ph: Kenneth Willardt
Saturday, July 17, 2021
The Bat (1959)
A crazed killer known as "The Bat" is on the loose in a mansion full of people.
OK mystery drama obviously based on a stage play is neither very exciting nor scary, but well-made in an old-fashioned way.
Halliwell (no star): "Poor remake of a standard twenties stage thriller; everyone chews the scenery."
Maltin**1/2: "Faithful filming of the...play..."
Friday, July 16, 2021
First Lines: D. H. Lawrence - The Rainbow
The Brangwens had lived for generations on the Marsh Farm, in the meadows where the Erewash twisted sluggishly through alder trees, separating Derbyshire from Nottinghamshire.
The White Tiger (2021)
An ambitious Indian driver uses his wit and cunning to escape from poverty and rise to the top.
Extremely well-made drama with an excellent cast adapts the novel into a fast-paced, complex narrative with and at times shocking and heart-wrenching scenes; the Indian local settings are depicted with accurate and beautiful detail.
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Junkopia (1981)
One day, at the stroke of evening, on Emeryville beach in San Francisco, where unidentified artists, leave, without anyone knowing, sculptures manufactured with items that have washed ashore from the sea.
Poetically intriguing short explores and celebrates the surrealism of the mysterious art work assembled at this sight.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
The Naked Edge (1961)
Five years after George Radcliffe was the chief witness in a high profile murder case, his wife receives a blackmailing letter accusing him of the crime.
Psychological thriller has some good Noir
cinematography, but its narrative is full of loopholes and unnecessary
twists so that its suspense is limited.
Halliwell (no star): "Dreary thriller which piles up red herrings in shoals, then abandons them all for a razor-and-bathroom finale."
Maltin**1/2: "Uneven suspenser..."
Monday, July 12, 2021
Sunday, July 11, 2021
Murder Among the Mormons (2021)
High-stakes exploits turn deadly - and shake a global church to it's core - in the extraordinary true crime story.
This documentary benefits from the truly rich case it shines a light upon with a lot of colorful participants, bomb assassinations, forgery of historical documents resulting in the rewriting of an already dubious sect history and the incredulous machinations of that sect itself.
