Log: week 17 / 2021

Detective Manabu finds a man with his brains removed in a little apartment. It's the start of a tricky cat and mouse game with a killer that seems to have superhuman capabilities. Manabu isn't discouraged though and what the help of his partner and a girl who has fallen in love with him, he slowly closes in on the killer.

The film takes too long to get going, the cinematography is a little basic and Eguchi makes a pretty boring lead. Luckily Miwako Ichikawa adds some spice to the film and the ending turns it up a notch, but it's not enough to turn a 130-minute police thriller into a riveting film.

There's an underlying plot about psychic soldiers who fight wars from an underground bunker. They start a revolt and manage to make their way to the surface. Bits and pieces that work well within the setting of the film, but in the end it's all pretty garbled and messy, with Ishii paying more attention to mood and atmosphere.

Ishii's punk aesthetic is already well-developed here. The soundtrack is raw and loud, the setting is grungy and dirty and the camera work explosive and intense. If Japanese cyberpunk is your thing then Asia Strikes Back delivers in spades, if not then there's probably nothing here for you. Not quite up there with Ishii's best, but a lovely treat for cyberpunk fans either way.

Hidden Figures tells the story of three black women who played an important part in getting the first American man in orbit around the Earth. Rather than focus on their careers at NASA though, the film is more about their fight against prejudice, misogyny and racism. Elements that Hollywood added because who wants to see a film about smart, black women, right?

Regardless of all the above, the film is just terribly kitsch. The performances are bland, the soundtrack is atrocious, the script is laughable, emotions are fake and overly sentimental. I think even Spielberg would describe this film as "a bit much". In between all the standard Hollywood nonsense there is an interesting story hidden, but it's buried under a load of hot garbage.

Unless you've never seen or read A Midsummer Night's Dream before, there are few surprises here. In classic Shakespeare fashion, tragic romances are littered throughout, as people are paired with the wrong partner and are pining for unattainable love. The plot isn't really the main draw here though.

Some of the puppet designs are nice and the more fantastical sets are cute, but the pacing is slow, the voice-over sounds somewhat indifferent and the animation is very basic, at least by modern standards. There are some stand-out moments here, but they are few and far between and most of the film was a bit too simplistic to keep me engaged throughout.

Feldstein plays Johanna, a young girl with a knack for writing, growing up in Wolverhampton. Her life changes when she applies for a job as a music reviewer. She's a natural, but it's a tough world out there and as she pushes for success, she has to make some difficult decisions along the way.

Feldstein is a delight, the dialogues are clever, Giedroyc switches between comedy and drama with deceptive ease and the presentation is pleasant. There's really nothing specifically wrong with this film, except that this has been done many times before and How to Build a Girl stick a little too closely to its biopic roots.

A group of high school delinquents is so bored, they decide to form a band. While rivaling gangs are trying to settle scores with them, the three boys get some instruments and without any formal training try to find a sound of their own. When they score a gig at a local festival, it becomes a race to perform.

The crude and simplistic art style is what jumps out right away. It isn't very pretty to look at and the animation itself is quite poor, but there are some nice style variations throughout the film. The soundtrack is crummy, the comedy not at all that funny and the plot is of the cookie cutter variety. Many people seem to like this film, not sure what the deal with that is really. It's all very "been there, done that".

Three working women are tired of their bigot boss. On a little get together they dream up ways to humiliate and retaliate against him, but when one of their dreams becomes reality (their boss gets poisoned) they panic. Afraid someone will find out about their plans, they kidnap the body.

The main cast isn't very funny, the jokes are lame and lazy, the soundtrack is absolutely drab, the cinematography purely functional. Apart from the dream sequences, which at least stand out, there's nothing here really. Just a dire piece of mainstream comedy that didn't stand the test of time.

Oscar is a young boy scarred by the divorce of his parents. The separation of his mom and the fickle mental state of his father make his childhood harder than it should've been. Oscar is also coming to terms with the fact that he is gay, though signals from his surroundings denote that as a bad thing.

The performances are decent but barely sufficient for this type of drama, the minor fantastical elements don't leave much of an impression, the soundtrack is borderline acceptable and the drama feels way too familiar. The moody ending redeems the film somewhat, but I expected more from this one.

I wasn't too impressed with Cheh Chang's Shaw Bros adaptation, this version resolves most of that film's issues. The story is pretty basic, then again you're probably not watching this for the intricate plot. Heroes and bad guys fight it out, with some mistaken identities and volatile relations thrown into the mix to keep things interesting.

The action is great, the comedy is fun (RIP Man-Tat Ng though) and the fantasy elements add the necessary flair. What draws me to these films is the insane pacing, giving you absolutely no room to breathe, and this one definitely delivers. Fun from start to finish, perfect genre filler, well recommended if you haven't seen it already.

The plot isn't much to look at. Turner takes on one last job before he is transferred to the big city. He has to try and catch a killer, but his best lead turns out to be Hooch. A dog. Turner isn't a big fan of the animal, but believe it or not, after some awkwardly scripted scenes they become best friends and as a team they're ready to go and catch the bad guy.

I'm not a big Hanks fan, so there's that. I'm also not a big fan of 80s buddy cop movies, nor of movie dogs. The bland attempts to mix in romance and even some drama fail horribly, the action is dim, the crime elements are lazy and the ending is so sappy it's almost embarrassing to watch. Not a great film.

A dad and his daughter move into a new house (yup). There's a creepy closet (hah), footsteps are heard on the second floor while nobody is there (heh) and sure enough, eerie drawings of ghosts pop up not much later (woo-hoo). That the film moves from horror to tragedy later on should come as no surprise.

The performances are decent, the cinematography is polished and the build-up is solid. The second half get a bit too dramatic for my taste and the lack of originality (read: none whatsoever) is a bit grating at times, but if you're looking for decent horror filler this film has you covered. Just don't expect to see anything you haven't seen before.

Chip is a well-meaning guy who keeps falling for the wrong women. Liza, his somewhat deranged girlfriend, has him on a short leash and convinces Chip they need to rob one of Liza's clients to finally get ahead in life. Chip reluctantly agrees, but finds himself way in over his head when Liza kills the couple in cold blood.

The presentation is pretty decent, the actors are well in on the joke and the introduction/finale deliver. The problem is the middle part, where Haaga fails to build up to a crescendo. The entire segment with Violet probably should've been cut (though through no fault of Boe, who plays her part well). Still, decent, fun and entertaining filler, just not as mad as it pretends to be.

Though I'm not 100% certain, I think Sex Crimes is part of a series of films Wakamatsu made about deranged individuals that ended up becoming sex criminals. Either that or it's just a very recurring theme in his films. You pretty much get the same setup here, though with a slightly dull lead.

The performances didn't really appeal to me, the camera work felt a bit obligatory and there were some serious pacing issues. Maybe I'm getting a bit too used to these 60s Wakamatsu films, or maybe this is just a lesser film in his oeuvre. Time will tell I guess, as I still have a good 60 more to go. For now, I would say this is for completists only.

The story revolves around a vampire girl and a young boy who is forced to deal with his father's drug addiction. They both roam the streets of the fictitious Bad City, where they inevitably bump into each other. A strange romance ensues, which only becomes more complicated as the film progresses.

From crime to western, from horror to comedy, from romance to drama, the film rolls from one genre into the next. The cinematography is pretty nice, the camera work and editing aren't on the same level though and the soundtrack is a big letdown for a film like this. Performances are good and it's certainly quite different from anything I've ever seen, but in the end it left me rather cold. An interesting failure.

In order to get to Bianca, the girl of his dreams, Cameron needs to find a date for Bianca's asocial sister, as her dad won't let her go out before that. Cameron's eye lands on Patrick, the school criminal who has no interest in any of his classmates whatsoever. I hope you can guess how it goes from there.

It's the banter between Ledger and Stiles that makes this film rather fun. The plot is bland, the music is terrible and the high school setting has been done to death, but at least there a somewhat sarcastic undertone that gives it a novel twist. Not a great film, but considering the type of film this is, it could've been a lot worse.

The story is a simple one. A man solicits at a restaurant known for giving unjustly imprisoned people a second chance. Things go well until an old enemy resurfaces. The people at the restaurant decide to help him out, but the secret deals between the police and the Triads make it hard to get a proper revenge.

Though Wong should be able to make this type of film with his eyes closed, he can't fall back on seasoned actors and cinematographers to elevate his film, which is a bit of a problem. Queen of Triads 2 pales in comparison to most of his other work, there are a few decent action scenes (and of course some gambling action), but it's hardly a film worth pursuing. Filler for the needy.

The plot is pretty negligible and little more than an excuse for some insanity along the way. Kindaichi is summoned to recapture the missing head of statue. What starts off as a very simple assignment, quickly escalates into a mad search for the head. Again, the comparisons with Lupin are never far off.

I'm not familiar with the original series so it's difficult to compare, but the elements that stick out bear the clear signature of Ôbayashi. The tone is extremely light, even bordering on outright comedy, there are some truly wacky moments and the hand of Ôbayashi is always present. Probably more fun for people already familiar with the series, but still worth a watch even if you've never heard of Kindaichi before.

Homunculus is a mystery with strong supernatural elements. Go Ayano plays Nokoshi, a strange man who is dead wealthy, but lives in his car and goes through life as a homeless person. One day he is approached by a medical student who wants to drill a hole in his skull. Nokoshi isn't interested, but the boy persuades him and before he knows it, he can see personifications of people's traumas.

Shimizu has a little trouble establishing the tone of Homunculus, and he spends a little too much time on the drama at the end. Other than that, this was pretty great. Pretty rad effects, an original plot, unpredictable until the very end and a great central performance. Don't go in expecting a typical Shimizu film, just sit down and enjoy what Shimizu throws at you.