Log: week 38 / 2021

The format feels quite familiar by now, but the performances are key to making this work. With Martin Freeman there's at least one Office actor who had prior experience with this kind of material, but the rest of the cast is on point too. There are some solid jokes, there's a pleasant crassness to the comedy and the film doesn't overstay its welcome. Good fun.

The lead actors are pretty dim and the plot is a big old mess, but the film isn't too serious and Columbus had plenty of dollars to spend. It's a noisy, not so creative adventure film that drags on a little too long and has no real memorable moments, but rambles on at such a pace that you might not notice while watching.

Cinematographer Dryburgh did an amazing job capturing the raw beauty of New Zealand, without turning the film into a cheap vacation ad. The soundtrack goes well with the images, performances are solid, and the romance is decent, though not extremely captivating. A fine film.

The cinematography is pretty bland and the plot is rather predictable. But the performances are decent, and the score does its best to make an impact. It doesn't quite get there and Hoskins isn't enough of a charming bastard to carry a film like this, but at least it was a little better than many of its US peers.

Marrying Japanese and American influences within a film is never easy, and there are moments when Sono stumbles. There's plenty of crazy and the film certainly has its share of memorable ideas, but it never really culminates in the cult cool you'd expect from a project like this. The sets are creative and colorful, the characters are mad and the pacing is perfect, even so the film lacks impact. A minor disappointment.

Levinson has some fun bringing the factory to life, but he's no Burton. Still, the creative sets are the sole reason Toys isn't a complete failure. Williams' performance is irritating, the soundtrack is overly bombastic, and the comedy is simply horrendous. At just over two hours, it's also ridiculously long. Not great.

The performances are very mediocre, the reveals are extremely clumsy, and the finale is a complete dud. Rayniak invested in a decent score and the camera work is mostly convincing, but other than that the film fails to make any conceivable impact. It's a charming attempt at making a slick-looking thriller, but also a very obvious failure to do so.

Miki's world is filled to the brim with explicitly absurd elements that are to be accepted without any obvious explanation. Things might get a little too repetitive near the end and Miki isn't the most gifted director, but he's certainly a creative force whose particular signature is incomparable to anything I'm familiar with. If you love oddities and you're open to Japanese weirdness, this is a film that must be seen.

People with an interest in Ivan may find more to like here, the story itself couldn't really compel me. The cinematography at least is pretty decent, the scenes in color in particular stand out. The soundtrack is pretty dire though and the performances are extremely overstated. It's a good thing the film is relatively short, but that's hardly a saving grace.

The premise may be simple, it offers more than enough intrigue for a fun horror flick. The film is let down by somewhat lackluster direction, mediocre performances and unconvincing sets. The gore is pretty decent and there are some memorable moments, I just wish this had been handled by a better director. Decent filler, but I expected more.

Raymond Wong and Yun-Fat Chow aren't the greatest comedy geniuses, the plot is very predictable and Yu's signature style isn't there yet. It's really just a simple comedy with a supernatural edge. The pacing is decent, the runtime short and the overall vibe is pleasant enough, other than that The Occupant has no real selling points. Basic filler.

Anthologies are an ideal format to try out some new things, Trilogy of Swordsmanship isn't the least bit interesting in exploring that avenue. The film is little more than a trio of shortened Shaw Bros productions. It's no better or worse than a run-of-the-mill Shaw Bros production, so this one is for fans only.

Rent-a-Pal is a film that thrives on unease, but I don't think Stevenson took it quite far enough. David is a tragic case, but the drama and genre elements don't always go well together, the finale also doesn't do it any favors. The performances are fine, and the presentation is solid, but in the end I didn't quite care enough for David's plight, nor was the film uneasy enough to work as a fully-fledged genre flick. Stevenson surely a second chance though, as the film shows real potential.

The set design is by far the most remarkable part of Kate. The action looks a bit stiff, because both Winstead and the cinematographer/choreographer appear to be ill at ease with the material. Asano and Kunimura are underused, the rest of the cast isn't that memorable. So yeah, you get a killer running around in neon-lit Tokyo. It's a good thing they didn't drag things out unnecessarily, making sure it works as action filler. It had the potential to be a lot better though.

There's a lot of waiting and quite a bit of bureaucratic hassle to go though. The documentary feels genuine and Hassan's family are a pleasant bunch, but the trip itself isn't that interesting and 90 minutes feels like a stretch. Might be instructive for people who care more about the subject, I didn't get much from this film though.

The first half of the film is pretty decent. It's a typical South-Korean horror flick that sticks to the genre conventions, but the execution is on point. The second half is too plot-heavy though, a 45-minute succession of possible endings that drags down the film. Not bad, but needed some trimming and a stricter genre focus.

The cinematography is polished, performances are decent and the pacing is on point. First Love is a decent flick, but also a film that never surprises, never colors outside the lines. Tsutsumi has made quite a few of these films in his career, and they're perfectly fine filler, but I wish he'd challenge himself a bit more.

Pasolini's audiovisual signature stands out here, with stark close-ups and a more naturalistic vibe, but it wasn't enough to keep me entertained for more than 2 hours. The film is a succession of simplistic and moralistic lessons, delivered by a rather angry and self-assured man. Too religious for my liking.