Film Log 7.25.2015

The Confession (1970)

Director: Costa-Gavras
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: Powerful and sad thriller.

Film Log 7.24.2015

Ride the Pink Horse (1947)

Director: Robert Montgomery
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: Unusual film noir. It's not set in the city, the cinematography is fairly bright, and has an upbeat ending. The juxtaposition of an American in the middle of a foreign environment. As in most noir the film is a dissection of American capitalism. How far would you go for riches?

Film Log 7.20.2015 (BiFan 2015 Edition)

Violator (2014)

Director: Dodo Dayao
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: This film scared the shit out of me. I'm glad I got to see the film on the big screen. A laptop cannot do justice to the sound design in the picture. The appropriation of religious imagery adds a lot to the horror and dread that permeates throughout the picture. Each act is punctuated by suicide. 

Film Log 7.19.2015 (BiFan 2015 Edition)

Poison Berry in my Brain (2015)

Director: Sato Yuichi
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: Loved it!! A funny rom-com that doesn't do the cliche thing of trying to build a story on a quirky girl stuck between choosing the "right" man to be happy with. It instead asks a more important question "are you happy with yourself?" The romance angle is the least important part of the film. In Poison Berry in my Brain there are no quirky caricatures or good or bad men. It's just an honest and funny film about how people sometimes allow love to kill the part of themselves that felt happiness.

Film Log 7.18.2015 (BiFan 2015 Edition)

Neko Samurai 2: A Tropical Adventure (2015)

Director: Takeshi Watanabe
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: She's back! Cute and cuddly Tamonojo returns! This sequel has more cat goodness. Great fun.

Film Log 7.17.2015 (BiFan 2015 Edition)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Number of viewings: ~5

Comments: I have always had an ambivalent feeling towards this film. I hated it during my first viewing and over time I've grown to love it, but even though I now believe this film to be an essential Kubrick the film's length precludes me to doze off in some scenes.

Film Log 7.12.2015

Ruined Heart: Another Lovestory Between a Criminal & a Whore (2014)

Director: Khavn de la Cruz
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: A pop crime film music video. Sensory overload. Beauty and ugliness freely mixing with one another. 

Film Log 7.09.2015

That Thing Called Tadhana (2015)

Director: Antoinette Jadaone
Number of viewings: 2

Comments: Brilliant. Favorite Romantic comedy of the year. Jadaone takes a very well-worn genre and, though not reinventing the wheel, adds fresh life into it. You actually root for the two leads to get together. Beautiful cinematography. 

Film Log 7.05.2015

Secretly Greatly (2013)

Director: Jang Cheol-soo
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: Fairly typical action film.The North Korean backstory will be a familiar trope for fans of South Korean cinema. The apartment complex stand-off was an exciting action set piece.

Film Log 7.04.2015

Lifted (2006)

Director: Gary Rydstrom
Number of viewings: ~4

Comments: A funny Pixar silent short. Nothing really extraordinary about it.

Film Log 7.03.2015

Godzilla (2014)

Director: Gareth Edwards
Number of viewings: 1

Comments: If Pacific Rim (2013) hadn't existed this film would be far more impressive. The fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs in San Francisco was pretty exciting though.

Film Log 7.02.2015

Pacific Rim (2013)

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Number of Viewings: ~5

Comments: Saw this again with the Guillermo del Toro commentary. I don't understand why more people don't love this film more. It is both an ode to mecha and kaiju films and also an original work of genre cinema.