Stanislaus

The Strong Ones doesn't have much to surprise within its genre, as it deals with themes that have been depicted before, but the film managed to win me over thanks to the civilian performances and the gradually escalating story. Aside from the brief but all the more passionate relationship between Lucas and Antonio, the film also peripherally deals with a marital crisis, so it doesn't feel as monotonous. The beautiful coastal locations and the nice musical score are a bonus. Weaker four stars!

Another Wolfcop topped its predecessor in terms of bizarreness, craziness and black-humor, while its level of stupidity was noticeably increased. Some of the scenes and allusions amused me, but the more prevalent were the WTF-scenes, which made me think that the creators must have been high on "moon powder". It is definitely an unusual genre mash-up and oddity all in one, and I was a bit disappointed by Kevin Smith's wasted cameo.

Undertow impresses with a quite unconventional love triangle, oscillating between a romantic drama and a ghost story. On the one hand, there is a traditional society with a pregnant wife, on the other a passionate affair with a free-thinking artist, and in between everything, the main character Miguel needs to get his head right. I admit that the storyline with the "invisible" Santiago had its limitations, but this was made up for by a realistically portrayed story with more than one strong scene. A weaker four stars!

"All things that live in this world die. This is why you must find joy in the living, while the time is yours, and not fear the end. To deny this is to deny life." I Kill Giants reminded me a lot of Bridge to Terabithia and A Monster Calls in terms of plot and atmosphere, but it didn't grab me as much as the aforementioned films. I had a lot of trouble sympathizing with the main character - I understood her inner turmoil, but I still found her incredibly annoying at times. However, the film deserves plus points for the casting of Zoe Saldana and Sydney Wade and for the scenes with the Harbingers.

"I didn't plan to fall in love with you. All I know is that I want to be with you." Out in the Dark skillfully combines a romantic drama with an almost criminal thriller and depicts the difficult situation in Palestine/Israel through the story of two men brought together by fate. The film has a slower start, but then everything starts to pick up and the plot comes to a halt at the thrilling conclusion, which left a bittersweet aftertaste in me. Sadly authentic!

Clapham Junction is a raw patchwork of several seemingly unrelated stories that give you even more chills when you consider that it was all inspired by a real hate crime. At first I had some trouble getting into the plot, but the last third made up for it. Every piece of the mosaic intrigued me in its own way, most notably the one with young Luke Treadaway. It is incomprehensible and frightening how many terrible things can happen out of hatred.

Hidden Kisses depicts several topical themes that relate to family, partner and student relationships – thus having quite a broad scope. More than once during the screening, I told myself how completely out of touch with reality some of the characters are, while also being totally on the money. School can be really mean and dangerous and can leave deep physical as well as psychological scars on a person. The film presents in a believable way the situation of two boys who, because of the narrow-mindedness of their surroundings, have become targets of violence, insults and rejection. Personally, I was most impressed by the scenes of the math teacher’s speech and the mother's awakening. A modest, yet hard-hitting TV movie!

Remember me? has an interesting theme and unusual main characters: a kleptomaniac and a narcoleptic who are brought together by a fate called psychotherapist. If they had focused more on the humorous take on Beatrice and Robert's relationship while dropping the dramatic line a bit, this could have been a solid comedy. The idea of forgetting wasn't bad, but I found it a bit underdeveloped. Still, it was still an enjoyable ninety minutes spent with a film that was remotely evocative in its tone 50 First Dates.

The Legendary Giulia and Other Miracles is an incredibly laid-back and briskly filmed comedy about a bunch of seemingly disparate people who are united by the fact that they want to start over, which is not without some amusing peripeteia. Each of the characters had their own distinctive charm and contributed to the barrel of (sometimes a little more serious) fun in their own way: Vito, who went through a number of families or Claudio, who knew a lot of bizarrely deceased friends. I was very impressed with the idea of the mobsters and the "playing" plot of land, which really worked. Towards the end the film played on a slightly darker note and perhaps lost its breath a little, but I still enjoyed the nearly two hours immensely.

If you read the synopsis here or on Imdb before watching this film, you'll be surprised with the kind of story you end up with. I was definitely surprised! At first glance, the film is reminiscent of P.S. I Love You, but that is – thankfully – a mistake. (SPOILERS) 18 Presents is the story of a daughter and mother who, despite adversity, somehow find their way to each other and manages to inspire each other. The character of Anna struck me as a selfish brat in the first half, she was terribly annoying, while I didn't recognize Elise from from Elisa di Rivombrosa at all (it's been a while since the premiere). In the end, the film pushes a bit on the emotions, but I was hooked and reeled in and let myself drift on a touching story inspired by true events that was warm and painful at the same time.