Shameless Self Expression

Rich tech guy Cameron Monaghan lives in anti-septic isolation, and he seems just fine with that. One night he meets the alluring Lilly Krug and before you know it, it’s Marvin Gaye time. After Monaghan gets injured, Krug moves in to nurse him back to health. Yeah, that’s a bad idea. Unfortunately for Monaghan, Krug has a scheme in mind. Oh, and she’s also a nutjob. There’s that too. John Malkovich turns up as a pervy landlord, and Frank Grillo turns up as a character I can’t tell you about but you can probably guess which side of the fence he’s on.   Despite that unoriginal title and an equally uninspired plot, this 2022 thriller from ham-fisted director Luis Prieto ( “Kidnap” with Halle Berry) somehow managed to attract a few decent names among the cast. John Malkovich and Frank Grillo are even credited as producers in addition to being among the supporting players in the cast. Don’t be fooled, this is so bad, so lazy, and so old-hat that its presence is a damn-near offence. ...

Opening night of the cheesy new musical Saint Joan ends in shock horror as a murdered body appears before the stage, leaving arrogant composer Michael Gough none-too-pleased, and the show’s leading lady quitting. Producer Edward de Souza suggests Heather Sears as a replacement. However, a masked Phantom (Herbert Lom) haunts the theatre and has plans to kidnap Sears so that she will perform for him, and him alone. Thorley Walters turns up as theatre manager Lattimer, Patrick Troughton is the seedy Rat Catcher, Michael Ripper and Miles Malleson have bit roles as cabbies.   Unless you count Dario Argento’s somewhat similarly derived 1987 film  “Opera” , I consider this 1962 Hammer version of the Gaston Leroux novel to be the best screen version I’ve seen. Aside from Argento’s dreadful 1998 official version (not to be confused with the aforementioned 1987 film), I’ve enjoyed all of the adaptations I’ve seen to some degree. Whether it be the Lon Chaney, Robert England, Charles Danc...