Log: week 8 / 2024
Batman: Gotham Knight
I'm not a big Batman fan, but its anime incarnations are pretty cool. This Madhouse anthology offers a nice collection of shorts that combines Madhouse's traditional animation style with more experimental art styles. Each short is clearly "Batman", but it feels very different from its US counterparts (which is why I cheated and watched it with the Japanese dub). There are no weak entries here, and at least two standouts, which is crucial for any anthology film. Not sure if core Batman fans would appreciate Gotham Knight, but anime (and Madhouse fans in particular) should give it a shot.
Ever since Into the Spider-Verse was released, US animation has been a bit more keen to play around with art styles. The Bad Guys is one of those films that takes a bland and familiar premise and hopes to add a little shine by applying a slightly different visual polish. Sadly, it failed. A band of criminals is wreaking havoc until a new governor is appointed. She downplays the skills of the crew, which draws them out of their hiding place. The criminals are apprehended, but a professor is willing to give them a second chance. He starts a program to turn them into certified "good guys". What you get is a little crime narrative (with plenty of references to popular US crime cinema) ruined by the type of uninspired comedy that has come to define US animation. The art style has some appeal, but the characters are irritating, the dub is atrocious and the comedy is disappointing. Not good.Read all
A simple but stylish romance. It's a story about two very different personalities hooking up, and the problems that come with such a relationship. Certainly not the most original premise, but the presentation is pleasant and the performances are on point, which resulted in an easy watch. Sonoda wants to be a writer but he has trouble getting his career off the ground, so he becomes an editor instead. When he bumps into Rina it is love at first sight. Rina is the complete opposite of Sonoda though, she has no clue what to do with her life and lounges around, doing nothing much at all. Sonoda's individual struggles end up jeopardizing his relationship, especially when Rina turns out to be better at his job than he is. It's all rather standard, but the cinematography is polished and there are some very sweet/touching scenes scattered throughout. The finale in particular is quite memorable, which means the film must've done something right.Read all
French classic that feels a bit stuffier than its age would suggest. While Godard was kickstarting the Nouvelle Vague, Demy's Lola feels like a film from a previous era. It's not quite as dynamic and energetic, and ultimately not all that interesting. That said, it's hardly the worst film of that era. Lola is a successful cabaret dancer. She goes through life as a single mom after her beau left her to get rich in the US. That's the last she's heard of him. She gets plenty of attention from other men, but she's still waiting for her former lover to return. When she bumps into an old friend, doubts begin to grow within her. The performances feel a little forced, the romance and drama elements are rather predictable, and even though the film is quite short I think it would've been better with another 15 minutes or so cut. Maybe if the presentation had been more interesting I might've cared more about the characters and their troubles.Read all
A classic J-Horror film from Koji Shiraishi. Not one that made it onto the international market, and it's not that hard to see why. It follows the usual patterns, and tries to surprise with a reverse chapter structure (but fails). It's one for the hardcore fans and completists, others have plenty of other films to give priority. An ominous man wearing a dark hoodie is terrorizing the neighborhood. There's an urban legend floating around the school that the man is actually a ghost who chases down young girls and kills them. A group of friends is adamant to find out if the legend is true, but they don't know what kind of trouble they're getting themselves into. So there's a typical J-Horror ghost who makes strange noises and kills young women. The formula's worn thin, and as the film lacks any real tension, there isn't all that much left to get excited about. It's short and not terrible, but it's bona fide filler that will only please the most hardened horror fans.Read all
An old favorite that didn't quite stand the test of time. Killers is a pretty crude film, but that is part of its core appeal. It's the terrible performances that took me out of it though. Not that I put a lot of weight on actors, certainly not in a freaky horror comedy like this, but some bits were just a bit too flaky. Two brothers escaped from a high-security facility. They killed their parents and they are considered extremely dangerous. They arrive at a plain suburban house and take the family hostage, but as they get to know them, they start to realize they might have gotten themselves into a bit of unexpected trouble. Mendez goes for kitsch and excess. Some not-so-very-poetic scenes clash with the brute violence, every twist adds another level of insanity and by the time the film is racing towards the finale, it's almost impossible to keep track of everything going on. The sheer joy of it is infectious, but the poor performances take away from the overall effect.Read all
A slightly more mundane version of La Haine, set in London. It's a good film, with solid performances and a great selection of hip-hop tracks, but the plot's a little too predictable and the direction a tad too simple to be a true masterpiece. I used to love this film, but it lost some of its appeal over the years. Trife and his friends get a day off from school when a girl hangs herself after being extensively bullied by her classmates. They walk around town, getting into trouble wherever they go. Meanwhile, their arch nemesis Sam is looking for them after they crashed his house to take back what he stole from them. It's clear from the start this is one of those films where violence is going to spin out of control, so the finale isn't quite as powerful as it could've been. I liked the music and the setting though, the decidedly British youth culture has a clear appeal, yet it wasn't quite enough for me to remain an undivided champion of this film. Still worth a try if you haven't seen it already.Read all
The Chinese streamer scene is a complete maze, still, especially when it comes to directors. There's just one name that jumps out so far, and that's Dai Yilin. His work is usually pretty consistent, so when I noticed he had a new film out I was ready to give it a shot. It's not his best work, but it's a pretty decent addition to his oeuvre. Chai Hu is a mentally challenged man, but legend says there's a dragon inside his body, causing him not to age. Reporter Wei Yu Tong hears about his story and together with her father, she organizes an expedition. The goal is to use Chai Hu to wake up a dragon who resides in the Eight Hundred Mountains. With Dragon Hunting King, Yilin returns to the tomb-raiding genre. I figured it had died out somewhat over the past year, but apparently, there's still room for a couple more films. Dragon Hunting King isn't quite as spectacular as it needed to be though, and the little extra drama felt a bit unnecessary. But if you're just here for the genre thrills, this film won't disappoint.Read all
I often complain that South Korea lacks the type of indie genre directors that make Japanese cinema such a wondrous industry, Park Sye-young is proving me wrong. He's a young director whose first feature film is an absolute dream. There are dashes of Tsukamoto in there, maybe a little Dupieux and Hellraiser too, but it's mostly just Park delivering a wholly unique experience. The plot's a little out there, but the presentation makes all the difference here. The cinematography and score are superb, creating a weird, uneasy yet beautiful atmosphere. A real find, and I couldn't be more grateful to the person who recommended it to me.
A proper grindhouse flick that retained most of its cool. This is thanks to a strong central performance and some notable directing choices, which help to set the film apart from its peers. The graphic sex is probably what landed the film its reputation, but it's by far the least interesting aspect of Thriller. A young girl can't get a break in life. After she is raped as a child, she grows up a mute. On an odd day off she travels to the city and falls into the hands of a pimp, who keeps her against his will and forces her to have sex with his clients. The girl is stuck, but she quickly starts planning her revenge. Lindberg is pretty cool, the deaths are fun and effective and the film is classier than its grindhouse categorization would have you assume. It could've been a bit more compact and some of the sound effects are a bit silly by modern standards, but this turned out to be a lovely little surprise.Read all
There was just one reason for me to watch this film, which was Takeshi Kitano's involvement in the project. Not that it looked like a terrible film, but there wasn't much here that stood out. I'll say Comic Magazine was a tad better than I expected, but it's far from a memorable film (save maybe one or two scenes). Toshiaki Kinameri's big dream is to become a respected journalist, but for the time being he's stuck doing showbiz news. His colleagues make fun of Toshiaki until he stumbles upon a big story by accident. Nobody believes him, but Toshiaki powers through. He has no clue what he is getting himself involved in though. Kitano's part is rather small and he only appears near the end of the film, but he does have the best scenes. Uchida has a strong presence too and his adventures are pretty funny to follow, but the presentation of the film is rather basic and two hours was a bit too long for the material at hand. Decent entertainment, but nothing more.Read all