Lilja 4-ever (9/10)
"Lilja is 16 years old. Her only friend is the young boy Volodja. They live in Estonia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej. He is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life."
Very strong movie about a young girl struggling to make a living. One of Moodysson’s best.
Living in Oblivion (9/10)
"Film about filmmaking. It takes place during one day on set of non-budget movie. Ultimate tribute to all independent filmmakers."
Great little movie starring Steve Buscemi and Catherine Keener. Buscemi plays a director struggling to finish his movie.
Grbavica (8/10)
"A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war."
Very emotional, must see.
Reprise (8/10)
"Two competitive friends, fueled by literary aspirations and youthful exuberance, endure the pangs of love, depression and burgeoning careers."
Made by former EFC student Joachim Trier, Reprise is a rather unique movie. The editing is different from what you usually see, but the movie is incredible.
Double Dare (9/10)
"Double Dare is a double-barreled, action-packed documentary about the struggles of two stuntwomen in male-dominated Tinseltown to stay working, stay thin, and stay sane."
Very entertaining documentary about legendary stunt woman Jeannie Epper, and up-and-coming star Zoe Bell, who came, unemployeed, from New Zealand and ended up being Uma Thurman’s stunt double in the two Kill Bill movies. Bell’s story if by far the most interesting, mainly because she is so damn sweet. I saw this twice in two days after purchasing it, something I very rarely do.
RoboCop (9/10)
"In a dystopic & crime ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg with submerged memories haunting him."
You should all know this movie, and I’ve seen it before coming to the EFC, of course, but after rewatching it here I realized how extremely awesome this movie is. I’m a sucker for dystopian and/or post-apocalyptic movie settings, and the sad, future version of Detroit is incredible.
Garden State (9/10)
"A quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother’s funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade."
Natalie Portman is so fucking cute in this movie. Zach Braff is nice, too.
Primer (8/10)
"Four friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there’s something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they’ve built, wrestle over their new invention."
This is a real low-budget movie, made for only $7.000. The crew shot 80 minutes of film in total, and the movie is 78 minutes long, incredible. It’s about four guys who accidentally creates a time machine, and the movie is one long mindfuck.
Braindead (9/10)
"A young man’s mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors."
Peter Jackson’s zombie classic. I never thought he had actually made a movie I would like more than the Rings trilogy, but this one is amazing, one of the best zombie movies I’ve ever seen.
Nanook of the North
"Documents one year in the life of Nanook, an Eskimo (Inuit) and his family."
Nanook was made in 1922, and is considered one of the first documentaries created, although it’s not really a documentary. It’s still surprisingly entertaining.
Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (8/10), Day of the Dead (8/10)
The Living Dead trilogy, saw them in a row and they are, of course, among the finest zombie movies ever made.
