The Church (1989)

 A German cathedral built on the site of a medieval massacre begins to manifest its evil during renovations. I watched this yesterday and I can already remember hardly anything about it. Produced by Dario Argento and featuring his daughter Asia as an adult like young teen and Barbara Cupisti as a child like young women. Originally intended as the third film in the 'Demonds' franchise, it had its connections to the earlier films waterd down over the course of production. Film still looks great, but otherwise just kind of there. **

The Hound of the Baskeevilles (1959)

 Solid if unremarkable adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes story by Hammer Studios. Intended as the first of a series of Holmes adaptations, it's box office was tempered by lack of a monster, proving to be at odds with Hammer's buisness model of the time. Notable chiefly for the presence of Hammer's two biggest stars, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. **

The Beach Girls (1982)

 Three female friends just out of high school decide to throw a massive party at the beach home of one of their uncles; also they find trash bags full of Marijuana jettesoned by panicy drug runners. 80's teen sexy comedy really delivers on its premise, with lots of boobs and drugs and reasonably good humor. I had previously coined the term "4-star-3-star-movie' to refer to a film that I couldn't rightly give more the 3 stars, but which delivered to the full extent of its potential, well 'The Beach Girls' is a '3-star-2-star-movie'. 

10 to Midnight (1983)

 Youtube critic Brad Jones' favorite Charles Bronson movie and I can tell why. This movie does what it sets out to do extremely well, in spirit it is essentially a remake of Dirty Harry, with a great villian you love to hate in the form of Eugene M. Davis, who would go on to menace Bronson again five years later in 'Messinger of Death'. Lisa Eilbacher ups the emotional investment as my favorite of Bronson's on screen daughters. ***

Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959)

 Inspector Maigret returns to the country Chateau where he lived as a boy when he is father was the grounds keeper. The Countess de Saint-Fiacre (Valentine Tessier), who had been a beautiful young bride when Maigret last saw her and is now an elderly widow, has received  a death threat and asked his assistance in investigating. Shortly after Maigret's arrival the Countess dies of a heart attack, an attack Maigret is convinced was deliberately triggered; he finds a surprisingly large collection of possible suspects. Jean Gabin plays the character more world weary then did Albert Prejean, but that really works here. A satisfying mystery that consistently held my interest. ***

Tokyo Pop (1988)

 Aspiring American rock and roller Carrie Hamilton (daughter of Carol Burnett, who sadly died from cancer at the age of 38) travels to Japan hopping to break into its pop music scene. Carrie does become moderatly successful there with her boyfriend/ band mate Yutaka Tadokoro, but the question of could she make it in America continues to occupy her thoughts. A sweet, pleasant and modest picture. ***

Strange Darling (2023)

 Non linear, Tarantino influenced horror thriller about the end of a serial killing spree; set in 2020 Oregon. Kyle Garner and Willa Fitzgerald play cat and mouse, lots of twists and turns, lots of expectation subversion. I'd probably have cut 1/3 to 1/2 of the coda at the end, but this is an exciting and creative movie. ***

Barbara (2012)

 East Germany, 1980. Barbara (Nina Hoss) is a doctor who applies for an exit visa so she can be with her West German lover. The State dosen't like that, so they reassign her from a prestigious Berlin hospital out to the sticks. She's a good doctor, does right by her patients, but plots an escape. Ronald Zehrfeld is another doctor, the cheif doctor, at that rural hospital, he's a great guy who goes above and beyond for his patients. The two have a real chemistry, you root for them to get together, yet you also get the draw of the of the warmth of the West contrasted with the muted cold of the East. There are several engaging sub plots, all of which comes to tie into the main narrative and movie it forward. I really enjoyed this, and think it could be adapted into a pretty strong TV series. ***1/2

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

 Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue give arguably career best performances in this poignant tale, wherein the former plays a suicidal Hollywood executive who travels to Las Vegas to drink himself to death, and the latter a high end prostitute who is moved by his plight and falls in love with him. Despite its very American settings of LA and Vegas, this feels more like a European film then an American one. Not in a hurry, reflective, the film boasts some left field cameos and a really individual soundtrack. I wasn't emotionally moved as much as I was hopping to be, but the movie still produces an idocentric form of wonder and awe that is memorable. ***1/2

The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968)

 'The Girl on a Motorcycle'  is a French produced film released in the United States under the more provocative title of 'Naked Under Leather'. The film stars singer Marianne Faithful as a young women torn between her bland but loving French husband (Roger Mutton) and a dashing German (Alain Delon) with whom she is having an affair. Beautifuly shot with appropriately psychedelic style by the legendary Jack Cardiff. The film's structure focuseing on a motorcycle cycle trip from France to Germany is a also very trippy, there are dream and fantasy sequences as well as flash backs within flashbacks; it can be a little hard at times to keep the narrative straight, but the film was intended to have a dream like logic to it. Mid film I predicted how I thought this would end, planned on hating that, but when it did unfold as I predicted, by that time I was fine with it. ***

Boccaccio 70 (1962)

 An anthology of four short films by name Italin directors (who I will not bother to name) inspired by the works of the 14th century Italian humanist writer Giovanni Boccaccio. We have a story of two newly weds dealing with a lack of privacy in her parents small apartment; a wealthy young couple rocked when the husband's chronic cheating makes the tabloids; a giant Anita Ekberg tormenting a prudish scold; and a semi secret carnavale lottery where the grand prize is a night with Sofia Loeren. All solid and none overstayed it's welcome, even with a running time of 3hrs 25 minutes. It came out in 1962 so I'm guessing the 70 refers to the use of 70 millimeter film. ***

Please, Not Now! (1961)

 French love quadrangle comedy stars Brigitte Bardot and was directed by her then ex husband Roger Vadim. Shades of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' here. A fun and free kinda film, a sort of screw ball comedy, and damn sexy. ***

The Girl in Black Stockings (1957)

 A series of murders rock the resort community of Knab, Utah. A pretty solid B picture with a good cast of characters. The resolutions a little on the silly side, thought the most unrealistic thing about the picture might be that the sheriff drinks coffee and beer. Ann Bancroft and Mamie Van Doren are it's least forgotten cast members. **1/2

Russ Meyer's Supervixens (1975)

 When corrupt cop Charles Napier murders  young mechanic Clint's (Charles Pitt) hypersexual girlfriend Shari Eubank and then frames him for it, our hero is forced to go on the lamb in rural Arizona. Sex comedy/action flick, is over the top but largely good humored. While on the run Clint finds himself repeatedly and aggressively sexually persued by extremely busty women, then violently persued by the men in their life. Still Clint finds love with a look alike (same actress) of his dead girlfriend  before a final confrontation with Charles Napier. Russ Meyer writing and directing at the top of his game, the man loved his work. This movie made $17 million at the box office off a budget of $100,000, a 17 fold return on investment. ***

Cecil is Dead (1944)

This is another Jules Maigret mystery staring Albert Préjean. The body of a headless woman is found in a cheap hotel and a families long held secrets are in danger of exposure. I liked this one alot more then the other of these that I watched, consistently engaging. ***

Compliance (2012)

 A critical examination of deference to authority; a true squirmfest. Inspired by real events, a fast food manager (Ann Dowd) subjects a young employee (Dreama Walker) to increasing levels of harassment, invasions of privacy and worse, because a man on the phone claiming to be a police officer tells her to. Solid, effective, unpleasant. ***

A Teacher (2013)

 A high school English teacher (Lindsey Burge) becomes increasingly obsessed with the student (Will Brittain) she is having an affair with. The film is done largely sans backstory (though some things are implied), and without any internal monologe, or even intimations of the same. So we only know what we see, we can observe the teachers gradual mental unwinding, but we never learn the reasons behind it. It's a kind of story telling some will find frustrating, but here, for me, it really worked. The kid is good, but it's Burge's very committed performance that makes this a engaging watch. ***

The Forbiden Room (2015)

 'The Forbiden Room' is a Guy Maddin film, so it's done in that oldie timey, 'Soviet montage' style that is his signature. This particular film employes a kind of Russian doll structure, where we see stories within stories, in essence a series of short films cut in pieces and presented in parts. This is really to the films benefit, it allows more diversity of visual and story text, and no one narrative goes on too long. The main stories concern a crew trapped in a downed submarine and lumberjacks out to save a beloved local damsel from a gang of wolves. But also, as summed up by Wikipedia: "Other sub-stories involve: a surgeon kidnapped by a team of "women skeletons" who work as insurance defrauders; a madman on a train under the charge of a womanizing psychiatrist; a mustache that seeks to comfort the widow of the man whose face it used to adorn; and a doctor cursed by a bust of Janus. "  I really enjoyed this, it might also make good on boarding for those new to Maddin. ***

Picpus (1943)

 This is an Inspector Mairgret story, my first exposure to one. Mairgret must solve the mystery of an unknown body which is found in a wardrobe of a woman moving apartments; it wasn't there when she moved out of her old place, but somehow got in there during the moving process. This was pretty good, Mairgret is likeable but a pretty standard detective character, the supporting characters are pretty much types as well. This was filmed in France during the Nazi occupation, though no references to this exists in the film its self.**1/2

Asphalt (1929)

 An earnest young police officer and a felonious woman fall for each other, resulting in life threating complications. There isn't much to this story, but it's very capabily pulled off in large part do to the charisma of the leads. This is a late German silent, so I couldn't help but be mildly distracted wondering which characters and actors would become Nazi's. ***

Witness in the City (1959)

 French noir. A wealthy industrialist who killed his mistress is in turn killed by the woman's husband. He stages things to make it look like a suicide, but is unexpectedly seen by a cab driver leaving the scene of the crime. The murderer then must quickly improvise an alibi so he can track down and kill the cabie. However this tax driver proves to be a very social person who is always around people, most notably his girlfriend, a dispatcher at the cab company who is the first to figure out her boyfriend may be an indirect witness to a murder. This was a really solid movie, I'm a little surprised it didn't get an American remake. Great tension. ***

Kamikaze (1986)

French movie; grumpy scientist Michel Galabru is fired from his job, he takes to exploding the heads of television presenters from his nephews attic with an ultrasonic weapon he invented and can fire from his TV. Much of the movie involves the investigation into the murder spree and it is all treated very matter of fact and realistic. I couldn't help but think of the implications to the world of the movie from the madman's invention; live broadcasting would essentially have to end, in fact it would be so dangerous that it would probably become a crime. Unique and compelling feature. ***1/2

Anora (2024)

 I saw 'Anora' about a week before it won all those Oscar's. Deserved. I'll watch anything Sean Baker does, I've seen three of his films so far and they were all excellent. 'Anora' is his most commercial film so far, bit still very much an indie. The movie starts as a slice of life character piece, then becomes a whirl wind romance before morphing into an extended comedy of errors, and then becomes something else, which I won't spoil save to say I was very satisfied with it. ****

Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004)

 Jean Reno is back, investigating a series of murders that mimic the deaths of the 12 Apostles, so it wants to 'Seven'. Benoit Magimel is one of Reno's former students from the academy, he teams up with his older teacher when the drug running case he is investigating intersects his mentors case. Camille Natta is a sexy "religion expert" and Christopher Lee shows up briefly as the big bad. Not as good as the first one, but still gothic fun. **1/2

Freddy Got Fingered (2001)

 Tom Green's notorious gross out comedy 'Freddy Got Fingered' largely derailed his career, and even after watching Prime's new documentary on Green, I can't tell if that was intentional or not. This movie is very bad, but having recently spent some proxy time with Green, I feel like I kind of get it, and I didn't hate it. Marisa Caughlan is fetching as the love interest and Rip Torn's going all in really helps. **

The Treatment (2006)

 When his long time off and on girlfriend (Stephine March) gets engaged to another man, a mild mannered private school teacher (Chris Eigeman) takes the advise of his grouchy, Argentinian therapist (Ian Holm) and persues a beautiful widow (Famke Janssen) on his schools board. Based on a novel I now want to  read, this is a very charming feature from director Oren Rudavsky, who principly does documentary. Great performances from a strong cast, especially Famke and the under known Chris Eigman, he's charming and should have had more of a leading man career as a kind of American Colin Firth. Harris Yulin, who I was surprised to learn is still alive, does some very good work as Eigman's loving but distant father. ***

The Crimson Rivers (2001)

 French thriller, based on a novel. Set in rural France, two detectives working two different cases come to find that their mysteries intersect. Jean Reno is a solemn, noireish detective sent from the city to investigate the ritual murder of the young head librarian at an isolated college; Vincent Cassel is a local, more action movie type detective, investigating the desecration of a child's tomb and a break-in at a Grammer school. This does a real good job pulling you in and maintaining an unsettling feeling, though frankly the ending gets kind of silly. Film does a pretty good job of blending styles, this is essentially two different movies which come together a little more then half way through. Solid, very watchable. ***

Insomnia (1997)

 Later remade by Christopher Nolan, 'Insomnia' is a Norwegian thriller about a detective investigating the murder of a high school girl in the far north, during the time of year that it is daylight 24/7. Stellan Skarsgard is the detective, a troubled loner, the constant light keeps him awake, growing more unhinged and increasingly creepy the longer this goes on. It's been a long time since I last saw the American version, which is set in Alsaka, the stories are for the most part really similar, though notably they have different endings. Fairly basic as a mystery, good as a mode piece and great as a character study. There's a reason this got enough attention to prompt an American remake. ****

Salvation! (1987)

 A man and his sister-in-law blackmail a televangelist into launching his wife's music career. One of the blurbs I read about this movie said the only thing it really has going for it is its topicality, being released during the wave of televangelist scandles of the 1980's. The movie is bad, one of the worst I've seen in editing, structure, story, acting, though the look of the film I genrally liked. At times hard to follow, only sporadically engaging. There are like 3 music videos shoehorned into this thing, the pacing is horrible. A wasted premise. Viggo Mortensen plays the husband. *

The Sessions (2012)

 Based on the true story of the polio paralyzed writer Mark O'Brian's use of a surrogate to experience sexual intimacy for the first time at the age of 38. Helen Hunt plays the therapist and sex surrogate, it's always nice to see Helen, and we do see alot of her in this film. William H. Macey has a good turn as an unusally understanding priest and the supporting cast including Moon Bloodgood is all top notch. This is however John Hawkes movie. I am used to seeing him in more "tough guy" kind of roles, but his work as the good humored, sympathetic, poet souled, pious Catholic trapped in a very physically limited body is career best stuff; it's wrong that he didn't get an Oscar nomination for this. ****

Princess Tam Tam (1935)

 Author Albert Prejean and his assistant Robert Arnoux travel to colonial Algeria for inspiration, they meet pretty theif Josephine Baker and decide to "Pygmalion" her and then return to France and try passing her off as an exotic princess. I was aware of Josephine Baker but this was the first time I'd seen her in a film, she is rather spunky and charming, I get why the French loved her; Americans not so much, this film didn't clear the production code. There is a scene near the end of the film where non white characters Baker and Jean Galland share a "white people sure are oblivious moment". Also, great Busby Berkley style dance number near the end. ***

Tango & Cash (1989)

 "Tango & Cash" is 80s movie concentrate and should be studied in a lab. Sylvester Stallon and Kurt Russell are the respective L.A. hero cops, they are framed for drug running and murder and must go on the lamb to trade quips and prove their innocence. Teri Hatcher does a sexy dance, Jack Palancr chews the scenery. **

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

 Spend a little time looking into 1950's British science fiction and your sure to come across this title. 'The Quatermass Xperiment' started off as a tellaplay, then was adapted into this movie which would yield sequels and revivals into the 21st century. Bernard Quartermass (Brian Donlevy) is a brilliant scientist, he's also more then a bit of a single minded asshole, which makes him interesting. His initial rocket mission returns days later with two crewmen missing and one near catatonic. This is an "astronauts brought something alien back with them" story. Quatermass is teamed reluctantly with Scotland Yard Inspecter Lomax (Jack Warner, but not "that" Jack Waner). There are some close calls but the world is saved, after which Quatermass immediately sets to work preparing a second space flight, that man is out of control, he will kill us all. **1/2

Conclave (2024)

 The unexpected death of a liberal Pope, under mysterious circumstances, leads to a contentious "conclave" to determine his successor. Large cast of heavy weights including Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isebella Rossellini. This a church politics, behind the scenes, power struggle kind of movie, with plenty of twists and turns. However, it is also a different kind of movie, and seeming disconnect between those types of films caused me some trouble processing it at first. I wasn't sure how much of it I could really "believe", but on reflection what at times might seem awkward was really well constructed. The final shot of the movie tied a ribbon around it. Some might say it's blasphemy, but I'm giving it ****

Swamp Thing (1982)

 Brilliant scientist turned into a green, mossey "swamp thing", lives in what looks like the Florida everglades. Based on a DC comic book, directed by a pre Freddy Kruger Wes Craven. There was a 1990's Swamp Thing TV series which was watched regularly by, of all the people in the household, my mother. I recall that show as being oddly somber, this is less so. Staring Ray Wise and  Dick Durock as pre and post transformation Dr. Alec Holland respectively. Adrienne Barbeau, then the only true "scream queen" competition to Jaime Lee Curtis, is the love interest. While Louise Jordan is a better Bond villian here then he would be in Octapussy the next year. **1/2

To the Stars (2019)

 In rural 1961 Oklahoma a shy and awkward girl (Kara Hayward) is befriended by the outgoing new girl in town (Liana Liberato) resulting in a friendship that will change both their lives. Beautiful little movie, nicely restrained, elegantly put together and quite endering. You really get a sense of the time and place, the aura of the whole community. Strong central players with a supporting cast that really fills out the world of the film. Not the subtlist movie in its messaging, but also doesn't hit you over the head with it. Maybe the best portrayal of early 60's America I've seen since Mad Men. ***1/2

In the Land of Women (2007)

 When Los Angeleno Adam Brody's movie star girlfriend breaks up with him, he takes the opertunitie to visit his ailing grandmother in Michigan, only to be drawn into the drama of a neighbor family and become an object of desire for both mother Meg Ryan and daughter Kristen Stewart. (Run on sentence run on). Perfect vehicle for Brody to do his charming thing, strong performances from all the principles. Likable. ***

Cabin in the Sky (1943)

 MGM musical adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name. 'Cabin in the Sky' has an all black cast, essentially unheard of in a major studio film of its time. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, best known as Jack Benny's sidekick on his very popular radio program, plays Little Joe Jackson, a well meaning fellow with an unfortunate weakness for gambling.

 After Joe is shot and killed in a gambling dispute, his wife (played by Ethel Waters) prays to the Lord to have him back. God obliges, wipes Joe's memory of the afterlife and gives him a 6 month probation to prove he really did intend to mend his ways. He is watched over by an angel played by Kenneth Spencer and by Lucifer Jr played Rex Ingram, who employs the sultry Lena Horn in an effort to lead Joe off the straight and narrow. Employing stereotypes of its time the film is still well meaning, creative, and musically solid, including Duke Ellington as himself and Louis Armstrong as one of Lucifer Jr's devil helpers. ***

Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Neckless (1962)

 Lose German adaptation of Doyle's final Sherlock Holmes novel, 1915's The Valley of Fear. We have an English Holmes and Watson (Christopher Lee and Thorley Walters respectively) but the rest of the cast is principally German. Film just feels off, low budget, pacing issues, often stilted acting. An oddity. *1/2

My Old Ass (2024)

 Just weeks before heading off to college 18 year old Canadian Elliot LeBrant (a marvelous Maisy Stella) takes a bunch of mushrooms and ends up meeting her 39 year old self (played by a marvelous Aubrey Plaza). Remarkably after their night in the woods together the two find  out they can still communicate by cellphone, with the older Elliot giving the younger Elliot advice on how to avoid mistakes in their future life. A movie like this has a very narrow lane that it can inhabit without slipping into being either overly goofy or overly sentimental, and this movies does an exquisite job of staying in that lane. One of the best and most surprising films of last year. ***1/2

Dr. Who and the the Daleks (1965)

 I had never watched any Dr. Who before and thought it would be funny to start with one of the non canonical feature films in which Dr. Who is not an alien, but rather an absent minded professor type played by Peter Cushing. Here the doctor takes his two granddaughters and the older ones boyfriend on an adventure in his newly constructed Tartis. They wind up on a ravaged planet where they help a blond haird pacifist people against the genocidal Daleks. This movie owes much to/ cribes much from H. G. Wells The Time Machine. Still I found it entirely satisfying as adventure serial type stuff. **1/2

Psychout for Murder (1969)

 Italian Giallo film in which the lovely Adrienne Larussa is tricked by her boyfriend into some compromising photos, then is carted off to a mental institution by her wealthy family in an effort to save face. This double betrayal breaks Adrienne and upon her relasse she sets out to extract revenge on those who wronged her,  let's just say she succeeds. A tight and violent 90 minutes critique on hypocrisy. ***

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

 Watching this movie reminded me of my first time watching 'Saturday Night Fever', I thought I was going to be watching a silly disco movie, but it turned out be something of surprisingly more substance.  I assumed that 'Cherbourg' was something of an overrought peon to romantic love, it surprised me, it was a different, much better and more substantive movie then I had expected.

It's 1957 and Catherine Deneuve is a 17 year old girl, just out of school and working at her mother's umbrella shop in a seaside French resort community. She falls in love with a 20 year old mechanic played by Nino Castlenuovo, whose a genuinely good guy. They are besotted; Nino gets drafted into the war in Algeria; they consummate; two months later Catherine tells her mother she's pregnant, and that is as much as I'll say about the plot. This is a sung through musical in French, and one of the prettiest looking movies I have ever seen. Other then those few details it is probably best to go in unawares. Highly recommended, it hit it out of the park and left me with a big grin. ****

Quigley Down Under (1990)

 It's 1990 and the fam is down in Vernal visiting grandma, dad agrees to take us kids to a movie, we want to see The Rescuers Down Under but can only find Quigley Down Under. 10 year old me, thinking it very unlikely that there would be two movies in theaters at the same time with 'Down Under' in the title, suggests that maybe this is an alternate name for the Disney cartoon; dad knows better, we watch stuff at grandma's instead.

I would not have appreciated Quigley at the time, but three and a half decades later it's pretty alright. Tom Sellek, trying to have a movie career, plays Matthew Quigley, a late 19th century, American cowboy sharp shooter who travels to Australia for a job offer from rancher Alan Rickman (this during the actors smarmy hayday). Turns out the job is to help Rickman genocide some aboriginal's. An enlightened Quigley punches his would be employer out a window for this suggestion. In short order he and a somewhat delusional prostitute called Crazy Cora (under rated beauty Laura San Giacomo) are left to die in the Outback. The two rise to the occasion and with the help of the natives bring justice to Rickman and his hired hands.

Relocated to a different continent, this is still a pretty standard Western, thirty years earler John Wayne or Henry Fonda would have made good Quigley's. Takes a bit to get going, but a comfortable watch. Movie was not helped at the box office by coming out around the same time as Dances with Wolves, or The Rescuers Down Under for that matter. **1/2

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

 'Edge of Tomorrow' aka 'Live, Die, Repeat' uses a reasonably clever premise for in essence a video game movie; a somewhat smarmy Tom Cruise is forced to relive a battle with aliens 'Groundhog Day' style until he gets it right. Satisfying but not very deep actioner has Cruise in fine form. I liked how they played his relationship to female lead Emily Blunt, 21 years his junior, as attraction and respect, but ever shy of traditional romantic partnering. ***

The Substance (2024)

 This film set out to repulse me and it succeeded. Directed by French woman Coralie Fargeat, it's a critique of narcissism and Hollywoods treatment of women past a certain age. It is also the best example of body horror this side of Carpenter and Cronenberg. An aging Demi Moore takes a mysterious substance which allows here to recapture her youth in the form of Margaret Qualley... sort of. There are alot of catches. It dosen't end well. Pretty damn gross. The movie hits you over the head with its points and the world of the film is far from realistic. It's an extended metaphor, something that dosen't always work for me but I was okay with it here. I wasn't always okay with the grossness. This movie is a fairly impressive accomplishment, still probably don't see it. ***1/2

The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft (2022)

Warner Herzog's documentary of the famed,  Volcano chasing French couple is chiefly an aprictiation of the often stunning footage they captured over a quarter century of field work. Much of the film is haunting, but none more so then the footage taken in their final hours, they were killed in a 1991 eruption in Japan. Combing through the footage of others Herzog discovers the last known footage of the couple, a little hazy but matching what they were wearing earlier, this footage was taken likely a few minutes before they overtaken by the pyroclastic flow. I learned the term pyroclastic flow from this movie. ***1/2

Nosferatu (2024)

 Remake of F. W. Murnau's 1922 silent classic, which in turn is a slight variation on Bram Stoker's Dracula designed to get around copyright law; there is also a great West German version directed by Warner Herzog in the 1970's. Robert Eggers, one of the most visually interesting directors currently working and a big horror buff, has been wanting to remake this film since he was a kid, and in earnest since the success of his debut feature 'The Witch' in 2015. Set in 1830's Germany and Transvalina, the movie boasts the directors trade mark attention to period detail. It's dark and operatic, strong performances all around with Willim Defoe and Lily-Rose Depp the standouts, turns out the latter can act, she's not just a nepotim hire. Certainly not for all tastes, but if your interested I would recommend seeing on the big screen. ***1/2

The Passenger (2023)

 Janitor Kyle Gallner takes fast food employee Johnny Berchtold hostage with the stated purpose of "helping" the very shy young man, after first massacring his co workers at a small town Louisana burger place. Strong central performances, including Liza Weil, in what proves to be an exquisitely constructed story of pain, regret and hope. Despite its run down, depressing, blue collar setting, this movie is beautiful. ***1/2

Caged (1950)

 Eleanor Parker in the first of three Oscar nominated performances plays Marie Allen, a niave 19 year old who goes to jail as an accessory after her husband dies in a robbery attempt. Doc drama style expose of women's prisons show how the system fails Marie and the sweet young woman leaves jail, hardened, embittered and likely to end up back there. The B plot concerns the power struggle between the abuseive prison matrion played by Hope Emerson and an idealistic wardon played by Agnes Moorehead, who tries largely in vain to make things better in what may be the best role she ever got. I found this movie to be unexpectedly strong, it is often compared favorably to the asylum expose 'The Snake Pit', though this movie is more depressing. ***1/2

Viva (2007)

 Writer/director/producer/editor/star Anne Biller's highly stylized story of a house wife who embarks on a journy of self discovery and psycho sexual liberation in 1972 California. Not as good as her later 'The Love Witch', movie is campy fun with stilted dialogue and a message I can't quite make out. Great look to the thing despite the obviously limited budget, I loved the retro lounge style soundtrack. Lots of nudity, but more a commentary on erotocism then actually errotic. **1/2

Savage Dawn (1985)

 Ex CIA agents Lance Hendrickson and George Kennedy, the latter's two young adult children, and for some reason a bunch of Chinese people, fight back against a biker gang and the stolen military hardware they use to besiege a small Texas town. This feels like it should have been a cult movie, however it never seems to have achieved that status. **1/2

Widow Clicquot (2023)

 Inspired by the true story of Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who ran her husband's champagne winery after his death in 1805, and is credited with the invention of pink champagne and a double fermenting process still used today. An interesting enough story they wait until about half way through the film before addressing the mental unraveling of her husband in the years before his death. In flash backs he is at first portrayed as very loving and of a progressive temperament, seeing his decline makes the story and Barbe's accomplishments all the more moving and impressive. Haley Bennett is both strong and radiant in the lead. ***

The Old Way (2023)

 This is a Nicolas Cage western, and being able to say you have seen a Nicolas Cage western is about the only reason to watch this movie, other then a strong performance from young Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Cage's daughter. This is a revenge movie, a shitty variant on 'Unforgiven' that feels like it's adapted from a pulp western paperback from the 1950's, but was actually written for the screen by a man who likely read a bunch of pulp western paperbacks from the 1950's. This movie radiates cheapness and only on rare occasion do its various clichés elicit some amusement. I admire Nick Searcy's commitment to his exposition heavy role as a Marshall. *1/2

Naked Vengence (1985)

 'Naked Vengence' is a kind of female lead varient on a 'Death Wish' movie, and I wish they'd made more. Staring the beautiful Deborah Tranelli, a television actress in her only film role, she plays an aspiring actress in a very happy marriage to a successful architect. After a dinner to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary the husband tries to stop an assult on a woman in the parking lot only to be killed for his trouble, the assailant getting away. After the funeral Deborah decides to spend some recoup time with her parents in the small California town where she grew up, only other then them everyone in town (with a very few exceptions) turns out to be a real asshole. She is gang rapped in her parents home, her folks killed in an attempt to help her. While in the hospital she decides to seek her revenge, while at first she appears to be near catatonic she sneaks out at night and begins a killing spree against her attackers. The film puts its lead through some real harrowing stuff in order to make the subsequent revenge killings as satisfying a possible. This America shot, Phillipines produced film is sleazy explotation, but shot with soom real sheen. **1/2

The Color of Pomegranates (1969)

 Armenian writer/director Sergi Parajanov's treatment of the life of the 18th century poet and musican Sayat-Nova is so abstract, that Soviet censors wouldn't let him advertise it as a bio-pic. Abstract and intensely visual the movie is a kind of visual poem that can't really be done justice in words, it is worth seeking out at least clips of online, in order to understand just how unconventional this film is. There are only bits of biography you can suss out in the film, but you come away with a real sense of the person even as you learn few facts about the man. I suspect this movie will benefit from repeat viewing. ***

Spin Me Round (2022)

 As of this writting it's been less then an hour since I learned of the passing of this films co writer and director Jeff Beana. I just watched 'Spin Me Round' on Monday night. Alison Brie is a manager at a chain Italian restaurant in Bakersfield California who is selected to participate in a company retreat in Italy. Once there she quickly finds things kind of off with both the retreat its self and with the odd assortment of Tuscon Grove employees she is more or less stuck with. A quirky, kinda mystery with some good payoffs. The cast is loaded with a kind of stock company of players Beana had accumulated over the years, including Brie, Debby Ryan, Molly Shannon and his wife/ co writer Aubrey Plaza. I really enjoyed this, Beana certainly had a unique style of dry humor and unusual subject manner in his storytelling; I'm sad we won't be hearing his unique voice anymore. ***

Under the Silver Lake (2018)

 Andew Garfield is a charmastic slacker living in his rent overdue Los Angeles apartment in 2011 (why set this in 2011 I don't know). He hits to off one night with neighbor Riley Keough, but when he goes to visit here the next day finds her apartment empty. As Garfield searches for her he interacts with various charactery characters and becomes increasingly enmesshed in improbable conspiracy theories, at least some of which turn out to be true. He also completes a nice arc leading to greater self reliance. There is an awful lot going on in this movie, both on the surface and in subtext, but to me it never felt like they were trying to do too much, which is no easy feet. ***

Tough Guy's Don't Dance (1987)

 'Tough Guy's Don't Dance' is the subject of arguably the greatest episode of the YouTube series 'Welcome to the Basement'. I tried to read the book a number of years ago but didn't finish; perhaps I'll give it another chance. Novelist Norman Mailer adapted and directed  his own novel for Cannon Pictures, who in the 80's were open to just about anything. It is a Cape Code set neo-noir with lots of eccentric characters and odd directing choices. A gonzo kind of movie held together by lead Ryan O'Neal playing it straight while those around him turn the melodrama up to 11. I would rewatch this. **1/2