MOVIE=SERIES

FOTO: nordiskfilm.dk

Danish noir was born on TV and seamlessly overflowed on the big screen. When it comes to the second part of the franchise started with ”Keeper of lost cases”, difference between series and movies is really, really blurred.

Action continues with another bizarre crime from the dark past, slowly developing as the script unfolds the horrifying truth. Detectives form the backbone of the cast (Nikolaj Lie Kass and Fares Fares), but the main role here is the case itself.

This one is particularly gruesome, but nothing more than that. At some point it also tends to get a bit confusing, but succeeds in creating a brutal ending.

To summarize, „The absent one” offers decent amount of adrenalin, but nothing more that.

FASANDRAEBERNE – 4/10

REMAKE WAS BETTER

FOTO: outnow.ch

Susanne Bier is one of the greatest European directors/screenwriters and her flick ”Brothers” had all the ingredients for a great drama. Plot about the wife that falls in love for the brother of a husband pronounced dead in Afghanistan is very interesting, but the acting and the development fall short of the expected.

Casting is superb in theory (Connie Nielsen, Nikolaj Lie Kass, Ulrich Thomssen), but actors are somehow tampered by partially predictable lines of the script as well as some weak motivations along the way.

This is one of the rare opportunities that the American remake (”Brothers” with Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire) had succeeded in surpassing the European original.

BRODRE – 5/10

CLASSIC DOGMA

FOTO: magnoliaforever

Lars von Trier as a director is unwatchable, but his ”Dogma 95” movement gave us some really interesting Danish flicks. Those movies may not be good in a classical manner, but they sure aren’t boring.

Story about an unorthodox birthday celebration is a classical „dogmatic” indie motion picture. Camera is shaking all the way through, lighting is natural and overall resources are low budgetary. All the significant Danish actors/actresses of the past decade are there and they are have decent roles.

Story has a superb idea, but somehow manages to wander off during the course of action. This is surely also due to social norms of the Scandinavian countries that tend to differ significantly from the rest of Europe and USA.

„Bizarre” is the word for this one, but maybe just a bit too much.

FESTEN – 5/10

IT SHOULD END HERE

FOTO: heyguys.com

When it has first hit the theatres in 2008, Luc Besson’s ”Taken” became an instant hit, reviving the weary career of Liam Neeson, as well as the entire action genre. The recipe was simple: short introduction, hour-or-so of killing-pace action and a brief exit. Fight scenes were short, but explosive, with little or no special effects.

Unfortunately, both sequels had nothing in common with the first part of the franchise. ”Taken 2” was incredibly boring for an action flick, while the third one tried to sort things out, bringing the story to the home soil of USA.

And that was everything that ”Taken 3” succeeded in bringing back. Huge budget, star cast (Whitaker) and spectacular CGI managed to deliver only another one of those predictable US action movies with no innovations and memorable moments to retell with your friends after the lights in the cinema went on.

The secret ingredient of the first ”Taken” formula is definitely lost. To be quite honest, they should have stopped after the first one. But they didn’t, and it’s a shame. Now, all that’s left is to hope that the movie slogan: ”It ends here” will prove to be true. Otherwise, they may make another one, with Liam saving his grandchild. And that would a complete disaster.

TAKEN 3 – 3/10

MOVIEMAN

FOTO: godawa.com

Alejandro González Iñárritu is a remarkably talented man, whether you talk about cinematography, script or directing itself. He hadn’t made too many movies, but each and every one of them was a small masterpiece. So is the ”Birdman”.

In a really quality-poor movie year, Iñárritu has done it again, creating the most original American flick in years.

Everything about „Birdman” is fresh and different from the stale Hollywood mainstream.

Script is dynamic, creating real life characters that you can bond to. Casting is superb, with Keaton leading the way with the performance of his life. Ed Norton is that Ed Norton we have missed so much since ”Fight club” and his chemistry with Michael is one of the most magical moments in the entire story. Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zack Galifianakis support them all the way to the end. But good plot, explosive and witty dialogues and pristine acting aren’t Iñárritu's main weapon. No.

Greatest quality of ”Birdman” is its unique visual identity, rivalled this year only by ”Grand Budapest hotel”. Unlike Wes Anderson’s cartoonistic approach, Mexican director does it the old-fashion way. With his camera, surreally long cuts (first one is 53 (fifty-three) minutes long!) and intimate narrow frames. Final result is one of the most successful and lovable hybrids between theatre and cinema ever.

If there’s any sanity left in the members of the ”Academy”, ”Birdman” must harvest all the major ”Oscars” in February 2015. Giving the ”golden boy” for best male lead, best female support, best movie, best directing and best script to any other flick/director/actor/actresses would be a crime for a capital punishment. As well as a great injustice, both towards the film industry, and to the Alejandro ”Movieman” Iñárritu himself.

BIRDMAN - 10/10

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING ALREADY SEEN

FOTO: gameit.es

Stephen Hawking is one of the most remarkable public figures of the 20th century. His work, personality, as well as his perennial fight against the horrible ALS deserved a decent movie script a long time ago. It finally got it, with „The theory of everything”, but nothing more than that.

Such a fascinating life story is compressed inside the two hours of numerous common places, with little exclusive and almost no controversial facts.

Luckily, male lead role is there to put it right, to some extent at least.

Young Eddie Redmayne literally twisted himself inside out for this one, reminiscing Daniel Day-Lewis’s Christy Brown in „My left foot”. Unfortunately, his effort isn’t matched by the supporting cast, raising serious questions about some of the five „Academy” nominations „Theory of everything” raised in this year’s race for the „golden boy”.

In the end, Eddie will be a major contender for the male lead title at the „Kodak” theatre, alongside phenomenal Keaton, but the rest of the flick falls behind significantly. And that’s a real shame.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING – 6/10