Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Love Will Tear Us Apart (2023) and Visitors (2023) are both great new Japanese horror films.
Kenichi Ugana is definitely one to watch. I really loved his new film Love Will Tear Us Apart that is screening at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival. The story is really engaging, and it has some very beautiful cinematography like that last shot. I love the twists and reveals in it too. I think you can truly feel for the main character. Sayu Kubota gives such a fantastic performance as Wakaba. The part where she meets someone new in Tokyo and falls in love is incredible especially what happens from there. The meaning behind it reminds me of my first feature although I think his film is better. Between this and the complete version of Visitors I saw on Screambox, I really can't wait to see what this director does next. The two films are quite different but both are amazing. Visitors reminded me of Evil Dead 2 in the best ways. Funny, gory, and a blast to watch while Love Will Tear Us Apart surprised me on its phenomenal somber tone and emotional depth.
Saturday, December 16, 2023
RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop (2023) blows away other making-of documentaries.
As a massive fan of RoboCop, I watched this on Screambox and I was astounded at how in-depth it went. It was a dream come true to have this classic explored in such incredible detail. I'm sorry if I sound like a madman ranting but I love behind the scenes and this takes it to a whole new level. I loved their previous documentary on Hellraiser I & II, which is also fantastic, but this feels like they raised the bar. I know they're not the team behind the new Aliens documentary but I really hope that is on par with this. All the anecdotes are just so interesting and real. It really feels like they fully explored every scene. I'm so glad they got Peter Weller to participate but also so many of the crew we've never heard from before. I'm definitely going to pick up the Blu-ray although I think I'll get the UK version just to make sure it has all the bonus features because apparently there was some manufacturing problem with the US one (these poor guys can't catch a break).