I wan’t to write something up for the frontpage, but I already have some capsule reviews ready. A lot of relatively older films were screened that are already covered a lot on this website, so I am not sure if I should just extend te capsules a bit and mold them into something cohesive or just pick out a few newer ones and go a bit more indepth (not my strong point 
) SO, ANY THOUGHTS?
Daisy - Not very succesful Korean genre hybrid of romance and crime thriller. It was fun to see Asian top talents making a film in the Netherlands though (only weird to see Haarlem pass as a town in Limburg )
Dasepo naughty girls - ‘naughty’ high school comedy musical reminded me of others in the genre (the pink ladies from Rydell High and the belles of St. Trinians would feel right at home here) but added to this was a sauce of Asian comedy and visual flair and a parody on the kind op popular romanticism that was on display in Daisy (the main actress there became famous with the genre’s mega hits My Sassy Girl and Windstruck). All very high camp / gay.
voices from a distant star & 5 centimeters per second - A short and long(ish) anime from Makoto Shinkai who is rightfully hailed as the greatest new talent in this “genre”. Both movies have exactly the same theme’s, style and characters and I think the longer one is the better worked out / ballanced of the two. Basically these movies are again about romance. But a very different kind. A kind filled with doubt and nostalgia. And they are about how difficult it is to communicate feelings. Not helped by the one you love moving away to another part of the country… or galaxy for that matter.
mother of tears: the third mother - I liked it It’s part good Argento and part bad Argento. The good is that it’s filled with unapologetic gore and nudity and it has got an interesting premise about a superior witch bringing chaos and destruction to Rome. The bad is mainly the dissapointing way in which her reign of terror gets ended. And also the very bad dialogue that the actors get to chew on. They actually do quite well with the material, but you can’t help but frown at some of the plot points and stylistic choices.
the fall - a lavish ode to fantasy (and cinema). Has got good writing, good acting, nice humour, GREAT costumes, beautiful scenery. What more do you need. For me personally I’d say nothing. But the story might be a bit simplistic or sentimental for some. The plot device of a children’s story coming to life has been done before and for all the ‘lavishness’ offered the movie hasn’t got anything profound to say…
love my life - a light hearted Japanese indie feature about a lesbian couple and the relation the two young women have with their parents. Despite some over-the-top situations it comes across as very natural and realistic. A big part of this is due to the excellent acting of the leads. Nice alt rock soundtrack too.
Stuck The main concept, taken from a real newspaper article about a hit and run accident where the victim is stuck in the front windshield of the car, is very basic but Stuart Gordon turns it into both a pitch black horror comedy and a poignant piece of social critisism. there are a few wtf moments, fun to see with a crowd.
Vexille A big and loud scifi anime with cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic touches. A nice way to kill some time and a feast for those into industrial and robotic design. But on the whole it doesn’t have much to offer beyond a few fun setpieces and stylish animation that you haven’t seen many times before in better scifi stories.
Hatchet A movie that tries hard to be an old skool slasher. It does offer some fun splatter (the ‘face-rip’ is worth the price of admission alone) but I could hardly call this a classic. It’s lame humour starts to get irritating after a while and it never gets anything close to scary.
À l’intérieur Now this, on the other hand, is what I call a hardgore slasher, bloody hell!!! This one has got a simple premise (the twist about the killer can hardly be called a twist) and get’s way over-the-top towards the end, like it should be in a slasher. But the way it’s all played out aims for realism and that’s what makes this one hurt. The sounddesign also really adds to the unrelenting tension. Béatrice Dalle is stunning in her performance of the killer. Those who’ve seen Trouble Every Day know this art-house actress is not shy about a bit of blood. French art cinema on the whole can get a bit extreme in recent times (Dans ma Peau is another nice example) but this one, while it might have taken a cue from that trend, clearly wants to be nothing more than a horror pic. And thank god for that, for now we can say to ourselfs “it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie”.
Sukiyaki Western Django Sadly(?) we got the shorter International version with English subtitles of this crazy Takashi Miike masterpiece. Like it should be with a spaghetti western this one is all about style. And Miike always oozes style. His anarchic sense of humour is also present in equal measure. Another real crowdpleaser. Fun cameo role for Quentin Tarantino also!
El Orfanato A ghost story in the Spanish style (the Others, Fragile, the Devil’s Backbone) which means less emphasis on scares than with Asian and American counterparts, stylish camerawork and acting and tons of atmosphere. The story unfolds at a nice pace and holds your attention until the end but if you’ve seen the other movies mentioned, this one offers nothing new.
