Hodejegerne (2011)

I don't see very often movies produced in the the Scandinavian region, but my experiences up to the moment make me believe that I'm more close to heart to what comes out from Sweden, than from Norway. I honestly believe that's a very big difference in style between the Norwegian cinema and the Swedish one. But maybe it's just my talent to pick the titles. Maybe = probably certain. According to what I've seen during the last years, it seems that in that area Santa is a vile demon from below the ground ("Rare Exports" - I skipped this from blogging), the rural areas are haunted by trolls ("Trollhunter" - discussed not long ago) and the competition between the GPS technology producers is so fierce that the consequences come as pitbull bites ("Hodejegerne" - the topic here). But as I was saying the problem is the style, not the subject. I consider myself enough open minded not to refuse any story, no matter how weird it might sound (on the opposite - it's a story - weirdness makes it more original). The problem is how the story is handled. Well .. I'm starting with the "philosophy", and anyway what we have here in summary deserves watching, so let's better get to the subject.

The main character in this story is a top employee in a human resources firm. A "headhunter" to be more specific - the title (at plural) in English, that I forgot to mention. The guy is living a life way higher than what his monthly payment allows, having huge rates to pay for his luxurious apartment, a tall blond as a wife who he's spoiling buying jewelry, a separate affair with a brunette (whom he dumps quite fast, but she has her place int he movie), a Lexus in his garage, and .. a ton of stress for not losing everything he has .. plus some complexes to supplement that, starting from his 1.68 meters height of which he's continuously complaining in the movie's narrative monologues. The secret of maintaining the respective lifestyle is his second job = paintings thief in his spare time. And since his main job requires finding out during the interviews lots of stuff about the future employees, like if they have among their hobbies also the plastic art collecting or if they're animal lovers (ergo: do they have a dog at home), the two activities of our guy are completing each other wonderfully. Until he takes the unfortunate decision to visit (uninvited, of course) also the apartment of a potential future employee on a leading position in a corporation specialized on GPS tech, which potential future employee seems to have a very tensed past in the special forces before deciding for a business career .. But since the picture is a Rubens, our guy decides that it worths the risk .. More, in the movie ;) ...

It is obvious that the ending is a surprising one. Well, if it wouldn't be obvious we would probably have at most an acceptable action flick. Like this, the things are a bit more complicated. Firstly, the movie is done in such a way that it doesn't allow much empathy (initially) with the main character (maybe there are exceptions for this .. but the general idea is like that - the guy is a thief, arrogant, frustrated, cynical, infidel, cold, and all the rest, so the script doesn't really want the viewer to vibrate to the problems that guy gets into). The issue comes from the fact that you don't have any other "positive" character to say it so. Lastly the things start to change .. a bit .. without getting into much detail .. The ending saves a lot. Although, the unexpected part is a bit far fetched, and there are also other portions throughout the script which for me are a bit .. "unreal" (I don't know, maybe in Norway's reference system it would be more close to common sense). On the other hand I cannot get over without mentioning some fine irony, starting from the title and the main job of the main character vs. the situations he gets into, up to the 1.68m height that prove to be vital in some moments. Well, overall I was much more impressed than of what I've seen made in Norway until now, but for this movie genre I still have missed that feeling of a subsconscious "be supportive" towards "the good guy".

Rating (it's complicated):
3 out of 5 - overall movie making & the script
4 out of 5 - story & acting
5 out of 5 - the scene missing in the trailer ;) after the truck hit - very powerful

 

The Awakening (2011)

Despite the fact that I had a free week, I didn't manage to take much advantage of this to see more movies. Moreover, given the mix between the current late hour and the fact that I'm continuously yawning I prefer to stop at something that won't eat much time: "The Awakening" (no pun intended).

 The story: Florence Cathcart is a miss from somewhere in England at the beginning of the 20th century, specialized in .. ghost hunting, or more exactly in unraveling the spirits contact session hoaxes perpetrated very often after the 1st World War. She's apparently even a success author of a book handling the same theme. Well .. one day Miss Cathcart gets summoned to help in the investigation of a suspect death case, the victim being a kid from a boys school. The catch here is the fact that the school is apparently haunted by another's boy spirit, a boy who is rumored that got killed many many years behind in very unclear circumstances.

 The first and the most important thing: the description above is way (waaaaaaay) more gruesome than what you get to see in the movie. It sounds more like a horror .. I would say that the movie is more drama than that. Unfortunately is a drama with a bad script. If you yearn for gratuitous philosophical lines on an average of at least one/10 minutes (or .. I don't know .. during the last year you've watched only mindless action stuff and you have the most painful need for something opposite) than probably you won't mind the movie style. For me the dialogues were tormenting ... Not dumb .. thank Godness, besides "Avatar", "Transformers" or others, the cliches are not that present. Tormenting = pumped up at maximum with lines that don't fit + they're long, boring and want to sound deep (so much that you can feel from a mile away the fakeness of the "deepness" ). Besides this (and because of this) the movie moves quite slowly, up to an ending which I don't know ... it's probably something between "The Others", "The Haunting", one or more titles by Guillermo del Toro that I'm missing a this hour (and I'm too lazy to search :) )a and probably more others. So, in my opinion - originality: pretty bad. 

The main reason for which I ended up watching this movie is that Rebecca Hall is somewhere in top 3 favorite actresses for me .. well, if I would make a top like this. Unfortunately this is half (or even more) from what's to appreciate in "The Awakening". And "to appreciate" here is obviously subjective (although leaving apart the personal preferences, I really believe that the role is good and it saves the movie from a complete disasters). The other positive aspect is the cinematography about which I won't spend more time writing, but you can get some samples in the trailer. Shortly put what you see is quite pleasant to the eye, and it manages to hide quite well the production design which is not the best I've seen. Unfortunately the story and the script are still there, and these two bring the movie down pretty badly.

 Rating: 2 out of 5

 

John Carter (2012)

Considering that I'm forced by deadlines to be in "continuous work mode" despite the holidays (at least until tomorrow), and that I also lost a day in airports, I was thinking to jump over the entry for this weekend. But I took advantage of my short home return and I spent two hours yesterday going to see "John Carter". So, I have something that really deserves trying write my weekly blog entry, even if it's on the rush ...

Maybe it's known, maybe it's not, but it seems that this movie was a pretty big flop at the box office for Disney (the main producer) compared to what was expected. I don't know why "Prince of Persia" came into my mind when I've heard that. And I don't know why I was expecting to have the same contradictory opinion with the American public that I had it also ther (because it seems in Europe the current title did more reasonable with the earnings). But I'll come back to my difference of opinions further because it's not that important. Let me talk first about the subject.

"John Carter" is the second amplitude writing = I don't know how many books, of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who's much more known for .. "Tarzan". By the way, this was a reason to doubt about it .. because at least regarding the "jungle boy" I'm quite far from being a fan. I the current case we have an army officer who after the American Civil War is not really in the mood to continue his military career and starts digging for gold. Which he finds alltogether with a portal to .. Mars. I know .. also me when I first heard the story I thought that "Tarzan"'s author tried unwillingly a prequel to Pierre Boule's "Planet of the Apes", yielding into a result of a wild intergalactic salad good to be at most a subject for second hand comics. But something from the trailer (a scent of .. "Star Wars" :) to make the salad complete) made me to keep the hope up.

And it confirmed, because unlike mega productions such as "Transformers" or, since it's on the screens right now "Wrath of the Titans" (which I didn't see, but I find hard to believe that it might be able to outcome it's predecessor at an above average level), here we have the story. Plus something that the above maybe dream they have, but it's just a fake impression: "the epic feeling". Oh, yes :) ... "John Carter" manages to get both. I'll try to refrain myself from spoilers, but the context of teleporting on the red planet, the factions that are in conflict around there, the romance part, and even a small piece of soap opera, with an ending twist not extremely spectacular (and possibly predictable if you can reason fast enough that the script will be stupid if it would be missing) but anyway sufficiently good for the final ... well, to be honest ... even if would get to "Transformers 10" (hopefully not !) I really doubt that we'll get to see something like this.

The movie has also some less good parts like cliche lines and far fetched action scenes. But you can get over these, because in the end it doesn't get itself too seriously to feel them to strong. In summary, instead a "Tarzan" mixed with "Planet of the Apes", what you get is much more like a "Prince of Persia" mixed with "Star Wars" (and to be even more accurate - the first "Star Wars"). The main actors are ok - and actually the couple here seems to have a better chemistry than the main more known protagonists from "Prince of Persia" ( although it's also possible that I'm subjective about the lead actress :) ). The effects are nice .. I don't know what to say about the rest .. Just go and see it ;)

Rating: 4 out of 5

TrollHunter (2010)

After I've seen at the beginning of the week "The Hunger Games" (exceptionally shown also in non-dubbed version in the cinemas around where I'm living) I've drawn two conclusions: 1. That the (accidental) decision to take advantage of Monday as a discount day in my canton of residence (if not in all the CH) was a fortunate one. 2. That I must watch another movie to not lose the time writing about something which even if it's not completely bad is far from deserving the money it got at box office. Well .. I didn't have the time to see anything else, but I'm still decided not to write above the mentioned one, so I ended up digging my memory to see what can I use as a blog subject. And like this I ended up with "Trolljegeren" (the Norwegian title) which I've seen somewhere in January, and which is not exactly a masterpiece but at least is a bit more original.

The Scandinavian production from two years ago, is an indie movie that gained some applause in a couple of festivals. Shortly put is a so called horror mockumentary ("Blair Witch", "Paranormal Activity", "Cloverfield", etc), genre that normally it's not exactly my favorite (with some exceptions - as "Rec"). Well, the horror part is quite light here (since I've already mentioned "Cloverfield" mai sus .. I guess it's comparable), and obviously involves .. trolls. In case it doesn't sound very familiar, we have to deal with a mythical creature (apparently specific to the Norwegian folklore), of big dimensions, which does not support the UV light (no, it doesn't originate from Transylvania and it doesn't have extra-legnth fangs), and feeds with any kind of meat and also with .. stones. More precise information about the species are offered in the movie. Which movie, as I was saying, follows the line of a presumed footage started by a group of young people who went into the rural Norway to investigate illegal bear hunting. And they get to discover an entire conspiracy of the government about the mentioned boulder eaters.

Well, one of the reasons for which I've chosen "TrollHunter" is also that I don't have much to write about it :P (it's late again & I'm busy as usual). As a main idea, as mentioned is not a masterpiece, the final is a bit .. "unfinished" (but I'm curious how many "horror mockumentary" don't have it like this) and even though the effects were ok iy can be observed that it's an indie budget behind. Still, it's clearly something to notice in this niche, and it's also entertaining with respect to other titles that keep changing the context but using the same recipe get a bit boring.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Fright Night (2011)

Probably the worst idea for a movie blog is to write about something that was released from half up to one year before the current date. So it's neither fresh, nor old enough to wake an interest to somebody. But considering my "care" for popularity since I've started this blog I decided to break again this "marketing" rule with an entry about "Fright Night" - the remake.

Shortly put the story is something like: in a quiet suburb, near the house of a high school kid, Charlie, who lives with his divorced mother a new neighbor arrives: Jerry .. the vampire. And the tensions start to grow, first when Charlie finds out about the supernatural qualities of the new tenant, and obviously more when Jerry finds out that his image of a normal guy is not that normal for his young neighbor. What's further than this (and even up to this point) varies depending on the movie version. The only thing I'm saying more about the subject, before starting to spoil too much, is that the main storyline and characters are kept consistent between the two versions.

The original is a light vampire comedy from '85 that for me is close to a B series movie. The effects would look ridiculous today, the casting is completely forgettable (maybe excepting Chris Sarandon as the fanged lead), the story is way too simple, etc. And obviously you get a so '80s atmosphere characteristic for pretty much all the horrors more or less light from the period. Which is not bad actually (especially if you are nostalgic). But, compared for instance with the first "Nightmare on Elm Street" from '84 the aging speed of "Fright Night" is way faster. All these made me look with a great lack of confidence at the idea of remaking that. But ...

Surprise. First of all, unlike other attempts of resurrecting more solid series (one mentioned above, another "Friday the 13th", or even "Halloween" which actually could have been decent if it wasn't that violent), "Fright Night" comes first with a much more elaborate story compared to the original (doesn't save it completely but it's more than decent). As an idea, I effectively had the sensation for a few times that the movie is too close to end, and I didn't know what will fill up the time left. The story extensions and the comic part that's decreased in intensity - but still present exactly where it should - results instead of a light vampire comedy more in something like a light vampire thriller. And I say that the result is better. Because it also comes with a much more deep character construction than the original, which makes the story more credible to say it so (in the sense that you don't have anymore the movie makes a laugh about itself at every scene). That's actually leading me to the second aspect to take into account ...

The cast. I said above that I won't give any spoilers related to the subject, but I can say that all the action is built on the interaction between six characters. Jerry, Charlie, Charlie's girlfriend, Charlie's mum, Evil Ed - Charlie's buddy and Peter Vincent - a "vampire hunter" running an ocult TV show. Well, there's also another neighbor of Charlie's in the 2011 version or a "vampire sidekick" in the '85 one as secondary character - so overall around 7 actors in each movie. That's all. As I said, there isn't much memorable about them in the original ... it's like you would try to remember the cast from the first "Friday the 13th". Except Jason .. who wears a mask and doesn't speak, I don't think you have much chance to store for long in your memory another character. In "Fright Night" is the same. Like mentioned above, Chris Sarandon (who was clearly more popular in the '80s than today) as a vampire is probably the only one to notice. The things are different in 2011. Colin Farrell as Jerry, for who until "In Bruges" I had a total lack of respect as an actor, confirms me again that I was wrong, Anton Yelchin as Charlie whom you wouldn't give much chance as action hero manages to get on par with the roles in "Terminator Salvation" and "Star Trek", and David Tennant (Doctor Who in a couple of seasons) is a memorable Peter Vincent. And completely subjective speaking, around a year ago I was writing about something called "Centurion" and I guess I was saying that one of the few good thing in that movie is that you can stare for around five minutes to the eyes of Imogen Poots. Well, here you get more than five minutes, and she actually gets a consistent role.

When I ended up Sunday night to write this week's entry, I told myself that I'll do it quick and get back to other stuff I have to work on, but I guess I wrote a lot. The idea is that the movie deserves it :) and if what I said above makes it look radically different from the original, well .. there is a part that's, sort of speaking .. "preserved". The so 80's air is transformed into a .. so '90s air. I don't actually know if it's exactly like this or is just a personal feeling. What I can say in what concerns me is that I had the same nostalgic feeling that I'm not getting very often, which I had also on the last "Scream", or to give a different example (not very far if we're thinking on the love story + mad neighbor) - "Disturbia". More exactly I felt that I'm watching something close in quality as "teen oriented movie" (even if it's rated R) to what I could more often see in cinemas during summer time while I was in high school and I had less stuff to worry about on a daily basis ;)

Rating: 4 out of 5



Forgot to say .. One of the few things to remember in "Fright Night" '85 is Brad Fiedel's score. I was expecting to get disappointed by this, until I heard the Ramin Djawadi's new version, and I guess that sounds even better than the original synth ...