A few reviews

[Zaharoff]

Bad Girl - 1931 - USA

Bad Girl - 1931 - 5/10

Kitchen sink schmaltz of two working class stiffs with zero communication skills.
First meeting is hardly meet-cute, and the progression into marriage seems madness.
Over and over, they miss cues and generally misunderstand the other.
Understandable if there was a torrid romance before the menfolk shipped off to war.
The aftermath of those marriages turned into Noir murders.
Anyway, Dorothy is “bad” with Eddie for one night, which is enough to get knocked up.
Eddie, wildly acclaimed on release, grated on me throughout.

 

[Zaharoff]

Love Actually - 2003 - UK

Love Actually - 2003 - 7/10

Zelda and I first watched this during its initial theatrical run.
Surprisingly, there were only two other couples in an otherwise empty theater.
Time has proven kind to this holiday bonbon, now is a staple in many homes.
Stories interweave. Comical, romantic, poignant, frustrated, thwarted.
Looking past the credits, one might guess what relationships will founder, what might succeed.
Tremendous casting a major asset. Film is overlong, but never feels that way.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Sawmill - 1922 - USA

The Sawmill - 1922 - 6/10

The Boss is having a hard time keeping Dumb-Bell in line.
Matters worsen when the Owner arrives with his daughter.
Chases, fisticuffs, and chaotic mayhem ensue – for no real reason.
With a plot thinner than tissue paper, this is all stunts and gags.
The gags are slapstick, while the stunts must have been jaw-dropping a hundred years ago.
Wild short, set in the woods, spotlights forgotten clown Larry Semon and nemesis, Oliver Hardy.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Granny - 1995 - USA

The Granny - 1995 - 5/10

Only she ain’t dying fast enough for her greedy relatives.
They keep trying various methods to hasten her demise, but granddaughter Kelly protects.
Till Granny gets an eternal life potion, which gets tainted, which she fails to follow instructions and drinks.
Horror comedy manages to parody Slashers and Erotic Thrillers.
Jokes are sarcastic barbs, gore is cartoony, kills manage to be gloriously fake.
One watches to see Stella Stevens having a blast, and Shannon Whirry as a rare good-girl.
Nudity, innuendo, silliness, poor makeup, dismal FX. Know your tastes, friends.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Woman In Cabin 10 - 2025 - UK

The Woman In Cabin 10 - 2025 - 6/10

Just cause everyone says you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they are not out to get you.
Investigative journalist Laura is invited to a very, very posh cruise with the ultra rich.
Late night, she hears a splash in the water. Nothing here, so say the crew and privileged guests.
Being a reporter, Laura starts digging, and is soon in over her head.
Decent thriller, which I sorted within forty minutes, goes offtrack in the final acts.
I am not great with mysteries. If I can figure these out, then it is formula or predictable.
This is a bit of both. Drink before watching, fog your brain.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Dreaming - 1988 - Australia

The Dreaming - 1988 - 7/10

While the native girl struggles for life, the doctor on duty enters the dreamworld.
Previously, an archeological team unearths a hitherto unknown burial site.
Graves are disturbed, items taken and relocated to the white man’s museum.
While the dreams, visions of past atrocities, mount in frequency.
Eventually, the doctor takes to road to the Isle Of The Dead via an ill-named hamlet.

Standout photography elevate this slow-burn outing (not precisely Horror).
The cinematographer has an artistic eye, and almost every scene is interesting or compelling.
Polarizing film deserves a wider audience, a restoration, perhaps commentary.

 

[Zaharoff]

Secrets Of The London Underground - 2021 - UK

Secrets Of The London Underground - 2021 - 6/10

Disused, forgotten stations. Historic signage. Modern retrofits sheltering the surprise underneath.
Two engaging hosts prowl the subterranean depths.
Enjoyable for all familiar with “mind the gap”.
Subsequent seasons will be unseen by me.
One season probably says it all.

 

[Zaharoff]

A Question Of Attribution - 1991 - UK

A Question Of Attribution - 1991 - 7/10

Three had been unearthed and chased from the nation.
For Blunt, exposure had hung like a sword for over a decade.
Government ministers were certain he was a Soviet spy.
Yet, his position, his eminence, made cornering him exceedingly tricky.
Nuanced teleplay focuses on the verbal cat and mouse.
A highlight is Blunt discussing art with Queen Elizabeth, who proves to be sharper and deeper than he assumes.
Electric drama, better if you know SOMETHING of the Cambridge Five.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3366594

 

[Zaharoff]

Man’s Castle - 1933 - USA

Man’s Castle - 1933 - 6/10

Waif Trina, hopeless and starving, is befriended by the gruff Bill.
Gives her a meal, finds her a place to live in Shantytown, off Park Avenue.
Despite the grim Depression, Trina’s head soon fills with hopes and dreams.
She has a roof over her head. As well as someone to hold onto.
Bill, however, hears the siren song of the train whistle, watches birds flying overhead.
He dreams of the place I have always referred to as “Elsewhere”.
Loretta Young glowing as the besotted Trina, Tracy’s Bill seems a tad too old.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Monster - 2025 - Italy

The Monster - 2025 - 7/10
AKA - Il Monstro

Couples park in wooded seclusion for torrid backseat bouncing.
Unaware of the man outside with gun and knife.
Who kills and carves, then flees without a trace.
This plays like the making of countless Giallos, except it was true.
Gripping, if confusing yarn of a serial killer, active for a few decades.
This does “best guess” as to the perpetrator, but the installments can be maddening.
There are lies, fabricated stories, botched arrests, nothing solved.

 

[Zaharoff]

Pride And Prejudice - 1940 - USA

Pride And Prejudice - 1940 - 6/10

Worth a watch for fans of lavish, old Hollywood adaptations.
Two rich gentleman arrive in the countryside, eligible bachelors both.
Did I mention rich?
In no time, Mrs Bennet maneuvers to land a son-in-law for her daughter.
At barely two hours, this version has been cut to the bone, and hurries along.
Greer Garson, in her mid-thirties, looks too old, and resembles Miss Muffet.
Olivier, however, is ideal. Reserved, aloof, coldly elegant.
One wonders if David Rintoul studied his Darcy for the 1980 series.

 

[Zaharoff]

Weapons - 2025 - USA

Weapons - 2025 - 6/10

17 children go missing from the classroom, cameras show them running into the night.
Who gets the blame? The new teacher.
What was she teaching them? Parents demand.
We follow the teacher, who is pretty, who has trouble with alcohol, who picks up men.
Think of a Van Halen song set in the classroom.
Then, point of view shifts to a parent, then a cop, then a junkie.
Everyone interacts, and everyone is affected by a presence.
Paranormal thriller / mystery / horror (kinda) will hold your attention most of the way.
Superbly constructed, although it veers off the rails at the end.
Perhaps deserving another point.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Case Of The Howling Dog - 1934 - USA

The Case Of The Howling Dog - 1934 - 6/10

Perry Mason receives an impetuous client, who hands him $10,000 to draw up a will and deal with a dog.
Then the rich client disappears. The owner of the dog? Murdered. Dog, too!
Main suspect, the attractive woman with the gun.
Fast moving film plays fair clues and twists.
William Warren adroit as slick, cool professional.
Perhaps a bit unethical, too, as one will see.

 

[Zaharoff]

Boundless, Actually - 2025 - Poland

Boundless, Actually - 2025 - 6/10
AKA - W Zasadzie Bez Granic

The female arrives at the detective’s office.
She has a complaint, a grievance against her husband.
Details, however, are jarring.
Moody Noir short, an amusing reveal, although opens and closes ominously.
Set in September of 1939, which would be a catastrophic time for Poland.