Spider-Man 3 (5 Stars)

Something funny happened today. I sat down to watch "Spider-Man 3". The film began. And then, in the first few seconds, while the Columbia logo was being displayed, a spider lowered itself between me and the television. It was hanging on its web from the ceiling. I was so fascinated that I paused the film to watch it. It hung in front of me for no more than 60 seconds. Then it pulled itself back up to the ceiling, and I haven't seen it since.

A lot of people say that they don't like "Spider-Man 3". I agree that it's not up to the quality of the first two films, but it's still very good. Look at my rating! But too much is happening. Why have Sandman and Venom in the same film? Sandman could have filled the whole film. And the telescoping of the black suit stories removes a lot. In the comics Peter Parker wore the black costume for four years, before it was passed on to Eddie Brock. This story could have been divided into two films. Or three. It looks like Sam Raimi was in a hurry to get the trilogy finished.

Look at the way Sandman lumbers around like a monster from Hammer Horror. And look at the screenshot of Venom in the title picture. This is what Venom should look like, not the comical sock puppet in the Tom Hardy films.

Sam Raimi was planning to use the Vulture as the villain in "Spider-Man 4" and Mysterio in "Spider-Man 5". He was even considering casting Bruce Campbell as Mysterio. But it never happened. I read reports of disagreements between Sam and Marvel Studios. I shan't repeat them here, because I'm not even sure they're true. Just speculation. Whatever happened, the three films he made will always stand up as masterpieces.

Success Rate:  + 1.5

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Spider-Man 2 (5 Stars)

Why doesn't Marvel make films like this any more? I hate it when my friends say that Marvel films are bad, because I can't argue with them. Most of the new Marvel films are average quality at best. Look at my ratings. I'm honest. There were a few good films at the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but ever since "Avengers Endgame" the quality has been sliding. What's wrong? Too many films? Not enough care to find good writers? Or is it just incapable managers looking after Disney and Marvel Studios?

Sam Raimi was the perfect choice to direct the Spider-Man trilogy. If it had remained a trilogy. He already had plans for two more films, but the studio didn't agree. Then the Spider-Man franchise was rebooted with Andrew Garfield. I like to pretend that the "Amazing Spider-Man" films were never made. Shall I ever watch them again? Probably not. But I can watch the original trilogy (2002 to 2007) again and again.

As my regular readers must have realised, I was disappointed with this year's Fantasy Film Festival. Most of the films were average to poor. For this reason I've made a decision. Every time I watch a film that I rate less than four stars, I'll watch at least two five star films, preferably from my top 100. I need to stick with quality. In theory, I could watch my top 100 films one after another for years, never bothering to watch any new films. They're all films that are good enough to watch over and over again.

Success Rate:  + 1.9

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Sakra (5 Stars)

Success Rate:  + 1.6

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Full River Red (4 Stars)

Amazon Friday #42

I'm always excited when there's a new film directed by Zhang Yimou. He's one of my favourite directors, alongside Sion Sono and Alex de la Iglesia. It's difficult for me to put the three directors in order. Note that none of the directors are English or American. I'd put Quentin Tarantino in fourth place. However, my pleasure at seeing a new Zhang Yimou film is tarnished by it only being available for streaming, not for purchase. I hope this error will be put right soon.

The film takes place in 1146. It begins with a meeting between the prime minister of the Song Dynasty and a delegation from the Jin Dynasty. The ambassador from Jin is found murdered. The Song soldiers who were guarding him are executed, with the exception of Zhang Da. His execution is delayed, because his uncle Sun Jun is the deputy commander of the guards. Zhang Da says that he knows of a letter that the ambassador intended to give the prime minister, and he suggests that the letter's contents were the reason for the assassination. The prime minister gives Zhang Da two hours to find the letter. If he fails, he'll be executed.

The film turns into a complex mystery, revealing one conspiracy after another. In essence, it's a 12th Century courtroom drama, except the investigations aren't carried out in a closed room, but on the streets of the city. In the course of the film Sun Jun is arrested and released, promoted to head of the guards, then arrested and released again.

The film's title comes from the last words spoken by the general Yue Fei before he was executed four years previously. Only the prime minister heard the words, but he refuses to tell anyone what they were. These words were the poem "Full River Red", supposed the most famous poem in China, taught to children in elementary school.

My hair stands on end with anger, and as I lean over the railing, the rain has stopped.
I raise my eyes, let out a long cry to the heavens, my heart aching with fervour.
Thirty years of fame and glory have become dust and dirt,
Eight thousand miles of journey have become clouds and moon.
Don't let your youth become old in vain, filled with empty sorrow.
The shame of Jingkang remains;
When will the hatred of our subjects be extinguished?
Let us ride our chariots through the gap in the Helan Mountains!
We'll feast on the flesh of barbarians when hungry, and we'll drink the blood of Xiongnu when thirsty.
We'll rebuild our old country and face the heavens.

All I can say about the poem is that it seems very extreme to be taught to young children. It must be somehow linked to Chinese pride. Does modern day China trace its roots to the Song Dynasty? I'd be glad if any of my Chinese readers can answer this question. That's what the comments box is for.

Sisu (5 Stars)

"Bills. Big ones, please. Won't be so damn heavy to carry".

Over the last few weeks I've seen the trailer for the second Sisu film repeatedly, so I decided to finally buy the first film on Blu-ray. It was the best film of the 2023 Stuttgart Nights Festival. I've had it on my To-Buy list ever since it was released in late 2023, but I've been waiting for the price to drop. Usually I don't pay more than £8 for a film, but in recent years prices haven't been dropping as fast after the initial release. Maybe I should increase my maximum price to £10. "Sisu" cost me £9.90. It won't get any cheaper.

The film takes place in 1944. It's about Aatami Korpi, a retired Finnish soldier, who's now trying his luck digging for gold. It's made in English. Sort of. Aatami remains silent throughout the film, until the final scene, when he deposits his gold in a Finnish bank. The only other dialogue is spoken by German soldiers. All Aatami wants to do is travel across Finland on horseback to cash in his gold. His journey begins in Lapland, and I assume the destination is Helsinki, which is about 200 miles. The problem is that marauding Nazi soldiers want to kill him, just because they can. The film turns into a battle for survival, Aatami against a whole German platoon.

It's difficult to describe the film to anyone who hasn't seen it. The fight scenes are thrilling, although they're totally unfeasible. Aatami is invincible, and no number of German soldiers can overcome him. I was expecting him to be called the Baba Yaga.

The film offers a brief explanation of the film's title.

Success Rate:  + 0.4

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Black Creek (4 Stars)

I've been waiting for this film for a long, long time. Cynthia Rothrock has been an outstanding actress since 1985, but this is the first film that she's written and produced herself. I joined the crowdfunding campaign in January 2023, and it was completed in September 2024, but I'm still waiting for the Blu-ray that was promised me. The latest news is that it will be mailed next month. Surprisingly, it's already available on streaming services: Amazon Prime USA (to buy or rent) and Tubi (free of charge). Today I watched it on Tubi. The quality was poor, only 720p, but I was glad to see the finished film at last.

It's a typical cowboy film with a familiar plot. The sheriff of a small town is killed by outlaws, so his brother rides into town to avenge him. Except it isn't his brother, it's his sister. Cynthia Rothrock plays the lead role herself, with guns blazing and fists flying. I can already hear people saying the story is predictable, and it is, but who cares? It's a great film, finely crafted. Many of the actors appeared in "China O'Brien", Cynthia's first American film from 1990. They may be old, but they've kept themselves fit.

I'll write more about the film when I have the Blu-ray next month.

Supervixens (5 Stars)

This is something I never thought would happen. "Supervixens" has always been one of my favourite films – in my top 10 – but I've always cursed the poor quality of the DVD. I've been crying out for a Blu-ray release, but now, bang! I'm holding a 4K release in my hand, painstakingly restored from the original negatives by Severin Films. So far, only five of Russ Meyer's films are available on 4K discs, but I'm expecting others will follow.

It's difficult for me to review the film itself, because I've said it all before, especially in this review. That's what you should read if you want to know more about the film. I apologise for the poor quality screenshots from the DVD. Maybe I should go back and replace the images. I'll consider it, if I have time.

Russ Meyer's films are gloriously inappropriate. Who else would show a naked woman lying in the hay doing a Hitler salute?

Many people don't like Russ Meyer's films because they don't understand them. Others dislike his films because they do understand them and disagree with his messages. Whatever they think, Russ Meyer was a visionary genius. His films will live forever. Hopefully in 4K.

Success Rate:  + 168.0

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk

Jeremiah Johnson (5 Stars)

Robert Redford died earlier this week, but today is my first chance to watch a film in his honour. I was busy with the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival and various other things. I even went on a wine-tasting trip to Weingut Weihbrecht the day after the festival. It was an interesting experience. It's a small vineyard, only seven hectares (17 acres), which is probably the smallest a vineyard can be to remain profitable. They harvest the usual Württemberg grapes (Trollinger, Lemberger, Schwarzriesling), but they're increasing the production of Mucaris, a new grape variety that was created in 1987. It's a very sweet wine. Normally I don't drink sweet wines, but the taste fascinated me, and I bought a few bottles to take home with me.

But let's get back to Robert Redford. He's truly a great man of cinema. Unfortunately, "Jeremiah Johnson" is the only film I have in which he plays the main role. He also appears in some of the recent Marvel films. I rewatched "Jeremiah Johnson" today, and I'll probably look for some of his other films over the next few weeks.

I already knew that the film is based on a real life character, but it wasn't until today that I learnt that he was a famous hero of America's Wild West. The last mountain cabin he lived in was moved to the tourist information centre in Montana, where he can be remembered forever. He was given an honourable grave in a small cemetery, admittedly far from civilisation, but it's a celebration of his life.

His grave might look overgrown and uncultivated, but it's deliberate. It's a picture of the rough life he had living alone in the mountains.

The events in the film aren't given a date, but after checking Jeremiah's life story, the majority of the film takes place from 1846 to 1847. He was disillusioned in the Mexican-American War and deserted. He wanted to get away and live by himself, so he moved into the mountains of Montana. It didn't turn out quite as he planned. He adopted a mute boy called Caleb, and he married an Indian that he was given as a gift by a tribal chief.

This is his wife Swan, played by Delle Bolton. Strangely, this was her only film role.

This was Jeremiah's family. It was a quiet affair. Swan couldn't speak any English, and Caleb couldn't speak at all.

The family life didn't last long. Swan and Caleb were murdered by Crow Indians, and Jeremiah spent years wreaking vengeance on them. He supposedly killed over 300 Indians single-handedly in the next few years. This is only shown briefly at the end of the film. Evidently, the director wanted to concentrate on the positive aspects of his personality in his early life. It's difficult for me to see him as a hero, because he must have been a terrifying man.

Robert Redford
August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025

Success Rate:  + 12.4

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

TV Series: The Sopranos Season 4 (Part 4)

This section of the Sopranos is about break-ups, some more serious than others.

Tony finally ends his therapy sessions with Dr. Jennifer Melfi. He says they're no longer doing him any good. He could have bought a Ferrari with all the money he's spent in four years of therapy. I wonder how long he'll stay away. In some twisted way he's addicted to Jennifer, her therapy and her legs.

From one camera shot to the next we see Jennifer's legs crossed the other way. Did we miss a Sharon Stone moment?

Carmela Soprano and Tony's associate Furio Giunta have had feelings for one another for months. Carmela claims it's been a whole year. Furio admitted his feelings to his former Mafia boss in Italy, and Carmela admitted her feelings to her best friend Rosalie Aprile, but they've never told each other what they feel. Now it's gone far enough. Furio flies back to Italy without even telling Tony he was leaving. The romance has ended before it began.

I'll save the third break up until the end.

Tony has been operating a HUD scam, involving the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. It's a complicated scam that's only explained briefly, so it isn't easy to understand. Basically, Tony gives someone (in this case a doctor) money to buy cheap houses in poor areas. Then his appraiser values the houses at three or more times the purchase price. A non-profit company takes a HUD-guaranteed loan to buy and renovate the houses. The non-profit company pays construction workers who work (indirectly) for Tony, but the work is never done, using excuses such as local crime, and the loan is never repaid.

Carmine Lupertazzi, a New York crime boss, wants 40% of the money from the HUD scam, since it's on jointly run territory. Tony offers him 5.5%. Neither side backs down. Johnny Sack, Carmine's second-in-command, is in contact with Tony as his friend. He claims to be negotiating a compromise, but in actual fact he's advising both sides to remain hard. He advises Tony to assassinate Carmine, saying he'll make a better deal as the new boss. Tony agrees and arranges a hit on Carmine, but at the last moment Carmine backs down and agrees to a 15% compromise. Johnny is angry when the hit is cancelled.

Junior Soprano is still on trial for the general charge of racketeering. I don't think it's ever clearly stated what evidence the FBI has against him. Until now he's been released on bail wearing an electronic bracelet. He held meetings with Tony at his doctor's office, because the FBI isn't allowed to place listening devices. Patient confidentiality is sacred.

One thing the FBI was allowed to do was place an undercover agent in the doctor's surgery, as long as she didn't listen to any direct conversations between Junior and his doctor. This beautiful woman, who remains unnamed, is an FBI agent who was posing as a nurse. She got close to Junior by flirting with him. She also flirted with Tony when he visited. Men are so easy to manipulate, and the older they get the easier they are.

If Junior had been thinking straight, he would have known that a real nurse wouldn't have let him kiss her. Young women make old men weak.

Tony sends men to intimidate a juror. He's scared for himself and his family, so he refuses to deliberate with the other jurors. When the jury can't reach an agreement, the judge declares a mistrial. Junior is a free man.

Now for the third break-up. Irina Peltsin was Tony's Russian goomah at the beginning of the series, but he broke up with her in season two. Now she's dating Assemblyman Ronald Zellman. She wants revenge on Tony for humiliating her new lover by whipping him, so she rings Carmela and tells her about his affair with her. Irina also tells her that he's been sleeping with her cousin Svetlana.

Carmela is enraged more than heart-broken. She throws Tony out of the house and threatens to divorce him. There's an incident that highlights the typical Tony Soprano hypocrisy. Carmela confesses that she's had feelings for Furio for a whole year. This drives Tony into a rage. For him, it's worse than his actual affairs with Irina and the other women.

Tony moves into his garage, to put some space between himself and Carmela, but at the end of the season he says he intends to move out. Where do we go from here? The fifth season will reveal all.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Deathstalker (4 Stars)

This is the 31st film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Fest.

It's a remake of the 1983 film with the same name produced by Roger Corman. I think I saw it on television 25 years ago, but I can't be sure. Everything that I watched before starting my blog in 2010 is lost in the mists of time.

Deathstalker isn't a hero. He's a scavenger who visits the fields after battles to steal treasure from the dead and dying. A spell has been cast on an amulet that he takes from a dying prince. It binds itself to whoever owns it, and the owner can't get rid of it until he dies. That wouldn't be a problem, except there are warlords who want to kill Deathstalker to get the amulet for themselves. The problem can't be solved by brute force alone, so Deathstalker allies himself with a wizard called Doodad and a female thief called Brisbayne.

This is a film that I need to see more than once. The epic battles and the gore are overwhelming. It was difficult to take it in on first viewing.

There's one more film in the festival this evening, but I'm not going to watch it, so for me the festival is over. My overall impression of the festival is that it wasn't up to the usual quality. In last year's festival I gave five films a five-star rating. This year my top rating was four stars. My average rating last year was 3.2 stars, my average rating this year was 2.8 stars. That means that this year's festival was below average. I hope it will be better next year.

The Home (3 Stars)

This is the 30th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

My diligent readers must be scratching their heads. Didn't I already review this film on Friday? Yes and No. I reviewed "The Home", but it was a different film. That was an American film, and the film I'm reviewing today is a Swedish film with the original title "Hemmet".

Joel's mother, Monika, suffers from dementia. He returns to her home from the big city to deliver her into an old people's home. Or maybe it's a specialist care home. All the residents are suffering from dementia. Monika talks continually about seeing her abusive husband Bengt, who died 20 years ago. Joel puts this down to the dementia, but then he starts to see Bengt as well. There are also strange occurrences with the other old people in the home.

In itself, this is a good film, mysterious and supernatural. I've given it a relatively low rating because I don't like films about dementia.

Honey Bunch (4 Stars)

This is the 29th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Diana and her husband Homer check into a rehabilitation centre. She's suffering from memory loss after a car accident and a lengthy time in coma. Her husband is acting strangely. He gets up in the middle of the night to speak with the members of staff. She sees young women running around the grounds outside the hospital. She asks for information, but both the staff and her husband are evasive with their answers.

Finally a film in the festival that's not completely confusing! There's a mystery, but everything is unravelled as the film continues. That's the way a good film should be.

Code 3 (4 Stars)

This is the 27th film of the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The film follows the last day on the job of the emergency responder Randy. It starts as a comedy, before switching to serious scenes. Then there are political rants. In this respect the film is disjointed. The pacing is all over the place, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Other (2 Stars)

This is the 26th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

There are several films called "The Other" or "The Others", but as far as I know, this is the only film called "Other" without an article. It sounds awkward, but that isn't the worst thing about the film.

A woman called Alice moves into her mother's house, a large mansion, after her death. There are strange circumstances surrounding the house. A masked woman is using drones to observe Alice whenever she leaves the house, and she recommends that Alice wear a mask as well to protect herself. There's an intruder in the house stalking Alice.

To me, this is a typical horror film; "There are monsters and blood and stuff". I wouldn't mind, except these horror elements are used instead of a good story.

Nina (4 Stars)

This is the 25th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The film takes place in a small fishing village on the Spanish coast. When Nina was 15 she had an affair with an older married man. At the time she was in love with him, but as time passed she realised he was abusing her. When she was 16 she ran away to Madrid to escape the shame. 30 years later she returns to take revenge.

That's a simple plot. A story doesn't need to be complicated. The film is well made, one of the best films of the festival.

Welcome Home Baby (2 Stars)

This is the 23rd film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Judith is a doctor who lives and works in Berlin. She's told that she's inherited a house from her father in Austria. This confuses her, because she was adopted as a young child and has no memories of a family in Austria. She travels to Austria with her husband. It's a large luxurious house in a small village.

What surprises her is that everyone knows her. They all address her as Judith, as if she were an old friend. The village is run on matriarchal principles. The men all have to do what they're told. Judith wants to sell the house and return to Germany as quickly as possible, but the women in the village encourage her to stay.

I enjoyed all of the film until the last ten minutes. Strange things happen at the end that make no sense. I talked briefly to my friends in the cinema, and I seem to be the only one who disliked the ending. My friends said things like, "It's a very good film, so you don't need to understand everything". I disagree. The tension and suspense slowly builds throughout the film, only to fall flat due to an illogical ending. I walked out of the cinema with a sour taste in my mouth.

Sweetness (4 Stars)

This is the 22nd film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

15-year-old Rylee Hill has a crush on Payton Adler, the singer of the rock group Floorplan. On evening she goes to a concert, and while walking home she's hit by a car. She's only lightly bruised, but she's shocked to find that the driver is Payton himself. He's in a bad state because of his drug addiction. She takes him to her friend's house and handcuffs him to the bed. She doesn't intend to keep him prisoner forever. She only wants to keep him for a week or two to get over his addiction. That's a noble goal, but when people discover him she has to kill them.

The film is a tender story of a young girl who thinks she's in love. It's heart-breaking to see her turn to violence in order to reach her goals.

Nightmare Bugs (1 Star)

This is the 21st film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

A girl called Rin rents an apartment in a building that used to be an industrial compound. She's stalked by a killer who claims that he's saving lives, not taking them. Then the story switches to three schoolgirls who're fighting against large intelligent bugs in the same building. They have to defeat the bugs by becoming the bugs. Does that sound confusing? Very little in the film makes sense. In the final scene we see Rin again in a flashback to something that happened before the film. The director and screenwriter obviously had some clever ideas, but they're incapable of explaining them to the audience.

No one will know (3 Stars)

This is the 20th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

An old man visits a bar for a drink in the evening. While there he checks his Lotto ticket, and he's won 294 million Euros in the Euro Jackpot. He shouldn't have talked so loud. The people in the restaurant (including the owners, a petty criminal and two off-duty policeman) are excited, and within minutes they begin to kill one another. The old man is the first to die. Not even the policemen can be trusted. Money is more important than human life.

Some events are repeated a few times with variations. The purpose is to show what various individuals intend to tell the police when the dead bodies are found. This means some of the scenes are false narratives. In my opinion, it doesn't work well.

The original French title of the film is "Le Roi Soleil", i.e. "The Sun King", which is the name of the bar.

Exit 8 (4 Stars)

This is the 19th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

A young man gets off an underground train. When walking through the station to the exit, he can't find the way out. He walks through corridors that repeat themselves. There's no way out. Or is there?

"Exit 8" is based on a recent computer game that runs on various platforms, including PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. From what I understand, the film is little more than a game walkthrough, but it's still fascinating, even to someone like me who's never played the game.

Bone Lake (3 Stars)

This is the 18th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

I like the film poster. Unfortunately the film's content isn't this sexy. Almost, but not quite.

Diego and Sage are a young couple who visit a luxurious mansion in a remote setting. Diego intends to propose marriage during their holiday. Unfortunately, they're interrupted. Another young couple, Will and Cin, have also booked the mansion. It's big enough for both couples, but it still removes the romantic appeal. Nevertheless, the couples get on well together and become friends. But it soon becomes apparent that Will and Cin have ulterior motives. They want to split up Diego and Sage, just for fun.

It's another film that starts off slowly before turning into an outright horror film. For me the film needs too long to work up speed.

The Piano Accident (4 Stars)

This is the 15th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Magalie Moreau has been born with a unique physical condition. She feels no pain, and any wounds she suffers heal within a few days. That makes her a candidate for becoming a super-hero, but she follows a different path. She becomes a YouTuber, posting videos of herself hurting herself. For instance, she hits her head with a hammer, or she drives a nail through her hand. Her online name is Megajugs, which she chose because of her big breasts, which are unfortunately never shown. She has millions of followers.

Magalie might be immune to harm, but not those around her. She wants to film a piano falling on herself from ten meters. The piano harness slips too early, and it falls on her hair stylist, who dies immediately. No trouble, she thinks. She buries the body, and she bribes the only witness 500,000 Euros to remain quiet. But secrets like that can't remain hidden.

The film starts off slowly, but it escalates into total chaos as it progresses.  It's a pleasure to watch.

Man Finds Tape (2 Stars)

This is the 14th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Lucas Page is a man who's been making videos all his life. Some are for his personal records, but most of them are recordings of the church services held in a local church. One day he finds a collection of tapes that he hasn't watched for years. When he watches them he falls asleep. Sometimes he can watch for a few minutes, but then he falls asleep and misses what happens next. He shows videos to people who appeared in them, and they also fall asleep while watching. He asks his sister Lynn (not in any of the videos) for help. She remains awake, and she sees people falling asleep in the videos at the same moment that they fall asleep while watching.

I shan't attempt to explain the plot. I understood most, but not all of the film. It follows the pattern of found footage films, although it's unusual for a man to find his own tapes. The film is often blurred, because many images are from surveillance cameras that he's installed. It hurts my eyes.

Creation of the Gods 2: Demon Force (4 Stars)

This is the 13th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

It's the second part in a trilogy based on a 16th Century novel by Xu Zhonglin. The festival hosts described the trilogy as the most expensive films ever made in China. Unfortunately, I missed the first part when it was shown at the festival last year. I always skip the last film of the day, because I don't want to miss the last bus. Apart from this, I need to sleep, and I would have difficulty watching five films in a row.

It's an epic film about a war between the city Xiqi and the Shang Dynasty. Various Gods participate on both sides in the war. There are many characters in the film who are introduced by their names and military rank being written on the screen when they first appear. That's a good idea, but there are simply too many characters. I can't remember 20 or more names, and when they return I've already forgotten who they are. There are also frequent references to the events of the first film. Not having seen it puts me at a disadvantage.

I was so impressed that I've already decided to buy all three films on Blu-ray after the third film is released next year.

When the final credits began a message was shown in the top left corner: "Please remain seated for three after-credits scenes". That's wonderful. More films should have this message. The three scenes were significant to the plot, introducing new characters who'll be featured in the third film.

We bury the dead (2 Stars)

This is the eleventh film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

An American weapons test has killed everyone on the Australian island of Tasmania. Soldiers and volunteers are sent to the island to dispose of the corpses. What they discover is that most people are dead, but a small number still walk around in an undead state, becoming violent when approached. They're zombies, although the film never uses the word zombie.

The film follows a woman called Ava who's looking for her husband. It's a road movie.

The idea behind the film is interesting, but there are so few zombies that it's boring. Most of the time we see Ava and her companions walking carefully between corpses. The attacks by the zombies are too seldom to make the film exciting.

Slanted (4 Stars)

This is the tenth film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Joan Huang is a Chinese American girl who dreams of becoming her school's prom queen. When she looks at the photos of the previous winners, she realises that only blonde girls become prom queen. She dyes her hair, but her face still looks too Chinese. She discovers a company that can change anyone's ethnic appearance, altering the skin colour and the facial features. She becomes a white girl. (A different actress plays Joan after her transformation). Even Joan's parents no longer recognise her.

There are a few comedic elements, but it's mostly a film full of political ironies. The company promises to eliminate racism by making everyone white. That's one way of doing it.