Log: week 2 / 2022

Zeze is clearly more interested in the characters and in between the prescribed scenes he does manage to build some proper drama. The cinematography looks cheap, and the soundtrack is terrible, but the performances are surprisingly decent and the friendship between the three leads is nice enough. Not a great film, but focus on the drama, and you'll see shimmers of Zeze's talent.

The "emotional" moments between Craig and Seydoux are pitiful, Malek is by far one of the dullest Bond villains, and it certainly doesn't help that the film is actively engaging in Twitter rhetoric. The action scenes are decent at least, though nothing too spectacular or remarkable. Good riddance and here's to a future with shorter and sillier Bond films.

The first film is by far the best, it's also the only one that doesn't look like a typical anime. Imaishi's entry is cool, but a bit tame compared to his normal work, the Tezuka-inspired film is cute, and the two final shorts do make a real attempt to offer something slightly different, but overall the quality level isn't up to par with something Studio 4 °C would release. They're also the studio that is oddly absent from the line-up. Visions is no doubt one of my favorite Star Wars things, but with the wealth and support of Disney, I expected something more eye-popping.

The cinematography is polished and makes great use of setting and lighting. The score on the other hand is lacking and the sometimes overbearingly vocal characters stand in the way of an atmospheric film. The themes are also predictable and rather stale, which makes the 150-minute runtime a bit of a challenge. There's potential here, but only if Wang can find a way to set himself apart from his peers.

The Morricone soundtrack is extremely cheesy, and the 150-minute runtime is a bit silly, but there are some large-scale action scenes that are quite fun. The characters don't take themselves too serious either (certainly not Juan), which makes it a lot easier to enjoy the boorish action scenes. If only there hadn't been so much horrible filler, this could've been something.

Midnight Swan is a nice film, but apart from its lead character it isn't all that remarkable. The drama is a bit grittier compared to more commercial films, that's about it. Proper cinematography, solid performances and a decent score make for a pleasant film, though the final half hour did get a bit too sentimental and predictable for my taste. A good film, but not really worth the accolades.

Miike's short feels like a live action version of a Shinkai film, but the execution is a little flat, the 2nd and 3rd shorts aren't all that remarkable either. Horanai's film is the first to really show some promise, but it's Yukisada's 5th and final entry that finally delivers the goods. It's certainly not a bad collection of films, but I honestly expected more. There are no weak films, but no stand-outs either.

It's a pretty familiar artist-gone-bad story, then again it is based on a literary classic, so that's not all too surprising. The direction is relatively vibrant, but only compared to similarly themed films. The setting is pretty poor (it never felt like pre-WWII Germany to me) and the acting was a bit overdone too. Not great.

As with most of these films, the premise sounds pretty basic, but things do get weird real fast. The grim black and white cinematography and some oddball events in the second half really upgrade this film from a simple horror film to something with a more pronounced and memorable signature. Short and sweet.

The performances are dim, the cinematography and score are bland and the film doesn't make much of an effort to conceal its twists. It's a really lazy horror flick that leans on a handful of scenes that are slightly more atmospheric, but that's hardly enough to save this one from oblivion. Truly forgettable and unremarkable.

If you get triggered by white savior narratives or Hollywoodian simplifications then this isn't the film for you. But the kids act well, the drama is decent enough and the film isn't too drawn out, which is a blessing. Not a future classic, not even that remarkable a film, but it's not the worst drama either.

While the premise is cool, it does mean that Cage is forced to play a softer character, whereas Travolta has to strain himself to play a badass criminal. The action scenes are still cool as ever and Cage really fits well into Woo's universe, the rest of the cast is noticeably weaker and fails to bring the cool. The drama in between is also pretty daft. If you'd trim the film down to 90 minutes it could still be a masterpiece, but at 140 minutes there are just too many weaker moments.

From the very first frame, we see accentuated colors and pristine sets, immediately signalling a less realistic approach to the drama. The performances are solid, cinematography and soundtrack work well together and though the theme is not something too close to my heart, the film does an excellent job conveying its message. Woszek does lose it a bit in the final third, other than that this was a pretty cool discovery.

Italian neorealism set in Germany, that's what you should expect. The performances are weak, and the drama is sentimental (made worse by an overbearing soundtrack). Visually not much is happening either, and the ending lacks impact. The result is a pretty tepid film, at least it was pretty short.

The action is pretty slick, Okada is perfect in the lead and the comedy is delightfully silly. Mind you, the film can get pretty dark, with quite a few innocent people dying along the way, but that's just part of the fun. The best thing about The Fable though is that there's also a sequel, I'm already looking forward to that one.

I loved the more abstract moments, those that rely on eerie ambient/illbient soundscapes to create a dark and menacing atmosphere. The dramatic scenes sport less audiovisual polish, and the balance between the two didn't always feel right. The film does end strong, so I'm definitely willing to give Joshua Gil another shot with his next film.

The pacing is sluggish, my ears weren't quite ready for the songs and the performances are pretty middling. I also don't care too much for the religious and philosophical themes, but at least the film looked quite polished. It wasn't enough to warrant the 2+ hour runtime, but certainly not the worst Egyptian film I've seen.

The Chinese propaganda at the end is lame, but Lau gets around it pretty well by making Daniel Wu (who plays Eagle, the bad guy) the absolute star of the film. It's one of his finest performances yet and in the end I was rooting for him, not the police. The action scenes are pretty cool, the drama is solid and the procedural elements well executed. This is quality genre work from Hong Kong.

The comedy is pretty typical for a Japanese film. Some hard to translate puns, lots of awkward pauses and odd reactions (the manzai roots are clearly there), funny reimaginings of established lore (like the Red Cliff battle) and some random weirdness (but not enough of the latter). It's a pretty amusing film, just a bit too long and not quite weird or edgy enough to be up there with the best.

It's not the greatest action film produced by the Shaw Bros, but the decors and the soundtrack make this one of their more atmospheric films. I prefer the third entry in the series, but it is a small step up from the first Sentimental Swordsman and the trilogy is a pretty good start for people who haven't seen any of Chor's films yet, as they do a good job of highlighting his particular skills.

The xenomorph is still one of my all-time favorite creatures, but Scott's film doesn't do Giger's designs justice. The performances and characters are rather tepid, the music is a little silly, the editing is rough, and the tech designs are often nonsensical. And then there's the ending, which is a total disgrace. There are still moments of genius, the lighting and interior design are pretty rad, but it's not enough anymore to ignore the film's faults.

Death Train is pretty much par for the course. It's short, cheaply made, and generally chews off more than it can handle. Then again, it is nice to see a director commit to some pretty outlandish concepts, even when he doesn't really have the budget to do so. A pretty amusing horror film for fans of the genre, if you can live with its shortcomings, that is.

Richie Jen is pretty horrible, Cecelia Cheung is passable, though not at a level where she can carry the film. The cinematography is rather bland, and the Ma doesn't fear sentiment, the score on the other hand does bring something to the table and the finale is pretty surprising. Not exactly great cinema, but I expected worse.

Statham is his usual self, the rest of the cast is a bit of a letdown. The plot isn't anything special, and the comedy is mostly absent. What remains is a solid action flick with a grittier edge and a proper finale. It's certainly not a bad film and action fans will have quite a bit to look forward to, It's just not up there with Ritchie's better work.