Log: week 47 / 2024

Probably not a film that could still be made today (in Hollywood). Take a conspiracy theorist and make his theory a reality, that's not a message they want to sell in the US right now. Other than that, this was a pretty basic action thriller. A few twists, a couple of familiar faces, and that's that.

A pretty standard police procedural, but executed with the kind of flair you expect to see from a Taiwanese film. The story and setup are basic and there's little more than a couple of cops chasing down a killer (and yes, there are a few twists left and right, but even that's expected nowadays).

A classic Japanese crime flick. Even more so because Jô Shishido takes on the lead role. He is the epitome of Japan's 60s crime cinema, and Cruel Gun Story is probably a pretty good entry if you're interested in the genre. It's decidedly Japanese, but also shares enough common traits with its Western counterparts.

Not bad, but I wish they'd put a bit more effort into the cast and the introduction of the characters. All the ingredients are here to deliver a kick-ass action flick, but some of the performances are subpar and the bad guys look rather plain. It's a good thing Jaa is still doing his usual stunt work.

A simple but fun start to Danny Boyle's career. It's not the first film where a group of friends turns paranoid after a dark secret rips their friendship apart, and Boyle's direction isn't quite confident enough to set it apart from like-minded films, but the humor and entertainment value keep the film afloat.

A more openly comedic entry in the Pink Panther series. I was quite on board with this being primarily a comedy, sadly, the comedy itself wasn't very funny. It's very old-fashioned slap-stick humor. Sellers does his best, but he can't save the film from coming off as very dusty and outdated.

Zeze makes a boxing movie. One Last Bloom hardly tries to break free from the confines of the genre, but some interesting tidbits make things a bit more interesting. There's only one thing here that caught me off guard, and that's how much Sho Aikawa has aged. No more cool guy roles for him I'm afraid.

A worthy sequel. Where the first film had a youthful and vibrant energy Before Sunset feels a bit more sedate and mature. The characters have grown up, they're already regretting some of their past choices and they're dealing with the consequences. Still, romance hasn't completely left them yet.

Mc Carty's latest film confirms he has a nose for horror cinema, but the film itself is a bit plain and predictable. Caveat has a nicer and more intriguing premise, whereas Oddity is a standard haunting story. If there's anything original here, it's more in the added crime elements, but they felt a tad unnecessary.

A pretty tepid (and lengthy) costume drama about a headstrong girl from a poor family who faces a lot of hardship. It's an extremely classic and old-fashioned affair. It's not something I like very much, and it certainly didn't help that Polanski stretched it to a full 180 minutes. I could've done with half of that.

I remember virtually nothing about the first one, apart from not liking it all that much. This sequel is more ambitious, in a sense you could even call it the Hollywood take on The Substance, but that doesn't mean it's a great film. It's mostly too long and not very scary, even when it tries very hard to be.

There are some light crime elements here, especially during the first half of the film, but it's more about the drama surrounding a woman who gets into a lot of trouble for things that shouldn't have landed her on death row. It's a pretty tragic story, but the film itself never was gripping or emotional.

Not the most original of films, but it's well-executed. There is no lack of murder mysteries and police procedurals, and The Little Things walks a familiar path, at least for the first three-quarters of the film. The finale is where things get a bit more interesting, though it's not quite enough to turn this into a memorable film.

The film industry loves itself, and from time to time you'll get a circle-jerk movie about how magical and chaotic their business truly is. Saturday Night is exactly that but about a TV show. I'm not the biggest fan of these types of films and Reitman falls into the usual trap of overhyping these professions.

Like most spaghetti Westerns, the plot couldn't interest me at all, but at least the presentation is a bit more fun than its US counterparts. The camera work and score are more expressive and the film leans into its pure genre elements a little more, but in the end, the characters and settings don't do enough for me.

Thorns of Love is a classic love triangle that deals with more serious themes in a fun and playful way. The plot isn't too exciting, but the performances are strong and the presentation is lush. There's also a nice balance between drama, romance, and lighter thriller elements. Add some interesting twists that shed a different light on each of the characters and you have a lovely little film that shines a new light on Jojo's career.

This would've been a perfect late addition to the Duel project (that's Aragami and 2LDK). A fixed location, two people stuck with each other, and an increasingly tense narrative. Confession isn't quite as good as its predecessors, but it's certainly a lot of fun for people who like this kind of thing.

There are traces of The Wicker Man here, but the Italian setting and minor Giallo elements give this film a specific mood of its own. The build-up is excessively slow though and as a slow-burner, the tension and intrigue simply aren't strong enough to warrant the sluggish pacing and near-2-hour runtime.

A solid sequel, which is more than I expected. The cool thing about the first film was discovering the concept and idea, that part is completely gone here. The setup is exactly the same as the first one, but instead of figuring out what's going on, part 2 delves deeper into societal organization.