onsdag 28 november 2012

2012 coming to an end

How do you feel this movie year have been ? We had some great moments, and...some really bad moments we would rather forget. But one thing is for sure. I had a great time writing reviews this year, and i will continue writing movie reviews in 2013. I will still post some more movie reviews before new year, so keep your eyes open. To end this post, i will write a classic line from the wonderful movie Gentlemen Broncos

:- You can add onious, ainous, and anous, to just about anything, and it becomes magical

måndag 26 november 2012

Lawless

Alcohol. It can make life wonderful, make good memories, but also give us tragedy. One thing is certain, without alcohol, life would be very dull in my opinion. Just leave problems behind for a while, and enjoy life. Lawless is a original story about moonshine sellers, and the problem with law, back in a time when people where poor. The cast list is impressive, Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce and Jason Clarke. Is Lawless the next generation of The Untouchables, or is the surface too polished for it´s own good?

1931, Franklin County, Virginia. 3 brothers Jack ( Shia Labeouf ), Howard ( Jason Clarke ) and Forrest ( Tom Hardy ) run a successfull moonshine business. To keep the business going without problems with the law, they are helped by their friend Cricket Pate ( Dane DeHaan. Everything is going as planned. But one day Jack is a witness when mobster Floyd Banner ( Gary Oldman ), murder a competitor. At the Cricket bar Special Deputy Charley Rakes ( Guy Pearce ) wants to make a deal, he wants a cut of all profit made by the country´s bootleggers. Forrest does not agree and threaten to kill him if he visits again. The 3 brothers have now started a war, where their lives are at stake.

The best part of Lawless is the time perspective. The locations with the 1930 costumes looks great. The biggest problem with Lawless is the very very slow scenes. There are moments some scenes are so slow, it´s easy to fall asleep. Thankfully we get some nice violence scenes, especially when Guy Pearce gets his screen time. He is one tough bastard. If you love historical movies, you might enjoy Lawless for it´s good looks. The acting is pretty good most of the time. But the slow scenes gets annoying at moments, and that is a shame. In the long run, Lawless is a historical drama still worth watching. I can´t think of many movies that talks about moonshine in the 1930´s, by the way, the music fits perfect with the forests of Virginia. Come to think of it, i might have a glass of rum after watching Lawless, it´s easy to get thirsty.

Rating: DDD

fredag 23 november 2012

ParaNorman

Animated movies have always entertained audiences of all ages, there are so many classics from Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar,  and other animation studios. You can do almost anything with animation, and use your imagination to create anything. When it comes to horror, there are not many animated movies that have tried combine classic horror elements with animation ( don´t even think of Scooby Doo, that´s a complete different story ). ParaNorman looks like a mix of horror and comedy with a different approach. From the company Laika, that brought us the classic horror animated Coraline, is ParaNorman a fun surprise, or an example of too many ideas brought together ?

In the small town Blithe Hollow, lives a young boy named Norman Babcock. He looks like an ordinary boy, but he have a special gift. He is able to speak with the dead. Since no one believes him, people make fun of him, and his parents feel like Norman needs to be more normal. In school he is a bully victim. But he manage to find a new friend, Neil Downe, an overweight boy who is bullied himself. Norman does not want Neil to think he is crazy, when he reveals he can talk to dead people. Neil just think this is cool. Norman´s deranged uncle Mr. Prenderghast visit Norman to tell him, he needs Norman´s help. Norman refuse to take his uncle seriously. Not long after Mr. Prenderghast dies in his home. While Norman and Neil are part of a school play, Norman have a vision of terrible things are about to happen. The school play is ruined, as Norman runs to the restroom. There he is visited by his dead uncle Mr. Prenderghast. He tells Norman that only he can perform a ritual, with a special book, that day before sunrise, or it will be too late. Not knowing what to belive, Norman head off in search for the book, and to find out what is going on.

I loved Coraline, that animated movie had something original about the story and the characters, as well as the design. ParaNorman may not be as original, but don´t worry. You will laugh, a lot. This is a really funny story, and a very clever tribute to horror movies, in animation of high quality. Think about this mixture, The Sixth Sense + Night Of The Living Dead + The Goonies = ParaNorman. Does that sound possible ? Yes, in some ways. This is a mixture of different classic movies, especially from the 80´s, with some different elements mixed together to please both kids and adults. I would not recommend the smallest kids to see this, there are zombies who have their body part ripped off. But this is what makes ParaNorman special, even if this is an animated children movie, we are served with some great horror entertainment, that usually never work in animated features. Coraline is still one of my favourite animated movies ever, even if Pixar did not make it. But close to this one, i would have to say ParaNorman is second, great entertainment for the whole family.

Rating: DDDD

onsdag 21 november 2012

The Tall Man

Jessica Biel gives a lot of guys a hard on for sure. Come on, i know most of you love her looks. I  am sure there are girls out there also who think :- I would love to have a hot shower with her. It´s in our nature, simple as that. When it comes to Jessica Biel movies, she sure choose different types of movies. Sometimes she deliver, sometimes she make a bad choice, just like most actors do. It will be interesting to se her in the new movie, based on Alfred Hitchcock, also starring Anthony Hopkings. So now let´s focus on The Tall Man, a mystery thriller about missing children. Is it possible The Tall Man is a new chapter on Jessica Biel´s acting skills, or is this simply too easy to forget about?

Julia Denning ( Jessica Biel ) lives in the small of Cold Rock, working as the local nurse. She have a son named David ( Jakob Davies ). This used to be a mining town, but the whole town is falling apart. No jobs left, no schools, no future. But there is one thing happening in Cold Rock. Children have disappeared for many years, and vanished completely. Parents all over town are devastated, who wants to find out where they are. There are people who say they have seen The Tall Man, who is responsible for the abductions. One night, after having a few drinks with a female friend in Julias home, she falls asleep in her sofa. As she wakes up, her friend is tied up, and Julias son is gone. She runs out and see someone carrying David into a van. Julia manages to hang on to the backdoor of the van as the mysterious person drives off. As she tries to stop the van, she is badly injured and left on the road. Someone manage to find her lying on the highway, and manage to help her. Where is David now and who is this Tall Man?

Thankfully the story gets more complicated along the way, and there is a different side of what really happened. And that is what saves The Tall Man from failing. You see, in different parts of the movie, director Pascal Laugier tries to take different turns, that makes things more complicated. It´s a good idea, but it does not work in the final run. Jessica Biel does a good perfomance, i can´t complain about her effort. But there is something missing here, that is a shame. The Tall Man had potential to be a good thriller, there are some good scenes, but that does not help when we have some problems. I suggest you see Pascal Laugier french horror movie Martyrs from 2008, here he proved that he can do a intelligent horror movie.

Rating: DD

tisdag 20 november 2012

Arbitrage

Say the name Richard Gere, and most women will think of Pretty Woman. Even if i am not a big fan of Richard Gere, i did enjoy The Mothman Prophecies. It was a very different choice for mr Gere, not his usual genre. Let´s not forget The Flock, a really good thriller. He is a good actor, when he finds the right character. Arbitrage is the latest motion picture with this legendary actor, that also looks different from his usual choice. Is Arbitrage something worth checking out, or for fans of mr Gere only ?

Robert Miller ( Richard Gere ) is a billionaire hedge fund manager, who is a very respected businessman. There is just one problem. His daughter Brooke Miller ( Brit Marling ) finds out her dad is not doing business in a legal way. If she told someone what he have done, he could be convicted for fraud. Robert manage to keep his daughter quite, but there is one more problem left. One night, Robert drives with his mistress Julie Cote ( Laetitia Casta ) on the highway, and end up in a car accident. Julie dies, and Robert escapes from the location the car accident accured. He calls a friend to help him home, and begin to cover up the story so no one knows what happened. Detective Bryer ( Tim Roth ) investigates the death of Julie, and he gets more interested in Robert and his successfull life.

Financial thillers in the business world may not sound interesting. But i have to say Arbitrage is a very solid thriller, where Richard Gere may have done his best role ever in motion pictures. Really ? Yes, he is simply fantastic as the greedy Robert Miller, who will do anything for money, no matter what the price is. When he let his anger out, you can see the destructive behavior within his soul, knowing he could loose everything. Susan Sarandon as Robert Miller´s wife delivers a very solid performance also, she and Gere have some really well acted scenes together, as their marriage is on the way straight to hell. Director Nicholas Jarecki have not directed more than 2 movies before Arbitrage, but considering how good he is to catch the feeling of true cinema magic, i really hope to see more from him in the future, Make sure you go see Arbitrage in a cinema near you, you dont see acting as good as this very often nowdays.

Rating: DDDD

söndag 18 november 2012

Sinister

A lot of horror movies are on the way, another remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a new Evil Dead movie, Silent Night ( a remake of the 1984 classic horror movie Silent Night, Deadly Night ), and many more. But when it comes to original horror movies, i can´t say we have that many titles coming our way. So when i read about Sinister, before the trailer was released, i got really excited. This seemed to be exactly what we need, an original horror movie, with elements from classic movies, but still with an original plot. And with Ethan Hawke in the leading role, i kind of felt that this could go all the way to a touchdown. Question is, does Sinister hold such high quality, or is the hype too big too be true ?

Crime novelist Ellison Oswalt ( Ethan Hawke ) is moving into a house were a family were hung in the backyard tree. His wife Tracy ( Juliette Rylance ) and their two kids Ashley ( Clare Foley ) and Trevor ( Michael Hall D´Addario ) are ready to start a new life in this house. Ellison begins to investigate what facts there is around the family murder. In the attic, he happen to find a box, which contains a projector and several reels of Standard 8mm footage. He begins to watch the home recorded movies, but the more movies he watch, the more disturbing they get. And it seems this is not the first family murder, every movie contains a different family brutally murdered in different ways. A strange figure is seen in every movie, with a very special look. Ellison digs deeper in who this figure is, and a strange symbol seen on different places. The more Ellison digs into the truth, he is about to find out something more disturbing than he ever could have imagined.

Look, just listen people. Forget about Twilight at this moment, because i know that´s what most people talk about right now. Sinster is so damn good, this movie destroys every Twilight movie in every possible way. The acting is really good, especially from Ethan Hawke, he knows exactly what he is doing on screen. The atmosphere is creepy, and the sound ? I just love the creepy sound effects, they make Sinister feel much more darker and scary. And the scenes with the 8mm home made movies gives you a pleasent journey, in many disturbing ways. Director Scott Derrickson deserves an academy award for best director, he really gives us a horror movie of very high quality, and a very clever plot put together. Sinister may be simple in some ways, but a very effective cinema experience. Make sure you go see this one in cinema, and support real horror productions in high quality.

Rating: DDDD

fredag 16 november 2012

The Cold Light Of Day

The first Die Hard movie is one of the best action movies ever made.  It´s one of the few action movies who both have an intelligent plot, a well written script and also really clever action scenes. And of course, Bruce Willis delivers a very solid performance as John McClane. The action genre is perfect for mr Bruce, he knows what the audience wants ( most of the time ), and he have a good sense of humour. I have seen the trailer of Die Hard 5, i will probably see it, even if i feel that it´s getting a bit too much. Director Mabrouk el Mechri surprised the world when he showed a whole new Jean Claude Van Damme, in the movie JCVD. Critics praised the movie, especially saying this is the best role Jean Claude have ever done. The Cold Light Of Day is a different kind of movie from the french tunisian director, is this a step in the right direction for Mabrouk el Mechri, or did he make a bad choice ?

Will Shaw ( Henry Cavill ) is on his way to his parents in Spain, to celebrate a vacation with them and his brother. His father Martin Shaw ( Bruce Willis ) is very happy that Will came down on vacation, so they can have a family moment on their boat. While sailing on the ocean, Will is too busy on his phone, he fails to control the boat, so his brothers girlfriend gets hurt. Martin is furious and throws Will´s phone in the ocean. They argue for a while, as Will decide to swim into land, to get medecine for the wounded girl. As he prepare himself to swim back, the boat is gone. He begins looking around, until he finds the boat, swim onboard. But everyone is gone, no sign of life. Will tries to contact police, desperate in need of help. Something is not right, as police seems to know what really happened. And suddenly Will´s dad turns up, out of nowhere, who have kept a secret from Will in a long time.

The Cold Light Of Day have been panned by most movie critics, and i can understand why. The story is not very fresh, the acting have flaws, but if you enjoy well made action, then this might work for the moment. To see Bruce Willis on screen with Sigourney Weaver is great, almost like going back to the 80´s all over again, even if they don´t have much screen time together. I have seen Bruce Willis act much better before than here, but he manage to keep us interested since you never get bored here. The Cold Light Of Day is almost a tribute to action movies from the 80´s, simple but still fun to watch. What about leading actor Henry Cavill ? Nothing special, but does a pretty decent job. Make your Chuck Norris pose infront of your tv screen, this is for action lovers who simply are fed up with Gossip Girl Season 16.

måndag 5 november 2012

The Caller

Psychological thrillers have a way of intriguing the audience, especially if they have a well written story included, that shows the way of mental statements. I can think of quite many good titles out there, not only the most classic ones, but also some lower budget titles, that still had alot to say. When i saw the trailer of The Caller, i were curious. since this might actually look like something in my taste. In the final run, is The Caller worth the attention, or is this just another straight to dvd release easy to forget?

Mary Kee ( Rachelle Lefevre ) is divorced to her abusive ex-husband. She moves into her new apartment to begin a new life. She finds an old telephone that she loves, and plug it in. Not long after, she gets phone calls from someone who call herself Rose ( Lorna Raver ). She says she wants to talk to Bobby, and that Bobby knows Mary lives in this apartment. Mary try to ignore Rose, and just continue with her daily life. But when more phone calls from Rose become more threatening, Mary becomes worried what this woman really wants. One strange detail is that Rose claims it is the year 1979. Mary start investigating who this Rose is, and why she is doing this?  

I am surprised. The Caller is a suspenseful thriller, where you need to decide, what is really going on here ? The best part is that director Matthew Parkhill, knows how to build an intelligent plot into the psychological perspective. Forget that Rachelle Lefevre were in the 2 first Twilight movies, this is where she proves her acting talent. Another detail i enjoy is the phone call scenes, when Rose calls to talk about Bobby. You never get bored listening to this strange woman in the phone, she is really creepy.  The movie have been out for quite some time on dvd/blu ray, since april, but make sure you rent it, online or in your local video store, it´s worth checking out. Just make sure to turn off the lights infront off your tv, to get the true feeling of watching The Caller, thrilled to your seat.

Rating: DDD

söndag 4 november 2012

Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines

The mutated hillbillies are back. They always seem to find a way to return, even if most of them are butchered in different ways. In 2003, when the first Wrong Turn movie came out, it turned out to be a nice slasher for old school horror fans. But when the 2nd movie came out, i liked it even more than the first one, that does not happen very often. Then more sequels came out, but didnt give me the same feeling. The 5th time around, is Wrong Turn back on track, or is it worse than we could have imagined?

Billy ( Simon Ginty ), his girlfriend Cruz ( Amy Lennox ), and some of their close friends, are heading to celebrate the Mountain Main Festival. Sheriff Angela Carter ( Camilla Arwfedson ) stop them, suspecting they have drugs on them. Billy confess, and is kept locked up, while the other are let out into town. But a gang of cannibal hillbillies are on their way to town, to find new victims to feed on.

Now i am pissed....and i am serious

What the fuck is this? Wrong Turn 5 is so bad i want to punch director Declan O´Brien for destroying the concept of Wrong Turn. The makeup is horrible, the flesh scenes are terrible, and the acting ? Holy shit, they must have been found at the local food store in Virginia. No, avoid this shit at any cost.

Rating: D

God Bless America

When i first read this movie title, i thought this may be 2 things.

1. A patriotic war movie, where America show the world why they are the greatest nation

2. A religious movie, about the love for Jesus in America

But it looks like i was out on deep water. God Bless America is a dark comedy, that seems to have a very unique story on it´s hands. And what if i told you Bob Goldthwait ( known as Zed in Police Academy movies ), directed this ? This looks promising on paper, is God Bless America a step into a fresh direction in movies, or is this just too good to be true?

Frank Murdoch ( Joel Murray ) works in New York as an insurance salesman. He is so sick of how the world is becoming, he feels a change is needed. His ex-wife Alison ( Melinda Page Hamilton ) has custody of their spoiled young daughter Awa ( Mackenzie Brooke Smith ), who hates everyone because she got a Blackberry as a birthday present, and not an iphone. Frank finds out he has a terminal brain tumor by his doctor, and his depression becomes even deeper. So, he decides to travel to Virginia, to kill a spoiled reality tv teen diva named Chloe ( Maddie Hasson ), that he watched on tv, and hates her so much. He kills her infront of her school, but a girl named Roxanne Harmon ( Tara Lynne Barr ), is so happy about what Frank did, she wants to hang out with him, because he did something great. Frank don´t know what to belive, but as they get to know each other, a special friendship grows along the way.

Trust me on this. Most swedes will not love this movie, like i do. Because it´s sick, has a very dark sense of humor, and does not fit most peoples taste. That´s why i love God Bless America, the story hits you right in the face, like you get a bitch slap, and fall down into the ground. I can relate to many things this character Frank feels, that doesnt necessary mean i would do the same things, i like to think im still pretty normal. This movie reminds me of Joel Schumacher´s classic 1993 movie Falling Down, that is still today one of my favourite movies. Falling Down had a lot of dark comedy, but still had a lot of serious moments very cleverer put together. Even if there are some things that looks similar to Falling Down, there are still alot of original scenes that deliver a very high quality of cinema moments. Like the scene where Frank shoot reality tv diva Chloe in the head in her school, because he is so sick of diva bitches, such a fantastic scene. Or when Frank´s biggest fan Roxy ask him :- Who are you killing next, my gym teacher, Twilight fans ? as she is happier than ever. It´s this kind of sick humor i love, nothing is normal, nothing is what is suppposed to be correct. Bob Goldtwaiht is an excellent director, and this movie should have had more publicity than it got. Support God Bless America and buy a dvd, movies like this are needed in a world of false people who are greedy and think of money.

Rating: DDDD

lördag 3 november 2012

Resident Evil : Damnation

It´s amazing how popular Resident Evil is, both in video games and the feature movies with Milla Jovovich. The story of  Umbrella Corporation and their experiments worked very well in the video games, when it comes to the feature movies, i think we all have different opinions on the results. I personally enjoyed movie number 3 quite alot, Resident Evil: Extinction, for a different approach, like a mix of Mad Max and zombie action. Then in 2008, came the animated movie Resident Evil: Degeneration, a quite ambitious animated movie that entertained me. Now, we have a new animated Resident Evil movie in our hands, does Resident Evil: Damnation have what it takes to please fans, or is this just a product to make more money?

In the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon is send in to verify rumors that Bio-Organic Weapons, that are being used in the country's civil war. Leon is kidnapped during a fight with a Licker creature. Waking up in a basement, with tied hands, Leon meets 3 rebel fighters. They want answers why Leon has come here from Usa. Meanwhile,  President Svetlana Belikova meets Ada Wong, who is a member of BSAA. She have information on how to control BOW´S, if the use Plaga parasites. Leon is let loose, as he head inside a underground tunnel. He meets rebel fighter MJ in the tunnel, and rescue him. On their way inside the city, hell is one step closer to reality.

If you are hoping for a Pixar movie, then you will be disappointed. The animation is not that good, but on the other hand, for being an animated zombie movie, the final results give us zombie addicts a good time. Resident Evil: Damnation is the perfect saturday morning movie at the breakfast table, reminds me of Saturday cartoons with my sister back in the 90´s when we had so many foreign cartoon tv channels. Difference is that here we get more violence and more dialogue. The story looks good, with nice details of the old Eastern Slav Republic, filled with different details based on the games. Worth a watch if you´re tired of cozy children cartoons, and want to see some real dark animation.

Rating: DDD

Skyfall

The whole world knows his name. I am pretty sure most of you have seen at least 3 James Bond movies in your life. He is an icon for England and the agency concept, that has lived on since Sean Connery made his debut with Dr No. James Bond is the kind of character that lives on in every generation, no matter what movie is your favourite, or who the best Bond is, he makes a strong impact on the audience. I have seen every Bond movie, and even if i don´t like all of them, it´s a tradition to see every new one, too see if they keep the concept together, like Connery did back in his days. Skyfall is the latest James Bond movie, where Daniel Craig returns to once again save the world. This time around, does Skyfall take mr Bond to a whole new level, or is this the end of an icon?

On a mission in Turkey, MI6 agents James Bond ( Daniel Craig ) and Eve ( Naomie Harris ), are on a mission to recover a hard drive, stolen from a murdered MI6 agent. The hard drive is gone, but James Bond and Eve locate mercenary Patrice ( Ola Rapace ) and chase him. After a long chase, Eve is ordered to fire a shot, while Patrice is fighting mr Bond on a train. She misses, as James Bond is shot and falls down in a waterfall. James Bond is declared dead, as MI6 take care of all of his belongings. The Intelligence and Security Committee give M ( Judi Dench ) 2 months left to work, then she has to retire. On her way back to MI6, the building is triggered by a bomb. Several agents dies, and many wounded. She finds out Bond is still alive, hiding on a tropical island, as he hears the news of MI6. He returns to London to find who is responsible, but his health issues have problems. M still feel Bond can pull this off, and send him, even if his tests fails. James Bond manage to find out that former MI6 agent Raoul Silva ( Javier Bardem ) is responsible for the attack on MI6, as he begin his hunt for justice.

I read a couple reviews after the premiere of Skyfall, and almost all of the reviewers praised this movie. And guess what, so do i. This may be the best James Bond movie for....i have no idea, it´s so good i left with a smile on my face. Especially the villain Javier Bardem, he is simply fantastic as the psychotic Raoul Silva, who have no limits of brutality. Usually Bond villains don´t really leave an impact, but Javier steals the show almost every time he gets screen time. Daniel Craig once again deliver a solid James Bond performance, he is simply one of the best James Bond actors ever. Let´s not forget the new Q ( Ben Whishaw ), now this looks promising if he stays as Q in the next Bond movie, he is charming, have a sense of british humor, and look like a science nerd, simply a perfect combination. Director Sam Mendes directed one of the best drama movies of the 90´s called American Beauty. Now, in 2012, he may have done one of the best James Bond movies ever. I strongly hope Sam Mendes jumps on the next Bond movie to direct again ( Yes they revealed James Bond Will Return in the end credits ). After watching Skyfall, i feel like dressing up in a nice suit, pour up a martini and just glide at a casino, James Bond is still magical after all these years.

Rating: DDDD