Log: week 46 / 2022
You can't fault this film for being unambitious, but you can't fault it for many other things. The 9th Precinct seems to have taken some inspiration from its Hong Kong counterparts, meaning you get a horror film that is everything but scary. On top of that, the film is so messy it felt more like a recap from a TV series than an actual feature film. The crime angle isn't so bad, but the comedy really feels off here. The ghosts look pretty terrible too, the pacing is all over the place and the film is wildly inconsistent. There are some decent scenes, but they never come together to create something worthwhile. An interesting failure, but a failure nonetheless.Read all
Spike Jonze's first feature film remains a joy to behold. A culmination of strange ideas and odd plot twists, Being John Malkovich is the type of film that bewilders and amuses, and gets stranger and more intricate by the minute. The cinematography wasn't quite as polished as I remembered, but the concept remains strong, the performances are on point and there are some really funny and poignant scenes. The US could use more directors like Jonze, a good two decades after its initial release it still managed to weird me out. That is quite an accomplishment.
The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful
A pleasant thriller with a strong dramatic foundation. Like many contemporary Taiwanese films, it mixes classic elegance with more modern touches. These films rarely disappoint, but they also lack the boldness and sense of adventure that made Taiwanese cinema such an exciting industry a mere decade ago. The cinematography is very polished, the soundtrack is classy, the performances are on point and there's a nifty thriller element that keeps things interesting. It's all very nice and pleasant, but it lacks that little extra something to make it stand out from the crowd. A very good film though, and an easy recommendation for those who like a bit of Taiwanese class.Read all
A bona fide 70s thriller. It's not as bad as some of its peers though, in part because the runtime stays clear from the 2-hour mark. The pacing is a bit smoother and the film also looks a little less dim and washed out, but it's still a basic, dry and by-the-numbers investigative crime thriller. Not really my cup of tea. The story is pretty meticulously told and the build-up of the tension is pretty decent, it's just that I find films like these severely lacking in a cinematic sense. It's proper storytelling without much else going on, which isn't what I expect from an audiovisual medium. Certainly not the worst of its kind, but I just don't see the appeal.Read all
A weird and quirky horror film. I'm hardly new to the genre, but I don't think I've seen too many films like it. Zebra Girl offers an odd mix of uncomfortable horror, quirky styling choices, and dark comedy. The result is a film that kept me on my toes, even though it doesn't harbor that many surprises. The performances are pretty self-aware, the pink/purple styling is peculiar and the soundtrack is unnerving. There isn't too much meat to the plot, but the build-up and length of the film are perfect. If the styling had been just a little more pronounced, this would've been a personal favorite for sure. I'm already looking forward to what Zari comes up with next.Read all
An unavoidable sequel. The first OAV was a proper success, so it was no surprise more Silent Mobius would be following. It's a bit of a shame this second film never lives up to its promise though. It's almost a replica of the first one, but less tight in just about every department. Still good fun for the dedicated genre fan, but nothing that goes above and beyond. The animation seems a bit less refined, the extra focus on drama doesn't work that well and the structure is a carbon copy of the first Silent Mobius OAV. It's still a pretty cool universe to reside in for 60 minutes, but this felt more like random series filler than a proper stand-alone film. Not bad if you liked the first one, pretty redundant if you didn't.Read all
Classic cinema for the kids. It's clear Captains Courageous aims to please a younger audience, when done well that doesn't have to be a real showstopper. I didn't really care for this film though, it's pretty damn cheesy and stacked with irritating characters, and at two hours it runs quite long. The acting is terrible, the plot is incredibly sentimental and it's clear the kids were meant to pick up a thing or two watching this film. It's all terribly basic and simple, which might've been passable if the pacing had been decent, but the film is overly long, making it extra difficult to get to the end. Outdated.Read all
A pretty interesting horror film. The premise didn't sound too appealing, I've seen plenty of "strange haunted object" stories before and they rarely deliver on their promise, but The Friendship Game is surprisingly mysterious and the presentation is on point. Don't expect a simple horror flick, there's a bit more meat to this one. The interesting thing is that the film remains quite puzzling until the very end, and it doesn't offer too many clear-cut explanations. I also loved the cinematography and editing, in combination with the slick soundtrack. The performances were above par too. Nothing to fault here, I wish more directors would dare to stray from the beaten path.Read all
A pleasant rewatch, but not quite as good as I remembered it to be. In the early 2000s, the surge Of South-Korean cinema also caused a small increase in animated output. South-Korean studios had been doing the filler jobs for their Japanese counterparts for a while (mostly inbetweening), so they figured it was their time to shine. Oseam was one of those films that found a broader international audience. The animation is a little crude and the film is a little too eager to mimic the impact of films like Grave of the Fireflies or Dog of Flanders. The characters are pleasant though, the pacing is solid and the runtime keeps things nice and short. It's an easy enough recommendation that will appeal to a large audience, but ultimately it lacks something to truly set itself apart.Read all
Another take on the Lizzie Borden story. Not the classic one though, this time we're following a family of direct descendants of the famous horror legend. In the end, it doesn't impact the story all that much. If you like people going mental and settling scores with an ax, then this might just be the film for you. The biggest problem with The Inhabitant is that the scares are pretty weak and that the Borden legend isn't strong enough to carry the film by itself. The performances aren't great, the score and cinematography are pretty generic and the impact is negligible, but as horror filler goes, it's certain not the worst film.Read all
I'm glad I finally got to see this anime classic. It's one I mostly knew by name, but I'm happy to say it didn't disappoint and it did its reputation justice. It's a pretty typical early 90s OAV, mixing sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and action elements with some lovely designs and proper animation. Not good enough to be an ultimate classic, but it's prime anime filler. The monster, tech, and backdrop designs are elaborate and overall pretty awesome, the animation quality is strategic, but the film comes to life when it needs to. The plot is simple and there are plenty of classic anime tropes if you want to get yourself worked up about that, but the pacing and length are just perfect for an hour's worth of solid 90s anime goodness.Read all
Not the most subtle film on the subject, then again, most of Nicholas Ray's films are pretty brash and direct. I don't consider that necessarily a bad thing, I am after all a fan of directors like Gaspar Noé, but the presentation here didn't appeal to me at all, which made certain scenes more obnoxious than impressive. Mason does a pretty solid job and the build-up of his psychosis is rather nice, but the soundtrack was a real earful and the cinematography often bordered on kitsch. The ending went gleefully over-the-top too. This film needed either a more subtle approach, or more effective styling.Read all
A decent but somewhat unadventurous folk horror. I've seen quite a few of these over the past years, enough to make sure random witchcraft imagery and pagan symbols alone don't quite cut it anymore. Director Lynne Davison makes a decent effort, but the direction simply wasn't strong enough. The build-up is nice enough, but when push comes to shove, the horror elements simply aren't dark and/or unsettling enough. Things remain a little too down-the-earth, and while things never become too dull or boring, the film itself just isn't all that memorable. Decent horror filler in other words.Read all
Reincarnated Dragon and the Protector Fox
Slightly older streamer filler. It was actually quite interesting revisiting one of the "older" examples of this trend, they really have come quite a way in a short time. It's not a very spectacular film and they clearly do it better in 2022, but fans of the fantasy/comedy mix (with some martial arts and romance thrown in) have enough to look forward to. The costumes are pretty and the cinematography is atmospheric. The CG is atrocious though and the mix of genres doesn't always work, certainly when they added a couple of songs in the mix. But the film is short, fast-paced, and quite fun, and everything is there for proper filler genre entertainment. If you're able to look past some of the more glaring defects.Read all
A pretty decent update of the original Hocus Pocus, though I will say I never saw that one as a kid, so I don't hold very dear memories of it. It's still pretty camp, but with a Disney 2022 spin on it, meaning it's all a bit nicer and cleaner than the original. On the upside, the production values have increased considerably too. The "witches in modern time" gags are a bit lame and the Disney teen sauce isn't all that scrumptious either, but it's nice that they got the old cast to return and they are visibly having fun. It's not a very necessary or notable sequel, but at least it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been.Read all