The Revenge Club - 2025 - UK

The Revenge Club - 2025 - 6/10

 
Or the divorced survivors club, working through their pain.
Still stung by their exes, a few desire petty revenge.
Members team together, and payback turns lethal.
Mystery thriller relies on deniability and obfuscation.
Plausibility stretches razor thin, although you might be guessing until he conclusion.

Double Agents - 1959 - France

Double Agents - 1959 - 6/10
AKA - La Nuit des Espions

 
German spies in WWII England have worked out the coastal defenses.
A female agent is dispatched to meet her male counterpart in Occupied France.
Thing is, the Brits learned and have tried to replace one agent or both.
No one knows if this was successful, however, not even the agents.
Both are wary, distrustful and armed.
Slow boil thriller simmers along, boosted by chemistry between Hossein and Vlady.

Aontas - 2025 - Ireland

Aontas - 2025 - 7/10

 
Clever, perhaps too clever, Irish heist flick.
The target, an impoverished credit union in a dying town.
Things start to go wrong from the onset.
Figured it out?  Wait for the flashback to upset that.
Followed by another, messing with your next guess.
Backwards chronology means you better not be multitasking.
Unless you speak and know Irish, subtitles essential.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369650

Three Kings - 1999 - USA

Three Kings - 1999 - 6/10

 
Following the conclusion of one of the Gulf Wars, three Army soldiers learn of stolen gold.
Before one can say, “Finders keepers” they are fleeing across the desert terrain.
Dodging insurgents, corrupted colleagues, journalists, refugees, and the elite Republican Guard.
Bitter comedy that holds up less and less as history repeats endlessly in that region.
I remain unsure / unconvinced of the script credit.

Hanzo The Razor: Sword Of Justice - 1973 - Japan

Hanzo The Razor: Sword Of Justice - 1973 - 6/10
AKA - Goyôkiba  // 御用牙

 
Introducing law enforcement’s most innovative interrogator.
Hanzo is a righteous Edo officer, incorruptible, in pursuit of a prison escapee.
He tracks him by employing various S&M techniques on females who know “something”.
Oh, and his Razor nickname has to do with his terrifying schlong.
Nudity, torture, geysers of blood, misogyny, and a funky Blaxploitation soundtrack.
A wild film that would be surpassed by the sequel, The Snare.

Natural Born Killers - 1994 - USA

Natural Born Killers - 1994 - 7/10  

 
Oliver Stone’s freewheeling satire on America’s glorification of violence.
Hero worship of serial killers, mass murderers, cult leaders.
By genius of casting, Woody Harrelson is cast as the unstoppable, Juliet Lewis his match.
Violence is blood soaked, and pulls no punches about America’s comfort with killing.
Should this get a  remake, a script might include tolerance of pedophiles and rape.
Along with media doing anything for ratings, toss in “influencers” doing likewise.
Director’s commentary is essential for aspiring filmmakers, as Stone is nonstop with information.

Cat’s Cradle - 1959 - USA

Cat’s Cradle - 1959 - 6/10

 
Staccato cut film of firelight, sunlight, glimpsed females and a cat.
Unsure what the creator is trying to communicate.
Of course, this could be from the feline point of view.
Any one who lives with cats, however, will say they are far more patient.
Bracing short, furiously edited, not for all tastes.

Crime Without Passion - 1934 - USA

Crime Without Passion - 1934 - 6/10

 
Lee Gentry is the rare sort: an unscrupulous attorney.
Who gets clients acquitted by trickery, chicanery, outright dishonesty.
Sheesh, the sort of lawyer who will make you lose faith in the courts.
Meanwhile, relationship troubles.
He wants to dump passionate Carmen for a blonde iceberg.
Claude Rains delicious as the conniving cheat, while 17-year-old Margo is dazzling.
Strange Pre-Code, nevertheless.

Shiny, Shiny Bright New Hole In My Heart - 2006 - UK

Shiny, Shiny Bright New Hole In My Heart - 2006 - 6/10

 
Nathalie is a professional shopping advisor.
Her taste is impeccable; her clients are beyond affluent.
Envy, perhaps the contagion of being amidst such luxury, begin a slow grip.
Husband Jeremy is a doctor, so the credit card has a high limit.
Until spending brings more joy than mere ownership.
“Shopping addiction” which to me is another manifestation of the big empty.
Never enough, no matter how much, never enough.  Their souls are empty.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369652

I, Claudius - 1976 - UK

I, Claudius - 1976 - 8/10

 
Spellbinding adaptation of Robert Graves novel, itself a distillation of Suetonius’ scurrilous accounting.
Long study of Claudius from his birth, agonizing childhood, ascension to the throne, murder.
Adultery, assassination, betrayals, vengeance, back-stabbing, this encapsulated the swath of human treachery.
Derek Jacobi, as the stammering, perceived fool is one of many pitch-perfect actors.
Brian Blessed as the boisterous Augustus, and Siân Philips as the venomous Livia.
Likewise John Hurt as the insane Caligula, and Patrick Stewart as the conniving Sejanus.
The budget on this was low, and the look lacks the polished gloss of later productions.
Nonetheless, this remains an astounding journey of political intrigue and murderous ambition.

Grave Torture - 2024 - Indonesia

Grave Torture - 2024 - 6/10
AKA - Siksa Kubar

 
After their parents are killed in a suicide bombing, Adil and Sita are sent to an ultra-religious school.
Where they are threatened, bullied, coerced, abused.
Years later, Sita slowly builds her vengeance.
On those responsible, and the religion underpinning society.
“… someone has to prove that religions intimidate people.”
Slow boil thriller from Joko Anwar waits until the final act to veer into full bore Horror.
Sita is a remorseless fury, damaging perceived enemies and innocents in her path.
Ending might have been meant for cultural authorities.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369229

Marching Powder - 2025 - UK

Marching Powder - 2025 - 6/10

 
After being arrested for fighting, Jack is given a short leash.  Six weeks to straighten his life.
He’s 45, still brawling, addicted to cocaine, poor husband, worse father, sponge.
Acid humor throughout, yet this satire of yob culture has been done too often.
Dyer could do this in his sleep, at times it looked like he was.
Bristling dialogue enliven this.
No matter any sort of ending, his time seems numbered.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3369230