Recommend a movie

[Vultural]

Darkman - 1990 - 6/10

My introduction to Liam Neeson, over twenty years ago.
He had been in other films (eg: Excalibur), but this was his first starring actioner.
Neeson harrowing as vengeance driven scientist squared off against the murderous Larry Drake and his trusty cigar cutter.
Sam Raimi's comic tendencies now come off as silly and distracting.
Darkman came between Evil Dead 2 and Army Of Darkness.
Those two were horror comedies, Darkman was more violent and should have thrust straight for the jugular.
Definitely a series that could use a reboot.
Neeson could also replay the role, much harder, more diabolical.

 

[Vultural]

Cold Comfort Farm - 1995 - 8/10

The story of Robert Poste's child, Flora, left orphaned by the unspecified demise of both parents.
She decides to stay with relatives at Cold Comfort Farm.  Kate Beckinsale shines in an early role.

Droll comedy packed with memorable quotes.
"I saw something nasty in the woodshed."
"There have always been Starkadders on Cold Comfort Farm."
"If you come to this doomed house, what is there to save you?"
"Drain the well, there's a neighbor missing."
“Nature is all very well in her place, but she must not be allowed to make things untidy.”
"What do you do in the evenings, Seth? When you're not eating people."
"If there be any virgins amongst you, which is not likely, the world being in the wicked state that it is."
“There'll be no butter in hell!”

[Vultural]

A Christmas Horror Story - 2015 - 6/10

Per title, holiday horror, anthology style.
North Pole finds Mr. Claus squared off against elves going zombie on him.
Rest of the film takes place around Bailey Downs.
High school journalist students break into school during holiday to investigate mysteriously slaughtered students.
Father - mother - son climb over the “NO TRESPASSING” sign to chop a Christmas tree.
Bickering family visit reclusive, wealthy auntie where a bored, disrespectful son breaks a Krampus statue.
Anchoring the stories is a midnight DJ - Sha tner.  (Ha ha - leaving this as joke, read the Star Trek captain.)
Narratives weave back n forth instead of proceeding consecutively, which has irked ADD types on IMDB.
OK enough time waster.  Few scares.  Couple of points for invention and giving Krampus screen time.

[Vultural]

Rolling Stones - Live In Fort Worth, Texas - 1978 - 7/10

By late 70s, Punk exploded, dismissing the old guard as irrelevant, pompous, out of step, tired.
Old. Especially those British Invasion relics.  
In '78, the Stones discarded the bloated sets, Jagger's preening nonsense, and hurled themselves into a tight, no-nonsense tour.
Didn't hurt that Jagger plugged in the guitar again.
In Cowtown's Will Rogers Auditorium, “World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band,” fully lived up to the title.
The performance was pedal to the metal, with a full bore, dialed to 11, sound mix.
Killer.

[Vultural]

The Bishop’s Wife - 1947 - 7/10

Once a perennial Yule favorite, less shown nowadays.
Bishop (non Catholic) prays for help.
Not guidance, not solutions, help.
An angel is sent - Cary Grant.
The angel works, likes God, in mysterious ways, not always understandable.
A small sweep of characters are touched by him, shown the light or their burdens eased.
Old fashioned, uplifting movie.  Wry, not syrupy.  Gentle, not noisy.  Several unforgettable scenes.
Impossible to imagine this remade today, the generation of cynicism giving way to the ironic age.
Most could not imagine a chance encounter with the Divine.

[Vultural]

Urban Explorer - 2011 - 4/10

A mixed quartet of global tourists opt for the €300 (each!) illegal tour of the Berlin sewers.
Destination, a recently discovered, now sealed Nazi room.
Obviously, those 20ish gimbots have never watched a dead teenager flick in their lives.
What else would explain, "Oh, sewer walk, fun!" ?
Avoids clichés initially, then succumbs to predictability and formula.
Docked several points for lazy writing (eg: helpless, whiny female characters), and one stupid decision after another made by players so they could be easy targets.
Caveat emptor.

[Vultural]

Holiday In Handcuffs - 2007 - 5/10

Holiday family folly.
Young woman, facing another dateless family Christmas reunion, kidnaps a completely unknown restaurant customer at musket point.  Yes, musket point.  OK, at gunpoint.
One way or another, she hauls him into snow blanketed oblivion.
The family is seemingly perfect.  The backyard even has an outdoor ice rink!
Will the mismatched couple fall in love?
Aarrgghh!!

Now - what if roles were reversed?  A guy kidnaps a female.
Drags her to his backwoods family.  Bet you’re thinking Texas Chainsaw kinfolk.
Not here.  Not remotely.
Aarrgghh!!

[Vultural]

Burning Man - 2011 - 6/10

Hotshot Australian chef comes to terms with grief via alcohol and hookers.
His son needs attention, the restaurant struggling, and his driving a menace to pedestrians.
Lots of flashbacks of the happy marriage, and the golden moment he had.
Also lots of nudity.
Viewer Beware:  Burning Man, was deliberately chopped, edited and rearranged in random sequence.  Especially at the beginning, the narrative can be challenging.
Not without rewards, but the total experience can be a sour one.

[Vultural]

Star Wars - Blackened Mantle - 2015 - 6/10

Japanese 3-in-1 edit of the Star Wars prequels.
Compelling reconstruction of the narrative.  Phantom Menace footage limited to several flashback sequences of young Anakin.  Jar Jar, podracing, and babble all removed.
Apprentice Anakin becomes unbalanced following his combat with Dooku;  the Jedi Council try to help him, the Emperor tries to exploit.
The alternative story and resurrection of Darth Maul is inspired.

The edit contains problems, however, that might have been smoothed over or eliminated had the unit that created this reached out and sought feedback from better known editing sites.
The parade of flashbacks often get confusing, and the storyline stumbles at times.
Clones and Revenge ping pong back and forth, and viewers are left to gauge hairstyles to keep up.
There was an excessive amount of fades, noticeable in a series which favors wipes.
Dialogue is Japanese - no problem.  Brilliant, alternative subs, though they are hardsubs.
Absolutely worth watching for those who appreciate edits.

[Vultural]

The Unthanks - A Very English Winter - 2012 - 7/10

Folksinger sisters Rachel and Rebecca Unthank explore rural festivals in bleak winter.
They begin on All Souls Night (Halloween) and end on 21 February with a pancake race.
For those sick of it, Christmas is barely mentioned.
This focuses on darker traditions such as ritual combats, door to door begging, bonfires and explosions.
As one said,  “The battle between good and evil, played out in the bitter cold.”

Interesting throughout.  Everyone seems cheerful and helpful, but I couldn’t help wondering how perfect such nights would be to commit and conceal a murder or two.
Subtitles might be helpful, the girls have pronounced Northumberland accents.

[Vultural]

Prog Rock Britannia - An Observation In Three Movements - 2009 - 6/10

Ha ha ha.
Zillions of notes, oddball time signatures, fairyland lyrics, Roger Dean art, Gabriel’s outfits, the madness.
Plus Keith Emerson stabbing his keyboard with the knife!
Hour and a half documentary highlighting wild excesses with amused performers.
Why do a song in 3 minutes when you can do it in 33 minutes?  Or longer!
Wait till you hear how many girls the Prog guys pulled.  Zero!
I still have my Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Emerson Lake Palmer, Captain Beyond, Tull, several others.
On vinyl and CD!  Ha ha, what a geek!
Ha ha ha.  Great times.

[Vultural]

The Eye Of The Storm - 2011 - 7/10

Piss and vinegar matriarch (Charlotte Rampling) summons her two children to her deathbed (Geoffrey Rush & Judy Davis).
No warm n fuzzy family sendoff in this one.
Bad blood and rotten memories.
Unlike other films I've watched recently, these characters had no false belief in redemption.
For Rampling fans, Night Porter was a very long time ago.

[Vultural]

Ex Machina - 2015 - 6/10

Buzzworthy SpecFi (as opposed to SciFi) started irking me from the onset with numerous plotholes and logic leaps.
Hotshot programmer for mega Internet company wins competition for dream date week with the boss.
Turns out, what he really gets to do is test AI (artificial intelligence) on prototype robot with female face.
Dialogue driven tale, as boss - programmer - robot all play word games, maneuver, glean info.
High stakes office politics, ethical and intellectual, with a sexual undercurrent.
Several gorgeous outdoor sequences, notwithstanding, movie feels stagebound.

One is supposed to suspend disbelief, more so with futuristic fare.  Still, this film asks for a lot of suspending.
Issues (possible spoilers) - A two hour helicopter flight?  Pretty far without refueling.
Also, who can acquire so much acreage nowadays?  Who is selling?
Vast, spotless complex.  Not a roomba in sight, let alone janitor, guard, or most anyone else.
Want to avoid spoiling, so just random holes -
... alcohol crutch ... / / ... power outages ... / / ... team members? ... / / ... battery life ... / / ... restraining gizmo ...
Alicia Vikander memorable as bewitching Ava.  Male characters - limitations abound.

[Vultural]

The Great Passage - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - Fune wo amu - or - 舟を編む

Within the publishing firm, the sales division is only too happy to transfer their worst salesman to the dictionary division - considered career death.
Once there, the nebbish bookworm excels and gradually rises through the small ranks.
The updated edition, titled The Great Passage, takes 15 years of checking, cross-checking, verifying, re-verifying definitions and meanings before it finally reaches publication.
As the world passes from print to digital.
Not altogether dull, though story moves at its own leisurely pace.
By any standard, extremely geeky.

[Vultural]

Shame - 2011 - 5/10

From all the hype I was expecting fare truly disgusting.
Train wreck sister moves in temporarily with her highly successful brother in Manhattan. She cramps his routine of meaningless sex, Internet porn, hookers, skin magazines, dirty videos, etc ...  Both leads (Fassbender and Mulligan) could be termed easy on the eyes.
Bleak and depressing.
You would think someone could create characters who had a lusty appreciation of magazines and videos.

[Vultural]

San Francisco 2.0 - 2015 - 6/10

Documentary by Alexandra Pelosi.
For non-USA residents, she is the daughter of ex House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Straight off, I braced for a “message” so was not surprised.
Doc charts affluent developers of the Bay city versus poor folks being squeezed out.
Note image above.  Everything is disposable.  Even a legendary ballpark.
By and large, the poor are renters living on rent control.
Landlords want to quadruple rent for rich Millennials working in burgeoning tech firms.
Never mind that so many are start-up unicorns.
Talking heads (Robert Reich, Jerry Brown) cite vanishing diversity, class inequality, diminished opportunities . . .
Sure, boss, whatever.  Landowners always want top return, tax man wants higher property taxes, eager young adults will pay for trendy.
How quick do you think developers and City Hall can jerry-rig the system?
Lower orders, if your education and work skills are inferior, then your pie shall be humble.
Been that way since Caesar.

Aside - I have visited San Francisco regularly for over a decade.
Political liberalism aside, the true power brokers always strike me as conservatives.
Folks often praise diversity, while prize exclusivity.

[Vultural]

Student Services - 2010 - 6/10
AKA - Mes chères études

19 year old university student (Déborah François) starts turning tricks to pay rent, buy food, shop for nice clothes.
Narrative charts her progression from desperate Internet search to experienced free lancer.
Fair range of johns, though most are unpleasant.
Couple of warnings -
This aired on French television and the screen is filled with full frontal nudity.
Not male nudity, though a large “male substitute” is featured prominently in one sequence.
For viewers who prefer their females to resemble Barbie or a 10 year old, Ms François favors a full bush.

[Vultural]

Legend - 2015 - 6/10

Tom Hardy portrays the brothers Kray, crime lords in 60s Swinging London, and is the chief reason to view this.
Hardy riveting as certifiable Ronnie, equally effective as more polished Reggie.
Film starts in early 60s,after the Krays have conquered the East End where they are feared and adored.
Oddly enough, the narrative is told primarily from Reggie’s girlfriend, later wife, Frances.
Consequently, there is little in the way of “gangster” business.  Violence is minimal.
More a character study, especially the triangle between Ronnie - Reggie - Frances.
Atmospheric set designs.  Nice, unfamiliar soundtrack.  Fine acting all around.
Still, the film is sorely lacking in oomph.
Fifteen minutes of Guy Ritchie would have juiced this up.

[Vultural]

The Woman In The Fifth - 2011 - 5/10

A throwback to the incomprehensible arthouse fare of the 70s.
Writer Ethan Hawke moves to Paris to be closer to his daughter.
Had he been in prison?  A mental institute?
He is penniless, yet lands a job watching monitors for a gangster? Drug peddler? Accountant?
Meets a potential literary muse in Kristin Scott Thomas.  Is she ... or maybe ... but then ... say wha ... ?
The old phrase, "That's why they call 'em furreign films," definitely applies here.
A confused jumble.

[Vultural]

Sitcom - 1998 - 5/10

Stately home exterior, Happy Birthday sung within, punctuated with gunfire and screaming.
Then the phrase, “Earlier ...” and the flashback.
Deliberately strange François Ozon comedy / satire of family mores.
During dinner, the son stands up, announces he is homosexual, goes to his room.
Also at the table is the maid’s husband who offers to speak with the boy.
He goes to his room, removes his own clothes, and verifies the homosexual claim.
After dinner, the suicidal daughter reveals a propensity for S&M.
The distraught mother decides to test her son’s sexual inclination her own way.
Oh, I almost forgot the family white rat who is encouraged to crawl in and out of all sorts of places one would not normally think of.
And no, I’m not giving much away since this is simply the opening twenty minutes of a bizarre ride.
Somewhere, Robert Crumb smiles.