The Eclipse (Conor McPherson, 2009)

7/10
Irish horror/love story release sometime last year...I really hated this movie at the outset, it seemed to take itself so bloody seriously and the music was incredibly overwraught. I warmed up to the movie which does have nice touches of humor and horror but not the music, which was over the top throughout. Anybody looking for a horror movie per se will be disappointed and bored as there's only a handful of jump scares throughout the movie (and they do kind of seem thrown-in, as if the horror aspect was an afterthought) but the photography in the movie is constantly arresting and the acting thoroughly believable. An interesting if flawed film.

Little Caesar (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931)

6/10
Sight & Sound had a great article about the gangster genre in this month's issue (due to the release of Public Enemies)and it got me interested in checking some out so I bought a box set of six Warner Bros gangster movies. This one is interesting enough, sort of a cautionary morality tale, which is interesting because the gangsters of the 20's were also regarded as these quasi Robin Hood type figures back then so I was curious to see where they would go with the story but they played it straight in the end. Although, to be sure, Little Caesar (the main character) is decidedly dishonorable and it wasn't much of a surprise to see him get his.

The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, 1952)

7/10
Old Finnish horror movie from 1952 that both Terry Gilliam and Terence Malick have tried to remake, with Isabella Rossellini attached to star at one point, but nothing ever materialized. It's a movie about a woman who goes to a shaman for a love potion and instead gets turned into (well she retains her human form but sometimes she changes into) a white reindeer. Sounds kind of weird in theory but it works well on the screen. The movie is a brisk 80 minutes so the plot is pretty thin (and the ending is telegraphed very early on) but the highlight here is the beautiful snowy Finland landscapes that dominate 95% of the movie's run time. Certainly one of the most atmospheric 50's horror I've ever seen, but not for everyone...if you're more into the history of cinema and things like that, you'll probably find it more interesting.
Valkoinen Peura was released on DVD recently but without subtitles. This was a rare print with French subtitles, but I have to question the wisdom of using white-text subtitles in a movie that takes place in the snow. However the story is so simple and visual-based you could probably follow along with no subtitles at all. Apparently it's being remade now by a Swedish director Peter Lindholm...

Combat Shock (Buddy Giovinazzo, 1986)

7/10
Ultra grim and depressing, low-budget, post-Vietnam movie from 1986. Details the aftermath of a Vietnam soldier's return home to an American wasteland where him, his wife, and his grotesquely deformed baby have no food, no money, no jobs and no hope. The story lacks at times, and its shocking ending is foreshadowed almost from the get-go, but director/writer Buddy Giovinazzo does a great job evoking an oppressive, poverty-stricken urban landscape. His brother Ricky Gionvinazzo is also good both in the lead role and in composing the film's odd, dark synthpop soundtrack (although some people hate the acting and hate the score). The director's cut is out on DVD this month for the first time on Troma so if you're into disturbing cult flicks, this one's worth checking out. And if you've ever heard the Suicide song "Frankie Teardrop", you have an idea of what to expect with Combat Shock.

Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green, 2008)

9/10
First time seeing this too and it was awesome...by farrrr the best Apatow/Rogen/whatever movie I've seen. Franco and Rogen are great together, as is the guy that played Red, and the movie also has a very sweet and believable "buddy" undercurrent...much sweeter and more believable than any of the movies it's sending up, at least. Very funny, very entertaining and very clever.

Borat (Larry Charles, 2006)

5/10
First time seeing it, pretty underwhelmed...maybe if I saw it before the juggernaut of hype that preceded it took full steam I'd have enjoyed it more. There were a couple of funny parts but quite a bit more stupid parts...it wasn't exactly the "incisive look at America's underbelly" some said it was either. In fact most of his interactions with "real" people were pretty bland and underdeveloped, I thought (the feminist group and the black republican, namely). I wouldn't watch it again.

Blue Film Woman (Kan Mukai, 1969)

4/10
Fantasia's doing a whole feature on Japanese "pink" (read: blue) movies from the 60's and 70's and 1969's Blue Film Woman was the first they were showing. It was certainly...different. I can't possibly fathom this film actually arousing anybody, and not just because of the conservativeness of the sex scenes (some kissing, female breasts, awkward writhing for 2 minutes = sex, apparently). But also the context. The movie is about a girl who turns to prostitution to repay a debt incurred by her parents (who die early in the movie). As such, most of the sex is awkward, unerotic, and at worst, disturbing - at one point before her death the mother is raped by the semi-retarded, reclusive son of her creditor. Yeah. I'm hopefully going to make it out to a few other of these pink movies before the month is out so at least I'll have a basis to compare the sexuality and eroticism between them but this one's pretty far down there.
The movie itself was poorly directed with mostly handheld camera work, although the oversaturated 60's colors were a fun touch. The acting is bad and the Japanese-dub-over-Japanese-speaking-actors is unmatched almost to the point of comedy. The music is pretty good though, and there are some intentionally funny moments in the script (well, one).

Dead Snow (Tommy Wirkola, 2009)

10/10
I had so much fun watching this movie. Seeing it with a rambunctious festival crowd probably helped, and the fact that I thought it was a straight horror at the start made the funny parts that much funnier, but even so, it was a blast. The plot is all-too familiar: a bunch of attractive young people isolate themselves at a cabin in the (snowy) woods, they receive an ominous warning from a mysterious stranger they dismiss as being crazy, and then the zombies attack. The Nazi zombies, I might add. Which has at least some relevance (Nazi Germany had a very large presence in Norway during the war) but really, is not quite integral to the film. And seems to have some people up in arms, especially with the way the film ends. Whatever. If you can't watch this movie without laughing your head off, wincing at some of the gore and kills, and get a good jump scare every now and then, you don't have a pulse. A perfect mix of horror and humor and probably one of the best zombie movies I can think of in recent years.

Love Exposure (Sion Sono, 2008)

10/10
Jesus...fucking brilliant movie written and directed by Sion Sono. Any attempt to summarize the plot will completely fail to do the movie justice, but basically it's the story of a 17-year old guy looking for the love of his life and then trying to be with her once he finds her. But it's so, so, so much more. Considering the movie is 4 hours long, it would have to be. But honestly, if my ass wasn't so sore, I wouldn't have known it was 4 hours, and not a moment is really wasted. The script is insane, but it's hilarious and sweet and stomach-turning and throught-provoking all at once, and the two main leads are great too...I don't really know what to say except if you get the chance to see it, don't be intimidated by its running time - go!

House (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)

6/10
Any score is fairly arbitrary because this one is basically unrateable. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi's debut feature in 1977 and although it definitely lands in the so-bad-it's-good category, it's also interesting to watch because of just how off the wall and outrageous it is. Obayashi was given a lot of money and the keys to the studio at a time when theatres all around the world were in a depression and he blew the doors off the thing, throwing in as much as he possibly could without any real logic to it. The basic plot is that a girl and six of her friends (all with names like Gorgeous, Fantasy, Melody, Sweet, etc) take their summer vacation to visit Gorgeous' reclusive, bizarre, estranged aunt. One by one mysterious things start to happen...you know the rest. But there's so much weird shit that happens along the way, you have to see it to believe it. I'm kind of surprised this movie isn't more talked about because it's like nothing I've ever seen before, good or bad. It was fun to watch with friends and have a laugh at its ludicrousness, but it did get tedious at times.

Thirst (Park Chan-wook, 2009)

8/10
Very good vampire/love story movie from Oldboy director Park Chan-wook....definitely an interesting take on the genre, subverting a lot of preconceived notions. The female lead, Kim Ok-vin is unbelievable, especially considering it's only her 2nd or 3rd movie. My only complaints is that it's slightly long (you could cut out about 10-15 minutes IMO) and Park's direction is excellent, but a bit too showy at times. If you liked what Let the Right One In did with vampires and love then you'll probably be a big fan of Thirst too.

The Girlfriend Experience (Steven Soderbergh, 2009)

7/10
It was pretty good. Some parts I enjoyed more than others but overall I liked it. I thought Sasha Grey did a good job for a first feature movie (not that much was asked of her either) and the guy playing her boyfriend was good too. The story is interesting, but I was disappointed Soderbergh decided to tell it with a narrative that jumps around - I dunno, am I the only one getting sick of this device? It's obviously not a new thing but it just seems like a bit of a cop out now.
Anyway considering the tiny budget of the movie and the fact that it was shot in less than a month, it was still impressive. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it but if you're looking for something a bit different you might enjoy it.