A visually appealing portrait of the Skagen Painters, a late 19th-century commune of artists inspired by the Impressionists who gathered in the Danish village of Skagen. Focus lies on Søren Krøyer (Stellan Skarsgård) who’s struggling with mental illness – our impressions of the landscape and people surrounding him go through his feverish eyes, and the … Continue reading Hip Hip Hurrah!
Ten years after Mamma Mia! we’re getting this franchise’s answer to The Godfather, Part II (1974) – the story picks up some time after the first movie, but we also meet Meryl Streep’s character when she was young, headed to that Greek island and met three charming young men during her journey. A thin story … Continue reading Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Hans Alfredson is the kind of filmmaker who could draw big audiences, who won awards and critical praise. A multitalented giant within Sweden’s showbiz community, he never really gained attention abroad. Perhaps his talent and sense of humor were too uniquely Swedish. When he passed away at the age of 86 a few weeks ago, … Continue reading Simple-Minded Murderer: Walking with Angels
YOU DON’T NEED EYES TO SEE. In 1964, Czech immigrant Selma Ježková (Björk), who’s nearly blind, is working in the U.S. to save money for her son’s eye surgery, but eventually ends up on death row. Lars von Trier’s musical, made in Sweden, set in the U.S. and starring Icelandic singer Björk, polarized audiences and … Continue reading Dancer in the Dark
FREEDOM IS NOT GIVEN. IT IS OUR RIGHT AT BIRTH. BUT THERE ARE SOME MOMENTS WHEN IT MUST BE TAKEN. In 1839, enslaved Africans take over La Amistad, a Spanish ship heading into American waters, and kill some of the crew; after being caught by the Navy, the Africans end up in court. After making … Continue reading Amistad
While vacationing in Morocco with his wife (Naomie Harris), a university teacher (Ewan McGregor) is befriended by a boisterous Russian (Stellan Skarsgård) who turns out to have laundered money for the Russian mob… Another John le Carré screen adaptation that entertains for the moment but fails to ignite the screen. Skarsgård and Damian Lewis are … Continue reading Our Kind of Traitor
EVERYONE WANTS TO FIND IT. Hector (Simon Pegg), who’s bored with his perfect little dull life, tells his girlfriend (Rosamund Pike) that he needs to go away on a journey east to find out what exactly makes people happy. Much like Eat Pray Love (2010), this movie offers banal answers to difficult questions and has … Continue reading Hector and the Search for Happiness
A NEW AGE BEGINS. When a program devised by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) called Ultron becomes unexpectedly sentient and immediately targets The Avengers as a threat that needs to be extinct, our superheroes are in for a huge challenge. The sequel to The Avengers (2012) is so firmly entrenched in the Marvel universe and … Continue reading Avengers: Age of Ultron
Joe’s (Charlotte Gainsbourg) story of her days as a nymphomaniac continues, and we learn that her experiences became increasingly desperate… Darker in tone than Vol. I, this one has a grisly abortion scene, some bloody BDSM action and silly adventures among gangsters. What started out as a mildly intriguing project turns very unpleasant, with pretensions … Continue reading Nymph()maniac: Vol. II
FORGET ABOUT LOVE. When Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) finds Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) lying beaten up near his apartment, he brings her home and starts listening to her story; at a very early age she realized that she was a nymphomaniac… What was more or less described as Lars von Trier’s stab at full-blown pornography has its … Continue reading Nymph()maniac: Vol. I
This adaptation of the old fairy tale was made by Disney and is heavily inspired by their 1950 animated version. The story of the orphaned girl (Lily James) who is mistreated by her wicked stepmother (Cate Blanchett), but gets a magical shot at wooing Prince Charming is girlishly romantic and fun for kids. Handsomely mounted, … Continue reading Cinderella
After doing time for a murder, Ulrik (Stellan Skarsgård) is released and heads back to his hometown where he’s hoping to start over… even though his old gang is still there. The third film that Hans Petter Moland did with Skarsgård depicts the challenges awaiting a gangster outside the prison walls. Many other filmmakers would … Continue reading A Somewhat Gentle Man
SOME PEOPLE CAN NEVER BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, UNTIL SOMEONE BELIEVES IN THEM. A professor and a therapist (Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Williams) try to make a twenty-year-old janitor (Matt Damon) at MIT realize that his brilliant mind should not be wasted. The drama that made Damon and Ben Affleck into household names in Hollywood became a … Continue reading Good Will Hunting
