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Reviews
Notting Hill (1999)
Tim McInnerny steals the show from other great actors
The romantic comedy genre has been going downhill since the days of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. For years they have been romantic and, in some cases, comic. But not intelligent. Richard Curtis seems to be the remedy. Four Weddings and a Funeral was his first shot at the title as Champion of Intelligent Romantic Comedy Screenwriting. Now Notting Hill proves that "...Weddings..." wasn't just a coincidence. God direction from Roger Michell helps as well, but what makes it really great (apart from the script) is the acting. Everybody, and that means everybody, are great. But the one who really stands out is Tim McInnerny as Max. Just looking at his eyes moving about, suggesting all kinds of things, is really an example of great acting with very small means. He has a tendency too steal all the scenes in witch he participates. The British romantic comedy is here to stay. Only two things can prevent that. 1; American film companies swallowing the British and letting the American scriptwriters rule again. 2; The British try to make them too fast (and too many). Great Britain; Keep up the good work. Good Show.
Se7en (1995)
Creeping terrific thriller with a fabulous Freeman
This is the surprise thriller of 1995. They hardly ever comes any better than this. Great story, terrific acting (Especially Morgan Freeman), faultless direction. It's way more uncomfortable than movies that tries to shock you with blood and gore. In this one we witness the effects of what has already happened. We are not there at the killings (thank God!). This way it slowly creeps up on you to a much better effect than any visual violence can achieve. But it has a giveaway that keeps it from not being a 10. Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Brad Pitt's wife, isn't in the film very much. she only pops up four or five times in the movie. The scenes are also quite short. What usually happens with wives, girlfriends, sisters and son on who doesn't appear much in the usual Hollywood-movie? Right! They die. So does Gwyneth. The only thing that differs from most films, is the way it's done. So what could have been a full 10 only becomes a 9 because of the formula treatment of the cops wife. But besides that; Terrific!!
Enemy of the State (1998)
A Hitchcock for the nineties
One guy gets tangled in a conspiracy without him really understanding why or by whom. He's being chased, double-crossed and chased again while trying to survive. By some quake of fate he suddenly realize what it's all about and manages to solve the situation, thereby saving himself, his newly won friend, and, not least, his family. Oh, he also saves his country.
Sounds like a turkey, doesn't it. Well, Hitchcock used the theme lots of times, and very few of his films are regarded as being turkeys, right?
Lots of directors have tried the concept thru the years, and very few has succeeded. This is one of the lucky moments when the script-writer and the director managed to make it gel.
This is really a Hitchcock-movie for the nineties. Good actors, flashy cinematography, great tempo (so you won't notice the holes in the script) and also a little message as a bonus.
Terrific entertainment. Hitchcock probably smiles in his heaven.
Mannen på taket (1976)
Top notch police action
This was the first attempt to mix social comment and action in a Swedish movie. Bo Widerberg had previously tried, successfully, the social comment. This time he tried action for the first time. And without a doubt he succeeded.
It's about police brutality and a victims attempt to seek revenge. The only trouble is that he doesn't think it's enough to kill the police who was the cause of his anger, but he tries to kill every policeman that comes in sight.
It shows the routines in police-work, as well as fabulous action sequences. The camera-work is brilliant. Notice the sequence when the camera moves backwards with enormous speed in front of the policemen running down the stairs at the subway-station. Steady-cam wasn't invented yet.
Brilliant acting galore. Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt playing the Martin Beck part, was really a comedian, not a serious actor. He did a great job, especially in the balcony scene, which was a very painful experience for him.
If you don't like looking at blood, close your eyes when the curtain opens in the first scene of the film.
Midvinterduell (1983)
The small farmer against the big authorities
Egon is a farmer with a few milk-cows. He has always had the milk picked up from his table by the road-side. One day the dairy company and the road-authorities decide that he, and every other farmer shall deliver the milk-cans to a common table quite a way from Egon's farm. He refuses to obey and keeps his table by the road-side. Every time the snow-plow passes by his table, the driver makes shure he demolishes Egon's table. But Egon builds a new table. The next day the snow-plow smashes that one as well. Egon builds another. It gets smashed. Who will win this "mid-winter duel"? Lars Molin has always honored the little man. He could be a farmer, a factory-worker, even an alcoholic. This film is no different. It's a lot of fun watching the farmer coming up with new ideas as how to overcome the authorities. Why is Egon so stubborn? Well, first of all; Nobody asked him. And second; If you bend for decisions made by others in a small matter, what will happen next? Today we have the answer to the last question. The little dairy-farmer is now extinct. Now the dairy-companies only gets their milk by the tons from gigantic farms with thousands of milk cows. Lars Molin saw it happen way back in 1983.
This sounds very serious, and it is. Underneath. Lars Molin always used humor and whit, combined with social comment. Only when it's over you realize that this wasn't just a farce or a comedy. If you get a chance to see it, you will laugh all the way through it and then you start thinking...
Cries from the Heart (1994)
Truthful autistic behaviour in a truthful movie
Jeff, who is an autistic seven year old, gets placed in a special school. Since he doesn't speak, his teacher wants to teach him how to write, by using a computer. She succeeds and he suddenly got a way to communicate. One day he reveals that he has been sexually abused by one of his guardians at the school. Is he a reliable witness in court? His only way of communicating is by the computer. Will the jury belive an autistic boy of seven?
This film is based on a true story and the way the autistic kid is depicted is far better than in most films. His tics and other disturbing behaviours is really believable. I should know. I have an autistic daughter myself.
To teach an autistic how to use a written instead of a spoken is a matter of some controversy in the film. Can they really learn? Yes They Can! My daughter can, and she is only three years old! She also uses sign-language and a few words. But she can't really speak.
The film is surprisingly to the point. It rarely falls into the trap of being over-philosophical, which is quite usual when it comes to TV-productions. If you are the least bit interested in autistic behaviour and want to see one way of helping one out of his isolation, this is a good movie. But remember: all autistic children don't behave the same way. And all of them don't respond to the same learning-methods. Autistics are individuals just as you or me.
Get Shorty (1995)
Some funny things happened on the way to Hollywood
At last it happened. A novel by Elmore Leonard made justice as a movie. It's been tried before but with more or less poor results. ("Stick" anyone?) The actors are absolutely perfect. Even the cameos are brilliant. The script is unusually faithful to the novel. As well as a far fetched story about petty gangsters, it manages to strike a minor blow at the superficial Hollywood lifestyle. Sonnenfeld has guided the actors and the story along in a very comforting stride. Great entertainment.