Books That Made Britain - 2016 - UK

Books That Made Britain - 2016 - 6/10 

 
Strolling book doc.  Regional writers and books explored.
Hosts seem to choose themes at whim. 
Some hone in on classic authors, others local names.
Environment always mentioned, whether the moors or bustling London.
Most are on YT if curious, if one still reads.

Don’t Fraʞ In The Woods - 2016 - USA

Don’t Fraʞ In The Woods - 2016 - 4/10

 
With a title like this, one is warned, OK?
A group of twenty year olds head to the woodlands for … I dunno … Nature.
First couple were killed by, what looks like a scout from Gorn.
Well, they were making all manner of noises.  Gasps, moans, cries, loud rutting.
Later arrivals don’t worry about ticks, mosquitos, chiggers, wheel bugs.
Mostly they drink, talk, swim, talk, play truth-or-dare, talk, smoke, talk.
Get the idea?  But once inside their tents, clothes fly off, and it’s Kama Sutra time!
Attracting our Moral Majority Monster who has a problem with couples coupling.
I won’t knock this softcore Horror too much.  Small production crew, outtakes indicate fun.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370775

Murder In Strasbourg - 2016 - France

Murder In Strasbourg - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à Strasbourg

 
The white wine pours from the vat with a red tint.
Because there is a body inside.  Oh no!
The Gendarmes arrive, and, wouldn’t you know it, the female cop and male doctor have a history.
Compounding matters, back when he avoided commitment and scampered off, she married his father.
Amidst bickering and recriminations, there’s another corpse.
Followed by a third.  Scenery is best thing in this one.
Family matriarch’s twisted manipulation sets an ugly low bar.

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.

Murder In The Auvergne Mountains - 2016 - France

Murder In The Auvergne Mountains - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Sources Assassines

 
The doctor dies, and several dozen are poisoned at the outdoor, costumed fete.
The cause, arsenic.  The suspect, another doctor, not a rival, but an ex-flame.
Tangled mystery with threads leading in several directions.
A blend of science, quack cures, and speculators – oh, real estate.
Implausible on and off, and lacking the scenery usually associated with French mysteries.
Ending was tidy and fantasized.  Most soured relationships stay that way, until death.

Murder In Grasse - 2016 - France

Murder In Grasse - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à Grasse

 
Boiled first, then shoved into a watery vat of scented flowers.
Fitting demise for a perfumer, one with a gifted nose.
This echoes a suicide from earlier, and a secret cabal is glimpsed.
Akin to the Grail or the Covenant, is the Odor Of God.
Sought out, likewise defended.
The bones of a deeper mystery lie here, yet this is burdened by familial resentments.
You could do worse.  Oh, for what might have been.

Yours Unfaithfully - 2016 - USA

Yours Unfaithfully - 2016 - 6/10

 
The picture perfect marriage, Stephen and Anne, are envied, and in a rut.
He suffers writers block, for which his wife suggests he have a fling with her friend, Diana.
Very modern, downright continental, except as the affair lengthens, jealousy grows.
Brittle table comedy comes across as arch at times, sophisticates uncomfortable with feelings.
Both females display close lipped, “polite” smiles.
Performers seem self-conscious throughout.
English subtitles = https://subsource.net/subtitle/yours-unfaithfully-2021/english/10169884

Between Land And Sea - 2016 - Ireland

Between Land And Sea - 2016 - 6/10

 
Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland.  The intrepid leap into the surf from the rocky shoals.
The ride back, approaching cliffs and boulders will require skill.
Surfing community in Ireland has grown and this doc examines a lot of players.
Several men, now with families, realize their time on big waves is closing.
Shot over a few years, we watch child Nora go from toddler to attending school.
This goes deeper than most surf porn, the interviewees (except one) more thoughtful.

Dearest Sister - 2016 - Laos

Dearest Sister - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Nong Hak

 
Nok leaves the small village for large city Vientiane to care for a distant relative, Ana.
Ana, married to Westerner Jakob, is going blind, and suffers from passive aggressive servants.
A side-effect of the failing eyesight, Ana is soon seeing the dead, and receiving messages.
Numbers, winning lottery numbers, which the poor village girl exploits for material goods.
Nok is soon snooping, eavesdropping, losing small town morals.
Yes, there are some cloudy dead souls, but this is limited Horror, more a slow burn thriller.

Into The Mud - 2016 - Spain

Into The Mud - 2016 - 6/10

 
She lies sprawled nude across a plastic sheet.  Cut, bruised, but no bones seem broken.
What happened?  How?  Why?  No idea.  Then the man with the rifle arrives.
Effective hunter / hunted drama saves its jolt and surprise for the end.
Spanish short makes a good opener for your Horror marathon.

Murder In Martinique - 2016 - France

Murder In Martinique - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres en Martinique

 
Missing beauty contestant is found a year later under a mudslide.
Parisian transfer teams up with a grizzled veteran.
The beauty contest smacks of exploitation, the area is replete with superstition.
Plenty of suspects, not a lot of twists, but good use of off-the-track scenery.
I was hopeful since I doubted there would be romance between the white bearded cop and the beautiful transfer.
Sometimes these shows exercise restraint, other times they are more unbelievable than Hallmark.

Once Upon A Murdoch Christmas - 2016 - Canada

Once Upon A Murdoch Christmas - 2016 - 6/10

 
During holiday revels, the rich. I mean really rich, are being robbed.
Their gifts are pawned or exchanged, the resultant funds used for practical necessities.
The Toronto force investigates, but the thieves are technologically advanced.
Indeed, for fans of steampunk, there are outrageous gadgets and scenes.
Despite that, the plot is overly schmaltzy, and saccharine to disbelief.
Side plots are even more corny.
Escapist Christmas fare, lacking edge, yet fine for family viewing.

EMI: The Inside Story - 2016 - UK

EMI: The Inside Story - 2016 - 6/10

Glib overview that sticks with a few artists, generally one per era.
Oh … Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Sex Pistols, Duran Duran, Kate Bush, Pet Shop Boys, Radiohead.
This also remains on the British side, so don’t expect any US names.
Uncomfortable financial malfeasance unmentioned.
Entertaining, yet the feel of a hearty heigh-ho, pat on the back pervades.
The label itself was pretty much defunct by 2012.

English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3349450

Crisis In Six Scenes - 2016 - USA

Crisis In Six Scenes - 2016 - 6/10  

 
Late 1960’s, a free-spirited radical invades the home of her quasi-aunt and husband, straitlaced middle-class types.
Lenny (a good Miley Cyrus in a one note role) is on the run following a bombing and shootouts.
She is opposed to all isms save for the utopian Communism.
Woody Allen’s foray into a series has its moments and gags, but often treads water.
Aside from fashion models, most 60’s agitators were more scruffy.  Lenny is Hollywood.
Best episodes are the first and last (homage to A Night At The Opera).
Historical references seem like cliches, plus a lot of characters for six half hour episodes.
Not as bad as the Allen or Cyrus hate legions decry.

Hotel Coolgardie - 2016 - Australia

Hotel Coolgardie - 2016 - 7/10

Vacationing Finns, Lina and Stephanie had their credit cards stolen in Bali, their travel funds drained.
They make it to Australia where, hoping to rebuild their finances, they accept bartending jobs in the Outback.
Girls seem to come and go every few months.  Fresh meat, the locals call them.
Coolgardie is a mining town, the bar fills with miners, lonely men, quietly aggressive men.
While sexism is paramount, social skills on display are low.

 
What is surprising is how participants knew cameras were rolling, comments recorded.
Lina and Steph are besieged throughout by eager faces.
And encouraged repeatedly to drink up, get wasted.
Unsettling documentary, often reminded me of Wake In Fright (1971).

Terra Formars - 2016 - Japan

Terra Formars - 2016 - 5/10

On Earth, over-populated like crazy, bigwigs decide the best plan is to colonize Mars.
First, we terraform the red planet with moss and cockroaches (!).
500 years pass (we ain’t extinct, still eating in Mister Bladerunner Noodle Shops), and Mars is suitable.
Best get rid of them roaches first.  Send in the Marines?  Nope, terrorists, yakuza, street trash.
Who soon find out – shoot, those cockroaches are huge!

 
Jumbo sized, built like bodybuilder contestants, and moving incredibly fast.
Despite a stellar cast, this bug hunt is unbelievably stupid.
Takashi Miike fans, if you feel you must …

Lady Day At Emerson's Bar And Grill - 2016 - USA

Lady Day At Emerson's Bar And Grill - 2016 - 8/10

 
Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday in one of her final performances.
Songs, mixed with reminiscences, her incarceration, allusions to substances.
All the while, drinking steadily, deteriorating onstage.
McDonald is absolutely phenomenal, channeling Lady Day’s vocal phrasing, drawl, slipping in comedy along with bitter misery.
Filmed in a small New Orleans club, this gives the impression you are inside the Philly venue.
How McDonald could perform this night after night, live, is beyond belief.
Theatre fans, Jazz fans, this is absolutely not to be missed!

The Tunnel - 2016 - Norway

The Tunnel - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Tunnelen

 
Outside the yawning entrance, graffiti screams,  “Close the Death Tunnels.”
Do travelers care?  They are returning from the beach.  The planet is overpopulated.
How should one reduce numbers without discrimination?
Anxiety ridden SciFi short on ones Fate in the ever swelling tide.
RIP, Thomas Malthus (1766 - 1834), your theories grow more prophetic by the year.

The Other Me - 2016 - Greece

The Other Me - 2016 - 7/10
AKA - Eteros Ego  // Έτερος εγώ

 
College criminology professor is asked to help with an investigation.
As one murder leads to another, a serial killer is revealed.
Except there is no killer, and no motive, save that all victims were corrupt.
Well plotted mystery with some chronological swings from time to time.
No scenes are arbitrary inserts, everything will piece together.
For fans of Pythagoras, the assassin leaves quotes at each scene of the crime.

The Clue - 2016 - USA

The Clue - 2016 - 6/10

 
For Noa, dull days flow listlessly by.
Until one morning, scrawled on her mirror is “Come on an adventure.”
I don’t know about you, but I’d freak over an intruder.
Instead, she follows a pattern of clues.  Her adventure.
Contrived mystery short defies logic and requires immense suspension of disbelief.