gerry (gus van sant)

one of the few films in which i tolerate the annoying matt babyface damon. maybe because i was just in the right mood for a film with such a slow pace and small story (you really do have to be in the mood for it). and also because i kind of like casey affleck. he's kind of creepy. i loved the fotography, especially the salty white plains at the end, and the half-arsed fight scene. but i think my favourite bit was the music choice, though. the genius of arvo pärt fits the mood of the whole film just perfectly. not a film for everybody, but i did enjoy it. and it might very well be one my favourite van sant movies (after 'elephant', 'my own private idaho' and 'drugstore cowboy').

Rating: 8/10

paranoid park (gus van sant)

i rather enjoyed this, but not as much as 'elephant'. it duplicates the same mood, the dreamy atmospheric scenes, the slow pace... i absolutely loved that. i love watching the main character walk the school corridors ever so slowly, as well as all his silences. and the story is good, too, my favourite bit being how he redeems himself through writing, just beautiful. i was put off by the really bad acting of some of the secondary characters, though. i mean, i usually don't mind amateur actors, but the 'second girlfriend' was just appalling, her poor acting actually distracted me from what she was saying. and that's not good. not at all. fortunately, it didn't spoil the film as a whole for me.

Rating: 7.5/10