Traded a lot of old comics in for a bunch of DVD's:
Three Colours: Blue
Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Finally found the first in the trilogy, so now I can start watching them.
Kikujiro
Directed by Takeshi Kitano
It's probably going to be a really, really weird movie to watch. I've seen a few of his films and they're something else allright... Especially "Takeshis' ". Watch that one if you want your jaw to drop to the floor in befuddlement.
Rhapsody in August
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Probably can't go wrong. Can it?
The Egyptian
Directed by Michael Curtiz
I fear this one will be crap, but I am interested in the story it's based on.
Cul-De-Sac
Directed by Roman Polanski
Haven't seen a bad Polanski movie yet, although they've been totally different from each other. No idea what to expect.
Betty Blue
Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix
I know nothing about this except that it's supposed to be good.
Some more movies that I got a while ago and haven't mentioned or watched yet:
Kvinden Der Drømte Om En Mand
Directed by Per Fly
Trying to give more Danish movies a chance and this one seemed interesting, as it's about dreams.
J'aimerais pas crever un dimanche
Directed by Didier Le Pêcheur
Weird French cult movie about... necrophilia, sort of? No so sure about this one... but it's supposed to be something special. I'm a bit worried about what I've gotten myself into with this one.
Strings
Directed by Anders Rønnow Klarlund
A Danish puppet movie that's really aimed more at kids, but it's supposedly extremely well made in terms of visual artistry. It helps that the director is the guy who directed "Hvordan vi slipper af med de andre*" - one of the most wicked and odd Danish comedy films ever made. I highly recommend that one, btw.
*: Rougly translates to "Ho to get rid of the other people".
Lovelace
Directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
No idea what to expect. Again, a lot of people say it's good, but I think I could swing either way on this one.
La femme du Vème
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski
Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas... just sounded kind of interesting from the blurb on the back of the case. Just taking a chance here.
And, finally, a few films that I watched recently and crossed off the list. Just a short take on each:
Baader-Meinhof
Christopher Roth
About the main guy behind this German 70's terrorist group. Turns out it's kinda crap and that there's another, presumably much better, movie about the same topic from half a decade later. I'll watch that one at some point. This version just had no direction to it at all and comes off as the work of amateurs.
Jupiter Ascending
Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
Hilariously, mind-bogglingly bad! Quit while you're still loved for having made The Matrix, ladies.
The Neon Demon
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Not as terrible as the other movies of Refn's that I've seen, but it's still pretty crap. It's got one of the most shallow, predictable, dumb scripts I've seen in a good, long while. When the credits rolled, all I could think was "Yeah, and...? That's all you've got?!". Just totally inane in every way.
Frantic
Directed by Roman Polanski
Just a straight up thriller with a mild touch of comedy. Keeps the action to a minimum but manages to be more exciting that most films I've seen in the genre. Harrison ford is great in this role and the film is just very well made all round. Good stuff. Polanski has yet to disappoint me (I started chewing through his filmography a little while ago).
En kongelig affære
Directed by Nikolaj Arcel
Danish historical drama about the young, mad king King Christian VII and the royally appointed doctor who manipulated him to pass all sorts of reform bills that bettered conditions for Danish peasants. One of the more interesting slices of Danish history and the movie is very well made. Not quite of must-see status, but if you're interested in the topic...
Battle In Seattle
Directed by Stuart Townsend
A drama about the 1999 Seattle WTO demonstrations and riots. Takes itself too many drama movie genre trope liberties to be taken seriously (a love interest, a villain, melodrama), but still manages to be truthful, well meaning and smart enough to not suck completely. It's allright, basically, but nothing more.