The Vampire Happening (1971)

 'The Vampire Happening' is a horror, sex comedy conceived by Italian producer Pier A. Caminnecci as a vehicle for his 21 year old wife, the Swedish starlet Pia Deyermark. Deyermark plays two parts, an American actress, and her vampire great grandmother, the latter accidently reawakened by the former when she visits the Transylvanian castle she's just inherited. 

Made in West Germany by the Englishman Freddie Francis, a veteran of Hammer and other horror films, at this point in his carrier he had already won one Oscar for cinematography (Sons & Lovers, 1960) and would go on to win another (Glory, 1989).

A true 'titty flick' the movie consistently goes out of its way to show breasts, particular Ms. Deyermark's. Most of the humor is generated by the two Pia's constantly interchanging, with the vampire being mistaken for the actress and visa versa. Also the Catholic seminary and girls school across the way provides much fodder for sex humor. 

The whole project seeks to basically 'rip off' Roman Polanski's 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' from 1967, in which the director co-stared with his wife Sharon Tate. I saw that movie once, when I was in middle school, and remember that as better then this. That being said this wasn't that bad, from what I'd read I thought it would be just awful. The massive vampire orgy/party at the end is redick. It's kitschy and dubbed spaghetti western style and I have a soft spot for that kind of thing. **1/2

Winter Solstice (2005)

 'Winter Solstice' is an extremely understated family drama about widower Anthony LaPagila and his two teenage sons (played by actors you've likely never heard of before). There are supporting parts for Michelle Monaghan and Allison Janney. LaPagila's great and the whole thing has a literary quality, it feels like a short story. The film does an excellent job of capturing the sense of emotional worn-out-ness that can follow family trauma for years. The movie however is also very slow and not much happens in terms of plot. ***

The Young Victoria (2009)

I can't not compare this to the version of the queens life which I know best, the British TV series 'Victoria'. 'The Young Victoria' starts before the death of King William so you get more of a sense of him, loves his niece but hates her mom. Otherwise the film covers much the same territory as Season One. It is interesting to note the differences in how the two approach the same material. The movie is less of a fan of Lord M then the series. Emily Blunt's Victoria starts out more confident then Jenna Coleman's. ***

Only the Brave (2017)

 This movie was recommended to me by my 12 year old nephew. 'Only the Brave' is based on the true story of a group of heroic Arizona fire fighters in the early 2000's. The film focuses principally on two narratives, Miles Teller's Brendan McDonough and Josh Brolin's Eric Marsh, both recovering addicts who found a salvation of sorts in battling wild blazes. A mixture of family drama and fire fighting sequences, there is something to be said for the straight forwardness of the story, and the basic earnest goodness of the characters. While from our collective childhoods fire fighters are among the most iconic of self sacrificing hero's they seldom get movies, and even more seldom are those movies memorable. A fitting tribute, this movie really does justice to those it portrays. ***

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayl & Greed (2021)

From this new provocatively titled documentary on beloved painting instructor and television personally, the late Bob Ross, I was expecting to learn much about the mans demons. However according to the people who appeared in this documentary and knew Bob Ross, including his son, best friend, and an ex wife, Ross was basically the man you saw on screen, a very pleasant fellow who loved nothing more then painting and helping people learn to paint. His long time business partners however, well that relationship was complicated. An interesting peak into a man who has become even more of an icon and defacto saint since his death more then 25 years ago. ***

The Real Glory (1939)

In 'The Real Glory' Gary Cooper, David Niven and Broderick Crawford are among the American solders tasked with training Filipino forces to fight Muslim insurgents on the southern islands back in 1906. Unfortunate parallel's to recent events are hard to escape, as is the films revisionism, seeming to imply the Americans were leaving the people of the Philippines to largely govern themselves, which would really not be the case until after World War II. Really a mediocre film, there is good reason it has been forgotten. The movie feels like it was made to piggy back off the success of Gunga Din, which came out earlier the same year, but it fails to capture any of the energy that film had. The one real stand out in the picture is actress Andrea Leeds who plays fellow Montanan Cooper's love interest, she looks like a lost Fontane sister and draws you too her any time she is on the screen. This promising actress left film the next year at 27 to raise a family. **

The Courier (2020)

 'The Courier' is a sold cold war espionage/human interest story based on real events. A pleasant throw back, perhaps mildly smarter then it needed to be. As I was unfamiliar with the source story I was a little surprised by a late film complication, though I probably shouldn't have been. What is most interesting about the film I think is seeing Benedict Cumberbatch, who has made a career out of playing unusually gifted men, play a rather average one, it might not have worked but I think it did. ***