Devil´s Knot

It is so sad when you hear about a child is murdered. In my mind there can be no reason to kill a child, if you do i think you should burn in hell. Unfortunately you can´t stop some people from doing this, even if i wish we could. There are so many cases every year, where children have ended up dead . Hopefully things will change in the future, and kids can be saved before it is too late. One case in Usa, that got a lot of media attention, is the case known as the West Memphis Three, in 1993. 3 young boys were found murdered and tied up in a river, as investigators arrested a couple of young teenages, belived to be satan worshipers. Did these teenagers really killed the boys, or was someone else guilty behind these brutal murders ? Devil´s Knot is a motion picture, based on the case West Memphis Three. With a cast of Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Amy Ryan and Bruce Greenwood among others, is Devil´s Knot a fascinating look into the case that took America by storm in the 90´s, or is this a thriller drama that soon will be forgotten ?

3 boys, Jet Jurgensmeyer ( Stevie Branch ), Christopher Byers ( Brandon Spink ) and Michael Moore ( Paul Boardman Jr ), go riding away on their bike one day, but none of them come bak home. Mother of Stevie Branch, Pamela Hobbs ( Reese Witherspoon ), and Stevie´s stepfather Terry Hobbs ( Alessandro Nivola ) both go out to look for Stevie and the boys. The other boys families are also very worried, as police begin to search all over West Memphis, Arkansas. In a river the boys are found tied up and brutally murdered. Police Lieutenant Bryn Ridge ( Robert Baker ), who discovered clothes of the missing boys, try to put the pieces together of what happened. Ron Lax ( Colin Firth ), private investigator, is chosen to help police work on the case. 3 teenagers are arrested, Damien Echols ( James Hamrick ), Jason Baldwin ( Seth Meriwether ) and Jessie Misskelley Jr. ( Kristopher Higgins ). After 4 hours of interrogation, Jessie Misskelley Jr. confess, and the boys are going to trial. Private Investigator Ron Lax is not sure these boys really did it, so he tries to find answers anywhere he can. But the question is, will someone belive him ?

Devil´s Knot did not get a cinema release in Europe, why ? Well, to be honest this feels more like a straight to dvd release. That does not mean that this is a bad movie, but you can tell this is almost made as a TV movie, with a bigger budget than usual. The combination of Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, in a law thriller drama, works for the most part. As long as the story focus on how teenagers could brutally murder small boys. The fact that this is based on a true story, makes you feel sad for the families that had to deal with life, after their children were found murdered. Director Atom Egoyan, directed a very good thriller drama called Felicia´s Journey, with Bob Hoskins ( may he rest in peace ) in the lead role. He is now back in the thriller drama genre, and this time he tries a different path with Devil´s Knot. I will say that i enjoy Felicia´s Journey more than Devil´s Knot, because it was a powerful motion picture. This is still a thriller drama that include some interesting details, with a cast of talented actors. But there is a problem, i feel that this could have been even deeper and more emotional. I would have wanted to see a deeper portrait in the case, how police found evidence, and how they managed to find who was guilty of these brutal murders. Everything goes pretty quick when teenagers are arrested, we don´t get to see much at all about any evidence. Devil´s Knot could have been more thrilling, and more heavier in the storyline. As a law thriller drama, this is not all bad, but there is something missing here. Considering the case this could have been made with more emotion, here we just feel a glimpse of that.

Rating: DD

Afflicted

Another found footage horror movie ? Holy christ, do they never stop coming ? I guess not, and as long as the audience love this genre, they will keep coming every year. By now most of you have probably seen at least seen one of the Paranormal Activity movies. A fifth one is coming, just in case you did not know. There are many titles out there coming out, so i try and check some of them out, but i don´t review every single one of them. But today i do, with a new found footage film called Afflicted. One reason i became interested in Afflicted is that the movie won Best Canadian First Feature Film, at the Toronto International Film Festival 2013. Not only that, Afflicted also won 2 Awards at the Austin Fantastic Fest 2013, both for best director and best picture. Pretty impressive for such a small film, so i just had to take a look what Afflicted would offer this genre, considering we had so many similar films lately. Is Afflicted a break through to the positive side, or does it fall down into the same dull ingredients ?

Childhood friends Cliff ( Clif Prowse ) and Derek ( Derek Lee ) do everything together. They have so many great moments together, it seems that their friendship could never end. They both decide to travel around the world to experience life in a whole new way. They document every Place they visit through their own travel web series " Ends Of The Earth ". One night while both guys are out to party, Derek meets a woman who he spend the night with. Cliff notice that Derek must have been bitten by this woman, and for some reason Derek is becoming very ill. For each day that goes by, Derek´s health is getting worse. With no answers or with nowhere to turn for help, Cliff try and find a way to help his friend. Derek is becoming another person, as he is transforming into something none human.

Afflicted starts off like an ordinary documentary, when we follow the guys on their worldwide trips. But once Derek finds a girl to spend the night with, he wakes up with a flesh wound. And this is where Afflicted kicks in, as Derek becomes very sick for each day. While most found footage horror movies use the same type of storytelling, Afflicted tries to do something different with the genre. When Derek is infected he changes, both his personality, but also his strength. This makes the story more interesting. Afflicted may have some ingredients we have seen before, but the good news is directors Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse ( who also are the main actors in Afflicted ), find a way to balance the styles into a nice package.  If you expect to see a lot of killing or body parts torn apart, this is not for you. But if you can give Afflicted a chance, if you enjoy found footage horror, then you might find yourself enjoying this. There is a mixture here of vampire influences and disease infections, a combination that appeal to me. The typical vampire movies can be dull, unless you have a nice concept to make something good about the content. Good thing we don´t get the same style here, in fact i can´t think of many titles that used this combination all at once. You can watch Afflicted on VOD, and it is coming out this summer in Europe, so i suggest you check this one out. Finally something good have been released in this genre, i have a feeling we won´t see that happen very often.

Rating: DDD

Bro´s Before Ho´s

I love the Netherlands. So nice people, and i love Amsterdam. I am going back at some point, because there is so much to see and do in Amsterdam, you better make sure you have time to experience everything. I am not only talking about tulip gardens or museums, there are many great stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and of course there is Red Light District. This area is were all the fun is happening. You can do anything here, have sex on stage, watch striptease, there is also fun sex shops and other fun places to visit in this area. What about night clubs ? Well, i think i need to check that out next time. But i hear Amsterdam is supposed to be a great night life city. When it comes to movies made in the Netherlands, i am not very good with titles or actors. Here in Sweden we don´t get to see that many releases on dvd, i suppose because french, italian and english movies get more attention. Bro´s Before Ho´s is a comedy that got a lot of positive reviews lately, so i had to see what this is all about. Is this a new comedy classic from the Netherlands, or is this just another stupid comedy made for college teenagers that no one will remember?

Two brothers Jules (Daniel Arends) and Max (Tim Haars), made a pact as kids. Never have a relatsionship, since their parents always argued. As they become older, they live the life, party almost every night and sleep around with all kinds of girls. They both belive they are gangsta, and they think they know the gangsta language. This seems to work on younger women, so they continue to live for the day. Max works in a videostore, renting out movies. Jules work at a supermarket, where he is banging chicks at the warehouse. One day Anna ( Sylvia Hoeks ) walks in to the videostore Max work in, and Max falls in love instantly. But the problem is Anna is spending time with Jules, so Max need to get her interested in him instead. The pact that these 2 brothers made all those years ago seems to be slipping away.

Bro´s Before Ho´s is a mix of American Pie, Harold And Kumar and other american comedies about stupid guys who only want to sleep around with girls. The difference is that since this is made in a european way, the vulgar language feels more suitable. These 2 guys may get lots of sex, but underneath the surface they have nothing to be proud of. From a comedy perspective, this is a really funny movie. The dialogue is silly, vulgar and the boys think they are gangsta, and talk like they are hustlers. The problem is, they are no hustlers or not gangsta, they are just 2 stupid guys. And that is what makes Bro´s Before Ho´s so funny. These losers think they have it all, and they have no idea what actually women want. One detail that makes Bro´s Before Ho´s funny, is that fact that character Max loves the movie First Blood so much, that he watch it everyday, and know all the dialogue. He even try to do a Rambo rescue, ( while he is working in the videostore and is being robbed ), to save Anna from the robber. I am laughing as hell when Max and his brother Jules tries to be gangsta, they don´t even look gangsta or sound gangsta, and this makes them hilarious. Directors Steffen Haars and Flip Van Der Kuil give us a real treat here, with many funny dialogue scenes.  Bro´s Before Ho´s is the funniest european comedy i have seen this year, guys will guaranteed love this one, and i think women will also, if they like vulgar comedies. You can buy the dvd from some european countries, so i suggest you take a look on the web, this is guaranteed to give you a great night with friends. Now i must dress gangsta, and roll down the streets of Skönsberg on my bicycle, it does not get more gangsta than that players.

Rating: DDDD

Devil´s Due

Yes folks, it is time for another documentary styled found footage horror film. As i have mentioned earlier years, i enjoy this genre if the movie is well made, on a limited budget. There are plenty of good ones, but one of the best titles that you should see is the first The Last Exorcism. Very good acting, and a great plot. Unfortunately, there are many titles coming out every year, some are really awful, who try to be scary without any effort. Devil´s Due landed in american cinemas the same month as Paranormal Activity : The Marked Ones. There are 2 very different stories, even if they both are filmed in a documentary style. Devil´s Due might not sound like anything fresh in the genre, but is it possible the content make this one more interesting, or is it the same ingredients done all over again, for no reason at all ?

 Zach McCall ( Zach Gilford ) and Samantha McCall ( Allison Miller ) are a married couple. They go on a honeymoon vacation to the Dominican Republic, and they are both having a great time. Samantha is curious about going in to a fortune teller, to hear about her future. But the fortune teller suddenly tell her evil things, so Samantha want to leave. While looking for the road to their hotel, both of them are lost. A taxi driver stops and offer them a ride. But he does not want to take them to their hotel, instead he convince them both to go to a night club. Samantha is not sure, but agree. The night is going well after all, until both of them suddenly fall asleep. Samantha is taken to a ritual, where a satanic cult lay a curse on her, from an unknown force. The next they both wake up at their hotel room, not knowing what happened last night. As they go back to their normal life, Samantha finds out she is pregnant. Zach is really happy that he is about to become a father. But the pregnancy seem strange, Samantha is changing and doing many odd things in their house. Zach need to find out what really happened to Samantha on their vacation, someone must have an answer.

I would not call Devil´s Due a found footage film, since this is supposed to be filmed right when everything is happening, and no one else found this video. The style is still typical this genre, and Devil´s Due could be influenced by Rosemary´s Baby. This is not awful in any way, i just feel bored while watching Devil´s Due, mostly because there is not much interesting here to pick up. We get some satanic worship scenes, and some usual scary moments,. But when the final scenes runs off, i feel like there could have been so much more to do with this material. This is too bad, because Devil´s Due is directed by directors Tyle Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, 2 of the directors who worked on the first chapter of V/H/S/. They should be able to do something better than this, since V/H/S/ was so good. I guess they might have stepped into the wrong project. There are a few good ideas here, and in a few scenes they manage to make the enviroment scary. But that is all, the final product feel very predictable and we have seen this before. If you love this genre, you might enjoy Devil´s Due, i recommend you rent The Last Exorcism instead.

Rating: DD

Noah

Let me start by saying, i am not a typical religious person. I don´t visit church often or read the bible. This does not mean i have anything against religious people. I belive that no matter what religion we choose, we all have the right to choose our own way. And this is what i have done. But i will say this. I am skeptical about churches against gay people, but still we find out that male preachers have sex with other men, this makes no sense at all. Every church should welcome any member, no matter if you are gay or straight. I don´t think Jesus would say that gay people are less worthy, i am pretty sure he would accept them for who they are. Speaking of the bible, there are many characters that have been made into tv films, or even major studio motion pictures. One of the biggest box office hits of all time, based on Jesus, was The Passion Of The Christ. Mel Gibson directed this very powerful motion picture where we followed the story how Jesus died in his final days. There was a lot of reactions on this movie adaption back in 2004, from many different religious organisations. But the audience did not seem to care, it was a huge box office success. So here we are, with a different story based on the character Noah, you probably heard the story Noah And The Ark.

As a very young boy, Noah becomes a witness of his father Lamech ( Marton Csokas ), being killed by Tubal-cain ( Ray Winstone ). As the years go by, Noah ( Russel Crowe ) is now living with his wife Naameh ( Jennifer Connely ) and their children Shem ( Douglas Booth ) , Ham (
Logan Lerman ) and Japheth ( Leo McHugh Carroll ). Noah is haunted by vivid dreams, and have seen signs like instant growing flowers, so he decide to take the family to their grandfather Methuselah ( Anthony Hopkins ). On their way to Methuselah, they find dead people, who seems to be killed in battle. There is one survivor, a girl named Ila ( Emma Watson ). She joins the family on their journey. Tubal-cains army chase Noah and his family, but they manage to survive thanks to the stone golems, known as Watchers. Methuselah gives Noah a seed, that can make a forest grow within seconds. The whole family begin building an ark, that Noah was told to build from above. Noah realise they need to work hard, to get the ark finished. Tubal-cain is prepared to attack the ark, and he have an idea. If he could get help from one of Noha´s sons, he might be able to kill Noah.

As usual, some religious groups have spoken about differences between the bible and the character Noah in the movie. Personally i have no idea what the changes are, i just try and focus on my opinion about the motion picture overall. If there is one positive thing about this adaption, it is that there are some majestic battle scenes, especially between the stone golems and Tubal-cain´s army. I think this is the first time i have ever seen so much action in a biblical story, and that is a very good sign. Russel Crowe is good as Noah, maybe not his best performance, but much better than in A Good Year ( oh man that was a cheesy one ). Ray Winstone fits pretty well as the evil Tubal-cain, as he try to do anything to destroy Noah´s life. So let´s get to the problems. The length is one thing, it feels very drawn out in some scenes, like director Darren Aronofsky just let the scenes become longer than necessary. Another problem is that the storyline feel very light, let me explain. If you have read the story, you know what will happen, but there are absolutely no new twists here, no surprises. And i think that would have been a good thing, even if some religious people would be against that. If you make a storyline too simple, you will eventually feel like you would hope for a different twist. And that is what i did, i really hoped director Darren Aronofsky would deliver something stronger. We are talking about the director of Requiem Of A Dream, The Wrestler and The Swan, so we know he is very talented. Unfortunately this is not one of his best motion pictures, it´s ok but does not deliver enough to hold together all the way. If you are a religious person, i think Noah might appeal to you, if you are not, my advice is to buy Hobo With A Shotgun on blu-ray, and hear Rutger Hauer bless you with the word Hallelujah, and fire of a shotgun on 2 thugs. Now that is my kind of church.

Rating: DD

American Hustle

I was born in 1977. Since i was born so late in the 70´s, i don´t remember much about those years. But my dad told me stories when i became older, about the 70´s glory days. He even introduced me to the pop rock band Queen, that became one of my favourite bands in the 80 - 90´s. I still have all their albums, including their first recordings from the beginning of the 70´s. Looking back at this period of time, with so many great bands that came out, and so many fantastic motion pictures that was released, i realise what my dad was talking about. Who have not seen Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and many other amazing movies who changed cinema history forever? Dirty Harry, another example of an epic movie that still stands strong today. Speaking of the 70´s, a lot of political changes happened during this time, when criminals took over the streets, including corrupted politicians accepting money. One case that became famous in the end of the 70´s, was ABSCAM. This was an operation by the FBI, where 7 Congressmen were found guilty of criminal charges, and were convicted. American Hustle is a motion picture based on the ABSCAM investigation, directed by David O. Russel, who gave us the fantastic motion picture Silver Linings Playbook, about 2 years ago. I am always interested in true stories brought to a cinema screen, and especially if a talented director is behind the camera. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards earlier this year, is American Hustle a powerful movie as people are saying, or is the hype way bigger than it should be ?

The year is 1978. Con artists Irving Rosenfeld ( Christian Bale ) and Sydney Prosser ( Amy Adams ) work together. Sydney help Irving to improve his skills, while they perform a scam. Irving is still married to his wife Rosalyn Rosenfeld ( Jennifer Lawrence ), but he want a divorce, she does not agree. Irving stay, but only because of his son Danny ( Sonny Corbo ). But when FBI agent Richard Dimaso ( Bradley Cooper ), catch both Irving and Sydney, while they are making a scam, Richard give them a proposition. If they help him to point out criminals, they will be set free. So Irving agree to help Richard. Irving introduce Richard into his world, letting him see how they work. They arrange a meeting with Irving´s friend Paco Hernandez ( Michael Pena ), pretending to be a rich Sheikh Abdullah, so they can scam people in arts business. Richard play along, so they can get more people arrested. But when the Mayor Carmine Polito ( Jeremy Renner ) is mentioned while Irving is doing another scam, Richard realise this could become dangerous. Carmine is very respected in society, who help people in need and own an empire. The FBI is very skeptical, if they can reveal the evidence of Carmine, but Richard have an idea. He can get to Carmine, with the help of Irving and Sydney´s help, because they have some really good connections. But the cover up operation is not going to be easy, and they need to find a way to get Carmine in a trap.

If you love great acting, with a really intelligent storyline, you are going to love American Hustle. Just look at the cast list, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence ? Oh my god, this is a dream come true. There is no doubt why American Hustle was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, acting on this level is not seen very often. But of course we have to thank director David O.Russel, he is without a doubt one of the best directors out there today. Ever since The Fighter in 2010, you could tell he was about to explode with new powerful ideas for more movie scripts. American Hustle is without a doubt his greatest motion picture so far in his career, and he manage to bring the 70´s back on screen in so many great details, you simply love his view of the story behind ABSCAM. Every detail is not correct, if you hear about the real case, but it does not really matter. Because this is a really well made motion picture on so many levels, it is hard to see anything negative at all. I almost forgot to mention Jeremy Renner, i don´t think he have ever been as good as he is in American Hustle, the perfect choice for the character Carmine Polito. Reminds me of Brooklyn gangsters, but he find his own way to portait a corrupted major. Overall i feel you should all see American Hustle, there is a bit of everything here, for fans of old school cinema. I still don´t understand why no one won an Academy Award, at the same time i am happy Dallas Buyers Club did so well at The Academy Awards. Make sure you get yourself a copy of American Hustle on blu-ray, you will guaranteed have a great time.

Rating: DDDD

47 Ronin

Japanese samurai warriors. Who does not love watching samurais killing enemies ? It is simply one of those moments in life where you feel so happy, and relaxed, when a samurai chop off a hand, or an arm. This might be a better relax method than yoga. In the cinema world, i have a feeling the most known samurai movie creator is the legend Akira Kurosawa. His samurai classics is still today loved by audiences worldwide, and i don´t think anyone can ever accomplish what Akira Kurosawa did with his unique style of direction. Remember 11 years ago, when Tom Cruise became a samurai in The Last Samurai ? It was a huge box office hit back in 2003, and a return for samurai cinema. Even if i did not love that movie, i did like seeing samurai warriors back on the big screen, because honestly, i think most of us had nightmares after seeing Cameron Diaz hump a ferrari in The Counselor. One samurai movie that never got any attention, just because it was a b movie, was American Samurai. Starring David Bradley and Mark Dacascos, it had a uniqe style, with 2 brothers chosen to fight until death, in a death arena with different warriors. It may not sound like anything interesting, but director Sam Firstenberg gave us a really well made martial arts film, with some nice samurai influences. But since 2003, the only place we get to see samurai movies, is releases from Asia. I would love to see a new samurai movie about samurais killing zombies, or maybe even see them kill mutated piranhas. 47 Ronin is a fantasty action movie, based on the legendary samurai group of the 47 Ronin, that actually existed in Japan. But this is of course a more fictional story, with actor Keanue Reeves on board, with director Carl Rinsch making his direction debut. Is it possible 47 Ronin is just what the samurai cinema needed back on the big screen, or is this the disaster you thought it would be ?

Kai ( Keanu Reeves ) is a half japanese, half english outcast in late medival Japan. Kai lives in the domain of Ako, ruled by Asano Naganori ( Min Tanaka ). When Kai was a young boy, Asano helped him and raised him. Kai remained a family member, even if he is not very respected among other samurai´s. Things become complicated when Kai falls in love with Asano´s daughter, Mika ( Kō Shibasaki ). This romance is not accepted, so they must hide their feelings. Lord Asano is visited by Lord Kira ( Tadanobu Asano ), who is attracted to Mika. Lord Kira arrange a battle, between the Lovecraftian Samurai ( Neil Fingleton ) and Yasuno ( Masayoshi Haneda ). But when Yasuno is found possessed by evil witch Mizuki ( Rinko Kikuchi ), someone need to take his place to fight against Lovecraftian Samurai. Kai dress up using the same outfit meant for Yasuno. But when Kai is revealed, the fact that he is not a real samurai, means he must be punished. Later the same night, Mizuki bewitch Asano, so he think he sees Kai raping Mika, but this is not true. As he is caught in this dream, he strikes against Mika, and see this as he wakes up. He could have killed Mika, and for attacking a Shogunate, the punishment is death. Shogun Tsunayoshi ( Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa ) decide that Asano should not have the most cruel punishment, since he is a respected warrior, instead he let him do this in a honor way, by killing himself. Asano prepare himself to die, and tell Mika to be strong. After the death of Asano,  Tsunayoshi let Lord Kira take over the domain of Ako. Oishi, leader of the Ronin, is thrown in an outdoor pit, to break his spirit. A year later, Oishi is set free, so he set out to find Kai, who is now no longer a citizen of Ako, because he was sold as a slave. Oishi need Kai to take back their village, from the evil Lord Kira, and to kill Mizuki.

Visually i find myself enjoying the action sequences in 47 Ronin. There are some really cool battle scenes here, if you love asian cinema, and martial arts influenced cinematography. But we have a big problem, and i really mean big. The acting here from almost all actors is awful. Keanu Reeves can be a great actor, here he does ok, but it feels like he is not trying very hard. Kō Shibasaki do look pretty, but her acting skills need to be better, she is not the perfect choice as Kai´s girlfriend. There are other actors that feel just placed here, to fill out the characters. This is a shame, because visually director Carl Rinsch have a great idea, and he does know what he is doing on that level. I might sound negative earlier, but let's turn the page. 47 Ronin is a cool samurai action movie, as long as you don't focus on the plot. Because the story is not very deep, even if they try to tell the story in a serious way. The action sequences have some nice treats and look good also, for the most part. 47 Ronin became the biggest box office flop of 2013, maybe people had too high expectations on this adaption. I still enjoy 47 Ronin for what this is, an action movie made for fans of asian martial arts cinema. Now excuse me, i have to use my samurai sword and kill a demon, or wait, is that my neighbour ? Oh well, lets slice first, and i will find out later.

Rating: DDD