Log: week 31 / 2021

Natalie and Kevin are a young couple going through some marital problems. Hoping to reboot their life, they move into a new house. It doesn't take too long before strange things start happening. Doors open by themselves, objects are moved and Natalie hears strange noises. Kevin believes his wife is just making things up.

Performances are decent, but Winther fails to build up the tension and sticks to proven clichés that need better execution to be effective. There's also way too much pointless drama and the finale simply isn't all that exciting. What remains is a passable thriller that has some decent moments, but isn't all that convincing when it really matters.

Johnny tries to save his cancer-ridden dad by making a deal with the Devil. The next morning Johnny's father is cured, by noon he's dead after a big stunt crash. Johnny leaves his old life and girlfriend behind, becoming a world-famous stuntman himself. But then the Devil comes to collect Johnny's soul.

Cage looks a little lost in a production like this, the plot is incredibly kitsch, Johnson is a horrible director and the CG looks cheap as hell. Not that I'm a fan of the current MCU films, but at least they look somewhat professional. Ghost Rider is laughably bad, which is the only thing that makes it ever so slightly bearable. Not good.

A covert American research project toys with manipulated flu viruses. One of them is stolen and unleashed unto the world. The virus thrives in hotter condition, and before they fully well realize the scale of the problem, the human population is quickly dwindling. Only small settlement in Antarctica are safe from the deadly disease. The virus is just the start of humanity's problems though.

Fukasaku tries to put a little too much in a single film, but at least he is ambitious. The actors are somewhat flaky and the runtime's a bit excessive, the atmosphere is solid though and the finale is actually pretty impressive. It's a shame Fukasaku failed to make Virus feel just that little tighter, otherwise it would've been a pretty cool post-apocalyptic flick.

Oscar is a young guy who is trying to make something of his life, trying to leave unfortunate past choices behind. After celebrating New Year's Eve, a scuffle on the metro ends badly for him. A couple of hours later, he succumbs from a gunshot wound after a violent police intervention.

Performances are good, and the drama is solid. Coogler gives his version of the facts and Oscar's character does feel a little too idyllic, but there have been so many similar cases that you can take the plot as an abstraction rather than a realistic account of Oscar's last day. Not quite as impactful as I'd hoped, but certainly not a bad film.

Hana is a high school girl who grew up in a foster home. She's the oldest there and helps to take care of the other kids. When Harumi is brought in, she immediately connects to the girl and takes her under her wing. Hana is just a kid though and her past has left her scarred, even so she tries to make the best of the situation she was put in.

Performances are solid and there are a few standout moments (namely the ones on the beach). The styling is a bit too pedestrian though and while the relationship between the two girls is delicate, it all felt a bit too familiar. Ogawa shows promise, but The Goldfish fails to stand out from its (many) peers.

Somewhat out of the blue, Juan Vargas is promoted to major of a little desert town. He thinks life is finally looking up, until he arrives in the village and finds nothing but poverty. Meager attempts to engage the townspeople all fail. There's nothing left for Vargas to try out more rigorous tactics.

It's pretty amusing to see Vargas evolve from well-meaning major to villainous crook. There's a dash of dark comedy that keeps things entertaining, performances are solid and Estrada makes excellent use of the barren setting. Things maybe get a little too serious near the end and the film's a tad long, but I had some solid fun with this one.

Richard and Ellen meet each other on a train. It's a rather uneasy encounter, but there's clearly a spark between the two. Not much later, they're happily married. It doesn't take long before Ellen's rougher sides start showing up and before long, Richard is battling an overly jealous wife.

Performances are decent as long as the film remains light-hearted, but the actors fail the moment they're asked to show a darker, more serious side. The film lacks tension, the pacing is off, and the soundtrack is overbearing. It's just not a very balanced, capable film that completely fizzles out. Maybe it would've been better if it had been 30 minutes shorter.

Coral is a woman from lives in Hong Kong, but who feels lost in the city. Desperate for a change of scenery, she travels back to her hometown. She visits some old friends there, but then it transpires that her time away from home has changed her in such a way that going back to her old life is virtually impossible.

Performances are decent but nothing special, the cinematography is clean but a little dim and the score doesn't add much substantial. The drama is passable, and the film never becomes overly generic, it's just that I've seen the same thing so many times before that it just doesn't really work anymore.

Chris is a psychiatrist who is called to help out with a mission near the planet Solaris. A crew has gone haywire over there and missions to retrieve them have all failed. When Chris arrives at the space station, he finds only two survivors. After staying the night, it becomes clear what kind of dangers they're up against.

The atmosphere is thick and brooding, but also a little cold and detached. Stylistically, Solaris has lost a bit of its shine, the soundtrack in particular felt a bit too bombastic. Performances are good, the mystery is intriguing and the pacing is apt, it's just that little extra polish that lacks to make this a true personal favorite.

Thornton returns to his home village after a long stay in the US. There he runs into Mary Kate, a fierce and headstrong woman who puts Thornton to work when he tries to court her. Thornton carries a dark secret with him though, a past he has been outrunning without too much success.

The performances are laughable. Wayne's contorted face is a hoot, Maureen O'Hara acts as if she was cast for a silent film. The plot is utterly simple, neither the drama, romance nor the comedy ever hit home and the runtime is ridiculous. The Quiet Man is a hopelessly outdated film, best to forget this one as quickly as possible.

Cherry is a young and bashful boy who likes to write haiku poems, Smile a young girl who has a vibrant social profile, but just got braces. Because of an incident at the mall their phones are switched, an event that will eventually bring the two together in a search for a lost LP. All of this against the charming backdrop of a local summer festival.

Anime tends to do these kinds of stories well, this film is no exception. It feels a little too comfortable at times and the romance is a tad too naive, but the warm, summery vibes and the relatively unique art style give the film some much-needed flavor of its own. This isn't going to be the next big anime masterpiece, instead, it's charming filler with broad appeal.

Behemoth documents the Chinese mining industry and its effect on nature and the miners. The herdsmen have to leave the surrounding areas, dust replaces green meadows and the miners end up in hospitals. It's a barrage of misery and unhappiness, devoid of any hope or solace.

The fractured shots are a bit cheesy, but the camerawork and framing are nice. The cinematography isn't spectacular, but at least above par. The soundtrack is mostly absent, most of the doc relies on ambient sounds, a bit of a missed opportunity if you ask me. It's simply not something I particularly appreciate, but it's clearly how the West loves to see China.

When Suze is told she's dying, she wants to right a past wrong by finding the boy she gave up for adoption. At the adoption agency they don't seem able to help her, but then she runs into Jean-Baptiste. He just failed to kill himself, hurting some of his colleagues in the process. Suze kidnaps him, hoping he can help her out.

The first hour could've been just that little darker and edgier, other than that I have no real complaints. Performances are solid, the styling is polished and there's an unpredictability that keeps things interesting. The ending is on point too. A very charming, memorable and fun film, that stops just short of excellence.

Lindy has a rare medical condition where she can't keep her rage under control. The only one who managed to help her is Dr. Munchin, a psychiatrist who developed a vest that delivers electric shocks whenever Lindy's hormones get out of control. Munchin advises her to go out into the world and mingle, but when Lindy's first hookup is found dead the next morning, things are about to get rough.

Beckinsale spends a bit too much time trying to look pretty instead of badass, the styling is nice but not vibrant enough, the action is a bit tame. It looks like Wexler copied quite a bit from better films, without truly understanding what made these films tick. Jolt isn't bad, it's just a bit underwhelming for a film about a raging woman who has to administer electric shocks to keep herself in check.

The shorts vary in length and don't always make a lot of sense, but people familiar with Japanese horror (and the yokai - ghosts and spirits - in particular) won't have too much trouble keeping track of the often strange and puzzling narratives. There are kappas, ghosts and disfigured folk inhabiting these stories, and their appearances tend to spell trouble.

Performances are rather weak, and the special effects are very bare-bones. But Tezuka's creative cinematography and a little well-placed comedy help to cover up some of the film's weaker points. It's short, there's more than enough variety and there's plenty of weirdness to keep things from becoming boring. It's certainly not his best film, but Tezuka fans won't be disappointed.

Joel is a writer for a horror magazine. He fancies his roommate, but he's too much of a dork to do anything about it. When he follows home one of her dates, he ends up in a shady neon-lit bar. He gets shit-faced and sleeps it off in the janitor's closet. Waking up later that night, the bar is empty, apart from one group of complete wackos.

The first half of the film works best, as Calahan goes full for comedy. The circle meeting was no doubt the highlight of the entire film for me. The second half is more geared at horror, but Calahan fails to add much to the countless slasher flicks that came before. It's all a little too safe and "been there, done that", not exactly what you want from a horror comedy.

Gregory is a rather dorky kid who falls in love with the Dorothy. She's a bold girl who joins the male football team and doesn't really care what others think of her. She's not really into Gregory, but even though he isn't good with girls, he's quite persistent and after a while Dorothy starts to fall for his charms.

Performances are dim, the film looks like it was made for TV, the score sounds like it was salvaged from a public domain database. It's as cinematic as an episode of Wheel of Fortune, but the characters are somewhat charming and the coming of age elements do come together rather well. Not the worst thing ever, but hardly worth recommending.

Tan is trying to fight the corruption in the Chinese government, but they are on to him and manage to arrest him before he can do any real damage. Right before his arrest, Tan did get Wang on board, a skilled martial artist who will do his very best to keep Tan from becoming a martyr.

The Iron Bodyguard is a film with a slightly stronger focus on the narrative. There are still the usual Shaw Bros fights, but they are fewer and shorter. The story isn't all that exciting though and performances don't really stand out either. It's decent enough when you're pining for some Shaw Bros action, but only when you've seen all of their more prominent films.

Two wanderers just happen to be in a saloon when news arrives that a nearby rancher has been killed, his cattle stolen. The townsfolk are angry, and it doesn't take long before they form a posse. The two wanderers join in, but it's clear that the need for revenge is bigger than the need for justice.

Just like 12 Angry Men, this film felt extremely forced, overly tailored to the message it needed to convey. Performances are static, the plot is far too obvious, and the dialogues are pretty cringe-worthy. The only positive here is that the film is short, though it still felt twice as long to me. Not my kind of cinema.

Zain is a young kid who does his best to bring in some money for his family. He takes special care of his sister Sahar, but he can't prevent her from being given away once she has her first period. Zain refuses to stay with his family any longer, and he ventures off into the world all by himself.

Zain's performance is splendid, the cinematography is gripping and surprisingly stylish, the soundtrack is solid too. The drama's a little predictable and I wouldn't have minded a slightly shorter runtime, but Labaki stays clear from excessive sentimentality, which wasn't an easy thing to do considering the themes of this film. A solid film.

The story of Mulan hasn't changed a lot. A young, tomboyish girl gets her parents into trouble when she won't settle down with a guy. To make matters worse, she takes her father's place when he's called into battle. Disguised as a boy, Mulan leaves her home, knowing fully well the disgrace she's about to entrust on her family's name.

There is some prime fighting talent present (Jet Li and Donnie Yen), but Caro is obviously clueless on how to use them well. The cinematography lacks the grandeur of its Chinese competitors, the soundtrack doesn't sit well, and the English dialogue isn't doing the actors any favors. It's certainly better than Disney's animated film, but there's no real reason to watch this when there are better versions out there already.