Log: week 21 / 2024
I used to watch the animated series of this when I was a kid, which I liked a lot back then. The live-action version is quite a bit cheesier and more ridiculous, but it has a similar sort of charm. The film hasn't aged well at all, but apart from the slow and dragged-out intro, it's still pretty cute. The first half hour isn't all that interesting. It's rather slow and has a lot of unnecessary dialogue. The voyage is what this film is all about, and even though many of the effects are pretty silly by modern standards, it's fun that they were so committed to them. It's not the worst classic sci-fi I've seen, but it was smart to redo this as animation.Read all
A fine Ching-Po Wong film, with some powerful and memorable moments, but also a couple of lulls that keep the film from reaching its full potential. The middle part, with the narrative reboot, would've been tough for any director to overcome, but Wong really struggled to get the second half on the rails. So apart from an intro and outro, we get two separate stories. The highlights of the film are impressive, Wong's a good director and he had an excellent crew at his disposal, but there's a bit too much filler and the runtime is quite long. Worth a watch if you like Taiwanese crime films, but I was hoping for a little more.Read all
An old favorite that turned out to be a pretty decent but basic genre film. I've come to the point where quite a few of my rewatches end up that way, almost two decades of watching films can do that to someone's taste in films. Phone is not a bad film, but so many Asian horror films later, there's not that much that sets it apart. Ghosts and past trauma, mixed with technology. Phone is a film that borrows a lot from Ringu, but gives it a more polished South Korean finish. It's pleasant genre fare with a few memorable moments and some scary scenes, but two decades later it's just one of many, with too few distinctive elements to call it a personal favorite.Read all
Take the quintessential US animal comedy animation, project DC's Justice League onto it and you have this dreary contraption. It feels like a DC gateway drug, made to appeal to younger kids, introducing them early into the DC universe. More a marketing ploy than an actual film. The plot is dumb and the parallels with the Justice League are incredibly lazy. The comedy is dire, the voice acting is dull, the animation isn't anything special and there's way too much filler to bump up the runtime. My only hope is that Marvel isn't thinking about doing the same.Read all
Manuel de Olivera's first feature film. I haven't seen too much yet from this lauded director, though I doubt he'll become a big favorite of mine. Aniki Bóbó is a rather cheesy and sentimental film, somewhat reminiscent of the Italian Neorealist cinema that would reign supreme a decade later. The soundtrack is pretty dominant (and annoying), the performances of the kids are poor and the plot is uninteresting, even though the runtime is rather short. The cinematography is relatively polished but it didn't excite me much, other than that this film was completely wasted on me.Read all
When I first watched this film I was still orienting myself in Asian cinema. I remember liking films that mixed different languages, so this one stood out for obvious reasons. Looking at it now, I can still see the appeal, but there were too many things that kept me from fully enjoying it. The lead performances are solid, the rest of the cast isn't quite on the same level. The film is also a bit too reliant on farfetched coincidences and the second half could've been slimmed down. Still, the styling is proper and the story is pretty intriguing, it's just not as good as I remembered it to be.Read all
Takashi Ishii is one of the best pinku directors around, though that's maybe because he doesn't always work within the general rules of the genre. Flower and Snake is a remake, but it feels very much like vintage Ishii. It's a film that indulges in kinks and offers an interesting mix of crime and erotica. The intro's a bit basic, but once the wife is captured there are some stark images and memorable scenes. This film won't be for everyone, as it is quite graphic and kinky, but there's a lot more than mere titillation, and the finale is quite something. The first half keeps it from being a true personal favorite, but fans of Ishii should give this one a go.Read all
Quintessential Spielberg, which means this film just wasn't for me. It's a semi-autobiography, centered around an aspiring filmmaker's younger years. The Fabelmans serves sentimental Hollywood drama, celebrating the past and the earlier days of cinema, which is a perfect fit for Spielberg's cheesy direction. The nostalgia for old times is something I can't share with Spielberg, I didn't care much for the performances and the lead character was an absolute dud. It's the wrong kind of sentiment and every single one of Spielberg's attempts to make it more gripping ends up making things worse. Not good.Read all
Great Tale of the Foundational 4½ Tatami Room
Leiji Matsumoto is best known as a mangaka (and his immensely popular anime derivates), but like most working in the animation industry, he also tried his hand at a live-action film. And not too surprisingly, it's about the adventures of a young boy in a boarding house (also based on one of his mangas). These boarding houses are popular locations for mangakas, you write about what you know I guess. Matsumoto made a pretty fun film that jumps between different genres, but there's not a whole lot that jumps out. Some wacky characters and silly situational comedy, which is just enough for 90 minutes of pleasant entertainment. It's not a stand-out though.Read all
Jô Shishido is famous for his collaborations with Suzuki, but that's not all he did. A Colt Is My Passport is a bit more straightforward compared to Suzuki's typical output, but it has many similar traits. It's a pretty stylish gangster film, with Shishido taking on the role of a stone-cold hitman. There are some fun scenes here, but overall I found the film a tad too slow. The middle part in particular dragged a little, with the scenes in the inn being a little boring. It's a short film though and the first and third acts are solid, so it's certainly not all bad. That said, it's not the most memorable of films, just decent filler.Read all
An atrocious blockbuster spectacle. You'd think it would be difficult to mess up a film that combines Godzilla and King Kong, but Wingard's latest sure tries its hardest. I understand the franchises come with a certain level of kitsch, but the whole Hollow Earth thing is beyond terrible. Bland and ugly monster designs, poor CG, boring action, and a level of sentimentality unbefitting a film of this caliber. You can see Wingard trying to make a fun blockbuster spectacle, but all I could do was roll my eyes and watch the clock. Another cinematic universe that has outstayed its welcome.Read all
A disaster movie, 70s style. It's not like the action-driven ones from the 90s, instead, we get a simple but life-threatening disaster that spawns a deceit-based thriller. I'm not the biggest fan of 70s cinema, it's a bit too slow and narrative-focused for me, but The China Syndrome handles it quite well. So we have the little folk battling the power-hungry corporations. The threat is real, but not very cinematic (and the potential for some visual thrills is completely wasted). The build-up of the tension is decent though and the performances are okay. It's not a terrible film, but it's all very basic and dire by modern standards.Read all
A riveting mix of exasperating thrills and the darkest of comedy. It's been a long time since I felt so bad for a character in a film, even though the situation also had enough uncomfortable laughs to put most run-of-the-mill dark comedies to shame. The performances are strong, the premise is genius and the direction is spot on. It's a very singular film, so its appeal might be somewhat limited, but people who like genre films with a dark edge owe it to themselves to give this one a shot.