Log: week 19 / 2021

The film that beat the box office of Spirited Away. I'm not familiar with the franchise, but that's hardly necessary to keep track of what's going on here, nor do I think it is actually worth catching up with the series as it's the bold action sequences that are by far the prime reason for watching this film.

With the West not really warming up to the Chinese blockbusters, it seems they're now targeting the other Asian markets around them. One of China's biggest blockbuster hits crosses over to Japan, hoping to find additional sources of income besides the local market. At least they were smart enough to hire plenty of local talent.

Not the best work from Kenta Fukasaku. It may have its heart in the right place, but it still comes off as a rather cheesy vanity project that tries to sell its stars as much as it tries to highlight the dire situation in Cambodia. It's not completely terrible, but don't expect to see a quality drama here.

A slight step up from the first installment. Mostly because the balance between pure drama and war cinema is just a little different here, with a bit more attention going to the battlefield. It made the film just that little easier to get through, though in the end the popularity of this film series still escapes me.

One of Kitano's more basic dramas, even then he finds ample ways to let it shine. Certainly not his most dashing or distinctive film, but the characters are all lovely, performances are strong, the atmosphere is pleasantly meandering and Hisaishi's soundtrack is once again a big asset. I've seen this film a couple of times now and it has never disappointed me. Quality film making.

Gilda, a film built around Rita Hayworth. It's a pretty basic film-noir that doesn't really try too hard to set itself apart from its peer, instead director Vidor relies on the charm of Hayworth to carry the film. And I guess it worked, at least for people who are smitten by Hayworth's performance.

China's big cinema boom has launched a frantic search for stories to adapt. It's no surprise then that Nezha is seeing a big spike in popularity lately. Nezha Reborn is a more sci-fi/fantasy interpretation of the character, with some of his old friends (like the Monkey King) receiving notable updates too.

A dark page in US history. This film is supposed to be quite controversial (it being based on a true story), but the cheesy, overly sentimental direction and the poor delivery take much of the venom out of it. Unless you're heavily invested in whatever this film is trying to critique, it's hard to see anyone being too upset watching this.

Bogdanovich revives the screwball comedy. Which was nice for those who love(d) this type of humor I guess, personally I'm not a big fan. It's a style that seems to mistake ruckus and nervousness for actual comedy. To be submitted to that for 90 minutes can be quite grating, which describes this film pretty well for me.

This one didn't quite hold up on revision. I was somehow expecting it, after noticing that the first one too had lost some of its former shine. The nice thing about Saw III is that there are more traps and they're even more brutal, the bad thing is that there's too much uninteresting filler in between them.

A disappointing Amemiya film. He's a director known for handling silly kitsch rather well, but this feature-length TV special is really too cheap to do the material any justice. Unless you're really invested in the Garo franchise, I can't see any reason why anyone would want to see this film.

I didn't expect too much from this film, but since Wilder's meme has become so prevalent, there was no way I could avoid this film forever. The start of the film is a little bumpy, but once the kids arrive at the chocolate factory and Wilder himself takes the stage, this was pretty amusing.

A decent space mission flick, though one that doesn't offer too much in the way of originality. The title of the film pretty much gives it all away, if you've seen a couple of these films you can pretty much imagine where Penna will take it. That said, I'm always in the mood for some nice space drama.

Trademark Hong Kong. To lift the spirits of its citizens, 10 prominent Hong Kong production companies banded together, put all their stars into a single film and tasked Vincent Kok with creating a light, fun and COVID-themed comedy. And knowing Kok, he's truly the perfect man for the job.

A Chinese horror story based on a purportedly real-world haunted house. The film became quite the success in Mainland China, so much in fact that the owners of the property had to guard the house because it attracted tourists from all over the place. And sure enough, Raymond Yip delivered a very capable horror film.

It's no secret Wakamatsu had trouble finding his way once the 60s were over, which led to quite a few subpar films in the coming decades. There were also more than a handful random attempts to steer his career in a different direction, Prey is one of those films. Sadly, it wasn't very successful.

Not quite as bad as its reputation suggests, just don't go in expecting a typical Ghibli production. The switch to 3D CG is quite brutal and Goro Miyazaki's choice to go for a more stylized art style is sure to upset people who are used to the realism of its American counterparts. Even so, at its very core this film still houses the classic Ghibli magic.

Yimou Zhang takes his short from Chacun son Cinéma and turns it into a full-length feature. One Second is an ode to the cinema (experience) of yonder, mixed with some textbook political critique. The latter got him into quite some trouble, I couldn't help but wonder why he even bothered to include it though.

A fascinating title for a dire pinku film. The pinku genre is often seen as a hotbed for talent and the freedom that comes with the format has yielded some great directors, many of which went on to become lauded arthouse favorites. But that's just the top of the iceberg, sadly the genre also hides a lot of crap.

Uhm. The Burning Buddha Man is as niche as it gets. Puppet animation with paper cutouts that uses plenty of parallax and focal tricks to brings its universe to life. The designs are reminiscent of Junji Ito's work, the plot is absolutely bonkers and the characters are all batshit crazy. This is quite the trip. Definitely not something everyone will appreciate, but I have to say that I came out half in a daze, uncertain of what I just witnessed. That's always a big plus in my book.

I'm not really familiar with Jimmy Neutron, so there might be hiding a very popular franchise behind this film. Based on this film alone though, it's hard to imagine it did anything except for the youngest of audiences. It really feels like cheap CG-TV stretched out to a feature length production.

Ye Lou's take on film-noir. It's a bit of a surprise to see him do an almost straight-up genre film, though his can't quite leave his arthouse aesthetics behind. While that sounds interesting on paper, the result is not as slick as I would've hoped, with the action/crime elements in particular feeling out of place.

Though Yôji Yamada made a massive amount of films throughout his career as a director, I've never really gotten around to delving into his older work. My Sons looked like an interesting film to start exploring his back catalog, even though it's still decades removed from Yamada's early work.

As space travel is getting more and more common these days, it's always nice to look back to where it all started. The Right Stuff appeared to be a film that would deliver exactly that, and in some ways it does too, but man do you have to be in the mood for some good old American yee-haw if you want to get to the end of it.

Takahisa Zeze goes full in on the romance with Yarn, though before he allows his characters the relief they are so desperately yearning for, there's a lot of drama they'll have to wade through first. It's a pretty typical film, elevated by a competent director and a more than capable cast.

Decent Chinese romcom with some sci-fi elements that add a little twist. Then again, it's probably not much of a twist for people who are familiar with anime, as there are plenty of series that relied on the "robot girl becomes romantic interest" story before. This is simply a Chinese live-action blockbuster version.

I didn't like this Cocteau at all. Not that I was the biggest fan of the other Cocteau films I've seen so far, but I've always appreciated his attempts to create something otherworldly and different with his films. He tried to do the same with Orpheus, it's just that he failed horribly here.

A film split in two parts, each tackling a different season. Little Forest is part drama, part food porn. So much in fact that the drama feels more like filler, while the structure of the film is explicitly set up around the presentation of different dishes. If you ever feel like watching a film to de-stress, this is a perfect candidate.

A film about life, reproduction and death. Instead of turning it into a grim and serious affair, Hirabayashi churns out a dry, absurd and fragmented comedy that defies categorization. It's a film that reveals its secrets over time, it's certain to test your stamina, but it was like nothing I've seen before and it made me laugh out loud more than once. A superb first feature of Hirabayashi.

François Truffaut, the French film critic turned director, makes a film about making a film and casts himself as the director character. If you love this kind of self-referential navel-gazing, then Day for Night is definitely a film for you. Personally I rarely see the fun in artists turning their craft into the main topic of their work.

One of Ôbayashi's later undertakings in his career. Seven Weeks is a very ambitious film (clocking in at nearly 3 hours, better make sure you're ready for it), but the mix of serious drama and Ôbayashi's kooky fakeness didn't really work for me this time around. There are some inspired moments here, but as a whole it didn't quite work.

The third Puella film is pretty much on the same level as the second one. Whenever Shinbo shift into a higher gear this is one hell of a creative undertaking. Sadly, there's also quite some pre-teen magical girls stuff here that holds up the film and isn't all that fun to wade through. At least, not for me.

For those expecting a film about Son of Sam, better adjust your expectation. The serial killer case is little more than wallpaper here, instead we follow a couple of clowns who are trying to deal with their own troubles, with the Son of Sam case merely playing out in the background. I guess that explains the title.