A few reviews

[Zaharoff]

Glass Ceiling - 1971 - Spain

Glass Ceiling - 1971 - 6/10
AKA - El Techo de Cristal

“And I’m telling you, I’m hearing footsteps upstairs. I think she killed her husband.”
Marta, like the other women in the dwelling, has too much time on her hands.
The weather is hot, sultry, their husbands or boyfriends absent, and they are mad with desire.
Marta suffers the worst, while both Julia and Rosa roam with abandon.
Steamy Spanish thriller touches on Giallo, but not quite.
Plenty of cake with an undercurrent that never loosens.
Then there is the smell. Everyone comments on the stench.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Hollow Spirit - 2025 - Greece

The Hollow Spirit - 2025 - 6/10

Manos made a deal, a pact, and there had been plenty of time to change course.
Only now his time has expired. Payment is due.
He must fulfill the bargain. Even then, he’ll only lose.
Greek short of death, faith and bitter agreements.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Sorcerers - 1967 - UK

The Sorcerers - 1967 - 5/10

Professor Montserrat just needs a subject. Intelligent, inquisitive, sober.
Once under, he should be able to read the subject’s mind, experience vicariously their day to day.
From there, control the subject.
Alas, wife Estelle has other desires: theft, violence, bloody murder.
The weaker sex? Fool! Estelle is soon up to all manner of diabolical mischief.
Even for a dated film, the pacing is slow, and the director lets scenes run much too long.
A pruning would aid this one, although there is a melancholy vibe.

 

[Zaharoff]

Itim - 1976 - Philippines

Itim - 1976 - 6/10
AKA - The Rites Of May

The magazine is shuttered for summer, so Jun leaves Manila for small village San Ildefonso.
Jun’s doctor father, incapacitated following an accident, exists in a gloomy manor.
Taking photographs during Lent, Jun soon finds himself attracted to Teresa, who is lost in a fog.
Nor is this mere attraction, but the hand of Teresa’s dead sister, Rosa.
Who begins to manipulate her sister, and the couple, for her own purposes.
Photography is dreamlike and hazy throughout, many scenes maddeningly opaque.
Chances are, you will deduce the plot and twists before the end.
Jungle mix of Catholicism, shamanism, superstition and taboos.

 

[Zaharoff]

Nouvelle Vague - 2025 - France

Nouvelle Vague - 2025 - 7/10

He has been writing critical reviews, but now Jean-Luc Goddard is ready to make his own film.
There is a scenario, written by friend Truffaut, and he has recruited another friend, Jean-Paul Belmondo, to play the petty, nihilistic thug. More, he wants Jean Seberg, a young American, already a star.
What follows is a deep, deep plunge into the making of Breathless (1959).

Script, what script? Goddard seemingly improvises the narrative, then makes extensive jump cuts.
Releasing an influential and audacious masterpiece.
One can view this cold and enjoy the comedy, the process, the fashions, the look.
Cineastes will be ecstatic, however, as the film namechecks Chabrol, Romer, Rossalini, Melville, Bresson, Gréco, Varda …
The more French cinema one has viewed (especially New Wave), the more you may appreciate.

 

[Zaharoff]

Le Paris des Mannequins - 1962 - France

Le Paris des Mannequins - 1962 - 6/10

The models depart the building, head for a rooftop photo shoot.
Stilted, frozen poses, akin to high-stepping shoe adverts in Vogue.
Then they hit the streets and alleys for impromptu work.
Reactions of onlookers vary from surprise to hey-look-at-me.
The sly humor caught me off guard and made this memorable.

English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3364480

 

[Zaharoff]

Christmas At The Catnip Café - 2025 - USA

Christmas At The Catnip Café - 2025 - 5/10

Woo, this looks like a Hallmark card. That’s because it’s a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Living with felines and feline staff, I KNEW this one would load in the rotation.
California businesswoman inherits a half-share of a cat café in upstate New York.
She just needs the other owner, a self-effacing vet, to sell out so she can buy the condo of her dreams!
Cats? Schmats! Send ‘em to the pound or the testing labs!
Predictable romance to the point of insulting the audience.
If players would only act like folks do in real life … then we’d have horror narcissism.

 

[Zaharoff]

Dangerous To Know - 1938 - USA

Dangerous To Know - 1938 - 6/10

That would be racketeer, Recka, who controls City Hall, various boards, top politicians.
Still capable of violence, yet now trying to ingratiate himself into “classy society”.
Rather than his usual bribery and intimidation, he woos a penniless aristo, Margaret Van Case.
Who may be charmed, yet won’t be bought.
Crime drama saturated with Fatalism and a touch of Melodrama.
The pedigree is outstanding. Story by Edgar Wallace, costumes by Edith Head.
Cast = Lloyd Nolan, Gail Patrick, Akim Tamiroff, with Anna May Wong in a starring role.

 

[Zaharoff]

Boxing Day - 2021 - UK

Boxing Day - 2021 - 6/10

Georgia and Lisa meet and get along famously.
Until Georgia realizes Lisa is engaged to marry her old flame, for whom she still carries a torch.
There is also a boisterous Jamaican / English family involved.
Everyone in everyone else’s business.
And the boyfriend / ex in question? He fled two years earlier to escape family.
While tagged with Christmas, this is straight up Rom-Com.
OK, depending on your tolerance for pushy families.

 

[Horrorshow]

A Warning To The Curious - 1972 - UK

A Warning To The Curious - 1972 - 6/10

There were three buried crowns that guarded the realm in times of war.
Two were lost. The third has been safeguarded, for generations, by a highly protective family.
Until the archeologists started digging. Amateurs, at that.
Mr. Paxton has sniffed out a trail, leading to Seaburgh.
Along the way, warnings and close looks are given, which he ignores.
The fever of the hunt possesses him.
Unsettling M R James adaptation, shot mostly in broad daylight.
Possibly too slow for the impatient, yet the lethargic pace adds to the tension.

I had the rare opportunity to see this classic on the big screen yesterday. It has always been my favourite of the BBC's "A Ghost Story for Christmas" series.

Fans of James or ghost stories that deliver a pleasant terror should certainly treat themselves by tracking this one down and might I also add that there's, "no diggin' 'ere!"

 

[Horrorshow]

Earth Vs. The Spider - 1958 - USA

Earth Vs. The Spider - 1958 - 4/10

Wrong, Barney. A more accurate title would read, Teenagers vs Big Spider.
Annoying teenagers, at that. One longs for the arachnid to feast on twist-crazed, unhappy meals.
Anyhoo, our house sized predator chills in this ole spider cave.
Locals don’t seem to notice until, well, I guess it ran outta varmints, and now chomps on long pork.
Lessons for viewers include – DDT good, rock and roll bad.
Probably an excellent drive-in flick back when. So boring, you will find other activities to engage in.

I once watched the 2001 made-for-television remake of "Earth vs. the Spider" starring Dan Ackroyd then immediately afterwards watched Bergman's "The Seventh Seal". I recall wondering at the time whether any human being had ever watched both of these films back-to-back within a three or four hour spell.

 

[Zaharoff]

Talking Bones - 2018 - China

Talking Bones - 2018 - 6/10
AKA - Gu Yu // 骨语

Forensic examiner Xia Ying is assigned to the Special Crimes Unit.
Acceptance is grudging as she is taking over from an established elder. Her mentor, actually.
Over the course of this C-drama, cases involve a copycat killer (Black Dahlia), mass murder of a family, a promiscuous female, child selling, serial killer, acupuncture assassin …
The team “grows” in this, building expertise, members given more responsibilities.
This was obviously shot without audio, the looping is spotty and there are vast stretches of piano music, even during pursuits and fights.
Subtitles are some of the worst (so bad, they're good) I’ve seen since the heyday of Hong Kong films.
Example: A character looks up an old girlfriend, before assaulting her.
Explanation to officers. "She had makeup and perfume, and wore a provocative dress. She looked like a leprechaun!"

 

[Zaharoff]

The Ice Tower - 2025 - France

The Ice Tower - 2025 - 6/10

Reasons unknown, 15-year-old Jeanne runs away from the foster home.
She makes her way to the city, where she shelters in an abandoned warehouse.
Only that turns out to be a studio, where a modern version of “The Snow Queen” is filming.

Jeanne, renaming herself Bianca, ingratiates herself and is soon an extra.
Where she falls under the wing – and influence – of Cristina, lead actress.
The girl confuses the fairy tale with the sets, with the performers, with her situation.

Visuals are striking, while the pace is glacial. Sound is atmospheric, then excessive.
Straight-up, European arthouse circa 1975. Know your taste and tolerance.
More mainstream would be Snow Queen (2002).

 

[Zaharoff]

Pusher - 1996 - Denmark

Pusher - 1996 - 7/10

Frank’s day had started well enough. Making deals, drinking, rolling easy.
He is in debt to his supplier, however.
Possible escape arrives with an ex-cellmate, who wants to do a major deal.
All smiles at this stage, before events go to hell.
Hyper kinetic film put Nicolas Winding Refn on the map, and launched Mads Mikkelsen.
Club scenes and street swirl are wonderfully dizzying.
Mostly, it’s the lies, the promises, the pipedreams.

 

[Zaharoff]

Looking At Christmas - 2011 - USA

Looking At Christmas - 2011 - 6/10

Christmas Eve, two strangers window shopping in Manhattan, looking at displays.
He has just been fired, she is an aspiring actor, thus far unable to land even bit parts.
New to the city, she is still upbeat, while he is burnt out.
Nevertheless, they walk from one department store to another, and share stories.
Meanwhile, after commenting on the displays, the pair leave, and mannequins come to life and comment on them.
Makings of a Rom-Com, this theatre flows like two ships in the night.
Lonely souls, sharing a few hours.

 

[Zaharoff]

Outside Man - 1972 - France

Outside Man - 1972 - 6/10
AKA - Un Homme est Mort

Lucian arrives in Beverly Hills, saunters into the mansion, then coolly assassinates the mob boss.
Clean hit, professionally done. Only he is soon the target of a rival hitman.
Yes, double-crossed. Seems someone is tying up loose ends, even the professional returning to Paris.
French Noir, set all around LA, is entertaining in numerous unexpected ways.
Jean-Paul Trintignant is fine as the moody killer, adrift in an alien landscape.
Roy Scheider great as the opposition whose accuracy is atrocious.
Angie Dickenson and Ann-Margaret as questionable females.
From the Hilton to strip clubs, powerful folks to biker gangs, this swerves throughout.

 

[Zaharoff]

A Christmas Carol (Read) - 2024 - UK

A Christmas Carol (Read) - 2024 - 7/10

From “The Read” series. Anne-Marie Duff narrates the Dickens classic.
Descriptive passages dominate, and she keys in on lesser events that most films overlook
No, she is not reading from a book, she has memorized the script.
Her voice is contemplative, inviting, never over-emotional or strident.
Clearly, this is for those who have patience to listen, and not attempting to multitask.
Very much on a par with the Simon Callow one-man play from 2018.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Empress - 1917 - USA

The Empress - 1917 - 6/10

The painting “The Empress” makes artist Louis rich.
He invites his model Nedra to the country, where he tries to assault her and the landlord’s daughter.

Meanwhile, the landlord snaps photos for later blackmail, since who knows the tomorrow brings.
For famous model Nedra, tomorrow brings a rich husband, followed by steady blackmail.
Old-fashioned Melodrama creaks along and harks to the Edwardian era.
Inter-titles missing (as is music), although the attentive will have no trouble following.

 

[bendk]

I had the rare opportunity to see this classic on the big screen yesterday. It has always been my favourite of the BBC's "A Ghost Story for Christmas" series.

Fans of James or ghost stories that deliver a pleasant terror should certainly treat themselves by tracking this one down and might I also add that there's, "no diggin' 'ere!"

Earlier today I watched The Signalman. I love those old BBC adaptations of M.R. James. The Signalman is Dickens, of course. I have Oh, Whistle on my to watch list later today, with Michael Horndon.

 

[Zaharoff]

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? - 1980 - UK

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? - 1980 - 6/10

Out golfing, Bobby and his doctor partner come across (or strike) a hiker.
His dying words were those above. A puzzle.
Bobby is mildly curious, his female friend, Lady Francis, more so.
Breezy whodunit has multiple suspects that the main players disagree on.
“Well, he’s certainly innocent.” – “He most certainly is not!”
There is a sinister health sanitarium, and a lot of morphine.
Probably too long at 3 hours, but easy to portion. Christie fans ought to seek it out.
Francesca Annis and Tommy Warwick would later pair up as Tommy & Tuppence.