Log: week 32 / 2023

The Turtles are back. Again. But this time, I was actually excited to watch their latest incarnation, as the animation style looked to be something else. It didn't disappoint in that regard, it's a shame the rest of the film was a little lagging. Not that it was terrible, just underdeveloped and a little lazy.

Ari Aster, a man with interesting ideas, which rarely translate to great cinema. There's a lot of potential here, and some scenes were definitely fun, but overall the film lost me one too many times. The combination of Phoenix's cringy overacting and his overly pathetic character made it difficult to keep myself invested in this 3-hour film.

And we're back to square one. After the jolly madness that was Fusion Reborn, Wrath of the Dragon is once again a more traditional Dragon Ball Z film, with a strong focus on a single enemy and a fight that lasts more than half the film. It's a good thing these films are pretty short.

The first Sonic was pretty horrible, the second one is just more of the same. It's a misguided mix of bad US CG animation, superhero nonsense, and a comedy that feels like it was written for Ryan Reynolds (but I guess he didn't have time for this). But hey, it's clearly making money, so I wouldn't be surprised if more films followed.

A rather generic horror hampered by poor performances and uneven cinematography. I'm going to assume because they didn't have the budget to do it well, but that's when talent is supposed to really shine through. I couldn't find much of that here, so I had a hard time enjoying this.

A mix of documentary and fiction that celebrates Japanese island life, specifically the island of Yonaguni. People familiar with Japanese cinema know that Japan likes a good island drama and that it has some specific characteristics, related to the vibe of the people who inhabit these islands. And so the idea of a documentary was pretty appealing.

Kenji Mizoguchi is by far one of the most disappointing (classic) Japanese directors for me. I find his film tedious and theatrical, and A Story of Chikamatsu is the worst I've seen so far. I never cared for any of the characters, let alone their romantic and dramatic woes. As for the styling, it's simply disastrous.

A nice, tense thriller that keeps the camera close to its protagonist, taking the audience on a nerve-racking trip that spans a single evening. The protagonist makes some odd, even baffling choices along the way, but they always make the film better in some way. I didn't mind, but your mileage may vary.

Don't let any genre indications fool you, this is not a horror film. I was prepared (country of origin, release date, plus the poster gave it away) when I started watching, so no real disappointment there, but unless you only care about plot points it's hard to defend calling this a horror film.

Shiraishi joins the Nikkatsu revival and he kills it. Safe Word is a pretty modest and demure film compared to some of the others in the Roman Porno series, at least in the amount of skin it decides to show. The BDSM theme of the film is very present though, so be aware of that before watching this.

I'm happy to say this is another (minor) step up from the previous film. While the art style is surprisingly dodgy, they've taken the DBZ franchise to a much weirder place, almost to the point of self-parody. This franchise is at its best when it's not taking itself too seriously, and this film is random as fuck.

A decent enough biopic, though it falls prey to the genre's most glaring pitfalls. The film is extremely character/narrative-driven, and even though it tries to add a bit of cinematic flair, Sealey's attempts do little more than highlight her inability to do so confidently. Making an appealing biopic isn't easy.

Turkey has a proper movie industry with a relatively sizeable commercial output, but when talking about its critically respected films, it's mostly just poverty porn dramas. A barrage of misery and defeat, preferably shot in black and white, with a downward spiral that never seems to end well.

What an absolute delight. The core of the film delivers a pretty standard rural drama, spruced up with light genre elements, blissful cinematography, and a score that highlights all the beauty present. The two leads are amazing, the slowly fading glamour of the rural setting is aptly brought to light and the pacing is nigh perfect. If you don't care for Japanese drama it's pretty likely this film won't change your mind, but fans of the genre will find something quite fresh and unique here. Narita proves himself a very promising director, I'm glad this isn't one of those films that slipped through the cracks.

A disappointing Sinatra film, but not too surprising since was directed by Preminger. The crime elements are ruined by badly executed drama, severely limiting the appeal of the film. I tend to struggle with classic drama, which is always very loud and in your face, and The Man with the Golden Arm is no exception.

A blockbuster that didn't need a sequel, but here we are. Sato returns as director and we're off for another two hours of battlefield-set action cinema. It sounds exciting enough, but there's way too much (generic) character drama for a film like this, no doubt the result of its manga roots.