The Fix - 2024 - South Africa

The Fix - 2024 - 5/10

 
Don’t take drugs if you don’t know what they are!
Well, if you’re young, you don’t care.  If old, you trust Big Pharma.
Near future, global air quality has deteriorated to toxic levels.
Breathing drugs are insufficient, and seem reserved for quality citizens.
TV model Ella accidentally quaffs a vial of an experimental test.
Her body begins to mutate, and all manner of characters begin pursuing her.
Overlook budget limitations, and a script that needs tightening.
A good dystopian SciFi buried by poor direction, mediocre cinematography.

The Mystic - 1925 - USA

The Mystic - 1925 - 6/10

Why hoodwink Hungarian villagers for loose change, when you can go to the States and fleece rich Americans?
Madame Zara and her Gypsy act arrive in New York and start the big swindle.

 
Aside from the swells at the private séance, there is a young heiress.
As well as her older guardian, quietly embezzling to play the stock market.
A Tod Browning film, this lacks the callous bite his output is usually steeped in.
Acting is fine, although one can envision Lon Chaney and Lionel Barrymore in key roles.

A Good Year - 2020 - Belgium

A Good Year - 2020 - 5/10
AKA - Een Goed Jaar

 
Erik receives an inheritance from an aunt.  Large manor with weedy grounds.
It is in deplorable condition, estate taxes are horrendous, and Erik is recently fired for malfeasance.
He hires a ride from low-level con-man, Lenny.
And after they discover a hidden, and small, cache of old wine they hook up with restorer, Judith.
Yes, such contrived plotting leaves much to be desired.
The trio are soon offering bottles to high-end collectors, saying the vino is from Hitler’s stash.
The first victim?  A mob boss (Russian, Eastern Europe).  Things soon get complicated.
I was hoping this would resemble [U]Faking Hitler[/U], but it does not.
As a comedy, I never smiled once.  Midway, I starte

The Critic - 2024 - UK

The Critic - 2024 - 7/10

 
Theatre critic Erskine and popular actor Nina Land, whom he skews mercilessly.
He is convinced she possesses “talent” yet fails to deliver, because she tries too hard.
Meantime, a change of leadership at the paper, means all jobs are uncertain.
Erskine is asked to tone down the malicious venom in his reviews.
“But that’s what readers want.”
Rather, he takes a more subtle course to deal with the new publisher.
Trenchant, manipulative thriller steeped in poison, set amidst the theatre boards.
A must for theatre fans, but a torturous ride.

The Bigamist - 1953 - USA

The Bigamist - 1953 - 6/10

 
Once Eve and Harry start the adoption process, the secret starts to emerge.
After all, there are deep background checks.
Salesman Harry, dividing his time between San Francisco and Los Angeles, has things to hide.
Hey, reference the title!
Narrative shows how Harry came to have two better halves.
Marked as Noir, this is not.  This has enough soap for a bubble bath.
Still, a good Ida Lupino film and, I think, the last feature she directed.

Bram Stoker Agus Dracula - 2011 - Ireland

Bram Stoker Agus Dracula - 2011 - 6/10

 
Documentary focusing on Stoker’s Irish upbringing, influences, peers.
While Henry Irving is discussed, this is more Érie-centric.
The Wilde’s are given prominence, including the fact that Stoker “took” Oscar’s first love.
Stoker, embraced by neither Ireland nor England, considered himself an in-betweener or liminal writer.
The different point of view is especially compelling.
Likewise, Transylvania as substitute for Ireland.  Folktales include Abhartach and graveyard ghosts.
Most of this is in Irish, make sure there are subtitles.
Stoker fans, an essential watch.

Dracula’s Bram Stoker - 2003 - Ireland

Dracula’s Bram Stoker - 2003 - 6/10

 
Nice overview of the theatre manager and writer of influential horror.
Childhood, college where he excelled,  Friends with the Wilde’s.
London, working as Irving’s manager, meeting the cream of society and the intelligentsia.
In between, writing stories, essays, articles, and working on “The Un-dead” which would be renamed.
Numerous talking heads include Neil Jordan, Christopher Lee, Paul Murray, Leonard Wolf …
The Irving period is well represented, as is his marriage, and latent inclinations.
His slapdash writing of Dracula, jotting whenever he had a moment, resulted in the unique structure.