Log: week 32 / 2019

A surprisingly effective croc-chiller from Alexandre Aja. Not really a big fan of this particular niche, but Aja managed to make it tense and exciting. Crawl is little more than a neat little genre film, warts and all, but if you manage to look past the leaps of logic then there's a lot of fun to be had here. Not a must-see, but horror fans are sure to have a good time.

Miike does musical meets comedy meets claymation, it's no surprise then that the result is extremely amusing. While in fact a remake of a South-Korean film, Miike's style is so unique that it's hardly worth comparing both films. It's not one of Miike's finest films, but definitely worth seeking out when you're in the mood for something different.

A decent stop-motion animation, especially considering its age. The story isn't all that interesting though and once the initial charm has worn off there isn't that much to enjoy, but it's definitely interesting to see what they could accomplish with very limited techniques almost 100 years ago. A fun curiosity, but little more than that.

McG isn't very shy about his inspiration here, at the same time all these influences are just that: influences. Rim of the World is a film that is primarily focused on being as fun and amusing as possible. Be damned plot, background story and consistency. This is probably not the most popular approach, but it sure is my preferred one for nonsensical films like this.

A bland thriller that tries to up the ante during the last hour, but fails completely as a semi-action flick. The film is overly long, Pollack's direction is uninspired and the acting is very mediocre. The middle part is okay I guess, but after 150+ minutes that's not at all enough to leave me with a contented feeling.

If you really want to know more about anime, I'm sure there must be better docs than this one. It's really just an ad in disguise, touting a couple of Netflix animes while treating Japan like some kind of alien world. The narration is irritating, the topics are mind boggling and 60 minutes is way too short, even for an introduction in to the world of Japanese animation.

A pretty decent sci-fi adventure that makes up for its poor animation with strange and creative designs. The story is somewhat generic, but the adventure elements are effective and it's fun discovering the weird planet and its unique creatures. There's a fair amount of kitsch here, but animation fans are sure to find something they like.

A poor and lifeless comedy that fails to be funny, smart and/or witty. Wilson is her charming self, but the rest of the cast is extremely stiff and boring. Chris Addison isn't much of a director and the writing is predictable, with hardly any jokes landing. The Southern France vibe gives the film some charm, but that's the only nice thing I have to say about this one.

Simple but fun action flick that doesn't hide its comic book influences, but never quite finds a way to translate them effectively to the screen. What it lacks most though is a bad-ass bad guy, Patric does a pretty poor job portraying Max. All in all a neat little diversion, but a better director could've done a lot more with it.

A pretty amusing, evil take on Superman. The horror beats are surprisingly effective while the superhero nonsense clearly takes a back seat. It's a shame the film isn't mean-spirited enough, though the ending does its best to add some extra grit to the film. A welcome variation on some tired old tropes, but the execution lacked that extra bit of spice.

Nice doc on Spalding Gray, though maybe a little too focused on his work and monologues. While they are primarily stories about himself and his family, Gray literally explains their poetic foundation, which makes them less fit for a documentary. Even so, a decent portrait of a man with an interesting life and fine career.

A simple ego-doc about the director's problems growing up as a gay kid. Attempts to frame the problem in a broader global context are shallow and fail to make much of an impact, while some segments are simply pointless and could've been scrapped in full. But at least the self-reflection felt genuine and sincere, sadly that's not quite enough to recommend it.

Solid concept, but the execution is pretty poor and Project Ithaca often feels like a collage of other films. Some mediocre performances, boring characters and rather basic special effects make it needlessly hard to get into the film and ultimately there isn't all that much to keep you interested. This is mediocre genre filler for fans only.

Influences of fantasy, horror and mystery cinema, presented as a cold-blooded Scandinavian arthouse drama. It's pretty decent, but it's also very expected and derivative. The film lacks tension and fails to cash in on its genre elements, what remains is a rather slow and dreary story about a girl with some peculiar gifts. Not that great.