A few reviews

[Zaharoff]

A Bigger Splash - 2015 - 7/10

Deliciously unpleasant story of pop idol secluding herself on remote Pantelleria after vocal surgery.
Intruders arrive. Her ex (manager/lover/producer) with his sullen daughter.



Ralph Fiennes excels as hyper-kinetic, limelight hogging noise unit.
High energy, passive aggressive, pushy, sarcastic, manipulative, utterly toxic.
One of those souls who demand the spotlight, even though his gifts are minimal.
Fiennes’ character unsettles everyone. His relationship with his daughter is uncomfortably cozy.
One wonders why the “normal” individuals endure him, though that is obliquely explained.
Warning, characters throughout are trolls or door mats.
Though not written by her, material evocative of Patricia Highsmith novels.

[Mr. Veech]

I'd love to see what you think of del Toro's Crimson Peak. I saw it last night, and I thought it was a very beautiful film.

[Zaharoff]

The Man From Beyond - 1922 - 5/10



Harry Houdini silent.
Legendary escape artist made a number of films, but this was not his best.
Houdini, discovered in an Arctic shipwreck is chopped out of a huge chuck of ice.
After thawing, he revives, and it turns out he has been there since 1820. 100 years.
In no time flat, he finds a female who resembles his long lost flame.
Plot detours into reincarnation territory, one of Houdini's obsessions.
A cliff hanging sequence (literally) and swim near the top of Niagara Falls are highlights.

[Zaharoff]

Little Deaths (Obsession) - 2011 - 4/10



Three part anthology involving sex and death.
First part follows a couple trawling homeless girls for an evening of jollies.
"Sure, drink as much wine as you want, dearie."
Second part, very weak, has something to do with Nazi experiments, drugs, a naked man wearing a welder's helmet.
Third is yet another couple who are into role playing, betrayal, and revenge.
Oh, and cynophobia.
Arty, pretentious, soft core twaddle.

[Zaharoff]

Bright Leaves - 2003 - 7/10



Gaze longingly, nicotine fiends. Green fields of burley.
Ross McElwee documentary about the decline of great grandfather's empire, and tobacco itself.
The sire brought out the Durham Bull blend, crushed when Duke released pre-rolled Bull Durham cigarettes.
Duke today is a charitable foundation, a university, global empire, and probably the cause of millions of cancer deaths.
McElwee is forgotten, though survives in an old Gary Cooper film, Bright Leaf (that was blend that grew in North Carolina).
This follows the typical meandering pace of all Ross McElwee docs, delivered in his soft Southern cadence, and his usual wit.
Definitely worth seeing, though Sherman's March is McElwee’s most accessible flick and the one to hunt down.

[Zaharoff]

Season Of The Witch - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - Timi Nornarinnar



Troublemaker journalist is exiled from Reykjavík to Akureyri, northern Iceland.
He covers a missing dog, gets “man in the street” opinions.
Then starts to investigate the ugly murder of an actor wearing a witch’s robe with runes..
Later, he is asked to dig into an accidental drowning of an ailing woman.
Serbian gangs, an abandoned parrot, Iceland myths and gods, swirl in ever present snow.
Decent four-part mystery told from the newspaperman’s very droll point of view.
Bonus is plenty of rugged outdoor scenery, as well as historical tidbits.

[Zaharoff]

Joseon X-Files - 2010 - 7/10
AKA - Gichalbirok // 기찰비록



Young official is hired by Imperial house to investigate unexplained phenomena.
He gets a superstitious strong man cop for muscle, and teams with a scientific, medical female.
Their boss is a chain smoking (pipe) shadowy man who always knows much more than they do.
Sound familiar? Except this riff on the X-Files is set in 17th century Joseon (Korea).
Twelve episodes that include extra-terrestrials, alternate realities, witchcraft, political cults, and a couple head scratchers.
Definitely worth tracking down if you are a jonesin' for fresh Mulder and Scully fare.

[Zaharoff]

House Of Bamboo - 1957 - 6/10



Sam Fuller movie, often pigeon holed as Asian Noir is more suitably Tourist Noir.
Ex-soldier (Robert Stack) arrives Tokyo after buddy summons him for crooked money.
Buddy is dead and Stack begins selling “protection.” Rich visuals in this section.
Eventually he gets recruited into a small gang of Army ex-pats led by Robert Ryan.
Lost man in unfamiliar city is Noir enough.
Numerous logic errors, though.
Wouldn’t authorities notice a crew of tall, white faced gaijin committing robberies?
Homoerotic angle in this, Ryan must have known, Stack, his early past is filled with whisper.

[Zaharoff]

The Devil’s Hand - 1961 - 4/10



Guy keeps having nightmare of leggy blonde flouncing around in sheer nightgown in clouds.
By chance (ha!) he walks into a doll shop and sees a doll that looks just like that blonde!
The shopkeeper says it belongs to Bianca, and the guy can deliver it if he wants.
Curvy Bianca, still wearing sheer fabric, greets him at the door then flows against our man.
Before he can say he’s got a mousy girlfriend, his mind goes soft and his trousers go stiff.
For devotees of the great devil god, Gamba, this is a must!
Anyone else, this is crap - see through crap - though it is fun for about an hour.

[Zaharoff]

Tabloid - 2011 - 7/10



Errol Morris documentary.
If you are British, and of a certain age, you might remember the antics of Joyce McKinney and her Manacled Mormon boyfriend.
In 1977, Southern belle McKinney flew to London to free her Mormon boyfriend, to de-brainwash him back into loving her.
She kidnapped him from London, drove him to Devon, chained him to a bed, removed his magic Mormon underpants, and frakked his brains out for 3 days.
Then Scotland Yard became involved. And the High Court.
British tabloids had a field day with this one.

One of the reporters termed McKinney "barking mad."
A hoot of a story and never boring, with escapes, disguises, revelations, and cloning!