Log: week 36 / 2025
Despite having seen more than 40 Yuen Chor films already, I'm still only 1/3th into his oeuvre. That means there might still be entire niches unexplored. It also means that I've seen quite enough to brand this a typical Chor film. It's the usual Shaw Bros action, with a strong fantastical flourish. Everything about this film feels familiar. From the faces to the narrative setups, from the lighting to the action scenes. It's been some time since my last Shaw Bros splurge, so it's nice to catch up with some of their unseen films, but the familiarity is a bit much at times. Especially for films that cross the 100-minute mark. Decent, but hardly memorable.Read all
This isn't a blockbuster project, so don't expect too much in the way of fancy visuals. They did their best, for sure, but this is just a common streamer flick that never even considered skimping on its sci-fi setting. The result is some dodgy CGI here and there, but it could've been a lot worse still. The film itself is quite fun, though some sentimental moments could've been cut to make it even more streamlined. The setup is entertaining, the pacing is slick, and whatever defects there are, they are relatively easy to overlook when things are moving along at a jolly pace. Not great, but fun nonetheless.Read all
The 30s were a rough time for cinema. The switch from silents to talkies wasn't an easy one, and instead of wild experimentation, we got a drab shift to more narrative and dialogue-driven cinema. So far, Renoir hasn't been able to convince me yet, and this one didn't do anything to change that. The story is pretty simple (based on a detective series, I'm not surprised), and the film is straightforward. It's tell rather than show, with functional cinematography that keeps out of the way of the plot. Luckily, the film is quite short, but that's hardly a plus when there's nothing interesting to look at.Read all
Can you buy success? Looking at this film, I would say: yes, you can. It feels like some relic of the 90s. A 60+ year old man joins the F1 circus and becomes a hero. His love interest is about half his age, the story is as ridiculous as it is predictable, and the whole thing is funded by Apple and the F1 circus itself. Pitt is a terrible cast, I don't understand why a simple movie like this needed to last more than 2.5 hours, and knowing how everything will turn out kills the little tension present. If you're a fan of F1, the race scenes are spectacular, but other than that, this film has nothing to offer but poor taste and bad decisions.Read all
After struggling for a decade to find his best form, Yoshida returns with a unique little film. Teki Cometh lives deeply within the arthouse realm, but it's more than just a drama about an old man battling a lonely and somewhat purposeless end of his life. The mundane is alternated with more dreamy sequences, but there are also some genre elements that slip into the film during the second half. The black-and-white cinematography looks slick, the performances are strong, and the build-up is solid. It's not up there with his very best, but it's an extraordinary film regardless.