Save the Green Planet - This South Korean masterpiece keeps you guessing. Is it a comedy, a sci fi film, a cop drama a la Seven? All thost things and so much more. Immediately after viewing I hit play again. This movie is that good. Like most movies, too much expalanation can kill the buzz. Not likely to be released in the US anytime soon, so if you have a good foreign film source, track this one down.
City of God - This was almost hyped up too high for me. I was expecting nothing less than godhead. OK, it's not that great, but it is a great movie nonetheless. The story of a young boy and gang violence in the slums of Rio. The photograpy and narrative structure are involving and exciting. The actors are flawless and really draw you in to the story. Most satisfying "crime" movie I've seen since Casino.
Shaolin Soccer - What's a movie without some cheese? I've heard a lot about this, from the accolades it has received to the atrocious dub Miamax will be foisting upon us this summer. I shudder to think how they will "interpret" the character's voices. Anyway, the story is really of a former Shaolin monk whose goal it is to have the whole world embrace the wonder of Shaolin, which is ultimately done by transplanting it to the soccer field. Some of the jokes fall flat and the special effects are hit and miss, but I was stoned and bought into the whole thing - I loved it...But then, I saw Jaws IV stoned and thought it wasn't so bad, so maybe take this suggestion with a grain of salt.
Tennan Shoujo Mahn Next - The director of Dead or Alive, Ichi the Killer, and Audition takes on a tv show about high school girls vs a vampire modeling agency. A bad dvd transfer made this one hard to watch, and even though it was made for tv, and not anywhere near up to par with his better stuff, it was EXTREMELY kawaii, that is to say, awfully cute
