Log: week 15 / 2021

The little bunny contraption is genius, the setting is uncanny and the lead actors do a great job. There are some unnecessary flashbacks in the middle and it might've been better if the film had left a few more things unexplained, but the superb score keeps the tension high and the film is creepy from start to finish. Good stuff.

The sets and costumes are lush, the cinematography is beautiful and the score has some excellent music. The problem here is that the drama is a little too heavy-handed and plentiful for a film like this, which creates some pacing issues. Other than that, a fine film, it's clear Guo feels at home in this genre.

The music is absolutely horrendous, the English dub is beyond terrible (tried looking for a Japanese one but no dice) and the plot is total chaos. It's fun for a while, but I got pretty bored halfway through, which still leaves about 45 minutes of high-paced nonsense. Not a great film, but I guess it's hard to argue with nostalgia.

The performances of McCarthy and Richings are pretty great, there are some cool creature designs and a couple of very worthwhile scares. The best bits are in the middle part though, meaning that finale is just a tad underwhelming. Still, a solid film by Dyck, let's hope he gets another swing at horror and doesn't get stuck directing 20 more Hallmark films.

Not sure if the Razzies are on this year, but Close and Adams certainly deserve one. Howard and Zimmer too, just invite them all on stage at once and it'll be a short show. This was absolute drivel, the worst kind of drama stretched to reach the 120-minute mark. A real low point in Howard's career.

Performances aren't great either (some secondary part in particular are below the norm), the police investigation is poor and while pretty original, the kills lack impact. While that sounds harsh, there is quite a bit to like too. The premise is original, the key scenes are well executed and the finale is pretty rad, it just wasn't enough to lift it past the disappointment.

The performances are very overstated and crummy, the invisible man himself is a parody of a villain and the plot is too simple even for the film's limited 70-minute runtime. It's only when objects are flying seemingly unaided through the air that the film retains its cheesy charm, otherwise this wasn't really worth my time.

It's probably a lot more interesting for people with an active interest in American (pop) history/culture. Personally I don't care much either. The music is terrible, other historical references have been done so many times before that I really didn't have to see them summarized again.

The animation is pretty interesting, but the art style is ugly. Characters are dull, the background art is lifeless and the film is at least 45 minutes too long. It saddens me to say this about an animated film from the US that isn't squarely aimed at kids, but this pandering to the past is just too damn tiring.

Performances are decent, the cinematography is pleasant and the tone is light. The first half is a little too meandering though, as there is no real urgency and no obvious point to the film. Kaneko corrects that during the second half and the film did leave me with a rather pleasant feeling. Hardly a masterpiece, but very agreeable filler.

The plot is pretty basic and quite moralistic. It offers plenty of opportunity for a fun adventure, but the lifeless character models are a big hindrance. It drags the entire film down (though the poor voice actor doesn't help either). What's left is a somewhat intriguing train wreck. It's difficult to pull your eyes away from the screen, but only because your brain keeps wondering how a thing like this came to be.

The setting is brilliant, the camera work stylish, the score on point. The performances are more than adequate too and the mystery is intriguing, it's just a shame that the halfway through most revelations are behind us and Lodovichi leans more on drama to fill in the remaining gaps. It's a pretty great film, but it had potential to be even better.

It's a fun premise, the performances are solid, the kills are bloody (though not every kill is quite as original) and the pacing is slick. It's a bit of an adjustment to see Takeba handle this type of material, but she does a good job. 100 Signals is a perfectly fine and enjoyable horror film, food for genre enthusiasts.

But it's the atrocious and desperate attempts to be funny that completely ruin this film. The comedy is mostly just loud. The jokes are very predictable and the running gags are annoying, adding insult to injury. 90 minutes doesn't sound very long, but when every single minute of it is painful to watch, it's pretty damn excruciating.

With a limited cast and locations, Tori can show his worth as a director. The setting is atmospheric and stylish and never loses its appeal, the film feels claustrophobic, the traps are slick, performances are solid and the mystery is kept alive until the very end. The film isn't terribly original, but that's hardly an issue if you can accept this for what it is. Prime genre fun.

Tony Leung and Sammi Cheng work well as an onscreen couple, there are some funny bits and the pacing is decent, but after the halfway mark it gets a bit too predictable and once Tung starts doubting which girl to pick, the film does lose some steam. It's a pretty solid romcom though, just don't expect anything original.

The first half hour is a bit sluggish, but once Honda is allowed to go crazy with his trademark miniatures sets and vehicles, Gorath becomes a lot more interesting. Add to that a giant sea lion and some good old destruction fun (poor Tokyo) and what you have is a pretty cheesy yet entertaining film.

Performances are solid, the film has visual flair, the soundtrack is fun, the comedy is pleasant and the mystery is kept alive until the very end. The finale lacks clear answers and isn't quite as imaginative as the film's premise, but that's just a small mishap in an otherwise fun and entertaining film.

The characters are rather dim and the film lacks focus. None of the plot lines are very interesting and the meandering nature of Bombay Rose doesn't really make for an intriguing watch. It's a shame that all the technical effort isn't met with good direction, fleshed out characters and a more captivating plot.

The animation is decent and some of the character designs are pretty nice, but the film's a bit loud, some of the characters are plain obnoxious and the songs have no added value whatsoever. It's still a pretty standard children's animation that may have some technical chops, but doesn't accomplish much beyond that.