Revanche

Austria's submission for the Oscars (nominated, but lost to Departures) is one of those "what could go wrong" movies, where our unfortunate character(s) formulate a fool-proof plan to get rich quick only to have it backfire spectacularly (e.g., the sublime Before the Devil Knows You're Dead).

Whereas the latter film was a thriller, this one (like all European art-house films) takes a more meditative, still tone. Shots are paced slowly, but the story (thankfully) develops efficiently. And it may not be a thriller, it is still thrilling. Despite a few contrived scenes (mandatory, I must note, to establish a deeper drama), it is a solid film that alas, only those with a taste for "foreign" films will enjoy.

Shotgun Stories

A drama/thriller set in rural Arkansas. Yes, usually the domain of boring indie films. But writer-director Jeff Nichols does a wonderful job of utilizing the minimalist, almost uninteresting setting as a canvas for a spartan yet solid story.

Very little takes place. There is not much "action" per se. Dialogue takes precedence as the story drifts from simple to intense moments. What makes this film all the more remarkable is that it relies on almost no tried and tested gimmicks - no quick cuts, pounding music or bankable stars. But it works beautifully. The result is a tale of revenge where the resolution is not found in violent closure or forgiveness, but weariness.

Wendy & Lucy

A woman and her dog. How interesting.

Wendy & Lucy is a steoreotypical indie movie, and that's not quite a compliment. What we get is a dull, stolid 80 minutes (thank goodness) of indie fare where the dog is merely a quasi-MacGuffin to get our protagonist barreling straightforward into her misadventures.

It's not all that bad. Michelle "Heath Ledger's Wife" Williams sustains the film well, as well as the few other characters in the story. Yes, I called it dull and stolid, but the movie did make me feel a little. It has its moments.

But alas, one has to wade through the countless repetitive shots. I must complain about the unenergetic (dare I say lazy?) cinematography that does no favors to our attention span. Yes, yes, some movies are meant to be like that. But there is a thin line between the kind of stillness that commands our attention (from 2001 to No Country For Old Men) and the kind that sits there lifeless and asks to be seen and heard.

Let The Right One In

Another vampire romance movie? Yup. But forget that other vampire romance movie, this one takes the cake.

Oh yes, it's what you would call a "foreign language" film (it's Swedish) and as such would certainly command more credibility than any other horror movie done in English, nevermind if the same old elements are there (think The Orphanage, which would undoubtedly have gotten less acclaim had it not been in Spanish). Yes, sometimes this film feels like 30 Days of Night (the setting is somewhat similar) and while this is an exceptional horror movie, that doesn't say a lot.

So let me add that all important caveat to my reservations. While it does have moments that betray the fact that it's founded on an already cliched theme (cue scary music, although thankfully it's pretty much free from such most of the time) it is beautifully shot and stylized. That alone should distinguish it from the rest of the pack.

A queer romance. Oops...did I give away too much?

I have issues with its pacing. Nothing much happens; it's sometimes pretentious. But oh, this is supposed to be a foreign movie. My apologies. Okay, the leads are good, I have to grant that.

Could have been better, although I am at a loss for words as to how. It would be ambitious of me to state how one ought to improve the horror (and its subset, the vampire movie) genre. How indeed. All I can say is, who says Scandinavians don't know how to do a good horror (and gory) show? And I'm surprised that canes exist in Sweden, heh. Although apparently it is set 20 years ago, but I didn't know that until a certain "Brezhnev" was mentioned.

Oddly enough for a foreign, supposedly arthouse-ish movie, the brief epilogue is so Hollywood. Who, incidentally, is going to remake it next year. But of course.