Log: week 27 / 2022

Brian is a recluse who lives alone on a farm, making strange trinkets he calls inventions. When he finds a mannequin's head one day, he decides to build an AI/robot. He fails in his task, but during a thunderstorm the unlikely happens and the robot comes to life. Brian is elated, only he doesn't realize that bringing up an AI is a lot harder than expected.

The Welsh setting is lovely, Earl is a real treat and the comedy is pleasantly daft. I'm not quite sure if this type of comedy works best as a film, 90 minutes is quite long and the film is rather one-note, but it kept me engaged throughout, while the premise is unique enough to stand out from the crowd. Lovely.

Veronika is a young woman who can't find any joy in life. She hates her job and her relationships feel empty. She decides to commit suicide, but her attempt fails, and she wakes up in an institution for people just like her. On the verge between life and death, her fellow patients will help her regain the will to live.

I'm a bit surprised I had never heard about this film before. The concept is interesting enough, the performances are solid, and the styling is top-notch. The balance between the lighter elements and the drama isn't quite perfect, and the film does get a little predictable after a while, but fans of Japanese dramas with a slight fantastical edge will find a lot to love here.

Charlotte is hired to house-sit a British cottage over the weekend, while the couple who lives there goes out of town. It's an eerie building and Charlotte doesn't feel at ease, as if someone is watching her from a distance. She hears strange noises and her dreams are haunted by a terrifying monster.

The performances are a bit all over the place (Kilgour in particular is odd as hell) and the cinematography is a bit murky, but the necessary tension is present and there are some pretty promising scenes early on. I just wish Richardson would have had a clearer idea how to finish his film. Not terrible, but the potential was there to do better.

A young boy looks out his window at night and sees an unidentified object crashing nearby. His dad goes out to take a look and doesn't come back until the next morning, a changed man. The boy believes that something has taken over his dad, but nobody wants to believe him. Until he meets a nice lady at the police office.

The middle part of the film is fairly long and uneventful, which is a tad odd as the sci-fi elements looked very practical and not at all expensive to pull off. The aliens are basically just people in an ugly tracksuit wearing masks. But once the film gets up to speed there's some fun to be had. Not what I'd call good cinema, but not terrible to sit through either.

A young boy loses his sister's freshly repaired shoes on his way home. He doesn't dare inform his parents, and gives his own shoes to his sis. At school his sister sees another girl walking around with her shoes, but when they follow her home, they discover she's even worse off than they are.

Stylistically it's all very dry and functional. The performances aren't terrible, but nothing too special, the plot is just dire. At least the film is relatively short, but that's just a minor positive, as the direction and the outcome are all very much by the numbers. Not a film I'll fondly remember.

After destroying the science fair, the two are sent to space camp, where their silly jokes are misunderstood as acts of genius. Before they know it they're off into space, thinking they have a shot of having sex with the mission commander. They completely screw up the mission and reemerge in the year ... 2022.

The art style and animation are still crude and simplistic, the jokes are very one note and the plot is an extremely basic collage of sci-fi clichés. The only thing that makes it remotely funny is the dedication to the banality of it all, but that's not enough to make this a decent flick. Not even close.

The capture of a high-ranking Yakuza criminal opens up a can of worms. He reveals a connection between the Yakuza and one of Japan's biggest banks. Once the cat is out of the bag, a large-scale investigation is launched. Kitano is one of the lead investigators, a righteous Pitbull who'll leave no stone unturned to find out the truth.

Harada's direction is animated, and the cast is superb. It's still not quite enough to get it close to a personal favorite, but making a 2-hour financial thriller somewhat thrilling is already a pretty big feat in an of itself. Harada is one of those directors who deliver quality no matter the genre he works in, Spellbound is no exception.

Nanakusa lives on an island for people who are lacking something in life. They live comfortable lives, but their confinement makes it difficult for them to truly enjoy that comfort. Then Yu reappears on the island. Nanakusa and Yu have a history, together with their classmates they'll have to figure out the secret of the island, if they ever want to escape their fate.

The cinematography is beautiful, the setting majestic and the mystery/fantasy elements support the drama very well. The performances are a tad flat though and the score can get a little too sentimental. In the hands of a more seasoned director this could've been a personal favorite, but still worth checking out for fans of Japanese dramas.

Ruby grows up in a family of deaf people. She's the only one who can hear/speak, so she is vital to her family's survival. When Ruby joins a singing club, she turns out to have a beautiful voice. Ruby wants to pursue her talent, but she is torn between choosing her own path and leaving her family behind.

The plot is pretty boring and predictable, the music is dull (not even Ruby's singing voice is anything special), the characters and acting are bland, the comedy utterly trivial. There is no edge, not the tiniest piece of grit or unevenness. It's simply a stale and listless drama where nothing stands. Yuck.

The plot is pretty basic, then again that's par for the course for a light-hearted blockbuster comedy. A couple is trying to have a baby, but somehow the magic isn't happening. The man suspects an unfulfilled love from his past might be the cause, and so he travels to Hong Kong to reconnect with his old flame. Once there, things don't really go as planned.

Director Zheng Xu is a smart man, casting himself in between Zhao Wei and Juan Du. The film looks slick and stylish, there are some proper jokes, a couple of fun cameos and the pacing is pretty fast, propelling you through 2 hours of pleasant chaos without too many bumps in the road. Hardly the best film ever made, but for blockbuster entertainment it's quite a bit better than the norm.

Fernando is a peaceful deserter who travels the land. When he meets Manolo, a rich farmer, he finally finds a place to stay. Manolo and Fernando share a political ideology, but it's only when Fernando finds out about Manolo's daughters that he decides to stay for a little while longer.

The cinematography is relatively colorful, but dull. The soundtrack is atrocious, and the performances are rather overstated. The plot isn't all that original either. It's never too boring, and the drama is never heavy or burdensome, I'm still a bit surprised a film like this did so well back in the days.

Clint and Adam haven't seen each other for 15 years. To reconnect, they plan a hunting trip in the mountains. When they reach their destination, they find a strange den that looks very menacing. Something is out there with them on the mountain, and the two brothers are about to become its prey.

The actual horror elements are interesting, but they're executed pretty poorly. The creature looks rather silly, the scares are too plain, and the setting could've been used a lot better. Instead of spending so much time on the textbook drama between the brothers, Brown should've put more effort into making a better horror flick.

When a son returns home, after being sent away to study and learn from the world, old friendships and romances are rekindled. The son seeks out one of the servants he grew up with, but she keeps him at a distance. She claims it is because of their different societal status, but the servant also seems to be more taken by the son's friend.

There's quite a bit of drama to wade through, it's almost a bit grotesque and soap-like during the finale, but somehow that made the film a little better. Performances aren't good enough for a bona fide drama, the Shaw Bros decors are cheesy, and the romance is extremely overdone. Not Chor's best film, but I expected even worse.

Jan is a young, ambitious assistant professor, who only cares about his work. Anna is a writer who has taken an interest in Jan, but he doesn't really have eyes for her. Anna isn't willing to give up that easily, and she forces a situation where they can spend more time together.

The setup could've been endearing, but the bland characters and grim cinematography don't really do much for the film. The endless dialogues aren't very exciting either. It's all just very plain and lifeless. It might be interesting for those who appreciate Eastern-European dramas and/or Zanussi completists.

Samuel grows up on a closed off estate. His mother doesn't want him to go outside and teaches him everything he has to know at home. When a young servant arrives at the house, Samuel falls madly in love with her. He becomes defiant and wants to taste life outside the manor.

The lovely cinematography and moody score are the real stars of the film. They make for a very atmospheric film. The performances are pretty great too, the pacing is a tad slow though and the film can be somewhat uneventful. Still, director De Feo shows what he's capable of, a very promising first feature.