Log: week 16 / 2024
One of Tarantino's favorites, and sure enough, it's not that hard to see the link with Reservoir Dogs. That's kinda neat, but it doesn't really make the film better. Other than the obvious references to a much better film, this is a rather classic noir, with the usual pitfalls and limitations included. A man is planning a meticulous heist, where all the robbers are wearing masks and none of them are familiar with the rest of the crew. They even manage to incriminate a random person. What they don't know is that he's an ex-con, and he isn't too happy being blamed for something he didn't do. The performances are meager, the film is mostly conversation-based and the crime scenes are a little crummy. It's not quite as bad as some of its peers, but there's just very little there for me. The only way to improve these films is to cut out half the dialogue and make them more mood-based, but that's just not what they are about.Read all
A fun and interesting film, that tackles somewhat more challenging concepts, but does so in a way that's a little too traditional for me. Regardless, I consider it a good sign that a film like this can be made now, one that moves beyond the type of entertainment that's criticized here. Ellison is a lauded writer, but he struggles with getting his latest book published. He's black, but he doesn't necessarily want to be typified as such, and he detests the pandering of some of his fellow writers. Meanwhile, he has to deal with some family issues, which put more pressure on his back. The film is pretty witty and the performances are strong. The presentation is also quite polished, but the second half feels a tad too safe, despite some smart points being raised. Just as the meta ending wasn't entirely satisfying. Still, a fine film that did a lot of things right. I'm hoping Jefferson sticks to directing from now on.Read all
More of the same but with slightly higher stakes. Banks took on the role of director for this sequel, not that I really noticed. This is rather generic Hollywood stuff, no matter how you look at it. It's not worse than the first film, but since that wasn't all that good to begin with, it's pretty low praise. The Bellas humiliate themselves in front of the president, after which they are disbanded by the school direction. They come up with an ultimatum: if they win the world championship, they can keep their little group going. The competition is steep, but the Bellas won't let that deter them. The song and dance routines are pretty blah and unimpressive, what half-saves the film are some comedic interludes (especially the commentary by Banks and Higgins). It's not a lot, but it at least it's better than nothing. It's not a great series (and not that I expected it to be), but it's not a complete disaster either.Read all
The 90s sure was a great time if you love documentaries about trees. Kiarostami had his olive trees, while Erice went for quince trees. I can't see I'm a big fan of these films though. Slow cinema only works for me when it's properly stylized, which is the exact opposite of Erice's documentary style. The film follows Antonio López, a painter who wants to capture the beauty of his quince tree. To make it even harder on himself, he wants to capture it as the tree evolves from spring into autumn. While he struggles with his painting, he is visited by some friends and fellow artists. And that's it. We see López paint, talk to some people, and start over when he isn't happy with his current work. I'm not particularly interested in the meanderings of artists and neither the setting nor the styling drew me into the film. I'm sure there's an audience for this type of film, but I'm not part of it.Read all
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett trying to revisit their Ready or Not success. Abigail is a good enough attempt, but it doesn't hold a candle to their first film. For that, the promotion material was too spoiler-ridden, while the film itself feels a little too repetitive, and the overall quality is lacking in places. A group of criminals is sent out to kidnap a young girl. They need to hold her overnight so her wealthy father has time to come up with a big lump sum. The first part of the job is easy enough, but they have no idea who they're actually kidnapping. And as it turns out, the girl isn't quite as innocent as she looks. It's weird that the promo material of the film spoils a lot, whereas the first third is still trying to be mysterious about the plot. The performances are a little iffy too, luckily the setting is pretty cool, the cinematography is on point and there are some fun, gory moments to keep things interesting. Definitely not a bad film, but the potential was there to be even better.Read all
Watanabe and the Suzuki connection. Seijun Suzuki featured in Watanebe's first, Watanabe in his turn took on a role in Pistol Opera. Loved Gun feels like the love child between Suzuki and Watanabe. It's a weird film, mixing cartoonesque Yakuza violence and absurd comedy with a deeper layer of melancholy. The cast is excellent, Watanabe's direction is confident and the mix of styles still feels fresh and unique. I'm not sure if there's a large audience for films like this, but if you like films that are a little different, this is a certified hidden gem.
For a few years now, the Farrelly brothers have also been doing solo projects, with varying levels of success. Ricky Stanicky is the type of film they'd use to make together, a lowbrow comedy with a little feel-good drama in the second half to even things off. A classic late 90s/early 00s US comedy in other words. When three kids get into a heap of trouble, to make up a fourth person and shift all the blame on him. Surprisingly, they get away with their scheme. Years later their imaginary friend is still taking the blame for them, but then comes the day when he has to come out of the shadow. And so they hire an actor. Cena and Macy are fun, the rest of the cast isn't all that comedy-friendly. The jokes are pretty basic, a little crude but never pushing the limit and the finale could've used a little extra spice. That said, there's still a dearth of comedies these days, so for that reason alone the film deserves a small bonus. A decent filler comedy.Read all
A classic Russian horror film. The film was made in the late 60s, but they could've fooled me if they told me this was a 40s flick. The effects are horrendous, so much in fact that it almost turns the film into a comedy. But maybe that's because I was also reminded of the 80s Hong Kong vampire films. A young priest finds himself in big trouble when he is targeted by a witch. To get to the priest, the witch enters the body of a deceased girl, whose final wish was to see the priest pray by her body for three days and three nights. During the day nothing much happens, but at night the corpse awakens. The performances are terrible, the monsters are ludicrous. The start of the film is slow and the first half is boring as hell. It's only when the witch gets crafty and gargoyles start appearing that it gets slightly better. Sadly, it's not because the execution is on point, quite the opposite. At least the film was short.Read all
A fine drama. In general, I find LGBTQ+ cinema to be somewhat underwhelming, as it is often too focused on themes and messaging. A Fantastic Woman doesn't just have a more interesting premise, it also comes in a neat and polished cinematic package. That makes it so much easier to sit through. When Marina's lover gets an episode in the middle of the night, she brings him to the hospital as quickly as possible. He doesn't survive the night, and Marina is left to deal with the consequences. As a transgender woman, her grief will have to conquer lots of prejudice before it can settle in. Daniela Vega's performance is strong and the things she has to deal with in this type of situation were mostly unexplored territory for me. It's Lelio's gentle but colorful and striking presentation that made the emotions extra tangible though. It's a beautiful and touching drama, a rare case where the Academy made the right call.Read all
Bette Davis, an acquired taste. She often acts as if she's doing a silent, which isn't all that fitting for a film like this. Especially as the film leans heavily on the dialogue. Add to that the fact that I'm not a big noir fan, and The Letter was quite an ordeal to get through. Many classic noirs are like that for me. Leslie Crosbie is the wife of a wealthy plantation owner. One night, she shoes a man. Once in her house, the second time when he tries to escape. The man dies on the spot and Leslie is the prime suspect. She claims he tries to assault her, but there's a letter that seems to suggest something else. I'm not a Davis fan, the rest of the cast isn't all that great either. There's a little excitement at the very start, from there on the film is mostly carried by endless dialogues. I didn't care much for the plot, and with that, there's not a lot left to enjoy. Another poor (classic) noir, which seems to be par for the course at this point.Read all
Mielants demonstrates he's a talented director. Wil is a film that, at least on paper, wouldn't suit me. I'm weary of wartime stories, I dislike the 4:3 aspect ratio, and the fact that it's a book adaptation is a pretty big red flag too. But it turns out Mielants has cinema in his fingers, and so he saves what could've been a dull film. Wil is an aspiring poet, but the raging war doesn't leave him much time for poetry. He joins the Antwerp police and is tasked with helping the Germans. His girlfriend and her family are trying to help the Jews though, so it doesn't take long before Wil gets caught between two fires. Most of the performances are decent (and thank God the actors are using proper accents), but it's the beautiful lighting and the energetic cinematography that helps this film rise above itself. The middle part is a bit of a struggle, the sprawling finale makes up for it. I'd prefer to see Mielants tackle more interesting projects in the future, but this was pretty solid work.Read all
In the wake of glee, it wasn't too surprising to see a film like this gain popularity. I'm not a big fan of US high school/college comedies, nor bad pop music, but with some comedic additions (Rebel Wilson and Elisabeth Banks are gold) the film remains somewhat watchable. If you ignore the music. An all-girl acapella group tries the beat the reigning champions, but time and time again they fail. After a terrible mishap the year before, the group struggles to find new applicants. They're mostly left with a bunch of misfits, but this might be the key to mixing things up and snatching the crown. It's a typical underdog story, with very poor musical performances and a few annoying characters to boot. Kendrick is decent but she can't carry this film, the appeal comes from funny secondary characters, no matter how stereotypical they may be. It's not a great film, but also not quite as bad as I'd feared.Read all