Ard Vijn

Netherlands

Market IT Operations Manager during the day, masquerading as a Movie Reviewer for https://t.co/z8wk0lB7Hn and Schokkend Nieuws magazine at night...

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Articles

Pretty Packaging: The MANDY German Ultimate Edition Should Not Be Sent Away

4 weeks ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

When we started publishing the Pretty Packaging articles here at ScreenAnarchy, we made a conscious decision to NOT go into private collections and take out some weird obscure old editions which happened to be awesome. No, the focus would be on the new and available. Today I'm bending the rules a bit, because the German Ultimate Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo release for Panos Cosmatos' hallucinatic revenge thriller Mandy is neither new, nor will it be easily available for much longer...
Cannes 2025: A Look At What The Mad Scientists Are Doing...

1 month ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

The world's most famous film festival rounds up today, and we've had plenty of reviews in the past weeks. But Cannes also has a business side of course, a vast market where people try and get their projects financed, scout for scripts, producers and actors, and generally try to extend their network. The Mad Scientists were there as well, a Dutch collective of multi-talented artists co-founded by director Richard Raaphorst of Frankenstein's Army fame.
Joseph Kahn's SANDBOX Music Video Provides Muppet Mayhem

2 months ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Ouch... rock band The All-American Rejects seem to be losing a member here, in this screenshot from the music video for their new single Sandbox.
Pretty Packaging: The SHAWSCOPE VOLUME 3 Boxset Still Kicks Shins

2 months ago | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

When I had the second Shawscope boxset featured in a Pretty Packaging article, the last thing I wrote was: "Any bets on whether Volume Three will be green or yellow?"Well... Volume Three is here, and this time there is green on my green tiles... This third boxset focuses mostly on historical swordplay films from studio Shaw Brothers, like the One-Armed Swordsman trilogy. You get 14 films in total, spread out over eight Blu-rays, with a bonus Blu-ray and a music CD of soundtracks.
Pretty Packaging: ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS VOL. 2 Haunts Harder

Mar 9, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Back in 2021, writer-director Kier-La Janisse released Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, a great 3-hours-(and-14-minutes)-long documentary about witchcraft and mysticism around the world, especially as seen in films. That documentary didn't just get a special release on Blu-ray, it basically got THE MOST SPECIAL release on Blu-ray: a magnificent boxset with not just the documentary, but also 19 other films about folk magic, and tons and tons of extras. All curated by Kier-La herself.
Rotterdam 2025: What The Audiences Liked Best

Mar 2, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Three weeks ago, Rotterdam wrapped up its International Film Festival, and a few days after that they published the final results of their audience ratings, which is always a highlight for me. As the saying goes, everybody is a critic, and at film festivals that is especially true. People who are paid to watch films may have a different definition of 'time well spent' than people who actually PAY to watch films, so I hold the audience ratings in high esteem.
Rotterdam 2025 Review: MEMOIR OF A SNAIL Gets You, Pacing Be Damned

Feb 21, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Back in 2009 we were treated to one of the best films ever made about autism, and it was, surprise surprise, an animated puppet feature. That was Mary and Max, directed by Adam Elliot, who had previously won an Academy Award for his short Harvie Krumpet. A filmmaker with the storytelling ability to make you root for the outsider stuck in an uncaring environment, and with a gloomy visual eye to match Tim Burton's.
Rotterdam 2025 Review: I'M STILL HERE Will Not Fade From Your Memory

Feb 16, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

In 1970, Brazil was suffering under a military dictatorship. Political opponents and critics were arrested, tortured and murdered. As much as 20,000 people were "disappeared" under the regime. One of them was Rubens Pavia, an architect who had been a left-wing member of congress. Years later, Pavia's son became a famous writer who wrote a book about his father's disappearance and his mother's struggle to make the authorities confess the truth.
Rotterdam 2025 Review: LILIM Makes You Look Under The Bed

Feb 3, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has a healthy relationship with Asian genre cinema. In the past it was basically the go-to place for fans to check it out, and the (in)famous "Rotterdämmerung" part of the festival provided anime, horror and fantasy.
Ard's Dozen Of Musings About 2024

Jan 15, 2025 | screenanarchy.com | Ard Vijn

Normally around this time of January I give an overview of impressions I got in the previous year. Why me? What makes me so special? Well... sometimes, in the past, I actually hadn't seen enough films to properly participate in the regular "Top 10" list but still wanted to talk about a few. So I started writing about six things, which made me remember eight, then I realized I could actually do ten anyway, and then decided to add two things I wanted to say as well.