In the best traditions of Japanese mystery stories which place fiendishly elaborate plots at their centre, Murder at the Doll House more than succeeds as a classic detective story. We’re presented with a set of strange occurrences which our master sleuth will explain to us in a long lecture at the end and even if one or two twists are a little obvious, the satisfaction involved in having figured them out ahead of time outweighs any kind of disappointment. Toshio may say he wants to be like Philip Marlowe but in actuality his detective is a little more in the European mould – almost like a more active Poirot or a slightly less obtuse Sherlock Holmes. Still, donning a trench coat with a turned up collar yet eschewing the classic hat which would have obscured his giant ‘70s perm, Matsuda once again turns in a very “cool” performance as super smart private eye.
Read More »
The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) William A. Fraker, Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd, Action, Adventure, Western
When the young Texas Ranger, John Reid, is the sole survivor of an ambush arranged by the militaristic outlaw leader, Butch Cavendich, he is rescued by an old childhood Comanche friend, Tonto. When he recovers from his wounds, he dedicates his life to fighting the evil that Cavendich represents. To this end, John Reid becomes the great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger. With the help of Tonto, the pair go to rescue the President Grant when Cavendich takes him hostage.
Read More »
Akenfield (1974) Peter Hall, Stanley Baxter, Ronald Blythe, Ethel Branton, Drama
As the young man, Tom, prepares to leave the Suffolk village of his birth, voices and experiences from his family’s past crowd in on his mind, weaving a poetic tapestry of the love of home and the longing to get away from it.
Read More »
Zelig (1983) Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Patrick Horgan, Comedy
Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Clever editing places Zelig in real newsreel footage of Woodrow Wilson, Babe Ruth, and others.
Read More »
Yakuza gurentai / Yakuza Hooligans (1966) Sadao Nakajima, Hiroki Matsukata, Shigeru Amachi, Kazuko Inano, Action
A bunch of young angry misfits and hoods who aren’t quite up to joining the yakuza, hatch and execute a variety of petty scams. The youngest, a high school student who has a way with women, is approached by a yakuza and asked to spy for them.
Read More »
Donovan’s Brain (1953) Felix E. Feist, Lew Ayres, Gene Evans, Nancy Reagan, Sci-Fi, Horror
Valiant scientist Dr. Cory (Lew Ayres) knows he must resort to unorthodox methods in order to save ailing tycoon Tom Donovan, so the surgeon removes the wealthy man’s brain and manages to keep it functioning with electrical stimulation. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before Donovan’s brain somehow possesses the kindhearted Dr. Cory, who then begins to behave like the heartless Donovan. Cory’s wife, Janice (Nancy Davis), and friend Dr. Schratt (Gene Evans) try to intervene, with horrific results.
Read More »
The Killing Kind (1973) Curtis Harrington, Ann Sothern, John Savage, Ruth Roman, Crime, Drama, Horror
Young Terry Lambert returns home from serving a prison term for a gang-rape he was forced to participate in. He seeks revenge on his lawyer and the girl who framed him. But his real problem is his overbearing mother, whose boarding house he resides in and who keeps bringing him glasses of chocolate milk. One of her boarders, Lori, becomes attracted to him. However, while he was serving his prison sentence, Terry developed an interest in rough, violent sex, and gory death. Now, one by one, some of the town’s women pop up dead.
Read More »
Slalom / Snow Job (1965) Luciano Salce, Vittorio Gassman, Adolfo Celi, Daniela Bianchi, Comedy
Lucio (Vittorio Gassman) and his sidekick (Adolfo Celi) accidently gets mixed up with a gang of international counterfeiters in this fast-moving and suspenseful comedy with music from Ennio Morricone. The crooks hope to upset the U.S. economy by flooding the world with bogus bills. Lucio is an overworked businessman who only wants a little rest and relaxation. Instead, he is skiing in Northern Italy on one day and the next day enduring the searing heat in the Egyptian desert.
Read More »
Odongo (1956) John Gilling, Rhonda Fleming, Macdonald Carey, Juma, Adventure, Drama
Pamela Muir is a lovely veterinarian, who thinks the animals should run free. Steve Stratton is a hunter, who hires natives to assist with the capture and care of the animals. One day Stratton fires one of the locals. To get revenge, the former employee frees the animals just before a wealthy buyer is to arrive. Unfortunately, Stratton blames Odongo, an innocent young boy, for the crime. Heretofore, Odongo believed Stratton cared for him. The distraught Odongo runs off into the dangerous wilds. Muir and Stratton are forced to put aside their differences and search for him.
Read More »
Le roi des Champs-Élysées (1934) Max Nosseck, Buster Keaton, Madeleine Guitty, Paulette Dubost, Comedy
Buster Garnier is having a very bad day, even by his standards. First of all he manages to lose his job distributing flyers for a car company when he accidentally hands out packets of real notes instead of the false money-off vouchers; then he blunders into a stage performance at the theatre where his mother is prompt, and gets thrown out there too. Methodically, he drapes a black band across his own portrait, writes a last note to his mother, bids farewell to his pets one by one, switches on the gas tap, and composes himself calmly on the floor to await oblivion. But Life hasn’t had its last laugh at his expense just yet… Meanwhile, across town, a scarred and ruthless gangster is preparing to break out of jail. Unknown to either man, the two of them are almost exactly alike; and when Buster finds himself on stage in the role of a jail-bird, fact and fiction are about to get extremely confused!
Read More »