Far East Film Festival 10
We've made it in one piece to Italy. It took way longer to get a password for the wireless lan here than it took to get here. Bah. Our room is nice (if a bit cold), weather is just as crazy as in Austria, but at least it stopped raining for now.

Movies seen so far:

1. L - Change the World
It's strange to have this directed by the director of Ring and Dark Water. He's such a strange guy, look more like a Yakuza than anything else. Anyway, the movie was fun and ejoyable, I expected it to be way worse. It's the best of the lot simply because it's not taking itself so seriously and L is just great, even if he's running and jumping around a bit. I don't really see a problem there. The actor put a lot of thought into his character and did a very good job.
4 out of 5

2. Quickie Express
An Indonesian "sex comedy" about a gigolo delivery service. Nothing special really. The subtitles sucked or it probably would have been funnier. It was also pretty late and we were pretty tired, so that also comes into it. The director was funny though and I liked his explanation of the film industry in Indonesia.
3 out of 5

3. Handle me with Care
A Thai road movie that somehow reminded me of "The Sure Thing", only that the main character has three hands. It was very cute, even got teary in one spot. The music was really good! Must find out who the singer at the end was, he sounded a bit like U2?
4 out of 5

4. The Happy Life
A Korean comedy, only as with all Korean comedys that doesn't mean it's light-hearted. After his friend died, the main guy decides to resurrect their old college band "Active Volcano". Even though it's a midlife crisis thing for him (he's over 40), it gradually turns into more for him and his friends. A very entertaining movie, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, with lots of great rock songs. This comes highly recommended.
5 out of 5

5. Always - Sunset on Third Street
The sequel to the Japanese smash hit playing in the late 50ies. It was just as nice as the first one, but a bit better paced. Maybe that's because the characters didn't need much introduction anymore.I laughed, I cried, what could you want more from a movie? Ah, and the director is quite handsome too. I didn't think he'd be so young.
5 out of 5

6. Secret
A Taiwanese romance from and with Jay Chou. I wonder why a close to 30-year-old insists on playing a teenager in his own movie. It's a sweet story though, but not without some faults. With a bit fine-tuning this could have been an excellent film. Maybe next time.
3 out of 5

That's it for now.