Interview is Theo Van Gogh's latest film which is about a political reporter who has to interview a popular soap opera star. From the start the two don't get along because she doesn't want to do the interview and he knows nothing about what she does. As the film progresses the two exchange often in arguementative tone their points of view. They soon start to become friendlier with each other and eventually share their most prized secret with startling results.

This film seems to be mostly improvisational. The two leads seem to lean on each other a lot to get through the movie. It is shot on a very small scale and takes place in one location. It has lots of potenial but fails to follow through. The leads try their best with what they are given but fail to produce much chemistry or excitement. The plot twist at the end is interesting but seems to be the most interesting part of this movie. If someone gave it a serious rewrite it could work on more levels. This movie has subtitles.

7/10

VERONICA GUERIN

Veronica Guerin is the latest from filmmake Joel Schmacher about famous Irish journalist. It tells the story of how Veronica balances her family life with trying to get the big story of drug dealers and users in Ireland. She has a connection in "The Coach" who gives her a couple of scoops but as she gets closer her family and life are theatened. Finally, after getting enough evidence to bring to police she is killed by the mob boss Veronica has evidence on.

Schumacher has another hit on his hands. This film has great direction and visuals. His visual style draws the viewer in and refuses to let go. We follow Veronica (Blanchett) on her search for the story and along the way we learn all about her earlier work and her family life. Blanchett is great at Guerin in that she makes you want to cheer for her to beat the odds. When she is beaten by the mobsters we also see her vunerabilty and her strength. The movie does end on a sad note but the journey to the end makes watching it worth while. I could see this being a forerunner in the awards season.

9/10

VIBRATOR

Vibrator is a Japanese film that kind of misleading. At first glance based on the title, it would assume the movie would be about the sex toy but it isn't. It's a multlayered movie that is slow paced but represents the journey one of the charcters make. We meet the heroine, Rei, who is 31, lonely and unmarried. She journeys to the corner store to get some wine and other food. She catches the eye of a young man who is a truck driver. Rei follows the driver back to his truck where they get drunk and have sex. The next morning she decides to travel with the man to his nearby cities to make his deliveries. Along the way they share their stories and pain and histories.

This film shows a different side of Japanese culture. Instead of the typical scenes we actually see the more "underground" lifestyle of Japanese people. We see the nice countryside along this journey as well. The direction is very realty-tv like and is quite plain. The two leads are quite good though they seem to be acting parts that may be close to their real lives. There is some nudity in this film and subtitles in this film.

7/10

SHOGO