sarah lucas - modern artists series (matthew collings)

even though i've always liked her photographic portraits more than her sculptures, i have to admit that her views on them, and all the her explanations about the creative process of each individual work, made me appreciate them more. i loved the comparisons with duchamp and koons and all her thoughts about life and her own work, as well as (obviously) her omnipresent themes of death and sex. i felt rather disappointed by the introduction, though, i thought it was empty art-critic's wank, but i'm very happy i kept on reading, because the rest of the book is well worth it. i love it when an art book makes you see more things than you originally saw in an artist's work. that's how it should be.

Rating: 8/10

winter's bone (debra granik)

this film is actually growing on me now. i wasn't really sure at the time of watching it, i loved the atmosphere, the grittiness, the direction and the whole plot, with all its themes (communal secrecy, patriarchy, vengeance, punishment...), but i found it really difficult to follow. it wasn't only the strong american accent, but the fact that they mumbled. this should have been called winter's mumble. i know it's probably there for realism's sake, but that kind of distracted me from the story. but, in retrospect, i liked it.

Rating: 7/10

afterlife, season 1 (stephen volk)

i was greatly surprised, this is actually very good. the brits do have a way of portraying the supernatural that's really subtle and therefore generally creepier than american attempts. i love the premise, i like the characters (i wasn't very convinced by her acting in the first episode, but then she totally won me over) and some of the episodes are truly excellent, especially 'daniel 1 & 2' and the season finale. thank you simon for finding this. can't wait to see the second season.

Rating: 8.5/10

dr phibes rises again (robert fuest)

reeeeeally disappointing compared to the first one, but i had liked 'the abominable dr phibes' so much that i had to give this a try. not worth it. some of the deaths were great, especially the phone one with the snakes, and the scorpion one, but the script is very flimsy, everything is just a rip-off of the original... nonetheless, i really enjoyed one of the literary references: the automaton orchestra, 'dr phibes' clockwork wizards' changed to 'the alexandria quartet', i guess in reference to durrell's tetralogy. top marks for that, mr fuest.
rating: 5/10

being human season 3

i kind of enjoyed season 1 and 2, the story was kind of daft and entertaining, with a touch of good, perfect for a sunday evening. some of the episodes were indeed excellent. i couldn't help but feeling a bit disappointed with season 3, though. the story is all over the place, far too many new characters (i welcomed robson greene, he is great, but there were too many that appeared just for one episode and that's it), and the balance tilted more towards the daft than towards anything else. but, as usual, it has a couple of good episodes. however, the worse bit is there is not enough werewolf bum at all in this season! i think he renewed his contract and deleted the clause that said you have to appear naked in every other episode. bummer.

Rating: 6/10

lilya 4-ever (lukas moodyson)

i absolutely loved this film, especially the relationship between her and the adorable wee volodya. for me this is a story that is as much about their friendship as it is about the grittiness of their surroundings and the lives they are forced to live. that's why the dreamy sequences in the second half of the film make perfect sense. critics who reject them because they move away from the realism of the rest of the story just can't see the forest for the trees. this is not only about slavery or prostitution or desolate children. this is mainly about friendship. and it's relating to that friendship that these scenes work. lilya needed them. just because they are dreamy it doesn't mean they are dreams. for her they are real.

Rating: 9/10

somewhere (sophia coppola)

i'm a sucker for this kind of moody films, i love the apathy and boredom it all oozes. i know it doesn't really deliver, it kind of goes in circles or gets repetitive; and i also understand if people don't really like it or quite simply don't care about the main character, but i kind of enjoyed it. the cinematography is actually very good, and i loved the comedy bits, especially when he presents the award ceremony in italy, that was hilarious. i also appreciate that this is no big movie with a big change and a big drama. the drama was there before, and is there at the end, he's just more aware of it. that scene in the fx department where they apply the cast to his face works really well as a metaphor for the emotional isolation of the protagonist. dorf really suits the part of the scruffy good looking celebrety, and the portrait of the sensible and rather mature wee girl is really well done. so, not perfect at all, but i enjoyed some bits.

Rating: 6/10

the enigma of kaspar hauser (werner herzog)

not really sure about this, i think the problem is (as usual) that the film is based on a real (even though almost unbelievable) story. yes, very interesting indeed from an anthropological and sociological point of view, but that't it. i felt a bit bored, and didn't like the acting that much, or even the direction. so, yeah, whatever.

Rating: 5/10

the keep (michael mann)

i love the mixture of gothic horror and ww2 (nazi uniforms are always welcome), as well as the sets and tangerine dream's soundtrack. but that's it. the idea is good, but the acting is rather poor (despite having two of my favourite actors, byrne and mckellen) and the whole thing just feels a bit like they didn't know what to do with it. oh, and i didn't like the monster at all, what's that with the overdeveloped muscly neck? still, i'm glad i watched it.

Rating: 5/10

the abominable dr phibes (robert fuest)

i loved it!! even better than i expected! the story has such a classic feeling about it, i love the performances, the camp deco, the 70s fashion, the automaton band, the plagues plotline (even though i admit the 'death of the first born' one is a bit predictable, but it doesn't matter), joseph cotten.... everything! i still can't understand why they decided to make vulnavia human, i'd have preferred her to be an automaton, too, like it was the original idea, it makes much more sense. literally dying to see the sequel 'dr phibes rises again'.

Rating: 8.5/10

sex & drugs & rock & roll (mat whitecross)

this was a bit.. rubbish, wasn't it? i was really bored most of the time. i found more interesting what happened to his kid or to his wife or girlfriend than anything to do with him at all. he was just a twat. a disabled twat full of anger and frustration, but a twat nonetheless. and i hated the theatricality of the visuals, all full of tricks and gimmicks, with too many transitions between 'real life' scenes and operatic stage shots more proper of a cabaret act... in other cases the whole thing just looked like a video clip or the opening credits of a cheap british comedy tv program.  it didn't work at all for me. i've never been a big fan of his music, always found him more an icon than a musician (he himself admits in the film that he doesn't consider himself as a musician, but an entertainer... not sure if that's true, but, anyway, i wasn't entertained). i still like 'hit me with your rhythm stick', and a couple of other songs, but... that's it, really. i never liked records where the lyrics are more important than the music. still, i usually enjoy films and documentaries about music, even when i don't really like the music itself, but not in this case.

Rating: 4.5/10

christiane f: we children from bahnhof zoo (uli edel)

i was greatly surprised. i thought i would like it, but not this much. also, i have to admit my opinion is biased: i never expected it to have so many bowie songs and references!! for the first 45min of the film, you are exposed to bowie song after bowie song (v-2 schneider! tvc15! look back in anger! stay! station to station!) i simply couldn't believe my ears. the girl has a bowie jacket, bowie posters in her room, her mom's boyfriend gives her a bowie record... they even go to a bowie concert! i know it sounds too much (never!) but it actually works rather well as a metaphor for addiction. first she was addicted to bowie and afterwards to heroin. thank god it wasn't some shitty band like dire straits or something, that would have been hell. the whole movie is a gritty tale of addiction and falling into the depths of dispair. the fact that they are so incredibly young just adds to the equation. i loved it, i loved all the characters and their stories, and how they try to fool themselves that they can control it, even though they recommend 'newcomers' not to try it... excellent film.

Rating: 8.5/10

safe (todd haynes)

definitely my favourite todd haynes movie. i love the oppresive asseptic atmosphere, all those whites and off-whites and pastel colours couldn't feel more cold; the contrast with the 80s flamboyant fashion works really well. and julianne moore, of course. it's a film made for her. she's, as usual, amazing, i love the way she acts her illness,  so desperate, weak and calm at the same time. and how her need to escape all those everyday toxic substances escalates until she goes to that sect-like sanatorium, and that white porcelain bubble she ends up in. she reaches a state where she's even allergic to her husband. i can't understand why this isn't a more known film, to be honest.

Rating: 9/10

the moonflower vine (jetta carleton)

there's something about stories set in rural america that attracts me like a magnet. blame capote, mccullers and the like. and if they are so superbly written like in this case, then they're just a total joy to read. it's sweet and full of emotions, but not sentimental or cheesy. i love the pace, and the topics, and how the big chapters are divided, focussing on one character each. it's not until you reach the last one that you have a more or less complete glimpse of what what's really going on. a truly beautiful read.

Rating: 8.5/10

i killed my mother (xavier dolan)

shout shout shout this mother and son shout all the time!! they encapsulate very well the frustration and passion of the main character's teenage years. my favourite character was the mom, by far the most complex and at times difficult to understand. enjoyable film, but not flawless. i loved the dreamy shots, and the piano music, but the comparison with his boyfriend's perfect happy family was a bit too simplistic for me, and scenes like when he was beaten up seemed a bit random and left unexplored. good thing the fact he was homosexual wasn't an issue, though, that always gets extra points.

Rating: 6.5/10

billy hazelnuts and the crazy bird (tony millionaire)

i can't describe this with another word apart from 'crazy'. totally mental. an angry creature pulled out together by rats out of scraps from a garbage pail. i don't think i need to say much more. everchanging dreamy and nightmarish landscapes, random violence and a kind heart underlying it all. and an exciting adventure full of fun, too. it even includes a reference to don quijote!! i'm absolutely lost for words. just read it.
"wasp larvae eating the living guts of carterpillars! abominable cheeses and repugnant sausages! pasty-faced mushrooms thriving on the rotten flesh of decaying stumps!! it is a loathsome system of eating and being eaten!"

i love you, billy hazelnuts.

Rating: 8.5/10