What The Hell Happened To Blood Sweat Tears? - 2023 - USA

What The Hell Happened To Blood Sweat Tears? - 2023 - 7/10
 

It didn’t matter where they performed or why.  The critics piled on the hate.
Documentary on the well-intentioned, yet naïve concert tour of Eastern Europe.
Exposure to authoritarian regimes, followed by blowback from counterculture elites.
BST had been riding high beforehand, their second release Grammy Album Of The Year.
The premise is that the tour, brought on by pressure by the US State Dept., damaged their credibility.
I don’t necessarily buy that.  Critics lambasted Zeppelin, Mahler, Grand Funk, Bruckner, Rush, Chet …  
BST faded because the hits dried up.  Trends run their course.
Counterculture ended with the 70’s, while critics / influencers continue to survive and fester.
Nonetheless, this is a highly absorbing film – primarily for fans who recall this version of the group.
And the footage that survives, my God, the band was incandescent for those audiences.

 
 

Lucy Worsley Investigates - 2022 - UK

Lucy Worsley Investigates - 2022 - 7/10  

 
In this series, mysteries or myths.
The princes in Richard III’s Tower, Witch persecution, King George’s madness, the Black Death of 1349.
These are fairly in-depth, researching archives, interviewing historians, visiting locations.
Unlike lazy “presenters” Worsley does not pad episodes with pointless drive time or aimless walking.
She has a sly sense of humor, knows her subjects, seldom utters a self-serving opinion.
The persecution of witches (ie: midwives, wise women) arguably the most distressing episode.
Black Death most enlightening, as most confuse with the 1665 London Plague.

Nectar - 2014 - France

Nectar - 2014 - 6/10

 
Attendants stimulate the queen, who exudes honey, or nectar.
Which is collected, stored, eventually making its way to the outside humankind hive.
Health of depends on the queen, otherwise the community perishes.
Arthouse allegory with an evocative sound field (should be boosted substantially).
Mirroring the cityscape with the honeycomb subtly done.

Fake - 2024 - Australia

Fake - 2024 - 7/10

 
Better late than never for Birdie, disappointed in love and a nest of insecurities.
Enter Joe Burt into her life.  Handsome, filthy rich, bubbling with enthusiasm and bold vision.
Thing is … he’s not exactly dependable.
He forgets dates, cancels meetings, although there are always reasonable excuses.
Every time Birdie doubts, questions him, it backfires and her guilt intensifies.
I mean, he’s such a great guy!  A real catch.  Despite what her intuition says.

Traveling Saleslady - 1935 - USA

Traveling Saleslady - 1935 - 6/10

 
The stolid toothpaste brand faces an upstart.
Cocktail, and yes, those are the flavors the rival offers.
Unbeknownst to the big brand boss, the salesperson spearheading the opposition is his own daughter.
Yes, a mere female.  The sex that knows nothing about business.
Brisk RomCom is simply a vehicle for Joan Blondell, queen of the bygone Pre-Code.
No one else matches her charisma in this.
Oh, would that this had been filmed a year or so earlier, before the Code.

Eugenie de Sade - 1973 - Liechtenstein

Eugenie de Sade - 1973 - 6/10

 
Eugénie’s stepfather, Albert, writer of erotica, initiates her into a world of seduction, torture, murder.
She proves a willing, even eager accomplice.
At first, they are careful, covering their tracks, creating alibis.
Gradually, more experienced, confident, they grow careless.
Jess Franco’s film of sexual gamesmanship, based on de Sade, is well composed and structured.
Plus, he is blessed with Soledad Miranda, whose presence is palpable throughout.
The stars were aligned for her at this point (1970), and a bright film future loomed.

Love Birds - 2011 - New Zealand

Love Birds - 2011 - 6/10

 
Innocuous RomCom triangle.
A native Kiwi, recently dumped by his aspirational girlfriend.
An English Rose transplant, wary of messy entanglements.
And a duck.
If a joke, this would start “A Kiwi, a Rose and duck entered the bar …”
Not on par with classic RomComs of the 80’s and 90’s, but still an OK date flick.
Note: our male protagonist has a serious Queen fixation.  Prepare for Freddie.

For Those In Peril - 2013 - UK

For Those In Peril - 2013 - 6/10

 
Aaron, lone survivor of a fishing disaster, suffers ever more.
The community refuses to accept him, he hears his brother, old fables haunt him.
Fisherman superstition means he will never be permitted onboard again.
He cannot recall the incident, which many refuse to believe.
Listed as folk-horror, this is a pure descent down survivor’s guilt.
Slow, with pregnant pauses, unexplained meanderings.

Ludwig - 2025 - UK

Ludwig - 2025 - 6/10

 
After his police inspector brother vanishes, John takes his place.
Inside the department, outside in the field.
Solving seemingly impossible cases.
Which is what he did beforehand, as John is Ludwig, premier puzzle maker.
Weekly stand-alone mysteries are good, all “locked-room”.
Overlook the implausibility that none of the colleagues noticed their boss was now “different”.
The overall arc?  I doubt producers will sort that.

Blueprint For Robbery - 1961 - USA

Blueprint For Robbery - 1961 - 6/10

 
Fine caper flick, based on the Brink’s Robbery.
Financial backers contact one to assemble and lead a crew.
Observe the premises, plan meticulously, rehearse, do the job.
An inverted police procedural, where we watch the bad guys execute the heist.
Then they have to wait three and a half years.
Which proves so hard.

La Belle Cérébrale - 1968 - France

La Belle Cérébrale - 1968 - 6/10
AKA - The Beautiful Intellectual

 
Martine, model for a painter is on her break.
While he babbles on the phone, she listens, eats a pear, lets her mind wander.
Nice juxtaposition of the banal conversation with her vivid imagination.
I used TurboScribe to capture the phone talk, then tidied up.
Not ideal, but serviceable.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3364066