Racial equality among muggers

I just finished reading Brian Garfield's novel Death Wish (1972), so of course I had to see the original movie, Michael Winner's Death Wish (1974). I don't necessarily have the patience to watch the few sequals - also starring Charles Bronson - let alone the Bruce Willis remake, but this truly is a great film where we follow a development engineer Paul Kersey getting tired of the scum and the filth of New York City.

Heroes are necessary

At first, it felt like an offbeat teenage comedy. And I also thought of quitting it because the lead character, Scott (Pete Davidson), a deadbeat, was like an annoying little fucker. But The King of Staten Island grew on me, it's a decent coming-of-age drama. Directed by Jude Apatow.

Dig up dirt

Cassandra (Carey Mulligan) is thorough with her hatred against a man - and the people like him - who hurt his friend seven years ago. She's obsessed with her vendetta, leaves no stone unturned until she gets the day of reckoning. Just about a perfect revenge flick. Somewhat different than the rest, a thought-out and startling little thing and almost a pretty cool and funny love story on the side. I expected nothing of the film, but it's easily one of the best this year.

Pull the trigger before the waterworks begin

Hutch Mansell is a nine-to-five working man, nothing out of ordinary, like the rest of us. He used to be a Nobody, an auditer for three letter companies and, when needed, he is full of explosive action. That piece of him is triggered by Yulian, a ruthless babysitter of Obstshak, pension fund of Russian mob. The movie is crazy and wild, extremely well made, lots of action, bodycount is numerous, a John Wick rip-off really, only funnier. Cool cast of Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside and Connie Nielsen.

The evening news with blood

Federal air marshal Bill Marks has his hands full when everyone thinks he is a terrorist. Whereas he, in fact, is the one who negotiates with the real terrorist threatening to kill the passangers on a transatlantic flight one by one. Like the marshal puts it, situation is quite complicated. An edge of seat thriller, a fun entertaining ride. Liam Neeson is more than the updated version of Steven Seagal.

Live safely for one more day

The two biggest nuclear accidents are the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, caused by human error and negligence, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, caused by natural causes, triggered by earthquake and tsunami. Both filmed recently. The first, an acclaimed, truly incredible mini series Chernobyl (2019) by Craig Mazin. And the latter Fukushima by Setsurô Wakamatsu and it's not an excellent film, but at least it's informative what took place in that awful day 11 March 2011.

Accept the existence of the devil

Some sort of demonic entity enters the bodies of human beings and make them do horrendous things. The fucker must be summoned through exorcism and thrown to hell. Not entirely sure, but don't think The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It differs of its predecessors, The Conjuring franchise, or all the other similar movies since William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973). A few jump scares, but a mess of a story of the same lie that the movie is based on a true story.

The rich really are different

Little does she now, the bride, that an initiation to an extremely wealthy family is a game. To her misfortune, it's Hide and Seek that is all too real. The rules are simple. You hide or you die. So better hide good. A horror comedy of survival and it's pretty fantastic and groovy.

A trail of shit

The adventures of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole. Two sick fucks - serial killers - who indulged in several murderous rampages somewhere around Florida in the early Eighties. Together or solo, they liked to kill, found insatiable pleasure in it. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) hasn't lost none of its video nasty appeal, lots of the story of the true characters is fictionalized, but it's still quite impressive.

The place hates you back

A pretty intense thriller of mafia henchmen wiping out people they are paid to execute and a group of fire fighters and sheriff deputies are trying to figure out what the heck is going on. It's wicked and action-packed, but it's also hopelessly fucking loopholed and full of downright naive mistakes. Entertaining, but an extremely badly written movie. Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult, Jon Bernthal and Aidan Gillen starring.

Existence is futile

The sky could have been the limit for Jere Karalahti, an ice hockey player. Talented as fuck, but essentially an asshole who wasted his talent on booze and drugs. He kind of wanted to be the rock'n'roll outlaw of ice hockey. Blew almost everything away, his own life included. Loving dad though.

Standing and peeing is kind of rad

Serial killer The Butcher changes identities with one of his victims and that's the general idea of the slasher comedy Freaky. It truly is funny and hilarious, deliciously bloody, Kathryn Newton and Vince Vaughn are brilliant in the lead, but the genre is pretty unforgiving. It's merely throwaway popcorn cinema and doesn't give a lasting experience.

Don't start what you can't finish

Ordinarily the leisurely pace of this movie would have scared me away. But I kept going because the charismas of Kevin Costner and Diane Lane kept the movie going. They are George and Margaret, grandparents to Jimmy, who they desperately want to see and save from a monster of a family. An emotionally charged drama thriller gradually built up towards explosive ending.

Doing something great is overrated

Funny thing with these mini series. You put the DVD into the player and it gets you in for a ride and before you know it, you've finished the fucking thing. Mare of Easttown - 7 episodes and something like 7 hours total - I binge-watched it and it's as excellent as everyone says it is.

The myths are real

They need to harvest energy from the Hollow Earth to fight against Godzilla who has behaved like shit recently. But to actually kill the gigantic beast you need something that matches its size. And that's when King Kong comes to play because Kong bows to no one except for a little deaf girl Jia. A shit for brains adventure and entertainment where the computer generated creatures expressed emotions far better than the human actors.

He's a dark fucking spirit

Guy Ritchie is out there. On the very top. With people like Quentin Tarantino, Denis Villeneuve and Martin Scorsese. The big league of contemporary film directors. They hardly ever disappoint. And that's why you always got to see their films. Wrath of Man prob'ly ain't Guy Ritchie's best piece. But it's truly fucking good. A proper action thriller of bunch of armed car robbers. It's surprisingly serious, the trademark Guy Ritchie black humour is all gone, but I reckon it's intentional. Jason Statham on the lead.

Seriously fucking yolo

Trevor travels through time, but he can't control it. Every few minute he travels one year ahead. A bit hard explaining it to your wife and the daughter you didn't know you had. An Australian romantic comedy with a serious undertone gnaws the old Groundhog Day (1993) bone, rather nicely at that but used all its ammo in the first 30 minutes.

Moomins don't dance

It's like Dome Karukoski's Tolkien (2019). A biobic of an artist. I'm not familiar with the works of Tove Jansson - moomins in particular. But when done properly, these things are educative fuckers and fun to watch.

More cynical, more bitter, more jaded

It seems I'm currently watching two greatest long-standing comedy series of all time. Seinfeld and Trailer Park Boys. The former I've seen countless of times and the latter for the first time. Perhaps too early to tell yet, but I reckon nothing match their brilliance. Season 2 of Seinfeld with classic episodes such as The Chinese Restaurant, The Jacket and The Pony Remark.

Unleash shit tsunami

Trailer Park Boys season 4. Just too much fun, so much so in fact that I don't want to binge-watch the entire series in a matter of days and ruin the appetite. Probably the best entertainment I've discovered in 2021.

A siren from the deep

I always knew I'd want to see The Night Of mini series again. It's full of outstanding courtroom drama, the hardship of prison life, deductive reasonings, one solid suspense of grisly murder and innuendos and what ifs for good measure. And it's seriously good, a catching story, brilliant characters, exciting to the very end. 9 episodes and 8 hours 45 minutes - watched it in one day.

You don't need a history to have a future

A soldier gets a second change in life. He is killed, but thanks to science he comes back resurrected, improved and enchanced. He's now a robot really, a super-computer and indestructible soldier in flesh, blood and some badass nanotechnology. To avenge the death of his wife is the first agenda, but ends up a pawn between scientists power struggle. A techno thriller in every sense of the word, humbug shit really, but pretty well done.

No puffs. Just flakes.

As of late I've watched a lot of scenes of Seinfeld on Youtube and kind of craved back to see full episodes. The first season which right now is 32 years old. Yet it's still the best show on television.

Bring me people to kill

The world's greatest manhunt. The events and days the led to the capture - and death - of the most notorious terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Without too much bigotry, propaganda and patriotism Kathryn Bigelow made this exciting thriller in 2012.

Little too heavy on the booze

Season 3 of the Trailer Park Boys. First thing I noticed is the obvious budget increase. It still looks homemade and trashy trailer park material, but somehow it's more radiant now. And it's still phenomenally good and a brilliant entity of its own. Includes a cool episode - "Closer to the Heart" - involving a Rush concert and starring Alex Lifeson, the guitar player and a big fan of the show.

A man who is lying will eventually change his story

A little car accident, followed by a coma for four days and the guy's life has gone totally upside down. His wife doesn't remember him, no one else either, as if the collective memory of the world have forgotten him. Fucking not cool as paranoia sets in. He needs the help from the former officer of the Stasi to convince him that he is he. Truly an interesting plot. Flawed, as usually is the case with these kind of films, but a proper intriguing multi-layered mystery and it's technically perfect action.

Through denial and error

These hillbilly thugs are just tremendously funny. It's season 2 of the Trailer Park Boys and it's something else. You get absorbed in its originality (there's nothing close to it really), the weird yet loveable characters, the incorrectness, the dialogue and laughs. Can't think of better entertainment right now.

Just kinda follow the instructions

When quarantined, what a better way to pass the time than conduct a little séance over Zoom. In Host, a few girls have a go of that shit and their astral plane is spooky as hell! Heck, I truly liked this, brilliant performances, cool simple horror and the film's lenght barely reach a one hour mark. Effective.

Prepare for the unexpected

A James Bond movie directed by John Glen in 1989, starring Timothy Dalton as the agent 007,  Carey Lowell as the Bond girl Pam Bouvier, Robert Brown as Bond's superior 'M' (the head of MI6), Desmond Llewelyn as 'Q' (the head of Q division), Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny (MI6 secretary) and Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez, the main antagonist. The theme song performed by Gladys Night. The agent 007 is on a private vendetta against a drug lord who did serious harm to his buddies. Timothy Dalton did only two Bond movies and this is his last. Familiar faces such as Benicio del Toro and Everett McGill in the rank as well.

Feels like there's a hole inside

Everything's falling apart in a mining community somewhere in Lapland, Finland. Drugs and booze don't work, the only woman in a 100 mile radius is a slut and the barren landscape makes you mental. Started off slowly, as minimalistic and melancholic as the environment, but thanks to the brilliant performances by the four people in the lead (Pääru Oja, Laura Birn, Tommi Korpela and Elmer Bäck), Viimeiset gained momentum and prevailed in the end. Funnily, lots of Finnish acting heavyweights - Samuli Edelmann, Sulevi Peltola and Ilkka Koivula - were cast almost as extras.

Our war has just begun

 

An unidentified virus is spreading. The fucker turns people into zombies real fast. And the zombies, running like sprinters, they're spreading the pandemic like wildfire by biting the healthy people that's left. It's a worldwide catastrophe. Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is flying around the world to make any sense of the insane phenomenon. Another throwback to the movies I had pretty much forgotten by now. A pretty hectic - borderline chaotic - zombie movie from 2013. Directed by Marc Forster.

Two birds stoned at once

Heard a many positive comments of Trailer Park Boys, but never got around to see it. Until now. I watched the first season during couple of nights and was suitably equipped with beer and booze. And, yeah, it's freaking hilarious. Maybe one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Black forest's flaming eyes

Film students are making a zombie movie and if the frictions inside the crew weren't enough, there's something sinister and otherwordly shit endangering their lives as well! I am a fan of Norwegian offbeat cinema (Trollhunter, Død snø, Norsemen, Kraftidioten, Lilyhammer), but I reckon Prosjekt Z won't become cult horror anytime soon.

Evil does not sleep

There are three Mother Boxes hidden on Earth. If synchronized, they scorch the entire planet. Things from another universe - Steppenwolf & his parademons - serving dark power are out to get them. Bruce Wayne aka Batman is building an army or alliance because of these enemies coming from far away. He needs warriors, so gets in touch with the rightful king of Atlantis Aquaman, the princess of the amazons Wonder Woman, Cyborg Victor, The Flash and Superman back from the dead. The freakshow lasts four hours, yet it's still pretty entertaining.

Down with the shadows

Someone has built an elaborate labyrinth - or tube - to torture his victims in various sickening ways. Through fire, water, sulphur, rotten bodies, barbed wire and painful memories, French Lisa (Gaia Weiss) crawls through the maze without the end in sight. Reckon the movie has a point in its claustrophobic horror, but I haven't registered it yet. Finnish actor Peter Franzén as a serial killer.

A badge is scarier than a gun

This was an Oscar nominee for the best picture. In Chicago 1969, in the wake of the deaths of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, the Black Panthers, the Young Lords and the Young Patriots form a rainbow coalition against the police brutality and tyranny. However one of their security captains is a rat who feeds information directly to the FBI. Haven't seen them all yet, but thus far I'd handed the Oscar to Judas and the Black Messiah rather than the mediocre Nomadland. Cool cast. Jesse Plemons is becoming the equivalent of Philip Seymour Hoffman, almost unrecognizable Martin Sheen as J. Edgar Hoover and another strong performance by Daniel Kaluuya. LaKeith Stanfield and Dominique Fishback caught my eye as well.

Salt of the earth

There was an international settlement in Shanghai called The Shanghai International Settlement and they had a private seat the witness the massacres that took place during wars. Like surreal theatre. In 1937, across the Wusong River they watched as the Japanese forces bombarded and killed the Chinese forces defending a warehouse, their last and only fortress in the city, their last bastion of hope. Outstandinly well made historical war drama, top-notch cinematography and a gripping story of courage.

A great vacation that comes to you

David Fincher's The Game from 1997 was now like a completely new movie to me because I had forgotten most of the story. I was even blown away by the double twist in the end. One of the most amazing thrillers I've ever seen, such an entertaining roller coaster ride that I would like to see it immediately again. Hopefully I don't wait for another 20 years at least.

River of no return

A girl disappers during a canoe trip. All her buddies are suspected of foul play. Järngänget (2000) is set in rural Swedish village. The sceneries are nice and picturesque, but unfortunately the story doesn't follow suit, it's predictable and weak. 

Love never dies

Emma and Henry are prisoners of their own home. They're locked inside and given orders by an unknown voice. And it's their fuckin' anniversary! It turns into terrible ordeal, downright mental torture of the highest magnitude. It's also a bullshit fucking thriller.

The archetype of the kicked kind

An entrepreneur (Guillaume Canet) organises time travel experiences. Cartoonist (Daniel Auteuil) wants to re-enact the moment in 1974 when he met the love of her life (Fanny Ardant) in cafeteria La Belle Époque. A beautifully executed romantic film. 

See you down the road

Fern is a nomad. She's without a regular job, works short shifts where she travels. There's a whole community of like-minded people. It's a lifestyle of freedom, but it's also rather hard and lonesome. Free from bureaucracy and normal society, you've all the time in the world to think about death, life and universe, the bad choices you've made and the dreams never completed. Nomadland is a slow-moving drama, a heartfelt piece, but can't grasp why it's an Oscar winner though. Must have been a bad year.

Banished from the world

Blood Quantum is a low budget piece of shit. It's a zombie movie set in Native American community. Lots of blood spattering and cutting off heads pay homage to the George Romero movies, but it's just hopelessly bad. The actors amateur acting skills and unbridled enthusiasm is pretty amusing to watch though.

Integrity of our institutions

An award-winning school in the Long Island village of Roslyn is in a world of shit. One of its superintendents is caught of embezzlement, a theft of taxpayers money, and if the truth gets out it's a scandal of the highest magnitude. It would effect the whole town, because the town is as good as its public school. The employees, can they be quiet enough, sweep the accusations under the carpet, to save their school's reputation? Luckily on the pupils in the student newspaper smells something is rotten and investigates the fraud. A well-crafted drama of the largest school theft in American history.

Soon come tomorrow

Four young adults rent a mansion by the sea. Should be a fun weekend trip, but things blow out of proportion and it's a creepy chaos that's what it is. The visitors are neck-deep in shit, tormented to death and don't know what to do. Criticized as a garbage thriller, but I kinda like this kind of simple suspense.

Siberia with family restaurants

This is why we love movies. A car salesman orchestrates a kidnapping of his wife to cover up his expenses, but of course the deal is lined up with so many unfortunate events, wrong choices and iffy characters that it's destined to end up in misery. One of those movies that has left a lasting remark in the world of cinema. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen in 1996.

Slavering wolf on the rolling prairie

Jeremiah Johnson wants to be a mountain man. He is a man of proper wit and adventurous spirit. Suited to the mountains. All he want to do is survive alone in the wilderness, hunt for living. A settler's simple life. However, it doesn't takes long until he has an adopted son and an Indian wife. And as a family they try to make do in the land of whimsical Indian tribes. Deliciously atmospheric cult western. Starring Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack in 1972.

Return to the rhapsody in blue

A paradise island where you can fulfill your wildest fantasies sounds like a lot of fun. Driven by grief, revenge or amusement, five of its quests are bewildered and horrified that the island actually does that, make impossible possible. Corny semi-horror b-movie fantasy crap where absolutely nothing makes sense.

We're a very friendly people

Thought of watching the Fargo TV series and the movie in chronological order before I have the opportunity to see the latest season 4. The season 2 is set in the Upper Midwest in March 1979. It consists of the Kansas mafia and Gerhardt crime family rivalling for power and it's mind-blowingly brilliant. Well-crafted and abundant story, lots of violence, lots of laughs too. Starring people such as Patrick Wilson, Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons, Ted Danson, Zahn McClarnon, Jeffrey Donovan, Jean Smart and Angus Sampson. A roller coaster ride of excellence.

Sometimes the moon is talking to nobody

Vikings Season 6 volume 1. I read a few harsh and really negative comments of the final season of the series. I kinda jumped the bandwagon there, but it's not really all that bad. The sons of Ragnar Lodbrok aren't as cool as their dad, the actors are pretty shite really and the viking ventures outside Scandinavia are not so interesting to follow, but otherwise it's alright.