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Reviews
Out of the Blue (2006)
Out of the Ordinary Real
There are several documentaries made about the Aramoana Massacre of 1990, the most deadly mass murder in New Zealand until the Christchurch Mosque Shootings in 2019, but the drama Out of the Blue probably works beyond any documentary. As a film it's perhaps a bit too long, it's not cinematographically perfect, and neither is the sound, but otherwise, such as the efforts from all actors, particularly the kids, make it not only feel as if you are there - it's out of the ordinary real. Mind any makers of other true story tragedy dramas - Out of the Blue is like a school roadmap for how to do it, respectfully and without any unnecessary effects of any kind. There's some music only in the opening and in the ending, and this also helps to create a true feeling of authenticity.
Wild Daze (2020)
Urgency Attention Call
Wild Daze is not just a documentary about African wildlife and nature, or poaching, trophy hunting and wildlife trafficking - it is about what the most evil and insensitive of humans do due to ignorance and greed. But most of all it's about humanity's lack of care and understanding of what is happening not only in Africa, but to our Planet as a whole, and how it will affect us all if the heartless, greedy and corrupt crooks win, that we're on our way into utter darkness if we lose the nature that we all come from and depend on. Wild Daze is an Urgency Attention Call, and it should be mandatory in all common eductaion.
The Real Murders on Elm Street (2024)
Positively Different But Mixed
The Real Murders on Elm Street is fundamentaly a good idea for a crime series, as there are many Elm Streets around the US, and have been perhaps surprisingly many particularly dire murder cases in these streets, which naturally fits a reality follow up of the.1984 horror classic Nightmare on Elm Street. Without going over the top or making annoying exaggerations the creators manage to get this documentary rather scary cinematographically, with dark mode dramatizations, and some effects and classical edge of or jumping in the seat means of action. Together with a well composed music score this works effectively, at least in the first episode, which stands out among the four produced so far. If the creators can find back to more of this in episode five and six, the total might come up to 8/10 in my view.
The Westerner (1940)
An Inspiration
There are several factors from the Old West that has found it's way as an inspiration to the plot in the Westerner, both mythical and actual historical. Judge Roy Bean was a real person, saloon keeper, and said to be 'the only law west of the.he Pecos'. However inspiring Walter Brennan was, and he won an Oscar for the role, his portrayal of the judge is merely a cliché version, if not a parody, so much that another portrait of the Texan lawman comes to mind. It's no doubt that the Judge in the Lucky Luke comic by the same name is directly inspired by Roy Bean, if not Brennan's version. Moreover, it's plausible that the some of the characters in the Westerner have been a direct inspiration for the comic's creator, Morris, such as the undertaker measuring people's body even before they are dead, the stolen horse that Gary Coopers character, Cole Harden, can talk to and get a nodding reply, a bit like Jolly Jumper, and several other factors in and around the little western town. Even if he doesn't draw faster than his own shadow, even Harden reminds one of Lucky Luke, like that straw in his mouth. Nevertheless, Morris presented his first version of the comic only six years after the movie. Still, the movie is far more serious and dramatic than the comic, and the movie's dramatical peak displays the real gravity and conflict from the western era, with some of the best special effects seen in any old movie.
Hickok (2017)
An Insult to a Legend
This is an abuse of Wild Bill Hickok's name, his amazing life, all western lovers, and my personal sense for the genre. This total botch of a film production has nothing to do with Hickok and should be legally banned from using the name. Ever since watching Wild Bill (1995) with Jeff Bridges, and Deadwood (2019) with Keith Carradine, both relative parodies in their portraying of this true American legend - and furthermore the brilliant Hell on Wheels, I've had a dream that someone should make (working title) Dead Man's Hand, with a plot around Hickok's last days alive perhaps with some retrospective turns, and simply cast the amazing Christopher Heyerdahl. Get this super natural world class actor with some long cinnamon oil greasy dark red hair, a moustache, and he'd be the perfect Wild Bill all day long. Just compare a few pictures of him and the original. It would be great, and as far away from this insult to a legend as possible.
Frontier (2023)
Spoiled By Poor Dramatizations
The history of how the United States came to be is a complex task to present, and even though Frontier claims to bring us 'the true story', six episodes of 40+ minutes just isn't enough. Like in most historical documentary series, there are a number of hand picked people to tell the tale, basically historians who have proved to cover a special part of history in an authentical fashion. Much of what is presented is very interesting and actual, such as the links between the Mexican American War, the California Gold Rush and the Civil War, or the demythification of the cowboy life, and the horrors of indigenous children in the boarding schools, to name three outstanding factors together with the final historical conclusion. However, some of the tales contain obvious errors, and when they all are illustrated with poorly and amateurishly made dramatizations, where the same slow mo clips and scenes are used over and over in different episodes, this sadly spoils the total fundamentaly.
Planet Earth III (2023)
True Vital Inspiration
Over decades nature series produced by BBC, from 2024 on BBC Earth, have been a true vital inspiration for so many, and immense teams of incredibly professional film makers never stop to impress and overwhelm us with showing us how amazing, wonderful, complex and fragile our planet's natural world is. And as writer and narrator for yet another series we once again find the ever vital and passionate David Attenborough, now 98. More important than ever before, and always in the best possible manner, this legend makes us understand how it all is linked together, but ultimately he also gives a fair warning of what we are about to lose.
Hondo (1953)
Bakalaka
With Hendo, John Wayne did his western movie no.60, which means that he on average had acted in three movies of this genre every year since 1933. Still, there hadn't been much difference when it comes to characters and his style of acting, so also in Hendo. Maybe that was the point, not to tamper with the expectations of all his fans, or it was just the way he did it. Naturally he's an icon, but there's probably a saying - if you've seen one John Wayne movie, you've seen'em all - and that's an appropriate impression, particularly throughout the earlier movies. This sadly makes many of his westerns very predictable and less interesting. Despite the efforts in Hendo to give the Apache a more realistic and sympathetic image, and not just present them as a bloodthirsty hord, attacking, getting shot and falling off the horses, only for the US Cavalry to come rescuing to the trumpet reveille. The intentions may have been good, but then it doesn't help when the actors are made to speak a ridiculous mumbo jumbo language - or one should say 'bakalaka'.
Whoops Apocalypse (1982)
Incredibly Funny and Black Parody
Is Whoops Apocalypse the absolute darket and at the same time funniest sitcom series ever? Yes indeed, and even though it's a child of its time, it still is timeless and works well even today. Actually, it would be a brilliant history lesson to summarize the basics of the Cold War. With absolutely hilarious characters from the top of political powers, acted out by some of the finest personnel, and at their very best, with Richard Griffiths as the Soviet premier, Barry Morse as the US president or Peter Jones as British prime minister, not to mention John Cleese and David Kelly as perfect casts, no one should really have a problem getting a good laugh. Enjoy!
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)
Muddled Western Tribute
Where the makers of Horizon: An American Saga so eagerly have desired to make a grand tribute to the Western genre, they haven't managed in creating a good story line. There seems to be no main connecting plot, but the audience is just brought along from one random tale to another, and yet another, all describing some part of the Western myth. There are so many characters and basically shallow side stories that the total feels muddled, and in general it is hard to spot the fundamental intentions with either characters or scenes, other than making another functional cliché. Moreover and possibly in an effort to mend some confusion, chapter 1 in what obviously would be better off as a TV series (probably first season) this three hour film ends with a chaotic trailer, trying to collect the lacking totallity and somehow hang the viewer on a chapter 2 cliff, but this doesn't help that much in the bemusement, perhaps only makes it even stranger. In addition to a sea of clichés and a rather pathetic film score, there is a number of technical historical flaws that one should expect would be taken care of during research, such as weapons in 1859 and what animals actually were used for pulling in wagon train. All in all, I don't think Costner got quite to the level he ought to.
The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger (2024)
Poor Stuff
If anything is incredible with The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger, it's that it is rated on average 8,1 at IMDb, so far. Jim Bridger was a real person, one of the legendary mountain men, and a man who probably should deserve something better than this to describe his legacy. Nearly everything is poor, amateurish and it lacks credibilty. Blind western lovers may like this, but if you care for gripping story telling combined with quality cinematography, find something else. This tale is just another of too many modern westerns that at best can be described as a wannabe. It's not absolutely rock bottom, but it still hits the ground hard.
The Company You Keep (2012)
Certainly Not a Thriller.
The Company You Keep - already in the title you start wondering what this film really is about, and throughout the plot you come to realize that it's about Robert Redford urging to produce, direct, and act as the main character - again. And that's probably the main problem. I wish he kept to only producing, most of all because he drags a maintained personality as the same character that he's been in all of his films the last 20 or more years. It's as if the same person is living multiple lives. He doesn't have to be Gary Oldman, by no means, but putting a baseball cap on your head, like he does to become 'anonymous' in this version, just isn't enough. Moreover it's silly, and like with just about every other character in this film, it gets flat and not very interesting. The exceptions are Shia Labeouf as the journalist and Jackie Evancho as the daughter, mainly because their charcters get a chance to develop. The others seem like just thrown into a bleak mystery when ever they are needed. It's not working in total, and that's Redford's responsibility, because he thinks he's got a such steady hand and even is the best main cast. He is not and this film is a drama, certainly not a thriller.
M*A*S*H (1972)
Important Part of History.
It probably takes some nostalgia to eventually comprehend and realize that even a TV series has made a true impact on you. Now, 25 - 35 years after becoming familiar with the series and finally watching all the episodes, meaning some 150 for the second or even third time, I'm eventually old enough to find a deeper emotional feeling to it. Like old songs with one's favorite artists, it's as if I know the main characters personally, and that these basically fine acting performances weren't fiction but real events and people. That's when you know how good a drama really is.
Still, there are a number of episodes that could and should be better written, as well as characters who tend to lack some development, and become somewhat tedious at times. However, at its best M*A*S*H is nothing but television art, one of a kind.
Let Him Go (2020)
Non Credible Characters
The problem with Thomas Bezucha's Let Him Go is not that it's too slow and probably neither too long, the ending, or the cinematography. It's just not easy to believe in the characters, as it's hard to tell whether it's due to overacting, poor dialogue, mistaken direction, or basically that much seems forced. This shines particularly through with Diane Lane as Margaret Blackledge, who fundamentally is supposed to build the plot. Probably it's a sum of all these factors, together with a seemingly lost intention in several of the scenes and the dialogue. Also, despite the very nice cars from the 1960's, the main characters appear to be actors pretending to live in the 1960's, and I simply don't believe they are real.
Voyage of Terror (1998)
Direction of Terror
May Brian Dennehy rest in peace, but one migt wonder if he or anyone else in the acting crew ever came to peace with this film. I must admit that his death made me watch it, and I'm sad to say and sorry to see that this must be the low point of his amazing career. This is simply incredibly poor, and it's written, directed and edited on the level of a medieocre high school project. Everyone is over acting or just come out bad now matter if they try very hard not to. How did they get actors like Dennehy, Martin Sheen and Lindsay Wagner into this parody of a film? Naturally this was a another had to be made Hollywood project in a string of the public fear exploiting productions after several Ebola outbreaks in Africa from 1989 and through the early 1990s, peaking with Outbreak in '95, which is another overrated film on the topic. Is there anything similar about Malaria - like Mosquitos of Horror?
The Hateful Eight (2015)
6 Stars, But Only For the Musical Score.
Unlike Quentin Tarantino the legendary film musical score composer Ennio Morricone didn't try to repeat himself. On the contrary, he did seek to avoid it, and even if this film's director hopefully didn't expect another timeless stroke of new inventional genius like in Sergio Leone's masterpiece, the iconic The Good The Bad And The Ugly, he probably didn't quite expect what he got, regardless. However, The Hateful Eight is far from a masterpiece, and not even a fully fitting musical score from the very best can make Tarantino's study of western clichés, and his signature hyper violent final into a great film. Nevertheless, just listening to the Maestro's music is much more interesting. Still, I wish that Ennio Morricone would get his well deserved Oscar for Cinema Paradiso instead, like he should.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Basically Overrated
Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver from 1976 is supposed to be a masterpiece among films within post new realism, and a neo noir artistic peak. There is little doubt that it contributed to bringing actor Robert de Niro to stardom, and his portrayal of ex marine and taxi driver Travis Bickle's showdown with moral decay and inner demons is not bad, it's just not very impressive. Also his character occasionally gets less credible as it is building towards a crescendo, and the plot easily becomes predictable. However, then 13 year old Jodie Foster is amazing as the way under aged prostitute Iris. Her acting performance truly stands out and is the highlight of the film. Taxi Driver probably had a fundamental purpose as a reaction to the Vietnam War and the 1970's morally withering society, but in retrospect it's not timeless.
Deadwood '76 (1965)
1.150 Dollars For a Cat
Deadwood was a mean town, and no one was meaner than the brothel mama. She didn't care even for the world's most expensive cat, because she had enough problems with her whores. One day Billy Boy came to town, a sweet kinda Swedish looking fellow who really was Billy the Kid, riding along with a mouth harp swingin' old timer who had this genius idea of selling extremely overprized cats. People in Deadwood were preetty stupid, and one even gave 40 dollars for one of them cats. Today that would be some 1.150 dollars, but in this town the rats were bigger than even the biggest gold nugget, so it was worth it I guess. Sam Bass was also there, and naturally Wild Bill Hickok. The latter thought it all was just too stupid, so he left, maybe to find Calamity Jane. However, Billy the Kid had found his dad and a ridiculously looking native girl, daughter of Chief Spotted Snake. Did I mention that the brothel mama had been longin' for some hangin'? Oh my, she was mean, just like the wild west.
The War (2007)
For the Ages
The fundamental factor making the documentaries from Ken Burns so highly interesting and engaging, but also important, is the use of photographs and footage going along with the stories, whether they are being told by real people who took part in the historical events, or it's a brilliant narrator or retelling actor, headhunted for the occasion. From the groundbreaking series The Civil War (1990) to The War, Burns basically uses the same formula, and there's no need to change it because it works perfectly, and has become his trademark. The stories are told by actual survivors and there is an equal and versatile blend of perspectives, all the way from daily life or family plunders in the homeland to the most extreme horrors in combat or war prisoner camps, and the veterans are allowed to share their critical view on for instans military leaders and post war society. Regardless, the fundamental factor is how futile and damaging war is and always will be. Some reviewers claim it's only viewed from an American perspective, but Burn's documentaries are always about US history, and even though it was a global war, this series is not a patriotic clisché, but a historical document for everyone, and for the ages.
The Missing (2003)
Dusty and Sentimental to the Bone
The Missing is one of the best traditional American westerns made since the turn of the millennium, up there together with Hotiles, the Homesman, and Open Range. What they have in common is a fundamental top artistic craft, from plot and direction to cinematography and acting performances. If you're not tired of Tommy Lee Jones again practically being some kind of version of himself, the general cast could probably not be better, and Cate Blanchett is almost too good as the heroin Magdalena, who with her lost and detested father sets out to find her captured daughter. The setting is full enough of death, blood, dust and indigenous shamanism, with Eric Schweig as a perfect Apache villain. Also Val Kilmer has a surprisingly small role as a US Cavalry lieutenant. It's all very good, but could even become perfect if it were a little less sentimental and predictable, and there were no logical or technical flaws. The music is very nice, but it just doesn't match the cruel and dusty scenery.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Precarious Direction
This allegedly original and legendary film version of Agatha Christie's arguably best and most famous novel, Murder on the Orient Express, is partly miscasted, but moreover it suffers from what must be some kind of precarious direction. Particularly Albert Finney in the leading role seems to still struggle hard finding his inner Poirot, lacking a well worked out set of both ways to speak and behaviour in a credible manner that truly suits the character. It actually shows in his eyes that he's far from comfortable. Such a fine actor had deserved more time to prepare for this act, and to even think he was nominated for an Oscar for the performance is bizarre.
At times several of the actors don't know where to look or to focus. The only ones standing out from the lot in a positive way are Lauren Bacall, who actually fits her character, and John Gielgud, who as always knows how to make it perfectly simple as the butler. The others more or less become like parodies who radiate various levels of uncertainty, and it's not due to their characters' funtion. Ingrid Bergman being honored with an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress must have been a misunderstanding, as she hardly does anything notable other than talking her own language. Other than that, the cinematografy is not on a level one should expect from a top 1970's film production, where the best factor is that one feels how crampy it can be on a real train. The production design is pretty fancy, though. Regardless, in total this is not worthy of what should be a classic.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Deficient Direction and Bad Acting.
The visual effects are not perfect, but generally fine, the cinematography and sound are okay, and most of the casting is fair enough, while the plot perhaps is a bit thin and quite predictable Then why does the direction have to be so absolutely deficient with silly and unrealistic reactions from some of the actors, sometimes beyond overacting? It looks like this production is meant to capture the type of kids and less mature adults who enjoy movies like Dumb and Dumber 3, where silly screaming and horrible oneliners are just fantastic. It's obvious that the type of audience who enjoyed the quality of the original from 1993. Is this really the level Spielberg was looking for?
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Jeezus, Wazzup, Bro'?
Oh yes, the CGI and particularly the under water scenes are delightful to watch, but with 13 years since the original super success, it's just not that impressive anymore, like so much of modern cinematic visual effects. By all means, the team behind Avatar 2 are probably among the best in business, but now the general impression might be a warning of what this venue is developing into with AI taking over. No wonder the Hollywood actors are on strike, and maybe the CGI crews also soon. However, sound engineering will hopefully still remain an artform. So, what with plot creation and story writing? James Cameron brought in some writers younger than himself, Amanda Silver (60) and Rick Jaffa (only 58), perhaps so he didn't have to pretend to catch up with a younger audience to secure the franchise running. But this is supposed to be for kids of all ages, or timeless. However, somewhere in the writing they managed to shallow out the magic from the original, and much of the dialogue is not too engaging. In total, it's a mixed bag, but regardless I automatically tried to catch my breath in the final. Wazzup, Bro? I think it's that way.
Stranger on the Run (1967)
Just Another Western
Sorry, all fans of Henry Fonda, but if any, this time he might just have reached a low point. Not that he ever makes a poor performance, neither here, but this western is so uninspired that not even his iconic appearance can save it. It's quite incredible to think that he is the villain in one of the best westerns ever made just a year after this rather forgettable effort. Occasionally this might look like a Leone wannabe project, but let's call it just another western, a production made for the case of it, and a misused opportunity to play a basically superb cast.
It starts out quite well, with a fine interplay and brilliant dialogue between Fonda's and Walter Burke's character, probably improvised, but as soon as the plot gets going it all becomes highly cliché, with occasional parodically stereotypical lines and dusty stereotypes, as well as some annoying overacting, like a 1950's B-western. However, the perhaps worst part is the general cinematography, and amateurish light setting. This smells low budget and left hand production all the way to the end.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Like an Endless Trailer
The character assassination of Julius Robert Oppenheimer is a much described and debated subject, and it's basically also what this film is about, I think, and little about nuclear bomb making. Nevertheless, though it's nearly three hours long, director Christopher Nolan still tries to fill the plot with more than is possible, and the results is that it stylistically appears like an endless trailer, where the editing and the jumping in time looks more like a long music video than an epic film. At times it becomes distressing to watch, and it's a great relief when this cannonade of pictures takes breaks in a few longer and slower sequences. If the intention has been to illustrate the main character's inner life during the process, it's perhaps reasonable, but this great topic would probably fit better as a mini series. However, Cillian Murphy makes the very best out of it as Oppenheimer, and despite the aggressive editing he manages to build a credible character. Sadly it doesn't work too well for several other characters, who also are more or less miscasted.