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

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

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

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

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

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

the cave of forgotten dreams (werner herzog)

really interesting, the notion of it all leaves you in awe, how these images were produced more than 30,000 years ago, the skill they show, the range of movement, the variety of fauna... simply amazing. and, as mr shanks said, they don't seem to be first drafts, they probably were rehearsed before, done several times before they decided to paint them on the rock... and the techniques were most likely passed on from generation to generation. still, i found i was feeling more mesmerised by the facts than by the actual images. good thing is, though, herzog doesn't talk as much as in 'encounters...', i always find him a bit annoying after a while. so that's a plus. and the music is incredible, probably my favourite part of the film! but, still, totally recommendable, just go and see it, you won't regret it.

Rating: 7/10

skeletons (nick whitfield)

i really liked the idea: some sort of exorcist that literally frees you of the skeletons in your closet. and i also like the atmosphere, half comedy, half creepy eerie story, as well as the relationship between the two main characters, who seem to work well together and kind of care for each other without really knowing much of the person they work with. i found the rest, especially the big final case, a bit predictable, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the film as a whole. not amazing, but well worth a watch.

Rating: 7/10

christopher and his kind (geoffrey sax)

i enjoyed this, but not sure if for the right reasons. it ticks loads of boxes for me: 1930s europe, nazis, hot gay sex and literature. and i like the story itself... and matt smith's almost absence of eyebrows. so yes, i enjoyed it, but i found it all too glamourised, everybody and everything was too pretty and clean for me, to be honest, but i guess that's the only way of showing it on bbc1 on a saturday evening.

Rating: 7/10

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