Log: week 17 / 2022

The Adams Family strikes again, this time with triple director credits. They're a peculiar family alright, and in some ways it's quite impressive what they've accomplished. It's just that Hellbender isn't really at the level where it should be. That doesn't bode too well for the future of their careers.

Isao Takahata's Pom Poko is a delight. It's been way too long since I last watched the film, I'd forgotten most things about it (apart that one thing everyone remembers), but it hasn't lost any of its original appeal. The film offers a familiar story (animals battling humans as their homes are being destroyed), Takahata takes a more down-to-earth approach compared to his Western peers. At least, if you look at how the battle plays out. Don't expect a very depressing or dark film, there's quite a bit of wonky Japanese folklore and the characters are fun and charming. Add a touch of Ghibli magic, and you have another winner.

An Italian classic that even won the Oscar for best foreign film. It's probably because I don't care too much about the Oscars, but I have to admit that I had never heard of this one before. The premise looked pretty interesting on paper, the film itself isn't as juicy and intriguing as I had hoped.

The Killer is no doubt one of John Woo's most iconic films. It's the poster child of his bullet ballet aesthetic and the heroic bloodshed niche. The first time I'd watched the film, I did love it quite a bit, but the balance between impressive action and somewhat cheesy drama was already a small issue. Rewatching it now, that certainly hasn't improved.

A cute little comedy from Simon Bird, the lead of The Inbetweeners. The comedy is somewhat recognizable, though not quite as teen/sex-focused and not always as explicitly funny either. It's not a full-on dramedy though, Bird keeps it light and amusing enough to avoid that trap.

Jim Cummings is a pretty unique guy, a reputation that becomes more pronounced with each film he directs. Not everything he does is outstanding, but it sure stands out and whenever I see his name pop up, it's an assurance that something out of the ordinary is waiting for me. The Beta Test isn't his best work, but it sure is something.

I haven't seen too many Varda documentaries yet, but I don't think I'm a very big fan. She's an interesting and peculiar lady, but I don't seem to care for anything she does or has to say out of fiction. The Gleaners and I was another painful reminder that this type of human interest films are by far the worst thing cinema has to offer.

A pretty straightforward sequel by a director who got better at his job over the years. What this sequel gained in professionalism, it has lost in enthusiasm though. It's not an unusual trade-off, and it doesn't really affect the overall quality of the film, but it is a missed opportunity as I had secretly hoped to find something slightly better.

A very nice find. I bumped into this film completely by accident. Though I've used to be a big anime fan and this was released during a period when the anime boom wasn't as big as it was now, I never even heard about Darkside Blues. A real shame, as fans of darker films like Demon City Shinjuku are certain to have a good time with his one.

A decent Russian horror, but not quite as good as its recent peers. These films often managed to stand out with local folklore and couleur locale, but that's lacking from The Ice Demon. What you get here is a simple haunting, much in line with its Western counterparts. An actual Ice Demon would've made the film a lot better.

There aren't too many famous character designers, certainly not when it comes to drawing a crowd. Takashi Koike is a good example, but Yoshitaka Amano is by far one of the absolute greatest. He has a unique style that is difficult to translate to animation, but that hasn't kept people from trying over the years. Amon Saga is another fun but somewhat limited attempt.

I feel like I'm repeating myself whenever I see one of these films, but China really can't get enough of their tomb raiding adventures. The Legend of Kunlun is pretty standard fare and if you don't pay close attention you may be forgiven for wondering whether you've seen this film before. It's a good thing then that these films are fairly amusing.

The fourth entry in this 80s comedy franchise finally shakes things up a bit. Not that they changed much about the formula, but they do introduce a gang of new characters (on top of the old favorites). It was a much-needed change that adds a new dynamic, though if you hated the earlier films there's no reason to return to this series.

A simple home invasion flick. Everything about Breaking In felt safe and calculated, which truth be told, is exactly what you could expect from a James McTeague film. It's decent enough filler, thanks to the relatively short runtime and the decent pacing, but don't be surprised if you've forgotten all about the film the next day.

The by then typical Shaw Bros/Cheh Chang formula in full effect, only executed well enough to make this an enjoyable film. It's been a while since I watched a Shaw Bros feature, that always helps. Since their films are so much alike, watching many of them in close succession always leads to saturation.

I'm not a big fan of the Italian Neo-Realist films, so my expectations were quite low when I started La Terra Trema. I will say that the first hour or so was a very pleasant surprise, mostly because of its doc-like nature. Not that it was great, but it was certainly a lot better than I had expected.

As much as I see sound as an almost essential part of great cinema nowadays, the introduction really killed the medium for at least a decade (maybe even two). Even visual innovators like Eisenstein were completely lost after its introduction, which a film like Alexander Nevsky perfectly illustrates.

A pleasant, though somewhat typical Chinese arthouse drama. The meandering pace, the black and white cinematography and the subtle soundtrack are all pretty expected, at the same time there are nicely executed, and director Lu does manage to sculpt a nice portrait about a girl struggling with her past.