Log: week 51 / 2024
It's been a while since I've watched a bona fide mindfuck, Subject 101 delivers. It's a weird mix of mystery, crime, and horror cinema, and the film is quite stingy with clues. Instead, you get a lot of moody, disorienting scenes with clues scattered throughout. You better pay attention, because it's up to you to figure everything out. If you love a good mood-based genre flick though, there's a lot to love here, as the cinematography and score are on point and the mystery is sustained until the very end. This is not for everyone, but I was very impressed.
I'm slowly discovering the work of Hideo Jôjô, and so far I like what I'm seeing. He seems to like tackling darker and/or slightly taboo subjects, but he does so in a very agreeable way. Love Nonetheless contrasts a "forbidden love" with a more traditional relationship, and the winner is clear. The performances are strong, the presentation is cozy and warm, and the dissimilarities between the two storylines are telling. Some will feel uncomfortable, but that is exactly the point of this film. I like movies that don't mind challenging traditional rules, something I'm sure I have in common with the director.Read all
A film with strong Trainspotting vibes, only we're dealing with a rap trio in Northern Ireland, set within a stronger political environment. Despite its clear messaging, this film is about punk attitudes and kids carving out their own way in life. Bonus points for the fact that the Kneecap are playing themselves. The score is cool but a tad weird. Apart from Kneecap's rap records, it's mostly 90s electronic music. The performances are good, the presentation is slick, and the direction is edgy and pointed. Again, this gave me strong Trainspotting vibes, but for a film made almost three decades later, I needed a tiny bit more to be truly blown away.Read all
Miyaki's latest drama is a little atypical, but that's what makes his work stand out. The characters are interesting and their story is endearing, though I'm guessing you need to be a big fan of Japanese cinema to see what makes this one different from a slew of other dramas coming out of Japan each year. The cinematography is proper, the score is commendable and the performances are strong. There's real heart here and even though not much happens in the way of plot, the film never felt slow or meandering. It lacks that tiny bit of extra polish to be a personal favorite, but Miyaki is clearly talented.Read all
A typical Statham vehicle. If you've seen a couple of Statham action flicks, you know very well what to expect. The guy is a one-guy army who tears through a bunch of forgettable baddies on his way to the main villain. It's not the wildest film of the year, but if you like this kind of thing, it's fun. Statham is his usual self, there are some decent action scenes and the pacing is solid. The rest of the cast isn't great, the plot is inconsequential and there are no big surprises, but it hardly matters when you're okay with a barebones action flick. Solid entertainment, just don't expect anything extra.Read all
Japan's answer to the Detective Dee films, even more so than its more recent Chinese namesakes. The Ying Yang Master is a mystery embellished with fantasy elements, set in ancient Japan. It's a fun and competent blockbuster, but it's not as consistently good as its Chinese counterpart. The mystery isn't that interesting and the introduction is quite slow, with a lot of info on who the onmyoji are and what role they fulfilled. Once the plot gets going more fantasy elements are added and the film gets a bit more intense, but it never pulls out all the stops. Still, I had a lot of fun with it, I'd just hoped for that little extra.Read all
As much as I love Fukui, I struggle to see how he could produce a film like this. His cyberpunk work is mad and energetic, and a testament to his skill to deliver on a shoestring budget. Onne has an interesting enough premise, but the presentation is lacking and the film looks cheap from start to finish. Which is a shame, because the setup is pretty tense and I would've loved to have seen Fukui's signature treatment on a film like this. It's still worth a watch, especially if you like a left-field horror film without too much explicit gore or explicit scares. Just don't go in expecting a new Rubber's Lover of 964 Pinocchio.Read all
I didn't mind this US remake at all. Sure enough, they've made some silly changes to the plot, with the leads being younger and the setting more school-oriented, but the sullen color palette and the tense scares made it that I prefer this version over the original. I'm not the biggest fan of Kurosawa's horror cinema though. The performances are a little iffy and the school setting a bit annoying, but other than that this was a lot of fun. The visual trickery is effective and ramps up the scares, the score is decent enough and the premise remains a step up from the norm. Not quite the gem I remembered it to be, but it's a fun horror and one of the best US remakes of Japanese horror films.Read all
Scary True Stories: Summer Special 2011
The OG series of contemporary Japanese horror cinema. All the greats started their horror career working on the first few entries (the early 90s), and Norio Tsuruta returned to co-direct this 2011 summer special. The film is nothing special, but that's because it's stayed true to its roots. You get five stereotypical Japanese haunt stories, which means ghosts appear out of the shadows and bother the living with their unresolved problems. The film sticks to the clichés it established two decades earlier, they just lost most of their effectiveness by now. It's not a terrible film, just a very generic one. The fact that it's an anthology makes it a little easier to get through though.Read all
Neil Marshall has been looking for the best version of himself for a while now. Duchess is his take on the British crime (comedy) film, and there are parts of it that work well. It's just that there are much better films out there doing the same thing (think early Ritchie, or something like Layer Cake). Kirk is a bit hit-and-miss (though she has a formidable accent, her strongest asset for sure), and the rest of the cast isn't quite the badasses they need to be either. Marshall's visual trickery is also a bit limited, but if you're looking for a slick action flick with some smirks along the way, I don't think it'll disappoint.Read all
Not quite as gripping as Nina Wu, but Midi Z's latest is another chilling thriller with strong drama and mystery elements. The performances are strong, the cinematography is stylish and the score, while quite safe, is used to good effect. There are some twists that steer the film in different directions, but the plot takes a back seat to the drama and every twist adds a bit of heart to the characters. Midi Z is a competent director with interesting stories to tell, let's see how long his streak will go on.