Review-a-Thon Postponed

Hey there, Passport fans. Just wanted to let you guys know that the Passport Cinema review marathon has been postponed until next month. When I announced the marathon, I hoped to have some reviews stockpiled, but too much got in the way, and I wasn’t able to get anything written as I had planned. The marathon will arrive as planned, just on March 1st instead. But we do have some reviews ready to go, so check back later tonight when they’ll be posted for your perusal.

Thanks for reading, and take care!

-A.J. Hakari

Creator and lead film critic, Passport Cinema

“Visitor Q” – A.J. Hakari

Oh, reality TV. Sweet, intelligence-sapping, airwave-clogging reality TV. Centuries from now, historians will discover amidst gordita wrappers and discarded Team Edward shirts evidence of people who shouldn’t have been famous trying to prove why they should be. The concept was fairly green in 2001, but Takashi Miike anticipated the desperation that would soon follow in Visitor Q. Even for the man whose Audition churned our tummies and provoked our thoughts, Visitor Q is an unapologetically raw and uncomfortable piece of work, a film that captures all sorts of sights that should’ve remained unseen.

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“Princess” – A.J. Hakari

Movies don’t quite know what to make of pornography. Comedies mine it for material all the time, and dramatic works tend to be revenge sagas that fall just short of sermonizing. So the animated Danish film Princess has a tricky job to fulfill, though it succeeds mostly because it never condescends. It doesn’t pretend that porn being bad is a foreign concept, nor does it stake a claim amidst the moral high ground. Princess is a tragedy cast in that most classic of molds, in which both its viewers and its characters are confronted with the personal price of seeking vengeance.

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“I’m Not Scared” – Chris Luedtke

Perhaps the most frightening films aren’t those that hunt us but those that haunt us. They make us question how we’d handle a certain situation, if we’d go with the flow or crack under pressure. While these ideas will be addressed countless times to come, few can get you scratching your head like Gabriele Salvatores’ I’m Not Scared. The film won’t outright scare you, but it will have you pondering the notion of whether an easy way out is always possible.

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Miss Us?

Greetings, Passport fans! Didn’t think we left you guys by the wayside, did you? Nah, a little thing called the holidays bit myself and Mr. Luedtke in the behind big time, and we’re just now getting back into the swing of things. We didn’t forget that two weeks ago saw our little site’s second anniversary. Neither of us were in the mood for another week-long review blow out like last year…but we have something even better planned.

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Date Title Rating
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Jan 25, 2010 "Visitor Q" - A.J. Hakari ★★★☆
Jan 20, 2010 "Princess" - A.J. Hakari ★★★☆
Jan 20, 2010 "I'm Not Scared" - Chris Luedtke ★★★☆
Dec 30, 2009 "Female Yakuza Tale" - A.J. Hakari ★½☆☆
Dec 29, 2009 "Plaga Zombie: Mutant Zone" - Chris Luedtke ★★☆☆
Dec 23, 2009 "Samurai Spy" - A.J. Hakari ★★★☆
Dec 21, 2009 "Samurai Reincarnation" - Dustin Wilmes ★★½☆
Dec 20, 2009 "P" - A.J. Hakari ★★☆☆
Dec 20, 2009 "Solaris" (1972) - Chris Luedtke ★★★☆
Dec 18, 2009 "Sex & Fury" - A.J. Hakari ★★☆☆
Dec 17, 2009 "Port of Shadows" - Chris Luedtke ★★★½
Dec 8, 2009 "Last Year at Marienbad" - Chris Luedtke ★★★½
Dec 6, 2009 "Gojira" - Chris Luedtke ★★★☆
Dec 6, 2009 "Calvaire" - Chris Luedtke ★☆☆☆
Dec 4, 2009 "Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell" - A.J. Hakari ★★★☆
Nov 12, 2009 "Infernal Affairs" - Chris Luedtke ★★★½
Nov 12, 2009 "Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman" - Chris Luedtke ★☆☆☆
Nov 12, 2009 "The Butcher" (2009) - A.J. Hakari ★½☆☆
Nov 7, 2009 "They Came Back" - Chris Luedtke ★★★½
Nov 7, 2009 "Them" (Ils) - Chris Luedtke ★★☆☆