Log: week 15 / 2019
A pretty flat and simple horror flick that feels like a cheap A Quiet Place knock-off. Leonetti's direction is rather plain, the monsters are more than a little dull and even though it's supposed to be tense, the film never conjures up enough atmosphere to scare the audience. The money was clearly there, the talent wasn't.
A pretty safe but decent crime flick. Affleck directs and leads, though like most of his films he forgets to spice things up. Live by Night is a film with relatively few weak points (apart from some overly exaggerated caricatures maybe), yet it's also a film with very few highlights. An okay way to pass the time, just nothing more.
Modest Heroes
Modest Heroes is the first in a 3-part anthology project, made to showcase the talent that resides at Studio Ponoc (the new Studio Ghibli). It's nice to see these people finally been given a chance to prove their worth. Three beautifully animated and pleasantly touching shorts make this an easy recommend for animation fans.
Aokigahara has become a popular location for movies, in the hands of Gus Van Sant (thinking of Gerry in particular) it could've been genius. Sadly the reality is a bit different. The film is overly sentimental, the drama is poor, the acting way too heavy-handed. A missed opportunity that doesn't warrant its running time.
A rather pointless remake of the 80s original. Kölsch and Widmyer made a pretty faithful adaptation, but they failed to add anything new. What's left is a well-made film, one without any obvious faults, but also one without any obvious perks. It's all very expected and basic, a shame because they've shown lots of promise in the past.
A pretty tame and lifeless police thriller. The international elements add very little, Lam's direction is uninspired and functional and the story fails to engage. I've seen a million of these already and Undeclared War seems unwilling to add anything meaningful to the genre. It's simple filler, but even by that standard it's not very good.
Starts off as a French variation on Drake Doremus, but turns a lot darker after the 30 minute mark. Paris Is Us is a film that doesn't rely on a solid narrative, instead it slowly morphs into a cinematic poem that reflects on the recent events in Paris. It's quite the experience, just keep your expectations in check when watching this film.
A light and frivolous film that breathes Nouvelle Vague. Structurally it's a bit clunky (with the pointless chapters), but Marchand is perfect, the black and white cinematography is alluring and the conversations are amusing. The film ended 5 minutes late, but definitely a nice first acquaintance with the work of Varda.
A very mediocre Black Mirror short. While the point that's being made is overly clear, the film seems to focus on the wrong things to get it across. Even though the film is about the power of social media, regular media and the opinion of the public, it loses itself in boring protocol and the act itself. Another missed opportunity.
A cheesy but dedicated horror film. It's a shame that Harlin is too busy courting horny teenagers, because behind all the tweeny nonsense hides a fun and amusing witch flick. The cinematography is nice enough, the visual effect are okay and the fights are adequate. There's some fun to be had here, but only if you can ignore the cheese.
A fun, quirky and devious revenge flick that borrows heavily from its horror neighbors. The beginning is a little challenging, but once the blood starts flowing things get a whole lot better. Very stylish, very colorful and wicked, just don't expect a typical horror flick, because Sick Nurses isn't out to scare you.
The Field Guide to Evil
A fine anthology with a couple of pretty cool shorts. The biggest problem is that the best ones are all at the front, which makes the second half a bit disappointing. Even so, a pretty varied and fun take on popular folklore, the Turkish short is by far the best of the bunch, the American one is the weakest. Good fun though.
Ultra dry zombie comedy. Tadanobu Asano and Sho Aikawa are the clear stars of the film, sadly Sakichi Sato's direction isn't really on the same level. The film looks just a little too cheap and lazy at times, even beyond the obvious cheese. Luckily the comedy works, which does make this fun a watch.