Recommend a movie

[Vultural]

Apocalypse: World War I - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Apocalypse la 1ère Guerre Mondiale

Five part French documentary, colorized throughout.
Certainly not as essential as other WWI docs, this should appeal to wars buffs, despite some caveats.
There are no talking heads or historians.  Old film and newsreels predominate.
Sound effects have been added (explosions, gunfire, marching feet, etc ...) and serve to enhance.
As mentioned, this is colorized - heavily.  So much so that the sharpness and contrast suffers,
Images are noticeably flattened or blurry.
Original narration was in French.  The English dubbed speaker has a snooze inducing monotone.
More carnage and brutality in this documentary.  Starvation in Berlin, atrocities in Armenia.
Surprisingly, a lengthy reveal of prostitution and military brothels.

[Vultural]

Blind Love - 2004 - 6/10
AKA - Waisetsu sutêji: Nando mo Tsukkonde // わいせつステージ 何度もつっこんで

Blind girl is attracted to a short statured ventriloquist.
Only thing, she mistakes the taller, younger apprentice for the original.
The apprentice, a ne’er do well, exploits her handicap.
Written differently, this could be farce.  This is a wistful, poignant tale,however.
Lonely people, beaten souls, individuals who have no place in modern Japan.
Be warned, this is a pinku eiga (sexual rompings abound), many participants are not fitness buffs.

[Vultural]

The Man With The Glass Eye - 1969 - 6/10

AKA - Der Mann mit dem Glasauge

After the show end, a chorus line girl is chauffeured to posh hotel for business hijinks.
Before sordid naughtiness climaxes, an assassin in trenchcoat kills the john with a hurled knife.
Scotland Yard swings into action and begins hunting for the female --
-- who is poisoned the next day backstage at the variety theater!
Peppy, late-in-the-cycle, Krimi features a vivid, late 60s look, as well as a campy late 60s plotline.
“Based” on Edgar Wallace writings (much as the later Bond films were “based” on Ian Fleming novels).
Racketeers elude the police, while the assassin eludes all.
Noisy, rattling diversion, but essentially a guilty pleasure for Krimi fans.
(Alert! - Despite Scotland Yard, English names, this is a German production)

[Vultural]

Swamp Shark - 2011 - 4/10

I wonder if this was where recent shark spoofs began.
Big ole shark is dumped into Louisiana swamp and proceeds to munch on gators and humans.
Not enough of either, I’m afraid.  Language, violence and  and nudity is PG.
With the Gator Festival in full swing, irate owners of the Gator Shed Restaurant sail off to deep six their fishy freeloader.
Pace is backwater slow.  Most in the cast were big in the 80s, working for a paycheck nowadays.
Neither fun nor over the top, straight across the board.
Formula crap.

[Vultural]

Assassination - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Amsal // 암살

High voltage S Korean escapism with sumptuous production values.
Circa 1933, a Korean hit team is assigned to take out a fatcat appeaser and occupied Seoul’s Japanese military commander.
Rival Korean factions squabble with each other and informers are omnipresent.
Similar in look and feel to The Good, The Bad, The Weird (1998), though more grounded in reality.
Like the K-drama Bridal Mask, these are non-historical characters (though Korean resistance to occupation was real, especially in the north).
Excellent cat n mouse thriller with superb action sequences.

[Vultural]

I Married A Shadow - 1983 - 6/10
AKA - J'ai épousé une Ombre

 
Low life boyfriend kicks his pregnant Hélène out of the car and speeds into the horizon.
Dumped, dejected, she boards a train going elsewhere, anywhere.
In the dining car, another female, a pregnant bride, befriends her and allows her to sleep in her cabin while she and new husband have dinner.
After a catastrophe, Hélène is mistaken for the bride by the grieving family.
Part mystery, part character study, as personal ethics conflict with wanting what will be best for the new infant.
The wine growing family, is wealthy, by the way.
I recognized William Irish in the opening credits as a pseudonym for an old mystery writer (Cornell Woolrich).
15 minutes into the film, I recalled the story from a vintage Suspense (OTR) episode, "They Call Me Patrice."

[Vultural]

Blanc - 1994 - 7/10
AKA - White

The “equality” part of Kieslowski’s Trois Couleurs triptych.
In this instance, an unhappy and unequal marriage, as seen in opening divorce proceedings.
After several years, the French bride has had enough.
Or rather, has not had enough, as their union has not been consummated.
The husband, a Polish hairdresser, is outmaneuvered legally and is soon destitute.
Film tracks the ex husband and his struggle to rebuild his life and perhaps regain his wife.
A dour comedy, fatalistic throughout, stands on its own (you don’t have to see Bleu or Rouge).
While I prefer the other films, all three ought to be viewed fairly close together.
The trilogy is exceptional filmmaking.

[Vultural]

The Hard Way - 1979 - 7/10

Terrific, underrated, and I suspect, little seen crime film.
Patrick McGoohan plays an Irish assassin who does a final job before telling the go-between his is finished.
Quitting is not so easy, however.  His main employer, Lee Van Cleef, needs him for a more difficult job.
After clear refusals, leverage is brought to bear upon the marksman.

Moody film that advances slowly, with a brilliant sense of quiet.
Dialogue is spare, a couple characters hardly talk at all.  Tight closeups of gun work.
Emphasis is placed on hunting, tracking, and stalking in three distinct sequences.
Stealth, by its nature, can be a silent and patient enterprise.
One also sees the organized hierarchy.  McGoohan works under Cleef, who accepts assignments from another, who in turn is merely another go-between.  Contractors, sub-contractors.
McGoohan’s estranged wife acts as a chorus, sketching in details of the man.
Hyperkinetic action fans, not for you.  Those who enjoyed The Mechanic (Bronson), find this.

[Vultural]

Dancer - 2016 - 7/10

Critics declare he is greatest dancer of his generation, Sergie Polunin.
Profile shows his early youth, where his talent is clearly recognized.
Also the sacrifices made by his family to underwrite his training and education.
The pressure becomes a heavy burden and the doc is unflinching about showing the strain he is under.
And how humans often stumble and falter.
Rewarding film for dancers, very young dancers, especially parents of aspiring dancers.

[Vultural]

The Last Of Sheila - 1973 - 5/10

Old fashioned Hollywood lineup assembles in timeworn yarn of multiple suspects in a mysterious killing.
Mogul (James Coburn) “invites” has-beens and hopefuls to his Mediterranean yacht for a week of games.
Mix of Clue and Treasure Hunt with revealing cards and exposed secrets.
Ian McShane, Raquel Welch, James Mason, Dyan Cannon, Richard Benjamin are in the cast.
Written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, actual puzzle fanatics and game players.
First third has fabulous location shooting and propulsive drive.
Then it all bogs down into sluggish chamber drama
Very talky, exposition becomes paramount.  “Show, don’t say” rule is discarded.

[Vultural]

After Porn Ends - 2012 - 6/10

Find your faves here.
Thoughts and recollections from a smattering of ex porn stars.
Readjusting to the normal world poses more challenges than expected.
Interesting, funny, bitter, depending on experiences.
Primarily talking heads, though given the subject matter there is nudity (but no XXX).

After Porn Ends 2 - 2017 - 5/10

Glossy, easy sequel to the original.  Different actors, different chapters.
A bit more upbeat, with a sunnier sheen.
Feel good tone, if you could call it that.
Does feature more current performers.

[Vultural]

Chinatown Nights - 1929 - 6/10

Creaky drama, loses steam after an opening that resembles Warners films.
Rival Tong gangs battle on the streets and in a Chinese theater.
One gang led by the inscrutable Oriental (stereotyped Warner Oland), the other by an Irish boss (Wallace Beery).
First act rips along, only to stutter into romantic entanglement.
Despite flaws, film has loads of curiosity value.
Begun as a Silent, Paramount converted it to a Talkie mid production.
Dialogue was looped, save for Florence Vidor, hers was dubbed and she subsequently quit movies.
Mild by Pre-Code standards, there are elements that definitely would be censored later.
The silent scenes, even those dubbed later, move quicker and better than the static talkie sections.

[Vultural]

Bait - 2012 - 5/10

Bait as in the menu of the shark menu, with savory humans as appetizers and snackies.
Powerful tsunami drives great whites inland into an Australian shopping mall.
Helpless shoppers splash and shout anytime those jaws snap.
Better than recent, smirking comedies designed for “celebrity” cameos.
Premise of killer in a locked room with victims is OK.
Characters, ranging from sketches to neo-melodrama, behave mostly intelligently.

(Note: I live with two shark obsessed females, for me there is no escaping species Selachii.)

[Vultural]

Les Soeurs Brontë - 1979 - 6/10
AKA - The Brontë Sisters

French dramatization of sisters Emily, Anne and Charlotte.  Oh yeah, brother Branwell, too.
This is before publication.  Home life, Charlotte’s Belgium period, Branwell’s disastrous affair.
Austere film, with bleak countryside and cramped interiors.
Characters Branwell and Emily fleshed out best, though I raised an eyebrow at times.
Possibly a companion with the documentary, The Brilliant Brontë Sisters.
Literary acclaim arrives late in this.
Not an upbeat experience, fans of the Brontës already anticipate this.

[Vultural]

Una - 2016 - 7/10

If you missed “Blackbird” on Broadway or the West End, here’s a fine alternative.
28 year old female tracks down the man with whom she once had an affair.
Fifteen years earlier.  At the time, he was her neighbor, her father’s best friend, and 35 years old.
Uncomfortable material, in-your-face delivery, filled with accusations and excuses.
To say she was permanently damaged by the encounter would be an understatement.
Throughout, both characters shift from sympathetic to repugnant.
Viewers who stick with this unsavory story will be kept on their toes the whole time.

[Vultural]

The Spiral Staircase - 1946 - 6/10

Gothic thriller from RKO, if a bit stodgy at times.
Robert Siodmak, who helmed a clutch of excellent Noirs, gives this turn of the century gem a nicely creepy feel.
A mysterious, serial killer targets handicapped females.
Next on his list, apparently, is the mute servant girl working in the mansion on the town outskirts.
A thunderstorm howls outside, the family within are not what they seem.
In short, any of them could be the murderer.
Superb lighting, evocative score, a pervasive sense of doom, satisfying for traditionalists.

[Vultural]

L’Argent - 1988 - 6/10
AKA - Money

Sorry, I ain’t buying this.
Ostensibly, we follow counterfeit money as it passes various hands.
From the gullible to the devious to the sly to the trusting.
Moralizing film studying human reactions.
For skeptical souls, behaviour is predictable, especially if your opinions of humanity are low.
Narrative settles on one character and his path, which sinks preposterous.

[Vultural]

Ghost in the Shell Arise: Border 4 - Ghost Stands Alone - 5/10 - 2014

Stumbling, repetitive conclusion to groundbreaking franchise.
Finale prequel to the original finds the unit mostly assembled.
Kusanagi, Batou, et al, just before joining Section 9.
Usual themes of identity, cyber consciousness, terrorism, intelligence hacking.
Some visuals quite beautiful, other scenes are static.  Characters sitting in a bare room, talking.
Action is minimal, the plot is borrowed bits and pieces from earlier shows.
Not essential, even for GITS fans.

[Vultural]

The Beatles, Hippies And Hells Angels - 2017 - 7/10

Scoring this a 7 for Beatles fans.  Casual onlookers, give a 6.
Labour of love overview of Apple Corps.  Wide eyed, trusting souls, launch a “new business model.”
Behind the scenes histories as told by the office girls, a few hangers on, and the accountant.
Especially, the accountant.  The Beatles, at the height of their success had tax liabilities to choke royalty.
“Set up your own company."   They did, and this doc shows where a flood of the money went.
Packed with photos, many I had never seen before, as well as fresh voices.
Funny, engaging, bittersweet.  From gear to groovy to bummer.  Must for moptop fans.

[Vultural]

The Limehouse Golem - 2017 - 6/10

1880 London.  A serial killer is loose and authorities at a loss.
Historical note:  Jack the Ripper was 1888.
A marginalized detective is given the case, purpose  being if he fails, he will be the scapegoat.
The inspector’s attention turns to an unrelated domestic murder, instead.
Suspects include Dan Leno, George Gissing, Karl Marx.
Methodical pace allows various imagined scenarios to unroll in gaslit Victoria England.
Aside from the illuminated British Library, this is set in dirty alleys and the hazy confines of the music hall.
Soiled look will appeal to fans of Ripper Street, Mr Holmes, Sergeant Cribb ...
Bill Nighy fine in role originally meant for Alan Rickman.
Steer clear of spoiler reviews.  Devilish corkscrew ending.