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