Trollhunter (2010)

Director: André Øvredal

Writers: André Øvredal, Håvard S. Johansen

Stars: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg and Knut Nærum

Rating: 9/10

When I first heard about Trollhunter I didn’t quite know what to think. After seeing the trailer and reading a little more about the plot I became a bit more interested. Now that I’ve seen Trollhunter I have recommended it to everyone. Trollhunter is a Norwegian horror/fantasy mockumentary that is fresh, interesting and extremely fun. With only 1 other film under his belt, writer-director André Øvredal showcases his ability to capture an audience.

Mysterious bear killings are happening all over Norway so a documentary film crew decides they are going to shoot an investigative piece. The crew quickly realizes that there are much more dangerous and bizarre things happening then they initially thought. As they start to follow a strange hunter they learn that he is not hunting bears, he in fact is hunting trolls. All hell breaks loose and the crew manages to capture every moment of it on film.

Trollhunter is a blast! I’m very picky about movies that use the shaky handheld camera cinematography, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed the way it was used in this film. Everything about Trollhunter is great, from the acting to the scenery to the use of lighting in the darker scenes. Not one detail was overlooked in the making of this movie. Do yourself a favor, go get some popcorn, find a copy of Trollhunter, sit back and enjoy yourself. This movie rules.

The Twilight Samurai (2002)

Director: Yôji Yamada

Writers: Shûhei Fujisawa, Yôji Yamada

Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa and Nenji Kobayashi

Rating: 7/10

The Twilight Samurai is about 19th century samurai widower named Seibei Iguchi. Seibei struggles to make ends meet while raising his two daughters and senile mother. He is driven into debt by the extravagant funeral for his wife and quickly rushes home rather than socialize with his coworkers after work. This along with his rather unkempt appearance alienates him from the other samurai working on keeping track of supplies for their lord's castle.

The reappearance of his friend's now divorced sister Tomoe brings happiness to his household as his daughters now have a motherly figure around. Things get complicated after Seibei walks Tomoe home and her drunk ex-husband shows up. Seibei ends up accepting a challenge to a duel with him going against their clan's rules. With both participants facing death should their lord hear of their duel Seibei shows up with a wooden training sword rather than his real sword. This of course offends his challenger who never the less accepts.

Once word of Seibei's fighting skills is spread throughout the castle he is recruited to kill a samurai who has refused to accept his orders to commit harakiri. The aging samurai has already killed the first swordsman sent to take him out and refuses to leave his house. Seibei makes his way into the house not expecting what to find. After a conversation in which he learns that he and the rogue samurai have much in common he must never the less follow through with his orders.

Anyone expecting a lot of action will be disappointed. It takes a while for things to get moving but much like his coworkers the audience discovers there is more to Seibei than meets the eye.

The Last Circus (2010)

Director: Álex de la Iglesia
Writer: Álex de la Iglesia
Stars: Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre and Carolina Bang
Rating: 8/10

I was told by a good friend that I had to see The Last Circus. I didn’t ask why, I just did as I was told and that person was right, I really enjoyed this film. I know very little about the cast and crew of The Last Circus and I can honestly say after having seen this movie I want more. Álex de la Iglesia did a great job both writing and directing The Last Circus. He used a very serious time period from Spain’s history and used those underlying tones of despair and unrest to back a very unique love triangle filled with tragedy, passion and obsession.

Circa 1937, Spain is in the midst of a civil war. While a circus is in town the military decides to draft members of the circus and audience to help in the local battle. As the battle wages on a father and son become separated and the son then decides he will exact his revenge in any way possible. 25 years later that boy is now a man and with revenge still on his mind decides to become the “sad” clown. On his first assignment as a clown he falls madly in love with the woman who is in a relationship with his boss. When all three members become aware of the love triangle it’s safe to say that all hell breaks loose.

The Last Circus is a fun watch that’s just bizarre enough to keep the very serious love story interesting, fresh and unique. With elements of drama, action, satire and tragedy The Last Circus will keep you on your toes. I remained involved and curious to see what is going to happen next throughout the entire film. The only true way for me to describe this movie in my own words would be to say The Last Circus is a strange movie, but in a very good way.

13 Assassins (2010)

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Kaneo Ikegami (based on a screenplay by), Daisuke Tengan (screenplay)
Stars: Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada and Yûsuke Iseya
Rating: 9/10


13 Assassins is a period piece by Takashi Miike. Possibly best known for such classics as Ichi the Killer, Audition, and the Dead or Alive series. Miike is a prolific director doing as many as four movies a year. With this release I believe he really has stepped up his game.

13 Assassins is the story of a samurai named Shinzaemon who is tasked with killing a lord that is unjust. Making this task even more difficult is that this lord is the brother of the shogun making him untouchable by conventional means. Shinzaemon assembles a group of samurai from his friends and family. They run from his gambler nephew Shinrokuro to the wandering ronin Hirayama and his young pupil. Shinzaemon also runs into a rival from his past in Hanbei who will protect the lord at any cost. The 13 set a trap for the lord and his group of 70 bodyguards and await their arrival.

Everything about this movie can be traced to the great samurai movies of the 50's and 60's and even the 70's. Buckets of blood are shed with no CGI blood to be found. There are some rather crude scenes with CGI but Miike can be forgiven for delivering such an epic film. The film touches on some lines found in the samurai text the Hagakure and raises the question of where the samurai should place their loyalty. Overall a great film for fans of epic movies with tons of action.

Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

Director: Shane Meadows
Writers: Paddy Considine, Shane Meadows, Paul Fraser
Stars: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch and Toby Kebbell
Rating: 9/10

Dead Man’s Shoes is a gripping tale of a man who is lashing out to right the wrongs of others. In this tale Shane Meadows delivers yet another exceptional directorial piece of film. Meadows along with Paddy Considine (lead actor) write a compelling story that will leave the audience compassionately pulling for the anti-hero. It’s sad that a movie that was so critically acclaimed overseas got so little recognition here in the states.

Richard (Paddy Considine) is a paratrooper that is on leave from his service and decides to return to his hometown and clean up a few loose ends. He embarks on a crusade to exact his revenge on the hometown bully’s who ruthlessly picked on his younger mentally handicapped brother while he was away. Richard, one by one, targets each of his brother’s tormentors and quickly becomes a terrifying angel of vengeance.

Dead Man’s Shoes is not a movie that you can simply just watch and not feel some sort of attachment to the story. Almost everyone has either been a victim or has known someone that has been bullied in their life. This is the type of story that grabs you by the throat and forces you to relive those emotions while you feel justice for the tormented. A beautifully written story with top notch acting, Dead Man’s Shoes shines as a brilliant film with fistfuls of redeeming values all put together in one wonderful package.

The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Writers: John Curran, Jim Thompson (novel)
Stars: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba
Rating: 8.5/10



The Killer Inside Me is a Crime, Drama, Thriller that features some of America’s greatest young talents. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, this film definitely has some very dark undertones which are always present in his films. The Killer Inside Me is based on a novel of the same title, written by Jim Thompson. With all of these elements beautifully integrated together The Killer Inside Me comes together as one of the best movies released in the past few years.

Casey Affleck plays good ole’ boy Lou Ford, a West Texas deputy sheriff that is slowly unmasked as a psychotic killer. Ford conjures up a scheme to get revenge on a wealthy construction tycoon. When things start going wrong the bodies start to pile up. All signs point to Ford but he keeps his cool and has everyone guessing right up until the end.

The Killer Inside Me is a beautifully shot film with plenty of different elements to keep fans of all genres glued to the screen. Casey Affleck gives one of the best performances of his young career. Affleck has generally played the lovable comedic relief in movies, but The Killer Inside Me shows truly how diverse his acting spectrum is. The Killer Inside Me brings hope that there is still cinema out there that is watchable and doesn’t have some subliminal advertising message embedded throughout it.