A few reviews

[Zaharoff]

The Legend of Barney Thomson - 2015 - 6/10



50 year old barber with anger issues escalates into homicide.
Hmm, the body. What to do? I know, ask Mum!
Mum, an acerbic, spiteful soul bails him out. From frying pan into fire.
Now, police suspect him of being a notorious serial killer!
Very black comedy of murder, treachery, dismemberment.
Robert Carlyle - Emma Thompson - Ray Winstone, all must of had a field day in this.

Buyer beware! My DVD has no SUBS, and the Glasgow dialect is thick and actors slur lines.

[Zaharoff]

The Man With The Glass Eye - 1969 - 6/10
AKA - Der Mann mit dem Glasauge



After the show ends, a chorus line girl is chauffeured to posh hotel for business hijinks.
Before sordid naughtiness climaxes, an assassin in trenchcoat kills the john with a hurled knife.
Scotland Yard swings into action and begins hunting for the female --
-- who is poisoned the next day backstage at the variety theater!
Peppy, late-in-the-cycle, Krimi features a vivid, late 60s look, as well as a campy late 60s plotline.
“Based” on Edgar Wallace writings (much as the later Bond films were “based” on Ian Fleming novels).
Racketeers elude the police, while the assassin eludes all.
Noisy, rattling diversion, but essentially a guilty pleasure for Krimi fans.
Alert! - Despite Scotland Yard, English names, this is a German language production.

[Zaharoff]

True Story - 2015 - 6/10



Engrossing, if not altogether satisfying drama of lies and murder.
Jonah Hill as New York Times reporter fired for fabricating a cover story.
James Franco as man indicted for killing family, then dropping bodies into the bay.
The accused offers to tell his story to the disgraced newsman.
Each recognizes the other as a pathological liar, and there is the difficulty with the movie.
The film is packed with invention, self-deception, false assumptions.
Very little truth and no honesty.
Primarily a two man show, both actors play against type and do fine in chilly movie.
Sparse dialogue. Many scenes, one individual talks or asks, and another declines to answer.
Dry and emotionally empty.
It will hold your interest throughout, but you might not care about anyone involved.

[Zaharoff]

Swamp Shark - 2011 - 4/10



I wonder if this was where recent shark spoofs began.
Big ole shark is dumped into Louisiana swamp and proceeds to munch on gators and humans.
Not enough of either for my taste, I’m afraid. Also, language, violence and and nudity are PG.
With the Gator Festival in full swing, irate owners of the Gator Shed Restaurant sail off to deep six their fishy freeloader.
Pace is backwater slow. Most in the cast were big in the 80s, working for a paycheck nowadays.
Neither fun nor over the top. Straight faced across the board.
Formula crap.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the warning.....

[Zaharoff]

The Wild Wonderful Whites Of West Virginia - 2009 - 4/10 or 7/10



Long awaited sequel to Dancing Outlaw, which made an unlikely cult star out of Appalachian mountain man, tap steppin', Jesco White.
This time out, the whole clan is featured.
Cussing, fighting, breeding, shooting, stabbing, nudity - male and female.
Will thrill fans and horrify the unwary.
The family strike me as a more calculating bunch, “acting” for the camera in the era of faux celebrity.
NONE of them have the charism and naiveté of Jesco in the earlier film.

[Zaharoff]

White Lightnin' - 2009 - 3/10



What a piece of shooo.
Opening credits read "Inspired by Jesco White."
First third, maybe, though I think the filmmakers exaggerated.
From there, the story diverges straight into hillbilly nightmare.
Not following the Jesco's well documented life at all.
In other words, one more ghoul exploiting Jesse White.
I have probably watched Dancing Outlaw a hundred times.
Fun - funny - hopeful.
This film is a mess. Exteriors don't even look like Appalachia.

Carrie Fisher as Pris (read Norma) is truly inspired casting, however.

[Zaharoff]

Dancing Outlaw - 1991 - 7/10



The documentary that made Jesco White famous.
Thirty minutes showcasing mountain step dancing, Elvis worship,
murder, fried eggs, Freebird, burning up your damn car, guilt.
Filmed in Boone County, West Virginia, forgotten crannie of the American Dream.
This is about as authentic as they come. I've been in this neck of Appalachia hundreds of times.
Fame and exploitation soon followed, along with groupies, tattoos, hipsters and phonies.
The sequels are less fun, this is the genuine article.

Spoiler

I first saw this immediately after it aired while on a trip visiting family.
My middle brother had it playing on the television, and for half a tick I thought it was him dancing on that swayback bridge.
"What the hell. Where'd he learn to dance like that?" I thought.
I realized it was not him, but I knew the Appalachia landscape.
"Where is that?" I asked.
"Boone County. Where Dad lives."
Like a million other Southerners, I got a VHS copy pronto!
I shared with coworkers who loved it. Jesco's fame spread like kudzu.
For twenty years, every time I visited Dad in his rural oblivion, I hoped to catch a Jesco concert, jamboree, or step-off. Never happened.
My youngest brother and his band actually met Jesco during 2006's JescoFest. A benefit concert put on by 60 groups to help Jesco buy firewood. Three day weekend. Earned $600.00.
Hells bells.

[Zaharoff]

Bridal Mask - 2012 - 6/10
AKA - Gaksital // 각 시 탈



Tremendously popular Korean series, set during pre WWII occupied Korea.
Resistance loner, wearing white and a traditional bridal mask, single handedly combats Japanese troops, police, and fatcat appeasers enriching themselves while their brothers bleed and starve.
Quality sets and costumes, luxurious production values, typical of K-dramas.
Several haircuts are jarringly wrong, however. No males of that era had hair over the ears, especially military or police.
Nightclub shows strike me as a bit modern, as well, but perhaps not.
Real issue is the concept, Korean resistance. According to Wiki (dubious source of info), strikes were the prevalent form, not armed confrontation.
Despite those quibbles, an excellent series, stained with blood, beatings, shootings, torture, and corrupt intrigue.
High body count in this one.

[Zaharoff]

Assassination - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Amsal // 암살



High voltage S Korean escapism with sumptuous production values.
Circa 1933, a Korean hit team is assigned to take out a fatcat appeaser and occupied Seoul’s Japanese military commander.
Rival Korean factions squabble with each other and informers are omnipresent.
Similar in look and feel to The Good, The Bad, The Weird (1998), though more grounded in reality.
Like the K-drama Bridal Mask, these are non-historical characters (though Korean resistance to occupation was real, especially in the north).
Excellent cat n mouse thriller with superb action sequences.