Clown in a Cornfield (3½ Stars)

This is the 12th film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

After the death of his wife, Glenn Maybrook moves from Philadelphia to Kettle Springs, Missouri. His daughter Quinn doesn't appreciate the move. For her it's the end of the world. Her opinion is shared by the local teenagers, but at least they have a hobby. They make amateur horror videos which they publish on YouTube.

What they're not prepared for is that there's a killer clown in the town. Not just in the cornfield. And not just one clown. There's a whole clan of clowns killing the young people.

This is a reasonable slasher film, but for me it breaks too many slasher traditions. I'm sure this was deliberate, but for me the film wasn't predictable enough.

June and John (4 Stars)

This is the eleventh film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

There's a love story in the middle of the festivals horror and science fiction films? Stranger things have happened. In its defence, it's directed by Luc Besson.

John works in the accounts department of an anonymous Los Angeles bank. He doesn't have a life outside of his office booth. He's trying to find a partner with the help of a dating agency, but all his potential partners cancel the first date when they find out he doesn't have any social media accounts. Is that such a big deal today?

He has a chance encounter with a woman on the subway. Sort of. He's inside, she's outside, but they smile at one another, and there's an instant connection. John doesn't know how to find her again, but he doesn't have to. She's a first class stalker, and she turns up in his office the next day.

Her name is June, in case you hadn't already guessed. While on the beach she's received a feeling that she only has 72 hours to live, so she wants to enjoy her last three days to the full. She yanks John out of his mundane existence. She robs his bank, pretending to take him hostage, and they run away together. Three wonderful days.

Maybe it's the last three days of June's life, but what will John do?

It's a crazy film. At times there are emotional scenes that almost made me cry, but the action always came back before the tears could flow.

Orang Ikan (4 Stars)

This is the tenth film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

A Japanese ship is carrying American POWs to Japan in 1942. On the way it's attacked by American fighter jets and sinks. There are only two survivors: an American captain called Bronson and a Japanese soldier called Saito. They're washed onto the shore of a small unnamed island. They forge an uneasy friendship, despite not understanding one another's language. They even have problem understanding each other's names. Bronson is called Blonson, and Saito is called Psycho. That's close enough.

On the island there's a small family of monsters. When other Japanese soldiers land on the island they're slaughtered. Only Bronson and Saito survive. They realise that defence isn't enough to survive, they have to attack the monsters.

The film suffers from a common mistake in modern films. There are frequent night scenes, and the picture is too dark to show what's happening.

Noise (4 Stars)

This is the ninth film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

The film takes place in a large South Korean apartment building. Two sisters, Ju-Hee and Ju-Yung, share an apartment on the sixth floor. They don't get on well together. Ju-Yung has been away for a few days. It's not said where she was. With a friend? With a lover? It doesn't matter. What matters is that Ju-Yung receives a phone call to tell her that her sister hasn't been seen for four days, so she returns to look for her.

Ju-Yung is almost deaf and can only hear with the help of a hearing age, so she doesn't notice at first that there are loud noises in the apartment. The neighbour from the apartment below repeatedly visits and threatens to kill her if she doesn't stop making noise. But the noise is coming from the seventh floor. Loud banging.

The film has an unsettling atmosphere. It reminds me of "Dark Water". Is it a person making the noise? Or a ghost? Or several ghosts? The mystery slowly unravels.

A criticism I have is that the plot isn't as simple as "Dark Water". There are too many unnecessary complications. But I still want to watch it again.

The Ugly Stepsister (4 Stars)

This is the sixth film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

It tells the story of Cinderella from the point of view of her step-sister Elvira. There's a second step-sister, but she's a young teenager who hasn't reached marrying age. Elvira is 18, and she's fascinated by Prince Julian. She'll do anything to become his bride. But she's too ugly to attract his attention. Supposedly.

My biggest problem with the film is that I don't find Elvira ugly. They say her nose is too big, but I see nothing at all wrong with her. They say she's too fat, but I find her just right for a romantic cuddle. If I were the prince I would have picked Elvira. But he prefers the girl with small feet. Silly man. And Elvira is stupid enough to cut off her toes so that the slipper will fit. No woman should ever go that far to please a man. If he doesn't like her big feet, she can tell him to get lost.

Disney is incapable of making like action remakes of fairy tales. In Norway they still know how. It's just a shame that the cinema ticket will cost double the price because of Donald Trump's 100% tariff on foreign films.

Locked (4 Stars)

This is the fifth film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

Eddie Barrish isn't a bad man, but he does what he has to do to survive. His van breaks down, and he can't afford the repair costs, making it impossible for him to pick up his daughter from school. He steals a wallet and a few other small items, but it's not enough to pay the repair bill. Then he sees a luxury car standing in a car park. The door isn't locked, so he enters it to look for valuable items. He doesn't find anything, so he wants to leave, but the door is locked. A voice tells him that he's being punished for breaking into the car. Eddie is kept in the car for days on end while the voice taunts him.

The film is interesting, though I don't find it particularly feasible. The acting by Bill Skarsgard is excellent.

A Girl With Closed Eyes (3 Eyes)

This is the fourth film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

My friend called the previous film exhausting. I found "A Girl With Closed Eyes" more exhausting, though for different reasons. It's a mystery that's finally explained, but it takes a long time to get there. It's well written, but the viewer needs to invest a lot of concentration. Every time I thought I understood what was happening, there was another twist, and I had to start puzzling again.

Min-Ju, a woman in her early thirties, breaks into the home of a successful author and shoots him dead. When the police arrive she's still standing over him with her rifle. A clear cut case? She tells the police that she'll only talk to a policewoman from another town, also called Min-Ju. When the policewoman Min-Ju arrives she recognises the murderess as a childhood friend called Li-Seon, who legally changed her name many years ago. Li-Seon doesn't deny the murder, but she says it was revenge for the author kidnapping and abusing her 20 years ago.

But things don't add up. Despite the confession, Min-Ju is convinced that Li-Seon is innocent.

A Whale (3 Stars)

This is the third film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

Melville has been using a small Spanish port to smuggle goods for the last thirty years. Then his rival Abosolo has the harbourmaster shot in order to take control of the port. Melville contacts the assassin, a mysterious woman who isn't quite human, and asks him to work for her. She kills Abosolo and then turns against Melville himself.

After the film a friend of mine summed it up with the words "That was exhausting". It ran for almost two hours, and when it was over we still didn't understand what had happened. There's a dead whale on the beach, but it has nothing to do with the story.

The Forbidden City (5 Stars)

This is the first film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

I've been having trouble getting to the cinema for the last two months, but I'm glad to say I'll be able to attend most films at the 2025 Stuttgart Nights Festival, which will run for four days this year. It always begins with a special film, and "The Forbidden City" is incredible. It tells the tale of Mei, a Chinese woman searching for her sister in the Chinese quarter in Rome. She's caught up in a battle between crooked restaurant owners. The fight scenes are spectacular. The actress Yaxi Liu reminds me of Jackie Chan in her ability to pick up any objects around her and use them as weapons. I'm astounded that this is only her second film, and her first in a leading role. She has a big future ahead of her.

Apart from the action, it's a love story. Mei falls in love with a naive young Italian cook, even though they don't speak one another's language. The film's dialogue is evenly divided between Italian and Chinese. It's the best new film I've seen in the cinema this year.

TV Series: The Sopranos Season 2 (Part 2)

The fourth episode of season two introduces a new character, Furio Giunta. Tony meets him while on a business trip to Italy to discuss the delivery of stolen cars. To compensate for receiving a lower price, Tony is given Furio to work with him in America. In order to get him immigration papers, Tony asks his friend Artie Bucco to give him a job making cheese in his restaurant. When Artie sees how badly Furio works he lets him go, but Furio retains his job on paper, the expenses paid by Tony himself.

Dr. Jennifer Melfi finally agrees to take Tony back as a patient. She returns to the familiar routine of flashing her legs while staring him in the eyes and asking him to confess his innermost secrets. She comes to the conclusion, quite correctly, that it's the women in his life who are making him feel weak.

The most dangerous woman in Tony's life, as far as his mental health is concerned, is his mother. She's the only person in the series who is pure evil.

Tony's elder sister Janice is also a problem. She's returned to New Jersey motivated by greed. Tony tells her that she can't take whatever she wants, but she can wrap him around her little finger. She builds an alliance with her mother against him. She was always her Daddy's favourite, as we saw in flashbacks in the first season.

Is history repeating itself? Tony's favourite child is his daughter Meadow. He admires her intelligence and intuitive understanding of the family business. He doesn't consider his son AJ (Anthony Junior) to be a suitable successor. He says it's a shame that Meadow wasn't born a man. He denies the rights of women, even though the women in his life have so much power over him.

Ironically, Tony's wife Carmela is one of the lesser problems in his life. She knows he has mistresses, but she puts up with them. As she confessed to her priest in the first season, she was glad that they gave him sex, so that he would leave her alone.

But Tony has other women problems that he's brought upon himself. His current goomah is Irina, a Russian immigrant from Kazakhstan. Goomahs are usually Italian, and they know how to behave discreetly. As a Russian Irina has a strong will and openly tries to get more from Tony. She has unrealistic dreams of him leaving his wife to be with her. That can never happen.

The only other thing I'll mention is that the sixth episode starts a new trend of famous people appearing as themselves. Frank Sinatra Junior takes part in a high stakes poker game, which Tony calls the Executive Game. The game is for men only. Of course.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

TV Series: The Sopranos Season 2

The second season of the Sopranos is characterised by people returning. Some were gone for a long time, some shorter. Tony's older sister Janice returns after an absence of 20 years. She joined an ashram in Washington and changed her name to Parvati. Tony accuses her of only coming back because she wants money, and based on her actions it seems to be true. She blocks the sale of her mother's house, supposedly so she can return home from the nursing home Green Grove, but also so that she can have somewhere to live.

Richie Aprile, the brother of the former boss Jackie Aprile, is released after a 10 year prison sentence. He grudgingly accepts Tony Soprano as the de facto boss while Junior Soprano is in prison, but he's obviously bitter about being overlooked in the succession.

Pussy Bonpensiero returns after an absence of a few months. In the first season there were suspicions that he was a rat, betraying his colleagues. Now we find out that it's true, wehen we see him talking to an FBI agent. He fled New Jersey, because he thought that Tony was on to him. Now that he knows that Tony no longer suspects him, he feels comfortable returning. He tells everyone a story about being in Puerto Rico for back treatment.

At the end of the first season Tony told Jennifer Melfi to get out of town to avoid reprisals for acting as his psychiatrist. Since then she's been using a motel room as her office. Was she also living there? It's not made clear. Now Tony tells her she can come back, but she's not yet ready to take him back as a patient.

At the end of the first season Junior Soprano was arrested. He applies for compassionate release due to a heart condition. The judge agrees to release him under conditions of house arrest. He's only allowed to leave his house for doctors' appointments and food shopping. He has to wear an electronic bracelet to prove that he's obeying the conditions.

Luckily Junior has an understanding physician who allows him to use his surgery for business. In America it's not allowed to place listening devices in doctors' surgeries. Tony tells Junior that he'll allow him to keep his stripes, i.e. still be recognised as boss, but Tony himself will run business.

A new business venture is started under the control of Christopher Moltisanti, who's used crooked means to be accredited as a stockbroker. Shares are sold of a non-serious company, Webistics. His brokerage has bought 400,000 Webistics shares for 60 cents each to be sold for inflated prices to elderly people who don't know what they're doing.

I think that's all the major changes this season. If I've forgotten anything, I'll mention it in my next post.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Monkey Man (4 Stars)

Dev Patel plays Kid, a man whose mother was killed in racial violence. All his life he's wanted revenge on the corrupt police chief who was responsible. He's now a wrestler who wears a monkey mask and calls himself Monkey Man. He's paid to lose fights. Someone has to do it.

He finally has a chance to get close to the police chief. Kid gets a job as a waiter in a high class brothel that the police chief frequents. Are his wrestling skills enough to get him past the armed guards?

The film contains a lot of religious elements, different Hindu cults. A key figure is the monkey God Hanuman, of whom Kid learnt as a child.

It's an exciting film with a lot of action, but I have to criticise the cinematography. In the close-up scenes it's often difficult to see who's hitting who. Films like "John Wick" show that it can be done better.

Success Rate:  + 1.5

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Tag (5 Stars)

Amazon Friday #42

Yesterday I discovered that "Tag" is available on Amazon Prime. That was my excuse for watching it again. Do I really need an excuse? "Tag" is brilliant, one of the best films ever made. So today I watched it dubbed into German.

It's a film I've often watched. Today was the tenth time. In cases like this I try to forget the film. I imagine that I'm watching it for the first time. That's the best way to enjoy a film like "Tag" that isn't explained until the final scenes.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Bonhoeffer (5 Stars)

This is a film that I missed when it was in the cinema last month. I was pleasantly surprised that it was shown again today, on Easter Sunday. I can understand the logic. The cinema wanted to attract Christians on this religious holiday. Did it work? Maybe. Apart from me there were about 20 people in the cinema, mostly elderly women.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a name that everyone in Germany knows. He was an outstanding critic of the Nazi regime. In the Nazi era most Protestant churches supported Hitler. They considered him to be Germany's saviour when Communism was rising. Bonhoeffer was a man who recognised Hitler's evil early on. He had the courage to preach against the Nazi Party, at the risk of his own life.

The film is a true story. There's no happy ending. He was hanged two weeks before the war ended.

I'm aware that the film has been heavily criticised for historical inaccuracies. In particular, Bonhoeffer's role in an assassination plot is over-emphasised. He was a pacifist. Nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed the film. I was moved to tears, and I stood in awe of the great man. Would I have been brave enough to stand up to Hitler? No. I would have remained silent to protect myself and my family.

Moon the Panda (4½ Stars)

12-year-old Tian is torn between two cultures. His father is a millionaire Chinese businessman. His mother is French and dedicates herself to her family. Tian is an outsider at school, and his academic grades suffer as a result. His father is angry with Tian for doing badly at school, whereas his mother is caring and understanding.

In the school holidays Tian is sent to his grandmother, a deeply spiritual woman who lives in a secluded cabin in the Chinese mountains. While wandering in the woods Tian discovers a young panda that he calls Moon. At first the panda is afraid of him, but they become friends when Tian brings food.

It's a beautiful film, showing how a lonely young boy can make an unusual friend. It isn't just a children's film. It can move viewers of any age; anyone as sentimental as me.

The Father (3 Stars)

As I've mentioned more than once in my blog, I dislike films about dementia. It's a subject that disturbs me. I witnessed my grandfather suffering from dementia. I witnessed my friend Brian Farmer suffering from dementia shortly before he was murdered. I had already heard about this film and knew that it was critically acclaimed, so my rating is purely subjective.

Anthony Hopkins plays a wealthy man who lives in London. His daughter has been caring for him, but now she has to move to Paris. What will become of him?

What makes "The Father" unique is that it shows dementia through the eyes of the sick person. This isn't even clear in the early stages of the film. As the film progresses we slowly piece things together and see what's really happening.

The performances are excellent by all involved. What else can you expected from actors like Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman? I'm sure most of my readers will enjoy the film more than I did.

Success Rate:  + 4.0

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Remember (4 Stars)

Two elderly Jews live in a New York nursing home. They make a pact to locate a man they knew while they were in Auschwitz. One of them is wheel-chair bound, so he can't travel. The other is suffering from dementia, but his friend encourages him to travel. They know the man's name, a false identity he used when emigrating to America, but there are several men with the same name, and all must be checked.

Zev Guttmann's dementia is so bad that he frequently forgets where he is and why he's travelling. His friend has given him a letter to read every day to remind him of his mission.

When I first watched this film I only gave it a two star rating because I found the portrayal of dementia disturbing. Today I made a conscious attempt to accept it, and I was able to recognise that it's a good film.

Success Rate:  - 2.6

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

TV Series: The Sopranos Season 1 (Part 4)

Tony's not looking well. As we find out, he's reacting badly to one of the medications he's taking, Lithium. But this makes the twelfth episode one of the worst episodes in the whole series. I only say "one of the worst", not the worst overall, because the episode does have some redeeming qualities. There are two stories running in parallel, one good, one bad.

I mentioned before that I dislike dream sequences in films and television series, but the dreams in "The Sopranos" usually make sense. This is an example where they don't. Tony meets Isabella, an Italian medical student living with the Cusamanos, on three separate occasions. At the end of the episode we find out that she didn't exist. It was all a dream brought on by his feverish state after taking Lithium. Is that at all possible? I could just about believe a single vision, but three on the same day? Nonsense!

The other story in the episode involves Tony's uncle Junior Soprano finding out that Tony is seeing a psychiatrist. This is totally inacceptable for anyone in the Mafia. Despite the ethics of doctor-patient confidentiality, it's not tolerated that anyone should talk about their business. Junior finds out while visiting Tony's mother Livia in the Green Grove retirement home. She's already angry about Tony visiting a psychiatrist. She accuses him of seeing a psychiatrist to talk about his mother. That's actually correct. When Junior suggests killing Tony, Livia encourages him. Later in the episode the assassination attempt goes wrong, leaving the hired assailants dead and Tony only lightly injured.

The incident is described as a car-jacking, but Tony knows otherwise, and so does the FBI. Livia's room in the retirement home has been bugged. (Is that even legal?) Tony is played the tape of Livia and Junior conspiring to kill him, in order to encourage him to give evidence against his uncle. Tony would never take a deal like this. He's old school and would never talk to the police, not even if his associates have been trying to kill him.

Tony orders his men to kill Junior and the capos (captains) loyal to him. This is partially successful. Junior's main hit-man, Mikey Palmice, is shot by Paulie and Christopher in the woods. It's an example of Paulie's psychopathic traits that he's more concerned about being stung by poison ivy than killing someone. Junior is arrested by the FBI before he can be executed.

After the failed assassination attempt, Livia is faking dementia so that she can't be put on trial or requested to give evidence. Tony visits Green Grove, intending to smother her with a pillow, but she's just had a stroke (supposedly), so the doctors take her away.

There are two consequences of the events that close the first season. Firstly, with Junior in prison there's nothing to stop Tony becoming the next boss. Secondly, Tony advises Jennifer Melfi to leave town to avoid being killed.

There's so much that happens in the last three episodes of the first season, much more than I've written. Please visit "Sopranos Autopsy" for more details. The whole series is excellent, even if I have to criticise the dream sequence(s) in the twelfth episode.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

TV Series: The Sopranos Season 1 (Part 3)

The tenth episode of "The Sopranos" is important to me, because it was the first episode that I saw. I even remember where I was when I saw it. I'd just started a new job, and I was in a motel on Long Island feeling bored. My room had HBO, a channel I didn't have at home, so I took a peek. At that time in my life I watched more television series than films. I didn't become a big film fan until 2003 when I bought my first DVD player. I was watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Xena Warrior Princess", "Earth Final Conflict", "Nightman", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager"; all of them science fiction or fantasy. No gangster series. I had no interest at all in gangster stories. But then I watched the tenth episode of "The Sopranos", completely at random, and wow! I didn't know what hit me. I told all my friends about it. I became a regular viewer, although it wasn't until months later that I had a chance to see the first nine episodes. And I made sure I had HBO in my new home.

This is Artie Bucco, a childhood friend of Tony Soprano who decided not to get involved with organised crime. He's opened a restaurant called Vesuvio. Tony and his associates frequently visit the restaurant, much to the dismay of Artie's wife, because she doesn't want Vesuvio to be seen as a mob restaurant.

Bruce Cusamano was mentioned a few times in the early episodes, but now we finally see him. He's Tony's family doctor and also his next door neighbour. He's the one who referred Tony to Jennifer Melfi after his panic attacks.

By now Tony is always flirting with his psychiatrist, but she remains professional and turns him down. He's leaning back in his chair to get a better view of her legs.

And Jennifer uncrosses her legs to let him see even more. Does that mean she isn't being completely professional? Maybe. It's all a power game. She likes to lead him on so that she can show she's in charge by turning him down.

One thing we learn about Jennifer is that her office is in a medical centre. Tony is embarrassed to see his associate Silvio Dante in the corridor on his way to see a dentist.

And the psychiatrist visits a psychiatrist! Jennifer's psychiatrist is Elliot Kupferberg. She talks to him about her problems treating Tony Soprano, calling him Patient X to hide his identity. Elliot repeatedly advises her to refer Tony to another psychiatrist.

In a raid on Tony's house we briefly see Agent Harris, the leader of the FBI task force. He plays an increasingly important role as the series progresses. The Sopranos fan page claims his first name is Dwight, but I don't remember his name ever being mentioned. Maybe it's in a conversation with his colleagues? I'll pay attention this time.

I've already mentioned that Tony's mother is the only completely evil person in the series. We see an example in a flashback to Tony's youth. Tony's father says he wants to move to Las Vegas to participate in the emerging casino business. He says that it would be a legitimate business venture, and their children would prefer the climate. She replies, "I'd rather smother them with a pillow than take them to Nevada".

In case anyone wonders what the "parts" are in my reviews, they're not completely random. I'm watching the series on Blu-ray, and for me each "part" is the collection of episodes on a single disc. I don't intend to make full plot summaries of individual episodes. If you want more details, please visit the excellent web site "Sopranos Autopsy".

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

The Lost King (5 Stars)

In Germany there's a Mediathek for the first German television channel. Literally translated, the word means media library. In actual fact it's more of a temporary catch-up for television broadcasts. After a film or a talk show is shown on television, it's put online in the Mediathek for a few weeks. It's similar to the BBC's Iplayer, but not as flexible. In the recent past I've only watched political talk shows, mostly about the recent German elections, but today I noticed that "The Lost King" is available. This was one of my favourite films of 2023, so I jumped at the chance to watch it again.

The default setting is that the film is shown dubbed into German. That's obvious, because the Mediathek is intended for viewing in Germany. Then I checked the settings, and I discovered that it could also be watched in the original English version.

Now this is where it got weird. The default version is with German dialogue, with optional German subtitles. The version with English dialogue has an option to turn the subtitles on and off, but it doesn't work as expected. If the subtitles are turned off, German subtitles are still shown. If the subtitles are turned on, the subtitles are shown in duplicate: in white at the bottom of the screen and in yellow at the top of the screen; the identical text in German. What monkeys did they hire to program the Mediathek?

I enjoyed the film regardless. It's the true story of a woman who was so obsessed with Richard III that she saw visions of him. And yet she found his grave, a feat that notable British scholars had failed to do for hundreds of years. In addition, she cleared Richard III's reputation by proving that Shakespeare's depiction of him is incorrect.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de