The summer hasn’t been without movies and now that the vacation is over, it’s a good time to wrap up what movies I have seen lately. The Hitchhiker-thing was handled earlier, so here’s a roundup on the rest of the summer flicks:
Nowhere in Africa tells a story about a Jewish family moving to Africa before WWII to escape the Nazis. The clashing of cultures on a superficial and deeper levels cause problems for the family, but the family’s daughter seems to be able to take the changes better than anyone else. The acting and storytelling is generally good, not forgetting appropriate amounts of humor and drama. 3 and 1/2 out of 5.
Levottomat was a prime example of a terrible movie. The lead character was a emotionally handicapped, tongue-tied guy fucking basically anything that moves. While something in him supposedly attracts women (what, I couldn’t figure out), he’s incapable of a serious relationship. The movie is characterized among other adjectives as a story about “growth”, I don’t see much growth in the characters. You can forget about dialog, there isn’t any. There’s not much of a plot either. I really can’t figure out why this was such a popular flick. 1 out of 5, if even that.
Picture Perfect was an entirely predictable and unmemorable movie; supposedly a comedy where ‘Kate’ hires ‘Nick’ to act as her boyfriend for various strange purposes. One can probably guess the rest from just this.2 out of 5.
The Notebook was a beautiful, albeit sometimes in a wrenching way, love story. Even if the love story itself wasn’t all that original, the storytelling was better than average – and unlike many other “love stories”, this movie actually had a lot of real love in more than one form. A young man and a woman from totally different social classes get together during summer in the early 1940s; parents intervene and the relationship is dealt what seems to be a deadly blow. Later on, something happens which ignites the old flame (which never really went out at all). The story is told partly in the form of, well, a story. Throughout the movie, a lot of pieces fall nicely into place – without big surprises, but in a sweet way anyway.4 out of 5.
Blue Car is a perfect example of a movie whose cover lies a lot; the cover promising a somewhat lightweight story, the movie turns out to be a lot darker. Not a bad movie as such, but the expectation was of something very different and thus part of the experience was ruined. Anyhow, the story is about a young woman with more than her share of problems at home who is encouraged to enter a poem competition by her friendly – and it turns out a little too friendly – teacher. There was sufficient potential here, but in the end the experience wasn’t anything special. 3- out of 5.
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen was exactly what the cover promised: a brainless drama/comedy of girls competing for attention and fame in a smalltown school. Keeping in mind the genre (that is, brainless)3 out of 5
Bend it like Beckham is an excellent story of cultural differences and clashes and the different ways they can display themselves in. The story revolves around an Indian family in England and a girl enthusiastic about and talented in soccer, to the great disappointment and horror of her parents. Great first lead role acting by Parminder Nagra and good supporting acting carry the movie well. A very funny, interesting and warm movie about cultural differences and how a seemingly small thing can be a disaster for someone. Highly recommended, 4 out of 5.
A Lot Like Love is a story about two people whose lives intertwine at regular intervals but separated by years in time. It’s clear from the start that the two like each other (or, well, a bit more than like) but neither seems capable of really saying that aloud. So they drift apart, only to be brought back together for another short but sweet adventure. Having a happy ending, everyone can guess what the end result is – but it’s still good entertainment with even the dot-com boom getting its share of the laughs. 3 1/2 out of 5
Unbreakable is a story about a man, David Dunn (Bruce Willis), who mysteriously is the only survivor in a train crash. Another man, Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) with curious interest into David’s case approaches him and pushes him to find out what David really is – sometimes gently, sometimes not so gently. David is initially skeptic, but eventually discovers he can do more than just survive crashes… Presented in a typical style of the writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, the movie is low-key with the suspense generated in a simple, yet effective style. 4- out of 5
Finally, Sahara. I knew nothing about the movie beyond the advertising posters outside; hadn’t even seen a trailer, so I had no idea what to expect. Apparently it tried to be a funny Indiana Jones-style adventure and while it did have it’s moments, the movie as a whole was lacking character. After a relatively believable start, the movie gravitated towards the unrealistic (in a bad kind of a way) from there. Not great but not completely hopeless either. 3- out of 5
Jesus Christ !!! you saw so many movies, seems you had a ball of time. ‘ The Notebook’ was in Suomi or English ? Can I get this movie in Hameenlinna ?
Glad that you had a nice vacation.
bye
The Notebook was in English (all except Levottomat were in english). I’m pretty sure some video rental place will have it in Hämeenlinna also – try Filmtown or Makuuni.