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From ZERO to 6 ♥s. 100% ad-free. Run on pure love for movies, documentaries and TV-series. June 2025: Countdown to: Top 10: Best horror comedy movies - Upcoming review: There's Still Tomorrow (2023)
The two protagonist friends light cigarettes on this poster for Cesc Gay's Nico and Dani
Nico and Dani are two 17 year-old friends, who live alone in a house in the summer for a period: They find girls, - but one of the two falls for his friend, is forced to face his different sexuality, - plus the fact that his feelings are unreciprocated. Nico and Dani is written by Tomás Aragay (Truman (2015)) and co-writer/director Cesc Gay (Hotel Room (1998)), based on a play by Jordi Sánchez (Pedralbes Centre (1995)). The original Spanish title refers to a kind of mutual masturbation that the two friends engage in in the film. Nico and Dani is a refreshing coming-of-age drama with sexual frankness, piercing wistfulness, nice images and outstanding performances. The story is related with wonderful straightforwardness, and it has some especially funny scenes of the ignorance inherent in being young. The film is highly suitable for use in sex education classes.
Watch 2-minutes from the film here
Cost: Unknown Box office: Uncertain - in excess of 372k $ = Uncertain [Nico and Dani premiered in May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 91 minutes. Shooting took place in Barcelona. The film's Box Office Mojo sheet only covers its North-American and Taiwan releases, of which 370k $ were from North America; the film's earnings in production country Spain and other European markets are missing. It won an award in Cannes. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Gay returned with In the City/En la Ciudad (2003). Fernando Ramallo (Dani) (Between Abril and Julio/Entre Abril y Julio (2002)) returned in 3 shorts and a TV-series before his theatrical return inAlgunas Chicas Doblan las Piernas Cuando Hablan (2001); Jordi Vilches (Nico) (La Sagrada Familia (2011, TV-series)) in Warriors/Guerreros (2002). Nico and Dani is certified fresh at 87 % with a 6.62/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of Nico and Dani?
The simple, water color-manipulated poster for Wes Craven's My Soul to Take
The little society of Riverton has a tragic past: 7 people were killed by the 'Riverton Ripper' 16 years ago. - On the same night 7 births took place there! Now, 16 years later, (figure; 1 + 6 is also 7, gasp!), a new maniac naturally runs amok! My Soul to Take is deftly written and directed by great Ohioan filmmaker Wes Craven (Scream (1996)), his first film as writer-director-co-producer since New Nightmare (1994). The film wallows in youth group mechanisms, popularity anguish and homo-erotically charged scenes. It is ridden with heavy Catholic guilt, shame, child-raising discipline and other such elements often utilized, (from Craven's own childhood experience 'catalogue'). All of this content is regrettably not pushed very far. It gets combined with an editing concept that tries to befit the text-messaging generation as well as violent but essentially not very affecting murders, which bogs down My Soul to Take, a film that seems too courteous and a little dull.
Lead Max Thieriot (Bates Motel (2013-17)) takes direction from Craven in this fine behind-the-scenes still
Thieriot gives an interview about the film here
Cost: 25 mil. $ Box office: 20.9 mil. $ = Huge flop [My Soul to Take was released October 8 and runs 107 minutes. Filming took place in Massachusetts and Connecticut from April - June 2008 with reshoots in June 2009. Craven's wife Iya Labunka served as one of the film's producers for her first time. It was shot in 2D but converted to 3D in post. The film opened #5 (behind The Social Network, Life As We Know It, Secretariat and Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole) to a 6.8 first weekend in North America, where the film only played for 4 weeks and grossed 14.7 mil. $ (70.3 % of the total gross). The film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 4.2 mil. $ (20.1 %) and Greece with 0.38 mil. $ (1.8 %). My Soul to Take is rotten at 9 % with a 2.9 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] What do you think of My Soul to Take?
An original French poster for Luchino Visconti's Death in Venice
QUICK REVIEW:
A German composer travels to a spa hotel in Venice for his health, and is there encapsulated in the youth of a Polish family staying there, Tadzio, while a mysterious illness sweeps the sinking city.
Death in Venice is an adaptation of great German writer Thomas Mann's (Buddenbrooks (1901)) 1912 novella of the same name, adapted by Nicola Badalucco (The Damned/La Caduta Degli Dei (1969)) and Italian master filmmaker Luchino Visconti (The Leopard/Il Gattopardo (1963)). Dirk Bogarde (Victim (1961)) is outstanding as the Gustav Mahler-inspired protagonist, giving what is in my opinion one of the all time greatest actor's performances, in this beautiful, serene masterpiece of the human desire for beauty and death. Mahler's music is also used to great effect in the film. Piero Tosi (The Damned) created the magnificent, Oscar-nominated costumes; Pasqualino De Santis (Lucky Luciano (1973)) photographed the resplendent images. Death in Venice is an eminently ambiguous and complex ode to beauty in the world. Never to be missed.
Dirk Bogarde with Björn Andrésen (The Simple-Minded Murderer/Den Enfaldige Mördaren (1982)) as Tadzio in Luchino Visconti's Death in Venice
Watch the original trailer for the film here
Cost: 2 mil. $ Box office: Unknown = Unknown [During shooting of the sun-chair scene seen on the picture above, Visconti struggled to find the right whitening creme for Bogarde's face: He eventually made the actor wear a paint that burned him, because it was unfit to wear on skin, but which Visconti thought just right. Bogarde was paid 0.5 mil. $, 25 % of the film's entire budget. Warner Bros., who were to handle distribution in North America, were nervous about the subject matter and wanted to write the film off, until the London premiere was attended by Elizabeth II and Princess Anne. The film was shown in competition in Cannes, where it was given the 25th Birthday Prize, (also for the director's entire work), while Joseph Losey's The Go-Between won the main prize. Tosi lost the costume Oscar to Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). Death in Venice is fresh at 76 % with a 7.3 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]
The sexually suggestive poster for Peter Strickland's The Duke of Burgundy
The Duke of Burgundy is the new, third feature written and directed by English filmmaker Peter Strickland (Katalin Varga (2009)). In a large estate in a forest, two women cultivate their sexual relationship that is based on the younger woman's subordination to the older. Strickland has created a rare, rich and strange film that is infused with inspirations from 70's sexploitation cinema. The success of Burgundy lies in its portrayal of the dynamics of the sub/dom-relationship, delightfully precise and as detailed as the formal plot and character blueprints are deliberately fuzzy. - The two characters and their relationship, which is basically the whole film, live in a place that seems outside of time, and which is solely inhabited by females. The film is carried by two great performances: Danish Sidse Babett Knudsen (Speed-Walking/Kapgang (2014)) presents a new side of her talent as the positively sex-steaming moth-professor (!) dominatrix, and Italian Chiara D'Anna (Berberian Sound Studio (2012)) gives just the right both simultaneously subservient and demanding glances as her lover Evelyn.
Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D'Anna are resplendent in Peter Strickland's The Duke of Burgundy
Duke is a really great, lustful piece of elegant erotica, much sexier than most all of the very sexually explicit films of recent years, regardless of the viewer's gender or sexuality. It might not appeal to the probably few individuals who cannot relate to the sexual bondage relationship, but its strong visuals, music and performances might persuade them anyway. The problem in Duke only arises in tits third act, as Strickland doesn't know when to wrap it up and attaches a redundant final conflict of perhaps around 15 minutes length. He had the perfect opportunity to end his film, SPOILER as the camera zoomed in and seemed to disappear in Knudsen's dark, mysterious panties, but he didn't catch it. Still, this good and very kinky film shouldn't be missed. Related posts:
Cost: Estimated 1 mil. $ Box office: Around 120k $ (US and UK only) and counting = Uncertainty [But most likely a huge flop. The film has played at several festivals and earned many great reviews. It is in theaters in a range of countries right now and is pending summer premieres in Sweden, Australia, France and Holland. Read an interview with Strickland, talking about the making of the film here.] What do you think of The Duke of Burgundy? Seen Strickland's other films? If so, how was/were it/they?
The sensual poster for Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Blue Is the Warmest Colour may be the best love-story film to have come out in the 21st century so far. It is a reverberating representation of finding oneself and the first, deep love. Fiercely bodily in its expression, realistic to a T, - containing nearly no music at all, (not that that is a quality in itself, but Blue makes it work for itself), - and truly encapsulating in its near-violent display of love, sexuality and emotion. It is clear why the film became the probably biggest cinematic sensation of 2013, - and it will certainly find its place in a later, updated version of Film Excess's Best of 2013 list. The French film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes under Steven Spielberg as jury president, hailing the film with the well put words: "The film is a great love story that made all of us feel privileged to be a fly on the wall, to see this story of deep love and deep heartbreak evolve from the beginning. The director did not put any constraints on the narrative and we were absolutely spellbound by the amazing performances of the two actresses, and especially the way the director observed his characters and just let the characters breathe." The film has also been shrouded in clouds of controversy, as crew members and the two lead actresses of the film have denounced the Tunisian-born director Abdellatif Kechiche (Couscous (2007)) for his demanding shoot that was planned to last 2½ but landed on 5 months. An astounding total of 750 hours of dailies were reportedly shot, leaving most everyone physically and emotionally wrought and, as became obvious, bitter at the director. Leads Léa Seydoux (Inglorious Basterds (2009)) and Adèle Exarchopoulos (I Used to Be Darker (2013)) actually received the highest cinema honor in France, - the Golden Palms of Cannes, - with their director, in an unprecedented move by the jury, but apparently they were still not at ease inside. Seydoux plays the tougher, older, more experienced and sophisticated Emma, who becomes the lead Adèle's first girlfriend. They experiment sexually in heated, lengthy, explicit sex scenes, - another reason for the film's notoriety. These scenes have been called many negative things, from unrealistic and ridiculous to unnecessary, but I found them refreshing, and sort of interesting. This inclusive approach to sexuality is new to cinema, and I welcome it. Furthermore, because of the film's narration through the hormonally challenged body of the young Adèle, and because this is her first sexual love - and the subject of the film! - I cannot really understand the accusation that those scenes should be unnecessary. They are vital to Blue, as sexuality is vital to a love relationship. Exarchopoulos' performance as Adèle is nothing short of awe-inspiring, and she possesses her part for every frame of the film. Adèle the character's eyes and face is like an open book; she is unaccomplished in pretense, and for much of the film she is at the complete mercy of her emotions and desires. She eats like a caveman/woman, and the hormonal juices can almost be sensed flowing through her every limb, as she works her way through the film, unaware that she is a fighter for love. Behind her tears, saliva, snot and awful eating habits, she is a very beautiful woman, and Exarchopoulos' performance makes it hard not to fall for the romantically blank page that Adèle is. And all the more her experience hurts.
My favorite scene in the film is SPOILER when Adèle and Emma have fallen in love and give in to each other in a passionate kiss outside under a strong sun; the love in them both seemingly making them firmer; their skin more perfect; a radiation seems to issue from them from their fusion through love. The still photo above is, I believe, from a previous scene leading up to this climax. The cinematography of Blue by Sofian El Fani (The String (2009)) is perfect. Never Dogme-headache-inducingly shaky, but never still as well; always there is a vibrant life to the observing, matter-of-fact camera. Bravo. The only reason Blue doesn't receive the masterpiece 6 ♥-status here, is because Kechiche doesn't know when to end his film. Without giving away any of the film's ending, this is where Blue should have ended:
And it would have been an absolutely perfect film. Instead, Kechiche has another 30 minutes, at least, of 'story', which doesn't bring us much more or much further with our already well-defined image of the two main characters. It's not that the last half our or so isn't well-made, - it is, - it is just that the film would have been stronger had it been cut. Blue Is the Warmest Colour is based on a 2010 French graphic novel of the same name by Julie Maroh. Why the film is originally titled La Vie d'Adèle - Chapitres 1 & 2 (The Life of Adèle - Chapters 1 & 2), I don't know. It seems to be the complete story from the novel, its ending and some other things altered some, and there are no explicit chapters noted in the film. Perhaps Kechiche wants to tell more chapters in the life of Adèle in the future? For my sake, he doesn't have to, and Blue Is the Warmest Colour is a much better title. The blue goes through the film as a symbolic cursor of love, and the title of its 'warmth' seems to comment wryly on the other, often forgotten side of love; the almost inevitable heartache that follows with it. This is very much the topic of the magnificent, unforgettable Blue Is the WarmestColour.
Here's the trailer for the film, and would you then, for the love of God, before it's too late, GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!
Budget: 4 mil. €, equal to approximately 4.32 mil. $ Box office: 19.4 mil. $ = Big hit What do you think of Blue Is the Warmest Colour? Any other love story-movies from the 21st century that you think can compete with it?
+ Best Big Flop Movie of the Year + Erotic Movie of the Year + Best Rainbow Movie of the Year + Best Thriller of the Year
Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly hang dollars to dry on the poster for the Wachowski Brothers' Bound
QUICK REVIEW: Violet & Corky decide to steal about 2 million $ that're going through Violet's guy Cesar's apartment. That ends up complicated and bloody. Bound is a really cool film full of leather, white paint, lesbians and guns. It's made minimalistic in scope, as it almost entirely plays out in only two apartments, but maximalistic in style and violence, SPOILER for example in paranoid-psychotic Cesar's (Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos (2001-04)) death scene which is operatic and shows some of the coming Matrix-magic that the director-pair, brothers, now brother and sister, Andy and Lana Wachowski were to present next in 1999 to an astounded world. Bound was the debut of the two and was made to convince studio heads that they could pull of a Matrix-class film. The hard-boiled women couple are played by Jennifer Tilly (Liar Liar (1997)) and Gina Gershon (Face/Off (1997)), and they are sort of updated urban versions of Thelma & Louise (1991), with smaller hairdos, who also have sex with each other. Bound is a super-cool, erotic mob-thriller; high-paced, full of fast, smart lines and cool photography by Bill Pope (The Matrix (1999)). It shows the directors' inspiration from Billy Wilder, but is still very much its own film. The Wachowskis unfortunately continue their sci-fi-oddity obsession after Cloud Atlas (2012) with the coming head-scratcher Jupiter Ascending (2014), which looks at least as weird and bad as the Tom Hanks turkey from last year. Then they are set to work on the TV-series Sense8 (2014).
Thure Lindhardt on the poster for Nicolo Donato's Brotherhood
QUICK REVIEW: Brotherhood is a Danish film about two neo-Nazis, Lars and Jimmy, who fall in love, much against their wishes and beliefs, and have to deal with the fatal consequences. Brotherhood gets 4 small hearts for the good forces involved in it and for the story's implied provocation to raise healthy debate.
Thure Lindhardt and David Dencik plays the two neo-Nazis who fall in love
Director Nicolo Donato (Togetherness, short (2007)) totally disregards the inherent, comical values in the story, and perhaps because of this, several of the scenes are involuntarily comical in their awkwardness. Comical, because the two stupidly macho and persistently ignorant characters are so baffled by the occurrence. They reminded me, to use a morbid metaphor, of strong bulls, who walk around dazed and confused after having their heads chopped off. Nicolas Bro (Murk/Mørke (2005)) is great as the group leader in the German car, and the dangerous relationship becomes increasingly risky and exciting towards the end. Brotherhood uses some clichés and makes mistakes along the way, but was talked about for a period upon its release and is a decent, dramatic romance. Donato is busy at the moment finishing a documentary about Danish singer-songwriter Søren Huss, entitled S. Lost and Found, and has also been writing on the coming Danish film with Kim Bodnia, August.
Homosexual love and racism collide in Nicolo Donato's Brotherhood. Watch the trailer here
Budget: Unknown Box office: Unknown = Unknown What do you think of Brotherhood? Can you name some better films of doomed gay love?
