the_diceman

What are those rockets that are being shot in the sky everyday? And why is everyone around Saeko acting so weird? Or is just her period? Who is Saeko? Saeko is a normal Highschool girl who wants to change the world, but everyone around her behaves kinda funny; her father stinks, her friends are barring her way, her teacher's a pervert. And Saeko's angry; not to say, hopping mad. But she doesn't know why. Maybe she's just having her period, after all ... Director Yuya Ishii confronts us with a wonderfully bizarre, yet oddly familiar reality which could very well be our own. We see the world through Saeko's eyes as she's trying to cope with everyday situations and her final days in school. "Girl Sparks" is one of those incredibly catchy and honest Coming-of-Age stories like they can only come from Japan. The humor feels fresh, the dialog is terrific, the pacing perfect, while still delivering a kind of bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. Ishii's camera-work is down-to-earth and realistic, the acting is as believable as it gets. Definitely among the best up-to-date films of relevance I've seen in a theater this year. Now all that's left for us to do is pray that this infinitely charming gem will eventually find its way on a subtitled DVD. Aaah, I dare not to hope ...

I always thought this would be a long and boring Talking-Heads flick full of static interior takes, dude, I was wrong. "Election" is a highly fascinating and thoroughly captivating thriller-drama, taking a deep and realistic view behind the origins of Triads-Rituals. Characters are constantly on the move, and although as a viewer you kinda always remain an outsider, it's still possible to feel the suspense coming from certain decisions and ambitions of the characters. Furthermore Johnnie To succeeds in creating some truly opulent images due to meticulously composed lighting and atmospheric light-shadow contrasts. Although there's hardly any action, the ending is still shocking in it's ruthless depicting of brutality. Cool movie that deserves more attention, and I came to like the minimalistic acoustic guitar score quite a bit.

Jet Li is a writer of pulpy Adventure novels with his alter ego acting as the main hero, while in real life he's trying to solve some serious relationship-issues with his girlfriend. Naturally the Adventure part taking place in a fictional scenario (and thankfully using up most of the movie's screen time) is the more entertaining one of those two story lines. Unfortunately plot-twists gradually become more random and ridiculous, so atmospheric visuals and fight-scenes remain as the only redeeming factor. Action focuses on effect and not so much on realism, Jet Li battling a Ninja-Squad is a blast, though. The "Indiana Jones"-feel is there, but without the suspense or energy. SFX are looking good and carry a certain trashy charm to them, while events in the real world stick to being a rather dull affair. Some good jokes here and there, but in the end there's nothing really to remember. Subtitles on the HK-DVD are of worst kind imaginably, they make no sense at all.