Log: week 45 / 2022

A cute little dramedy. I'm usually not the biggest fan of the genre, certainly not when more famous comedians use it to try and get some extra acting credits. The nice thing is that Helms remains dedicated to his more comedic side, while Harrison covers the more serious notes.

Kent's entry in the Cabinet of Curiosities series is the only real disappointment. Where each short found at least something that made them stand out, The Murmuring is a pretty pale and banal haunted house flick where even the ghosts and the haunts aren't very scary, let alone they should offer something extra.

Koreeda's first South-Korean film. It's pretty much what you'd expect from a marriage between the two. The cinematography is a tad more polished, the film somewhat more plot-focused, and the performances not quite as gentle. Koreeda does well here, but it's hardly a standout in his oeuvre.

I'm not a huge Zemeckis fan, but this film was pretty solid. I was pleasantly surprised by the wit and audacity of the animation sequences, which create a nice contrast with the drama (based on a true story) that forms the heart of the film. It gets pretty sentimental, net never quite crossed the line for me.

The US remake of De Zaak Alzheimer ... or so it said at the end. I did see Van Looy's original but clearly didn't remember enough to spot any similarities, let alone properly compare the two. To add insult to injury, this rather run-of-the-mill remake is actually quite a bit better than the original, though that's not a major accomplishment.

After seeing del Toro's remake earlier this year, it was time to give the original film a fair shot. I've been watching quite a few noirs lately, so my expectations were pretty dim, also because del Toro's version wasn't all that interesting (but it got by on atmosphere). It seems my expectations were on the money.

Ah, Seijun Suzuki. Not one of his most famous films, but don't ask me why. This one was a lot of fun, combining Suzuki's most experimental side with lots of winks, gags, and moments of frivolous lightness. It's not quite up there with his best work, but I sure enjoyed it immensely.

I can see how this is something that speaks to a certain crowd. I can also see how it got its cult status, because who in their right mind is going to sit through this when it doesn't appeal to them? I'm one of those people apparently, and I'm afraid this didn't do much for me at all. Though I did see some potential.

Oshima's one-of-a-kind samurai drama. There aren't that many films that feature gay romances among samurai, let alone put their singular focus on the subject. That alone makes this worth a watch. Then there's the stellar performance by Ryu Matsudo, who even outshines Japanese greats like Kitano and Asano here. The cinematography is moody, the soundtrack is very stylish and the intrigue is tangible. Taboo is a film that delivers on all accounts, without ever overreaching or forcing itself.

Neil Marshall's latest looked as if he would hark back to his earliest successes, but instead of a moody and dark horror film, we get an action flick with some creatures running amok. That still could've been a lot of fun, if only Mashall had been a half-decent action director. Sadly, he is not.

A fun but limited horror anthology based on the work of Kazuo Umezu. I never read any of his mangas directly, but I'm familiar with other adaptations of his work and this anthology fits right in with the rest of the lot. That means you're getting very basic horror setups, with some over-the-top gore to make things a bit more interesting.

Not the worst drama, but it is very predictable and more than a little slow-moving. There are some quirky characters that liven things up, but the lead is pretty dull and it takes way too long before the film reaches its foregone conclusion. Ultimately, I didn't really care too much about how it all ended.

A nice little UK horror. The performances leave something to be desired and it's not what you'd call original, but Steiner does a decent job building up the tension and tacks on an ending that becomes gleefully strange and isn't afraid to mix a little fantasy in with the horror. Proper filler in other words.

A goofy, funny but utterly nonsensical fifth part in the Mr. Vampire franchise. If you liked the earlier entries you will have no trouble at all getting something out of this one, if you're looking for a film with a bit more meat to it, it's probably best to skip this. Mr. Vampire 1992 is pure entertainment filler, and should really be appreciated as such.

Some documentaries are out to change the world, while others only aim to document a short period in the life of a single person. In this case, we're talking about Santiago. He's not even a very peculiar or interesting figure, but the butler that vigilantly served the family of the director.

Argentinian horror film, that starts with a bang, but fails to add a real crescendo. There's a lot of potential here and director Sotelo does well, for the most part, but the finale doesn't really deliver and the film loses quite a bit of steam toward the end. He deserves another go though.

A classic fantasy anime OAV. In less than 45 minutes all the usual tropes are featured, so don't expect anything too subtle or well-developed. Lemnear is genre filler of the purest kind, but once you get past that it's actually not that bad and the film does deliver on its premise. If you like a bit of fantasy anime, you can't really go wrong with this one.

Hollywood has no exclusivity on sentimental crap, that's why they invented the Oscar for best international film. Babette's Feast is one such winner and boy, does it deliver. I think I can live another hundred years and still feel too young for this film. At least I can be happy I never have to watch this thing again.

Now this is what I call a fun biography. Maybe it's because there's a veritable dearth of comedy films nowadays, but this is a lovely genre parody that still manages to catch the essence of its main character. I'm not a big fan of Yankovic's music or comedy, but this just clicked for me.

The nice thing about Cabinet of Curiosities is that the shorts are pretty varied, but the quality is consistent. For an anthology, that's also a slight weakness though, as it means there isn't that much risk-taking going on. I expected a little more from Cosmatos based on his earlier work, but once I let that go I still had a lot of fun with The Viewing.