Log: week 21 / 2022

I'm certain I'll never be a big Dreyer fan, but it's clear the man has his own way of making films. On paper, a film like Day of Wrath has nothing for me, but thanks to the stark black and white cinematography it becomes a bit easier to stomach. It's still quite the ordeal, but not as bad as some of the other classics.

A cute little romcom with contemporary British flair. The film doesn't really try to tread new ground, but the characters are not your average romcom fodder, the plot's not quite as rosy as you'd expect, and the finale works. That's always a good sign the film did something right.

Masato Harada is a pretty big name (with an impressive oeuvre), the cast isn't anything to scoff at either. Just to say that I had high hopes for this film, but they never really materialized into something concrete. While this could've been a solid investigative thriller, it's really just an average newspaper drama.

Greengrass giving his version of the Utøya massacre. If you want a more gripping, more compact and overall better film, then just watch Poppe's Utøya: July 22. If you prefer an elongated Hollywood version with more in-your-face sentiment, this Paul Greengrass version is the one you want to see.

Well, it is Hamlet alright. There are many adaptations of Shakespeare's famous play, Olivier's one is often seen as one of the best. Not the most fateful (as the film is considerably shorter than the play), but I'm not one to judge about that, as I'm hardly a fan of this type of theatricality.

Venom really is just more superhero nonsense, but there is a little twist that helps to set it apart from most Marvel/DC films. Not enough to make it a good franchise, but at least it doesn't feel like a film that's been rechewed for the past two decades. This sequel is even slightly better than the first one.

The handover is by far one of the most impactful events in (semi)recent Hong Kong history. The ripples of that moments are getting stronger every day, so I figured it might be interesting to see how the Hong Kong people felt about this historic moment back when it actually took place. That's not really what Hui's documentary is about though.

Eastwood putting himself in the spotlight again. The result is a bland 90s thriller with a bunch of old men chasing each other. It's a bit hard to imagine a film like this actually did well back in the 90s (I was around, but not really that big of a film fan back then, certainly not interested in this type of nonsense).

My fourth Ceylan, and I'm really starting to see a pattern here. I quite like his more introspective moments, where his film slows down and characters just wander. When narrative and conversations are added, I feel the quality takes a real dip and his films start getting tedious.

A bit too childish for my taste. I could do with another excellent sci-fi film, but they seem hard to come by these days. The Adam Project plays more like the 80s adventure films for kids, with a serious dash of Ryan Reynolds throws in. If that's your thing, this is probably a great film.

Japan loves a good haunted school story. The Haunted School series is quite popular, but similar franchises exist that offer pretty much the exact same thrills. Mind you, this film is mostly aimed at a younger audience. There is no extravagant gore or no real edge-of-your-seat thrills.

Straight to streamer remake of a French film. Expectations were pretty limited for this one, maybe that's why I was happily surprised to find a more than decent film. There are no surprises here, The Valet is incredibly formulaic, but the characters are extremely charming and the tone of the film is just right.

Cronenberg's return to the body horror genre has been getting quite a lot of attention, not too odd considering he's one of the founders of the genre. I'm not the biggest Cronenberg fan, but I was curious to see how his latest would stack up against the work of his son (who I like a lot better).

A rather subdued drama by Ohmori. That's a bit surprising to be honest, as he is best known for his edgy and gritty films. The topic of the film certainly could've gone a lot darker, and it could've fit right in with the rest of his work. That said, going with this softer approach might actually be the most shocking way to portray the story.

A true benchmark for uncomfortable comedy. Solondz treads a very line between comedy and tragedy, but never trips up. The characters are terrible, intolerable people, but they all draw sympathy from the audience, even though they rarely deserve it. The cinematography and score are pretty bland, the structure a little simple, but almost every other scene is a comedy highlight and the film is filled with memorable confrontations. They sure don't make 'em like this anymore.

Another Chinese Sherlock Holmes. There are so many Chinese genre films appearing these days, that it is nigh impossible to keep track of how everything fits together. So much in fact that I had no idea whether the intro of this film was a recap of previous entries in a franchise, or just a rushed introduction. Not that it matters a lot.

The first part in a trilogy of films documenting the revolution against the government of Allende. I can't say I was aware of the events in this documentary, South-America is not a continent often covered here in Belgium, so from that angle the documentary was certainly pretty informative.

Disney resurrecting Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers doesn't sound all that exciting, but they made a real effort with this one. In the hands of the Lonely Island gang the result is a film full of gags and references that reach well beyond the Disney stable, keeping the pace high from start to finish.

Jing Wong trying to reinvent himself as a streamer king. I have no clue what his goals or plans are, it feels almost surreal to see a guy with his stature throw himself at the streamer market. But alas, here we are. Hit Team is a generic action flick that perfectly embodies the streaming platform filler requirements, and clearly Wong is there for it.

Some sequels don't deserve a sequel, but popularity may decide otherwise. I could've lived without a second Father of the Bride film, apparently enough people liked the first one though, so more had to follow. Rarely do these sequels amount to much, this film is obviously no exception to the rule.

The .5 concept of Jackass should feel familiar by now. A bunch of outtakes and scenes that didn't make the official movie, some behind the scenes footage and a couple of interviews. If you just want more stunts these movies aren't for you, if you want to feel a little closer to the cast and crew, this is a perfect alternative to the main series.

Sci-fi on the cheap. This small-scale Australian post-apocalyptic thriller makes a decent effort, but director Wilson can't really overcome his budgetary limitations. The result is a film that obviously tried to be a little different from the norm, but ultimately fails at everything it sets out to do. It's nothing a little extra cash couldn't fix.

One of the endless number of noirs that was made in the 40s. The more I watch, the more boring they get. Criss Cross doesn't stand out in any way, which is perfectly fine when you're a genre aficionado, personally I'm a bit surprised these very basic genre films have such a dedicated following.

Mediocre American high school comedy, that wants to be contemporary and pay homage to the 90s at the same time. That means you're getting some woke jokes, a ton of 90s/early 00s teen pop references and some mediocre drama that doesn't make much sense and misses the mark completely.

A tiny slice of little-known Canadian-Japanese (baseball) history. Yuya Ishii is a very capable director, but here he takes things just a little too easy. The result is a decent but unadventurous sports drama that is very predictable and doesn't really warrant it's 2+ hours running time.