The Resurrected - 1991 - Canada

The Resurrected - 1991 - 6/10

The client glides into the office.
Blonde, wearing a gold satin outfit, lips red enough to halt a cavalry charge.
Only there’s a wedding ring.  Her husband is missing.
Happened after he unearthed a portrait of a bygone ancestor.
With whom he bears an uncanny resemblance.  Oh yeah, the husband’s name is Charles Dexter Ward.

 
Get the flaws out of the way first.
For the first hour, the directing and photography is atrocious.
Closeups galore, amateurish reaction shots, and a Deckard style narration.
A cross between cheap TV and tacky.
The flashback sequence of 1771 goes straight into classic HPL.
Exploration of the subterranean catacombs is eerie and spooky.
And the finale is a real doozy.

Maria Marten, Or The Murder In The Red Barn - 1935 - UK

Maria Marten, Or The Murder In The Red Barn - 1935 - 6/10

 
Beware, lovely minx, what the squire proposes is actually “a moment of pleasure, a lifetime of regret”.
Succumbing to urges, Maria finds herself in “trouble” a few months later.
As for the squire, played by the incomparable Tod Slaughter – well – he’s no Mr. Darcy.
“Ah, fair maiden, let us visit the abandoned red barn before we elope.”
Lively Melodrama bolstered with full blooded performances in theatrical rendition.
Viewing experience is between music hall and regional theatre, yet tremendous fun.
Loosely based on the real Red Barn Murder, which I first heard about on Shedunnit.

Out Of Time: The Material Issue Story - 2021 - USA

Out Of Time: The Material Issue Story - 2021 - 6/10

 
Documentary of the fondly remembered, yet ill-fated Chicago group
Focus on singer, songwriter, frontman Jim Ellison throughout.
That is a bit light, however, as afterward, Ellison remains an enigma.
Chronology weaves with hit songs, along with studio labors.
Although the heads reflect on missed greatness, power pop has always struggled.
As do most groups in general.  There is “the moment”, brief and brilliant, then the fade.
Their debut album “International Pop Overthrow” was very popular and it was on heavy rotation in our record store.
The second fared less well, the third not at all.
Most groups break up at this point, a few slog on, Ellison chose a darker route.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3358863

The Pledge - 1981 - UK

The Pledge - 1981 - 6/10

 
The fate of the highwayman.  Rob, ride hard, live well, for the gallows await.
Flashbacks and voiceovers recall crimes and revels.
Memories recalled from the final prison cell, or the gibbet.
Later, confederates recall their pledge to honor the corpse.
Moody, brutal short of the glamorous life.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3358862

Yokai Monsters 100 Monsters - 1968 - Japan

Yokai Monsters 100 Monsters - 1968 - 6/10  
AKA - Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari // 妖怪百物語

 
Yes, the woods are dangerous, dark and deep, with forces lurking everywhere.
Yet, the perfidious and treacherous souls of men are much worse.
The wealthy landowner (property developer) plans to tear down the shrine and houses for a  brothel.
In cahoots, the crooked, corrupt local magistrate.  Well, profits outweigh public needs.
An evening of sake and ghost stories culminates with a purification –
Which the men of power forego, scoffing at superstition.
There are about five narratives in this, but everything stitches well and moves briskly.
Monsters are old school puppets, costumes, acrobatics, pasteboard. 

Crá - 2024 - Ireland

Crá - 2024 - 7/10

 
Mom had vanished a decade earlier.
Some thought foul play, others that she fled.
The husband was a monster and the business plunging into bankruptcy.
Until, rising from the bog, the corpse rises, showing signs of murder.
Theories increase as quickly as suspects.
Slow boil Irish thriller, set in bleak, lonely boglands.
Unsavory souls, hustlers and buried histories.
Forced village camaraderie masks bleak existence.

Walking Back - 1928 - USA

Walking Back - 1928 - 6/10

 
Whew, the unbridled energy of flaming youth, Jazz Age.
Drinking, dancing, gambling, prizefights, horse racing, reckless exuberance.
Desperate for a date with sizzling Patsy, Smoke Thatcher “borrows” a neighbor’s car.
Telling himself, “borrowing isn’t stealing.”
Thing is, Smoke is a middle class wannabee, limited budget, no connections.
The pace is furious, dialogue laced with 20’s slang, and then the gangsters.
Cecil B. DeMille’s salacious touches spray throughout.

Rio Bravo - 1959 - USA

Rio Bravo - 1959 - 7/10  

 
The brother of a land baron rancher, accidentally kills a man in the saloon.
Incarcerated in the town jail, waiting for the territorial marshal to conduct him to the courthouse.
Meantime, the powerful brother tries to cut a deal, then musters gunfighters.
What is essentially a Western standoff mixes tension with bullets.
Doesn’t hurt that the cast features John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan.
Also young Ricky Nelson, who never caught the film breaks.
Excellent old-fashioned Western, although the genre would be rewritten within a decade.

Animal Farm - 1954 - UK

Animal Farm - 1954 - 7/10

 
After a barnyard revolution, a hierarchy of equals is established.
Except … some animals are more equal than others.
Leaders and drones.  The workers.
True believers are swiftly displaced by domineering power grabbers.
Highly effective and harrowing adaptation of Orwell’s cautionary novel.
Whatever ‘ism you join, belong to, or fall under, 99% of us are destined to be pawns.

Murder In Rouen - 2014 - France

Murder In Rouen - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à l'Abbaye de Rouen

 
The body tumbled from one of the tall spires.
Suicide, accident, or homicide?
Previously disgraced Inspector Mège arrives; who is as ill-tempered as they come.
Dislikes journalists, treats colleagues like staff.
This one is all urban, all the time, with dizzying aerial shots inside and outside the abbey.
Mystery is well designed, although as corpses mount you’ll will zero in on the guilty.

We All Lie - 2024 - China

We All Lie - 2024 - 6/10
AKA - Hun Yin Gong Lue // 婚姻攻略

 
Top drama writer Su Li and actor husband Shuheng have a picture perfect marriage.
Except he is romping the sheets with Yingying, an earthier, more carnal oriented female.
Of course, the wronged wife finds out and quickly plots revenge, financial and career wise.
Whereupon the adulterous pair work to get even.
C-drama of deception, vengeance, and scheming bounces along for awhile.
Until the narrative loses momentum and a mushy sidetrack enters.
Then, all downhill into soap opera weeping and flowers.
I suspect the Chinese morality police took the punch bowl away.

Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp - 1970 - USA

Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp - 1970 - 5/10

 
So, late at night, past 2:00 AM, you’re so hammered you cannot fall asleep or pass out.
Switch on late night TV, endless river of mindless dreck.
You jump channels until you reach a nightclub where a chimpanzee band is performing.
Until you realize this hopping joint is a meeting place for spies.
Good agents APE versus baddies CHUMP.
Beyond weird, Lance Link could only have emerged at the tail end of the 60’s.
My brain eventually seized, as I wondered: they play instruments, drive cars, ride motorcycles.
Someone trained them?  Why aren’t they in politics?

The Seventh Curse - 1986 - Hong Kong

The Seventh Curse - 1986 - 6/10
AKA - Yuen Chun Hap yu Wai See Lee // 原振侠与卫斯理

 
The maiden is about to be sacrificed.
In steps the hero, Yuan, who rescues her, and is cursed for meddling.
Blood curse, seven stages, and with the seventh he will die.
What to do?  Consult good friend Wisely (Chow Yun Fat) who recommends returning to Thailand.
Over-the-top, bonkers adventure flick that merely flirts with coherence.
Action, sex, blood vessels bursting during sex, shootouts, monsters, skeletons, rocket launcher, fighting monks.
Great Hong Kong adventure.  Not Top 50, but a lot of fun.

The Truth About Cats And Dogs - 1996 - USA

The Truth About Cats And Dogs - 1996 - 6/10

 
Veterinarian and radio chat show advisor Abby lads a blind date with a hot stud.
Only thing, he’s interested in her via her voice, not the short frump package.
Hey!  How about my gorgeous model neighbor impersonating me?
So, our guy soon loves beauty and the brain, and he cannot put two and two together.
Because he has the perception of a blind gerbil without a cane.
Forced complications in far-fetched RomCom.
Wisecracking, sharp Garofalo is best thing here.  Other leads miscast.