claudio_carvalho Reviews

The Invitation (II) (2022)

Underrated Vampire Movie

[7/10 · 8 June 2024]

In New York, the brown Evelyn "Evie" Jackson (Nathalie Emmanuel) and the black Grace (Courtney Taylor) are best friends and work as free-lancers at a catering service. Grace gives a bag to Evie she got in the party they are working with a bottle of wine and a DNA kit. Evie is an aspirant ceramic artist that has just lost her mother and has no family. When she sees the DNA kit, she learns that it belongs to a company that researches family trees to locate members. Evie submits her DNA and soon she learns that she has a distant British cousin, Oliver Alexander (Hugh Skinner), who is working in New York. They schedule a meeting at a restaurant where he explains the color of her skin, and he invites Evie to go to a wedding of one member of the Alexander family in England. He pays her ticket and Evie travels and meets Oliver at the airport. They go to an isolated manor, where Evie meets the owner, the handsome Walter "Walt" De Ville (Thomas Doherty), after a discussion with the rude butler Mr. Field (Sean Pertwee). She is welcomed by her maid Mrs. Swift (Carol Ann Crawford), by the Alexander family, the friendly Lucy (Alana Boden) and the obnoxious Viktoria (Stephanie Corneliussen). Evie and Walt are attracted by each other, and they have sex. But Evie notes that weird things happen in the mansion, and soon she finds the secret of the families.

"The Invitation" (2022) is an underrated vampire movie in IMDb. I had no idea that it was a vampire movie, and the conclusion of the story was a great surprise. Nathalie Emmanuel has a good performance and the explanation for the color of her skin for descent of a British family is given along the film, when she meets Oliver. It is hard to understand the haters of such entertaining movie indicated for fans of the genre. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Convite Maldito" ("Dammed Invitation")

Return to Ithaca (2014)

Worthwhile Being Patient and Watching this Film to the End

[6/10 · 8 June 2024]

In Havana, the middle-aged friends Aldo (Pedro Julio Díaz Ferran), Rafa (Fernando Hechavarria), Tanía (Isabel Santos) and Eddy (Jorge Perugorría) organize a reunion at Aldo's rooftop terrace to welcome Amadeo (Néstor Jiménez), who has just returned from Spain after a sixteen-year-self-exile. Aldo is a divorced engineer who lost his job in a downsizing and works repairing batteries. Rafa is a former alcoholic and smoker painter who lost his inspiration. Tania is an ophthalmologist that has no money, left her sons going to Miami with their father and lives with donations from her clients. Eddy is the only financially well-succeeded in the group since he used the new regime not necessarily in a legal way to make money. Amadeo was a writer of books and theater plays that left his wife Angela, who was sick with cancer, and exiled in Spain. In the beginning, their gathering is nostalgic with recollections of their youth. After some drinks and conversation, they begin to wash the dirty laundry of each one, culminating with the motives that Amadeo left his wife behind and stayed in Spain.

"Retour à Ithaque", a.k.a. "Return to Ithaque", is a theatrical and talkative film about the gathering of five middle-aged friends in Cuba. It is interesting to see the life of educated people after more than sixty-years of the Cuban Revolution, the fall of the Soviet Union and the United States embargo against Cuba. The country is completely depleted and technologic outdated, paying poor salaries to his people. The situation of the friends seems to reflect the condition of the former middle-class in Cuba. For those that like to learn about different cultures, it is worthwhile being patient and watching this film to the end. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Retorno a Itaca" ("Return to Ithaque")

Monk: Mr. Monk and the Election (2005) Season 3, Episode 15

Predictable and Silly

[6/10 · 7 June 2024]

Julie's school will close, and Natalie decides to run for the board to avoid. She buys a photocopy and a fax machine is a police auction, but the photocopy is not working. The technician is trying to repair the machine, but the compartment is locked and Natalie does not have the key to open it. Out of the blue, a sniper shoots fourteen times at her committee and when the police check the roof of the building, they find a security guard murdered and Monk finds a shell. Natalie does not give up her campaign and Stottlemeyer assigns Randy to be her bodyguard. While at home, a grenade is thrown inside, and Monk puts it inside the refrigerator. There is a debate between Natalie and her opponent Harold Krenshaw, and Monk identifies the sniper leaving the audience. While voting, Monk solves the case, finding the motive.

"Monk" series usually presents great crimes that are solved by the brilliant detective with phobias. However, "Mr. Monk and the Election" is a predictable and silly episode, and the comedy is awful, with Monk becoming a ridiculous and exaggerated character. His donut dispute with Krenshaw in the precinct, his questions to Krenshaw during the debate, his phobia to vote in Natalie during the election and the scene in the parking area are illogical, dumb and not funny. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Monk e a Eleição" ("Mr. Monk and the Election")

Monk: Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas (2005) Season 3, Episode 14

In the Casino

[8/10 · 7 June 2024]

In Las Vegas, the millionaire Daniel Thorn and his wife Sheryl Thorn are going to a fundraiser party when Daniel realizes that he has forgotten the tickets. Sheryl returns in the private elevator while Daniel talks to the press when her scarf is hold by the doors of the elevator and she is strangled. Stottlemeyer and Randy are in a bachelor party and Stottlemeyer completely drunken calls Monk saying that he has solved the case but would like to have a second opinion. However, when Monk and Natalie arrive at Stottlemeyer's room, he is amnestic and does not remember anything. Monk starts to investigate and suspects that Daniel killed his wife, but he cannot find any conclusive evidence. Meanwhile, Randy goes to the casino after reading a book about how to win the games and loses all his savings.

"Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas" is another great episode of this series despite some ridiculous scene like when Monk is interviewing Daniel Thorn's mistress, the dancer Teresa Telenko. Capt. Stottlemeyer show that he is a good investigator, at least when he drinks. The conclusion with Monk retrieving Randy's savings is also great. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Monk Vai para Las Vegas" ("Monk Goes to Las Vegas")

Bastards (2013)

Messy Screenplay

[5/10 · 7 June 2024]

In Paris, when the husband of Sandra (Julie Bataille), Jacques, commits suicide, she calls her brother Marco Silvestri (Vincent Lindon), who is the captain of an oil tanker, to return to Paris to help her. Jacques was Marco's best friend and was running the woman's shoe factory that belonged to the father of Marco and Sandra. Marco, who had given-up of his inheritance, learns that the factory is bankrupted, and Sandra has no money to pay the debts. He also discovers that his niece Justine (Lola Créton) has drinking and drug problems and her Dr. Béthanie (Alex Descas) believes she needs to be operated to repair her vagina, damaged by sex abuse and torture. Sandra tells Marco that the financer Edouard Laporte (Michel Subor) is the responsible for Jacques' suicide and prostitution of Justine, and Marco rents an apartment and moves to Laporte's building. He befriends Laporte's wife, Raphaëlle (Chiara Mastroianni), after repairing her son Joseph's bicycle and soon he has a love affair with Raphaëlle. He also sells his car, his life insurance policy and his watch to help Sandra to pay her debts, and Sandra gives a pistol to him. Now Marco decides to find what happened to Justine while he falls in love with Raphaëlle, with tragic consequences.

"Les salauds", a.k.a. "Bastards", is a movie about a dysfunctional family where Sandra brings her husband to Paris to help her, but he ends learning how sick his family was. The cast is excellent, highlighting Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni, the story is too dark, but the screenplay is a mess with a terrible pace. Most of the characters are nasty and the film does not have a happy ending. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Bastardos" ("Bastards")

Edge of Darkness (1943)

Magnificent Film of War

[8/10 · 7 June 2024]

In 1942, Norway, in the fishing village Trollness, the German Capt. Koenig (Helmut Dantine) believes he can control the population of eight-hundred-people with his garrison of one hundred and fifty armed men well-positioned in the village. However, the locals under the leadership of the fisherman Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn) and his educated girlfriend Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan) are waiting for the provision of weapons by the British army to start an uprising. Karen is the daughter of the prominent Dr. Martin Stensgard (Walter Huston), who prefers to stay neutral, and her brother is Johann Stensgard (John Beal), who was a German collaborator in Oslo. Her mother, Anna Stensgard (Ruth Gordon), dreams on having her family together with Johann, and her brother, the industrialist Kaspar Torgersen (Charles Dingle) who owns a fish cannery, is the only German collaborator in Trollness. When the group is contacted by a British liaison, they receive the promised weapons and a request to wait the uprising of all Norway. However, Karen is raped by a German soldier, and her father kills the man on the street. Capt. Koening gathers all the leaders in the village to fusillade them to intimidate the locals, but the population decides to react to his decision and begins the revolt.

"Edge of Darkness" (1943) is a magnificent film of war directed by Lewis Milestone. I have just discovered this little gem and it is impressive, from the cast to the action scenes. The story has many interesting subplots and magnificent performances. The beginning of the movie, showing the German soldiers arriving in a ghost village full of dead people everywhere after the riot, is very impressive. And the viewer shall not forget that this film was shot during the Second World War. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Revolta!" ("Revolt")

Two Friends (2015)

Threesome Missing

[6/10 · 6 June 2024]

In Paris, Mona Dessaint (Golshifteh Farahani) is authorized by the justice to leave the prison where she is incarcerated to work at a coffee shop at the Gare du Nord. When she returns, she needs to respect the scheduled hour and is submitted to breathalyzer. When the loser and insecure Clément (Vincent Macaigne), who has a crush on Mona, finds her job, he disturbs her, and she asks him to go away. Clément calls his best friend, the womanizer Abel (Louis Garrel), to help him to be with Mona, and they abduct her from the train. Without money to take a taxi to the prison, Mona stays with them along the night where the friendship of Clément and Abel is tested.

"Les deux amis", a.k.a. "Two Friends" is a simple romance between two men and a woman, object of interest of them. The male characters are awful, since Clément is a weird man with beard and whiny voice and Abel is totally unexpressive, keeping the same face along the story and betraying his best friend. The greatest attraction is the beautiful Golshifteh Farahani, but why she traded six additional months in prison to spend the night with the two men that kidnapped her. Stockholm Syndrome? Another point is why didn't she have a threesome with Abel and Clément at the hotel room after giving ardent kisses? Was the director afraid to show this type of behavior to Mona? In the end, "Two Friends" is a forgettable romance without anything special. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Dois Amigos" ("Two Friends")

The White Knights (2015)

Good Theme for Discussion

[7/10 · 6 June 2024]

The French Jacques Arnault (Vincent Lindon), who runs the fake ONG Move for Kids, arrives in Afrika with Dr. Laura Turine (Louise Bourgoin), the independent journalist Françoise Dubois (Valérie Donzelli) and a team of volunteers. They are protected by the army and arrive at a protected place rented by their liaison Xavier Libert (Reda Kateb) to be an orphanage for three hundred orphans of the local war and to vaccinate children. Jacques hires the local translator Bintou (Bintou Rimtobaye) and other people to work as nannies, cooks, cleaning services and teachers in the orphanage. Then he visits chiefs of tribes to find orphans under five years old, facing difficulties to learn whether they are really orphans and their ages. What the Africans and some volunteers do not know is that Jacques is indeed dealing with an illegal adoption scheme to French families.

"Les chevaliers blancs", a.k.a. "The White Knights" is a film apparently based on a true story. The title is ironic referring to the unethical Frenchmen as "white knights", saving African children from their sad fates. But the theme deserves to be discussed. The children are stolen from their country and the character Jacques Arnault receives money in an expensive and very risky illegal business. However, what are the perspectives of life for these children? War, starvation, lack of education and poverty offered by their mother nation versus families with resources that may love them in the future. Disappearance of children in Third World countries (including Brazil) are countless for organs and human trafficking. It is amazing the number of missing children in Brazil. At least, the fate of these African children seems to be good. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Cavaleiros Brancos" ("The White Knights")

Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic (2005) Season 3, Episode 13

The Constructor and the Environmentalist

[8/10 · 5 June 2024]

The environmentalist Steve Marriot is summoned by the constructor Ray Galardi to discuss about the lawsuit opened by Steve. Out of the blue, Ray kills Steve with a bar, puts him inside his Beetle and stages a car accident in the highway with his truck. Meanwhile, Monk, Natalie and Julie are returning to San Francisco in the same highway after watching Julie's game of hockey. There is a traffic jam caused by the accident and when Monk sees the scene, he realizes that Steve Marriot was murdered. Monk tells the highway patrol officer Parnell to keep the crime scene, but he doesn't listen to Monk. Meanwhile, Ray notes that has mistakenly switched cellphones with Steve and returns to the place where the accident happened. He kills one paramedic to assume his identity and reach the Beetle to replace the cellphone. Monk notes that he is the killer but is cuffed to the police car by Parnell. How will Monk convince the officer that he is right?

"Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic" is another funny episode of this series. There are flawed scenes in the plot, such as Volkswagen Beetles do not have air conditioning, or the reception of cellphone in that area of mountains that sometime works, or the chase in slow motion of the truck by the trooper and Monk in the police car, but they are irrelevant details. The best scene is the cars accident on the road. The funniest scene is Monk telling Julie that the metal band The Korn has spelled their name wrongly in the bus. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Monk Fica Preso no Engarrafamento" ("Monk Gets Stuck in the Traffic Jam")

Fear City (1984)

One of the Best Abel Ferrara's Films

[8/10 · 5 June 2024]

In New York, the former boxer Matt Rossi (Tom Berenger) and his partner and friend Nicky Parzeno (Jack Scalia) run the Starlite Agency of strippers, providing girls for the strip-clubs controlled by the mob boss Carmine (Rossano Brazzi). Matt has a trauma since he killed his opponent Kid Rio during a fight, reason why he quitted boxing, and his girlfriend is the former addicted stripper Loretta (Melanie Griffith). Out of the blue, strippers of his agency are attacked and mutilated by a sadistic killer that fights martial arts and they suspect that his competitor, Goldstein (Jan Murray), may be the responsible. Matt meets Goldstein that guarantees he has nothing to do with the attacks. Soon one of his girls is murdered by the killer. When the killer kills Loretta's girlfriend Leila (Rae Dawn Chong), she returns to her addiction. Meanwhile, Detective Al Wheeler (Billy Dee Williams) and his partner suspect that Matt may have information about the killer and hunts him. When the killer attacks Nicky's girlfriend Ruby (Janet Julian), Nicky arrives, tries to protect her and is seriously wounded by the killer. Now Matt trains box at home and rounds the streets of New York expecting to find the killer.

"Fear City" is one of the best Abel Ferrara's films and still great after forty years. The plot happens in the sleazy environment of New York in the 80's, with Tom Berenger in great shape. The beauty of Melanie Griffith is another highlight of this movie. The plot about a sadistic serial-killer that mutilates and kills strippers is dark, with a beautiful cinematography during the night. Unfortunately, this movie is underrated by many IMDb reviewers and only released on VHS in Brazil. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Cidade do Medo" (Fear City")

Project Eden (2017)

Was It Supposed to Be the Pilot of a Series?

[5/10 · 4 June 2024]

When Evelyn Green (Emily Fradenburgh) is three-month-pregnant, she receives a letter from the American government informing that her husband Adam died in the war. She delivers the baby Thomas, who is catatonic and has been interned for six years. The doctors tell her that Thomas will not recover and suggest that he should be submitted to a euthanasia. Out of the blue, Evelyn is visited by a stranger, Ethan Varick (Peter Christian Hansen) , who tells her that he had a daughter with the same disorder and the government killed his wife and daughter. Further, he tells her that two men posing as FBI Agents will look for her on the next morning, and that he will be in a place in town waiting for her. In the morning, agent David Roth (Mike Dopud) and his partner come to Evelyn's home and snoop around looking for Ethan. She flees and meets Ethan, and together they find evidence of a man in the north of the country that might have information about the conspiracy of the government involving Thomas. But the relentless David Roth is chasing them down and will not give up.

"Project Eden" is a movie with a promising story about government conspiracy most of the time. Suddenly, when Evelyn faints, it becomes a mess and changes the genre with a great confusion. Further, there is no ending of the story, and the viewer is disappointed to see a film without conclusion. Was it supposed to be the pilot of a series? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Projeto Eden" ("Project Eden")

Retroactive (1997)

Changing the Past

[7/10 · 4 June 2024]

The psychologist and police negotiator of Chicago P. D. Karen (Kylie Travis) fails in a hostage situation and six captives are murdered. She quits the police and decides to return to her hometown in Texas. While driving on the road, she has a car accident and the radiator of her car breaks. She asks for a ride and the criminal Frank (James Belushi) stops his car with his wife Rayanne (Shannon Whirry) to take her to a nearby gas station that has a tow truck. Along the short journey, Frank, who is selling a computer chip that he has just stolen from a friend, shows that is a lowlife, humiliating his wife several times. Meanwhile, the young scientist Brian (Frank Whaley) is researching time travel in a facility in the desert with rats using a particle accelerator. When Frank reaches the gas station of his friend Sam (M. Emmet Walsh), he shows him photos of Rayanne having an affair with their acquaintance Jesse (Jesse Borrego). Frank becomes insane and speed-up his car with Rayanne and Karen inside and stops the car in the desert, He kills Rayanne and Karen runs to Brian's facility, where she is exposed to his device and returns in time. Now she wants to change the events to save the life of Rayanne. Will she succeed?

"Retroactive" is an entertaining and funny film, with a story of time travel that uses the idea of "12:01" (1993) and "Groundhog Day" (1993). James Belushi performs an obnoxious scum and abusive husband, treating badly his wife. Karen learns that every time that she travels to the past, the situation gets worst, and she is uncapable to change the past. But how Karen, who worked in the police department, could miss so many shoots and not hit her target? The relationship of Frank and Brian is weird since they live in different worlds. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Inferno na Estrada" ("Hell on the Road")

Monk: Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever (2005) Season 3, Episode 12

The Witness Protection

[8/10 · 3 June 2024]

While waiting for Julie in Natalie's car, Monk witnesses a criminal killing a man in an alley. The FBI sends him to the Witness Protection Program with Agent Grooms, Stottlemeyer and Natalies in a cabin in the woods since he will testify in court against the killer. They stop at a shop to buy supplies and Monk meets Martin Willowby, who will fish in a lake, and his wife Kathy, who loves country music. During the night, Monk listens a cry for help and is sure that Kathy killed Martin. Meanwhile, Randy meets the gorgeous Hailey, and they have lunch in a Chinese restaurant where Hailey used to go with her grandfather. Their fortune cookies seem to be correct, and they return on the next day to check. Again, their fortune cookies are right, and they return to the restaurant again. When Randy reads that a friend is in danger, he drives to the secret FBI cabin to see Monk but is followed by the hitmen, endangering all his friends.

"Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever" is another great episode of this series. The clumsy Monk with his COD trying to fix the antenna of a car is predictable, but funny. His phobias are annoying many times since he is an intelligent man. The naive Randy is tricked again and jeopardizes his friends. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Monk Vai à Floresta" ("Monk Goes to the Forest")

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

The Price of the Success

[8/10 · 3 June 2024]

In 1971, in Chicago, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) is the host of the late-night talk show "Night Owls". His marriage with the former theater actress Madeleine "Minnie" Piper (Georgina Haig) is an example of a successful marriage and commented by the media. In 1972, Jack signs a five-year contract with the owner of the television, Walker Bedford (John O'May), and intends to be the number one in the ratings, beating Johnny Carson show. He also joins the notorious and exclusive club "The Groove", where careers are made or destroyed. However, soon Minnie learns that has a terminal lung cancer and dies. In the Halloween of the 1977, Jack Delroy hosts a special show, interviewing the medium Christou (Fayssal Bazzi); the skeptical magician Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss); and the parapsychologist June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), who has just released a book about the demoniac possession of her protégé Lilly D'Abo (Ingrid Torelli). Lilly was the only survivor of a cult and claims that the demon "Mr. Wriggles" lives in her body. June tries to stop her presentation, but Jack convinces her to conjure Mr. Wriggles to the audience. From this moment on, strange supernatural things happen in the studio.

"Late Night with the Devil" is one of the most originals stories based on Faust. Jack Delroy forgets what he did in the past to be successful and now has a price to pay. This low budget movie shows that with good story, screenplay and cast it is possible to make a great film. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Entrevista com o Demònio" ("Interview with the Demon")

Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994 Video)

Delightful Supernatural Romance

[7/10 · 3 June 2024]

The rebel demoness Veronica (Angela Featherstone) has another argument with her father Hellikin (Nicholas Worth) since she wants to live among the humans on the world above. Hellikin tries to kill her and Veronica escapes from Hell with her beast through a secret passage that her friend Mary (Cristina Stoica) had shown her. Veronica becomes human, finds some clothes and sees Dr. Max Barris (Daniel Markel) in the window of the hospital. Out of the blue, she is hit by a car and Dr. Max treats her. He learns that she has nowhere to go and offers his house to Veronica stay. She watches the news on television and learns how evil the world is and that the Mayor Wharton (Milton James) is a corrupt man. While walking on the street at night, she sees two men trying to rape a woman, kills them and her beast eats part of their flesh. Then she kills two violent Caucasian police officers that were beating without any reason a black man, leaves a message to the mayor and brings an internal organ to her beast. The detectives that are investigating the cases suspect that Veronica is responsible for the murders and follow her until she shows one of them the horrors of Hell. But Max and Veronica have fallen in love with each other.

"Dark Angel: The Ascent" is a delightful supernatural romance from the 90's that has not aged. The funny plot is excellent, with the rebellious Veronica stealing the movie. The beauty of Angela Featherstone is another attraction of his low-budget movie. There are great scenes and funny dialogs. Unfortunately, has only been released on VHS in Brazil. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Anjo das Trevas" ("Angel of the Darkness")

Monk: Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra (2005) Season 3, Episode 11

The Kung-fu Star

[7/10 · 2 June 2024]

The author of a polemic biographic book of the star The Cobra, John Ricca, goes to a talk show and tells the audience that Cobra's fights were performed by stunts, making the fans angry with him. During the night, a ninja kills him and leaves his San Tie Kan behind. Stottlemeyer calls Monk to help in the investigation since the hair they found in the crime scene belongs to Sonny "The Cobra" Shaw, who died six years ago. Meanwhile, Monk and Natalie are having problems in their relationship since Monk does not want to reimburse her expenses in gasoline, cellphone and tissues. Randy is a big fan of Cobra and tells that there is a rumor that Sonny Chaw is not dead. Stottlemeyer requests exhumation of Sonny's body while Monk talks to the master of martial arts and Cobra's mentor, Master Zi, that confirms that Sonny Chaw is dead. Monk and Natalie go to the Cobra's Museum and to the cemetery, and after the exhumation, Monk solves the case. But the killer attacks and buries him in a coffin.

"Mr. Monk vs. The Cobra" is the first episode where Natalie works as Monk's assistant and substitute for Sharona. The beginning is silly, with Monk refusing to reimburse her expenses, but the case and its resolution is good. The encounter of Monk and Trudy is the romantic part of the show. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Monk Enfrenta o Cobra" ("Monk Faces The Cobra")

Monk: Mr. Monk and the Red Herring (2005) Season 3, Episode 10

The Lunar Rock

[8/10 · 1 June 2024]

Sharona leaves Monk to live with Benji in New Jersey with her ex-husband and Monk is looking for a new nurse. Meanwhile, the widow Natalie Teeger kills a trespasser that breaks in her house during the night. She tells Stottlemeyer and Randy that another man tried to break in her house a couple of days ago. Stottlemeyer suggests her to convince Monk to work in the case, and she goes to his house. He reluctantly accepts the case and notes that the thief apparently was trying to steal her daughter's goldfish. They investigate and learn that the fish worths one dollar only and Monk cannot find the motive. They go to the police station and learn that the thief might be connected to an exposition in the museum and Natalie tells them that her daughter Julie was in that exhibition a couple of days ago and bought some toys to her aquarium. They go to the museum and soon Monk resolves the case.

"Mr. Monk and the Red Herring" is a great episode of this series and the end of Sharona with Monk. That is sad since Sharona was an important part of the episodes. "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring" is the introduction of her replacement, Natalie Teeger, who seems to be adequate for the role. This episode is great since Monk does not overact with his OCDs. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Monk e o Peixe Japonês" ("Monk and the Japanese Fish") Note: In Portuguese, goldfish is called Japanese Fish.

Nightfall (1988)

The Planet with Three Suns

[6/10 · 1 June 2024]

In a planet with three suns, there is permanent daylight and a primitive civilization. The blind prophet and leader Sor (Alexis Kanner) fears part of his people, the superstitious Believers, foreseeing that a nightfall is coming with tragic consequences. Roa (Sarah Douglas), the wife of the astronomer and leader Aton (David Birney), leaves her husband to join Sor. Aton meets the nomad Ana (Andra Millian) and quits his work to stay with her. Out of the blue, his followers abduct Anna and take her to the desert. Aton returns to his telescope and finds that Sor is correct, and a nightfall is coming. Meanwhile Sor blinds Roa using two crows to eat her eyes while Aton sends his son-in-law Kin (Charles Hayward) to look for Ana and bring her back to the village. He also teams-up with the local architect (Jonathan Emerson) to build a shelter to his people to be protected from the nightfall. Kin meets the free-spirited Ana in the desert and they have sex, but Ana returns to Aton. However, Kin's wife and Aton's daughter Bet (Starr Andreeff) feels that her husband has betrayed her and becomes jealous. Aton finds that Sor has blinded Roa and becomes angry with him while Kin falls in love with Ana. The clash of science and superstition and all the other events bring several tragedies during the nightfall.

"Nightfall" (1988) is a low-budget sci-fi movie by Paul Mayersberg based on a short story by Isaac Asimov. Hated by the critics and with an awful reception from the viewers since the plot seems to be not faithful to Asimov's short story, "Nightfall" is not so bad and provides a good view of the eternal fight between science and religion (or superstition). The cast has good names and several subplots, most of them well-resolved. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Planeta Infernal" ("Hellish Planet")

Satan's School for Lust (2002 Video)

Soft Porn with Hot Women

[3/10 · 31 May 2024]

In Diablo School for women, Kelly Porter (Zoe Moonshine) is having sex with her boyfriend when they are surprised and killed by a masked person. The father of Primula Cooper (Misty Mundae) travels overseas and enrolls her in the Diablo School. She meets the headmistress Miss Beezle (Barbara Joyce), who asks her to share the room of the lesbian Phoenix (Ruby LaRocca). Meanwhile the investigative reporter Linda Forest (Suzi Lorraine) tells her boyfriend Charlie that several students are vanishing from the school, and she heads to interview Miss Beezle. But soon she is in trouble, abducted by the headmistress, while Primula has dreadful and erotic nightmares.

"Satan's School for Lust" is a soft porn movie and a kind of low-budget spoofy of "Satan's School for Girls". There is no plot, basically motive for sex scenes, most of them erotic lesbian scenes. The good part of this movie is basically the hot women, especially the gorgeous Misty Mundae, a.k.a. Erin Brown. In accordance with information on the Internet, Lust is an anagram of Slut and would be the original title of this flick ("Satan's School for Sluts"). My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): Not Available.

Phantom Lady (1944)

The Vanished Lady

[10/10 · 31 May 2024]

In New York, a lonely woman (Fay Helm) is drinking alone and listening to a song in a jukebox. A man (Alan Curtis) sits next to her at the counter and offers two tickets of a Broadway show to her, but she does not accept. Then he invites her to go with him and she says yes, provided they do not know anything about the other including their names. The man pays the bill to the bartender (Andrew Tombes), takes a taxi and goes to the show, where the drummer Cliff (Elisha Cook Jr.) looks at her along the show and the performer Estela Monteiro (Aurora Miranda) is irritated since the woman is wearing a hat identical to hers. When the man, the engineer Scott Henderson, arrives home, Inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez) and two detectives are waiting for him. He learns that his wife Marcella was murdered strangled by a tie, and he is the main suspect. Scott explains that he spent the night with the mysterious woman, but neither the bartender and the taxi driver nor the drummer and the performer confirm his alibi saying that they did not see any woman. He is arrested and the court sentences him to the electric chair. His secretary, Carol "Kansas" Richman (Ella Raines), who is secretly infatuated with Scott, is the only person that visits him since his best friend John "Jack" Marlow (Franchot Tone) traveled to Brazil by ship on the night Marcella was killed. Kansas decides to investigate the case by herself, and Inspector Burgess offers to help her since he believes Scott is innocent. Soon she learns that people have been bribed by the killer, but they die before his alibi can be proved. Meanwhile Jack returns and joins Kansas and Burgess in the investigation.

"Phantom Lady" (1944) is one of the best film-noir ever made, with an engaging story of injustice and perseverance. The only but is the identity of the killer that should have been disclosed only in the very end, and not when he kills Cliff. But anyway, it is a wonderful film with the impressive beauty of Ella Raines highlight on the black-and-white screen. The performance is magnificent and steals the movie. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "A Dama Fantasma" ("The Phantom Lady")

Atlas (2024)

Histrionic Performance

[6/10 · 31 May 2024]

In the future, there is a rebellion of the Artificial Intelligence led by the terrorist A. I. Harlan (Simu Liu), and consequently a war where three-million humans are killed. In the end, Harlan flees to an unknown whereabouts in the outer space. When his right-arm Casca Decius (Abraham Popoola) is located on Earth and captured by the military forces, General Jake Boothe (Mark Strong) brings the analyst Atlas Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez) to interrogate Casca under the protest of Colonel Elias Banks (Sterling K. Brown). She succeeds to learn the planet where Harlan is and destroy Casca. She asks Gen. Boothe to go with Col. Banks in the mission of capturing Harlan's CPU since her mother, the scientist Val Shepherd (Lana Parrilla), created it and she was raised with Harlan. However, her distrust of A. I., her unstable behavior and the fact that she is not a Ranger make Col. Banks objects in principle, but he accepts her expertise later. When they arrive nearby the planet where Harlan is hidden, their spacecraft is attacked by Harlan's army and Atlas is forced to enter in an ARC to escape. However, she does not link with the A. I. "Smith" although she does not know how to operate the weapons and the A. I. needs her link to operate properly. Soon Col. Banks learns that Atlas has a childhood trauma that impedes her to trust A. I.s. What will she do to try to save Earth?

"Atlas" is a Netflix movie with the story of a dystopian future after a war between humans and A. I.'s. There are good points, like the special effects and the view of the A. I.'s as evil or good like the mankind. Unfortunately, the histrionic performance of Jennifer Lopez is annoying and disappoints her fans. The director should have controlled her constant screams and overacting, despite her character be unstable and anti-social. The plot is satisfactory with a reasonable but with potential story with a rushed beginning as usual in Netflix's movies. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Atlas"

Society of the Snow (2023)

Unnecessary Remake

[7/10 · 30 May 2024]

In 1972, the Uruguayan rugby team is flying to Chile to play a game. However, the plane from the Uruguayan Air Force with 45 persons crashes on the Andes Mountains and after the search party, they are considered dead. Two months after the crash, the sixteen survivors are finally rescued. Along the days, the starved survivors decide to eat flesh from the bodies of their comrades to survive.

The above summary is copy-paste from my summary of "Alive" (1993) in IMDb, since this remake is absolutely unnecessary. "La sociedad de la nieve", a.k.a." Society of the Snow" is a great film, but the impact of the timeless "Alive" in the 90's was impressive. Based on a true event - the crash of a plane on the Andes in 1972, both screenplays are alike and very well written, considering the dramatic and sensitive theme, the environment and is respectful with the survivors. The performances are top-notch and the special effects are excellent. The fight for survival of this group is amazing and shows what the man is capable to do in extreme situations. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Sociedade da Neve" ("The Society of the Snow")

The Mortuary Collection (2019)

Getting a New Job

[7/10 · 30 May 2024]

The mortician Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown) runs the Raven's End Mortuary. After the services of the little Logan, a young woman named Sam (Caitlin Fisher) shows interest in the closed casket and tells Montgomery that she is responding to the sign "Help Wanted" on the outside of the mortuary. When she sees several books in the library, Montgomery says that life is made of stories, and she asks him to tell a story to her and he accepts the request. The first story in the 50's, is about a young woman named Emma (Christine Kilmer), who pickpockets wallets during a party. When she goes to the restroom to get rid of the wallets, she sees a medicine cabinet and decides to open it, finding a dreadful surprise. The second story in the 60's is about a handsome young man, Jake, who distributes condoms on the campus of his university with a speech of sex liberation but intending to score women in the party of his fraternity. When he meets Sandra (Ema Horvath), she accepts the condom and goes to the party. They have sex along all the night, but Jake removes his condom, and she does not note it. On the next morning, Jake does not feel well and goes to Dr. Harold Kubler (Mike C. Nelson), who realizes that he is pregnant. Now he tries to contact Sandra to understand what is happening to him. The third story in the 60's is about a man, Wendell Owens (Barak Hardley), who married his beloved wife Carol (Sarah Hay). However, she became catatonic, and he is depressed taking care of his unresponsive wife for a long time and consequently having financial problems. Dr. Kubler gives painkillers to him and suggests that he could accidentally give an overdose to Carol since it is untraceable. When Wendell decides to give the pills to Carol, she grabs his arm, and he tries to make her throw them out. However, her head falls on the table and is impaled in a metallic object, forcing Wendell to get rid of the body. But he has a breakdown in the elevator. Sam tells Montgomery that his stories are predictable with the punishment of the sinners and decides to tell him a story about herself. Sam was babysitting a child named Logan Kubler while a patient flees from the local asylum. When she finds a wounded stranger in her kitchen, she fights him with a surprising revelation.

"The Mortuary Collection" is a great anthology of horror stories with many twists along the lead segment. Clancy Brown and his deep voice is excellent in the role of the storyteller mortician. Caitlin Fisher is also great with her surprising roles. The tales are highly entertaining, funny and also creepy. This film could be a pilot of a wonderful series of horror tales. The conclusion is magnificent, with the new mortician managing the Raven's End Mortuary. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available on TV, DVD or Blu-Ray.

The Keep (1983)

The Mystery of the Keep

[7/10 · 29 May 2024]

In 1941, in Romenia, a German squad under the command of Capt. Woermann (Jürgen Prochnow) is assigned to protect a pass from a keep. Woermann notes that the fortress was built to prevent something to leave the interior and talks to the keeper Alexandru (Morgan Sheppard). He warns Woermann to not spend the night in the fortress and to not touch the crosses on the wall. However, two greedy soldiers decide to steal a silver cross, unleashing a smoke being and are murdered. When a fifth soldier is found dead in the keep, Woermann requests to be relocated with his men, but the SS Nazis under the command of the cruel Kaempffer (Gabriel Byrne) arrive instead. He immediately executes three villagers, believing there are partisans in the village. Woermann stops him and shows a message written on the wall of the fortress. Kaempffer brings the local Father Fonescu (Robert Prosky) to translate but he says that maybe Dr. Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellen), who is in a concentration camp, is capable to translate. The sick Dr. Cuza is brought in a wheelchair with his daughter Eva Cuza (Alberta Watson) and says that the message is written in an ancient language that has been dead for five-hundred years. Meanwhile, a man in Greece named Glaeken (Scott Glenn), who seems to be possessed, travels by boat and motorcycle to the keep. What is the mystery of the keep?

"The Keep" is an unforgettable horror movie from 1983 by Michael Mann. The plot is intriguing and well-developed, with a magnificent cast with names such as Jürgen Prochnow, Gabriel Byrne, Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen and Robert Prosky among others. The awesome locations and landscapes are another attraction. The music score by Tangerine Dream is another plus of this film. In Brazil, this movie was only released on VHS. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Fortaleza Infernal" ("The Hellish Fortress")

Full Eclipse (1993 TV Movie)

Underrated Movie

[7/10 · 29 May 2024]

In Los Angeles, the LAPD Detectives Max Dire (Mario Van Peebles) and Jim "Jimmy" Sheldon (Anthony John Denison) are partners and friends. Max is married with Anna Dire (Victoria Rowell) and Jimmy intends to leave the force to marry his fiancée Helen (Jennifer Rubin). When there is a call in a club with three sadistic killers, Max and Jimmy breaks in through the ventilation ducts. However, one of the criminals hears a noise in the duct and shoots Jimmy, while Max kills them three. Jimmy is dying in the hospital when a man injects a serum and Jimmy mysteriously recovers and becomes powerful. When Jimmy commits suicide and Max has problems with his marriage with Anna, the high-ranking police officer Adam Garou (Bruce Payne) invites him to join his special force team formed by the decorated officers Casey Spencer (Patsy Kensit), Doug Crane (Jason Beghe), Liza (Paula Marshall) and Ramon Perez (John Verea). They invite Max to follow them in one assignment during the night and they inject a mysterious substance that makes them stronger and slaughter a gang of criminals. Max refuses to inject himself and to join the group of vigilantes, but later Casey shoots him, injects the serum and he instantaneous heal. Soon he finds that the substance is indeed extracted from Garou's brain, who is a werewolf.

"Full Eclipse" is an underrated movie in IMDB, with a great and different story of werewolf. The plot entwins police story with werewolf and is well-developed with a magnificent cast with names such as Patsy Kensit, Mario Van Peebles, Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Payne, Jason Beghe and many others. The gorgeous Patsy Kensit is incredibly beautiful and seductive in this movie. Surprisingly the IMDb User Rating is 5,4. The Brazilian title is awful. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Operação Nervos de Aço" ("Operation Steel Nerves")