Log: week 13 / 2018

Interesting doc that shows rather than tells. The editing isn't entirely objective, still LA 92 doesn't shy away from controverse, tackling themes like racism, power status quos and minority abuse with brutal clarity. An example for many other documentaries.

Simple story about a boy falling for the wrong girl, but sprinkled with Uchida's unique brand of weirdness. It's a fun, vibrant and amusing film, full of quirky characters and strange twists. The drama is quite gritty, but the tone is light-hearted and uplifting.

Yonebayashi's first post-Ghibli film. The influence is unmistakeable, though Yonebayashi never reaches the heights of his former employer What the film gains in fantasy and genre elements, it loses in subtlety and attention to detail. Good, but not great.

Bonkers manga adaptation. The story is quite impossible to recap, but there's plenty of fun to be had if you don't take it too seriously. The horror gets quite graphic, sadly the drama becomes a little too heavy-handed near the end. Only in Japan.

Remarkable TV film from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Strong performances from Sho Aikawa, Susumu Terajima and Ren Osugi, combined with a wacky plot make for surprisingly fun film. The styling is bland, to be expected from a TV production, but the cast and plot make well up for that.

Third entry in the Monkey King franchise. There's still way too much shoddy CG, the acting is mediocre and the fact that it found inspiration in Wonder Woman doesn't do it any favors either. But at least there are bits that are acceptable, which is a step up from previous entries.

Very simple genre film. Paton gives the ending a little twist, but the road there is pretty much identical to a bunch of horror films you've seen before. It's not bad or amateurish, but it's hardly a film that stands out. Decent genre filler, nothing more, nothing less.

A prime 90s martial arts classic. A bit longer than usual, time spent on exploring the relationship between the Chinese and foreign invaders/merchants. But don't worry, there's plenty of superb martial arts action, establishing Jet Li as one of the best in the business while fully establishing Hark as a prime action director.

Poor acting gets in the way of the drama, which then gets in the way of the horror. It's a shame, because the finale showcased MacDonald's potential as a horror director. This could've been a better film if it hadn't bet its first half on drama and characters.

Time traveling film for kids, but with a surprisingly level-headed twist at the end. Nakamura's made for TV fantasy is quite plain and pedestrian, not helped by some questionable performances, but as time passes it gets more and more intriguing.

Strange but amusing mock doc about a director with big aspirations making an epic, largely improvised CG spectacle. Padial has a lot of fun taking a piss out of the film industry, fans of Javier Botet will be pleased to see him out of costume. Funny stuff.

Atrocious scifi comedy. At least, that's what I figured was the point of this terrible mess. The special effects are laughable, the plot is extremely dubious and the actors feel visibly lost. Couldn't find any redeeming elements here, a complete waste of time.

Monumental film. 180 minutes of epic, historically inaccurate and ultimatly racist cinema. The pacing makes it somewhat bearable, but apart from that it's a misguided, boring and dated affair that tested my nerves with its continuous 3 hour score.

Slight improvement over the anime series and the animated films, but still pretty mediocre. The bad guys are infinitely more interesting than the protagonists, the plot has some interesting bits, but overall it was still too flat and cheesy for my liking.