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…

AdULTHOOD. or adult – hoodie

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adulthood

You can say whatever you want about the film. And I am pretty sure that people outside UK will have a bit different opinions about the film in any case. But I think everyone should agree that Noel Clarke has some serious talent. The young talented actor-writer-director has been busy and created this entertaining (somewhat hard to follow) sequel to his earlier feature film Kidulthood. Without stating anything you might not have realised, I can say that kids have grown up, but otherwise nothing much has changed. The film has hardly anything to do with adult lifestyle that the kids in Kidulthood didn’t already participate in. You really shouldn’t watch this if you haven’t seen Kidulthood (and it may be worth refreshing your memory).

I can’t say much about the dialogue, but I guess it’s quite good. But I’m not English and had to concentrate a bit to hear what anyone’s saying. Scarlett Alice Johnson is quite good, Noel Clarke himself is ok, though he doesn’t have too many faces really. But I guess directing yourself is not the easiest task. Adam Deacon is brilliant and cast perfectly. He’s not exactly the kind of character you sympathise with… And watch out for Danny Dyer. So is this how life in London is??

Not the most amazing film and fairly simple story line, but lots of interesting characters that tie the whole thing together. I wonder what’s after Adulthood? Midlifehood? Oldagehood? Parenthood? Seniorhood? Or maybe Noel could move to NY or LA and that would be a bit of a twist?

Changeling Jolie

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Clint Eastwood must be among the most reliable figures in the film making business.

Changeling

And John Malkovich rarely appears in an uninteresting film. Angelina Jolie might not be quite as lucky with her choices of roles, but she has proved before that she can act as well and not just look pretty on screen. Changeling may be a true story, but makes an interesting film as well. Angelina Jolie delivers an excellent performance as the mother, John Malkovich is strange as ever, and there are a few other interesting characters involved as well. Everything looks polished and perfect, the sets, locations, acting and story line are all quite good. Apart from a few moments, the film relies on Angelina carrying the whole weight of the film and that she does. And she and the film did also get some Academy Awards Nominations as well. Maybe you can tell from the tone of this writing what I’m trying to say. However, what makes the film perhaps really worth watching is Jason Butler Harner‘s contribution. It even makes me want to investigate further the real story behind the film. Not bad, for Clint Eastwood. I do like his acting as well though. Maybe I should watch Gran Torino.

Simply blood, simply Coen

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Blood Simple

I’ve waited a long time to watch this. I became a Coen brothers fan much later on than I should have, and it was quite refreshing to see their directorial debut finally. Frances McDormand is as good as she always has been.  Not quite as radiant as in Fargo, but nevertheless, she is really good. The real star of the film is M. Emmet Walsh who plays an amazing part in the dark thriller.  At times it’s like watching a horror film like Halloween. There’s something similar in the mood. And occasionally the suspense is just killing you. I wasn’t too keen on John Getz or Dan Hedaya – their roles were well acted, but I suppose the characters were so out there that it made me feel rather odd. But then the whole unlikeability factor seems to be a common trend in this film so maybe that’s a good thing.

Blood simple. It’s not very complicated. And there’s blood too.

Notorious East Coast

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Notorious

Nowadays, you have to be careful when you go watch a movie of a certain type. Maybe similarly to the movie with 50 Cent. I thought that since it’s directed by Jim Sheridan it should somehow be worth watching. And even then you can go wrong.  But I did think Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was ok. Notorious is directed by George Tillman Jr. whose not the most productive director around – I mean quantity, not saying anything about the quality. He’s directed Men of Honor before, about 8 or 9 years ago.

I wrote in some earlier post about a certain structure in films where you know what’s going to happen. I think that was the post about Milk. Here we get that again. They all seem to be the same. I think I’ll have to watch a few more just to make sure it’s a common way of dealing with this kind of situation. It’s probably the way American film studios try to solve the problem of not-so-happy ending that cannot be re written to be a happy ending. I’m not giving anything away, you should know what happens to ‘Biggie’.

Jamal Woolard is amazingly good. As is most of the cast. Naturi Naughton is probably my favourite after Jamal. She’s brilliant. Although I believe Lil Kim had boob job after she became famous…

As a film it’s maybe average, but good looking flick. Entertaining enough. I thought it has a strange feel and approach to some issues it’s dealing with and maybe that makes the movie worth watching, although it does occasionally make the film feel less well figured out and shallow. Not that there’s anything wrong with shallow necessarily. But to me it did seem like the emotional and other parts of the films would have been written and directed by different people and are completely different level. But well worth watching. more so than Be Kind Rewind which I won’t even bother writing about. Mind you, a true Jack Black fan will disagree.

Another American Treasure

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National Treasure - Book of Secrets

Ok, so maybe it’s not the smartest film around. But I suppose it is obvious what kind of film we’re talking about here. It’s a sequel after all. And it’s a Disney film. More of an action film than a comedy. Packed with action, occasionally funny. Nicholas Cage keeps trying to be funny. Justin Bartha maybe doesn’t do that well.  And if you like Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger or even Justin Bartha for some reason, then this younger version of Indiana Jones will entertain you for the duration of the film. I did see the first National Treasure first and thought that was ok. So was this one. I don’t have anything very clever to say but surely you woudn’t expect that from a film like this. Something tells me to keep quiet about even having watched this.

Theoretical interest…

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Venus

Venus was perhaps likely to be one of those films I judged too quickly and wouldn’t bother to watch. Well, luckily it just appeared from nowhere when I had nothing else to watch. I’d blame the marketing. And perhaps the idea can sound somewhat less exciting than some other films. It is, however, a marvellous film. It didn’t do too well at the time in the BIFA awards, but it did have a nomination or few, and even won some. But then again it was up against a nice stack of films – The Last King of Scotland, The Queen and This is England. Written by Hanif Kureishi (My Son the Fanatic) and directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), Venus is a gripping and well written little comedy starring Peter O’Toole and Jodie Whittaker.

Peter O’Toole is absolutely brilliant, but then again he has done some acting before. And Jodie Whittaker is like a breath of fresh air. Perfect casting. Regardless of anything, this one made me smile all the way through.

Ben Stiller’s Platoon

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Tropic Thunder

I’m not a huge fan of Ben Stiller,  I  don’t think he’s a very reliable director or a versatile actor and find he most of the time looks fairly annoying. Nevertheless he’s usually perfect for the roles he plays. I’m a bigger fan his father, Jerry Stiller really.

I have to say Tropic Thunder is Ben Stiller’s best to date. Action packed and clever comedy. Spoof is the word I suppose. Obviously a spoof of war films. But not quite to the extent that Hot Shots and the likes go. But that’s a good thing; there’s a bit of originality left. Most of all I was amazed to see Tom Cruise‘s face too. I didn’t know he’s in this movie and then he turns up and goes on to deliver probably one of his best on screen performances ever. Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and Brandon T. Jackson have decent roles to act as well, while Downey’s one is probably the one most talked about. And he even has an Oscar nomination for the role.

So, this was ok. Almost funny at points. And so it should, it’s a comedy after all.  I just wish Tom Cruise’s part was bigger.

Benjamin Button

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – That’s a great name for a film. Or a short  story. I haven’t read the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I’m sure it’s very good.

Although perhaps not like many of David Fincher‘s films, somehow the looks of the film is very much like many of his other films. Interestingly, the cinematography of Benjamin Button is by Claudio Miranda, who’s not shot Fincher’s previous films, but done the lighting on many of them. So that could explain why the cinematography is different but somehow looks similar.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cinematography is Beautiful, Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt (and the rest of the Benjamin actors) do an amazing job throughout, and probably the make up and special effects departments have created most amazing realistic effects for the film. Taraji P. Henson who plays Queenie must be one of my favourite actresses in the film.  And I was a little bit surprised to see Tilda Swinton in the film as well.

Any make up used, or 3D effects, or 3D camera systems used have worked perfectly for the film and it is amazing to watch how the passing on time shows on the cast’s faces.

I still cannot believe this movie has collected almost all the nominations possible for all possible awards. 13 Academy Awards nominations is quite an achievement, I think. And it is a good film. Maybe just the kind to get a load of Academy Awards. I didn’t think it’s anywhere near Fincher’s best film though. But perhaps this film is the kind to attract huge mainstream audiences and still prove to be a decent film and not just pointless waste of time. And let’s not forget Fincher’s not even directed that many films. Still, I’d say I’d easily prefer watching Fight Club or Se7en again rather then this Curious Case of  some Button.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you might also want to see Forrest Gump, another film written by Eric Roth. Forrest Gump seems to follow similar structure to Benjamin Button, for better or worse. Not surprising maybe, and to me it wasn’t obvious either, but I guess you could watch them both to compare. Or skip both and watch something else. But Benjamin Button is beautifully cinematographed.