Log: week 23 / 2022

The film is set in the 30s, when the Japanese army takes over a small Chinese village. We follow a poor family who try to survive the occupation. One son joins a medic group and leaves his family behind, whilst the other goes into hiding. It's a typical family chronicle that hinges its success almost entirely on its characters.

The cinematography and score are negligible, the films focuses entirely on the characters and the drama. It's way too sentimental for my liking though, and the three-hour runtime really is a big hurdle. By the time I was done with this film, there was more than half of it to wade through. Quite the ordeal.

Detective Murata became a recluse after losing his wife. When a young girl gets brutally murdered with a chainsaw in a hotel room in Tokyo, Murata is brought back from retirement to take on the case. Together with his partner he travels to Hokkaido, where the girl was born, to unravel the mystery.

The performances are superb, with a career defining role for Teruyuki Kagawa. Stylistically the film is pretty unique, sporting a very minimalistic take on Takashi Zeze's gritty crime and drama vibe. It is quite slow and rather long though, so make sure you're in the right headspace if you want to take on this film. Very good, stops just short of being great.

After a rather tough period in her life, Ayako decides to go back to her hometown. She wants to see her grandma, but right before she gets there her grandma dies. Ayako's sister isn't doing too well either, she is suffering from cancer and has no real chance of survival. Ayako wants to stick around and give new meaning to her life.

The performances are strong, the drama is a little heavy but the slow pacing gives the audience time to come to grips with the characters and everything that is happening to them. The town and its local folklore makes for a beautiful setting. The final hour could've been a bit tighter, but I liked this one a lot.

Nathan is a petty thief who works in a bar, where he robs his clients. A man turns up and offers him a much bigger job. He had a lead that will take them to the lost gold of Magellan. Nathan accepts, but his partners are not to be trusted and getting to the gold will prove a lot harder than expected.

The chemistry between Holland and Wahlberg is decent enough, the exotic locations work well for this type of film and the light tone is appropriate. The action scenes are a bit flaky though and the mystery isn't that well fleshed out. This is simple entertainment, and the film is fully aware of that. Decent filler.

John Book is a police detective. When he is called out to investigate a murder, a young Amish boy turns out to be the only witness of the crime. When the book identifies one of Book's colleagues, things begin to heat up and Book can only narrowly escape. He goes to stay with the Amish for a while.

The soundtrack is the biggest asset of the film. It gives it a bit of extra flair that similar films lack. Ford isn't too bad, the crime elements are basic but work well, and the romance is passable. It's a bit long maybe, and it's certainly not the most memorable film, but it's perfectly fine filler.

Arashi is the leader of a theater troupe. One day he takes his troupe to a small coastal town, where he goes to visit Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi believes Arashi is his uncle, but Arashi is in fact his father. When Arashi's mistress understands what's going on, she becomes jealous. If Arashi isn't careful, the future of his entire troupe might be at stake.

The characters aren't too interesting, the drama is also rather basic. Ozu's signature gentle approach to the drama is only semi-successful, but that's largely because I didn't really care too much about the proceedings. The cinematography and score aren't too notable either. Not a terrible film, just not something I cared for very much.

Tita is the captain of a ship that seeks out exotic animals in the clouds of planet Ietta. One day she bumps into Elysse, a girl the same age as her. Elysse is being followed by armed rebels. Tita quickly realizes that they're up to no good, and she helps to protect Elysse, what she doesn't know is that the fate of the entire planet lies in this girl's hands.

The mecha designs are nice, the mix of genres works well and with a runtime of just under 45 minutes, there really is no time to waste on fluff. The animation is pretty solid too, but you're clearly dealing with an OAV, so don't expect the world from it. Good anime filler, though you're not missing too much if you decide to skip it.

Kafuku is happily married to his wife. They have a good marriage, and they love to rehearse lines while driving. When Kafuku's trip is suddenly canceled, he returns home to find his wife in bed with another man. He leaves without them noticing. Before he can confront her though, she dies from a brain hemorrhage.

The lengthy conversations in pleasing settings, the slow pacing, the dramatic punch in the gut at the end, they're all staples of the genre. Hamaguchi handles them well, it's only the play that feels a bit too on nose and takes up too much time. Drive My Car is a perfectly fine film, but not worth the hype.

Bill Man is a respected teacher, but he is tough on his students. They set up a trap and nearly kill him. Man manages to escape and becomes a recluse. He finds some new students to teach, but then his old clan learns he is still alive, and they come back to try and finish the job.

Liu found some young talent and gave himself a sizeable role to show off he could still kick ass at his age. The action scenes are pretty great, the rest of the film isn't quite up to par though. The cinematography is lacking, the soundtrack isn't great, and the plot is really bland. Still, if you love Liu's older work, this is well worth checking out.

Shuhei is a widower who lives together with his daughter. He fears that his daughter is sticking around to take care of him, and that by doing that she will be missing her window of opportunity to find a husband. So Shuhei takes it upon himself to find his daughter a suitable suitor.

The static cinematography and elderly cast work against the film. This kind of minimalism isn't easy to pull off, when it gets a bit too sentimental and rowdy the effect simply isn't there. There are some decent moments and the drama is proper enough, I just didn't care enough about the theme, nor the characters.

Superheroes are part of everyday society, things get hairier when a gang leader finds a way to milk the powers of superheroes, selling the extracts on the street to minors. A detective and his new partner are put on the case, they know some superheroes from back in the day who might be willing to help out.

The police procedural elements are a bit dry and the film has some pacing issues. The mix of fantasy, crime and light comedy is interesting though, Poelvoorde is a delight and the special effects are pretty decent for a low-to-mid budget film of this caliber. A fun genre bender for people who are tired of the familiar superheroes.

It's not the first adaption of this Rampo story, it's also not a very difficult story to adapt, so don't expect any wonders here. A man staying in a hotel discovers the open attic, which allows him to spy on the other guests. What starts as a voyeuristic adventure quickly turns into cold-blooded murder, others seem to be on to his little scheme.

Jissoji keeps it short and sweet, which is perfect for the simple premise. While the story remains basic, more effort was put into the mood. Thanks to the rather stylish cinematography and the pleasant score, Jissoji hits the right notes. It's not one of his more remarkable films, but an easy recommend for fans of both Jissoji and Rampo.

When Roubaud hears Séverine, his wife, is sleeping with her boss, he simply can't stand the idea, and he forces his wife to join his murderous plans. Their mission is a success, except that there is a witness who saw Séverine kill the man. To make sure he doesn't talk, she also starts an amorous relationship with the witness.

The stark black and white cinematography is nice enough, and it's clear that Renoir made an effort to elevate it. Sadly, the plot is boring, so are the characters, and the soundtrack feels terribly out of place. The film starts off pretty decent, but once the noir elements find their way into the film, the quality takes a dip.

Wednesday feels like an outcast, Gomez makes an extra effort to get closer to his daughter and organizes a family vacation. Things get trickier when a man shows up claiming that Wednesday was swapped at birth. These stories begin to converge, but they never really manage to become a coherent whole.

I quite like The Addams Family, the classic Gothic vibe and the dark comedy are key elements of the appeal, but they're completely gone. Instead, you get a very random US animation with horrible characters, bland comedy and a laughable soundtrack. People deserve to get fired over this.

Earth has become little more than a wasteland, ruled by dangerous sand worms who consider people to be their primary source of food. A group of refugees is trying to reach the Oasis, one of the final strongholds of humanity. Their trip takes them right through the desert, and the hungry worms are on their tale. The worms aren't the only danger they'll have to face.

It all comes down to one thing: terrible CG. The worms look like drab blobs, which makes them dull enemies. The performances are somewhat decent, pacing and runtime are what they should be, but that's of little importance when the film itself doesn't really deliver. They really need to do better, but practice makes perfect.

Tange only has one arm and one eye, still he's given an import mission. There's a rumor going around that a pot with one million ryo has been buried somewhere. The map to the treasure is also stacked away in a pot. The more people who hear about this rumor, the trickier it becomes to find decent information.

The pacing is actually quite pleasant, there are different forms of comedy on display and the limited runtime is a blessing, though I can't say the film managed to keep my attention for the entire length. The plot is simply, but it's little more than an excuse for some comfortable entertainment.

Marie gets an odd letter, saying her mother's grave has been desecrated. She has to come as quickly as possible, but the cemetery is on a remote island. When they get there the guard won't let them through, as the bridge had been closed down until spring. When he reads Marie's letter, he changes his mind and lets her through.

The performances are more than solid, the build-up of the atmosphere is great, and the gradual reveals keep the mystery strong. But the mystery itself is a bit simple and not all too appealing, and it's not as visually striking or imaginative as it could've been. Still, props for making a slightly different type of horror, there's more than enough quality here to warrant it a fair shot.

A group is experimenting with putting chips in humans, trying to unlock their full capabilities. When a scientist sees the danger, she sacrifices her own life to safe her daughter's. She can escape the facility and goes to live with her grandma in the slums, but the group wants her back and will do everything in their power to return her.

For a low-budget film the setting looks properly fleshed out, the plot is pretty fun and the short runtime plus strict pacing make sure things never get dull. It's just that nothing about this film feels very original or special. I guess China is still trying to find its own sci-fi signature. It might be awhile before they find it if they go about at this pace.

Two boys are starting their work day together. Their job is to cut the grass of a large field. One is a seasoned professional who has been doing this work for quite a while, the other a first-day temp who missed the introduction classes. The start of their day is pretty rough, but as they get to talking, they slowly develop a bond.

The premise is simple, don't expect anything too profound from this little slice-of-life drama. It's just the boys spending their day together, talking on their breaks and cutting grass in a rather beautiful setting. It's not going to be for everyone, but I really appreciated this down-tempo drama.

When a scientist uncle is watching over his nephew, he makes a big scientific discovery. They travel to Iceland, chasing Jules Verne's famous fantasy novel. Once there, they soon begin to suspect that Verne's book might be more than just a novelist's imagination, so they take a guide to bring them to the infamous volcano described in the book.

There are some positives, like the pacing and the short runtime. But that doesn't amount to much when the rest of the film is depressingly bad. The performances are dire, the CG is atrocious and none of the sets make sense or inspire awe. Not a film I'll remember for long (I hope).

A couple of years after the latest disaster, dinosaurs are living among us. Some are captured and are brought to wildlife reserves, but there's also a black market that thrives selling the ancient animals. In that world, a young girl will prove to be the savior of humankind, unless she falls into the hands of the wrong people.

The film is a bit of a mess, then again this is the sixth in the series, and I'm not too surprised they're trying new things to keep it somewhat fresh. The cast is a bit too big, the action not that exciting and the new dinosaurs not that memorable, but at least the second part of the film felt pretty fun, light and adventurous. It would've been a lot better if they had out the Malta part.

People are going about their business, when suddenly a big war breaks out. Earth finds itself in serious trouble as the war continues to rage. To make matters worse, a deadly virus kills off most of the human population. But then a strange man appears from a flying vehicle, he promises to make society whole again.

The first half hour is like watching a recap, with a story that goes in all different kinds of directions. The rest of the film is a lot slower and more philosophical, though the ideology is pretty basic and hardly worth the runtime. Some spectacular scenes left and right add to the appeal, but almost a century later, that's about all that's left of this film.

A group of kids who need extra credit go on a field trip. On their way the driver hits someone and slides his bus off the road. Seconds later a message plays over the intercom, warning everyone to find shelter. It seems the kids landed themselves in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and they'll have to put their differences aside to survive.

The cast is pretty fun, the stylistic choices work well and the pacing is perfect. There's also a fun twist that makes the second half a bit easier to sit through, making sure you're not watching yet another basic zombie flick. It's no masterpiece, but Dunstan once again proves he's a very capable horror director.