A few reviews

[Zaharoff]

Spring - 2014 - 7/10



The casual affair that could turn into love.
American male, fleeing trouble in the States, goes to Italy and meets mysterious girl.
She carries a few secrets of her own including rebirth and transfiguration.
While carrying the Horror tag, romance and communication predominate.
The two leads have evident chemistry and this could be a warm date film.
Except there is a horror component, there is almost casual violence, and there is disintegration.
Narrative of love, however brief, colliding with the longer path.
This is an intelligent, well thought out film, splashed with beautiful coastal scenery.

[cannibal cop]

Quote Originally Posted by Zaharoff

Spring - 2014 - 7/10

5/10 for me.

I felt I should like this one better than I ended up doing, but on the whole I recall it being too talky and weightless for what it was trying to achieve.

It didn't help matters that the male lead struck me as a feckless twerp.

[Zaharoff]

Wolf Estate - 1943 - 6/10
AKA - La Ferme Aux Loups



Bouncy French mystery finds two fledgling newspaper hounds investigating murder of Russian homeless man.
The lead deadends, so the pair head to the country with the boss’s attractive secretary.
During a howling thunderstorm, their car breaks down and they seek shelter in an “old dark house."
Inside - hey, there’s that dead Russian bum!
Not the most original, yet fast paced, light on its feet, with rather salty dialogue.
Thinking afterward, I wondered if this was filmed in Vichy France.

[Zaharoff]

100 Streets - 2016 - 6/10



Ensemble cast of three couples play out a few days of their lives.
Two pairs navigate difficulties in their marriages.
The third is an unlikely relationship between an aging actor and a younger man with poetic gifts.
Light interweaving of stories, but this is not, say, Love Actually.
Because most struggle throughout, the film can be a sour pill.
I disliked some of the plot contrivances near the end, felt like the writers ran out of gas.
Hour and a half of varying drama.

[Zaharoff]

The Witness - 2015 - 6/10



Documentary with unanswered questions may prove frustrating.
Kitty Genovese was repeatedly stabbed in 1964. Twice. Half hour apart.
38 people watched from windows, no one helped, no one phoned the police.
Fifty years later, her brother searches for answers. Truth. Closure.
Such as, why no one tried to rescue her. Especially since there were two attacks.
Or did the press bend the story? Was this fake news?
Cross between a study of brother Bill and a remembrance of Kitty, the person.

[Zaharoff]

Life - 2017 - 3/10



I watch a lot of bad SciFi and Horror. This blend is a godawful, reeking pile.
Special effects are fine, though the plot is beneath any eight year old.
Orbiting scientists snag a one-celled organism from Mars.
They stimulate it and encourage it. Even name it - Calvin.
(Consider if the Nostromo crew had named the xenomorph - Daisy.)
Not only does the creature get a lot bigger, it quickly becomes smarter than anyone else onboard.
Also the hungriest. Lucky for Calvin there are a half dozen, box o rocks, totally stupid crew members.
Too bad the Life script writer was not among them.
Fifield and Millburn resemble wise, thoughtful scientists in comparison.

[ToALonelyPeace]

A Wedding Trough or Vase de Noces (1975)

A farm boy falls in love with a pig and they get married. Unfortunately, happy days end for the couple when she gets pregnant. The film is not for the squeamish or those looking for Salo's depravity. Be warned: don't eat when watching.

The first half is slow and focuses on daily farm life: plowing, watching chickens, ducks, and turkeys mount each other...the usual stuff. One can see why the love interest has to be the pig, since man and bird would be difficult if not impossible (can't have your love poke your eyes out). However, you have to give the pig's credit-she is not bad looking. There's no dialogue but the occasional music accompanies the film well. If not for that, it'd be a snooze fest.

For the ending, if you don't get farm boy's actions from the beginning-you won't understand it any better by the end. I give it a 5/10, some memorable moments but mostly average.

[Zaharoff]

Dreams Of A Life - 2011 - 7/10



Documentary about a woman's corpse, found in her London bedsit.
She had died three years earlier, Christmas presents around her, telly still running.
Three years. How could anyone be so forgotten?
Interviews with old friends and coworkers served to remind us by what slender threads we hang onto each other.

Spoiler

I had written dozens of stories about a previous workplace.
Almost everyone gave me permission to continue using their first names. Many were now successful, a few famous.
I couldn't find one person, though. None of us could. It was as if she had vanished.
At a recent party, R said, "Some people don't want to be found."
While watching Dreams Of A Life, I remembered my old colleague, the one who slipped away.

[Zaharoff]

Saint Amour - 2016 - 5/10



Viewers with a soft spot for “dumb” (dumb friends, coworkers, neighbors) might score higher.
Aging father and son hit the Agricultural Fair.
Dad hopes his prize bull will win a prize, Junior intends to get sloshed.
During a prolonged interval, they hire a taxi and drive through various wine regions.
Three males, including the driver, encounter a variety of altogether willing females.
Yes, male fantasy time. Our studs are bumpkin stumble-bums, yet ladies tumble.
Over talky, touchy feelie, angst laden, baggage packed, pointless, sexist ...
Oh, sensitive souls, Depardieu exposes a v-a-s-t swath of stomach in a romantic interlude.

[Zaharoff]

Secret Agent X-9 - 1945 - 7/10



Thirteen part Universal serial with Lloyd Bridges, Jan Wiley and Keye Luke.
Action takes place on Shadow Island, only independent "nation" in the China Sea.
Nest of spies, agents, saboteurs, criminals, gamblers.
Japanese - Nazis - Aussies - Chinese - Yanks know who is who and clash accordingly.
Plot revolves around the Japanese pursuit of 722. The Allies have no idea what that is, but they are determined to discover and thwart.
Fairly realistic, as far as serials go. No jokes, no comic elements. Cold blooded killings occur.
Much of the story occurs at night, so most scenes are dark. Few cheats.