Log: week 40 / 2022

Johnny is an IRA leader who is wounded during a robbery. The authorities are on to him and they close down the city. Johnny has to hide, but he can't stay long in one place, as the police are vigilantly combing down the city. Meanwhile, his girlfriend goes looking for him after she hears Johnny is still around.

The acting is pretty poor, the plot isn't all that interesting and two hours is simply too long for a film like this. The contrast-heavy black-and-white cinematography is pleasant though, which at least kept me interested throughout. It just wasn't enough to turn this isn't a pleasant experience.

Lok is an undercover policeman. He has infiltrated a Triad gang in order to investigate the surge in drug trafficking, but the closer he gets to his goal, the more apparent it becomes that the Triads are getting help from someone inside the police force. Lok will have to be careful if he wants to blow open the entire operation.

There are many familiar faces, and the film is eager to relive past successes (like the Young and Dangerous series, the Internal Affairs films, and Election), but Man on the Edge never really reaches that same level. There are some proper action scenes and all the tropes are present, but it simply wasn't the lean package you'd expect from a Hong Kong crime flick.

Hiccup is well on his way to building his own dragon utopia, but when word gets out about his village, some shady people start planning to take advantage. Meanwhile, Toothless has found a partner that may save his species. Hiccup plans to move his dragon utopia to a new location, but that is easier said than done.

The animation is technically proficient, but three years after its release that doesn't amount to much. The aesthetic is horrible, the comedy is painfully unfunny and the dub is terrible. I'm glad they laid the series to rest after this third part, it's just empty, boring, and unimaginative pulp.

Vesper is a young girl who cares for her bedridden father in a post-apocalyptic world. Genetics have ruined the world as we know it, the rich live in secluded citadels, while the poor have to survive on their own in the wastelands and forests. When a plane crashes nearby, Vesper goes out to investigate and finds a woman desperate for help.

The effects look amazing, the designs are inspired and the styling is classy. Atmosphere cinematography and a moody score add a lot of appeal. It's just that the futuristic concepts don't get quite enough airtime, and we're seeing too much human betrayal and power struggles. I wish they could've found a better balance, but Buozyte and Samper deserve another shot at the genre.

The story is a retelling of how a young King Henry V vows to invade France and take it for his own. He rallies his troops, delivers a few famous speeches, and pushes through until he finally reaches his goal. If you want a real history lesson though, I suggest you pick a different film.

The costumes and settings are bland, the colors atrocious, the performances overly theatrical and the plot a true bore. The long runtime doesn't help the film either. Unless you're a big Shakespeare fan and you're aiming to see all the films based on his work, I wouldn't recommend this one.

All three shorts are about the misgivings a single house is bringing its inhabitants. The first family is moving into a bigger house, which slowly drives them mad. The second house drives a salesman to insanity, and the final house holds a young woman captive while she tries to restore the building to its former glory.

The first short is by far the best. Very moody, very stylish, and sporting a perfect build-up. The two remaining shorts are good too, but comparatively weaker. The atmosphere is less tangible and the pent-up irritation gets a bit too predictable. The charming animation and novel concept are a boon though. A lovely and loving Netflix project.

There isn't much in the way of an actual plot here. A girl is looking for a pleasant way to spend the evening, and she decides to try out a new drug. After acquiring the materials and printing the drug, she ends up in a hallucinogenic Wonderland. The link with Alice in Wonderland is obvious, but only skin deep.

The maximalist styling is fun, the contemporary/niche take on a classic story works well enough and Rana shows that he has talent. Only the actual technical skillset is sometimes lacking. The blurry images give the film a cheap feel, the performances are dire and the editing could use some work. I do applaud the audacity of this project and I did have plenty of fun with it, I just wish it was a bit more polished.

Rambo has finally settled down, after taking custody of a young Latina girl. She is aching to meet her biological father and when Rambo isn't very cooperative she takes off on her own. She meets up with her dad in Mexico, but the encounter isn't a big success. To make things worse, she is kidnapped by a gang that drugs and pimps out young women.

The intro is way too long and dramatic, Stallone still can't act even if his life depended on it and the plot moves in mysterious ways. The setup of the finale is incredibly silly too, but I will admit that the finale itself was a lot of fun. Blunt and ridiculous, but that's exactly what I expect from a film like this. It's a shame the rest of Last Blood didn't really deliver.

Craig is a young boy who is scouted by Mr. Harrigan, a wealthy wretch, to read him stories three times a week. Craig sticks around and through the years a bond develops between the two. When Harrigan dies, Craig buries his phone with him, after which he starts getting unintelligible messages from Harrigan's phone.

Martell and Sutherland are both solid and the film has an interesting premise, though you can't help but wonder why they felt the need to turn a short story into a 105-minute feature film. The extra padding is blatant and Hancock's direction is too basic to justify it. Not bad, but I wish they would dare to take bigger risks with King's stories.

Qi Ling has spent the last 12 years in prison, for crimes his father supposedly committed. When the emperor falls critically ill, Ling is the only person who can solve the mystery, and so he is given 24 hours to try and cure the emperor. The Nine-Dragon Pen seems to be the artifact that lies at the core of all the trouble, so that's Ling's obvious first lead.

There's quite a bit of plot that needs to be crammed into the limited runtime, and the mix of fantasy and action puts a big strain on the CG, though these are challenges that have been conquered already. Neither the plot nor CG is top-notch, but they suffice and act as fuel for some prime entertainment. I like these short and sweet streamer snacks, and The Treasure Code didn't disappoint.

Ogurtsov is the new chief of the Cultural Bureau in Moscow. His first assignment is to organize a New Year's concert, and he takes his job very seriously. The problem is that the festivities are bound to be incredibly dull with him in charge, so a group of young entertainers tries to salvage what they can.

If you ever wondered what a plainer MGM musical in Russian would look like, look no further. There's novelty value in that for sure, but it doesn't really make for a pleasant or agreeable film, and the quality of the song and dance is pretty paltry. The short runtime is a blessing, but that's about it.

When a new, young teacher is enlisted, all the students fall for his charms. He seems like a stand-up guy, but it is slowly revealed that he wasn't just hired by chance. The guy has been brooding on his master plan for years: create a situation where he'll be killed by a high school girl.

If the plot sounds a bit odd, is because it is. There's a proper explanation for all of it of course, but it's not that convincing and the many subplots detract from the main story. The performances aren't too great, but the cinematography is lovely and the contemporary score is a nice touch. It's a perfectly fine film, I just wish a better director could've handled it.

Riley has a plain but pleasant life, dedicating herself to her family. When her child and husband are killed in a violent drug-related incident, her world collapses. The culprits aren't even convicted for their crimes, instead, Riley is committed to a mental hospital. Before she gets there she escapes and disappears from the grid, only to re-emerge as a ruthless killer out for revenge.

It's pretty difficult to take Garner seriously in this role, which means you're just trailing a glorified soccer mom taking on a squad of hardened gang members for most of the film. The action itself is solid though, the rest of the cast isn't too bad and the pacing is OK, safe a somewhat slow start. Not bad, but pretty forgettable.

Some friends get together and decide to tell each other some scary tales. The first story is about an actress who disappears after being assaulted by an angry fan, the second story is about an aspiring magician whose father won't let him do his hobby, and the final short film is about a young woman who tries to get past the death of her sister.

The wraparound short is negligible and I prefer anthologies that take a bit more risk, but the main shorts are strong and there are some genuinely freaky scenes. The atmosphere is solid, performances are decent and each short ends on a high note. Quite a bit better than I expected it to be.

Zac wakes up one morning to find all the other people have disappeared. He ventures outside and looks around the neighborhood, he leaves messages for others to find, but it appears he is all alone. Until one day he runs into Joanne, a young woman who has been going through the same thing as Zac. They continue their search for other survivors, only now together.

It's a nice enough premise, though I don't believe it needed an actual explanation. The film goes through the motions and there's certainly some appeal to the empty Earth lifestyle, I just wish there was a bit more meat to the film. The styling is pretty plain, the characters are a little bland and the plot isn't all that exciting. Not the worst though.

O'Meara, a soldier with the Confederates, can't accept the loss in the war and decides to join the Sioux Indians. After surviving a dangerous trial, he becomes part of their clan. But then the Sioux get wrapped up in their own war with the US Army, and O'Meara will be forced to pick sides once again.

There are some parallels with Dances with Wolves (but that's not exactly a positive), so fans of that film might get something extra out of it. Other than that, I simply don't see what the appeal of this film could be, but since there are plenty of western fans out there it's no doubt just a matter of personal taste. Unless you're a hardcore western fanatic though, I wouldn't give this one priority.

Jane suffers from panic attacks. She's seeing a psychiatrist, but the looming health crisis and talks about isolation are not helping her healing process. Then two shady men turn up on her doorstep and try to break into her house, luckily Jane has a couple of friends around who help her defend the premises.

The dubbing is atrocious and it's a constant distraction. The plot isn't all that interesting either (and the twist is really predictable), the finale could've been better too. The cinematography is pretty decent though and there are in fact some standout scenes. It's a shame they fade in an otherwise plain film.

Bai Xi is a young dragon maiden who travels to the human realm to get her sister back. After an initial scuffle, she ends up in a temple, where she forces the caretaker to join her on her trip to the city. There she hopes to convince her sister to return with her. On her journey, Bai Xi will learn about the human world and what it means to fall in love.

The CG is pretty basic, but the lush colors, costumes and sets more than make up for that. The actors are actually pretty decent, the action scenes are fun and the pacing is perfect. There's a fleetingness that keeps these films from becoming true personal favorites, but the good ones make for some lovely filler. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this one.

Julie is a headstrong woman who doesn't really care about people's expectations and opinions. When she arrives at a ball in a bright red dress, she shocks everyone there, including her fiancé. He wants nothing to do with Julie after this, but she's very determined to win him back.

Davis' performance is decent, but her character isn't all that interesting, and neither are the challenges she faces. There's not much depth to the film, the dialogue is predominant and the sentimentality takes away from the dramatic impact. The 30s are one of the weakest film decades out there, not my kind of cinema.

A couple moves into a house with a history. It doesn't take long before strange things start happening, Jack's pregnant wife Vanessa seems to be the main target of the evil presence. With the help of Vanessa's sister and two priests from the Vatican, they try to expel the evil from the house.

The main focus truly is comedy here. The cast has some familiar faces, but the film looks incredibly cheap, the effects are crummy and the wink wink nudge nudge level is almost reminiscent of TV work. But the comedy does work, the pacing is fine and it's just nice to have a film that cares about nothing else than making people smile. Pleasant filler.