Log: week 44 / 2021

The soundtrack is light, the cinematography rather basic. The film is mostly just the priest talking to people from the village, and writing down his doubts in his diary. Struggles with faith rarely interest me though and the endless musings of a rather uninteresting characters aren't my favorite way of spending two hours. Bresson and I don't really go well together it seems.

I like myself a good disaster film and Cloudy Mountain doesn't disappoint. A nice setting, some impressive CG destruction and some hairy moments generally keep me glued to the screen, but like most other films in the genre there's a bit too much cheesy drama and the film does get a bit too epic at the end, especially when the China chest bumping peeks its head around the corner. Other than that, a fun film.

Martel's style is rather interesting, as there's a lot of "show, don't tell" going on. The framing is nice, the location is pretty cool too. There's no real goal the film works towards, it feels more like a selection of smaller vignettes bundled in a convenient story, but that does help to keep things interesting. I'm still not entirely on board with Martel's style, but this was pretty solid.

I didn't care much for the boy's performance, the people he meets on the road aren't very interesting either and Kiarostami's styling has never been something I've cared for. The film is noisy, characters are pretty irritating and the Ahmed's journey is too uneventful. Not my kind of film.

It's a good thing the film doesn't seem to be taking itself too serious. Johnson and Tatum are pretty silly, the rest of the cast tries to follow their lead (with varying success). There are some decent action scenes, but it's not really enough to save the film. It's borderline okayish as a basic blockbuster, just don't expect anything more.

While the plot sounds pretty dramatic, there's more than enough room for lighter moments, with the voice-over adding a healthy dose of playfulness. The performances are solid, the pacing is on point and the film isn't too long. A fine debut, it only lacks a bit of extra spunk to really stand out.

Diaz/Kutcher are a bit hit-and-miss here. They do have their moments, but they're also a bit light for their parts (i.e. they can't do mean very well). The plot is very predictable, the secondary characters aren't that funny, but the pacing is solid, and the film was over and done before I knew it. Basic filler.

Donnie Yen and Nicolas Tse are both excellent as the leads, the action scenes are well choreographed and impressive, the pacing is on point too. There may be a bit too much filler drama, certainly not a first for this type of film, but there are plenty of action scenes scattered throughout to make up for it. A fine action flick.

The story may sound like a premise for a horror flick, but Olaizola plays it a lot cooler. Mystery and thriller elements are added to make the trip through the jungle more alluring, limited explanation about the essence of the demon keep the mystery alive. The film is probably a bit too long and could've used some visual touch-ups, other than that a very nice discovery.

Performances aren't that great and the soundtrack is far too overbearing. It kills the drama and works against the premise, which is a bit of a shame. I did like the structure, which kept things fresh and made the 2 hours much easier to bridge. The cinematography is pretty fine too, especially the outside scenes. Not great, but better than expected.

Performances are solid, and the drama is decent enough, but the relationship between the two women is a bit basic and the styling of the film isn't too exceptional either. It's one of those films where there's nothing specifically bad, it just lacks anything that sets is apart from the pack.

One-Eyed Jacks is a very basic western, the kind that really should last any longer than 90 minutes. And yet, Marlon drags it out to well over two hours. Performances are poor and overdone, the setting isn't very appealing and unless you're a hardened western fan, the plot isn't all that interesting either. Not good.

There are quite a few shorts gunning for photorealism, but Love, Death + Robots is at its best when it gets a bit more creative with the art styles. Ice and The Tall Grass both stand out in that regard. On the weaker side of the anthology we find Automated Customer Service (the comedy is way too basic) and Pop Squad (a rather poor Blade Runner clone), even these shorts are somewhat decent. This is a small step up from the first one, it just needs to be a bit more daring if it wants to shine.

Previous entries have set quite a benchmark, it's getting harder and harder to take things one step further. While Lin makes a decent effort, the ending doesn't quite live up to the expectations. There are some very solid action scenes here though, the comedy is a welcome surprise and the cast feels really comfortable at this point. If only they'd keep the middle part a bit shorter.

Danny DeVito seems to be popping up in many of these comedies, in Richard Dreyfuss he finds a worthy opponent. The bickering often goes on too long and the film never becomes hilarious, but the pacing is decent enough and there are some minor laughs spread throughout. Wouldn't really recommend it, unless you really like this type of thing.

There isn't too much emotion here, not in the performances, nor the plot, nor the styling, even so Kaurismäki does manage to insert some humor into his film. I did appreciate his minimalist approach up to a certain point and the ending, though not quite surprising, was well handled. A pretty interesting film.

Though this was a pretty expensive film, it never looks or feels expensive. The action scenes are bland, the CG is subpar, the acting is really poor, the comedy completely misses the mark, the tone is wildly inconsistent and the preachy ending is one of the worst I've seen in a long time. Time to bury Wonder Woman, or find a director who can actually handle this kind of material.

For a film that is known for its somewhat taboo subject, it's all pretty prim and proper. Sure enough, there is some nudity, but the film can't hide its pulpy origins. The performances are decent though, and it's certainly not as cheap-looking as I'd feared. I'm not really the target audience, but the flak this film received makes me wonder if some may have had ulterior motives.

The muted color palette, snappy editing and stylish score form a solid foundation for a moody horror film. It should be no surprise that Chen mixes in mystery and drama elements too, a staple for Asian horror cinema. There's just not quite enough here to turn it into something unique. Not quite tense enough, not visually distinctive enough, not surprising enough. It's still a very solid film though, just no masterpiece.

I'm not a big Joaquin Phoenix fan, and he's really at his Phoenix-iest here. Paltrow and Shaw aren't much better, none of them seem able to lend their characters the required depth for this type of film. The direction is clean but uninspired and dull, the soundtrack boring and the ending disappointing. Very forgettable.

It won't take you long to figure out the plot, it all comes down to Coote and Angel's direction, which is pretty mediocre. They do the bare minimum to introduce some tension, and that's it really. Performances are basic, the cinematography is borderline acceptable, the plot simplistic. Not terrible if you're looking for simple filler, but that's about all you can hope for.

I'm not sure if the film was as deep or meaningful as Komatsu intended it to be, but it did offer a very nice little breather from more serious things. The mood is light and ethereal, Aoi does well, the styling is appropriate and the runtime makes sure the film never outstay its welcome. A sweet, fun and original little diversion, well recommended for fans of Japanese dramas (with a little twist).

Kline and Curtis feel a bit out of place, which is not surprising in a Cleese comedy. Kline in particular can be somewhat annoying. The pacing is pleasant though and while not all jokes are hits, there are quite a few fun scenes to be discovered. Just a bit of random filler, but if you're looking for something light and pleasant you could do far worse.

Dashcam is a pretty short film, still there's an awful lot of padding. The actions of the main character are also pretty questionable and too much time is spent on uninteresting computer fiddling. It gets a bit better towards the ending and there is some intrigue scattered throughout the film, just not enough to make it an easy recommend. This is for genre fans only I guess.

The plot is pretty ridiculous really, but as the film really leans into it, it's quite amusing to see what little twist they'll come up with next. The visuals are pretty slick, with lovely colors and nicely framed shots, the music too is well above par. The weakest parts are no doubt the performances and the fake scar make-up, betraying the film's low budget origins, but they don't really stand in the way of the fun. Better than expected.

Getting past the casting choices was quite a hurdle, but even then this film doesn't have all that much to offer, besides the usual submarine hoopla. There are lots of "tense" moments with people waiting for something to happen/not happen, and since WWIII never happened, it's difficult to make this film truly tense. Not great.

The intro is a bit long and the twist isn't exactly original, but Eubank does a good job cranking up the tension. He makes the most of the eerie setting, has some neat new camera tricks to show off and deliver a cracking finale. It's not his best work, but found footage horror fans are sure to have a good time with Next of Kin.

Scripted romances, simplistic drama and some courtroom intrigue. I didn't care for any of it. This was one of those films where nothing felt particularly special or noteworthy, a long succession of predictable scenes that didn't inspire any emotion at all. At two hours long, it really tested my patience, sadly, I got nothing in return.

The gritty black and white cinematography is cool, the industrial soundtrack is pretty out there too. The two never quite come together though, as the whole short feels a bit rushed, even a little unfinished. But the raw quality is there and if you love yourself some hardcore cyberpunk cinema, S-94 won't disappoint.

The character I felt most for was Patrick. A simple bloke who isn't the best boyfriend in the world, but doesn't deserve to be lied to. The romance is pretty basic and the added drama isn't very effective, but the setting is nice, and the characters do have a certain charm about them. Not the worst of its kind.

A nice film about how someone who has learned to cope with loneliness can find it difficult to connect with others, even when the opportunity presents itself. Ohku's direction is rather safe, but there are some stand-out moments, the performances are fine and even though the runtime's a bit excessive, the film never gets boring. A fine film.

Dune is sci-fi pulp, but Villeneuve seems to be taking the material extremely serious. The slow pacing is quite unnecessary, the dialogues are trite, and the visual splendor really isn't all the splendid. Villeneuve also needs a trained action choreographer by his side, if the sequel will truly be more action-based then this blah Hollywood screen-fighting won't cut it. The worms are cool, and it's nice that someone is finally getting heaps of cash to make sci-fi epics again, but this should've been so much better.

The black and white cinematography truly is beautiful, it's the real eye-catcher of the film. The story about people standing up against oppression and its parallels through time is less engaging. While the drama has its moments, you have to wonder how much of a difference a film like this can really make, and whether it's worth going over the same points again and again.

This feels like a Hollywood production in almost every way. It's an epic tale for sure, but the not-quite-there cinematography, the ill-fitting soundtrack and the English language all increase the disconnect with what is supposed to be a film about China. It's certainly not all bad, but not at all what it should've been.