Trondheim’s International Film festival is at an end, and I had an absolutely fabulous time. I watched a lot of movies, though I wish I’d seen even more. Here is a list of the movies I saw, with links to the reviews posted on radiorevolt.no! The dice rolls are in parenthesis, with a short explanation after.

 

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai. (3) A Japanese story of family, honour and revenge. A classical tragedy that goes on for waaaaay too long.

The British Guide to Showing Off (4). A fun documentary about the Alternative Miss World, which you should watch if you haven’t heard about it. Weirdness abounds, and there’s a lot of shocked giggles to be had.

The Woman in Black (4). Daniel Radcliffe can act, yes, but he doesn’t get to show off enough in this classic Gothic story. It does give you a few fun jump scares though, and I found the mystery to be quite intriguing. I’ll be reading the book!

Walk Away Renée (3) A slightly surreal documentary about Jonathan and his mother, who suffers from mental problems. You need to see the first one,Tarnation, to be able to really get into it.

Faust. (5) I’m a sucker for the absurd and macabre, which is exactly what you get in this retelling of Goethe’s play. It’s not for everyone, but I was fascinated throughout.

Tyrannosaur. (4) The British are good at depicting gritty violence, but this film doesn’t take it over the top. Joseph struggles with his anger issues, and meets Hannah, who could be his redemption, but is struggling herself. It’s a story that moved me for its somehow both graphic and understated story.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (3) A story about a mother who has to cope with her son’s shooting spree at his school. I found it it had little substance beyond examining two weirdos in great detail.

I also saw a couple I did not post reviews for at radiorevolt, but I’ll give a short recap of them here:

Apollo 18 (2): This is a found-footage sci-fi movie that fails to utilize its gimmick and manages to completely prove that the moon landings could not have been fake. Avoid at all costs.

Rabat (5): A great road-trip movie from the Netherlands. I really enjoyed the camaraderie between the actors. A really well made movie considering its budget.

Iron Sky (5-6): I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I want to give this a 6 because you can hold on to those 6s all your life, or you can give them to movies that entertained you every step of the way. Iron Sky is a must-watch. You thought zombie-nazis was cool? Try moon-nazis! Its utter absurdness never falters, so you never feel it goes over the top.

The Hunger Games (5): A very entertaining adaptation of the “next big thing” in young adult literature. I’ll definitely be reading the books. Good young actors, a bit of the drunken camera man action, and a compelling story make this a decent action movie with a heart.