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From ZERO to 6 ♥s. 100% ad-free. Run on pure love for movies, documentaries and TV-series. April 2024: Countdown to: Top 10: Best heist movies - Upcoming review: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Three major Hollywood stars in dignified black and white stare at us on this poster to get us to go watch Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs
A college professor convinces a student to engage himself in the world. Two of his ex-students are killed on tour in Afghanistan. And a US senator is presenting the new military strategy for the war in the far-away Middle Eastern country to a journalist. Lions for Lambs is written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play (2009)) and co-produced and directed by Californian master Robert Redford (Ordinary People (1980)). Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai (2003)) as the senator and Meryl Streep (Dark Matter (2007)) as the journalist are both good, and their performances and star power make up much of the reason to watch this otherwise boring political war drama, which feels overly constructed.
Cost: 35 mil. $ Box office: 63.2 mil. $ = Big flop (returned 1.80 times the cost) [Lions for Lambs premiered 18 October (New York) and runs 88 minutes. Shooting took place in Washington DC, Virginia and in California, including Los Angeles, ending in January 2007. The film opened #4, behind holdover hits Bee Movie and American Gangster and fellow new release Fred Claus, to a small 6.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd week and grossed only 15 mil. $ (23.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 8.3 mil. $ (13.1 %) and Spain with 6.5 mil. $ (10.3 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, equal to its rating here. Redford returned with The Conspirator (2010). Streep returned in Mamma Mia! (2008), Cruise in Tropic Thunder (2008). Lions for Lambs is rotten at 26 % with a 4.8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of Lions for Lambs?
+ Best Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Esben Smed
The sensational romance at the film's heart is the center for this erotic poster for Bille August's A Fortunate Man
Peter Andreas is a young man with an uncommon drive, ambition and contempt for his Christian family, as he takes a small room in Copenhagen in the late 19th century and intensifies his engineer studies, pushing forth a revolutionary project for Jutland.
A Fortunate Man is written by Anders Frithiof August (Key House Mirror/Nøgle Hus Spejl (2015)) and Danish master co-writer/director (and father of his co-writer), Bille August (Pelle the Conqueror/Pelle Erobreren (1987)), adapting the 8 (!) classic, semi-autobiographical Lykke-Per novels (1898-1904) from Henrik Pontoppidan (De Dødes Rige I-II (1917). A Fortunate Man is a marvelous experience for someone with a penchant for grand period dramas and 19th century adaptations. The production is exquisite, never boastful but impressive and lovely in its portrayal of old Copenhagen, the Danish countrysides as well as trips to Austria and Germany. Falling into this world of yore is a treat. Esben Smed (Denmark 92/Sommeren '92 (2015)) leads the film impressively. He is great as the complex Peter, whose surroundings name him 'Lykke-Per', meaning a fortune-seeker, a man who is led by his towering ambitions, ruthlessness and arrogance. He is also, perhaps, and at least in his own mind, a genius. And a very handsome character in Smed's figure. He succeeds in making Peter's rise and fall seem probable and natural. Surrounding Smed is an ensemble of fine Danish actors: Especially joyous is it to have funny-men Tommy Kenter (The Passion of Marie/Marie Krøyer (2012)) and Rasmus Bjerg (Nothing's All Bad/Smukke Mennesker (2010)) in serious roles as patriarchs stunted by youthful passion, but also Elsebeth Steentoft (Small Town Killers/Dræberne fra Nibe (2017)) is formidable as Peter's mother. Good performances also flow from Julie Christiansen (While We Live/Mens Vi Lever (2017)), Tammi Øst (The Woman Who Dreamed About a Man/Kvinden Der Drømte Om en Mand (2010)), Claus Flygare (Danny's Doomsday/Dannys Dommedag (2014)), Jens Albinus (Portland (1996)), Paul Hüttel (1864 (2014), miniseries) and Katrine Rosenthal (Kursk (2018)) SPOILER as the tremendously big-hearted, intelligent Jewish Jacobe, whom Peter seduces and later ditches, when his immature focus shifts back to his Jutlandic roots. The film is sometimes funny, involving and romantic, SPOILER but it loses its shape, as Peter makes his radical move away from Copenhagen and his betrothed, who, unknown to him, is carrying his child. A Fortunate Man has epic length, but it feels more like a miniseries, as this shift occurs at such a natural place to end a long and fine film. Indeed A Fortunate Man is also envisioned to serve as an elongated miniseries on Danish TV shortly after its theatrical release, and this commercially dictated logic, which broadens the audience and therefore the revenue for the project, doesn't serve the film well. Unfamiliar with Pontoppidan's novels, A Fortunate Man's last act makes us very aware that the story is vast, and that August's wrapping up of it is somewhat haphazard. SPOILER Peter starts a family in Jutland and abandons them in favor of strange solitude, while managing to gather considerable funds, (we don't learn exactly how.) Smed's attractive, boyish looks also clash somewhat with his seemingly having become much older. A Fortunate Man is a fine film and treat, not least for Danes, but it should have been a two-parted film, and it is the latter part of the story that seems raced through here, as August speeds up to get to the finishing drone shot of Peter, alone and awaiting death in the Jutlandic heath landscape.
Watch a trailer for the film here, without English subtitles regrettably
Cost: 55 mil. DKK, approximately 8.6 mil. $ Box office: Unknown - but likely not exceeding 20 mil. DKK yet = Still uncertain - but so far a theatrical mega-flop [A Fortunate Man premiered 20 August (Jutland, Denmark) and runs 162 minutes. A newly formed Public Service fund supported the production with 22 mil. DKK. 1 mil. DKK came from Den Vestdanske Filmpulje, requiring some shooting to take place in Fyen. Shooting took place in Denmark, including Copenhagen, and in Austria. The film has been well received in its production country Denmark, where 218k have paid admission to it so far. Unfortunately the film is part of 'Biografklub Danmark', which means that a large portion of the audiences pay only half price for admission. The miniseries version is to be shown on Danish TV2 at a later date. The film is shortlisted as one of three candidates to become the Danish Oscar bid of the year. August is set to return with Danish-Italian The Emperor of Dreams: Gianni Versace and Belgian A War of Their Own, both only announced. Smed returns in Ditte & Louise (2018), Rosenthal in Kursk (2018). 235 IMDb users have given A Fortunate Man a 7.8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of A Fortunate Man?
Intense darkness and the naked bodies of two of the film's stars, with a drop of sweat on Patrick Wilson's torso, indicates both something dark and sensual on this poster for Todd Field's Little Children
A pent-up, unhappy housewife has an affair with the prom king of her high school days, while a flasher moves into her suburban neighborhood. Little Children is written by great co-writer/co-producer/director Todd Field (In the Bedroom (2001)) and Tom Perrotta (The Leftovers (2011), novel), based on his same-titled 2004 novel. It is Field's 2nd theatrical feature. It is a very fine film about miserable 'little children' (adults, really) of suburbia. Little Children is extremely well-written, directed, acted and shot (by Antonio Calvache (Sleeping Luck (2003))). Kate Winslet (Iris (2001)) plays the unresolved wife and mother character that she has portrayed well in other films as well. The sex offender is played phenomenally by Jackie Earle Haley (All the King's Men (2006)). The themes and feelings stirred by the film are so related to those from Sam Mendes' modern classic American Beauty (1999), - the film's composer Thomas Newman (Saving Mr. Banks (2013)) was also contracted and made the score for Little Children, - and the similarities may explain why Little Children wasn't nearly as successful as American Beauty, even though it may be a tiny bit better. This love-themed drama is for the most part a depressing time, which I write in the best possible way.
Cost: 26 mil. $ Box office: 14.8 mil. $ = Huge flop (returned 0.56 times the cost) [Little Children premiered 1 September (Telluride Film Festival, Colorado) and runs 137 minutes. Field and Perrotta have reportedly deliberately changed the film's story to some degree from the one in the novel. Shooting took place in Boston, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Maine, California and New Jersey from July - September 2005. It opened #42 to a 97k $ opening weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #27 and in 115 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 5.4 mil. $ (36.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 1.1 mil. $ (7.4 %) and the UK with 0.8 mil. $ (5.4 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Actress (Winslet), lost to Helen Mirren in The Queen), Supporting Actor (Haley), lost to Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine, and Adapted Screenplay, lost to William Monahan for The Departed. It was also nominated for 3 Golden Globes and received many other honors. Field has yet to return as a director: He has pursued a now abandoned war drama titled America's Last Prisoner of War, and is set to direct for the Daniel Craig-starring TV-series Purity; he is also pursuing adaptation The Creed of Violence. Winslet returned in All the King's Men (2006), Jennifer Connelly (Noah (2014)) in Blood Diamond (2006), and Patrick Wilson (Fargo (2015), TV-series) in Running with Scissors (2006). Little Children is certified fresh at 80 % with a 7.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of Little Children?
+ Best Religious Horror Movie of the Year + Best Breakthrough Actress of the Year: Taissa Farmiga
The malignant titular character greets us from her Gothic home on this ominous poster for Corin Hardy's The Nun
In 1952, a nun hangs herself in a countryside convent in Romania. The Vatican sends an investigator out with a young woman, who is about to take her vows as a nun herself, to look into the suspicious convent and death. The Nun is written by Gary Dauberman (Annabelle (2014)), with James Wan (Saw (2004)) supplying story elements, and directed by Corin Hardy (The Hallow (2015)). It is the 5th film in the Conjuring universe, following The Conjuring (2013), Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring2 (2016) and Annabelle: Creation (2017). I was positively surprised by the film, which has garnered many sour reviews and may disappoint audiences who expect a detailed account of the origins of the evil nun demon Valak first encountered in Conjuring 2. On the other hand, SPOILER The Nun stays true to the previous films by having its evil not stemming from a single person's cruelty but rather from the pits of hell, using one deceased person as a vessel for its demonry. The Nun is a true Gothic horror, like a modern, more horrific version of one of Roger Corman's 1960s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, laced with a dash of Mario Bava's output from that same era. The film has a ripe setting in its Rumanian convent and its grounds, which is revealed to be harboring a portal to hell, which the nuns have protected through prayer since its tragic reopening during bomb shelling in recent WWII. Demián Bichir (Lowriders (2016)) has authority as Father Burke, Jonas Bloquet (Elle (2016)) is cute as the French-Canadian helper, who is also the film's comic relief, but it is Taissa Farmiga (Higher Ground (2011)), little sister of the Conjuring's Vera Famiga, who breaks through here: Farmiga has an enchanting radiance and a powerful presence as the young novitiate, which insists on our full attention. The Nun has plenty of elements that can be discussed and possibly frowned upon afterwards, but with the added value of an appropriately gloomy score by Abel Korzeniowski (Escape from Tomorrow (2013)) and terrific, very vivid practical and digital effects, it was a delicious horror ride in my opinion, loyal to its franchise, - indeed scarier than the two Annabelle films, - with some good scares and lots of goosebumps-inducing sequences. Related posts:
Cost: 22 mil. $ Box office: 136.6 mil. $ and counting = Already a huge hit (returned 6.2 times the cost) [The Nun premiered 4 September (MOTELX, Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, Portugal) and runs 96 minutes. Hardy, hired based on his Irish debut horror The Hallow (2015), was reluctant to hire Farmiga due to her sister's central position in the Conjuring movies but changed his mind based on her stand-out audition. Shooting took place in 38 days in Romania, including Bucharest and Transylvania, and in California from May - June 2017. A teaser for the film was removed from Youtube in August 2018 for being too scary. The film opened #1 to a franchise-best 53.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it has grossed 57.3 mil. $ so far. The film is successful globally and has several major markets yet to open in: Sep. 19 (France, South Korea), Sep. 20 (Hong Kong, Italy, Russia) and Sep. 21 (Japan, Norway and Turkey). Its gross is almost certain to cross 300 mil. $, possibly reaching a franchise-best of 330-350 mil. $, which will make a sequel almost inevitable, which Wan has also already teased plans for. Hardy has no scheduled next directing job coming up yet. Farmiga returns in American Horror Story (2011-18) and theatrically in We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018); Bichir in Chaos Walking (2019), and Bloquet in Bus N (2018). The Nun is rotten at 26 % with a 4.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of The Nun?
+ Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year+ Most Expensive Flop of the Year (72.52 mil. $ range)
Screaming Will Ferrell and a T-rex are the winning features on this dramatic, funny poster for Brad Silberling's Land of the Lost
A ridiculed time warp scientist with an eating disorder travels through time using his invention, bringing along a beautiful admirer doctoral candidate and a reclusive amusement park owner to a lost land ...
Land of the Lost is written by Chris Henchy (The Other Guys (2010)) and Dennis McNicholas (The Ladies Man (2000)), based on the same-titled 1974-76 NBC TV-series, and directed by Brad Silberling (Casper (1995)). The film references and clearly loves great adventure films, which it is indebted to (such as The Time Machine (1960), Planet of the Apes (1968), Jurassic Park (1993), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977))), and the narrative gushes with boyish storytelling glee and Hollywood magic. The 3D effects and visual concept is designed and shot in a hyper-realistic way that is fascinating and makes the outlandishness of it all stand out to humorous effect. Will Ferrell (Winter Passing (2005)) is hilarious here, blotting out that Anna Friel's (The Cleanse (2016)) fan scientist doesn't add much to the scenes. Land of the Lost is a funny, wacky and at times psychedelic concoction, which commercially turned out to be a fatal combination of kid-indicating high adventure and adult drug comedy elements.
Cost: 100 mil. $ Box office: 68.7 mil. $ = Huge flop (returned 0.68 times the cost) [Land of the Lost was released 5 June (North America) and runs 102 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, from March - June 2008. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release The Hangover and holdover hit Up, to a flat 18.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#5) and grossed 49.4 mil. $ (71.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 3.2 mil. $ (4.7 %) and Australia with 3.1 mil. $ (4.5 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to similar to the one it gets here. It won 1/7 Razzie award nominations. Universal Pictures president Ron Meyer in 2011 tried to distance himself from the costly flop, saying: "Land of the Lost was just crap. I mean, there was no excuse for it. The best intentions all went wrong." The film made in excess of 20.2 mil. $ on the domestic home video market, which wouldn't change its huge flop status, if it was counted into the equation. Silberling returned with 5 TV credits before he hit the big screen again with Ben Kingsley-starring An Ordinary Man (2017). Ferrell returned with an uncredited cameo in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009), and in 5 non-theatrical appearances before starring in The Other Guys (2010). Land of the Lost is rotten at 26 % with a 4.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of Land of the Lost?
Sundown provides the sharp light on this interesting poster for Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima
The WWII battle for Japanese isle Iwo Jima in the Pacific is portrayed from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and military leaders.
Letters from Iwo Jima is written by Iris Yamashita, with Paul Haggis (Crash (2004)) contributing story elements, based on Picture Letters from Commander in Chief by Japanese general Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed by Ken Watanabe (Zawa-zawa Shimo-Kitazawa (2000)) in the movie) and Tsuyuko Yoshida, and directed by Californian master filmmaker Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World (1993)). It is the second part of Eastwood's double feature project of the Battle for Iwo Jima, which also includes the great Flags of Our Fathers (2006), which shows the American side of the story. Letters appears less riveting than Flags to me, maybe partially because its structure is looser: Who we precisely are following, and what they aim for is not always obvious. - The character's reasoning and decisions are especially hard to follow, - their cultural persuasion of the merits of suicide are among the ludicrous elements that make them hard to grasp, - and Eastwood has chosen to have little in the way of narrative assistance here for us. There are no opening credits, time assertions or text to get us seated in the right frame of mind. But Letters doesn't shy away from history, and the film has several memorable scenes. It is a handsome and hard war film, which, together with Flags of Our Fathers, are a unique addition to cinema's depiction of war. Together they underline the duality of truth in a most majestic manner.
Cost: 19 mil. $ Box office: 68.6 mil. $ = Big hit (returned 3.61 times the cost) [Letters from Iwo Jima premiered 15 November (Budokan, Japan) and runs 140 minutes. Shooting took place in Japan, including on Iwo Jima, in Iceland and in California, including Los Angeles from March 2006 - 'late 2006'. The USS Texas battleship which is in both Letters and Flags actually participated in the Battle for Iwo Jima for 5 days. The film opened #30 to an 89k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #14 and in 781 theaters and grossed 13.7 mil. $ (20 % of the total gross), being the film's 2nd biggest market. It was hugely successful in Japan, its biggest market, where it was #1 for 5 weeks and grossed 42.9 mil. $ (62.5 %). Japanese audiences and critics praised the film for its authentic Japanese details, use of the language, mostly Japanese actors and a variety of character types. The 3rd biggest market was France with 1.7 mil. $ (2.5 %). The film was nominated for 4 Oscars: It won for Best Sound Editing and lost Best Picture and Best Director to Martin Scorsese's great The Departed, and Best Original Screenplay to Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine. It also won 1/2 Golden Globe noms, an AFI award, was nominated for a David di Donatello award, won 2 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. Eastwood returned with Changeling (2008). Watanabe returned in Hoshi Hitotsu no Yoru (2007, TV movie), Keiji Ichidai: Hiratsuka Hachibei no Shôwa Jiken Shi (2009, TV-series) and theatrically in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009). Letters from Iwo Jima is certified fresh at 91 % with an 8.2/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of Letters from Iwo Jima?
The two male stars are pitched against some murky, grey plumes of debris on this sullen poster for F. Gary Gray's Law Abiding Citizen
A family father's family gets murdered by home invaders, but one of the culprits is released from jail due to legal circumstances. The man for several years plans a bizarre revenge for this systemic error.
Law Abiding Citizen is written by Kurt Wimmer (The Recruit (2003)) and directed by great New-Yorker filmmaker F. Gary Gray (Friday (1995)). The plot is a hodgepodge, which starts out alright but is later completely lost, as I began wondering what all the good forces involved here are doing in this mess. - None of the extremely violent revenge murders carried out by Gerard Butler's (The Phantom of the Opera (2004)) vigilante father here are justifiable, and yet they lead to genuine reflection for the legal world as it is portrayed here. Law Abiding Citizen suffers from this type of completely derailed, poorly rationalized logic. It is a morally objectionable botch job.
Cost: 53 mil. $ Box office: 126.6 mil. $ = Minor flop (returned 2.38 times the cost) [Law Abiding Citizen premiered 23 September (Urbanworld Film Festival, New York) and runs 118 minutes. The roles were originally intended to be reversed with Butler playing the attorney and Jamie Foxx (Valentine's Day (2010)) playing the vigilante dad, and Frank Darabont was hired to direct but left over 'script differences' in what was termed an 'ugly' parting. Shooting took place in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, from August 2008 - January 2009. The film opened #2, behind Where the Wild Things Are, to a 21 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#4, #3) and grossed solid 73.3 mil. $ (57.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 9.8 mil. $ (7.7 %) and Italy with 6.5 mil. $ (5.1 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to two notches higher than this one. Gray returned with the great Straight Outta Compton (2015). Butler returned in The Bounty Hunter (2010), Foxx in Valentine's Day (2010). Law Abiding Citizen is rotten at 26% with a 4.3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
