Anora

In the late 90´s i became very close friend to a working collegue of mine named Robert during my first year working in health care. Not only were we both huge fans of Martin Scorsese films as well as Quentin Tarantino films, we both loved British rock music such as Stereophonics, Oasis and Monaco ( the solo project with Peter Hook basist player from New Order ). During this time he told me that he liked going to a strip club in the Swedish city of Gothernburgh known as Wandas. Of course i knew there were strip clubs in the bigger cities across Sweden but never visited one. So in 1999 i did my first visit with Robert and he would show me around the whole strip club. It was actually quite big with 2 floors. The first floor was of course the strip dance scene itself with a bar and leather sofas. If you wanted to watch the ordinary strip show you could just order a drink and sit in the leather sofas. They also had private rooms if you wanted a bit more private show. On the second floor you found a long hallway with different video rooms ( if you wanted to jerk off to adult films basically ). There was also a sofa infront of a huge TV playing some adult film further down the hallway where an older man in a suit was enjoying himself. Me and Robert basically stayed on the first floor watching the dance shows, and at some occations some of the female strippers would sit down in the sofa we were sitting in just to have converastions. Since that time i returned to visit Wandas with Robert and got to know some of the strippers a little bit better, because they knew we were respectful to the women. Speaking of strippers there have been films made in the past regarding the striptease scene such as the 1996 black comedy Stiptease with Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds and Robert Patrick. I know some people don´t like this film but i have no bigger issues with it, i would say it´s entertaining enough thanks to the great cast. And seeing actress Demi Moore on the strip scene is of course something you don´t turn down. Worth a watch on DVD or VOD if you just want to be entertained by a 90´s classic. Last year i was hearing some really positive reviews from a film called Anora, a film that´s connected to the strip club scene. What really made me curious of this film is the director known as Sean Baker, being a fan of films he have directed in the past. I finally got a chance to sit down and enjoy this film on a physical copy. Is this one of the films you need to experience this spring or is this a film that´s not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Anora "Ani" Mikheeva is a 23-year-old stripper living in Brighton Beach, a Russian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn. Her boss introduce her to Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov ( Mark Ejdelstejn ), the young son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, Nikolai Zakharov (  Aleksei Serebyakov ). Vanya is in the United States to study, but prefers to party and play video games in his family´s Brooklyn mansion. Vanya hires Ani for several sexual encounters and pay her 15.000 U.S. dollars to stay with him for a week. Vanya and his entourage fly to Las Vegas, where Anya ask Ani to marry him so that he can obtain a green card instead of returning to Russia to work for his father. Even though Ani is skeptical at first, she aproves his wish because she have geniune feelings for Vanya. This will turn out to be a huge mistake, not only for Ani but especially for Vanya.

If you remember the insane 2012 film known as Spring Breakers and how wild that film was, imagine something similar to that but takes place during strip club scenes and Las Vegas as well and you have a pretty good image of how this film Anora looks like a big part of the runtime. The film changes tone after a while but right from the start it´s a wild ride of nude bodies, sex, alcohol and drugs. So if you are a sensitive person then this is definetely not a film for you. There are several details i feel that this film does right. The portrait of a strip club business feels realistic and how the business works. You get a sense how the female strippers learn how to treat customers just in case they might get a big tip, and if they paid good enough they might be able to cross boundaries of regular rules. The main character of Anora ( played really powerful by actress Mikey Madison, most of you probably recognize from the TV series Better Things ) is a woman who basically lives day by day just to get enough money to survive. Mikey Madison really go all in to portrait the woman of Anora as a lost soul who still have a small dose of dignity left buried deep inside of her. I personally feel this is her strongerst acting performance so far in her career. Regarding the relationship that Anora develop with Russian bad boy Vanya ( played well by actor Mark Ejdelstejn ) you can feel quite early that this is not going to end well. Even when you have all the money to spend, you don´t have to take responsibilities as ordinary young people, at some poing the house of cards will fall down. And that exactly what this film tries to show as well as how destructive relationships might destroy lives. I have to mention the crazy performance of actor Karren Karagulian as Toros, he is not the person you want to upset. There are actually some funny scenes as well when a group go out looking for missing Vanya where i found myself laughing. Anora is a film that really show that happiness isn´t always about money but having real people in your life matters more than any luxuary lifestyle. A very tragic but also funny film as well that show life can be one hell of a roller coaster. Director Sean Baker ( who directed one of my personal favourite films of 2017 known as The Florida Project ) proves once more why he is such a brilliant director capturing a realistic view of the dark sides of humanity while also showing a beautiful portrait of the struggles of a young woman. Anora is definetely a must see if you want to experience something different than most Hollywood films.

Rating: DDDD

Monster Summer

There was something special about being a kid in the 80´s. We didn´t have cellphones, we had computers but we could basically just play video games on them and we actually spent time together at pizza restaurants, VHS stores playing arcade games and renting VHS tapes, at our local comic book store and at the beach. If we wanted to meet somewhere we either used our home phone or phone booths downtown. This was when we still had phone books to find phone numbers to the right adress. I remember me, Robert and Henrik during summer time going on our bicycles to the lake of Bjursjön in 1988 where we used hang out together. If we were lucky they had a café open at Bjursjö stugan during summertime ( a cabin that was connected to the lake ) so we could get ice cream or sodas. This was where we would also meet girls our age ( we were 11 years old at that time ) and just hang out together. When i have been to different lakes and the ocean as well in modern days you can tell things have changed, People don´t talk together like we did in the 80´s, a lot of people are too busy with social media and i see children not being very social like we used to be. Of course times changes you can´t escape that, but the social part have changed a lot and i think it´s great for children to be social outside social media. Speaking of the 80´s there were so many great teenage / children films released back then such as The Neverending Story, The Goonies, Stand By Me and i think we might have to include the horror film Stephen King´s IT from 1990 as well. There are some attempts to try and bring back the 80´s in films such as the 2011 sci fi teenage thriller Super 8 from director J.J. Abrams. A very well made film regarding a group of teenagers who witness aliens invading their small town. This film have so much nostalgic feelings all around it with capturing the time period really well as well as the characters match really good. One of director J.J. Abrams best films in my opinion and a true love letter to the 80´s. I highly recommend you to watch Super 8 if you want a real popcorn evening at home. Speaking of films bringing back nostalgic feelings last year a film called Monster Summer was released that is supposed to take place one summer of 1997. Im always open minded to films trying to capture different time periods, especially during the 80´s and 90´s. I noticed that the trailer reminded me of teenage films of the 80´s so that got me curious. Is this a film for fans such as the classic film The Goonies or did the film Monster Summer not deliver that much fun at all?

Noah Reed ( Mason Thames ) is an ordinary school kid just hangin out with his friends Eugene Wexler ( Julian Lerner ) and Sammy Devers ( Abby James Witherspoon ) as they visit the suspicious older man Gene Carruthers ( Mel Gibson ) property out of curiosity. Noah forget his backpack at Gene´s home who later on return it to him. It turns out that Gene is just an ordinary man, but something strange seems to be happning in town where young people suddenly disappear and return behaving very odd. Noah begins to investigate why people are suddenly being taken away as he gets help from Gene who is also suspicious about this mystery

I may as well start by saying that Monster Summer is not a future classic by any means nowhere near The Neverending Story or The Goonies. Those films can never be replaced by any modern films no matter how hard anyone tried. However, i will say that i do appreciate the effort of Monster Summer where they actually tried to capture some of that cinema magic that we used to get from teenage films from the 80´s and 90´s. This film actally understand what kind of audience it is made for and the best part of it all is that it leans heavy on nostalgic factors of the 90´s. The teenagers dress like the 90´s and they talk like we did in the 90´s. Details like these are important if you want to capture the time period right. There are other details that i feel makes this film work as well as it does and i feel that the characters match well with the plot. It feels like this could be teenagers hanging out during the summer in the 90´s just chillin inside the lead character Noha´s ( played by actor Mason Thames ) treehouse. Now i have to be honest and say the most positive surprise is how good legendary actor Mel Gibson is in this film as the character Gene. I have always been a fan of Mel but in the last 5 years there have been a few films i had issues with. But it feels like in this film he really steps up and deliver a solid performance. The mystery surrounding the witch in this film is done simple but effective and the special effects are done nicely without getting too complicated. The make up effects of the witch ( when it´s revealed who it really is ) looks like something similar to the witch in the 2014 film Into The Woods where Meryl Streep played a witch, and it actually works. So anything that could have been improved? Honestly there is not much to compain about because this is a good family movie. Monster Summer may not be a future familly movie classic but this film proves why we need to go back to more simple days in the 90´s. Director David Henrie shoud continue making films inspired by my youth because he is clearly good at making a film in this genre. If you want a nostalgic trip back to the 90´s then Monster Summer should please you, worth checking out on VOD or streaming.

Rating: DDD

Devil´s Knight

There was a time in my youth when i used to travel to the capital city of Stockholm quite alot since i visited my cousins living there. We celebrated Christmas weekends together while doing other events together as well, and one other thing we did that i can still remember was our museum visits at different locations around the city. One of the museums in Stockholm i found really interesting was the Medieval museum and the artifacts they have found from this time period. It was like stepping back in time where you would get a sense how life used to be back then, while you learned about certain people who made a very big impact in Sweden during the medieval years. I noticed in a newspaper here in Sweden not that long ago that the Medieval museum have moved to another location so i think i will visit again, not only to see what other artifacts they have found over the years but also to see their new location. I personally feel it is good to learn about history since we can learn a lot from the past, but we may also understand more regarding our ancestors. So no matter where you live on this planet, if you are able to visit a museum that have medieval artifacts and teach history i would highly recommend you to go. Speaking of medieval times there are plenty of movies that bring up this time period in history. One of my very first films in this catgory i remember seeing back in 1987 on VHS, was the mystery thriller drama The Name Of The Rose with legendary actor Sean Connery and a very young Christian Slater. This film also have a very unique performance by Ron Perlman as the hunchback Salvatore. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud this film takes place during the early 14th century where William of Baskerville ( Sean Connery ) investigate mysterious murders taking place at Benedictine in Northern Italy. If you love murder mysteries and strong acting performances then this might be something for you. If you pick up the physical release of The Name Of The Rose there are some great special features included, i highly recommend listening to the commentary track. I do enjoy watching more modern films taking place during medieval times so whenever i see a film that takes place during this time period i always try to check each title out. I had an oppuertunity to watch a medieval horror film called Devil´s Knight, produced by the very well known brothers Sonny Mahal and Michael Mahal who have produced several quality films over the years. Is this a great choice for horror fans in general or is Devil´s Knight not as solid as i was hoping it would be?

In the medieval world of Veloka, monsters and demons alike roam and terrorize humankind. The Bone Devil has plagued the Kingdom of Remeny for years. After a group of trackers fails to kill the creatur, King Samuel ( Kevin Hager ) decides to bring in an elite group of monster hunters to destroy this ancient evil and bring hope to the people of Veloka. 

One of the first things that came to my mind while watching Devil´s Knight was how this film reminded me of another medievel horror film called Season Of The Witch with Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman ( a film i have always been a fan of ). Both films takes place during the medievel times but have completely different plots. The one detail that is similar in these films is that they gather a team who are chosen to do a mission in the name of goodness. I do appreciate the fact that Devil´s Knight have such a high ambiton to try and look like old school films of medieval stories with sword fighting knights, but what especially stand out in this film is the demonic creatue that suddenly appear at certain locations. The design of this demonic creature as well as the monsters are actually quite impressive and i feel they blend in very well with the plot of this film. The sword fighting scenes between the knights, monsters and the demonic creature are much more gory than i expected so that was a positive surprise.  There are a lot of characters in this film where have several well known actors such as Eric Roberts, Kevin Sorbo, Daniel Baldwin and many others. There are especially two characters i feel make a certain impact and that is actor Kevin Hager ( who you can see in the apocakyptic vampire film Bloodthirst ) as King Samuel and actress Sarah Nicklin as Princess Sabine. Both of their acting performances especially feel powerful in this film. I am surprised over the performance of Kevin Sorbo´s character Guard Captain Baldur, this might be one of his better acting performances in recent years. There are some other characters who also make a positive impact but i have to mention the knights costume design, i really appreciate that they do look like medieval soldiers and the helmets are especially cool. There is one smaller detail i feel could have been improved and that is the attempt to tell jokes in this film. It could be me who just didn´t get the jokes good enough, either way that was just something i picked up along the way. Devil´s Knight is a medieval film filled with plenty of treats for both horror fans and medieval fans in general as well and i have to say the horror elements works more effective than i expected in this combination. Director Adam Werth ( director of Bermuda Island, a film worth checking out ) bring back life into a genre that needed a solid medieval film like Devil´s Knight.

Rating: DDD

Wineville

I remember summer of 1993 while celebrating Kräftskiva in Värmland ( Kräftskiva is a tradition meal where Swedish people eat crayfish in the month of August ) with my grandparents. This was during my 16 years birthday and my grandfather wanted to celebrate this day for his grandson properly, so he had loaded up with alcohol and different kinds of wine bottles. During this meal we all had lots of crayfish, fresh bread, even some Västerbottenpaj ( it´s like a pie made with spiced cheese, it´s really good and considered to be a Swedish classic among pies ) and my grandfather gave me all kinds of stuff to drink to the meal. One moment i was having beer, then spiced alcohol called brännvin and then wine as well. By the end of the evening i had too much to drink and especially wine towards the end that i ended up in a ditch puking like hell. Of course it was one hell of a hangover the next day but my grandfather had a good laugh about it and said:- You will be fine just have some breakfast. This was actually my first time turning 16 where i was this drunk, and i actually didn´t drink wine for some time after that night. I did continue with the beer and brännvin instead, perhaps because i liked the taste of them better. To be honest im not a huge wine lover in general and i would rather have whiskey, rum, vodka or other kinds of alcohol if i have to choose. I can enjoy a glass of white wine to a fish meal or while eating crayfish, in the end i would probably choose beer instead. I do think you can make a good hotpot with red wine, it will give the hotpot some really good flavors combined with spices and veil bouillon. Speaking of wine i do have a really good recommendation for a film that talks about wine and enjoying life in general in the 2004 comedy-drama film Sideways from director Alexander Payne ( director of the brilliant Jack Nicholson film About Schmidt, a must see ). Sideways is a very well made film about 2 good friends Miles Raymond ( Paul Giamatti ) and Jack Cole ( Thomas Haden Church ) who decides to travel together before Jack´s upcoming wedding. They will taste different wine bottles, enjoy good food and have a joyful vacation. During the trip some things happen that will change everything and completely turn their vacation plan around. Sideways is a very charming, well acted film that really digs into male friendship as well as dealing with life in general. If you enjoy light hearted films that give realistic performances then you should watch Sideways. The acting performances in this film is really good so if you want strong performances, this is the film to choose. And by the way if you pick up the DVD or blu ray listen to the commentary track, we find out some very interesting details in there regarding the making of this film. Speaking of wine i heard last year there was a grindhouse inspired horror film called Wineville that was getting some positive reviews. My plan was to watch this film during Christmas weekend but plans changed so i decided to finally sit down and give this film a chance. Since im a big fan of grindhouse horror in general, is this a horror film that you need to experience or is Wineville unfortunately not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Tess Lott ( Brande Roderick ) travels back to her family home with her only son Walter Lott ( Keaton Roderick Cadrez ) after her father passed away to figure out what to do about the farm and the vinery that the family have worked on for many years. Tess have a very bad past with her abusive father and do not like coming back to home, but decides to do the best out of the situation. While staying there she finds out people have gone missing from this area. What Tess doesn´t know is that her family members carry even darker secrets than she ever would have imagined.

I have always appreciated independent horror films that tries to bring back the feeling of old school grindhouse 70´s horror and that´s exactly what Wineville manage to do. If you have seen grindhouse cinema classics and appreciate practical make up effects ( there is actually some really gory scenes in this film ) then i promise this is a film that will please you. In a sense you can say that Wineville is a film that tries to bring back a time period where you had great characters, and it´s not just about the brutal killings of people that matters. This is one detail i feel is important since sometimes certain horror films forget about making good characters, that you will remember for different reasons. Im actually suprised that for a low budget horror film like this i can´t say any of the actors does a terrible performance, they perform better than i expected. So let´s dive into the characters a bit and talk about some of them. You have of course main actress Brande Roderick ( who not only look fantastic but is of course a Baywatch legend ) as the character Tess Lott. What i especially like about Tess as a character is that shes a very natural mature mother, it feels like you would enjoy spending time with her just being a simple woman and shes quite charming as well. Child actor Keaton Roderick Cadrez as the character Walter proved to me that this young man have acting skills that could take him far, and i really appreciate the work he put into this role. General Hospital actress Carolyn Hennesy as the crazy character Aunt Margaret feels like the redneck cousin of Annie Wilkes ( fantastic performace by Kathy Bates ) in the Stephen King film adaptation of Misery and i feel that Carolyn really capture that dangerous personality that this film needed to become more effective, from a psychological level. This is the first time i have seen actor Casey King and i have to say, he did a really powerful impact with his character Joe. The horror elements in Wineville are simple and the plot is easily constructed but that actually helps the film work more effectively, with great characters and the brutal murders the combination simply feel more natural. The locations of this film at an old vineyard matches well with the plot. There are a few smaller details that could have been improved but overall im surprised of how much i appreciate Wineville for trying to bring back 70´s grindhosuse cinema and manage to do this well. Director Brande Roderick have not only made a solid horror film but the film looks great as well. If you want raw brutal old school horror then Wineville hits all the right spots, definetely worth picking up on physical media.

Rating: DDD

The Paragon

Sometimes i like to dive into odd films that may not be appreciated by some people. When i mean odd films i mean where everything doesn´t make any sense and suddenly you have scenes that comes out of nowhere for no reason. I love this kind of film making and i really appreciate creative directors who dare to do the oppisite and just make the film in their own unique way. Even if it´s not often i discover odd films i try to be on the lookout for them, just in case there might be some fascinating independent films coming out that seems fun. There are some odd films i can highly recommend that i feel should be seen, but let´s just stick with one specific film for now and that is the 2009 drama comedy known as Gentlemen Broncos. Directed Jared Hess ( director of the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite, in my opinion one of the best films of the year of 2004 ), Gentlemen Broncos is definetely a very unique film experience that tells the story of science fiction writer Benjamin Purvis ( Michael Angarano ). He recently finished his sci fi story known as Yeast Lords, which centers on a hero named Bronco ( Sam Rockwell ). While attending a two-day writing camp for aspiring fantasty and science fiction authors, Benjamin attends lectures by his idol, the prolific and pretentious writer Ronald Chevalier ( Jemaine Clement ). Chevalier announces a contest for the writers, in which the winner´s story will be published nationally. As Chevalier reviews the stories from the campers, he gets a call from his publisher, rejecting his latest manuscript. Not knowing what to do Chevalier finds Yeast Lords and decides to use Benjamin´s story and just change some pieces for his own new manuscript. Gentlemen Broncos is a really crazy drama comedy that´s all over the place with science fiction battles and switches over to the ordinary life of Benjamin. The acting in general is really charming and i just love all the crazy things happening for no reason at all, Gentlemen Bronocos should deserve to be a cult film in the future for being so odd and wonderful. Definetely rent this film on VOD or pick up a physical copy of Gentlemen Broncos. Last year a comedy drama from New Zealand caught my attention in a film called The Paragon, a film that reminded me of something odd in the style of director Jared Hess but this specific film is directed by Michael Duignan. Is this a film you simply need to see or is The Paragon too odd and too bizarre to experience at all?

Dutch ( Benedict Wall ) is a crippled man after a hit and run accident, he is frustrated and angry not knowing who hit him with the car. Dutch find a poster with information how to become a psychic. As he takes one of the telephone numbers from the poster, the phone booth next to him rings. The one answering is Lyra ( Florence Nobel ), who promises to help Dutch have psychic powers so he can find out who drove the car that injured him. Dutch go to the adress given to him and this is where his real journey begins, to understand more about himself but also learn how to use psychic powers.

The Paragon is a film that is kind of difficult to describe. On one hand this is a charming story about a man trying to find his way in life while this is also an odd story about what meaning each one of us have in this life ( and in other galaxies and what each galaxy means ). I would say this film is also about learning to use psychic powers and if this sounds weird than trust me, it just gets more weird as the film goes on. And this is one of the things i really appreciate about The Paragon, this is a straight up nerd sci fi comedy that really tries to give us the image that it´s ok not to be the same as everone. We all have different qualities and even if some people might think we are strange, just be yourself and don´t worry too much about it. I would also say this is a film that tries to give us a deeper look how mind control works and how we can learn to use our minds in different ways. There are some really funny scenes in this film where i found myself laughing over the nerdy tone that the odd character Lyra ( played really well by actress Florence Noble ). Her serious tone all the time speaking to Dutch ( played by actor Benedict Wall ) is such a good match that i love hearing her sounding like everything is meant to be taken seriously in life. You are not supposed to enjoy life, you are supposed to be serious every day. There is a great chemistry between the main characters and even if they are very different from each other, and have different views on many things they still seem to get along in some magical way. Even if the science fiction theme do become very obvious in certain scenes with some weird events it doesnt affect the story in any negative way. I personally feel that The Paragon is a film that we need in modern day society, a film that dares to be different and does not follow the typical Hollywood pattern. This is a fun sci fi comedy that really give you a sweet after taste, almost as if you had a desert at a restaurant and feel surprised how much you enjoyed it. Director Michael Duignan proves that you can make intelligent and fun films as long as you have good ideas and great charatcers included, and The Paragon have all of this. If you want to experience something unique and still have a good time, you should definetely rent The Paragon on VOD.

Rating: DDD

The Coffee Table

In my ordinary day life i always have coffee every morning and i also have some during day time as well. Coffee is one of those things i need to have to function, or at least that´s the way it feels and i just keep this tradition going. I didn´t always drink coffee in my youth and i didn´t start enjoying it until i started working night shifts at the company known as Odal. This is where my coffee drinking actually started in the autumn of 1998 at the age of 21. All of my working collegues had coffee on every shift so it became like a social thing to sit down and talk on breakfast or lunch breaks. Our boss Hans was also nice enough to sometimes buy us a cake to enjoy with the coffee. Since then i developed my passion for coffee and i buy different flavors in stores, i might try a different kind of coffee at a café with a nice slice of apple pie. I don´t mind an Irish coffee either with some whiskey in there, perfect on a winter evening. Speaking of coffee and cafeés ( could be a diner as well ) i have a personal facourite film that actually have coffee as a connection to the film itself. And that is the 2005 drama film Coffee And Cigarettes by legendary director Jim Jarmusch ( director of Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai ). This film tells different stories from different characters while they are having conversations over a cup of coffee and a cigarette. What makes this film so good is the conversations, there is a lot of passion in the subjects and each character have a unique past. Really good acting performances from Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi and Cate Blanchett among others and the film looks really good on a technical level. A film you should see if you love fascinating films with depth. Speaking of coffee i heard last year of a Spanish film called The Coffee Table was getting good reviews after being screened on many film festivals worldwide. A film that seemed to be a quite different cinema experience. In fact this film took a very long time before getting a physical release. I finally got a chance to watch the film to see if this would be something i would appreciate. Is this a film you need to experience or is The Coffee Table not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Jesus ( David Pareja ) and Maria ( Estafania de los Santos ) are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents to a little boy. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their lives completly.

The Coffee Table is a perfect example of a film you should know as little as possible before watching this film. Avoid any trailers or reading about the film, i did the same thing going into The Coffee Table and i am so glad that i did. This is not only a disturbing film in many ways but especially if you are a parent to a child. Im not going to go into details and just let you decide if you want to watch this film or not. The coffee table itself is connected to the plot in a simple way, where you understand why this table is a symbol of grief. You might wonder how can a table make you feel sad? There is a perfect explanation to this once you see the film and understand what i specifically mean. This is an odd film in many ways that combines serious drama, comedy but especally bring in some very dark horror elements into the mix. On a psychological level this is where The Coffee Table works best, when the disturbing truth reveal itself and makes a powerful impact on the audience. I would argue that this might be one of the films that will really affect parents of all ages if you decide to watch The Coffee Table, because there is a scene in this film that will definetely shock you no matter how young or old you are. The acting in general is really good from basically the whole cast, and i would say actress Estafania de los Santos as the mother Maria stands out with her aggressive tone and ironic dialogue in certain scenes. Actor David Pareja have some very rough scenes to act out in, where we are supposed to feel the pain he feels. The Coffee Table is a film i will most likely never forget since it is so unique, so different from anything we usually see in ordinary film releases. It is a heavy film to swallow and have so many lairs of sadness written all over the surface. Director Caye Casas have not only made a really powerful film but have made a film that will make you question humanity. A must see if you want to see something different and uniqe, The Coffee Table will not leave your mind easily.

Rating: DDDD

P.S. If you want to watch a European blu ray release of The Coffee Table there is one coming from distrubtion company Second Sight coming out this year, just check their homepage for updates.                                 

Gladiator 2

Films that tries to capture different time periods in history can be very fascinating for many different reasons. We may get a look into a completely different society that functioned quite differently from what things do in modern times. There are of course certain details that we still use today like they did in ancient history, we still make hand made objects and hand made clothes just like they did back in those days. The difference is of course back then they could not mass produce products like we can in modern factories. I really didn´t get interested into history until i was 20 years old when i travelled to Greece for the first time in the spring of 1997. This was when i went to see the the Cave Of Zeus that´s located on Mount Ida on the island of Crete. Before i went here i didn´t really know much at all about Greek Mythology because i never really got into reading much about it. After i did this visit to the Cave Of Zeus i became more fascinated regarding the history of Zeus and actually checked out some books in my hometown library when i got back to Sweden. You could say that i have Greece to thank for inspiring me to learn more about history and since then i started to check out more regarding history in each country i visited on vacation. 3 years after my first visiti to Greece there was a very big movie premiere worldwide of the historical action film Gladiator in the year of 2000 from legendary director Ridley Scott. A film that turned out to be the best acting performance i had seen actor Russel Crowe do so far in his career at that time and i also loved the performance from actor Joaquin Phoenix. The gladiator scenes were very impressive, the costume design looked really good and in general this turned out to be a very powerful film to experience. Still until this day Gladiator is one of my personal favourite films when it comes to telling stories connected to the history of the Roman Empire. Gladiator is one of those films you should see if you have not seen it, still to this day it looks really good. For many years we hear news about a possible sequel and for quite some time it seemed like we wouldn´t get one, at least not with Russel Crowe included into the cast. So here we are with the official sequel Gladiator 2 with brand new characters and director Ridley Scott back as the director. Is this a worthy sequel to the classic film Gladiator or does this sequel fail to live up to the same quality as the original film have? 

Sixteen years after Marcus Aurelius ( Richard Harris ) death, Rome is ruled by corrupt twin emperors Greta ( Joseph Quinn ) and Caracalla ( Fred Hechinger ). In the North African kingdom of Numida, the refugee Hanno ( Paul Mescal ) lives with his wife Arishat ( Yuval Gonen ). The Roman army led by General Acacius ( Pedro Pascal ) invades and conquers the kingdom, killing Arishat and enslaving Hanno and the other survivors. The slaves are taken to Ostia, where the Romans pit them against baboons to advertise them as potential gladiators. Hanno savagely kills a baboon, impressing the stable master Macrinus ( Denzel Washington ), who promises Hanno an oppurtunity to kill Acacius if he wins enough fights in Rome. There is no other option for Hanno, this may be his only way out to regain his freedom.

Knowing how many people worldwide who loves the original film, it must have been a big pressure on director Ridley Scott since he knows the fans will not accept a sequel unless it feels like a worthy sequel. To be completely honest i didn´t keep my own expectations that high to this film because i didn´t want to be too disappointed in case it would have turned out to be terrible. Luckily i will say, Gladiator 2 is not as bad as some of us fans of the original film thought it could be. There are a number of factors that make Gladiator 2 a solid sequel so let´s start to go through some of the details that this film does well. I personally feel that the costume design in this film is well made, if we are thinking about the time period where this film takes place. It feels like these are people living during the Roman empire and the costumes are clearly meant to capture that historical time period. The gladiator scenes are well made and they actually made some refreshing updates on some of the gladiator fights, where especially one scene makes a big impact with sharks inside the arena. I feel that this is a good idea to try and add something different and not just repeat the same concept too much. That way you still keep the gladiator battle fun but do a different take on the survival concept. You know sometimes when you may think the hero may be the best part of the film? Not in Gladiator 2, i will definetely say that the best character of this film is the evil Macrinus ( played really good by actor Denzel Washington ). Each scene that Denzel Washington deliver dialogue pick up this film to a completely different quality level, and that clearly shows how much effort he made to make this character feel so powerful on the big screen. So what doesn´t work as good in this sequel? I would say the lead character Lucius ( played by actor Paul Mescal ) is not as powerful as Russel Crowe was in the original film´s character Maximus. Im not saying Paul is terrible in the lead role, but he doesn´t match the same screen magic as Russel Crowe had in the gladiator scenes. I know some people have complained about there are some historical faults in this film, i personally don´t have a problem with that since there are plenty of films that does the same and still turn out to be entertaining. Gladiator 2 is a action adventure that will most likely please you if you love films that takes place during the Roman empire and appreciate a lot of violence. Director Ridley Scott proves once more he is a very talented film maker and this is definetly a genre he is passionate about. If you want epic sword battles, muscles, beautful locations and beautiful women as well then this is the film for you. Gladiator 2 knows what audience it was made for and this is definetely a film for historical fans in general.

Rating: DDD