Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

Movie Diary 2018

New year, new Movie Diary and some minor changes.

1) While the thread is still called a Movie Diary I'll rate, review and discuss other stuff as well. Last year I reviewed at least one television show and this year I plan to have them covered on regular basis along with some books and music. Despite of the name consider this to be an Art / Entertainment Diary.

2) Hopefully people already know me a little so maybe (hint, hint) there'll be more discussion. This is also another reason why I'm planning to post something else besides reviews as well. I also try to post to Rate The Last Movie You Saw on more regular basis for improved visibility.

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For each movie/series I'll mark if I've seen it before or if it's a new one for me.

N = seen for the first time
r = rewatch but didn't remember much anyway
R = rewatch
RR = rewatch of a film I've seen multiple times

I still occasionally list recommendations for (more or less) similar stuff but considering how often I didn't do that last year expect this to be more like a special event than the norm.

Note: I'm little stingy with ratings so 3+ should be considered at least a tentative recommendation (even 2+ if the genre or subject of the movie seems interesting to you).

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Bad (<=1.5) | OK (2-3) | Good (3.5+)

June 2019 (1+):
#131: Captive Sate (2019) | #132: Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972) | #133: Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) | #134: BlacKkKlansman (2018) |



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Formatting is still under construction.

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

Series (8+):
#1: Perfume (2018) | #2: Luther - Season 5 (2019) | #3: The Punisher - Season 2 (2019) | #4: Kingdom - Season 1 (2019) | #5: Millennium Trilogy (2010) | #6: The Little Drummer Girl (2018) | #7: The Passage - Season 1 (2019) | #8: Hanna - Season 1 (2019) | #9: Grisse - Season 1 (2018) |

Books (2+):
#1: Books of Blood 1 | #2: Books of Blood 2 |

Music (1+):
#1: Top-10 Albums 2018

Random (1+):
#1: Advanced Stats For 2018

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) R

A father and son coroner duo attempt to figure out the secrets of a mysterious young woman who's corpse was found during a crime investigation.


I saw this when it was new and only rewatched it because of HoF nomination. Like many small budget horrors (and scifi too) this primarily feels like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone (or, I guess, Black Mirror but I haven't bothered with that one) and as a rule I don't like that style.

First of all I hate it when these films do that "oh, it all happened in your head" thing. It's an easy and cheap cop-out to have things happen without paying attention to logic and explanations. All we get is a premise (kind of interesting one too) followed by a hollow chain of events that leads nowhere. I can't shake the feeling that even the makers of the film didn't know what was actually going on or why.

On surface level the film is technically fine but extremely predictable with its scares. There's very little content in it (which enhances the feeling of watching a stretched out TV episode) and a good premise is largely wasted. Just not my kind of horror.

The Evil Dead (1981) RR

Five young people go to spend a weekend at a remote cabin. They find some stuff left by the previous occupant in the basement and accidentally wake the slumbering demons. Why do I bother with the plot, everyone's seen this anyways?


I was nine or ten years old when I first saw this (back then the Finnish VHS version was cut by 11 minutes and 50 seconds). I hadn't seen many horror films by then so The Evil Dead was obviously very scary (me and my big brother usually watched all the films we rented at least twice but I skipped the nightly rewatch on this).

Fortunately The Evil Dead isn't just nostalgia trip but moderately good horror film with some comedic elements. Raimi's direction is already quite solid and cinematography is very inventive. Most of the effects are good (not the modeling clay stuff in the end though) and in general it looks surprisingly good for the money.

There are some issues though that make it far less impressive for me today. First of all there's way too much comedy. I'm not a fan of horror comedies and while The Evil Dead keeps that aspect somewhat in check it's still too much for me. Then the acting is mostly terrible (especially Bruce Campbell) and there's too much stuff aimed at teen audience (I suppose they were the target audience but it doesn't mean I have to like it). Didn't like the soundtrack either, it felt quite out of place at times.

Despite all the previous complaints The Evil Dead is still good film (at least with some help from nostalgia). I love the passion that was put into it and the raw talent shown by Sam Raimi.

[Book Review]
Books of Blood 1 by Clive Barker

Barker's debut book and first of six short story collections in the series. I read this (and all the other parts, I think) almost thirty years ago when the Finnish translation was released. This time I read it in English.

Book 1 is little uneven probably because it's a debut and also because of Barker's intentional mixing of themes, styles and tones between the stories. Especially the lightest and most comedic story, The Yattering and Jack, is quite bad. There are some odd tonal shifts within stories too, especially Sex, Death and Starshine.

In my opinion Barker is at his best in more serious and bleak stories. Intoductory The Book of Blood, The Midnight Meat Train and In the Hills, the Cities are the best and most consistent stories in this book. His ideas are quite innovative and he can write very enjoyable text. This wasn't nearly as gruesome and foul as I remembered though (or my definition of such has changed during the years).

★★★

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

I'd rank The Evil Dead highly in my favourite horror films. Still holds up really well.

Evil Dead II (1987) R

Sequel with a hint of remake that kinda continues from where the first film ended. Connections to the first are very superficial and I think it would have been better to start a new series instead of turning Evil Dead into full slapstick. As a result this is more like an Army of Darkness prequel than an Evil Dead sequel.


Evil Dead II has all the bad things of the first film and very few of the good ones. It no longer even attempts to be horror but goes full comedy, acting (especially by Campbell) is still terrible (Sarah Berry as Annie is only decent actor here), plot and suspense is replaced by making faces and "funny" noises and visually Raimi mostly copies what he invented during the first film.

Effects are far worse and, again, it seems like they didn't even try (the trees are kinda cool though). It doesn't feel like its made by the same guy who made the first but like a tribute by someone far less talented. I'm not rewatching Army of Darkness now as I've seen it quite recently (it's not as good as the first but considerably better than this).

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

Ugh...couldn't disagree more. With everything you listed as hating, I loved.

Bird Box (2018) N

Mysterious creatures that drive people suicidally insane on sight have brought an apocalypse. A woman and two young children are trying to reach a refuge at the end of an arduous river journey.


I didn't have high expectations for Bird Box because I found the book rather mediocre and had doubts how the concept would work in more visual media. Decided to watch it anyway because of somewhat positive reviews I've seen / heard. Maybe I should have trusted my instinct...

The use of flashbacks to tell the story is faulted as the first scene practically spoils what's going to happen. Unless my memory plays tricks on me there are some odd changes from the book (e.g. in film the creatures seem to have an agenda and they feel much more supernatural than in the book). I don't think that awkward romance was in the book either. Even the ending which was already so-so in the book is made worse with chase scene.

Acting is alright but there are no characters to root for (I guess the kids but they're more like plot device than characters). I don't understand why Sandra Bullock was cast on this because she's too old (in the book Malorie is a college student and while that's changed in the film she's still having her first baby in her 50s) and looks weird with all the plastic surgeries and Botox.

Overall another bad Netflix movie. How do they always mess things up with their films?

Ouch. I value your opinion, but knocking Mr. Campbell hurts my soul.


I'll look out for more book reviews though. I loved Clive Barker's imagination when I was a teen, and still have the Books of Blood on my shelf. It's been a while, but I thought the Midnight Meat Train movie was decent too.

Rust Creek (2018) N

A college student is invited to job interview in another city. To dodge some blockage in the highway she takes a detour through the forest roads. She gets little lost, bumps into wrong locals and ends up running for her life through the woods.


Rust Creek was pretty random pick for me. I didn't even know what kind of film it was (the plot kinda suggested some survival horror) so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be very decent thriller / drama. So no cannibals hiding in the Kentucky woods but some redneck drug dealers.

Rust Creek has rather good characters and for a change a protagonist that seems to have her wits about for the majority of time. As a whole the character interactions are well written and acting is good too. There are some minor issues with the script (mostly too many coincidences) but nothing that really ruins anything.

Settings are beautiful and the film looks great too. Direction, pacing, etc. are all just fine but soundtrack is kinda bland. I don't know why majority of violence is shown off-screen in R-rated film but it's not actual flaw - just a differing preference. All in all I liked this one quite a bit even though it's not exactly my favorite kind of a film.

That sounds good. It makes me think back to Seventies Doctor Who with the sight of the Silurians causing madness, influenced by race-memory. Those affected start drawing images like cave paintings.

Vigilante (1982) N

When Eddie finds out that some of his working buddies have a small scale vigilante operation he doesn't exactly approve. His stance changes after his family becomes victims of gang violence and the law lets the perpetrators walk. It's the usual story for these films.


Two years earlier William Lustig directed the notorious Maniac and in some sense Vigilante continues with the same style. Its city is dirty, cold and violent place where people live in constant fear. It's nihilistic portrayal of society and humanity and their shortcomings.

Vigilante is perhaps little heavy-handed in its social criticism but it still has a message I can agree with. Like many other 80s vigilante films Vigilante doesn't condemn the actions of its protagonists. I have a soft spot for these films and their ideology has always appealed to me.

There are some very stupid things in the script (e.g. whole prison part has no real function and the car chase in the end is just dumb). Lustig's direction is good and he knows how to capture the dirt and depression of the city. Acting is quite good but Fred Williamson is really wooden (I don't remember if I've ever seen a good performance by him). Violence is semi-brutal but nothing like in Maniac. Oh, and the guns have a serious kick in this one.

Mostly fine vigilante film that drags a little due to unneeded prison sequence and suffers from some serious flaws on script department.

Lukas (2018) N

A single father working as a bouncer gets involved with organized crime. Between the criminals and police he's trying to give his daughter a good life.


Lukas is a downbeat and bare-bones crime drama that's little different from what van Damme usually has done. It's simplistic to a fault with characters feeling more like tools to advance the story than actual people. It's also quite predictable in its indie crime film niche.

JCVD isn't bad actor when he's cast correctly and Lukas is a good role for him. His current looks are perfect match for the grey and bleak surroundings of the film. Lukas isn't the deepest character in cinematic history but he's good enough for a film like this - everyone else is thin as paper though and their actions don't seem to have any purpose besides being plot devices.

A film like Lukas would need better characters and story. As it is it's just another mediocre indie crime film with nothing new to offer and nothing to raise it above the competition.

[Series Review]
Perfume (2018) N

Perfume is not precisely based on Patrick Süskind's book but a series inspired by it and its filming from 2006. In present day Germany a singer is found murdered with her scent glands removed. Police investigation soon focuses on a group of people she used to hang with in her youth.


Perfume is very dark and deranged series. Pretty much every character is despicable in at least one way. Everyone is abusing someone else either physically or mentally or both, men are rapists and pigs, women are jealous whores and everyone is driven by pure lust that's worth killing for. There have been lots of criticism about misogyny but I'd say Perfume is more about misanthropy.

Some sub-plots feel unnecessary for a long time but everything is pretty nicely connected in the end. For the most part the plot evolves nicely being somewhat unpredictable while still making sense. Acting is really good from practically everyone and technically the show is great. First couple of episodes could have drawn you better into the story but I don't know exactly how.

Bleak and twisted murder mystery that's both daring and well made.

A Fistful of Dollars (1964) r

Leone's Yojimbo in the Wild West. A gunslinger arrives to a small town where two rival gangs are warring with each other. He starts to play both sides trying to bring both gangs down.


Before I started to watch I didn't even remember that this was the Yojimbo remake. I suppose it's a good thing because I'm not a fan of that story but A Fistful of Dollars still managed to be a good film. Scheming and plotting seems to be the end in itself but somehow Leone keeps the events more or less in check.

Usually I like Spaghetti Westerns more than the American Westerns. They're darker and more violent, have more moral ambiguity and Italian style just appeals to me. A Fistful of Dollars isn't the most beautiful Leone film but it still looks great and Morricone's soundtracks are always excellent. Eastwood is his iconic self and the villains are as brutal as any.

Above average Western that launched Leone's career and probably the best film with Yojimbo's plot.

Halloween (2018) N

Michael Myers kills again and woe to those who err to watch it.


For the first 30 minutes or so I was wondering what am I watching: a mockumentary about Michael Myers, a critique about low quality of modern journalism, a parody of slashers or something else? Then it finally sank in that Halloween is just a terrible movie that is at its best during the opening credits.

I know I'm not much into slashers but even within its own kind Halloween is extremely boring and uninspired film. The blatant Terminator 2 loans don't help either (all that's missing is Michael giving thumbs up from the flames) and the whole Sarah Connor routine feels really awkward.

Carpenter's music is the best thing in this film. Actually that's the only positive thing in the whole film. Worst 2018 film I've actually finished this far.

The City of the Dead (1960) N

A college student goes to small (and foggy) New England town to research withcraft.


The concept of undead witches hounding a small town because of centuries old grudge is something I like. Settings are also nice and there's definitely enough fog floating around helping with the atmosphere. The introduction scene is nice and the "research reveals too much" plot is just fine.

Sadly there's way too many issues with The City of the Dead for it to ever truly becoming an enjoyable watch. In a way it's like two movies crammed into one (first the college student going to Whitewood and then the sequel with her brother and boyfriend) and the story moves on a stiff, mechanical and hurried pace without any concern of characterization or fleshing out the story. It feels like a filmed synopsis instead of a finished product.

Nice idea and charming visuals aren't enough to make this good but at least they keep The City of the Dead floating barely above being bad.

Who Can Kill a Child? (1976) N

Married English couple visits a small island on the coast of Spain. They wonder where the adults are and soon notice that something is wrong with the children.


Who Can Kill a Child? is (or at least I think it is) one of those almost forgotten cult classics that deserve recognition. I randomly stumbled upon the name few months ago and finally managed to see it. I didn't really know what to expect but the concept felt somewhat promising.

Easiest comparisons would probably be Night of the Living Dead and The Birds. It puts small number of people in the middle of the mystery, an unexplained phenomenon that turns traditionally harmless objects into something evil. And the children here are truly wicked - they're not mindless zombies but calculating and cruel and treacherous.

Who Can Kill a Child? sets its tone from the beginning by cutting news inserts from various wars and catastrophes between its opening credits (which kind of reminds me of Cross of Iron). I was initially little worried that these were used just for shock value but they did serve a purpose.

Huge positive surprise. If you like bleak and joyless horrors you should definitely check Who Can Kill a Child?

Time for the first music post. This is my current top-10 albums of 2018. I'm sure there are still great albums from last year I haven't heard so in future the list may look different but this is it today. The order from 7 to 10 is almost random so you may consider them all sharing the 7th place.

Top-10 Albums 2018

01: The Warning - Queen of the Murder Scene
Three young Mexican sisters make some of the catchiest rock songs of our time. It's rock with a hint of metal and just a right amount of teenage angst and broken dreams. It's even more impressive that these girls are great live band.
Dust to Dust

02: Funeral Mist - Hekatomb
The best black metal album of 2018 is Swedish. It's quite fast and aggressive with good songwriting and top notch vocals. It "true" enough to have hefty amount rawness but technical and well produced at the same time.
Pallor Mortis

03: Khemmis - Desolation
First of the two doom metal bands on my list comes from Denver, Colorado. Khemmis plays traditional doom with lots heavy metal influences. I love how the music often seems to follow vocal melodies giving them somewhat unique sound. Singer is also awesome.
Bloodletting

04: Arrayan Path - Archegonoi
Power metal band currently residing in Cyprus. I discovered them last year with their previous album. Archegonoi took little time to grow on me and it still isn't just as good as Dawn of Aquarius but still very good. Therion influences are more audible than before.
Nemesis

05: King Goat - Debt of Aeons
More doom metal, this time from UK. King Goat is little more rough than Khemmis but still heavily rooted in traditional doom with some death metal and sludge influences. Songwriting may not be as tight as Khemmis has but the best moments on the album are just perfect. And the singer's voice incredible.
Doldrum Sentinels

06: Sulphur Aeon - The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos
Iä! Iä! German death metal wakens Cthulhu from his slumber. Atmospheric and mid-tempo with occasional faster sections and clean vocals. The latest addition to this list and I haven't listened to it that much yet but it sure sounds good after few spins.
Yuggothian Spell

07: Madder Mortem - Marrow
Progressive metal with lots of doom influences from Norway. Madder Mortem has always made good songs but I've never really liked any of their albums as a whole before. On Marrow they seem to finally succeed on pleasing me. My only major complaint is that they sound too much like Hammers of Misfortune at times.
Far from Home

08: Anaal Nathrakh - A New Kind of Horror
More music from UK, this time brutal and noisy blackened death with hint of industrial metal. Anaal Nathrakh continues their usual tropes and creates noisy wall of aggression and pessimism. WWI is just a perfect theme for their album.
Obscene as Cancer

09: Meg Myers - Take Me to the Disco
Here's the album that doesn't seem to fit on this list. Meg Myers is pop-rock artist from Nashville, Tennesee who has nothing to do with metal. She has probably the sexiest voice I've heard and some serious songwriting skills too.
Tourniquet

10: Ihsahn - Ámr
Former Emperor frontman continues his solo career. Still rooted deep in Norwegian black metal but very progressive and not hindered by tight genre borders. He never seems to make the perfect album but all of them are at least good.
Lend Me the Eyes of Millennia

[Series Review]
Luther - Season 5 (2019) N

Luther has been one of the most interesting BBC series in recent years. I didn't even know that 5th season was coming so it was a pleasant surprise. I honestly though Elba had become too big star for reprising his role once again.


The psychopaths of the season are OK and at least I appreciated the Albert Fish references in the first (or second) episode. In Luther these things usually escalate quickly and bodies pile up - on that regard 5th season in just fine. It's not the best case of the show but not bad either.

Luther and Alice Morgan are one of the most interesting "couples" on TV so I was obviously delighted to see Alice returning. There are great lines between the two and lots of potential but I really hated how this season ended for them. In some ways the whole conflict between Luther, Alice and Cornelius is badly written and illogical.

Probably the worst season of Luther. It's still an easy watch but there's potential for much more than that.

eXistenZ (1999) R

A test show of a new virtual reality game goes wrong when there's an attempt at the lead designer's life. She must run for her life accompanied with a marketing trainee while trying to save her game.


eXistenZ is definitely an odd film, even for Cronenberg. This is my second viewing within last two years and while I actually liked it more this time it's still one of the weaker Cronenbergs for me. It seems so much more outdated than Videodrome in its dissection of media but on the other hand I'm not sure if that's even its purpose.

On this viewing my interpretation of eXistenZ is a critique towards the writing in games. Dialogue is totally bonkers, acting is weird, plot moves just because someone tells our heroes to go somewhere, etc. and the illusion of choice and freedom is shattered at every turn. Maybe Cronenberg just wants to say that movies (or traditional stories in general) still have a place and games aren't capable of challenging that (I wonder what he thinks of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch).

No matter the agenda eXistenZ is in many ways really clumsy (considering Cronenberg's other film it must be intentional). Leigh is charming as always, Law not that much. It feels the film is odd for oddity's sake. Not bad but closer to that than being good.

For a Few Dollars More (1965) r

Two bounty killers have a common prey and reluctantly they team up for the job.


Second film in Leone's Dollars Trilogy. Not that much has changed from the first film and it's easy to see why these are unofficially considered a trilogy. Eastwood's character is essentially the same and the villains are more or less interchangeable as well. Greatest change is the second protagonist and little more detailed characters with some even having little history.

I like the story and some proper character motives more than I liked For a Fistful of Dollars. On the other hand For a Few Dollars More is too long for the content. There's too much silly dick measuring contests, drawn out duels and just fluff in general. As a whole the films are about equal but the second one had potential to be clearly better.

Don't Leave Home (2018) N

An American artist who's latest exhibition is inspired by some mysterious disappearances in Ireland. When a key figure in one of these cases contacts her she happily sells the relevant work and accepts the invitation.


Don't Leave Home is pretty bad film but it fails in a good way. It has a good premise and it takes itself dead serious but director and writer Michael Tully just bites a little too much. Mystery part fails because it doesn't explain anything (not even motives), it's not even remotely scary and some shots and scenes just don't work.

Short introduction is the best part of Don't Leave Home. It's stylish and well paced unlike most of the film. At times the atmosphere is hauntingly beautiful but it never lasts for long. Acting is solid and most of the soundtrack works well. Settings are nice but Tully is unable to use their full potential.

Nice concept that, despite obviously trying hard, fails to deliver its promises. The effort alone puts this above bad though.

Proud Mary (2018) N

A blaxploitation mix of Léon and a multitude of Far East action films where a hit(wo)man loses her marbles because one of her victims had a kid. She decides to play mother and two crime organizations end up being collateral damage.


Proud Mary is extremely generic action movie with poor writing and terrible ADR (especially by Danny Glover). The relationship between Mary and the boy doesn't work (especially as it kept constantly reminding me of far superior Léon and Mathilda duo where it actually made sense that Léon started to protect the girl).

Action itself looks like second grade John Wick copy and Henson isn't convincing as a hero (I did like her in Person of Interest). Some scenes (like her car being shot full of holes but none of the bullets ever hitting her) are outright ridiculous even for an action film. It's just bad movie.

The Ninth Gate (1999) R

A rare book dealer is hired to authenticate an expensive and old occult tome. He travels to Europe to compare it with two other known copies and gets tangled up in events out of his control.


The Ninth Gate is not the best Polanski but it's still pretty decent. I love the story (I have a soft spot for these occult mysteries) and characters are quite interesting too. All the main ingredients are done right and despite of its length the film doesn't feel that long.

My issues with The Ninth Gate are in the details. It feels like its hastily done and there hasn't been enough time to polish things. It's visually bland, there's humor that doesn't seem to fit, there's quite a bit of fluff and acting isn't always very good. It feels like an early draft of a great story.

The Ninth Gate gets the big picture right but messes the details quite a bit. Still mostly enjoyable watch.

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

I saw Ninth Gate for the first time about 5 years ago, and it played out exactly how I thought it would with a demon movie starring Johnny Depp. My rating would be lower, but I can get how people would like it. The most detailed thing I remember is the sex scene towards the end :nope:

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

I watch it YEARS ago, remember it being obnoxiously long.

With all the fluff in it it it still didn't feel that long to me. It's obviously flawed film but it has some charm that works with me. And my brother claims it's an easy 5/5 movie :rolleyes:

Revenger (2019) N

After a crime boss kills his wife and daughter a police officer seeks revenge. He kills his way to life sentence in a prison island now ruled by his target.


Revenger is little odd Korean martial arts action. With plenty of juvenile comedy and almost mythical approach to vengeance it's unmistakably Korean. Its story is a lot more western though as it's practically a 1980s Italian barbarian film set in modern day (or "modern" as the prison island is not that much different from the world of sword-and-sandal movies).

There's plenty of action in Revenger. Some of it is good and there are some nice choreographies in more crowded fights. Strikes don't always seem to have much impact and there are some sequences that are clearly sped up. It also bothers me that the hero doesn't take any weapons with him but starts every confrontation unarmed. Fights are semi brutal but nothing like The Night Comes for Us.

Characters are non-existent (hero's wife and daughter were killed and he wants revenge - that's the deepest Revenger has to offer). Comedic reliefs (i.e. almost everyone besides the hero, girl, her mother and couple of the bad guys) are stupid even by Korean standards but yeah, I did laugh few times so in all their absurdity I'd say they're better than usual.

Barbarian movie masked as a martial arts film. Decent action and dimwitted comedy result in somewhat entertaining experience.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) r

Three men with questionable morals find themselves in search of gold buried in a remote cemetery. They all have common history and very little trust to each other.


Final movie of Leone's Dollars Trilogy and the best of the three. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is considerable step up in storytelling and production values. It's also stylistically much more refined than the previous two and shows Leone already at his prime.

Story is good and even when separated all three characters move naturally towards the same destination. It's little lighter in tone than previous two but under the humor lies also the darkness (especially related to The Civil War). The story itself is quite simple but it's told like it has epic proportions.

Acting is really solid and the lead trio have good chemistry. Quite a few minor characters are memorable as well (like the Union captain and storekeeper). Soundtrack is good but it's not among my favorite Morricones. Settings are great, tons of extras make war scenes look good and cinematography is marvelous.

There are some minor issues that take away half a popcorn though. I don't like how van Cleef gets (or at least feels like he gets) much less screen time than the other two. On a related note I think some small editing would have benefited the film (by cutting little from Tuco and Blondie messing with each other would have made the film more compact and increased van Cleef's screen time in proportion to others). There's also little too much comedic elements.

As a whole much better than I remembered. It's not far from getting full points but it's a tad too long and little too comedic for my tastes.

I love The Ninth Gate. I used to watch it almost regularly years ago; probably seen it dozens of times. Not great, but I felt so at ease with the atmosphere. The music had a lot to do with that; dark, pretty, and sometimes campy.

eXistenZ is a favorite of mine. I love Cronenberg’s body weirdness, but I don’t think the movie as a whole was much of a commentary on game writing itself (apart from some ‘NPC’ actors' dialogues) as much as a future-shock depiction of their effect on a carried away society and people getting wildly hooked on them.

Good to know you like metal too. :) I’m very behind on most modern artists, but loved Ihsahn’s stuff starting with Emperor. Eremita is my favorite solo of his. Still haven’t listened to Amr in full, but the track you posted sounds decent.


I watched The Big Gundown recently. Released around the same time and has quite a bit in common (almost to a fault). Shorter runtime, more LVC, and pretty much a rehashed score from Morricone. The story and dubbing drag it down, but I think any fan of TGTBATU should give it a go.

The whole film is kinda campy at times but in a good way. And the whole plot about occult books is positively Lovecraftian even though the film is obviously rooted in Christian mythology.

I've been into metal since I was like nine or something. There was a time I listened to it pretty exclusively but I've been broadening my horizons since then. Still way more than half of the stuff I listen is metal.

I've probably seen that one as a kid but don't remember anything besides the fact that the name and plot sound familiar. Will need to put that on my watchlist.

Suspiria (2018) N

Suzie, a girl from Ohio, comes to prestigious dancing school in Berlin. It just happens that the school is run by a coven of witches.


Back when this remake was announced I was very skeptical. After the release the reviews have been mostly positive though and my expectations have risen considerably. Unfortunately the film itself couldn't match my hopes and I ended up being very disappointed.

Lets start with the good stuff. Luca Guadagnino did at least one correct decision as he didn't try to replicate Dario Argento's style but made his Suspiria completely different kind of film. Other than that there's very little good; wintry Berlin looks nice, film is clearly made with R-rating in mind and there are few good looking shots.

My greatest issue with Suspiria is its length or more precisely the fact that at least an hour of it is completely meaningless fluff. Dr. Klemperer should have been written off the film completely for that alone would make the pacing far more bearable. Also despite of repeated news reports of contemporary political events the film failed to connect itself to any of that tension - the story wouldn't be affected at all if you'd cut those out of the script.

Acting is mostly fine but the decision to cast Tilda Swinton as a man was an obvious failure and Dakota Johnson just failed to bring her character to life at the end of the film. Visually the film is very grey and I think the outdoor shots work fine but inside the school everything looks just bland. Soundtrack is decent but the folk(?) songs don't fit at all.

I don't get all the positive reviews. Argento's original is a unique gem but the remake just drags on forever. And no, I don't trash this because it's not the original but because I think it's a bad film on its own.

Tumbbad (2018) N

In a city of Tumbbad there is a temple devoted to god Hastar. He was exiled into oblivion as a punishment for his greed but men built him a temple. Now he lives beneath the temple in a giant womb of his mother and some men try to steal his riches.


Indian movies are very unfamiliar thing for me (I think I've seen one or two before but no title comes to mind so I'm not sure) but I chose to watch Tumbbad because its concept seemed interesting. While I don't think it's particularly good film it's at least something that may encourage me to watch more Indian films (it didn't have dancing or singing - something I was genuinely afraid of).

Besides the interesting idea the best thing in Tumbbad is its absolutely beautiful visuals. Especially the outdoor shots in Tumbbad and the temple look really good. I just love the colors and scenery and the technical quality of the film was surprise to me.

I like the first chapter the most because of the visuals and a sense of mystery. Second chapter is probably the weakest but ends in style. Third chapter starts better but has quite predictable and bland fable ending. Acting seems alright but it's always hard to say with unfamiliar languages like Hindi here.

Tumbbad looks awesome but after pretty decent start it tumbles down to mediocrity. Worth a watch for the beautiful imagery alone though.

R-Point (2004) N

During the Vietnam War a South Korean squad is sent on a rescue mission after an unexpected radio contact from soldiers who went missing some months ago.


Few months ago I mentioned that war horror films are surprisingly rare (which is a bad thing). This time I'd like to expand that a little. I'd wish there were more war horror films and that they'd be more varied (there's three prominent plots - zombies, scientific / occult experiments and these guilt or trauma driven mysteries). There are some more unique exceptions but R-Point isn't one of them.

So the biggest issue with R-Point is predictability - approximately five minutes into the film I knew what the twist would be. That makes the film little boring. It's technically solid and has decent atmosphere but it's too formulaic (or maybe it's more honest to say that it has a wrong formula for me) to stand out.

In typical Korean manner the characters a little too goofy but R-Point keeps its humor in check. Acting is fine except few overacted silly moments and the film looks quite good. Soundtrack has nice moments but some of the EDM tunes felt really out of place.

Decent war horror but it feels like I've seen this multiple times already. Worth a watch if you're interested in war horror (the less of them you've seen the better this probably is - it's above average of its kind, I think).



Recommendations: I was continuously reminded of Finnish horror film Sauna while watching this. An example of little more unique war horror could be The Keep which has some technical issues but it's still pretty fine film.

Eliminators (1986) r

What would you do with a time machine? Dr. Reeves wants to go to ancient Rome and be a god emperor. It's time for Mandroid (a Robocop pre-dating Robocop itself), a female scientist (whose inventions Reeves is ripping off), a riverboat captain (a carbon copy of Han Solo) and ninja (son of Reeves former, now dead assistant) to stop this madman.


I'd seen this one as a kid but didn't remember much except the VHS cover and Mandroid's mobile unit. Eliminators is an obvious B-movie that loans from so many sources and mixes it all together into a silly mess (think of a Terminator, Star Wars, generic martial arts and barbarian movies blended into one and spicing it all up with The Black Hole robot design and some "fruity cavemen").

Technically Eliminators is really bad. Action is stiff, effects are crappy, writing and directing clumsy, acting wooden but still it manages to amuse at times. It's pretty close being bad enough to be good. I'd suppose this could be a good film to watch with friends and alcohol (if you're into such events - I'm not).

Hilariously bad at its best but otherwise too boring to really enjoy. I still can't give this bad rating though.

Deep Red (1975) R

A rewatch for the Horror HoF so I'll keep this short. The old review can be found here and for the most part it's still valid.


One thing that the rewatch changed is my view on the script. Already knowing the murderer gave me another perspective and I think Deep Red is actually really well written. There are some issues still but for the most part things are neatly pointing towards the correct killer. Also really nice and bold move to actually show the killer very early in the film (I suppose most people are like me and miss it the first time though).

I didn't mind the length that much this time and even most of the comedic scenes worked OK as character development. Soundtrack actually bothered me a little now - some of those tunes are just too groovy for the scenes (main theme is wonderful though). Visually Deep Red is still superb. And that little psycho girl, Nicoletta Elmi, is so great.

Overall I liked this more now than on the first viewing and will raise the rating by half popcorn.

[Series Review]
The Punisher - Season 2 (2019)

Second season of Netflix's The Punisher is mediocre television show but really crappy Punisher filming. Neither Bernthal's take on Frank Castle nor the script feels right to me. If it wasn't called The Punisher I might like it more but now it just doesn't match my expectations.


I hate the caveman-like grunting Frank who's main advantage in the fight is his superhuman ability to withstand damage. Some of the fights look ridiculous because of this (Billy's trap and the final fight between Pilgrim and Frank are the worst examples). I also don't like how he just walks into fights without any plans. He's supposed to be smart and trained soldier, not some Groo the Wanderer wannabe.

Story isn't really Punisher either. First season was Frank avenging his family (which he screwed up in preparation for the second season) and now he's just in a wrong place at a wrong time and forced to defend himself (and the girl). Where's the war on crime he's supposed to be waging? Why are all these Punisher stories on Netflix so personal (or in other words why are they all carbon copies of every other Netflix Marvel series)?

Other than that it's kinda OK. Main story is fine and I liked Amy (she and Madani were best supporting characters this season). Pilgrim is little too cliched and predictable (and too strong for what he is). Billy and his shrink are decent but I still don't get why she fell in love with him. Curtis didn't make much sense to me.

It's not the Punisher I want but otherwise it's mostly watchable.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) RR

A mysterious man playing harmonica, a widow and a former whore from New Orleans, a leader of an outlaw gang and a railroad tycoon with his cold-blooded enforcer are all brought together by a piece of land in the middle of nowhere.


Cinematically a direct continuation for Leone's Dollars Trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West takes his style one last step further. At times its pace slows down to a crawl with all action and dialogue replaced by extreme close-ups of creased faces and dusty men trudging slowly towards their deaths. Story isn't built properly but advances almost accidentally on the heels of the dying. But somehow Leone makes this all work.

This is my favorite Leone and favorite western. It has less humor than any film in the Dollars Trilogy and has far more somber mood. The film pushes one form of cinema to the extreme and while continuously teetering on the brink of boring and ridiculous it never falters. It's like Harmonica's smile that never breaks into laughter but can't be wiped off his face either.

Whole cast is pretty much perfect. I personally prefer Bronson over Eastwood - he's less traditional macho but more edgy and threatening somehow. Fonda and his cold blue eyes make a fine villain and Cardinale is strong but still feminine widow caught up in the middle of the conflict. There's not a bad actor choice in the whole film.

Cinematography is just fantastic and Morricone's soundtrack is awesome. Settings look great and you can feel how the progress is killing the old West before your eyes. Once Upon a Time in the West is a true epic that fixes all the little issues Leone had in his previous westerns. A true masterpiece and a film that has a safe spot on my personal top-10.

Polar (2019) N

An aging assassin is retiring but the company he works for doesn't want to pay his pension. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out what happens.


Polar is the latest terrible Netflix original movie. Even for a film based on a comic it looks awfully cartoony with its exaggerated colors and caricature characters. It attempts to be funny like early Guy Ritchie films but feels like a soulless, brainless copy.

Action is bloody but boring and badly choreographed (at times it looks like no one is even trying to hurt Duncan). Plot doesn't make any sense at all (I'd assume that Blut would have been killed by his own people years ago for being totally incompetent in running his business). Acting isn't terrible but then again everyone is a caricature (I guess Camille is almost a real character).

If you wished John Wick had been more like Deadpool and bright caramel colors is also your thing Polar may be your movie. Otherwise I suggest to stay away from it.

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

Once Upon a Time in the West Review:

Totally agree with everything you said, especially the soundtrack. To me, after Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Alexander Nevsky this is by and far the greatest film score ever written, surely Morricone's finest work. The soundtrack alone has often brought me to tears.

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) N

Four libertines in fascist Italy take bunch of boys and girls with them as they enclose themselves in a mansion for 120 days of orgies and torture.


It's been a long time since I've read de Sade and I've never read The 120 Days of Sodom completely (only the introduction has been translated to Finnish but the English translation is on my read list). As far as I remember Pasolini does retain the spirit of the books quite well even though his vision is (for obvious reasons) quite a bit more tame.

Salò is about the abuse of power and how enough (or too much) power makes one immune to consequences. It's about how such immunity tends to remove restraints and how humanity at its core is cruel and selfish, only kept in check by the fear of punishment. And how people turn the blind eye or actively participate in all sorts of atrocities if it benefits their position. Salò is extremely nihilistic movie.

I don't value Pasolini that much as a director and Salò is in many ways clumsy film. For the most parts it's just filmed theater with awkward pacing and occasionally bad acting. It doesn't explain the motives for its characters (unlike de Sade in his book, I'd remember) and it completely lacks the flamboyance of de Sade. It gets its message through though and it has its good moments so I can't say it's bad movie.

Duck, You Sucker (1971) r

A simple local bandit and former IRA explosives expert get tangled up in Mexican revolution.


Follow-up to Leone's greatest film feels lackluster, and not only in comparison to Once Upon a Time in the West but also on its own. Duck, You Sucker is clearly an attempt to move away from Leone's traditional western style but the transition to more modern world doesn't work and the result is an awkward pseudo-western that, despite Leone's claims, feels overtly political (especially the depiction of violence - we see revolutionist kills from afar but Leone always gloats over the regime's violence).

I don't know if it's the lack of Tonino Delli Colli but cinematography feels far less interesting than in two previous Leones. Then again even Morricone's soundtrack is somewhat dull so maybe it's just Leone trying to detach himself from his old style. It's not only the style I miss though as even the substance seems to be lacking - the friendship of Juan and John can't carry the film with them both being so uninteresting characters.

A disappointing film after all the good and great westerns Leone did.

Close (2019) N

Young heiress gets herself a new bodyguard, Sam, who's woman just to prevent the rich brat from having sex with her protector (and for us to have properly empowered movie experience).


Everything in Close screams TV production (even the opening credits are standard British television). Its story plays like bottom of the barrel BBC series and is paced almost as poorly as such show would be if someone was to edit it into a 90 minute film. Acting is the only thing in it that's competent. From mediocre beginning it gets gradually worse all the time.

It's also a sad example of a feminist movie where the most important thing seems to be that all female characters are good and every bad thing happens because of evil men. Not to forget that all men, including professional killers, can be beaten by a woman (even with hands tied behind her back) because instead of doing their job cleanly they always give in to their sadistic desires to oppress women. Obviously all this is more important than good characters, good story or not having blatant errors in continuity.

I like strong female action heroes, I really do. That's why it pisses me off that most films that aim there are carbage.

I would have thought we had a decent track record for opening credits, and not just on the BBC.

Actually I've just been watching Line of Duty and it occurs to me that its titles may have taken some inspiration from Inspector Morse. The gravity of what's happening in the story is definitely conveyed by the stark white cast and crew names on black, intercut with reminder clips of what happened previously (Morse did the same with scenes introducing the story).

I'm not saying that British TV shows have bad opening credits (or at least wasn't trying to say that - added that "bad" after writing the paragraph and I guess it kinda reads like that now). They just have this distinct style and with Close it just adds to the TV vibe.

I removed that "bad" because I didn't know how else to prevent it from affecting the stuff in parenthesis as well :D

I never like generic opening titles/typography and you definitely don't want to feel like you're watching a TV programme if it's a film. I saw a bit of Europa Report recently and it screamed telly :).

Over here this is called A Fistful of Dynamite which is a much better title. Not got round to seeing it yet but I do plan to.

Yeah, I remember it being called that in here as well back in the VHS time. I like that more too but Duck, You Sucker appears to be official.

[Series Review]
Kingdom - Season 1 (2019)

New Korean series on netflix that combines period drama with zombie action and horror. Elsewhere I said it's like a combination of The Strain (or maybe The Walking Dead but I haven't watched that in ages so can't say for sure) and Game of Thrones that takes place in Korea.


Half of the show is fairly standard political power game for the throne. It's nothing new but it's well written and definitely makes sense. The other half is about the zombie epidemic that's quickly spreading. Fast and super aggressive zombies feel truly threatening in the era of swords, bows and muskets. Obviously the two plots are connected too.

Production values are really good. Settings and costumes are great both in the court and on the field. Action is mostly well done and while not ultraviolent it's still quite bloody. Zombies are spookier than average and really angry. Acting is quite good too and even the mandatory goofy Korean comedy doesn't bother that much.

Very positive surprise and I'm surely going to watch the second season once it's done.

Waterworld (1995) R

In the future polar ice-caps have melted and the world as we know is covered in water. A lone drifter gets tangled in the hunt for the Dryland - a myth he doesn't even believe in.


I've never understood why Waterworld bombed so bad. I thought it was good when I originally saw it in theater and the second rewatch today didn't change that opinion. I even watched the longest Ulysses Cut for the first time and didn't find it too long or boring.

At its core Waterworld is very standard post-apocalyptic movie but with huge budget and AAA level production values. It's gimmick of setting it in an endless ocean works surprisingly well and the typical scenes like the attack to peaceful settlement have a fresh look because of the new environment. The boats may not be as fancy as Mad Max's cars but Mariner's Trimaran looks cool and the rusty oil tanker is great home for the smokers.

The film is heavy handed with its environmental message but it manages to be tongue-in-cheek enough and due to that doesn't feel too preachy. Acting is fine and I liked the chemistry between Mariner, Helen and Enola. Dennis Hopper and his smokers are funny in their caricature mockery of American conservative capitalist.

Besides the settings Waterworld has nothing new but it tells a familiar story in an entertaining way.

Brimstone (2016) R

"People think it's the flames that make Hell unbearable. It's not. It is the absence of love."

After a child dies during birth Liz, the midwife held responsible, isn't afraid of the father's drunken rage but the newly arrived reverend. Her past has finally caught up with her and everyone she loves is in danger.


Brimstone is brutal and gut-wrenching story of abuse and control. In it the religion is only a tool for oppression and fertile ground for evil to take root. Its tragedies are born of madness and unquestioning faith where cruelty becomes a virtue with a proper Bible quote. It's also a story of rebellion and love, of making a choice instead of following blindly.

With all it's religious undertones Brimstone feels almost biblical (or maybe anti-biblical). It's like Abraham and Isaac but in the film we have mothers and daughters who eventually refuse the sacrifice and rise against their divine oppressor. Some have complained that Brimstone is misogynist but in my opinion it's the opposite.

Cinematography and direction is great, music is OK (not very memorable but definitely not annoying) and script is mostly good as well (it's silly how Fanning's character doesn't seem to be able to make any sound due to her cut tongue though). Acting is brilliant (especially Pearce does one of the most vile and evil villains ever). I think some small edits could have been made to cut the length a bit.

Brimstone does things you don't expect from modern movies and I applaud it for that. It's heavy and brutal and makes you feel miserable. It has no major flaws, just some minor things keeping it little shy of the perfect rating.

[Book Review]
Books of Blood 2 by Clive Barker

If Barker's first short story collection was uneven the second in the series is much worse. Only on of the five stories is even OK while others are more or less bad.

Best story in part two is The Skins of the Fathers which would have been an average tale on the first book. It starts quite nicely but its explanation of the events (or its mythology) is not very good but at least it paints some interesting visions.

Dread is extremely tame and predictable herald for the torture porn. Hell's Event is perhaps the worst of the pack and I can't understand why Barker thought that running competition that decides the fate of the world is an interesting idea. Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament has some nice ideas but its male characters seem to lack any reasonable motives. New Murders in the Rue Morgue is rather dull tribute to Poe.

Hopefully the third book is better but in any case I'll read something else next.

★½

Road to Perdition (2002) R

A mob enforcer's son accidentally witnesses his father at work. Things go even more wrong after the boss's idiot son panics and decides to get rid of the witness.


It's been quite a while (about 15 years) since I last saw this but I remembered there's something that bothered me. It took me most of the film to figure out what it was. I absolutely hate the ending and the philosophy behind it. That's half a popcorn off the rating right there.

Visually Road to Perdition is beautiful and while I haven't read the comic I can imagine what it looks like. Its depiction of 1930s cities is almost surely flattering but definitely pleasing to the eye. Same goes to costumes and gear - pretty but little too polished and clean all the time. Film Noir styled rainy scenes add some darker tones to the palette.

There's a somber atmosphere in the film and it's rather obvious that there's no happy ending to this. I don't mind the predictability as it comes with the style but those character choices and reactions during the finale were awful. Otherwise characters were quite good and so was the acting (I don't like Hanks though and would have preferred someone else on the leading role).

Initially I though this was better than I remembered. Was planning to give four popcorn but after that stupid end I was contemplating between three and three-and-half but I feel generous today.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) N

Elvis Presley and JFK (dyed black after the failed assassination attempt) fight against an evil mummy in a retirement home in Texas.


Like so often with these cult classic horror comedies I don't find Bubba Ho-Tep particularly funny. Two main characters are somewhat interesting but even with them the concepts are better than the execution. That black JFK was by far the funniest thing in the movie.

In addition to not being particularly funny the biggest single flaw in the film is its failure to utilize the tools of the media. It feels like almost half of the dialogue is (boring) narration by Elvis which to me screams inability to tell the story through cinematic means. I don't like heavy narration on my films and Bubba Ho-Tep must be one of the worst offenders I've seen.

All the films attempts to have some deeper meanings about getting old and having regrets feel forced (I blame the narration again, it's not emotionally engaging to be told these things by the narrator without much connetion to rest of the film). Its best joke is the concept (Elvis and black JFK in a retirement home) but it's not enough to carry a whole feature film.

Another proof that horror comedies in general aren't my thing, especially the ones with cult status.

I have a soft spot for Waterworld too. A simple and fun premise; I don't know what detractors expected from it. No Escape is another fun OTT Mad Max derivative, only set in the jungle.


I really like BHT, but it's definitely not what it seems at face value. Watching it with a friend prompted us to turn it off halfway out of boredom. Watching it alone, I really got the melancholy associated with aging and death. It seems like it'd be much more outrageous given the premise, but it is occasionally boring, slow, and dramatic. I find the ending, looking up at the stars, bittersweet and beautiful, which is totally not what I initially expected from Bruce Campbell Elvis and black JFK vs. anal-soul sucking mummy in a retirement home.

Opera (1987) N

Young opera singer is stalked by a deranged killer who forces her to watch his murders.


At times I wonder if Argento made his great films by accident and his true (lack of) ability is shown in movies like Opera. It's just hard to imagine how this person made Suspiria and Deep Red merely a decade earlier.

Cinematography looks bad - camera is shaky and nervous, there's nothing left of the visual brilliance Argento had ten years earlier. Murders are choreographed poorly and, if possible, the heavy metal soundtrack is even more out of place than in Phenomena. The story is predictable and insanely stupid at the same time (I knew who the murderer was after his first scene but still the explanation made zero sense, same thing with crows and what was that ending about).

For some reason I fail to comprehend this has a rating of 7.1 on IMDb. Despite of that I thought it was bad.

Really?!

I mean, I'm not huge on Argento like I used to be but I do remember Opera having some amazing visuals and kills, namely the door peep hole bullet sequence. Brilliantly staged, imo. I also thought the movie was shot and lit tremendously. It's strange how people can see two totally different films like that.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) N

Formulaic biography of Queen and especially its lead vocalist Freddie Mercury.


Like most biographies Bohemian Rhapsody is absurdly flawless in its causality and without hesitation points towards exact moments that lead to Queen and its success. I understand that movies (usually) need a story arc but why are biographies always so neat and sterile? Is everyone's life really a perfect hero's journey?

There's nothing specifically wrong in Bohemian Rhapsody from technical point of view. 70s and 80s looks good and autheintic, cinematography is mostly good (not very imaginative though), live sequences work well and the music mostly consists of Queen's better songs. While acting in general is fine I don't really agree with all the praise Malik gets from his Mercury - I don't think he has the charisma and his interpretation is too feminine.

In a way Bohemian Rhapsody is an easy watch but it's not memorable at all. It's a fast food of films, a cinematic Big Mac.

That's intriguing. His speaking voice sounds pretty good on the trailer, which may well've benefited from the teeth. When Robert Hardy played Winston Churchill it turned out that they had the same dentist, so he was able to get a copy of Churchill's teeth to wear in the role :).

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) N

An art gallery assistant discovers paintings from the apartment of her dead neighbor. Everyone who sees the works falls in love with them and soon they're sold for serious money. But why did the dead artist demand his works to be destroyed?


For some reason I expected Velvet Buzzsaw to be much weirder than it actually is. Sure, it has some eccentric characters and preposterous dialogue but at its core it's still very traditional horror story that's just set in an environment filled with odd people.

I don't think the horror side of the film is fully utilized. There's no motive or explanation given and for the most part neither is even sought out. It wouldn't be a huge exaggeration to say that Velvet Buzzsaw has no plot at all. With little more depth to its story it could have been a good film. Also while Dease's paintings look good the horrors related to them aren't very imaginative.

The other side of the film is a satire about commercialization, self-importance and artificialness of art. Art is elevated by words and explanations and names, not by the works themselves (like when Dondon starts to praise Piers' garbage when he assumes it's his new work). The whole concept of Dease's art becoming a phenomenon is a snipe towards modern art - even a skilled hobbyist is a marvel when compared to colored blots and metal spheres.

The remaining question is whether Velvet Buzzsaw is part of the art it laughs at or not? I suppose only Dan Gilroy knowns the answer to that.

I mostly feel the same way except I thought the way they rendered the laser beams was surprisingly good. I've seen lasers done VERY badly, and this did it in a refreshingly clean and effective way, imo.

Abandon Ship (1957) N

A luxury liner hits a mine and sinks. Small group of survivors on a lifeboat waits for rescue.


For most of the film Abandon Ship is very formal and orderly theater at sea. People speak one at a time and always correctly address each other. While I often dislike how in modern films such groups are at each others throats after a few minutes (as realistic as it may be) this one takes it too far to the other extreme.

The actual drama starts surprisingly late and isn't too engaging. I must say that I don't necessary agree with all of the captain's choices about the people to keep and I certainly don't agree with the reactions of some people who were chosen to stay. On a positive side at least the worst hypocrisy wasn't there (i.e. I was expecting the captain to die as a penance for his "horrible crime").

Overtly theatrical acting and melodramatic dialogue takes the edge off the drama. There's too many characters and it's hard to care about anyone in particular. Soundtrack was truly annoying. I didn't expect much so can't I say I was disappointed - Abandon Ship just isn't my type of movie.

Perfect Blue (1997) N

A pop idol gives up her singing career and starts pursuing a new one as an actress. But someone isn't happy about the change and wants the old Mima back.


Perfect Blue is practically an animated giallo. Its story and, to slightly lesser degree, visuals are heavily influence by the Italian classics. A live action version set in continental Europe would have been a decent match for someone like Dario Argento.

I found the story little too convoluted myself with all its PoV changes, repeats and constantly mixing the show with reality. I think I would have preferred the solution that was implied about twenty minutes before the end but it ended up being a part of the show Mima was filming. Not that I hated the real ending either but other one would have explained all the supernatural away better.

I'm not a huge fan of animated films so that's a little turn-off for me. There are some nice shots but I can't help myself thinking how much better they would look with real actors. Soundtrack was pretty nice and the first J-pop song was OK too.

As a whole Perfect Blue was better than I expected. I'd say it's pretty average giallo.

[Series Review]
Millennium Trilogy (2010)

Mini-series based on Stieg Larsson's books. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist meets hacker Lisbeth Salander during his investigation of a 40-year-old murder and ends up in the middle of a national conspiracy.


For some reason I hadn't watched this before despite the good reviews the series has got. As a matter of fact I have lots of Nordic Noir left to see and Millennium is a good reminder why I should check them out. This also (sadly) reminds me how far ahead Swedish film and television productions are of Finnish equivalent.

Series consists of two episodes per book (or film) and I'll refer to these two episode aggregates as parts. First part, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (or like it should be Men Who Hate Women), is kind of an introduction to characters with a mystery that's not connected to the bigger picture. It does good job in establishing both lead characters, has quite interesting murder mystery and drops enough hints of things to come.

Last two parts, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, form the main story of Millennium. Maybe it's a personal preference (not a huge fan of spy stuff) but I think that the quality drops a little in these. I like how Lisbeth's backstory unwinds but the conspiracy itself feels little shabby. Also Mikael (or pretty much anyone besides Lisbeth) isn't developed much in these parts.

Solid Nordic Noir with interesting female protagonist, good acting and very nice technical quality.

Mortal Engines (2018) N

Evil European colonialists are threatening the world by arming their moving city with ancient weapon of mass destruction. What can the good people of color do to save themselves and their few enlightened white allies? Can white man open the Pandora's Box or are better people able to stop him in time?


I hope everyone gets the joke of my plot description. I mean, Mortal Engines is a fantasy film and someone has to be the villain but its so blatant in its hatred for the western civilization and white man in particular. It feels like watching a propaganda movie instead of an adventure film.

Besides the politics Mortal Engines offers extremely cliched and formulaic story with minimal characterizations. It moves from one action scene to another without building anything to flesh out its gigantic machine. It sure looks good and shows that Peter Jackson's people can make wonders with $100M budget but there's nothing under the surface.

Half popcorn is minimum and I give another half to nice visuals (including Hester, scars and all) and to Shrike + Hester backstory which had (mostly unused) potential.

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen anything from Finland – unless we can count the Moomins :) :up:.

Series-wise I liked both versions of Wallander; and The Bridge.

I thought the same. Nowhere near as interesting as the original story.

There are couple of quite recent Finnish series I'd need to check at some point. Bordertown has got quite good reviews even outside Finland (at least I have such impression). The other is Arctic Circle but I'll have to wait 'till it comes to our public TV later this year (not going to order another streaming service for it, especially as I haven't heard too much praise for it).

Not sure which Nordic Noir I'll pick up next but Netflix has lots of them in here. My brother has recommended Arne Dahl so maybe I'll go with that.

Funnily enough, I saw the first one of those (I think a two-parter) and wasn't interested enough to watch more :p.

The Icelandic series Trapped was also very good. Beck I also like, as it's a kind of 'nice' Wallander, but there are still some quite good storylines.

Overlord (2018) N

On the eve of D-Day a small band of US soldiers is sent to blow up a radio tower. But the tower isn't the only thing that needs to be destroyed in the occupied French village.


The opening scene of Overlord is pretty good but after our heroes reach the ground the film begins to loose steam at rapid pace. First half or so is more or less a standard war movie with soldiers hiding inside an occupied village. To me their actions seem weird and writers send Boyce to wander alone just so he can discover the lab.

Latter half with horror elements also starts kinda fine but like the first part it weakens quickly. Overlord doesn't bring anything new to the Nazi scientific experiment formula and (at least to me) stumbles too often to stupid one-liners and video game like action. It's exactly like PG-13 film that's turned R by adding some extra violence - it doesn't even try to be gross or scary but is content with its light and harmless übermensch action.

Disappointingly typical Nazi horror that has couple of good scenes but the rest is terribly boring. And that rap song during the end credits is a massive mismatch (black main character doesn't mean rap is a good music choice for WW2 movie).

I recommend Entity (2012) as an unusual take on this sub-genre.

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

I thought Deathwatch was half/way decent

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...watch_film.jpg

Yeah, I did too. I liked some parts of it, especially the

Just to be sure, this is related to Overlord? Haven't seen this Entity and a quick glance to IMDb doesn't strike me as too similar film. If I bump into it I'll try to remember to give it a chance though :)

This has already been discussed in 2018 thread. I've seen it years ago and remember it having some nice scenes but kinda weak ending. I'm planning to rewatch it at some point though so there will be more accurate and updated opinion coming soon(ish).

Although it's a contemporary setting there's a similar jumping-off point for the horror – I wouldn't dream of saying any more ;).

I was just looking at the gist of Overlord and definitely thought back to The Keep (1983), and Doctor Who's The Curse of Fenric (1989), which it influenced – not your common or garden vampire story :).

Robin Hood (2018) N

Finally a realistic depiction of crusades and life in England at the end of 12th century. So tired of all films taking liberties to tell their stories and being filled with historical inaccuracies. They should show this at schools.


OK, I just want to make sure that everyone understands that the above is a joke. Based on the trailer and all the bad reviews I wasn't even expecting to finish the film. It certainly isn't a good movie but I must admit that I was positively surprised.

Robin Hood is at its best during the early parts (I was laughing so much for the crusades that were shot like a modern war with "machine guns" and all), starts to drag quite a bit in the middle but gains more momentum during the latter parts again. There's just something oddly fascinating in its stupidity and complete disregard towards anything even resembling historical accuracy.

I guess this is a version of Robin Hood that tries to appeal to modern left-wing radical youth with its masked rioters throwing firebombs at the police wielding riot shields. This time I don't care about the politics because the film so absurd that I can't take it seriously at all. So yeah, not exactly a good film but far more enjoyable than I was prepared for.

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

Can you link me to that discussion?

It's a real cause for concern, and it's something that crops up more and more at the moment.

It's not that much of a discussion but it was related to and following my Trench 11 review here. There are few messages right after that.

The Hole in the Ground (2019) N

A woman moves to rural Ireland with her son. After finding a weird sinkhole in the woods behind their house and meeting a local crazy lady she becomes convinced that her little boy isn't really her son anymore.


The Hole in the Ground is somewhat typical low budget indie horror. While it's perfectly OK film it still annoys me quite a bit because all it needed to be good was better script. For the most part its cinematography is great for $2.5M budget, it has good but unoriginal soundtrack and capable actors but the story is really clunky at times.

It's my type of film with its slow pace and kinda depressing settings so I'm not saying it's bad. It has few nice scenes (like the spider eating) and it's generally atmospheric but fails to build up its horrors far enough. Story takes some odd leaps (like why did the mother connect the events to the sinkhole) and the scene inside the sinkhole doesn't work.

Nice idea, good technical quality for such a cheap movie but some issues with the script prevent it from being good. Still pretty watchable.

Split (1989) N

Big Brother is watching everyone but one man lives beyond its control. Is he the new messiah or just a random lunatic?


To me Split looks exactly like how I'd imagine a film school project that tries too hard to be intellectual and artistic to impress the teachers. The result is preachy and incoherent mess only interested in giving speeches and doing gimmicky edits.

I like my movies with story and characters but Split is more like modern art splashing almost random images and big words on screen with all sorts of noises playing in the background. I'm somewhat sure that there's a logic behind Split's structure but it doesn't really save it from being utterly boring (and I'm more interested about the piece of art than the artist's explanation of it anyways, hence my distaste for the so called modern art).

I can't really find much positive to say about this. I think it's technically terrible (especially editing is horrendous), badly acted and badly written piece of cinematic junk.

Onibaba (1964) R

A woman and her daughter-in-law live in a small hut in the middle of a huge reed field. To survive during the civil war they scavenge the dead soldiers for their gear and sell them. And if situation demands it they offer help with the dying too.


I saw Onibaba maybe fifteen years ago and considered it somewhat OK. This time I liked it considerably more. I wouldn't necessarily call it horror film but it's very atmospheric drama or tragedy that uses the environment in horroresque manner.

It's very simple story that revolves around lust, greed and flexible morals. For such an old film it's very direct in its sexuality and it doesn't shy away from moist sweaty flesh. It's like mundane fable or cautionary tale but unlike most of them it does have good and interesting character relations.

The reed field looks rather spooky and soundtrack enhances the atmosphere by having all sorts weird screams and grunts so that you're never sure if something's meant to be out there or not. Onibaba looks really nice and I liked the acting too. There's little too much repeated running in the reeds and couple of turns feel little forced but in general I did like it.

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot (2018) N

American war veteran and off the record war hero (as the movie title implies) is called back to service to hunt another mythical monster.


I was initially going to give this one a pass as its title just screams bad movie to me. Then I read couple of reviews that claimed it's nothing like the name implies but a proper and powerful drama. After watching the film I'd say it's somewhere in the middle.

I guess my main issue with the movie is that it doesn't know what it wants to be and because of that it tries to be everything. There are scenes that remind me of family friendly Tarantino, there's nostalgic drama and romance and awkward B-film action with some horror-like transitions. Despite the good performances by both Elliot and Turner I still couldn't find the man inside the shell called Calvin Barr.

I don't like the whole story. It's either too tame for a grindhouse film or too wild for serious drama. Flashbacks from the war serve very little purpose except to show that Calvin really killed Hitler. The adventure part about hunting The Bigfoot doesn't work at all (Elliot is too old and the whole concept is dumb). Only good parts of the film are the pre-war romance and Calvin's interactions with his brother in the present.

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

Speaking of Nordic Noir I tried the Finnish Bordertown (Sorjonen) next and didn't like it. It feels like a cheap knock-off of US police shows that tries to move their cliched story lines directly to Finland with (at least in my opinion) poor results. I watched 3.5 episodes and I think that's enough. Why can't we do good shows here in Finland :frustrated:

With a couple of exceptions I agree with your thoughts in this thread more than your old thread. I also think The Evil Dead is easily the best of the series, but I've seen other people mention the comedic elements and I've never noticed them and I've seen it over a dozen times. I see it as a pure horror movie.

I also don't consider Onibaba horror and for that reason only wont be voting for it for the countdown.

Vigilante is on my watchlist.

Alright guys, it's time go full nerd here. Pretty much everyone here seems to think that I hate majority of films and that my average rating hovers somewhere in the vicinity of zero popcorn. Few days ago I started a Google Spreadsheet project and I think I have the results from my first calendar year in here ready. This kinda belongs to 2018 thread but I don't want to resurrect it just for this. I plan on publishing the updated stats twice a year from now on (in July and January).

For simplicity I'm using 1-10 ratings on this so for popcorn just divide by two. Mathematical average for that range would be 5.5 so I'm slightly behind that. When comparing Bad (1-3), OK (4-6) and Good (7+) things look really nice and even to me. I also didn't count any of the films I hadn't watched completely so the total for 2018 is slightly lower than listed on the thread (I no longer list unfinished films on my movie diary). All genre tags are taken directly from IMDb.

Any comments (or just ridicule for this über geeky project)?



EDIT: Just noticed that Google Sheets screws up my alternating colors for genre rows. It moves the background colors when I order the data :mad:

EDIT 2: Oops, forgot one important data from my report:

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

What an über-geek.

It's cool that you're also including reactions to shows, books and albums in here. I really enjoyed some of your nominations in the song tournament that we participated in together, so I'll make a point to give a listen to some songs from your albums of the year list. When I do, I'll probably pop back in here sometime and give my thoughts on them. I've only read The Damnation Game from Barker, which I liked. As a horror fan, I keep meaning to read more of his stuff.

Sorry that you didn't get more enjoyment from City of the Dead. I loved its atmosphere. The Psycho-like treatment of the initial main character really impressed me as well. Glad to see that you're a fan of Leone's "Man with No Name Trilogy." I'm in the minority, but I think For a Few Dollars More is the best of the three. Those "dick-measuring contests" that you complained about are a big reason why. The scene where Eastwood and Van Cleef shoot each other's hats is one of my favorite scenes of all-time. The epic stand-off in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is also one of my all-time favorite scenes, but I think the movie itself is overlong and drags at times. We're in agreement that Once Upon a Time in the West is Leone's masterpiece. One of my top five favorite movies ever.

I really like The Evil Dead but gave up on Evil Dead II almost immediately due to its slapstick goofiness. That was a decade ago, though, and my tastes have changed. I think I'd now enjoy the comedy. Proud Mary was all downhill after the stylized opening credits. Polanski has made some of my favorite films and Depp is my favorite actor, but I've never been able to get much enjoyment from The Ninth Gate despite giving it multiple attempts. Never thought of Perfect Blue as a giallo, but now that you mention it, the glove sorta fits. It's the best anime film I've seen. Not that I watch very many.

As usual, there's a lot in here that's either already on my watchlist or that I'll now be adding to my watchlist (even the ones you've rated poorly). I saw a trailer for Brimstone awhile back and thought it looked interesting, but I'm much more interested in it now after hearing how bleak it supposedly is. Saló, or 120 Days of Sodom is often included on lists for the most disturbing films of all-time, so for that reason alone I want to see it. The polarized reactions to Velvet Buzzsaw have me intrigued. It's low on my list of priorities, but I'll probably check out The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot sometime, even though I've heard similar things about it falling into a lame middle-ground between B-movie and serious drama.

Remember to check the comments from HoF 18 as well. It's been getting quite extreme reactions :D

I'm actually reading de Sade's book at the moment. I'm not very far yet as it's quite a slow read for me (the archaic language is little more complicated for non-native reader than contemporary novels). Pasolini's film had more stuff directly from the book than I presumed even though the film's atmosphere is completely different (film is more serious and grey while the book is playful and colorfully exaggerated).

The Big Gundown (1966) N

A famous bounty hunter is about to retire but as a favor to a railroad tycoon he decides to hunt down one more criminal - a Mexican who's accused of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl.


I watched the original Italian version and I must admit that continuous switching from English to Italian was little annoying (some parts were never dubbed in English). In many ways the pacing was odd as well and I wonder if one of the shorter versions had actually been better.

On positive side the title song is great (soundtrack in general is OK too but not the best Morricone), van Cleef is always charismatic and dusty settings look nice. There are couple of nice jokes that managed to amuse my twisted sense of humor (like Mexican police's reaction to the rape of 12-year-old girl and the Mormon wife thing).

Like I said earlier the pacing was off and many scenes feel out of place (like the widow's house that feels like a complete filler). Corbett feels stupidly naive at times and we never learn what exactly felt wrong with the case in his opinion. Compared to Leone's westerns The Big Gundown is way inferior and I'm afraid that watching it so soon after those may affect negatively to my review.

Ghostkeeper (1981) N

Three friends from the city are exploring the wintry Canadian scenery. They get little stranded and seek shelter from the cold and snow in an abandoned hotel.


I don't know if calling Ghostkeeper a hidden gem would be a slight exaggeration but nevertheless it's pretty solid for an 80s horror I've never even heard about. For some reason it reminds me a lot of The Slayer that was made next year but they don't seem to have any connection at all. There's some obvious connections to The Shining from the previous year as well.

I really liked the snowy settings of Ghostkeeper and it managed to make the hotel feel very isolated. There's not too much happening in the film at all times but the dark hotel has a good spooky atmosphere. Characters aren't exactly deep but they have enough personality for a film like this. I guess the only major disappointment is the monster (not exactly what I was expecting from a wendigo).

Solid unknown 80s horror. Like a mix of The Slayer and The Shining.

Interesting monster the wendigo. I've never heard of this film either :p.

The Little Stranger (2018) N

A doctor returns to his hometown and gets entangled in the lives of what's left of the family living in large but slowly crumbling manor.


I often like slow burn Gothic horrors and there's lots of good in The Little Stranger too but also lots of little issues that kinda pile up and weigh the whole down a notch. Perhaps my main issue with the film is its ambiguity or more precisely how it is achieved - both the script and Domhnall Gleeson are selling Dr. Faraday's envy so hard that the ending felt like a copout (it's about the envy anyways but the exact nature of events is left open for no good reason).

Acting is generally very good (especially Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter) but Gleeson is (probably per director's instructions) too emotionless and cold all the time. I suppose he's meant to try to act like the upper class gentleman does in his mind but it feels hard to grasp why the disillusioned and somewhat humble Caroline would fall for such antics. I found the relationship as a whole very unconvincing.

There's good atmosphere in The Little Stranger and it uses the class conflict pretty well as a base for the story. The build-up works to a large degree but like I said earlier it pushes its premise little too hard. It's pretty close to being good though and it definitely wouldn't need big changes to be that. We'll see if it grows on me with time but for now...

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) N

A World War I documentary whose main selling point is the restored and colored old film footage. I generally prefer "old school" documents that are more like lectures but They Shall Not Grow Old is among the better and more effective examples of the other type.


First I have to say that I'm slightly disappointed that only about half of the film is made up from the advertised colored material while the rest is either black-and-white film and stills or drawings. The narrative is hasty and extremely vague on historical level but it works from more individual or humane perspective. I like how it emphasizes the differences between then and now, both in good and bad.

Some of the restored footage looks really good and it doesn't shy away from the brutality of WWI. Imagery from and around the trenches is nightmarish but also, as improper as it may be to say so when speaking of real dead people, grotesquely beautiful. Sometimes the footage looks exactly like an old movie and only the men looking straight into the camera reminds me of its reality.

At times it feels like They Shall Not Grow Old leaves something out just to keeps its narrative intact (like before the armistice there's no mention of the intensified fighting in the end) but it's not exactly political. It doesn't really tell that much of the war itself but it offers an interesting glimpse to the men who fought there.

Kuroneko (1968) N

A woman and her daughter-in-law live in a small hut... Wait, wasn't that Onibaba? Yes, it was but Kuroneko is pretty much a variation of the same. This time the women are raped and killed and they return as bloodthirsty ghosts to prey on samurais.


I don't think there is enough content in Kuroneko for a full feature film. The concept is fine but it would work better as part of some anthology. Now there's too much repetition (like riding through the grove over and over again) and (in my opinion) unneeded theatrical antics like the older woman doing some dance moves.

Characters aren't as well defined as in Onibaba and I don't think the mother-son-wife relationship is utilized that good (wife part mostly works but mother doesn't). The introduction of the son is kind of odd and he seems to be completely different character after that.

There are beautiful scenes, nice soundtrack and interesting conflict of interests but as a whole it's just a notch below Onibaba. And those eyebrows are so disturbing (well, at least the women didn't have blackened teeth).

The Bourne Identity (2002) R

A wounded man is picked up by a fishing boat on Mediterranean Sea. He doesn't know who he is but starts to follow the leads he has. While chasing his forgotten identity others are chasing him with intent to kill.


At times I'd want to see a good action film but not many of those are made these days. The only option left is to rewatch something I've already seen. Sometimes even that doesn't work perfectly because the films aren't exactly how I remembered.

There's little too much agent stuff in The Bourne Identity for my liking (I can't give a detailed explanation of what I mean by that - it's more like a feeling than something palpable). The action is actually quite scarce so not really what I was looking for. It just feels like an introduction (which it kind of is) instead of a standalone movie.

Damon looks so boyish on this, he's few years older than Potente but looks like an innocent schoolboy. Other than that he's pretty good though and acting in general is solid. Romance is really forced though and the whole amnesia thing just happens to be one of my least favorite plot devices. It's okay agent film but not the action I wanted yesterday.

The Favorite (2018) N

In early 18th century two women are competing for the favor of the frail and childish Queen Anne.


I've seen only one Lanthimos film before (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) and now after The Favorite I'm leaning towards an odd conclusion. I think he is a talented filmmaker but he's chosen a questionable way to distinguish himself from others - he wants to ruin his movies on purpose for them to be memorable, to make viewers angry at the lost potential.

The broken things Lanthimos includes in The Favorite are far less obtrusive than the acting in The Killing of a Sacred Deer though. Still things like the terrible fisheye lens, overused heightened sense of depth, monotonous soundtrack and the ending that feels like director giving the finger do make the film feel far worse that it could have been.

Acting is really good and when Lanthimos takes his job seriously the film also looks beautiful. I like the writing as well both regarding the story itself and the characters (the triangle between three women was interesting and the differing motives of Sarah and Abigail were well built). As a whole The Favorite is very hard to rate - there's too much that I like but also so much that I hate.

The Bourne Supremacy (2004) R

Bourne's happy days in India come to an end when he's framed for double homicide in Berlin.


Second film of the Bourne saga is very similar to the first but slightly better. Greengrass' direction and pacing in general are tighter. Camera is little too shaky and restless (I don't mind it during the action but it feels odd in some of the slower scenes).

Story is quite basic and predictable but there's nothing too wrong about it. Acting is still good and action is perhaps little better than in the first film. It kinda bothers me that Bourne never tries to cover or mask his face even though surveillance cameras clearly work in the film's world.

Pretty solid action film overall. Will rewatch the third one soon.

Re: Movie Diary 2019 by pahaK
 

There's a movie out now called The Axiom, I thought the premise sounds intriguing, but the ratings aren't great, and I was curious to know if you've seen it, @pahaK.