A few reviews

[Zaharoff]

Prophet's Prey

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 than overly subliminal.
Jeffs is a convicted 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.

 

[Zaharoff]

Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship

Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship - 2008 - 6/10

Hugh Hefner produced documentary about risqué goings on in the Silent era and Pre Code Hollywood.
Slick rehashing of well worn terrain. Sex sells, it always has.
Folks who protested seldom went to movies anyway.
Onscreen and off, misdeeds included Fatty, the murder of William Desmond Taylor, mantraps Clara and Louise.
No mention of Convention City, Chaplin's escapades, Gary Cooper, Flynn , etc ...

 

[bendk]

Re: Prophet's Prey

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 than overly subliminal.
Jeffs is a convicted 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.

I am at a complete loss as to understanding the mentality of these people.

 

[waffles]

Re: Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship

Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship - 2008 - 6/10

Hugh Hefner produced documentary about risqué goings on in the Silent era and Pre Code Hollywood.
Slick rehashing of well worn terrain. Sex sells, it always has.
Folks who protested seldom went to movies anyway.
Onscreen and off, misdeeds included Fatty, the murder of William Desmond Taylor, mantraps Clara and Louise.
No mention of Convention City, Chaplin's escapades, Gary Cooper, Flynn , etc ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT9xuXQjxMM

 

[Zaharoff]

Last Train Home

Last Train Home - 2009 - 7/10
AKA - 归途列车

Excellent documentary about Chinese migrant workers who jam trains every New Year to go back to the village and their families.
Shows the sweatshop conditions of two garment worker parents contrasted with the lush village they left behind.
No preaching or soapbox. This is how it is.
Parents toil, making clothes for Westerners, so their kids can attend school and have a chance at a better life.
Shot in Guangdong before and after the Beijing Olympics, and before the financial meltdown in 2008.
An unsettling future if one can look beyond today's horizon.
Planet Antfarm.

 

[Zaharoff]

Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros Years

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.

 

[Zaharoff]

Uncertainty

Uncertainty - 2009 - 4/10

A young couple (Lynn Collins & Joseph Gordon-Levitt) stand in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge, trying to make a big decision.
The guy flips a coin ... they streak off in opposite directions, into parallel stories with each other!
One is the dreaded meal with the girl's family in Brooklyn, the other is fleeing Russian mobsters in Manhattan.
Unappealing narratives because the characters behave stupidly and make fool decisions even tourists would not.
I'd say "avoid" this one, only it was hard enough for me to find.
Makes me wonder how indie flicks make money. They never screen in theaters. Rental outlets are toast.
How do these films turn a profit for investors?

 

[Zaharoff]

La Notte Dei Diavoli

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.

 

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

That's another of my favorites. Not a masterpiece but underseen.

 

[Zaharoff]

Anonymous

Anonymous - 2011 - 4/10

Shakespeare never wrote all those plays. Nor poems.
All were penned by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
Very handsome looking production that methinks doth protest too much. Or persuades too much.
Typical nonsense from director Roland Emmerich.
His highlights feature: Universal Soldier, Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, 2012, 10000 BC.
He can make em glossy, he can make em gassy, he can make em loud, he can make em preposterous.
With Anonymous, he succeeds on all fronts.
Given extra star because it really does look terrific.

 

[Zaharoff]

Kelin

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.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Souvenir

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.

 

[Zaharoff]

Brighton Rock

Brighton Rock - 2010 - 5/10

Updated retelling of Graham Greene's Noir, set during the clashes between Mods and Rockers in Brighton.
Small time gang, getting buried by the big boys, implodes.
Swank looking film, fab clothes, gear sets, luxe tune mix.
Completely marred by grotty script, a daff couple with NO chemistry, and over the top sound design.
Sam Riley good as smart dressed punk who oversteps one too many times.
Coulda, shoulda been a hell of a lot better.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Bank Job

The Bank Job - 2008 - 6/10

Solid caper / heist flick starring Jason Statham.
Tucked in the cast were David Suchet and Mick Jagger (!! I had to go back and look for him).
Government types use a group of motley crooks to retrieve incriminating photos.
Double crosses, S & M, crooked cops, all make for a fast paced actioner.
Statham is good in this, not merely some running prop for explosives.

 

[Zaharoff]

Mulholland Drive: The Pilot

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

Note: PILOT!!!!!
The pilot, disowned by Lynch for decades, has been available in dismal quality for years.
Using the original script, and workprints as guides, Faneditor (and obsessed fan) Q2 restored the pilot 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 supersedes 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 the site below.
New arrivals to Mulholland Drive, visit at your own risk:
MD Theories

 

[Zaharoff]

Karppi

Karppi - 2018 - 7/10
AKA - Deadwind

Police thriller set primarily in and around Helsinki.
A body is unearthed near a recently announced property development.
The detective assigned is freshly bereaved, her new partner, a transfer from Technical.
Character dynamics surface now and then, but the wandering trail predominates.
Clues and witness statements lead to detours and false paths.
Nevertheless, those are generally engaging, one is rather funny.
A few reviewers have compared this with The Bridge, another Scandinavian cop series.
No, not close. Karppi is not Saga, and this series is not as dark nor as grim.

 

[Zaharoff]

Jerichow

Jerichow - 2008 - 5/10

German love triangle drama with three characters old-enough-to-know-better, making poor decisions.
Turkish owner of a string of snack stands hires a discharged vet to drive.
The boss has drinking problems, and a young, trophy wife, built like a snake (ie: not a gram of fat on her).
Classic rule - Don't bang the boss's wife. Secretary and daughter are bad enough, but the wife ...
Course then we would not have predictable movies like Jerichow.
"Making of" documentary tried to explain hidden motivations and underlying character issues.
Zzzzzzzz ....

 

[Zaharoff]

The Last Black Man In San Francisco

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.

 

[Zaharoff]

Apocalypse Now Redux

Apocalypse Now Redux - 1979/2001 - 8/10

For some reason I never got around to viewing the longer version (3+ hours).
In many ways, this is more coherent than the 1979 edition.
Restored sequences often add to narrative, though at other times it gets preachy.
First half of the film terrifically exciting, sound mix, cinematography all gung-ho.
Second half of the narrative bogs in the muck, likely by design.
The 1st Air Cav attack always good demo if you have new screen or sound system to show off.

 

[Robin Davies]

I much prefer the original Apocalypse Now to the Redux version. It doesn't seem right to see Willard laughing; the French plantation and Playboy bunny scenes are boring; and seeing Kurtz in daylight ruins his mystique.