Log: week 22 / 2025
A lovely, serene drama that isn't exactly subtle, but hits all the right notes regardless. The cinematography is beautiful, and the pacing is deliberately slow, making certain everything sinks in. The soundtrack is a real beauty too, the performances are strong, and the different plot lines are tied together by the story behind the titular whale. It's not a particular light and/or breezy drama, but Narushima sets the mood perfectly and makes sure the emotions feel genuine. Impressive.
After a good six months of detox, I almost feel like a complete newbie tackling core classics like this one. It's difficult to imagine how I dragged myself through so many for the past couple of years, I think it's safe to say now that most of them just aren't for me. The Round-Up was quite the struggle, even though it was relatively short. Dreary characters, grim black-and-white cinematography, not much in the way of a score, and a plot that didn't grip me. It's a depressing slog from start to finish, and even though the film isn't without qualities (the stark camera work was decent), it was an absolute struggle to get to the end.Read all
Ryan Coogler dipping his toes into horror cinema. The result is proper and decent, but also a bit tedious if you're not a fan of the 30s atmosphere. Kudos for the way Coogler worked with the soundtrack, it's a personal pet peeve, and directors should take notice, but that's by far the best part of the film. The cinematography is decent but could've been better, the performances are solid, and the build-up is nice enough. The film is way too long though. The vampires are rather dull, and the hour-long introduction could've been cut shorter. Sinners is not a bad film, but it's too caught up in revisiting the past than it is imagining a future.Read all
Not the first film to play around with this idea, not the funniest one either. Though listed as a comedy, this is more of a light-hearted drama. There aren't many overt jokes here, it's just a silly concept and a film that lacks (m)any heavy-handed moments. It's perfect family entertainment. The performances are decent, and there are some cute moments, but it never picks up steam. The comedy is tepid, the presentation is generic, and the runtime is a bit excessive for a simple film like this. I wasn't bored, and it's not a bad film, it's just that if you compare it to films like Thermae Romae, it doesn't stack up.Read all
A decent enough Thai horror film, but a bit long for what it is. I'm guessing this is the South Korean influence, they love a film that crosses the 2-hour mark. But for a simple shaman horror that doesn't explore too much novel territory, it just means you're dealing with an overly long intro. It takes a while before the film gets up to speed. The performances are solid, and the presentation is decent, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. The creepy scenes are kept for the second half, and while fun and effective, they too fail to bring anything new to the table. Cut this down to 90 minutes, and you have a better film, but still nothing close to a genre classic.Read all
Boonie Bears: Guardian Code
Immensely popular Chinese animation franchise I had never even heard of before. Even for someone like me, who keeps an eye on Asian cinema, bubbles still exist. This film closely mimics US animation tropes and is squarely aimed at younger audiences, which goes a long way to explain how this has escaped me for so long. This is the 9th entry in the film series, but it's easy enough to follow along, even when you're not familiar with the characters. The quality of the animation is solid, but the comedy is lame, and the plot's pretty basic. If you like Disney/Dreamworks-style animation, this might be a fun diversion, I can't say I'm the biggest fan (based on this entry at least).Read all
The combo of Cassel, Reno, and Kassovitz was a powerful one. It's what drew me to this movie originally, and they didn't disappoint. It's just that over the years, this type of police thriller has had an increasingly hard time keeping my attention. I've seen too many Spanish and Scandinavian ones I guess. Cassel and Reno are fine, and Kassovitz's direction is on point, though clearly not his best work. The plot is decent enough, but also pretty standard, and the case wasn't intriguing enough to keep me glued to my chair. It's a perfectly fine genre film, and fans of gruesome police thrillers will have a lovely time with it, but I need a bit more these days.Read all
Chinese desert inns are pretty much their own martial arts subgenre. I'm quite partial to them, although I'm not quite sure why that is exactly. Desert Lone Hero does nothing to tarnish that reputation. It's not an absolute stand-out, but if you're like me and you like the chaos of many parties gathering in a desert inn only to rowdy with each other, then this film won't disappoint. The setting is familiar but fun, the action scenes look lovely, and the pacing is excruciating. Despite the limited location, there's a lot going on, and the film flies by. It's not as polished or creative as New Dragon Gate Inn, then again, nobody is expecting that from a Chinese streamer flick. Good fun, exactly what I hoped to get from it.Read all
A surprisingly fun horror. I hadn't heard of this one before, and I'd completely missed any reputation it had built up. The setup's a little basic, similar to the Wicker Man and other folklore-based island horrors, but the horror bits here are pretty fancy, and the atmosphere is vibrant enough to carry the film. The performances are OK and the effects are somewhat dated, but the monastery makes for a superb setting and the religious horror elements are overt and pretty grotesque. The pacing and runtime and perfect too. It just lacks that little extra polish to make it a true genre classic.Read all
One for the cinephiles who crave the Nouvelle Vague. Bertolucci harkens back to a time many consider the heyday of cinema. I originally liked the film because of the interesting love triangle between the three leads. Watching it again, I'm a bit more bothered by the pandering to a time I don't really care for. The performances are strong, Pitt is nice, and Green had her big breakthrough. The film-centered dialogue is not as interesting, and 60s Paris didn't really do it for me either. Luckily, a lot of time is spent with just the three main actors, their interactions saved the film for me (and do a better job of invoking the Nouvelle Vague than the actual setting of the film). Still good, but not as great as I remembered it to be.Read all
Decent commercial horror fare with some unique lore to add an extra layer of intrigue. It's not just some kids driving up into the mountains to face a masked serial killer, though it's very much that type of film. There are just a few twists and turns that make the story a bit more interesting. The performances are decent, the kills are okay, and it shows that the makers had a proper budget to work with. Despite the novel elements, it still feels like a collage of earlier horror movies, and there isn't much here that will linger beyond the end credits. Fun if you love horror cinema.Read all
People are quick to make comparisons to films like Se7en (and some other high-profile Hollywood films), and based on the plot elements, they have a point. On the other hand, this is a vintage Hong Kong genre flick, part of a proficient machine that spat out genre films like no other. I'm quite partial to that Hong Kong look, with its blue-tinted night scenes and hyperactive camera work. The cat III elements are somewhat basic, and the plot isn't the most consistent, but the pacing is pleasant, and there are a few memorable scenes. Fun genre filler, but far from a genre classic.Read all
Not all that different from other recent Disney outings, and certainly not the worst of them. It's almost impossible to have a purely subjective opinion of this film with all the negativity that it faced, and it's pretty silly we're resorting to children's entertainment to fight these culture wars, but apparently that's where we're at. The dwarves are annoying, Gadot is a terrible villain, and Zegler's facial expressions are a bit extra. The songs are also pretty dire, but the fantasy world itself is quite alluring, and the changes made to the plot aren't the worst. I personally don't care much for these Disney adaptations, but the drama surrounding this film is way more tragic than the quality of the film.Read all