Log: week 28 / 2022

When Ishimatsu saves the life of a Yakuza boss, he gets a big promotion. Ishimatsu is somewhat of a loose cannon though, which lands him in jail. When he finally gets out, he quickly settles back into his old habits, plus an extra drug addiction. This pushes him completely over the edge.

This film is Goro Kishitani's moment in the spotlights. His character is dark, depraved and impossible to like, yet Miike makes him the emotional centerpiece of the story. It's not a film for people who want to see a fun Yakuza flick, nor a film for people who want 2 hours of wacky Miike. It does lack the polish to be one of his all-time bests, but it's a very worthy film indeed.

Jean-Louis is a Catholic man with rigid principles. Apart from a small fling when he was younger, he believes in finding the right one putting his sex life on hold until marriage. Those ideals are about to be challenged by Maud, a young and outgoing divorcee. The two end up spending the night together, and slowly Jean-Louis' outlook on life changes.

The performances are pretty decent, but that's about it really. The cinematography is very dull, the conversations feel like they're never going to stop, the pacing is sluggish and runtime too long. I like my Nouvelle Vague films with a bit more spirit and joy de vivre I guess, this wasn't for me.

When Jia's mother is involved in a near-fatal accident, Jia feels bad for never treating her mother the way she deserved. She is then magically transported back into time and lands in 1981, where she meets a younger version of her mom. Jia vows to help her mom attain a better life.

The cinematography is bright and colorful, but also very safe and predictable. The performances are a bit overdone, the romance doesn't really work, and two hours is a bit much. It is easy entertainment though, and it never got too boring, thanks to the somewhat unusual setup.

Kiriyama Rei is a young shogi prodigy, but his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents die. He has a difficult time adjusting to his foster family, it isn't until a finds a new home that he can finally put all his focus on becoming a better shogi player. From that moment on, Rei is unstoppable.

The performances are a little shaky, the overt manga influences don't work too well and the shogi games are slow and tactical, meaning there's a lot of heavy frowning and looking troubled at a shogi board. Otomo finds ways to make the drama a bit more interesting and some matches do get tense, but it's far from his best work.

Gigi is a young girl growing up in Paris, learning how to be a proper lady. Gaston is a wealthy man who is bored with his life, and can't find anything good to do with his time. When he meets Gigi, something changes in Gaston. He falls in love with the girl, but she is set to become a courtesan.

The songs are bland and horrible, the plot is more than a little predictable and even though I do love a bit of color, the crass and oversaturated color story felt more like an attack on my eyes. Not a film I will remember fondly, then again that seems to be the case for most people these days. A relic.

John Klute is a private detective looking for a man who went missing. As he follows his trail, he meets Bree, a New York prostitute who might know more about the case. Klute tries to scam her into helping him, but as the two spend more time together, a romance begins to develop between them.

The dreary cinematography is a turn-off and the pacing is pretty problematic. But Sutherland and Fonda do a pretty solid job, adding intrigue to their characters to offset some of the inherent boredom. The plot isn't too exciting either, but I've definitely seen worse from this genre/era.

A group of people wakes up from their Cryo machines. They have lost their memory and find themselves locked up in an underground bunker. They suspect they were part of a scientific experiment that seemingly went haywire. As they try to figure out what happened to them, they begin to distrust each other.

Cryo is a single-location film with a sci-fi plot, but few visible sci-fi elements. The actors aren't too great, the cinematography is decent but predictable and the plot offers nothing new. But it's an amusing genre romp. A bit long in the tooth maybe, a snappier middle part wouldn't have hurt, but in the end it was pretty enjoyable.

Gal is a retired gangster. He lives in a royal villa in Spain, together with his wife. He loves the sun, the pool and the eventfulness of retirement. All that changes when Don Logan pays him a visit. Logan's a pushy criminal who wants Gal to come out of retirement for one final job.

The deliberate pacing, the polished camera work and the over-the-top characterization are all things that add flair to the film. Take that away, and you get a pretty basic heist flick peppered with some thick British accents. A very fine first feature that betrays Glazer's talent, but it didn't quite have the lasting power I hoped it would.

Catherine is a feisty young woman who gets into trouble with the police. When she tries to escape, she is gunned down by a CIA agent. An experimental chip is implanted into her brain, and she becomes one of their best operatives. Catherine is a strong-willed woman though, and the chip isn't powerful enough to control all her emotions.

The lead actress lacks charisma, the international setting is poorly used (mostly country clichés), the action scenes are not very spectacular and the plot is a simple cut-and-paste job from similar films. It's a shorter film and the pacing is decent, but unless you're a huge Hong Kong action completist, there's not much reason to chase this one.

Seven friends come together to spend an evening reconnecting with each other. When the conversation moves to keeping secrets from each other, they decide to play a little game with their cellphones. They place them in the middle of the table and promise to read aloud every message they receive.

I can't comment on how this version compares to the others (and the original), but de la Iglesia has plenty of fun with the concept and doesn't mind putting on a few extra layers. The mix of dark comedy with minor fantasy and mystery elements makes for an intriguing little film, only the ending felt like a cop out. Good fun though.

A film crew is trying to finish a romantic drama, but nobody is really loving the film. The assistant director is the only one with a bit of drive, but he is more interested in filming his own script: a horror novel. When the lead actor consumes his script by accident, both movies start to converge and the film crew is caught in some weird film limbo.

The effects are decent, some famous faces add a bit of glamour to the cast and the horror bits do get quite grotesque. The film-centric focus feels a bit lazy though and the plot/characters get too much exposure, especially for a film that relies on weird body horror. Splatter fans won't be bored, but don't expect prime Sushi Typhoon-like material.

George is a gay professor living in Los Angeles. Ever since he lost his lover in a car accident, he's been looking for a reason to carry on. His job doesn't really give him satisfaction and an old friend is struggling with similar issues. But then George meets Kenny, a student of him who seems to be interested in George's personal life.

The production design is lush, the cinematography stylish, the score quite present but always an asset. Firth is at the top of his game here, Hoult is probably the weakest link. The final third didn't really hit me like the first hour did, but if you love an atmospheric drama, this film is well worth seeking out.

Su is a young prodigy. He is a very skilled martial artist and great physician, his only weakness is that he loves to read and learn so much that he has built up a pretty big debt. Su tries to work it off, but by doing so he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a clan dispute. He is charged with deliberately killing one of his patients.

The puppets and costumes look grand, the camera work and the sets are equally impressive. The plot is a pretty standard wuxia affair, to the point where it can feel like watching a classic Shaw Bros production, but that's not exactly a negative. A very accomplished film that lacks just a little extra polish to be a true masterpiece, but well recommended for fans of animation and martial arts cinema.

Marquis and his family are well-off city folks. When Marquis' father dies, he flies his family to his hometown for the funeral. A storm hits their plane on the way over and when Marquis wakes up, he finds himself in a strange house, where an old couple holds him captive. Marquis tries to escape, but the couple have strange powers.

The cinematography is moody, the old couple is kitsch in the best way possible and the voodoo elements are interesting. The performances of the leads were a bit flaky and the finale could've been a bit edgier, but they don't detract too much from an otherwise solid horror film. Good fun.

Kuo Tsing continues his journey. After beating the leader of the Iron Palm clan, he leaves the Beggars Clan behind to travel with his loved one. One of their paintings reveals a secret when it gets caught in the rain, showing the way to a hidden treasure. Kuo Tsing decides to investigate, even when it leads him into a sacred cave of the Iron Palm clan.

The fight scenes aren't that special, the plot is a little overbearing and the film feels more than a little drawn out. It's shorter than its companions, which makes it a little easier to sit through, but with so many better Shaw Bros films out there, I find these films a little hard to recommend.

Kate is a young police psychologist who gets called out for a special case. A woman brutally murdered her husband, but she claims he was killed by a sleep demon called Mara. Kate has no other option than to commit the woman to the hospital, but soon after she starts waking up in the middle of the night, unable to move.

There's a long intro where nobody believes the victims (apart from the audience, which knows better), then there's an endless middle part where Kate tries to piece all the clues together, after that a short finale that doesn't really deliver. Kudos for the soundtrack, which really commits, sadly, its dramatic highs don't feel entirely earned. Not a terrible film, just a bit too sloppy.

Humanity is under threat of a yokaiju, a giant yokai who is headed right for Tokyo. He must be stopped, otherwise the entire city will be in shambles. Their former savior isn't alive anymore, luckily, he has two kids who will hopefully continue his legacy. They aren't quite as brave as their dad though, and they'll need some convincing first.

The CG is a bit iffy, the new yokai don't feel quite as distinct and the performances of the kids aren't all that great either. There's still some general wackiness and the "yokaiju" idea is pretty fun, I just expect more from a Miike film than mere throwaway entertainment. It's certainly not his worst film, just a tad disappointing.

A desperate mother creates a video she hopes will help save her child. The child is cursed and beyond help from modern science, because of something the mother did six years ago. By making and spreading the video, she hopes someone will come forward and help her get the curse undone.

The Buddhist angle is relatively novel, other than that Incantation is a pretty typical found-footage horror. It does get pretty graphic as it nears the finale and there's a pretty dark twist at the end. It's also rather tense throughout, there's just isn't enough to set it apart from similar films to make it a true masterpiece. Still, a good recommend for fans of the genre.