Recommend a movie

[Vultural]

Conte d’hiver - 1992 - 6/10
AKA - The Winter’s Tale

Part of Eric Rohmer’s “four seasons” quartet.
Young couple enjoys idyllic summer romance.
End of vacation, she gives him her address with,  “Visit me as soon as you are in my town!”
Next scene = 5 years later.
Female is now a single mother with daughter who is almost 5. Hmmm.
She has two different suitors, neither of whom she is much interested in (still carries the torch).
Turns out she gave “summer fling” the wrong address.
She insists that was accidental, and has been settling for Mr Right-Now.
French fans, you know if this interests you.

Of the four “season” films (I have viewed all, and own two), I would recommend Conte d'Automne as the first title for adults to investigate, with Conte de Printemps second.

[Vultural]

Hitler’s Island Fortress - 2011 - 6/10

Should be of interest to History buffs and the curious.
Archaeologists unearth Nazi gun placements on Jersey.
They do a three day dig to get an inkling of what the fortifications looked like.
A few uncomfortable interviews with aging survivors, shell casings, guesses on layouts.
Otherwise, filler.
This is NOT a doc covering the years Jersey was occupied, from 1940 - 1945.

[Vultural]

The Exploding Girl - 2009 - 6/10

Quiet, chick flick.
Ivy is home on college break. Staying with mom in New York City, hanging with friends, drinking a little.
Phoning her boyfriend.  Repeat . . . phoning her boyfriend.  Again.  And - he - does - not - answer.
When you first hook up, your calls get answered immediately.
Ivy keeps getting his voicemail.  The machine.
Either that or, "Sorry, I can't talk right now."
The women I watched this with shook their heads, recognizing the dump miles before the character did.

[Vultural]

Murder At Christmas - 2014 - 6/10

During Yule revels, Joanna Yeates, a bubbly, sunshine in a bottle lass, disappears in Bristol.
Surveillance cameras capture most of her movements on 17 December, on into her flat.
Her body was found Christmas Day, strangled.
Lightweight documentary poorly captures details or motivations.
Explanations for the culprit are sketchy.
Sad, especially considering the season, but oddly indifferent.
Not mentioned was the shockingly awful press coverage.

[Vultural]

The Falcon Takes Over - 1942 - 6/10

Escaped convict arrives in nightclub where he worked, pre-confinement.
“Where’s Velma?”  followed by neck breaking.  Only the beginning of neck snapping, it turns out.
The Falcon (George Sanders) gets involved - - for no real reason.
RKO entry came two years too early for Noir, but the components are there.

Ward Bond, the menacing murderer, is shot from low angles, in deep shadow.
Unresolved conspiracies, point to a mastermind at the top.
Story based on Chandler’s “Farewell, My Lovely,” awkwardly mixes light comedy with vengeance.
Entertaining, though Falcon fans and Noir buffs might be confused by this cocktail.

[Vultural]

Neon Demon - 2016 - 5/10

Listed as Horror / Thriller.  Say what?
I got this hoping for fashion arthouse Horror.  What a fool believes.
Dewy eyed miss wanders Los Angeles hoping to make it as high fashion model.
Success is overnight, everything else is glacial.  Pace is mind numbing slow.
On the couture end, clothes look off the J C Penney’s rack.
Inventive composition, angles, colours?  No, just coloured light filters.
Nick Knight, Annie Leibowitz, Grace Coddington, et al have nothing to fear from this twaddle.

[Vultural]

9000 Needles - 2011 - 6/10

Documentary about Devin Dearth, businessman and bodybuilder after a stroke rendered him a vegetable.
His US insurance company stopped medical payments after 100 days of therapy, after he had revived but was paralyzed on his right side.
He journeyed to Tianjin, China and began extensive physical therapy, herbal applications, and acupuncture.
The treatment lasted several months, cost $20,000, and used over 9000 needles.
Inspiring story, needed a tighter edit.

[Vultural]

Des Bien Aimes - 2011 - 5/10
AKA - Beloved

For twenty minutes, I am enjoying this comedy, thinking, “This is why I like French films."
Then the comedy ends, followed by a two hour dirge.
Bummer.
Story starts in 1964 as young shoe clerk, working as whore on the side, meets a young doctor.
Within minutes, love leads to marriage.  Right, how many doctors pick prostitutes?
Marriage sours, then we follow her grown daughter and her relationship problems.
Throughout, narratives swing  between both tearful women.
Still curious about this doozy, French fans?  This is also a musical!  Characters sing throughout.
Song lyrics are wowzah bad -  ♫ The son of a fish is fishy ♪
Some of the dialogue is equally insane - “The beaver is sleeping?” “You know why they have a flat tail?”  “Because they were sucked by ducks.”
Swear, I’m not making this up!
Sadly ... the whole thing is a downer and a bore.  This could have been a trash masterpiece.

[Vultural]

Alias Boston Blackie - 1942 - 5/10

Fast paced, watchable programmer in the long running series.This is the “Christmas episode,” though that is really stretchin
Some indoor decorations, characters wishing seasons greetings.
Otherwise, streets look hot and sunny.
During charity revels (dancing girls and a bounding clown) in the slammer, one of the cons escapes.
Inspector Fararday is there, as is Blackie, on whom Farraday eyes as suspect number one.
Chases follow escapes follow temporary captures, looped several times.
Truly, if you have seen one Boston Blackie, you’ve seen them all.
Chester Morris breezes effortlessly as the nimble, reformed crook, always able to aid an attractive female.

[Vultural]

TiMER - 2009 - 6/10

Indie flick.
A wrist implant allows wearers to know exactly when they will meet their life partner. Their "soul mate."
Great, if the wait is six months or so. What if it is 30 years?
Do you date around with Mr. Right Now, waiting for Mr. Right to finally appear?
TiMER's heroine's band reads 00 - 00 - 00:00. Her true love is either dead or never bothered with the implant.
She meets someone who is fun, who refuses to get the implant. Can she fall in love the old-fashioned way?
With arguments, misunderstandings, and no guarantee of love.
Bittersweet.

[Vultural]

Elusive Justice - The Search For Nazi War Criminals - 2011 - 7/10

Incisive documentary hounds the trail of escaped WWII criminals.
After the Nuremberg show trials, and regional / national trials, the major powers opted to put the past behind.
(Rarely on trial were the scientists, whom all nations wanted).
Especially interesting is the Vatican to Argentina conduit, used by hundreds.
The “ratlines” as they were known, used Nazi gold as payment though that was not discussed.
Second half of the doc followed ongoing hunts and extradition attempts.
Race against time, as it were, before now quite old Nazis die off completely.

This was real news in the 80s, and I often wondered, “What’s the point?"
These are frail, elderly men, just forget it.  Except - no - we should not.
There should never be a “statute of limitations” for war criminals or mass murderers.
Otherwise, the next generation will assume they too can kill, and die of old age in their sleep.

I watch a fair amount of these war documentaries and  their aftermath.
To my eye, history seems on the verge of repeating itself, as nations everywhere place a “strong man” in charge to solve their problems.
People wave and cheer and scream, as the tide eddies us closer and closer into Corryvreckan.

[Vultural]

While You Were Sleeping - 1995 - 7/10

Once popular Sandra Bullock holiday vehicle, now sliding off radar.
Unfairly, perhaps.  Despite script flaws, this has a lot of heart and a surprisingly melancholic tone.
Female token booth employee rescues affluent man after he is shoved onto train rails and rendered comatose.
Due to misunderstandings, his family thinks she is their son’s fiancee and embraces her into their home.
From there on, complications, funny and bittersweet, ensue.
Minor drawback is the cartoony score which misinforms scene after scene.

The heart of this, however, is an amazing performance by Bullock, whose character, Lucy, is whip-smart, funny, kind hearted, romantic, and desperately lonely.
Though the film is about Lucy, in real life such characters work beside us or live across the hall, yet are completely invisible.  And at Christmas time, generally forgotten.
One of Bullock’s best roles

[Vultural]

When You're Strange - 2009 - 7/10

Recent-ish documentary of The Doors, focusing, as usual, on frontman Jim Morrison.
This used footage that was new to me, and I've viewed plenty of Doors flicks. Cool Shelby Mustang.
Narrated by Johnny Depp..
Fun slide from Los Angeles to Paris to immortality.

[Vultural]

Comfort And Joy - 1984 - 5/10

Scottish radio announcer gets entangled in ice cream truck feud.
Mister Bunny (no more Mister Softy!) trucks vandalize McCool trucks and vice versa.
In other hands, this might have been a holiday turf war.
Instead, this is weird for the sake of weirdness.
No character development - indeed, even the main character, one Dickie Bird, is barely a sketch.
A “wintery" film, the story is fairly depressing and meanders in a lifeless path.
I screened this theatrically when it first came out.  I had no memory of it because it is not memorable.
Quirky, not comedy.  Quirky, though not particularly enjoyable.

[Vultural]

A History Of Horror - 2010 - 6/10

Three part documentary on cinematic Horror.
1930s Universal, Hammer in the ‘60s, knives in the 80s.
Mark Gatiss chats with historians, surviving relics, and filmmakers.
There are detours throughout, such as the Val Lewton films of the 40s, Euro Horror that paralleled the blood drenched Hammer productions, and major studio releases of the 70s.
I knew every single one of the films referenced, as will most readers of this forum.
A nice introduction, but no undiscovered ground.

[Vultural]

Limits Of Control - 2009 - 4/10

What the hell was that?
Oh, a Jim Jarmusch film. No wonder it was incomprehensible.
Hitman Isaach De Bankole journeys across southern Spain,
and receives instructions from quirky messengers along the way.
Target is shrouded, as are the reasons. Narrative glides between literal and allegory.
Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Bill Murray and Paz de la Huerta play bit parts.
The scenery was great, moving from Madrid to Sevilla into the Andalusian countryside.
Pace never picks up, and viewers are given few clues, though that is part of the charm of a Jarmusch film, or reasons for annoyance towards his oeuvre.

[Vultural]

The Twelve Trees Of Christmas - 2013 - 5/10

I was in the mood for a “different” Christmas film.
Something along the lines of Chupacabra Vs Baby Jesus Vs Salvation Army Santas.
This is out there, I just know it!  Or it ought to be.
Whilst I searched for holiday horrors, my bride waltzed in and loaded this winner.

Manhattan library is scheduled to be wrecked for swanky new condos!
Rather than phone Don Trump for advice, plucky librarian decides to save her beloved workplace with a Christmas tree contest!
Oh, and it just happens she lives in the same apartment as the billionaire owner of the library site.  And he is young, handsome, and single.  Another Festivus miracle!
Will the library be saved?  Will love blossom?  Will that little girl take elocution lessons?

Note:  I was fairly bruised by the time credits rolled.
Because I kept asking questions and kept getting shoved, punched or kicked in reply.
“Her librarian character is single, thin, and straight?  All three?”
“Her apartment is huge!  With a view!  On a librarian salary!  Where can I get one?”
“Wait a minute.  Her boss, the head of the library, hooking up with the janitor?”
“Where are all the homeless people?  Street people,  crazy people, bums?”
“What kids read real books?  Those kids don’t have smart phones?”
“Where did contestants buy their trees?  They must be 15 feet high, all of ‘em!”
“Look, Casper Van Dien!  Whoa, is that Scary Spice?”
Yes, it was.  Christmas treacle from the Lifetime Channel.  Caveat emptor.

[Vultural]

Boomerang - 1947 - 6/10

Part of 20th Century Fox Noir releases.
Popular minister is murdered on a busy sidewalk by man in coat and hat.
Police proceed to arrest every man who fills said description - poor or unemployed men, naturally.
They zero in on one and wear him down, refusing to let him sleep, until he signs a “confession.”
Case closed!  Citizens can rest easy at nights as democracy triumphs again.
Well ... no ... cause this ain’t no Noir.  It’s an early, preachy Elia Kazan film.
Corrupt small town America, themes that landed Kazan in a hotseat before HUAC.
There are better and more fun Noirs out there, as well as finer Kazan films, though I tend to shun this particular director.

[Vultural]

Split Second - 1953 - 6/10

Pair of convicts break out of prison, greet a confederate, and hit the road.
Enroute waits a stash of loot and south of the border passage.
First - car, hostages, and a hideout.
What better place to hide than an abandoned mining town, half mile from an atomic bomb test site?
“No one will hunt for us here.  Especially since there is a test tomorrow at 6:00 AM.”
Part Noir, part Playhouse drama.
Eye candy includes luscious Jan Sterling (bad girl with the good heart), and Alexis Smith (bitter wife, bored and oh-so easy).
The real star, though, is Stephen McNally, the head con.  Tough, unflinching, he can and does kill in a heartbeat.
Smartest man in the room.  Yet being a Noir, things can go wrong, even for smart guys.

This was Dick Powell’s first directorial film and I could not get over the nuclear bomb angle.
Three years later, he would direct The Conqueror on Utah’s testing grounds.
That movie, an atrocious John Wayne vehicle, is notorious for the heavy death toll, stars and crew, from cancer.

[Vultural]

10 Cloverfield Lane - 2016 - 6/10

Female, post-breakup, driving late night answers pleading boyfriend on cellphone.
She hangs up, he recalls, she reaches and -- screech, wallop!  Yes, car-phone crash.
Next scene, she is shackled to a hospital bed, IV drip in vein.
She is “guest” of survivalist (John Goodman), convinced the Apocalypse has occurred.
There is no radio, no outside news, only his saccharine 60s pap music collection.
Over time, she adjusts to her situation, though there is growing uneasiness.
Goodman’s character (a version of Lebowski Walter) might be unstable.
A slow burn of a film, yet definitely a fork off Cloverfield.