[2011] 100 Films Project! Mar 7th - Apr 10th
+10 Films: #036. En Ganske Snill Mann (2010), #037. Blue Valentine (2010), #038. Amador (2010), #039. I Spit On Your Grave: Unrated (2010), #040. The Romantics (2010), #041. Another Year (2010), #042. The Chameleon (2010), #043. How Do You Know (2010), #044. See You In September (2010), and #045. Gegen Die Wand (2004).
en ganske snill mann (2010)+
6/10 ******
Plot: Ulrik is reluctantly let out of prison after serving 12 years for murder. He has to cope with his gang, his ex, a few women - and a snitch. His son has a fiancé. Her family doesn't approve of murder. They have a nursery, they have principles. Ulrik is a somewhat gentle man. But how gentle can you be?
Good film! Rings true and is uplifting in an odd sort of way. Plus, Skarsgård is super great in it. Really, really great. I should put a warning out 'though, it has some sex scenes that are quite gross.
blue valentine (2010)+
6/10 ******
Plot: The film centers on a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
It's good. Perhaps (read: certainly) a tad overrated, but altogether good. I mean, it's a somewhat honest story about a couple going through some serious marriage crisis. The topic alone is bound to put a damper on your spirit. Not that *I* mind, as long as it keeps it, well, not too boring/tiring. Which this film sometimes failed at it. But, on the plus side, it managed to neatly wrap a nice tale that proves that lust love at first sight is, well, bullshit. Also, the acting and soundtrack are brilliant.
amador (2010)+
4/10 ****
Plot: A drama centered on a young woman who takes a summer job caring for a bed-ridden older man, and the intimate secrets they begin to share with one another.
The trailer I watched, and the plot summary I read were/are very misleading. So, I was expecting a totally different film. That alone pissed me off. Anyways, the film isn't great, but it isn't awful either. It would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic, it's the best way to describe it.
i spit on your grave (2010)+
5/10 *****
Plot: A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Like I've said many times before: I do love a good revenge film. And even 'though this one isn't half as bad as I assumed it would be, I must say that it truly is very... unsettling. I think they stretched the rape scene waaay too much. It's a horrible thing to sit back and watch a woman being physically abused, humiliated, and raped. All I felt like doing was fast forward, but I didn't. 'Cause I'm too anal to miss any part of a film I'm watching. Oh, and a heads-up, it's very graphic as well.
the romantics (2010)+
3/10 ***
Plot: Seven close friends reunite for the wedding of two of their friends. Problems arise because the bride and the maid of honor have had a long rivalry over the groom.
It's very, very... shitty. Sorry, but there's no way to sugarcoat it. The only reason I didn't give it a 2 (or a 1, for that matter) was the soundtrack and the scenery. I mean, there's no character development whatsoever! You don't get a real sense of *any* character. Just a bunch of personality snippets thrown here and there that amount to... nada. Nothing. Also, they (the "gang") are supposed to be pretentiously academic and cultured, but for Pete's sakes, throwing a poem here and a reference there do not any substance make. The whole thing is a joke, honestly. And the punchline? Duhamel reciting poetry as the brooding, sensitive, passionate young man he is. Talk about miscasting!
another year (2010)+
5/10 *****
Plot: A look at four seasons in the lives of a happily married couple and their relationships with their family and friends.
Not Mike Leigh's best work for sure. Very mediocre for him, and of him. He usually turns mundane into something marvellous, and a couple of films by him that accomplish that brilliantly are among my favourites ever; but this time he didn't quite conquered the task. Mundane is simply mundane, and the film drags after a while. But still he gives you some food for the thought and that always counts for something.
the chameleon (2010)+
3/10 ***
Plot: An FBI Agent is hot on the tracks of Frédéric Fortin who has taken up the identity of a woman's long lost son completely convincing the police and the boy's family of his identity.
The story showed potential, but it never delivered. When the film isn't contrived it is tedious and anticlimactic. Too bad, 'cause I'm very fond of Grondin.
how do you know (2010)+
4/10 ****
Plot: After being cut from the USA softball team and feeling a bit past her prime, Lisa finds herself evaluating her life and in the middle of a love triangle, as a corporate guy in crisis competes with her current, baseball-playing beau.
Nice rom-com. A bit awkward and odd at times, but they make those things work for them; strangely enough. Sidenote: can Paul Rudd be any more adorable? Yeah, didn't think so :)
see you in september (2010)+
3/10 ***
Plot: The film is an original romantic comedy set in current day Manhattan. It centers around Lindsay, a beautiful woman who seemingly has it all, but is deeply afraid of commitment. When she finds out that her therapist takes a vacation for the entire month of August she feels shocked and abandoned. Instead of taking this news lying down, Lindsay enlists the help of her acerbic best friend Monica to come up with a solution. With the assistance of "Craig's List", Lindsay puts together a group therapy session for all Manhattanites who are in need of therapy, but more importantly angry at their therapists for abandoning them.
The plot seemed iffy enough as I first read the summary, but it was carried along even weaker than I though it actually would be, filled with meaningless clichés. Oh, the things I watch for Kirk...
gegen die wand (2004)+
8/10 ********
Plot: Cahit, a 40-something male from Mersin in Turkey, has removed everything Turkish from his life. He has become an alcoholic drug addict and at the start of the movie wants to end it all. Sibel, a 20-something female from Hamburg, wishes to please her Turkish parents yet yearns for freedom. She has had her nose broken by her brother for being seen holding hands with a boy, and yet she can not break her mother's heart and run away. She too attempts suicide and she first approaches Cahit there at the Hospital. Sibel asks Cahit to marry her, as she believes this to be the way out of her parent's house. She promises Cahit that their relationship will be like roommates, not like a married couple. The film follows Sibel and Cahit as they get married, become closer and eventually fall in love.
AWESOME! What an amazing story, told amazingly. You want the antithesis of your typical Hollywood garbage? Jump on this film right here. I mean, I don't even have to mention/touch the whole social angle of it, for the love story alone (its nuances, its power, its layers, its honest, its rawness, its hold...) this film is a must-see. Words fail to convey its simple brilliance. Just watch it ;)
en ganske snill mann (2010)+
6/10 ******
Plot: Ulrik is reluctantly let out of prison after serving 12 years for murder. He has to cope with his gang, his ex, a few women - and a snitch. His son has a fiancé. Her family doesn't approve of murder. They have a nursery, they have principles. Ulrik is a somewhat gentle man. But how gentle can you be?
Good film! Rings true and is uplifting in an odd sort of way. Plus, Skarsgård is super great in it. Really, really great. I should put a warning out 'though, it has some sex scenes that are quite gross.
blue valentine (2010)+
6/10 ******
Plot: The film centers on a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
It's good. Perhaps (read: certainly) a tad overrated, but altogether good. I mean, it's a somewhat honest story about a couple going through some serious marriage crisis. The topic alone is bound to put a damper on your spirit. Not that *I* mind, as long as it keeps it, well, not too boring/tiring. Which this film sometimes failed at it. But, on the plus side, it managed to neatly wrap a nice tale that proves that lust love at first sight is, well, bullshit. Also, the acting and soundtrack are brilliant.
amador (2010)+
4/10 ****
Plot: A drama centered on a young woman who takes a summer job caring for a bed-ridden older man, and the intimate secrets they begin to share with one another.
The trailer I watched, and the plot summary I read were/are very misleading. So, I was expecting a totally different film. That alone pissed me off. Anyways, the film isn't great, but it isn't awful either. It would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic, it's the best way to describe it.
i spit on your grave (2010)+
5/10 *****
Plot: A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Like I've said many times before: I do love a good revenge film. And even 'though this one isn't half as bad as I assumed it would be, I must say that it truly is very... unsettling. I think they stretched the rape scene waaay too much. It's a horrible thing to sit back and watch a woman being physically abused, humiliated, and raped. All I felt like doing was fast forward, but I didn't. 'Cause I'm too anal to miss any part of a film I'm watching. Oh, and a heads-up, it's very graphic as well.
the romantics (2010)+
3/10 ***
Plot: Seven close friends reunite for the wedding of two of their friends. Problems arise because the bride and the maid of honor have had a long rivalry over the groom.
It's very, very... shitty. Sorry, but there's no way to sugarcoat it. The only reason I didn't give it a 2 (or a 1, for that matter) was the soundtrack and the scenery. I mean, there's no character development whatsoever! You don't get a real sense of *any* character. Just a bunch of personality snippets thrown here and there that amount to... nada. Nothing. Also, they (the "gang") are supposed to be pretentiously academic and cultured, but for Pete's sakes, throwing a poem here and a reference there do not any substance make. The whole thing is a joke, honestly. And the punchline? Duhamel reciting poetry as the brooding, sensitive, passionate young man he is. Talk about miscasting!
another year (2010)+
5/10 *****
Plot: A look at four seasons in the lives of a happily married couple and their relationships with their family and friends.
Not Mike Leigh's best work for sure. Very mediocre for him, and of him. He usually turns mundane into something marvellous, and a couple of films by him that accomplish that brilliantly are among my favourites ever; but this time he didn't quite conquered the task. Mundane is simply mundane, and the film drags after a while. But still he gives you some food for the thought and that always counts for something.
the chameleon (2010)+
3/10 ***
Plot: An FBI Agent is hot on the tracks of Frédéric Fortin who has taken up the identity of a woman's long lost son completely convincing the police and the boy's family of his identity.
The story showed potential, but it never delivered. When the film isn't contrived it is tedious and anticlimactic. Too bad, 'cause I'm very fond of Grondin.
how do you know (2010)+
4/10 ****
Plot: After being cut from the USA softball team and feeling a bit past her prime, Lisa finds herself evaluating her life and in the middle of a love triangle, as a corporate guy in crisis competes with her current, baseball-playing beau.
Nice rom-com. A bit awkward and odd at times, but they make those things work for them; strangely enough. Sidenote: can Paul Rudd be any more adorable? Yeah, didn't think so :)
see you in september (2010)+
3/10 ***
Plot: The film is an original romantic comedy set in current day Manhattan. It centers around Lindsay, a beautiful woman who seemingly has it all, but is deeply afraid of commitment. When she finds out that her therapist takes a vacation for the entire month of August she feels shocked and abandoned. Instead of taking this news lying down, Lindsay enlists the help of her acerbic best friend Monica to come up with a solution. With the assistance of "Craig's List", Lindsay puts together a group therapy session for all Manhattanites who are in need of therapy, but more importantly angry at their therapists for abandoning them.
The plot seemed iffy enough as I first read the summary, but it was carried along even weaker than I though it actually would be, filled with meaningless clichés. Oh, the things I watch for Kirk...
gegen die wand (2004)+
8/10 ********
Plot: Cahit, a 40-something male from Mersin in Turkey, has removed everything Turkish from his life. He has become an alcoholic drug addict and at the start of the movie wants to end it all. Sibel, a 20-something female from Hamburg, wishes to please her Turkish parents yet yearns for freedom. She has had her nose broken by her brother for being seen holding hands with a boy, and yet she can not break her mother's heart and run away. She too attempts suicide and she first approaches Cahit there at the Hospital. Sibel asks Cahit to marry her, as she believes this to be the way out of her parent's house. She promises Cahit that their relationship will be like roommates, not like a married couple. The film follows Sibel and Cahit as they get married, become closer and eventually fall in love.
AWESOME! What an amazing story, told amazingly. You want the antithesis of your typical Hollywood garbage? Jump on this film right here. I mean, I don't even have to mention/touch the whole social angle of it, for the love story alone (its nuances, its power, its layers, its honest, its rawness, its hold...) this film is a must-see. Words fail to convey its simple brilliance. Just watch it ;)