the last day of a condemned man (victor hugo)

i thought i was going to like it, but i actually loved it. a passionate cry against capital punishment where the focus on the content is actually not an excuse for not looking after the form: it's really beautifully written... and so exciting! i love that chapter where the title suggests you are going to know the past of the prisoner and therefore the details of his crime, but then it's left blank, thus making the story universal. worth getting an edition with a prologue explaining the period and the reaction of the public when it was first published. not essential at all, but an interesting read.

Rating: 8.5/10

the innocence of father brown (g.k.chesterton)

i actually thought this was going to be a longer story and not a collection of short ones, not sure why. nonetheless, i actually welcomed the format: perfect for my holidays. i love how in every case the irrational solution seems in the end to be the only rational one. but that kind of becomes a pattern and you are expecting it in every story. and it happens in every story. but it's well written, and funny and highly enjoyable, if you happen to like detective stories (which i do). i only wished there was at least one that was longer than 15 pages, as there doesn't seem to be much character development at all, everything revolves around the priest and his shrewdness; which is fine, but it doesn't make me run to the library to find some more father brown collections of stories.

Rating: 7/10

the island (michael bay)

i liked the idea, the interior design and the clothes (apart from the trainers. i mean, trainers? whose idea was that?). i actually rather enjoyed the first half, but only when i managed to forget how much both main characters annoyed me. as i say, the premise is actually good, i always find the ethics of cloning really interesting. however, the second part was a bit too run-run-run-run-boom-boom-run for me, and too crazy on the product placement; but as a whole it's kind of ok for a quiet night in. oh, look, i've managed to write a review about this film without mentioning 'logan's run'! oh. no, i haven't. damn.

Rating: 5/10

cape fear (j. lee thompson)

much much better than the remake, in my humble opinion, and all thanks to robert mitchum's cold and contained performance, much more believable than the monster that de niro portrayed. no coming back from the dead a thousand times freddy krugger style, either (which i welcomed, i got bored with the boat scene in the remake). so, all in all, much more believable and creepy than the other one. what a surprise eh? it's true that, as far as i can remember, the secondary characters (especially the daughter) are much more developed in the 1991 version of the film, but as i said, as a whole i prefer this one. and gregory peck vs nick nolte? well, the fight was won before it even started.

Rating: 8.5/10

plagues and pleasures of the salton sea (chris metzler, jeff springer)

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luther, season 2 (neil cross)

enjoyable only on a very superficial level, so much so that i actually had to watch it whilst checking my tumblr or i felt i wasn't making use of my time wisely... it gets extra points for having stringer bell, being set in london and having sudden bursts of violence.... but it's also full of sensationalism in its plotlines, luther's logic is not logic but clairvoyance and all in all i found it a bit too daft. so yes, just so-so. only to watch if you want to watch some rubbish tv without feeling insulted.

Rating: 4.5/10

game of thrones, season 1 (david benioff and d. b. Weiss)

the first post-wire tv series that has surprised me. when i first knew they were adapting the books, i expected it to be a bit too 'hercules' looking, but that couldn't be further from the truth. the production values are really top-notch and the story, well, i can only say that all the hype is deserved. i love how it deconstructs most of the stereotypes of the genre (apart from the rather cheesy sex scenes): basically, you cannot predict anything plotwise. you have all the fantasy archetypes, but they are all twisted, full of grey shades and... well, real. i also welcomed the almost complete absence of obvious cgi. the whole thing totally blew  me away. pity about the horrible horrible horrible opening credits, i hate them, i really hope they change them for future seasons. roll on spring 2012!! can't wait for the second season.

Rating: 9.5/10

salambo: high priestess of ancient carthage (gustave flaubert)

"the best historical novel of all time", says the dust jacket. well, if it's by flaubert, and it's "the best historical novel of all time", then i think it's only fair i gave it a chance. i couldn't finish it. not long after i started reading it i remembered why i don't like historical novels that much: it always seems like the story itself is an excuse in order for the author to show us how much research he has conducted. the rather lengthy and numerous descriptions of buildings, tools or garments seem to be the main focus of the book, and not the story itself. maybe historians  marvel at the accuracy of the data, but for me this is just dull academic wank.if at least it was interesting academic wank... but no, it's dull, dull, dull!!! maybe the second part is really exciting. i will never know.

Rating: 2/10

mysterious skin (greg araki)

it doesn't matter how many times i watch this movie, i always love it. the way it's filmed, the music, the acting, the storyline itself, everything is five stars. my favourite bits are definitely the dreamy sequences (the rain of candy, the snow in the open-air cinema, the flying saucer...) and, of course, brian's ufo stories and obsessions, but i also love neil's relationship with his best friend... and elisabeth shue! she's amazing. i don't know, i can't find a flaw. i love how brutal and sensitive it can be at the same time. the scene when neil's sick punter asks him to simply stroke his back is one of the sweetest moments i've ever seen in a movie.  and, yes, mr simonotron, i even like the americanism in the plot of having a traumatic event in childhood that haunts people as adults :-p

Rating: 10/10

agnosia (eugenio mira)

jeeeeeeeeesus, mary and joseph this was tedious. booooooring! yaaaaaaawn! it looks really slick and the clothes are actually amazing (make actors sport moustaches and 19th century suits and even eduardo noriega looks good), but that's about it. the story is really predictable (and boring). i can't understand why this is marketed as sci-fi and spooky, when it's actually neither one nor the other. it's a (boring) period  drama trying very hard to be steam-punk and not really getting there. at all. oh, and did i mentioned it was boring?

Rating: 4/10

greybeard (brian aldiss)

i really enjoyed the first half, it was really fun, with all the stoats and the village and the rafts and the risk of an attack from the north... and the idea itself, i loved the concept of a humanity with no more children. but then it all kind of lost momentum. i think my biggest disappointment was that i wanted it to move forwards and the story actually moved backwards. it kind of picked up at the end again, i really enjoyed the scene when the two main characters actually meet and play hide and seek... and then the wee girl tells the boy's mum he has drowned, that was awesome! but, as a whole, just a so-so.

animal kingdom (david michod)

i really enjoyed this. i love the gangster family and the relationships between their members, especially the more extreme ones, like the unhinged brother or the big mamma (i love how she unsheaths her claws and protects her cubs in the second half), but every single one of them is important in order to obtain a balanced family portrait. both the photography and the score are really moody, my favourite shots being the scenes filmed almost in slow motion with the important thing happening in the background (i.e. when the police storm in the house). and the end... the end is awesome!! perfect for the story it wants to tell.oh, and on a more shallow level, the blond bearded brother is really hot.... and guy pierce sports a moustache!

Rating: 8.5/10

the kids are alright (lisa chodolenko)

the best thing i can say about this film is that i have nothing against it: it's highly enjoyable, it's well acted (julianne moore is, as usual, incredible), well directed, the story is entertaining... however, i don't think its biggest triumphs reside in any of this. in fact, the script is rather predictable. for me the best thing is that it portrays a gay couple... and their homosexuality is not an issue at ANY point of the film (neither for them nor for the people around them). its other asset is julianne moore's conception of sexuality as something fluid and not monolithic (don't forget we are talking hollywood here, it's an indie movie, but not that underground, it's still appealing to a general, if discerning, public). so yeah, top marks for that. and, as i said before, i actually enjoyed the story itself, too.

Rating: 8/10

house (nobuhiko obayashi)

crazy like only japanese films can be. i really like some bits, but in general i was put off by the 'kids tv' feel the whole thing oozes. i love the painted animated effects, though, like some of the blood and skeletons, as well as the gory bits and the fact that each of the girls had one defining characteristic. but as a whole the film didn't live up to my expectations. glad i watched it, though, it's enjoyable, but i expected more.

Rating: 6/10

the shadow line (hugo blick)

obviously this is really far from being 'the wire', but i was quite surprised by its quality. i admit that some of the dialogues can seem a bit cheesy and over the top, but in general the script is rather good, and the performances are not bad. my favourite character is, of course, gatehouse, but i also like the mannered pshyco gangster... and eccleston (i always tend to like his roles). the final episode can seem totally unbelievable, but i actually liked it, i have nothing against stories about conspiracies. and the truth is that plotwise the story demanded something as spectacular as that for a season finale. good it was only 7 episodes, though, i don't think it could have maintained the momentum for much longer. but good, very good.

'beep!'

Rating: 8/10

x-men: first class (matthew vaughn)

well, i really enjoyed it, i can't really see why some people criticise it. fassbender and his hot gingery stubble as erik/magneto totally stills the show, but it was also good to see helen from 'damages' and the young guy from 'a single man'... and of course mcavoy and bacon. costume design is really spot on, both the 60s fashion (emma frost looked amazing!) and the x-men actual suits (i'm so glad they incorporated the yellow this time). there are also wee nice details, like the wold-map with the missiles and the soldiers in charge of moving  them with their little stick-thing and the ladder, i loved that. those little details totally made it for me. and the script? well, what can i say? it's fun! it has exciting bits, daft bits... i can only say i had a fantastic time watching it. pity about some continuity errors, though (like the training scene where professor x points the gun at magneto), you'd think they would be more careful with things like that. but luckily they are not annoying enough to spoil the fun.
i totally agree with mr gaston, now i really want to watch at least the second installment again.

Rating: 8.5/10

persona (ingmar bergman)

thank you, mr tyler, for recommending this to me. definitely 'my cup of tea'. i liked the philosophical resolution one of the characters takes of remaining silent and only watch the world; i love their relationship, especially in the country house, the tension, the one-way conversations, the confessions, how the nurse kind of explodes after too much talking... and the buñuelesque introduction and interval, with the random footage. no wonder this is said to have influenced many other movies and filmmakers. and the end? probably the best bit. that last shot where it all becomes metacinema is just genius.

Rating: 8.5/10

box of nothing (peter dickinson)

exciting! that's the first word that comes to mind. totally action-packed. and that's also the only piece of criticism, sometimes it can be a bit too much (like, he gets made prisoner and escapes in the same 5-page chapter). but hey, it's perfect for the target audience, i'm only saying it from an adult's point of view. i love the alternate world it creates, especially everything to do with the burra and the dump. and the box of nothing of course. it's such an interesting concept; and quite daring, if you think that they are talking about the creation of universes from a big nothingness and the possibility of parallel worlds existing at the same time. i enjoyed every single page of it.

Rating: 7/10

kaboom (greg araki)

this is daft awesomeness. definitely not his best, but i couldn't help but smiling all through the film. i even cackled several times. perfect movie for a sunday afternoon. i love araki and his stylised view of the world and his freaky imagination. everything seems so refreshing. writing the script must have been great fun! it really looks like he just put in everything that came to his mind: sex, drugs, music, dorms, witches, conspiracies, sects, guns, car chases... animal heads! simply brilliant. definitely a return to his pre-mysterious skin period. and definitely great fun.

'straight guys are gayer than gay guys'

Rating: 7/10

malefique (eric valette)

a film based on a lovecraft a story and set in prison: good enough premises to watch a movie. i really like the atmosphere, and the occult elements (obviously), but find the ending a bit too predictable. pity about the effects, too; at the beginning they are really good, gruesome but subtle, but they fuck it all up with 'the big cheesy ending'. not horrible, just cheesy. however, my favourite bit are the characters, especially that adorable and freakish couple formed by marcus the muscular trannie and paquerette, the hyperactive lunatic who enjoys getting his fingers chopped off (by his partner) in order to spend some time in the infirmary, as well as making a collage with cut-outs from porn magazines (at some point decorating his work with some golden tinsel, a very nice touch). definitely one of my favourite couples in all film history.
Not sure if this will please the more hardcore lovecraftian fans, though, but it's well worth a watch.

Rating: 7/10

chasing the sun (richard cohen)

thank you, book, for keeping me company all these months. i certainly felt a bit sad when i finally finished it. one of the most comprehensive studies of the subject, and a total joy to read. i loved learning about astronomy, calendars, the composition of light, shadows, atomic energy... and how the iconography of the sun has been adopted and used in literature, in art, in religion... even in politics. if only i could remember all the information contained here! pity about the first and last chapters, though, when the author goes all personal and tells you about his travels to see the sunrise from this amazing point or when he goes to the ganges to witness some sun rituals and sunsets. i don't really care, just tell me more about what might happen if a black hole hits the sun or how stars die. however, those two (short) chapters don't manage to spoil the brilliance of the other 600 pages. the perfect gift, thank you simon.

Rating: 10/10

psychoville, season 2 (reece shearsmith, steve pemberton)

'not now, silent singer!' is the new 'i done a bad murder'; these guys create the darkest humour shown on tv. again, a masterpiece. the tina turner sketch will always stay with me. and i don't think i'll be able to forget the episode with mr jelly and the kidney. my smile kind of froze half way through, but i liked it! oh, and ladybird-face!! i love her to bits!!
i found the storyline a bit too all over the place at the beginning, with the mix of old and new characters, couldn't see where the new ones fit into place; but after a couple of weeks everything started making more sense. i'm sad it's over, i want more episodes!

'did you masturbate in my tea?'

Rating: 8.5/10

wakewood (david keating)

i really liked the rural setting, all the ritualistic crap, the enclosed community, the re-birth ceremony and the 'brutality' of nature... the story is actually rather good, it ticks most of my boxes, and i actually liked seeing carcetti from the wire in it... but there was something missing, and i'm not sure what it is. i was entertained, but never felt i cared for anything that was happening on the screen. maybe it was a bit too obvious. maybe i've watched too many horror movies. well, i'm not going to stop now, am i?

Rating: 6.5/10

ginger snaps (john fawcett)

i know, i know, the script is full of cheesy bits (highschool, sexed-up teens, hallowe'en, shy misfits...) but they actually work and the film also has very original touches. i love the fact that she grows a tail. well, more than i love it, i'm jealous of it, really.  and their photo project portraying themselves dead in gruesome accidents is amazing (by far my favourite bit of the film!). all in all great fun to watch, cool idea, entertaining, gruesome... i love the younger sister, she's so believable. i would have liked the make-up effects to be a bit more subtle, but i think that's the way it goes with horror films nowadays...

Rating: 8/10

the autobiography of alice b. toklas (gertrude stein)

this was a strange one for me. i love the playfulness of the title: is it really an autobiography? but it's two different people! and i love the period in history, and the subject matter. but somehow it didn't work for me. i didn't like the style (even though i learnt to tolerate it), i found all the 'and then i did this, and then i saw that, and afterwards i did something else' rather tedious. and the name dropping too. here i had some amazing historical characters in front of me, and i finished the book without knowing anything about them. especially about the relationship between gertrude and alice. but i quite liked the bit about the war, and the final paragraph, as well as some witticisms here and there; but as a whole, i'm not really convinced. i'm glad i've read it, though.

Rating: 5/10

aguirre: the wrath of god (werner herzog)

whenever someone decides to write a list with 'the best movies of all time', or something of the like, 'aguirre' always makes at least the top 100, if not the top 10. well, no wonder. from the beginning you have the feeling of watching something 'big', a grand story, something deep and transcendental. the obvious highlight of the whole experience is kinski's performance, not many actors manage to achieve such a strong screen presence. you can't escape his insanity, his crazed look, his thirst. the rythm is slow and poetic, leaving the viewer in a sort of hypnotic trance... a trance enhanced by popol vuh's beautiful minimalistic krautrock music (for me the best part of the film). plus, a film that features a baby sloth creature and a raft full of monkeys can't be bad, can it?

Rating: 9/10

society (brian yuzna)

there's something about the flamboyancy of the 80s that makes them perfect for horror movies. especially when the story is set in an upper-class family house. the interior design and the clothes are amazing! i'm a big fan of a background character (i don't think she even has one line), a friend of the 'bad' boyfriend. she has the biggest big hair ever. the story is good, even though it takes quite a while to unravel and when it does it becomes a bit of a teenage action movie full of cheesy fx. but all in all it's good, i like the idea a lot, that 'belonging to society', that 'being of the same breed' thing. fun to watch. oh, and did i notice a reference to dali's 'soft construction with beans' in the 'surreal' group scene?

Rating: 7/10

das boot (wolfgang petersen)

this film was on my list for many years, but i was always put off by its length (3.5h inside an u-boat seemed a tad too long for me). nonetheless, i was wrong. it's incredibly exciting! i really enjoyed it, this will probably rank amongst my favourite films of all time. it's so beautiful, and sad, and opressive and human. i love how it portrays all the aspects, not only the missery and the tension but also the joy, the friendship and the camaraderie... i felt very impressed when i saw they included a party scene with one of the guys dressed up like josephine baker, dancing like crazy... that was amazing!! directors tend to 'forget' that side of life on board... but my favourite part is how germans are not demonised, you change the flag and this could have been an allied vessel. brilliant, brilliant, brilliant movie. and such brutal final 10 minutes, too.

Rating: 10/10

paranormal activity 2 (tod williams)

well, obviously, don't watch this if you didn't like the first installment. but if, like me, you actually rather enjoyed it, this will not disappoint you. the idea of a prequel situated immediately before the first one works really well. like in the first film, almost every character is mostly annoying, but at least they are not trying to record every second of their lives with a handycam. the idea of the cctv works much better as a concept. i made the mistake of watching the extended version, and that meant i had to endure a rather long intro where i just found myself thinking 'oh, please, let something happen soon!'. anyway, once everything starts going belly-up, the story actually gets really good. my favourite bit is the kitchen cupboards violently opening themselves all at once... oh, and the cctv footage of the swimming-pool robot going for a stroll. but, whatever happened to the doggie? they never say!
on a side note, i watched this like a month ago, but completely forgot to write the review about it, and this is the first time something like this happens to me... maybe it was a ghost?!

Rating: 7/10

let me in (matt reeves)

my problem with this was that i started watching it thinking i wasn't going to like it (american remake! vade retro satana!). but the truth is it's not that bad, especially if you haven't watched the fabulous original or read the book. but if you have, well, you can't possibly help comparing, can you? for me, this story is about the two kids, and i prefer the swedish ones. the original wee boy looks just so defenseless, and the girl is so freakish that they make the perfect partnership. i didn't feel the same with their american counterparts. yes, the girl is a bit 'warmer', but that's not necessarily good. it doesn't work as well for me. regarding the script, i was glad they got rid of secondary characters (mainly the drunks), and it was fun to see how they tried to include all 'the big scenes' anyway (like the burning girl in the hospital). the film as a whole looks good, there are some really beautiful scenes in it, but the cgi scenes with the girl jumping around as if she was a character in a videogame were truly horrible. what's wrong with filmmakers nowadays? it's so not necessary! it's as if they have justify the fx budget... grrrrr.

Rating: 6/10

my dog tulip (paul fierlinger, sandra fierlinger)

this is one of the sweetest and most honest films i've ever seen. i loved the sincerity and bluntness of the scatology, told in such a matter-of-fact way, simply beautiful. their relationship is just so warm and caring and deep. even though i'm not a big fan of the 'hand-drawn' style, it really works here, especially the sketchy backgrounds, and the schematic drawings on notebook paper. the story itself is so simple and told with so much love. my favourite bits were the poetic antropomorphic drawings, like when the dog delivered her litter, illustrated with the dressed-up dog delivering a parcel, taking out the puppy and eating the ribbon and wrapping paper... simply genius. i just couldn't help smiling for almost the whole duration of the film. i'll definitely watch this again.

Rating: 8.5/10

into eternity (michael madsen)

really interesting, especially the part where they discuss what to do for future generations after they finish building the nuclear waste cemetery: should they put danger signs outside or should they keep the location secret? and i loved the use of kraftwerk's 'radioactivity' at the biginning (i know, it might seem a bit obvious, but it works really well!). nonetheless, not everything is good news. i wasn't convinced at all by the guy himself, neither his narration nor his scenes talking to the camera with a burning much for added dramatic effect. mind you, had it been orson welles, with the same match and his amazing voice and diction, it would have been genius! but madsen is just 'a guy', and the result is just a bit wanky...trying, but not really getting there. but maybe it's just me! don't get me wrong, i really liked the documentary as such, the content is top notch and there are some really beautiful scenes in it, it's just the actual guy that annoys me a little bit...

Rating: 7/10

the crimson petal and the white (marc munden)

i wasn't 100% convinced when i saw the first installment, mainly because i had problems with chris o'dowd playing a dramatic character. i couldn't help but smile when i saw him. but after a while i kind of got used to it. as a whole, this is a brilliant adaptation. i'd even say that it might be better than the book. i liked the book, i enjoyed reading it, but i didn't think it was amazing (especially reading it after faber's far superior 'under the skin'), but i actually think the visuals added something to the story. i loved the colour palette, especially the burnt summer lights so present in the last two episodes, and it's always a joy to see actors like shirley henderson, richard e grant or... gillian anderson! (i know, i know, she's not the best actress in the world, but c'mon, she's scully!). Jokes aside, a very pleasant surprise.

Rating: 8/10

headwig and the angry inch (john cameron mitchell)

i can't believe it's already been ten years since this was first released. i rewatched it again last weekend and i'm glad to say it hasn't dated at all. hedwig will always be one of my favourite films and will always have a place in my heart. i love the aesthetics, the music, the acting, the clothes, the script, the story... everything. there are so many memorable moments in this film. hedwig is the personification of the beauty of the (im)perfect. all hail hedwig! hedwig, we love you.

"this is the best way that i've found to be the best you've ever seen"

Rating: 11/10

nanny mcphee (kirk jones)

again, thank you simon for showing me the magic of the nanny mcphee universe. i loved the second installment, and i loved this. nonetheless, i think this is kind of inferior compared to the sequel (even though it could very well be because i watched the second one first and it had a bigger impact on me). i really enjoyed this one, too, but i felt the beginning was a bit too obvious, a bit too disney, if you like. i guess the fact that i don't really like the actor who plays the older kid didn't help either. but once the story starts to unfold, you forget about everything  else and just enjoy the fun. oh, and, by the way, i was really jealous of colin firth's wardrobe.

Rating: 8/10

it happened one night (frank capra)

the more i think about this film, the more i like it. it's wondrously sweet and so funny. there are some scenes that will always stay with me: the (non) piggyback, the hitch-hicking... the chemistry between gable and colbert is incredible, you can see it grow and grow by the minute. i know it could seem a bit dated nowadays (i'm talking about social conventions and gender issues), but i'm sure it must have been rather revolutionary when it was released, let's not forget we are talking 1934. oh, and i want an autogyro.

Rating: 8/10

damages, season 3 (glenn kessler)

i wasn't very impressed, to be honest. i liked the first two seasons when i watched them, but this all felt rather repetitive, more of the same... and i couldn't care less for any of the characters. i found the flash-forwards 'trick' that worked really well in the first seasons quite simply tedious. still, good(ish) quality tv, the script is ok, it's only 13 episodes and it's all well done. but they should stop here, though.

Rating: 6/10

indiana jones and the last crusade (steven spielberg)

not as bad as i remembered. not at all. it's actually rather enjoyable, isn't it? i mean, it's nothing like the first one, or even the second one, but still... great fun! i'm not a big fan of the light entertainment that the father/son dynamics provide, or even for the appearance of young indy, but the action is great fun and everyting with nazis and the holy grail is really exciting. so yes, thumbs up again for indy!

Rating: 8/10

the hidden fortress (akira kurosawa)

even though i was a bit put off by the over the top expresionistic acting (especially the princess') i really enjoyed this film. it's full of adventures, thrills, humour and fun. i love how it tells the story through the perspective of two 'minor' characters, who are both catalists for most of the misfortunes and provide the comedic overtone. apparently lucas found inspiration in here for his 'star wars episode iv: a new hope', and if you can really see it how, especially in the two 'droids' wandering in the desert and the use of the frame wipes. on top of that, you have of course the typical epic japanese theme of honour (or its absence). all in all, much more fun than you would expect.

Rating: 8.5/10

kiss of the spider woman (héctor babenco)

i liked it when i first saw this in my early teens and i liked it again as an adult. both performances are outstanding (no wonder hurt got an oscar for this, but julia is equally amazing). i love how both characters evolve, in a kind of sancho and quijote way, where at the end of the story they've influenced each other so much that they are no longer the same person. i would have liked molina to tell more films (in the book there are five, i think whereas in the film they focus on a long one and the short story with the spider woman), but porobably it's because i really like 'cat people' and i felt disappointed it never made it into the film version. maybe there were some problems getting the rights for it... or they just wanted to focus on the nazi-propaganda story to have some parallelism with valentín's political activism. Anyway, all in all, a fantastic story.

Rating: 8.5/10

raiders of the lost ark (steven spielberg)

i felt so happy when i found out they were showing this last friday. the perfect night in! i enjoyed every single moment once again. i admit a huge percentage of my opinion is based on nostalgia, but i bet everybody is with me in thinking this is an amazing film. it's fun, it's full of adventure... and it has one of the sexiest protagonists in film history (i still can't decide if i prefer the cheeky adventurer or the shy lecturer... do i really have to choose?). this and the star wars trilogy are definitely the films that define my childhood. and i know i'm not alone!

Rating: 10/10

das experiment (oliver hirschbiegel)

i found the first hour really tedious, to be honest; i wasn't very impressed by the acting, the direction or even the script itself. really cheesy modern flim noirish, especially the love story, which, by the way, is totally pointless. it doesn't add anything to the main story. the character of the girl (apart from being annoying) is only there to provide a love interst, as if we couldn't enjoy a film where the protagonist didn't have a love interest. even her role in the grand finale is redundant, any of the inmates could have done it. nonetheless, if you manage to endure that first hour, at some point half-way through the film everything starts to go belly up and (finally) they manage to grab your atention. everything after the pissing on the head is interesting. i know they had to provide a setting and a background first in order for the story to develop, but it just took them too long. don't get me wrong, the actual sociological experiment is incredibly interesting, but i just don't think the film is very well executed.

Rating: 6/10

mc5 - a true testimonial (david c. thomas)

my opinion is 100% biased, so stop reading if you have problems with that. i love the mc5 and i really enjoy watching music documentaries, so this is the perfect combination for me. obviously, i couldn't care less about seeing wayne kramer or rob tyner as old men, but i loved hearing them tell the stories of their good old days with the band and john sinclair and the white panther party. if to this you add amazing footage of them onstage (including fred sonic smith's spaceman suit), the joy is complete. a must for any music lover.

Rating: 9/10

waltz with bashir (ari folman)

even though i've never been a big fan of war movies (with the exception of kubrick's 'paths of glory'), i have to admit that this documentary really worked for me. the visual side is really beautiful, all the different animation techiniques work really work together and they fit the narration perfectly. and then, of course, there's the story, a man's 'journey' (i hate that word) of self-descovery trying to find out what his mind is blocking. really powerful. and the last scene creates a rush of emotion that runs through the viewer's body, everything becomes even more real.

Rating: 8/10

the holy girl (lucrecia martel)

lucrecia martel is fast becoming my favourite filmmaker of the 21st century. i love all her three feature films. i'm going to try and find her shorts now. even though i still prefer 'the headless woman' and definitely 'the swamp', i felt absolutely mesmerised by the pace, the tranquility, the filmography, the sense of dramatisation that this film oozes. on top of that, all the actors are top notch, especially carlos belloso, his character is so believable. and the end! the end is probably my favourite part. you spend the whole film very slowly  building up this tension, this feeling of unease, sensing something bad is going to happen... and when it does, the film finishes right before the grand finale. it takes a lot of guts to do that, and a genius to do it so elegantly and make it work. just brilliant.

Rating: 9/10

opera (dario argento)

i remember hearing about this film when it was first released. it looked amazing. i loved the imagery, i even had a small poster on my wall when i was a kid. but somehow i never watched it until now, not sure why. i guess at the time i was too young to be allowed in the cinema to see a film like this, then i never came accross the vhs... and then i suppose i kind of forgot about it. i'm glad i've seen it as an adult, because i think i've enjoyed it more than i'd have had in my early teens. i love the photography aspects more than the gruesomeness, simply brilliant. it has some beautiful scenes too, very lyrical, very argento. and all the sets of the actual opera are incredible, i particularlly like the one with the stairs and the big window behind them. and the crows!! everything with the crows is amazing!!  nonetheless i found some bits of script rather poor, but let's just forget about them, shall we? an enjoyable film, all in all.

Rating: 7.5

paris is burning (jennie livingston)

i couldn't help thinking of ms honey sweetcheekz when watching this. the combination of fashion, attitude and music is just awesome. they all looked amazing! i love the balls they celebrated, and the outfits.... nyc in the 80s must have been incredible. those kids surely know how to throw a party. i didn't know voguing started being a kind of duel on the dancefloor, a real duel where people set their differences... dancing! how cool is that? still, i simple have no time for bitchy queens (all the 'shading' bit and stuff). it doesn't matter how fantastic you look, the minute you start bitching like that you loose all the cool points, i'm afraid. but, all in all, such an enjoyable document of an era.

Rating: 7/10

psychoville (reece shearsmith and steve pemberton)

i liked it even better on the second viewing. the humour is just so spot-on. 'i done a bad murder' and 'fuck pig' are two phrases that will make tv history. all the characters are just brilliant. obviously, i have my favourites (the serial killer mother and son combo), but all have their strengths. i particularly like the hitchcock homage, but most of the episodes are really high standard. i have to admit i felt a bit disappointed by the open ending, i'd have prefered a more solid grand finale, but hey, i guess they just wanted to leave doors open for a possible second season. pity they didn't include the hallowe'en special in the dvd extras, though.

Rating: 8.5/10

afterlife, season 2 (stephen volk)

what a disappointment, to be honest. still enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but nothing like the first season. maybe my expectations were too high. the main theme was annoying (everything with alison's mom haunting her) and the individual stories are not that interesting at all. moreover, you spend half the time shouting "fuck off, robeeeeert!", whenever he opens his mouth. still, the series really picks up at the end and the two last episodes are really good, back to season 1's standards. the series also has two of the most annoying female secondary characters in film history, you just want to slap both jude and barbara. so yes, now that i think of it, it inspired some kind of aggresiveness in me. maybe it's a ghost haunting me, with an unresolved issue. yes. and the issue is "watch better programs on tv!"

Rating: 5/10



the devil's paintbrush (jake arnott)

entertaining and easy to read, it makes a good holiday book, but it's not incredibly well written. even though it features aleister crowley, the occult, victorian britain and homosexual relationships in the army, the story failed to grab me. i felt kind of detached from it all. but maybe it was because i was feeling rather ill when i was reading it. nonetheless, i can't blame only my illness, as i felt more or less the same when i read 'the long firm'. so maybe there's something in arnott that just doesn't work for me... oh, and no, the devil's paintbrush is not satan's cock. damn.

Rating: 5/10