Log: week 23 / 2023

When Raimunda's partner dies, she tries to keep this fact hidden from the outside world. It's not easy and it requires her to make up some wild stories, her life gets even more complicated when she hears stories about her mother coming back from the dead and appearing to familiars.

For a drama the film is quite colorful and light, but it lacks the energy of Almodóvar's older work. It also gets quite sentimental in the second half, whereas I was hoping for a more livelier finale. It's not a terrible film, just not all that memorable either, and considering the premise, that's a missed opportunity.

Henry murders and dismembers his parents, with the help of his friend Angus. He concocts a story to clear his name, but the police find evidence to bring him to court. Henry and Angus plead not guilty, and it's up to the jury to find out who is lying. Ony, with every new witness that comes to the stand, the case becomes more confusing.

The murders are gruesome, the two lead characters are terrific and the way the case unravels is pretty interesting. It's just the "12 Angry Men"-like interludes that drag the film down. A more refined genre mix and a little more bravery on the cutting floor might've turned this into a future classic.

Eve is a young girl who ends up in Paris. She's on the run but she gets into trouble almost right away. Her cab driver falls in love with her, and a wealthy man sees Eve as the perfect companion to get his wife to abandon her affair. That's not all, because Eve's past will come back to haunt her.

Colbert is cheery and amusing, the rest of the cast less so, but at least none of them is overly wooden. The plot isn't that interesting and the dialogue is flaccid rather than witty, but that's something that bothers me whenever I'm watching comedies from that era. Not my kind of funny.

Hera has just started her job. She is good at what she does, but she works in a cut-throat firm and her colleagues don't cut her any slack. When her boss maltreats her on a date and ditches her when Hera isn't willing enough to do as he pleases, her mind starts to slip and she latches on to the only present she got from her boss: a plant.

The characters are a tad cliché, the performances aren't great and the first half needs some time to get going, but things get better as the film becomes increasingly weird. Pollen is definitely a memorable one, sporting a weird mix of horror and comedy, with some mystery and fantasy elements thrown in for good measure. Fun, but imperfect.

Holly survives a family drama, but the events leave a mental scare. Years later a friend of hers returns after joining a weird cult. She invites Holly to one of their seminars. Speaking to their leader, Holly's old traumas resurface and she ends up in a dream world, with only the cult leader as her guide.

The performances aren't that great (but passable) and the plot's a little messy, but the cinematography is great, and the mishmash of horror references makes for an exciting film. The gore is also pretty fine, the pacing and short runtime seal the deal. A pretty nice find, but not for everybody.

A failed assassination attempt on the third prince has the kingdom in an uproar, but secret intelligence suggests this is merely a diversion to mask a bigger plot. Three experimental bombs have been stolen and word is that the bombs were smuggled into the kingdom. The girls will have to figure out who is behind these evil plans and what their end goal is.

The animation is pretty decent, and the slight steampunk elements are fun, but the style is a bit flat and too polished for my liking. The premise really makes no sense, but the films are properly paced and there's little time to get bored. It is far from the greatest anime I've seen, but it's easily digestible, distinct enough, and smart enough not to overstay its welcome.

Giorgos is a Greek immigrant. He tries to find his place in Munich, but the people there aren't too happy to see him. They try to drive him out, and when that doesn't seem to work, they molest him. The only person who is nice to him is Maria, a young woman who has fallen in love with Giorgos.

The film looks overwhelmingly white, the camera work is stark and restrained, and the actors are stoic but not wooden. The plot and characters appealed less to me, not ideal for a film that is little more than conversations between loitering people. The stylistic choices saved it for me, though only barely.

Durfy died trying to become an actor, his best friends kidnap his urn and take it to the place where he had the best time of his life. When they arrive there, spring break is in full swing. The place brings back old memories and they remember Durfy had a vacation crush. A local bar owner tells them she's still in the neighborhood, so they decide to pay her a visit.

The plot is all over the place and the comedy is a bit cheap. Endless woke jokes and a childish focus on drugs and alcohol get tired pretty quickly, but the light and breezy mood makes it somewhat bearable. A step down from the first film (which wasn't all that great, to begin with), but at least it's another core comedy. A rare breed indeed.

Seven people are invited to try out the latest game by a legendary underground game developer. They meet up at an amusement park, where an eerie clown welcomes them and introduces them to the game. Soon enough they find out that the game is not without risk and that the clown has some deadly games in store for them.

The performances are pretty bad, the film looks dead cheap and the horror elements are rather bland (apart from the clown's mask I guess). The idea behind the film is pretty interesting though, which adds some much-needed intrigue to the second half of the film. It's not quite enough to save it, but it's hardly the worst Japanese horror I've seen.

Jess uses her social account to highlight people using sketchy ads for luring others into their perversions. She keeps her victims anonymous, but an error reveals the identity of her latest find, triggering the video to go viral. Sometime later she agrees to co-write an erotic thriller, which seems like easy money.

The film is a little rough around the edges, but there are a lot of things that work and it's always nice to see a film try to do something new. I also appreciated the open ending, which works as a perfect conversation starter for people wanting to discuss the film. There's room for improvement, but I had a lot of fun with this one.

A writer fears her husband might be cheating on her. One night she gets a phone call to tell her he died in a plane crash. His cell phone is found in the bag of another woman, who also died in the crash. She launches an investigation to find out what her spouse hid from her. It's a journey that takes her to a remote, mysterious hotel.

Weird hillbillies, a mindfuck plot with more twists than a person has fingers, underground conspiracies, and more. It all flashes by and the separate parts hardly connect, but the film is still pretty moody and the execution is solid, apart from some shoddy CG. The Apostles isn't the most accomplished film, but it's still a lot of fun and certainly doesn't deserve the critical trashing it received.

The son of Zhou has had a harsh life. When he finally has a son, his boy is born blind. Remembering the special power of his father, he digs up his grave, hoping that this power can act as a cure for his son. By doing so, he unleashes an evil he has no control over, endangering his own offspring's life.

The special effects are pretty decent (they still stand out, but the designs are pretty cool and the craft is getting better), the action is nice, the pacing is scorching and the film is short and snappy (though a little longer than most of its peers). It's good genre fluff, but still far removed from a personal favorite.

Together with Jimmy, Zophia tries to find out how to break her curse. That's easier said than done when the two biggest crime syndicates are doing their best to discover her location. There are still some people left who are willing to help them. All the clues lead to Helen's mansion, the former boss of Zophia.

The characters are wacky and larger-than-life, the cinematography is polished, the plot takes some interesting twists and turns and the mix of comedy, action, and horror is exhilarating. It's a series that is very close to being a personal favorite of mine, all it needs are a few more stand-out moments. Bring on the third one!

There's a bit of a mystery involving a missing letter, two chosen soldiers are tasked to find the letter and reveal its message. They set off on their mission, but it quickly dawns on them that their mission won't be all that simple. With each discovery they make, they get one step closer to a massive conspiracy.

Without the action bits, Yimou struggles to keep things interesting throughout. He certainly tried, with a clear focus on people walking from point A to B (I know that sounds weird, but watching the film, it'll make sense) and a strangely modernized score, but it's not quite enough. The mystery is nice and the twists and reveals are properly realized, but nothing justifies the excessive runtime. Good by any standard, but not great.