Highly Recommended
Headshot (2016) (Indonesian Action/Thriller) – After waking from a coma, a trained fighter (Iko Uwais) must save his doctor (Chelsea Islan) from a vicious group of gangster thugs led by Sunny Pang and Julie Estelle. The acting is good, but character development and motivation are weak. Doesn’t matter though, because this movie offers tons of action and bloody violence to compensate. Action choreography ramps up its complexity during the final 3rd, leaving the opening 2/3rds to pile on the nasty thriller elements. I don’t think 10 minutes went by – at any point in this film – without someone getting violently murdered or beaten. This could be the Mo Brothers’ most purely entertaining film to date.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) (American Action) – After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life. This is a very entertaining film that infuses a storyline that is more interesting than its predecessor, with a focus on the underworld hotel of assassins. The action is plentiful and of a nice variety, from car chases to catacomb shootouts to colorful mirror room fights. Lots of gunshots to the head, which I appreciate. I enjoyed the “fancy underworld weapons shopping” sequence too. Check out the YouTube video of Keanu Reeves’ tactical gun shooting, because it’s pretty damn cool.
As the Gods Will (2014) (Japanese Horror/Comedy) (repeat viewing) – Takashi Miike goes insane . . . again. A group of highschoolers must outwit some sadistic Japanese dieties in a series of deadly games. Right from the opening scene, the viewer is going to realize that this is something quite different. This has one of the more creative and entertaining opening sequences in recent memory. It’s extremely demented and nutty, with a wide variety of supernatural death games that utilize culturally specific objects as the physical bodies of gods. Some of the games are solved in clever ways too. Lots of CGI is used, but it’s still fun due to the fantastical nature of the attacks as well as the boatload of black humor that is present. Very fast paced and enjoyable.
Killers (2014) (Indonesian/Japanese Thriller/Drama) (repeat viewing) – A Japanese serial killer and an Indonesian vigilante communicate on the internet while they murder their victims. This is a fairly ambitious character study that takes its time to develop the two leads. To this film’s credit, it is successful at doing so and that results in some dramatically intense moments. At times you fear what they do to the likeable victims, but other times you wait in bloodlust anticipation for what they do to the unlikeable victims. The plot is also somewhat unpredictable at times. Kazuki Kitamura isn’t typically billed as a lead actor, but he’s damn good here and Oka Antara is also very impressive. This does get violent, but not absurdly so. Despite some implausibilities and contrivances, this is quality stuff from the Mo Brothers.
Don’t Breathe (2016) (American Horror) – A blind, reclusive man is secretly hiding a mountain of cash in his home. He’s the perfect target for a trio of teens carrying out a string of robberies. Unfortunately for them, this man can defend himself. This is expertly directed and has a few very nice tracking shots. Scoring and sound design are solid too. Most thankfully, this film relies on suspense instead of gore or jump scares. There is quite a bit of well-earned intensity because of this, and the short 88-minute runtime helps to pack that intensity in while cutting out any unnecessary filler. Stephen Lang gives a very menacing performance, and Jane Levy is also very good. There are a few moments that stretch credibility, but they’re not deal-breakers by any means.
X Game (2010) (Japanese Horror/Thriller) (repeat viewing) – Four young people are kidnapped and forced to torture one another. This is definitely a step above the typical torture film because it has properly developed characters, an engaging storyline that incorporates the theme of bullying, and also some good suspense. Even the torture game itself is interesting to watch because it’s unpredictable and uses a variety of exaggerated bullying tactics. The script is fairly ambitious with a lot of ground to cover in its three-part structure. The final section is twisty, but the twists make sense and maintain one’s interest despite dragging the film out a bit. There are also a few creepy moments to enjoy. Do not get this confused with “Death Tube”, which is similar but very poor.
Recommended
Sword Master (2016) (Chinese Action/Drama) – A sword master searches to fight the greatest swordsman in the land, but finds out that he died mere days before reaching his residence. Frustrated and distraught, the sword master abandons his fighting ways and decides to live out the rest of his life with the common folk. The CGI effects are poor, but the sets and environments are consistently very nice from start to finish. This also has pretty good story and characters that get more interesting as the film moves along. The acting is exaggerated, but feels appropriate for some reason. Admittedly, it’s still a bit silly and cheesy. The wuxia fights are good, but nothing special. Directed by Tung Shing Yee.
Arrival (2016) (American Sci Fi Drama) – When twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world, a linguistics professor is tasked with interpreting the language of the apparent alien visitors. Nicely directed and very atmospheric, with a creepy vibe early on. It also employs an interesting twist and concept. Performances are generally good. After a while, however, it does get a bit tedious and feels drawn out.
Ura Horror (2008) (Japanese Horror Anthology) – Koji Shiraishi directs this anthology of 12 found footage horror films, approximately 6 minutes each. This is a success overall, with a nice variety of scare tactics and scenarios, some of which are oddball. The short runtime of each story helps to maximize pacing, making this very easy to watch. Grainy, low-def visuals do help matters. (Viewed without subtitles.)
I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016) (Chinese Comedy/Drama) – Bingbing Fan is on a quest for justice. She and her husband got a divorce so they could get a better apartment, but after the divorce, he married someone else. So she wants the divorce overturned, so they can be married again, whereupon she will sue for a divorce. For most of the film, the images are restricted to a circle in the middle of the frame; it’s odd but you get used to it after a while. It is an interesting premise, with good performances and a dry form of humor. The music is good too. Runtime is definitely on the long side, which results in a sense of repetition. A few scenes are rather dumb and contrived, but this is a pretty good flick.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (American Animated Drama Musical) – This is the famous story about a jealous queen, her beautiful stepdaughter, seven lovable dwarfs, and a handsome prince. Not much of a plot or character development here, and much of the runtime shows animals and dwarfs doing household chores, or just goofing around. Some films meander in interesting ways, but this one feels too inconsequential and monotonous at times. Still, there is a moderate enjoyability to some of these moments, and the scenes that do showcase the primary conflict are quite good. There’s also a light horror element that I enjoyed.
Not Recommended
Lights Out (2016) (American Horror) – Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with an entity attached to their mother. Cheap jump scares galore in this incomprehensibly stupid film that uses a lame shock tactic during the opening 5 minutes, then proceeds to repeat that exact same obnoxious tactic in uncreative ways for the remaining runtime. Between the jumps, the story and characters are extremely dry and sleep-inducing. The psycho mom angle is irritating. Dialogue and performances are underwhelming, with the lead actress being particularly weak. The attempt at melodrama near the end is pathetic.
Blair Witch (2016) (American Horror) – After discovering a video showing what he believes to be his vanished sister Heather, James and a group of friends head to the forest believed to be inhabited by the Blair Witch. This is a very poor rehash of the original film that feels more like a remake than a sequel because it introduces many moments that mimic the original, only executed terribly (how many close-up shots of screaming faces do we really need?). It gets so bad that a few gross-out moments are inserted (involving a foot infection), as well as a human threat – both of which are used to lazily create discomfort for the viewer, but consequently destroys any sense of fear and makes it feel like the witch is absent for most of the film. The opening set-up is fragmented and clumsily executed, failing miserably to create tension. Actually, the entire film is that way. Performances are crap across the board. The filmmakers also cheat by attempting to create a “found footage” film by using dozens of cameras from a variety of angles. What’s the point? Just shoot it conventionally then. This is incompetent, amateur hour filmmaking. “The Guest” must have been a lucky mistake, because everything else Adam Wingard has directed has been terrible.
I think I would rather watch Snow White and Seven Dwarfs putz around and do nothing.
