Log: week 27 / 2025
A cute little fantasy film. The tone is bright and upbeat, the performances are fun and quirky, and the setting is lovely. There are some unnecessary musical intermezzos, but they are short and quickly forgotten. The second half is a dash more dramatic, but it never gets too sullen or depressive. The presentation is also pleasant. Bright and lively colors, solid camera work, and an easygoing score help to set the mood. The film is short and doesn't overstay its welcome, though the ending could've been a bit more concise. This won't be a future classic, but if you're looking for light filler, it's a great contender.Read all
A Brazilian classic. It's considered one of the prime examples of the Cinema Novo, the South American variant of cinema's big 60s reboot. Unlike its more infamous French branch, it felt heavy-handed, poorly constructed, and badly executed. It's an understatement to say I didn't enjoy myself all that much. The performances felt theatrical, the cinematography was drab, and the soundtrack irritated me no end. The plot wasn't the most interesting either, and two hours is a long time to spend with a film that failed to capture my interest from even the shortest of time. It's fair to say I'm going to skip the follow-up for the time being.Read all
There were moments where I felt Marvel fatigue was the big meta joke of this film. So many things here look absolutely drab, uninspired, lifeless, and colorless that it felt like that was the point of the film? "Oh great, now that the Avengers are gone, we need another team, so let's slap some new team together and call it a day". But that's giving this film too much credit. The (anti)heroes are dull, the plot is generic, the action is derivative and lustless, the designs are droopy. If they'd pushed this angle further, it could have been a lot of fun, but incorporating the usual cheesy Marvel comedy and avoiding anything edgy is what ultimately killed this attempt to create a new team of superheroes.Read all
The first film wasn't all that, and I'm not sure why they thought it would be a good idea to make a sequel (though the answer will invariably be money). The sequel delivers more of the same, only now we're in Capri, possibly because Kendrick and Lively wanted a little holiday on the side. The comedy is rather tame, and the mystery isn't all that interesting. The budget was there, and the location is a plus, but that's not enough to warrant the 2-hour runtime. It's not the worst film, it's basic filler with a handful of half-memorable scenes, but hopefully Feig and crew will put the franchise to rest for the next couple of decades.Read all
Chinese animation is booming, and The Storm is yet more proof that they have what it takes to create sprawling fantasy epics. The art style is charming and colorful, the quality of the animation is high, and the score is tremendous. But what impressed me the most was the world-building, which didn't merely rely on familiar cultural and folklore elements. This is fantasy, the way fantasy is supposed to be: original, creative, and surprising. A film that deserves an adventurous audience that appreciates bold choices.
The best in the trilogy. As someone who likes a clear and strong aesthetic, I could appreciate the way this film leans and often goes out of its way to incorporate the color red. The dreamy cinematography is an extra plus, and the score is also a boon. Even so, two decades later, the effect is a little less overpowering than when I watched this the first time. The performances are solid but with some room for improvement, and the plot is pleasant but a little meandering. And so, this was a nice film, properly paced, not too long, beautifully stylized, but lacking that tiny spark that would keep it a favorite of mine. One of the best things Kieslowski ever did though.Read all
Some familiar faces here, with Rena Tanaka, Bo-lin Chen, and Ren Osugi (my reason for watching this film) filling out a pretty impressive roster. The film itself is pretty basic and formulaic, though. Young people traveling back in time and mixing two cultures isn't all that novel, but there is some fun to be had here. The action scenes are decent enough, and Tanaka does a decent enough job at portraying an upbeat and pleasant main character. The plot is generic, and the presentation is somewhat grim. The film is also a bit long, offering little in the way of originality. I expected more from the Taiwanese/Japanese coproduction, but it's not the worst film either.Read all
The film that established Rodriguez as a mad action director. And sure enough, the action scenes are still top-notch. The rest of the film is a bit sketchier though. Luckily, there are plenty of scenes where Rodriguez needs to do little else than make everything look as badass as possible. The performances are a bit iffy (Buscemi being the only notable exception), the plot is simplistic, and the dialogue is borderline cheesy. The film is also a tad too long, but there are plenty of action scenes, and I had a lot of fun revisiting this one. It's just not top-tier anymore, just prime action filler.Read all
The first two films were absolutely charming, but this one is a terrible misfire. I'm not sure what went wrong here, but they turned Peru into some or other animated wonderland, the comedy is a bit too childish, and even Paddington himself gets a little annoying. The charm of the first two films just isn't there. Maybe it's because Paddington fares better in London, maybe it's because I didn't care for the cast of secondary characters, and the animated parts definitely didn't help either. They should've left this franchise alone, but I guess they felt some money was to be made. Let's hope they've learned their lesson.Read all
A fun, well-executed, yet very classic Hong Kong horror film. It's probably because it's been a while since I've watched one of those, the Hong Kong movie industry is pretty much dead these days, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The performances are solid, the setting is lovely, and there are some moody scares, though nothing too extreme or novel. The polished cinematography is what raised the film to the next level, but keep your expectations in check, especially if you're tired of Asian horror cinema.