Category Archives: Reviews

Film reviews

the imaginarium of terry gilliam and heath ledger

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Lily Cole

Only Terry Gilliam could come of with such a film. Only Terry Gilliam could come up with such visuals. Only Terry could have such a luck with actors – whether you think it’s good or bad luck. I don’t want to bring up any bad memories to anyone and we all miss Heath and we all think he was absolutely brilliant. But somehow The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus also works with the help of his friends, Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell.

Something about this film is really absurd, maybe it’s the way it looks, or maybe it is the way the characters behave and look, maybe it’s the whole setting and story of the film. But there’s some unforgettable things about it. Heath, and his friends are great, and so is Lily Cole who is absolutely Breathtaking as Valentina, Dr Parnassus’ daughter. See for yourself, Judge for yourself. I’m not going to bet you’ll like it, but I’m not a betting man like Dr Parnassus. Watch out for the magnificent portrayal of an immortal character by Tom Waits.

Pixar goes Up

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Ellie and Carl in Up

I’ve seen a few 3D movies in Cinemas since they started coming out. What I’ve unfortunately noticed that while concentrating on making the films look good in 3D, the film makers seem to have forgotten the story lines completely. In my opinion, that is. If you agree, then you’ll agree that is very sad. The beginning of Up is also very sad, but purely in a good way. When I first heard about Up, it was being shown in Cannes film festival, and what they said about it was that nevermind Quentin’s Basterds, Up had the whole audience in tears in the first five minutes. And I have to say the beginning of Up is amazing.

The whole film is good, even if the beginning has a particular style of a section that appealed to me more than the rest, and it’s absolutely amazing looking film with such a good feel to it that you shouldn’t miss it for the world. Of course 3D is great. But this one is great with or without 3D. So don’t worry, be happy. And watch it. Pixar and Disney know how it’s done.

Britain’s Got Talent – Katie Jarvis in a Fish Tank

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Fish Tank

Where do these people come from? I don’t know if I’d be writing about Fish Tank, if Katie Jarvis had not had a row with her boyfriend one day at Tilbury station. Because according to Times Online that’s how she was spotted for her role in Fish Tank. A small gem from London, this surprisingly 1.33 aspect ratio film offers some fresh performances and a little bit of a story as well, although the emphasis appears to be on emotions, performances, feelings and between the lines. And it might also not be the most attractive portrayal of London. But it might give you an idea what it’s like just outside west end. Katie is not the only one responsible of making Fish Tank watchable, but she’s the newcomer which makes her worth the extra mention. You might be interested to hear that Michael Fassbender is also playing a major role. And why would you be interested? Because Michael Fassbender’s also in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Surely you’ve heard of Quentin Tarantino? And of Inglorious Basterds? The two films may not be very similar but both worth seeing. And both should make you realise that American English is not the only language in the world.

Who is Hallam Foe

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Hallam Foe

Hallam Foe is different. And I mean both the character and the film itself. It is beautiful and strange story. Brilliant performance by Jamie Bell. Billy Elliot, anyone? Now, don’t be expecting men in tights though. And it’s nothing like Billie Elliot, apart from just as, or even more, worth watching.  And while we’re still talking about Jamie Bell, have you heard of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn? And who do you think might be one director that always seems to get the box office hit right? Steven Spielberg. And it would of course be Steven Spielberg that has directed the Tintin film. I’m not saying it’s any good, I’ve not even seen the trailer. But Hallam Foe and Jamie Bell’s performance as Hallam Foe and Billy Elliot were great.

On top of Jamie, there’s a fairly touching supporting role by Ciarán Hinds and a few others. This is a nice little indie gem. Quirky and disturbing, I read somewhere. I’d say so. From the word go.

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds’ language lessons

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Inglorious Basterds

Long awaited new Quentin Tarantino movie, Inglorious Basterds, is a true Tarantino movie, no compromises here. I’m sure it’s not a spoiler if I say that this film is not historically accurate. But considering it’s like a spaghetti western set in France, you should expect the unexpected. Quentin Tarantino may be well known for his dialogue, and now he has shown the world that he – unlike most Americans according to him – is not limited to English either, but can actually utilise the mixture of languages on many levels. So only this time you might have to read most of the dialogue.

Inglorious Basterds has plenty of unforgettable characters, and while well over the top, even Brad Pitt‘s character Lt. Aldo Raine counts as one.  Christoph Waltz, as jew hunter Hans Landa, however, seems to separate from the rest with his very cool performance. Other memorable ones include Eli Roth, Til Schweiger, Diane Kruger and Sylvester Groth, just to mention a few.

Inglorious Basterd’s is a little bit long, and somewhat self indulgent, but unlike a lot of the characters, you’ll survive the experience. But despite being a war movie, it’s not quite the same as Saving Private Ryan. There’s actually quite a lot of things happening apart from killing some nazi’s. Tarantino knows a thing or two about films. And a bit about film making as well.

There’s something wrong with Esther

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Orphan

For whatever reasons, the makers of Orphan apparently didn’t aim at originality of any kind. The look and feel of the movie somehow reminded me of lots of 70s and 80s horror films. I thought that was quite nice as I’d just been complaining that nobody does decent horror films anymore. But when the whole story turns out to be something completely different, and the plot itself is almost straight out of some real horror classic(s), you’ll wish there’d be something worth watching. And there is: I thought some of the child actors’ performances were easily reason enough to go and see this film. Especially those of
Aryana Engineer and Isabelle Fuhrman were amazing really. Despite some serious twists in the storyline. From the grown ups Vera Farmiga delivers a solid performance as well.

If I’d know what director Jaume Collet-Serra had done before Orphan, I’d have given this a miss, but luckily I didn’t. A decent, stylish horror film, though full of cliches and too long. Enjoyed it nonetheless.

Terminator beyond salvation

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Christian Bale as John Connor in Terminator Salvation

I’m actually a big fan of  McG. Why? Because he has a cool name? No, it’s because of Charlie’s Angels films which I think are really cool. Can’t a movie just be entertaining? No? Maybe it’s just me. Oh well, not that many sexy ladies in Terminator Salvation though. And not quite as funny either. But definitely at least as much action and explosions. I think Terminator Salvation is great for a computer game. And it was entertaining enough. For some reason I thought Christian Bale would be playing the main character. But in all honesty, Sam Worthington did ok. And at least there were a couple of other interesting supporting roles – Anton Yelchin from Charlie Bartlett, Moon Bloodgood, Charlie’s angel… no wait, not really Charlie’s angel, and even Helena Bonham Carter.

McG has already proved he can do action movies, so there’s no confusion there, and no disappointment either. The machines are bad and meaner than ever. The story itself doesn’t seem very balanced, somehow it doesn’t work properly, with the good guys fighting such a faceless enemy. Well, maybe it has a face, but not much of a soul. It’s really all over the place and maybe that’s the problem. And the acting is a little bit on the stiff side, and then again a bit melodramatic at times. Maybe McG should stick to some simpler stuff.

Funny enough, there’s even a couple of catchy pieces of dialogue here and there.

Still, it’s enjoyable, and most of all solid action. And Christian Bale never really has done a shitty film, has he? Are you about to say there’s first time for everything? How about the cameo, is it supposed to still be a surprise? I guess not. You’ll see. Made me smile, I didn’t know.

Drag Me To Hell

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Bruce Campbell wouldn’t be dragged to hell very easily. How about Alison Lohman? Alison Lohman is definitely better looking than Bruce Campbell, but obviously Bruce is not completely talentless either.

Drag Me To Hell - Alison Lohman

Sam Raimi is probably better known for all the Spider-Man movies, but Drag Me To Hell is is closer in style to his earlier works, the ones he really should be famous for, The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II. Both Evil Dead films, or even all three of them, are somewhat classics.

Drag Me To Hell may not become a classic as such, but it is definitely entertaining. The cast is very good, especially Alison Lohman is just perfect, Justin Long, Lorna Raver and David Paymer are very good and the rest are ok as well.

Everything is polished, funny, scary as hell. It’s like reading a comic book really.So funny.

Nothing complicated here, no surprises that should surprise anyone for real. There is a story and the script has a very solid structure. It’s just very simple. And fun. Unpredictable? No. But so what.

Come in, come in, whoever you are…

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Let The Right One In

This must be somewhere very high in my top ten of this year, and maybe some previous years as well. Maybe not that scary, but very compelling Swedish horror film. Makes me want to read the book. And it does raise quite a few questions, so I’ve already ploughed through imdb faq section for this film. Very interesting. Set in 1982 Sweden, the art direction on this one is simply amazing. It’s a very Scandinavian film I think. There is something peculiar about how films are made in countries like Sweden and Denmark. As well as in Finland, and it’s not always a bad thing.

Very good cast, quite unusual looking faces really, but at the same time very particular looking and perfectly fitting in. Well acted as well and on the whole visual and beautiful. Kåre Hedebrant, and Lina Leandersson bring the whole story to life, and while the pace of the film is mostly quite slow, their character’s keep the story moving and interesting throughout.

Original title Låt den rätte komma in, directed by Tomas Alfredson is a good example that a film doesn’t have to be in English or French to end up released internationally, and not just on DVD either. But it is a rare treat. Tomas Alfredson is perhaps more experienced director for TV, but Let The Right One In is a film that deserves to be seen on the big screen really.

The film has lots of brilliant, and unexpected moments, some very tragicomic, some of them plain funny, some of them the like I haven’t seen since Evil Dead 2. But then again, Sam Raimi is quite a character too. Funny enough, The other film I was considering to watch was Drag Me To Hell, which just so happens to be Sam Raimi’s latest. I’ll try to see that one next week and find out if it’s any good. Quite a few horror films lately. From what I’ve heard, Tormented isn’t much of a horror film, but if I haven’t seen it, maybe I should just keep quiet. I’m just saying I won’t be seeing that any time soon. I did like the trailer though, and did want to see it to begin with. I think I’ll rather watch Evil Dead 2 again. Drag Me to Hell or Tormented  – which one would you choose? Just Let The Right One In. And watch out for other films by Tomas Alfredson, Kåre Hedebrant, and Lina Leandersson.

Star Trek is not lost

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Zoe Saldana in J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek

While never a huge fan, I’ve always enjoyed just about any Star Trek movie or TV episode, apart from the last two TV series really. J.J. Abrams really has done a marvellous job with this one. I guess the only way to go really at this point for Star Trek, back to the roots. Why did it take so long to figure out how to get another Star Trek movie successfully on the big screen. If you know old Star Trek, you want to see the original characters. If you don’t, it doesn’t matter because it’s not a sequel. Everyone else has pretty much already done it, now it’s Star Trek’s turn. Bring back Uhura in her mini skirt, Sulu, Chekov, Scotty and McCoy, and all will be fine again. Full of gripping moments, a couple of fresh ideas and surprises, and the usual funny moments and other homages… Great cast, great everything really. And great having Leonard Nimoy in it as well. Although William Shatner could have been quite a funny addition too. To me it seemed the cast was full of fresh new talent, but I must now confess that I haven’t watched Lost, which might be a disadvantage of some sort in judging whose face is fresh and whose is not. But overall, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana as Nyuota Uhura (in her not-really-that-short mini skirt, honestly) and Anton Yelchin did the most memorable roles in this one for me. Simon Pegg was a nice surprise too, not quite what I expected, but close enough.

And once again it’s time for USS Enterprise to boldly go where no one has gone before…