Posts Tagged ‘Ken and Robin Consume Media’
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Heretic, The Beekeeper, and 80s Polish SF Satire
December 17th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
The Ark Before Noah (Nonfiction, Irving Finkel, 2014) After a snappy 101 on cuneiform tablets, the author, a noted British Museum curator, examines versions of the Babylonian flood myth later adapted into the Biblical story. Potentially dense material elucidated with self-deprecating wit and sweeping certitude.—RDL
Duckweed (Film, China, Han Han, 2017) Comatose after an accident caused by his beef with his father (Eddie Peng), a race car driver (Chao Deng) travels back in time to the months before his birth, meeting the mother he never knew (Zanilia Zhao) and a sweeter version of his dad. A light touch quietly elevates this dramedy of camaraderie and melancholy.—RDL
Ga-Ga: Glory to the Heroes (Film, Poland, Piotr Szulkin, 1985) Penal space program sends dissident to a planet of authoritarian sleazeballs, where he is expected to commit a spectacular crime justifying his scheduled human sacrifice. Scathing allegorical satire with Gilliamesque production design.—RDL
Heretic (Film, US, Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, 2024) LDS missionaries, one (Chloe East) bubbly, the other (Sophie Thatcher) reserved, step into the parlor of a hyper-verbal eccentric (Hugh Grant), who has prepared for their arrival with traps both theological and physical. Claustrophobic debate horror in which Grant, playing a character from his current villain phase who thinks he’s as charming as Grant in his leading man days, pounces on every morsel of the script, with East and Thatcher responding in kind.—RDL
Panique (Film, France, Julien Duvivier, 1946) Slick criminal (Paul Bernard) and his devoted, newly sprung girlfriend (Viviane Romance) scheme to pin a murder on an unpopular neighbor (Michel Simon.) Simon’s poignant performance as an unloved outsider anchors this dark tale of the dangers of community, based on a Georges Simenon novel.—RDL
Red Dog (Film, US, Casey Pinkston, 2019) Nashville songwriter interviews his mom, a freewheeling raconteur, and her erstwhile running buddies about their time as strippers, bouncers and hangers-on at Oklahoma’s notorious Red Dog Saloon in the oil-rich, hard-drugging 1980s. Warm-hearted documentary portrait of a wild scene that could have killed a lot more of its participants than it did.—RDL
Good
The Beekeeper (Film, US, David Ayer, 2024) When connected cyberscammers impoverish his only friend, beekeeper Adam Clay (Jason Statham) sets out to protect the hive by arson and mayhem. Raffi Simonian’s insane opening titles write a check no movie could cash, but Ayer and Statham try their best, producing some of the finest action tableaux of the century. Sadly the FBI B-plot is content to run the numbers from a much less bee-obsessed (and therefore worse) movie.—KH
Ken and Robin Consume Media: New Neal Stephenson, An Aptly Named Action Movie, and a Classic M. R. James Adaptation
December 10th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (Film, US, Tyler Taormina, 2024) In the long-gone days of the late flip phone era, an extended Italian American clan gathers for a raucous holiday celebration. Observational ensemble drama evokes the loving chaos of family events and a nostalgia unstuck in time. Producer Michael Cera appears in a small role as a befuddled policeman.—RDL
Destroy All Neighbors (Film, US, Josh Forbes, 2024) Put-upon sound engineer (Jonah Ray) spirals into hallucination and murder when the EDM beats jackhammering from the apartment of his grotesque weirdo new neighbor (Alex Winter) interfere with the creation of his prog rock masterpiece. Witty, amiable gore comedy shambles to the beat of its own oddball drummer.—RDL
Kill (Film, India, Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, 2023) Commando (Lakshya) boards a train seeking to elope with his sweetheart (Tanya Maniktala) only to wind up fighting his way through an entire bandit clan. Though this aptly named revenge actioner leverages the limitations of confined space fight choreography, its chief innovation is to show the emotional impact of the death toll on the villains as well as the heroes.—RDL
Polostan (Fiction, Neal Stephenson, 2024) Russian-American Communist cowgirl Aurora (aka Dawn Rae) returns to the Soviet Union to assist the Revolution as a spy. Told in overlapping flashbacks from 1919 to 1933, running through the Bonus Army March and the Century of Progress World’s Fair among other things, this first volume of a trilogy is a peak Stephenson blend of background crunch and driven characters.—KH
Support the Girls (Film, US, Andrew Bujalski, 2018) On a bad day in an Austin Hooters-style restaurant, accumulating crises test the unrewarded competence of beleaguered manager Lisa (Regina Hall.) Observational workplace ensemble drama finds a transcendent nobility in the neverending struggle against everyday bullshit.—RDL
Whistle and I’ll Come To You (Television, UK, Jonathan Miller, 1968) Fusty academic (Michael Hordern) staying in a Suffolk hotel digs up an old whistle that tests his disbelief in the supernatural. Assigning himself the daunting task of rendering M. R. James prose cinematic, Miller zeroes in on the very English auditory realm of non- and sub-verbal utterances and mumblings. First aired as part of the Omnibus anthology series, this paved the way for the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series, the early installments of which North Americans can now find on Shudder.—RDL
Good
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Film, US, Guy Ritchie, 2024) Desperate to break the U-boats’ stranglehold on Britain, M (Cary Elwes) recruits maverick Major March-Philipps (Henry Cavill) and his team to scuttle the Nazi supply ship in neutral Fernando Po. Rousing action film never quite manages to hold or maintain tension (never Ritchie’s strong suit, Wrath of Man notwithstanding) but looks great throughout (Ed Wild shoots in a lively supersaturated 70s palette) and zips along through a two-hour run time.—KH
Okay
Abigail (Film, US, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, 2024) Professional heisters (Dan Stevens, Melissa Barrera, et al.) snatch a little girl for ransom and take her to an old mansion chosen by their client’s cut-out (Giancarlo Esposito) but things aren’t as they seem. The first surprise (she’s a vampire!) is revealed in the trailer and the poster; the film takes too long to get to the second, and really could use a third one to pick up the slack. I enjoyed Stevens and Barrera, and am a sucker for the premise, but this is a high Okay at best.—KH
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Gladiator II, Only Murders, and a Paean to Tackiness
November 26th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
Flipside (Film, US, Christopher Wilca, 2023) Gen X documentarian whose career has sidetracked into a lucrative, family-supporting gig directing commercials assembles footage from incomplete projects about a moldering hometown record store, a blocked writer, Ira Glass’ midlife crisis dance show, and dying jazz photographer Herman Leonard into a profound and challenging meditation on the tangled relationship between creative ambition and personal happiness.—RDL
Hansan: Rising Dragon (Film, South Korea, Kim Han-Min, 2022) Having struck a surprise blow against the invading Japanese navy with a new, terrifying ramming vessel, cool-headed Admiral Yi (Park Hae-Il) presses to turn back their assault. Tactics, espionage and internal maneuvering precede a thrilling second half of naval warfare in a huge production with a sprawling cast. If you’re wondering why Choi-Min Sik has been replaced by a much younger actor, this is a prequel, not a sequel, to 2014’s The Admiral: Roaring Currents. The character is again recast in the trilogy’s final installment, 2023’s Noryang: Deadly Sea.—RDL
A Murder at the End of the World (Television, US, Hulu, Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij, 2023) Reclusive billionaire Andy Ronson (Clive Owen) invites true-crime writer Darby Hart (Emma Corrin) and eight other guests to his isolated Icelandic hotel for an earth-saving summit, but someone murders activist artist Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson), also Darby’s ex. An immense amount of hugger-mugger surrounds this straightforward classic mystery plot; Corrin’s superbly natural acting successfully grounds both the genre and cyber-wow elements.—KH
Only Murders in the Building Season 4 (Television, US, Hulu, Steve Martin & John Hoffman, 2024) When someone shoots Sazz (Jane Lynch), Charles Haden-Savage’s (Steve Martin) stuntwoman, the podcasting trio lurches into action, complicated by the movie being made from Season 1 of their show. Although a good raft of B-listers try their best to keep the “movie madness” subplot raucous, Melissa McCarthy absolutely steals the season as Charles’ sister. The mystery is also surprisingly good, and interestingly misdirected.—KH
Repast (Film, Japan, Mikio Naruse, 1951) The surprise extended stay of her work-worn husband’s (Ken Uehara) flighty niece (Yukiko Shimazaki) prompts a disappointed woman (Setsuko Hara) to reconsider the state of her marriage. Subtly observed domestic drama finds the tensions beneath the surface of everyday life.—RDL
Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have To Offer (Nonfiction, Rax King, 2021) Memoiristic essays juxtapose the author’s past headlong pursuit of sex and love with disregarded works of popular culture ranging from Sex and the City and the Josie and the Pussycats movie to Creed and The Sims. Emotional depth and rueful insight concealed by a thin veneer of superficiality.—RDL
Good
All the Moons (Film, Spain, Igor Legarreta, 2021) A vampire girl (Haizea Carneros) separated from her undead protector (Itziar Ituño) in the 19th century Basque region attempts to live among humans. In its effort to remain beautiful and tasteful this Basque-language gothic drama also winds up keeping its distance from the situation and characters:—RDL
Gladiator II (Film, US, Ridley Scott, 2024) After the Roman general Acacius (Pedro Pascal) captures his Numidian city, enslaved gladiator Hanno (Paul Mescal) vows revenge. Denzel Washington’s scheming courtier Macrinus tries to make this movie more than just “Gladiator but with two evil emperors,” and his scenes pop with brio. Sadly nobody thought to make him the A-plot instead of retelling the first film, and the comparison does Mescal no favors. Roman history buffs be warned: this movie does not end with Elagabalus taking power.—KH
Not Recommended
Footprints on the Moon (Film, Italy, Luigi Bazzoni, 1975) Seeking an explanation for three days of missing time, a tense translator (Florinda Balkan) travels to an off-season resort town. A compelling vibe, bolstered by Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography can’t overcome this existential mystery’s weak, circular clue structure and disappointingly obvious conclusion.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Agatha All Along, Kinds of Kindness, and Deep Carnival Lore
November 19th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Ken was on the road this week.
Recommended
Floyd Norman: an Animated Life (Film, US, Erik Sharkey, 2016) Documentary profiles Floyd Norman, Disney’s first Black animator, whose career spans working with Walt himself on the Jungle Book to Pixar and the present day, with detours along the way into documenting the Watts riots and drawing the accursed Scooby Doo. Inspiring portrait of an unassuming mensch and mentor who channels his anger into cartoons and comes out on top in the end.—RDL
It All Starts Today (Film, France, Bertrand Tavernier, 1999) Empathic director of a primary school (Philippe Torreton) in an economically devastated former mining region torches his relationship with the bureaucracy seeking social support for his young students. Thanks to committed performances and deft pacing, this is social realism without the boring bits.—RDL
Kinds of Kindness (Film, US, Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024) A submissive employee resists a life-endangering request from his dom boss; a neurotic cop decides that his wife rescued from a shipwreck has been replaced by an impostor; devotees of a water purity sex cult hunt for their prophesied savior. Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Hong Chao take multiple roles in an anthology of cruel tales, two of them arthouse horror, that play like Cornell Woolrich rewritten by Luis Buñuel.—RDL
Good
Carnie King: The Story of Patty Conklin and Conklin Shows (Nonfiction, John Thurston, 2024) Biography/business history about a German American who adopted an Irish identity and rose from mark-fleecing small time carnie to CEO of a multimillion dollar company and feted pillar of the Toronto establishment. The smell of corn dogs, cotton candy and lost cultural detail wafts through a research-packed account of particular resonance to anyone who remembers getting a discounted pass to the Canadian National Exhibition with their year-end report card.—RDL
Hollywood Signs (Film, US, Bill Fishman, 2021) Documentary comprehensively covers the autograph collecting hobby, from cultural history to the efforts of a ragtag band of enthusiasts to bag precious George Perez signatures, casting the celebrity convention scene in an affirming light.—RDL
Okay
Agatha All Along (Television, US, Disney+, Jac Schaeffer, 2024) Teen sorcery prodigy of mysterious origin (Joe Locke) frees Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) from an illusionary existence to drag a wary coven into the questing space known as the Witches’ Road. In the now endemic Marvel pattern, strong on showcasing the charm of its performers and weak on story architecture.—RDL
The Duke (Film, UK, Roger Michell, 2020) To the horror of his anxious wife (Helen Mirren), an opinionated Newcastle autodidact (Jim Broadbent) confesses to stealing Goya’s Duke of Wellington portrait from the National Gallery, in a bid to publicize his campaign against TV licensing fees. Comic underdog vs the establishment docudramedy, based on a 1961 case, gives Broadbent and Mirren room to shine, despite pat psychology and overdone cheerleading for the hero.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Emilia Perez, Rebel Ridge, and Argentine Reality Horror
November 12th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Ken is on the road this week.
The Pinnacle
History of the Occult (Film, Argentina, Cristian Ponce, 2020) In late 80s Argentina a TV news panel host and his sequestered inner circle of producers attempt to crack a witchcraft conspiracy reaching into the highest levels of government, live on air. Brilliantly uses minimalistic resources and real-time pacing to process the darkness of the Argentine dictatorship through the weird horror genre—with bonus hints of Lovecraft’s mythos.—RDL
Recommended
Clifford (Film, US, Paul Flaherty, 1994) To prove his interest in children to his trusting fiancee (Mary Steenburgen), a tightly wound transit architect (Charles Grodin) agrees to look after his ten-year-old nephew Clifford (Martin Short), who turns out to be an unhinged force of Machiavellian destruction. Directed by its longtime head writer and spotlighting Martin Short at his Martin Shortiest, this is the purest translation of SCTV’s mix of absurdity and darkness to the big screen, which explains why it was met with utter bafflement on its release yet has now entered the cult comedy pantheon.—RDL
The Curse of the Marquis de Sade: A Notorious Scoundrel, a Mythical Manuscript, and the Biggest Scandal in Literary History (Nonfiction, Joel Warner, 2023) The life of writer and inveterate sex criminal the Marquis de Sade is interwoven with the ownership history of the manuscript for 120 Days of Sodom, from its composition in the Bastille to its key role in a gigantic investment implosion. Parallel narratives explicate bibliomania and the ever-evolving intellectual romanticization of a figure you do not in fact have to hand it to.—RDL
Emilia Perez (Film, France, Jacques Audiard, 2024) Frustrated attorney (Zoe Saldana) assists a cartel kingpin (Karla Sofía Gascón) who plans to stage a fake death after sex reassignment surgery, leaving passionate wife Jessica (Selena Gomez) in the dark. Committed performances and a fresh approach to its unusual mix of elements keep this musical crime melodrama ablaze.—RDL
Rebel Ridge (Film, US, Jeremy Saulnier, 2024) Small town cops confiscate cash needed by a former Marine martial arts instructor (Aaron Pierre) to bail out his cousin, prompting him to investigate the corruption of a spiteful police chief (Don Johnson.) Pierre establishes his star power and Saulnier shows a preternatural ability to increase tension by letting scenes breathe in a slow burn thriller with an explosive action finish.—RDL
Swing Kids (Film, South Korea, Kang Hyoung-chul, 2018) In an American-run POW camp segregated between violently opposed Communist and pro-Western factions, a Black tap-dancing sergeant (Jared Grimes) follows orders to train a performance troupe for a propaganda event, requiring an intense Northern captive (Kim Min-jae) to choose between art and political loyalty. Wartime drama puts the optimism of the musical on a collision course with historical trauma.—RDL
Good
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Film, UK, Sam Fell & Jeffrey Newitt, 2023) Impeded by her boastful husband (Zachary Levi), a hero-turned-protective mom (Thandiwe Newton) tries to keep their bold daughter (Bella Ramsey) safely in their free chicken community, only to have her launch an investigation into a Huxleyian factory farm. Expends considerable thought and craftsmanship on sequelizing an original that doesn’t reward recapitulation.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Oddity, Woman of the Hour, and Alan Moore’s Magic 101
November 5th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
The Abandoned (Film, Taiwan, Ying-Ting Tseng, 2022) Aided by a tentative rookie (Chloe Xiang) and a victim’s impulsive boyfriend (Ethan Juan), a grief-stricken cop (Ning Chang) investigates the slayings of foreign workers who have fled their visa requirements. Tense serial killer policier paints Taipei’s underbelly as a place of dread and fleeting beauty.—RDL
Bed of Roses (Film, US, Gregory La Cava, 1933) Cynical ex-con (Constance Bennett) reels in a stuffy, rich publisher (John Halliday) but pines for a down-to-earth barge captain (Joel McCrea.) Economically told wisecracking Pre Code romantic drama.—RDL
Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution (Nonfiction, Jonathan B. Losos, 2017) Lizard-wrangling biologist shows how DNA analysis and experimental studies have established convergent evolution, the tendency of species to arrive at similar solutions to the same environmental challenges, not as a quirky occurrence but as the baseline. Illuminating throughout, including the section where you discover that everything you thought you knew about the Burgess Shale has now been upended.—RDL
The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic (Nonfiction & Comics, Alan Moore & Steve Moore & divers hands, 2024) A big and beautiful introduction to (and defense of) the magical arts, comprising among other things précis of the Kabbalah and Tarot, magical geographies and summonables, 50 “Lives of the Great Enchanters” in comics form, and several “rainy day activities” sections that provide beginning magical instruction. Really most comparable to other wide-ranging introductions to the field such as Richard Cavendish’s Black Arts (also Recommended) but also valuable to (and fun for) the scholar or fan of Alan Moore.—KH
Oddity (Film, Ireland, Damian McCarthy, 2024) Blind psychic proprietor of a curio shop specializing in cursed items (Carolyn Bracken) shows up unannounced at the home of her dead sister’s doctor husband (Gwilym Lee), intent on identifying her killer. Weird tale of revenge and the supernatural filled with unexpected turns and shot with exacting control.—RDL
Wingwomen (Film, France, Mélanie Laurent, 2023) Longtime high-end heist partners, collected Carole (Mélanie Laurent) and vulnerable Alex (Adèle Exarchopoulos) agree to steal a painting for their increasingly unhinged boss (Isabelle Adjani.) Glamorous hangout movie with inventive action set pieces celebrates the bonds of female friendship.—RDL
Woman of the Hour (Film, US, Anna Kendrick, 2024) Struggling actress (Anna Kendrick) reluctantly agrees to appear as a contestant on The Dating Game, unaware that one of her prospective dates (Daniel Zovatto) is an active serial killer. Judiciously understated true crime drama uses a chronologically fragmented structure to depict the ambient menace fostered by predatory men and its confining effect on women.—RDL
Okay
Anora (Film, US, Sean Baker, 2024) Smitten stripper (Mikey Madison) marries rich man-child (Mark Eidelshtein) scrambling the minions of his Russian oligarch parents into dismayed action. Unnecessary scenes and repetitive story beats weigh down this realist romantic farce, Madison’s star-making performance notwithstanding.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Rumours, MadS, Exhuma, and the Terrrri-ffying Slowness of Baseball
October 29th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
Eephus (Film, US, Carson Lund, 2024) Two weekend baseball amateur teams meet some time around 1990 for the final game on their condemned baseball field in this disarming combination of hangout film and slow cinema. The film, as Lund has said, moves at the rhythm of baseball, not the rhythm of film narrative, gradually amping up the small-ball absurdity amidst the slowly, regretfully deflating camaraderie.—KH
Exhuma (South Korea, Jang Jae-hyun, 2024) To uncover the source of a curse on a wealthy Korean-American family, shaman Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) enlists down-at-heels geomancer Kim (Choi Min-sik) to examine the feng shui of the Worst Grave in Korea. Effortlessly grounded, beautifully structured story escalates through two horror stories in a row as the grave keeps giving up more horrible secrets. I loved every minute of this movie.—KH
MadS (Film, France, David Moreau, 2024) Teen hunk high on an unprovenanced drug has a roadside encounter with a distressed, injured medical experiment escapee, leading him and his girlfriends into an evening of increasingly apocalyptic terror. Composed as a single breathtaking tracking shot and revealing its horror sub-genre deep in the film, this high-energy mood piece features an astonishing physical performance from Laurie Pavy as one of the victims/monsters.—RDL
My Dear Killer (Film, Italy, Tonino Valerii, 1972) Determined police inspector (George Hilton) connects a case of decapitation by excavator to a cold case involving the kidnapping and murder of a young girl and her father. Solidly constructed mix of investigation and menace clearly exemplifies the giallo formula.—RDL
Rumours (Film, Canada/Germany, Guy Maddin & Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson, 2024) Hapless world leaders at the G7 summit face increasingly surreal challenges from mysterious isolation in the woods to reanimated bog-bodies to a giant brain. Only the middle of the movie offers melodramatic joy to the Maddin connoisseur, and one can wonder whether a film condemning the inanition and fecklessness of world leaders shouldn’t offer a direction by contrast, but strong character work by the seven core actors (plus Alicia Vikander as an EU official caught up in events) keeps the film endlessly diverting.—KH
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (Film, US, Ivan Dixon, 1973) Recruited as a token, Dan Freeman (Lawrence Cook) goes from being the first Black CIA agent to the leader of a revolutionary armed movement on the South Side of Chicago. Energetically paced with strong performances, it suffers somewhat from a budget (and possibly a vision) too small to properly indict the CIA’s blowback-prone methods while also engaging in Black Power agitprop. Freeman’s story winds up suffering the most, but Cook fascinates as the deliberately umoved mover.—KH
Tokyo Noir (Nonfiction, Jake Adelstein, 2024) Journalist reviews his investigative exploits in Japan from the publication of Tokyo Vice to the present day. Cases range from looking into corporate yakuza ties for corporate investors to exposing corruption and negligence at TEPCO, the nuclear utility responsible for the Fukushima meltdown.—RDL
Good
Grabbers (Film, Ireland, Jon Wright, 2012) An alcoholic local cop and an eager straight-arrow on temporary assignment struggle to protect an island village from tentacled alien beasties who won’t attack drunk victims. Amusing comedic creature feature might be called Tremors with added hops.—RDL
Murder in Peking (Fiction, Vincent Starrett, 1937) American dilettante Hope Johnson investigates the murder of a beautiful Danish antiquities expert during a house-party held for Western expatriates and tourists in a Peking temple. Starrett based the novel on his own experiences (sans murder) in Peking as an expat in 1936, so the local color is very good if not remotely suited to modern sensibilities. The murder mystery mostly plays fair, but is never very compelling.—KH
The Stone Tape (Television, UK, BBC, Peter Sasdy, 1972) When an electronics firm converts a derelict Victorian manor into an experimental facility, a computer intelligence expert (Jane Asher) experiences a ghost phenomenon that the team’s heedless leader (Michael Bryant) sees as an opportunity for an acoustic experiment. Writer Nigel Kneale snappily captures a cut throat corporate environment but settles for a pro forma ghost story conclusion.—RDL
Okay
Abigail (Film, US, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, 2024) Criminal team including perceptive infiltrator (Melissa Barrera) and scowling leader (Dan Stevens) kidnap a young girl and stash her at a weird house, only to discover that she’s a centuries-old vampire who has selected them as prey. More time studying Alien and Carpenter’s The Thing might have helped the screenwriters construct the sorts of suspenseful obstacles the “trapped in an enclosed space with a monster” template requires.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: The Shadow Strays, Rumours, and Neorealist Folk Horror
October 22nd, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Ken was on the road this week.
Recommended
Il Demonio (Film, Italy, Brunello Rondi, 1963) In rural southern Italy, an unbalanced young woman (Dalia Lavi) outrages her village by casting a spell on the burly farmer (Frank Wolff) she yearns for, triggering an exorcism attempt. Neorealist horror casts an ethnographic eye on rites and workings ranging from the religious, to folk-religious to forbidden witchcraft.—RDL
I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition (Nonfiction, Lucy Sante, 2024) Acclaimed nonfiction writer recounts the circumstances of her recent, late-in-life embrace of her trans identity and a previous life spent resolutely suppressing it. A personal narrative of punishing internal confusion told with admirable clarity.—RDL
Rumours (Film, Canada, Guy Maddin & Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson,, 2024) At a G7 summit to discuss an unspecified world crisis, leaders including the amorous German chancellor (Cate Blanchett) and dreamy, melancholy Canadian PM (Roy Dupuis) find themselves suddenly isolated and beset by self-pleasuring bog corpses and a giant brain. SF/fantasy satire, surreal by the standard of any other filmmaker but a swerve toward normal for Maddin, plants a flag as the defining political film of the Biden era.—RDL
The Shadow Strays (Film, Indonesia, Timo Tjahjanto, 2024) While recuperating on a mission for a ruthless league of assassins, a highly trained teen killer (Aurora Ribero) takes it upon herself to protect a neighbor kid trying to save his mom from a perverse drug gang. Unremitting ultra-hard actioner is Tjahjanto’s best film, and the best Indonesian martial arts film since The Raid.—RDL
Good
Bird Box (Film, US, Susanne Bier, 2019) Pregnant, standoffish painter (Sandra Bullock) struggles to survive when an invasion of spectral, suicide-causing entities collapses civilization. Somber post-apocalyptic horror crosses motifs from A Quiet Place and The Crazies, leaning on Bullock’s built-in audience rapport to maintain sympathy for a hardened, withholding protagonist.—RDL
The Fifth Cord (Film, Italy, Luigi Bazzoni, 1971) Volatile drunk journalist (Franco Nero) investigates a bewildering series of thrill killer attacks and murders, all of them somehow connected to him. Compellingly composed giallo, shot by Vittorio Storaro and scored by Ennio Morricone, challenges our sympathy for the protagonist, but leaves that thematic thread dangling.—RDL
Vampire Circus (Film, UK, Robert Young, 1972) Fifteen years after staking their local vampire count (Robert Tayman), villagers react with passive bafflement to a visit from a weird circus. Entry from Hammer’s sexy era favors images and atmosphere over story logic.—RDL
Okay
The Adventurers (Film, China, Stephen Fung, 2017) Pursued by a dogged police inspector (Jean Reno) and aided by a charming infiltrator (Shu Qi) and wet-behind-the-ears techie (Yo Yang), an international jewel thief (Andy Lau) pursues one last job in hopes of smoking out the betrayer who sent him to prison. Glossy, generic big-budget heist flick. Not to be confused with 1995’s The Adventurers starring Andy Lau.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Folk Music Horror, Indonesian Theological Terror, and the Walter Ghost Mysteries
October 15th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
All You Need is Death (Film, Ireland, Paul Duane, 2023) Ethnomusicologists on the make (Simone Collins, Charlie Maher) team with a more established rival (Catherine Siggins) to pry a sinister pre-Irish ballad from the last singer who knows it (Olwen Fouéré.) With its motif of a work of art that warps minds and physical reality, this eerie, disjunctive folk horror may ring bells with devotees of Chambers’ King in Yellow cycle.—RDL
The Bishop’s Bedroom (Fiction, Piero Chiara, 1976) In the Italian-Swiss Lake District after the war, a young idle yacht owner becomes a fixture in the villa of a grasping fellow veteran, his disapproving wife, and her stifled younger sister. Literary murder tale in the Highsmith vein, told with a wry forgiveness for human weakness.—RDL
Grave Torture (Film, Indonesia, Joko Anwar, 2024) Determined nurse (Faradina Mufti) whose parents were killed by a bomber obsessed with the Islamic doctrine that the bodies of dead unbelievers are horrifically tortured goes to extreme lengths to debunk it. Patient theological slow burn followed by shocking spiral into terror.—RDL
Good
His Three Daughters (Film, US, Azazel Jacobs, 2024) Tensions come to a head for three sisters, confrontational Katie (Carrie Coon), mediating new mom Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) and self-medicating Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) as they keep watch over their dying father. Indie drama stylizes its dialogue and performance style as it explores family reconciliation through grief, a wish fulfillment fantasy as alluring as anything involving Jedi or superheroes.—RDL
The Walter Ghost Mysteries (Fiction, Vincent Starrett, 1929-1932) In three novels, dilettante Walter Ghost reluctantly investigates murders. Murder on “B” Deck features a more Holmesian arbitrary revelation; the other two attempt to play fair. Light and airy, but Chicago connection aside there’s not much to distinguish them from the run of the Golden Age mill.—KH
The Widening Stain (Fiction, Morris Bishop, 1942) Library cataloguer Gilda Gorham investigates the mysterious death of a Romance Languages professor in the stacks, interspersed with limericks from her suitor, a Dramatic Arts professor. The witty and well-drawn academic background (Bishop was a professor at Cornell, who published under a pseudonym) rather upstage a somewhat misfired mystery.—KH
Okay
What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (Film, Italy, Massimo Dallamano, 1974) Methodical prosecutor (Giovanna Ralli) and hard-charging cop (Claudio Cassinelli) trace a young girl’s murder to an underage sex trafficking ring protected by a leather-clad hatchet killer. Giallo-adjacent poliziotteschi plays like a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode with extreme gore effects. Like many treatments of this subject matter before and since, the film is blatantly horny for the thing it is morally outraged about.—RDL
Not Recommended
Lisa Frankenstein (Film, US, Zelda Williams, 2024) Traumatized transfer student (Kathryn Newton) bonds with the reanimated corpse of a 19th century pianist (Cole Sprouse.) Diablo Cody’s 80s-set teen horror comedy script makes some interesting choices but is ill-served by listless direction in which key moments are oddly omitted.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: H. P. Lovecraft Film Fest Highlights, Plus Extreme Taipei Zombies, Classic Giallo, and E. A. Poe, Investigator
October 9th, 2024 | Robin
Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.
Recommended
All the Colors of the Dark (Film, Italy, Sergio Martini, 1972) When neither pharmaceuticals or psychoanalysis help a glamorous housewife (Edwige Fenech) with visions of a knife-wielding stalker, she allows a lonely new neighbor to induct her into an orgiastic ceremonial magic cult. Reality horror sexploitation giallo that clearly exerted an influence on Eyes Wide Shut. Consider this added to the Reality Horror 101 list from episode 614.—RDL
Civil War (Film, US, Alex Garland, 2024) Veteran war photographer (Kirsten Dunst) reluctantly mentors an eager rookie (Cailee Spaeny) on the harrowing drive from New York to Washington in the closing days of a catastrophic internal conflict. Not an extrapolation of how armed struggle would break out in America, but an alarmingly realized nightmare of what it would feel like, using a quest structure as its backbone.—RDL
Dream Eater (Film, Canada, Alex Lee Williams, Jay Drakulic, & Mallory Drumm, 2024) Documentarian Mallory (Mallory Drumm) and her douchebag boyfriend Alex (Alex Lee Williams) rent a remote house to celebrate his birthday, but his troubling sleepwalking habits only get worse. Wisely breaking its found-footage conceit when need be, this supernatural possession flick plays all the hits with enough dedication and original spice (such as a weird whistle on the score that slowly becomes diegetic) to stay riveting to the end.—KH
The Man With a Cloak (Film, US, Fletcher Markle, 1951) In 1848 New York, an earnest Parisian (Leslie Caron), who hopes her fiancée’s rich grandfather (Louis Calhern) will fund the cause of the Republic, suspects that his household retinue, led by a stern ex-actress (Barbara Stanwyck) is trying to kill him, prompting her new friend, a a skint, bibulous poet who calls himself Dupin (Joseph Cotten) to apply his powers of ratiocination. A top notch cast and literate script make this John Dickson Carr adaptation my new favorite in the “Edgar Allan Poe investigates” sub-sub-genre.—RDL
The Sadness (Film, Taiwan, Rob Jabbaz, 2021) Young couple (Regina Lei, Berant Zhu) tries to find each other as an outbreak of smart, verbal, gleefully sadistic zombies rips through Taipei. Extremely harsh and violent survival horror in the shadow of COVID and Taiwan’s existential security peril. When the horror streaming platform Shudder adds an extra level of content warnings, you’d best believe them. —RDL
Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire (Film, US, Stuart Ortiz, 2024) Superbly executed faux-documentary purports to tell the story of two San Bernardino cops (Peter Zizzo and Terri Apple) hunting a ritualistic serial killer. Almost too well-done to be a Netflix true crime doc, Ortiz’ film serves up mutilation horror aplenty while slow-burn cosmicism mounts subtly in the background.—KH
Good
The Complex Forms (Film, Italy, Fabio D’Orta, 2023) A down-and-out cook (David White) accepts 10,000 euro to wait in a mysterious villa to be possessed by alien beings. Black-and-white art-film sententiousness makes the movie’s 74 minutes seem a rather long run for a short slide. Some arresting visuals and what might have been a high concept given different editing choices mean it’s not forgettable even if it’s not Recommended.—KH
Cynara (Film, US, King Vidor, 1932) As he readies for self-exile in South Africa, a staid barrister (Ronald Colman) finally recounts to his wife (Kay Francis) the full details of the affair with a shopgirl (Phyllis Barry) that led to his public disgrace. Domestic drama takes a clear-eyed look at the soon-to-be forbidden subject of adultery, with Colman occasionally faltering when forced out of his understated comfort zone.—RDL
The Daemon (Film, USA, Matt Devino & David Michael Yohe, 2024) After his father’s suicide, Tom (Tyler Q. Rosen) retreats to his family lake cabin, followed unwisely by his wife and in-laws. Some good monster effects, and believable characters, compensate somewhat for a pretty routine story. You’ll never believe this, but trauma is the real monster.—KH
Tim Travers and the Time Traveler’s Paradox (Film, US, Stimson Snead, 2024) Self-hating scientist/smartass Tim Travers (Samuel Dunning) uses a time machine to kill his one-minute-younger self, repeatedly. Expanded from its 2022 short version (which was very funny) with more jokes which sometimes land, and a few big name guest stars driving subplots of varying effectiveness.—KH
