cryptexcode/MPST huggingface dataset:
Oh, God! You Devil

Plot synopsis:
Burns plays the dual roles of both God and the Devil. The Devil — Harry O. Tophet — is a lively character, taking pleasure in petty acts of PG-rated malice, such as making a waiter fall into a pool.
The movie tells the story of a struggling rock musician, Bobby Shelton (played by Wass), who cannot get a break. Bobby, desperate to support his wife and start a family, muses that he would sell his soul to the Devil to get ahead. The devil begins to appear to Bobby as a prospective agent called Harry O. Tophet and offers Shelton a deal--seven years of unprecedented fame and fortune. Shelton balks at the deal and so Tophet renegotiates claiming that it will be for a "trial period." Shelton signs the document, but his signature transforms into that of Billy Wayne, the last person to whom Tophet offered this deal, and soon after Bobby realizes he has sold his soul to the devil.
Shelton discovers that, though he now has the fame he wanted, he has lost his identity--he is now Billy Wayne. As such, his family is now someone else's--the former Billy Wayne, whose life Tophet now controls. He also discovers that his wife is pregnant with his child. Realizing that he is trapped, Bobby Shelton asks for help from God, who has been watching over him. God appears and offers to help.
During a climactic poker game between God and the Devil over Bobby's soul, God raises the stakes. He claims he will stop protecting all those on "his list" in exchange for Bobby's soul (meanwhile, Bobby, under Tophet's machinations, is about to kill himself). If God wins, the Devil would be prevented from meddling with any of those on the list, even if they beg for his assistance. Considering the loss too high, Tophet folds, and finds that God had been bluffing and that part of the reason he had intervened for Bobby was because The Devil had become too arrogant.
Bobby rises from the floor of the dressing room, leaving behind the corpse of Billy Wayne who had committed suicide. In the end, God meets with Bobby and tells him about how his father once prayed for him when he was a sick child, and that since then, God has kept his eye on him. After warning Bobby that next time he will not bail him out, Shelton returns to happiness in a simple life with his loving wife and daughter. Years later, his daughter becomes ill and Bobby says the same prayer that his father did. The movie ends with Bobby, God, and the spirit of Bobby's father singing to his daughter, "Fugue for Tinhorns" from the musical Guys and Dolls.

Tags: comedy

Review:
The Postcard

Plot synopsis:
Near the end of the Second World War, Sadazo Morikawa (Naomasa Musaka) is one of a group of 100 overaged conscripts for the Japanese navy assigned to cleaning duty. Once the cleaning duty has finished, the members are chosen by lottery for various duties. Sadazo is assigned to serve in the Philippines. He thinks he will not survive, and asks a comrade, Matsuyama (Etsushi Toyokawa) to return a postcard to his wife, Tomoko (Shinobu Otake), and tell her that he received it before he died.
Earlier, Sadazo is conscripted, and he says goodbye to his parents Yukichi (Akira Emoto) and Chiyo (Mitsuko Baisho) and wife Tomoko. Later, a military official reports Sadazo's death. Sadazo's parents plead with Tomoko not to leave, and to marry their younger son Sanpei (Yasuhito Ochi). Tomoko agrees to marry Sanpei. Sanpei is conscripted. He considers running away but his parents tell him it is useless. Sanpei dies in the war. Later, during farm work, Yukichi dies from a heart condition. Chiyo gives Tomoko some money and then hangs herself.
The war ends and Matsuyama returns to Japan. His wife has run away after an affair with his father, and is now working as a bar hostess in Osaka. They meet and argue, and she tells him she wishes he had died in the war. Matsuyama makes his way to Tomoko's house to deliver the postcard. He talks about Sadazo and tells her he plans to go to Brazil. He has 200,000 yen from the sale of his fishing boat, and he tries to give her half. She refuses. He has a fight with Kichigoro (Ren Osugi), another suitor of Tomoko. After Tomoko and Matsuyama quarrel, they agree to go to Brazil together. They burn Sadazo and Sanpei's ashes. Tomoko gets drunk and sets fire to the house. Matsuyama pulls her out of the burning house. They decide to stay in Japan and grow barley on the site of the old house. The film ends with them in the field of barley.

Tags: romantic

Review:
The House on 92nd Street

Plot synopsis:
In 1939, American standout university student Bill Dietrich (William Eythe) is approached by Nazi recruiters due to his German heritage. He feigns interest, then notifies the FBI. FBI agent George Briggs (Lloyd Nolan) tells him to play along.
Dietrich travels to Hamburg, Germany, where he undergoes six months of intensive training in espionage. He is then sent back to the United States to set up a radio station and to act as paymaster to the spies already there. He is told that only a "Mr. Christopher" has the authority to change his assignment.
Dietrich manages to pass along his microfilmed credentials to the FBI; they are altered so that instead of being forbidden to contact most of the agents, he is authorized to meet them all. In New York, his contact, dress designer Elsa Gebhardt (Signe Hasso), is suspicious of the modification and requests confirmation from Germany, but communication is slow. In the meantime, she has no choice but to give Dietrich full access to her spy ring. When questioned, Dietrich's other legitimate contact, veteran espionage agent Colonel Hammersohn (Leo G. Carroll), denies knowing Mr. Christopher's identity.
In a separate development, a German spy is killed in a traffic accident; the FBI finds a secret message among his possessions stating that Mr. Christopher will concentrate on Process 97. Briggs is alarmed because he is aware that Process 97 is America's most closely guarded secret.
When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States enters the war. Most of the spies Dietrich has identified are immediately picked up, but Gebhardt's ring is left alone, in the hope of flushing out Mr. Christopher.
Gebhardt gives Dietrich papers to transmit immediately to Germany; they contain part of Process 97, a key part of the atomic bomb project. Dietrich steals a cigarette butt he notices in non-smoker Gebhardt's otherwise empty ashtray. The FBI traces this tiny clue to Luise Vadja, and from her to her supposed boyfriend, Charles Ogden Roper (Gene Lockhart), a scientist working on the atomic bomb. Roper breaks when he is picked up and shown a message from Germany ordering his liquidation after he has completed his mission. Roper confesses to have hidden the last part of Process 97 in a book at a bookstore from which a man believed to be Mr. Christopher was just filmed leaving. That is enough for Briggs, who then orders the arrest of Gebhardt's ring.
It is just in time for Dietrich. Gebhardt finally receives a reply from Germany, confirming her worst fears. She injects Dietrich with scopolamine in an attempt to obtain information, but her building is surrounded by government agents. Gebhardt orders her underlings to hold them off while disguising as a man and tries to sneak out with the vital papers. Unable to get away, she returns, only to be shot by mistake by one of her own men. The rest are captured, and Dietrich rescued.

Tags: murder

Review:
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood

Plot synopsis:
Jiminy Glick in LaLaWood starts off as an Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood spoof, but develops into a murder mystery, with David Lynch played by Martin Short as a makeshift Hercule Poirot.
Jiminy Glick (also played by Short) checks into a spooky hotel where Lynch is at the bar, spouting random scenes for his new movie. Glick hits the spotlight when he gets to interview Ben Di Carlo (Corey Pearson), who is starring in an indie flick called Growing Up Gandhi. This movie is a tale of Gandhi's rise as a prize fighter in the boxing rings of India. The film and its star are not well received, except for Glick who enjoyed it. Unfortunately, he fell asleep before the film ended.
After this scoop, Glick gets another prize interview with Miranda Coolidge (Elizabeth Perkins), who becomes the key figure in the murder mystery. Coolidge is starring in a lesbian sexploitation movie called African Queens (a takeoff of The African Queen), but is soon involved in the aforementioned murder.
Glick conducts interviews with real stars like Steve Martin, Kurt Russell, and red carpet interviews with Kiefer Sutherland, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Jiminy gets kidnapped by Randall Bookerton, a local hip hop recording artist, who wants his animated film, The Littlest Roach, to win Best Picture. Jiminy also becomes a suspect in Miranda Coolidge's "murder". He and Dixie (Jan Hooks) retrieve his cell phone, which mysteriously appears in Miranda's room.
Jiminy thinks that Andre is covering up her murder. David Lynch appears and tells the Glicks what happened. It is revealed that Natalie, Miranda's daughter, killed her girlfriend Dee Dee who was having an affair with Andre, her mother's agent. Dee Dee disguises herself as Miranda in case she got drunk and upset. Glick mistakes her for the real Miranda and passes out in her bedroom. Andre calls some "former business associates" to dispose of Dee Dee's body. Natalie stabs Andre in anger and disgust for how he treats Miranda and other actresses he has worked with.
Natalie goes to jail for 20 years. The future of the film festival is uncertain, and Miranda is considering retirement. Randall Bookerton and his posse are happy to receive an award for their film. Glick, meanwhile, realizes that celebrities can be dull, after interviewing actor Rob Lowe, ending the film. During the credits, bloopers and outtakes are seen with Jiminy interviewing Kurt Russell and Steve Martin.

Tags: murder

Review:
The Kentucky Fried Movie

Plot synopsis:
The Kentucky Fried Movie contains largely unconnected sketches that parody various film genres, including exploitation films. The film's longest segment spoofs early kung-fu films, specifically Enter the Dragon; its title, A Fistful of Yen, refers to A Fistful of Dollars. Parodies of disaster films (That's Armageddon), blaxploitation films (Cleopatra Schwartz) and softcore porn/women-in-prison films (Catholic High School Girls in Trouble) are presented as "Coming Attraction" trailers. The fictional films are said to have been produced by "Samuel L. Bronkowitz" (a conflation of Samuel Bronston and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, but also a spoof of B-movie producer and American International Pictures co-founder Samuel Z. Arkoff). The sketch See You Next Wednesday mocks theater-based gimmicks like Sensurround by depicting a dramatic film presented in "Feel-a-Round", which involves an usher physically accosting a theater patron. Other sketches spoof TV commercials and programs, news broadcasts, and classroom educational films. The city of Detroit and its high crime rate are a running gag portraying the city as Hell on Earth; in "A Fistful of Yen", the evil drug lord orders a captured CIA agent to be sent to Detroit, and the agent screams and begs to be killed instead.
The film is number 87 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies," and is considered, along with The Groove Tube, to be one of the groundbreaking films of the entire spoof and mockumentary genres of film making.
=== Sketch selection ===
The film's credits listed the sketches incorrectly, as the writers changed the show order after the credits had been written. On second cut, they corrected this error. The following list is in the running order used in the film:

Tags: comedy, murder, cult, flashback, absurd, humor, satire

Review:
A Cosmic Christmas

Plot synopsis:
Three aliens from an unknown planet, who bear a strong resemblance to the Biblical Magi, visit earth to know the true meaning of Christmas. Peter, a young boy, and Lucy, his goose, are the first to encounter them. Unable to find the true meaning of Christmas in town, Peter takes them to his family's house in the woods. While Peter's grandmother tells the aliens about her memories of Christmas, Marvin, one of the town's bullies, steals Lucy. In the chase to rescue Lucy, Marvin falls through the ice in a lake. Peter attempts to rescue him but falls into the lake as well. The townsfolk, who were out searching for the aliens, attempt to save the boys but their human chain isn't long enough to reach them. The three aliens, who had sworn not to interfere with events on earth, decide to help in order to learn the meaning of Christmas. The rescue effort is successful. The townsfolk are quick to condemn Marvin for stealing Lucy, but have a change of heart when they realize that Marvin stole Lucy because he had nothing to eat. Peter offers Marvin and his friends the chance to join them for Christmas dinner and the aliens realize that family and the spirit of forgiveness are the true meaning of Christmas.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
Challenge of the GoBots

Plot synopsis:
In the series' backstory, thousands of years ago on the planet Gobotron, there lived a race of human-like beings known as GoBings. Civil war erupted on the planet when the power-hungry terrorist group known as the Renegades arose, led by a madman dubbed the "Master Renegade", who waged war against the peaceful Guardians.
When a Renegade sabotage operation inadvertently resulted in a gigantic asteroid colliding with Gobotron, the natural disasters that resulted from the asteroid's impact pushed the GoBings to the verge of extinction. However, the genius who became known as the "Last Engineer" saved his people, taking his experiments to replace parts of his own body with mechanical substitutes to the ultimate extent and transferring the GoBings brains into large robot bodies known as "GoBots".
The GoBot forms possessed an additional ability; after being run through the device named the Modifier, the GoBots' bodies were able to transform into other vehicles. His work done, the Last Engineer intended to retreat to a pre-prepared workshop elsewhere in the galaxy, but the Master Renegade stole his ship and escaped in his stead. The Last Engineer placed himself into suspended animation beneath the surface of Gobotron, while above, the war continued to rage between the Guardians and the Renegades, now all encased in GoBot shells.
In the last quarter of the 20th Century, the planet Earth became involved in the conflict between Leader-1's Guardians and Cy-Kill's Renegades. During one of these battles, one of Leader-1's lieutenants, Turbo, became severely damaged. Unwilling to let his friend and teammate die, Leader-1 began his quest to find the legendary Last Engineer. Leader-1 found the person he believed to be the Last Engineer, but Leader-1 had unwittingly released the Master Renegade (though he did repair Turbo to gain the Guardians' trust).
The Guardians later found the true Last Engineer, who was instrumental in frustrating the alliance between Cy-Kill's Renegades and the Master Renegade. The Master Renegade later escaped the custody of the Renegades, and plagued both factions, notably attacking the UniCom colony of New Earth.

Tags: good versus evil, psychedelic

Review:
Cyberstalker

Plot synopsis:
Aiden Ashley's family life was torn apart thirteen years earlier when her online stalker tracked her down to her home and in an avalanche of terror, murdered both her parents. Her stalker fled the crime scene without ever revealing his face to Aiden.
As a precaution, Aiden shuns the Internet for the next thirteen years, opting to stay off-line, attending therapy sessions and living in seclusion. She breaks this seclusion after her friend and art dealer, Winton Cornelis, convinces her to hold a public art gala showcasing her work. The gala marks a turn in her personal life, after she becomes romantically involved with a guest, Paul Rogers.
Meanwhile, Detective James Page continues to work on the unsolved case of Aiden's parents' murder. Page hires Jack Dayton, a cyber-security whiz, to research Aiden’s life. Dayton makes the shocking discovery that Aiden’s stalker continues to lurk. Aiden's stalker follows her undetected and installs secret cameras in her home.
Suspicion turns to Aiden's art dealer, with the discovery of suspicious financial transactions between his and Aiden's bank accounts. Things do not also appear as they seem as Aiden's love interest Paul's violent past is revealed. Furthermore, Detective Page's involvement is curious; he is the only one meticulously following a cold case after thirteen years. Gradually Aiden's stalker becomes ever more desperate to be a part of her life. But Aiden is determined not to let this man blow her life apart once more. Jack Dayton is the killer and is shot by Detective Page.

Tags: cult, sci-fi

Review:
Young Bess

Plot synopsis:
Following the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn (Elaine Stewart), for infidelity, Elizabeth I (Jean Simmons) is exiled to Hatfield House and declared illegitimate (thereby losing her place in line for the throne) by her father, King Henry VIII (Charles Laughton). She is accompanied by her loyal servants, Mr. Parry (Cecil Kellaway) and her governess Mrs. Ashley (Kay Walsh). Over the years, her position rises and falls on the whim of her father.
The child is periodically summoned back to London to become acquainted with Henry's latest spouse. When Henry marries his last wife, Catherine Parr (Deborah Kerr), the now-teenage Elizabeth finally rebels against her latest summons. However, the suave, handsome Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour (Stewart Granger) persuades her to change her mind, and Elizabeth and Catherine become good friends. Meanwhile, Henry is impressed and amused by the resolute defiance of his daughter (once again declared legitimate).
When Henry dies, Thomas's scheming brother Ned (Guy Rolfe) takes over as Lord Protector and guardian of King Edward VI (Rex Thompson) during his minority, overriding Henry's wish that Thomas raise the boy. Ned and Thomas do not like each other, and Ned's fear of his brother's ambition grows with each of Thomas's naval triumphs.
By now, Elizabeth realizes she is in love with Thomas. She refuses to believe Mrs. Ashley's warning that he loves someone else until she sees Thomas and Catherine embrace in secret. Ned had blocked Thomas from marrying into the royal family, but Elizabeth graciously persuades her brother to issue a royal decree sanctioning their marriage. As they live in the same household in Chelsea, Thomas grows too close to Elizabeth without even knowing it, until one day he sees Elizabeth being kissed by Barnaby, a servant. Prompted by jealousy, Thomas kisses Elizabeth, who declares her love for him. Catherine, who has noticed the closeness between her husband and Elizabeth, asks Elizabeth to make a choice, and the princess moves back to Hatfield.
Soon after, Catherine sickens and dies. After months of Thomas being away at sea, he returns and finally sees Elizabeth. Ned has him arrested and charged with treason. He also accuses Elizabeth of plotting with Thomas to overthrow her brother. She goes to see Edward, but is too late to save Thomas from execution.
The film then shifts forward to 1558. Having survived the perils of her early life, and with Edward deceased and her elder sister Mary dying, Elizabeth is about to become Queen of England.

Tags: romantic, flashback

Review:
Let It Ride

Plot synopsis:
Jay Trotter drives a cab. His friend Looney, also a cab driver, has a secret microphone in his taxi to record his passengers' conversations. Looney has a tape of two men talking about a horse race and how one of the horses, due to some unethical practice by its owner, is a sure thing to win big. Jay goes to the track to place a bet—despite the fact that the day before, he told his wife Pam that he would quit betting and be home to "start their marriage over" at noon. In the restroom of the bar next door, he prays to God, "Just one day, that's all I'm asking for, one day, I'm due." A man exiting the bathrooms says "Ya? So's Jesus. Let it ride." Jay promptly places a $50 bet. The horse wins in a photo finish and pays $28.40 to win (earning him $710).
Armed with a newfound sense of confidence, Jay approaches the two men from Looney's cab and generously gives them the tape of their conversation. Out of gratitude, they give him a tip for the next race. He places a bet and wins again.
Sensing that this could be his "lucky day," Jay goes on picking winner after winner, letting it ride (betting all of his winnings each time). As he accumulates more money and uses his new friends' membership in the track's exclusive dining room, he starts coming into contact with other gamblers, including the wealthy Mrs. Davis and a sexy vixen named Vicki. He becomes a hero to the ticket seller (Robbie Coltrane) whose window he uses every time, and to the customers of the track's bar.
However, he has totally neglected his wife Pam. Pam flies into a rage when she confronts her husband at the track. He cannot stop. He takes a survey of the track patrons and, eliminating any selection they give him, bets on the remaining horse—Fleet Dreams, which wins. Jay decides to call it a day and goes home to Pam, buying her a diamond necklace on the way. At home he finds Pam intoxicated and passed out.
He heads back to the track to help the patrons of Marty's bar across the street, but when he suggests sharing his luck by betting their money together, they balk at the idea. Disconcerted, he goes for a walk around the track. Vicki offers to "go to bed with him." Jay "breaks the fourth wall" by saying to the audience, "Am I having a good day or what?" Ultimately, he turns Vicki down by professing his love for his wife.
Jay makes a final bet of $68,000 (his winnings for the day) after Looney advises him not to bet on Hot to Trot. As the race begins, Looney and Trotter argue over everything, and the main characters all make resolutions. In Vicki's case, she vows to give up rich guys and consider a poor one, looking at Looney. The race comes down to a photo finish. While everyone awaits the result, Pam shows up to thank Jay for his lovely gift and to tell him not worry about the money, when the announcer reports the winner: Hot to Trot. The entire racetrack erupts in celebration, and Pam asks, "Why is everyone cheering?" Jay replies, "Because I'm having a very good day."

Tags: boring

Review:
Taxi

Plot synopsis:
Taxi portrays director Jafar Panahi as he courses through the streets of Tehran while pretending to be a share taxi driver. He wants to hear a piece of his passengers' life and declines any payment for the services. His earliest passengers include a conservative-minded man who supports capital punishment and a woman supporting its abolition, a pirated video vendor named Omid who once lent foreign films not available in the country to Panahi, an injured man and his wife who both insist on recording a last will due to their panic, and a pair of superstitious old women wanting to release their goldfishes to a holy spring.
Eventually, Panahi picks up his niece Hana at her school. She discusses about filmmaking and wants Panahi's advice on creating a short film for a school project; her teacher has said about several rules on creating films in Iran, including the avoidance of siahnamayi, or portraying a dark image about the country. However, Hana's teacher also stated that people should create film as they see fit. The two stop near a coffeehouse where Panahi meets with a family friend he has not seen for 7 years. The latter inquires about a burglary he recently experienced and his dilemma of not informing the authorities about the thieves, whom he personally knows, as they are poor and have nothing else to lose. Meanwhile, Hana films a case of siahnamayi herself when she spots a boy who steals money from a couple of newlyweds and refuses to return them.
Finally, Panahi and Hana meet with Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer about to see the imprisoned Ghoncheh Ghavami and possibly convince her to give up her hunger strike. While adjusting her seat, Hana stumbles upon a purse belonging to one of the old women with the goldfishes. Sotoudeh decides to leave early so Panahi can deliver the purse, but not before giving him a rose as a goodwill for filmmakers. Panahi and Hana proceed to the springs and are able to return the purse; at the same time as this happens, a pair of thieves ransack the taxi, before the film cuts off.

Tags: flashback

Review:
Cul-de-sac

Plot synopsis:
Gruff American gangster Dickey pushing his broken-down car along a causeway through rising seawater while his eccentric companion Albie lies inside, bleeding from a gunshot wound after a bungled robbery. Cut off by the unexpected rising tide, they are on the only road to a bleak and remote tidal island (Lindisfarne in Northumberland), where, in a dark castle on a hilltop, a deeply neurotic and effeminate middle-aged Englishman named George lives with his promiscuous young French wife Teresa. Dickey disconnects the phone lines and proceeds to hold the two hostage while awaiting further instructions from his underworld boss, the mysterious Katelbach.
When Albie dies from his injuries, Dickey decides to take over the castle. George briefly entertains some of his obnoxious friends who show up at the castle unannounced, leading Dickey to pose as a servant while Teresa begins to flirt with one of the guests, Cecil.
Dickey eventually gets word that his boss Katelbach is not going to come, so he demands George drive him to the mainland by causeway. George, who has had enough of Dickey's bullying, suddenly goes berserk and shoots him dead with his own gun (Teresa had stolen Dickey's pistol from his coat pocket and encouraged George to use it). Now fearful of being implicated in the killing (and of possible reprisals from Katelbach's other henchmen), Teresa frantically insists that she and George abandon the castle together. But George is in a state of shock and seems unable to leave. Desperate and afraid, Teresa runs off by herself and hides in a closet. She is later rescued by Cecil, who had returned to retrieve his rifle.
Now utterly alone, George runs along the beach at daybreak. He finally sits down on a rock in the fetal position and weeps hysterically as the early morning tide rises around him.

Tags: cult, humor, neo noir, murder

Review:
Outrage

Plot synopsis:
Three disparate travelers, a disillusioned preacher (William Shatner), an unsuccessful prospector (Howard Da Silva), and a larcenous, cynical con man (Edward G. Robinson), meet at a decrepit railroad station in the 1870s Southwest. The prospector and the preacher were witnesses at the memorable rape and murder trial of the notorious bandit Juan Carrasco (Paul Newman). The bandit duped an aristocratic Southerner, Colonel Wakefield (Laurence Harvey), into believing he knew the location of a lost Aztec treasure. The greedy "gentleman" allowed himself to be tied up while Carasco assaulted his wife Nina (Claire Bloom). These events lead to the stabbing of the husband and Carrasco was tried, convicted, and condemned for the crimes.
Everyone's account on the witness stand differed dramatically. Carrasco claimed that Wakefield was tied up with ropes while Nina was assaulted, after which he killed the colonel in a duel. The newlywed wife contends that she was the one who killed her husband because he accused her of leading on Carrasco and causing the rape. The dead man "testifies" through a third witness, an old Indian shaman (Paul Fix), who said that neither of those accounts was true. He insisted that the colonel used a jeweled dagger to commit suicide after the incident.
It turns out that there was a fourth witness, the prospector, one with a completely new view of what actually took place. But can his version be trusted?

Tags: romantic, psychological, violence, queer

Review:
Intent to Kill

Plot synopsis:
Having previously survived an assassination attempt, Juan Menda (Lom), president of an unspecified South American country, is moved to Montreal under an anonymous pseudonym for treatment of a potentially fatal cranial blood clot. His political opponents have got wind of his whereabouts and hire a trio of Canadian hitmen to finish the job. Menda's aide Francisco (Carlo Giustini) is also in town, and unknown to Menda he is actually a prime-mover in the assassination plot, keeping close to Menda while duplicitously passing on information to the would-be killers. Not only is Francisco an unsuspected political arch-rival, but he is also keeping an eye on Menda's glamorous wife Carla (Lisa Gastoni), with whom he fancies his chances once Menda is out of the way.
Meanwhile, British surgeon Bob McLaurin (Todd) is under pressure from nagging, dissatisfied wife Margaret (Catherine Boyle), who wants him to give up his job in Canada and move back to England to open a private cosmetic surgery for the wealthy, where he could at least double his income. Margaret knows of Bob's affair with fellow surgeon Nancy Ferguson (Drake), and is threatening to go public with the information. The worry causes Bob to lose concentration during Menda's operation, and he almost makes a fatal slip-up. However in the end the operation is a complete success.
As Menda recovers, he grows uneasy about Carla's apparent lack of interest as she makes no effort to visit. He also starts to suspect that there is more to Francisco than meets the eye. Eventually he comes to the conclusion that the two of them are in league in some way or another, at best to dally romantically behind his back, at worst to be working with his enemies to plot his demise. Fearing for his safety, he demands to be moved to a different hospital room.
The hitmen make their move on what they believe to be Menda's room, only to find they have killed a completely innocent man in the hospital for surgery on a slipped disc. Bob, Nancy and the police all believe the unfortunate dead man was mistaken for Menda, and a policeman is detailed to provide Menda with a 24-hour guard until he is ready to return home. The hitmen, determined not to lose their payoff, end up acting rashly and their carelessness leads to a confrontation in the hospital corridors, shooting it out with the police while Bob is caught up in the middle. The hitmen start to turn on each other. The wounded Bob tackles one, and during a struggle the two crash out of a window and fall to the ground. The unconscious assassin is arrested.
As confusion and chaos rages in the hospital, one of the hitmen manages to slip away and takes the opportunity to enter Menda's temporarily unguarded room to perform a quick hit. He discovers that Menda is far more ready for him than he could have anticipated.

Tags: cult, violence

Review:
Puss in Boots

Plot synopsis:
The tale opens with the third and youngest son of a miller receiving his inheritance—a cat. At first, the youngest son laments, as the eldest brother gains the mill, and the middle brother gets the mules. The feline is no ordinary cat, however, but one who requests and receives a pair of boots. Determined to make his master's fortune, the cat bags a rabbit in the forest and presents it to the king as a gift from his master, the fictional Marquis of Carabas. The cat continues making gifts of game to the king for several months.
One day, the king decides to take a drive with his daughter. The cat persuades his master to remove his clothes and enter the river which their carriage passes. The cat disposes of his master's clothing beneath a rock. As the royal coach nears, the cat begins calling for help in great distress. When the king stops to investigate, the cat tells him that his master the Marquis has been bathing in the river and robbed of his clothing. The king has the young man brought from the river, dressed in a splendid suit of clothes, and seated in the coach with his daughter, who falls in love with him at once.
The cat hurries ahead of the coach, ordering the country folk along the road to tell the king that the land belongs to the "Marquis of Carabas", saying that if they do not he will cut them into mincemeat. The cat then happens upon a castle inhabited by an ogre who is capable of transforming himself into a number of creatures. The ogre displays his ability by changing into a lion, frightening the cat, who then tricks the ogre into changing into a mouse. The cat then pounces upon the mouse and devours it. The king arrives at the castle that formerly belonged to the ogre, and, impressed with the bogus Marquis and his estate, gives the lad the princess in marriage. Thereafter, the cat enjoys life as a great lord who runs after mice only for his own amusement.
The tale is followed immediately by two morals: "one stresses the importance of possessing industrie and savoir faire while the other extols the virtues of dress, countenance, and youth to win the heart of a princess." The Italian translation by Carlo Collodi notes that the tale gives useful advice if you happen to be a cat or a Marquis of Carabas.
This is the theme in France, but other versions of this theme exist in Asia, Africa, and South America.

Tags: fantasy

Review:
The Way to the Stars

Plot synopsis:
Pilot Officer Peter Penrose (John Mills) is posted in the summer of 1940 as a pilot to (the fictional) No. 720 Squadron, at a new airfield, RAF Station Halfpenny Field. He is a very green "15-hour sprog" Bristol Blenheim pilot and is assigned to B Flight, under Flight Lieutenant David Archdale (Michael Redgrave).
When No. 720 Squadron's commanding officer, Squadron Leader Carter (Trevor Howard, in his second but first credited film role), is shot down, Archdale takes over. While Penrose develops into a first-class pilot, he meets Iris Winterton (Renee Asherson), a young woman living with her domineering aunt at the Golden Lion hotel in the nearby town. Archdale marries Miss Todd (Rosamund John), the popular manageress of the hotel, who is known to everyone as Toddy. The Archdales later have a son, Peter.
The action flashes forward to May 1942. The squadron is now flying Douglas Boston bombers. When Penrose shows signs of strain from extensive combat, Archdale has him posted to controller school, but is himself shot down and killed over France on Penrose's last mission. Penrose had been courting Iris, despite her aunt's disapproval, but Archdale's fate weighs heavily on his mind. Not wanting Iris to suffer if the same happened to him, he stops seeing her.
No. 720 Squadron is sent to the Middle East, but Penrose remains behind as a ground controller for a United States Army Air Forces B-17 Flying Fortress bombardment group, which takes over the airfield. He befriends USAAF Captain Johnny Hollis (Douglass Montgomery) and Lieutenant Joe Friselli (Bonar Colleano). On 17 August 1942, the American airmen participate in the first attack by the USAAF on Occupied France, later ruefully acknowledging that they underestimated the difficulties involved. Afterwards, Penrose is posted to flying duties with an RAF Avro Lancaster bomber unit.
In 1944, Penrose, now a squadron leader and pathfinder pilot, makes an emergency landing at Halfpenny Field, where he meets Iris again. Iris had decided to leave her aunt for good and join up. Toddy persuades a still-reluctant Penrose to propose to Iris, saying that she did not regret her own marriage in spite of her husband's death. Hollis, who has formed a platonic relationship with Toddy, is killed while crash-landing a damaged returning bomber rather than bail out and risk it crashing into the village.

Tags: romantic, storytelling, flashback

Review:
Doom II: Hell on Earth

Plot synopsis:
The continuous 30 levels are divided into four areas; UAC Underground, UAC's Starport (Hellish Outpost), City, and Hell.
Immediately following the events in Doom, the player once again assumes the role of the unnamed space marine. After defeating the demon invasion of the Mars moon bases and returning from Hell (the manifestation of Hell where the Deimos moon floats over), Doomguy finds that Earth has also been invaded by the demons, who have killed billions of people.
The humans who survived the attack have developed a plan to build massive spaceships which will carry the remaining survivors into space. Once the ships are ready, the survivors prepare to evacuate Earth. Unfortunately, Earth's only ground spaceport gets taken over by the demons, who place a flame barrier over it, preventing any ships from leaving. The marine then battles hordes of demons and is able to deactivate the force field, allowing the remaining humans to escape. Once all the survivors escape Earth, the marine is the only human left on the planet.
Just as he sits down to await death, knowing that he saved mankind, the marine then receives an off-planet transmission from the survivors in orbit, who have managed to find out where the armies of Hell are coming from. The message reveals that the demonic base is in the center of the marine's own hometown. He then fights through the city until he reaches the base, but sees there is no way to stop the invasion on that side. He then decides to step into the portal to try deactivating it from the other side, entering Hell (a different Hell than the one that the Deimos moon floats over in the first Doom).
After fighting through the hordes of Hell, the marine reaches the location of the biggest demon he has ever seen, called the Icon of Sin (Baphomet). He kills the Icon of Sin by firing rockets into its exposed brain. Its death causes devastation on Hell, and the portal to Earth has been sealed. Now with Hell defeated, the marine joins with the other humans in an effort to rebuild and restore life on Earth.

Tags: psychedelic, violence

Review:
Pretty Poison

Plot synopsis:
Dennis Pitt is a disturbed young man on parole from a mental institution who becomes attracted to teenager Sue Ann Stepenek. He tells her that he is a secret agent, and takes her along on a series of "missions" that eventually end in murder. While Dennis is wracked with guilt over both what he has done and what he has allowed to happen, Sue Ann is excited by the "adventure" and entreats Dennis to run away with her to Mexico. First, however, they have to get rid of her disapproving mother.
Dennis knows that the police will take Sue Ann's word over his, so he takes the blame for their crimes. Sue Ann, meanwhile, betrays him without a second thought, sending him to prison for life. Dennis is more than happy to be locked up, as it keeps him away from Sue Ann, of whom he is now quite frightened. While Dennis refuses to tell his skeptical parole officer Azenauer the truth, he asks him to "see what Sue Ann is up to" in hopes she will be exposed for what she really is. The film ends with Sue Ann meeting a young man and lamenting to him that the people who took her in after her mother's death won't let her stay out late; it is implied that she will use and destroy him just as she did Dennis. But Dennis' parole officer is indeed watching as she departs with her latest victim.

Tags: cult, comedy, murder

Review:
Peter Gunn

Plot synopsis:
The title character, played by Craig Stevens, is a well-dressed private investigator whose hair is always in place and who loves cool jazz. Where other gumshoes might be coarse, Peter Gunn is a sophisticate with expensive tastes. He operates in a nameless, fictional riverfront city and can usually be found at Mother's, a smoky wharfside jazz club that he uses as his "office", often meeting clients there. Pete's standard fee is $1,000. He has a reputation of being one of the best investigators and trustworthy. He sometimes works cases out of the state and on at least one occasion out of country, with one case occurring in Mexico and another involving a tour of Western Europe. Gunn drives a 1958 two-tone DeSoto two door hardtop in the first few episodes of the first season, then a 1959 Plymouth Fury convertible with a white top and a car phone. In the third season Gunn drives a 1961 white Plymouth Fury convertible with a car phone.
Gunn's girlfriend, Edie Hart (Lola Albright), is a sultry singer employed at Mother's; she opens her own place in season 3. His pet name for Edie is "Silly". Herschel Bernardi costarred as Lieutenant Charles "Chuck" Jacoby, a somber police detective and friend of Gunn. Occasionally he refers people to Gunn as clients. Bernardi received his only Emmy nomination for the role. Hope Emerson appeared as "Mother", who had been a singer and piano player in speakeasies during Prohibition. She received an Emmy nomination for the role. For the second season, "Mother" was played by Minerva Urecal, following the death of Emerson. Associate producer Byron Kane portrayed Barney, the bartender; Kane was never credited for playing this role. Bill Chadney appeared as Emmett, the piano player at Mother's. (Chadney and Albright married in 1961.)
Both Billy Barty as pool hustler Babby and Herbert Ellis as Beat bistro owner, painter, and sculptor Wilbur appeared in several episodes as occasional "information resources", as "Mother" also often is. Capri Candela played Wilbur's girlfriend Capri. Frequent director Robert Gist appeared as an actor in different roles in three episodes.
Edie opened her own night club "Edie's" with James Lanphier as Leslie the maitre d' in Season 3.

Tags: neo noir

Review:
Stranger Within

Plot synopsis:
Ann Collins (Eden), a painter, and her husband, David Collins (Grizzard), are expecting a baby. What confuses the couple is that David has had a vasectomy, and Ann is not supposed to be pregnant. Even though David suspects that Ann has been unfaithful to him, he stays with her. Because Ann had pregnancy troubles in the past that put her health at risk, David wants Ann to get an abortion, but every time the two try to go to get the procedure done, Ann experiences extreme labor pains and is unable to go through with the procedure.
Throughout the course of her pregnancy, Ann has strange cravings for black coffee, raw meat and massive amounts of salt. She also exhibits personality and physical changes, including wanting to read books constantly, enduring freezing temperatures, developing acutely sensitive hearing, taking long and strenuous walks in the mountains, an inability to listen to other people, and healing her injuries within minutes.
David wants Bob (David Doyle), a hypnotist, to see if he can obtain any information about why Ann is acting so strangely. Ann does not say a word, even when she is hypnotized. One day when Ann comes home from one of her walks in the mountains, she finds David, Bob, and Ann's friend Phyllis (Joyce Van Patten) waiting for her. She quickly drinks boiling hot coffee to catch her breath, and David notices that the coffee makes her drunk. Bob tries hypnotizing Ann again, and an extraterrestrial being starts speaking through her. The being says that his father banished him to this warm planet (Earth) and that he wants to go back to his home where it is "cool". He says that Ann was impregnated while she was painting in the mountains. After the alien stops talking through Ann, she finally falls asleep.
During the night, Ann sneaks out to an abandoned house in the woods, where she gives birth. She walks into the woods, where many other women are also walking with their alien babies. David looks at one of Ann's paintings, depicting the alien being's home planet. The painting starts to smoke. David looks out the window and screams Ann's name, as he watches a spacecraft take Ann to the alien's home planet.

Tags: psychological

Review:
Camille

Plot synopsis:
The plot follows the two characters who have recently married and are going to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon. Silas Parker (Franco) is a thief who marries Camille Foster (Miller), his parole officer's niece, in hopes it will be his chance to escape to Canada. Silas cannot stand Camille and she is blind to how he really feels, believing that everything will be all right once they get to the falls. After their wedding Camille frets about there being no rice thrown and how that is bad luck.
On the way to Niagara Falls they crash their honeymoon bike and Camille dies in the accident. Thinking that he killed Camille, Silas runs away, breaking into a nearby house to call the police but hanging up before he reports the accident. When he returns to the scene of the accident he finds Camille up and washing in a nearby river. Over the course of the trip Silas realizes that Camille really did die in the accident as she starts to decay. While taking care of her, Silas shows a kinder side due to his guilt over having accidentally caused her death.
Meanwhile, the police believe that Silas actually killed his wife and begin to hunt him down. The couple have to evade capture several times and end up traveling with an old rodeo cowboy (Carradine) with colored horses. One of the horses, Maggie, is old and should have died years ago but is still sticking around for some reason. As Camille physically deteriorates she and Silas grow closer, eventually dancing and kissing in the rain. Silas says that while he never believed in anything, Camille believed in him when no one else ever had.
The couple travels with the cowboy until he has a breakdown and sets free all his horses. Seeing that the old Maggie will not leave his side even at gunpoint, the cowboy mounts the horse and they ride into the dawn.
The couple finally reach Niagara Falls and take the boat tour together. As Silas smiles down on Camille, happy to be with her, she tells him that she is ready now. He turns to ask someone to take their picture, and when he turns back she has vanished. He gets off the boat and heads towards the Canada–US border, but stops and goes back looking for Camille. He is then spotted by the police and chased to the edge of the Niagara Falls viewing point. He screams out for Camille – not believing her to be truly dead and gone – and the police, thinking he is still evading arrest, shoot him. Camille suddenly appears, riding toward him on the horse, Maggie. She asked why he did not go on without her and he said he could not. He mounts up behind her and says "I love you" for the first time. They kiss and then turn toward the falls. Camille says "I had a great honeymoon" and Silas answers "Me too."
Then Maggie gallops forward and jumps over the edge into the Niagara Falls with Camille and Silas on her back, all three disappearing into the mist. After they jump, rice starts to fall from the sky.

Tags: tragedy, melodrama, historical fiction

Review:
Malliswari

Plot synopsis:
Malliswari (Katrina Kaif) is the heiress of Raja of Mirzapur (M. Balaiah). Her deceased father wrote in his will that she would inherit the property worth 750 crores after she becomes major at the age of 21. The entire property is under the control of Bhavani Shankar (Kota Srinivasa Rao), who wants to inherit the entire property by killing her. As he hatches the plans to eliminate Malliswari, she is sent to her uncle's (Tanikella Bharani)in Visakhapatnam as a normal girl so that she can live with anonymity. Prasad (Venkatesh) works as a bank accountant in Andhra Bank there. He is a bachelor who has been desperately seeking for marriage alliance for the past seven years. He would be looking at every unmarried girl with dreams in his eyes. He accidentally meets Malliswari and falls deeply in love with her. Malliswari is traced by the goons there and they start running after her. Prasad escorts her and drops her safely in Hyderabad. The rest of the story describes what happens next and the eventual conclusion of the plot.

Tags: romantic

Review: