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The Brokenwood Mysteries (2014)
Murder mysteries that are both entertaining and clever
I've never really thought much about New Zealand, despite the fact that many cultural figures have come from there and, say, their role in WW2. I have visited Australia and know how very different that is from the United States, not least in terms of landscape. But I found that in Sydney people were quite a bit different than in the "wine country" I visited just north of there -- people were culturally very similar to the small town America I was familiar with. This show purports to show a small town that is very much like that, with the addition of the Maoris integrated into society.
All this intro aside, I love this series, as it both very funny, with engaging and believable characters, but also has believable and clever murder mysteries. I haven't really found a false note yet, and hope it can go on and on -- I've burned through the first three "series" or seasons and can only root for more. Highly recommended!
Viy (2014)
On its own terms not bad (should have been a lot better)
I have been eagerly anticipating seeing this film for a long time, ever since seeing previews. The first film made from Gogol's story, also titled Viy (1967), was humorous and yet had scary special effects, especially well done for the time (the Russians made some great films in this period). This is a different take on the story, NOT a remake of that 1967 film, which I can appreciate. As one reviewer noted, this is very like Burton's take on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (possible spoiler?) in that the plot veers away from the original story. In fact this makes the film very interesting, and I think Jason Fleming does a good job in his role as the cartographer who blunders into a drama in a cossack village. The letdown comes in the overuse of CGI, to me, and in the decidedly humdrum actresses used for the female parts. Not being Ukranian, naturally, I don't share other reviewers anger at the portrayal of drunken cossacks, and in fact this is hypocritical in that the 1967 shows about the same thing. (The Don Cossacks historically were an important people in Russian history, and made up elite cavalry units). Comparing this movie to similar American ventures in period horror overusing CGI, I think this is actually better than, say, Brothers Grimm. Nonetheless overall weak actors (the witch should be at least as fascinating as the 1967 version, and there are plenty of beautiful Ukranian or Russian women that could have played this role), overuse of CGI, and an overly busy plot make this a less than stellar picture that is forgettable. Please note the film is available in a somewhat English-friendly DVD, but the subtitles are horrible -- making the plot even more incomprehensible. Some of the subtitles make no sense at all, and some apparently cannot translate Russian words and just put them on the screen in kind of direct transliteration. I think this subtitling was done with computer assistance, badly, because even the HTML for a title card is translated (a font number!).
Please Kill Mr. Kinski (1999)
Both a wry humorous (and true) story and a tribute
This is a very short piece by the director of Crawlspace (1986) in which he echos pretty much the same sentiment as Herzog did in My Best Fiend. Crawlspace was done right before Cobra Verde (1987), a movie that Herzog in fact seriously threatened to shoot Kinski if he left the set. He was totally out of control and roundly hated by the crew. Herzog mentions how he found out the local crew was planning to kill Kinski at one point, if I recall correctly. So to say that this film is not fully justified is ridiculous.
Warning - possible spoiler: In the end of the film Schmoeller states that he really wished he could have eulogized Kinski more, and he does so here. Despite all his unpleasantness, he was interesting to watch. It is fortunate, too, that Kinski had people to direct him, much as he hated the idea, because his own film Paganini is a mess and might have been salvageable without endless gratuitous shots showcasing Kinski playing Paganini but acting like Kinski. Herzog got the best out of Kinski, because he was not professional enough to subsume his ego into the making of the movie if he could bully enough people, therefore he acted mostly in crap pictures after his relation with Herzog ended, because he would do most any role if given enough money. An interesting comparison might be made with the longer film made by Harry Kumel that is included on one DVD of Malpertius about Orson Welles. Welles was another difficult person to work with, but unlike Kinski, just when everything was about to go under due to Welles being difficult, he showed up and ran through everything just like the director wanted. This is the difference between a true professional and an egotist. Also abusing people and cursing at them is never a good thing regardless of how "great" an actor, director, or anyone else thinks they are. This is a little gem by Schmoeller.
Incidentally I pretty much hated Crawlspace, but I believe his much earlier film Tourist Trap (1978 on the film credits) would have been as big a hit as Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) but for marketing problems, and would be now considered more of a classic than it is. So the other reviewer who needlessly slurred Schmoeller's name by including this in their denunciation should know few would agree with that assessment of his film. It is also low to slander someone with remarks about their presumed sexual orientation (which I know nothing about and don't want to), so if that's the level one has to stoop to comment about this harmless amusing film then one should get their head examined. Like Kinski maybe should have.
Santo y el águila real (1973)
Surprisingly entertaining
I had read about Santo movies before, so I had to try out one. The print I saw (Vanguard) is in bad shape, and the movie is subtitled (at least partially), but the sound is okay. Still, once past the opening the movie becomes a fascinating culture study of a sort of country living in Mexico. For entertainment at one point they see a cock fight (yes it's real and violent) and it is fascinating to see what kind of manners people use with each other, even in a fictional movie. Santo is always the gentleman -- speaking very correctly both to friends and enemies! The basic plot begins with Santo going to the aid of a woman, the owner of a ranch, who is being threatened by unknown persons. The way the plot unfolds is not as entertaining as seeing the characters interact. It does appear there is animal abuse in the film, since most of the filming seems to be in a one-take mode, but one can never be sure about that. After all, the fights look real enough but were faked no doubt in terms of blows connecting, so maybe they did something similar with the filming of the animal scenes. All in all I have to give this film for both entertainment and amusement value, though perhaps I was just in the right mood. I'm going to check out more Santo movies after this.
'Chô' kowai hanashi A: yami no karasu (2004)
Almost the perfect blend of J-horror
Not sure the film can be easily summarized, but suffice it to say a young Japanese girl takes a job in the Japanese version of a convenience store, like a 7-11. This is far from your usual quick mart, though, as the couple who own it are really creepy and then there's the repeat customer who always wears a parka and never shows their face. From there the movie is more akin to the Japanese film Tampopo (but this is definitely horror and not comedy) in showing seemingly unrelated stories of other people who start to encounter peculiar and horrific events. Around the middle three of these stories are shown in a masterful split-screen shot. It pays homage to many of the classic J-horror films that preceded it, with a bit of sly humor behind a lot of it. It's unique, like Uzumaki, and also cheaply shot on video, so a bit rough around the edges. But for something completely different, you could certainly do worse. The first time I saw it I didn't think it was very scary, but on second viewing with some family they were absolutely terrified. Highly recommended.