Log: week 7 / 2023

Silent romance that shares the same lead as Sunrise (Janet Gaynor), no doubt the most infamous romantic film of the silent era. 7th Heaven isn't quite on the same level, the war intermezzo detracts from the core and things get a little too sentimental and religious, but it's still better than many of the talkies that would pop up in the next decade.

A middle-of-the-road Sammo Hung production. With Hung behind as well as in front of the camera, my expectations of the film were a tad higher. This didn't look or feel like an early 90s HK film though, more like a throwaway mid-'80s action flick. There's some basic fun to be had, it's just very limited.

Miike's third and final part in the Mole Song trilogy. I really liked the first two films, this third one is by and large on the same level as the second. Miike isn't quite as edgy as he used to be, but this film is still pretty out there. Silly comedy, over-the-top situations, some vintage Miike wackiness, and a bunch of familiar faces make the two-hour runtime fly by. I don't understand why these films haven't been picked up for a Western release yet, but with the series done and dusted now, it's the ideal moment to release a neat box set. This was a lovely finish to a great series.

A pretty standard Spielberg drama. The Color Purple is well-made, but it's also big, loud, and sentimental. It's not Spielberg's worst film I've seen, but it's typical Hollywood schmaltz that never comes off as genuine or heartfelt. The runtime also doesn't help, but I knew that even before going in.

Masahiro Kobayashi's final film is a fine goodbye to cinema, though a little too theatrical in nature to be a true personal favorite. In that way, it's a bit like Drive My Car, only Lear on the Shore never really made it outside of Japan. Fans of Hamaguchi (and Kobayashi of course) should do well to seek it out.

My first Mikio Naruse. He's a well-respected name in arthouse circles, but he didn't make it quite as big as some of his peers (people like Kurosawa, Ozu, or Mizuguchi). This was one of his earlier works (a silent too), so it's a little hard to draw any definite conclusions, but I can't say I was a big fan.

A neat surprise. I'm not the biggest George Miller fan (which is an understatement). Don't care for Mad Max, don't even mention the Happy Feet films to me. This was something else though. Miller comes with an inspired mix of fantasy and romance and even though the finale is a bit disappointing, the rest of the film is well worth exploring.

I'm not sure what exactly Iguchi was trying to accomplish with this film, but it didn't work. At all. Once one of the spear points of Japanese horror and splatter cinema, Iguchi has faded to the background, helming low-grade idol fare. If that's your thing then Devotion to Cinema may have some appeal, if not, it's probably best to simply skip this one.

Cheh Chang action cinema in a more contemporary setting. I've seen a bunch of them now, and they're all quite disappointing. I'm not surprised these films had a harder time making it to Western shores, it's simply not as good as Chang's classic martial arts fare. Friends is no exception.

Stress, that's what this film is all about. And director Barantini does a good job translating that to the audience. The kitchen is a good (but somewhat predictable) setting for a film like this, but the (fake) single take and some spirited performances help this film stand out from the crowd.

The kind of anime that gave its peers a bad reputation, though it's certainly not as depraved or grotesque as something like Legend of the Overfiend. Hanappe Bazooka is a product of its time, but it is made with a level of enthusiasm that is quite infectious. The keywords are fun and entertainment, and this short anime certainly delivers.

Early French crime/noir flick. I wish I could say the French hadn't fallen for the same trap when switching to talkies, but endless dialogue slows the film down unnecessarily. It's nice that they spent a lot of time cleaning up the visuals, it sure looks polished for a film from the 30s, but what good is it when the cinematography isn't all that special?

Japan loves a good haunted school building horror. Re/Member offers a variation on the popular theme, a subgenre of Japanese horror cinema that has been doing quite well lately (though few of these films have made it beyond their borders). Re/Member is a fun but overly slick introduction to the niche.

A bit surprised to find there are still '93 Hong Kong action/martial arts films I haven't seen yet, certainly ones by directors with sizeable commercial appeal. Not that The Assassin is a hidden gem, it's clear why this film didn't make as big of a splash as some of the more prominent examples, but it was good fun regardless.

An experimental film that saw the light after director Listorti started digging into the Argentinian film archive. By stitching together footage from incomplete and/or unreleased films he created his own work, though one has to wonder whether there was much skill involved, or whether the result adds anything to the original footage.

Kitamura's latest attempt to keep the late '00s horror vibe alive. Admittedly, the build-up is a little slow, and halfway through I was a bit disappointed, but the finale really makes up for lost ground. Once the crime elements fade into the background and the film's TCM DNA starts to surface, there's a lot of fun to be had.

The Chinese streamers' take on A Chinese Ghost Story. This late-80s classic film series stands as a milestone in fantasy/martial arts Hong Kong cinema, so it's really no surprise we're getting a Mainland China update. The streamers are thirsty for anything fantasy-related, an existing franchise comes with a built-in audience, so there's really no risk involved.

One of Honda's lesser-known kaiju films. It's not that different from his other work, apart from some minor details. Too much time is spent on human squabbles, and not enough attention goes to the kaiju. The effects are cheesy but fun, but seeing how they only feature in a small part of the film, the cheese doesn't quite work.

One hell of a Polish horror film. The setup is pretty simple and thematically Hellhole has nothing new to offer, but Kowalski puts all his marbles on mood and atmosphere, and that's where this one shines. If the finale had come a bit earlier this could've been a personal favorite, but I was still pretty damn impressed in the end.

Ronin/ninja anime that feels a lot like a blueprint for Ninja Scroll. The quality is incomparable and the film felt incredibly rushed, but the core elements are there. A mysterious ronin, ninjas with unique powers, and a princess that needs rescuing. In the hands of Dezaki, it becomes a fun little filler anime, marred by its limited budget.

A surprisingly fun race-based comedy. It's pretty hard to get these right and I'm sure You People will end up a divisive film. Not everything works, but the parts that do are actually funny. Add the bold styling choices and a somewhat implausible but successful romance, and you have yourself some prime comedy filler.

Not as good as I'd hoped it would be. Truly futuristic sci-fi is pretty rare and the cyberpunk tags got my hopes up, but I probably should've known better. Jung_E is a rather slick South Korean blockbuster that lacks focus and fails to deliver on its genre elements. It still works as inconspicuous filler though.