Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition

That's the advice given by Macho (Norman Santiago) to his young nephew, Ismaelito (Fernando Tarrazo) as they share a cold beer in the curb. It can also be seen as part of the thesis of this Puerto Rican film from 2007. Maldeamores follows three separate storylines about different people in different stages of love, or what they think is love, and how they can move forward beyond the struggles of figuring it out.

The segments include a married couple (Luis Guzmán and Teresa Hernández) struggling with a potential infidelity, their young kid discovering "love" for the first time, an elderly woman (Silvia Brito) handling two ex-husbands (José "Chavito" Marrero and Miguel Angel Alvarez), and finally a young, troubled man (Luis Gonzaga) trying to force a bus driver (Dolores Pedro) to marry him at gunpoint.

I really enjoyed the film as a whole. I think all of the segments had many strengths, starting with the performances which were all pretty good across the board. Also, the script and dialogue was strong and felt very natural, very much "of here", which made for a pleasant watching experience. Although the stories don't really connect in any way, the way the themes are handled made it feel as a whole.

The common thread through all of those is the different manifestations of love; some of which are not necessarily the healthier ones. "Maldeamores" can be translated as "Lovesickness", which can be said is suffered one way or another by all the characters. This includes a pretty funny segment that bookends the film featuring a bickering young couple driving. Bottom line: love is beautiful, but love is hard. Sometimes we love that other person like hell, sometimes we can't even swallow them.

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In 1988, a TV show called Party Time exploded in Puerto Rican television. The show was, like the title suggests, a one hour party featuring music, dance competitions, and artist performances targeted to teenagers and young adults. That show offers the backdrop for this lively Puerto Rican romcom.

Set in the late 1980s, Party Time: The Movie follows Javier (Rafael Albarran) and Laura (Suheil Martin), two teenagers from different cliques at the school that decide to join forces to participate in a dance competition at the show; something that Laura has been dreaming of, while also giving Javier a chance to bond with the girl of his dreams.

You can probably guess where the story goes from there. Although the script does incorporate some nice local touches, the basics of the story have been done dozens of times. But regardless of how predictable the story is, the film manages to be fun. Most of it is because of the cast, all of which have pretty good chemistry. The performances from Albarran and Martin feel natural, and the way their relationship develops, although expected, makes sense.

The other main asset of the film is the direction from Fernández-París. His camera movement is assured, especially for a first-time director. He also adds some flair to the film with the way he incorporates some dance sequences and choreographies into the story, as well as other interesting directorial choices.

Party Time: The Movie succeeds in presenting a snapshot of a certain time of our popular culture. It does take ingredients from many typical school/teen movies, but mixes them with some very Puerto Rican elements, resulting in a fun watch; and like Javier said, in the mix is where you find the flavor.

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Just like I did with the previous bunch of Puerto Rican films, here are the links for the last bunch I saw, in case anyone wants to give them a shot. Again, remember most of these are cheap transfers from VHS so bear that in mind...

Cinema Puerto Rico: Una antropología visual


Correa Cotto: ¡así me llaman!


Maldeamores


Party Time: The Movie



Out of these four, Maldeamores is easily the best. The documentary is quite good and it's a great transfer.

According to Greek mythology, sirens were beautiful women with the lower body of birds that lured sailors to their doom with bewitching songs. The term "siren song" or "siren call" is then used to refer to any thing that is "alluring", but also potentially harmful or dangerous. That is the situation in which Prof. Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) finds himself after meeting the titular "woman in the window".

This Fritz Lang film follows Wanley, a married man that ends up meeting Alice Reed (Joan Bennett), the subject of a beautiful painting he and his friends were admiring on a shop window earlier. Unfortunately for Wanley, what might seem like an innocent meeting ends up leading into disaster, as they both end up with a murder in their hands. The two then try to cover it up while also trying to keep Richard's DA friend off their scent.

As I was looking for something to start my #Noirvember, this film came up pretty high in a lot of lists, and with reason. The film manages to build up a solid tension as we see the events unfold, and we see Wanley sink deeper and deeper into his own lies. Thanks to Lang's tight direction, the pace at which we see things go down feels breezy and not overstuffed at all. At 99 minutes, the film does a good job of keeping things lean and simple.

Robinson does a great job as the man unlikely drawn into things beyond his control. It only adds to the tension to see his seemingly well-conceived plans crumble under the most minuscule details. Bennett also adds a certain level of uncertainty, as we're never really sure where she stands, which is heightened when Heidt (Dan Duryea) enters the scene as a third party determined to blackmail both of them. Duryea easily steals the second half of the film which, based on the handful of films I've seen him in, seems to be the norm. He's excellent.

Early on the film, Robinson's character complains of the routine of middle age; what he refers to as "stodginess", and "the end of the brightness of life". All reason enough to make the "siren call" of Reed the more alluring. But ultimately, it isn't in Reed that he finds his downfall, but on his mistrust of his own instincts. Based on the obviously tacked-on ending, which feels like a cheat, it seems that Lang didn't trust his own instincts either. Other than that, it's one solid film noir.

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Tragedies are life-altering for us. We are never the same after we go through severe loss. Different people try to cope with it in different ways. Some people face tragedy upfront, while others create an illusory world around to shield them from the pain of reality. It can be a world where you're not who you were before, or it can be a world where you're exactly how you were before. That is part of the background of this slick scifi thriller from Leigh Whannell.

Set in a near future where automation is taking over, Upgrade follows Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green), an auto mechanic who still tries to cling to some level of control on his life. But when tragedy hits him and he ends up a quadraplegic, he undergoes an experimental procedure that implants a chip on his spine which gives him back control of his body, and then some. With his "upgraded" powers, he sets out to take revenge against those that brought the tragedy upon his life.

Grey is the representation of what I mentioned above. Tragedy has turned him into a different person; someone that's willing to go all the way down this path of revenge and murder. You can say it was technology what sparked the change, but it's ultimately his willingness to seek, to hunt, and to confront those that did him wrong what sets him apart. He's not living in the world he was used to, but in an entirely different world where everything is possible, and anything is justifiable.

Marshall-Green does a great job of showing the different shades of Grey that go from pain and suffering to disbelief, and eventually confidence and cockiness. Betty Gabriel is good as the detective that's trying to help, but then stop him, and Benedict Hardie is pretty effective as the main bad guy. However, it is Grey who's at the center of the film through all its run, and he owns it. Special mention goes also to Simon Maiden, who voices STEM, the automated voice on Grey's chip that walks him through everything that's happening to him.

Whannell's direction is another highlight, as he tries to transmit the distortion and imbalance going on Grey's mind as he gets used to this "new persona". He also manages to instill a decent amount of humor to a story that would be awfully bleak otherwise. The early moments where Grey is reluctantly trying to stop his body from doing certain things are great. Also, the film moves at a nice pace that never really drops. Upgrade managed to slip under my radar back then, but I'm glad I gave it a chance now.

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Set at the dawn of the new millennium, Complot follows a group of agents from an enigmatic government agency called S.E.C.T.O.R. 4 (Special Espionage Corruption Task Operational Resource ). Their mission is to stop a, uhh, complot of mysterious forces to take over control of the world computer systems as a result of the Y2K "bug"; something that stumps them and prompts the above exchange.

But that exchange could also be my thoughts about the whole story as I rewatched this film during the past week because unfortunately, it is a bit of a mess. Trying to follow the footsteps of spy films like Mission: Impossible or James Bond, the film seems to follow a checklist of things to include, regardless of how well they integrate into the plot or how much sense it makes.

The main cast features agents Melissa Nieves and Félix Ríos (Laura Hernández and Manolo Castro), who are reluctantly paired with newcomer Mark Serra (Ricardo Vázquez) after their partner is killed during a mission. One of their goals is to figure out the involvement of FBI computer agent Mónica Ramírez (Yamaris Latorre) in the complot, so of course, Mark has to get, uhh, close to her.

And that is more or less how the film flows, going from trope to trope and cliché to cliché, including an evil leather-clad Bond-like henchwoman, corrupt agents, a missing plane, and a moustache-twirling bad guy sitting in a shadowy office. In addition, the agents actions border in incompetence and many of the subplots are non-sensical, become inconsequent, or are just dropped as the film progresses.

The main cast is comprised of mostly young, up-and-coming actors, but they are joined by some veteran local actors. Most of these veterans know what they're doing, but most of the young ones border on weak. Vázquez and Latorre are a bit cringy, but I did like the banter between Hernández and Castro.

But for all its faults, I gotta commend director and co-writer Raúl García for his confidence in launching a project like this, something that I don't think had been seen in Puerto Rican cinema before. His direction might feel amateurish at times, but there are some little nuggets of flair and panache through the film that make an impression. From several neat crane shots to a continuous shot as our heroes try to escape from a hotel only to be captured outside.

Although most of what I've written seems to be negative, I have to give some props to the film. I remember watching this when it aired on TV back in 1999, and for better or worse, it stuck. To the point that as I was going through several Puerto Rican films this month, I had the "morbid" curiosity to revisit it, and so I did. I might not understand what they're trying to do, but there has to be some right in there.

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Shoot! Forgot to share this here... the latest episode of The Movie Loot is out, and this one is very near and dear to my heart. Me and my guest, local film critic Mario Alegre, talk about Puerto Rican cinema, its achievements, struggles, as well as our favorite Puerto Rican films. Check it out!

The Movie Loot 73: The Puerto Rican Loot (with Mario Alegre)

You can check it out on the above link, or on any of these podcasting platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other. Thanks for the support!

That's the nursery rhyme that gives name to this dark political drama. All the King's Men follows the rise and fall of Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford), a homegrown and ambitious politician from a rural county that learns how to ride the system and ends up becoming as corrupt and ruthless as those that he condemned. All this at the expense of everyone close to him, from his family to his close associates.

The film is notable for winning the Best Picture Oscar back in the day. However, after watching it, I'm surprised this film doesn't get mentioned more often because it was quite good. The film is mostly told through the point of view of journalist Jack Burden (John Ireland), who becomes Stark's right-hand man, despite not agreeing with his methods. The way the film takes Burden, and pretty much every character in Stark's inner circle in and out of the figurative dark alleys and corners of his deeds is great, and is all on Crawford's shoulders who sells Stark's transformation completely.

I also loved how the story takes its time to build up what happens. Stark's transformation from ardent populist to corrupt leader isn't immediate, but rather takes long years as the system chips away at Stark's outer shell, until he breaks. Stark is surrounded by people with different motives, none of which is able to put him together again. From the loyal Sadie (Mercedes McCambridge) who secretly harbors an affection for Stark, to Ireland, who ends up selling his soul to Stark, despite how deep the latter's actions affect him.

The thing is that Ireland doesn't stand a chance against Crawford, who is amazing in the lead role. This might be one of my issues with the film because whenever Stark isn't on screen, the film lacks something, and even though Ireland is good, I don't think he's able to fill that void. McCambridge, on the other hand, makes the most out of Sadie creating a character I would love to find out more about. Joanne Dru and Shepperd Strudwick round out the cast as siblings Anne and Adam, both of which end up being used by Stark in different ways.

I knew little about this film until last month when I saw it, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by it. From a neatly written story with its dark, noirish tinges to the great performances, especially from Crawford and McCambridge. A stark indictment of how different people can become corrupted by the words and doings of politicians, sometimes without realizing so. Something that might be as relevant now, as it was in 1949.

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That's the advice that Doctor Génessier (Pierre Brasseur) gives to his disfigured daughter, Christiane (Édith Scob); an advice that could be borne out of medical concern due to potential strains on her facial transplant, but that can also serve as foreshadowing of what her life is destined to be: one where complete happiness seems to be out of reach. That is part of the backdrop of this great French film that moves seamlessly between horror and thriller.

Eyes Without a Face follows the above Dr. Génessier, whose daughter has been disfigured in a car accident. In his effort to restore her face, he resorts to all sort of terrible things to achieve his goal. But even if he succeeds, you get the notion that Christiane's happiness and well being are not his main focus. Génessier seems to be more driven by scientific ambition and perhaps something more psychologically troubling.

This is one of those films that is often mentioned among lists of great films, and I'm so happy I finally got around to it. Director Georges Franju starts us more or less "in the middle" of things, but he still has the patience to hold his reveals until the most precise moments, while maintaining a constant atmosphere of dread. The way he and his loyal assistant Louise (Alida Valli) prey on potential victims is effective and doesn't really let a lot of space for smiling.

Valli has, I think, the best performance from the group as we can see her struggle between her loyalties to Génessier, but also an apparent genuine desire to help Christiane. Much like the latter, she hasn't had much chance to smile as she seems to be trapped between those two sides. In the end, there seems to be true retribution and a chance for some to be free; maybe even smile... but not too much.

Grade:

Eyes Without a Face is great. It made a couple weird narrative choices in the final act which bugged me a little, but everything else about it is pretty terrific.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

Which choices?

It was the handling of Jacques.

Oh yeah, I agree. It didn't bother me that much but I see your point.

The above is a quote from Liāna Mihailova, a Latvian cinematographer and director who directed Vertigo, one of four Latvian animated short films I saw as part of my monthly challenge. More by chance than by design, the four short films I randomly chose were the first, and sometimes, the only project so far from all four filmmakers, which could explain the experimental and yes, weird nature of them.

There really isn't a clear or intentional narrative tie between them, considering I chose them at random, but the four showcase bizarre scenarios and unique animation styles. Like Mihailova said, these projects are learning opportunities to grow and develop, it seems, and they are all impressively done as far as the craft goes. The stories are mostly quirky and weird, but you can feel the heart and creative passion in all of them.

Another common thread between all four was the music and sound from Ģirts Bišs in all of them; another instance of chance, since I didn't even know who he was before this. It was really interesting to see his approach to all four from different perspectives, and how the end results, as different as they might be, all work individually well for each short.

If you ask me, Dramatic Ending was probably the weirdest, Deviate was the coolest, The Letter was the most impressively animated (hand-drawn), and Vertigo was the most emotionally affecting. But in a way, all of them were weird, cool, impressive, and emotionally strong.

Based on what I saw as I was browsing for Latvian films, it seems that Latvian cinema is one that has been going through many changes, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union. But if there's one thing that's obvious is that there is talent and there are opportunities to learn and develop creative endeavors. Not many viewers might notice, but I'm glad I did.

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The Wages of Fear follows a group of four European men "trapped" in a Latin American country. Desperate to get out, they accept a dangerous but well-paid job to drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerine to an oil well that's on fire. The danger is that they have to transport the volatile cargo through rocky terrain, narrow mountain roads, and rickety bridges, all while dealing with their own personal issues and ambitions.

If there's a word to describe this film is tension, constant tension. Even during the first act, as Clouzot takes his time to introduce the characters and set the premise, the tension between these men seeps through the screen. But once they hop in those trucks, tension takes a different form. Every bump on the road, every road turn becomes a potential death trap, and Clouzot directs the hell out of it.

The dynamics between the four main characters is interesting and most of the performances are solid, even though most of the men are a$sholes. The script does a great job of reversing certain roles, and conveying how driven these men are to finish the job and earn the promised wage at whatever cost. Vera Clouzot, the director's wife, is the only performance that feels off. But the real star here is, again, Clouzot's tight direction which succeeds in keeping you on the edge at all times.

The above quote is the warning given by a potential driver; one that ends up backing out, but not before dropping his ominous advice. But our guys don't care, because the desire to be free of this place trumps any concern for their own safety. They don't know what fear is, but they'll see.

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That's the judgment that Beatrice Ocean (Angie Dickinson) lashes at her ex-husband, Danny (Frank Sinatra), and shortly after, she more or less disappears from his life and from the story. Because much like with Danny, the focus of the story is not in any character-driven conflict, but ultimately in seeing the Rat Pack pull off a heist, and Ocean's Eleven delivers just that.

The film follows Ocean, a World War II veteran that recruits his former war buddies and friends to rob five casinos on the same night. Why? Well, because if there's one thing he loves is danger. There really isn't much on background, but not much as far as the heist preparation goes either. We see "preparations" going on, but there isn't the tension nor the cleverness you would expect from other heist films.

What the film does deliver are some cracking interactions between the members of the Rat Pack. The chemistry between Sinatra, and Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. is evident. There is a certain laid-back and breezy approach to it that you kinda enjoy seeing them frolic around, essentially "playing" Sinatra, Martin, Lawford, and Davis. Jr.

But at the end of the day, I was expecting a bit more than that. The story and execution are lazy, the narrative is not fully there, and the direction lacks the chutzpah that you would expect from a project like this. I wouldn't call it a complete waste of time, but if you're not a Rat Pack fan or an original/remake completist, then I don't see why you should waste your time.

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Super late, but here is my final tally for NOVEMBER 2022

A film with the number 11 (Eleven, Eleventh, etc.) in its title: Ocean's 11 (1960)
A film that starts with the letters U or V: Upgrade
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #11 (i.e. 11, 118, 511): Eyes Without a Face (#311)
A film from the 2010s: Cinema Puerto Rico: Una antropología visual
A war film: Héroes de Otra Patria
A film noir: The Woman in the Window (1944)
A film with the word "Time" in its title (Daylight Savings Time, November 6): Party Time: The Movie
A film about politics (Election Day, November 8): All the King's Men (1949)
A film from Latvia (Proclamation Day, November 18): Dramatic End, Deviate, The Letter, Vertigo (all short films)
A film from Henri-Georges Clouzot (born November 20): The Wages of Fear

Freebies: La Gran Fiesta, Romance Tropical, Casi Casi, Correa Cotto: ¡así me llaman!, Maldeamores, Complot



Started the month fully into Puerto Rican films to prepare for a podcast episode, but then branched out into everything else I had planned. A pretty solid month with a bunch of great ones at the top. I think the one that has stuck with me most is probably Eyes Without a Face, but All the King's Men, Upgrade, and The Wages of Fear are all up there.

The weakest was easily Romance Tropical, one of those Puerto Rican films I saw near the beginning of the month. Even though I might cut it some slack for being one of the first films from here, it was really rough and the story/message was borderline rotten.

And here are the criteria I'm already working on for DECEMBER 2022

A film with the number 12 (Twelve, Twelfth, etc.) in its title:
A film that starts with the letters W, X, Y or Z: X
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #12 (i.e. 12, 129, 812): Walkabout (#712)
A film from the 2020s: The Empty Man
A western:
The last film from any director you like:
The last Best Picture winner you haven't seen (starting backward from CODA):
A Christmas/Holiday film: The Gift, Prep & Landing
A film from Bahrain (Independence Day, December 16): Cloven (short film)
A film from John Cassavetes (born December 9):

That's how Disney's press release describes a trilogy of very short adverts they've released through the last three years. Of course, in the opening of the press release, there's a bullet that reminds you that "The glow in the dark Mickey Mouse soft toy ... [is] on sale now", which is such a perfect encapsulation of Disney's corporate machinery at work; money disguised as "emotions".

These shorts are mostly centered around Nicole, as it follows her from her childhood in the Phillipines, together with her grandmother Lola, to her marriage and adulthood in the States. Each short lasts around 2 to 3 minutes and play more like Disney+ ads than actual short films. I wasn't even thinking about writing about them, but I thought they were worth a word or two.

To be fair, I think the first one, Lola, does succeed in presenting an actual story with some level of emotional resonance that doesn't feel like Disney's marketing department screaming in your ear. However, the other two are less subtle with their approach, as we see various Disney figures popping out of books with glowing sparkle around them, as if they were screaming "we're on sale now!"

Despite what the press release says, the tie-ins between the first short and the other two are vague, which results in the former feeling more of a single unit than part of a whole. They might make for a cute but forgettable watch with your kids, but you do run the risk of them reminding you later "this is on sale now!"

Grade: N/A

That is how Magee (Sarah Chalke), North Pole Christmas Eve Command Center Coordinator, describes the work of Santa Claus' elves; and part of that "perfect execution" falls on the hands of the Prep & Landing team, the elite group whose job is to prepare millions of homes for the arrival of Santa Claus.

This short film follows Wayne (Dave Foley), one of the elves from Prep & Landing who after 227 years feels like "the thrill is gone". Disappointed and bitter for being passed over for a promotion, Wayne now has to deal with a new partner, Lanny (Derek Richardson), a hyper-excited and lively rookie elf he has to train.

From a technical perspective, the craft here was pretty solid. The animation was pretty good, especially considering it was made more than 10 years ago. I honestly thought it was more recent. The voice talent also does a fine job, with probably Chalke being the one I enjoyed listening to the most.

However, the main enjoyment of Prep & Landing for me comes from watching the creative and inventive ways that co-directors and co-writers Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton juxtapose the whole Santa Claus/Christmas elves "magic work" into a corporate-like organization, and I felt that they mostly succeed. There is a decent balance of slapstick and wit in all of it, and I had fun with it.

This is yet another short I put to the kids a couple of nights ago, and I ended up enjoying probably as much as them. Fun, creative, and simple, which is more than I could ask of an animated short I just stumbled on Disney+.

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