Recommend a movie

[Vultural]

Vi är Bäst! - 2013 - 6/10
AKA - We Are The Best!

In the 80s, three girls form a punk band, though obits for punk are already fading yellow.
One is frustrated, another rebellious, the third quiet, though possessing actual musical ability.
Viewers with a passing familiarity of The Shaggs may know what to expect, sonic wise.
The girls are young, two are 13, one may be 14, a horrible age, bucking peer pressure and walls.
Not a coming of age film, and not necessarily feel-good.
Despite their language, the girls still retain the grace of childhood which draws sympathy.
Captures that moment of adolescence before opportunities expand, while other choices disappear.

[Vultural]

Searching - 2018 - 7/10

Near the end of semester, the sophomore daughter disappears.
Probably with friends, maybe on a camping trip.
Eventually the father grows concerned, phones the police, and begins looking himself.
He is tech savvy, but a neophyte in his secretive daughter’s world of social networking.
Soon, the father realizes he doesn’t really know his child, at all.
Well constructed thriller with corkscrew twists – and – on second viewing, cannily placed hints and clues.

[Vultural]

The Flavor Of Green Tea Over Rice - 1952 - 6/10
AKA -Ochazuke No Aji  //  お茶漬けの味

Classic Japanese chamber drama from Ozu.
Bored, city housewife complains and badmouths her less upscale husband.
She lies to him, sets off on trips, then tries to push niece into an arranged marriage.
“Like yours?  Why would I want a miserable arranged marriage like yours?”
Little in the way of tension or conflict, physical or emotional.
Restraint is the keyword, which includes camerawork.
Compositions and framing are immaculate, in static, low key story.

[Vultural]

I Called Him Morgan - 2016 - 6/10

Informative biography on Jazz trumpeter, Lee Morgan, as told from fellow musicians, and the woman who killed him.
Morgan came up in the late 50s, working with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, later leading his own combos.
Photos, home movies, old newsreels, combine with recollections.
Most of the interviewees are aging, one key individual was caught a month before their death.
Should appeal to music fans, whether you are into Jazz, or not.
Admittedly, I knew of Morgan, and while roughly half of my Jazz albums are trumpet players (Miles, Louis, Chet), I only had two or three, seldom listened to, LPs by Morgan.

[Vultural]

Prophet’s Prey - 2015 - 5/10

Disturbing account of Warren Jeffs, leader of a distaff branch of the Church Of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).
Above, he is pictured with a fraction of his 60+ wives, the youngest was 12 when he married her.
Documentary does a good job with chronology.  Even handedness is another matter.
Straight off, the score by Nick Cave, dark and forbidding from beginning to end.
I found this to be more overly subliminal.
Jeffs is cast as child molester, rapist and polygamist.  While the documentarian drives by the offshoot sect, no one is interviewed.  Or no attempts are shown on record.
Watching left a sour taste in my mouth, and I realize others may be horrified.

[Vultural]

Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros Years - 2018 - 6/10

Nicely turned documentary on a disappointing period for Hammer.
The 70s, when they partnered a distribution / financial agreement with Warners.
Hammer’s prime was past, though the influx of cash did not hurt.
Nor did Warners (apparently) interfere with them very much.
Nonetheless, their Gothic look, costumed horror yarns grew out of step with the times.
(Edgier competition included Night Of The Living Dead, The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.)
Excellent, passionate narrators.  The films, so-so.

[Vultural]

La Notte Dei Diavoli - 1972 - 6/10
AKA - Night Of The Devils

Lumber dealer, Nicola, has car trouble while searching for a remote sawmill.
He finds an isolated cabin, and a family who will put him up for the night.
They are superstitious, windows and doors are heavily barred, and they are sharpening stakes.
Nicola, a city dweller, tries to reason, then scoffs.
Really!  What’s there to be afraid of in the deep woods at night?

Well shot horror, with a curious mix of tropes.
May be too slow for impatient souls, but for “Hammerish” fans, this should satisfy.

[Vultural]

Kelin - 2009 - 7/10

Beautiful, leisurely paced film evokes Parajanov.
Two men barter with the father of a young girl.
Even though she already loves one, the rival bids more, and carries off his bride.

From there, the story is life and survival in remote Kazakhstan.
Sometime between 200-300 AD.
No subtitles, but no dialogue, either.
The yurt interior is cramped and lacks privacy.
Outside, beautiful, if stark, mountainous landscape.

Worth tracking down if curious.  Devotees of “world cinema,” this is a must.

 

[Vultural]

The Souvenir - 2019 - 7/10

A female student, pitching her film project, meets a member of the gentry.
She is quiet, but sunny, whereas he works for the Foreign Office and is more taciturn and secretive.
They enjoy each other and drift into a relationship.
His secrets, which viewers will quickly spot, increasingly surface, as do crises of trust.
Piercing study of the blindness of love, accepting the implausible, looking the other way.
Honor Swinton Byrne is the main protagonist.  I cannot decide whether she was talented or a vacuous sponge.

[Vultural]

Mulholland Drive:  The Pilot - 1999 / 2016 - 7/10

The pilot, disowned by Lynch for decades, has been available in grotty quality for years.
Faneditor (and obsessed fan) Q2 restored the original into immaculate condition.
Numerous storylines weave a Hollywood entertainment tapestry.
There are mysteries, though no real story.  Viewers had to accept on faith  Lynch had an extended vision.
Though interesting as a curious what-if, this in no way matches Mulholland Drive, the film.
Character trajectories differ in the pilot, and the open endedness makes one wonder how stories might have played out over a season.

Warning!  Diehards already know this site. New arrivals to Mulholland Drive, visit at your own risk:
https://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/theories.htm

[Vultural]

The Last Black Man In San Francisco - 2019 - 7/10

Meandering film about ownership, property, status, memory, family.
In the Fillmore district, long before gentrification excluded all but the affluent, Jimmie’s granddad built the family house, roof to cellar, by himself.  Later, Jimmie’s father lost it.
Since then, Jimmie has acted as guerilla caretaker, tending the house whenever occupants are away.
It took me a good half hour to realize what was going on here.
Then I became engaged, though wondering why the police were never summoned, even when Jimmie is clearly painting the house exterior!
Ever so subtly, however, layers of deception begin to fall away.

[Vultural]

Interpol - 1957 - 6/10
AKA - Pickup Alley

The underrated Victor Mature stars as a federal agent chasing a narcotics ring.
Small fry are easy enough to catch, and for the criminal organization, easy to replace.
The top man has never been seen.  His name, perhaps an alias, is McNally.

Trevor Howard is memorable as the smooth, calculating mastermind, seen above with Anita Ekberg who acts as courier, bait, decoy, whatever is necessary.
Filmed between London and the US, but also includes jaunts to Lisbon, Naples, Rome, this recalls To The Ends Of The Earth (1948), but that was more procedural and this more character driven.
Watchable throughout, though I did find myself starting to root for the narcotics ring.

[Vultural]

Echo In The Canyon - 2019 - 5/10

Overhyped documentary seems created primarily for a uninformed homage concert.
Leading SoCal musicians took up residences in Laurel Canyon from the mid-60s onward.
Surviving relics air their history of what times were like.  The fog of misremembered nostalgia hangs.
A great many people and bands omitted, chief among them: The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Zappa’s cronies.
The retro concert showcase more current performers who do not seem to grasp the songs.
The so-called “classic” songs were originally sung by musicians in their twenties, brimming with optimism and hope.
The modern concert event is performed by aging X-ers (in their 40s-50s) too old and too jaded for optimism, having grown up with a worldview of irony and sarcasm.
I had been looking forward to this since I first heard of it.  Sadly, this was a major disappointment.
My bride, equally soured, began playing Byrds albums to wash the new arrangements from her ears.

[Vultural]

Zombiepura - 2018 - 3/10

Oh, man, this is embarrassingly bad.
Within a Singapore military post, one of the soldiers catches the “zombie” virus.
Soon, almost everyone is infected, save for a handful to clueless survivors.
The humor is forced and juvenile, actiony bits play out over five to ten sluggish minutes.
Our main female is simply called “Beauty,” the soldiers are unskilled with weapons.
This film is a good 20-30 years behind the times.
I felt bad for the actors, trapped in this cinematic Titanic.
Another 1000 of my brain cells, RIP.

[Vultural]

Boundaries - 2018 - 6/10

80 tear old dad phones his estranged daughter after he is ejected from his senior center.
Seems his gardening hobby, though lucrative, was considered illegal.
He makes his daughter a deal:  Drive me down to my other daughter in Los Angeles, and I’ll pay my grandson’s private school tuition.
The road trip follows, from Washington state to Los Angeles, with a few stops.
For adult diapers, for stray dogs, and to make marijuana drops.
The gardening hobby, which he excelled in harvesting primo cannabis.
If you buy the premise that there is still a market for homegrown in states where reefer is legal, then you are halfway to enjoying this implausible, feel-good adventure.

[Vultural]

Model Shop - 1969 - 6/10

George’s bad day is a continuation of what appears to be a streak.
His girlfriend wants to discuss their relationship, the repo man wants his MG, his finances are zilch, and he expects a letter, any day now, from the draft board.
For all that, he gets out of bed and hustles, hopes to borrow money, if anything to save his car.
Moody study of a man marking time nicely catches Southern California at the end of the 60s.
George, mixing with the creative class, doesn’t know what he wants, only what he doesn’t want.
Stone-faced Gary Lookwood strikes one as too old for the role.
Director Demy’s original choice was a young unknown, Harrison Ford.

[Vultural]

Giornata Nera per l'Ariete - 1971 - 7/10
AKA - The Fifth Cord

From the opening, a disguised voice starts to narrate hoped for murders.
The point-of-view gaze sweeps the swank party.
Participants, soon enough, become victims.
While the police regard a troubled news reporter, he is given a long leash.
Confusing Giallo (like most of them, actually), boasts an unusual style.
Rather than the garish colours, this utilizes reflections, shadows, glass barriers.

[Vultural]

The Wildcat - 1921 - 5/10
AKA - Die Berg****ze

Early Lubitsch film stars Pola Negri as rowdy leader of rural bandits.
The local military post does not deal with them, being preoccupied with the arrival of a dashing ladykiller.
So will the untamed vixen and the handsome lieutenant …
Visually interesting interiors are packed with curves and curlicues.
The pace of this is manic throughout, yet despite a few laugh out loud chuckles, most of the humor is farce.
Slapstick, cartoon antics better suited to pre-schoolers.

[Vultural]

Modern Life Is Rubbish - 2017 - 6/10

He wants to be a musician, she studies to be an artist.
Inside the music shop (circa 1999-2000) boy meets girl.
Film is told in flashbacks.  How they met, fell in love, moved into a flat.
Some choices are easier when you are younger, though the world is indifferent to dreams.

Flashbacks originate from one soul moving on, the other staying put.
A great musical soundtrack propels the film.
Characters are likeable, if formulaic.
The “Americanized” ending put me off.

[Vultural]

Rise Of The Nazis - 2019 - 7/10

Three part series focuses on the early years.
The political maneuvering and organizational building.
The corruption of and overthrow of democratic government.
This documentary spotlights players who rarely get mentioned in similar docs.
Kurt von Schleicher, Josef Hartinger, Hans Litten, Fritz von Papen, Ernest Jung.
The first two episodes are enhanced by well preserved newsreels and home movies.
The third and final episode is devoted to the Night Of The Long Knives.