The Stone Tape - 2015 - UK

The Stone Tape - 2015 - 7/10

 
In a recent issue of Hellebore, there was an essay on The Stone Tape, a BBC film from 1972.
I more appreciated the film, rather than liking it.
The article discussed the film, then the radio adaptation from 2015 from Peter Strickland.
Intrigued, I tracked down the binaural version, donned the headphones and was immersed.
The story remains muzzy for me, but the sound mix is superb, putting you fully into the terrors.
Audio is online at the usual sites.  Be sure to check to see if it lists binaural.
Strickland discusses this at length at sadly bygone Electric Sheep Magazine.

The Love Butcher - 1975 - USA

The Love Butcher - 1975 - 5/10

So much for the neighborhood.  Another pretty girl murdered.
Police are stymied, as the killer keeps using different weapons.
All of ‘em some sort of garden tools.
Too bad no one suspects Caleb, near-sighted, crippled gardener / handyman.
Nor do they realize Caleb has a second personality, Lester, love stud.

 
El cheapo Slasher unreels like a parody of the genre.
Loads of attractive females, blood that resembles nail polish, and dialogue of innuendo and nonsense.
The violence and gore factor is low, yet Eric Stern is so over-the-top making this bearable.

Little Red Monkey - 1955 - UK

Little Red Monkey - 1955 - 6/10  
AKA - Case Of The Red Monkey

 
Several scientists have already been assassinated.
Professor Duskenko barely made it past the Berlin checkpoint.
In London, he is a target and attempts have been made.
Scotland Yard is on alert, as is MI5, and there is an agent from the US State Department.
Then, there is that monkey, that witnesses reported before each murder.
Decent espionage thriller, plays like a “how-to” for both sides.

The Greeks Had A Word For Them - 1932 - USA

The Greeks Had A Word For Them - 1932 - 5/10
AKA - Three Broadway Girls

 
Jean returns from Paris, penniless, failing once again to snag a sugar daddy.
With roommates Polaire and Schatzi, she is soon back to her old ways.
In effect, she tries to appropriate Schatzi’s Pop, then Polaire’s mentor, then fiancé.
Saucy Pre-Code film is more suggestive than anything.
Ina Claire dominates; she is a pale Mae West copy, lacking West’s charisma and delivery.
Joan Blondell may be top-billed, but she is given little to do.
Direction is lazy throughout, static and stage bound.

Berthe Morisot - 2012 - France

Berthe Morisot - 2012 - 6/10

 
Biopic of the French Impressionist painter.
Family life, especially with sister Edma, friendship with Manet, inclusion with the Impressionists.
Narrative drops one in cold, and I had trouble differentiating the sisters at first.
Afterward, I researched Morisot and gathered the broad strokes are fairly accurate.
Her being included among the first Impressionist Exhibition is barely touched, yet was a staggering honor.

Mahjong - 1996 - Taiwan

Mahjong - 1996 - 7/10
AKA - Ma Jiang  // 麻将

 
His string of kindergarten schools made money hand over fist.
And yet, he was indebted to criminals.  Who decide to kidnap his errant son.
The son leads a crime crew, two con men, a third who gigolos rich women.
A young Parisian arrives, looking for a wayward love, and the crew decide to turn her into a prostitute.
Complicated, confusing plot, at the core greed, avarice, obsession with profit.
Taipei is a pitiless background in often funny, often sad film.

The Moor - 2023 - UK

The Moor - 2023 - 6/10

 
The boy had been missing 25 years.  As were the other children.
Abducted, killed, hidden in the bleak wilderness.
It was a forsaken place, unwholesome, evil.
Nevertheless, Bill refuses to abandon his missing son.
His obsession knows no bounds, nor does he worry about endangering the living.
Bleak, oppressive film, hints at supernatural, stresses the remoteness, the otherness of the moor.
Steeped in atmosphere throughout, the ending stumbles poorly.

Shoot First, Die Later - 1974 - Italy

Shoot First, Die Later - 1974 - 6/10
AKA - Il Poliziotto è Marcio

 
Yes, they are celebrated heroes.  Stopped a heist, chased down the wheelman.
They are also on the take.
Domenico has an expensive girlfriend, Garrito likes fast cars.  Porsches.
When their crime lords want a case closed, a file retrieved, Domenico drags his feet.
The wheels of villainy are impatient, however, their methods cruel and obvious.
Italian Poliziotteschi opens in a fury, simmers down as the later conflict builds.
This one is fairly sadistic.  Caveat emptor.

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story - 2025 - UK

A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story - 2025 - 6/10

 
The outcome is foregone.  Straight off, we see Ruth pull out the gun and shoot the man down.
Narrative swings from backstory to courtroom preliminaries.
Still, the gun.  Witnesses.  Four shots.
Sure, she had her reasons, powerful ones.
Long have I remarked that it’s a miracle women haven’t murdered us all.
Compelling period drama, although those touches fade with incarceration.

Murder In Grasse - 2016 - France

Murder In Grasse - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à Grasse

 
Boiled first, then shoved into a watery vat of scented flowers.
Fitting demise for a perfumer, one with a gifted nose.
This echoes a suicide from earlier, and a secret cabal is glimpsed.
Akin to the Grail or the Covenant, is the Odor Of God.
Sought out, likewise defended.
The bones of a deeper mystery lie here, yet this is burdened by familial resentments.
You could do worse.  Oh, for what might have been.

The Man They Could Not Hang - 1939 - USA

The Man They Could Not Hang - 1939 - 6/10

 
Long before the efforts of Dr. Christiaan Barnard, Doctors Saavard and Lang develop a mechanical heart.
During the first test on a human volunteer, however, they are interrupted by meddlers and authorities.
The subject dies, Saavard is found guilty of murder, and swings.
Lang has the equipment and know-how, and quietly revives his partner.
Interesting SciFi (reminiscent of Universal films) soon goes into offscreen revenge.
Story bogs down, but Karloff smoothly underplays his role and the sets and photography are top notch.