Log: week 3 / 2021
I'm actually quite surprised by the amount of non-martial arts films Cheh Chang directed. He's really only known for this martial arts cinema here, but once you dig deeper into his oeuvre all kinds of weird genre experiments pop up. Young People is a light-hearted sports flick. Like most "other" Chang films though, it isn't very good. Chang spends way too much time on uninteresting (and unrealistic-looking) games. Performances are pretty poor, at two hours the film is way too long and the comedy doesn't really work either. On the one hand it's a shame Chang wasted his time on films like this, on the other hand it's not like we're really lacking Shaw Bros martial arts features. This film is only for the real completists.Read all
The first hour is a pretty inconspicuous drama. Quite light, passable but not great, 100% puzzling considering the many prizes it won. The second half clears up a lot. Out of the blue Terms of Endearment becomes a sappy and inelegant illness-based drama, the type of thick sentiment Hollywood loves to love. Performances are decent and the first hour is light, which makes it an easy watch. The drama doesn't really work too well as the characters are a bit draw and uninteresting, so when the film turns dark the emotional parts never really stick and the sentiment feel forced and misplaced. Not a good film.Read all
Patlabor: The Movie
The foundation for the masterpieces Oshii would serve in the two decades to follow. Together with Kenji Kawai and Kazunori Ito he would develop a style and tone that would fully materialize in films like Patlabor 2 and Ghost in the Shell, but the first glimpses are already visible here. A thoughtful sci-fi story sporting fun characters, a limited amount of top-notch action scenes and some very moody breathers. It can't compare to Oshii's greatest film, but it's still a blast.
My third Marx Brothers film and they start to get a little predictable. Only three brothers are present in this one, but that doesn't really shake things up. Each brother has his own particular style of comedy and the film switches between them, while in the background some uninteresting plot develops. Groucho's quips and puns have the biggest chance of drawing a few laughs, though there's an equal chance they'll miss target. Harpo's slapstick is terribly dated and Chico isn't particularly funny either. And so A Night at the Opera cycles between the brothers, flipping between passable and dreadful from start to finish. I would've preferred just Groucho minus the rest.Read all
An odd little film indeed. What announced itself as a somewhat flimsy prequel/cross-over between the Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland franchises, is really a drama with fantasy touches in which the children's imagination reflects on their everyday troubles. I didn't really see that one coming. The film is quite atmospheric, performances are fine and the pacing is solid. It's the balance between drama and fantasy, in combination with the somewhat unique premise, that makes Come Away film stand out. Let's hope Chapman leaves the world of animation behind her, she's clearly much better at live action cinema.Read all
You better be loving the human body when you seek out this film, as Broughton and Sheets offer nothing else but people in various positions against a neutral background. I'm sure there's an audience for this type of thing, probably artists with a similar fascination for the human form, but for the accidental spectator there's not much here. So yes, people posing. Often nude, sometimes clothed. Then alone, at other times with two, three or four together. We see some famous poses, we see people lazily lounging around. There's some sexual poses too of course, unless you'd forget you're watching real art. Oh, and there are a few color filters, so very cinematic. Not my thing I'm afraid.Read all
I'm not sure whether spectacular is the right word, with so much obvious model work involved, but Battle in Outer Space is of Honda's bigger undertakings. There are lots of space scenes and the film has a strong focus on action, sci-fi and adventure, keeping the drama and conversations to a minimum. Battle in Outer Space looks surprisingly competent for a Honda film, that doesn't take away that you're clearly looking at small-scale models. Don't expect realistic-looking space battles here, but if you appreciate the charm of Honda's trademark model work then there's plenty to enjoy. After a somewhat slow start, the film really delivers a barrage of pleasant cheese.Read all
Chipper. My expectations weren't that high for this one, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I'm usually not one for classic settings, nor posh British characters, but Hall managed to find the right tone for the material. Blithe Spirit is a cheeky comedy with a little fantasy and romance thrown in to spice things up. The cinematography is slick, with vivid colors and nicely framed shots. Costumes are pretty great too, so are the performances and the fitting score. But it's the jolly sense of humor, begging the audience to please not take things too seriously, that won me over in the end. A very entertaining film.Read all
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
A film that felt surprisingly modern, though for once it's not really meant as a 100% compliment. Mabuse isn't unlike a bunch of police thrillers from the 90s, with the cops chasing the case of a mysterious serial killer. I think I would've preferred a full-on German Expressionist film, but with the introduction of sound that era was clearly dying. Lang didn't forget his learnings from 20s silent cinema, but the introduction of sound puts more focus on the narrative, which ultimately made it a more tedious affair, certainly at 120 minutes. The case is quite interesting and the pacing is decent, it's just that the execution is rather basic. But if you like these kinds of police thrillers, then this is well ahead of its time. Read all
The middle entry in the Daimajin franchise. Three films in one year is quite a lot, it's no surprise then that the makers have taken a couple of shortcuts. The setup is pretty much identical to the first film, including the perks, sadly also the warts. While the overall quality didn't really drop, the straightforward repetition was a little disappointing. Like the first film, there's not quite enough Daimajin to be truly satisfying. The Kaiju action is cool, but there simply isn't enough of it. The samurai elements feel a bit more tedious and even though it's a short film, the first three quarters are a bit slow, even dull. Luckily the cinematography is well above par, which pushes the film to a positive rating. Not bad, but could've been better. Read all
Taylor Wong made a name for himself making grittier action flicks, but in true Hong Kong fashion he also branched out to other genres. Fantasy Romance is one of the most apt film titles ever, as it is in fact a fantasy/romance flick, with some comedy to boot. It's clearly not Wong's strong point, but it's entertaining enough. With Tony Leung and Joey Wang there's some solid acting talent present, but since this is a comedy they're not really able to show it. The comedy isn't great and the plot is pretty basic too, but the fantasy elements are executed quite well and the pacing is solid. Just a bit of mindless entertainment, certainly not Wong's best, but not bad for someone who usually does action films.Read all
An odd little film. I'm not sure whether the typical soft-voiced, Japanese drama setup is really suitable for a film about depression, but director Sasabe took a stab at it anyway. The result is pretty much what I expected from it. It's a competent film that does its niche proud, but seems to lack the emotional weight you'd expect from a film about depression. Performances are solid, the film looks crisp and the soundtrack is soothing. There are no mean characters, pretty much everyone is as supportive as they can be. It might be a comfort to people struggling with similar issues, but for me the tone and subject didn't really connect. Apart from that, a sweet, gentle and well-made drama.Read all
Sakura Wars: The Movie
Sakura Wars is part of a popular video game franchise that branched out into different media. Maybe this film makes more sense if you're familiar with the games, but from what I gather it's mostly just a bunch of random anime tropes thrown together, turning this film into a pretty incoherent mess. The character designs look rather plain, but the mechs are nifty and the cel-shaded animation is pretty cool. The music on the other hand is extremely cheesy and once the crew is out of battle, the comedy/drama is just unsightly. Lots of ups and downs in this film in other words, the animation saves it from being a complete failure.Read all
Slow-moving sci-fi. It made me wonder whether Clooney was trying to make his own Solaris here, sadly his skills aren't really on par with Soderbergh's. While The Midnight Sky definitely has its moments, there are some rather cheesy twists and the two-films-into-one structure isn't entirely successful either. The film looks nice enough and the performances are solid, but the harsh split between barren North Pole trek and space adventure (both with predictable challenges and outcomes) doesn't do the film any favors. It feels too rushed, which is pretty weird for a film that is otherwise quite glacial. Quite moody and mysterious, but it lacks finesse.Read all
Rock. It seems to be cinema's ultimate (yet lazy) go-to source for a bit of rebellion, even though it's now very much a last century thing (the rebellious part that is). I don't have any affinity with the genre, so these films tend to be wasted on me, even when it's a director like Ôbayashi handling the film. It was fun to see a very young Tadanobu Asano in one of his first big roles and the drama isn't that bad. There are small glimpses of Ôbayashi's wilder side too, but they are few and far between. It's just all very basic and with no enthusiasm for the music on display it does come off as one of Ôbayashi's weaker films.Read all
An early Wakamatsu. He made countless films during the 60s, so it's virtually impossible to keep track of them, but the better ones came at the end of the decade. While some of his early work is interesting, Wakamatsu was still exploring his signature style and even though you can already see glimpses of his genius, the films are often a bit uneven. Wakamatsu's experimental side rears its head from time to time, mostly during the first half hour. After that, the film becomes more focused on the narrative, as we learn about the young girl's past through a series of flashbacks. It's a slightly disappointing evolution as the plot and characters aren't that interesting, but Wakamatsu fans will no doubt find something to like.Read all
The real start of Jissôji's career and the first in his Buddhist trilogy. This Transient Life feels like a typical film of a promising first-time director (though Jissôji had made some shorts before this), a film where its director does his utmost best to prove his worth and goes all in. That makes for a slightly uneven film, but it sure is interesting. Pinku meets arthouse, with a splash of Japanese New Wave. It's an interesting combination of elements. The stark black and white cinematography is very nice, the pacing of the film slow but deliberate and the intrigue is strong. The soundtrack is a letdown though and some scenes do go on too long. Still, Jissôji left his calling card with this one.Read all
A documentary that still feels relevant today. That's not often the case for a doc that's more than 50 years old, especially when it tells such a specific story as The Night It Rained. But this film isn't so much about the specific events, as it is about people's beliefs and their willingness to fool themselves and/or cast doubt to uphold those beliefs. But the more people the documentary team interviews, the less plausible the boy's heroic deeds becomes. Different versions of the story surface, and it seems that the heroic nature of the story is more important than the factual truth. Confirmation bias, lies and belief are raging through this simple but poignant doc.Read all
A return to form for Bond. After a short, 5-year hiatus the franchise returns with Brosnan in the lead and a lot more action to break up the crime/adventure elements. It's the first Bond film that feels like a true action flick, but it's also the first Bond where 007's often cheeky behavior is called into question. You can't have all the fun. Brosnan is a perfect fit for the character, the bigger focus on action adds to the entertainment and there's enough goofy franchise drivel to make sure the film never gets too serious. It's newfound social consciousness is a bit ill-fitting though and Sean Bean is a dull bad guy, the Bond girls aren't great either. But after the Dalton Bonds, this was a breath of fresh air.Read all