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princessjesssie
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Død snø (2009)
A Bloody Awful Film.
Move over Saw, Jigsaw may have rocked your minds with his puzzling murders, but if you thought a movie couldn't get much higher on the gory scale, you couldn't be more wrong. Turns out that Norway's Tommy Workola pretty much tops the gore charts with his hair raising, gag inducing, lose-your-popcorn-on-your-lap thriller Dead Snow. The perpetrator of all of this gore? Oh, you guessed it, those elusive and pesky zombie Nazis. Virtually losing all plot twenty minutes in, this Nordic flop brings you back to or the glory days of those 80s slasher movies. Remember the classics such as Killer Klowns from Outer space or everyone's favorite-- Frankenhooker? (It's a stitch!)
..Yeah, me neither. Dead Snow is just about as forgettable.
With the same plot as practically every teen movie ever made, the director pretty much HAD to use something as outrageous as blood-drooling zombie Nazis. Dead Snow's character, Vergard, played by Lasse Valdal, even says it himself; "How many movies start out with a group of friends going to an isolated cabin!?" And that is exactly where this tale starts. Eight Norwegian medical students take a spring break (okay this is also the most overused plot sequence
) to an isolated cabin for some relaxation in the form of sex and massive amounts of alcohol consumption. The bulk of the plot (all four minutes of it,) comes when Vergard stumbles upon a chest (no, not even a chest. A better word is "rather small shoebox.") in the floor of the cabin while he is looking for some lost beer. The group somehow decides that it's theirs and they're going to be rich from the grand assortment of 10 coins that they found. This "treasure chest" looks more like it could possibly fund the group's next trip the liquor store, but the screenwriter has the balls to insert an Indiana Jones quote here-- "Fortune and glory kids
fortune and glory." Yeah, right.
Next we hear a strange noise from outside the window, a strange old man enters, disses the hippie girl's organic coffee and chastises the group for not reading up on the local history of the area before coming on their grand vacation. Now I don't know about you, but if I'm headed on a spring break to a desolate mountain to drink and flirt with cute Norwegian boys, the last thing I'm interested n is the history of a 20-person shantytown. Plot fail.
This crazy old man goes on to tell a story about Germany's occupation of the area during WWII, stating that the Nazis treated the Norwegians poorly. Sick of the oppression, this small town of stoic mountain dwellers organizes a revolt, killing 300 of the Nazis. I'm a little curious about what kind of weaponry they scrounged up to overtake an entire trained army
.But anyway, this whole "plot" consumes the first twenty minutes of the movie. From here on out, you lose all objectivity of any sort of direction this story is going.
So here is where every mistake ever made in a horror movie is somehow wrapped up all in one real thriller. Now is probably a good time to mention that one real sporty and adventurous girl decided to ski to this cabin, by herself, through this virtually unnavigable snowy mountain region of Norway. (Wonder who dies first!?!?) Cue the zombie Nazi infiltration of the movie through the cabin windows, where these merciless creatures pull girls into outhouse poop, rip off heads, pull intestines out and you, the lucky viewer, even get to see a brain fall on the floor of the cabin. Half way through this fiasco these ever so intelligent "medical students" (Why didn't they make them state school fraternity members?! They must not exist in Norway
.) apparently forget that the zombies are attacking through the windows so they just chill by them again. And OH, you guessed it, another one bites the dust. You're just starting to scream at these imbecile characters when they break the number one cardinal rule of horror flicks—you NEVER split up, and God forbid, you NEVER split up boys and girls. But hey, the director must have figured he was already 10 feet out without a paddle so
why not??
Now there's more zombies, more running, more limb-ripping terror. It starts to get real excessive when you realize that there's 5 minutes left and absolutely nothing has been resolved. I just about got up to leave when the ridiculous finale kept me wondering how this movie ever even made it to theaters. If it wasn't apparent in the rest of this review, I do not recommend this movie to even the biggest fan of gore movies. Please, save your five dollars on this one; you'll be better off taking a nap than wasting two hors of your life on this bloody awful flick—and no, I'm not British.
Så som i himmelen (2004)
A classic....chick flick.
"I want to feel like I lived my life!" This overly used, ultra cliché line sang in the climax of Swedish director Kay Bollak's international favorite As It Is In Heaven is sometimes exactly what you need to hear when looking for a feel good movie, dare I say, classic chick flick. So all you men out there, beware, you'll probably consider the romanticism and cheesy lines a little much. Better stick to an evening of buffalo wings and Braveheart
For everyone else looking to laugh, cry, feel -good and well
feel-bad, this 2004 gem is exactly what you're looking for. It follows the life of Daniel Daréus, (Michael Nyqvist) an extremely driven musician and conductor whose sole goal in life is to create music that opens the hearts of his listeners and changes lives. Even though his life is booked up for the next 8 years with appearances and performances, Daniel is unsure of whether he has fulfilled his lifelong goal when is career is abruptly cut short due to an alleged heart attack. A beautifully crafted and heart wrenching scene depicts Daniel's final moments directing an Italian orchestra; as he madly flails his baton with a strange mixture of fierceness and fear, blood runs down his face, staining his shirt and his dreams. After his collapse, Daniel returns home to his small hometown, looking for a life of solitude and reflection. Unfortunately/fortunately for him, moving to a new location does not necessarily diminish fame and all its fanfare, and when a famous guy moves to an extremely small town, people are going to talk. The small local church, intrigued by such a world class musician in their midst, asks Daniel to take a listen to their weekly meetings. Daniel, first hesitant, agrees, and eventually takes the job as church cantor, whose responsibilities also include choir director. The main plot is centered around Daniel's relationships with the members of the choir. One may say that this man really attracted all of the drama in this extremely small town. Some are romantic, a bit passive yet sexually tense, like the relationship between Daniel and Lena, (Frida Hallgren) a young lady in his choir. Others add a dark comical twist, like the relationship between Daniel and Holmfrid, (Mikael Rahm) the lifelong butt of all fat jokes. Others deal with serious societal issues, such as Gabrielle's abusive relationship with her husband who, to put it nicely, isn't exactly happy for his wife's happiness or success with singing in the choir. This is where the feel-bad aspect comes in to play. In American movies, these abusive relationships aren't portrayed in such an
honest light. Although it seems a little too convent that most of the arguments and confrontations to occur in front of the choir, it shows a (slightly) brutal and sadly honest of a human being's tendency to just say that this situation is not my problem; I am going to turn a blind eye to it. While most people in this small community knew about this, it took Daniel writing a ballad that was obviously about her life and the terrible situation between Gabriella and her husband for people, not to mention Gabriella herself, to realize the severity of the situation and take a stand. This ballad is Bollak's climax of the film. Now I'm not asking you to be an ultimate choir nerd, nor asking you to go out and buy the sound track for Rent or Glee or even Sister Act 2. But please be open minded about the scene that many consider a little over the top on the cheesiness scale. The first time you watch it, close your eyes and don't even read the subtitles. Appreciate the music for what it is; the feelings that it invokes—the peacefulness. Remember that the audience at this concert does not know the story behind it and is going to love the song because it is just stunningly beautiful. Now open your eyes and realize the power behind her words. The opening is timid, like Gabriella isn't sure that she really can take a stand and control her own destiny. But realizing that she actually DOES have the support from the community and that she is a strong person, her voice crescendos and fills the music hall and all of our hearts. So okay, I admit it is a little corny, but if you can't handle the corniness, keep your eyes closed. The end is
.well if you didn't enjoy the lyrics of Gabriella's song; please just turn the movie off as soon as the choir takes the stage at the vocal competition. However, if you got goose bumps like me and can handle some cliché messages, for example that someone always has your back no matter how dumb it could potentially make them look, keep watching. I think that As It Is In Heaven was so popular because of it's ability to include a wide depth of empathy for all types of people; the overweight kid, the outsider, and even the cynic that got screwed over by everyone in their life. I personally loved it and invite you to at least give it a try, especially if you even ever considered watching Whoopi in Sister Act Two
Efter brylluppet (2006)
Raw emotion and a real thinker; a MUST SEE!
Please, before watching After the Wedding, have a box of Kleenex ready. Take my advice or you will be that annoying person in the room that is trying to muffle their sniffling and casually looking down to pat away their tears at the end. That or everyone in the room will be affected the same way and there will be no need to hide. I'd say the latter is more probable After the Wedding follows Jacob Pederson, played by Mads Mikkelsen, a stoic, somber and dedicated social worker in his late 40s that is an ex-patriot of Denmark living abroad in India. He is working at an Orphanage that is severely in need of more funding or it is threatened to shut down, leaving hundreds of kids alone on the streets. He is sent to Denmark to meet Jørgen Hannson (Rolf Lassgård), a philanthropist billionaire looking to support different charity project to present his case and take home the money. The audience is made to think that this is going to be a one-week case closed deal, however upon arrival it is obvious that Jørgen has different motives. It just so happens that on this weekend his 20-year-old daughter is getting married and Jacob is invited. At the wedding, a twist is revealed and his daughter reveals that Jørgen is not actually her birth father. Not the speech I would have included in my wedding but hey, it's a vital part to this film. At this point, Jørgen's wife, Helene, realizes what's up and is deeply affected by Jacob's presence; here the real reason that Jacob is in Denmark begins to unfold .
However beautiful this story may be, I have a couple of problems with some of the key themes and morals of this movie. It seems that the main message is that everyone is replaceable in life; if one person cannot be there, there is always someone else that could do equally as good of a job. The second moral that seems to be a little off is that the problems in third world countries can be solved with merely a check. Jørgen essentially sends money to India and takes away the helping hand that really was changing lives. You cannot replace the service work of anyone with a couple million dollars, and I think that this movie shows the audience that all we REALLY need to do is send money. Stay home and be with your family; those starving kids in India don't need it that much .
This also brings up the character of Jørgen, and the struggle with the audience's opinion about him. On one hand he is a philanthropist and any giving to people in need, no matter what the motivation, deserves praise and recognition. However, in this movie the audience is made to question whether or not the ulterior motives to helping people make a gesture of giving $13 million dollars more or less respectable. Do we consider Jørgen to be abusing his power in money and commerce and playing God for those who are less fortunate than him or do we respect him for being so self sacrificing and leading those who he loves down a path where they will be happier in the long run? Watch this movie and decide that for yourself.
With that being said, this film is still a favorite. It pulls at the heartstrings so much because it is a true display of raw human emotion. Each character displays an altruistic side of them, showing the viewers what it is like to be self-sacrificing and what it feels like to love someone so much that you would give up everything for them. Like most of these low budget foreign films, the high budget special affects or the fancy sets or even the big name actors do not distract us. Instead we are able to concentrate on the relationships between actors and learn to relate and sympathize with them. The director, Susan Bier uses a softened version of Dogma 95, not adhering to ever rule in von Trier's book, but bringing the essence and feeling of dogma to international audiences.
After the Wedding is no ordinary foreign film. It brings human emotion, weddings, deaths, children and families into a very real setting. Bier uses a story of heartbreak and love to leave the audience in tears and pondering what truly is important in life. And seriously⎯don't forget the Kleenex.
Elling (2001)
A tastefully done comedy on mental illness and Norwegian culture
ELLING(2001) Upon learning about a film about mentally challenged people, some people could be offended. You would have to go with your gut instinct that some director would take every precaution to be politically correct and show just the right amount of sensitivity to make a movie that anyone would ever take the time to watch. But when you throw in the fact that this is not only a film about mental illness, but also a COMEDY!? Well, hey. That has to be tasteless and trashy, right? Wrong. Norwegian director Petter Næss shows the world that, given the right touch of compassion and humor, one can portray the lives of those struggling with vices such as mental illness to be charming, reflective, and laugh out loud funny. Set in present day Norway, Elling portrays two middle aged men that have gone through "hectic phases" in their lives and are just being discharged from their lives as roommates in a mental institution. Paid for by the Norwegian government, the two are entrusted to live on their own despite their apparent inability to function as contributing members to society due to their mental illness. The two men, Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) and Kjell Bjarne (Sven Nordin) never are given a diagnosis as to their mental status, nor is any medical jargon ever thrown around during the entire span of the movie. This allows the characters to be more real and allows viewers to connect with them more than if they carried a medical label. The movie portrays their daily lives, as enthralling or monotonous as it may be, as they re-acclimate themselves to Norwegian culture. The audience comes to applaud Elling and Kjel Bjarne as they accomplish even the smallest of tasks, such as answering the telephone or enjoying a meal at a restaurant . Throughout the movie you find yourself cheering on the odd couple along with a "Go, Go, you can do it!" because Naess creates characters you want to see succeed. The viewer can't help but laugh with Elling (but never at!) as he struggles with answering the phone at his own apartment. While he usually proclaims "They hung up, must have been another wrong number!" after listening to the phone ring for 3 minutes straight, he takes on answering the phone with much persuasion from his tough love social worker, Frank Asli, played by Jørgen Langhelle. After around 30 seconds of silence and a highly dramatic sigh, he proclaims very quickly something about being thirsty and hangs up. These scenes make the audience giggle and empathize with the characters as they grow and take care of each other along the way.
However, this film this is no dramatic Girl, Interrupted or inhumane display of people as absolute, well, Idiots in fellow Nordic director Alex von Trier's The Idiots, but instead successfully takes on a lighthearted take on such a serious topic. Elling is truly revolutionary in its successful portrayal of mental illness in a manner that does not make you empathize with the characters in a negative way, but instead brings out a lighthearted side of the idiosyncrasies in all of us. Through the portrayal of a man with severe anxiety and dependency issues, we are able to see that mental illness is no more than the extreme of a personality, and we all are all able to identify with the daily trials and tribulations these characters face.
This film is truly a masterpiece no matter what language you speak. With Petter Næss ability to delicately craft characters and dialogue that engage viewers, as well as Per Christian Ellefsen and Sven Nordin's tasteful and spot on acting, it is sure to be a hit no matter who you are. It shows the global audience that there are anxieties and quirks in all of us that are not always easy to overcome, but with a little help from our friends, it's always possible to turn a bad situation into a good, and comical, one.