Recommend a movie

[Vultural]

The Autopsy Of Jane Doe - 2016 - 6/10

An unidentified female corpse is found in a gory home invasion slaughterhouse.
The sheriff, spooked by her, nonetheless hauls her to the coroner.
Coroner and assistant, father and son, begin to examine the nude,
Junior, by the way, passed on his hot girlfriend's offer of wet lovin' to help ole Pa.
Pezhead.
Straight away, the body indicates shattered bones under unbruised skin, mutilations, mysterious items nestling in the torso.
The radio goes haywire, overhead lights flicker, do the men notice?
Naw, they are too busy examining the naked girl.  And neither seems to have ever viewed a Horror flick.
While eerie at times, most of you gentle readers will experience deja vu with this.

[Vultural]

The Story Of Temple Drake - 1933 - 7/10

Southern belle, Temple, is the gorgeous granddaughter of the local judge
She is pampered, spoiled, and a wild thing.  Both her parents are dead.
Temple dates, parties, runs free.  To men, she is cocktease.  For everyone else, endless gossip.
Dashing from a drunken party, she's in a car crash out in the boondocks.
Rescue comes from bootleggers and gangsters.
Hard men, who know how to pluck a ripe flower.

Adaptation of Faulkner's - one might think unfilmable - "Sanctuary," still packs a jolt.
Audiences in the 30s must have been floored by this lurid, tawdry affair.
For yes, Temple's assault is only the beginning of her descent into the ways of the world.
The cinematography by Karl Struss, replete with dark shadows and slashed lighting, is stunning.

[Vultural]

Britain's Great War - 2014 - NA (not finished)

Documentary on World War I that I had been looking forward to viewing.
Jeremy Paxman, who  wrote the acclaimed book on which this is based, is the presenter.
Alas, he is too much of a good thing, at least for me.
Maybe I am getting tired of the presenter / tour guide format.
Mr Paxman is seems to be in almost every single scene.
His dead serious expression and over earnest delivery usurp maps,newsreels, archived interviews.
It's not like I have not seen WWI docs before, I have watched plenty.  A few I have recommended here.
Not this one, however.  The omnipresent tour guide wore me out.

[Vultural]

Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit - 2016 - NA (not finished)

Comments about Paxman's Britain's Great War can be applied to this documentary in spades.
Ms Beard, a prestigious Cambridge don, is enthusiastic and infectious.
Again, though, she is in every single scene.  Including bits where she is walking or driving.
She is also given to odd facial expressions, contortions, grimaces, which I found distracting.
I wanted to watch this.  I wanted to like it.
Perhaps there is a clause in celebrity presenter contracts, that they must appear in 75% of the footage.
Overload for me.  Bummer.

[Vultural]

Ingrid Goes West - 2017 - 6/10

Whiny song of the modern era wannabee.
Ingrid craves "Likes," wants "Followers," needs acceptance, demands recognition of her ... of her what?
Of her specialness.
She travels west, begins to stalk an online celebrity who cannot number all her followers.
Ingrid ingratiates herself and tries, so desperately hard, to be part, to be accepted, to be valued.
Marketed as a black comedy, this is more a cringe inducing portrayal of an undernourished soul.
Cannot say I enjoyed, but this is oddly compelling.  Like observing the slow trainwreck in all its agony.

[Vultural]

Venom - 1981 - 6/10

Decent thriller (NOT a Horror film) with a powerhouse cast.
London kidnappers set sights on a young boy while his wealthy parents are traveling.
The boy is a pet enthusiast, and the day of the snatch, he brings home a new snake.
Unfortunately, the shoppe mixes his order and he brings home a Mamba, which escapes.
At which point, the caper begins to sour.
Klaus Kinski and Oliver Reed supposedly hated each other on sight during filming.
Plot itself = bad guys, hostages, determined copper, and one pissed off snake (no CGI, it was an actual mamba, borrowed from the London zoo!).

[Vultural]

Humanoids From The Deep - 1980 - 5/10
AKA - Monster // Midnight Love Thing (if only, sorry)

Creature feature that revels in excess, gore, nudity and general tastelessness.
Modest fishing town hosts annual salmon festival, and gets excited about brand spanking new canning factory!
Alcohol fuels male tempers into fights and more fights.  Females mostly stay frisky.
Then, without warning, from the churning Pacific depths, a mutation surfaces.
It kills menfolk, it eats dogs and children, and women -- it slips the willie in them.
While clearly a budget affair, the pace seldom plods and there is a pile of death and depravity for the drive-in crowd.

This ripoff of Alien was not trashy enough for Roger Corman, so when the original director balked at reshooting gratuitous bouncing knockers and multiple rapes, Corman fired her and hired another.

[Vultural]

La Clef des Champs - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - The Key To The Fields

Mild French comedy of local who became Paris bigwig, returning to boyhood village and assorted mishaps.
His car is seized, his dog runs off, his mother and friends ridicule him.
Everyone muses on what a stiff, pompous, pain in the ass he was and remains.
In other countries, his character would soften toward sympathy.
This is French cinema, however, and sentimentality is over-rated.
Agreeable, and yet at the end, the village problem is left unresolved and likely unsolved.

[Vultural]

Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive - 2016 - 8/10

Much of Poe's ill reputation stems from the slanderous first obituary, penned by a jealous rival.
Critical appraisal has erased the slurs of literary incompetence, much of the character assassination abides.
This documentary crafts an honest portrait of the man, his abilities and shortcomings.
Professional successes were often followed by self-destructive failures.
His perverse propensity for making enemies was a root, and alcohol a malignant companion.
Denis O'Hare does wonders as the brooding Poe, reading from journal entries, letters, poems, stories, in a gentle Southern cadence.
Interviewees include scholars, descendants, historians, writers, and two actors giving theatrical readings.
Photography at times reminded me of a Guy Maddin film, sweeping from spare and dreary to unexpected, vibrant lushness.
Quality primer for newcomers, Poe fans will enjoy, as well.

[Vultural]

Framed For Murder: A Fixer Upper - 2017 - 5/10

"Really?"  I asked.  "Where do you find these films?"
"They are popular, they're fun.  Murder and romance."
Who was I to argue?  Besides, as I've said countless times, I never argue with females, I don't have the stamina.
Anyway ... Jewel (the folkie singer who splashed in the 90s) plays a home remodeling contractor in New England or Newfoundland.
After her uncle dies following a fall, she becomes an amateur sleuth, determined to unearth the truth.
Luckily for her, her newest client bought a ramshackle mansion and hires her to renovate.
Ooh, and he's a crime writer, who wants to help.
Predictable formula, decent photography, acting is fine.

I was disparaging this movie throughout.
"What writer makes enough money to buy a mansion?  Stephen King?
"Jewel and that guy?  He looks old enough to be her dad!
"That man can't change his own flat tire?  What a wussie.
"Those extras don't even know how to hold a hammer.
"You don't strip off paint with an orbital sander!"
Meanwhile, the women next to me -
"She's had work, look at those cheekbones."
"Her upper lip doesn't move at all."
"That's Buttery Blonde, I thought of going that way."
"Those teeth need caps and whitening."
Jewel fans, she sings one, too.

[Vultural]

The Square - 6/10 - 2017

Flux of museum curator, publicity consultants, journalists, benefactors, an innocent.
Not the actual creative forces.  No, showmen, touts, hangers on.
Stockholm museum, determined to juice interest in upcoming installation, opts for disturbing gala.
Anyone who has done PR - or rolled their eyes at it - will recognize how some stunts, no matter how moronic or stale, succeed despite themselves, whereas imaginative concepts may be utterly ignored by the unwashed.
The distracted curator is a poor father, thoughtless lover, bully to children.
Insider satire may be too icy and too incestuous for its own good.

I had a couple fundraising gigs for "non-profit" arts groups.
Their appetite for money would astonish many.  Just how much was taken in and spent.
I was good, coaxing mid-sized Poobahs to donate so they could admire their names in guides
Until I was fired.  Next year, I was recalled.
When money is involved, the arts world has little shame.

[Vultural]

Joan Rivers: By Her Friends - 2018 - 6/10

Remembrance of the savage tongue by friends, peers and daughter Melissa.
Numerous old clips and routines, though her bio material is better covered elsewhere.
Decent introduction and tribute to Ms Rivers.
Folks either love Joan or detest her, this doc is for the former.
Feels like a fan letter to admirers.

[Vultural]

Phantom Thread - 2017 - 7/10

Austere take on the Pygmalion fable.
Dressmaker for London's high end takes on new girl as model.
He is extremely fastidious, the only soul who understands or who can communicate with him is his sister.
Leisurely paced, desaturated colour scheme, the narrative steps along by nuances.
Character study of man with complicated mother issues, the irony being his incredible eye for enhancing female appearance compounded by his tendencies to wound them.
Sound mix is noteworthy.  Concentrated silence marred by the tiniest activity.
This will not be for all tastes.
First Paul Anderson film I have actually enjoyed since Boogie Nights.

[Vultural]

Army Of Shadows - 1969 - 8/10
AKA - L'armée des Ombres

French Resistance during the German occupation of World War II.
This focuses more on the tedium, the tension, and the loneliness of key members.
Individuals seem to be constantly on the move, relocating from one "safe" house to another.
Missions are small, try to rescue a pilot, deal with a betrayer, recruit, and missions often fail.
Help comes from ordinary people, while armed troops scrutinize the populace.
No lengthy gun battles, pyrotechnic explosions, bombastic heroic music.
Everything is understated and weary.
There are the Germans, the Vichy collaborators, and the weasels.
Lack of glamour possibly captures the Occupation and Resistance better than other films.

[Vultural]

Los Angeles Overnight - 2018 - 6/10

Shaggy dog yarn.
Failing, barely working actress overhears a whispered conversation during her waitress gig.
What she caught was a secret, a clue, a puzzle.  She needs assistance in solving.
She should have realized bad guys would find her.
Plot is nothing new, characters are oddballs, though not needlessly weird.
Surprise in this sunny Neo Noir is the waitress/actress who is determined to remain in Los Angeles, praying for the mythical big break.
Her desperation to not return to Ma n Pa and the hometown, pushes her actions.

[Vultural]

Annihilation - 2018 - 6/10

Extraterrestrial object impacts isolated southern USA coast.
Flora and fauna soon begin the alter, then the affected area begins to widen.
A select team of four women cross into this zone, also known as the Shimmer.
Previous male units vanished with one exception.
Taut SciFi thriller packs in suspense, psychological drama, mystery and a creeping sense of unease.

I went into this stone cold, never having  read the runaway bestseller upon which it is based.
While some reviews cast this as an invasion film, it is a contagion story, unless contrary details are in the book.
Themes of adaptation, assimilation and utter indifference may confuse "answer seekers."
Visuals are imaginative, sound mix is unobtrusive, acting is fine.
For all that, this struck me as a left turn fork of Day Of The Triffids.

[Vultural]

In The Courtyard - 2014 - 7/10
AKA - Dans la Cour

Just before the concert, the band singer is fed up, and walks.
He is old, he has no professional skills, he is unsuited for most work.
The building complex needs a janitor, however.
French drama, with comic touches, is of the inhabitants, their obsessions and flaws.
Catherine Deneuve nominated for a Cesar as the wife whose anxiety over a wall crack deepens as the fissure itself.
Not necessarily a downer, but most of the characters are disappointed in themselves and despondent.

[Vultural]

The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Short - 2004

Narrator goes to visit old friend, "Roger" Usher, then helps entomb recently deceased sister.
Truncated version is a mix of black n white sketches, animation and claymation.
The house resembles a condemned doll house, minimally furnished.
Piano score is spare and moody.
Curio, worth a look, though might be regarded as akin to a student project.

* *

Zanik Domu Usheru - 1982

Experimental Polish short in high contrast black n white.
Unseen narrator (Polish) tours the ruined Usher manor.
Creative stop motion photography indicates spreading decay or genuine weirdness.
No actors.  Rather, furniture moves on their own, Madeline's coffin slides to its end.
Point of view shifts from time to time, though my chief problem was reading subs instead of paying full attention to the hypnotic camera work.
Not overly surreal nor indecipherable as others have mentioned.

La Chute de la Maison Usher - 1928

* *

Full length retelling that tends to over linger and hold scenes too long.
Visuals are often quite arresting, and much of the camera work seems hand held
The spacious maison Usher is remarkable. albeit exceedingly drafty.
Music ranges from out of place Renaissance to discordant piano.
I enjoyed a lot of this, but the stagnant pace had me checking the time.

Short - 1928

* *

Short, from near the end of the Silent era, highly Expressionistic.
Multiple exposures, distorted angles, brooding shadows, prism effects.
No intertitle cards, film creators assume viewer is familiar with Poe's story.
Madeline's clothes are elegant Art Deco attire.
This has been recently remastered and has a brief, spoken introduction.
May return to this version again, I imagine.

[Vultural]

The Post - 2017 - 6/10

Beleaguered Washington Post receives leftovers of classified Pentagon Papers after the powerful New York Times is stifled.
Will the Post publish?  Will they risk indictments?  Will the presses stop?
Scoring this old-fashioned yarn generously.
One gets the feeling Spielberg tried to create his version of All The President's Men.
That film was of its time and relevant.  This feels dated, the story and the telling.
This history lesson is over earnest, sentimental and corny.
Hanks is given a long leash and he overacts his blustery heart out.
Steep is fine, though her character seems mousy and mannered.
Newspapers once meant something.
Watch Five Star Final (1933) instead, or Deadline USA (1952).

[Vultural]

The Touchables - 1968 - 5/10

Four females kidnap Michael Caine from Madame Tussaud's.
OK, Mr Caine's wax effigy.
Next step, they kidnap a cute pop star (think Davy Jones) and take him to their woodland bubble.
Once inside, they take turns romping on either the cushy round bed or plush stack of cushions.
Free love in Swinging London.
Side plot follows wrestlers, one of whom is infatuated with the pop singer, and gangsters.
"Plot" is an overstatement.  This is a series of situations and vignettes.  Perks along, though.
Not a particularly good film, nor fun-bad, just an odd relic from the 60s.
"All Of Us" by Nirvana.