Log: week 10 / 2021

The premise is pretty silly, about a child prodigy detective whose life takes a turn for the worse when he can't solve the mystery of the kidnapping of his 14-year-old friend. Years later he finally gets a break, when a local girl hires him to investigate the gruesome murder on her boyfriend.

Brody and Nélisse are both terrific, the comedy is understated but funny, there are some fun little twists and the mystery elements are actually pleasant. The cinematography and soundtrack are just a little too plain to make this a real masterpiece, but it's prime filler that offers plenty of entertainment.

Cruise wants to make it big after coming back from the army, but his part-time job as a bartender quickly takes over his life. He's quite a talent and before he knows it bartending becomes his ultimate dream, introducing him to his best friend to be, his wife to be and ultimately a happier life.

Cruise is the main attraction and he does his thing quite well here. The plot is middling, Elisabeth Shue fails to sparkle, the drama is predictable and the soundtrack is pretty bland too. But there's an upbeat atmosphere that makes this a pretty each watch. Just simple fun, don't expect too much and it ends up pretty decent filler.

That isn't to say it's not a fun film. Rodriguez delivers more than just an ode to the grindhouse scene and combines crazy violence with over-the-top horror, keeping it light at all times and topping it off with some lovely randomness. Seeing McGowan with her machine gun leg is still good fun, just not as mind-blowing as it was the first time around.

The performances are fun, the nods to the grindhouse scene are pleasant (though the grain/dirt filter gets a little old after a while) and the pacing is perfect. Planet Terror is solid entertainment, but it aged a bit faster than I'd hoped. No doubt hardcore grindhouse fans will still eat it up, for me, it lacked that little extra.

The cast is a series of miscasts, I really felt sorry for someone like Chow Yun-Fat here. The performances of Chatwin and Rossum are way worse though, it's hard to say what they were going for, but it's painful to watch. Though to be fair, the rest of the film isn't doing them any favors.

The CG is ugly, especially considering the budget. The plot is bland, the fights are boring and instead of going for fun and cheese, the film tries to be serious and kid-friendly at the same time. The cliffhanger finale no doubt signaled more films to come, but this one was such a flop that luckily they never materialized.

I do appreciate Seimetz dedication to creating something atmospheric and unique. The premise (about a fear of dying that appears to be contagious) is interesting enough and the meandering narrative isn't off-putting, but when it comes to creating atmosphere Seimetz simply plays it too safe.

The characters are flat and performances are mediocre at best, visually there are some interesting moments but they are few and far between. The soundtrack is too easy and not well integrated and the finale is a complete snooze. A cameo by Adam Wingard suggests that Seimetz is part of their clique, but She Dies Tomorrow is a far stretch from the films that put Wingard on the map. The potential is there, the result is disappointing.

A little briefcase is causing a bunch of trouble for the people who get into contact with it. Most of them are unrelated bystanders who only got involved because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but isn't that always the case with crime comedies? At least the one with a somewhat darker streak.

Performances are somewhat unfitting, Sonnenfeld's direction is a bit too chirpy and the comedy simply isn't funny enough. There is definitely potential here, in fact it's one of the easiest genres of film to pull off I think, but even then Big Trouble feels way too safe and predictable to be truly entertaining.

Fish are washing up on the shore, birds are falling from the sky and Harry's dad is suffering from full black-outs. Strange things are happening on Block Island, so much that the local conspiracy theorist is having the time of his life. Fact is that people are starting to go crazy and the source seems to be coming from the water.

The pacing is deliberately slow, performances are more than adequate and the soundtrack is quite atmospheric. The McManus brothers do a terrific job building up the mood and manage to keep the mystery alive, stretching it even beyond the final scene. A fun and entertaining genre flick, great filler.

A girl is rescued from the desert, after that which she is kept, handed over and kidnapped by men. Men she sees as possible suitors. With a story like that, you're not going to please too many modern viewers. Add to that the fact that this is silent, i.e. a film stringed together from crude drama, and you have a relic that is doomed to fade from memory.

Performances are overstated, the camerawork is very static and the plot isn't much to look at. The music wasn't great either, but I'm sure people who really dig this type of film could come up with an alternative score that at least works in favor of the film. Not really enjoyable though, I'm starting to understand why comedy and horror silents are the most resilient films from that era.

That doesn't mean Titan A.E. is a great film, but it's at least remarkable. Back in the day it was also notable for combining oldskool 2D animation with CG backgrounds and characters, 20 years later it looks more than a bit dated, but not as much as some purer CG animations of that time.

The story is very basic, the characters and sci-fi designs are rather flat and the voice acting feels uninspired, but it's nice to see some action-driven sci-fi animation for a change and some of the more adventurous sections of the film were pretty decent. Not a film I'd actively recommend, but it is a good reminder of how shallow and targeted the US mainstream animation scene really is.

The premise feels a bit otherworldly by modern standards. The idea that college graduates need to fight off prospecting companies may be typical for the Japanese bubble era, but rings a bit hollow now, especially with Kaneko's slightly exaggerated approach. No doubt this had a bigger impact upon its original release.

Performances are decent but nothing special, Kaneko's direction feels a bit uninspired and the drama is too by the numbers. Some office troubles, romantic woes and the unavoidable baseball at night scene, there all in here, but they never manage to leave a solid or coherent impression. Not terrible, but also not a very remarkable film.

Hawke plays a killer for hire who gets liquidated, but is given another 24 hours to live. More than enough time to get back at the people who put him in this dire situation and help a few others to atone for his past sins. There's also a bit of fringe drama, but that's just boring filler in between all the explosive bits.

The direction is pretty solid, the pacing is fine and the performances are on point. Nothing really sticks out as exceptional, but there are no obvious weak points either, unless you dislike action films with a minor sci-fi touch. 24 Hours to Live delivered exactly what I expected from it, and sometimes that's enough.

The plot revolves around Reiko, who stands on the verge of becoming a great golf player. The agency that represents her has different plans for Reiko though, and tries to sell her off as a model. Reiko decides to play along, but soon finds herself losing her own sense of identity as her agency keeps pushing her to become something she is not.

Performances are quite mediocre and the film exudes a 70s vibe (not really a positive in my book). Apart from some interestingly edited scenes and a quirky soundtrack, Suzuki's signature is mostly absent and the film is actually pretty straightforward. The story isn't really that interesting though, making this a somewhat lackluster film in Suzuki's oeuvre. For completists only.

A couple of kids are forced to clean up the local school. It looks as if the building was hit by a tornado from the inside, but no explanation is given as to what exactly happened to the place. Masked men are sealing off the building and the kids start having hallucinations. It's a big old mystery and answers are scarce.

The editing is frantic, the cinematography erratic. Together with the soundtrack it makes for a pretty bad-ass presentation. The special effects look pretty cool too, the only problem is that the performances are really below the norm (even for a B-horror). Still, if you're looking for a nifty, gritty horror flick there's plenty to like here.

The setup is pretty basic, with a love triangle between a prince, a general and a demure bride. To spice things up, a magical flower is thrown into the mix, turning the bride into a blood-sucking demon. The perfect excuse for some additional martial arts and horror elements to help create that typical Chinese fantasy vibe.

Performances are decent and the pacing is solid. It's obvious that the budget was quite limited, as the film sometimes reverts to "tell don't show", but the lush settings and lavish costumes, the fine use of color and lighting and decent CG make this film well worth the trouble. Sampling these films is really starting to pay off.

Dean is a film about dealing with loss. Dean's mom died a year ago, but he and his father are still finding ways to cope with this new reality. To avoid selling his parents' house, a deal his father is trying to push through, Dean takes a little trip to LA where he meets the fun and joyous Nicky.

It's all very predictable and it felt like I'd seen this film many times before, but all things said and done Martin did a pretty solid job acting, writing and directing his first feature film. It's not going to blow away anyone but the biggest indie/dramady fans, but it's solid and pleasant filler, which definitely counts for something. Decent fun.

A bunch of army folk end up in an alternate reality after a sandstorm hits them dead on. They soon find themselves outclassed by the monsters living there, but with the help from a couple of locals they manage to survive. Getting back to their own reality will prove a bit more difficult though.

While I wasn't a big fan of the monster designs, it was nice to see some puny humans battling giant creatures again. The action looks slick, the CG is solid and the pacing is perfect. After a short introduction, the film delivers non-stop action, which I exactly what I want from a film like this. It's not what you'd call masterpiece material, but it's a damn entertaining blockbuster.

You better like flamenco music, as it's loud and ever-present. It doesn't really gel with the atmosphere, but that doesn't seem to bother Ormond and Tevos. The performances are flat, the effects are laughable and there's disappointingly little in the way of horror and/or sci-fi. That's not really uncommon for old horror flicks, but even by that measure Mesa of the Lost Women underperforms.

The film is short, but because there's so much talking it still feels quite long. Don't hope for a sprawling finale either, there clearly wasn't enough budget (or talent) to come up with anything decent. If you really love classic cult/pulp then there might be something here, otherwise I suggest you think twice before watching this one.

I'm going to guess Poehler/her writers aren't very in touch with the kids of today. That's probably why her character's daughter reaches back to her rebellious past and we end up with some sanitized punk kid who inspires a club of feminists, who sound a collection of average Twitter woke whines.

The direction feels flat, the performances are cringeworthy and the social critique is so on the nose that it's start to grate, especially since this film runs almost 2 hours long. It's a film that tries to be rock 'n roll, seemingly unaware that being rock 'n roll has been out of vogue for at least two or three decades. This was just painful to watch.