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Reviews
The Ipcress File (1965)
James Bond just won't be the same again ...
This film is fantastic. Many viewers complain that it is a "slow movie", but if you prefer todays 1-second-per-cut non-stop brain-dead action over a solidly crafted intelligent plot slowly unfolding with tons of wit and priceless characters, then okay, be my guest! I found the (extremly) dry witty atmosphere of the movie perfect. Michael Caine just rocks as the cooking British agent that fills in "T-106's" in-between dangerous stake-outs. The British secret service portrayed as a bureaucratic nightmare is hilarious.
The plot has just enough Bond-ish glamor, just the right sense of reality and mystery combined. I can't help myself think: "This is the way it could be in this business." The camera is located at strange places -- giving impressions of being hidden cameras -- and adds to the atmosphere of secret games, unknown dangers and who-can-you-trust. The music is gloomy, big-band jazz; adding coolness and atmosphere.
It's hard to come by, but see it if you can -- hopefully on the big screen somewhere dusty! :-)
Deja Vu (2006)
Incredibly silly cash-machine.
Tony Scott reaches new peaks of lameness with this thriller. Tony Scott also directed the somewhat more successful Enemy Of The State, which by the way has a similar theme, and the abysmal Domino.
True, it has a good pace when it comes to action and suspense, but all this is really negligible when you look at such small things as the premises for the story.
When science is used to create a plot twist, the producers should really use a scientific consultant, instead of going "Hey, that would be cool! And what if we make the gizmo do THIS kind of fancy trick ..." The results are invariable laughable and lame, not to say insulting to the viewer's intelligence.
Well, plot holes aside, what about the handiwork? The editing and camera-work is above average, the music is a bit annoying (what IS it with that backwards piano sample that fancy thrillers use these days?), but the visual effects are very good.
As for the casting ... We don't get to know Denzel Washingtons character in any depth. Actually, all the characters are quite flat, except perhaps for Paula Patton's character Claire. Denzel also has strange uncharacteristic outbursts of laughter at very misplaced moments, that gave me that uneasy feeling that he was downright insane. That wasn't the intention, was it ... ? It's just as if Tony Scott said: "Hey, I was not entirely satisfied by the performance here; let's shoot that laughing sequence again, laugh *harder*, and cut-and-paste it into the original scene." It is actually disturbing to look at. Val Kilmer is horrible as always (do something about that mole, for crying out loud, and smarten up!) and some of the one-liners are really off the scale in lameness. (For example something like "It's a really bad week to quit smoking hash" from a science-guy. Hardy-har.) Jim "Holy Man" Caviezel is actually quite good in this flick. He was scary sometimes.
Bottom line: Annoying movie, but enjoyable action when you forget about all the negative things for a minute.
The Fly (1986)
Kafka meets Lovecraft -- one of the best!
If you want to see only one David Cronenberg film, this may be the one. It is simply the most accessible and entertaining of his movies, while adding that little extra to the standard horror flick, making it a deeply disturbing treat. It has good acting, outstanding special effects and score, and that hallmark David Cronenberg fear-your-own-body theme.
The theme can be summarized as a tale of bodily mutations, as a scientists gets fly DNA mixed into his own. It's like Kafka had met Lovecraft for a beer.
But one watch out for the severely cut version: Stay away if it's 91 minutes long! The gruesome ending is cut into dadaism in this version, which sadly is the most common on DVD.
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Over-done conclusion.
The final (?) movie in the X-men series was a bit disappointing. Where the two first movies were subtle and had rather good character development, this episode was over the top with silly one-liners and an endless gallery of characters that could populate a small city.
The main cast, however, is overall great: Famke Janssen is stunning as the tormented Jean Grey, while Hugh Jackman is tougher than ever, and Kelsey Grammar is perfectly cast as Beast. Patrick Stewart (as always) delivers a great performance, while Ian McKellen as Magneto is good, but the one-liners he gets makes Magneto a parody of himself.
In my opinion, X-men 3 lacked the finesse of the two predecessors: Magneto has become a true megalomaniac lacking the intelligent sense of logic he used to have, and where we previously were left to ponder and really feel with the characters (as in the complex friendship of Wolverine and Rogue), we are faced with an endless list of more and more powerful mutants with no function in the story, other than making Halle Berry as Storm look puny with her fog and lightning.
Moreover, I felt that the violence became a bit too extreme: There is simply too much killing in this movie. Perhaps it was supposed to make the story more grave and powerful. However, the story is after all based on a comic with silly super-heroes in colored spandex suits, and violence was always very superficial in the comics. But here, bystanders and more or less innocent people are killed off without as much as a flinch.
A really entertaining movie, nonetheless, but not a very satisfying conclusion to the otherwise indisputably best super hero comic-adaptation series to date.
Forest of the Damned (2005)
Stay clear of this one.
If you liked "Blair with" you'll like this one. It has the same lousy camera-work and soundtrack, and it has the same non-existent plot and suspenseful moments.
It also has Tom Savini, so if you like Romero's "Dawn of the dead" or Tarantino and Rodriguez' "From Dusk Till Dawn" you're in for a treat. He is an icon and a very good actor as well.
No, seriously. This movie is definitely the lousiest movie I've seen in a long time, and I've seen quite a few movies -- bad ones as well. I can tell you that I find most horror movies entertaining in some respect, but this was just a pure waste of time.
The only reason why I gave this movie 2 instead of 1, was the naked chicks and the hot action with all the sharp-looking plastic teeth... No, I'm just kidding. I must have missed before I hit "submit" on the vote form.
Stay away, even though it has sexy girls with teeth on the cover!
The Waking (2001)
Just forget it.
I am capable of enjoying most movies; especially when it comes to horror movies. Most movies have either a cute cheesiness, some hot chick, or they might have good (or decent!) and gory make-up. (Come on! That's why you watch these movies!) This movie has nothing. OK, a half-naked girl in the opening sequence, but that's about it. The music is awful, to call the acting crappy is to be kind, and the plot is not even interesting. The special effects are almost absent. There is one action sequence, but we don't get to see much. Even the sound and picture quality reminds one of home-made movies with a handy-cam... made when you were 15! The main characters (played by a pretty chick and the director, a ... er ... not-so-good looking fat bastard) are supposed to be a couple, although it looked rather incestuous: The guy might have been the girl's father, with his big belly, mustache and age. I was cringing in my sofa when I saw them kiss.
I am not going to spend more time dissing this movie. Bad movies can be interesting, but this one isn't at all.
Just forget it.
Dune (1984)
Excellent adaption of Herbert's Dune.
I have always been a David Lynch-fan, but was nervous to see this movie at last: The film has the reputation of being perhaps Lynch' weakest film. I don't get it, that people say this.
The movie is visually strong, the plot is strong (of course; being a close adaption of Frank Herbert's masterpiece), it has (mostly) great performances (Kenneth McMillan as the baron Harkonnen, for instance) and the music (by Toto) is also top notch.
I think maybe why people dislike Dune is that they don't understand what kind of movie they are seeing: It is not action, not space opera, it is not drama and it is (in some ways) not a "typical" David Lynch movie. The story is very strong, has some heavy implications when it comes to humanity and maybe identity, and tries to do something that seldom is done on film. (In my opinion.) This is science fiction as it is supposed to be.
I won't say too much. (Probably someone else has said what I wanted to before me.) My advice: Go see the movie and do not expect Star Wars, and do not expect Blue Velvet. Feel the movie instead of comparing it to some other flick.
I gave it 9 out of 10, which i rarely do. I will see this movie over again right away; there is so much to absorb in one watch.
Kairo (2001)
Weird an scary as heck!
This is a horror movie which is terrific in it's suspense. The first BOOH! came after, like, five minutes. The whole audience literally jumped where they sat! It was a combination of scary music, hushed noises in the background and a shadowy figure behind a curtain... I won't say too much... :)
To be honest I didn't quite follow all the logic and attempts at explaining what went on by the characters. In that way, the movie was actually kind of David Lynch-ish: giving clues and a mildly complicated and fuzzy plot, while scaring the wits out of you at the same time.
The acting was good. Or maybe I can't always tell, because the language makes it difficult... (The English translation wasn't all that good either, but that's aside.) The photography was great, and, in my opinion, there were some really smart use of CGI without becoming, like, jurassic park, if you know what I mean. And Tokyo is a BIG city, a feeling that really is overwhelming in this movie. (And after all, it's about being alone amongst everybody.)
And the music... Oh, my! Great score in every way.
I recommend this movie. 9/10.
Besat (1999)
Nice gothic horror tale.
This is another horror movie in the Danish tradition, as I like to put it: Good cast, good plot and in my opinion quite an original twist to the classic possessed-by-the-devil plot. Also a hint of drama, with well-written dialogue and interesting inter-character relations and intrigues.
If it runs on TV, see it by all means! Some chilly moments, that's for sure.
7 out of 10.
Dead Funny (1994)
A different love story.
I saw the movie on TV this night, it finished just ten minutes ago. It was presented as "a comedy," but I don't agree 100% with this, although it is full of black hmour.
Basically, it's a story about a young woman who comes home one day, just to find her boyfriend with a samurai sword thru his heart. Of course she's shocked. But then what's she gonna do? She cannot remember anything -- maybe _she's_ the murderer?
Maybe not too original plot for a thriller, which is one of the categories this movie would fit into, but definetely an original plot for a love story, which is an even better label on the movie. Because the best aspect of this movie is the portrayal of the true love between Elizabeth Peña and Andy McCarthy.
The film is mostly set in our heroines apartment, which is not yet ready to move into; full of paint buckets and everything. This is a brilliant choice, as it gives the movie a kind of surreal feel, which of course, is appropriate. (But do we see the ghost of low budget?)
The acting is impeccable and the chemistry between Peña and McCarthy as the woman and her dead boyfriend respectively is something very touching and rarely seen in American movies.
Bad points? I don't know, but the script lacked maybe that little something. The ending was almost unavoidable, though the plot takes some very original twists. (I won't say more.)
I certainly recommend this film and give it 7 out of 10. I get a feeling the only way one can get to see it is late night on cable. A real shame, it is.
The Love Letter (1998)
OMG, this is _awful!_
This is a mind-boggingly stupid movie. The movie is one of the worst I've ever seen. It's almost impossible to make such an idiotic piece of crap.
Actually, I begin to believe that the writer/director are pulling our legs. Sadly, this cannot _possibly_ be true, as they had to be geniuses, which they are (obviously) not.
the plot: A (mind-boggingly) dull man is exchanging letters with a woman who lived during the American Civil War. The letters appear in an old desk. He mails answers to her (at his mothers suggestion) and falls in love, even though he is already engaged. The story dwells around the conflict between being engaged to a real woman and being in love with a woman that has been dead for a century. No, really, it's true!
As if this isn't bad enough as starting point, the story only gets worse. I almost choked my potato chips when he searched for his lover's new-found boyfriend among _the list of fallen in the battle of Gettysburg -- on the internet!_ You heard me right! Of course, he is already fallen and cannot be saved... Oh, the tears i cried.
Elizabeth Whitcomb [the lover] writes poems. Pathetic poems! And I mean _really_ pathetic poems. Of course, no-one wants to publish them. _But our hero encourages her!_ He really should have told her to stop at _once!_
I just have to spoil the ending. Our pathetic hero is standing in front of his long-gone lover's grave (the tombstone reads "I will never forget") as a cute dog comes and interrupts him. Of course, the woman who is taking her dog for a walk looks just like, ... you guessed it, Elizabeth. Happy ending. We are all left to ponder: "Is she a REINCARNATION? Is she just a LOOK-ALIKE so that his fantasies may come TRUE? Or is it all a FRAUD?"
And he publishes Elizabeth's poems. Awww, isn't that beautiful?
The acting isn't that bad. I admit I saw the movie just because of Jennifer Jason Leigh, that wonderful creature. Or that _was_ my opinion. I hate her! I really do, and that's a shame, because eXistenZ is a really good movie.
To sum up: Go see this movie! You'll have a good laugh.
Actually, I'm not too happy with this review, because I am unable to express the thought that this movie is a _bad_ movie; it's not just that I don't like romantic drama, because I do. But when the story gets so thin you can see thru it in the dark and when the concept is so lame you thought it was a joke, and when the message is so utterly idiotic ...
Session Man (1991)
You love rock'n'roll? You've played in a band? See this one!
It's a couple of years since I last saw it, but nevertheless...
This film is simply put great. Chanticleer films have a good reputation, and that's not a coincidence! The acting in Session Man is great, the music is great (e.g. All Day And All Of The Night by the Kinks in a _great_ version), the story is great --- simply put, a well spent hour. Lean back, crank up the volume, pop a beer or something. Enjoy it!
As I've played in a rock'n'roll band, I felt my fingers actually moving when McQueen played the guitar and the music _worked_. (Musicians know what I mean here.) The finger-sync is unbelievable, and this adds too the feeling of course. Nothing is as annoying as bad finger-sync in a music film.
The story touches a musician's heart, but it goes beyond that --- it's a story with deep implications. Giving and taking, lost hopes and all that.
High Fidelity (2000)
Terrific adaption of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel.
I was a bit sceptical at first; it being an English novel adapted for the big-screen by Americans. These doubts vanished after about four minutes of the movie. The acting is very good, the dialogues are funny, the script is very true to the book (except for being set in the US, some minor name discrepancies and such details) and let's not forget the soundtrack!
Music lovers, heart-broken guys (and gals), people with an eye for good film: I can certainly recommend this movie. If you loved the book, you'll love the movie! I give it an awesome 9 out of 10, (and that's rare.)
-Simen.