Movie Diary 2018 by pahaK

I'm proud of you for actually watching this all of the way through. I'm still struggling. It's f#cking wretched.

Hear, hear.

love to see your discovery

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https://t.me/pump_upp

Apostle (2018) N

A woman is kidnapped by a cult living on an island and led by their living prophet. Her brother goes to look for her after their father receives a ransom note. While posing as a new recruit he learns about the cult and tries to locate where his sister is held.


It's taken me a long time to write this review or even figure out the exact rating to give. There's just so much good and bad in the film that it's been hard for me to figure out and I needed some time to process it. To put it short the potential for greatness is there but too many flaws prevent it even reaching good rating.

The premise is good, settings are good and the bleak, ruthless atmosphere works well. Evans is visually competent director and for the most part the soundtrack supports the image nicely. Even acting is mostly good though I didn't like Dan Stevens in the lead (it really bothered me that his manners were 100% same as they're in Legion).

About the negatives then. First Evans has a habit of prolonging his films too much and Apostle isn't an exception. For its content it's way too long. Despite of its length it also fails to properly build the power struggle within the cult and the change in the latter part feels too sudden. Movie is also little heavy handed with its messages (too much underlining how man twists religion to fit his own needs and rather blatant nods to Gaianism with all the usual destruction and exploitation of the environment by man).

So for me the script is the biggest issue. It focuses on wrong things and ignores some important ones. Either just make it shorter and less explicit on all fronts or change the focus from philosophy and religion to actual people. Still, even as it is, it's not far from being good.

Flatliners (2017) N

Only watched little over 30 minutes but as I saw nothing good or even promising in it I decided to stop. Completely pointless remake with uninteresting characters and bad TV-like production values.

Excalibur (1981) R

Everyone knows the basics of King Arthur, right? A sword in stone that only the destined king can draw out; Arthur and the knights of the round table; the forbidden love of Lancelot and Guenevere; Merlin the wizard who guides and plots and is betrayed by his pupil Morgana; the search for the Grail; and in the end the ruin of Camelot and death of Arthur. Excalibur tells a familiar story.


Excalibur is a movie about a myth, a pure fantasy that never even attempts to be realistic or historically accurate. It's glossy and hazy visuals make it look like a dream. It's a fairytale for adults with knights wearing their highly stylized plate armors 24/7, living the life of high adventure and being heroes worthy of legends.

The scope of the film (starting from Arthur's father, Uther, and ending to his own death and departure to Avalon) is huge and even at 140 minutes it moves at very fast pace. There's very little room for character development and most of the knights are no more than a name. I know this is something I regularly complain about in my reviews but here it just works; it's like the story of Excalibur is larger than people and even the greateast heroes are mere pawns to something larger.


There are some small things to complain about though. I didn't like the casting choices for Merlin and Arthur (Merlin as a whole was written too light for the film and his relationship with Morgana didn't work too well). Some of the sets were outright ridiculous like the foil covered castle walls. 24/7 worn armors were really silly too (Uther even had sex wearing full plate, must have been painful for Igrayne) but I managed to accept that as part of the world.

One of the greatest fantasy epics ever made. Some miscasts and other minor faults eat half a popcorn but otherwise it's just amazingly good.

Christine (1983) r

Bullied high school kid buys himself an old car. He begins to fix it and as the car gets fancier his behavior also changes. The car has a dark history of its own and after the bullies smash it to pieces as a revenge the bodies start to pile up.


Christine is in many ways both standard Carpenter and standard King. Visually it looks exactly like you'd expect from Carpenter; weird angles that make interiors look vast and exterior shots that feel somehow claustrophobic. All this is accompanied by very simple yet still effective soundrack. From King comes the usual bullies, good intentions with bad results and love that manifests itself in some twisted way.

I don't really like the script of Christine. The whole high school bully concept doesn't feel like a proper way to handle what's essentially a twisted love story. I think the relationship between Arnie and Christine could have been more interesting than their revenge to some juvenile delinquents which feels more like a cheap way to increase the body count.

Acting is quite bad. I think Arnie was overacting all the time and Dennis was extremely wooden. Besides good camerawork the best thing in the film is the special effects; scenes where Christine is regenerating herself looked incredibly good.

Essentially a potentially interesting concept is mostly wasted by putting it in the wrong environment. Carpenter manages to keep it above bad but not by a wide margin.

It's been awhile since I last watched The Professional, but it's a great movie. I still think I slightly prefer La Femme Nikita if we're talking the best of Besson, but it's close. I've noticed that you really love your young female protagonists. Ever seen Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural?

I was a bit kinder toward The Dressmaker, but you've echoed the same misgivings I had toward it. Excalibur is the best sword-and-sorcery film that I've seen. It's already long, but I think it'd benefit from being even longer since it crams almost too much into its runtime. Still excellent, though. Christine is just okay for me. I preferred the book, although it's not one of King's best.

Added Errementari and Trench 11 to my watchlist since both sound intriguing. I've read people's responses to The Beast Must Die in the B-Movie HOF and it sounds atrocious. No interest here. I loved the premise of the original Flatliners but not the execution, so I was hoping that it'd prove to be one of the rare instances when a remake was a good idea. Then it came out and I heard nothing but terrible things about it. I'd meant to check it out, but I had honestly forgotten that it even exists until your reminder. Apostle sounds cool. I had no idea that it was directed by Gareth Evans. I've really enjoyed his martial-arts films, so I'm curious to see what he does with the material.

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Yeah, that and another in that HoF kind of gave a hiding to my love for B movies...at least for a while.

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That's true.

This is my favourite Merlin — weird as anything . I suppose they're both quite comedic characters in a way. Arthur's a bit of a fish out of water to start with but it actually does jar slightly that he's not doing an RP accent like most of the others. But of course he shouldn't sound like them as he's an ordinary bloke.

I liked that. Maybe if I saw it on Blu-ray I'd think differently.

Funnily enough this is something that Gabriel Byrne mentioned – I think it was on Inside the Actor's Studio – as being very strange. Well Uther is in a hurry .

I guess that's kinda hard to miss Lemora is one of my B-movie favorites and I even suggested it in B- Movie HoF to the person who makes those video reviews after he liked The Child.

I read other HoF reviews after writing my own and it seems quite a few are focusing on the same issues.

Personally I may still rank Conan the Barbarian little higher but I think Excalibur is #2 sword-and-sorcery for me.

I'd say especially Errementari is worth a watch. It should be on Netflix pretty much everywhere, I think.

To me all his films share one flaw - they're too long for what they are. I like martial arts films but The Raid and its sequel didn't impress me that much especially considering the hype that surrounded them. I'm pretty sure I've seen Merantau as well but don't remember much of it.

Yeah, Conan 's excellent. In the Top 100 I did this year I've got Excalibur at 68 and Conan the Barbarian at 90.

Lean on Pete (2017) N

Charley is a 15-year-old boy living alone with his father. After yet another move he ends up working as an assistant to Del, an aging race horse owner. He grows fond of a fading racehorse, Lean on Pete, and after Del has ran the horse out of steam he plans to sell it to Mexico for slaughter. Charley intervenes.


First 90 minutes of Lean on Pete are very typical "kid befriends an animal" material and everything feels just a little too naive, little too black and white. Last act is logical continuation for that but stylistically somewhat different while still pretty much as predictable. I kinda want to say Lean on Pete is a horse film for emo girls (life as a teen is hell, Charley is probably OK looking boy who just mopes and suffers, and at least back when I was a kid most girls were into horses)

I had little difficulties in sympathising Charley in some points. He seems very selfish and kinda typical me-me-me teen; he likes Pete so it's OK to steal it along Del's car, it's OK to steal in general (yet he emphasizes how he doesn't want to beg but rely on himself) and after the accident he doesn't pay any attention to the people in car. I have no doubts that he's somewhat realistic teen but it doesn't mean I like him and that weakens the emotional impact of the film.

The movie feels little too long (especially the scenes with the two veterans feel unnecessary) and at the same time it fails to convey the passing of time and distance covered. It's technically solid and has lots of good looking scenery but to me it feels hollow; I don't care much about its story or characters and there's no underlying message that resonates with me either. I don't say it's a bad movie but it's pretty close to that for me.

The Night Comes for Us (2018) N

A man who's sort of an executioner and trouble shooter for the Triad decides he's had enough after sent to kill a whole fishing village as an example. He saves a young girl and kills his own men. Triad wants them both dead and violence ensues.


The Night Comes for Us is close to being good martial arts action movie but during the last 30 minutes or so it falters quite badly. Up to that point the action (which is aplenty) has been mostly fast paced, brutal and very bloody. Unfortunately the final fight (and to a lesser degree the one preceeding it) are prolonged way too much and become boring; some characters have outright ridiculous ability to sustain damage. Also the actual ending of the film is little stupid.

Storywise The Night Comes for Us is very typical Asian action. There's this almost mythical hero, his old friend who's now the enemy, a child that awakens the conscience, etc. It's typical also in its technical flaws like characters popping in without introduction or apparent logic, in general odd pacing, story that doesn't seem to make too much sense and stupidly macho characters (women included) who rather fight 2 vs 1 in melee than shoot the attackers.

90 minutes of good violent action followed by dull 30 minutes of duels between seemingly indestructible men and slightly more brittle women.

Pixote (1981) N

Pixote is a young boy living on the streets of São Paulo committing crimes with his friends. He ends up in juvenile reformatory where threat of abuse comes from both the other kids and the people running the place. After one boy dies due to abuse by guards and another is framed for his death Pixote and few others run away. But is the life on the streets any better?


Pixote is very gritty and hopeless movie. It doesn't fall for the usual trope of painting the boys as mere victims but shows them as despicable as the corrupt adults around them. Maybe the boys never had a chance but the film doesn't really show us that they'd deserve one either. It's very nihilistic film and I like that.

My main issue with Pixote is the lack of proper characters. It just shows us few slices of Pixote's life and almost nothing in those glimpses defines any of the boys. Again, this is likely a conscious choice but it's generally something I don't like; in a character driven film I'd like to be able to relate to the characters somehow (not necessarily sympathize but understand what motivates them and pushes them towards the choices they make).

I also don't like the short intro; if you want to make a documentary then do one but Pixote is a film about fictional characters so I don't really want to be lectured like that. Otherwise the film does feel believable and documentary-like looks fit it perfectly. Largely(?) amateur cast does good job as well. The transition from reformatory to freedom was odd and for a while I thought it was a flashback from before reformatory.

With little more details on the characters this would have been good but as it is it falls slightly short. Definitely worth a watch though.

Mile 22 (2018) N

A black ops squad that is used in operations that don't exactly adhere to international laws needs to smuggle a police officer out of country. In exchange for asylum in USA he's offering the location of missing radioactive material. Just like in all agent films things aren't what they seem.


To me Mile 22 feels more like a TV pilot than a proper movie. It's hard to explain exactly why but it's basically just an introduction to Walhberg's character and also an introduction to main villain (for the "first season" at least). All the surveillance camera footage make it even look like a TV production (something like Person of Interest).

Otherwise Mile 22 is a crossbreed of Bourne films and Far East action like The Raid or The Night Comes for Us (which both just happen to be starred by Iko Uwais who's also co-starring Mile 22). It's just not written as well as Bournes and it's action is not on the level of the Indonesian films I mentioned. It's probably too harsh to say it combines the worst of both but it's definitely closer to that than combining the best.

Uwais is the best thing in the film and he deserves better opportunities in Hollywood (or maybe just keep making films in Indonesia where his talents are better utilized). Wahlberg is OK but his character is kinda silly (I'd assume that his anger issues would severely hamper his work). There are too many cuts in action scenes and storywise the pacing is off. As a whole just barely above bad action film.

Galveston (2018) N (?)

A hitman named Roy has a bad day. First the X-rays of his lungs show a nasty dark blot and then he's betrayed by his boss who apparently wants him dead. He survives and saves a 19-year-old girl, Rocky, in the process. Together they leave the town.


I'll start with the thing that's been bothering me for the whole day since I saw this. Is there another movie with almost identical script because I had the strongest feeling of déjà-vu while watching this? All the major plot points and characters felt like I've seen them before. I was even thinking if I've seen this film before but it's been released less than two weeks ago so it doesn't seem likely. I'm really confused

About the film itself then. Galveston is really typical indie film. There's nothing especially wrong with it but it feels lame, safe and predictable. It's a road movie that doesn't reach the depths of its characters but to some degree still works on the superficial level (mainly thanks to great acting by both Ben Foster and Elle Fanning). There's sort of a feeling of sadness and melancholy but often it feels like a cheap attempt to arouse emotions on the viewer instead of a properly built atmosphere.

Little forced drama with spooky predictability and strong performances. Can't say I liked it but it's barely OK.

This movie is as beautifully done as Marketa Lazarova.... both are amazing films and they were done decades apart.

The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966) N

A man and his son are walking from somewhere to nowhere in particular. Soon a talking marxist crow accompanies them and starts to tell a tale of two medieval monks trying to preach gospel to the birds. Both the crow's story and the men's encounters in the present share common themes creating at times a rather preachy leftist fable.


First half of the film is pretty decent. Its jabs at religion fall on fertile ground with me and the fantastic nature of its world make it positively unpredictable. Also the contrast between light presentation and heavy subject is nice idea that works reasonably well.

Latter half is unfortunately much weaker. To me it loses credibility when after mocking catholic church it suddenly finds salvation in communism and in general mourns the abandonment of ideologies. Somewhat clever satire about Christianity turns to a praise of another failing dogma as Pasolini demonstrates inability to turn his perception towards socialism.

I'm pretty sure that some aspects of the film were lost to me due to lack of knowledge about Italy (especially the contemporary post-war Italy). Like many others I had to use Google to know who's funeral footage was used and obviously during the film I also didn't get the Togliatti reference concerning the crow. There's probably quite a bit more profoundly Italian stuff that doesn't connect and while it isn't exactly a flaw it does affect my personal experience.

Almost good first half that's both funny and witty. Way too preachy and tunnel visioned second half. Not bad but definitely not good either.

The Meg (2018) N

Scientists find a hidden depth in Marianas trench. When submersible is hit by something large and loses contact with the research facility there's (obviously) only one person who can save the crew. Five years of constant drinking haven't made Jonas Taylor any less proficient or manly and it's his job to save the people and kill the monster shark back from two million years of extinction.


The Meg is a pure B-movie with A-movie budget. Sadly it's also a bad B-movie with zero attempt at anything resembling personality. Everything from Jonas' tragic past to child approved romance to greedy billionaire is as formulaic as it gets. I honestly wonder why Hollywood pays anything for writers when someone surely could code them an AI to endlessly spew this crap.

If you're into monster movies you might want to see this for the megalodon but otherwise there's really no reason to waste your time. Little extra on my rating for the hopes that Meg will eat the people responsible.