Abruptio - 2023 - USA

Abruptio - 2023 - 7/10 

 
Lester is having a bad run.  Age 35 still living with parents, numbing workplace, love life in the dumpster.
Then he notices the scar in the back of everyone’s neck.  In his own neck.
Where the bomb has been implanted – if instructions are not obeyed.
What instructions?  Start murdering people.
Wildly imaginative, high concept Horror using body puppets.
Heavy on splatter, fueled with paranoia, dosed with Kafkaesque humor.
Certainly not for all tastes, yet jammed with X-Files references, as well as a Ligottian world view.

Beast From Haunted Cave - 1959 - USA

Beast From Haunted Cave - 1959 - 5/10 

 
“I’m telling you, Byron, that thing was in the mine where I placed the explosives.  It’s been following us since.”
Chicago mobsters hit a South Dakota gold vault and steal only bars of bullion they can carry on their backs.
Then, they ski cross-country in a blizzard to meet the plane … if the snow ever stops.
The beast resembles a land-crawling, groping tentacled cephalopod, amidst sticky webs.
Caper heist – winter survival – el cheapo monster – and a whole mess of yak, yak, yakking. 

Storm Warning - 2007 - Australia

Storm Warning - 2007 - 6/10 

 
Celebrating a pregnancy, husband and wife set sail for relaxation.
Too bad they forget to check the weather forecast.  Reference title.
They end up stranded on an island … where rednecks are going reefer.
Aroused males, whose mouths water at the French wife.
Rough Ozploitation survival film.  Fans of Mick Taylor will enjoy.
Mind you, Mick would have been unimpressed.

California Schemin’ - 2025 - UK

California Schemin’ - 2025 - 6/10 

 
Rap duo Silibil N’ Brains can’t catch a break in 2003.
Not because Billy and Gavin lack talent, because they are Scots.
Solution, adopt American accents and declare they are Californians.
Whereupon, kissy-kissy-kissy, welcome to the label, say disdainful Londoners.
Film flashes an edge of persona overruling true self.
Lies and self-deceit, one individual a world class dick.
Based on the real duo.  Suggest watch Kneecap first.

Red Heat - 1988 - USA

Red Heat - 1988 - 6/10 

 
Drug lord kills Russian policeman, flees to USA, where he is detained, only to escape again.
Dispatched to bring him back is Danko (AKA Gumby, AKA Schwarzenegger).
Chicago cop (Belushi) assigned to watch him – anticipate violence.
Action oriented buddy flick / fish out of water. 
Arnold a dour straight man to Belushi’s quips, yet his facial reactions are priceless.
Clash of procedures plays out, as do the bullets.
Under appreciated, needs a reappraisal.

The Lone Wolf Strikes - 1940 - USA

The Lone Wolf Strikes - 1940 - 6/10 

 
Older banker, younger female.  He loans her a prized pearl necklace.
What she returns is an excellent fake.  After he complains – and dies – Michael Lanyard steps in.
Lanyard, AKA the Lone Wolf.  Add to the confidence tricksters, a rougher gang biding its time.
Brisk B-film moves rapidly, with enough changes to offset plot holes.
William, as ever, exudes charm and grace, without his sneering, Pre-Code corruption.

Sorceress - 2026 - Poland

Sorceress - 2026 - 6/10 
AKA - Czarownica

 
Karol is antisocial, not especially interested in the tavern Gaja hauls him to. 
Until he encounters a dark-haired flirt who sweeps him away.
Karol has been glamoured.  There is a slice of the dark girl’s backstory.
Enough to know she can be dangerous.
Polish short plunges into uncertainty, then taps out.  Too bad. 

Elizabeth - 1998 - UK

Elizabeth - 1998 - 7/10 

 
After Queen Mary I dies, half sister Elizabeth is released from prison and ascends the throne.
The position is perilous, an England still beset with internal strife, foreign enemies and intrigue.
History errors aside, this is a excellent thriller, as the young queen, inexperienced, navigates foes.
Ignore the dodgy love story; enjoy the sets, costumes, machinations.
While a “historic” drama, with multiple characters, the narrative is lean and easy to follow.
This put Cate Blanchett on the map.

Fallen Angels - 2026 - USA

Fallen Angels - 2026 - 6/10 

 
Julia and Jane have comfortable marriages.
Searing passion extinguished, marriages of stale friendship.
Besides, the two ladies are pals above honor … until.
French flame Maurice, with whom both had been intimate, is coming to visit.
Pals above honor begone!  Out come the claws and rivalries.
Noël Coward domestic comedy is tart and witty in the opening and final acts,. 
Midsection is sodden drunkenness, which some find hilarious.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3371750

Last Summer - 1969 - USA

Last Summer - 1969 - 6/10 

 
Mean spirited story based on equally sour tasting book (bestseller by Evan Hunter).
Vacationing at the beach, two males and a female bond over a rescued seagull.
They mess around with alcohol, reefer, and flirt.  Sexual tension mounts.
A second girl arrives, tries to ingratiate herself with the increasingly jaded, callous trio.
Coming of age film, and rather a cruel one.
Unpleasant, yet achingly resonant.  Avoid PG cut.

Feng Shui - 2004 - Philippines

Feng Shui - 2004 - 6/10 

 
Joy finds a mirror on the bus, left behind by a passenger.
The mirror is a bagua design, meant to bring good luck to the possessor.
And indeed, Joy’s luck soars.  Job promotion, husband gets a bonus, the new house.
Alas, there is no free lunch; for each fortune, there is a death.
The bagua is a cursed thing, with a deeply ugly history.
Film mixes greed, Daoism and supernatural elements.

Mārama - 2025 - New Zealand

Mārama - 2025 - 6/10 

 
Mary Stevens receives passage money and hints about her parents.
An orphan, she travels from New Zealand to York, only to learn the man who contacted her is dead.
Local landowner Nathaniel empathizes and offers her a position as governess. 
The little girl is precocious, but the manor itself repeatedly sends warnings.
Mary Stevens, part of the Maori, possesses second sight and realizes the house has terrible secrets.
Brooding film, especially dark, draws from a wellspring of Maori culture and British colonialism.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3371749

Obituary - 2023 - Ireland

Obituary - 2023 - 6/10

 
Elvira is the obituary columnist for the small town.
Paid when, and only when, she has an obit to write.
She has bills, a father to support.  What’s a girl to do?
Well, if neighbors were to start dying, and she pushed villainous types …
Irish black comedy begins well, ends strongly.
In-between, drama, soap and meandering.
The double edged “luck of the Irish” applies often.

The Cat - 1991 - Hong Kong

The Cat - 1991 - 6/10
AKA - Wèisīlǐ Zhī Lǎomāo // 衛斯理之老貓

Alien monstrosity invades Hong Kong, along with a bitter foe from another system.
Our alien heroes are a pixieish girl and a forceful black cat.
How forceful?  Friend, wait till you behold the epic battle it has with a Rottweiler.
Luckily for us, the adventurer Wisely gets involved.

 
Best way to fight?  Bottles of vodka, set ‘em on fire.  Books, what?
The ridiculous story is matched by the effects.
Glorious nonsense!  Better Wisely film to see is Seventh Curse.
Oh, how I miss HK energy from this era.