Reviews

One of the best comedies to emerge from Hongkong in the recent past. While other comedies from China often seem childish and silly, this one captures all the qualities we love from far-east cinema: It has great, great action. It has great, great special FX (think Matrix go Berserk). It has a funny story which recaptures movies like "Major League". Now imagine this combined with all that Kung-Fu-Shaolin-Hocuspocus-Manga-Stuff you got to love watching chinese movies and japanese animes. If you like your Kung-Fu action raw to the bone, stay away from this one, but if you want to see a movie that broadens your horizon in sense of humor and martial-arts-FX, you gotta have to see this one. The combination of soccer and Kung-Fu alone is worth a movie. But "Shaolin Soccer" proves that this interesting and funny concept works without any lackluster moments. Watch it and become a fan of asian action comedies! 8/10 points!

Oh, my god it has finally happened: Tim Burton has directed an absolute stinker. From the opening minutes, where Wahlberg gets on a rescue-mission for his chimp (!) to its final "surprise"-ending (which is everything, but no surprise) this movie goes nowhere. No action, no script, no suspense and no sense at all - not even good visuals, which Burton is known for. What made the director and the producers believe that this is a movie? It seems as if the whole crew had no idea what they were doing. The acting - especially by "star" Mark Wahlberg, who once again proves that maybe he is the most overrated actor ever to emerge from Hollywood - but also by theater veterans Roth and Bonham-Carter - is completely dull. Well, at least it fits the movie. Be sure to miss this one, you could spend your money in a more reasonable way- like throwing it away!

This is the last film of maestro Mario Bava - and it´s one of his best. In fact, Shock is the scariest film i´ve ever seen and it scared the hell out of me. It´s the story of a small family moving into a new house. First, things in the house start to move. Then their little son is acting weird, threatening to kill his mother. It takes time till you know what´s going on, but you´ll never guess what it all comes down to. Actually, this movie reminded me of a feverish nightmare-it has the same aesthetics and it seems to have its own logics. The whole movie has such a devastating effect, you´ll be in quite a SHOCK after you´re through. On the technical side it´s perfect, too. Great cameraworks by Bava, a creepy score in the vein of "Goblin" and innovative shock-effects that really get you to jump. I´ve read other reviews and I think that maybe the US-version of this masterpiece is either cut or stupidly dubbed. If you get your hands on a good version (like the Anchor-Bay-Tape), rent it and become a believer! 10 pts.

Wow! What a great movie! From the very first minute to the final scene this movie seems like a defintion for "action". Incredible Swordplay, many, many shootouts, kung-Fu-fights and... yeah, right...zombies!!! But like "Dead/Alive" or "Bad Taste" it´s also funny as hell. Well, that description alone doesn´t sound all too bad - but it´s even better, cause "versus" has great style. To me, its wild visuals reminded me of such a classic as "Evil Dead", regarding its "raw" cinematography. But it also shares a lot with a movie like "Matrix"- minus the multi-million-computer-fx. So, "Versus" appeals to all the senses an action-movie should: It drives you into your seat, makes you laugh till Kingdom Come, and it catches you with your mouth wiiiide open...remember my words, when you see the final swordfight. But there is one warning: You should be ready to walk knee-deep in gore - and become addicted to it!!!! 8 points

There haven´t been many scary horror-movies in the past years and since "Scream", they weren´t original, either. But "Jeepers Creepers" will change it all. A crossover between monster-movie and true-crime-cinema, the great thing about this one is, that it comes off with what I would call a short-story-plot. It starts with no exposition and puts the viewer right in the middle of some gruesome goings-on. And when the movie end after 90 minutes with one of the most bitter, scary and unusual endings I´ve ever seen, you are surprised that the movie is already over. There are no boring dialogues, useless explanations of things that should be left unexplained, or "hip", post-"screamesque in-jokes. And, hey, no stupid teenies at all! The direction by Salva is tight, fast and really inspired. The opening minutes use techniques and motives that resemble "Night of the living dead", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or Steven Spielbergs "Duel". A great movie with nearly no flaws. -If you wanna see something different, this is it.

A wonderful, complex movie about a boy who gets depressed by the hipocrisy in everyday-life. In his loneliness he creates himself a friend, who foresees the future. While Donnie Darko tries to find out what these prophecies are all about, he learns about love, life and... time-travelling. "Donnie Darko" is a very complex movie, which not only deals with social and psychological issues, but also touches on philosophical questions. Many movies have failed in trying to deal with such "heavy" topics, but "Donnie Darko" succeeds in every one of them. Instead of creating a non-consistent patchwork, the great thing about "Donnie Darko" is, that it melts all these different plots into one homogenic movie. The story keeps you glued to the screen, guessing where it will go next. But those of you who expect a straight suspense-movie, watch out: It will take some concentration and maybe some time until all the pieces come together. But if you´ve solved the puzzle, you´ll find that "Donnie Darko" is a very rewarding movie, which you will want to see again and again.

"Brotherhood of the wolf" is Gans´ first movie since the enjoyable "Crying Freeman", a comic-adaptation, which managed to keep the balance between action and drama. This is where "B.o.t.W." fails: The balance. With over 140 minutes this movie is much too long. It starts off very promising as a monster-movie, but obviously Gans doesn´t have the guts to make a simple horror-movie. So "B.o.t.W" tries to be everything: Horror, action, period piece, drama, adventure movie and so on. The problem: All these subplots slow the movie down to a point where you stop to care at all. After one hour of boring dialogues and useless filler scenes, you hope this movie lifts off, but again Gans hits the brakes. There is no rythm there, no red line which keeps it all together, it´s overambitioned and overproduced. The only merits of this boring movie are some visual ideas, but they are only patchwork, the film as a whole lacks style. It shouldn´t be forgotten that the acting is mediocre and the story is full of clichés.

I´ve been a fan of the movies of Brian Yuzna for a long time. Although he won´t be remembered as the greatest directors of all time, his movies have been funny, bloody and imaginative entertainment. But what he did with his new movie "Faust" is beyond words. The acting is painfully terrible, the score destroys every atmosphere, the settings are cheap and the special effects are absolutely cheesy. But, hey, it could´ve been a nice popcorn-movie nonetheless, if "Faust" wasn´t so completely in bad taste and if it had a story. There are moments which remind me of the worst in pornography: There is a disgusting torture-scene which is supposed to be sexy and nearly every boring, stupid and unmotivated scene ends with sex or some uncreative killings. This movie was directed only for money and you see it in every second of it: Throw in some gore, some metal music and some sex and those stupid horror-fans will like it. But it simply doesn´t work, it just makes you want to throw up. "Faust" is the debut of Yuzna´s new production company - He couldn´t have a worse start than this one. Avoid at all cost!!!

Oh my god, what did he do?!? Dario Argento, one of the greatest European directors has delivered a movie, which makes you ask what was going on in his brain when he was filming it. Everything was so promising: "Sleepless" was supposed to be back-to-the-roots, its score is composed by "Goblin", effects by Sergio Stivaletti and with Max von Sydow there is an international star leading the cast. What would Argento have done with a staff like this in the seventies or eighties? Well, in 2001 he does nothing: The story is nonexistent, the acting is just plain bad -the worst actor of them all is allowed to play the killer!-, "Goblin"s great score is used ineffectively and there is neither suspense nor atmosphere. But the worst thing of all is that Argento has forgotten what made his earlier films great: His use of the camera and his great visual sense. "Sleepless" just looks cheap. There is only one Argentoesque moment (a camera going alongside a carpet) - the rest is boredom. In one magazine I read that "Sleepless" looks like an old movie of Argento, which he forgot in the drawer - yeah, and he must be stupid to get it out now.

Sam Raimi is most certainly one of the most influential directors of the eighties. With "A simple plan" he proved that he isn´t only a master of the visual side of filmmaking, but also an actor-director. Now, with "The gift" he returns to the character-drama and, again, he works together with Billy Bob Thornton, who wrote the script. "The gift" deals with a single mother, living in the swamps somewhere in the south of the US. She has the ability to "see" things, so she earns her money as a clairvoyant. No wonder that the rednecks living in her town scream "witch" when she foresees a gruesome murder... This story doesn´t seem to be too original and Sam Raimi´s direction doesn´t do anything to change that. He focuses on his actors, which give good performances, especially Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves as a wife-beating redneck, but they cannot change the fact, that we have seen this many, many times before. The surprise-ending isn´t a surprise at all-everyone who has seen more than 20 movies in the past few years will know what it all comes down to.

I´ve seen this at the Fantasy Filmfest in Cologne and left the cinema halfway through this "movie" (with a bunch of other people), so maybe I´m not the right one to comment on it, but I think the fact of leaving "S.C." is reason enough to do so. "S.C." is a different film. People who need a coherent narration, characters or a plotline won´t find anything in this one. It´s supposed to be an experimental film, relying on the power of images. But these images have no power. They are so forced in their intention of simply grossing people out, that they have nothing else to say. The gibberish of the off-narrator is simply boring, the visuals are cheap. OK, the effects are good, but if that´s the only thing, why care? Husseins film wants to be shocking and thought-provoking - instead it is boring and annoying in its non-creativity. Note: Not every movie without a story is art and there is absolutely no creativity in breaking taboos anymore - especially not if everything is executed as bad as in "S.C.". I´d suggest director Hussein should either visit a psychiatrist or a filmschool, before he mistakes crap for art again. Note: I never want to see a baby getting slashed during birth again.

This is the neglected first movie about Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal from "Silence...". Although he isn´t given much screentime here, his appearance (actor Brian Cox) is more menacing than Hopkins´ portrayal. Manns visually fascinating style gives the brilliant script the edge it deserves. In this haunting movie a police-officer has the ability to think like the serial-killers he hunts. This leads him into schizophrenia - isn´t he as mad and dangerous as the killers? This is the question of this movie - and Mann´s answer is a razor-sharp analysis on identity. The movie starts off really quiet and calm - those who look for action and gore are definitely in the wrong movie - but those who like psychological, intelligent thrillers will be glued to the screen until the closing credits. If you´ve the choice, watch the director´s cut, it´s final scene will make you freeze. Mann´s "Manhunter" is maybe the best serial-killer movie ever made and - I promise - you won´t forget it!

Well, I´ve seen "Pi" and was fascinated. Now, there´s "Requiem for a dream" and my expectations were very, very high. That can be the downfall for a movie, but in this case I wasn´t disappointed. Aronofsky proves not only that he can direct a "bigger" movie, he also shows how one can do so without selling out. To be more precise: "RFAD" is one of the most disturbing and depressing movies that came out of the US for a looooong time. From the opening scene to its final curtain it´s...well, a requiem for the characters, who are all perfectly portrayed by their actors. Ellen Burstyn is unbelievable. The power of her performance can only be compared to that of Björk in "Dancer in the dark". Aronofskys direction is even more experimental than in "Pi" and some of his ideas, like his combination of sound and picture are really innovative and give his movie a musical feel -without creating a long music video. On the downside, you could say that this movie offers no hope, no solution - but then, this would´ve been a lousy compromise.

Cüneyt Arkin is the godfather of Turkish Trash - or Turkploitation, as some might want to call it. His performance alone is worth seeing this incredibly funny movie about a baby, who gets raised by lions after his parents were killed. Surely he develops superpowers that should be helpful in avenging his parents deaths...

You think this sounds familiar? Well, forget everything you´ve seen, cause when Cüneyt strikes, nothing will be the same. His ways of getting rid of his enemies make Steven Seagal look like the easter bunny. With the power of a lion in his hands (???) he does severe damage to the stupid faces of hundreds of extras. But the greatest thing is his way of moving around: In the final 20 minutes of this little gem Cüneyt barely touches the ground. You see him flying around like there´s no tomorrow (with the catapults just out of the frame). I´ve never seen anything like this before - it´s like watching a rabid dog (frog?) in a drug frenzy thirsting for blood...but you´ve to see Cüneyts silly face. One of the funniest films I´ve ever seen