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2011-03-20T21:11:00.001+01:00

Kosmorama 2010 - reviews

2010-03-18T19:38:00.012+01:00

The festival is over and here are my thoughts on the movies I saw. All in all it was a great festival, but then again, how bad can it be to watch movies all day long :P

My Name is Khan (India)
An Indian boy with Asperger syndrome moves to USA and meets the love of his life. This is a LONG movie. It contains too many stories and all in all it's not believable or realistic.

The shock doctrine (UK)
An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance. Interesting ideas that keep you thinking throughout the movie and can stir up quite the discussion. Really worth a look.

Sergio (USA)
This is a documentary about the life and work of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and the rescue operation when he was trapped and injured by a bomb explosion at UN headquarters in Baghdad. It's a very personal movie which moves you in a way you wouldn't expect from a documentary.

R (Denmark)
GO SEE! It's a powerful movie from the great nation of Denmark. We follow Rune who is convicted of murder and incarcerated. Life in prison is no joke. Apparently were all the situations based on true stories and the only professional actor in the movie is Rune - the others are former inmates, some even served time in the closed prison used in the movie.

Lebanon (Israel/Germany)
We follow 4 young Israeli soldiers during the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. They are sent with a tank to search a hostile town, a simple mission that turns into a nightmare. This movie shows so clearly how there are no winners in war and that no matter which side you are on people have the same emotions.

Francesca (Romania)
Wanting to follow the current trend, Francesca, a young teacher from Bucharest, is eager to emigrate to Italy. The plan is that her boyfriend, Mita, is going to join her in Italy as soon as he closes the small business he runs. Things take an unfortunate turn and priorities change. I found the story to be somewhat boring, but the movie itself is nicely made.

Ander (Spain)
Ander, a farmer well into his forties, lives with his sister Arantxa and his old mother in a remote part of rural Basque country. One day Ander has an accident and breaks his leg. Against his mother's wishes, the family decides to employ a Peruvian immigrant, José, in order to help out with the farm work. When he invites José to Arantxa's wedding this leads to a serious clash with his mother. And then, at a completely unexpected moment, a sexual encounter occurs between the two men. A sweet story but it is slightly too long and the colors faded which is a shame as this is shot in beautiful surroundings.

Eyes Wide Open (Israel)
A married, Orthodox Jewish father of four falls in love with a twenty two year old male student. A wonderful story about love in the most forbidden way.

Leo's Room (Uruguay/Argentina)
Leo, a young man coming to terms with his own sexuality, runs into Caro, a primary school friend he fancied when they were kids, who's now trying to ward off her own personal demons. This casual re-encounter will affect their personal conflicts without either truly grasping the others problem. This was the third gay themed movie of the day, and of the three I found Eyes wide open to be more interesting, but Leo's Room was entertaining and light but still with some thought worthy topics.

Ein Augenblick Freiheit (France/Austria/Turkey)
We follow a group of Iranian refugees that travel to Turkey in the search for a new and better life. It has a good combination humor, sadness and realness to it. It's not the most compelling movie I've seen but it is definitely worth a look.

Blessed (Australia)
This is probably the best movie of the festival. So powerful and so wonderfully made. During the first part we follow 7 lost children with a strong backdrop of contemporary Melbourne. Then the movie changes perspectives and we follow the mothers of these children. This change is quite interesting filmatically and narratively. A well made movie with a strong story!

En ganske snill mann (Norway)
This movie from Norwegian top director Hans Petter Moland was such a surprise. It's hilarious and Stellan Skarsgård does an amazing job as the main character. I have never laughed this hard of a Norwegian movie.

Snøhulemannen (Norway)
Sverre has lived in snow caves the last 30 years. This documentary takes us on a fantastic journey of the Norwegian countryside. A funny, philosophical and poignant film about total freedom.

Kosmorama 2010 - Part II

2010-03-11T00:32:00.002+01:00

On popular demand, here comes the complete list with notes. If it doesn't make sense, it's because it was originally meant for only me. Some explanation of notes can be found at the bottom.

Film	IMDB	Kommentar
Sergio	8,6	M=9, få votes (52) men bra vektet! NUSV=8,2
Cafe Noir	8,6	NB. 12 votes, men høy skåre!!
Leo's room	8,5	Kun 12 votes. M=8
Mary og Max	8,3	Mange votes!! M=9
R	8,1	M=8, få votes (20) men bra vektet!
Et øyeblikk frihet	8,1	NB! Bra vektet
Djevelens trekkspill	8	M=8, bra vektet
The children of Diyarbakir	7,9	M=9, 40 votes totalt. NUSV=7,5
Soundtrack for a revolution	7,8	M=8, få votes (34) NUSV=7,5 Top1000V=8,0.
Northless	7,8	M=7 Bare 33 votes
Libanon	7,8	M=8, bra vektet Non-US voters.
The bone man	7,7	M=8, NUSV=7,7 1200 votes totalt
On the way to school	7,7	M=8, men like mange 10ere som 8ere.
Lola	7,7	Kun 15 votes. M=8
Jalainur	7,7	NB! Flest 7ere, trolig snakk om 7,2
Eastern plays	7,7	NB! 7,8 el mer. Mange 10ere
Francesca	7,6	44% 10ere!!
Air doll	7,6
White material	7,5	M=7, bra vektet.
The little one	7,5	M=7, 63 votes.NUSV=7,1
I love you phillip Morris	7,5	42% 10ere!
Er Dong	7,5	Bare 10 votes men bra vektet.
En ganske snill mann	7,5	Flest 7ere og 8ere.
The general	7,4	M=10 (45%) Hmm.. Høyt USV, lavt NUSV.
The Descent	7,4	M=8, MANGE votes. NUSV=7,5
Ordinary people	7,4	Flest 10ere (29%) men mange 1ere (16%) 93 votes
Operasjon froskeegg	7,4	Barnefilm
The day will come	7,3	M=8, 41 votes totalt. NUSV=7,0
Samson and Delilah	7,3	M=8, ca 800 votes.
Katalin Varga	7,3	X=7,5 M=8, virker dog bra vektet
the shock doctrine	7,2	M=7, Bra vektet.
Med åpne øyne	7,2	Flest 8ere
Ander	7,2
The day God walked away	7,1	M=6, 33 votes totalt. NUSV=6,5
Sensommerlunsj i Roma	7,1	M=7
Night and fog	7,1	M=7
London river	7,1	M=7
Desert flower	7,1
The last days of emma blank	7	M=7. 400 votes.
Blessed	7	flest 10ere
9'	7
Paju	6,9	M=7 59 votes bra vektet.
My name is Khan	6,9	NB! M=10 50% 10ere!!
Ajami	6,9
Shifty	6,8	M=7, 600 votes. NUSV=6,9 Top1000V=6,5
Bodyguards and assassins	6,8
At the end of daybreak	6,8
Amreeka	6,8
The house of the devil	6,6	M=7 NUSV=6,3
Kaniksen	6,6	M=7, 38 votes totalt. NUSV=6,5
Petropolis	6,5	NB! 20 votes. M=8,5
I'm gonna explode	6,4	Sykt mange 1ere.
The limits of control	6,2	M=7. Jim Jarmusch men dårlig blant alle.
Mum and dad	6	M=7 (mange votes)
Angel at sea	5,9
There	5,8	Flest 10ere (33%) av totalt 27 votes. NUSV=5,9
Ashes and blood	5,8
Nattsug	4,5	M=6 Bare 24 votes
Fog		Ingen votes
The revenant	?	Ingen karakter oppgitt.
Snøhulemannen	?	Ingen votes
Queer China, Comrade China	?	Ingen votes
Kampen om Thamshavnbanen	?
Ghost town	?	Finner ikke filmen, men regissør på imdb
En helt vanlig dag på jobben	?

X= gjennomsnitt
M= Median
NUSV= Non US voters
USV= US voters
Top1000V= Top 1000 voters

KOSMORAMA 2010

2010-03-10T15:29:00.007+01:00

It's finally time for the 6th annual film festival in Trondheim - Kosmorama! Everyone applauds and pees a little in their pants from joy - atleast I do. I give you the list of movies rated from best to lowest (in IMDB votes)! It should be noted that many of the movies only have a couple of votes and may be biased in rating. My personal list includes references to which movies that apply to, but due to difficulties in posting those (mainly cause I hardly understand my own notes) I won't post those. But if you want input just ask me :) There are also a couple of movies on the program not listed here and that is because of the lack of votes or entry on IMDB. On those you are on your own. As always there are a couple of MUST sees, some movies with 7,2+ that might be good or might be bad. Those under 7,2 are a risk, but in those cases I would recommend checking the number of votes and other reviews on the world wide web. Have loads of fun and enjoy the festival! Let the fun commence!

Sergio	8,6
Cafe Noir	8,6
Leo's room	8,5
Mary og Max	8,3
R	8,1
Et øyeblikk frihet	8,1
Djevelens trekkspill	8
The children of Diyarbakir	7,9
Soundtrack for a revolution	7,8
Northless	7,8
Libanon	7,8
The bone man	7,7
On the way to school	7,7
Lola	7,7
Jalainur	7,7
Eastern plays	7,7
Francesca	7,6
Air doll	7,6
White material	7,5
The little one	7,5
I love you phillip Morris	7,5
Er Dong	7,5
En ganske snill mann	7,5
The general	7,4
The Descent	7,4
Ordinary people	7,4
Operasjon froskeegg	7,4
The day will come	7,3
Samson and Delilah	7,3
Katalin Varga	7,3
the shock doctrine	7,2
Med åpne øyne	7,2
Ander	7,2
The day God walked away	7,1
Sensommerlunsj i Roma	7,1
Night and fog	7,1
London river	7,1
Desert flower	7,1
The last days of emma blank	7
Blessed	7
9'	7
Paju	6,9
My name is Khan	6,9
Ajami	6,9
Shifty	6,8
Bodyguards and assassins	6,8
At the end of daybreak	6,8
Amreeka	6,8
The house of the devil	6,6
Kaniksen	6,6
Petropolis	6,5
I'm gonna explode	6,4
The limits of control	6,2
Mum and dad	6
Angel at sea	5,9
There	5,8
Ashes and blood	5,8
Nattsug	4,5

Upcoming movies

2010-01-15T07:24:00.003+01:00

Since the bus left without me I have some time to drink my morning coffee and surf the interwebz. There are a lot of good movies coming in the next couple of months. Not to mention that Kosmorama is in march. Yay! Here's a couple of movies to look forward to:

Alice in Wonderland - Yay, we love Tim Burton and his team! Johnny Depp and Burton's wife Helena Bonham Carter is ofcourse in this flick too. We love them all!

Where the wild things are - Spike Jonze has adapted this 10 sentence book into moving pictures. I'll see the Norwegian version next week, will let ya know.

The road - based on Cormac McCarthy's bestseller book.

Invictus - Clint Eastwoods new movie. Will be in theatres february 5th.

Shutter Island - Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio...

Loads to look forward to and more to come when I have more time!

Stardust

2009-12-26T23:51:00.004+01:00

So I just saw stardust again as it was showing on tv and I can't help to think that it's a really cool movie. It's the classic anti-hero fairytale that gets me in a good mood. It's actually very witty and the story is creative, fun and sweet. It doesn't fall into the the typical romantic comedy pit falls with the hero saving the day, but rather he messes up and falls alot.. and then I guess he saves the day. The cast does a great job in my opinion and it's the perfect magical fairytale feel good movie for any grey, cold day or sunny shiny day.. Whatever tickles your fancy. Seeing as I've seen it (sadly enough) 3 times, I seem to be at a loss of words.. you see.... I guess the point being; it's definitely worth a watch for those adventure junkies out there, and you know who you are!

Avatar

2009-12-22T10:23:00.007+01:00

The long awaited James Cameron movie "Avatar" is finally here. James Cameron, behind Aliens and Terminator I and II and a little known movie called Titanic, has been on the slow side the past decade. After watching Avatar I can see why. The graphics alone must have taken years. The visual aspect of the movie is pure ecstasy for the eyes. I had goose bumps for 3 hours straight. It was so visually stunning that the rather simple story was ignored. The colors, the amazing graphics, the wonderful play on light and of course the characters were soaked up and after 3 hours I wished I could have more. It's my new drug of choice. However, a sequel MUST have a better plot. Cameron is good on epic movies, but not for the imaginative stories. Avatar is a classic good vs. evil story. The RDA (Resource Development Administration) the largest single non-governmental organization in human space are a bunch of gold diggers looking for Unobtainium, a highly valuable mineral found on the moon Pandora which humans mine to save the earth from its energy crisis. Together with a military force they dig and destroy Pandora in search of Unobtainium. A research team is also located on Pandora and to encourage diplomacy between humans and the Na'vi they develop so-called Avatars. These avatars look like the Na'vi species, but are controlled by the humans they are made from through a link. Jake Sully is recruited to this research project after his brother a Phd working with the avatars, died. Jake Sully, a former marine, got injured in battle and is in a wheel chair. As an avatar he is able to run, jump and all that jazz which instantly makes him like the new world. Long story short; he tries to save Pandora from the big bad company.

The movie has several peaks, with the main climax being the battle for the tree of souls. If it wasn't for the amazing visual expression the movie would have been a long, boring one-dimensional crap fest. Of course the movie does have some relevance for todays climate crisis, but I doubt it will have any profound impact on todays social conscience. WALL-E does that better in my opinion.

Avatar is an epic movie. It has pictures out of this world. My visual cortex will be completely satisfied for at least a couple of weeks after this. The 3D makes it even more spectacular. It isn't the most innovative movie story wise, but if you can ignore that, then you are in for a real treat of a movie.

Once upon a time there was a blog...

2009-12-19T23:12:00.003+01:00

Wow, long time no post... Loads of music experiences, movies and books later and the blog has been on hiatus. Maybe because there is nothing to procrastinate from. The most recent happenings would however be the Mew concert in Oslo a couple of weeks ago which was awesome times three. We had gallery seats which wasn't ideal, but I can pick out Jonas Bjerre from a mile away even without glasses so I couldn't be happier. They started out with the good classics at which point I might have shed a tear sadly enough, and went over to some new tunes. In all the played 6 new songs which is ok, since I still haven't gotten used to the "new" sound. Mew will be performing in Trondheim on february 12th and tickets have already been acquired :D

On monday I'm gonna see Avatar which I'm very much looking forward too. The trailer isn't too convincing in my opinion although I do get the obligatory nerdy chills when I see blue sci-fi creatures running around. It's James Cameron so I'm putting all my faith into that. The man hasn't made anything in a looong while so this better be good! Norwegian critics seem to be positive to the movie giving it 4s and 5s (out of 6).

Is there anything else worth mentioning? Hmm.. no new tv-shows that I like. True blood was a huge disappointment. The series has potential, but it insists on being this emo retarded thing with no deeper meaning than being about vampires. Yeah, it's in the south, yeah it's about vampire racism, but they don't play this further into the current sociopolitical state. It could easily have been paralleled with gay-lesbian rights and the prejudice against Arabs post 9/11, but they insist on sticking to the emo crap when they come close to anything even resembling some criticism of today's society. The intro is seriously the best thing about the damn show.

Well, I shall lay my head to sleep and dream of blue night elven looking creatures. Yes, very sad indeed that I dream of blue elves instead of.. well.. anything other than that would be acceptable.

2009-08-15T17:26:00.001+02:00

The new Mew single :D

More at www.mewsite.com

Back in the blogsphere

2008-11-23T17:06:00.003+01:00

Thesis delivered and it's TV season! So much to watch and so little time. That might change soon as Pushing Daises has not been picked up for season 2.5 and thus ends with 22 episodes. What a shame. It's probably one of my favorite shows. Fullers talents will not go to waste as he is likely to return to Heroes, but still, it's not the same. Unfortunately it seems they ended with a cliffhanger that obviously will not be followed up so it's too bad they weren't able to wrap up the series. It's talk of continuing the series in cartoon form so that the story will continue there, but it's all rather new, so we will see. I know I'm going to watch the last 4 or 5 episodes religiously with as much candy, hot chocolate and attention they deserve. On that not I'm going to go cry a little in the bath room, brb.

Ok, all cried out and ready to move on. Guitar hero seems to be the everyman's rock dream, and there's nothing like cranking up the star power and go full out! Now, I'm still on medium so I shouldn't brag too much, but these guys are pretty awesome!

David Lynch

2008-08-29T23:21:00.003+02:00

Awesome!

David Lynch on product placement

David Lynch on watching movies on a phone. (notice the setup of the clip though with the cozy apple music and the convenient "iPhone" in bold at the end - someone's been having some fun)

The Visitor

2008-08-21T14:58:00.005+02:00

The Visitor is coming to Norwegian theatres this friday and was given a 6 (out of 6 possible) in one of the biggest Norwegian newspapers. Grounds to look further into the movie! It's by the director of The Station Agent and the producer of Sideways, which turns up the anticipation even more. It's apparently about a university professor who has a rather straight forward life which doesn't really fulfill him. After the loss of his wife he shut down emotionally and doesn't find any pleasure in living. During a trip to New York for a conference, two foreigners (a man from Syria and a woman from Senegal) are living in his apartment due to a misunderstanding. But as it turns out, this meeting will be his awakening. There seems to be some sort of political agenda in the movie, but according to the norwegian review this is done in a subtle way.

The trailer didn't really mesmerize me, but considering the rating of 8.1 at imdb and the review in Dagbladet it is definitely worth a look.

HIMYM Season 4

2008-08-20T12:28:00.002+02:00

They are back on set and filming for the new season yay :D It's sad though that all the focus is on the guest stars such as Britney and that other fella they talk about appearing this upcoming season, cause the show in itself is awesome! Seriously, who cares about them! Neil Patrick Harris is funneh! "Look away Josh Radnor, look away".

Watchmen

2008-08-17T22:23:00.005+02:00

Zack Snyder, the director of 300 is currently working on Watchmen which is based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore. The comic was released in 1986-1987 and became an acclaimed piece of litterature. The writer set out to do a comic for adults and so Watchmen is not the straight forward superhero comic, but rather superheroes flawed. The movie is highly anticipated and according to the crew working on Watchmen, the movie is very true to the novel. It's already been filmed but the release isn't until 2009, so this trailer might ease the wait.

Everything is illuminated

2008-08-13T22:32:00.004+02:00

Everything is illuminated was shown at the film festival Kosmorama 2 years ago but I wasn't able to see it. I did see it this weekend and it is a sweet little movie. Jonathan is a collector. He collects everything of value to him and puts it in small bags. This obsession as one might call it, started after his grandfather died. Now on the deathbed of his grandmother he is given a picture of his grandfather and a woman that saved his life during World War II. Jonathan sets out to find this woman. He hires a rather disturbed tour guide company and the guide, his seeing eye dog and the grandson take young Jonathan on a trip he will never forget. The images are beautiful and the nature is stunning. The characters seem a bit stereotypical at times. There's the grumpy grandfather, the strict waitress that only serves meat and the somewhat dim-witted grandson that loves Michael Jackson. It atleast feels like they try to portray the east european culture to it's full extent. When (if) you get past that then it's a nice, witty and a little bit sad movie. 7.7 on imdb - maybe a tinsy bit lower in my opinion.

Fun fact: The actor playing the grandson is the front man for Gogol Bordello. Saw them at both the Roskilde festival and the Quart festival and although it's not my kind of music they sure know how to put on a show and put you in a good mood no matter what! It's a lively bunch and they just go nuts on stage!

The Last Kiss

2008-08-09T00:14:00.004+02:00

The Last Kiss (2006) is an american movie based on the italian L'Ultimo Bacio from 2001. I haven't seen the italian one so I don't know how the two movies are compared to each other. The director behind The Last Kiss has mostly done tv series in the past, but the screenwriting is by Paul Haggis - the acclaimed writer behind movies like Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima and In The Valley of Elah. The Last Kiss is centered around Michael and his girlfriend Jenna who are expecting a baby. Both are quite young, in their late 20s and the bigger story in The Last Kiss is about relationships. Not only are Michael and Jenna having problems, but so are their friends and Jenna's parents. I think the movie has a lot of potential and the directing is quite nice, nothing over the top. It's a quiet movie and the issues at hand are presented in a subtle way. The issues the character have to face are placed in the grey areas of life where things aren't certian or purely one thing or another which is good. However, I didn't feel the movie lived up to it's full potential. They have a great writer on board, the pictures were nice, most of the actors did a good job and the music was... nostalgic... Coldplay, Athlete and Turin Brakes to mention some... There are several stories in this movie and we never got to know all of them very good. The main focus was entirely on Michael and Jenna and a certain incident they had to resolve. I think the movie could have been richer had we been able to see more of the other stories as well, which may have tied together the overall theme a bit better. It's a relatively short movie, only 1 hour and 30 minutes so a little more meat to the film couldn't hurt. It's got a 6.7 on imdb which I think is a bit low and I would give it a 7.2.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2008-08-06T21:04:00.006+02:00

1 years has passed in the real world but in the magical land of Narnia it's been 1300 years. Yeah, this is the follow up to Disney's production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from 2005. As a kid I was a fan of the BBC production of Narnia and I was very sceptical back in 2005 to whether the Disney version would be all glossy and disney-like. The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe wasn't all that bad in my opinion. It could have been much worse, but I guess they were able to constrain themselves and keep it relatively close to the british BBC production. I especially liked Tilda Swinton's performance as the White Witch. So my memory before the age of 8 is kinda sketchy so I for some reason only remember watching The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe and none of the other 3 BBC productions. That leaves the slate somewhat clean when I am to make up an opinion for Disney's Prince Caspian.

Well, the kids are still kids, running around with huge swords when they in real life probably aren't allowed to run with scissors. Prince Caspian, a Telmarine, is about to be killed by his uncle when his professor saves him and sends him for the woods. He receives a magic horn and is asked to use it only in the case of an emergency. The four siblings are back in London and when Prince Caspian uses the horn they are all transported to Narnia. Together with the creatures in the woods they decide to help Prince Caspian take back his throne, and the battle with the Telmarines begins. Narnia has received some heat for its religious and sexist undertones and they are still there. I think that in 2008 the most prominent and most annoying with these kinds of tales is the fact that the boys with their swords decide what to do, but the girls have to be quiet and do what the boys tell them to do, and of course in the end the girls save the day. It's very stereotypical and kinda boring. The religious connotations are subtle in my opinion, and had I not been aware of them I 'm not sure I would even notice them. Once I was aware of this link they were easy to spot though. The movies are based on the books from the 50s and it wouldn't be Narnia if it wasn't like that. So i guess the question is, do we need Narnia in 2008? In the end it's a pretty straight forward movie that doesn't take any unexpected turns. It's a fantasy movie which is good entertainment, but it's not a movie I will keep thinking about in years to come. I liked The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe more than Prince Caspian as it was more imaginative and the story was more interesting. In this film they have already established the backstory so the main focus of the film was on the big fight against the Telmarins, which to be honest wasn't all that exciting.
Trailer here

House season 5 promo

2008-08-06T13:38:00.005+02:00

From a psychological standpoint I'm really looking forward to see how House and Wilson can come out of this. Both characters are so well written and how they interact with each other is for me atleast the most interesting part of the show. I think it's going to be quite the treat seeing how House copes with this and also how they will begin to patch things up.

Jubilee with Maynard and Trent

2008-08-06T11:08:00.004+02:00

This has to be a great partnership :D Maynard James Keenan contributed with some vocals on this track by Jubilee, and Trent Reznor programmed the drumbeats for it.

Tool

2008-08-03T00:44:00.004+02:00

Damn youtube and it's "related videos" section... you can end up there for hours! Anyways, I was doing some music video searches and ended up finding some Tool interviews. Tool is a band that does very few interviews but there are a couple on there. Thought I'd post one of them here. Everyone in the band keeps a low profile and as the vocalist and "main figure" of the band, Maynard is by the music industry portrayed as an almost mythical creature. I for one admire how they let the music take first place, cause to be honest that is the main thing. Another thing is that Tool's music is quite rich so to give the music its full attention during a consert I find it refreshing that they don't try to give us a flaming show with the band members raising hell, but rather let the music and backdrop images play together to create the ultimate visual and auditory experience. With that being said, I think it's about time they do a score for a movie.

Part 1

Part 2

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along

2008-07-29T10:24:00.002+02:00

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along is once again available, official and for free at this site. (Some ads this time around)

The Dark Knight

2008-07-28T21:14:00.006+02:00

Wow... for so many reasons. There's been a lot of hype around the latest Batman movie and to come out of the theatre not being dissapointed says alot. First of all, it's a Batman movie. We've all seen the classic Batman movies featuring George Clooney, Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton but this doesn't even come close to those. Batman movies have been more or less straight forward with the typical heroes and bad-guys and very accesible (without sounding condecending.. they have all been easy to follow by a large audience) The Dark Knight turns the stereotypical hero/enemy picture upside-down and then a little to the side. The Joker played by Heath Ledger is a great character and becomes even better by his great performance. He doesn't seem like the typical bad guy as he seems insecure and not in control. He stutters and walks without confidence. His weapon of choice is psychological terror and simple dynamite. He doesn't aim to get rich or rule the world, he just does what he does for the fun of it. Refreshing to see a character that does somthing out of the simple pleasure of it (even if it's mean) instead of having motives like money, fame or power. Alot of the movie is carried by the Joker in my opinion.

Secondly, the story in itself is also rather sophisticated and not very predictable. The plot takes a lot of turns and the characters first thought of as the good guys might end up doing some bad things which keeps things interesting. Batman himself played by Christian Bale has to struggle with being hated by the people, not so much for the things he does interestingly enough, but for the consequences of his presence in Gotham City.

Last but not least, much of The Dark Knight's success should be assigned to Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige and Batman Begins), who has given this cartoon character substance along with rich supporting characters, an interesting story, a dark Gotham City and morals not often seen in a Hollywood blockbuster. Batman is the hero but not for obvious reasons like him being able to kick ass and drive around in fancy cars, but because he does what is best for Gotham City, even if that doesn't make him a hero in the eyes of the people of Gotham.

I was very surprised at how interesting and rich this movie was considering it is yet another Batman movie. It does ofcourse have its moments with flashy cars and pretty girls but to the large extent this movie is everything it shouldn't be which I think is why it's been such a success.

NIN The Slip Physical Release

2008-07-25T15:32:00.002+02:00

Some time ago NIN released the new album free to download from www.nin.com as a thanks to the fans thoughout the years. The album has now been released in a physical release with a bonus DVD edition and six-panel layout, 24 page booklet and an exclusive three sticker set.

The bonus DVD includes 5 live performances filmed during rehearsals for
Nine Inch Nails' upcoming tour, including album tracks Echoplex, 1,000,000
and Letting You.

The Slip digipaks will be LIMITED to 250,000 pieces only!

For more information go to: http://theslip.nin.com/physical

For a free download of the album go here.

Premiere dates for next seasons Tv-shows (Fall 2008)

2008-07-22T13:20:00.008+02:00

16. September
- House MD (season 5)

22. September
- How I met your mother (season 4)
- The Big Bang Theory (season 2)
- Heroes (season 3)

01. October
- Pushing Daisies (season 2)

Battlestar Galactica (cont. season 4) Jan. 2009

Pushing Daisies

2008-07-20T16:44:00.011+02:00

I stumbled over a new tv show the other day called Pushing Daisies and after the first episode I was pleasently surprised. In my opinion it's a combination between Amélie, Tim Burtons universe and a hint of six feet under. The bright colors and kind of naive universe reminds me of Amélie, while the almost absurdly strange characters are familiar from Tim Burtons world, and the subtle six feet under part comes from the sort of sadness that comes from dealing with death, and the fact that the two main characters aren't able to touch. This last comparison to Six feet under may not be obvious outside the inner workings of my tiny brain, but i kind of think that the main character bears a silent and gloomy persona. So far there is only 1 season released and due to the writers strike season 1 only contains 9 episodes. Already the main character has been nominated for an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series and the show has got another 11 Emmy nominations.

A clip from the show. Notice how great that voiceover is. Just ties the mood of the show together.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

2008-07-20T11:54:00.006+02:00

Joss Whedon has made a Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along starring Neil Patrick Harris (How i met your mother) and Nathan Fillon (Firefly). There are 3 episodes available today only, as the 3 acts have been released during the past week. The free viewings end today and will be purchasable though iTunes after today. I watched them last night and acts II and III are quite amusing.
Check them out on http://drhorrible.com/

Mamma Mia

2008-07-16T13:05:00.006+02:00

So I wasn't going to write about Mamma Mia here cause I don't find it worty words, but I'm bored so why not. Well, it wasn't great. Not sure what i expected, thought it was going to be a shallow summer movie, but it was even worse. It was a shallow summer movie with horrible acting, bad directing and just an orgie in bad choreography and ABBA songs. Now, I've never been a fan of musicals on film, but I did enjoy Sweeney Todd. I think the main consern about Mamma Mia is that they basically filmed a theatrical version. Never did it feel like a movie. There were long scenes, overdramatic gestures and stereotypical dance moves. I guess this is something that works in the theatre, but in a movie it becomes way too much. Last but not least, NO ONE is that happy all the time! Freakin annoying! It's got a 7.8 (!?!) on imbd, but you should definitely check out the score breakdown as it's not very balanced between sex and age. Go see it in the theatres or wait for a real movie, this one is not worth it.
Trailer here

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2008-07-04T12:47:00.003+02:00

Now I've been a fan of the sitcom "How i met your mother" for years and had a certain idea of what to expect from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The main character in the movie isn't very different from Marshall in himym, which may have something to do with the fact that Jason Segel playing Marshall wrote the script for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I've never been a fan of teenage comedies and knowing that this was an Apatow production did make me somewhat sceptical. I once started watching Superbad which is another acclaimed Apatow production, but ended up turning it off half way through cause I found it horribly embarresing. Knocked up wasn't that great either, although it did receive some good critics. I was very positively surprised by Forgetting Sarah Marshall as the comedy and story is much more "grown up" than in other Apatow productions. The main character gets dumped while naked (which actually did happen to the writer Jason Segel in real life) and this is just one of many sad but sympathetic situations we get to see of Peter. Who hasn't been watching tv in pj's crying over a bowl of ice cream? It's time the heartbroken boy gets to come out of his shell. The movie has alot of funny lines which makes for an entertaining movie experience. A nice movie if you need a good laugh. Trailer here

21

2008-07-04T12:20:00.005+02:00

A couple of weeks ago I was given som free tickets to see 21. I went with a friend and neither of us had any idea of what the movie would be like. I think i did a quick imdb check on it before we left and at that point it had a 7.0 or something. I also knew that it was based on a true story which i think made it a little bit more interesting. 21 is about a group of MIT students, with the help of a professor, learn how to count cards so that they can win money by gambling in Las Vegas. Together they create a system so that the casinos don't see the scam. The main character in this film initially has some doubts, but as he is denied a scholaship and he needs 300.000$ for Harvard medical school, decides to join in afterall. Now it all starts out well, they win alot of money and everyone is happy and go for a major shopping spree at the hotels designer stores. Very glamorous. Then personal issues starts to lurk and it all goes horribly wrong.

It's an entertaining movie, I'll give it that. The music is tailored and holds the movie thoughout. But, it's all very unrealistic. I would think this being based on a true story they could have made it more... ehm.. realistic? There is alot of expensive designer clothes, flashing lights, alchohol, money, shoes, bags, makeup.. the works! It's like they are trying to sell the idea of how fun money can be, instead of telling the story that easily could hold its own without all the flashy bits. Now I love a movie involving anything science related and it doesn't get more nerdy than math.. But insead the focus of the entire movie was on the glamorous life of wealth and fortune, with the intelligent part being just the backdrop. A rating of 6.9 being well deserved.
Trailer here

There will be blood

2008-07-03T00:22:00.011+02:00

This has been a long awaited movie from Paul Thomas Anderson, director behind award winning movies like Magnolia, Punch-drunk love and Boogie Nights. After a long break he returned to the movies with the highly anticipated There will be Blood. The movie is set in early 20th century and is centered around the character Daniel Plainview (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) who by luck finds oil while mining for silver. He then sets out to find more oil and by accident one of his workers gets killed which makes Daniel the caregiver for the workers young kid. This turns out to be a conflicting relationship as Daniel uses this father-son bond to portray himself as a dependable businessman when he travel the US to buy land to extract oil. We follow Daniel from the beginning of his career as an oil man to the end where he sits alone in his huge estate, having lost the relationships he once had. The character of Daniel is both sympathetic and less sympathetic. He does a good job of protecting the young kid he brings with him, but then again it's a relationship he exploits to put his business in a better light. The movie can be seen in light of recent oil related interests in Iraq, with disastrous consequences. With that being said, the movie is based upon the novel "Oil" by Upton Sinclair, from 1927. The drive for wealth is however a timeless and universal topic. There will be blood has been rightfully placed on the imdb top 250 movies with a rating of 8.4.
Trailer here

Juno

2008-07-02T23:43:00.007+02:00

At the time when I saw Juno I hadn't heard much about it other than it being from the director Jason Reitman, known from Thank you for smoking which was a great movie so I had hopes for something good. About 5 minutes into the movie I knew this was going to be way better than I had expected. The dialogue is like no other and the characters are refreshingly weird. Ellen Page does an amasing role as Juno. The story itself isn't anything new, but how it's done and particulary the characters and the dialogue makes it unique. The movie is about the high school student Juno which becomes pregnant and decides to put her baby up for adoption to a couple who has difficulty conceiving a kid on their own. As mentioned before, this is not a new consept for a movie, but don't be fooled by the simple and ordinary storyline. It deserves it's spot on the imdb list for top 250 movies with a rating of 8.1.
Trailer here

In Bruges

2008-07-02T22:01:00.007+02:00

I was originally going to see In Bruges during the film festival Kosmorama in april, but the screeening was cancelled. I did however get to see it a couple of weeks ago. During Kosmorama I has high hopes for In Bruges and was dissapointed it got cancelled. I must admit I was a bit dissapointed again when i actually saw the movie. It is about two hit men, where one of them (Colin Farrel) messed up on the previous hit and have been told to seek cover in Bruges. The character played by Colin Farrel isn't very beliveable, not sure if that comes from poor acting or bad character build. Ray accidentally shot someone other than was intended on the previous hit and is having trouble coping with this, as is natural when you are a hit man? Basically I didn't find the story interesting or beliveable so I don't agree with the 8.1 on imdb. Moreover it seems like a massive tourist advertisment for the city of Bruges. But they did atleast achieve that, Bruges does seem like a nice city.
Trailer here

The Savages

2008-07-02T17:19:00.009+02:00

The Savages was released in 2007, but recently aired on Norwegian movie theatres. It's about a sister and brother in their forties having to face their sick and dying father which never really was there for them. The movie shows how the brother and sister are able to reconnect and solve their own personal issues with attachment both to their father, each other and other people in their lives.

It's written and directed by Tamara Jenkins who has done a couple of minor movies in the 90s. The movie is quiet, soft, honest and funny, but very sad. The images are dark and the people are depressed, but this gives the movie a sense of reality. It's quite sad to see how the brother and sister tries to cope with a dying family member and also try to face how their father has treated them when growing up. It holds up to the 7.5 it get's on imdb. Definitely a movie worth seeing.
Trailer here

Let's talk business

2008-07-02T16:18:00.008+02:00

As I am in my final stages of completing my masters thesis in psychology, why not start a blog. It's mostly to a place to write about movies i've seen, music i've heard and tv shows i love. Basically something completely new in the world of blogs ;)

My one and true love, as cheesy as it may sound, is the art of pictures and sound with all it's shapes and forms. So why not dedicate a blog to the many great works of art that are out there and that are to come.

I've seen alot of movies in my lifetime and some are definitely worth mentioning... others not so much. Luckily i share this passion with my friends which has made movie night a standard choice for recreational activities. Music is ofcourse a mandatory accessory when it comes to both the silver screen and tv so it will also be a part of this blog. Now i don't claim any real knowledge when it comes to making movies, music or tv shows. I study psychology and have only a couple of classes in media. But the beauty of movies, music and tv is its abilty to grab people no matter social, economical or educational status.

To give a sense of where we are in movie land I'll just mention a couple of my favorites. One of my favorite directors is Clint Eastwood. He makes interesting, beautiful movies with purpose. Letters from Iwo Jima is in my opinion of of his best works. The characters and the atmosphere in the movie is so nuanced. Another favorite movie if mine is Pan's Labyrinth. The world that Ophelia enters is imaginative, different and yet the storyline is easy to relate to. Which i also find holds true for anime movies from Studio Ghibli with Miyazaki directing. For me personally after watching many many movies, I find the ones that can make me see, feel or think something new are the ones that i find the most interesting. That may be either in the form of how the scrips is, how the characters are, how the pictures are, how it's edited, use of music, or the universe the story is set in. As long as it provides something new, it gets a star in my book.

Anyways, enough with the chatter, let's talk business.