A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Bong Joonho, “The Host” (2006) Often billed as a horror film, “The Host” actually has as much comedy, drama and suspense thriller as it has horror.…
Ridley Scott, “Alien” (1979) In the wake of news that Ridley Scott has started work on “Prometheus”, the movie prologue to “Alien”, it’s timely to revisit…
Takashi Miike, “One Missed Call” (2004) Coming from Takashi Miike (of “Ichi the Killer” fame), this contemporary update on the Japanese psychological horror ghost story in…
Chukiat Sakveerakul, “13 Beloved” aka “13: Game of Death” (2006) Your name is Phuchit and you labour rather unenthusiastically as a sales rep in a company…
German and German-language Films
Latin American Films (Spanish language)
Guillermo del Toro, “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) This is an excellent film that successfully combines dark fantasy and horror with historical drama set in fascist-ruled Spain in…
Matt Reeves, “Let Me In”, Hammer Films / Overture Films (2010) Once upon a time about 25 years ago in a small town somewhere in Reagan-era America, there was…
Roman Polanski, “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) Who doesn’t envy young couples these days who dream of having a nice 3-bedroom house or apartment in the city close to…
Tomas Alfredsson, “Let the Right One In” (2008) Often when a novel is translated to the screen, the result is a superficial imitation of the printed word:…
Vincenzo Natali, “Splice”, Dark Castle Entertainment (2010) Fans of former Oscar Best Actor winner Adrien Brody must be wondering how their man came to be slumming it…