The Hunger Games (2012) - A global, teen-centered sci-fi smash

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Jennifer Lawrence dyed her hair dark brown to portray Katniss Everdeen in Gary Ross' The Hunger Games

QUICK REVIEW:

In the future, the US population is held in an iron grip under a rich ruling class with a broadcasted, deadly game between 24 children and young people as the annual highpoint. But this year cool Katniss Everdeen volunteers to spare her little sister, who was drawn out for the competition!

Hunger Games is an adaptation of Suzanne Collins' (Mockinjay (2010)) same-titled 2008 novel, the first in her Hunger Games trilogy. It is adapted by Collins, Billy Ray (Captain Phillips (2013)) and great co-writer/director Gary Ross (Pleasantville (1998)).
The Hunger Games universe lures and amuses with its many goofy elements and stylings of its characters; here's a giant science fiction phenomenon that simply doesn't look very cool!
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle (2013)), the Cinderella-like darling of the movie business these years, is perfect in the lead, and she possesses a warmth and a strength that is remarkable. Donald Sutherland (Horrible Bosses (2011)) is exciting to watch as President Snow. In other supporting parts, Lenny Kravitz (Precious (2009)), Woody Harrelson (Semi-Pro (2008)), Elizabeth Banks (Magic Mike XXL (2015)), Toby Jones (Berberian Sound Studio (2012)) and Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada (2006)) are good, at times funny, whereas Liam Hemsworth's (Empire State (2013)) contribution is minimal. I also SPOILER wondered why Katniss falls for Josh Hutcherson's (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)) character, who can't do much and even betrays her.
The violent scenes are shot so that it's hard to see what is happening, which is annoying.
The Hunger Games is a piece of sci-fi that isn't so bizarre that one can't see reflections of our own reality in the exciting world conjured up here. A promising start to the franchise.

Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: 78 mil. $
Box office: 694.3 mil. $
= Huge hit
[The Hunger Games was one of Lionsgate's biggest projects at the time, and lots of happening actresses tried out the part that went to Lawrence. It was shot on film, (which was deemed most cost-friendly...) in May - September 2011 in North Carolina. Tax breaks helped the costs down by around 8 mil. $. A majorly anticipated youth property, the film arrived with positive reviews to a great response: It took the #1 spot with a 152.5 mil. $ opening weekend in North America and broke the March release record. It held onto the #1 spot for 4 consecutive weekends, the first film to achieve this since Avatar (2009). It grossed 408 mil. $ (58.8 % of the total gross) in North America. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets for the film were the UK (37.3 mil. $/5.4 %) and Australia (31 mil. $/4.5 %). Hunger Games was banned in Vietnam. With 10.3 mil. DVD and Blurays sold, it was the #1 video release of 2012, and the soundtrack album debuted at Billboard's #1 spot as the first soundtrack to do this since This Is It (2009). The Hunger Games is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7.2 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hunger Games?

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - Jackson's megalomania gives birth to the first third of an enormous fantasy whopper

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Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

QUICK REVIEW:

Bilbo Baggins is writing of his great adventure 60 years in the past, in which Gandalf and a group of dwarfs took him to their Lonely Mountain and the dragon Smaug.

The group don't get that far here in the first of the Hobbit trilogy at all, and that is only a problem for the film, because the character gallery is far from as strong in individualities and the plot far from as dramatically exciting as was the case in the superior The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001: '02; '03), which The Hobbit saga is a prequel to. The Hobbit movies are based on J. R. R. Tolkien's (Farmer Giles of Ham (1949)) 1937 novel The Hobbit or There and Back Again, which is adapted by Fran Walsh (The Lovely Bones (2009)), Philippa Boyens (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)), great Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim (2013)) and great co-writer/director Peter Jackson (Dead Alive/Braindead (1992)).
The dwarfs are amusing enough, but I found them hard to distinguish from each other, and Richard Armitage (Hannibal (2015), TV-series) as Thorin is far from the greatness that was Viggo Mortensen (Far from Men/Loin des Hommes (2014)) as Aragorn.
The group run into many beasts, who they each time have to fight, and it becomes an overlong, boring affair that Jackson's technical innovations of 3D use and filming in 48 frames per second (fps) don't alleviate.
In Unexpected Journey, we spend a long time with Gollum and meet other familiar faces from the LOTR films as well, but the thrilling scope of those films are missing.
The costumes, makeup and CGI effects (trolls and monsters in particular) of the film are truly impressively well-crafted, however. But it is far from enough to make a great movie.
Jackson is working on his follow-up to the Hobbit movies now: The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun (2016).

Related reviews:

Peter Jackson: The Frighteners (1996) - FX-driven ghost comedy madness
Braindead/Dead Alive (1992) - Jackson's best film ever is a gore classic!  Bad Taste (1987) or, Peter Jackson's Hungry Aliens in New Zealand

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: The film's Wikipedia page estimates it betwen 200-315 mil.$
Box office: 1,021 mil. $
= Big hit
[The Hobbit movies were shot back-to-back in New Zealand, as the LOTR films had also been, in March 2011 - July 2012. The film rolled out in a huge way in Jackson's native New Zealand, where 100,000 people crowded Wellington's streets to celebrate the premiere. The Hobbit braved lukewarm reviews and broke box office records galore: Making 84.6 mil. $ in its first weekend in North America, the film held on to the #1 spot there for three weeks and grossed 303 mil. $ (29.7 5 of the total gross) in North America, breaking the December midnight record, the December opening day record and the December opening weekend record, (previously held by, respectively, Avatar (2009), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and I Am Legend (2007).) Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany (88.8 mil. $/8.7 %) and the UK (78.6 mil. $/7.7 %). Unexpected Journey was a global blockbuster that became the 4th highest-grossing film of 2012 and the 15th movie ever to break 1 Bil. $. It was Oscar-nominated for Best Visual Effects, Production Design and Makeup and Hairstyling but won none. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is fresh at 64 % with a 6.6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?

Klown Forever/Klovn Forever (2015) - A raunchy laugh smash

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+ Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year

Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam on what must be the year's most outrageous poster, for Mikkel Nørgaard's Klown Forever

Klown Forever is the sequel to the huge Danish comedy hit Klown/Klovn: The Movie (2010), which was based on the TV-series Klown/Klovn (2005-09), in which Danish comedians Casper Christensen (Player (2013)) and Frank Hvam (What's Wrong with This Picture?/Tid Til Forandring (2004)) play themselves in their celebrity-studded, clownish Copenhagen lives.

Frank has become a henpecked father and husband, and his old best friend Casper, now single, is living in another universe and consequently decides to leave Frank and Denmark to pursue his dreams of making it big in Los Angeles.

For us who have laughed hysterically at Klown before, - TV-series and/or the movie, - Klown Forever is like a box of candies. - It's just a lot of fun. Christensen and especially Hvam, who also co-wrote and executive produced the film, are back in top shape, comically if not physically, and they go all in once again, resulting in awkwardness and uproarious laughter aplenty.
The plot may be a bit thick at some points, but it generally works, even though it doesn't have the major narrative drive of the first film, (the journey of that film isn't comparable to the one here, which is cut short.) To get out the other few problems of the film, debuting actress Simone Colling looks fine but she comes up a bit short acting-wise here as Casper's daughter, a quite big part. The film also has a couple of effects-shots that unfortunately simply don't look good enough.

Mia Lyhne (All Inclusive (2014)) is spectacular, and looks as good as ever, or even better, and I am hoping for a more Mia-centered plot if a proposed third movie happens.
Lars Hjortshøj (Journey to Saturn/Rejsen til Saturn (2008)) and Tina Bilsbo (Langt fra Las Vegas (2001-02)) are hilarious as Frank and Mia's overly loving friend couple, and Iben Hjejle (High Fidelity (2000)) plays a bitchy version of herself (again.)
Klown Forever introduces to the Klown universe Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones (2011-16)), Adam Levine (Begin Again (2014)) and Isla Fisher (Bachelorette (2012)), who plays herself in the scene that I found to be the outrageous film's absolute funniest. - Although there are many to choose from.
The hilarities are once again directed by Mikkel Nørgaard (Klown/Klovn: The Movie). 

Related posts:

Mikkel Nørgaard: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  
The Keeper of Lost Causes/Kvinden i Buret (2013) or, GRumpy and Ethnic Find a Woman in a Pressure Chamber

Watch the official trailer here, - unfortunately, it is not currently available with English subtitles

Cost: 27.1 mil. DKR/4.1µ$
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[Shot in 2014 in Los Angeles and Copenhagen, Klown Forever is produced by Hvam and Christensen's Nutmeg Movies, TV2 and with 4 mil. DKR in support from the Danish Film Institute's market arrangement. The film was shown in Cannes for selling purposes and released in Denmark on September 24th. It has so far drawn 308k admissions in Denmark, which is quite strong, but still far from the stunning 850+ thousands that paid to see the first film. It opens in Iceland and Norway on Friday 10.9.]

What do you think of Klown Forever?

Hercules (2014) - Ratner and Johnson's forgettable noisemaker

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Dwayne Johnson allegedly trained for something like 8 months for his portrayal of Brett Ratner's Hercules

Hercules, Zeus' half-human/half-God son, has lost his own family, but he fails to remember how. With his band of mercenaries, he fights for Thrace and an answer.

This is as close to a plot summary as I can come after watching this unvisionary revival of the Greek myth figure and movie hero by great Florida-born filmmaker Brett Ratner (Red Dragon (2002)). It is an adaptation of Steve Moore's (Red Fang (2000)) graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars (2008) by Ryan Condal (Colony (2015-), TV-series) and Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008), video).
Hercules is a visually polished, uninspired presentation of general ruckus without a single scene that stands out after it is over.
The cast is not too shabby at all: Dwayne Johnson (Faster (2010)) is dedicated in the title lead, Reece Ritchie (The Lovely Bones (2009)) is a snack to behold; (so why doesn't Ratner gratuitize him more than he does, (this is a sword-and-sandal movie, dammit!)), and John Hurt (The Elephant Man (1980)) and Ian McShane (Coraline (2009)) light up some, although they all deserve better direction and a better script than what they're given here.
Hercules, at least (?), is committed to being silly, as it provides ludicrous lines such as; "Fucking centaurs!"

Related posts:

Brett Ratner: 2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Tower Heist (2011) - Ratner's so-so financial crisis comedy

Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: 100 mil. $
Box office: 243.3 mil. $
= Minor flop
[Moore, who died a few months before the film's release, apparently didn't receive any payment for his graphic novel's use for the film. Hercules came out in a year in which Hollywood (by chance) released two major Hercules titles: The Kellan Lutz-starring The Legend of Hercules (2014) came out earlier in the year and bombed, (it is apparently a lot worse than Ratner's film!) Hercules opened #2 domestically to 29 mil. $, behind Lucy (2014), to reasonable reviews, based often on benevolence towards Johnson. The film grossed 72.6 mil. $ (29.8 % of the total gross) in North America. It opened #1 in countries like Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Singapore. 6 mil. $ (2.5 %) of the gross came from IMAX. The film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia (22.2 mil. $/9%) and Brazil (14.2 mil. $/5.8 %). Hercules is fresh at 60 % with a 5.4 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hercules?

Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation/Hamilton: I Nationens Intresse (2012) - Flawed spy hogwash

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Mikael Persbrandt looks intensely at us in a stately suit on the poster for Katrine Windfeld's Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation

Hamilton, a deadly spy-weapon of the Swedish state, survives a major arm's deal gone haywire in Uzbekistan and must soon thereafter rescue a Swedish weapon's technician in Africa.

Hamilton is a technically well-oiled adaptation of Swede Jan Guillou's (Coq Rouge - The Story of a Swedish Spy/Coq Rouge (1986)) same-titled 1988 novel, the third of his 13 novels of spy Hamilton. Stefan Thunberg (False Trail/Jägerne 2 (2011)) adapted the novel and Dane Kathrine Windfeld (The Escape/Flugten (2009)), who passed away tragically young earlier this year, directed the film.
The visuals and especially the fight scenes are molded after the Bourne movies (2002; '04; '07; '12), and Hamilton's stunt coordinator Cedric Proust (In the Valley of Elah (2007)) actually worked on the stunts of The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).
But the angle taken on the novel is fundamentally flawed here: Hamilton should have been revived ('he' has been adapted before as Harold Zwart's Commander Hamilton (1998) and the TV-miniseries Hamilton (2001)) as a period film, set in the time it was written for, or left alone. - The world has changed a lot since the books.
The fact SPOILER that Hamilton to a large degree takes place in Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and so on, but that the villains are all sinister, cynical Americans are the typically Swedish, politically correct choice. Hamilton is a film that steals American formalism and style in order to make an anti-American, nationalistically Swedish serving of genderless nonsense. A disappointing film.

Related posts:

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Watch the trailer with English subtitles here

Cost: Estimated 45 mil. SEK. ~ 5.5 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[A lot of the film was shot in Jordan, where it was also screened at the Swedish diplomatic mission. Hamilton became the #1 Swedish movie in Sweden of the year with 512k admissions. - Good but not spectacular: This would only generate around 8 mil. SEK, and so the film can surely be counted as a flop of some kind. 2012 was the biggest cinema-year in Sweden in 25 years in terms of admissions, (18.4 mil. ~ 281 mil. $), but the support for Swedish films shown by the audiences are still way under for instance the neighboring Danish audiences' enthusiasm for Danish films. Hamilton was the only Swedish movie in the top 10, at #6. It was sold to "more than ten foreign markets." The film is the first of a proposed trilogy with Agent Hamilton: But Not If It Concerns Your Daughter/Hamilton: Men Inte Om Det Gäller Din Dotter (2012) being the second film. The third is still not announced and may well never happen. Hamilton doesn't have a Rotten Tomatoes score, but it does have a 6.3 user's average, based on 6.201 clicks on IMDb.]

What do you think of Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation?
If you've seen the sequel, how does it rate in comparison?

This Life/Hvidsten Gruppen (2012) - Riis middle-of-the-road WWII resistance drama

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The tag-line for Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis' This Life translates to, 'Some must die so others can live'

QUICK REVIEW:

In Hvidsten in Jutland, Denmark the locals are angry at the Germans' occupation of Denmark in 1940, and when the opportunity arises, a group of them therefore help the resistance movement smuggle in weapons.

This Life, originally titled Hvidsten Gruppen [The Hvidsten Group], is a true WWII story, written by Ib and Jørgen Kastrup (Storm (2009), both) and producer Regner Grasten (Cinder Rock'n Rella/Askepop - The Movie (2003)) and directed by Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis (Catch the Dream/Tarok (2013)).
The exciting story is, unfortunately, not transformed into a great film by Riis and Co., which is a shame: The film doesn't draw any lines outside of the confines of Denmark and is mediocre to a degree that makes it of interest exclusively for Danes. - The courageous heroes of the group bring many (nationalist) feelings in motion.
Bodil Jørgensen (Nothing's All Bad/Smukke Mennesker (2010)) is, in glimpses, great, and so is Jens Jørn Spottag (We Shall Overcome/Drømmen (2006)). But apart from them, the acting is of very varying quality and generally too undramatic and controlled, which makes the portrayal seem stiff. The uninspired and uncinematic photography by Morten Bruus (The Circus Casablanca/Circus Casablanca (1981)) contributes to this fault.
The biggest problem with This Life is that there simply weren't enough real talent and ability involved, beginning with director Riis.

Watch the trailer here - unfortunately, the filmmakers have not made it available with English subtitles

Cost: 24 mil. DKR. ~ ca. 3.7 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[This Life was shot in Jutland, including Hvidsten, and in Zealand. Its budget included 6.9 mil DKR. from the Danish Film Institute and 5 mil. DKR from TV2. The film became a major hit in Denmark, where it was the biggest Danish movie of the year with 765k admissions, following 87k admissions in the opening weekend. The film will be counted as a box office success, although the actual revenue is unknown. This Life has a 6.5 rating on IMDb, based on 1,606 users' opinions.]

What do you think of This Life?
Film/s about the resistance during WWII that you want to recommend?

The Good Lie (2014) - Under-appreciated true story gem

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best True Story Movie of the Year

The beautiful poster for Philippe Falardeau's The Good Lie

The civil war in Sudan takes parents away from large groups of innocent tribal children and youths, who are forced to walk hundreds of miles to get to a safe refugee camp. After many years there, a group of these now adult Sudanese are permitted to become immigrants in the US.

The incredible true story of Good Lie is greater than the film itself here, but luckily the filmmakers succeed in using it to tell an excellent and moving story of compassion, struggle and sacrifice.
The Good Lie is an edifying, beautiful and inspirational story with a structure that goes a bit here, a bit there, but which finds its way surely into one's heart regardless. Screenwriter Margaret Nagle (Red Band Society (2014), TV-series) and director Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar (2011)) deserve compliments for both taking their time to show us the hellish escape of the kids to the refugee camp and their life there and the difficulties they encounter in their integration in America.
Here Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line (2005)) proves her status as a seasoned, wonderful star actress; she doesn't play a saint here but an ordinary and sometimes bossy American woman, who gradually begins to see the Sudanese as who they are. Corey Stoll (Ant-Man (2015)) also do well in this section of the film. Most impressive, however, and deeply humbling is the fact that 3 of the Sudanese protagonists are played by actual Sudanese refugees: Ger Duany (I Heart Huckabees (2004)), who portrays Jeremiah, and Emmanuel Jal (Africa United (2010)), who portrays Paul, were both child soldiers and later war refugees from Sudan, and Kuoth Wiel (Headlock (2015)), who portrays Abital, is also a Sudanese war refugee.
The Good Lie is a positive must-see!

Related posts:

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Top 10: The best true story movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
 

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 2.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertainty
[The Good Lie's distribution was very poorly handled by Warner Bros., who released it on less than 500 screens to a 0.8 mil. $ opening weekend. Despite great audience and critical response, the film fizzed out with just 2.7 mil. $ in domestic receipts. An international total isn't public, but numbers from 8 markets are on Box Office Mojo, of which Spain is the largest with just 0.2 mil. $. This film's release was poorly managed and received a shameful reception worldwide, it looks like, and depending on the unknown numbers, it looks, regrettably, like a mega-flop. The Good Lie is certified fresh at 88 % with a 6.7 critical average and a 4/5 audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. - Go buy this on DVD/Bluray/VoD today to encourage filmmakers to pursue important material such as this again in the future!]

What do you think of The Good Lie?

Trainwreck (2015) - Amy Schumer's breakthrough is a lot of fun

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Amy Schumer and Bill Hader want your attention on the poster for Judd Apatow's Trainwreck

If you haven't heard of Trainwreck by now, you can be certain that you're not an in person. You don't know what's going on today; you're not hip, you're not riding the hip-train. Because the hip city folk of today have heard of or seen Trainwreck already.

Amy is a New Yorker single woman, who works on a trashy gossip magazine and has so far been following her father's advice of mistrusting monogamy. But as she now meets and falls for a grounded sports doctor, she begins to reevaluate her life choices.

Trainwreck is written by its star Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Schumer (2013-15)) and directed by master filmmaker Judd Apatow (Knocked Up (2007)), and in a way it's the story of a Carrie Bradshaw-like woman (of Sex and the City (1998-04) fame), without the alleviating friends, and told in a different humorous tone.
Some of the critics and pundits who seem to bellow out 'gender revolution' across the plains at the arrival of Trainwreck may have forgotten this show and a long list of other woman-lead comedies before it. That being said, Trainwreck does turn some relationship dynamics on their head, - compared to their traditional depiction, - and that is part of the film's attraction for sure.
Trainwreck is a raunch comedy and a romcom. - I think it pushes its raunch label too squarely for its first about 45 minutes (of 124); Schumer and co-stars squeeze a 'fuck' and a 'tits' in whereever possible, and it stretches some of the realism a bit, (and doesn't always result in laughter or amusement.)
But Trainwreck is still a lot of fun and an event comedy that should be seen now, as it's in its full, fresh bloom.

The details:

Schumer jumps into the major spotlight in a rare way here, and even if you hold reservations towards her going in, they will most likely come down in the course of the film. As Trainwreck came to a close in the cinema where I saw it, SPOILER audiences certainly held no laughter back as Schumer presented her cheerleader/basketball abilities. - The scene is a heart-stealer.
Trainwreck is bolstered by Bill Hader (Inside Out (2015)) as Schumer's likable new boyfriend. Other funny actors include surprisingly strong supporting performances from John Cena (12 Rounds (2009)), who puts himself out there in a part that both includes nudity and implicit homosexuality. LeBron James (Entourage (2009) TV-series) is also a lot of fun here in his big screen debut. Tilda Swinton (Broken Flowers (2005)) is more mean and sociopathic than fun. She is rejoined with Film Excess favorite Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)), who has a memorable, sexy and strange scene towards the end.
Trainwreck is Apatow's 5th big screen movie to date, and though I really like it, I still like his four other movies more.

Related reviews:

2011 in films - according to Film Excess 
Judd Apatow: Bridesmaids (2011) - Subversive comedy with laughs a-plenty (producer)
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) or, Let the Sunshine In
The Cable Guy (1996) - Stiller's dark comedy is a riot (producer)

 Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: 35 mil. $
Box office: 137.7 mil. $ and counting
= Big hit
[Trainwreck was filmed in May-August 2014 in New York and on Long Island. It premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and opened to stellar reviews and a 30 mil. $ opening weekend, Apatow's second-best to date, behind Knocked Up with 30.6 mil. $. It has grossed 108.7 mil. $ in North America to date, the large majority of its gross. Schumer has established herself in America, but the surrounding world is still hesitant, (or just slow.) Trainwreck is 85 % certified fresh with a 7.2 average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Trainwreck?

The Great Beauty/La Grande Bellezza (2013) or, Jep Gambardelli's Rome

♥♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Rome Movie of the Year
+ Best Italian Movie of the Year

Toni Servillo sits by the majestic statue in front of the National Museum in Rome at night on the poster for Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty

Jep Gambardelli is the king of Rome's night life, but he is also an aging bachelor, who has only written one book decades ago.

This soft-mannered, yet pointed vivant, his memories, philosophies and attitude to life is truly worth spending a couple of hours with. He is the character but the film is a sprawling ode to Rome and to life in general. The Great Beauty is an overwhelmingly beautiful, sensorial film with breathtaking photography by Luca Bigazzi (This Must Be the Place (2011)) and an eclectic music universe by Lele Marchitelli (Italian Gangsters (2015)).
Toni Servillo (Il Divo (2008)) as Gambardelli and every actor beneath him act flawlessly. The film alternately chastises contemporary society (mostly) affectionately and engulfs us in otherworldly beauty. It deliberately blends eternal qualities and the notion of the sacrosanct, a higher plane, and earthly beauty with human vanity, idiocy, the ridiculous. Of course it owes a lot to Italian master filmmaker Federico Fellini and especially his Rome-set masterpiece La Dolce Vita (1960), but that seems inevitable for any ambitious Rome-set production dealing with life, love and beauty in modern society. The Great Beauty is its own film.
It is co-written by Umberto Contarello (This Must Be the Place) and director Paolo Sorrentino (The Consequences of Love/Le Conseguenze dell'Amore (2004)). It is a succulent, flamboyant dance with life and among the year's best films. It is too much and just right at the same time. A tall and fatty temptation, not unlike many of the best dishes of the Italian kitchen, which one will want to return to many a time.

Related posts:

Paolo Sorrentino: The day after ... The Oscars 2014

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

This Must Be the Place (2011) - Sorrentino's Nazi-hunting stoner cracker
The Caiman/Il Caimano (2006) - Moretti's unfunny political comedy - strictly for Italians (actor)  

Watch the trailer for the movie with English subtitles here

Cost: 9.2 mil. € or ca. 10.3 mil. $
Box office: 24.2 mil. $
= Flop
[Albeit a small flop. The film played in competition in Cannes, in Toronto International Film Festival and at other festivals, won the Best Foreign Film Oscar and Golden Globe and made its way onto many top 10 lists of the year. It grossed 2.8 mil. $ in North America (12 % of the total gross), and 9.5 mil. $ (39 %) in Italy. Its third biggest market was, curiously, the Netherlands, with 2.7 mil. $ (11 %). The Great Beauty is 91 % Certified Fresh with a critical average of 7.8 on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Great Beauty?