Change Your Image
paprikash2
Reviews
Genova (2008)
Confoundingly British
Colin Firth in a bit of a thankless pumpkinhead role. He takes daughters, guilt-driven tween Mary and sexpot teen Kelly to Genoa for a year after his wife dies suddenly in a car accident. The British reviewers seem to acclaim his performance as "understated" and "grief-driven" but I find him clueless and baffling. His younger daughter is clearly in a state of near psychosis, and his older daughter is sexually acting out in a rather dangerous way. He says and does virtually nothing about either. I guess this is "keeping a stiff upper lip." In fact, the entirety of his role in this film seems to be to act as Julie, the Cruise Director from the Love Boat. Catherine Keener is, as usual excellent, but the only thing she gets to do is inveigh him to pay some attention. I thought the whole thing confounding.
Otogiriso (2001)
Not worth your time
At times like an Afterschool Special (Nami inherited a mansion, she and her boyfriend check it out while the two computer nerds offer advice via computer download), at times purposely made to resemble a video game (Nami and her boyfriend enter each room of the mansion, get a key or other object, exit room via secret door, etc.), at times like a predictable, over the top horror movie (Nami, I'm your crazy sister!), St. John's Wort would be a total turkey if it were not for a few arty special effects that quickly grow annoying and a gloss of Generation Y computerese. Skip this one and you won't be sorry -- try "Dark Water" or "The Two Sisters" (Korean) if you are looking for quality Asian horror.