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joakim-ericsson
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The Green Mile (1999)
A "Bridges of Madison County" for men
It's sometimes difficult to know what's able to hit you hard, until it actually hits you. I haven't had such an emotional reaction to a movie since E. T. when I was 10 years old.
First time I watched The Green Mile was a late, hot summer night. My girlfriend became too tired to watch a movie, so I decided to watch it by myself. Good call...
Frank Darabont's script and direction is flawless from the first frame to the last. Production design and acting as well. Story is very compelling and hits on all the emotional notes you can imagine. For anyone that has a problem with "the supernatural" as an ingredient in a story it might not be as strong. But if that's not an issue, you are in for an emotional ride.
If you ever had doubts about your deeds in life, and question if you are doing the right thing, with the potential of eternal judgement, this is a very strong story.
At the end I found myself sobbing loudly and uncontrollable. I was stunned that it hit me so hard. Glad I didn't watch it in the cinema, that would have been embarrasing :D
Still watch it at least ones a year, and though I can now control my reaction (because I know the story), it's still very moving and really makes me think about important stuff. Life, death, justice etc.
Can't recommend it enough, but talking about it with others, it seems you are either gonna be destroyed by it (like I was), or just think it was a good film.
My girlfriend got to see it the next day, but her reaction was nothing near mine. Remembering her reaction to "Bridges" though, which was uncontrollable.weeping, I realized that The Green Mile was basically a "Bridges" for men... At least some of us.
Masterpiece!
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Had to review this to balance out the hatred, it's quite good
You should always judge a product on its own merits. You don't bring your own personal/political garbage or punish it for earlier products by the maker. You don't need to like Disney and what it has become, but this show is more than OK. Best addition to SW since Rogue One and Mandalorian imo.
Not much filler, which is a nice exception for a TV show. Story and plot has a good pace, good characters and OK dialogue. Acting overall is good, and the show actually adds some nice lore to SW. Some emotional and touching scenes.
These days people are so unbalanced, 1 and 10 ratings galore, pretty silly.
I saw the OT in theaters, been a fan since. Thought the prequels were wasted potential until ROTS. Liked TFA even though it was maybe cynical fanbait, really disliked TLJ and TROS. Boba Fett was a weak show.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is pretty good, and unless episode 5 and 6 are trash (haven't seen them yet), I would recommend the show to any true SW fan.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
It was pretty allright
Polarized world these days. Lots of 1s and 10s. Objectivity and being reasonable seems to be a lost thing. I'm 47, saw the first one ever in the cinema 1980, as it was rereleased before Empire. Was hooked before that, as I saw glimpses on TV. Even wrote love letters to Carrie Fisher as a 5 year old. Is a big fan of SW, but not uncritical. Loved OT, still do. Prequels where pretty stale, though ROTS was OK. TFA was pretty good imo, R1 was fine, even liked Solo, and thought it got way worse reception than it deserved. TLJ was the worst ever. Rian Johnson is an OK director, but giving him story carte blanche was really stupid. How Disney could go into full production on a close to a billion dollar trilogy, without clearing a complete storyline is mindboggling. Don't think they will make that mistake again. So the new one: Messy. JJ had an almost impossible task, but almost pulled it off, imo. Lots of stuff to complain about, if you want to. But several moving scenes, and the heart seems like it is in the right place, even if it's all committe in the end. Not great, not bad. Could have been waaaaay worse. Star Wars is not dead in my book, and Mandalorian's first three episodes makes me even more sure about that.
The Mandalorian (2019)
A New Hope
So, it seems Disney have people who DO know how to do classical Star Wars after all. The stuff people really want. Not surprised, as Disney knows their storytelling... When they want to.
Simple but good and timeless hero's journey story.
Character, NOT FX focus.
Good mix of serious and humor.
A protagonist who is mysterious and not very talkative.
Classical redemption/moral story so far... Very promising.
Don't screw this up!
Don't understand much of the BS in the new trilogy, if you want to reinvent a great concept, you better know it's gonna make it better, not just having a cocky and self-indulgent hunch. Just because you make a ton of money, it doesn't mean you are good at your job :D
Anyway, GOOD STUFF!
First Man (2018)
Gripping, emotional, immersive, magical.
Wow! Never knew this was coming, missed the marketing (if any) completely. A very compelling and emotinal movie about exploring the unknown. Somehow it's grounded and realistically dry in its tone, but epic and emotionally overwhelming at the same time. Manages to make the astronaut experience very tactile and direct. Good attention to small details that you don't necessarily think about when it comes to spaceflight. Sound, 1st person view shots and overall tension makes this movie a great watch, especially if you have an interest in the subject. A great addition to The Right Stuff. Armstrong's personal journey is an emotional gut punch. Very, very good! Don't understand the low rating from some reviewers. Very strange! It's a great and very immersive movie.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Not bad! - And I didn't like Last Jedi
I was expecting nothing much, but was happily surprised. Good Star Wars feel, and an entertaining story. Lots of fan service, but most of it justified. Don't trust the haters, this is really an OK SW movie. Sad that Solo did worse than Last Jedi, which was pretty awful. I also think Alden Ehrenreich was good in this one, he reminds you of Harrison Ford's performance, but also manages to do his own thing. Not bad at all. The only critique I have is the grading and lighting in this movie. It looks too muted, moody, desaturated and "dark" for the story. This is a sort of matiné adventure film, and the grading was too much like a depressing post apocalyptic movie. Felt sort of off key, to be honest. But other than that, I enjoyed it a lot. Definitly worth a watch.
Annihilation (2018)
Intriguing, artsy, thought-provoking, visionary, and awesome
Was intrigued by this ever since watching the trailer. I was not dissappointed. This movie asks questions like: How do we deal with the unknown, what does it mean to be human, when do we stop to be human, what is human, what is our self? Is all change good, is all change evil? Very smart movie. If you don't like it it means: A- you don't like scifi, B- you don't like to think at all, or C- you think and over analyze too much. I like smart and thought provoking movies where you don't necessarily get every answer on a silver platter, something that requires you to think. I also don't like movies where it's evident that the makers just wanted to be artsy and weird, and had no idea of what they actually wanted to say or question. Watching this movie, I was hooked, intrigued and a bit scared all the way, it was hard to see how it would end.
SPOILERS!
Has elements of H.P Lovecraft's Color out of Space, The Thing, and Arrival, in a good combo. Also, visually borrows a bit from the game The Last of Us and the movie Under the Skin. Some very weird and artsy scenes that you probably won't appreciate unless you tried psychedelics. But, it is very cohesive if you give it a chance. If you like to pick things apart for a sport you'll probably find several flaws but nothing really bothered me. Also, half way through the movie I realized that ALL protagonists were females, and I hadn't even thought about it. In our days of PC, maybe the writers of Star Wars and other movies could learn from this one. Not many people have a problem with an "all" female cast, if the movie is good and doesn't have an overt political agenda. Just like Ex-Machina, this one was very good. 9/10, and the 9 is just because of some smaller (contrived feeling) conflicts between characters.
It (2017)
An honest review from a 40+ guy who read the book
Really liked it, but it's not perfect.
Hard to judge how much of the liking is because of the 80:s (like Stranger Things) nostalgia, but it's far from all of it.
+ Kids act great, especially "Ben Hanscom". Good touch and psychology in the coming of age scenes. Dark and serious social stuff in between the jump scares. Like most Steven King stories, the best parts are in between the horrors. As a member of my own hometown's "loser club", as a kid, I really felt like I was one or all of the protagonists. The film has a good heart. Pennywise is a great mix of a powerful, psychopathic, godlike entity, and a playful kid. Scary and sad at the same time. Music is good too.
- The pacing feels rushed, scenes are stacked on top of each other in a "too fast" tempo, just to stay true to the book. We don't have enough time to really get to know our young heroes. I feel this movie could really have benefited from being 30-45 minutes longer, or even better, a 5-10 hour TV series.
I think this story is hard to do justice in 2 hours of film, but it does a good job, the visuals are also great. Art direction and all.
Overall: Way, way better than the weirdly over appreciated 90:s TV series. I saw that as a teenager, who really looked forward to it as well. It sucked then, and it sucks now. Don't understand how that production was ever talked about by fans. Tim Curry might have been OK, but the dialogue, makeup, production value, and acting (except the kids) was horrible.
This adaptation is 10 times better. Recommend it, if you like this sort of stuff.
Alien: Covenant (2017)
A review for those who fear something as bad as Prometheus
Fear not. Better characters, who are actually likable. Not too contrived, people react and behave in a sort of professional manner. Natural dialogue, no forced conflicts or too many clichés. Designs feel more industrial and true to the original series, sort of like in between Prometheus and Alien. Less foggy and confused story, stuff actually make some sense in this flic. A big step up from Prometheus, but we have seen most of it before. Good protagonist and villain though. I recommend it. Weird that this is scored lower than the last movie. Guess all the mindless fanboys had too much impact at the release of Prometheus, when it landed on 8.9 or higher, can't remember. Prefer this movie any day of the week.
Dark Skies (2013)
Very underrated
Don't understand how this can be rated at only 6.3. This movie is very compelling and scary, with a great build up towards the crescendo. The way the protagonists handle a very unnatural phenomenon is extremely believable. The characters' actions and behavior remind me of The Excorcist in terms of realistic reactions in a story about the unknown. No contrived conflicts, no one acts like an idiot to make the pacing work. You also really sympathize with the family, who are having a sort of tough time, even before the weird stuff begins. A few weak acting moments, but nothing that ruins the movie. J.K Simmon's part is very good. His monologue is epic and bone chilling, in a minimalist way. Dark and scary from the get go, and with a creepy twist at the very end. Great horror/mystery that get's under your skin.
Children of Men (2006)
Probably the most underrated film of 2006
Simply amazing.
Where to start? Intense, dark, melancholic, but still with a strong sense of hope. Well done, with a realistic and naturalistic feel. Scary in its very plausible portrayal of our near future. A story along the same lines of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's A brave new world. This movie has the kind of eerie feeling: "Is this really gonna happen?"... "Maybe it's already happening?". Apparently based on a book by P.D James, which I didn't know when I saw the film. Makes me want to read other books by the same author. Children of Men might be a bit too dark for some people, but it is well worth the watch. And it is not as dark as The Road, if that is a good indicator. Intelligent and serious stuff, more than just mindless action sci-fi.
See it!
Prometheus (2012)
Hard to judge after just one first view...
Looked forward to this one for a year, at least.
Did it live up to my astronomical expectations... NO! But then again, what final result can ever live up to your vague, dreaming wishes? The movie has an interesting religious theme, great effects and an awesome concept.
Personally I think the first five, and last five minutes are the strongest. Those moments feel very real, epic and serious. Some things in the middle seem rushed/off, a longer cut might fix it.
All in all, interesting movie, not without flaws (in this cut), but a great two hours.
Team America: World Police (2004)
An underrated masterpiece
I am quite surprised at the mediocre IMDb rating this movie has.
Guess the explanation must be that no matter how brilliant it actually is, it is probably not for everyone. In my opinion this is Parker's and Stone's definite masterpiece, so far. Just the idea to use Thunderbirds-like puppets in creating a social satire action film that takes the p**s out of literally everyone, is outstanding.
The puppets/characters look funny without being too silly, the puppeteering is brilliant (even when it looks corny), the environments are very well done and quite beautiful, the cliché action B-movie style and blockbuster rip-offs are simply amazing (the more Hollywood action blockbusters you've seen, the funnier this movie will be), and the jokes vary from crude and silly to refined and clever satire. The songs in the musical parts are in a league of their own, and almost deserve their own review.
The first time I saw this movie was on DVD at a friends house. From the first minute I was collapsing from laughter, and it didn't stop until the movie was over. It was then 2 a clock in the morning, but I still asked my friend to borrow the DVD, then went straight home and watched it again, several times.
I sometimes watch this movie again, and it is still very entertaining.
Parker and Stone said that they will never do another puppet-movie, because it was such a nightmare making it. That is sad in one way, but on the other hand, they gave us this comedy masterpiece which will be very hard to top.
10 out of 10 BRAVO!!!
Ascension (2002)
Beware !
I really looked forward to see this movie. I am a big fan of horror/apocalypse stories and a religious/psychological twist is not a bad addition. On the cover it said that the movie was inspired by Tarkovskij, that the Writer/Director will become the next Lynch/Cronenberg. It had all these different movie festival price/selection tags. My thought was: Wow! this will be an awesome dark story that really scares you and it will probably mess with your head as well. Boy was I wrong. This is definitely one of the worst movies I have ever seen, and I have seen many bad ones. It has no story what so ever. Terrible, amateurish and quasi intellectual dialogue, luckily there isn't much of it. The visuals are extremely poor, no atmosphere and the cinematography is non existent. SPOILER WARNING - The movie is about three women (dressed in cloaks) of different ages that walk up the stairs in an old abandoned factory, only one makes it to the top... THAT'S IT. That takes 1 hour and 43 minutes so you can imagine how much time is wasted filming rusty staircases and old concrete walls... with a video camera. The whole movie feels like a bad high school movie project in every aspect, not only the budget. No offense to the makers, making movies is hard. But, having all these tags and recommendations from serious film festivals makes me question the knowledge and intellect of those people. Their only excuse would be if they were not sober when they watched/reviewed this movie. DON'T SEE IT! If this is considered good, I am definitely from the wrong planet.