Ard Vijn
Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Ard joined Twitch in November 2006, promising Todd to share information about the Dutch film industry. Instead, he focuses on Asian cinema and Japanese animation in particular. Once every year he nearly becomes the writer he so desperately wants to be and that is during the International Film Festival Rotterdam. He juggles his time between his wife and two sons, films, and a career-on-the-side as a financial analyst.

DVD Review: FRACTALE, More Than Just A Pretty Anime-By-Numbers?
(Is it original, or an infinite spiral of repeated anime tropes?) Many recent Japanese animation series look good on the technical front, but seem to have trouble distinguishing themselves from the many series which came before them. It's always the... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

IFFR 2013 Review: ME TOO Is Balabanov's Final Wave To Us All
(Instant happiness or instant death, the end is the end...) Russian director - and enfant terrible - Alexey Balabanov wasn't exactly a stranger at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Nearly all of his films were screened at this festival upon... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Rest In Piece, Alexey Balabanov
Sad news: according to an article in Hollywood Reporter, producer Sergei Selyanov confirmed that the Russian director (and Enfant Terrible) Alexey Balabanov died earlier this week, at only 54 years of age. Although no cause of death has been stated,... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Cannes 2013: A Cheeky Look At The Cast Of NYMPHOMANIAC
Banned or not, you can't have a Cannes festival entirely devoid of some Lars Von Trier-related shenanigans. The Hollywood Reporter today showed a still, released in Cannes by production company Zentropia, of the cast of Von Trier's upcoming "sex film"... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Brace Yourself For The Teaser Of THE ESOTERIC BIRTHDAY!
One of the great things about animation is that it allows for nearly unbounded creativity and diversity. Here at Twitch, we often wonder why so many mainstream animated films apparently have to look so similar to each other, given that... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Will Schwarzenegger Prove Non-Toxic In THE TOXIC AVENGER Remake?
Yes, you read that right. A remake of Troma's 1984 cult hit The Toxic Avenger is in the works, and according to Variety, Arnold Schwarzenegger is in talks to star. For those thinking Arnie would be either atrocious (or perfect)... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Now on Blu-ray: THE WOLF CHILDREN, Hong Kong Release
(Kids: can't live with them, can't abandon them in the forest...) We are big fans of anime writer/director Hosoda Mamoru here and for a good reason. After the man left Studio Ghibli following a big row with Miyazaki Hayao over... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Normal Banners Aren't Big Enough For PACIFIC RIM.
Here at Twitch we tend not to put up each and every movie poster on the main page. Pretty ones that catch our eyes are generally posted on our Facebook page, but there are of course always exceptions. Case in... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Neill Blomkamp's CHAPPIE to Star Sharlto Copley and Die Antwoord
Two years ago we reported that District 9 director Neill Blomkamp had another film greenlit after Elysium, no mean feat given that at that point the shoot of his big-budgeted sci-fi epic had yet to start. And then all went quiet... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

IFFR 2013 Review: IXJANA Injects Giallo-like Color And Weirdness Into Film Noir.

(If I did THIS much sex, booze and drugs together on one evening: yep, unfortunately I'd forget stuff as well...) Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski is no stranger to the International Film Festival Rotterdam, which even honored him a few years... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

IFFR 2013: A Talk With Richard Raaphorst About FRANKENSTEIN'S ARMY. Part 2 of 2: Shooting Zombots!
Back in January, Frankenstein's Army had its World Premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. A few hours before the official world premiere, I was allowed to interview director Richard Raaphorst. The first part of that interview can be found... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

IFFR 2013: A Talk With Richard Raaphorst About FRANKENSTEIN'S ARMY. Part 1 of 2: Getting Started...
The long-awaited (and long-covered) film Frankenstein's Army is currently touring film festivals worldwide. This month it was shown at the IMAGINE Festival in Amsterdam and Tribeca in New York, and it had its World Premiere at the International Film Festival... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Review: DRUG WAR Supplies High-Octane Entertainment
For a good time, go see Johnnie To's latest film Drug War, which features some masterfully made high-octane entertainment. Heroic cops battle villainous thugs and it all looks slick and stylish. Is it a classic? Probably not. Did I like... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

DVD/Blu-ray Review: OBLIVION ISLAND Looks Simply Stunning

(Mirror, mirror on the wall, in one viewing you won't see it all...) In 2009, renowned Japanese anime studio Production I.G. released Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror. Instead of a regular anime, this was an experiment in which... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Imagine 2013 Review: Anime Movie 009 RE: CYBORG 3D Dazzles And Baffles
(After seeing this film I am "Himmelhoch jauchzend, zum Tode betrübt"...) One of the great things about film festivals is that they allow people to see Japanese anime films in a cinema. Being able to do so is such a... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

IFFR 2013 Review: MIROIR MON AMOUR, Can Snow White Out-seduce Her Mother?
(It's all Sex, Lies and Fairy-tales in the "Happily Ever After"...) There certainly wasn't a shortage of films about Snow White in cinemas this past year, what with Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror, and Blancanieves. The last of... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Blu-ray Review: MARDOCK SCRAMBLE (SECOND COMBUSTION)
(Killing Machine Became Teenage Gambler...) It's almost ridiculous how fitting it is to review a Mardock Scramble film during Easter, what with the series' strange obsession with eggs so far. On top of that, it tells the continuing story of... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Documentary SLUIZER SPEAKS Has A Trailer, Needs Some Funds

In October of 2012, at the Dutch Film Festival in Utrecht, the famous Dutch director George Sluizer presented to the public what will quite probably be his last film: the unfinished-for-twenty-years Dark Blood. The thriller starred River Phoenix but the... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

IFFR 2013 Review: HOW TO DESCRIBE A CLOUD

(You will not see that next-to-last shot coming. Seriously, you won't...) While there are several big flashy films shown at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the vast majority of titles tend to be low-budget affairs by newcomers. Introducing new names... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

RIDDICK Returns, With A Creature-filled Teaser
This September, Vin Diesel and David Twohy will present the next part in the Riddick franchise they have created: a film which will be called, simply, Riddick. The character of Riddick first appeared as an antihero in the science fiction... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  
 
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