Log: week 40 / 2024
My rewatch of The Twilight Samurai wasn't the biggest success, so I expected The Hidden Blade to have lost some of its shine too. And right I was. It's an extremely old-school take on the samurai genre. It's nice to see a film that focuses more on the mundane and pedestrian parts of their lives, but that isn't enough. The performances are good, but that's no surprise with Nagase in the lead and Takako Matsu in a strong supportive role. The presentation is rather static and lifeless though, even bordering on cheesy. The film is also too long, but there are still some moments of beauty scattered throughout. Just not enough to make it a great film.Read all
A pretty dry western. At first, the setup works in its favor, but the middle part is extremely dull and the slow pacing makes this a big drag to sit through. It might be different for people who appreciate this setting and these types of characters (western fans in other words), but that's not me. The performances are poor, the colors are ugly and the build-up is simplistic. I didn't care for the plot or the characters, so the finale lacked any kind of impact. It's not my genre and by now I think I can safely say it never will be. It's not the worst one I've seen, but there's hardly anything to set it apart from the other terrible ones I've seen so far.Read all
Spanish horror cinema had a little renaissance during the late 00s. The Orphanage was one of the front-runners, but there have been so many copycats since, that this film lost some of its original appeal. It's still a stylish slow-burner with some decent scares, but that's not enough to set it apart from the many others. The film is a bit slow to start and the scares are predictable. The performances are solid though and the cinematography is pristine. The soundtrack adds to the mood and the tension ramps up as the finale draws closer. But there's no real climax here and there isn't enough to make the film stand out. Worth a watch if you haven't already, but it's not what I call a personal favorite nowadays.Read all
Stylish horror film shot in Oostende by a director with roots in Antwerp. Yes, I probably should've watched this a lot sooner, but then I never cared much for classic Belgian cinema. I was proven (somewhat) wrong by Daughters of Darkness though. This wasn't too bad, despite some rough patches. The performances are terrible and the horror elements are quite tame. But the setting is moody and the presentation is quite stylish. Kümel does a good job establishing a mysterious atmosphere but fails to deliver when it matters. If you like the colorful Argentos, you'll probably have a good time with this one too.Read all
Four French directors move to Tokyo to combine their horror shorts into a fun anthology. There's some talent here, but also quite a few rougher edges. I did appreciate the nihilistic endings of the various shorts, but the way there was often a bit too bumpy to speak of an overpowering success. The performances are a tad disappointing, as are the scores, but the horror elements are fun and there's enough variety here to keep things interesting. The third short is probably the weakest, and the first one is the best of the bunch, but the quality is surprisingly consistent. Not bad now that Halloween is getting closer.Read all
An old horror classic I hadn't seen in ages (from before I started logging my watches on the internet). I didn't care too much for the remake, the original isn't any better I'm afraid. It's a rather tepid and unspectacular rendition of what could've been an exciting premise, but at least it wasn't a complete dud. The performances are contorted and the children don't impose the dread or fear they're supposed to. The pacing is decent enough though and the film is rather short, so at least things keep moving about swiftly. A better finale and a moodier setting could've made this a better film, but alas.Read all
A basic romance film that turns into an Instagram self-help post in the latter half. As a simple romance it's not the worst film, the drama on the other hand felt fake and bland. I guess that's why It Ends with Us got quite a bit of flack from the book's original fans, though I doubt they could've expected anything more from a Hollywood adaptation. Lively and Baldoni are decent, the setup is nice and the direction appropriate for the genre. Once the domestic violence angle enters the film the quality takes a pretty big dip and things only get worse from there. That's a bit problematic considering it's the core theme, but at least it only takes up a small portion of the runtime.Read all