Reviews

The outrageousness of Kevin Bacon's performance combined with Luis Mandoki's CSI-style direction makes you wonder whether this kidnapping movie was meant to be some sort of spoof, but let's hope not for the sake of the straight and effective work by Charlize Theron and little Dakota Fanning. They both treat the material with the seriousness that it probably should have been also by the filmmakers. Trapped has unattractive lighting and cinematography, but behind the bumpy direction and sometimes borderline parodic scenes, the middle part reveals an interesting human story which does warrant some of the suspense the filmmakers aimed for. That is until we're left with a chaotic ending marred by just about every thriller cliché imaginable. More or less a wasted opportunity.

With a great soundtrack and the talented cinematographer Philip Øgaard onboard, Wam & Vennerød's "Åpen framtid" takes you vividly back to the late 1960s (with a little hint of the early 1980s), when the Norwegian boomer generation were disillusioned youths influenced by Mao, rock music, hashish, and the sexual revolution. In the opening segments, the film takes us through some harrowing flashbacks that visualize our protagonist Pål's frustrations with a school system that has failed him, after which the filmmakers try to tap into the aforementioned 1960s zeitgeist with varying levels of success. The story moves predictably and rarely with much flow, but Pål and his friend Erik are fairly interesting characters and surprisingly good company to spend a couple of hours with. Thomas Robsahm gives arguably his best performance here, and Are Sjaastad is fine opposite him. The supporting roles are populated by several Wam & Vennerød regulars.

Few actors are more fun to watch when they're balancing that fine line between tense realism and outrageous excess than John Lithgow (The World According to Garp, Raising Cain). In the 1991 action-thriller Ricochet, he's more concerned with the fun than the balance, but he somehow makes his stereotypical movie psycho Earl Talbot Blake work for large parts of this otherwise ultimately silly movie. There is an outline of a taut police procedural in here, and Denzel Washington really goes out on a limb in the lead as the flamboyant police officer Nick Styles, but director Russell Mulcahy exhibits a carelessness in his work and the picture becomes more and more ridiculous as it approaches the finish line. Ice-T is rather incompetent in the role as Washington's old rival Odessa, and the rest of the supporting cast aren't much better.

In 1890s London, two aspiring magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), are learning their trade under the mentorship of John Cutter (Michael Caine). When one of their regular tricks goes wrong on stage, their co-assistant, Robert's wife, drowns, which Robert blames on a faulty knot tied by Alfred. And thus begins a devilish feud between the two, both of whom are also vying to become the greatest magicians in the business.

This elegantly intricate story has an alluring quality; you get sucked into it by a vivid recreation of a bygone time when tricks could only be watched on stages, not on screens, by a couple of endlessly fascinating and dangerously zealous characters, and by Christopher Nolan's singular ability to captivate you with his very own cinematic tricks. Because naturally, Nolan himself also adheres to the film's recipe of a pledge, a turn, and a prestige: Nolan's pledge is the opening act, which reveals a murder and the apprehension of the suspected killer. His turn is how it was all preceded by an intense rivalry shrouded in mystique and fuelled by pride and ambition. And his prestige, of course, is the revelation(s) in the end. In what remains one of the Nolan brothers' most classically stylish stories, they beguile you without having to resort to mind-bending narrative razzle-dazzle - the tricks up on stage and the secrecy that surrounds them are more than enough to keep you pinned and totally engaged. It's a tight, entertaining and surprisingly suspenseful exploration of ethics and study of mechanics and science. There's a fascinating (although slightly underexamined) subplot centered around the amazing Nikola Tesla (played with insight by David Bowie), and in the lead roles, Bale and Jackman are wonderfully industrious and living their obsessions.

This largely forgotten gem may well have been categorized in the erotic subgenre of films which was so in fashion in the early 1990s, but the key to its brilliance is that this is not really a genre movie at all. Spun around familiar romance tropes such as young vs. Old and working class vs. Upper middle class, White Palace had every possibility of descending into mediocrity, perhaps especially for anyone balking at the audaciousness in suggesting relationships such as the one between Nora and Max actually exist. But they do exist, and this is exactly how they look. The screenplay by Ted Tally (who penned Silence of the Lambs a year later) and veteran Alvin Sargent (Staight Time, Ordinary People) is one of the best of its kind, filled with authentic situations and real, sometimes nervous, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes goofy dialogue. And you'll feel so encompassed and ultimately uplifted by it, because the acting by Susan Sarandon as Nora and James Spader as Max is so utterly devoted and accomplished.

Christopher Nolan pours his complicated dream world of ideas down on us from the outset in this visually astounding braggart of a film. There's hardly a scene in Inception in which the set designers and visual effects team don't get a chance to shine, resulting in a film so photographic and dazzling that the high amount of details present and lacking in Nolan's story/setup may easily be moved to the background. At times this is a good thing, because for all the complexity in the film's concept of the snatching/planting/sharing of dreams, there are abundances of logical flaws - questions you are not meant to ask, issues which are not meant to be discussed. Incidentally, these are often quite basic and relevant questions, such as how the actual interconnection between the dreamers is achieved, or how it is that an idea conceived in a dream is something which turn out guiding our entire lives.

Inception is over-populated with talented performers and soaked in scientific talk and ostensible existentialism/intellectualism. This may make it impressive at first glance, but I suspect viewers will be divided into two groups: those who indifferently accept it and those who somewhat annoyingly challenge it. What they'll probably have in common is that I doubt neither group will be really inspired by it, despite the fact that the story, which appears more basic and less innovative the deeper into Nolan's dream world we get, has got elements of fine writing in it. The ending is the only moment in the film in which Nolan shows real class. Whether it's worth waiting two and a half hour for, I'll leave up to you.

In plot and structure, Blood Feast, in retrospect dubbed as the first ever splatter film, is reminiscent of the slasher genre which developed about a decade later. As such, whatever creativity director Herschell Gordon Lewis brought into this was purely graphical; that is to say, the up until this point unprecedented use of stage blood and gory prosthetic makeup. It is quite obvious that this was the one area in which Lewis and co. Put in a real effort, and some of it looks semi-realistic and undoubtedly brought chills down the spines of young drive-in moviegoers back in the early sixties. With that said, everything else about Blood Feast is amusingly unprofessional, from the appalling acting to the bad camera work. Only recommended for the hardcore horror and cult film buffs.

M. Night Shyamalan first gained recognition as a filmmaker because his films (notably The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs) had edge and audacity, written and shot from a different perspective, with something unique to communicate. There is nothing unique about Shyamalan's latest outing, The Last Airbender, however. It is a self-absorbed and glossed fantasy adventure which boasts little else than all the mandatory ingredients for this rapidly self-destructing subgenre: a chosen Messiah figure, a simple good/bad dichotomy, furry mythical animals, and wild and grandiose scenery. There's nothing wrong about the story's outline or morals in itself, it's just that the film appears completely inane and flat before our eyes. Shyamalan somehow drains all potential vivacity from the story, seemingly trying to make his film as generic as possible while still ceremoniously insisting on the story's importance and pathos, forgetting in the process that we've been told and seen all this many times before - and in better versions. The dialogue and the acting contribute to the same conclusion, perhaps with the exception of Shaun Toub, who exhibits something which in another movie could have been a touch of class. And the fighting scenes, which should have been filled with aggression and tension, instead look like tamely choreographed practice sessions from So You Think You Can Dance.

*Review written in 2010.

This British psychological thriller, about a young social misfit (Stamp) who captures and collects first butterflies and then the local girl whom he wants to become the love of his life (Eggar), had several controversial elements about it at the time of release in 1965, few of which prevail today. The film is directed by veteran movie maestro William Wyler, and although it isn't satisfactory on all levels, it remains a continuously interesting study of a deranged but sympathetic captor and his increasingly wavering captive. The psychological profiling and power struggle is what's at the center of Wyler's attention, and this is also where The Collector is at its most valuable, largely thanks to the performances by the two leads. The film is slow, elongated and spatially restricted, and Wyler's constantly scrutinizing camera gives the performers a tough job, but they are both able to go deep into the psyche of their characters - too such a degree even that we forget about their beautiful exterior and accept them as the poor souls they've become. Stamp is particularly good, applying the perfect amount of spite, reservedness and class to his role. Except for a hint of melodrama in one or two crucial scenes, the film remains a thematic relevant study of a sex criminal both fuelled and hampered by the sexually repressive society he was brought up in.

Powerful, classically constructed film about arguably Norway's most infamous juvenile correctional facility in the early 20th century, Bastøy - an island to which boys aged 8 to 18 was sent indefinitely. These were kids who, according to the authorities, suffered from adjustment or behavioural problems or who were simply neglected, and at Bastøy they encountered hard manual labour, strict discipline and corporal punishment, among other less systematized hardships.

Filmmaker Marius Holst hasn't got much positive to say about the institution he portrays, but he still manages to tell a fairly balanced story in which good and bad isn't dichotomized into the counterproductive. The solid, at times brilliant, acting is one of the keys in this respect, and particularly Swedish import Stellan Skarsgård and the young talent Trond Nilssen go deep into their respective characters' layered psyche. Comradery, courage and youthful dreams are poignantly portrayed as the tortured kids try to find a way out of their secluded prison and back into the real world. The film and environment looks and feels adequately old-fashioned, something which brings us closer to the events and characters. On a thematic level, Kongen av Bastøy is a timeless picture, and although it tells the story of a specific Norwegian facility, the history of most Western countries is probably stained by institutions such as this one. Don't be too surprised if this one turns up as a Foreign Language nominee at the Academy Awards.

*Review written in 2010.

Adrian Lyne explores the ultimate nightmare of every married man who has had an affair with an unknown woman in this now quintessential film in the psychological/erotic thriller sub-genre. Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) is a happily married lawyer in Manhattan who out of boredom and mutual attraction end up spending a weekend with the seductive Alex (Glenn Glose) while his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter are out of town for the weekend. When he later rejects Alex' continued advances and ultimately ignores her, she becomes vindictive. One of the reasons Fatal Attraction works as well as it does is that despite being a genre movie which ultimately ends up in the "crazed psychopath" bracket, the film is so well acted and played out that the impression it makes exceeds most comparative entries. Few directors have explored the complete array of the emotional aspects of adultery as well as Lyne did here (and in Unfaithful a number of years later), and he skilfully infuses his scenes with an ever-present ambiguity which gives the story a whiff of authenticity all the way through. Michael Douglas' character and performance is expertly planned and conceived; you get to experience his every desperate emotion along the way, from lust through regret, shame, fear, and anger. And the duality Glenn Close is able to give Alex makes it hard to dismiss her as a simple movie psycho. She has sympathetic traits which make her downward spiral equal parts tragic and disturbing. Close is somehow able to retain Alex' humanity in the midst of all the madness. And the quartet of Close, Douglas, Archer and Lyne are able to weave plenty of realism in with the film's obvious genre sensibilities on their way to the inevitable and semi-effective Hitchcockian showdown.

Playwright Alan Bennett's account of the ailing mind of George III during the later years of the latter's reign as King of Great Britain and Ireland is a grand and frivolous spectacle about mental illness, 19th century politics and mild scatology. With a fine cast and appropriate art direction, the film may not exactly transport you back to the early 1800s, but it certainly carries you away to the solid British theatre tradition in which the film has its roots, and director Nicholas Hytner's adaptation from Bennett's own play is rather smart. Nigel Hawthorne reprised his stage role as George III, and his accomplished performance is the obvious focal point in a film which is more than mildly entertaining and only marred by a slight whiff of superficiality.

Wam & Vennerød continued to lament their generation's lost illusions and muddled principles in this second entry in their so-called "Sangen om knuste drømmer" trilogy (which also included "Åpen framtid" and "Drømmeslottet"). In "Adjø Solidaritet", we meet the two middle-aged pals Atle (Svein Sturla Hungnes) and Eigil (Knut Husebø), who keep disappointing themselves in both their respective work as a psychiatrist and a theatre director, and as more or less failed fathers. The theatricality of the actors combined with the filmmakers' bombastic, hammy scenes make parts of the film borderline parodic. Wam and Vennerød were idealists and politically engaged, but they never really had the necessary skill in directing actors, the result of which is that any effective, authentic performances were down to the ability of the individual thespians. There are not too many examples of such here, with the noble exception of Wenche Foss and a couple of fun bit parts from Nils Ole Oftebro and Erik Hivju. Young Thomas Robsahm - whose role is a thematic focal point in the story - tries to model his Fridtjof after his co-star Torgeir Schjerven's performance in "Lasse & Geir", but his temperament and idiosyncrasy come off as contrived. Robsahm would have more success as a producer later in his career (notably on "Verdens verste menneske"). There are similar problems with a number of the other supporting performances, not least Jorunn Kjellsby as Astrid and Julie Wiggen as Mette. This reduces some of the film's thematic potential to melodramatic posturing. "Adjø solidaritet" is at its most effective in a number of dreamlike flashback scenes, where the aforementioned theatricality comes into its own. And despite all its obvious shortcomings, the film does have a richness to it. The filmmakers' thematic and narrative ambition is commendable, even if the film must be considered a failure on both of these two aspects. Directors' trademark: Eigil's birthday party, a fun segment which is like a who-is-who of contemporary Norwegian actors.

Wam & Vennerød's fifth feature film in as many years is another exploration of relationship issues, identity and sexuality in the wake of the sexual revolution. In "Liv og død", their themes and discussions have a sense of relevance and urgency, and although their artistic voice might not exactly be fully honed or clear-cut, at least it is in fact an artistic voice. In typical Wam & Vennerød fashion, the drama alternates between powerful and stilted. The narrative is bumpy and never quite flows, but the ménage à trois on show here is progressive in the most essential and positive sense of the term, and to put it to the forefront in a mainstream cinematic release in Norway in 1980 is commendable in and of itself. The three lead actors, Bjørn Skagestad, Kjersti Døvigen and Audun Meling, close in on something poignant in a handful of segments.

In Wam & Vennerød's only full-blown comedy, the story and the abundances of slapdash characters and relations never make much sense, but at least the film is constantly on the move so that you are spared from lingering on its inadequacies. At its best, Bryllupsfesten has an infantile charm and captures some of the zeitgeist the filmmakers always tried to satirise. At its worst, it's almost unbearable, with an utterly silly script by Vennerød. The comedy is forced, the performances lack spontaneity, and the timing is off. Wam & Vennerød keep piling it on hoping for the best, but there's something sadly uninspired about their work here. They were usually a lot funnier in their more serious works - intentionally or not. Some of the actors manage to conjure up a moment or two of amusement, notably Jon Eikemo, Anne Marie Ottersen and the two veterans in this show, Aud Schønemann and Leif Juster.

A heartrending but also uplifting documentary about Norwegian cult filmmaker Petter Vennerød, who along with Svend Wam created a whole canon of always idiosyncratic, sometimes groundbreaking, and oftentimes panned films from the 1970s to the 1990s, starting with their magnum opus Lasse & Geir. Now struck by a very degenerative form of Parkinson's, Vennerød allows his wife Karianne to make a film about him - a combined portrait of his career and his accelerating illness, in which Vennerød shares his thoughts on his artistic life and current challenges. "Den siste filmen" has become a remarkably forthright and unveiled account which certainly accentuates this man's inherent goodness. Somewhat paradoxically, through his illness and his wife's lens, Vennerød is able to convey the emotion he arguably always aimed for but often wasn't quite successful at in his own movies. Still, "Den siste filmen" is far from an elegy; it's a celebration of a life well lived in which the man shows a deep appreciation for everything he was able to accomplish. If there's one thing missing, it's Svend Wam's voice in it all (he died in 2017) and a somewhat more in-depth dissection of their art and methods. But then again, it's an ailing filmmaker we meet here, who certainly is laying himself bare. And how fitting is it not that when the inevitable end is closing in and Karianne asks his husband how he wants the movie to end, he states that "it doesn't always have to end with death". And instead we get a wonderful celebration of life, art and music in the form of a beautiful party sequence - which was always something of a leitmotif in Wam & Vennerød's movies.

A fascinating look at the eventful life and peculiar character of actor Val Kilmer, an offbeat movie star of the 1990s. In this documentary by the filmmaking duo of Leo Scott and Ting Poo, Kilmer talks about everything from his battle with throat cancer, which has all but ended his acting career, to how he got into a career in the movie business, his marriage with actress Joanna Whalley, and being a father to his children Mercedes and Jack. The main reason why Val is such a rewarding and immersive watch is the vast amount of video footage shot by Kilmer during the course of his life, which is seamlessly merged into this tale by the filmmakers. Another reason is of course Kilmer's wonderfully optimistic take on life. Hollywood actors aren't always the most interesting people, but this guy is an obvious exception.

This peak behind the curtains of the court of Queen Anne of Great Britain in the early 18th century is a fun little piece of feminist revisionism detailing a supposed love triangle between the Queen (Olivia Colman), her advisor and confidant Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), and a very ambitious newly hired maid named Abigail Hill (Emma Stone). This is one Yorgos Lanthimos' most narratively straightforward films, and his more restrained approach suits the material and lets the strong trio of lead characters shine. That being said, the use of fisheye lenses and continual focus on the characters' self-degradation ensure that you certainly feel the Greek director's pulling of the strings. The Favourite is at its most enjoyable and playful when detailing the farcical aspects of the court, from these people's daily habits and antics to their at times seemingly arbitrary handling of political matters. And it is headlined by a magnificent performance by Olivia Colman, who positively wallows in the Queen's array of qualities and flaws with full dedication, making sure she is presented with equal measures comedy and tragedy.

In this silly and somewhat inexplicably hailed farce, a stunning-looking and perpetually baffled Cary Grant is pitted against his two gullible, murderous aunts (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) and his long-lost brother (Raymond Massey), a career criminal who returns with a mangled face courtesy of his very own alcoholic plastic surgeon (Peter Lorre). The story is so fervent and the goofiness so prevalent that the duality between comedy and gravity is all but lost, but the film does still have that lightweight, screwy charm and the occasional amusing set-up. Grant overdoes his performance, for better or worse. He was nevertheless much funnier and more nuanced both before and after this picture, which is only recommended for those who prefer their farces to be really farcical.

The make-up effects are even more impressive, the story a little more elaborate, and the running time has increased considerably... but has Damian Leone's sequel become a better film than his Terrifier from 2016? Well, only if you really enjoy torture and body horror. Leone again demonstrates his remarkable savvy for being able to make almost any act of mutilation of the human body look (mostly) realistic. But if you during the film's fairly engaging first half are tricked into believing the story weaved around it all is in any way groundbreaking, or that the character arcs would turn out to be any more substantial than 'tormented-young-female-finds-her-inner-strength', then you are sadly mistaken. And this makes the repeated killings and horror of Terrifier 2 wear thin well before the 138 minute mark. The character of Art the Clown still is a rather amusing devil, though.

A loose rendition of the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, directed with an unparalleled knack for nuance by Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven). And there is plenty of potential for that in this controversial story, about the now middle-aged Gracie (Julianne Moore) infamous for her 23-year-relationship with her husband Joe (Charles Melton) which began when he was only 13 years old. May December details how their family is put to the test once more when a famous actress (Natalie Portman) comes to stay with them in preparation for her playing Gracie in an upcoming film adaptation. The most refreshing about May December may well be that Haynes seems to be more interested in the characters' inner workings than the story's controversy in itself. Through Marcelo Zavros' score (a reorchestration of Michel Legrand's work for the film The Go-Between) and some exciting cuts and transitions, Haynes forefronts the story's edginess without making it tabloid or sensationalistic. In particular, there's an ever-present underlying tension in the juxtaposition of Joe's relationship with Gracie and how Liz is gradually becoming her mirror image. There are subtleties around every corner in here, and every plot and character development is open for interpretation. And when all is said and done, you may well feel that the film is just as critical of the movie business as it is of the choices made by the Gracie character. There are superb performances by the three leads, despite Moore's annoying and alternating lisp.

This is a remarkable story, and I commend Alexi Mostrous for trying to shed light on the increasing problem of catfishing and fraud on the internet. However, the journalism ethics in this podcast left a vapid aftertaste for me. The woman being accused of wrongdoing in the podcast has not been convicted of or even charged of any crime. Chances are that she didn't break any applicable laws, and as such, the whole case is a case of morals and ethics. I find it questionable that her name is dropped and she is outed in such a way that is done here. The ethics and standards of journalism should be strict - and for a good reason. Her voice and side of things are not heard, so for all we know, she could be seriously mentally ill.

Anders Matthesen returns with another outrageously funny forage into the world of our favourite kick-ass ninja doll and his 13-year-old master. The setup is largely the same as in the original, so for the first time in Matthesen's career, he can be accused of a slight copy+paste. But despite this, Ternet Ninja 2 has got enough funny exchanges and politically incorrect hilarities with its heart at the right place to make the sequel almost as fun and acute as the original. Brilliant voice acting by Herman Flesvig is the icing on the cake.

*** This review is based on the Norwegian audio version ***

Infectiously funny, visually striking and delightfully politically incorrect (and sometimes completely amoral) animated feature from Danish humourist Anders Matthesen. Although this is a classically constructed story with fairly conventional wrap-ups, the film is packed with original characters, events and dialogue throughout. It can be argued whether Terkel i knibe is a film suited for children (7 in Denmark/11 in Norway), but we all know the Danes as being thick-skinned people, so when uncle Stewart beats the crap out of the school punks, we can't help but enjoy it. For the Norwegian version actor Aksel Hennie has impressively voiced all characters.

*Review written in 2006 based on the Norwegian audio version.

This cinematic dissection of the Jarretts, an upper middle class family from an affluent Chicago suburb who are trying to deal with the death of their eldest teenage son and the attempted suicide of the younger, is so intimate and comprehensive that you feel you're being let in on something deeply private, not really meant for your eyes. Robert Redford's achievement in his directorial debut is remarkable, mainly because of the unusually authentic performances he extracts from his cast, but also in how acutely he understands and works the mechanisms for telling a story such as this one. The family drama movie will always be one slight misstep away from melodrama and cheap tears, but Ordinary People steers clear of this pitfall, not because it refrains from emotion, but because Redford never becomes too insistent. This is not an easy watch, however. You're asked to sit through and sympathise with a stagnant situation of dysfunctional family relations and suppressed grief. Still, it is constantly rewarding, because you feel you are watching real people and real problems which you may just partake in solving. You need to put in the work together with Conrad and his parents, but despite of this - or perhaps exactly because of it - Ordinary People opens you up and exposes you. Superb performances by the entire cast, but particularly by young Timothy Hutton as the son Conrad and Donald Sutherland as his father, cap off one of the best ever family drama movies.