a witty but unevenly paced caper that entertains despite its flaws. the quips of Charade are funny in isolation but can feel overtly rehearsed when considered in the context of the film overall, making for a janky ebb and flow to the dialogue. the awkward romance, accentuated by a noticeable age gap, borders on uncomfortable for me—echoing that surreal audition scene from Mulholland Drive, but lacking Lynch’s ironic detachment and dragged out for over an hour. the tonal swings from charming villainy to sinister intensity further disrupt the film’s coherence, leaving its charm diluted and derivative rather than wholly satisfying. fun and fairly easy-going, regardless
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The Funeral 1984
a fascinating look at Japanese rituals of death and mourning, embellished with plenty of classic Itami quirks and absurdities. the fusion of sentimentality and humour was at its best for me when the film found universality in grief, whereas the density of cultural specifics did have me feeling more like an observer than a participant in the comedy at times—less drawn into the humour itself and inevitably alienated from its context. nonetheless, a refreshing reminder of just how different funeral…
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Entergalactic 2022
nothing more than a malaise of clichés, tropes and tedious upper class folly. the portrayal of love and relationships is so shallow, superficial and unoriginal — a real disservice to the genre and medium. a seriously ridiculous amount of montages and the animation, while it may look good as individual frames, was jittery and borderline laggy in places. humour was cringe, flat and uncomfortable throughout. what a shame this overly-sexualised, fantacised, hyperreal mess of a vanity project is afforded the potential of animation as a medium, particularly one with such big-money backing from Netflix, over other romantic stories out there and yet to come.
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Elena 2012
my predominant issue with hyperpersonal documentaries like this is that they don't say as much about the nature of being or becoming as i feel they are intended to do so. particularly when all it leaves you with is a deep sense of melancholy with very few lessons learned. not to essentialise the genre, but a documentary this personal should at least have broader teachings buried in its subtext - or at the very least stimulate questioning about the human…
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