The Dead - 2010 - Ghana

The Dead - 2010 - 6/10 

 
The aircraft wasn’t ready yet.  Hence, the malfunction and crash.
Sole survivor Murphy navigates his way north, meets with soldier Daniel, looking for his son.
All of Ghana is filled with walking dead, zombies.
Why?  As one chief theorizes, Nature has put in motion a solution to man’s greed.
Slow pace (typical of zombies), yet gorgeously shot in the desert, mountains, jungles.
Despite oversaturation of the genre, this stands out.
May not satisfy gore hounds.

Kutob - 2005 - Philippines

Kutob - 2005 - 5/10 

 
The tarot reader warned Erica to be careful.
Her boyfriend is two-timing her and lying to her face.
The new guy … she realizes too late he had been stalking her a long time.
His was an obsessive, territorial, jealous love.  Dozens of texts hourly. 
He is emotionally unstable, fueled by the crazed auntie he lives with.
Wildly over-the-top melodrama veers predictably into blood.

Methanol - 2018 - Czech Republic

Methanol - 2018 - 7/10 
AKA - Metanol

 
Did you know, if you mix methanol with alcohol, the latter cancels out the former?
Creating a cheap, bootleg vodka or rum.  Which you can sell all over the region.
Well, Ruda read this on the internet, so it had to be true!
Leaving those who drink blind, dead, or brain damaged.
Based on actual events where 42 died in Poland and Czech Republic, more permanently damaged.
First part is the con men and hustlers, concocting and peddling, even after knowing the harm.
Second half, the police and prosecutors, following leads as far up and as far out, even to tiny stands.

The Case Of The Curious Bride - 1935 - USA

The Case Of The Curious Bride - 1935 - 6/10 

 
Ex-flame seeks free legal advice from Perry Mason for her “friend”.
The lawyer refuses, advising her to be more truthful.
Skip a scene and Rhoda is up to her neck in murder, blackmail and bigamy.
Flirts with violations throughout, yet this manages to squeak past the Production Code. 
Warren, as ever, is suave, humorous, at ease in murky legal areas.
Mason’s private eye, “Spudsy” Drake, has a decent role and contributes.
Wini Shaw, underutilized, sings a Berkeleyish number.  Flynn fans, he arrives late. 
Excellent film to study director Curtiz’s methods for brisk narrative and camerawork.