Police Story 3 (5 Stars)

This is the third film in the Police Story series. It was originally released with the title "Supercop".

The Hong Kong police force wants to break up an opium smuggling ring and arrest the leader, Chaibat. One of the ring's leaders, Panther, is in a prison work camp in mainland China. Ka Kui is sent as an undercover operative, posing as a petty criminal to win Panther's trust and help him break out of prison. He's assisted by Yang, a Chinese police officer played by the magnificent Michelle Yeoh.

Back in Hong Kong, Ka Kui joins Chaibat's gang and takes part in his activities, waiting for the right time to reveal who he is.

This is (in my opinion) the best film in the series so far. There are car chases and fights on top of a train, as well as pursuits by a helicopter. The film's budget was less than a million dollars. How did they manage it?

The reunification of China and Hong Kong is a topic. When it's asked whether the money from the gang's Swiss bank account should be given to Hong Kong or China, Ka Kui says it should be given to Hong Kong, because after reunification China will get it anyway. Smart thinking!

Success Rate:  + 36.2

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Police Story 2 (4½ Stars)

This is a sequel to "Police Story", made three years later in 1988. Despite his success in the first film, Ka Kui Chan has been demoted to a traffic cop because of the excessive property damage caused in his fights. Come on, guys, it was the fault of the criminals!

The story is in two parts. Maybe the first part is abandoned too soon. The drug dealer Chu Tao is released from prison on compassionate grounds. He only has three months to live, supposedly, but we soon find out that his illness was faked. Chu Tao's men attack Ka Kui at home. After fighting them off, Ka Kui finds them in a restaurant and attacks them, causing yet more property damage. His superiors threaten to discipline him, so he quits the police force.

This is when the second part starts. Ka Kui decides to take his girlfriend on holiday to Bali. But he never gets that far. While buying plane tickets he overhears that there's a bomb threat in the shopping mall. Despite having quit the Hong Kong police force, he's still a policeman at heart, so he takes control of the evacuation of the mall. There's an explosion just after the regular police force finally arrives. They beg Ka Kui to return to the police force, which he gladly does.

The rest of the film is about Ka Kui's search for the gang that blew up the mall.

Once more, it's a high octane Hong Kong police film with spectacular action from Jackie Chan. The humour is toned down, or maybe it's just less silly. If anything, this is a slightly better film overall. Maybe I should go back to using quarter stars in my ratings.

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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (3 Stars)

This is a sequel to "Ghostbusters: Afterlife". I went to see it with my son Benjamin in the Lichtspielhaus in Schwäbisch Hall, one of Germany's oldest cinemas, dating back to 1913. The cinema was busy on Saturday evening, but most of the guests were there to see "Chantal im Märchenland". I was shocked to find that Benjamin and I were the only people watching the Ghostbusters film. That was a very poor showing for a blockbuster film on a Saturday evening. If this is typical, it means the film will be a flop.

This is the Lichtspielhaus. Like the Tardis, it's bigger on the inside. The room we sat in was spectacular. It was below ground, like a cave with rounded walls.

All I'll say about the film is that I was disappointed. I've been a fan of the Ghostbusters films from the beginning, but something is missing from "Frozen Empire". For the first hour hardly anything happens. It's just talking, talking, talking. The various characters explain one thing after another, while I was thinking to myself, "Will the action never start?" Yes, there was eventually action, the fighting with ghosts that we've grown to love, but by then I was already bored.

What happened? Don't they know how to make better films than this?

Police Story (4½ Stars)

I've finally got round to watching "Police Story". It was made in 1985, so I'm almost 40 years late. I'd already read that Jackie Chan considers it to be his best film, so I was excited when I sat down to watch it. The stunts are incredible. Knowing that he always does his own stunts made each scene look more exciting. Would a modern American studio allow him to take such risks? Maybe, maybe not.

The story takes place in Hong Kong. Jackie plays a police sergeant called Ka Kui Chan (or Kevin Chan in the dubbed version). In the opening scene he's part of a team that's sent to take down a gang of drug dealers. Ka Kui himself arrests the leader, Chu Tao.

Chu Tao's secretary Salina offers to testify against her boss. Ka Kui is assigned to protect her, even though she insists that she doesn't need protection.

The action scenes are dazzling. I've only deducted half a star because there are comedy interludes that I find silly. Maybe I'm being unfair. I'll think it over next time I watch it. Yes, I'm sure to watch it again. If I ever get round to it. So many films, so little time. Maybe I should put that on my gravestone.

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John Wick 4 (5 Stars)

I watched this film two days ago, but I didn't write much because I was getting ready to go away for a weekend holiday. I took the Blu-ray with me because I wanted to watch it again. Now I'm not writing much because I'm away from home and have even less time. It's a terrific film, probably the best in the series. I say probably because it's difficult for me to make up my mind. Visually, it's in a class of its own. New York, Morocco, Osaka, Paris, Berlin. The action switches from country to country like a James Bond film.

Donnie Yen plays Caine, a blind assassin who's an old friend of John Wick. He enjoyed making the film so much that he's asked to return, either in a sequel or a spin-off. No decision has been made yet. I hope he's given a chance.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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The Mummy [1999] (5 Stars)

This is a brilliant film on so many different levels. It's the best fantasy film I know, that matches the style of the fantasy films made in the 1960's.

The mummy himself, Imhotep, is a tragic character. Is he evil? He wasn't evil to begin with. He started out as a man in love. He loved Anck-su-namun, the wife of the pharaoh. This love was his downfall. It led to his death, and when he was revived 3000 years later he was obsessed with bringing his lover back to life. A man can be driven to extreme things for love.

One of my few quibbles with the film is that the picture quality isn't ideal. It's an old Blu-ray disc, and it shows. Imagine my surprise when I googled and found that there's a remastered 4K release that fans and critics have been raving about. Now where's my credit card?

Success Rate:  + 3.2

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John Wick 4 (5 Stars)

Farewell to Charon, as played by Lance Reddick. In "John Wick 4" he's executed in a senseless act by the Marquis de Gramont. A short while after making the film the actor himself died of a heart disease.

This is truly a wonderful film. I don't know why I only gave it a four star rating when I saw it in the cinema last year. The only thing negative is that I'm annoyed by Scott Adkins' bloated appearance. I barely recognise him. All I can say is that I'm glad he was killed, because it means I don't have to see him in a future sequel.

Or do I? John Wick was killed, but the fifth film in the series has already been announced. You can't keep a good man down.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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Just Super (4½ Stars)

It's Sunday. Like most Sundays I went to the cinema with my grandson Oliver. Today we went to see the animated Norwegian film, "Just Super".

The problem with Sundays is that public transport doesn't run as often as other days. The local train (the Strohgäubahn) only runs once an hour, not the usual twice an hour. According to Google Maps, we'd arrive at the cinema at 1:28 pm, two minutes before the film started. That was okay, I thought. We already had tickets. It was better than having to wait more than an hour.

Then catastrophe struck. The connecting train in Zuffenhausen was ten minutes late. Okay... so we had to rush from the station to the cinema. The adverts before the film usually last 15 minutes, but they're sometimes a bit shorter before children's films. So it was a risk. To make it worse, Oliver insisted on buying a packet of M&Ms when we went in. So we rushed into the cinema hall, entering just as the adverts ended. The room was dark, so I didn't find our row  immediately. And what did I see? A woman and her daughter were sitting on our seats. She made a motion to stand up. She'd probably only moved into our good seats when she thought nobody was coming. I signalled to her to stay where she was. I was happy with the not so good seats at the end of the row.

So we sat at the end of the row, and I realise that I've probably written more about the cinema attendance drama than I'll write about the film itself. Let's see.

The film is about Hedvig, a normal 11-year-old girl who lives in a small Norwegian town. It isn't named, but based on the mountainous scenery it could be somewhere near Bergen. Hedvig might be normal, but her family is far from normal. Her father is a superhero called Super Lion. Before him his mother was also a superhero. The superpowers have been handed down from generation to generation in the form of a suit. The suit amplifies the natural abilities of whoever wears it. Hedvig will inherit the suit one day when her father retires, but that's a long way off. Or is it?

Hedvig accidentally washes the costume at 90 degrees, and it shrinks. Her father can't wear it any more, so he gives it to Hedvig. The trouble is that it doesn't give a person abilities he doesn't already have. Hedvig isn't athletic or intelligent. The only thing she's good at is computer games, and wow! If she wears the suit at her computer to play a game she's unbeatable.

Hedvig's father decides to give the suit to his nephew Adrian, who's an outstanding sportsman. He has all the qualifications needed to become a superhero, except one. He has no modesty. He's arrogant, and the costume amplifies his arrogance. Hedvig sees the danger, so she visits her grandmother in the old people's home and begs her for help.

This is a wonderful film. Oliver loved it, and so did I. Why can't Marvel make superhero films like this?

John Wick 3 (5 Stars)

In my opinion, "John Wick 3" is the best film in the series so far. The second film ended on a cliff-hanger. John was excommunicated for killing Santino D'Antonio in the Continental. "No business may be conducted on Continental grounds". That's one of the main rules in the shadowy parallel world of John Wick.

Rather than accepting his fate, John seeks an audience with the man who is above the High Table. He lives in the desert somewhere in Morocco. Couldn't a man with such wealth find a more comfortable place to live? John will be allowed back if he completes a task: he has to kill Winston, the manager of the Continental Hotel in New York. This is where John draws a line. He refuses to kill a friend.

The Continental has a few floors made of glass. At first I thought it was the same place as the museum in "John Wick 2". They certainly look similar. It's possible that the same film set was used after moving a few things around to make it look different. The set must have cost a lot of money, so it would have been a waste to throw it away after one film.

The glass room is the scene of the final battle against the warrior played by Mark Dacascos. In the film credits he's called Zero, but I didn't notice him being named in the film itself. He's an incredible fighter, with his bare hands and his swords. He's appeared in 60 films and 25 television series. Usually an abundance of television roles is a sign that a person's career is faltering. I'm not saying that television actors are less talented. But it's a fact that television series pay less money for more work.

Now I've rewatched the first three films, I can turn my attention to "John Wick 4". Soon.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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Hero (5 Stars)

My mother-in-law used to say, "If you haven't held something in your hand for a year, throw it away". That was her advice to prevent a house being cluttered with unwanted items. I can see the sense in her words, but it doesn't apply to me. I haven't held my "Hero" Blu-ray disc in my hand for ten years. It would have been a tragedy if I'd thrown it away, or even sold it on Ebay. It's a wonderful film.

It has a prominent place on the top shelf in my film collection. Most of my collection (over 2000 films) is in alphabetical order, but my top shelf is reserved for films that are special to me. They're the first films I see when I look at my shelves. Why haven't I watched it all these years? I honestly don't know. I didn't think it was that long. If it weren't for my blog acting as an infallible film diary I wouldn't have known.

"Hero" is a majestic film. Despite the frequent fight scenes, it's slow and philosophical. Jet Li plays a nameless warrior. His lack of a name is significant in itself. A man doesn't become a hero to have his name remembered in history books. A true hero does what's right, even if nobody will ever know what he did.

The film takes place in 227 BC. China was divided into seven kingdoms. Qin was ruled by a tyrant who was waging war against the other six kingdoms. The nameless warrior trained for ten years to assassinate the king, but when he had victory in his grasp, he refused to carry out his mission and walked away. He came to the conclusion that it's better for China to be united under a tyrant than divided.

Calligraphy plays an important part in the film. Before challenging a rival swordsman, the nameless warrior asks him to draw the symbol for sword on an eight feet canvas. He says that there are 19 ways to draw the symbol, but there's a 20th way. By looking at the canvas he'll understand his opponent's fighting skill.

While waiting to be slain, the king meditates on the canvas.

"I have come to a realisation. This scroll contains no secrets of swordsmanship. What it reveals is the highest ideal.

In the first stage, man and sword become one; even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon.

In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand, but in the heart; even without a weapon the warrior can slay his enemy from 100 paces.

But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. The warrior embraces all around him. The desire to kill no longer exists. Only peace remains".

That's a lot to learn from a painted symbol. The King of Qin may look like a tyrant, but he's a very spiritual man. He embraces death, not knowing he will be spared.

Success Rate:  + 3.7

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

"John Wick 2" is the film in which the series really takes off. It establishes the hidden world alongside our own. In the first film we saw the Continental and the gold coins, but here we see more of the details of the parallel world. There are undercover assassins all over New York (and presumably the rest of the world). The homeless people begging on the streets have guns hidden under their blankets. There's a High Table with 12 seats, people who act as rulers over this parallel world. Some of them are obviously crime lords, but are they all evil? It's still not certain. We also see the bizarre tattooed women who use rotary phoes and other retro technology.

As I mentioned in a previous review, there's a deleted scene in which John Wick has an audience with the Pope. This scene is an interesting as the film itself, and I regret that it isn't included. It shows that the Pope is part of the parallel world. The two men obviously know one another.

Is the final showdown in the museum's mirror exhibition meant as a homage to the hall of mirrors in "Enter the Dragon"?

This exhibition is more high tech. There are digital images on the walls.

The area is larger. There are several floors.

I was unsure about how to rate the first film, but there's no doubt in my mind that "John Wick 2" is a five star film.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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X-Men (4½ Stars)

After Stan Lee's death I rewatched all of the Marvel films in which he appears, from "Spider-Man" to "Captain Marvel". For reasons unknown to me I omitted the X-Men films. I'll make up for it now.

Chronologically, "X-Men" was his first cameo. It was also his most subtle cameo. He appears without speaking for about ten seconds as a hot dog vendor on the beach. Of all his cameos, this is the easiest to miss. As the films progressed, his cameo roles became bigger and more prominent.

One criticism I have is that the film seems to have been made for comic book fans. What I mean is, many characters are barely introduced. I have a question to my readers. Are you someone who had never read the X-Men comics? If so, did you understand the film?

Success Rate:  + 2.0

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Wunderland (4 Stars)

This is a documentary about the Miniatur Wunderland (Miniature Wonderland) in Hamburg. It's listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest miniature railway, with railway tracks more than 10 miles long, but the owners Frederik and Gerritt Braun insist that it's not just about the railway. They've built a miniature world, containing miniature versions of cities from Germany and other countries, all connected by railway. In the documentary the miniature Las Vegas was repeatedly shown.

Frederik and Gerritt are twin brothers, but very different to one another. Gerritt completed school with a top mark (Abitur 1.0), whereas Frederik dropped out of school and ran a discotheque in Hamburg. While on holiday Frederik saw a model railway and was convinced that he could do something bigger and better. He convinced Gerritt to help him, and they started work on their project. They were perfect partners. Frederik had ideas, and Gerritt fulfilled them. It soon became obvious to them that the railway was just incidental. It became all about the surroundings, the miniature people in their miniature lives. They weren't afraid to be scandalous. In one scene a naked man is lying dead in the water while the police are examining the surroundings for clues.

From early on, people wanted to buy the Wunderland. It was obvious that it was a big success, but the Braun twins refused all offers, however generous they were. Not for sale. Others wanted to become partners, but they were also turned down, because they weren't up to the same quality. However, the second half of the film shows a team in Argentina building a miniature version of Rio de Janeiro. I don't fully understand how this cooperation came about, but after four years of work the South American city was set up in Hamburg, becoming part of the exhibit.

When I saw the trailers, I wasn't interested in seeing the film, but Oliver persuaded me. I'm glad I went. I found the film fascinating, especially the technical details. On the other hand, Oliver was bored. He would probably enjoy a visit to Wunderland itself, but a film about it wasn't interesting to him. The cinema was almost full, and most of the audience were adults.

I'd like to visit the Miniatur Wunderland, but Hamburg is a long way away.

Dinner in America (3 Stars)

Patty is a 20-year-old woman who lives somewhere in Michigan. She's bullied by people who call her a retard. I would never use that word to describe a woman, but I have to admit that she's intellectually limited. She's the sort of woman I would be kind to, but I wouldn't dream of asking her on a date. The only thing I like about her is her taste in music. She's the fan of a punk band called Psyops.

I'll pause there to praise the film's director. Americans in general don't know what punk is. They get punk confused with alternative rock music. Most Americans describe Patti Smith and the Ramones as punk. Okay, the Ramones were a borderline case, but Patti Smith herself insists she was never a punk. True punk originated in England and was epitomised by bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, Sham 69 and Ultravox. It wasn't just the aggression in their music; there was a deliberate intention to be offensive. I'm not saying that America didn't have any punk bands. There were the Dead Kennedys. Punk rock was nihilistic. The bands didn't want a revolution, they said that there was no future.

English punk rock fizzled out very quickly. After a few years of saying there was no future they realised they were in the future that they said would never come. Either the bands changed their music style, or they watered down their message. In Germany, for instance, punk bands copy the melodies of the early bands, but they've politicised their messages. German punk rock is left wing, whereas the early music was apolitical.

When we finally hear Psyops play in "Dinner in America", it's true punk rock. It's the sort of band that could have been playing in England in the late 1970's.

"I'm a watermelon slammed into your driveway,
Crack me open so I feel the air inside me".

Beautiful! Pure nihilism!

Now let's get back to the film. Patty has been sending letters with sexual photos of herself to the band's singer, John Q. One day John takes refuge in Patty's house because he's on the run from the police. He's a pyromaniac and he's been selling drugs. She doesn't recognise him, because he wears a mask on stage. He doesn't recognise her, because the photos are only close ups of body parts.

I went through three phases while watching the film. I hated the first part, because John is so objectionable as a person and Patty is so intellectually limited. The second part was okay, when they discovered their connection and it became a love story. The third part was great, when the music kicked in. I've given it an overall rating of three stars, i.e. average.

The film is currently only available on Blu-ray in Germany, but it can be watched on Amazon Prime in America and other countries.

Beste Zeit (4 Stars)

Kati is a 16-year-old girl who lives on a farm in Bavaria in the 1990's. Based on the car license plates she lives near Dachau. She's only days away from her 17th birthday. What does she think about? Her school? Her career? Of course not! She's interested in boys. She's trying to find love, but she doesn't know what love is. Does anyone? It's one of life's great mysteries, but she knows that she likes a neighbour called Mike. She gets excited when he comes back home from his military service the day before her birthday.

Kati's best friend Jo warns her away from Mike. Maybe it's not possible to say what love is, but it's relatively easy to recognise when there's no love. Mike tells Kati directly that he wants to sleep with her. Kati thinks that means he loves her.

Kati hardly notices one of her school friends called Rocky. He idolises her, but he's not as tall and good looking as Mike. And he wears glasses. It's obvious to the viewer from early in the film that he's the right man for her. Kati is the only one who doesn't know.

The film is slow moving and sometimes dreamy. Nothing much happens, so it took me time to find my way into the film. I've always liked the films directed by Marcus Rosenmüller, but somehow I missed "Beste Zeit" (engl. "Best Time"). I've been told it's the first film in a trilogy about Kati's coming of age. I need to find the other two films.

John Wick (4½ Stars)

I don't intend to write much about "John Wick" today, neither the character nor the film. I finally bought "John Wick 4" on Blu-ray last week, and I intend to watch the first three films again before I watch it. That's what a serious film fan does.

After giving "John Wick" a five star rating last time I watched it, I've downgraded it to four and a half stars this time. It's the weakest film in the series, though only slightly weaker. The emotional scenes at the beginning aren't convincing.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Kamikaze Girls (3 Stars)

17-year-old Momoko is an outsider. She lives in a small village in Japan, but she's fascinated by the clothing of the rococo period in France. That's how she dresses, and everyone thinks she's crazy. She wishes she could have lived in France in the 18th century, but it's 8000 miles away and she's 250 years too late. She finds Japan ugly in comparison with the elegance of France. I disagree. I'd rather live in Japan.

If a Japanese teenager dresses like this, it's understandable that she's an outsider.

Momoko's father used to sell bootleg clothing (illegally using the logos of large companies), but he was sued and had to give up. Momoko makes money on the side by selling her father's old stock. One of her customers is Ichigo, a 17-year-old member of a girl biker gang.

An unlikely friendship develops between the two girls from different worlds.

I enjoy the film a lot, but there are too many silly little details. Ichigo falls in love with a gangster with a ridiculous hairstyle. You can find him in the poster at the top. Momoko's father likes to fart in her face. That's disgusting. I don't want to see things like that. The film could have been made better with only a little effort.

The Paperboy (5 Stars)

I wrote a long introspective review of this film three years ago. I don't want to repeat what I said, so please check it out. I still relate to the film in the same way. Johnny McFarley is unbalanced, and I see myself in him. I could have turned out like him, if I hadn't had a wonderful loving mother.

In my last review I said that I was mentally unbalanced when I was 12, Johnny's age in the film. That's not quite true. I was more like him when I was 14. So much was going on in my head. I wanted to be loved. My mother gave me the love I needed, but it still wasn't enough. Some of my friends at school already had girlfriends. I didn't. I was obsessed with my sister's best friend, Wendy Broome, but I never had the courage to say anything to her. I wrote poems about her. To be honest, the only reason that I was obsessed with her was because she was the only girl who came into my family home.

I finally had my first girlfriend, Mandy Stickland, when I was 16. The relationship lasted three months, and after her I had many more girlfriends. There was something about me that made girls want me. I was good looking, I did a lot of sport, and more than anything else I had the reputation of being a Casanova. But my relationships were all short lived. The girls who dated me sensed my madness and couldn't put up with me. There was an obsessiveness in me that scared them. Every girl that I went out with became the great love of my life, even though (on looking back) I had so little in common with most of them.

When did my madness fade? I can't put an exact date on it, but it was probably the end of my teenage years. I started to pull myself together when I was 18. By the time I was 20 I was normal, or at least as normal as any young man can be. It was an emotional setback when my parents separated, but moving to Germany and starting work when I was 22 gave me a purpose in life, something to focus on.

I can talk about it now. When I was a teenager I didn't consider myself unbalanced. I can only see it in retrospect.

Johnny McFarley didn't have a mother like mine. His mother, already dead before the film starts, was a religious fanatic who treated him badly. His father was emotionally cold, like my own father. Johnny's madness made him a killer. I was spared.

Kung Fu Panda 4 (5 Stars)

If I'm gauging his reaction correctly, this is the best film that Oliver's seen so far. He didn't laugh much, even though the film is a comedy, but he was shaking with excitement. It's a fast paced martial arts film that's perfect for young children.

There's so much going on that I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep up. What I mean is that there are so many characters running around and fighting. The basic plot is simple. Po the panda has reached the level of Dragon Warrior, but Master Shifu tells him that it's time for him to advance. He has to give up fighting and become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. He has to choose a successor, but the candidates are all so good that he can't decide. Before he makes a choice a village is destroyed by a new enemy, known only as the Chameleon. She's a shape shifter who's able to absorb the kung fu skills of anyone she fights. So Po has to fight as the dragon warrior for one last time.

I remember watching the first Kung Fu Panda film with my friend Pete in Birmingham. I don't remember exactly when it was, but it's not mentioned in my blog, so it must have been before I started writing in September 2010. Pete owned the film on video, and he was totally excited about it. Pete often invited me to his home for a meal, but we rarely watched films together, so it was a special occasion. (As far as I can remember, the only other films that we watched together were "Kill Bill Vol 2" and Peter Jackson's "King Kong").

I never watched the two sequels, so I need to catch up. For Oliver and for me. It seems like "Kung Fu Panda 4" is the final film in the series, so I'll wait for a four-film box set to be released.

The Art Of Self-Defense (4 Stars)

It's not usual for me to watch the same film twice in a row. "The Art of Self-Defense" (sic) is a special film that deserves special treatment. I'll just add a few thoughts to the review I wrote yesterday. The main humour in the film revolves around toxic masculinity. It's repeatedly stated by the karate trainer that women are inferior, and his word is unchallenged, because he's the sensei, the teacher. Nobody who practises martial arts disagrees with his sensei. It's not done. His best student is Anna, played by Imogen Poots, but he will never promote her to a black belt because she's a woman.

One thing I don't like about the film is the spelling mistake in the title. It's a common mistake for Americans to misspell the word "defence". Many Americans defend it by saying it's American English, but that's an oxymoron. There's no such thing as American English; there is English and there are mistakes.

The Art Of Self-Defense (4 Stars)

There's one thing I can say about Jesse Eisenberg: he has a knack for appearing in off-beat films. I wonder how it happens. Is his agent always looking for unusual film roles? Or is it the casting agents who say, "This is a weird film. Let's ring Jesse Eisenberg"? Whichever way round it is, this is yet another film with a role that nobody but Jesse could have played.

Casey Davies is an insecure man who works as an accountant. He's 431 months old – that has a significance in the film – but he doesn't have a girlfriend. He lives alone with his dog, a cute little dachshund. One evening he's attacked by a motorcycle gang on the way home from buying dog food. He recovers from his injuries, but the worst damage is below the surface. He's afraid to leave his house. He stops going to work, and he only goes out to get food for himself and his dog.

Then he has an idea. He joins a karate class. He's immediately impressed with the charismatic teacher who calls himself Sensei. Casey's fighting skills quickly advance. But he finds that the dojo has dark secrets.

The film is very slow moving. Too slow? It seems like the slow pacing is deliberate. It makes the interspersed action sequences even more shocking. The lack of background music or even background sounds makes the film enthralling. Even though the film is serious, some of the dialogue is so funny that I had to laugh out loud. It's a ridiculous film. It's a film that showcases Jesse Eisenberg's unique abilities.

When the film came to an end my first thought was, "Wow! I need to watch it again!" Okay, I haven't awarded it five stars, because I'm still not sure what to make of it. It's a film that shocked me. Let's see what I think next time.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (5 Stars)

What a week! Yesterday "Donnie Darko" was shown in the cinema, and today "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Two of the best films ever made, shown back to back. Today's film was shown as part of the Weird Wednesday series. Most of the films in the series are horror films, but I agree that it can be classed as weird.

I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone after the film, so I don't know how many were seeing it for the first time. Based on the audience reactions, occasional laughter, I'd say about half the audience were watching it for the first time, I envy them.

There's always a quiz at the beginning of the Weird Wednesday films. Usually I know the answers, but I'm too slow putting my hand up. I couldn't answer today's question. Can you?

"Kate Winslet has four hair colours in the film. What are they, in the correct order?"

I know the answer now, because a clever guy in the row behind me answered the question. Could any of my readers have answered correctly?

I didn't win the Weird Wednesday T-shirt, but I didn't come away completely empty handed. Everyone who saw the film received a free bottle of beer and a bag of crisps. There was the sound of corks popping until the film started. Life is good.

Success Rate:  + 1.6

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Donnie Darko (5 Stars)

Incredible! I've been given another chance to see "Donnie Darko" in the cinema. That's the way it ought to be seen. It was shown today as part of the "Best of Cinema" series. It really is one of the best films ever made. German cinemas are cultivated and show the very best. I was also impressed that the cinema was almost full. There were only a few empty seats in the front row.

Here's a question for my readers. When Donnie, Gretchen and Frank are sitting in the cinema, what film are they watching? Don't google it, that's cheating. If you don't know the answer, watch the film again.

Success Rate:  - 0.3

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