Recommend a movie

[Vultural]

Wild Target - 2010 - 5/10

Hitman Bill Nighy is hired to kill con-woman Emily Blunt after she cheats Rupert Everett with a fake Rembrandt.  Nighy's character is amused by her, then intrigued, protective, finally in love.
Odd British "comedy" with a who's who of talent including Eileen Atkins, Rupert Grint and Martin Freeman.
At one point, during an absurd car chase, I turned to my companion and asked aloud if Benny Hill was still alive.
To be fair, my companion, already tipsy, loved this silly farce way more than I.
OK time waster.

 

[Vultural]

Miss Mend - 1926 - 6/10
AKA - Мисс Менд

Four hour, Silent serial from Soviet Union.  Three, long-as-hell chapters that should have been chopped to 12.
Miss Mend is a typist who witnesses a strike over at the Rocfeller Cork Factory!  
Also watching are members of the press:  journalist, photographer, office boy.
Male trio is box o rocks dumb (call ‘em Dimwit, Halfwit, and Nitwit) but the yarn is more them, less Mend.
The group get mixed up with this rich swell who wants to donate his fortune to the Bolsheviks.
However, a powerful Capitalist agency wants to thwart him.
Worse, massacre thousands of innocent Russians!
Story - mostly set in (CCCP’s version of) the US of A - is fast moving but jumps all over kingdom come.
Good luck keeping track of motivations and who’s on which side.
Fairly casual death count in this, without flinching from suffering  the smallest.

[Vultural]

Lo And Behold - 2016 - 5/10

Rare misfire, at least for me. from Werner Herzog.
Interesting opening about the start of the Internet.  And no - no Al Gore claiming credit.
Then Herzog hops about from inter-connections, privacy issues, security problems, megalomaniacs ...
Topics have been covered in numerous documentaries, and better, too.
This is watered down Readers Digest.
One particular section was of some folks “allergic” to radio waves, living in West Virginia.
Kicking back, playing ole timey bluegrass.
Completely out of place - that dog don’t hunt.
Another odd speculation - does the Internet dream of itself?  If so, does your fridge?

[Vultural]

Tamara Drewe - 2010 - 6/10

Ugly duckling Tamara moves to London, hits the gym, chops the nose, and returns to her rural roots during a writers retreat.
Tamara (Gemma Arterton) appears wearing short shorts, fashion hair, and drop dead looks.
Several males hide the sausage with her, including a rock star (!?!).
Not a comedy, nor a drama. British cow-over-the fence piece. Nice scenery throughout.
A rather dotty film, heavily beholden to The World Of Henry Orient owing to two obsessive young girls.
Couple of songs by Swipe had me checking www_allmusic_com.
Worth a look if you're curious.  Arterton was gorgeous.

[Vultural]

Denial - 2016 - 7/10

Drama of Holocaust writer, Deborah Lipstadt, vs Holocaust denier, David Irving.
Fairly accurate retelling of the seeds of the conflict, legal strategies, then the case before the High Court.
Weisz as Lipstadt, irritating throughout. Impulsive, easily baited, rubber-necking during proceedings.
Her portrayal feels “based on”.   Writer’s heavy hand or directorial flourish.
Other than her version, everyone else excelled.

I am almost finished with an extremely lengthy “revisionist” documentary so was familiar with Irving and many of his assertions.
Unsettling notion that history can be utterly rewritten, especially as society loses cognitive function.

[Vultural]

Scott Walker - 30th Century Man - 2006 - 6/10

Mr. Walker is best remembered as singer in The Walker Brothers, a 60's British Invasion group.
None of the members were brothers or Walkers.
In most of the world, they were known for “The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine.”
In Swinging London, they were a phenomenon.
When the moment was over, Scott followed his own dark, haunted muse, crafting chilling, lonely albums.
Musique concrete.
The documentary charts the path of the most reclusive artist. I appreciated the film, but I didn't rush out to find “Scott 4“ or “Walker Bros Night Flight,” both highly praised.

[Vultural]

The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall - 1996 - 6/10

Glossy three-parter of the Anne Brontë novel.
Widow moves to tiny hamlet, small son in tow.  Also closet skeletons and unspoken baggage.
Village gossip quickly turns malicious and she is shunned by all save a yeoman who is attracted to her.
Secrets are shown in flashback of the horrors the widow fled from.
Most of the characters are brutish, vicious and given to vice.
This is a moral tale, with a suffering, albeit strong, female character.
Finely done, but those seeking another Pemberley, beware.

[Vultural]

Maigret Sets A Trap - 2016 - 6/10

A serial killer stalks brunettes on the streets of Montmartre.
The chief inspector, an analytical cold fish, has a plan.
An English production, filmed in Hungary, this is handsome.
There is limited character development, however.  No idea at all who any of the victims are.
For a murder mystery, there is no tension, no suspense, no clue chasing.
Interesting to see Rowen Atkinson as Maigret.  He underplays nicely, though I wish he had more fire.

[Vultural]

Lost In Austen - 2008 - 8/10

Warning! Chick Flick Alert!
Loving homage to Pride And Prejudice.
Passionate Austen reader, Amanda Price, somehow enters the alternate literary universe and switches places with character Elizabeth Bennett.
Miss Price, knows the characters and knows the narrative, so she tries to help the plot with unexpected consequences.
Next, she tries to repair her mistakes and further compounds the disasters.
This film (mini series, actually) was devised with heart and invention. It was released two years after the Keira Knightly version of P & P, which I loathed (tried to vamp the plot to ADD types).

Note: Seek out the UK version. Versions in other countries are missing Amanda's ringtone, which was a nice joke, as well as the funny “Downtown” scene.

[Vultural]

Give Me Your Hand - 2008 - 4/10
AKA - Donne-moi la Main

Twin 18 year old brothers set off from France to a funeral in Spain.
To say farewell to the mother who had abandoned them.
They hitch hike and spend most of their time fighting and arguing.
Early in the narrative, a cute girl quits her job to tag along with them ... just like in real life.
After pop the weasel with each, she exits.
Ditto, two bang bunnies who slow down in their car.
Slow, unfunny, with unlikeable leads.  I longed for them to wander into a Hostel inn.

[Vultural]

The Man Behind Hitler - 2006 - 7/10

Documentary on Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minster of propaganda.
Kenneth Branagh reads excerpts from Goebbels diary.
Newsreels, still photos try to “put you back” into the moment.
Extremely well done and essential for any WWII buff.

Two points I wondered about.
1)  Keeping any fort of diary strikes me as risky, especially with such pointed entries.
2)  The diaries survived intact!

Another thing.  Goebbels was German, Branagh is British.
So what part of this “The American Experience” episode is U S of A related?

[Vultural]

Please Give - 2010 - 6/10

NYC husband and wife own a boutique furniture resale shop.
They buy merchandise from children of recently dead elders.
Wife (Catherine Keener) suffers guilt from profiteering from bereaved, gives cash to street bums, attempts volunteer work.
Their next door neighbor is 91, carrot hair, cranky, with no check switch.
Husband (Oliver Platt) flirts with granny's granddaughter (Amanda Peet).
If you have sisters, or grandma or mother from hell, you will relate.
Nice plot threads. Savage bitch lit dialogue.

[Vultural]

Station West - 1948 - 6/10

US Army sends an undercover operative to investigate a couple of murders.
Gold is starting to stockpile in a nearby fort, the nearby town is controlled by a boss.
Action occurs in the saloon and out on the hard scrabble in this unusual Western.
Dick Powell plays the sharp tongued detective, Jane Greer the manipulative, mystery woman.
Yep, a couple of Noir icons in two fisted cowboy Noir.  Oh yeah, Raymond Burr as crooked lawyer!
Fights, chases, missing bullion, fires, romance, and dark mischief packed into 80 odd minutes.

[Vultural]

The Loving Story - 2011 - 7/10

Moving documentary of married couple expelled from Virginia, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Expelled in 1958 for miscegenation (ie: interracial marriage).
Overall tone is quiet.  The couple seem subdued, perhaps uncomfortable around camera lenses.
Interviews with the ACLU attorneys involved both enlightening and enjoyable.
No one from the Virginia courthouse spoke.
The husband, a crew cut bricklayer, I thought I would not like, but he turned out OK.
Film versions in 1996 and 2016.

[Vultural]

Don’t Breathe - 2016 - 6/10

Three twentyish burglars prowl Detroit homes.
They follow guidelines (keep the haul under $10K to avoid felony), tight timetables.
For some, it might be hard to work up sympathy for lowlifes who steal their stuff.
“Cause I’m disadvantaged!”  or  “Growin’ up was hard!”  or  “I ain’t rich like you!”
Even less sympathy when they target the Gulf War vet who lives in a forlorn neighborhood.
He’s all alone, and he’s blind.
Being thugs, they decide to hit the blind guy’s house in the middle of the night.
Course your powers of prediction are likely superior to those fools.
Great home invasion thriller.

[Vultural]

Never Let Me Go - 2010 - 7/10

Cloning becomes reality in the 1950's.
Replicas are created as organ donors.
By the 70's and 90's, most are expected to survive four procedures before "completion."
Keira Knightly, Carey Mulligan, Charlotte Rampling lead a strong cast in parallel-universe tale of identity and being.
Rumination on whether clones possess souls.
A melancholy, rainy afternoon film. Most definitely not stereotyped Sci-Fi.

[Vultural]

Spectral - 2016 - 6/10

Bose-Einstein students, check this out!
Planet Earth's global police force (the U S of A military) fights in Moldava.
The enemy has unleashed something uncategorical, and US troops are getting their asses kicked.
A weapons designer is summoned from the States to take the measure of the weapon.
Ghost - alien - undead - A I - molemen - spirits - robots?  Warning - Try to avoid spoiler riddled reviews if you can.
Similar to Cruise’s Edge Of Tomorrow, with even less character development.
Solid cast of mostly men (not boys).  Heavy combat action enhance this SciFi yarn.
The more you can suspend disbelief, the better you should enjoy, though jargon and explanations do stretch thin at times.

[Vultural]

Five - 2016 - 5/10

Five friends (get it?) decide to pool wages to move into pricey apartment together.
The spotlight hogging rich kid finds himself abruptly disinherited, only he keeps quiet.
New career, he starts peddling high end reefer to high end clients.
Yes, like most mere mortals have access to both.
Complications ensue in not always funny French comedy.
Fanny Ardant plays weed huffin’ Fanny Ardant.

[Vultural]

Hitler - The Greatest Story Never Told - 2013 - 5/10

Lengthy and subversive documentary on Der Führer.
Lengthy, as in 25 episodes, an additional episode of credits, and a bonus episode of life in decadent Berlin before the National Socialists straightened things out.
Over riding theme is Adolf was a genuine good guy who tried to save the world from Bolsheviks.
Initial dozen or so episodes are better crafted, mixing stories that had me heading to my WW II books or Wikipedia:  the Haavara Agreement, Bromberg Massacre, Operation Keelhaul, among others.
Other assertions are just plain whoopers.  Two examples:  Zylkon-B used at Auschwitz was for delousing.  Equating Berlin defenders with Masada resisting Roman legions.
Latter episodes suffer poor narration, scenes from movies (unattributed), and general meandering.
Subversive, in that at 15“ each, these episodes are easily digested and will be attractive to many.
Bonus episode of decadent Berlin is cobbled directly from Legendary Sin Cities: Berlin - Metropolis Of Vice, without attribution.
IMDB tallies big scores for this revisionist documentary, as well as numerous detailed reviews.
In general, I always urge people to absorb and study as much as they can.
“History is written by victors,"  (often attributed to Hermann Göring), I realize as I get older is less and less reliable.

[Vultural]

Weather Girl - 2009 - 5/10

Noooo!
Whiney story masquerading as romantic comedy or date night film.
35 year old "sassy" weather girl quits her job after male coworker plays hide the sausage with blonde anchor.
Then - miracle! - she meets a supposed 29 year old male (the age he gives). Sparks kindle.
The lead female character is actually 40 and looks it.
Unfunny chick flick
Do not confuse this with the 1996 classic with Kei Mizutani. That is a must for cult fans.

This 2009 version with blonde doof is acceptable date flick diversion.