Thanks for the memories!

not horrible nor great

Dreadfully Boring

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Iwai steps out of his Japanese comfort zone to produce an all-English film that never sparks to life. A young teacher with a thirst for blood helps wannabe suicides to die, at the same time taking payment in blood to satisfy his craving.Iwai goes after lyricism and visual poetry but forgets plot and character. These dull, droll people - they are all too sharp, witty, beautiful, young and clear-eyed to in any way convince that they are clinically depressed - wander through the frame, spouting little clunky monologues that are forgotten as soon as heard. There are some nice images here, you'd expect no less from Iwai, but the master storyteller who gave us Swallowtail and Love Letter does not inhabit this film. The subtlety and youthful longings that permeated Hana and Alice are also conspicuous by their absence. There is no dramatic tension, no empathy, no persuasive on-screen relationships - Martin and his mother never really convey a sense of shared history. A relationship with a cop seems forced in order to introduce an equally wooden stalker character. The script is badly under-realised, and everything after that can't move beyond that initial failure.Iwai on top of his game is one of the world's best filmmakers, so it is deeply disappointing to see this flat, facile film in his oeuvre. Brief glimpses of his visual prowess remain, and allied to a stronger narrative, give hope that the old Iwai will show up in his next film. It's small consolation for having to sit through this.

about solitude, death and relationship. a parody, a social analyze or only new image of serial killer. in fact, only a mirror for the importance of life, for the new forms of dialog, emo generation, internet importance and a poetic form of happiness.a Japanese air and almost unrealistic/confuse story. only an exercise to define a world. interesting, amusing, cold, realistic. a film who can be really bad for the expectation of young viewers or only metaphor for another. a story who not seduce but can be an inspired picture for many usual situations. and this is important. a Kevin Zegers who does a not bad role, exploring many of his character nuances, dialogs as smoke circles, crumbs of a kind of documentary and bizarre end. a film about a vampire. the only victim, different by usual definition/ expectations.

Sure feels like Vancouver, BC during the dreary days, which creates the appropriate mood for the flick. Its title unfortunately associates it with some real stinkers. It is not one of those. I don't know where the movie fits, but it leaves a significant after-taste. I use these user reviews to help decide whether or not I will watch the movie. If you do too, then it's a watcher, but strangely so. It feels Canadian, as in raw and hand-held sort of. Acting is solid, and the story keeps your attention. Vampire, no. Sanguine something, perhaps. It should not be castigated just because it is not polished to the extreme, and all tricked out with CGI.

I am a hard core film lover of the umpteenth degree and will always give a film, especially a film festival/art house film, a second and third chance at proving and redeeming itself. I've never walked out on a film. Until now. Reasons: The dialog was insipid with what appeared to be little thought in creating; the story was eye-rolling (how many suicides do you happen to run into? This leading man, who seems to invite death, has them happening all around him; how fortunate); and, the act of raping and murdering a young woman unnecessarily was put in, in my opinion, just for the purpose of filming it. And that's unconscionable. If you wish to see director Iwai masturbating on screen (not literally, folks), knock yourself out with this film. For any serious moviegoer who has a love for film and respect for all those connected with the creation of it, this movie is not for you.