Log: week 42 / 2021

Michael Myers survives the fire from Green's first, killing a bunch of firemen while he escapes the burning house. He is on the loose, planning to return to his old home, but the road is long and in between he'll find many people on his path. Some of his old survivors are banding together to track him down, catching him is still pretty much impossible though.

The problem with Halloween Kills is that Myers isn't very formidable. He kills a lot of people in rather unadventurous ways, and that's that. He has lost a lot of charisma in Green's series, and that used to be the thing that set him apart. Performances are pretty weak too, but at least it's slightly better than the 2018 version. Not great, but acceptable filler.

Ray is an elite soldier, but he and his wife are captured and killed by a criminal. His body is donated to RST, who manage to revive him, giving him some upgrades in the process. Ray quickly starts remembering the events before his dead, prompting him to take revenge on the people who murdered him and his wife.

The plot doesn't make a lot of sense and the sci-fi elements are pretty exaggerated, but the film seems gleefully aware. Instead, director Wilson focuses more on delivering over-the-top action scenes and some general badassery, in that context Diesel's a pretty good casting choice. Much better than I expected it to be, good fun.

Lisa is a pretty typical teen, her life is turned upside down when she inadvertently causes a traffic accident by distracting a bus driver. The victim dies in her arms, which leaves an indelible impression. At first she tries to protect the driver and herself, but guilt keeps gnawing on her, prompting Lisa to seek out the family of the victim.

It's somewhat interesting to see how a single event can impact the outlook on life of a person, performances are solid and the presentation is decent, but the film's a little long in the tooth and the drama does get a little overbearing. Not a bad film, but it didn't feel all that memorable or special and three hours really was a bit much.

Yusuf is one of the many youngsters who move to the big city, hoping to find a better life there. He ends up staying with Mahmut, an older man. His new house guest triggers something deep inside Mahmut, and he starts to question why he didn't chase his dreams. Mahmut wants to get rid of Yusuf, but he can't just put him back on the street.

The performances are decent and the scenes with characters just strolling around are nice enough, but the drama didn't really hit me and there were too much throwaway moments in between. Minimalist films tend to be a bit hit-and-miss for me and Ceylan's work just doesn't appear to be polished or moving enough to wow me.

A deadly virus, concocted by a group of cybernetically enhanced people, is threatening humankind. Hobbs and Shaw are both put on the case, even though they still can't stand each other. When Shaw's sister becomes involved, the two have no option but to put their past differences aside.

The film is little more than a back and forth between Johnson and Statham banter and a handful of oversized action sequences. It's exactly what you could expect from a film like this, the nice thing is that it actually delivers. And yes, the plot is silly and predictable and the CG isn't always very convincing, but if you want some silly fun, you could do a lot worse.

John Reed is a journalist with radical left ideas. When he meets Louise Bryant, an early feminist, the two fall in love and set out to conquer the world. When they end up in Russia, just in time to witness the October Revolution, they become inspired and want to start a similar revolution in the US.

Part character drama, part political history, Reds is a film for people who care about its themes and subjects. The presentation is rather bland, performances are decent but unremarkable and the runtime is pretty excessive. I didn't really care for any of it, safe some stand-alone moments, but if you dig US history then this film does highlight some rarely talked about figures and events.

Bob and Terry are two cops with a reputation. Though they get cased solved from time to time, they do it by accepting bribes or applying excessive violence. They've got a decent operation going, but then they bump into James Mangan, a criminal mastermind who is even nastier than they are.

Peña and Skarsgård are a great duo, the writing is funny, and the direction is pretty slick. It's probably not the best recommendation if you don't like boorish cops and crude comedy, and you shouldn't expect the world of this film, but if you're looking for some funny crime business, War on Everything has you covered.

Asher is a former Mossad agent who spends the final days of his career as a contract killer. He lives by a strict set of rules, but when he bumps into Sophie he feels the rules he lived by don't serve him that well anymore. He can't just leave his old life behind though, so he has to kill the man who he has worked for all this time.

Perlman and Janssen are weak and there's no spark between them, the sullen and loaded atmosphere feels somewhat misplaced and the pacing is a little too sluggish. Somehow Caton-Jones convinced himself he was making a really deep, moving film, but the result is basic genre fare that takes itself way too serious.

Buddy is a handyman who takes on a small job for Walter and his wife. Walter's a bit of an oddball and Buddy is certain his wife Fancy is trying to hit on him, but he needs the money as he has a newborn to feed. When a hurricane moves in and prevents Buddy from finishing his job on time, he has no choice but to stay the night.

Grand Isle is typical genre fare. The plot is predictable, the direction is mostly functional and everything is neatly wrapped up within a span of 100 minutes max. If you came here for some vintage Cage rage you're well out luck too, but at least the film has the basics down. Pretty decent genre filler in other words.

Shinji is still a shadow of his former self, blaming himself for not being able to protect humanity. He ends up in a small village, among some old friends, where he learns to appreciate life again. He pulls himself together again, right in time to join Wille in their last attempt to deflect another impact.

This final Evangelion is a film with lots of ups and downs. The animation is exquisite, the action scenes are stupefying and a lot of the imagery is intriguing, but the drama drags the film down and the lore is simply too nerdy for me. I'd prefer Eva as a simple mecha action flick, but I know most people won't agree with me. Not a film that will bring new fans to the franchise, but existing fans will have a lot to chew on. A worthy finale.

When Junchu asks Manli to marry him in a letter, she is killed in a traffic accident right before they can meet up. Junchu is heartbroken, but his mother forces him to marry another woman. She tries her best to take care of Junchu, but he keeps pushing her away, until he starts seeing shimmers of Manli in his new wife.

The cinematography is on point (though some special effects haven't aged too well), the performances are solid, and the plot is actually well-developed. The pacing is perfect too, the only problem is that nothing in the film stands out enough. It's a perfectly fine horror/romance cross-over, but nothing more.

Izo (a ronin) and Raiden (an orc) get stuck defending Sonya (a young elf). Several people seem to be targeting the young girl, who supposedly knows more about a mystic wand that can identify people with special powers. As the trio travels through Japan to learn more about this wand, it slowly dawns on them that Sonya isn't just any regular elf.

The setup is very basic, the link with the live action Bright is there in the characters and broader lore, yet it still feels like some kind of awkwardly tacked on anime extra. The art style isn't entirely successful either, but at least the camera work and shot compositions are quite interesting. It's decent (and relatively short) filler, but Netflix needs to do better than this.

With the first film set in America, it's only natural that the sequel sees princess Mia return to her home country. She moves in with her grandma, but she soon becomes the target of political tomfoolery. In order to inherit the throne, the princess has to be married, and so starts her quest for the perfect man.

If you like the idea of an American girl not fitting in with coquettish overseas royalty, this film might be for you, but even then you'd have to get past the poor performances, lame jokes and lazy writing. That said, I'm clearly not the target audience for a film like this, so your mileage may vary.

Tatiana is a rebellious spirit, who gets into quite a bit of trouble when she starts a pen relationship with a faraway dictator for a high school project. When the dictator is driven out of his country, he ends up on Tatiana's doorstep, asking her for help and shelter while he tries to contact his comrades.

Caine and Rush are a lovely pair and both commit to their roles, which keeping things cheeky enough, so the film doesn't get too serious. There are a couple of fun jokes, the pacing is solid, and the film finds a nice balance between comedy and light drama. Not the greatest comedy ever, but amusing filler for sure.

Misa Kuroi is a transfer student who finds herself in a class obsessed with magic. Reports of ritual killings in the neighborhood have surfaced, when connected they form a pentagram with Misa's new school bang in the middle. Musa herself dabbles in white magic, together with her classmates she tries to figure out who is trying to lure them into their spell.

The high school setting and demonic resurrection themes offer some nice variation for those who have tired of tragic ghosts and vengeful curses. Performances are somewhat mediocre, but the visual effects are decent enough and there are some pretty cool kills here. Eko Eko Azarak isn't a genre classic, but solid filler with a slightly atypical vibe.

Bean Bandit and Rally Vincent are framed for the kidnapping of Chelsea, the daughter of the wealthy and influential president of the Grimwood Conglomerate. While the police are hot on their tail, the real kidnapper is planning to get to Mr Grimwood, using Bean and Rally as a welcome diversion.

High octane car chases, some lewd comedy and a simple kidnapping plot, that's what you're getting here. It's also what a lot of other anime series of that time were offering (think City Hunter, though it's not quite as cheeky), so a single 45-minute film isn't going to make much of an impression. Pretty solid and fun filler, but I'm not too heartbroken they never expanded the franchise.

Thorpe simply recounts the history of the rectory, listing the paranormal phenomena experienced by each inhabitant of the house, ending his tale with Harry Price, a famed British paranormal researcher who ended up leasing the house for an entire year. Don't expect anything too otherworldly though.

The interesting thing about Borley Rectory is that the doc is made to look like a classic horror film, though sporting a more contemporary mixed-media animated vibe. It's a pretty successful experiment, the only problem is that the result is anything but scary or tense, which kind of goes against the setup of this film.

Umberto lives in a very small room, together with his dog. When he stops working, the rent becomes too much, and his landlord is looking for a way to kick Umberto out. He gets to the end of the month, but then Umberto falls ill and needs to get himself checked into the hospital. When he returns to his home, workmen are refurbishing his apartment.

The film looks better than most other Italian Neorealism dramas of that time, but not spectacularly so. Performances are decent and the bond between the man and his dog is nice enough, but it's also pretty sentimental and the finale is well overdone. Not the worst in its genre, but nothing memorable either.

During a mining expedition, an evil warlord hits a hidden tomb by accident. Drawn by the hunger for treasure, he goes inside, but soon finds himself and his men trapped. One of the relics finds its way out of the tomb though, triggering a new expedition that leads up a treacherous mountain. More tombs hunting and traps await.

Having watched a couple of these films before, it becomes pretty difficult to separate them. This one sure felt like it was part of some franchise, but it's hard to tell without so much of the context hidden for Western audiences. Apart from some shoddy CG monsters, it was a pretty fun and amusing adventure, helped by slick pacing and a short runtime. Good genre filler.

A bunch of rebels are holed up in a fortified base. The emperor has sent his best men to break through their defenses, but this turns out to be quite a bit harder than expected. The rebels even manage to capture some heroes, the others devise a plan to attack the base from the inside.

There's a bunch of familiar Shaw Bros faces here, the film is pretty action-packed, and it's nice to see Chang shot quite a bit on location. In the end though, it's just another typical Shaw Bros/Chang production that doesn't do quite enough to set itself apart from the rest. Not a bad film, but not really a standout either.

Guy is a happy man who lives in a violent city. He works in a bank, every day is filled with robberies and gunfights, while outside tanks and helicopters ravaging his city. Still, he gets up every morning with a smile on his face. Until one day, when he runs into Millie, a girl that will change his life forever.

There are some cute gaming references, but most of them are very phoned in. Performances are quite poor (not even Waititi lands his part), the action is somewhat uninspired, and the plot is a bore. What remains is noise and expensive set pieces. A pretty typical Hollywood blockbuster in other words. Big budget, no creativity.

A Tokyo girl finds an abandoned terrain in the outskirts of the big city. It's an old industrial site that hasn't been maintained for years, so obviously nature took over. She plans to turn the site into a beautiful garden of Eden, but despite all her hard work and commitment, the project is getting the better of her.

I liked the quieter moments here. There are some truly beautiful scenes, helped by the unique setting, a very nice soundtrack and some inspired set designs, but they're mixed with some louder and more hectic moments, that took me out of the film time and time again. Still, a film worth seeking out.

Earth is on the verge of defeat for the 10th time straight. That would mean the Outworld would seize control. Rather than wait for the results of the 10th Mortal Kombat tournament, Shang Tsung devises a plan to kill Earth's fighters before they can even enter the tournament. Cole Young, with a little help of Raiden, has to prevent this from happening.

The fights are pretty brutal, including a couple of juicy fatalities. So much in fact that the horror tag isn't entirely out of place. The problem lies with the scenes in between. Second-rate actors (and/or miscasts), dumb characters and some truly boring lore take up way too much time. A lot of the actual fights ends up in a pre-finale montage, which is a real shame. Not great, but there are some memorable scenes here.

Anton Brtko is a carpenter, but because of the Aryanization efforts he's asked to take over the sewing shop of a Jewish widow. Anton complies, but makes a deal with the widow that she can still run her own shop, with Anton helping her do the more menial tasks. The two develop a trusting relationship, but outside pressure mounts.

There's some moral ambiguity to work through, while the Czech focus adds a unique angle. The performances are rather poor though, the pacing is sluggish, and the cinematography is pretty dull. I was pretty much done with the film after 30 minutes, so the 120-minute runtime surely didn't help either. Not my cup of tea.