Der Kinoerzähler (5 Stars)

Germany in the early 1930's.The film takes place in Werder on the Havel, a small town only 35 Km (22 miles) from Berlin. The main character, whose name we are not told, is a "Kinoerzähler", a word I'm not sure how to translate into English. He was the person who spoke to the audience during the showing of silent films to explain what was happening, as well as pointing out the subtleties of the film to embellish it. I'll use the word "narrator", though I'm sure there must be a more precise term, if this career ever existed in England or America. I know that some cinemas used to have a live pianist playing music to accompany films, but I'm not aware of anyone ever talking during a film. It's significant that the character's name is not given; he was unimportant, he was only there to draw attention to the films.

This film marks the end of an era. The first film with sound had been made in 1928, sound cinemas already existed in the big cities, and it was only a matter of time before the small towns caught up. The narrator was about to lose his job, despite his efforts to warn people that adding sound would destroy the beautiful artwork of cinema.

Things aren't happening in a vacuum. The National Socialists are gaining power, which is bad news for the Jewish cinema owner. The narrator buries his head in the sand, remaining unpolitical and only thinking about the beauty of films. At a meeting of the Nazi party he stands up and asks if the Nazis would return to making silent films.

"Der Kinoerzähler" also shows turning points in other areas, both on and off screen. The narrator visits the film studio Babelsberg while it is filming "Der Choral von Leuthen", the first film to be premiered in Germany after Adolf Hitler became leader in 1933. The director, Carl Froelich, was one of Germany's leading directors during the Third Reich, when the head of the German film industry was Josef Goebbels.

The Babelsberg studio opened in 1912 and is the world's oldest film studio. "Der Kinoerzähler" was the first film to be made at the studio after German reunification. This came about almost by accident. Bernhard Sinkel, the writer and director of "Der Kinoerzähler", was walking on the Ku'Damm, Berlin's main street, at 2 am, when he saw Volker Schlöndorff, the new owner of the Babelsberg Film Studio. Since they were old friends Bernhard told Volker about his film script and asked him for 500,000 Marks ($350,000) to finance the film. Volker immediately agreed and offered the use of his studios.

Today's film viewers take it for granted that American films dominate the film industry. The world's biggest and best films are made in Hollywood. But this wasn't always the case. In the first half of the 20th Century German films were the biggest and most successful. The world's highest paid directors and actors were German, and the biggest films were made in Babelsberg. This was easy to accomplish in the days of silent films, when there was no language barrier, but even after the advent of sound German films remained foremost in box office success. This began to change in the 1930's, because Germany's leading directors were Jews and had to emigrate to America. Nevertheless, even during the Third Reich German studios continued to make excellent films. It wasn't until after the Second World War that the German film industry shrank and Hollywood grew to take its place. But even today the German film industry has to be taken seriously. Despite the relatively low budgets available German films in general have a production quality superior to films made anywhere else in Europe. To take just one example, a film like "Baader Meinhof Komplex" would have been unthinkable in any other country. I'm not saying that good films aren't made in many countries, but in my opinion the overall quality of German cinema is outstanding. Which is why I watch so many German films. Wait for more reviews to come.

Ich bin ein Berliner (4 Stars)

After the second World War Germany was occupied by the four allied powers, America, England, France and Russia, and divided into four zones. Since all four countries wanted control of Germany's capital, Berlin itself was divided into four zones as well, even though Berlin was situated in the middle of the Russian occupied zone. The land to the east of the so-called Oder-Neisse line was given to Poland. East Prussia was claimed by Russia. In the west Alsace, Lorraine and Saarland were given to France. Austria, which had voted to combine itself with Germany in 1938, was made an independent country again.

In May 1949 the three western zones of Germany were combined and the Federal Republic of Germany (commonly called West Germany) was founded, an independent country although still occupied by foreign troops. In response Russia allowed the formation of the German Democratic Republic (called East Germany) in October 1949, nominally an independent country, but with its policies dictated by Russia. Since Berlin did not officially belong to the German occupation zones the American, English and French parts of Berlin did not become part of West Germany, but combined to become West Berlin. The Russian sector of Berlin, however, was combined with the Russian zone of Germany and became the capital of East Germany. Unofficially, at least. Neither the western powers nor the United Nations ever recognised Berlin as the capital of East Germany.

After 1949 travel between the two halves of Berlin was still allowed, although Russian soldiers harrassed people crossing at the more common checkpoints. This led to large numbers of East Germans entering West Berlin as a stepping stone to reach West Germany. This was stopped in 1961 when a wall was built surrounding West Berlin. The wall was built without warning, so anyone who was on the outside of the Wall when it was built was not allowed to return, even if it was a young child who had been visiting relatives or a married man who had been on a business trip. In the West this wall was called the Berlin Wall, while its official name in East Germany was the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall.

As a show of support for the people of West Berlin President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin in June 1963. He held a passionate speech which ended with the words, "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words, Ich bin ein Berliner".

This was a source of great amusement to the Germans. Despite apologetics by American linguists, unfortunately propagated by serious websites such as Wikipedia, this was a monumental mistake.

Ich = I
bin = am
ein = a
Berliner = Berliner

That's what the president wanted to say. "I am a Berliner". So what's wrong? This is a matter of basic German grammer. In German, when you attribute to a person a career or nationality, including towns or districts, the indefinite article is omitted. So "I am a man" would be "Ich bin ein Mann", but "I am a soldier" is "Ich bin Soldat" and "I am an American" is "Ich bin Amerikaner". Adding the indefinite article in either of the latter cases is a mistake made commonly by foreigners living in Germany. If the president had been speaking in Stuttgart and had said "Ich bin ein Stuttgarter" it would have been treated as a slight grammatical slip.

Unfortunately the word "Berliner" has another meaning in German. It refers to a jelly doughnut. While the word "Berliner" is ambiguous in itself, meaning either a doughnut or a citizen of Berlin, adding the indefinite article in the above sentence makes it unambiguous. President Kennedy said "I am a doughnut". The president's speech would have been just as amusing if he had been speaking in Hamburg or Frankfurt.

So much for the history lesson, and this crass example of a case where a Wikipedia page gives wrong information. Now to the film, which takes place in 2005. After his mother's death Felix Rath, a petty conman living in Berlin, discovers love letters written by President Kennedy to his aunt in 1963. He uses this as a chance to claim that his aunt was his real mother and he is President Kennedy's son. When he tries to sell this story to a newspaper a journalist investigates and finds out that the story is true. Suddenly Felix is being stalked by the CIA, and he needs to falsify evidence to prove that he isn't Kennedy's son.

This is a low key comedy, full of ironies, very enjoyable, but only if you speak German. No English version is available of this film, neither dubbed nor subtitled.

Once upon a time in China 3 (4 Stars)

Wong Fei-Hung travels to Beijing to visit his father to inform him that he intends to get married. While there he learns of a plot by Russian diplomats to assassinate the governor because of his pro-Japanese stance. We hear that Russia is planning to attack Japan, which actually occurred in 1904, so this film must take place between 1895 (the date of the second film in the trilogy) and the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904.

There's some confusion about the name and status of his fiancee, since the same woman appears in all three films but is named differently. I suspect that the problem lies in the English translation being inconsistent. In the first film she is called "13th Aunt", whatever that means. In the second film she is called Aunt Yee. In this film she is called Cousin Yee.

This film has a different style to the first two films. The comedy aspect is more important. I had to laugh out loud during the fight scene at the lion dance. Everyone was dressed in large Chinese lion costumes, two people per costume. It's almost impossible to see the people, but we can hear the kung fu kicks and we see people falling over. Hilarious.

Once upon a time in China 2 (4½ Stars)

1895. China has just lost the first Sino-Japanese war. This was a turning point in history, meaning that Japan had become the strongest country in Asia after 2000 years of Chinese dominance. This is still the case today, despite Japan's loss in the Second World War. Japan had already conquered most of China before it made the mistake of attacking Pearl Harbor in an attempt to remove America from the Pacific.

In 1895 China had to give control of Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan remained under Japanese rule until 1952. This was a great blow to the pride of China, leading to chaos in the country.

This is the background to the film. In 1895 Wong Fei-Hung travels to Canton to attend a medical conference. People are protesting about the loss of Taiwan and are demanding a new war against Japan. The ruling Qin dynasty, based in the north, is blamed for the losing the war, so the southern Chinese are calling for a democratic republic to be set up. A new religious cult, the White Lotus, is not only demanding the execution of all the westerners in Canton, but also the destruction of everything western since the West is seen as evil. They even demand that Chinese children who have dared to learn English should be killed.

Wong wants to remain neutral, since his only reason for being in Canton is to study medicine, but he's soon caught up in the violence. He rescues Sun Yat-Sen (who later founded the Republic of China) and helps him to escape from the Qin forces. During his time in Canton he has several fights. The final battle with General Lan, played by Donnie Yen, must be one of the most spectacular martial arts fights ever filmed.

Incidentally, the film's theme song is sung by Jackie Chan. Yes, that Jackie Chan. I checked Wikipedia and found out that he's recorded 10 albums as well as many film theme tunes. How does this man who's made over 100 films find time for singing?

Click here to view the trailer.

I know my portrayal of Chinese history above is very brief, but I hope it's accurate. If I've made any mistakes, please write a comment to correct me.

Natural Born Killers (5 Stars)

Believe it or not, I didn't like this film when I first saw it, many years ago. I found it too chaotic.Watching it today I have to say that it's the chaos that makes it appealing. My only problem with the film is that I have difficulty understanding portions of the dialogue. My DVD edition doesn't have subtitles to help me. That's wrong. All DVDs should have subtitles. Woody Harrelson's Texas accent causes me problems when he lets himself go, and Robert Downey Jr. just talks too hectically for me to follow him in the later parts of the film.

Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis play a young couple, Mickey and Mallory, who meet and fall in love. They then go on a killing spree, for no other reason than because it's fun. Their wild lifestyle makes them famous, and when they're arrested a live interview is arranged with Mickey only a few weeks before his planned execution.

Beneath the overt brutality and violence it's a love story, and also a commentary on our modern society. It's not unusual for killers to enjoy popularity. In the 1970's Andreas Baader and his fellow terrorists were admired by more than a quarter of Germans under 30. But the twist in this story is that the two become media celebrities. Director Oliver Stone and writer Quentin Tarantino are holding up a mirror to show how shallow television audiences have become, revelling in murder. Robert Downey Jr. plays the part of Wayne Gale, the host of the tv show "American Maniacs". After showing the slaughter of many prison guards and inmates on live television during Mickey and Mallory's escape from prison he willingly poses for his own execution to be broadcast live.

A beautiful film with supernatural undertones. These are obvious in the scene in the Indian's home, but there's something else that I wouldn't have noticed if not for watching an interview with Oliver Stone. In the prison scene Mickey and Mallory are led to freedom by an inmate called Owen. But this isn't the first time he appears in the film. He appears in scenes throughout the film standing in the background watching over the two killers and keeping them safe. He's not a guardian angel, he's more of a guardian demon. This is most obvious in the opening scene where he's sitting in a diner holding a newspaper with the headline "666 Deaths". He fades away before the killing starts. In the alternate ending Owen says he has "come out of the fire". He asks if he can accompany Mickey and Mallory forever, and when they refuse he kills them. (No, that's not a spoiler, it doesn't happen in the ending used in the film).

I love Juliette Lewis as an actress, but she seems to have "disappeared" over the last 15 years. Apart from this film she had two major roles, in "Cape Fear" (1991) and "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996). Since then she's been in a lot of films, but only minor roles. Maybe it's deliberate, because she wants to concentrate on her singing career? Whatever the reason, I miss her.

Click here to view the trailer.

Underdog (3 Stars)

A beagle quits the police force after failing in his duties as a sniffer dog. He's captured by a scientist performing illegal animal experiments. He escapes from the lab, but in the process he's soaked with chemicals that give him superpowers. He can fly, he has super strength and he can speak English. His new owner gives him a cape, and he goes into action as Superdog! Oops, I meant Underdog.

This is a difficult film to rate. I wanted to give it 3 stars, then upped it to 4 stars, then finally dropped it back to 3. On the surface it's a children's film, but it's also a parody of Superman. When the beagle puts on his cape nobody recognises him any more. Fantastic! He changes in phone booths. There's a scene which mimics Superman flying over the skyscrapers with Lois Lane. And there's the pop culture line: "Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Underdog".

Critics hate the film, but it was a huge box office success, so it must have been doing something right. Maybe I should put myself into the mind frame of a 10-year-old. The film is obviously aimed at a young audience. Did I enjoy it? Sort of. Will I watch it again? Probably not.

Click here to view the trailer.

General: Remakes

Most people groan about remakes, whether they're an old film being remade or a recent foreign film being remade in English. As I write this one of the most successful films in English cinemas is "Contraband", a remake of the 2008 Icelandic film "Reykjavík-Rotterdam". Some remakes are so bad that they're universally panned. Others are good, but they're still a subject of controversy, with fans of both versions arguing which is better. And then there are remakes which people don't realise are remakes, so they're blissfully enjoyed on their own merits. How many people know that "City of Angels" is a remake of the 1987 German film "Der Himmel über Berlin"? How many people know that "Cruel Intentions" is a remake of the 1959 French film "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", which had already been remade as "Dangerous Liasons" in 1988 and as "Valmont" in 1989?

My question to my readers is: what films would you like to be remade? I can think of a few.

1. "The Final Programme" (1973). The novel of the same name by Michael Moorcock is one of my favorite books. The film is good, but it's so far from the original that it's almost a different story. Much like Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", which was so unlike Steven King's novel that King tried to prevent its release. A more accurate remake would be in order.

2. "Invasion of the Bee Girls" (1973). A good film that would profit from a bigger budget.

3. "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill" (1965). Ever since Quentin Tarantino dropped hints that he might remake this classic I've been praying that he will stop hesitating and get on with it. In the hands of a director of Tarantino's stature the remake could be even better than the original.

So, my faithful readers... please tell me which films you'd like to see remade, and why.

Once upon a time in China (4½ Stars)

This is the first in a film trilogy in which Jet Li portrays the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-Hung, who lived from 1847 to 1924. Actually it was a pentalogy, but in the last two films the role was played by Man Cheuk Chiu.Wong Fei-Hung was a doctor who owned a private clinic in Foshan, South China, and he was also a skilled practitioner of martial arts, in particular the Hung Ga fighting style. He is so important in Chinese culture that over 100 films about him have been made in the last 60 years. Jackie Chan has portrayed him twice, in "Drunken Master" (1978) and "Drunken Master 2" (1994). Most notably Kwan Tak-Hing starred as Wong Fei-Hung in 77 films from 1947 to 1981. Talk about type-casting! This is incidentally the record for the number of films an actor has made playing the same character.

In cases like this it's difficult to know how much of  this film about him is true and how much is fiction. We aren't told the date of the events, but it has to be after 1886, the year his clinic was opened. My guess is that it takes place towards the end of the 19th Century. The setting is a town suffering under foreign occupation. We see that the English and the Americans have the run of the city, and mention is also made of the Portugese and the Japanese. Parts of China have been handed over to foreign powers in "unjust treaties". The local police seem to be doing the bidding of the Americans. In the film Wong wants to be a law-abiding citizen, but when he sees that the Americans take the side of gangsters he takes up a stand and battles against the stationed American troops. There are numerous sub-plots, such as the arrival of a rival martial arts artist, and Chinese workers being tricked into going to America where they become slaves working on the railroads.

Although made in 1991, this film has a distinct 1970's style. I assume that this is deliberate, as a homage to the Kwan Tak-Hing films. The fight scenes are frequent and chaotic, interspersed with humour. It's a very enjoyable film, and a stark contrast to Jet Li's other early films like "Fist of legend" (1994).

Click here to view the trailer.

Jurassic Park III (3½ Stars)

The third installment in the Jurassic Park trilogy, made in 2001. Dr. Alan Grant, who was the paleontologist in the first film, accompanies a couple on an expedition to find their son who is lost on Isla Sorna, the location of the second film.

I won't say any more about the plot. Straight to the criticism. Quite simply, this film isn't directed by Steven Spielberg, and it shows.  Spielberg passed the torch to Joe Johnston and remained as executive producer, which is a discreet way of saying he did absolutely nothing on the film.

The film does just about everything wrong. There's an action sequence at the beginning, but it falls out weak in comparison to the other two films. The film rushes into dinosaur action too fast after the arrival on the island without taking time for a build up. As the dinosaurs arrive one by one I can't help feeling that they're a "Best of Jurassic Park" selection, only included because the fans of the first two films expect them. Even the inclusion of pteranodons and spinosauri doesn't detract from this impression. And I thought that it had been established in the second film that the dinosaur breeds had divided the island into territories? In this film we see them all mixed together in the same area. The velociraptors have gained new "special powers", they can talk to one another, which they couldn't in the first two films. Worst of all, there's no real character development, the trademark of Spielberg's films. We are told who the characters are and what they want, but we don't feel who they are.

The only reason I'm giving this film more than 2 stars is because of the special effects, which are easily the equal of those in the second film, surpassing it in places. But overall the film is a flop. Instead of being a tale of human triumph over adversity it's just a 1960's dinosaur film with better special effects. If you watch the three films in short succession you get the idea that after two days of steak you've been served a hot dog.

Click here to view the trailer.

Valley of the Dolls (2 Stars)

Jacqueline Susann's 1966 novel, "Valley of the Dolls", was a worldwide success, selling more than 30 million copies. This film, made a year later, is a disaster. It tells the story of three young women who meet and become friends in New York. Anne Welles works as a secretary for a theatre agent. Neely O'Hara is a Broadway singer who breaks into cinema and becomes a major film star. Jennifer North is an unsuccessful Broadway dancer with no talent other than her breasts, which she uses to make a career in nudist films. Three very different women, but what unites them is their addiction to prescription pills, which they call "dolls".

The problem with the film is that it's disjointed. It tells three separate stories, jumping from one to the other. The film is very episodic in nature, fast forwarding years at a time. It's difficult to understand the characters as a result. Anne starts as a confused small town girl in New York, then she's a successful business woman, then she's a junkie. We don't see a progression from one stage to the next. The film is only two hours long and leaves out a lot of details which I assume are described in the book, details that would make the characters more believable.

After this failed film attempt, a television mini-series was made based on the book in 1981. Yet another television series was made in 1994 that ran for 65 episodes. I'm sure this was a better format to tell the story. And I've read that yet another television series is being planned, directed by Lee Daniels.

The Initiation of Sarah (3 Stars)

I'm reviewing the 2006 version of this film. It's a remake of a 1978 horror film that fans refer to as a classic, but I've never seen it and it's no longer available on DVD. Since I'm unable to make a comparison I'll have to restrict myself to this film.

Lindsey and Sarah are twin sisters going to college. There are a row of sorority houses to choose from, all identified by three Greek letters. I wonder where this custom originated, it seems strange to me as a non-American. The two oldest sorority houses on campus, Alpha Nu Gamma and Pi Epsilon Delta, both want the two girls as pledges. As the film progresses we find out that these two sorority houses are actually two covens that have been at war for thousands of years. Lindsey pledges to Alpha Nu Gamma, while Sarah pledges to Pi Epsilon Delta, and they're no longer allowed to talk to one another.

I have to say, this hardly seems like a horror story. The supernatural elements are rarely scary. The film would have been better if not for Summer Glau who plays Lindsey. Her acting is so wooden that she is unconvincing throughout, whether she's supposed to be happy or sad. She's awful, she walks through the film like an inhuman Terminator. I would have rated the film lower than 3 stars if not for the stunning performances by the other actresses, especially Jennifer Tilly and Tessa Thompson. Jennifer Tilly is an actress I'd like to see more of. She has a smoldering sexuality in an understated way, a sexual aura that she generates as soon as she enters a scene without needing to take her clothes off.

Jurassic Park: The Lost World (5 Stars)

It's good to see that the number of readers of my blog is going up again, over 1900 pageviews per month compared with 1700 in February and March. I'm seeing a correlation between my reading figures and the number of posts I make, which is very encouraging. This means that I have a large number of regular readers who keep returning when I write something new. If the readership figures remained constant whether I post or not it would mean that my traffic relies on random visits from people who have done web searches.

This is the second film in the Jurassic Park trilogy, once again directed by Steven Spielberg. It was only four years since the first film, from 1993 to 1997, but in those four years huge leaps were made in technology. This means that the photo-perfect computer generated dinosaurs in the first film could be made even more realistic in the sequel. Where mostly single dinosaurs or small groups were shown in the first film it was now possible to show swarms of dinosaurs. If you watch the two films in a row (like I did, yesterday and today) the difference is obvious.

The plot: After the destruction of the original theme park in the first film we now find out that there's a second island containing dinosaurs that is used for breeding only. After being abandoned for four years it's discovered that the dinosaurs are thriving in the wild, so they are to be captured and brought to America (San Diego) to open a new theme park. But things don't go as smoothly as planned.

The first film copied the formula of "Jaws", but the sequel follows the structure of "King Kong". I'm referring to the 1933 version, which was accurately recreated by Peter Jackson in 2005. This leads to the ironic situation that the 2005 King Kong film seems to be copying "The Lost World", but they're actually both based on the pre-war film. The film structure is simple. A team goes to a remote island and meets monsters. They capture one big monster and bring it back to civilisation, where it runs amok.

At first I preferred "The Lost World" to "Jurassic Park". Now, after watching both films many times, I rate them equally. Apart from the improved special effects "The Lost World" has more action, more gore and is faster paced. "Jurassic Park" spends more time on character development and subplots. Both films are brilliant, but I still think that "Jurassic Park" is better material to study in film school.

Click here to view the trailer.

Jurassic Park (5 Stars)

It's difficult to pick a list of my favorite films. A few months ago I posted a top 10 list here. But the trouble is, as I said at the time, that I change my mind a lot. I omitted "Jurassic Park". After watching it again this morning I've decided that it must be in the list. It's one of the best films ever made. Not just for the special effects, which were revolutionary at the time (1993). The structure of the film, with its perfect mix of character development, suspense, human interest and action is something that should be studied in film schools. Maybe it is. This film is a testament to Steven Spielberg's brilliance. It should be taken as an example for other film makers, to show them what they're doing wrong. Within the first 15 minutes of the film I knew all the main characters intimately, their strengths and their flaws. I even had a feeling for the minor characters, what makes them tick.

Do I really have to tell you the plot? Is there anyone who hasn't seen this film at least once? Let me summarise in a few words. A scientist has found a way to bring dinosaurs back to life. He's breeding them on a small island in South America, and he intends to open a safari park with dinosaurs. Before the park can open the dinosaurs break out of the compounds and start killing people.

A simple enough plot that could have been the basis for a laughable trashy film in the hands of a lesser director. But Steven Spielberg's skills have lifted it to the level of brilliance.

In many ways this film is similar in structure to "Jaws", the monster film that first made Spielberg famous. Instead of a giant shark there are dinosaurs. Both films start with action and the killing of a random victim (the young girl swimming, the park worker). They move on to the introduction of an inept main character (the island police chief who is scared of water, the archaeologist who is scared of computers). Since this character is stuffy, we need an erratic exciting main character as a counterpart (the marine biologist, the mathematician specialising in chaos theory). Then a slow build up to a big terrifying showdown.

Click here to view the trailer.

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On an unrelated topic. Today I updated to the new version of Blogger. And I hate it. It's much more awkward to move back and forth between the statistics, the blog itself, and the dashboard. In the past I rarely used the dashboard. Now I'm forced to. I guess I'll have to get used to it.

I've been pondering for a while whether I should start another blog. More of a soapbox for ranting about random topics that interest me. I still haven't decided. For now I'll stick to this blog, but if I have too many off-topic matters I want to write about I might start my second blog.

Shaolin (5 Stars)

This is an example of what cinema should be about. The film has everything. A tale of morals, with fast action, comic interludes, romance and deep spirituality, and all set against a historical background. I admit that I bought the film because of Jackie Chan, but Andy Lau is the actor who carries the film. After his attempts to depart from evil we laugh and cry with him on every step of his journey.

I'm not an expert in Chinese history, but to the best of my knowledge this film takes part at the beginning of the 20th Century, round about 1910. Andy Lau plays General Hou Jie, an evil man who desecrates a Shaolin temple while hunting for his enemies who have taken refuge. When he becomes the target of an assassination attempt by his lieutenant he returns to the temple and asks to become a monk in order to atone for his past deeds. He's sent to work in the kitchen where he serves the temple's cook, played by Jackie Chan. For a few years he lives in peace, thought dead by the outside world, until his old enemies discover him and want to kill him. But he's now on a path of peace.

Apart from telling the tale of General Hou's spiritual development, it's also a film that shows a transition from the past to the present. The monks defend themselves with swords or their bare fists, while their enemies are armed with guns and cannons. The old holy grounds have to be dug up to build railways. Maybe it's a slight spoiler, but the temple itself has to be abandoned, so the monks and novices are confronted with the task of living a spiritual life in the outside world.

Click here to view the trailer. It's a breathtaking trailer, worth watching. Sometimes trailers are made that exaggerate a film's potential, picking out the few good scenes and making it look better than it is. Not in this case. The film delivers everything that the trailer promises.

Incidentally, I've been told that Andy Lau isn't primarily an actor, he's best known in China as a singer. A quick web search has informed me that he's recorded SIXTY-ONE albums! Wow! And he still has time to make films?

Romeo must die (4 Stars)

Two gangs divide the waterfront area of Oakland, California between themselves in an uneasy truce. One gang is black, the other is Chinese. The truce breaks down when a wealthy corporation wants to buy the waterfront to build a new football stadium. The violence escalates when the son of the Chinese boss is found murdered. Jet Li plays Han, the older brother of the murdered son, fresh from Hong Kong seeking revenge. But as soon as he arrives in America he has a chance meeting with the daughter of the other gang's boss, played by Aaliyah, and they fall in love.

Although full of martial arts fighting and modern rap music, the film has a cheesy 80's Blaxploitation feeling. The plot is predictable, no big surprises, but the film is still exciting and has an uplifting romantic message about the success of love against overwhelming odds. It's an enjoyable film to watch, though probably not more than once.

Click here to view the trailer.

Triangle (4½ Stars)

Have you ever woken up from a dream and found that after waking up you were still dreaming? So you wake up again, and you find you're still dreaming. Not just a dream within a dream within a dream, but it's always the same dream.

"Triangle" is a three-point film in more ways than one. It's an Australian film with a British director set in America. The Australian actors speak with plausible American accents, to my ears at least. Maybe an American is a better judge.

Jess, played by Melissa George, is a single mother with an autistic son. She goes on a sailing trip with some friends, leaving her son behind. He's at school, she says, although it's a Saturday. They sail from the harbour, and their ship is overturned by a freak storm. They manage to climb onto a passing ocean liner. But it's deserted. The only other person on board is a masked gunman who's shooting the friends one by one, until only Jess is left.

A typical horror story, you say? This is where the twists start. Jess battles with the gunman (who we then find out is a woman). Jess overpowers the masked women and is about to kill her, when the woman warns Jess that the only way to save her friends is to kill them all. Jess pushes the woman overboard, after which she sees her friends, including herself, boarding the ship. She watches them in secret and realises that time is repeating itself. But she is also being watched by a third version of herself who is preparing to kill the friends.

The film grows more and more fascinating as it continues. The time loops are even more complex than Jess imagined, starting before she even left her house in the morning. Jess attempts to break the loop, but everything she does makes her follow the same path as her former selves.

While I enjoy this film greatly, and feel tempted to give it a full 5 stars, I have to accuse it of plagiarism. I don't mind it borrowing the scene of a character ringing his own doorbell from "Lost Highway". Or the references to "The Shining", such as the dead body in room 237. The problem is that the film doesn't just borrow scenes from "Timecrimes", made two years earlier, it copies whole plotlines. Director Christopher Smith denies imitating "Timecrimes", but this is just as impossible to believe as when Joss Whedon denied that he was imitating David Lynch films in "Restless", the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season four. If Smith had made "Triangle" in film school he would have been failed for plagiarism, but this isn't school, it's the real world. The film stands on its own merits. And it's definitely worth watching.

Click here to view the trailer.

Bikini Carwash Company 2 (3½ Stars)

It's sad, really. But it's all about business. Naive people like me would like to say that the film industry is about art, but the bottom line is money. "Bikini Car Wash", made in 1992, was a classic. I won't take back any of the praise I wrote about it a few days ago, and if you start a discussion by commenting on my post I'll heap even more praise on it. The following year a sequel was made to cash in on the original film's success. I won't say that the sequel sucks. It's actually quite reasonable, but it falls way short of the legacy of the first film.

The plot: it's a few years since the carwash was started, and it's become a nationwide industry. The girls from the original film have now graduated, and Melissa (Kristi Ducati) is now the owner, since Jack has gone to Africa to feed starving children. Or maybe actor Joe Dusic just thought the new plot sucked. Anyway, Melissa is tricked into selling the carwash company to a global corporation that intends to shut it down and use the land for real estate. To prevent this she has to raise four million dollars within four days to buy it back. She does this by renting a Christian television station, The Miracle Network, for a week to run 24-hour infomercials selling sexy lingerie.

The problems: Firstly, not enough car washing. The film isn't faithful to its roots. Obviously the writers thought they couldn't repeat the same story. But why not? They didn't need to do anything new. Secondly, the Christian line wasn't milked enough. The station willingly handed over the broadcasting rights, and I was waiting for the comic situations from a religious backlash which never came. Missed opportunities.

Normally I don't comment on the technical details of film transfer, but in this case I really must. The picture quality of the region 2 release sucks big time. This is most evident in the fast moving scenes. It's fuzzy and pixelated like a low quality Internet download. Awful. I would have given this film 4 stars, but the poor quality earns this a penalty. I hope the region 1 release is better. Has anyone seen it?

Bikini Carwash Company (5 Stars)

No, that isn't a mistake. I give this film 5 stars. This film is an icon of trash cinema. I don't even call it "so bad that it's good", it's just good.

In the 1990's there was a flood of "bikini films" in the USA. They were easy to identify by their name. Just do a search on Amazon.com for films that have a title beginning with "Bikini", and you'll find films with names like "Bikini Drive-In" and "Bikini Airways". This was a mini-genre in itself with a constantly repeated formula. A business is failing. To save it girls in bikinis are hired to attract male customers. Such films always include light comedy and a romantic sub-plot involving a nerdy man. There are occasional bare breasts, but never full frontal nudity.

While I'm unsure if this was the first film of its type, it's certainly the best. Jack McGowan has to spend the summer looking after his Uncle Elmer's car wash. It's not making enough money to pay for his uncle's medical bills, so a group of female college students help him by serving customers in bikinis. There are complaints from the assistant district attorney who considers the company indecent, but these complaints are refuted by appealing to American freedom of expression.

There are a few oddities in the film that give it a quaint quality. Los Angeles is being stalked by a flasher who has Terminator type vision. During sex scenes quotes from the Gettysburg Address are chanted. Surreal.

This film has achieved cult status. It's the only film in the bikini film genre that has been released in England. When it was out of print the DVD was being sold to collectors for £130 and more. Luckily there was a new release last year. I strongly recommend this film to my readers. If you still have any doubts please check out this more detailed review by a fellow blogger.

TV Series: Jekyll

When I bought this tv series (or more accurately a mini-series) on DVD I knew almost nothing about it. I bought it simply because the writer was Steven Moffat, the controversial new head writer for "Doctor Who". And the fact that the six-episode box set only cost £2.45 made me willing to take a risk.

The story's premise is simple enough. A descendant of the original Dr. Jekyll, also cursed with an evil alter-ego, is living in modern day England. The novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson was not a work of fiction, it was true story.

Steven Moffat is both loved and hated by Doctor Who fans for his style of writing. His stories are very complex, with interlocking plots and sub-plots. I discovered within two episodes of "Jekyll" that this style is typical for his other work. Every episode introduces new twists and surprises. Nothing is certain until the final minutes of the last episode. Excellent story-telling! Definitely worth buying, but I'm afraid that Americans will have to pay $18.65 for the series, five times as much as the English price. It sucks to be an American.

Click here to view the trailer.

Little Big Soldier (3 Stars)

Inside the wok the eagle and the chicken are both meat.

The film takes place in China in 227 B.C. The kingdoms of Wei and Liang have gone to war. Before they can fight they're ambushed by a third party -- the Qin? -- and both armies are slaughtered, There are only two survivors: a simple farmer from Liang, and the general of the Wei army, who is also heir to the throne of Wei. The farmer takes the general captive, hoping to take him home and claim a reward. But as they fight for survival they become friends.

This is an epic historical film of the type frequently made in China. It stars Jackie Chan as the farmer, and I'm a big Jackie Chan fan. And yet I didn't really enjoy the film. Maybe it was the wrong role for Jackie. I've grown so used to seeing him as a comedian, but the Liang farmer is only slightly amusing. With the exception of the general's younger brother I didn't understand the motivation of the other characters. Various individuals or gangs come and fight against the two main characters, or against each other, but why? Maybe it was a time of chaos and turmoil in China, but as a viewer I would like to get to know the characters who are battling.

Click here to view the trailer.

Before the Devil knows you're dead (4½ Stars)

It's been over two weeks since I watched any films. I've been catching up on some of my favorite television series on DVD. Sure, they were good. I've been watching high quality television like "Dexter", "Star Trek" and "La Femme Nikita". And yet there's nothing quite like a film. There's a big difference between the rambling character development of a television series and the self-contained unit of a film. Both have their qualities. I enjoy both, depending on my mood. And today I watched a great film.

It's the first time I've watched "Before the Devil knows you're dead". The film was made in 2007, but I only heard about it recently, when a friend strongly recommended it to me. I wasn't disappointed. Well, I admit that the first 15 minutes confused me. It starts with a couple having sex on their wedding night. Then it jumps to a robbery a few years later. From there on the scenes jump backwards and forwards through time, but by then I had figured out what's happening.

My biggest complaint about the film is the seemingly random title. It's the second half of an old Irish blessing, "May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead". This is what's shown in the film. Andy is shown having a moment of pure bliss on his wedding night in Brazil. From that time on he drops deeper and deeper into suffering. All the while he dreams of returning to Brazil, but as he progresses his dreams become less and less possible.

Andy is a successful businessman, the head of the finance department of a big company. His younger brother Hank works for the same company doing maintenance work. Although it's not stated we can assume that Andy has used his influence to get his failure of a brother a job. He deeply cares for his baby brother. But Andy has problems. He's become a drug addict, and he's stealing company funds to pay for his habit. Although he loves his wife their sex life has become dull, and he thinks he can solve all his problems by going back to live in Brazil. And so he devises the perfect crime. He plans to rob the small jewellery store owned by his parents. He expects no trouble, but his mother is shot to death. From this point his life spirals downhill.

This was the last film made by director Sidney Lumet before his death. I confess that I'd never heard of him, and I was surprised to hear in the interviews that cast and crew members were calling him "the best director who has ever lived". Just an opinion, of course, but this film is certainly a masterpiece. Lumet insists (in the interviews included on the DVD) that the film isn't a thriller, it's a melodrama. For the leading roles he picked actors who have experience of performing in theatres. He was aiming for the atmosphere of a play. There was a lengthy period of rehearsals in which he allowed the actors to bring their own feelings and emotions into the story. Rather than making requirements of them he asked them to "act naturally", as they really would if they lived through the events of the film. After this the filming was done in a relatively short period, as if it were a live theatre performance. The results are impressive. And I understand Lumet's point. The film isn't a thriller. It focuses on the emotions and interpersonal relationships of the family. It's a character study with depths that make it necessary to watch the film again and again.

Click here to view the trailer.

TV Series: Monty Python's Flying Circus

My regular readers will probably have guessed the reason for my lack of posts this month. I've been watching television series instead of films. I don't write reviews of every series I watch, but I ought to make a few comments, just so that you know I'm still alive. Among other things I've been watching "Monty Python's Flying Circus" lately. The whole tv series, as broadcast from 1969 to 1973.

I often speak to people who claim to be Monty Python fans. Then when I ask them they say they only know the films, not the television series. Significantly, in America the Monty Python tv series has never been released on DVD as a standalone item, it's only been boxed together with the films, as if it were an extra. If you're one of the people who only knows Monty Python from the films you're missing out. True, the films are excellent (and I may review them at a future date), but the television shows are even better.

The Monty Python team was made up of six writers, who were also the primary actors in the show: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. In the fourth season John Cleese left the show. A lot of fans associate Monty Python with John Cleese, but he was actually a minor contributor. In the whole of the third season he only wrote two sketches, although he appeared as an actor throughout the season. All six people wrote sketches, but the main creative team was Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam also co-wrote a large number of sketches.

Monty Python is often considered a revolution in British comedy, but it was actually part of a continuous development which started with "The Goon Show", a radio comedy series starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe that ran from 1951 to 1960. Spike Milligan continued this style of comedy on television in his solo series. "The Frost Report" and "At last the 1948 Show" were two other comedy series leading up to Monty Python.

It's difficult to summarise the humour of Monty Python. Obviously it's known for its silliness, but there are serious intellectual undertones. Palin and Jones were Oxford University graduates, while Cleese, Chapman and Idle were Cambridge graduates. Their sketches frequently make reference to Jean-Paul Sartre and other philosophers. A typical Monty Python episode is a series of sketches that run into one another. Although the sketches were usually on unrelated topics, there would be random intrusions by characters or situations from previous sketches.

The sketches would often use alienation techniques, reminding the viewer that he's only watching television. A character might forget his lines, and somebody else would hand him the script to remind him. Someone would turn up in a costume, then be sent away because he wasn't due till the next sketch. People from the "BBC planning committee" would walk in and order a sketch to be discontinued because it was too silly. Sometimes a show would have a fake ending, and the viewer would be fooled into believing that the news was starting. The BBC vignette would show, followed by the news credits, and on several occasions the newsreader Richard Baker would appear reading fake news reports. ("Monty Python's Flying Service" was broadcast at 8:30pm on BBC1, the main news program of the day was at 9:00pm). This doesn't work quite as effectively on DVD, but I'm sure many viewers were fooled when it was first broadcast.

While not a revolution in British comedy, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" was certainly the peak in its genre. Very few programmes carried on in this style. Spike Milligan and Marty Feldman had similar comedy shows. Probably "The Goodies" came closest to the spirit of Monty Python, while not reaching its quality. If you haven't seen the tv series yet, buy it. For an early series, starting in 1969, it's surprisingly good picture and sound quality. It compares favorably with "The Benny Hill Show", which still has some fuzzy scenes as late as 1982.

Off-Topic: Dealing with toothache

Now here's a totally random topic. It's a little something I'd like to share with my readers. We all know and all hate toothache. I suffer from it more than most, due to not taking care of my teeth in my early years. For me the turning point was when I was 20. I had a girlfriend who was an assistant in a dental practice, and she convinced me how important it was to look after my teeth. Louise Bailey was her name. I wonder if she still remembers me. But by then it was too late. My teeth were already full of fillings that have had to be replaced over the years.

But now to my tip. Almost by random I've found out that the Greek spirit Ouzo helps against toothache. Pour yourself a small glass of Ouzo, preferably chilled. 1-2 cl should be enough. Hold it in your mouth as long as you can. After that either swallow it or spit it out, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that the pain is gone, for a few hours at least. Try it.

In Germany you can buy it in any supermarket. In England Lidl sells it. Otherwise you can order it online.

Lord of the Dance (4 Stars)

It was Saint Patrick's Day yesterday, so I decided to watch an Irish film. I was undecided between "Lord of the Dance", "Angela's Ashes" and "The Brylcreem Boys". Then I went shopping and saw some young girls doing Irish dances at Asda. That made my mind up.

I watched the DVD which is a live performance of the show in Dublin in 1996. This is still available in America (click the picture above) but not in England. The dancing is as perfect as it could be. Even though I first saw the show on television -- this exact performance -- in 1997 I've never made an attempt to understand its exact meaning. It's a mixture of fairies, druids, temptation, battle with evil, death and resurrection. I'm sure I could google to find a full interpretation of the story, but I prefer not to. I just let the spectacular dancing and visual imagery wash over me.

My main criticism is about the editing of the piece. I hate the slow motion parts, especially at the beginning. If I wanted slow motion I have a button on my DVD player. As a live performance it's adequate, but the musical could have been made better in the studio with better lighting. I've been told that "Feet of Flames", a variation on the same musical, is better, but I haven't seen it.

I've heard a lot of criticism about this performance because of lead dancer Michael Flatley's ego. He works the crowd. He shouts to them. He swaggers around the stage. Does this really matter? He may be a dancer, but he has the posturing of a rock star. And I like rock stars.

TV Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

After a long pause I've continued watching "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (TNG for short). My last review was in April last year. This week I've watched the whole second season. I enjoyed the first season, but this season is even better. Let me point out all the changes that I can think of.

Several members of the crew have been replaced or reassigned. It's not always clear why.

Lieutenant Geordi La Forge was a navigator in the first season, but in this season he's become chief engineer. This is an understandable promotion. Chief O'Brien, who worked in engineering in the first season, has now been demoted to operating the transporter. What happened to him? Was he punished because he was drunk on duty?

After the death of Lieutenant Tasha Yar in the first season, Lieutenant Worf has now become the security officer. While this is undoubtably a good position for a Klingon, it's a strange change because he was communications officer in the first season. Maybe Star Fleet likes to rotate their personnel?

Doctor Pulaski takes over as ship's doctor in this season. I groaned in her first two episodes because she seemed too much of a clone of Doctor McCoy in the original series (TOS) in her dealings with Data. Luckily this was dropped in the following episodes.

The enigmatic alien Guinan has become the bartender in the previously unshown bar called Ten Forward. Whoopi Goldberg plays this role. Evidently she rang up the series producers and begged for a role. At first they said No, because they didn't have anything appropriate for a star of her fame. She said that she would do anything to be on the show, even if she were only sweeping the floor in the background. And so they created the role of bartender for her, which was perfect because she wasn't needed every week and could fit her appearances around her film schedules.

Then there are the cosmetic changes. In the first season the uniforms had been a mixture. Some women had short uniforms, as in TOS, although most had uniforms that covered their legs. Now all the women have long uniforms. That's a shame. I loved the female uniforms in TOS. On the other hand, the first season of TNG also had a few men walking around in short uniforms. To avoid claims of sexism? Now they too all wear long uniforms.

First Officer William Riker has grown a beard. No comment!

In this season Worf is used more. In the first season he'd been a background character, but now we're seeing more of what makes him tick. However, the two main characters of the series are still Riker and Data, with Captain Jean-Luc Picard coming a close third.

Incidentally... the complete DVD box set of TNG only costs £75.50 in England. What a bargain! Click the picture above for a link to buy it. On the other hand, in America it costs $311. That's almost three times as much as the price in England! I've commented before on the overpricing of DVD's in the USA. I'm just glad I live in England.

12 Winters (4 Stars)

This film is based on a true story. In 1984 the two petty criminals Mike Roth and Klaus Starck meet in prison. In 1990 they meet again on the outside. Together they devise a way to rob banks without getting caught. Every winter they rob three banks in different parts of Germany. Always banks in small villages. By making relatively small robberies at long intervals they remain "under the radar". The police don't realise it's a crime series and don't connect them. After all, in Germany there are 300 bank robberies a year, so why should these three be attributed to the same gang?

A fascinating film. The scenes with the police investigation run slowly, but that's normal. This is a true story. Outside of the movies police work is rarely exciting, it's a dull daily routine, slowly putting clues together. The scenes with the two robbers are rather touching. I grew to know them during the film, and more than that, I grew to like them. They are both very pleasant characters, and I booed when the police finally caught up with them.

The film has only been released in Germany, but it has English subtitles.

Intimate Affairs (1½ Stars)

I don't know what the background to this film is. The director is an American, and the actors are all English speaking, but it was filmed in Germany with German producers and a German film crew.

The story takes place in 1929. A rich young man invites people to his father's mansion to ask them questions about sex. You would think that with top actors like Nick Nolte, Neve Campbell, Robin Tunney and Julie Delpy it would be a great film. But no. The film is artistic, lavishly set, but dull. Almost the whole film takes place in one room. Not worth watching. Even the random sex scenes weren't enough to keep me interested.

Night Train (5 Stars)

Christmas Day on a train. The early morning hours, between 2 and 4 am. The train is travelling almost empty, with only five passengers. In one carriage we see Chloe and Pete, a young medical student (Leelee Sobieski) and a half drunk salesman (Steve Zahn). In the next there are two Japanese businessmen playing Go. And in the next there's an eccentric old woman travelling with her dog. The train conductor, Miles, is played by Danny Glover, and his junior assistant is played by Matthias Schweighöfer.

The train is boarded by a mysterious man clutching a box to his chest. He sits with Chloe and Pete for a few minutes, then commits suicide before their eyes. At first they ask the conductor to call the police, but then they see that the box contains great treasure and decide to dispose of the body and keep it for themselves. They panic when another man boards the train at the next station and tells them the box is cursed; everyone who looks into it will die before sunrise.

From then on Chloe, Pete and Miles conspire against one another. Nobody wants to share the treasure, they each want it for themselves. And then they find out that the other passengers on the train aren't random travellers. The Japanese businessmen were on the train waiting to steal the box. And the old woman wants the box. Everyone is armed and dangerous, and the passengers begin to kill one another in their greed.

The film is a genre buster. It can't be compared with any other films being made today. Although set today the train is very old-fashioned. Director Brian King says that this is meant as an homage to the films set on trains in the 40's and 50's. I'm afraid I can hardly think of any. "Murder on the Orient Express", that's all.

I can't fault any of the actors. Leelee Sobieski is perfect as the young psychopath hacking bodies into pieces. Steve Zahn is convincing as the unsuccessful salesman seeing a quick chance to get rich. Till now I've never taken much notice of Danny Glover, but he's excellent as the disillusioned old conductor, unhappy that he's done nothing with his life but too old to change things.

Click here to view the trailer.

Let's talk about Matthias Schweighöfer who plays the role of Frankie, the junior conductor. He's only 30 years old, but he's already made 40 films. Film critics in Germany heap praise on him and are comparing with Orson Welles. He started his career in Germany, but he's making more and more films in America. Like this one. It's been said that "Germany is too small for him". In other films, such as "The Red Baron" and "Valkyrie", he's played Germans. In this film the character of Frankie isn't German, he was just picked because they needed an actor who looks like a young boy. However, he has one problem standing in the way of success. How can an actor become famous with a name like Schweighöfer? He needs a new name. Maybe "Swyguffer", which is about the closest the Americans can get to pronouncing his name anyway. Or maybe something completely different. Matt Swift would be a good stage name for this young actor with a big future ahead of him. An excellent name. I hope he's reading my blog and will tell me what he thinks.

Finding Bliss (4 Stars)

What's your first impression when you see the DVD cover pictured above? If you've never heard of the film before and know nothing about it? A sleazy sex comedy? "American Pie" on steroids? You wouldn't be completely wrong on either count. And so you'd give it a miss? Stop! Look who's in the film! Any film starring Leelee Sobieski has to be of the highest quality. I watched this film on the basis of her name alone. And I wasn't disappointed.

At heart this is a chick flick set against the background of the sordid underbelly of Los Angeles. Leelee Sobieski plays Jody Balaban, a film school student with big dreams. Jody is a virgin. Almost. While at film school she has her first and only sexual encounter, which ends up as a disaster. She finishes top of her class and decides to go to Hollywood to make it big as a screenwriter. Among other things she writes a film based on her own life to tell the message that you should wait till marriage to have sex. But like so many before her she finds out that a college degree is no guarantee of success, and she ends up doing part time jobs in L.A.

Until she finally gets her break. Or so she thinks. She's offered a job as a film editor at Grind Studios, and she's too naive to realise it's a pornography company till she gets there. Though disgusted by the film content she does excellent work, and after hours she uses the studio to direct her own screenplay, using the actors who star in the porn films. In the process she falls in love with the head of the film studio, despite the fact that he tells her that all people want is sex, not love.

It's an ironic situation, a proponent of chastity working at a pornographic studio, and it leads to many comic moments. I can't help thinking that Leelee is speaking out of character when she implores others to save themselves for marriage. This is what she did in real life. She remained a virgin until she married at 26, not for religious reasons but simply because she thought it was right.

Click here to view the trailer.

We are the night (5 Stars)

German cinema is returning to its roots. The world's first vampire film was "Nosferatu", made in 1922 by Friedrich Murnau. 90 years later we have a new spin on vampire mythology by writer/director Dennis Gansel. In the world he speaks of all the vampires are female; the males have been destroyed because they were too loud and too stupid.

Berlin. Since the reunification the German capital has regained its pre-war status as the most decadent city in Europe. Lena is a petty thief on the run from the police. A young police detective called Tom tries to arrest her, but after she kicks him in the balls he falls in love with her and tries to hide her from his colleagues. Only in Berlin.....

In a nightclub Lena stumbles on a vampire coven. The three vampiresses Louise, Charlotte and Nora are living a life of luxury. "We can eat, fuck and do drugs all we want, and we never get fat, pregnant or addicted". They make her a vampire and induct her into their expensive lifestyle, stealing a Lamborghini for her to drive. Nothing but the best for these creatures of the night. But Lena has a crush on Tom. Are her loyalties with him or her fellow vampires?

This is a sexy, exciting and totally irreverent vampire story, much fresher than any vampire films made in America in the last years. A stunning performance by Karoline Herfurth whose sexy innocence is rapidly making her one of my favourite actresses.

Click here to view the trailer.

Dresden (5 Stars)

I have a difficult stand on this film. I've watched it a few times and enjoy it greatly, but film critics and fans alike think badly of it. It's been described as Romeo and Juliet meeting on the Titanic and sailing along the River Elbe to Dresden. Ouch! Although this is meant as an insult I have to admit that the film had already reminded me of "Titanic".

This is a love story set against the background of the destruction of Dresden in 1945. Robert Newman is a British bomber hiding in the cellar of a hospital in Dresden after a crash landing. He meets a nurse and they fall in love, despite the fact she's already engaged to marry a doctor. They attempt to escape together before being caught in the bombing raids of February 13th 1945.

The criticisms of the film are manifold. It's too long (3 hours). A German woman would never fall in love with a British bomber. The Nazi officers are too caricatured. I don't care. For me the film is a moving love story, showing how two people from different worlds can love each other in the middle of the most difficult circumstances. Maybe I should remove a star for the stupid voiceover at the end. "Our love did not last, because Robert's plane crashed into the north sea when he was coming to Dresden to see his baby for the first time". That could have been excused if it had been a true story, but in a work of fiction it's totally unnecessary.

Die Frau, die im Wald verschwand (4 Stars)

The film's title translates as "The woman who disappeared in the woods". It takes place in 1956 in the fictional Swabian town of Großgelden. The war is over. The hard working Swabians have done their best to forget the past. This succeeds until the mayor's wife mysteriously wanders off into the woods one day and disappears without a trace.

Bit by bit we discover the town's history. The mayor used to be a doctor treating soldiers on the front line. His wife spent the war as a prostitute serving the officers. The owner of the town's textile company is a pardoned war criminal who needs to be punished by dominatrixes to find relief for his guilt. The town's psychiatrist is a Jew, and the level of anti-semitism is still high enough to make people ashamed to admit they've been seeing him. And then a mysterious soldier returns who's been missing in action since 1944.

A unique and fascinating film about post-war Swabia. This was the second in a series of films cut short by the untimely death of director Oliver Storz in 2011. The first film was "Drei Schwestern Made in Germany", set in Swabia in 1947. It was Storz's wish to make a series of films about Swabian life, one for each decade from the 1940's to the present. I can think of no other director qualified to continue his work. R.I.P.

Veronika decides to die (3 Stars)

When I first started writing this blog in 2010 it was a very personal thing. I had no pretensions that it would be a film review site. I'm no Roger Ebert. It was simply meant to be a film diary, telling my friends what I've been watching and whether I like it. The emphasis is on the word friends. In the early days my blog was almost exclusively read by my friends. I had about 10 readers a day, and it was easy for me to figure out who they were because they talked to me about what I'd written. Now things have changed. I have 80 to 150 readers a day, and I have no idea who they are. They're complete strangers who stumble on my site when they're googling to find information about a film. I don't mind the popularity, but I'd like to get the personal touch back. I'd like to get to know my readers. I'd like this blog to be a way to make new friends. So please, become followers and leave comments. Tell me a bit about yourselves, what films you like, etc.

Now to the film. I very rarely watch films online. It's not because of the question of legality; I want to experience films in the best possible quality. "Veronika wants to die" is an exception for the simple reason that it hasn't been released on DVD. I found it on the web site http://www.watchfreemovies.ch. I don't have much experience with online film sites, but it seems to be reasonable quality. There were a few annoying popups at first. I was presented with nine links to watch the film. The first few links were broken, but I eventually found a working link.

The film stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as the successful daughter of Slovenian immigrants in New York. She has a top job at an advertising company, but she's lonely and decides to commit suicide. Sadly she wakes up from her overdose and finds herself in a mental hospital. Even worse, she's told that the suicide attempt damaged her body and she only has a few weeks left to live. The prospect of a short life shocks her into making the most of every day she has left, so the film should more accurately be called "Veronika decides to live". The film then shows how Veronika's motivation changes the lives of not just the other patients, but also of Dr. Blake, the mental home's head psychiatrist. On the surface this is a depressing film, but in truth it's a very motivating film about the beauty of life.

Click here to view the trailer.

Thor (4½ Stars)

This film was already reviewed by my guest writer Kay here. She didn't like it, I do.

I had a strange conversation yesterday. Someone said that she didn't like "Planet of the Apes", she thought it was bad. I contradicted her and said it was a great film. She seemed insulted by what I said, or maybe the way I said it. Let's get this straight: no film is objectively "good" or "bad". It's all a matter of opinion. A film might have poor quality special effects, but a great plot. Another film might have breathtaking special effects, but an illogical storyline. Which of the two is better? That's up to you to decide. An even more extreme example: a film might have been shot on a low budget with amateur actors and seem bad, but a viewer might like it because it was filmed in his town and he can say "Look, that's the house my Aunt Maude lives in". Then there are the Troma films which have have unrealistic acting deliberately for the sake of "art".

It's all about opinions. I often call a film "awful" or "fantastic", but I don't claim I'm right. If I'm contradicting your opinion, please don't think I'm saying that I'm right and you're wrong. Not even if I use strong words to put across my point. If I have an opinion I express it strongly, and not just about films, though that's a different matter. If you like something that I don't, tell me why. I doubt you'll change my mind, but we can have an enjoyable discussion.

But that's enough rambling on. Let's get back to "Thor". If I were comparing it with the original comics I'd have to give it a fail. So much of the Marvel canon has been rewritten, it's ridiculous. I have to judge the film on its own merits. Though I do regret one thing: I wish that Thor and the other characters would speak old English with "thee" and "thou" like in the comics. That would have given the film more of a Shakespearian style. Hmmm, yes, and I wish that Thor would periodically transform into the lame Donald Blake. That would add a poignancy that the film misses. And I wish that Jane Foster were a mere nurse rather than a scientist. In fact, the more I think about it, everything in the comics was better. But as a film in its own rights it stands up for itself. The God of Thunder, Thor, is exiled to Earth by his father Odin because of his arrogance and belligerence. His evil half brother Loki takes advantage of this to take over Asgard. Oops, I forgot, in the film Loki isn't Thor's half brother, he's adopted. Too many changes!

For me the film's real star is Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki. I hadn't seen him before, it looks like this is his breakthrough film. He perfectly carries off the role of an evil but likeable character. I'm curious to see how he will look in other films.

Click here to view the trailer.

Off-Topic: Angelina's Right Leg

Last Sunday was the biggest day of the film year. The Oscar awards. As expected, "The Artist" (which I haven't seen yet) won the award for Best Film. But years after people have forgotten what film won the top awards in 2012 something else will be remembered. The real star of the Film Academy awards was Angelina Jolie's right leg. She visited the awards wearing a stunning black Atelier Versace gown with a thigh high slit on the right. Normally I would have no complaints about a woman trying to look sexy, but her show-the-right-leg pose was repeated identically so often that it was obvious she had spent hours practising it in front of the mirror. Whether standing alone on the red carpet or holding hands with her husband she struck the same pose with mechanical accuracy. Maybe the first few times she achieved the desired Wow effect, but by the time she went on stage to present the Best Screenplay awards the audience started to giggle as soon as she repeated the pose. Screenwriter Jim Rash was the first person to publicly mock her when he accepted his award.

I have mixed feelings about the whole affair. Angelina Jolie used to be a very beautiful woman, but in recent years she's deteriorated by losing too much weight. Just look at her arms! I feel sorry for her that she's become a laughing stock, but she only has herself to blame. Let's hope that she can bounce back and give us some more positive memories of herself.

Grill Point (4 Stars)

The original German title of this film is "Halbe Treppe", which translates as "halfway up the steps". Or "halfway down". The main character Uwe is always shown walking down the steps, never up. The German title is better, because the halfway symbolism is a recurrent theme throughout the film.

This is a very artistic film set in Frankfurt am Oder, arguably the ugliest city in Germany. It is very gritty and urban. Nothing glamorous about it. Uwe owns an "Imbiss", a typical German fast food restaurant, selling sausages and beer. His wife Ellen works behind the perfume counter of a department store, her customers all wealthier than herself. Uwe's best friend Chris is a radio DJ in the early morning dead hours while most people are asleep. Chris's wife Katrin sits on the border checking the paperwork of trucks travelling in and out of Poland. Four people in their middle ages, halfway through life, with boring jobs and boring marriages. Then one day the unimaginable happens. Chris begins an affair with Ellen. The film tells of the changes that occur.

Actor Axel Prahl, who plays Uwe, has to be praised for his dedication to his career. He spent two weeks in Frankfurt selling sausages and beer to the locals to get a feeling for the job.

The film and the love affair are as unglamorous as the lives of the four people portrayed. It isn't about escapism. The camera is turned back at the viewer, showing you your own life while you watch the film.

I personally enjoy the film's alienation techniques. In between scenes the characters are asked by an off-screen interviewer what they think about what just happened. On the one hand this reminds the viewer that it's "just a film", but it also brings the viewer closer, telling him what's inside of the head of the characters. The interviews aren't fully outside of the film, they're inside of the film in a surreal way. For instance, an interview with Uwe is interrupted by a phone call, and Uwe tells the interviewer, "I can't talk any more now, Chris wants to see me".