City Of Lost Souls (Japanese)
Grade: F
I think this movie had no script and was made up as the director went along. It was incoherent and I couldn't even get through it. It takes place in Brazil or something and I don't know, it was just ridiculous.

Spetters (Dutch) - Paul Verhoeven
Grade: B
If you've seen Breaking Away, well this movie came out a year later. If breaking away was the "feel good movie of the year", Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Showgirls) decided to tell a similar story that was depressing. Where Breaking Away was of bicyclists, Spetters was about dirt bike riders who are hoping to make it in the big time. Each persons life goes through rather significant changes and some stories are sad and depressing. There's no real happy ending to the film. It's basically the opposite of what Breaking Away was.

Audition (Japanese)
Grade: C
This movie was done by the director who did 'City Of Lost Souls' the other movie I reviewed here and gave an F to. This movie was far far more interesting than that other piece of garbage. It would be considered "a scary movie". A man searches out to find a new wife. He and his budy pretend their holding a casting call and audition a bunch of women who respond to the add for the role in a movie but they're really auditioning to become the potential wife of the main actor. Once he picks his women, the story slowly starts to get crazy and crazier. For me though, like a lot of Japanese movies... not everything is really explained and so I am left confused about things. I think a lot of Japanese films seen to just do things because it might be cool for the movie but have nothing to do with plot.

Visitor Q (Japanese)
Grade: C
I really don't know how to discuss this movie. New Wave reviewed Oldboy by saying Korean's are f**ked up. Well... maybe they are... but I gotta say... the Japanese are EXTREMELY f**ked up, or at least their film makers seem to be, especially this one. Basically the movie starts out with a family in comlpete chaos and some mysterious guy comes along and brings teh family back into a cohesive unit. Sounds good right? The path of the movie from beginning to end is plain and simply f'd up. I don't even want to describe all that is portrayed in this movie. I am sure you can get insights about some of it if you're really interested on movie review sites.

Suicide Club (Japanese)
Grade: B-/C+
Why do the youth of Japan keep killing themselves? Is it because they're all lonely, isolated and depressed? Is it because of sadistic wanan be rock star? Is it because of bubble gum pop music? Is it the internet? This was an interesting movie. Enjoyable. I would have liked it more if I was able to follow along more closely as it delved into philosophy. I wasn't expecting to have to try and read and comprehend the meaning of life so I was a little unprepared for that aspect. However, I enjoyed the film.

Battle Royal (Japanese)
Grade: B+
Finally... I get a great Japanese movie!!! You know how on Netflix you rent a movie and it suggests others you may like... well I got on a kick of renting the suggestions and have been watching a few Japanese films and this one was great. I think everyone knows about this film though. A lot of talk re-surfaced after Kill Bill vol. 1 came out since that one asian girl in the movie of Kill Bill is in this one as well (the one with that ball and chain weapon). Anyway, this movie was a lot of fun. It's described as Lord Of The Flies with weapons. Basically a class of kids is kidnapped and taken to an island and they have three days to kill each other, whoever is standing alive at the end of the 3 day period wins and gets to go home. If they don't kill each other in 3 days, the necklace bombs around their necks will explode and everyone will die. This movie was fun to watch.