The Many Faces of Ito

Ito kun A to E
2018 / 126m - Japan
Comedy
2.5*/5.0*
The Many Faces of Ito poster

A rather poor Ryuichi Hiroki film. It lacks his knack for properly fleshing out characters and it looks a little too slick. Not too surprising since this is the film-sequel of a popular J-Drama, but still I expected more from him. It's not a terrible film, just that Hiroki could've done a lot better with this material.

Get Rich or Die Tryin'

2005 / 117m - USA
Drama, Crime, Music
2.0*/5.0*
Get Rich or Die Tryin' poster

Curtis Jackson plays himself in a film that's basically his own origin story. While he proved himself a passable actor in later films, his performance here is pretty bad. A boring plot, lackluster direction and a padded running time don't really help the film along either. It's not terrible, just very plain.

Enemy at the Gates

2001 / 131m - UK
Drama, War
1.5*/5.0*
Enemy at the Gates poster

Rather poor war flick about a face off between a Russian and a German sniper. The direction is cheesy, the love triange is unnecessary and for what is really just a very simple story, the film is way too long. I'm not big on war cinema to begin with and this was a very, very straigh-forward one.

Masters of the Universe

1987 / 106m - USA
Fantasy, Adventure
1.0*/5.0*
Masters of the Universe poster

Beyond ridiculous. I'm not even sure if ever watched some He-Man as a kid, but I'm pretty certain I wouldn't have been able to stomach this very well. Bad effects, cheesy characters, a horrible plot and Dolph Lundgren. Oh Dolph Lundgren. Best to avoid unless you're completely 80s crazy.

Inferno

2016 / 121m - USA
Mystery, Thriller
2.0*/5.0*
Inferno poster

A rather tired rehash of the previous films. The mystery is a bit too simple, the threat isn't strong enough and it's all a bit too predictable. Hanks lacks character and Jones is too on the nose. I still like the setup of these films, but unless they find a better director, I think it's better to just bury Langdon.

Suffering of Ninko

Ninko no Junan
2016 / 70m - Japan
Comedy, Mystery
Suffering of Ninko poster

Weird and off-kilter. Presented like a Japanese parabel of some sorts, but there's quite a lot of dry and absurd comedy to keep you on your toes. A very strange mix of old and new that feels fresh and is almost incomparable to anything else out there. Well recommend, if you like weird that is.

Miles Ahead

2015 / 100m - USA
Drama, Romance, Music
2.5*/5.0*
Miles Ahead poster

Cheadle's Miles Davis project. It's a pretty basic biopic about an artist addicted to drugs, abusing his wife and writing music that inspired millions in between. It's probably a lot more interesting if you're a big Davis fan, if not this is just a run of the mill artist biopic that plays like a million others.

Office Christmas Party

2016 / 105m - USA
Comedy
2.5*/5.0*
Office Christmas Party poster

Party comedy with a slightly dubious cast. People like Bateman, Aniston and McKinnon simply aren't cut out for a film like this. There are some funny secondary characters though and a couple of decent jokes, but there are also a lot of misses and an absolutely terrible ending. Mediocre.

Legend

1985 / 94m - USA
Romance, Fantasy, Adventure
3.5*/5.0*
Legend poster

A surprisingly charming film by Ridley Scott. Extremely kitsch at times, but Scott's direction is so confdient it doesn't even matter. The art direction is great, the effects don't look too cheap and the fantasy foundation feels unique enough. Would've loved this as a child, but it's still holds up today.

FernGully: The Last Rainforest

1992 / 76m - USA
Fantasy, Adventure - Animation
1.5*/5.0*
FernGully: The Last Rainforest poster

Bit darker than your average Disney, but still filled with talking animals and cheesy songs. The animation is fluid but artistically poor and the film is way too moralistic for its own good. At least the bad guy is somewhat cool and the running time is short, but that's not enough to save this one.

Runaway Train

1985 / 111m - USA
Action, Adventure
1.5*/5.0*
Runaway Train poster

A couple of criminals escape from prison and find themselves stuck on a runaway train. There is some decent action here, but the soundtrack is absolutely atrocious and the acting isn't any better. Cut 30 minutes, mostly the ones involving any attempts at acting, and you might've had a better film.

The film that showed other animated anthologies the way. For that I am grateful, because I'm a big fan of the format, but the combination of classical music and the Disney aesthetic isn't that big of a success. The interaction between the animation and the music also isn't all that great. Not great.

All This Mayhem

2014 / 104m - UK
Documentary, Sport
3.0*/5.0*
All This Mayhem poster

Not a big skater fan, but that's exactly the reason why this film was pretty interesting. All This Mayhem offers an honest and open window into a world I'd heard about, but was never a part of. Things get a bit too dramatic near the end, then again that probably triggered the production of this doc.

PK

2014 / 153m - India
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
1.5*/5.0*
PK poster

Another big, commercial Bollywood film. Aamir Khan is absolute unbearable as the lead and even though director Hirani has a couple of interesting things to say about religion, any serious point gets swamped in a mess of badly executed genre element. It tries to be a lot, but it isn't much of anything.

Pacific Rim: Uprising

2018 / 111m - USA
Sci-fi, Action, Adventure
2.5*/5.0*
Pacific Rim: Uprising poster

A film with some big robots, kaiju and a fair enough budget to back up its grandeur. Sadly the franchise lost director Guillermo del Toro and wasn't able to replace him with a decent alternative. The bots are cool, the rest is somewhat lackluster. Feels liks a cash-in sequel more than anything else.