Good - 2022 - UK

Good - 2022 - 7/10

 
1933, Hitler is elected Reich Chancellor
Professor Halder is easing the concerns of his Jewish friend, Maurice.
The Nazis will never last, the capitalists will never see to it, citizens will turn.
Meanwhile, Halder deals with his mother, recently blind, helpless.
There is his idle wife, and an alluring young student.
A writer, critic, Halder’s works have caught the eye of Dr. Goebbels, and his boss.
His path soon becomes one of self preservation, self justification, persecution, complicity.
Concludes with Kristallnacht.
Powerful three person show, resonate in any era where citizens anoint a messiah to solve problems.

Illicit Desire - 1973 - Hong Kong

Illicit Desire - 1973 - 6/10
AKA - Feng Liu Yun Shi  //  風流韻事

Stories of greed and possessiveness.
Below, a spy for the emperor arrives at the monastery.
The ruler covets a legendary scroll, the monk pleads it does not exist.
Gamesmanship ensues, amidst false smiles and quiet boasts.

 
In the second story, the manor lord frequently sends his retainers on lengthy travels.
Invariably, he dispatches those with attractive wives or girlfriends
Most alluring are those with the smallest feet.
The lord has a fetish for tiny feet, along with bedroom ropes and marking tools.

 
The next story mixes crafty fortune tellers, cow rustling and laxatives (!!).
Last, and the most risqué, boasts topless beauties, hiding men, bathing, peeping.
Nonetheless, all seem meandering bores, albeit beautiful period dramas.

Abigail - 2024 - USA

Abigail - 2024 - 6/10

 
The heist goes off without a hitch; that’s kinda the last thing that goes right.
Cause the heist, well more of kidnapping actually, of a little girl worth …
$50 million in ransom, right?  Until the crew learn who the father is.
Crime flick capers about between ballet moves and bloody deaths.
Buckets of gore in black humor comedy.
Horror with pointe choreography.  Chose your weapons carefully.

Mirage - 1965 - USA

Mirage - 1965 - 6/10

 
The building suffers a blackout, and David is trying to make his way out.
Down the stairs, he meets a woman who seems to know him, then runs.
He loses her, loses his way, wanders to his New York apartment.
A thug tires to kill him, then another.
Before long, David realizes he doesn’t know who he is, or what he had been doing for two years.
Yes, the dread disease of Noir and Mystery – amnesia!
Fine thriller, well paced, laced with conspiracy.
Peck gives his usual stone faced performance, many of the sets seem flat and cheap looking.

The Nickel-Hopper - 1926 - USA

The Nickel-Hopper - 1926 - 6/10

 
Mabel tries to fend off a pushy masher (Boris Karloff).
She’s a 2 1/2 ¢ a dance hostess (not a dime a dance) in a feverish club.
Oliver Hardy plays a raucous Jazz drummer, and the club is a peek into the Roaring 20’s.
Awash with money, speculation, giddy with dreams, America on the cusp of Depression.
Charming film.  Mabel had one more year of movies in her tank, followed by the reckoning.
Plagued by scandals, misfortune, and ill health, she would die in 1930.

Drama Queen - 2024 - Portugal

Drama Queen - 2024 - 6/10

 
“Look at this mess.  It’s going to leave a stain.”
She meets the man of her dreams, puts a binding spell on him, only that does not work.
Never, ever, underestimate the persistence and ingenuity of a determined female (boy, do I know).
And if she is messed up, heaven help you.
Horror romance that soon goes so wrong, and so gory.

Five Easy Pieces - 1970 - USA

Five Easy Pieces - 1970 - 7/10

 
Oil rigger Bobby works the fields, rolls with buddy Elton, sashays with Rayette.
Elton gets arrested, Rayette is preggers, Bobby goes to visit his sister in Los Angeles.
Film grows into a contrast of class, which Americans don’t like to consider.
Bobby, once upon a time, was Robert, promising Classical pianist.
While he fled that upper class world, its pressures and anxieties, he cannot escape the baggage.
Baggage being his family, along with Rayette, a simple soul with whom he has nothing in common.
More of an arthouse hit, Nicholson searing as the wayward son, trapped between conformist worlds.
Karen Black likewise outstanding as Rayette, not white trash, merely an ignorant innocent.

Once A Thief - 1991 - Hong Kong

Once A Thief - 1991 - 6/10
AKA - Chung hang sei hoi  //  縱橫四海

 
Three high-end thieves are asked to steal a painting in France.
Security guards, state-of-the-art tech protect, along with a curse.
A John Woo film, there is action galore.
Nevertheless, this is a very playful film, tongue in cheek, as if Woo is parodying his own films.
Cast helmed by Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung.
Released during the Chinese New Year this was meant to be fun entertainment.
Lest you think Woo was going soft, this was followed by Hard Boiled.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth - 1959 - USA

Journey To The Center Of The Earth - 1959 - 7/10

 
University prof and his student assistant, discover a path to the Earth’s core via a volcano vent.
They hire a guide, Hans, along with his duck, and a tag-along, the widow of a previous explorer.  
Rival explorers in stealthy pursuit.
This is an ideal adventure film, perfectly cast, fantastic shots inside Carlsbad Caverns.
Science is spotty, yet one gets the sense of being along on a discovery.
There were several Jules Verne adaptations around this time, this is one of the finest.
This is also a timeless family film, safe for most children.

Day Of The Triffids - 1963 - UK

Day Of The Triffids - 1963 - 6/10

 
I dunno.  Most folks use weed killer or a whacker, but I suppose a flamethrower works.
A spectacular meteor shower leaves over 90% of humanity blind.
There were also spores, which grow into huge carnivorous plants.
That can move!  That fine dine on people!

 
A sliver of humankind were spared, undergoing eye surgery, caving, bored by astronomy.
Between masses of desperate folks and pesky sunflowers on steroids, they got their own problems.
The story zeroes in on the survivors, my preferred being the bristling, alcoholic lighthouse keeper.
I have always found the black and white version more sinister, eerier.

Body And Soul - 1947 - USA

Body And Soul - 1947 - 7/10

 
Yeah, sucker, the fix is in.
Troublesome youth turns his boxing prowess into a career.
The boxing world, however, proves as crooked as a dog’s hind leg.
John Garfield is a powerhouse as the ambitious, flawed fighter.
He is enmeshed with good souls and schemers.
True to life, villains dominate ringside and behind the scenes.
Must-see Noir, although over the years, I increasingly disbelieve the ending.