saturday film challenge 2024

very simple but somewhat charming scifi.
horror and scifi always show societal scares of its times, it's no different this time, lingering thoughts of WWII that just happened and cold war are very present.

i wish more film-makers would use practical effects again, they are charming in a way no VFX can do it.

well it was predominately slice of life story (and i came for chill vibes, mind that) about mentally disabled brother and his sister, but then by the end it turned into SA story line that got brushed off so quickly. also i know it's film from almost 30 years ago and from japan but it will *always* irk me the wrong way treating women as the one who has to take care of her brother (mind you there is whole other sibling in the story that all he does is study for collage entrance exam)

it's really nicely done by technical standards so majority of my rating goes for that and if it weren't for SA brushed off like it's nothing i would right it higher

how do you move on from some one who isn't dead but isn't alive either? village life moves on but he still lays in bed, sleeping.

film falls into the category of slow cinema, which i *love* very much, it relaxes me (even if im watching the most miserable story ever told aka an elephant sitting still), gives me artistic merit and celebrates the everyday life.
about half a year ago i watched director's later film (the buried forest (2005)), which i absolutely adored and im glad this one did not disappoint me.

Another film from my beloved taiwanese new wave! we follow the chinese family who moved to taiwan in the 40s in prospect of better life. the story mainly focuses on Hsiao who quickly adapts to taiwanese life amongst his peers.
the film is directed and shot beautifully. you can feel the warm taiwanese weather through the screen. the only downside is that sometime in the second half it felt a bit dragish but over all it was an amazing experience, one of the better TNW films i watched so far.

either way, the short conclusion, this was so so mid... It does look good, i give them that but overall whole movie felt like checking off tropes that many viewers are fond of: found family, funny side character, good but evil mega corp and so on. and on top of that all of the characters felt flat, god forbid have more than one personality trait.

i did watch the film on saturday as i usually do but i swear to god i can't say anything about this one aside from giving it a thumbs up. maybe it wasn't a good day to watch it maybe something else

it was really cute film, filled with childlike wonder and questions. despite clearly low budget the director managed to pull out a really good tv film.

What there is to do in small town? With no perspectives for future group of young adults, just drinks and get into fights. Some day they decide to go to big city in search for job.

In some way you can call it coming of age story, with no meaningful sentence or thought to grab on. Boys go to the city with little to no direction how to deal with city life or adulthood, they got no one to direct them despite parents and older siblings.
through long and static shots, Hou Hsiao Hsien beautifully captures how big city can feel lonely and intimidating for people who grew up in countryside.

I didn't write a post because i was *confused* by this film so so much. It's on crack, it's so normal, it's wild, it's calm.
High school science teacher decides to DIY a atomic bomb at his flat. Why? I don't know. I never found out why. I guess he just got bored. Generally it's very 70s when it comes to type of filming and quality. I watched it with my friend (who mind you is not exactly into those (weird-ish) films that i am) and all she could say is "kino where the fuck did you find it" because im sure she was more baffled than i was. (to anyone wondering im not exactly sure where i found it aside from some letterboxd list).
but hey, i don't think i will see a guy cuddling to sleep with his atomic bomb ever again, so there is that.

official rating is ???/10 but on paper it's 8/10⭐ because i can't type ??? into rating

I went into this film very much aware of its quality, b tier slasher horror with a spice of some bls (very little bl in this bl i gotta say, expected more). it's cliche all over but i got some laughs out of me. i would only recommed it if you fave some friends (extra step is to get drunk if you drink) and have a laugh at how bad basically everything is.
half of the budget went for buckets of blood i think.

i feel like there is no way i can explain this one without sounding insane. it's musical, it's dark comedy, it's live action - animation mix, it's truly something. not that i hated it. i loved it!

Being driven by promises of big city and hopes of breaking generational poverty A-yuan and A-yun move to Taipei for work. throughout out the years they face hardships, they come and go like typhoons and the aftermath is predictable.
At this point i watched quite a few of Hou Hsiao Hsien films and i think this one is one of my favourites so far. by '86 the characteristics of Taiwanese new wave had developed, so shot and composition are top notch. the story is simple (but just many other slow cinema and TNW films). it's simple and impactful.

many of you may not know the director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, but I see his name quite often. especially when it comes to thai new wave. However it's not my first film from him (love you forever Iron Pussy), but it is my first full length ""serious"" work.

Story follows two doctors, in rural and later urban hospital, we see them talk to patients, walk troughs halls and kind of fall in love. I say kind of because it's not a romance film per say. It's more of set of postcards from their life. We as a viewer are put in their lives, standing in the office, waiting for our turn or seeing them have awkward conversation in the hospital garden.

i will be fascinated with asian slow cinema for long long time. they are like a celebration of everyday life, finding beauty in ugly and mundane.

only reason i had my mouth closed was because as usual i ended up sitting like a little shrimp and propping my head with knees or hands. everything just happens, no one bats an eye on it. rain with helmets? totally understandable, it happens. talking teddy bear with toxic relationship with his owner? yea sure, and yet. it was very endearing romcom. all of those BLs can only wish to be so weird and unforgetful.

Krabi is a province in southern Thailand, with a lot of focus on tourism, this film is a fictionalized document. We get snippets of life as a local there, as a film crew, as a actor working there for a moment and in the background we see the tourism.
The film is slow but in a good way, we get to see beautiful long shots of krabi, the beaches, towns and nature. it let's you breath in and in some way meditate. (im assuming) film was filmed with analog film camera, hence the "retro" look and specific grain and dirts. it just feels like a warm hug with kiss on forehead.

it probably won't be for everyone, it's slow and surreal at moments, but what a lovely film.

short review, it's what the tittle says. it's about work on grass. and it's very homoerotic.

a bit longer review, really interesting short film, quite minimal in it's presentation. in between the grass we get  talks about life, watching the characters cooperate with each other (that later turns gay, don't forget that) and despite all of those mower engine noises weirdly calming film.