March 29, 2010

Gone, Baby, Gone (Ben Affleck, 2007)

WHAT IT IS: Boston: A private investigator is enlisted to find a little girl who’s been abducted in his old neighborhood. HOW IT IS: In his directorial debut, Ben Affleck borrows from many of the great living directors, from Eastwood to Van Sant. Most notable is the latter’s influence in the cinema vérité shots. A Bostonian himself, Affleck’s neighborhood seems […]
March 26, 2010

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006)

WHAT IT IS: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born destitute, has the most gifted olfactory sense ever bestowed on a human being. He yearns to learn how to distill all smells, including a woman’s. HOW IT IS: Twyker’s Perfume is strange but mesmerizing, like a song you can’t forget. It slowly creeps in, half serial killer movie, half meditation on life, talent and […]
December 16, 2013

HK: Hentai Kamen (Yûichi Fukuda, 2013)

Apart from the fact that it’s one of the most entertaining films of 2013, the best thing about HK: Hentai Kamen is the joy of having to explain its premise to people, to witness their flabbergasted stare and assure them that “it’s really, really good”. Actually, it is really good because its parody comes from a place of love for […]
May 5, 2015

Seven Pounds (Gabriele Muccino, 2008)

Seven Pounds is a great concept but executed with poor vision. The supporting cast is well chosen, with Dawson, Harrelson and Pepper being high points.
March 26, 2010

A Silent Love (Federico Hidalgo, 2004)

What’s most interesting about A Silent Love is its comical approach to its subject. There is much in common with the tongue-in-cheek of Mexican dramas.