Transcendence (2014) + Du Levande (2007) + Noah (2014)

Still alive ... I know, it's the first time when I've jumped over a week without notice (fake promise: it won't happen again & cliche: my life is complicated). Unfortunately I don't have anything good enough to compensate the absence. So, let's try a 3-in-1. Fast, because again I don't have time ;)

1. Life after .. death : "Transcendence" was top of expected list for me on this year announced releases. Harsh disappointment. I don't even know what to bash first. The story, although relatively simple considering how much you could get from "mind uploading" as subject, is still ok. From story to script though ... the disaster starts to catch shape. Let's say I can ignore the ton of IT related stupid stuff placed there for the average viewer (although it can be done without, or try to do it much more accurate - again, the classic example: "Antitrust"). But I didn't see such cliche density for quite a while. Again, I can confirm myself the rule of "don't trust a screenwriter at the 1st script if the movie's not an indie". He will get it done either to shocking too impress (not the case here), either too simplistic for a wider appeal, or he knew the producer and that was enough to get the job. And we can supplement this with the second rule "don't trust a visuals guy at his 1st directing attempt either". Wally Pfister is a good cinematographer - the guy normally working with Nolan ("Inception", "The Dark Knight", "The Prestige"). You can see here too some touch from his side, although he's not in charge with this. But for directing ... the movie has real problems. Well, it's a mix of problems adding the script and the production design, but for some issues the final call comes from the director's side. When you have .. what to pick .. gibberish screensavers on every monitor seen in the movie (to get the geekysh feeling) ... or a pathetic attack using 2-3 mortars to charge on a gigantic subterranean bunker (and on top supported by the U.S. government) - the scene could have been done with an F18 solving the problem quickly, efficient and precise from above .. but well, we wouldn't have had the "romantic drama" (+ an F18 adds more to the budget than some mortars). I don't know .. it really doesn't make sense to lose more time talking, because except bashing the movie I don't think I have anything left to say. It's not exactly the same thing, but I can recommend "Source Code" as a much better alternative. For "Transcendence" I only have one thing to appreciate (and that's subjective), namely Rebecca Hall as female lead character. Except that ...

Rating: 2 out of 5


2. Life after .. just life : "Du Levande" or "You, the living" is a Swedish production that I've seen in small pieces throughout the week. And from which I was expecting again more. I wrote recently an entry on "La Grande Belleza". Well .. if we cut (a bit) from the visuals, we cut (more) from the budget, and we replace the decadence with absurdity the result is pretty much what we have here. The last part is not something bad actually. Basically, the movie is a sequence of scenes, many being somewhere close to Kafka. Not very well entangled though = we don't have a story, and I'm a bit too tired these days to fully appreciate a movie that invests a lot in symbolism ( and if we add "meaning of life" as central topic it already starts to get depressing :) ). But if you're in the mood for food for thought, it's a good choice ...

Rating: 3 out of 5


3. Life after .. the apocalypse : "Noah" - where apocalypse = obviously the flood. The movie is sort of opposite to "Transcendence". The ark story is known by everybody, so you won't get big surprises. Still, if you're not a bible fanatic to get a stroke due to variations from the text, the additions made are very welcome as an original touch. And for directing, it's visible that Darren Aronofsky is somebody who proved his skills before. With "The Fountain" for example, which is close in style here-and-there (or maybe it was just Clint Mansell's soundtrack reusing some notes). Still, "Noah" is not "The Fountain". The metaphor is thinner, and the drama gets a bit hilarious in some points (which strange enough adds a bit of color to the film, although might look a bit pic out-of-place). One thing to appreciate ( at least by me :) ) is that I don't see the production targeting (despite the subject) the by-the-book believers and (obviously) neither the convinced atheists. Or different put, there are parts which probably might work for both ( might .. since I'm on neither of the "extreme sides" I don't know for sure :) ). In the end, with/without divinity, the main message is probably close to: people can change - some do .. some don't - :) but they deserve a chance to prove it ;)

Rating: 3 out of 5

Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001)

I see that somehow it happens close to Easter to sync with a movie that has golden eggs = another adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk". Well, at least last year it was the same .. I don't know how many other versions are left there, but now we're talking about ... "The Real Story", so maybe I can stop after this one. Anyway, if the last entries were written in a rush because I didn't have time, now I'm somewhere between headaches & stomach pains, so I'll try to cut it short again ...

What I've just watched is a pretty old mini-series, made for TV. And that's visible in the budget, effects and production design overall = don't expect much. Probably also to the budget relates the acting level too = there are enough scenes that seem done with a single take, like it wasn't time for more than that. Still Mia Sara was charming, as usual, so .. let's get over this, although ... We're getting to the script which is also a mess: stupid lines, plot holes and lots of cheesy stuff. If I should pick now a movie for which I have to make a certain bet that who sees it cannot hold from eye-rolling, "Jack and the Beanstalk" is the winner. And still ...

And still we have something that I've left for the end this time, just to wrap it up on the plus side: the story. Yup ... the story starts with Jack, who's not as expected the poor countryside kid who made a bad bargain in selling a cow for some beans (well .. we have that too, but a bit further). Jack is the chairman of a gigantic enterprise running business that spans from ecologic agriculture to gambling. The problem is that Jack gets close to 40, age at which all the male genealogical tree side moved the domicile two-feet-under. But our guy is less concerned about the "curse" and more of a problem that appears somewhere on British territory, at the family's castle that should be transformed in a casino. The excavation work get stuck into a gigantic skeleton ... take a wild guess who was buried there ;) Well, further we get somehow to "the classic story", and quickly after we learn "the real story" version of it, about which I'm not gonna say anything. Except that it mixes somehow drama, romance, comedy, very dark secrets, (sort of) time travel, and others. A very surprising melange I would say, and one I can truly appreciate for the originality of the ideas. However, the authors probably got bored when it came to the part where the story has to be translated into an actual screenplay. But if you like fairytales ;) and especially re-told in a different manner ... this one deserves a try.

Rating: 3 out of 5 (at the bottom limit)


Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001) by m0vietrailerpark

Den brysomme mannen (2006)

Busy month ... I'm gonna shorten the entry again, but at least now I have a movie option. "Den brysomme mannen" aka "The Bothersome Man" is a sort of dark comedy, with some surreal nuances a la Terry Gilliam, and which leaves a feeling of "unfinished" from one end to another ...

The movie has a pretty original start that's catchy enough to get you hooked for a while. After a short scene showing a man apparently jumping in front of a subway tram, the guy is presented as sole passenger in a bus which drops him in front of a hut in the middle of a wasteland. Where another guy ... after wrapping up a handmade "Welcome" banner leads the newcomer to his new residence. An apartment in a grey city, with people pretty much as grey, but apparently fully satisfied with their life. Well, for the new guy in town this doesn't seem to work. Ok ... enough with the details, or I'll end the movie.

I'll stick to the opinion that I'm on a total different wavelength than Norway's cinema. I keep trying periodically, but it doesn't work. If I remember well, the previous experience was "Hodejegerne" which I almost liked .. in the circumstances where the subject and the trailer were promising something certain for my typical preferences. Maybe my brain is just too wrecked these days to digest (again, in pieces, with breaks between) an attempt for an afterlife allegory, heaven vs. hell, or whatever was meant to represent what I've watched. I can't complain it wasn't original, but I can complain that it was as every production made there, just too dry for my taste.

Rating: 3 out of 5