One of those films where you might say, “I shouldn’t be enjoying this, I really shouldn’t…just a couple more minutes and I’ll turn it off…just a couple more.”  Now, I never said that once because I like mindless action, and this has it non-stop.  Has some laughs too, but the biggest follows the last frame: After an hour and a half of cars throwing bombs and napalm and shooting 50-caliber bullets at each other, the disclaimer pops up and says, “The motor vehicle action sequences depicted in this film are dangerous.”  (Ya think?)

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An amazing horror film. (I have to call it “horror” because of the vampire theme, but although there’s blood and some violence, there’s no gore.) The plot has large holes, but when you come down to it, this is a relationship film between a bullied 12-year old named Oskar and Eli, the strange girl in the next apartment who’s not human. A Swedish production, filmed in the cold, white dead of winter, it’s visually striking and the most original thing I’ve seen in a long time.

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This French take on “Assault on Precinct 13” is well made, well paced, with a good cast and excellent action sequences.  If you can find it, see it.

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This is the original Spanish version later remade by Hollywood as “Quarantine.”  Had me creeped out and jumping in my seat.  VERY effective.

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This film about a reporter going to jail to protect her source is well acted and well written up till the last 60 seconds.  The denouement had me on my feet shouting “You’ve got to be &$%#*& kidding!” and wanting to put my foot through the screen. It turns the whole film into a waste by making everything that has happened unnecessary.

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An absolutely charming film (French, I think) about bugs. The photography is magnificent and there’s virtually no narration. You learn NOTHING. It’s pure visual enchantment. This is a must-see film. Only 75 minutes long.

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A fun, fun flick for veteran horror film fans with a nice twist I would have seen coming if I’d been watching more carefully.  The fight with the old woman in the car using a stapler and a ruler are pure Sam Raimi bad-boy craziness.  A number of gross-out effects that are so gross they’re funny.

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This true story takes place in the old USSR.  Stephen Rea plays an indefatigable Russian police detective on the trail of a serial killer.  He’s blocked at every turn by the bureaucracy and by ideologues who claim that serial killers are a product of decadent capitalist societies and cannot exist in a workers’ paradise like the USSR.  The irony would be funny if not so tragic: Early on he had to release his chief suspect (who later confessed to the killings) because he was a Party member in good standing.  A dozen or more lives would have been saved if he hadn’t been so hindered.

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The 6-part mini-series that served as the basis of the 2009 Russell Crowe film.  Totally engrossing.

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I’ve heard purists howl about the alternate history aspect (that’s not a spoiler because it occurs in the opening scenes). I’ve seen all the original episodes but was never a fan, so I’m free to consider the whole script a brilliant reimagining.  And I do.  Plot holes – definitely – but I believe this one bears another look.

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