The Sessions (2012)

Yesterday I viewed The Sessions, directed by Ben Lewin and strarring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt & William H. Macy.

The movie is about a man Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) who is forced to live in a iron lung because of complications with polo, this state of body means he never had the chance to have sex, something he wishes for. After an unsuccessful attempt to propose to one of his caretakers he gets the tips to seek the sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Helen Hunt), and then we get to see his journey to lose his virginity. Except his limitation because of his body, he also limit his thoughts because of his catholic belief, believing that he is not worthy of having sex. His spiritual quest to seeking fulfillment his helped by the priest Father Brendan (William H. Macy)

As one of the breakthrough hits from Sundance it was expected to hit Oscar and critical glory hard, but ended up only being nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Helen Hunt, even though John Hawkes was a regular at several award ceremonies prior to the Oscar. According to me the snub of John Hawkes is a mystery for me. Playing a man limited in many sense, he manage to portray the character believably by peeling of his numerous limitation that complicates the quest to lose his virginity. As Mark, John Hawkes proves once again he is one of the greatest American actors working today. Wowing the audience now three years-a-row with three totally different characters. But what makes this whole movie so believable is the warmth of the rest the ensemble, especially the performances of John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. The film is a great testament for the human spirit and to be honest, I haven't seen a film with so many likable characters since forever.

B+

In Bed With Madonna

The legendary tour Blonde Ambition by Madonna has been named the greatest tour of the 90s by Rolling Stones. Backstage Madonna let a filming crew capture the drama backstage and her feelings during the tours. In black and white we follow Madonna through emotional and happy times during the tour. We see her struggling coping with her tour and the press.

Madonna is as many noted before pretty much aware of the camera crew therefore she's not always that natural, especially not in the interviews. But at the same she's so fascinating because what we see is one of the most talked-about womens on earth, both then and now, a little bit more up close and personal than we use to and what we get is a confused lady that wants people interpret her in the way she wants to.

Without a doubt one of the best documentaries that has been done, and i count among one of my favourite movies of the 90s.

Prima Ballerinas

Yesterday I watched two movies. The Red Shoes and Black Swan. Both of them tells you the story about a ballet company rehearsing and playing a famous ballet, and both of them ends like their respective ballets does.

The Red Shoes was released 1948 but has survived the test of time, and is now considered one of the best pictures ever made, and rightfully so. It's a fantastic achievement for cinema with lush cinematography, beautiful music and great sequences.

But what about Black Swan?
Well according to me it's a future classic. Such a visually lush movie with great storytelling and performances. What more could you ask for? Natalie Portman gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance as Nina Sawyers, the doomed ballerina whoms search for perfection ultimately destroys her. Natalie conveys all of her characters emotion, both as the "good" Nina and the "bad" Nina. Also we must applaud Portman for the preparing of her role.

Mila Kunis is also great, and certainly is a rising star. Barbara Hershey gives also a great performance as the role of an overprotective mother (you can see the comparision with her role and Rapunzels fake mother in Tangled).

This will be the film I will root for to win Best Picture and Best Actress during the Academy Awards!

So for the rates.
The Red Shoes - A+
Black Swan - A/A+

10 Words Review:

The Cat's Meow:
Delightful, funny homage to the happy 20s. Dunst is magnificent.
Best in Show: The Costumes

The Last of the Mohicans
One of the best romantic adventures to come from Hollywood.
Best in Show: The Cinematography

Rage
Original storytelling with a great cast. Sally Potter is Back
Best in Show: Dame Dench

Reviews in 10 words

Beauty and the Beast (1946)
When Cinema turns into art, a masterpiece without any doubts
A+

A Christmas Tale (2008)
French Cinema at It's Best, Catherine Deneuve Steals the Show
B+/A-

Lola Montes (1955)
Breathtaking cinematography and costumes, and the circus scenes are great.
A/A-

The Turning Point (1977)
70s-Style Dramatic soap-opera with two great actresses, Maclaine and Bancroft.
B

Highly Recommended

If you feel that this weeks releases was quite uninspiring or not just good enough. Then I recommend you this french piece of gem. Summer Hours. It evokes the exactly right emotions. Edith Scob and Juliette Binoche is splendid in their roles and fully deserving of award attention, though the won't get any... :(

Natt bloggning!

Inte länge sen sist ju :)

Tänkte tipsa er om en film jag såg för drygt 3 veckor sen.
Nämligen Paranormal activity, som får en riktigt rädd.

Den handlar om...
Katie och Mica, som tycker att dom upplever underligga saker i huset.
Så som knarrande dörrar, fot steg i trappan, och andra ljud.
Till en början tror Mica att det är barnen i huset brevid som håller på och skrämmer Katie..
Så en dag beslöt han sig för att köpa en videokamera fast besluten om att dokumentera spöket, demonen, inbillningarna eller vad det nu kan vara. Så dom sätter upp kameran i sovrummet.
Mica resonerar att ''I videokameran kommer verkligheten att synas och det är först när man har koll på den som man kan göra något åt saken''

Värt att ge filmen en chans, iaf för dom som kan sova sen efter ;)

The Women - The 2008 Version

Last year "The Women" was released. It was critically loathed and earned 1 razzie nomination for Worst Actress.

Friday I saw it for the first time, I've wanted to seen it since it was released but was scared off by all the negative critics (except Roger Ebert's one). Slowly into the movie I began to realize this wasn't that awful. Of course it wasn't anywhere near the 1939 version, but still not bad. The script was pretty dull though, but it was all helped up by the actresses in this movie. Bening, Ryan, Messing and Leachman are all great comedienne and didn't deserve mention by the Razzie, but Messing and Smith surely did. But it's during the last parts of the movie it begins to crash, not completely but almost. It turns out to be another one of these Hollywood comedies with the same predictable which is ofcourse really boring.

Overall this is a entertaining and sophisticated comedy, but with many flaws that the actresses even couldn't overcome.

Rate: C

Truth or Dare?

I Pick Truth!

Yesterday I watched Madonna's 1991 documentary "Truth or Dare" or "In Bed With Madonna" as it's called in Europe.

I was completely hooked on it. It's a fascinating documentary about the one AND only Madonna.

Isn't it weird that my top three favourite movies of 1991 was one animated movie, one horror and one documentary. It's pretty easy to guess the movies i'm talking about :)

Short Reviews

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea:
Charming, Warm, Great Animated
A-

The Brothers Bloom
Average, Good Acting, Good Story, Lame jokes.
B- or C+

Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds
What a Movie!!! Tarantino is making it again. This gem of a movie is pure movie magic, everything is magic. The storyline is "amusing" and original, the characters is greatly developed in the script and the actors just makes it better. And when we come to the actor, WOW! Brad Pitt is right now in his Zenith i think. Christoph Waltz is scene stealing in the scenes his in. Diane Krüger gives a sort of Marlene Dietrich vibe to her performance. And last but not least the breakthrough performance of the YEAR I can say even before watching Carey Mulligan in "An Education". Melanie Laurent. She's maybe the best french modern actress now, Marion Cotillard i'm very sorry. Melanie gives a screen performance we haven't seen in Years. Her acting is very similiar to Catherine Deneuve.

Melanie YOUR GREAT.

Grade - A+ or A, can't decide, but i'm choosing the lesser A.

9/8

Today I've been pretty low on the cinema front. I have not seen any movies til now, so I will review the movie I saw yesterday "Watchmen".

The movie begins exciting with the murder of Comedian. After the credits come, great "footages" of the early Watchmen then bringing on to the late. You never get extremly bored, only sometimes it feels a little bit repetive. The action scenes are magnificent done and believable. The visuals is GREAT! Wow! I saw it on television but what much better It would look in theatre.

Some negativites is mostly to the acting. Carla Cugino and Jackie Earle Haley is scene stealers, in case of Haley IF the supporting actor category at the Oscars will be fatigue, then he certainly has a chance. The "villain" is good acted by Matthew Goode, whom did marvellous job in "Brideshead Revisited" last year, but sometimes it feels like, mostly in the beginning, is more a caricature of a Disney villain. Billy Crudup is not as good as his other role in "Public Enemies" this year. In the flashbacks he isn't really belieavable, but his voice to Dr. Manhattan suits greatly I think.

Patrick Wilson and Malin Åkerman does both pretty dull work, they certainly can better especially Wilson. They chemistry is pretty good though.

Overall the rating is: B+

Oscar Shots and Chances*

Best Supporting Actor (Haley) - Low to average
Best Cinematography - Low
Best Art Direction - Low
Best Costume Design - Low
Best Visual Effects - Average
Best Make Up - Average
Best Sound - Average
Best Sound Effects Editing - Average

*(This Is What I Think NOT what I Want)

State of Play

I saw "State of Play" some days ago and I must say I was pleasantly suprised. I thought it would be another B-Movie with star cast, but it proved me wrong. Of course I could tell by the reviews that it would be at least decent, but it was more than just decent. The movie never got boring or tiresome and it kept the pace all the time.

Russell Crowe was flawless, Helen Mirren was great, Rachel McAdams proves the she can be the next Julia Roberts, Robing Wright Penn was moving, Ben Affleck proves that he can act (for the 2nd time in the decade).

My Top list of 2009 (yet):
1. Everlasting Moments
2. State of Play
3. The Edge of Love
4. Easy Virtue

Mata Hari

I watched Mata Hari a while ago. The movie is good but not great. And the thing i began to wonder about is how this can be Garbos most famous performance, of coure a mysterious person playing a mysterious person draw crowd. But she has done so many better roles in "Camille", "Queen Christina" and "Love".

Good Night

Now i've seen Mrs. Miniver, a great movie with Garson as the star (Sorry for the unenthusiastic review). Now i'm tired and is going to sleep bye.

Romeo and Juliet

Now i've finally watched Romeo and Juliet from 1936. It's a good movie with some flaws. Like example it tends to get boring times to times, and Leslie Howard don't give us the presence of being young. Norma Shearer isn't as miscast as some people say she is.

The Verdict is it's a good movie, well deserving of your time.

His Girl Friday

Aha! "His Girl Friday" is a great movie. Hilarious with great acting. Rosalind Russell overshadows everyone else in the cast, and is now on my ballot for Best Actress 1940.

Cary Grant makes a stellar performance, but I think he's better in "The Philadelphia Story".

Alice in Wonderland

The family movie "Alice in wonderland" is a classic that should get more attention. The actress that play Alice is brilliant and the art direction is superb. A Must watch.

Le Voyage de Gulliver À Lilleput Et Chez Les Géants

The Movie is candy for the eye but tends to get a little boring in some moments. Though Méliès once again makes something original in moviemaking.

Jeanne D'Arc

This is among one of the first "epics" I say. It's got a great story and beautiful art direction, top of it all the actress that plays Jeanne D'Arc is mesmererzing. It's great but not as great as "A Trip to the Moon". Worth seeing.