The Children's Hour (1961) ****

Superbly directed, acted and photographed. A stage adaptation that works. Needs to be studied by contemporary directors so they can learn how to keep more than one actor in focus in the same shot.

Pociag (1959) **

Euro-noir aboard a night train to the Polish seaside is atmospheric and minimal but marred by an inferior print.

A Kind of Murder (2016) ***

Very well made Highsmith adaptation. Superbly cast with a sharp script, well paced and shot.

2022 In Review: Music

**** Katy J Pearson - Sound of the Morning
**** Starcrawler - She Said

*** Alvvays - Blue Rev
*** April March - In Cinerama
*** Asteroid No. 4, The - Tones Of The Sparrow
*** Barrie - Barbara
*** Berries, The - High Flying Man
*** Beths, The - Expert in a Dying Field
*** Blushing - Possessions
*** Cate Le Bon - Pompeii
*** Color Green - Color Green
*** Diane Coffee - With People
*** Dream Syndicate, The - Ultraviolet Battle Hymns And True Confessions
*** Elvis Costello - The Boy Named If
*** Flasher - Love Is Yours
*** Frontperson - Parade
*** I Was A King - Follow Me Home
*** Inflorescence, The - Remember What I Look Like
*** KT Tunstall - NUT
*** Liam Gallagher - C'mon You Know
*** Linda Lindas, The - Growing Up
*** Momma - Household Name
*** Oceanator - Nothing's Ever Fine
*** Paranoyds, The -Talk Talk Talk
*** Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
*** Sadies, The - Colder Streams
*** Say Sue Me - The Last Thing Left
*** St. Lucia - Utopia
*** Stella Donnelly - Flood
*** VA - Under The Bridge
*** Wilco - Cruel Country
*** Yumi Zouma - Present Tense

** Aldous Harding - Warm Chris
** Dentist - Making A Scene
** EELS - Extreme Witchcraft
** Eddie Vedder - Earthling
** Fancey - Star Dreams
** First Aid Kit - Palomino
** Hatchie - Giving the World Away
** Jordana - Face The Wall
** Kiwi Jr. - Chopper
** Lauren Balthrop - Things Will Be Different
** Paranoid Style, The - For Executive Meeting
** Party Battleship - Sweet Thing
** Rusty - The Resurrection Of Rust
** Sun's Signature
** Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cool It Down

Noises Off... (1992) **

Funny but ultimately exhausting this is about the best you can do in adapting a theatrical farce into film. Some things are better left to the stage.

American Gigolo (1980) **

This time the "hooker with a heart of gold" is a dude but that doesn't help and the flick hasn't aged well. Not particularly insightful nor relatable, it is nevertheless well cast and well made except for the nagging problem of the script.

Game 6 (2005) **

Mike Keaton is terrific in an ultimately unsatisfying flick that nevertheless has entertaining aspects.

Bullet Train (2022) *

Unoriginal action flick that's not funny, not exciting, not even particularly well made. Not sure where the $90 million went. Tiresome.

Dune (1984) ***

Stunningly art directed, designed and shot, this ultimately silly space opera is a wild ride.

The ‘Twitter Files’ Is What It Claims to Expose (NY Magazine)

In sum: The New York Post published a story based on data that was apparently — but, at the time, unverifiably — Hunter Biden’s. That story falsely purported to offer “smoking gun” evidence of Joe Biden’s corruption, when it actually provided no such thing. Faced with warnings from federal law enforcement about impending foreign hacks, and a story based on apparently stolen emails sourced from Rudy Giuliani, Twitter’s content moderation team chose to suppress the Post article. That decision was internally controversial, and even those who supported it said that they wished they had more information about the source of the emails. Within 24 hours, Twitter reversed course. It is possible that this reduced the ultimate reach of the Post’s story, which, given that story’s mendacious content, probably would have been beneficial to public understanding of the Trump-Biden race (after all, there was exponentially more evidence that Donald Trump had used public power to advance his family’s private business interests than evidence that Biden had done so, yet the Post’s story conveyed the opposite impression). But it’s also possible that Twitter’s decision actually increased the story’s prominence by endowing it with an aura of forbidden knowledge. Separately, when the Biden campaign flagged tweets that featured pornographic images, Twitter responded by enforcing its own rules.

The Looking Glass War (1970) ***

Slick spy procedural stays true to the le Carré spirit if not the letter. Interesting Tony Hopkins performance; nice 70's snapshot.

The Menu (2022) **

Begins well and you think you're in for a delicious absurdist dramedy but it doesn't stick to it and becomes a slasher flick that doesn't resonate.

Remember My Name (1978) **

Altman-esque LA-noir is an actor's showcase with many fine supporting performances and a great femme fatale lead. Tony Perkins tries hard but just can't convince as a construction worker.

Johnny in the Clouds (1945) **

Doug Montgomery's performance is the main interest in this Brit WWII soaper.

Lawmakers Set to Propose Record $847B for Defense, $45B Over Biden’s Request

Indeed, the Pentagon is the only federal agency that has never passed an audit. Critics point out that over half of the defense budget goes toward private contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, resulting in huge profits for these companies; in the first three quarters of 2022, while the public has been suffering due to inflation, Lockheed Martin made over $4.2 billion in profit, while Raytheon reported an operating profit of over $3.9 billion.