Cold Storage - 2026 - USA

Cold Storage - 2026 - 6/10

 
“So, like, I don’t think going in there is, like, a good idea.”
“C’mon, I thought you were a fun guy.”
Another male succumbs to a cooing girl, going into the lowest level of an abandoned military bunker.
Where an organism, locked away for 20 years, is now seeping out.
SciFi thriller with top billed Neeson and Manville, two attractive leads, and a handful of extras (meals).
Contagion trope, comic laced dialogue, aid what appears to be a limited budget.

Pervert Ward: White Uniform - 1988 - Japan

Pervert Ward: White Uniform - 1988 - 6/10
AKA - Love Letter In The Sand
AKA - Hentai Byôtô: Hakui Seme // 変 態 病 棟 白 衣 責 め

 
The man had been assaulted with a metal baseball bat.
Later wakes in a small hospital; only he has amnesia.
While the nurse shows interest, she’s into exhibitionism.
The doctor injects drugs to both, experimenting with transgenderism.
Out on the streets, the baseball bat assailant continues.
At barely an hour, this packs in a lot, along with copious, wetted nudity.
BluRay features insightful commentary by Samm Deighan.
The urban landscape sterility strips humanity into lonely shadows, pretty fair assessment.

La Llorona - 1933 - Mexico

La Llorona - 1933 - 5/10
AKA - The Weeping Woman

 
“No, no,” says the senior doctor to his students, “this man was not slain by a ghost.”
Then he is warned by his father-in-law about the curse that has plagued the family for generations.
Flashbacks show two betrayed women, while a hooded assassin prowls underneath in the present day.
Pacing is slow, half of the acting is melodramatic, hammy.
Flamboyant costumes, brooding Gothic sets.
An opening children's birthday party devours time I wish had been given to the Aztec flashback.
Hailed as the earliest Mexican Horror sound film.  Sure, whatever.
For a better – and earlier – experience, track down Drácula (1931).
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369082

Cross Roads - 1955 - UK

Cross Roads - 1955 - 6/10

 
“No man’s worth trying to kill yourself for.”
Betty picks up a hitchhiker who seems to know quite a bit about her.
Just as she senses mutual chemistry, he says goodbye.
An impresario awaits.
Supernatural thriller features an ominous turn by Christopher Lee.

Man On The Run - 2025 - UK

Man On The Run - 2025 - 6/10

 
Docu-mercial from Paul giving his slant on his later group, “and Wings”.
Voiceovers and archived interviews, carefully curated.
Idyllic scenes from his rustic retreat, studio time, tours both small and mammoth.
By the end, perhaps he tired of the whole being in a band thing.
Crafted by his own production company, released in conjunction with a Wings box set.
Wings was massively popular during their run, and McCartney still has legions of fans.
Disappointed?  View McCartney 3, 2, 1.

She Played With Fire - 1957 - UK

She Played With Fire - 1957 - 6/10  
AKA - Fortune Is A Woman

 
Fortunately, the family caught the fire in time.
Only a section of the hall and an expensive painting were burned.
For insurance adjuster, Oliver, a routine accident.
Save for running into an old flame, Sarah, now wed to the rich owner.
Oliver is soon torn between temptation and his instinct for fraud.
Good Brit-Noir bolstered with Gothic lighting and eerie dream sequences.
Well-plotted, rarely steering into assumed directions.

The Island - 2025 - UK

The Island - 2025 - 6/10
AKA - An t-Eilean

 
An intruder has shot the lord of the island and his wife, the latter fatally.
Police investigate with limited success, then dispatch an ex-local.
Who, more than anything, just digs up dirt on the wealthy family she holds a grudge against.
Breathtaking scenery, a twist-filled script, fine acting all around …
Except – for the lead who goes beyond “family support” to “finding the truth”.
Moreover, the role was painfully miscast.
The performer looks like a high school junior, with acting chops of a grade schooler.
The role was too early for her and her inexperience mars a good series.

Dr. Turner’s Mental Hospital - 1929 - UK

Dr. Turner’s Mental Hospital - 1929 - 5/10

 
I am unsure why the young girl (Dora Carrington) is dropped off at this asylum.
Dr. Turner is indifferent, allowing the inmates to do whatever they please with her.
The print I saw in terrible condition, the short itself pure home movie.
BUT – this is a chance to watch the late-era Bloomsbury Group cavorting around.

Bright Star - 2009 - UK

Bright Star - 2009 - 6/10

 
Romance between poet John Keats and neighbor Fanny Brawne.
In spite of mutual attraction, the match is not assured.  Money, or lack of same.
Keats is an impoverished poet, and this is very much the Austen era, where wealth and status matter.
Then there is Keats’ friend, Charles Brown, who strongly disapproves of her.
Story, romance, dialogue, everything is understated, perhaps too much.
Fans of period dramas, this one should appeal.

Wicked As They Come - 1956 - UK

Wicked As They Come - 1956 - 6/10

 
“Girls like me don't usually get proposals, just propositions.”
Working-class Kathy cons a pair of men to win a beauty contest.
Prize: Trip to England and $1000.
Once there, she sets her sights high, then higher.
Targeting fat bank account holders.
In an earlier era, this would be Baby Face or Red-Headed Woman.
Here, despite a smoldering Arlene Dahl, this a groping melodrama.
Similar to Douglas Sirk fare.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369080