Attack Of The Robots - 1966 - France

Attack Of The Robots - 1966 - 5/10
AKA - Cartes sur Table

 
Dark skinned humanoids openly assassinate leaders and dignitaries.
Besides the skin, a dead giveaway is their special spectacles.
Though predating either, they resemble Autons and Cybernauts.
Interpol contacts retired agent, Al Pereira.
Pereira, a frequent alter-ego of Jess Franco, is played by Eddie Constantine for laughs.
Power struggle between Interpol, Chinese agents, and the evil controllers.
Two-fisted spoof of spy flicks and late Krimi is mindless fluff.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369231

The Year Of The Plague - 1979 - Mexico

The Year Of The Plague - 1979 - 5/10
AKA - El Año de la Peste

 
It begins with a man sick on the subway, followed by doctors with suspicions.
Soon enough, medical types attempt to sound a public alert.
And are thwarted by politicians, the wealthy, and the ruling class who suppress.
Mexican contagion-fest takes way too long to ramp up, and is talky for too long.
Final half hour pretty good: public chaos, armed police, human sacrifice, mass graves, and bodies dropping like the city was sprayed with a can of Raid.
Despite script by Gabriel García Márquez, this ultimately disappoints.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369232

Murder By The Lake - 2016 - Germany

Murder By The Lake - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Die Toten vom Bodensee

 
Deaths on the Austria / Germany force two police departments to work together.
Male German, female Austrian.  Both, as we find out, tote baggage.
Three mysteries from the first year are solid, if soon unimaginative.
A simmering Celtic curse, rabies outbreak, promiscuous teacher.
Biggest issue is the reliance on the defective detective concept.
Say, for instance, your home is burgled.
Do you want to hear the cop talk about his financial woes or his partner’s cocaine habit?
The misfit officer is a bankrupt crutch used by untalented writers.  Replace them.

Un Chant d'Amour - 1950 - France

Un Chant d'Amour - 1950 - 6/10

 
Two convicts, separated by thick concrete, communicate and ignore.
A voyeuristic guard spies on both, more so as there is a homoerotic vibe.
Part experimental, part fantasy, part judgmental.
Prude alert, male nudity abounds.

Jason And The Argonauts - 1963 - UK

Jason And The Argonauts - 1963 - 7/10

Jason is sent of a bit of a fool’s errand by an unrecognized enemy.
Bring back the Golden Fleece.  A sheepskin?  No matter.
Jason assembles a team including Hercules … and some other guys.

 
Bare bones of this wonderful Saturday adventure classic.
Intrigue, combat, death, gods, goddesses, jaw dropping effects.

 
Stop-motion effects still hold up, and remain startling.
Herrmann and Harryhausen both fabulous.
CGI, what’s that?

Pick-Up - 1933 - USA

Pick-Up - 1933 - 6/10

 
Mary is handed $5.00, then released from the penitentiary.
In the big city, she’s soon down to pennies, when a cabbie takes pity on her.
Harry lets her crash in his apartment, which she soon spruces up.
They make a good team, with a bright future, except –
She neglects to tell him about a tiny detail … her husband … still in the slammer.
Racy Pre-Code (tame now) deals with suicide, premarital sex, crime.
Raft & Sidney star, plus a treat to see Charles Middleton as a good guy.

Amandaland - 2025 - UK

Amandaland - 2025 - 6/10

 
Recovering from a divorce, Amanda and her two children, relocate to an untrendy neighborhood.
A wannabee influencer, her brand, Senuous, is a nonstarter.
Vain, vapid, supercilious, she is pretentious, and ruthlessly mocked.
Of course, you know these types.  They are coworkers or, worse, relatives.
This gets funnier as it goes along, and one grows familiar with the characters.
Similar to Julia Davis fare (Nighty Night, Camping) albeit less savage, less sleazy.