Popular Music/Populärmusik från Vittula (2004) - Wild coming-of-age in country-side Sweden

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Two boys in various outdoor situations make up this unclear poster for Reza Bagher's Popular Music

Two boys in a small corner of Sweden near the Finnish border become friends and later start a rock band in their homestead, which is eating into them.

 

Popular Music is written by Erik Norberg (Iskungen (2001, short)) and co-writer/director Reza Bagher (Vingar av Glas (2000)), adapting the same-titled 2000 novel by Mikael Niemi (Astrotruckers/Svålhålet (2004)). The original Swedish title translates to 'popular music from Vittula'.

It is a high-energy coming-of-age drama (think C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)) with many funny scenes (the asphalt scene and the church scene are especially memorable.) And four sweet lads at the front, playing Matti and Niila at ages 7 and 15, respectively.

But the narrative is also a jumbled affair, devil-may-care and dynamic, which at times almost seems to forget the boys in order to relate something amusing about fringe area Swedes and Finlanders. We suddenly leave Matti and Niila as boys to find them again almost ten years later with no explanation or clear understanding of who is who. (They have changed an incredible lot.)

There is plenty of fun in Popular Music, but the direction is unclear. It becomes very dark and dramatic in periods after excessive abandon, which also demands more of the average viewer than can be expected.

 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film here, uploaded by the actor in the clip who gets hit by a bus in the clip, without it being planned, and who calls director Bagher a 'demon' in the caption, claiming that extreme working hours and stress led to accidents and lax safety during production

 

Cost: Reportedly 2.224 mil. €, approximately 2.37 mil. $

Box office: Uncertain - but at least 1.52 mil. $

= Uncertain; projected huge flop (projected return of 0.64 times its cost)

[Popular Music premiered 19 September (Sweden) and runs 105 minutes. Shooting took place from August - October 2003 in Sweden. The film has two markets listed on its Box Office Mojo: Finland (932k $) and Norway with 416k $. Sweden is missing, and so is Denmark, where 11k bought admission (approximately 123k $). Iranian-born Bagher never returned as a filmmaker after the film's release. 5.5k IMDb members have given Popular Music a 6.5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Popular Music?

The Matador (2005) or, Male Bonding & Murder

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Bright colors and the joke-implying tagline ('A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar...') indicate breezy action-comedy entertainment on this poster for Richard Shepard's The Matador

A stressed out assassin strike up an unexpected friendship on a job in Mexico. Although the two have little in common, a special masculine bond develops between them, and they commit the assassination together.

The Matador is written and directed by Richard Shepard (The Linguini Incident (1991)), based on some quirky ideas and possibly to some degree inspired by gangster TV-series masterpiece The Sopranos (1999-07), - a killer with panic attacks is also to be found here, in any case.
It entertains well, without ever knocking anyone's socks off, and is basically kept afloat by its to lead actors: Greg Kinnear (The Gift (2000)) and especially Pierce Brosnan (The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)) as assassin bastard with issues, Julian Noble. The Matador has more than a few good laughs.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 12.5 mil. $
Box office: 17.3 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.38 times its cost)
[The Matador premiered in January (Sundance Film Festival, Utah) and runs 96 minutes. Shooting took place in Mexico City, Mexico from April - May 2004. The bull fights were created with CGI. Hope Davis (Wild Card (2015)) was pregnant during filming. Brosnan's character's sombrero was later sold at an auction for 22k $. The film opened #38 to a 69k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #10 and in 905 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 12.5 mil. $ (72.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 1.5 mil. $ (8.7 %) and Spain with 0.4 mil. $ (2.3 %). The film was nominated for a Golden Globe. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches higher than this one. Shepard returned with Ugly Betty (2006, TV-series) and theatrically with The Hunting Party (2007). Brosnan returned in Seraphim Falls (2006); Kinnear with a voice performance in Robots (2005) and physically in Bad News Bears (2005); and Davis in Duma (2005). The Matador is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.68/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Matador?

Green Book (2018) - P. Farrelly and a pair of great actors make racial drama thrive with comedic fuel

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+ Best Road Movie of the Year

Commanding stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are caught in a beautiful and striking picture on this iconic poster for Peter Farrelly's Green Book

In 1962, New York's Copacabana nightclub's renovation cuts its chief bouncer Tony 'Lip' from his job for a couple of months, and without financial security for his family, he looks out an opportunity to work as a chauffeur for a genius pianist of color, who is determined to go on a concert tour in the segregated deep south.

Green Book is written by Nick Vallelonga (Choker (2005)), Brian Hayes Currie (Two Tickets to Paradise (2006)) and its great Pennsylvanian co-writer/co-producer/director Peter Farrelly (The Heartbreak Kid (2007)). It is based on the true story of Doctor Don Shirley's tour to the south and his friendship with his driver/bodyguard Tony Vallelonga in 1962. The title refers to a special green handbook sold to black travelers at the time, which denoted hotels and restaurants in the American south, which were allowed for colored patrons.
The film is a joy to watch from start to end; it strikes a particular, crowd-pleasing balance between light-hearted, cultural-centered fun and universal human issues seriousness. Farrelly's grasp on comedy has been proven through his straight comedies for decades, (with his brother Bobby Farrelly he has regaled comedy fans with such classics as Dumb and Dumber (1994), Kingpin (1996) and There's Something about Mary (1998)), and this proves a golden ingredient here in what could have otherwise been a didactic race-tension drama.
A couple of world class actors are up to the task in a major way, and Viggo Mortensen (A Perfect Murder (1998)) and Mahershala Ali (The Wronged Man (2010, TV movie)) both bring humanity, lightness and very dedicated performances to the film, making it a complete standout. Linda Cardellini (New Girl (2014, TV-series)) is also a joy as Tony's knowing, precious wife.
The film has a wealth of strong source music and is elegant filmmaking without a touch of pretense. It honors its story of friendship and human improvement through interaction and friendship, overcoming racism and bigotry, and it dares to be uplifting and plant a seed of optimism in its audiences. For this reason crowds across the globe are embracing and loving Green Book, - and bitter pundits are throwing demeaning white savior puns and other petty trash at this fine film, which is likely to outlive all of their animosity. Green Book has a simple, decent power that people seek at any given time. And it is also the most auspicious Best Picture Oscar winner since Steve McQueen's masterpiece 12 Years a Slave (2012).

Related posts:
 
Peter Farrelly: 2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The day after the day after ... the 2019 Oscars

(with brother Bobby Farrelly): Dumb and Dumber To (2014) or, Harry and Lloyd: Still Dumb and Lovin' It!  
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Hall Pass (2011) - The Farrelly brothers' probably worst film to date 
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  
The Heartbreak Kid (2007) or, The Seven Day Itch
Dumb and Dumber/Dumb & Dumber (1994) - The Farrellys brothers and Carrey/Daniels' comedy classic  

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 23 mil. $
Box office: 240.4 mil. $ and counting
= Mega-hit (has returned 10.45 times its cost by now)
[Green Book premiered 11 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Ontario) and runs 130 minutes. Tony Vallelonga's son Nick Vallelonga co-wrote the script and did interviews with Shirley before his passing in 2013. Mortensen gained 40-50 pounds for his performance. Shooting took place in New York and Louisiana, including New Orleans. The film opened #22 to a 320k $ first weekend in 25 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #6 and in 2,648 cinemas and has grossed 78.3 mil. $ to date. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets to date are China with 17.2 mil. $ and France with 10.2 mil. $. The film has one market yet to open: Bulgaria on 15 March. Shirley's family have objected to the film, but Vallelonga has said that Shirley approved what he put in the screenplay. The film won 3 Oscars, for Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Ali) and Original Screenplay, losing Actor (Mortensen) to Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody and Editing also to Bohemian Rhapsody. It also won 3/5 Golden Globe nominations, 1/4 BAFTAs, an AFI award, 2 National Board of Review awards and several other honors. IMDb's users have voted the film in at #126 on its Top 250, sitting between Ikiru (1952) and Raging Bull (1980). Farrelly has returned with Loudermilk (2017-18, TV-series), and doesn't have a theatrical followup announced yet. Mortensen returns in Unabomb and Falling, Ali in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) with a voice performance and in the flesh in Room 104 (2018, TV-series) and theatrically in Alita: Battle Angel (2019). Green Book is certified fresh at 78 % with a 7.24/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Green Book?

Little Men (2016) - Sachs' incisive boyhood friendship Brooklyn drama

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+ Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year + Best New York Movie of the Year

The five main characters look straight at us from a white wall background on this simple poster for Ira Sachs' Little Men, which carries the poignant tagline; 'Be on each other's side'

Jacob is a 13 year-old, artistically disposed boy from New York. When his grandfather dies, the man leaves behind the ownership of a building in Brooklyn, whereto Jacob's family moves. The boy Tony who lives on the ground floor becomes Jacob's new best friend, - but his mother can't pay the new, elevated rent.

Little Men is the 8th feature from great Tennessean co-writer/director Ira Sachs (Keep the Lights On (2012)), written with Mauricio Zacharias (Love for Sale (2006)). It is a lovely film of friendship in the formative years, a friendship which, (true to form for Sachs, who usually makes LGBT-themed works), also contains a secret grain of a crush in it for Jacob, and also about the annoying life decisions made by one's family, which often changes an underage child's life.
The boys, Theo Taplitz (Dybbuk (2017, short)) and Michael Barbieri (Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)), are well-cast as the the precocious, introverted roller-blader Jake, and Brooklyn-accented, extroverted Tony. The adult actors also are distinguished here; Greg Kinnear (Thin Ice (2011)) stands out (again), here as a weak family father, but Kinnear portrays him with brilliant honesty.
The rent dilemma is a great invention and diabolically irritating. Little Men is a tender film, which keeps to its quiet realism over Movie Drama, SPOILER and finally it denies us the reunion of the boys, which we are hoping for. It goes to show that Sachs doesn't care to follow his audiences' wishes, which he doesn't in this fine, short-story-like gift of a youth drama.

Related posts:

Ira Sachs: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Love Is Strange (2014) - Great performances in roaming, should-have-been-better movie
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
2012 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Keep The Lights On (2012) or, In Love With a Drug Addict 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 2 mil. $
Box office: 2 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 1 times the cost)
[Little Men premiered 25 January (Sundance Film Festival, Utah) and runs 85 minutes. Shooting took place in New York. The film opened #43 to a 30k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it widened to 59 theaters but never attained a higher rank and grossed 702k $ (35.1 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 2nd biggest market. The biggest and 3rd biggest markets were France with 749k $ (37.5 %) and the UK with 230k $ (11.5 %). The film was nominated for 2 Independent Spirit awards. Sachs returns with Frankie (2019), again starring Kinnear. Taplitz returned in The Middle (2017, TV-series) and theatrically in Gringo (2018), Barbieri in Nunsense (2016, TV-series) and theatrically in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Kinnear in Confirmation (2016, TV movie), BoJack Horseman (2016, TV-series) and theatrically in Brigsby Bear (2017). Little Men is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Little Men?

Long Story Short/Lang Historie Kort (2015) - Charming actors elevate generational, party-centered romcom

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+ Best Box Office Disaster of the Year

In bright feminine colors, the cast and a huge dog stand out on this poster for May el-Toukhy's Long Story Short

We follow a group of close, middle-aged friends through 8 parties over the course of 3 years; their relationships' ups and downs.

Long Story Short is written by Maren Louise Käehne (Shelley (2016)) and co-writer/director May el-Toukhy (White Man's Burden (2003)). It is a romcom made with a sure stylistic touch and a good soundtrack. It works as a tender exposé of the filmmakers' own generation, which is superficial, immature and annoying. What discouraged me most about this was that it made me think that my own generation may be even worse.
The focus on the parties banalizes the issues to some degree, because it implicitly indicates that of the most paramount important in life is socializing with friends, - who don't speak about the pressing problems, (they are solved with divorces and therapy), and where children are treated largely as negative, disturbing elements.
The film still works, because it is made with enthusiasm and energy and a group of lovely actors, who bring Long Story Short to life: Mille Lehfeldt (Talenttyven (2012)), Peter Gantzler (On Thin Ice/Kampen (2013)) and Trine Dyrholm (Nico, 1988 (2017)) are all delightful, in spite of my personal ruminations. 
Long Story Short is a crowdpleaser of the kind which could only come from a woman. But it is a lightweight work.

Related posts:

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

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Watch a piece of one of the party sections from the film - the surprise party - in this 2-minute video

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 248k $ (Denmark only)
= Uncertain (but likely a box office disaster)
[Long Story Short was released 7 May (Denmark) and runs 100 minutes. Outside of its production country Denmark, the film was shown at festivals in 3 other countries and released in Hungary, but grosses are not made public. If the film was made on a very modest 1 mil. $ budget, it would count as a box office disaster. It won 1/6 Robert nominations (Denmark's Oscar) and 2/4 Bodil awards (Danish film critics' awards). El-Toukhy returned with The Legacy/Arven (2017, TV-series), Ride Upon the Storm/Herrens Veje (2017, TV-series) and theatrically with Queen of Hearts/Dronningen (2019). Lehfeldt has not returned with any credits since. Jens Albinus (Far from China (2001)) returned in 3 TV projects and a short before he was back on the big screen in A Fortunate Man/Lykke-Per (2018). 426 IMDb users have given Long Story Short a 6.6/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Long Story Short?

I Love You, Man (2009) - Rudd, Segel and others achieve laughs aplenty in Hamburg's feel-good bromance

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The sweet mugs of the three endearing stars of John Hamburg's I Love You, Man sell the film all on their own

Peter is a middle-aged, engaged man, whose fiancée thinks it's a problem that he doesn't have any real friends of his own or a best man. This makes him seek out 'man-dates' for a friend and best man, until he meets the eccentric Sydney Fife, a cougar-chasing bachelor, who owns a 'man-cave'.

I Love You, Man is the 3rd feature from great New-Yorker co-writer-director John Hamburg (Along Came Polly (2004)), based on a script by Larry Levin (Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)). Rashida Jones (Cuban Fury (2014)) as Peter's fiancée and her girlfriends are a bit taxing at first, (but it is purposeful), and the film has a vomiting scene with Jon Favreau (Chef (2014)) as the sprayed victim that is incredibly (overly) gross.
But you should disregard these minor drawbacks, because I Love You, Man is also perhaps 2009's funniest film: Paul Rudd (Knocked Up (2007)) and Jason Segel (New Jersey Turnpikes (1999)) as the two budding friends develop a relationship that involves much hilarity, and in particular Rudd is funnier and dopier here than he has ever been before.
I Love You, Man also has a substantial list of funny side characters (Thomas Lennon (Lethal Weapon (2017), TV-series) and Lou Ferrigno (Ping! (2000)) stand out) and is also commendable for its total acceptance of homosexuals, (Andy Samberg (Take the 10 (2017)) plays Peter's gay brother), which is just an added, extra quality of this feel-good comedy, which is a bit of a laugh riot and is also a love-letter to Los Angeles.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 40 mil. $
Box office: 91.6 mil. $
= Minor flop
[I Love You, Man premiered 13 March (Austin, Texas' South by Southwest Film Festival) and runs 104 minutes. Hamburg based his script on Levin's which was a broader and less adult in tone and written 11 years before the film went into production. Shooting took place in California, almost entirely in Los Angeles, from April - May 2008. Rock band Rush appears in a live show performance in the film and were pleased with their inclusion in the film. The film opened #2, behind Knowing, to a 17.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weeks (#4; #5) and grossed 71.4 mil. $ (77.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 6.8 mil. $ (7.4 %) and Australia with 3.4 mil. $ (3.7 %). The film had a home video sale of more than 22 mil. $, which, if counted into the equation, would make it count as a box office success. I Love You, Man is certified fresh at 84 % with a critical average of 6.9/10 at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I Love You, Man?

The Extra Man (2010) - One of the year's best films is this overlooked comedy gem

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1 Film Excess win:

Best Supporting Actor: John C. Reilly 

2 Film Excess nominations:

Best Lead Actor: Kevin Kline (lost to Stephen Dorff for Somewhere)
Best Supporting Actor: John C. Reilly (won)

+ Best New York movie of the Year
+ Best Comeback Actor of the Year: Kevin Kline

The stars of Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini's The Extra Man on its festive poster

A young aspiring writer moves to Manhattan, where he finds housing in the apartment of an aging eccentric, who teaches him how to attend the opera for free, piss in the street without receiving attention for it and being an 'extra man', while they both gain a friendship.

Friendship is the true theme of Extra Man behind all the marvelously written and performed dialog exchanges between the vibrant leads, Paul Dano (L.I.E. (2001)) and Kevin Kline (Darling Companion (2012)) who, - together with John C. Reilly (Chicago (2002)) in a hysterical supporting role, - seem to have been created for these very parts. This is an intelligent film, which is refreshingly contrary to the 'fetishes' of contemporary society, (personified in the film by Katie Holmes (Mad Money (2008)), who is good as Dano's vegan love interest.)
The film is enthusiastically made, well-cast, well-written and really really funny. An example of this: Henry Harrison (Kline) announcing loudly with perfect seriousness to a waitress refilling his coffee cup: "Enough!" - Genius!
The Extra Man is an adaptation of Jonathan Ames' (Wake Up Sir! (2004)) same-titled 1998 novel, written by Ames and co-writer-directors and marrieds Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini (American Splendor (2003), both).

Related posts:

 

Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini: Girl Most Likely/Imogene (2012) - Wiig is great as another dysfunctional woman in Berman & Pulcini's unfocused fare
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

American Splendor (2003) or, Happily Unhappy Together

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 7 mil. $
Box office: At least 0.649 mil. $
= Box office disaster
[The Extra Man premiered January 25 (Sundance) and runs 108 minutes. Filming took place in New York from February - April 2009. The film opened #54 in 2 theaters to an 18k $ first weekend, peaking later in just 33 theaters, grossing 453k $ in North America, (69.8 % of the total gross). Of its foreign markets, it was biggest in Italy with 143k $ (22 %). The unbelievably poor performance of the film in cinemas, as one of the year's best, is wildly disheartening to a movie lover. - But it hasn't spelled the end for Berman/Pulcini, who have made a TV movie and two features since. The Extra Man is rotten at 42 % with a 5.3 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Extra Man?
Any film you find masterful but which has been a critical and commercial disaster?

The Intouchables/Intouchables/Untouchable (2011) - Uplifting true-story drama with universal appeal

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3 Time Film Excess Nominee:


Best Film (lost to The Descendants)
Best Cinematography: Mathieu Vadepied (lost to Phedon Papamichael for The Descendants)
Best Editing: Dorian Rigal-Ansous (lost to The Artist)

+ Best French Movie of the Year

Watch Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache's The Intouchables to get to know these two happy gentlemen

QUICK REVIEW:

A rich man in a wheelchair has grown tired of his usual helpers and so hires an uncouth man from Senegal to be his new caretaker. Though from completely different walks of life, the two develop a strong friendship.

Intouchables has got a great opening 'hook' scene, a handsomely shot car scene, and it continues perfectly as a warm culture clash-themed dramedy about grasping the chances that life affords and embracing life and friendships in general. It is written and directed by Frenchmen Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache (Samba (2014), both), based on a true story. (Critics of the film are often obsessed with the race aspect of the film, which they attack and dislike, and they find that it is of great importance that the real story concerned a French-Algerian caregiver, not a black African as in the film. - But, I say, what does this change matter, really...?)
Intouchables is really funny, and at the same time it manages to tell a strong story with credible, full characters. François Cluzet (Little White Lies/Les Petits Mouchoirs (2010)) and especially a very vivacious Omar Sy (Jurassic World (2015)) in the leads and Anne Le Ny (Attila Marcel (2013)) and Audrey Fleurot (Midnight in Paris (2011)) as the women who surround them have great chemistry and act with aplomb.
The movie has visual panache, cinematography by Mathieu Vadepied (Read My Lips/Sur Mes Lèvres (2001)), nice musical choices and seamless editing by Dorian Rigal-Ansous (Samba).
The Intouchables is a high-concept, feel-good crowd-pleaser, a touching human meeting that is among the year's best films.

Related posts:

Top 10: Best French movies

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 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 with English subtitles here

Cost: 10.8 mil. $
Box office: 426.5 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[Untouchables was the most viewed French film in France after 4 weeks. After 16 weeks, a whopping 19 mil. people had seen it in France, where it was #1 for 10 consecutive weeks, setting a new record. It is the highest-grossing movie in a language other than English of all time, beating Spirited Away (2001, 274.9 mil. $), the highest grossing French film of all time and the highest grossing foreign film in North America of 2012. It was #1 for several weeks in a row of European countries and has been seen globally by more than 50 mil. cinema-goers. It grossed 10.1 mil. $ (2.4 % of the total gross) in North America. The 3 biggest markets were France (166.1 mil. $/38.9 %), Germany (79 mil. $/18.5 %) and Spain (21 mil. $/4.9 %). The film was shortlisted for the Best Foreign Film Oscar category. The Intouchables is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.7 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes. General audiences are more enthused, lauding the film as the #38 best ever on IMDb's Top 250. A US remake with Colin Firth and Kevin Hart and Tom Shadyac serving as director is presently in the mold.]

What do you think of The Intouchables?