Log: week 19 / 2024

Cemal lives a quiet life in a small town, but not all is as it seems. Cemal has unique powers and can see through walls. He isn't the only one in the village who has supernatural powers though. Cemal has his eye on Yasemin, who can move objects, while Defne is able to stop time for a short while.

The black-and-white cinematography wasn't entirely convincing, and neither were the performances. There are some delightfully absurd scenes though and the film did keep me on my toes as it was pretty unpredictable from start to finish. I just with Ünlü had leaned in a bit more into the absurd part, rather than try to blend it with an arthouse vibe.

Out of nowhere, the country of Zhao attacks Qin. They have a formidable army and are adamant about taking over the country, but the Qin people won't give over their land without a fight. It's time for Shin to enter the battlefield and prove his worth, but the road ahead will be hazardous.

The cinematography is a bit dull, the action scenes are too brawl-heavy, the characters are uninspired and two hours is a lot for a film that is pretty much stuck into some barren scenery. Each installment seems to be getting progressively worse, let's hope they stop here, or they find a director who can liven things up a bit.

Tom and Kate have 12 kids, which they are raising in a small, idyllic town. Then Tom gets the opportunity of a lifetime, and the family moves back to the suburbs, much to the dismay of the army of kids. Kate's career is also seeing a major breakthrough, which further complicates the household.

So yeah, this is an extremely noisy film. Much of the comedy is just chaos, which in itself isn't very funny. The characters are annoying, the drama is terrible and the only thing I could think about was that I'm happy my life isn't anything like what is shown in the film. This is one of Levy's absolute worst films.

A young pianist is asked by a lowly gangster to play the theme from The Godfather. He happily obliges, unaware that he is setting some big crime drama in motion. It's the favorite tune of a renowned Yakuza boss and only Minami, his favorite pianist, is allowed to play the song. And so the lives of the two pianists are about to intertwine.

The music in the film isn't very impressive, even though it is supposed to be, which is par for the course. The crime story on the other hand is pretty fun, especially when it becomes more convoluted and even takes on surreal qualities. The final third of the film saved this one from mediocrity, and it did so with plenty of flair.

Ben is a young boy with Asperger's Syndrome. He has found ways to deal with everyday life, but he is bullied at school and only really feels peaceful and confident when playing video games, together with Scarlite. When the bullying gets worse, Ben becomes fed up with his life and starts planning the unthinkable.

The film deals with some rather heavy subjects but does so in a very modern and accessible way. The in-game footage has aged considerably, but the cinematography and score still feel contemporary enough. It's the twists and turns in the second half that slowed the film down, especially as I was already aware of the outcome. Still worth a shot if you've never seen this one before.

An ancient artifact is about to cause a whole lot of trouble for New York. The evil spirit within is about to be released, and the storage area of the Ghostbusters has finally filled up. The spirit hopes to free all the captured ghosts and take over the city. Luckily, the Ghostbusters will get some help from outside.

Ghostbusters works best as a light adventure with the necessary comedy, but it feels a bit too repetitive and the surprise element of the previous film isn't there anymore. There are still some fun moments, and it works well enough for a mindless blockbuster, but great cinema this is not.

Catherine suspects that her husband has an affair. To make sure, she hires Nathalie, a professional prostitute, and pays her to seduce her husband. At first, she is appalled to hear that the job went much faster than expected, but she's also more than a little intrigued by the life of Nathalie.

Béart is a vision, but Ardant and Depardieu can't match her performance in the slightest. There's not enough chemistry between the actors and the plot is a little too obvious, which makes the ending fall flat. The presentation is also a little lackluster, but at least some attempts were made. It's not a terrible film, just far removed from the greatness I remembered it to be.

Two thieves plan a successful heist. They are careful guys and stash away the loot until all the attention blows over. What they don't know is that one of their friends rats them out to a local gangster. He kidnaps one of the thieves, hoping he'll talk and spill the location of the loot.

The performances are okay and the setting at the start of the film adds some lightness to it, but once the crime elements take center stage it goes downhill pretty fast. There's too much dialogue, too many stern-looking guys trying to act tough, and not enough edge. A French noir in other words.

Norio and his girlfriend Mari have been together for three years. They're a happy couple and life is good for them, until one day Norio wakes up and finds a completely different woman in his house. She is also called Mari and she wants to live with him. Norio doesn't know what is happening to him.

It's the setup for a nice little mystery, centered around a romantic drama. The film is at its best when it leans into the mystery, but those scenes are few and far between. The romance and drama have a stronger indie feel, and as such are a bit more pedestrian, which creates a bit of a contrast. I really liked this one, I wanted to love it too, but it needed a bit more polish.

Rudolf Höss, his wife, and family live right next to the Auschwitz camp. They have a lovely house and a pleasant life, but everything gets thrown upside down when Höss is required to work at a different camp. His wife isn't willing to move with him, as she invested so much time and effort into their home.

The contrast is stark and impressive, and the sound design is efficient, but that's where it kind of ends. It's just a long repetition of the same idea, and it does get pretty repetitive later on. I wish Glazer had a few more tricks up his sleeve because somewhere there's a great film hidden in here. It just never materialized.

A group of youngsters has rented a mansion for the weekend. On their quest for stacked-away booze, they find a peculiar pack of tarot cards. One of the kids is proficient in using them and she reads the fortune of the others present. Of course, by doing so she releases an age-old curse.

The sets look cool, the editing is decent and the pacing is solid, but they can't hide that this is a very basic horror film just going through the motions of the genre. Bland actors, a lack of proper scares, and a high level of predictability keep this from getting higher marks. Proper filler.

During the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte quickly rises through the ranks. In 1799 he seized control over France and started defying neighboring European countries, hoping to expand his kingdom. Meanwhile, he tries to keep his marriage on the rails, which isn't that easy as his wife is prone to cheat.

I didn't care for Phoenix's performance, the cinematography was quite dull and dreary, the score was generic and the film had major pacing issues. It's an extremely old-fashioned biopic in every sense of the word, but that's par for the course when looking at Scott's oeuvre. Forgettable.