Malarkey

Finns and their special way of telling the story of 21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage. The story was nonexistent. I wasn’t having any fun at all and most importantly, I didn’t even get to laugh. The only thing that was salvaging it was the lead actress and the interesting Finnish language. And also, the polar day setting and the final scene that said a lot about the movie as a whole.

At first I wondered why someone had this story filmed twice, in addition twice in the same year ... well, and then I read the director’s name and it became clear to me – Paul Greengrass. A theme literally made for him. In addition, I would perhaps rate the film even better if I did not see the original one, which was sufficiently shocking and, especially in filmmaking respect, absolutely excellent. But I thought I would try this one, too, out of my respect for this director. And I have a few complaints. Especially about the attack itself, which was done very sloppily. But as it forms only about a third of the film, the other two thirds are able to properly engage the viewer. It milks the audience’s emotions shamelessly, as it shows not only Breivik’s thought processes, which shock you every time he appears on the screen, but alsothe youths who survived his rampage, but didn’t live through it unscathed. It’s definitely some food for thought, but the best thing is the ending, where the victims’ fates are closed by a court proceedings. It could have been about a half an hour shorter, but on the other hand it’s a classic Greengrass, so everything, including the camera, feels so natural that you will feel like the happenings depicted affected you personally.

The first movie was absolutely crazy, so the second one is properly insane. For the first fifteen minutes, I was just staring at the two idiots with my mouth wide open and I wasn’t sure whether I’m supposed to laugh or stare like a stuck pig. It was obvious that it was so overdone on purpose and it all pretended to be awfully stylish, which was also complemented by the dance music itself. The story didn’t surprise me because they didn’t come up with anything new. They just swapped high school for college. But one-liners were plentiful; In fact, there were so many that I think that I must have overlooked a ton of cool and clever references to the 1990s in all that colorful fun. I don’t really like Hill or Tatum, but they were really putting on a show here and so I had good fun, I just had to get used to it.

A mediocre crime investigation movie that tries to be cool but it’s just average. But if nothing else, 84 minutes is a solid time to handle this – at times agonizing – movie. As far as story goes, it was just lacking. When I think about the fact that I don’t know anyone from the movie, I realize that the only memory I’ll have of this movie will be the fact that it was Spanish. It’s not shocking nor intriguing enough. This movie doesn’t have anything to make me remember it. It’s purely average, but a good attempt for Spain. I don’t remember seeing a similar movie they’ve made.

An absolutely average filmmaking job set in a popular environment for movies which aspire to be good.

The French Julie Delpy shot a relationship chill-out movie where dialogues have the most power. However, it also features some pretty weird people and sometimes also pretty weird artists. Oddly enough, in this movie, Chris Rock is the most normal person walking around New York at that time. It’s a nice chill-out flick. Nothing special, but the crazy French family is flawless. If nothing else, that makes it worth watching.

I didn’t expect I would be so surprised by this Swedish threesome. The movie has a strong 1990s feeling from the very beginning. The two main characters are awesome. One of them is a total horndog and the other one is a total nerd. And then there is a super hot, super horny chick. And that’s a really cool combination and a lot of fun. Later the film starts to be more serious and fully reflects the sex topic. I am not a fan of similar scenes but here it was bearable. Mainly because of the relaxed atmosphere of the university dorm. And thanks to that I actually finished the movie.

I finally got to see an action movie that brought me everything that I wanted and expected from a good American action movie. A good duo who like one another in the beginning, then they don’t and then they do once again. Great action, amazing one-liners, a good story and some ironic humor that the movie wouldn’t be half as good without. It’s just a shame (for the Americans, that is) that it was filmed by an Icelander. On the other hand, I must congratulate him for being able to establish himself in Hollywood this well. If he goes on shooting movies like this, I won’t be the one complaining. I felt like I did when I watched Lethal Weapon, which is something I haven’t felt in five years or so.

If there is a movie that is outright political, it’s this flick called 3000 Nights. I would personally really love to know what the Israelis themselves would have to say about the things that this film narrates. I would personally feel pretty ashamed of my own nation. You see this movie thell the story of a Palestinian teacher who not only, but mainly because of her faith ends up in prison with murderers and violent felons and she is literally trying to survive there. What makes it even worse is that her sentence is not lawful, but that it is purely politically motivated, which is the most disgusting thing that shows what kind of people still live among us. The movie made me feel incredibly sad because it shows what is happening on the Palestinian border. And even though I believe that the Israelis will have a thousand arguments to explain why things are the way they are, I don’t think this is a story they would like the world to know.

If it weren’t for Eva Green, there would barely be a third of the movie. Her charm has breathed life into this adaptation which is far more like a comic book movie than the first 300. It all stands or falls on whether she appears on the screen. Anyways, I was sort of sick and tired of this comic book feel. The first 300 was stylish and raw. But I’d compare this one to Sin City. Everything is purposely fake and wannabe cool. I’m not saying that it was disappointing, I’m really not. But it practically has just a single ace up its sleeve – Eva Green. Everything else is awfully fleeting.