The Art of Self-Defense

I got way more than I bargained for with this one. I thought it was just going to be a stereotypical "Karate Kid" kind of story - boy was I wrong - it ended up being a very clever and original black comedy. It starts off pretty slow, but at about the halfway point it jumps from zero to a hundred very quick and does so beautifully; the sudden jump still keeps in tone with the build up and doesn't overstep the mark by becoming "too excessive", it's just the right amount of insanity.

There's a nice few twists and turns along way, and brilliant dry humour throughout. The cinematography is simple but effective, the actors give great performances, and Riley Stearns has really done a fantastic job with the script and direction.

This one is definitely worth a watch if you like the genre, even if you don't, give it a go, it might just surprise you.

Now, I'm not into artsy clever films. I normally like stuff with some action or drama. The only reason I watched this was that I was looking for a film to watch on a Sunday night rather than just another series.

It definitely has that low budget feel and almost film student look about it, but for some reason I was dragged along with it. It's definitely a bit different, dark and a bit clever. You think you know where it's going - and it does go there, but has a bunch of other directions that you didn't see coming. Some might argue that it's a bit random - like someone had a bunch of ideas, but only one film so they mashed them altogether. Either way, for me, it worked.

It's not going to appeal to everyone and this is evident by the reviews. Give it a try. It's certainly different to the usual copycat rubbish.

It is refreshing to see a movie that is not like the typical garbage we have come to expect from Hollywood. This movie is not for shallow minded folks who like to be spoon fed typical brain dead movie fodder.

I saw this gem at a recent film festival. This is why I go to see movies - something original, something "real," and something important. I didn't find it preachy at all, actually I thought it got it's point across in the best way possible - by being funny and entertaining. The movie starts off by grabbing your attention with how weak of a character Casey is, and how cruel his world is. His world is unrealistically desolate and lonely. But the way he rises out of it is why the movie goes from boring Wes Anderson fantasy to kick-ass Fight Club absurdity. Yes, there are absurd moments but they are completely consistent with the theme of the movie. A theme that needs to be shown again and again in cinema. I won't explicitly state it, but it is the reason this movie goes from average to great, albeit 45 minutes in. A little more gruesome than I'm used to, but I still enjoyed it.

Not a Oscar-winning piece, but a very entertaining dark comedy around the trope of the peaceful/wimp character turned badass. Jesse Eisenberg portrays the perfect wimp, and the whole cast is actually pretty good.