Saturday 30 May 2020
Lost Girls (2020)
When Mari Gilbert's daughter disappears, police inaction drives her own investigation into the gated Long Island community where Shannan was last seen. Her search brings attention to over a dozen murdered sex workers.
Strong, realistic true crime drama focused on the victims and their families amid a botched investigation; enhanced by solid direction and extraordinary performances.
Friday 29 May 2020
Gog (1954)
A security agent investigates sabotage and murder at a secret underground laboratory, home of two experimental robots.
Above-average, original sci-fi drama within a Cold War background still is quite silly, but quite entertaining and it's good color cinematography is enjoyable to watch.
Halliwell*: "Brisk, imaginative low-budget sci-fi in gleaming colour, well staged and developed."
Maltin**: "OK sci-fi..."
Thursday 28 May 2020
Unbelievable (2019)
When a teen reports being raped, then recants her story, two female detectives follow evidence that could reveal the truth.
Heart-wrenching, enraging and powerful crime investigation drama not just unravels a criminal case, but reveals the incredulity and bias abuse victims are confronted with; enhanced further by strong performances.
Wednesday 27 May 2020
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
At the end of the 24th Century, and 14 years after his retirement from Starfleet, Jean-Luc Picard is living a quiet life on his vineyard, Chateau Picard. When he is sought out by a mysterious young woman, Dahj, in need of his help, he soon realizes she may have personal connections to his own past.
This new series is a slow-paced sci-fi adventure with a complex and sophisticated plot, nearly each episode in itself suspenseful and ending with a cliffhanger, but the final conclusion is derivative and waters down all the accrued expectations.
Tuesday 26 May 2020
Moontrap (1989)
The Space Shuttle returns to earth, but some of the equipment brought back on it begins to behave strangely.
OK sci-fi alien invasion drama is foremost watchable for its good and imaginative special effects, but also has suspense and a welcome performance by Walter Koenig.
Maltin**1/2: "OK entertainment...Very low-budget production shows ingenuity in its special effects and imagination in the story, but dramatic values are highly valuable."
Sunday 24 May 2020
Apprentice to Murder (1988)
Fire-and-brimstone preacher sees Satan everywhere, trains gullible young boy to "detect" evil, and the two of them commit several murders in the name of Jesus.
Strange, quite uneven, but interesting horror drama, based on a true story, never quite knows what it wants to tell not unlike its apprentice's inability to perceive reality; Donald Sutherland is always worth the watch.
Halliwell (no star): "Odd little thriller that relies too heavily on special effects to hold an audience's attention."
Maltin**: "Odd, affected, fact-based account...Sutherland, in a disappointing performance..."
Locusts (1974)
A swarm of locusts appears on the horizon near a Midwestern town, and the inhabitants must find a way to destroy or divert them before the insects devour the area's valuable crops.
Mediocre TV drama is centered on a lopsided father/son relationship, locusts are only added to the plot to create some more urgency, but that doesn't really work well.
Friday 22 May 2020
The 27th Day (1957)
Aliens take 5 people, give them small capsules which can kill mankind without additional damage, with the understanding they will colonize Earth only if they use the weapons.
Unusually original Cold War sci-fi drama with a quite liberal message is suspenseful and entertaining despite its low budget.
Maltin**1/2: "Imaginative sci-fi study of human nature..."
Thursday 21 May 2020
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (2019)
Miles Davis: Horn player, bandleader, innovator. This documentary feature explores archival photos and home movies shot by Miles and his colleagues, his manuscripts and Miles' original paintings, to explore the man behind the music.
Good, informative documentary gives a thorough overview of the artist's life and work, complete with some fascinating archival material; however, as so often with this kind of musical biography, the music is cut too short.
Wednesday 20 May 2020
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
A satire set in the contemporary art world scene of Los Angeles, where big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce.
This quite cynic satire has good direction and a well-cast ensemble obviously at ease in their roles, but loses perspective and its seriousness somewhere along its way into a horror tale.
Frantz (2016)
In the aftermath of WWI, a young German who grieves the death of her fiancé in France meets a mysterious Frenchman who visits the fiancé's grave to lay flowers.
A subtle, heart-wrenching tale in beautiful black-and-white imagery straightforwardly dissects the xenophobic bias and its impact on human society.
Saturday 16 May 2020
Climax (2018)
French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.
Visually brilliant, almost psychedelic dance party spiraling downwards into a void of violence and madness has a hypnotic pull to it, but causal order of events is implausible or, at best, construed and one wonders: who would want to attend such a gathering of dubious characters?
Friday 15 May 2020
Au bout des doigts (2018)
The music is the secret of a young man, a subject about which he dare not speak in his neighborhood, where it lags behind with his friends.
Good cast, nice to look at, but utterly cliche-ridden and predictable tale of taming the genius from skid row.
Class of 1999 (1990)
Robot teachers have been secretly placed in the schools where the students have run riot.
Trashy sci-fi actioner with a put-on message; watch it waste its star cast's talents!
Halliwell (no star): "A sort of robot Blackboard Jungle, aimed at teenage audiences in love with violence."
Maltin*1/2: "Heavy-handed film wavers between high camp and taking itself seriously as a message movie! Keach goes overboard as a maniacal robot operator."
Thursday 14 May 2020
The Eyes of My Mother (2016)
A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.
Haunting, atmospheric dark tale in wonderful black-and white has a strong David Lynch-feel to it, but is just as disturbing in its own right.
Tuesday 12 May 2020
Joker (2019)
In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime.
Dark and intense dive into a madman's mind is a fascinating as well as disturbing experience, largely due to Joaquin Phoenix's frenetic, mesmerizing performance.
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