Reviews

I liked this movie. It wasn't exactly a masterpiece, having some issues, but it's unexpectedly warm and tender moments,the acting (especially Max Roeg) and the soundtrack (why so many people find it annoying is beyond me..) made it worth watching. I think it's major issue was the ending and most of the movies second part. I read the novel (I loved it and it's definitely better than the movie), so I tend to compare the movie to it. The novel's ending was more ambiguous, interpretable, bittersweet, very moody indeed, while in the movie's case it was way too abrupt, not exactly faithful to the book (while the rest of the movie was, mostly)and rather undecided. First, we are given the fact that Nathan is dead, and the next moment we see him walking up to Roy and then sitting on the bus, the way he used to..It's not that I didn't get it-it was an attempt to recreate the novel's ambivalent final, but it just didn't work. While in the book, there was a subtle mix between reality and dream, the movie failed at this point, giving us just something confusing instead of something dreamlike. The horror tale part didn't fit in the movie either- Jim Grimsley managed to masterfully create a truly eerie and terrifying atmosphere in the second part of the novel, but in the movie version, the part about the haunted house looked like it was taken from an average teen movie.

The rest of the the movie was very well crafted, managing to depict the fragile love of the two boys, that seems almost unreal. I loved the fact that teenage love was depicted (both in the novel and the movie) exactly the way it is: clumsy, awkward but of incredible depth and intensity. The love scenes are reserved, but they were one of the most romantic ones I have seen so far. Although there are some (love) scenes in the novel which weren't included in the movie (and they would have added so much to it!)they were able to portray the aching tenderness and profound love that the boys developed for each other. It was heartwarming to see that love scenes can be made without graphic nudity, picturing just two lovers cuddling and caressing each other. The only objection I have regarding the love scenes is that maybe Nathan's character could have been a bit less shy-there were moments when it looked like Nathan was rather obeying the infatuated Roy and not reciprocating his feelings.

Both actors did a good job, although it was Max Roeg that I liked the most. He really shined in his role, and even without much dialog he managed to portray his character's confusion and sentimental turmoil marvelously. He made the character look very real, a handsome and popular farm boy leading a normal life,whose world is suddenly turned upside down by the feelings he has for his shy schoolmate,feelings he cannot identify at first.

All in all, it's a movie that worth a watch,not as good as the book though. It's complex and subtle, but lacks the eeriness and dreamlike atmosphere of the novel, the mix between a touching love story and a Gothic horror tale. I definitely recommend both the movie and Jim Grimsley's novel - it's a haunting story of first love, that will definitely haunt you for a while.

I watched this movie with my boyfriend on Saturday evening, as we were in the mood for some juicy epic battle scenes. We saw and liked 300, so we expected an action packed flick, full of spectacular special effect. After the action lacking first half of the movie we started questioning this movie: at this time the story was supposed to build up and we were supposed to get to know at least the main character. None of this happened until then. In fact none of this happened until the end of the movie either. This movie has so many flaws I don't even know where to get started. There was no story. The characters were cardboard cutouts and we didn't get to know anything about them. About Theseus, for example, we didn't know anything else except his name. We didn't know who he was, where he came from ,what he wanted, how did he get to sleep with the oracle (?!), and so on ( although he has an interesting background story in Greek mythology ). I was very confused about what was going on in this movie, although I know a lot about mythology and I can't complain about my history knowledge either. I imagine how someone who knows nothing about mythology felt about it. I was just taking wild guesses about the identity of some of the character-we had the gods of Olympus, without a name or identity; I could guess who they were, with a few exceptions, but people who aren't familiar with Greek mythology couldn't have a clue. I didn't get the long awaited action scenes after all, except a few pathetic battle scenes between the gods and titans, with way too much CGI. This was just a big mess, lacking everything a decent movie is supposed to have. Avoid!I want my money back, although I didn't pay to see it...

I really-really wanted to like this movie. After watching the trailer I expected to see a great suspense movie, with a complex and intriguing story. Well, to be honest, this movie is worth watching for Rooney Mara and the intro song..otherwise this is a mediocre movie, way too long, way too slow, lacking thrill and suspense..The story was pointlessly complicated-sometimes I wasn't exactly sure what's going on or where the story was going (ex.: Why did Lisbeth start sleeping with Mikael? That left a big question mark in my case... Not to mention that it practically came out of nowhere..) The ending was horrible-it wasn't even an ending, it was like David Fincher got bored of shooting the movie, and suddenly stopped with it..As I mentioned before, Rooney Mara was the main reason to watch this movie-her acting was terrific, she was very well chosen for the role of Lisbeth Salander. She managed to impersonate this vulnerable yet tough girl, full of rage and anger. She did a great job, considering the fact that this was a pretty difficult role, because of the amount of nudity and the rape scenes. I loved her character, although it wasn't necessarily likable. One of my main disappointments regarding this movie was David Dencik's ridiculously short screen time-it was like thirty second..!!!He's an incredibly talented actor, with loads of potential, so why give him such a minor role? All in all, I was disappointed-it's just another overrated (8.1?!) big budget pretentious cr*p from Hollywood...

I don't understand why people praise this movie so much. OK, it's a decent low-budget indie movie, that has it's moments, but overall it's not as good as we're told ( or I was told ). "Weekend" is a very slow movie, which isn't the problem, because I love this kind of movies. The problem is that besides the engaging dialog, not much happens here. Slow movies are supposed to build up a lot of tension, so the last half hour is packed with events and/or plot twists. In this case, the story isn't going anywhere. We can only see the two protagonists going out, doing drugs, having sex, and talking a lot. As I said before, the drug-sodden discussions were interesting, though a bit boring at some point; the sex scenes were raw and passionate, and there were also interesting camera angles. But despite all this, the whole story falls somehow flat, leaving you unsatisfied-at the end we don't get pretty much anything. Also, the characters could have been better developed-I was left with the impression that I didn't get to know them at all, despite the vast dialog. I'm not saying that this was a bad movie, just that I didn't exactly got what I was promised-a complex story, with well-developed characters involved in an interesting plot, that will definitely move you. I wasn't moved that much, the ending was pretty much predictable, and it kind of killed it for me-call me a hopeless romantic, but I love a - at least partially - happy ending.

First of all, I can't believe this movie was made in 1987!This has more passion, emotion and sensuality in it than most romance movies of the 2000's. This bittersweet but tender love story managed to get my attention all along (I didn't even notice that it's longer than an average movie-140 min.) and marvelously get's it's message across without being too explicit. This highly emotional love story is built around three characters and explores the problem of homosexuality in 19th century England. The main character is Maurice Hall,as the title suggests, who comes to terms with his sexuality, when love develops between him and his college best friend, Clive Durham. After rejection, deception and huge efforts to become what is considered "normal", he finally finds comfort in the arms of the Durham household's gamekeeper. Although all the performances were excellent, it was Alec Scudder's character that I found the more interesting. Rupert Graves did an excellent job portraying this rough yet sensitive country boy, who's sincere love for a high class gentleman seems impossible at first. A bit brash, yet charming, this low class lad falls desperately in love with Mr. Durham's (almost) permanent guest, who initially, despite Scudder's numerous signals, doesn't seem to remark his more than obvious affection. His glances, the clumsy conversations, the overjoyed remark that Scudder makes after Mr. Hall's unexpectedly quick return to the estate, as well as the passionate love letters addressed to Maurice after their first "sharing", show the honesty and depth of Scudder's affection, excluding any chance of blackmailing and desire for profit - as both the viewer and Maurice might have suspected. Compared to Clive Durham, who is unable to face his sexuality and hides behind a hollow marriage, Scudder stands as a vivid character, comfortable with who he is,and who's faithfulness and unconditional love manages to win Maurice's heart.

I never wrote a review before,but this movie demands it.This is one of those rare movies that had a truly stunning effect on me and i couldn't get it out of my head for days.What makes this movie an excellent one is the brilliant performance of the two lead actors, and the ability of the director to depict such a sensitive subject with true artistry, without making it seem exaggerated in any way. The director manages to illustrate the highly unusual love story that makes the central theme of the movie with much tenderness, although we are talking about the relationship of two men coming from a violent and cruel environment.

The two protagonists, Jimmy and Lars meet when the latter joins a neo-nazi group,of which Jimmy has been and old member,pretty high in the hierarchy. When Jimmy unwillingly becomes Lars' tutor, the two begin to form a bond that slowly develops into love and eventually turns into a passionate love affair.The chemistry of the two actors is amazing, making their scenes, especially the intimate ones, look very natural and believable. Added to this is their subtle body language, which in many cases becomes a substitute for dialog, managing to express much more than words. Despite the numerous tender moments, this is far from being an idyllic romance. The whole atmosphere of the movie is quite tensioned, which I actually liked, because it was obvious that their illicit relationship sooner or later will be discovered, and the members of the "Arian Brotherhood" won't be exactly thrilled about it.

Although basically a love story, this movie is about so much more. The exceptional directing skills of Nicolo Donato managed to make it also into a story about hypocrisy, betrayal,revenge, and also a meditation over the multiple meaning of the term "brotherhood": we have the brotherhood between the members of the neo-nazi group, who betrayed one of them without hesitation when he broke the rules,also betraying them in his own way;we also have the literal brotherhood of Patrick and Jimmy: while Jimmy hesitates between his "brotherly" obligations as a member of the neo-nazi group and sibling of Patrick, and his lover, Patrick also has his own little drama, being torn between the option of betraying his brother for the sake of the group, or keeping his mouth shut for the sake of his brother. We can also consider a sexual "brotherhood" between the two protagonists, who eventually has given up on everything for each other. As we expect, their romance ends with tragedy, but not all hope is crushed, as we are being left with a somehow optimistic view,given by Patrick's last words.