Log: week 31 / 2019

Bold and frivolous take on the classic costume drama. It's a bit surprising, considering Lanthimos' earlier films, but he managed to turn this into a rather fun and extravagant affair that never ran out of steam. The visual trickery gets a little repetitive maybe, but that's hardly a negative for a genre that is otherwise quite stuffy and stagnant.

A film that tries a little too hard, a little too late. With the 80s revival hype winding down, I don't think we needed another ode to the "kids on a hunt in suburbia" genre. It's all very true to its 80s influences, but we've seen this so many times before that it's getting annoying. Kudos for the surprisingly bleak and mean ending though, that's something I didn't see coming.

A lesser entry in King Hu's oeuvre. It's clear by now that he loves remote inns, but without some decent fight choreography and with a strong focus on a storyline that fails to excite, it takes way too long to get going. It's all a little disappointing, especially since Hu has some decent entries in his oeuvre that predate this one by several years.

Showy and kitschy showbiz drama that has a little extra because of Verhoeven's over-the-top direction, but fails to excite beyond that. The acting is pretty bland, the story is boring and the film could've been 30 minutes shorter. It's not a terrible film, certainly not as bad as its reputation, but it's not very noteworthy either.

A superbly fun and charming mix of comedy and fantasy. Van Dormael creates a world that thrives on an endless stream of ingenious little details. The execution is terrific, the acting exemplary. Just a smidgen too repetitive during the middle part, but don't let that hold you back, because there is so much to enjoy here.

Fine coming of age drama, where two girls learn how to balance their individual and social personas. There's also a strong focus on digital communication, but since that is so ubiquitous nowadays it doesn't really make a big impression any more. There are plenty of similar dramas, but Ichikawa's direction does give it some added flair.

Stylish and charming film that tells two parallel stories that neatly come together at the end. The film loses a little steam during the second part and the 20s segment is significantly better than the 70s one, but Haynes' direction is so delicate yet accurate that the good easily outweighs the bad here. Well recommended.

Saving Sally is a fun, fresh and creative mix of live action and animation. The blend of both worlds isn't quite seamless and the romantic plot is a little too derivative, but look past that and you'll find an original film that should've made a bigger splash than it did. A great discovery, especially for fans of animation that dares to be a little different.

Solid camera work and fine creature effects make this horror film stand out. Sadly it gets bogged down by very poor performances and some muddled lore. Too much time is spent on the background of the creature, not enough time is spent exploiting the horror. It's not a bad genre flick, but it could've been so much better.

Nice shadow puppet animation film that impresses because of its age, but becomes a little too repetitive after a while. The stories aren't too interesting and once you're used to animation style there isn't all that much to keep you engaged. Worth seeing though, if only because it's the first (preserved) full length feature animation .

Okay film by Akira Kurosawa. I clearly prefer his drama over his genre work, I like his shorter films better than his longer ones and I'll take Shimura over Mifune every time. Hence, this film was pretty easy to get through. Sadly it didn't do a lot more for me. The drama is still a bit overdone and never really gripped me like a drama is supposed to.

A pretty decent horror film that obediently adheres to the rules of Asian horror cinema. Eerie is not a very frightening film, instead it uses its horror elements to support the drama that lies at its core. Moody visuals and a plot doused in mystery make sure that it's a film worth watching, but it's little more than a solid genre film.

Scorsese doing costume drama. The result is a sludgy and overworked affair that brings nothing new to the table and takes way too long to get its point across. The voice over slows things down even further and some questionable performances are the cherry on the cake. Another Scorsese fluke, I'm still on the lookout for that one film that might redeem this man's work.

A sports drama that does things by the book, or what else did you expect from a big budget Bollywood film. A couple of musical numbers, lots of exaggerated sentiment and an ending that comes way too late and offers no surprises whatsoever. Unless you're a big sports or Bollywood fan, you can easily skip this one.

Re-cycle is a fine blend of fantasy and horror, coming from the Pang Brothers. The film starts like a typical horror film, but as the plot thickens fantasy and drama elements take the lead, while never truly overshadowing the film's horror roots. Inspired imagery, an original fantasy world and solid acting make this another stand-out Pang production.