Log: week 47 / 2018

A very cheesy and predictable romcom. I hadn't been disappointed by Wang yet, but this is definitely a first. The story is lame and moralistic, Latifah is a rather poor lead and the secondary roles aren't any better. At least the setting is lush and luxurious, but that's about the only positive thing here.

There are moments of brilliance here, but Naito can't keep it up for the entire length. The school drama is pretty strong, the revenge theme is harsh and satisfying, but the two don't always go well together. Naito is getting better with every film though, if he can make his films just a little more refined the future looks rosy.

Pretty fun Norwegian puppet animation. The setup is a little long-winded, but the animation is charming and crafty. The race then isn't all that original, even so Caprino manages to make it exciting regardless. The finale is pretty strong and left me satisfied. Worth checking out if you love puppet/stop motion films.

Some good scenes here, then again it's pretty hard to mess up the annihilation of London. Beyond that, it's a very mediocre and often boring action/thriller flick that fails on just every level. Its only saving grace is that it's short and well-paced, but it really shouldn't have been too hard to do better with this material.

Starts off pretty well, but once the time traveling stuff is sorted out it becomes a rather mushy romance. I really liked Lun's previous film, but this one was a little too commercial for me. There are a lot of great ideas here and Lun hasn't lost his visual touch, if only the romantic bits had been a little better.

A sequel that ticks all the boxes. The boys are back, the comedy remained pretty much the same, it's just the women and locations that are a little different. On par with the first film, doesn't outstay its welcome and has a couple of pretty nice laughs, but overall it's a very simple and forgettable affair. Okay filler.

Raw and down to earth heist film. Yanis and his crew are successful thieves, but when a bigger gang summons him to work for them things so south real fast. The action is solid, the acting is good, but the drama is a little too present and slows the film down needlessly . Decent filler, nothing more, nothing less.

Pretty pointless and lifeless sequel. The action is subpar and clunky, Foerster fails to raise the coolness factor. Instead there is more lore and narrative, but who cares when it's a boring story about vampires and whatnots. You must be a pretty big fan of the franchise to get any kind of enjoyment from this one.

Strange and uncomfortable film that thrives on Anderson's sleek direction coupled with Bale's eerie performance. It's a rather traditional mind-bender, twists included, but the execution is top notch and even after repeated viewings the film still excels. The Machinist is destined to become a smaller cult classic.

The Muppets go Meet the Feebles. Not quite sure what triggered this project, it feels incredibly aimless and random, but that doesn't make it any less fun and entertaining. Bill Barretta's voice work is excellent, McCarthy on the other hand is a complete miscast. Far from classy, but still pretty funny and that's what matters.

Never watched the series but clearly that wasn't an issue. The characters are rather crude and easy to distinguish and there's little baggage that carries over. The actors are pretty great though and there are some decent gags. Overall it's a bit simple, but still good fun and nice filler if you can handle the lightness.

A cam girl's account gets hacked but her profile keeps on streaming live footage, even though she's completely locked out. Cam references the deep fake phenomenon, but fails to turn it into a successful thriller. It takes too long before things get going and even then the film never really peaks. Rather plain and boring.