vicrknudsen

I have been going through some bad stress lately, and now that my girlfriend has attended a boarding school, and I being alone in our apartment I thought some time at my mother's house where I didn't have to think about cooking food, cleaning the house, etc, and just relax. And so I did, and I subscribed to AppleTV plus and "Finch," yeah "Finch" was a neat surprise.

Every now and then we get a post-apocalyptic movie or at least something like that where a person or a group has to survive through some pretty hard conditions. "Finch" is a mixture of family-movie, "The Martian," and "Fury Road" without all the big fire explosions and crazy people. It's a wholesome road trip movie, a father-son story about trust, companionship, hope, and humanity. Even though it's a family movie it doesn't hold back from facing the harsh realities of life. Miguel Sapochnik, who's mostly known as the director of various "Game of Thrones" episodes, brings a charming and life-affirming story to life with a grander scope than necessarily asked for. He is a very visionary director with a sense of finding the links between the species such as here we have and an AI, a dog, and a man all working together as a group to successfully reach their end goal.

Tom Hanks is on the top of his game with his characterization of Finch. It's practically a one-man show although Caleb Landry Jones brings great support with his performance as Jeff the robot. His voice work and full commitment to how these machine walks and talks are beyond incredible, and the visual design to keep the illusion is fantastically composed. Anyhow, Hanks really delivers in this film. From start to finish he brings such a delightful and dimensional character to life. It's far better to work than what he's done in his previous film "Greyhound" where I had a hard time calling him a character.

"Finch" is an incredibly well-made film. The visuals are stunning, it has a great score that supports the tones of the movie greatly. It's very much one of the best family movies I've seen in years, as to the themes and the way it shows them. Things are not too childish here, and although comedy is sprinkled in, it really is a serious movie from start to finish that has a story to tell.

It has been one year and eight months (approx.) since the world went into lockdown and cinemas closed, and studios postponed hundred of releases. During this pandemic, there have been ups and downs concerning the reopening of cinema, and with a little luck, some movies had a limited run in some theaters last year, moreover, some films going directly to streaming services. Now, the situation in Denmark has been very different compared to other nations, but luckily our theaters opened for good in May 2021, the films began coming back. Though I really liked movies such as "The Green Knight" which I saw in the cinema, there hasn't been one film in a long time when I have thought: this is a masterpiece; this is cinema. Until now.

"Dune" is a masterpiece. It is first-class movie making and one of the best cinematic experiences I have ever had. Not only did Villeneuve manage to adapt a story into a film that is supposedly impossible to make, but he also did it with excellence. "Dune" is an epic in every way. Its grand production design and world-building take ones' breath away from the first glimpse of the desolated planet. The visual effects are jarring and completely emerge into the real set pieces to make a realistic depiction of a future world. Costumes and make-up are creatively put together and adapts an impossible atmosphere to the story. "Dune" is just a stunning-looking film.

Villeneuve's masterful direction is one thing. Another this that is as good, and maybe probably is my favorite part of the film is Hans Zimmer's score. Though Zimmer's career, he has made iconic scores to numerous huge and influential films. Music that can stay in your mind for days, and you can listen to and feel you're in the world. What Zimmer did with his score for "Dune" is simply out of this world. It's instrumental with choir and big ass drums and horns that will blow you up from your seat. The atmosphere he creates is unbelievable and never gets boring or in the way of the story. Zimmer uses tricks to mix sounds into the score, so it feels supernatural to see the big actions scenes and not think "Hmm that's a good score," because you don't notice it because it's so deep down part of this film. He will and surely deserves to win an Oscar for his work here. It's just been released on Spotify and other streaming services so if you can't wait, go listen to it.

Villeneuve has before taken up almost impossible projects and made them work. His vision for "Dune" is so compact and tolerable that I couldn't see anyone else's creativity affect "Dune." Every aspect he put in play with the characters and the way he wants to move the camera is incredible. His direction is first-class movie making and quite possibly his best work next to "Arrival." It feels grand and epic in the same tone as "The Lord of the Rings" feels humongous in its character gallery and universe.

The story is rich in characters, and all the actors do an equally great job embodying each person. Timotée Chalamet, as the lead, Paul, does an amazing job portraying this ambiguous hero. Though his character for some part of the film is mostly held back because of his father (Oscar Isaac), Paul learns much about leadership and why the planet of Arrakis feels familiar to him. Isaac is a scene-stealer every time he's on screen. He's such a likable character that easily could have been a clichétic menacing-king with his only desire to rule and gain power. His performance is beyond what I expected; he's terrific.

Rebecca Ferguson also gets better and better in every single film she does. I loved her in "Doctor Sleep," and in "Dune" she shows a more quiet and subtle yet powerful performance. The rest of the cast is bloody amazing. Everybody could be a stand-out alone, and reminds me a lot of the character depth there is in each of the fellowship members in "The Lord of the Rings."

Was I excited for "Dune?" Absolutely! I can't wait to buy it on Blu-ray and dive into the story again. My girlfriend, who loves epic sci-fi/adventures told me that it has probably become one of her favorite films. Though it doesn't fall into my top 50, I can't do anything but give it a top score. What "Dune" manages to do cannot be seen through. And I have missed it. I have missed it so damn much to feel engaged and to be fed with a story with so much flesh on. To relive the old days of cinema and to look forward to a new and exciting adventure. I'll be seeing "Dune" again sometime next week. Hopefully, a second movie will come because this IS only part one. Don't expect to be fully satisfied. This is only the beginning.

In 1904, Lafcadio Hearn (also known as Yakumo Koizumi) published, shortly before his death, a collection of Japanese folklore and ghost stories that he translated from old transcripts and legends that locals told him. His work became an influential success, whereas he gave foreigners an insight into Japanese folklore and kept life in the myths. In 1964, Toho Studios signed a deal with legendary director Masaki Kobayashi to adapt some of the "Kaidan" ("Kwaidan") stories into a feature film. It resulted in the release of "Kwaidan," which in Japan became a massive success. International critics pointed out the detailed work of Kobayashi was, yet again, striking. The film is an anthology and is splitting into four segments, where each tells a different ghost story.

I could go into depth with all four segments, but I think I would leave it to just an overall expression of the film and maybe dive into some aspects, from each, which I liked/disliked.

First of all, I would again address that Masaki Kobayashi is a director of his league. My love for his epic war trilogy "The Human Condition" has only grown since I immersed myself into them six months ago or so. He blew me away with his thrilling and fastidious work in those films & I have been longing to feel that same excitement for some time now. I thought "Kwaidan" would have the same kind of epicness. It's a three-hour horror film that slowly emerges itself in the scars and leaves a chilling tone throughout. Although it didn't quite reach the same emotional or significant tone as "The Human Condition" did, Kobayashi proves with "Kwaidan" his superbly artistic and influential eye for cinema.

The first story is called "The Black Hair." It pretty much sets the tone for the other three segments, even though there are many distinctions in style and plot throughout. Of the four stories, I liked the first two the most. "The Black Hair" unfolds like a fairytale, where the narration is using to describe the settings and the characters. I liked the ideas throwing into the play, and even though I didn't find it necessarily scary, I liked the twist ending a lot. The production design and costumes were very creative & the editing, especially in this segment, was adroitly accomplished.

The second story is called "The Woman in the Snow," which might be my favorite. It was a fascinating tale, it had great production value, and the acting was neat. I found this one to be rather spooky, but only because of the family's conditions and the ending. It did have the same fairytale vibe as the first segment, but it performed as a claustrophobic symphony.

The third story, "Hoichi the Earless," was the one that left me with the most mixed feelings. The overall story was great, and its opening sequences were endearing and lured me into what would happen afterward. However, after that, the story took a slow turn. All the segments so far have had a very eerie and sow pace to them. It's in the style of Kobayashi to show the audience every detail in the frame. He does that by carefully zoom into people's faces, props, or other framing elements that play a part in the story. But for the third segment, it began feeling a bit tiresome & and the story was drawing a bit too far. Nevertheless, the cinematography, editing, effects, and production value were striking, and I have no complaints about that.

The fourth and final part, "In a Cup of Tea," had some playful ideas to combine reality with folklore, but unfortunately, didn't hold on to the same level of engagement the first two parts had.

After all, "Kwaidan" is a good movie. Don't into this movie expecting to be an action-packed horror movie with jumpscares. It is a slow burn that definitely has interesting directing and breathtaking cinematography. "Onibaba" from the same year is more spooky, but this one has the tones of a true Japanese horror film.