Log: week 8 / 2023
It's been at least 2 decades since I watched this one. I caught it right when I was turning my back on Hollywood cinema, so this 3+ hour kitsch-fest really wasn't something I was craving back then. There were some things I appreciated more this time around, but it's still way too saccharine for me. DiCaprio is solid and Bates is a delight (with some nice quips, one of them surprisingly saucy), the rest of the cast is a bit doubtier. The romance in the first half beats the epic disaster bits that make up most of the second half, but it's really Cameron's cheesy direction and the excessive runtime that make this film pretty tough to sit through.Read all
Obayashi's first and only foray into anime. That alone makes Kenya Boy worth watching, even though the film itself is pretty messy and not up to par with other big productions of its time. Obayashi does manage to put his stamp on the film, so it's definitely not a generic or throwaway anime feature. The quality of the animation is a little wonky, but the art style is interesting and Obayashi has some nice tricks up his sleeve. What starts as a pretty straightforward adventure spirals into an epic, madcap fantasy that made the final a lot easier to stomach. Not a great film, but surely an oddity that deserves a little extra attention.Read all
A breakthrough film for Sang-il Lee. Scrap Heaven is his first film that combines an all-star cult cast with an inspiring level of grit, which would become Lee's signature. With an amazing selection of actors (Joe Odagiri, Ryo Kase, and Chiaki Kuriyama), solid cinematography and remarkable editing, a notable score, and an interesting mix of genres, Lee concocts an intriguing film that can't be easily compared to others. Scrap Heaven renewed my faith in Lee's oeuvre and the film hasn't lost much of its appeal since its original release.
Analife certainly is something. I watched it at the IFFR years ago and never really revisited it since. I can't quite recall if it was a subtitled version, but sadly that doesn't seem to exist anymore. The director is so hell-bent on making this a visual experience that he made a Japanese and English dub, but went against adding subs (as it would detract too much from the visuals). A choice I heavily disagree with. The visuals are indeed quite intense (though there is a somewhat disappointing cheapness to them), sadly, the dub is pretty bland and it lessens the audiovisual impact of the film. The subject matter is pretty disturbing, but the matter-of-factly presentation makes it somewhat easier to stomach. A fun and interesting experiment that won't be for everybody, but it's definitely worth seeking out if you like oddball cinema.Read all
The latest horror sensation is a cinephile's wet dream. It's 2023, but the film looks like an experimental Michael Snow film from the 60s, based on the infamous TV scene from Poltergeist. The idea itself is quite interesting, the execution was simply abysmal for a film made in 2022. The film can be classified as experimental, at the same time it's a film that could've been made 60 years ago. A grainy look, a bad sound filter, and a camera that never captures any real action. This is non-commercial cinema for sure, but calling it experimental is hollowing out the meaning of the word. I didn't care for any of it. It's a film that could've been either 15 or 300 minutes long and it wouldn't have made a single difference. It's one note, and the note is just very bland and ineffective.Read all
What a nice little surprise. Tezuka is a pretty interesting director, so I kind of expected Experimental Film to be worth a watch, I just didn't expect it would've been this good. If only it had been a bit longer, this could've been a strong personal favorite. For once, the (very) short runtime works against the film, but it's definitely worth seeking out. The setting is lush and stylish, Nagase and Hashimoto have superb screen presence and Tezuka makes very good use of the score to add to the atmosphere. The tension between the characters is tangible too, sadly, the film is over and done when things start to get really interesting. It's rare for me to be let down by a short runtime, but that just hints at the quality of the film. Very cool.Read all
Stephen Frears has yet to impress me. The Grifters sees his tackling a more crime-based story, but the film fails to stand out in any way. It doesn't help that Cusack is there again, it's one of the few actors I really can't stand, but it's really Frears's saltless direction that lets the film down. The performances aren't great, the cinematography and the score are dim and the plot isn't all that interesting. It doesn't help that the film is almost two hours long either. It's pretty generic genre fluff, I'm not entirely sure where the film got its reputation from, but it sure didn't stand the test of time.Read all
The UK has really embraced the musical feel-good drama, quite a few films have been added to this niche in the past decade. I Used to Be Famous is another one that fits the bill rather nicely, meaning it's a pretty prim and proper feature that hits all the right notes but lacks a decent punch. The performances are pretty good and the feelgood scenes work well enough, but the drama is a little easy and overdone, and the film really plays like a million others, without adding anything original. I also wasn't too taken with the music, but that's no big surprise. Not the worst, but not very notable either.Read all
Wang Cong's sequel. Though like with most of these films, you have to question the real meaning of a sequel. It could've been released under any other name and most people probably wouldn't have made the connection. A Fairy Tale 2 is the umpteenth human vs demons realms fantasy/action streamer flick, the kind that's been swamping Chinese streaming services for a few years now. What more is there to say about films like these at this point? The costumes and sets are pretty cool, the pacing and runtime are perfect and the action is solid. The stories are simple cut-and-paste jobs though and the CG is pretty atrocious. It's decent genre fun for those who love Chinese fantasy films, but that's where the appeal of this film ends.Read all
Kiarostami packages fiction in documentary form. I'll be honest and admit I don't really get the idea or appeal of these films, but I'm not surprised there's an audience for them (and I do like Jia's 24 City, which is more or less the same concept). And Life Goes On did very little for me though. The actors do a decent job and the film does feel like watching a real documentary, but that's not really positive in my book. The cinematography is bland, the score is lacking and the topic didn't interest me in the slightest. Kiarostami just isn't for me it seems, but I can respect what he accomplished here.Read all
A bog-standard haunted house flick. Bed Rest adds a little extra fluff and some personal trauma, but all of that is purely padding. It all boils down to a vengeful ghost who roams the premises, targeting a soon-to-be-mother. It's an incredibly generic setup, so it all comes down to execution. The drama is a bit much (and the actors aren't strong enough to deliver it properly), the scares are meager and the balance between horror and drama is off. There are a few scenes that show promise and the relatively short runtime works in the film's favor, but unless you're really starved for a haunted house flick, it's a somewhat tough recommend.Read all
One of the first true Miike films. Osaka Tough Guys is a Yakuza/crime flick littered with vintage Miike weirdness. So much in fact that it reminded me a little of Kitano's Getting Any. After a short introduction, the film switches to a sketch-like setup with very little in the way of an overarching story. It is pretty funny though, so I can't say it bothered me. The presentation of the film is pretty crude, and so is the comedy for that matter. But Miike shows things no other director would even dare to dream of, and the combination of classic Yakuza elements and zany/borderline absurd comedy makes this a very easy watch. It's not a true Miike classic, but it's an essential step in his career, one that would foreshadow the greatness to come.Read all
Not an unpleasant attempt to mix horror and comedy, but the film never really succeeds at either thing and the sum of its parts doesn't really rise above its individual qualities either. That's not to say this is a bad film, it just felt like it could've been better with a few tweaks left and right. Dee is a solid lead, the presentation is proper and there are some decent laughs to be had, but the horror feels a little tacked on and it's not really executed properly. Some scenes are meant to be quite brutal, but they're held back by poor special effects. The film's also a tad long, with the finale being a bit too drawn out. Not bad though.Read all
Ninja Ryu: The Dragon Sword Story
An anime adaptation loosely based on Ninja Gaiden, a popular side-scrolling action game that would grow into a respected stealth/ninja franchise later on. Not that it is all that important, this is a pretty generic action/horror OAV that could've existed under a different title and nobody would've guessed the connection between the two. The animation is a little basic, but the art style is nice enough and the film is well-paced, meaning you get quite a bit of gory action from start to finish, with short bouts of plot exposition in between. If you don't care for these types of action/horror anime Ninja Ryu won't do much to change your mind, I had good fun with it though.Read all
A "gritty" prison drama (and yes, the quotes are warranted). For its time Brute Force might've been quite dark and rugged, but since then there have been so many rougher and grittier prison dramas that the film has lost quite a bit of its punch. It all comes off a bit too clean and proper by modern standards. Though things do heat up in the second half of the film, the execution of both action and thriller elements remains a little underwhelming. The film does have a few memorable moments and the performances aren't too bad, but it's not enough to make a lasting impression. Brute Force didn't stand the test of time.Read all
A pretty solid South Korean thriller, but a bit too slick and half an hour too long. The setup is pretty interesting, but the film starts to drag a little from the midpoint on. Kim fails to further increase the tension once it's obvious where the film is heading, which makes for a somewhat middling finale. Unlocked is an adequate tech doom thriller, but it lacks an enigmatic bad guy and the few twists and turns in the second half of the film aren't strong enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. The styling is nice but a little unremarkable, and the performances are good but never outstanding. Decent filler.Read all