Log: week 1 / 2023

Giuliana is suffering from depression. She wants to make a change in her life, so she starts an affair with an employee of her husband's factory. He seems to be the only one who understands what she is going through, while the other people in her life are making light of Giuliana's troubles.

Though the styling is pretty precise, the drab colors and somewhat crude editing do the visuals no favor. The performances are pretty weak, the characters didn't grab me and the pacing is dead slow. It's not all bad and at least Antonioni has a clear point of view, the drama just isn't for me.

John and Levi are neighbors. They don't necessarily get along very well, but when they both witness a paranormal phenomenon they decide to make the best of it. They try to document what they saw while trying to figure out what exactly it was they witnessed. Their journey takes them to dangerous places.

It's cute that Benson and Moorhead took on the lead roles here. They're pretty decent actors too. It's a little hard to figure out the direction of the plot at first, but that's exactly what kept the film interesting, making it easier to invest in the plot and characters. And even when things start to take on a more concrete form, the vibe remains quite eerie, fuzzy, and mysterious. Good fun.

A priest in 17th century France is living the good life. His progressive political and religious ideas are making him many enemies though, and soon he has to fear for his life. When they find out what he's doing with a convent of nuns, they see the time fit to out the priest and get rid of their rival.

The cinematography is interesting, the scenes of madness and debauchery don't miss their target and the finale is pretty animated. I didn't really care for the performances and in between the livelier scenes the film does slow down just a tad too much, but this was quite a bit better than expected. That said, my expectations were pretty low.

Auggie is a young kid with a deformed face. His parents have homeschooled him, but they believe it's time for him to go to a real school, so he can learn how to deal with the outside world. Auggie needs time to adapt to his new school, but slowly he learns how to get along with the other kids.

As if Auggie's troubles aren't enough, his sister is also dealing with some personal issues, a pet has to die, and the bullies at school come to realize their wrongdoings. And it's all presented in that rather smug and easy Hollywood style. Chbosky is able to salvage a few scenes, but it's not enough to save the entire film.

A somewhat inconspicuous man is working on a project to save Earth from an impending meteorite crash. The plan fails and while everyone is evacuating the moon base they are stationed, the man is left behind all by himself. The meteorite wrecks Earth, and his misadventures at the base become the sole ray of light mankind has to uplift their spirits.

Moon Man is silly, sometimes to a fault. The sci-fi elements never seem to make too much sense, but at least the comedy works well and the first hour is perfect entertainment. The quality takes a little dip after that, which wasn't entirely unexpected, but it's a shame they couldn't just make a fun comedy for a change. Not too bad though.

A band of Mexican thieves hold up a train and rob its weaponry, with the intention of selling them to the revolutionaries. One of the passengers helps them out and joins their little gang. They trust the man, but they are unaware of his real intentions, something they'll find out soon enough.

The plot isn't too interesting and the setting is still a bit off-putting. The film is also half an hour too long, but at least it never felt as if I was supposed to take the film seriously. There's a bit more joy, a bit more focus on the action, and a little extra color that brightens things up. Not great, far from it really, but better than many other westerns I've seen.

This isn't so much a real film as it was an experience though. There doesn't remain a proper copy of this anthology since it was only screened once, then burned right after. I usually stray from watching low-quality recordings, but with nothing else available, it was either that or not watching it ever.

There are some interesting names here, but few of them stand out. The goals of the project are lofty, but it's all very conceptual and the films themselves never really match or strengthen the project's ideals. It's a good thing that the score is pretty interesting, which at least kept me going. Not all that interesting.

When Jacob hears of a new virus sweeping the world, he quits his job and moves in with his mom. She is forbidden from going outside, and Jacob takes over the household while digging into the news from behind his computer. He gets hooked on a chatroom where wild theories are starting to spread.

I'm a bit surprised they didn't make it about COVID deniers, but the cause and symptoms of Jacob's fanatical behavior are pretty much the same. The performances are decent and the build-up is solid, the presentation is a bit cheap though and the ending, while cool in its own right, felt a bit detached from the rest of the film. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Two cops get themselves into quite a bit of trouble. They don't feel they earn enough for the job they are doing, so when they apprehend a gangster and see a chance to embezzle his money, they jump at the opportunity. Their sudden increase in wealth doesn't go unnoticed by others, and it doesn't take long before they become the target of an investigation.

With Andy Lau and Tony Leung in the lead, I had some expectations, but their performances were quite weak. Tsang doesn't really know how to translate the gritty story to the screen and even though there are some interesting twists and shocking reveals, they never have the necessary impact. An interesting failure, but a failure nonetheless.

A director is in town to adapt the latest Agatha Christie play to the big screen. He doesn't make himself popular with the rest of his crew, which leaves quite a few suspects when he gets murdered. Stoppard (a seasoned detective) and Stalker (a young constable) are tasked with finding the killer.

Ronan and Rockwell are a delight, the tongue-in-cheek comedy is enjoyable and the presentation feels polished. The plot is still rather basic and George's direction could've used a little extra flair (I know the film is set in the 50s, but it feels just a little too stale and proper), but this easily beat both Knives Out films for me.

A young boy with a strong affinity for the occult made a deal with a small-time demon to resurrect its master. Things seem to be going to plan until he runs into an old friend. When his personal issues take over his plans begin to falter and humanity is given a fighting chance to get rid of the demons. The fight won't be all that easy though.

The animation isn't all that great, but the art style is pretty detailed and the monster designs are cool enough. The pacing is slick, though that's a given considering the short runtime and the familiarity of the story. It's certainly not the greatest or most remarkable anime out there, but if you love yourself some demon action, it's pleasant filler.

Director Hanak shoots a documentary about elderly people living in the Liptov and Orava areas, letting himself be inspired by the photography of Martin Martincek. This results in several portraits of peculiar people, which is pretty much what this entire niche of documentaries is all about.

I didn't care for any of these people, nor their struggles, nor their outlooks on life. The black-and-white cinematography was a minor plus, yet it wasn't strong enough to stand on its own. The soundtrack on the other hand was excruciating. Not very memorable, but then again I'm so far removed from the target audience that it's hardly surprising.

Tyler and Margot are taking part in an exclusive dinner on a remote island. Chef Slowik is one of the most renowned chefs in the world, and the seats at his restaurant come at a considerable cost. Little do they know that this particular night, they and the other guest will play an essential part in the creation of the menu.

The actors do a solid job, the build-up of the mystery is enjoyable and the middle part of the film is pleasantly bonkers. There are no nice characters here, everybody is as mad and guilty as the next. The only downer is that the finale is too cheesy (pun intended), where I would've preferred a climax with a bit more snark and bite.

The plot isn't anything special. You get 6 unrelated short films, held together by a host and a bunch of kids reacting to the various horror stories. If you're familiar with the Japanese horror wave of the past two decades there won't be any big surprises here, this 2018 summer special offers the usual array of ghosts and haunted house stories.

Films like these are decent enough horror filler, but they aren't half as scary as they used to be. The anthology setup makes certain there's enough variety and some of the shorts do manage to create a bit of tension, but it's mostly just familiar territory that's being rehashed. Not terrible, but not very scary either.

Zhe Gushao's father got lost on an expedition looking for a mystical artifact. Zhe survived but finds it difficult to process the disappearance of his dad. The artifact is needed to lift the curse of a nearby village, fifteen years later Zhe joins a new expedition, hoping to unearth the artifact and learn more about the fate of his father.

The production values are slightly higher than usual, but that's about the only real difference. The CG is still a little shoddy, the plot is extremely derivative and basic and the performances are sufficient but nothing more. Where the film excels is in the fantasy and adventure elements, which is what these films are all about. Very fun genre filler in other words, just keep em coming.

The film follows the life of Sayat Nova, an Armenian poet. Rather than offer a straightforward biography, director Parajanov sketches his life through imagery derived from Nova's poetry. The result is something that makes little factual sense but does give you a solid idea of what the man was about in an artistic sense.

The cinematography is quite something, with lots of abstract and fantastical tableaus. I'm sure that people familiar with Armenian culture will catch more of the references and symbolism (I am utterly clueless in that regard), but I liked the creativity of it all. The soundtrack wasn't to my liking, but the runtime is pleasant and I was always curious about what the next scene would bring. Interesting film.

When a young man visits his aging parents, he is witness to a tragic accident. A flower pot accidentally lands on a neighbor's head and ultimately kills the man, leaving behind a young mother and her child. The man befriends the woman but finds it difficult to relieve her of her grief.

The performances are solid and the plot provides the necessary drama, without being too forceful or convoluted. The cinematography is very barren though and the soundtrack is quite generic if present at all. It makes for a decent film that lacks anything unique or distinct to set it apart from its peers.

Sho is a pretty regular kid, who gets himself into a lot of trouble walking home from school one night. He bumps into the wrong people, and before he knows it, his girlfriend is kidnapped, while he has become The Guyver, the wearer of a biomechanical suit that has latched itself onto him. Sho will have to learn to control his new abilities if he ever wants to see his girlfriend again.

The animation is a bit basic, but the art style is quite over the top and the level of brutality is appropriate for this type of film. It's the latter that is often missing from contemporary entertainment, and it's one of the bigger perks of digging up these older anime films. Nothing spectacular in other words, but good fun nonetheless.

Yuu is a young pop talent who wants to make it big in the entertainment business. When she is forced to suck up to a wealthy mogul, she gets involved in a traffic accident and dies on the spot. In heaven, she negotiates another chance and is sent back to Earth, where she finds herself with the man who needs to cover up her death.

It's a fun setup (not entirely unlike Kon's Perfect Blue, there's even some imagery that matches) which allows Somai to work in some dreamy, fantastical scenes. These are the moments when the film shines and it becomes a little more than a simple, amusing narrative. A very pleasant surprise.

Julie is getting close to her 30s, but she hasn't been able to settle down yet. She's in a relationship with a famous comic artist looking to start a family, and her career isn't really going places she'd hoped it would go. She decides to uproot her life and hooks up with Eivind, but it takes more than changing boyfriends to find happiness.

The performances are decent and there are a handful of scenes that manage to stand out (cinematically). For most of the film though, I just didn't really care what the main character felt, thought, or decided. She's a rather dull person to hang around with, which isn't exactly ideal for a 2-hour-long drama.

When Randal has a heart attack, he considers his past life and concludes he wasted most of it. When he's back on his feet, he plans to turn his life working in the convenience store into a movie. He writes a script and invites all his friends and palls to play themselves, which leads to more reminiscing about the past.

This is probably a film that works better for people more invested in Smith's Clerks universe. I only have a passing interest in the Clerks films, which is why the drama elements didn't really work for me. It still passes the time quite easily and it certainly didn't bore me, I just would've preferred it to be a more dedicated comedy.