POMO

A family in the Colombian countryside. In the woods they find a cassette recorder with eternal batteries and a recording of Mozart, in the goat’s pen they find a silent, detachedly staring Aryan boy... and a Terrence Malick-style meditation on the connection with nature and God and the Devil begins. Luz is packed with scenes and thoughts about everything and nothing that may or may not mean something and may or may not be related. In the theater, I was sat in the row right behind the film’s creators and seeing how thoughtfully and with utmost seriousness they watched their work while other viewers were rising from their seats and leaving was even more bizarre than the film itself. Further proof of the Bible’s importance to humanity. One star for those nice image compositions. [Sitges FF]

Widescreen opulent locations, Beethoven’s "Moonlight Sonata" and a storyline worthy of a naïve short film. Or a horror film for children, but without Guillermo. Even the point offered in the epilogue, which is supposed to add something to the story, is hopelessly contrived. [Sitges FF]

A thousand things could have been done a little differently in The Room, and it wouldn’t have worked as well as it did. This is a perfect game with the audience that starts out (deliberately?) with the most overused “haunted house” plot, continues as a case of transparent moralizing along the lines of “be careful what you wish for”, and eventually develops into ... (Shhh! I’m not going to spoil it for you!). It is sophisticated bordering on overly contrived, but in terms of logic, it is a beautifully functional and multi-dimensional film, moreover with a strong social message and some light existential undertones (the loss of a child, aging, the inability to change one’s fate). This would have been admirable even if it had been a book. And Volckman told it flawlessly through filmmaking! [Sitges FF]

Bodies at Rest is a fast-paced action thriller set in a modern Hong Kong mortuary with some well-done fistfights. Though it brings nothing new to the table, it is reminiscent of the good old days of McTiernan/Harlin’s action flicks. But I could do without the super-cheap soundtrack. [Sitges FF]

Paradise Hills is a pleasant alternative to Disney’s grand tales about beautiful princesses and evil queens, enhanced with sci-fi themes from genre classics or Bay’s The Island. Though it is admittedly visually cheesy with downright childish costumes (without being explicitly intended for children), it is amusing, and I personally find Emma Roberts with pink hair rather electrifying, not to mention Eiza González’s lesbian affection for her! [Sitges FF]

The Shed is an above-average amateur production with a bunch of clichés, annoying classmates, a pretty co-ed and a monster in a shed. In the end, it loses even the little seriousness it had before. The whole theater was rolling on the floor with laughter. [Sitges FF]

X-men on the other side of the law. A dime-a-dozen theme technically well-crafted into a sci-fi B-movie without any screenwriting inventiveness or memorable acting performances. Who was this made for? Fans of the genre like these kinds of things done on a grand scale or at least imaginatively (Upgrade). Even the music shamelessly steals from Martinez's Drive and Fiedel’s Terminator. [Sitges FF]

Elderly hippie killers without motivation on the run. Rob Zombie is definitely on their side and likes to let them massacre the innocent. The film has a great start, but the audience’s enthusiasm gradually fades. The second act is still entertaining, but the last one is protracted and hopelessly wastes the potential of both the setting and the characters. [Sitges FF]

With its unpredictable yet believable plot development, this thriller is capable of achieving a lot in a small space. The main character gets himself into an uncomfortable situation, which he well deserves. Surprisingly, it’s never boring or irritating. Punishing the culprit and wondering how the situation will develop just add to the fun. Therefore, I was slightly disappointed with the ending – I expected more from this fresh and bold flick than just pointing out the alarming crime rate in Argentina with a pathetic climax. [Sitges FF]

A frantic arcade game with chiseled visuals, high-quality visual effects, tangible characters and a few unexpected twists that will hold the attention of the non-target audience (i.e. me). Radcliffe’s presence raises the film almost to A-movie level, but the one most deserving of praise is the director, who has a great sense of narrative dynamics. You’d expect this to be dumber. [Sitges FF]