(C+) Cheapo South African/Canadian horror movie is your standard "bored afternoon cable horror movie." It's perhaps better than most, though you won't remember it for long.

(B) Mann usually bores me, but I actually find his cold, stylized approach refreshing here. Visual style is a bit uneven but quite stunning at it's best, and the performances are admirably restrained. Cotillard's is mousy and unpleasant, though.

(A-) This is a uniformly solid, well-acted tale of the Boer wars and its aftermath. The attempts to translate the events into an anti-imperial diatribe aren't terribly coherent, but the film is first rate otherwise.

(C+) Antal's debut is impressively ambitious but this is also its downfall. He can't really balance the weird mix of action, romance, humor and surreal satire. This shows promise, though, fulfilled in his standard issue but sharply made "Vacancy."

(B) Funny and intriguing Gulf War I flick is quite watchable, though it's nothing terribly new or revealing.

(C+) C. Nolan's ultra-cheap debut has some impressive ideas and effective scenes, but it never fully grabbed me.

(B+) Spectacularly bizare, controversial Japanese horror combines incredibly disparate elements into a baffling whole. You've not seen many films like it.

(B+) This and "Quarantine" are often shot-for-shot identical. American version is a bit slicker and more detailed, while [Rec] is slightly tighter and rougher. I slightly prefer "Quarantine," but you can't go wrong with either, though they're so similar that most won't care to see both.

(B+) Historically significant period piece/morality play with supernatural elements. It's generally involving with reasonably likable characters, though it perhaps covers too much too quickly.

(C) Bava-esque French horror pic has great set design but is too slow.

(B) Shaw Bros. horror/martial arts hybrid executes both angles quite effectively, though it could use a decent protagonist.

(C+) Initially a classic thriller/noir tribute that gets increasingly bizarre. It's never boring, but ultimately to goofy to really be good. Zahn is annoying and Sobieski displays her dead fish charisma, but Glover is sympathetic.

(B) Martial arts/horror/comedy hybrid is suprisingly effective on each front. A fun watch.

(F) Staggeringly pointless "clever" and self-referential pseudo-horror from von Trier. You expect a nut like him to toss out some duds, but man is this bad.

(B) Chinese horror plays it totally straight but goes steadily further over the top. It starts a bit slow, but it delivers in the second half.

(C) Shaw bros. made exploitation horror relies on the no longer shocking subject matter. It generates a bit of atmosphere here and there, but never comes alive.

(B) No budget, minimalist horror uses the grainy visuals and near silence to remarkable effect. Also, mixes killer bats with zombies! Intriguing.

(D-) Outrageously goofy and dull Filipino fantasy flick. I'm always hoping this foreign, Conan-inspired dreck will be entertaining, but it rarely is.

(B-) Martial arts/horror/comedy again, with hopping vampires. It's quite watchable most of the time, but the comedy doesn't work so well this time.

(B-) Another outrageous Asian supernatural horror film from the early 80s. It drags a bit in the middle, but is amusing overall.