Oh, Woody

Sometimes I get a sudden urge to watch a Woody Allen movie.

Water

India 1938: Chuyia is a nine year old who recently became a widow. According to the strict hindu rules of Manu, you're not permitted to re-marry, thus continue your life in an endless grief. Not going further into the plot, it's about forbidden love, betrayal, religion and all that jazz. In other words the same old story.

Nevertheless, it's perfectly executed in all ways: the acting is exeptional, the scenes are beautiful cinematograpic-wise, and the continuity is perfect. The whole movie gives you a poignant aftertaste. You should watch it if you take any interest in India, for the sake of education or entertainment.

Being very controversal in India/Pakistan (because of the rules are still valid) Mehta had to wait almost a decade to finish the movie. It's the final movie in Deepa Mehtas triologi: Earth, Fire and Water; all about women and different aspects and taboos of the Indian society.

The Godfather

There are, according to imdb.com, over 61 scenes or shots with people eating, drinking or food involved.

All news is bad news

Old news too....
David Fincher is adapting Charles Burns' brilliant Black Hole to the silver screen. WHY?! The guy is quite overrated and he's by all means the wrong director (it's not a psychological thriller ffs). If Black Hole were to be adapted, it should be in the Marjane Satrapi way. We just can't imagine Black Hole as a movie

top 5 scandinavian

woohooo !

these are our top 5 scandinavian movies from the 90s and 2000s:

1) Adams Æpler/Adams Apples - You might expect another boring danish drama (like I did) but this is an excellent pitch black comedy. If you find stuff like cancer, nazis and child rape funny you might not be very sane but director and writer Anders Thomas Jensen makes this funny and moving in a sick but clever way. Reccomended to people who don't take movies too serious.




2) Insomnia -
The only norwegian movie I acctualy like..I have really nothing more to say, except that if you like psychological thrillers you should see the original ! (And not the awful Hollywood remake)




3) Voksne Mennesker/Dark Horse -
A young deadbeat, his overweight friend who works at a sleep clinic, a beautiful girl on mushrooms, and an insomniac judge - the main characters of this quirky danish movie. It's perfectly shot in black and white, and directed by icelandic Dagur Kári. Watch this if you like peculiar/cute/absurd comedies about pretty much nothing.



4) Tilsammans/Together -
A swedish movie taking place in a community in 1975, where it's okay to be gay, communist or naming you kid after the Tet offensive.

Göran: You could say that we are like porridge. First we're like small oat flakes - small, dry, fragile, alone. But then we're cooked with the other oat flakes and become soft. We join so that one flake can't be told apart from another. We're almost dissolved. Together we become a big porridge that's warm, tasty, and nutritious and yes, quite beautiful, too. So we are no longer small and isolated but we have become warm, soft, and joined together. Part of something bigger than ourselves. Sometimes life feels like an enormous porridge, don't you think? Sorry, I'm standing around dreaming.


5) Populärmusik från Vittula -
Matti is bored by the village life, and Nila get's beaten by his father every day. Matti longs after the first fuck, and Nila tries to fight his dead grandmother. This is a weird movie with surrealistic elements in a totally realistic story. If like movies about music, friendship, magical transvestites, finnish people, penis shaped thumps and the struggle for finding your true self, this definitly is the movie for you. If you just like movies you should probably see it too.

La double vie de Véronique

The Double Life of Véronique (1991) is a French/Polish movie directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by himself and Krzysztof Piesiewicz.

The film follows two women unaware of eachothers existence, though subtlety connected in some level. They share names, looks and passion for music; and accidentaly their lifes also crosses.

Themes like metaphysics, ambiguosity and deja vu are perfectly combined with magnificent camerawork and music to create an atmospheric and dare I say, philosophical, movie (how pretentious does this sound?). Still, the movie should be seen for its individual rendered and beautifully scenes. The cinematographer Slawomir Idziak uses filters to create outstanding lights and colours; and the music by Zbigniew Preisner is great... My favourite scene, which pretty much sums up the whole movie, is the marionette scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEVlDb43v-4&feature=related)

The acting is lovely - Irène Jacob does a decent job as Véronique/Veronika, she has quite a dreamlike and sublime presence, which fits the movie perfectly.

I would reccomend La Double Vie de Véronique if you appriciate movies like Science of Sleep, Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain and Me and You and Everyone We Know

Funny Games US

God knows how much we've been looking forward to this. We've already written about it several times, and finally; here comes the actual review:

I have no idea wether you want the film compared with the original, or if you simply want it reviewed as an own movie. The last one is kind of hard, since the movie is, except for the language, which almost excactly like the original. I have little negative to say about this, except for Brady Corbet who seemed to have studied the original Peter's every move. He was excactly the same, and frankly, that bugged me alittle. The kid on the other hand was actually extremely talanted, and made a certain "cat in the bag" scene so powerful it made my body twitch in agony and excitement, all at once. Talking about scare-factor I have a hard time figuring out if the original is simply scarier, if I didn't get scared because I've already seen it or if I didn't get scared because they don't talk german (well you have to admit, everything get's scarier when it's in a language you don't understand). I also had a hard time finding Michael Pitt creepy in the beginning, but after a while I just had to accept the fact that Pitt had interpreted the role in his own way, which actually worked magnificaly. The only thing I really missed in his performance was the Arno Frisch-way of saying "Ciao bella".

This is my favorite line, and even though I try my best not let that come in the way of me absolutely adoring this remake, it kinda does. I've been trying to justifie Pitt's bored and apathic "ciao bella...", but I just can't forgive him. Talking about performances it's needless for me to say that Tim Roth was brilliant. Even layed down on the floor, screaming, I never once thought of the wounded cop in Reservoir Dogs. To shake off the image of Naomi Watts in The Ring on the other hand, was harder. This has absolutely nothing to do with the lady's performance, but my general opinion of her. I was first able to overcome this judgemental image when she started crying. The woman knows how to cry.

I hope this review is helpful for even you who haven't seen the original, but either way I strongly advice you to see it. And if you have no idea what this film is about I will inform you of this:

If you want blood, gore and bigbreasted women, go see Doomsday, but if you're looking for a movie which will make you cry and shit your pants at the same time (and like me, would want a good ol' piece of art at the same time) this is the movie.

Ciao bella