Mulan (China, 2009)

Well, to start, the movie isn’t as good as it possibly could have been. The start is just weak and it slowly gets better but never reaches the ‘wow’ factor. For example, the helmets look like they are made out of plastic, the harasses as well and how can Mulan become a general in such a short period?

The drama is okay but cliché, some scenes are cinematographically beautiful and some are horrible, it seems like the film is an unfinished production. Is it all that bad?? Not at all, the film can be surely be enjoyed, however it is just sad because Director Jingle Ma could have done a better job.

One last point of criticism (which is hilarious), why was Zhao Wei (or Vicky Zhao, whatever you like.... 'A Time to Love') casted as Mulan? Sure, she is a good actress and she is beautiful, but that is the problem. She is so stunning that not even for a second you would mistake her for a man.

Matrimony, The / Xin Zhong You Gui (China, 2007)

The Matrimony is an intriguing and very dramatic love story with horror elements, but don't be mistaken it is far more a drama than a horror. The world which the director creates is a very powerful one, with beautifully shot images, a wonderful use of colors and a story that will draw you in.

Well maybe the story isn't too innovative, but it is executed in a good way (which makes it an effective tragic love story) with strong performances of Leon Lai, Rene Liu and Fan Bingbing.

If you look for drama, love and a little bit of horror with scenes that are dazzling of its beauty.... the Matrimony is yours to watch!

Midnight Sun / Taiyô no uta / A song to the sun (Japan, 2006)

This film was a true surprise to me. I never heard of it before and did not expect too much of it, but I was totally wrong. Midnight Sun is a very good movie in the romance/drama genre.
It is about a girl who has a rare illness (XD) and is allergic to sunlight. In the morning she always looks through the window and sees the same guy at the bus stop again and again. A romance evolves, a first love.

Even though sometimes very sad and moving, in fact this is a film that will make you feel good. It makes you smile to be able to watch these kind of films. The acting is really pure (especially by Yui, who looks just stunning and her voice is amazing), the music and songs really wonderful and emotional as well. This is a story that will probably find a way to your heart. Maybe it starts a bit slowly and some people might think it is boring because not too much happens, when you love romantic films you just can’t miss this one.

Recommended to all romantics in this world.

A Millionaire's first love / Baekmanjangja-ui cheot-sarang (South Korea, 2006)

A millionaire’s first love is one of those typical Korean romantic drama’s.
Despite of the not too intelligent title, in my eyes this is a pretty good film.
The story deals about a spoiled young man who will inherit the millions of his dad, but there is one problem. To get his inheritance he needs to graduate in a small village and to experience something that is more worth than any money in the world.

In this small village he meets a girl and slowly and they starts to like each other. It wouldn’t be a Korean drama if not anything sad would happen, and yes, this girl seems to be very ill. So far nothing new under the horizon but what it wants to accomplish, it accomplishes it! A really moving tale of finding love when you don’t expect it and of the cruel fate which is always so very very close to each one of us.

The part of this film where the two fall in love is shamefully less convincing. This part is way too short, maybe the director wanted to be aware of the runtime but really this part should have been longer. Than it wouldn't have lost anything of its fairytale-like charm. The acting of both Yeon-hee Lee and Bin Hyeon is really good, the act pure and their emotions can be felt sometimes. The clothing is fine as well, especially Yeoh-hee Lee looks pretty natural and good in the clothing!

When you are interested in these kind of Korean drama’s it is a must-see!!

Memento Mori (Wispering corridors 2 or Yeogo goedam 2) - (South-Korea, 1999)

Memento mori, by directors Tae-yong Kim and Kyu-dong Min, is often categorized as a horror movie, but in my opinion it isn’t at all. It is a story about the relationship between two girls who are being disliked by the other students, Hyo-Shin (yeh-jin Park) and Shi-Eun (Young-jin Lee), in a school for girls. Their feelings towards each other are much more than friendship and together they keep track of a diary.
This diary has been found by Min-Ah (Min-sun Kim) and she is started to get interesting in this weird, almost baroque like, book of feelings. It seems all happy in the beginning but rather soon a sad feeling approached her. And than everything changes, Hyo-Shin kills herself by jumping of the roof. Why did this happen? Soon Min-Ah feels a cold hand on her body and a girl who is whispering ‘memento mori’ (remember to die) in her ears.
This film can be seen as society related. Who has great achievements in school and thinks like the rest (of the society) will be successful in their future career. To be different means to walk another path with less support of society.
Like most Asian mysterious movies, this one has a complex storyline as well with many flashbacks and will leave you with unsolved puzzles. The feeling is a bit sad, even the loving emotion between the two girls has something strange, almost morbid.
The camerawork is just great, an interesting innovating style which consist of a mix between unsteady shaking scenes and beautiful quiet scenes of a girl just standing on a roof. Just like the camerawork, the musical score is also impressive. Beautiful churchlike music with a rather interesting Kyrie Eleison.

Madeleine (South-Korea, 2003)

Madeleine, directed by Kwang-chun Park, is a film that won’t leave a very big impression but it tells a simple love story in its own way. In my opinion, many things could be better in this film. In the beginning I was very worried about the acting of the two main characters, later one I thought the film was trying to find its way in becoming a drama but didn’t really touched me.

Though it has its flaws, it can be very enjoyable as well. Like I said, it is a rather simple love story, very uncomplicated and very predictable. Still, it is no terrible film. I really liked it, maybe it is because some scenes really are beautiful and humorous, maybe it is because some scenes do contain emotion, maybe not at its fullest but that is what it makes a rather good film. Nothing too much, it’s all about showing the love between a boy and a girl and that it isn’t always easy, but sad things can be overcome.

I liked the acting of Min-a Shin ( a bittersweet life) pretty much, her smile really has something wonderful.

The Magdalene sisters (Great-Brittain and Ireland, 2002)

The Magdalene sisters is a rather shocking film about one of the catholic Magdalene laundries (assylum). Women who committed some sort of crime were send here.
In this film three girls are being portraited. Their crimes: Rose has a child out of wedlock, Bernadette makes the moral mistake of flirting with boys and Margaret is being raped by her cousin and tells her family members about it.
They are send to one of these Magdalene laundries for a long time, maybe forever. In this institute there are being mentally manipulated and physically abuse. Catholic religion is shown as the only true thing. The nuns are cold and cruel. This is also the mood of this film…very very cold and dark. In the end, after watching it the light seems far away for all of us! The only thing the girls could think of to escape, escape from this world of religious brainwashing.

An interesting and shocking film, by director Peter Mullan, about a Magdalene laundry in the sixties and the unfortunate girls who had to face this fate.

Machine girl / Kataude mashin gâru (Japan, 2008)

Normally I tell something about movies that has some kind of beauty in them. Mostly thes emovies are almost art, maybe even better. But I am making an exception now.

A movie that is very new and is called Machine girl by director Noboru Iguchi. I won't bother with the storyline cause you only will watch this movie for its, gore, gore, gore.

A strange Japanese action movie that had very weird special effects, in Hollywood I guess no one will like this one! But in fact it is rather hilarious! Tons and tons of blood, arms and legs flying everywhere..sometimes it's great t owatch such a movie cause afterwards you are having a big smile on your face. Well, critir=ts will probably hate this film but it's rather great! Minase Yashiro is the star of this movie, with a decent performance and yes ofcourse she wears a school uniform!

Marie Antoinette

Last sunday I watched Marie Antoinette (I also have watched it in the cinema's) directed by Sofia Coppola and the leading actress is Kirsten Dunst. Well one song in this movie gives the right mood 'I like candy'. Everything is so sweet in this movie, from pink dresses to little dogs that look like furballs. And Kirsten dunst looks sweet too.
Well enough about sweetness, it's just a fantastic movie. Don't expect a storyline that wirls in action but sit back in your chair and enjoy the beauty and decadence of Versailles, the brilliant acting of Kirsten Dunst and the absolutely fantastic clothesing. And for the ones who are afraid of her execution, it won't be shown!

Millennium Actress

Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away' is probably the best known Japanese cartoon movie and I have to say it's is just fantastic. Maybe I will review that movie some other day. But another Japanese cartoon movie is less known: Millennium actress, directed by Satoshi Kon. Does this mean that it wasn't a very good movie?Well my answer can be short can clear; no!It is really worthy to watch this one. Not only because of the beautifull drawings but the story is great too. A movie director is going to make a documentary about the life of a famous Japanese actress (Chiyoko). He also wants to give her somtething she almost forgotten about, a famous key. Now the story/interview starts. It's starts with a young Chiyoko who accidently meets a man, a mysterious Manchurian artist, who gives Chiyoko a key. Chiyoko wants to know what this key is for but the only answer she gets is 'it's the key of the most important thing in the world'. The man is a fugitive and leaves suddenly. From that moment on it's Chiyoko's task to return the key to it's owner and discover it's true meaning.But.... the story isn't this simple. The story is also about a famous actrice who plays in many movies. While she plays in all those movies we see 1000 years of history of Japan at the same time. What is real and what is not...it's not imporant in this movie. It's called a trompe L'oeil, a French word for 'to fool the eye'. There is not a clear storyline but different storylines which are running through eachother with no beginning or end. You can't distinguish reality from fiction and present from the past, it's all blurring together.It probably sounds like a weird movie but don't be afraid to watch it. Prepare yourself to watch something stunning. It's a complex, smart and breathtaking journey through time, a journey through Japanese cinema, a journey to find the one you love, a journey to discover what it's all about.