The Mysterious Lady - 1928 - USA

The Mysterious Lady - 1928 - 6/10

 
Her mission: steal some plans off the Austrian officer.
Romance and lies.  If necessary, seduction.
Garbo excels as the femme fatale, ala Mata Hari.
Conrad Nagel fine as the dashing, smitten officer.
Being an espionage thriller, the pace is low key, despite the stakes.
Evocative lighting by candles, cigarette smoke.
For those who never understood the “fuss” about Garbo, she is lovely in this.

Garuda - 2008 - Thailand

Garuda - 2008 - 4/10
AKA - Paksa Wayu

 
Digging a new tunnel, workers hit a rock that cannot be drilled, or blasted.
In due course, they and two Western scientists awaken the petrified bones of a garuda.
According to Thai mythology, the creature is part man, part bird.  All evil, and all angry.
An elite military squad is dispatched, but the action is minimal and shows budget constraints.
The creature is intriguing, as it seems to possess a sense of humor.
The directing is bad and the acting worse.
Bought this years ago from ThaiNetCity, who sold Asian DVDs for $5, fair when chancing unknown titles.

He Walked By Night - 1948 - USA

He Walked By Night - 1948 - 7/10

 
A beat cop accidentally interrupts a burglar and is killed for his interference.
Police manhunt of the cop killer is no mere procedural.
For one thing, the killer / thief is smart.  Really smart.
He has devised a homemade radio set to eavesdrop on the police radio channel.
His patterns of crime, he changes those to muddy the trail.
Moody photography, eerie use of the Los Angeles sewer system.
Richard Basehart starred in several Noirs, this one of his best.
Audio commentary by film historians worth listening to, as well.

Night Shift - 2021 - USA

Night Shift - 2021 - 6/10

 
Rent-a–cop security guard prowls empty corridors and rooms.
Bored, he sets up and runs an old slide projector, viewing whatever images are loaded in the drum.
The screen grows progressively more disturbing.
Near-wordless short makes great use of lighting, editing and angles to sustain creeping terror.
In an ideal world, young director Jerrod Moore would get a crack at a B-film.

What Pauline Is Not Telling You - 2022 - France

What Pauline Is Not Telling You - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Ce que Pauline ne Vous Dit Pas

 
After yet another telephone argument with her estranged husband, Pauline decides to visit in person.
There, at her old home, she finds him on the ground, dead.
Rattled, she drives home, and only then does she summon an ambulance.
Pauline is an unreliable narrator, with strong motives to kill her husband.
Police are highly suspicious, as is the investigating judge.
Online, every yahoo spews their hateful opinion.
Human beings what we are, people up and down the social scale lie and lie and lie.
And believe and embrace our own fabrications.

Lake Placid - 1999 - USA

Lake Placid - 1999 - 6/10

 
I forgot I owned this one!  I forgot Brigit Fonda was in it, as was Bill Pullman.
Now, Betty White, she I remembered with clarity.
A mangled body surfaces in the Maine lake.  The local ranger calls an animal expert to determine the predator.
In time, the sheriff gets involved, as does a creepy professor.
Despite the cast (I kid you not) this is, at heart, a B-film creature feature.
Only thing is, the writing in this is funny as hell.
A smart parody of an over-milked genre.  Chomp, chomp.

The Flapper - 1920 - USA

The Flapper - 1920 - 6/10

 
Girl disobedient, Ginger, is shipped to a strict boarding school.
Where, she periodically escapes, chases young men, goes clubbing.
The glamorous life.
At a cost, however, which become the seeds of moral lessons.
Olive Thomas (who died young and under mysterious circumstances) shines in this.
The hijinks are playful, and she knows how to embody a teenager.
As a “flapper” she is an innocent version, not the sort who loses her stockings.
In a word, no steam, no oomph.

T-Men - 1947 - USA

T-Men - 1947 - 6/10

 
T, as in Treasury.  Agents mostly concerned with counterfeiters.
Two T-men go undercover to join a Detroit gang.
On the run, their own gang now extinct, they are studied and gauged by the new outfit.
Interesting mix of styles: Noir, police procedural, docu-drama.
Influential cinematography by Alton, Noir icons Dennis O’Keefe and Charles McGraw.
Listening to the commentary, the financial backers were mobster John Roselli and Production Code chief censor, Joe Breen.  Quite the odd couple.

Louise Brooks: Looking For Lulu - 1998 - USA

Louise Brooks: Looking For Lulu - 1998 - 7/10

 
Subsequent documentary that incorporates and supersedes the Arena episode.
Five parts devoted to dance, Hollywood, Berlin, the lost years, the resurrection and iconic fame.
Interviewees include Brooksie, biographer Barry Paris, costars, friends, neighbors.
Film clips from Silents to her final role with John Wayne, Weimar newsreels, plenty of photos.
Concludes with a poignant, haunting quote that will linger inside you for days.
“… I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying.' I tried with all my heart.”

The Brides Of Dracula - 1960 - UK

The Brides Of Dracula - 1960 - 6/10

 
Well, the young man was so handsome!  And his mama kept him in those dreadful chains.  So, of course, I helped free him.
So muses the pretty new schoolteacher, after she frees the Transylvanian vampire.
Named Count Meinster, by the way, no Vlad in this one.
However – one Van Helsing just happens to be in the neighborhood.
Hammer outing boasts Cushing, a good-looking David Peel, attractive females, Gothic sets.
Not completely predictable, this remains enjoyable in spite of a well-traveled narrative.

Dry Water - 2019 - Portugal

Dry Water - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Auga Seca

 
Son Fran is an idealist, developing a process for dry water to help drought stricken regions.
Too bad his family is more profit oriented.
Their business is international export, and when a bloody death occurs at the pier, police visit.
And the detectives keep at it, since stories and evidence does not add up.
Two short seasons of corruption and investigation.
To tell the truth, I was happy with one, deciding it was more accurate to reality.

Diary Of A Nobody - 2007 - UK

Diary Of A Nobody - 2007 - 7/10

 
Mr. Pooter holds himself, and his lot, with higher regard than his actual station.
Fortunately, he keeps a diary and jots down his thoughts on the day, anxieties, regards of others, despairs.
Engaging from the start, this is essentially a one-man play.
Hugh Bonneville embodies the soul of the man, fleshes him out, makes him one we might like to meet.
Light-hearted comedy, in the amusing vein, for fans of Victorians, Edwardians.

Heads For Sale - 1970 - Hong Kong

Heads For Sale - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Nü Xia Mai Ren Tou // 女俠賣人頭

 
After Pi-Lien marriage proposal is rejected, she enters the young lord’s villa, swords at hand.
Things simmer down once he tries to make amends.
Just as well, since thugs and bullies are multiplying, with heroes short in supply.
Shaw Brothers film has numerous fights, even more characters – I could not keep track.
As ever, the choreography is something to marvel at.
The title is a misnomer, since this is an actioner, though it would be perfect for a retail horror shop.
Mid-tier from the studio, yet it will keep you awake after 2:00 AM.

Santa Fe Trail - 1940 - USA

Santa Fe Trail - 1940 - 6/10

 
New West Point graduates, and best friends, Jeb Stuart and George Custer, are assigned the Kansas Territory.
Not yet a state, Kansas, then known as Bleeding Kansas, is where John Brown sets fire to hearts and homes.
Rousing action film is peppered with more historical names: Jefferson Davis, Robert E Lee, James Longstreet, Phil Sheridan …
Inaccuracies abound.  Characters actually graduated in different class years, nor were most friends.
Don’t get me going about the use of revolvers during the musket era.
Those not into history should enjoy; there is plenty of firepower.
Raymond Massey dominates as the fiery abolitionist, John Brown.