Watched in 2018
A log of all the films I have watched in 2018.
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28 titles
- DirectorKaisa 'Kaika' AstikainenStarsRitva AstikainenOki AstikainenAkuliinaA couple runs a small dairy farm somewhere in the heart of the Finnish countryside. The work of generations will soon come to its end, as their retirement is approaching and there's no one left to continue the family tradition. But for one last year everything continues the same; the seasons change, and the days are filled with labor. A film about love for the land, the richness of everyday life, and the sadness of letting go.January 3
A compact but atmospheric documentary that captures the fleeting sadness of abandoning a heartfully nurtured lifestyle, the fleeting regret of not being able to continue the work of past generations and the fleeting transcendence of dedicating one's life to working with cattle.
4/5 - DirectorWoo-sang ParkY.K. KimStarsY.K. KimVincent HirschJoseph DiamandA martial arts rock band goes up against a band of motorcycle ninjas who have tightened their grip on Florida's narcotics trade.January 6
Miami Connection represents the sort of bad film that can be best described by listing its quirky details. Its protagonists live multiple lives: at times they are scrawny, multinational, orphan students playing corny 80's pop music and at other times they are ridiculous Taekwondo masters beating motorcycle ninjas and being beaten by even scrawnier girls. In between the band scenes and the fight scenes is a bunch of amateurish, barely connected sequences of 'drama' that compare to other trashy cult legends, like The Room, but in general it is not equally entertaining as unintentional comedy gold despite its highlights of ludicrous lunacy.
2/5 - DirectorMasaaki YuasaStarsGen HoshinoKana HanazawaHiroshi KamiyaIn this comedy about one epic night in Kyoto, a college sophomore goes on a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife, all the while unaware of the romantic longings of her classmate Senpai.January 21
Morimi's historically and mythologically inspired Kyoto stories and Yuasa's mixture of spirited animation and awe-inspiring direction is a match made in heaven. Combined they can make a straightforward romance an otherworldly experience by absorbing the never-ending energy and desperate perversion of its main characters without ending up in filth.
5/5 - DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsShunsuke KubozukaShinnosuke MitsushimaKeishi NagatsukaFulfilling his filmmaking dream of 40 years, Nobuhiko Obayashi's luminous new feature "Hanagatami" delivers a timeless story of the pureness of youth beset by the chaos of war.March 17
I honestly don't know what to make of this film based on just one view. Obayashi builds this spectacle of wartime Japanese youth with the jo-ha-kyu structure, but the whole film feels like it is in climax mode the entire time (in fact the "abrupt ending" act makes more than half of the film). Hanagatami is restlessly shot and even more restlessly cut 3 hours of editing timed by traditional Japanese percussion instruments, shots being flipped around back and forth, Photoshop-painterly sets, a noisy cacophony of endlessly repeated motifs (that pretty much replaces traditional storytelling), ridiculously disenchanting casting choices and crude CGI. Even by Obayashi's standards, Hanagatami pushes the boundaries of odd-looking theatricality, but somehow manages to make it work intriguingly for a screenplay that tries to overlay way too many themes and ideas. Or does it try too much in the end? I can't tell because I was on the verge of a panic attack due to the sheer aggressiveness of the film. I need to see it again, but not any time soon.
placeholder/5 - DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMasaharu FukuyamaKoji YakushoSuzu HiroseA courtroom drama centered around the murder of a factory president.March 17
Not the best film to watch as a double bill after Hanagatami and with a loudly snoring cinemagoer for sure. Koreeda yet again proves his almost unmatched virtuosity of creating top-notch human drama and this time he matches it with the grand theme of ambiguity of truth in a way that ought to leave even an experienced murder mystery buff in awe. A project that originally looked like a commercial compromise for Koreeda turns out to be a new bright highlight in his already acclaimed career.
5/5 - DirectorYoshimasa HiraikeShintarô ItogaMitsuhiro IwasakiStarsJunnaAmi KoshimizuMinori SuzukiApril 28
A cinematic re-telling of the similarly named TV series which fixes the drastic pacing and storytelling problems that plagued the series. It throws out the useless excess of the original story, reshuffles chronology into a more thematically poignant structure and reworks tiny details to make the story more compact without losing anything important in the process.
4/5 - DirectorPeter WeirStarsRussell CrowePaul BettanyBilly BoydDuring the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.June 2
Here is a perfect example of time and age changing perspective. What I remember finding a mildly entertaining blockbuster as a kid turns out to be an utterly rare and polished piece of gentleman adventure cinema that brims with genuine thirst for adventure without sacrificing quality writing. It has a sharp eye for period detail, crafty hands on board for slick production and above all, Master and Commander has its heart in the exactly right place.
5/5 - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.August 23
The Matrix is a splendid action spectacle that has aged relatively well and is set in a well-thought-out world - at least when considered on its own terms as a stand-alone film. Its action may rely a bit too much on the rule of cool and plot necessities, but it still packs a punch almost two decades later.
4/5 - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossFreedom fighters Neo, Trinity and Morpheus continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation.August 24
While at first glance this sequel seems to wander into the territory of ugly CG and cryptic plottings, it turns out to be an all-around functional action film that is not particularly lacking no matter how you approach it.
4/5 - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossThe human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.August 24
It's a pleasant surprise to discover that a trilogy I had regarded to be more or less indiscernible garbage as a kid turns out to be perfectly fine in its coherence and thoroughly enjoyable as a spectacle even when it suffers from being one damn long fight sequence.
3/5 - CreatorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsJames Arnold TaylorJulia FletcherDwight SchultzA collection of nine short films featuring stories related to The Matrix (1999).August 25
While The Animatrix is unable to escape the curse of anthology films, it has talented people all over the staff working on interesting ideas in an interesting, already familiar setting so it stands above other films of its kind.
4/5 - DirectorTsutomu HanabusaStarsMai ShiraishiTomoya NakamuraNanase NishinoWhen it comes time to choose an extracurricular club three high school freshmen pick the naginata one or rather it picks them. Asahi and her friends consistently train and improve including a bout under the supervision of a monk at the monastery. There are ebbs and flows, but the girls are determined and support one another. The film is a vehicle for the members of girl-band Nogizaka46.August 25
A run-of-the-mill sports drama that manages to dodge all the problems idol vehicles tend to encounter, but it's by no means an extraordinary movie. For a film runs by the book with cold precision and has the fundamental problem of having to finish a story when it's not yet complete, it's well-done.
3/5 - DirectorWhit StillmanStarsGreta GerwigAdam BrodyLio TiptonA trio of girls set out to change the male-dominated environment of the Seven Oaks college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind.August 27
Stillman yet again proves he has an uncanny talent for making fun of a generation's not-so-bright tendencies and utter lack of understanding for one's fellow man. His dialogue-heavy and biting humor works well even in the vulgar and not-so-wordy contemporary setting.
5/5 - DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsKen OgataToshiyuki NishidaYûko TanakaThe famous woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849), a widower in need of a steady income, lives with his daughter Oei in the house of his friend Bakin.August 28
Perhaps it is fitting that the film is as wandering, creative and perverse as the protagonist. The film is way too all-over-the-place to be a genuinely good piece of cinema, but it's a fun ride despite its mystifying shortcomings.
3/5 - DirectorYoshishige YoshidaStarsRentarô MikuniYasuo MiyakeAkiko KuranoA freestyle biopic of Ikki Kita, the ultranationalist intellectual whose ideas inspired the failed military coup in 1936.August 29
Yoshida delivers a mindbogglingly aesthetic film about revolutionaries struggling with their beliefs on Japan, the Emperor and government as they engage in an ultimately lackluster coup d'etat. If you have a thing for serious Showa-era Japanese men looking grim in murky rooms, without a doubt this is the most eye-pleasing film of that genre.
4/5 - DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.September 23
Koreeda's career may more or less center around observing families, but one time after another he finds a completely new thematic approach to the binds that tie us. There is slowly but strongly burning emotion in his exploration of the conflicts and contradictions that haunt even the most closely-knit make-up family, together and apart.
5/5 - DirectorPaul SchraderStarsEthan HawkeAmanda SeyfriedCedric The EntertainerA minister of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past.September 23
Schrader bombs the audience with a taste of the deepest despair and heavy burden that plagues the contemporary society, discovering the most essential of all things in the unforgettable climax. This is one for the ages.
5/5 - DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRebecca HallDaniel Dae KimJohn ChoA young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.September 29
A trainwreck that you can't take your eyes off. It feels almost if Hosoda is the kid trying to gain the attention of the audience after the new kid (Shinkai) has stolen the spotlight. There are fascinating sequences here and there, but Hosoda doesn't even seem to try and tie all the messy pieces together into a coherent and sensible piece of film.
3/5 - DirectorAgnès VardaStarsSandrine BonnaireMacha MérilStéphane FreissA young woman's body is found frozen in a ditch. Through flashbacks and interviews, we see the events that led to her inevitable death.September 29
A girl was too stubborn and proud to realize her mistakes and died. Yet the film is more interested in pointing out how the people around her are pieces of shit even when they are actually helping her.
2/5 - DirectorPanos CosmatosStarsNicolas CageAndrea RiseboroughLinus RoacheThe enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.September 29
Here is a film that was set to be self-aware of its "unintentional" comicality long before the production started. It's a gory revenge story of demonic proportions headed by Nicolas Cage in perhaps the most Cage-ish role of his career. It is asking for the audience to take a rid through the heavily stylized ambience to a endless laugh riot - and I was totally in it for the ride.
4/5 - DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.December 22
A classic Christmas film reminding the viewer not to forget the essence of the Christmas spirit, which also doubles as a hilarious comedy about how one man can turn the society upside down, especially in its gripping climax.
5/5 - DirectorBob ClarkStarsPeter BillingsleyMelinda DillonDarren McGavinIn the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.December 22
A surprisingly down-to-earth and sour Christmas film driven less by the event itself and more on individual memories of the author's colorful childhood.
4/5 - DirectorChuck JonesBen WashamStarsBoris KarloffJune ForayDal McKennonA grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.December 23
More of a prolonged song than a tale, this classic short is the essential Christmas film to convert Christmas skeptics.
4/5 - DirectorBill MelendezStarsAnn AltieriChris DoranSally DryerDepressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.December 23
To some degree, the fact that this short is set during Christmas is more of an after-thought, but its ending wraps it up as a legit Christmas film. Plenty of classic top notch Charlie Brown humor.
5/5 - DirectorSion SonoStarsAmi TomiteMariko TsutsuiFujikoJapan's oldest major movie studio asks a batch of venerable filmmakers to revive its high-brow soft-core Roman Porno series.December 23
Antiporno is interesting enough to revive my long-dead interest in Sono's work. It's a brilliantly compact package of several playful meta layers of storytelling that underlines very well the destructive nature of pornography industry. But it's so tight that not only one view is enough to make heads or tails of it, but what is certain is that it is visionary, bombastic and downright lunatic cinema that can make even the most depressing pain seem like fun even if it doesn't quite come together as well as it should.
4/5