[JonE(vil)]

A haunting in venice. 2023.
6/10
Paint by numbers crime drama.
Kenneth Branagh stars and directs as famed detective Hercule Poirot, the third film in a series by him.
Branagh brings a style of direction and acting that shows considerable talent. The film is rich with camera shots and dialogue, but definitely has a 'paint by numbers' kinda feel. With everyone in the house, and a murderer in there misted, it doesn't really let loose or have much tension. Poirot works his way piece by piece in a entertaining way via flashbacks and deductions to solve the case. At no time do you get the sense his life in any danger.
​Similar to knives out, but flashier.



The killer. 2023.
3/10
Assassin fucks up. Takes ages to fix mistake.
David Fincher film, highly regarded for previous films. Some of which iv seen, a few are good. Sets up what happens at the start, show the killer being very methodical, voice over says a bunch of his own rules. This continues throughout the film. With a run time of two hours, it lost me at the one hour mark.
It just slowed down and plodded along. There was real action or tension, or any sense that this bloke was in any danger. Being it was a NETFLIX production, it seems like another decent director given free reign to do a vanity project and having it not really pay off.

[JonE(vil)]

Memories of murder. 2003. South Korea.
8/10
Three cops try to catch a serial killer in 1986.
Rewatched this early Bong Joon Ho film. With a run time of just over two hours, it feels it. Crime procedural when cctv footage and dna testing didn't exist or were very rare. The officers are known to brutalize suspects, so a mistrust of the police is pretty common. The film shows how hard it was for them to put together any clues or evidence. Its not like A haunting in Venice ​which is, visually a good film, but nothing more that theme park ride. This draws out a level of frustration as it goes on. Overall a solid crime drama with a slow dramatic tension.

[JonE(vil)]

Oppenheimer. 2023.
4/10
The bloke who built the bomb.
Bio pic drama about Robert Oppenheimer, scientists and politics surrounding the creation of the atom bomb.
Filmed with time jumps that are sometimes signified with parts in black and white, it is a steady and interesting story. Largely dialogue driven, it examines the ideas of technology and that inherent drive to further it. In this case a bomb that ultimately lead to the destruction of two cities. Add to this ideas of political leanings, ego and morals. It becomes a bit of a mess. Nolan has crafted a good film, but after an hour, the narrative was still present but just plodding along at a pace set from the start. I lost interest after 75 minutes. Stuck with for another 30, then gave up.

[JonE(vil)]

The chaser. 2008. South Korea.
10/10
An ex cop tries to track down a missing woman.
Gritty and brutal crime thriller. Could also be classified as a horror due to the violence and tension that is thru the entire film and just doesn't let up.
A small cast, it is inspired by a true story. The killer doesn't elude the police so much as not give all the information, with the ex cop unable to be part of the investigation, it's left to him to try and find the woman he's sent as a hooker that night. The film keeps the viewer hooked by having the woman alive and a sense of hope that her young daughter will see her again. With police brutality a common thing, beatings are largely done by the ex cop. This adds to the desperation as the film goes on.
A classic in the serial killer genre.

[JonE(vil)]

The creator. 2023.
5/10
A.I. versus humans.
Entertaining in a visual sense, but just felt lacking in the story. With an undercover army sargent searching for a weapon developed by the A.I. that will tip the balance of the war, it becomes a drama with some action.
Echos of the ternimator, but only slightly. The film was made for 80 million, and its well done.

[JonE(vil)]

Napoleon. 1928. France.

The rise of Nepoleon Bonaparte.
Due to the length of the film (five and a half hours.) I decided to watch it in chunks and give thoughts on it.
Silent films are something completely different when compared with todays cimema. There is alot of expression and emphasis in the acting, and due to the medium of film being pretty new, lighting and set design can be quite deliberate.
The film starts with young Napoleon at a boys school engaged in a snowball fight. Out numbered he still manages to win. It sets up a strong willed boy who is an outsider. Peppered with historical notes, its details the end of the revolution, with Daton, Marat, and Robespierre. Three very distinct characters.
From there his return and fleeing Corsica. It takes it time and shows in detail his life.
​The music follows along nicely with some of the camera work, when he is being chased on horseback, quite impressive to watch.

[JonE(vil)]

Godzilla. Minus one.
8/10.
Godzilla wrecks a city.
Made for 15 million (U.S.$) its a entertaining and dramatic film that has a good script at the heart of it. The effects were well done, and similar to any hollywood film, but what elevated it was the plot.
A lone suicide pilot doesn't go thru with his mission and regrets it constantly.
He meet and lives with a young woman whose also has a child, not hers. Years later Godzilla comes back and its up to the local public to put together a plan to kill it. It sets up the characters at the start and keeps them together, all supporting each other so the audience doesn't really want anything to happen to them. Near the third act is slows down but really comes together as the form a unique plan. Some little things are kinda predictable, but on the whole a really good film to a already substanial catalouge.

[JonE(vil)]

Diabel. (The devil) 1972. Poland.
4/10
A bloke is freed from prison, but is already to far gone.
Strange and violent film from the director of Possession, Andrzeij Zulawski. Filmed in a technical competent way, it (seems) to tell the story of a bloke freed from a prison/mad house. There is a invading army but he and his friend plus a nun have a paper that means safe passage.
From there is a series of dramatic events with a non stop pile of people, usually ending in someone getting hurt. But it doesn't give the viewer any context, apart from maybe that this main character is deeply traumatized. The sets, costumes and acting are good. There is dialogue and is delivered in a serious way, but overall it just feels walled off and a test of endurance.

[JonE(vil)]

Jacobs ladder. 1990.
8/10
Is he really dead?.
Effective psychological horror movie that has lots of signs that are said by and to the main character.
An effective mix of surreal and nightmarish visions and edits in the film that mix reality and nightmare. The plot takes in his time in Vietnam and the fact he and his war buddies might have been exposed to a drug and the loss of his young son.
Not a easy watch due to the constant flashbacks and subtle messages, but worth it if you are a like a challenge.

[JonE(vil)]

The doctor and the devils. 1985.
4/10
Burke and Hare, the grave robbers.
Based on the crimes of two blokes who used to run cheap lodging for the poor, then turned to killing some of them for a medical doctor.

Slow drama with elements of horror. It has a good cast and takes itself seriously, but the drama far out weighs any horror. The characters are a mix of the doctor who wants to know more thru research, his assistant who is conflicted and the criminals themselves. One of whom takes the lead and does the killing, while the other enables but is concerned. After a while is began to drag as they had conversations that seemed a bit aloof for what is a basic tale of greed from two different views.