I knew little about this film. Expecting a cliché setup with focus on action scenes, what I saw rocked my world. It has such a refreshing original story. It feels like a really really good anime (The Japanese are kings when it comes to original story lines in my opinion). The characters of this film are all extremely memorable. The mood, the setting... Just unbelievable. One of the greatest things about the film is the film's visual grammar and cinematography. And it has a strong marriage of sound and picture. Everything just felt so right. There are some plot holes, but they're not even worth mentioning when a film is this good. It's exactly what I want from the movie going experience. My eyes were watery when it ended, I didn't want to leave it. See it in the cinema, you won't regret it.
Reviews
9 Reviews
This is one of those films that make you think "Damn it, I could have been cleaning the toilet"... Even if the toilet was clean.
13 December 2008
This was one bad movie. I had goosebumps all over due to how silly the dialog was in some scenes. The Hollywood clichés were all there and the storyline was cheap. No surprising twists, just easily predictable garbage. I don't understand why Jennifer and Keanu signed up for this. I really don't. At some point when making a film.. Why isn't there someone who stands up and says.. "Hey guys.. This is just.. a REALLY REALLY bad idea!" ??? Actually, there's a simple answer to that question. Money. It's always about money. Success in Hollywood is not making a good film. It's about making a film people will go and see. At least in most cases. And this film here is an excellent example of that.
And if you really HAVE TO do product placements... You filthy filthy film makers... Make sure it's something OTHER THAN Windows Vista. For the love of Goooood!
And if you really HAVE TO do product placements... You filthy filthy film makers... Make sure it's something OTHER THAN Windows Vista. For the love of Goooood!
Reykjavik-Rotterdam
(2008)
Icelandic action as you've never seen it before
10 October 2008
I'm not going to spoil anything. So I won't go into any details about the story. I hate when people do that.
Here we have an Icelandic thriller that kept you excited right from the beginning to the very end. I absolutely loved the story, it was fresh and original and distinctively better than most Icelandic films that have tried to depict the dark side of Reykjavík (Iceland's capital). Looking back at films made over 10 years ago, such as "Nei er ekkert svar", it's simply astounding to see how far Icelandic film making has come. This really is an A-level action thriller which I found to be more entertaining than most movies in the similar genre I've seen during the past months. I think the director did an excellent job and Baltasar Kormákur should seriously consider acting more alongside directing because he shows and proves it beyond any doubt that he is one of Iceland's greatest actors. Iceland could of course use more actors because you kind of see the same faces over and over again, every time a film is made. However, when a film is as well casted as this one, one forgets that very quickly. All characters had found their way to just the right people. I must give kudos to Baltasar, Lilja, Ingvar, Þröstur, Ólafur, Jörundur, Victor... Jeez, just all of you. Thank you for a superb film.
Highly recommended, see it as soon as possible.
Here we have an Icelandic thriller that kept you excited right from the beginning to the very end. I absolutely loved the story, it was fresh and original and distinctively better than most Icelandic films that have tried to depict the dark side of Reykjavík (Iceland's capital). Looking back at films made over 10 years ago, such as "Nei er ekkert svar", it's simply astounding to see how far Icelandic film making has come. This really is an A-level action thriller which I found to be more entertaining than most movies in the similar genre I've seen during the past months. I think the director did an excellent job and Baltasar Kormákur should seriously consider acting more alongside directing because he shows and proves it beyond any doubt that he is one of Iceland's greatest actors. Iceland could of course use more actors because you kind of see the same faces over and over again, every time a film is made. However, when a film is as well casted as this one, one forgets that very quickly. All characters had found their way to just the right people. I must give kudos to Baltasar, Lilja, Ingvar, Þröstur, Ólafur, Jörundur, Victor... Jeez, just all of you. Thank you for a superb film.
Highly recommended, see it as soon as possible.
Step Brothers
(2008)
Step brothers had what Tropic Thunder lacked
7 September 2008
I'm not gonna say much.. But if you like the Will Ferrell type of humor, this film is a solid watch! My eyes were watery from laughing at times. A lot of credit goes to Reilly as well.
What is so great about this film is that both Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly came up with it, making it much more personal for them. It is very easy to kill a good joke. Therefore it is something you must follow through all the way.. Until you see it on the big screen and get that confirmation, that it actually works. This movie is, along with Adam McKay who co-wrote it and directed it as well, those guys' brainchild. It's a wonderful watch.
I thought Tropic Thunder was a bit of a disappointment. Not a bad film but didn't quite live up to the hype. Step Brothers has what Tropic Thunder lacked and deserves a higher rating in my opinion. Don't get me wrong though, I love Ben Stiller to bits.. I just think he could have done a lot better. You should see both. You can't go wrong with either Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly or Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey JR.
What is so great about this film is that both Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly came up with it, making it much more personal for them. It is very easy to kill a good joke. Therefore it is something you must follow through all the way.. Until you see it on the big screen and get that confirmation, that it actually works. This movie is, along with Adam McKay who co-wrote it and directed it as well, those guys' brainchild. It's a wonderful watch.
I thought Tropic Thunder was a bit of a disappointment. Not a bad film but didn't quite live up to the hype. Step Brothers has what Tropic Thunder lacked and deserves a higher rating in my opinion. Don't get me wrong though, I love Ben Stiller to bits.. I just think he could have done a lot better. You should see both. You can't go wrong with either Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly or Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey JR.
WALL·E
(2008)
I was struggling to hold in my tears the entire time
6 August 2008
This is simply put a masterpiece. No other Pixar film comes close to this one. From the beginning of the film to the end I felt everything was so deliciously perfect, I was struggling hold in my tears. When something is as outstanding as this film turned out to be, I tend to be a crybaby. I just can't help it. When something so ingenious finds its way to the silver screen, I see it as a big victory. Having to live with all the garbage that's being produced in Hollywood, it's almost worth it, when something so beautiful contrasts to it and makes you think about what storytelling is all about. This movie had a strong influence on me, one that I've not felt since I saw the Mexican film, Voces Inocentes (which I highly recommend by the way). Why was it that good? Well, imagine pure eye candy for 98 minutes straight, a tear jerking love story with amazing characters and a rewarding plot.
Loved it... Absolutely loved it. 10/10 Only downside is.. Pixar has raised the bar. It'll have to try and do equally as good films from now on or better and that's no easy task. But having seen this wonderful film, I'm full of hope and belief. Unless your heart's made out of stone, you can't help falling in love with this film.
Loved it... Absolutely loved it. 10/10 Only downside is.. Pixar has raised the bar. It'll have to try and do equally as good films from now on or better and that's no easy task. But having seen this wonderful film, I'm full of hope and belief. Unless your heart's made out of stone, you can't help falling in love with this film.
The Bank Job
(2008)
Outstandingly delicious!
16 June 2008
I just saw The bank job and what a joy it was. I immediately fell in love with the settings and the scenery of the movie, it takes place in the 70's and the characters were superb. They basically sucked you into their reality and I not once had a moment of feeling that there was an actor on the screen, trying to give a convincing performance. The soundtrack matched the mood of the movie perfectly and it managed to put a smile on my face. Great job! The film may seem like it's going to feel long at first and knowing the title of the film, you keep waiting for it to be fulfilled, BUT be patient. You are greatly rewarded for it. The screenplay is in my opinion a masterpiece, a little complicated but brilliant! What I noticed in particular was how everything seemed to flow together perfectly - the characters, the soundtrack, the locations, the cinematography... None of it stood out, it was a perfect mixture of perfect ingredients. In its entirety however, next to most of the garbage which seems to find its way out of Hollywood nowadays, this is the albino chimp. This film STANDS OUT! And if you like smart, robbery type action films - This one easily secures its place on the Top 5 list of the best ever.
The Happening
(2008)
Shyamalan should have given this concept more time... You will be disappointed for sure.
11 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
One thing that really pleased me is the fact that this was released in Iceland, 2 days before it's gonna be released in the USA. We're getting your films earlier than you America :)
But on to the movie. While it is indeed entertaining in some ways it failed to please me. If I were to be thorough I'd have to write spoilers, I'm not going to. This movie has the unattainable goal of letting the viewer fill in the blanks. While that idea is neat what you are left with are way too many questions. Sure, that's a neat idea to go with BUT a neat idea like that has to be backed up with quality acting throughout the entire movie and there were scenes that didn't seem to have been given much thought. I also feel Shyamalan was a bit confused as to what kind of film he was writing. It was a mixture of material that just didn't work well together. There were many awkward moments and I can't say it's a very good film. However, the main concept was very exciting. I wish he'd taken more time to write and let the idea evolve. I like Shyamalan.. this just wasn't good enough for his standards. Feels like he was in a rush in completing this film.
Again, I hate I can't go into detail. But I think this one is something you're better off renting at the video store.
Edit: Spoilers start here ********************************
I wasn't going to give anything away but I feel I have to. But please stop reading if you haven't seen this film. The dialog of this movie is very bad. The acting is worse but I think it comes down to the casting. I love Mark Wahlberg but this movie just wasn't made for him, at least his performance was very weird. The screenplay was annoying.. There were awkward moments and even a product placement in the worst movie scene I've seen for years. Red haired lady picks up her phone and says "Hey, look what my sister sent me". Those of you who have seen the movie know what I'm talking about. What a bad actress and a bad scene.
What I liked about this movie was the basic idea. Plants releasing deadly fumes and contacting one another, engaging in an extermination of mankind. That for me was very interesting. But for every moment of suspense (or what was suppose to be suspense) there was bad acting which killed the moment. Words that were coming out of the actors' mouths were just silly and the storytelling, to be blunt, bad.
However, one thing I've not heard many people talk about is the idea that the audience should put the pieces to together themselves. A lot of people (including myself) were disappointed that you're left with no answers but I don't think Shyamalan left everything in mid air for no reason. Throughout the movie there's talk about probability and some math equations and how an experiment is conducted - starting with a hypothesis and putting things together to see the whole picture. I think that was a subtle message to the viewer - he should put the pieces together. But, that being said. I still think there was too much nonsense going on there. Too many unnecessary scenes. Like the red neck army guys, what was that?
And oh, oh, oh... Did I see a boom mic when Wahlberg held his plastic wine?
There was talk about how we as human beings send out energy according to how we feel and that it could be picked up. This might explain why the plants behaved the way they did when our heroes decided they were not going to die without being together (and sacrificing the little girl (oh my, what an awful scene)). There were definitely messages in that movie that the average viewer does not pick up. But still... This movie flopped completely. I feel bad for Shyamalan because I think The Sixth Sense, The Village and Signs were all very good films.
As I said before... Interesting, neat idea but I honestly think George Lucas could have done better, even if all the plants had been CGI.
But on to the movie. While it is indeed entertaining in some ways it failed to please me. If I were to be thorough I'd have to write spoilers, I'm not going to. This movie has the unattainable goal of letting the viewer fill in the blanks. While that idea is neat what you are left with are way too many questions. Sure, that's a neat idea to go with BUT a neat idea like that has to be backed up with quality acting throughout the entire movie and there were scenes that didn't seem to have been given much thought. I also feel Shyamalan was a bit confused as to what kind of film he was writing. It was a mixture of material that just didn't work well together. There were many awkward moments and I can't say it's a very good film. However, the main concept was very exciting. I wish he'd taken more time to write and let the idea evolve. I like Shyamalan.. this just wasn't good enough for his standards. Feels like he was in a rush in completing this film.
Again, I hate I can't go into detail. But I think this one is something you're better off renting at the video store.
Edit: Spoilers start here ********************************
I wasn't going to give anything away but I feel I have to. But please stop reading if you haven't seen this film. The dialog of this movie is very bad. The acting is worse but I think it comes down to the casting. I love Mark Wahlberg but this movie just wasn't made for him, at least his performance was very weird. The screenplay was annoying.. There were awkward moments and even a product placement in the worst movie scene I've seen for years. Red haired lady picks up her phone and says "Hey, look what my sister sent me". Those of you who have seen the movie know what I'm talking about. What a bad actress and a bad scene.
What I liked about this movie was the basic idea. Plants releasing deadly fumes and contacting one another, engaging in an extermination of mankind. That for me was very interesting. But for every moment of suspense (or what was suppose to be suspense) there was bad acting which killed the moment. Words that were coming out of the actors' mouths were just silly and the storytelling, to be blunt, bad.
However, one thing I've not heard many people talk about is the idea that the audience should put the pieces to together themselves. A lot of people (including myself) were disappointed that you're left with no answers but I don't think Shyamalan left everything in mid air for no reason. Throughout the movie there's talk about probability and some math equations and how an experiment is conducted - starting with a hypothesis and putting things together to see the whole picture. I think that was a subtle message to the viewer - he should put the pieces together. But, that being said. I still think there was too much nonsense going on there. Too many unnecessary scenes. Like the red neck army guys, what was that?
And oh, oh, oh... Did I see a boom mic when Wahlberg held his plastic wine?
There was talk about how we as human beings send out energy according to how we feel and that it could be picked up. This might explain why the plants behaved the way they did when our heroes decided they were not going to die without being together (and sacrificing the little girl (oh my, what an awful scene)). There were definitely messages in that movie that the average viewer does not pick up. But still... This movie flopped completely. I feel bad for Shyamalan because I think The Sixth Sense, The Village and Signs were all very good films.
As I said before... Interesting, neat idea but I honestly think George Lucas could have done better, even if all the plants had been CGI.
Pretty nice, not as bad as people say it is.
23 May 2008
Unlike how George Lucas managed to ruin star wars with his poorly written, bad casted, monstrous cgi prequels, something else happened with Indiana Jones. I'll be frank, when I first saw the trailer (and oh boy what a bad trailer, I wanna shoot the editor) I thought Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was going to be a poor addition to the old masterpieces. But... To my utter surprise it had what I was hoping for. I had a smirk on my face throughout the entire film. It was a nice experience, I felt like I was 10 again. The casting was nice. A lot better than what we saw in some of the earlier films. You don't have that one character you just can't stand. I was afraid the humor was going to be ... Well... Outdated.. But it was funny and I'm usually very hard to please, humor wise.
It was an adventure and a good experience. I bet schools all over the world are overwhelmed once again by all the applications for archeology.
It's good to avoid people telling you anything specific about what happens in the film. Allow it to surprise you. Indy is back. Of COURSE, this is not a PERFECT film. But I'm not going to go into details, I'll avoid spoiling.
It was an adventure and a good experience. I bet schools all over the world are overwhelmed once again by all the applications for archeology.
It's good to avoid people telling you anything specific about what happens in the film. Allow it to surprise you. Indy is back. Of COURSE, this is not a PERFECT film. But I'm not going to go into details, I'll avoid spoiling.
Innocent Voices
(2004)
One of the best you'll ever see
28 October 2005
I feel very grateful for having had the pleasure and the honor of seeing this movie. I'm literally baffled by the outcome. I saw it at a film festival in Iceland yesterday, not knowing much about it, but constantly replaying it in my head after it finished.
This film is probably the most powerful I have seen. It influenced me deeply and I can't even think about it without getting emotional. As someone said here on IMDb it is a film you're going to remember for a long time, if not forever. I rarely see a reason to give a film 10 stars since there are no limits to how good a film you can make and you can always do better. However, in this case I made an exception because I feel it is truly deserved. There is not one thing I did not like about this movie. Everything was outstanding - for example the editing (beautiful), the acting (three thumbs up if that's possible), the cinematography and the director's vision (eye candy), the screenplay (fantastic), the music (completely in sync with the mood every time and it actually seemed like the music had created the film), the casting (where do you find these people? Brilliant!), the accuracy and authenticity ... Well, like I said, everything! This is a film that gets you thinking long after it's finished. I simply wish that such good movies were made more often.
Go see it at a cinema while you can. If it doesn't win an academy award then I'll change my first name to Monkeyboy.
This film is probably the most powerful I have seen. It influenced me deeply and I can't even think about it without getting emotional. As someone said here on IMDb it is a film you're going to remember for a long time, if not forever. I rarely see a reason to give a film 10 stars since there are no limits to how good a film you can make and you can always do better. However, in this case I made an exception because I feel it is truly deserved. There is not one thing I did not like about this movie. Everything was outstanding - for example the editing (beautiful), the acting (three thumbs up if that's possible), the cinematography and the director's vision (eye candy), the screenplay (fantastic), the music (completely in sync with the mood every time and it actually seemed like the music had created the film), the casting (where do you find these people? Brilliant!), the accuracy and authenticity ... Well, like I said, everything! This is a film that gets you thinking long after it's finished. I simply wish that such good movies were made more often.
Go see it at a cinema while you can. If it doesn't win an academy award then I'll change my first name to Monkeyboy.
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