Vultural

Day Of The Triffids - 1963 - 6/10

I dunno. Most folks use weed killer or a whacker, but I suppose a flamethrower works.
A spectacular meteor shower leaves over 90% of humanity blind.
There were also spores, which grow into huge carnivorous plants.
That can move! That fine dine on people!

A sliver of humankind were spared, undergoing eye surgery, caving, bored by astronomy.
Between masses of desperate folks and pesky sunflowers on steroids, they got their own problems.
The story zeroes in on the survivors, my preferred being the bristling, alcoholic lighthouse keeper.
I have always found the black and white version more sinister, eerier.

Body And Soul - 1947 - 7/10

Yeah, sucker, the fix is in.
Troublesome youth turns his boxing prowess into a career.
The boxing world, however, proves as crooked as a dog’s hind leg.
John Garfield is a powerhouse as the ambitious, flawed fighter.
He is enmeshed with good souls and schemers.
True to life, villains dominate ringside and behind the scenes.
Must-see Noir, although over the years, I increasingly disbelieve the ending.

The Crime Is Mine - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Mon Crime

Splendid homage / pastiche / satire of lush melodramas of the 1940’s.
Struggling actress Madeleine stands accused of murdering a lecherous theatrical producer.
She has a strong alibi, the prosecution’s case is riddled with discrepancies.
And yet … murder is such good publicity.
As a comedy, this repeatedly brushes against silly.
Few characters display intelligence.
Isabelle Huppert appears late in a flamboyant role.
Fans of Ozun know this director and know he releases goofy stories periodically.

Godzilla: Minus One - 2023 - 7/10
AKA - Gojira -1.0 // ゴジラ-1.0

A film that countless fans have been waiting for.
Post World War II, Tokyo is rubble and shantytowns.
Ex-pilot Shikishima forms a family with Noriko and orphan Akiko.
Shikishima suffers postwar guilt, and memories of a giant, legendary monster.
This backstory is lengthy, but provides characters one can follow.
For halitosis breath soon reappears, and it is a one-dimensional force.
Acolytes of Method acting, what is Godzilla’s motivation?
It just destroys stuff, why? On the whole planet, only humans do that for no reason.
Action is first rate and old school. Even the tactics try to make sense.

Swinburne, Algernon - Lesbia Brandon

A messy novel, and an exasperating read.
Unpublished for being deemed pornographic, what remains appears fragmentary a rough draft.
The subject of the book is not Lesbia, but Herbert. Lesbia is hardly in the book; Swinburne never gave the novel a title. One was applied later, doubtless to provoke middle-class sensibilities.

Initial chapters pertain to Herbert’s private education and discipline from an exacting tutor. Swinburne relishes the switching, flogging, birching, at length, of the young lad, more to break his spirit, akin to breaking a horse.
Instead of a caning, this section needs a severe editorial pruning. It comes across as excessive and self-indulgent.

Another lengthy traipse involves a dinner party with young Herbert, his sister, her husband, and their gentry friends and neighbors. Conversations spiral about, heavily sprinkled with French and Latin, and fail to serve the narrative.

Point is, there is scant narrative at all. Swinburne marshals ideas, descriptions and dialogue, but is unable to harness these, let alone array into a cohesive whole.

Mind you, so much of this is gloriously written. “Turris Eburnea” is a deliriously scathing chapter on Leonora Harley, sensuous and beautiful, who could neither spell nor think, and deserved more pages than she was allotted.

There is a haunting death near the end of another character who should have received far, far more of Swinburne’s prodigious imagination.

Fans of the author, and of florid Victorian literature, should throw caution to the wind and get a copy of the latest edition.

No Way Out - 1973 - 6/10
AKA - Tony Arzenta (Big Guns)

Under looked crime story mixes Noir with Euro-Crime.
The late assignment came on the day of his son’s birthday.
Afterward, Tony wants out, wants to be a father, not a mob assassin.
His boss will see what he can do, but Tony knows too much.
Syndicate heads from Sicily, Italy, Copenhagen, opt to retire him permanently.
Only the hit goes terribly wrong, whereupon Tony begins a string of vengeance.
Alain Delon, Richard Conte, Anton Diffring bolster a macho cast.
Plenty of chases, beatings, torture, while most speak from the sides of their mouths.
Viewers of Poliziotteschi should enjoy.

Dead Man’s Chest - 1965 - 5/10

Reporters David and Johnny concoct a fake kidnapping to create “a story”.
Johnny, inside a steamer trunk, is in a van when said van is stolen by gangsters.
The van is used in a robbery, the trunk is missing, and for Johnny, time is ticking.
Neither his editor nor the coppers believe David (he is a reporter, after all).
Breezy Edgar Wallace is too lightweight on mystery and comedy.
Fans of later British telly will have a field day spotting future stars (eg: Inspector Morse).

Watch Me - 1995 - 4/10

Part of the endless string of “erotic thrillers” that packed video aisles during the VHS rental era.
Sexy new tenant Elise moves in, photographer Paul (also the landlord) begins spying.
Not to be outdone, she has her trusty telescope and is soon peeping in turn.
Landlord Paul with attractive girlfriend, with a half dressed model, with a naked specimen.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend, feeling neglected, begins her own frolics.
As always with plots like these, no one bothers with curtains, drapes or blinds.
Softcore for everyone, so say we all. Watch Me? Watch something else.
(No one makes flicks like this now; talentless amateurs post their own mattress antics on YouTube.)

Money Mad - 1908 - 6/10

Our character, begging on the sidewalk, plucks a dropped purse and reaps a windfall.
At the bank, he is exchanging the loot, and is spied on by two lowlifes.
“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit.”
D. W. Griffith would later rework one sequence into “The Musketeers Of Pig Alley” (1912).
Acting is still theatrical. The bank scene can be viewed several times, a few sideshows.
Needs a restoration from Eastman House or UCLA.

V Efeket - 2024 - 6/10

Exciting Serbian series set among the theatre crowd.
The season opener gives those attending a prop malfunction.
The hanging sequence, well, someone sabotaged (lengthened) the support rope.
All the kicking and struggling by the heroic lead, no wonder it looked so realistic.
Police arrive, as do government agents, since a shady minister owns the building.
And the building used to be over a clandestine government agency.
Cops soon have a series of murders, and suspects, actors, who are trained to lie convincingly.

I believe this is a very good show. HOWEVER. The version I viewed had “Whisper” subtitles.
Those were atrociously bad. A character’s gender was mixed, often thrice in a sentence.
Long patches of dialogue missed subs altogether. Descriptive words were not remotely accurate.
A I in this case means Artificial Ignorance / Ineptitude / Incompetence.
“Whisper” CANNOT, at this time, decipher Serbian.
Unless you are a native speaker, avoid and wait for proper subtitles.

Closet Land - 1991 - 6/10

The female has been apprehended by the secret police, and turned over to an interrogator.
She is a writer of innocent children’s stories, so surely this is a mistake.
Claustrophobic, Kafka shrouded film feels very much like a two-act play.
Sexual tension pulses throughout. Revelations about State surveillance comes as no surprise.
Acting is fine, although the dialogue is heavy handed, the themes obvious.
Preachy film grows more tiresome as the viewing clock ticks

Eat Me, Baby - 2023 - 5/10

Provocative title aside, this short is neither a romantic adult foodie yarn, nor configuration #4.
The date went OK. Dinner, dancing. Emma even brought Lester to her apartment.
She leaves to change, he’s rounding second base, yet decides to spike her drink.
Any guy could have warned him: girls have eyes in the back of their heads.
Oh, the ensuing unhappiness.

Prince Valiant - 1954 - 6/10

Game attempt to adapt Hal Foster’s long running Sunday strip.
Technicolor, CinemaScope, location filming in England, hundreds of extras.
Though ten years too late, this evokes those splashy epics of the 1940’s.
Visually, this is beautiful. Storywise, this based on a comic, so that is simplistic.
Acting is problematic, for every James Mason (who steals the film) there is Sterling Hayward as Sir Gawaine (?).
The biggest shortcoming is Robert Wagner in the title role. He seems uneasy and uncertain throughout.
Watch for the scenery, costumes and action; overlook those miscast.

Nordland ‘99 - 2022 - 7/10

Alex tries to mend things with an ex-girlfriend. Her current, drug-pushing boyfriend disagrees.
By the end of the episode, Alex has vanished and suspicion swirls in the Denmark village.
Local cops are disinterested, even though he is the second teen to mysteriously disappear.
Who starts searching? His gun-toting sister, and his friends.

Into the illicit drug world, into rural backwoods, broken down cabins, secret lives.
Slow boil thriller has a brooding launch, then grows progressively darker.
Eight half-hour episodes. Don’t be put off, this is not aimed for ADHD teens.

Mr Holland’s Opus - 1995 - 5/10

Classical composer (in his daydreams only) winds up being a high school teacher.
Soon finds out being a teacher leaves no time to work on his masterpieces.
Instead, he touches children, helps them along the great path of Life.
Feel-good material goes repeatedly into schmaltz.
First chair performers in high school or college band will eat this up.
Those of us who could barely play our instrument will relive old agonies.
Sentimental piffle.

Tweddell, Benjamin - Trackless Paths

Almost shameful how this striking author has been overlooked.
Then again, most of his works seem to have been with a minuscule press that sold to a handful, or to secondary resellers.
Tweddell is a masterful storyteller, mingling histories, myth and whispers, always in fine prose.

“A Crown Of Dusk And Sorrow” makes for a heady opener. Daniel had relocated to Quorts Moor following a visual epiphany; a sighting, an experience that left him thunderstruck. Alas, no matter how hard he tried, the frisson never repeated. Until the encounter with Silas, who soon leads him beyond, high beyond, to Woden’s Barrow, where Daniel is gifted with the curse of second sight.

Jacob, gradually losing his vision, isolates himself in a remote cottage. His nearest neighbor, across a deceptive creek, is Julius, a Catholic shunned by local folk. Julius had likewise gone blind earlier, only to have his sight miraculously return. The chapel, the shrine, the holy relic, are all used in a tale, steeped in faith and doubt, “The Veneration At Polwheveral Manor”.

Another lonely chapel, this one deep in the fens, irresistibly beckons Henry in “The Salix Arcanum”. Henry, trying to recover from a broken relationship has sought artistic refuge in rural oblivion. The small church, now abandoned, may have pagan origins. Locals, from simple stock to the vicar, try to caution Henry, appeal to his reason. And yet –

The collection concludes with “The Place Of Remaking”. Three childhood friends, aging member of the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift, reconvene at the bygone home. Bloodied by war, carnage, and too much death, the men are soured, cynical. Nevertheless, the tale is one of redemption and reawakening.

What The Butler Saw - 1987 - 7/10

Geraldine applies for a secretary position, but Doctor Prentice requests she strip nude.
Her clothes disappear once his wife appears, followed by the bellboy who had earlier tried to rape the wife.
Also showing up is a medical inspector, Dr. Rance, who is completely mad.
Keeping up? That’s the opening ten minute salvo in a riotous Joe Orton comedy.
Laced with more sexual innuendo than a keg-fueled party.
Dialogue is witty, extraordinarily intelligent, and delivered breathlessly.
A live theatre performance is best, yet the cast here is glorious.

Pickup On South Street - 1953 - 7/10

Candy is just supposed to deliver an envelope.
Doesn’t know what it contains, doesn’t care.
Doesn’t even know Federal agents are watching her.
One even sees her purse get pickpocketed long before she is aware.
Three time loser Skip is identified, but he refuses to cooperate.
If the Feds want it so bad, someone will be willing to pay large.
Tough Noir packed with thick skinned types. Richard Widmark leads, and he never bends so much as an inch. Even when you assume he is about soften, the cynical calculation emerges.
Thelma Ritter heartbreaking as the downtrodden, world weary Moe.

The Business - 2004 - 6/10

Frankie is handed a courier assignment, carrying a package to Spain.
Deliver to “wanted by British authorities” Charlie, owner of a trendy nightclub.
Charlie takes a shine to the lad, hires him as a driver, and soon enough he meets the gang.
Including the ferocious, murderous Sammy, the planner of the crew.
For Frankie, it’s sex, drugs and plenty of sunshine.
Fast moving spree revels in the heady 1980’s, the brash era of cocaine.
Propulsive soundtrack lays down hit after hit.

Satanic Hispanics - 2022 - 6/10

After a blazing entry, El Paso police find a nest of trafficked dead.
Along with a lone survivor, who repeatedly warns, “You are running out of time.”
And he shares a series of tales. Misplaced magic, even vampires.

Consider, Halloween night, and the old geezer you ridicule, until the fangs are bared.
He has been around for centuries, but Daylight Savings Time still befuddles him.
Funny, bloody, barbed dialogue.

Or folk horror, atavistic rituals, scoffed at.
Leave home at your peril, however.

Then there are those annoying turistas, forever spying on forbidden rites.
Perhaps even video taping those, launching gruesome consequences.
Anthology series hits more than misses. Nothing more than B-movies, but funny and good with brews.

Soft Shoes - 1925 - 6/10

Sheriff Pat, rancher out in west Texas, inherits and has to mosey to sin-city, San Francisco.
There, he encounters a cat burglar, Faith, and is soon embroiled in all sorts of mischief.
Action moves fairly well, the comedy is broad, with sly innuendo.
Writer / star Harry Carey is crowding 50 (he ain’t no Tom Mix). He shows a flair for humor, yet his is still too old for the role, especially in any romantic scenes.
Current print has been wonderfully restored and tinted. Old time Bay residents might view with nostalgia.

From Beyond - 2023 - 7/10

Extraterrestrials arrive on Earth. Accident, scouting, invasion?
Perspectives move from human observers to alien point of view.
Of course, know-it-all humans begin laboratory experiments.
While others, perhaps emulating Captain Kirk, share intimate relations with the newcomers.
Then, almost overnight, these new things seem to be overrunning the planet.
SciFi short from Norway blends found footage, newsreels, interviews, and is a mix of unexpected and bizarre.

The Reckoning - 2023 - 7/10

The rise of Jimmy Saville from local DJ to national icon.
Along the way, “Top Of The Pops” and “Jim’ll Fix It”.
Relentless charity work leads to knighthood, meeting royals, meeting the Pope.
Yet behind the crowd pleasing funster lurks a darker soul.
One with an appetite for young girls, for children.
Cloaked behind fame.
Steve Coogan charismatic and frightening, superb job.

Zontar: The Thing From Venus - 1967 - 3/10

Our alien offers to come to Earth and help solve humanity’s problems.
(Just like politicians, tyrants, megalomaniacs, martinets, from Biblical times onward.)
Fortunately, for Zoltar, it reaches out to the one “scientist” gullible enough to believe a Venusian telemarketer.
In no time flat, our three-eyed, bat-winged, Cthulhu wannabe holes up in a cave and begins global domination.
Bad film, bad acting, ripoff script, and the characters are beyond stupid!
Connoisseurs of trash cinema, this is one dingy brown pile.

To Have And Have Not - 1944 - 7/10

Ex-pat fisherman rents his boat out to US swells who could only land a fish in a grocery.
Set in WWII Martinique, France has fallen and the Caribbean colony comes under Nazi control.
Fishing gives way to smuggling, trafficking souls barely one step ahead of the Gestapo.
Then there’s a penniless female, stranded, as it were, on an island paradise.
Fast paced Noir boats electric chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, and bristling dialogue.
Bacall sings, Hoagy Carmichael plays piano.

If you desire further adventures (similar), check out the OTR “Bold Venture”.
https://archive.org/details/BoldVenture57Episodes