Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines — I’ve seen plenty of people write bad stuff about this movie. I fail to see the bad parts. Were they expecting something other than an all-out action movie? I expected action and nice special effects, and T3 certainly delivered. Ahnuld returns as a Model 101 Terminator, once again to protect John Connor. Action ensues. Bonus points for the ending — I didn’t expect Bollywood to burp out something like that.

The Transporter — Jason Statham shows that he’s pretty good at choreographed martial arts and stunts, though I doubt he’s that good a martial artist in real life.

Statham plays some ex-military guy who’s resaddled as a driver for various illegal items. Rule number three: never open the package. Which he accidentally does during a transportation. Action ensues.

The story is paper-thin, but it has a nice visual style and good car chases. And a fight on an oil-filled floor with a barechested Statham pounding bad guys in style.

If they ever decide to make a movie out of the Hitman games, Statham would look very good as 47, pictured to the right. In the beginning of the movie, he dresses up exactly like the Hitman.

Vidocq — now this movie I liked. I’m a big fan of movies like Dark City and City of Lost Children, so I decided to watch it when read the back of the DVD at the rental place and spotted Pitof’s name. He was visual director for City of Lost Children, which I found immensely beautiful.

The character Vidocq actually existed, but the story is pure fiction. In the opening sequence you see Vidocq, played by Gérard Depardieu, get killed by a figure wearing a billowing dark cloak and a helmet made of mirror glass. The rest of the movie then switches between Vidocq’s investigation that lead to his death and a journalist investigating the death of Vidocq.

The story has a few interesting twists and gave me a very neat idea for an RPG adventure. Highly recommended movie.