Housewarming - 2024 - UK

Housewarming - 2024 - 6/10

 
Saskia is still unpacking in her new home.
Nosy neighbors say hello, make snide comments.
They pale, however, next to the guy who knocks, looking for his old girlfriend.
“Can I charge my phone?  I need to use your bathroom.”
On and on, as he insinuates himself, the casual misogynist emerges.
Slow boil thriller will be uncomfortable for women, and a reminder of how alone we are.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3372260

Shark Girl - 2024 - USA

Shark Girl - 2024 - 3/10 

 
The nuclear power plant near Venice Beach (!?!) has a leak that goes unreported (!?!). 
A great white shark swims into the discharge and is altered.
How?  Who knows?  It bites model Heidi, altering her … mouth.
Heidi now sorts obstacles and difficulties the old-fashioned way.  Chomp-chomp-chomp.
Not scary, not funny, not campy.  Script is beneath stupid.
Aside from the two playing Ron and Gina, none of the thespians tried to act.
Appeared to be directed by an AI bot via cellphone.

Checkmate - 2024 - USA

Checkmate - 2024 - 5/10

James works through his grief with a counselor.
Mom had died and the guilt is overpowering.
Brother Nick arrives periodically, and demands a repeat chess match.
Which he wins consistently, all the time berating and belittling James.
For those plagued by pessimism and self hate, this offers a dark corner of pain.

Embassy Of The Free Mind - 2024 - Italy

Embassy Of The Free Mind - 2024 - 6/10

 
Museum of books rare, banned and burned.  Filled with progressive ideas, dangerous ideas.
Manuscripts and books from the 15th century and later.
Mysticism, alchemy, astrology, Kabbalah, Cabbalah, Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, the Illuminati.
Not to overlook the River of Life, tying elements together.

 
The speakers, patrons and curators, are earnest idealists.
Who believe, truly, if we only pursue and connect what bygone “scientists” left unfinished, we might remake the world.
“Why are we here?” “What is the meaning of it all?”
In many ways, I felt sad for them; for me, ours is not the right world for them.
When power is held by tyrants, knaves and the deranged, books are burned and intelligence murdered.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3371357

The Marlow Murder Club - 2024 - UK

The Marlow Murder Club - 2024 - 6/10

 
Another variation of female cozy.
Retiree Judith solves murder mysteries in the troubled riverside burg of Marlow.
Suzie and Becks act as Watson to the all-wise Judith.  Police = background props.
60 something Judith swims naked in the Thames, and solutions come.
Writers, please!  The Thames – sewage and feces.  Think!
After a few episodes, police realize how peerless the trio are and enlist them as advisors.
“There is no spoon.”

Thank You For The Ride, Aileen - 2024 - USA

Thank You For The Ride, Aileen - 2024 - 6/10

 
Aileen is a Chicago teacher, on strike, doing ride sharing to survive.
Late at night, it’s a matter of trust.
Neither driver nor rider know the other.
Small talk freights undercurrents.
How lucky are you?
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3371180

What Lurks Beneath - 2024 - Canada

What Lurks Beneath - 2024 - 4/10

 
World War III breaks out … again.
Undersea denizens are fed up with humanity annihilating the planet so an emissary is sent.
Via the torpedo hatch arrives the attractive nude blonde.
Not to nitpick, how did she open that hatch door from underwater?
How come the submarine only has a crew of 7 with 2 Brit advisors?
How does the “stowaway” wander the vessel?
Terrible script comes off as watery Alien copy-clone.

Director’s Cut - 2024 - USA

Director’s Cut - 2024 - 5/10

 
Not to be confused with The Director’s Cut which also came out in 2024.
Underground group, Suicide Disease, has not broken big yet.
Maybe they never will.  They need a hit, new album.  Hot video.
Yeah!  A killer video.  Except they don’t have the money for that.
Until an unknown director offers to shoot it pro bono.
Psycho Slasher suffers through two-thirds of talk.  Boring dialogue.
Writer / director the problem here.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370776

Fool Me Once - 2024 - UK

Fool Me Once - 2024 - 5/10

Yes, that would be you and me, sucker.
Overly convoluted “mystery” that keeps adding characters and puzzles with each episode.
Like an infomercial, “But wait!  There’s more!” until the mess collapses into silliness.
Maya, ex combat veteran, trigger-happy Maya, has lost her sister and husband to murder.
His rich family suspect her, she suspects … gasp … a conspiracy.

 
Donning a disguise (clichéd baseball cap), she starts sleuthing.
Everyone plays a bit over-the-top, and overly suspicious.
Each installment, I’m going, “Now what?”
Based on wildly popular Harlan Coben novel.
As with his The Innocent, I started losing patience midway.

Mora - 2024 - USA

Mora - 2024 - 6/10

 
Cody believes he has discovered an AI anomaly.
“The ghost in the machine,” he tells girlfriend Hannah.
Cody continues to experiment, adding layers, the bitter irony not lost on him.
He is a graphic designer – was an internet artist – before clients bailed for free AI generated art.
The search for the frightening woman leads him deeper down the rabbit hole.
Taut Horror short, gloomy bonbon to launch one’s fright night.
(Update: This has been picked up to be adapted into a feature.)
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370439

The Director’s Cut - 2024 - USA

The Director’s Cut - 2024 - 5/10

 
You see correct.  Terrence runs an indie video rental shop (and sells water!).
One of his regulars, who was once a scriptwriter, gives him a very rare copy of The Midnight Mangler.
The “director’s cut”, with six extra kills, edited out by Hollywood.
Watching, Terrence realizes the kills match a local serial killer – precisely.
What to do?  How about, talk with a girly friend and two fanboys for over an hour?
This one talks itself to the grave.  For those who long for “My Dinner With Michael Myers”.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370437

The Waves Of Madness - 2024 - USA

The Waves Of Madness - 2024 - 6/10

 
Agent Legrasse is sent coordinates of an imperiled ship, Elders of the Seas.
Uncanny events were reported before communication went silent.
Once onboard the apparently abandoned vessel, Legrasse encounters a lost female.
Part assistant, part companion.
Straight off, from the coordinates, I knew recognized the South Pacific.  R’lyeh.
Minuscule budget, creatively managed.  Black and white, plenty of fog, sparing effects.
Fans of HPLHS films should enjoy, although dialogue veers into camp at times.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370430

We’re Still Here - 2024 - USA

We’re Still Here - 2024 - 6/10

 
“We” being the New Jersey surf shops, surfers, and community.
Summers, the Jersey boardwalk is overrun with turistas and entitled vacationers.
Winter time, though, amidst snow flurries and 30° waters, the surfers ride the waves.
Loving doc of the regional scene, as well as a poignant back look at the era of magazines and mom and pop shops.
Online “stores” and corporations have made inroads into the once insular community.
This is mostly interviews.  Those seeking surf porn should go elsewhere.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370110

The Head: S03 - 2024 - Spain

The Head: S03 - 2024 - 6/10

 
Third season, and supposedly the finale.  We shall see.
After previous calamities and deaths, one would think folks would know better.
Sorry, pumpkin, events swing to an abandoned installation in the Sahara.
The climate continues to warm, and researchers hope the magic algae will save humanity.
Human guinea pigs this time around, clueless of the history of carnage.
Until … as ever … the dying starts.
With a dovetail to S01, this stitches the narratives by the conclusion.
Still, never underestimate the greed of producers or bankruptcy of creative elements.
S01 = The Antarctic, S02 = Pacific, S03 = Sahara.  S04 would be, where, Outer Space?

Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust - 2024 - India

Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust - 2024 - 5/10

 
Schirkoa, home of “Safety - Sanity - Sanctity.”
Anonymity provides all that.  Thus, citizens wear paper bags – always.
Walking, at work, in cafes and bars, in brothels (seeing is believing).
The world is a cross between Kafka and Orwell.  The look is wobbly animation.
Nonconforming settlements are Anomalies, patterned annoyingly after Zion (Matrix).
Interesting for awhile, grows preachy, waddling like a rubber legged duck.

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

Disclaimer - 2024 - UK

Disclaimer - 2024 - 7/10

 
The cache of photos are lurid, tainted reminders.
Followed by the slim book, that, good Lord, stirs up the forgotten scandal.
Nothing like being celebrated and flourishing for others to knock you down.
So finds Catherine after the pictures and book are given to family and coworkers.
A vile event, exposed for leering friends.
Taut thriller shifts between Italy and London, present day to twenty years previous.
Emotionally charged story, although at the conclusion, I kept waiting … unsure why it failed.

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld - 2024 - France

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld - 2024 - 7/10

 
Mini-series on the iconic fashion designer, set mostly around the 1970’s.
During his tenure as artistic director of Chloé.
The industry aspect of this is compelling – if one is into this world (I married a fashionista, there is no escape).
His previous relationship with Yves Saint Laurent, conflicts between haute couture and prêt-à-porter.
Much of the series regards his relationship with Jacques de Bascher, French aristo and dilettante.
Bascher suffers low self esteem, substance abuse, limited talent, pettiness.
Nevertheless, for many, I imagine the relationship may be more riveting than fabric.
Essential for those who know and wear brands.

The Hollow - 2024 - Bosnia

The Hollow - 2024 - 7/10
AKA - Kotlina

 
A frozen corpse is found outside the National Museum.
Detectives start investigating what appears to be a bad outcome for a homeless man.
Until the  body is stolen from the morgue.  Meaning, who was that person?
Excellent Noir, gloomy, fatalistic, set in Sarajevo, with its bitter history.
The music is downbeat and evocative, characters are hardened cynics.
A lot in five episodes, which conclude with an ironic, fitting ending.

Akabei - 2024 - Poland

Akabei - 2024 - 6/10

 
Karol (driving) is about to suffer more “relationship” issues.
Weronica will bring up meeting her parents … again.
Then, there is the strange female in red.  Does Karol know her?
If nothing else, he is drawn to the same type: brunette, long hair, curvy.
And while my bride has slept with a knife for decades, weapons aren’t always a good thing in the house.
Thriller for those who feel trapped with their partner de jour.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3366593