Shameless Self Expression

Doe-eyed Barbara Bouchet becomes aloof writer Farley Granger’s secretary, and quickly arouses the interest of Granger and his sexy seductress wife Rosalba Neri, who are fond of hosting decadent sex parties. However, Bouchet had a legitimate reason for applying for the secretarial position, as we slowly find out. Something involving a person from her past with a connection to Granger and Neri. Nino Segurini plays a local copper who keeps sniffing around.   Tolerable 1972 giallo erotica-mystery from writer-director Silvio Amadio ( “Smile Before Death” , a giallo with Rosalba Neri) has an enjoyably sexy softcore opening 20-30 minutes. Lots of nudity, sleaze, and softcore fondling, especially the Sapphic love scene between Barbara Bouchet and Rosalba Neri. It’s slow-mo deliciousness (Quentin Tarantino’s apparently a fan of it too), and I was enjoying the hell out of the film. Unfortunately, it slowly loses one’s interest over the next 60 or so minutes. There’s very little sex or nu...

An injured Miss Marple (Angela Lansbury) and her Scotland Yard detective nephew Dermot (Edward Fox) investigate a murder in her own local village where a film about Queen Elizabeth is set to be shot. Rock Hudson plays the movie’s director, Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Novak are feuding divas of rapidly advancing age, Tony Curtis plays the slick producer, Geraldine Chaplin plays Hudson’s possibly too-loyal assistant. Look out for a young Pierce Brosnan on the set of the Queen Elizabeth film in a cameo.   As with Sherlock Holmes, everyone has their favourite version of Miss Marple. I’m no Agatha Christie purist in the slightest, but for me Dame Margaret Rutherford will always be Miss Marple. You’d think that the future Jessica Fletcher, Angela Lansbury would be a perfect fit for the character. Unfortunately, she’s merely decent and this 1980 flop from veteran Bond director Guy Hamilton ( “Goldfinger” , “Diamonds Are Forever” , “Live and Let Die” ) is pretty subpar stuff despite an al...

Big game hunter Nic Cage has just captured a rare white jaguar and needs to deliver it to a zoo in Spain for a handsome sum, along with assorted snakes, monkeys, exotic birds and such. He has commissioned a cargo ship for the voyage, but it appears there will be a few tagalongs on this voyage. These include an attorney (Michael Imperioli), a naval officer and neurologist (Famke Janssen), black ops guys (led by LaMonica Garrett). Oh, and a former special forces guy turned nutjob killer-for-hire Kevin Durand. Yeah, he’s on board too. Needless to say, the psycho and the jaguar are somehow let loose and it’s up to Cage to lead everyone else in dealing with the situation.   Even when his films were guaranteed theatrical releases, Nic Cage was an actor whose choices (and often, his performances) seemed eccentric. These days, the Direct-to-DVD mainstay seems to alternate between mere paycheck jobs ( “Seeking Justice” , “Frozen Ground” , “Tokarev” , “Trespass” , “Dying of the Light” , ...