executioner.
Soon, one will be accused and convicted of murder, and the other, her boyfriend, will have to throw the switch.
While the psychologist will hurry to find out what happened (since movie police are too lazy).
Cheap PRC Noir is too much the psychologist smoking in the gents club, telling the tale.
Acting is routine, save for Lionel Atwill in his “post orgy infamy” period.
A curio - this film has more clock wipes than I have ever seen.

Kapop - 2003 - Thailand

Kapop - 2003 - 3/10

 
“Hear what?  I didn’t hear nothing!”
After masked men try to forcibly rape a village girl, a ghost offers to settle scores if she can take possession.
Before long, men are slain, dangling genitalia bitten and horribly mutilated.
And even though menfolk KNOW a demon is in their midst, anytime a girl drops her shorts and says, “Happy hour!” foolish men follow their swords.
Bizarro Thai flick is 50% nudity, crazy floating ghost-head nonsense, and a van of visiting high schoolers.
Yes, add dead teenager trope to the mix.
The females are beautiful, the men oafish, acting amateurish.

Body Jumper preceded this and is better.

Sleeping Beauty - 1959 - USA

Sleeping Beauty - 1959 - 7/10  

 
Maleficent, a powerful witch / sorceress, bears a grudge after a royal slight.
She curses infant Princess Aurora to die at age sixteen.
In many ways, this is a darker version of Snow White (1937).
Disney’s most ambitious animation (until 1989) seems an elaboration on the fairy tale.
Despite being a Disney film, an undercurrent of anxiety haunts the film, giving it an adult feel.
Maleficent’s transformation at the end astounded me as a child.
Depending on screen size, this still packs a punch.
To this day, it looks fantastic!  Disney clearly spent a lot of time on this and it shows.
Not surprisingly, my mother always adored Snow White, while my brothers and I preferred Sleeping Beauty.

Rappaccini's Daughter - 1980 - USA

Rappaccini's Daughter - 1980 - 6/10

 
Melancholy adaptation of Hawthorne’s tale of a scientist, his unknowing subject, and the observer.
The garden where daughter Beatrice spends her nights are lushly overgrown.
Their fragrance, an intoxicating aroma masking a sinister craft.
The scientist / botanist researches down an evil path.
Acting is stiff, stagebound (bad actors or bad directing?).
Dialogue is preachy and melodramatic, lacking the detached restraint of the story.

A Very British Scandal - 2021 - UK

A Very British Scandal - 2021 - 7/10

 
How very unpleasant.
Sordid breakup of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in 1963.
She comes across as an insatiable narcissist, he an alcoholic financial sponge.
Both are extraordinarily repellent and crass.  Aristocratic white trash.
Acting is fierce and unsettling; one gathers the narrative is quasi-faithful.
Champions of women’s empowerment will be sorely vexed.
Margaret is hardly a role model, while the world she inhabits – it’s a man’s world.

And Justice For All - 1979 - USA

And Justice For All - 1979 - 6/10

 
Defense attorney has issues with one of the court’s sterner judges.
In between trying to defend clients, and being thwarted, he looks in on his grandfather, dabbles in romance.
This is a cynical take on idealistic TV courtroom dramas of the ‘60’s and 70’s.
(Mind you, nothing beats the smiling cynicism of the black and white Perry Mason.)
The judge in question gets in trouble, and hires, you got it, his long time nemesis.
For me, this is one of his films where Al Pacino dropped his cool reserve, and began louder acting.
Served him well, although Michael Corleone’s intensity remains preferable to yelling marathons.
Jack Warden as half-cocked judge, unforgettable.