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