Steve - 2025 - UK

Steve - 2025 - 7/10

 
There’s more to this life than you see, than you can imagine.
Eventually, things always have a way of turning.
Steve is headmaster for a school for those who used to be deemed Young Offenders.
Troubled lads, late teens.  Too much anger and testosterone.
The government wants to close these schools, so BBC sends out a crew.
Do the boys play nice?  Feign politeness for the camera?
From the getgo, everyone is in your face and frothing.
Know your tolerance.

Mona Best And The Beatles - 2026 - UK

Mona Best And The Beatles - 2026 - 6/10

 
Pete was attending college, until his mother bought a building and installed a music club in the basement.
The Casbah Club.
Pete then decided he wanted to be a musician.  And began drumming.  
Eventually joining an up and coming trio who had trouble retaining drummers: John, Paul and George.
The Beatles are the backbeat of this docudrama, yet the focus is on Pete, mother Mona, and driver, manager Neil Aspinal and his swirling relationship with all concerned.
Sound mix varies.  Otherwise, this may intrigue fans of the Fab Four.

A White Dress for Marialé - 1972 - Italy

A White Dress for Marialé - 1972 - 6/10
AKA - Un Bianco Vestito per Marialé

 
Friends are invited to Marialé and Paolo’s castle.  Yes, castle.
They have not seen them for a few years and are unaware of her condition.
A sumptuous dinner table is laid out and all don costumes - save for Marialé.
Everyone soon seems drugged - save for Marialé - and individuals devolve to their baser instincts.
Then the murders begin.
Opulent style over substance.  In essence, gorgeous to view, yet the plot is tissue thin and barely coherent.
Characters are mere sketches, reasons for deaths vague.
Perverse film, excruciatingly slow, not for all tastes.

The Cat Creature - 1973 - USA

The Cat Creature - 1973 - 6/10

 
During a rather odd insurance appraisal, middle of the night, no power, an adjuster is murdered.
A few precious items are stolen, leading the police to believe burglary gone bad.
Only the killings continue, and central to each is a missing Egyptian amulet.
Attributed to Bast, the cat god.
So-so TV movie.  Hokey script (Robert Bloch).  Old school cast (Sondergaard, Carradine, Kent Smith) mesh with new.  Lesbian angle muted, replaced with short-stature prostitute.
For cat lovers, likewise cat haters.  Best advice, avoid trailers and ad-slicks.

Giant Spider Invasion - 1975 - USA

Giant Spider Invasion - 1975 - 4/10

“Terry, don’t you think the junkyard late at night isn’t kinda deserted?”
“That’s why I suggested it,” she whispers and climbs on top of him.
Too soon, moaning car springs are interrupted by an explosive shock.
As a pellet of black hole meteorite strikes a nearby field!
Gamma rays, neutrinos, proto-matter irradiate tiny spiders.
Turning them into tarantulas, soon swelling into lumbering 50 foot carnivores.

 
Back home, Terry defends her Wisconsin virtue with a trusty iron.
A spring carnival begins, as well as a religious revival, amidst menfolk toting shooting irons.
This one has all the fixins of a trashy so-bad-it’s-good film.
Nudity, adultery, drunkenness, attempted incest, absurd monsters.
Yet, a pair of scientists (one a follower of Velikovsky) talk and talk and talk.
Turning an enjoyably terrible movie into Snoozerama.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369086

Account Rendered - 1957 - UK

Account Rendered - 1957 - 6/10

 
Money is a for spending, darling.  What use is it in a bank account?
So declares Lucille, who spends, flirts, cheats, coerces, and winds up dead.
Police have a surplus of suspects, including husband Robert and friend Sarah.
At less than an hour, this has no character development, just a brisk pace.
Suspects, motives, false trails and red herrings.
Solid B-film mystery.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369085

Persuasion (Read) - 2025 - UK

Persuasion  (Read) - 2025 - 7/10

 
Monica Dolan, shifting from room to room, tells the story of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth.
A young couple, deeply in love, yet he has only prospects, no wealth.
Consequently, Anne is persuaded by her great influencer, Lady Russell, to decline his proposal.
Eight years follow, whereupon Anne and Wentworth meet again.
Dolan is an emotive speaker, fleshing out characters and undercurrents.
Excellent companion to the acclaimed 1995 film.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369084