Log: week 11 / 2018
Decent Hollywood action comedy. Works better as a comedy, with Jack Black and Kevin Hart acting as vessels for a couple of annoying, Hollywood-hip kids. The action is quite lame, the videogame concept is poorly realized, but ultimately it's passible entertainment.
Very simplistic romantic comedy by Herman Yau. Jordan Chan isn't the lead that has the kind of flair needed to pull this off, Yau isn't exactly known for doing romcoms. There are some redeeming moments and the ending is decent, but overall it's a disappointment.
America has a pill problem, but really, how many docs do we need to tell us that? This time around it's about Adderall. The doc tries to add some nuance by incorporating different opinions and points of view, but fails to find engaging people to put in front of the camera. Poor.
Like most Nakamura films, very amusing, but never quite masterpiece material. Mumon is fun, funny, well acted and it sports some pretty good action scenes. Yet it lacks something that makes it stand out. Great and enjoyable filler, but nothing more.
Trash. Recycled Pixar plot about a bull who prefers peace over war. The first 15 minutes aren't great, but passable. Then a couple of infuriatingly annoying comic relief characters are added and the entire thing just comes crashing down. Offensively plain and predictable.
It took 2 directors and 4 writers to come up with this horrifying commercial for a game that was well past its prime. Loud and obnoxious, lacking in plot, comedy and artistry. One of the most cynical animation film I've ever seen, a real low point if there ever was one.
Not quite as majestic as Zhang's Hero, but still an overwhelmingly beautiful martial arts drama with a few memorable scenes. The drum dance and the bamboo forest fight are amongst the best the genre has on offer. And apart from some sketchy CG near the end, it hasn't aged a bit.
Chinese urban fantasy, not a very common combination. The film isn't helped by some shady comedy and less than stellar CG, but the potential for greatness is clearly there. The lore is definitely interesting enough, maybe find a better director for a sequel.
Dreary, lustless and dusty drama. While there are lots of attempts to make this a lofty drama, the disappointing cinematography, overstated acting and total absence of interesting characters make this overly long film a real plight to sit through.