Heli (2013) - Alarming drug drama from sieged Mexico

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A girl in school dress walks in a barren, rough landscape on this ominous poster for Amat Escalante's Heli

Heli is newly married in the poor area of Durango, Mexico, where his smaller sister has a boyfriend several years her senior, and where a drug situation involving this boyfriend will soon alter everything for the family.

 

Heli is written by Gabriel Reyes (Bella y Loca (2018)) and co-writer/director Amat Escalante (Blood/Sangre (2005)), with contributions by Zümrüt Cavusoglu (The Bastards/Los Bastardos (2008), art director) and Ayhan Ergürsel (Grain/Bugday (2017), editor).

It is a gruesome and grim film about the extreme hopelessness and depraved, macho-centered violence that holds much of Mexico in a vice. The powerless and desperate characters do not strike a deep sense of identification for most audiences, because they are dehumanized, but this is a point in itself. Their situation is striking and unadorned in this remarkable film.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Estimated 1 mil. $

Box office: 367k $

= Mega-flop (returned 0.36 times its cost)

[Heli premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 105 minutes. 17 companies and support bodies were involved in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Mexico in 2012. The film has only played a few film festivals in North America and was mainly a festival title. Its 5 recorded markets at Box Office Mojo record a 367k $ gross with the majority (309k $ (84.2 % of the total gross))) coming from Mexico. The film won Escalante the Best Director prize at Cannes, among other honors.It was Mexico's nomination for the Best Foreign Film Oscar of the year but did not get nominated. Escalante returned with Esclava (2014, short) and theatrically with Vidas Violentas (2015). Armando Espitia (Latido (2023)) returned in Open Cage/Los Bañistas (2014); Andrea Vergara, who plays his sister, has not returned to acting. Heli is rotten at 59 % with a 6.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Heli?

The Hustle (2019) or, Dirty Rotten Karens

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Two endeared stars look assertive in front of a gold-sprayed sports car on this hijinks-promising poster for Chris Addison's The Hustle

An Australian woman backpacker who is also a con artist meets her superior in a posh British con artist woman in Southern France. - Or is it the other way around?

 

The Hustle is written by Jac Schaeffer (Timer (2009)) and directed by debuting Chris Addison (Veep (2013-16)) . It is a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), which was a remake of Bedtime Story (1964).

'The world is full of greedy idiots who deserve nothing but to be robbed blind' is pretty much the essence of the universe that's drawn up here. The Hustle is not an inferior film to the overrated predecessor starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin. The comedic speedometer is set at somewhere between 'totally ridiculous' and 'very coarse', and it isn't without a certain charm, especially because Rebel Wilson (How to Be Single (2016)) has comedic talent and acts as a blind person through much of The Hustle, which also has some good insults.

But the bright spots are regrettably labored with a wealth of unfunny costume scenes and low-brow idiocy.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 21 mil. $

Box office: 97.4 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.63 times its cost)

[The Hustle was released 8 May (Philippines) and runs 94 minutes. Shooting took place from September 2017 - ? in London, UK and in Majorca, Spain. The film opened #3, behind holdover hit Avengers: Endgame and fellow new release Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, to a 13 mil. $ first weekend, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5) and grossed 35.4 mil. $ (36.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 6.1 mil. $ (6.3 %) and Russia with 6 mil. $ (6.2 %). Addison has not returned with a feature since; instead he has directed for the show Breeders (2020-23) and is announced to return with feature Hallelujah!. Anne Hathaway (Get Smart (2008)) returned in Modern Love (2019, TV-series) and theatrically in Dark Waters (2019); Wilson in Jojo Rabbit (2019). The Hustle is rotten at 13 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Hustle? 

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) - Dragons make sequel soar

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Lots of warm-faced characters and dragons peak out from this poster for Dean DeBlois' How to Train Your Dragon 2

A new wealth of dragons are discovered by Hiccup and his dragon Toothless, and they therefore must make sure that these creatures are not used for evil means.

 

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is written and directed by Dean DeBlois (Lilo & Stitch (2002)). It is the sequel to DeBlois' How to Train Your Dragon (2014) and the second in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy (2010; 2014; 2019), based on the 2003-15 How to Train Your Dragon novels by Cressida Cowell (Can Trees Talk? (2021)).

The narrative and themes are poorly lifted, and the weak-kneed, unwinning, Jay Baruchel-voiced (The Moodys (2019-21)) protagonist is one contributing reason. The animation is at times less than Disney standard, but the dragon designs and the giant monster thrill considerably. The creatures are the best part of this movie.

 

Related posts:

Dean DeBlois: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) - Dazzling animation, tired sheet 

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 

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) - A well-made, dazzlingly animated family favorite

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 145 mil. $

Box office: 621.5 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.28 times its cost)

[How to Train Your Dragon 2 premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 102 minutes. DeBlois and a creative team went to Norway for inspiration for the film. The film opened #2, behind 22 Jump Street, to a 49.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 4 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#3-#5-#5), grossing 177 mil. $ (28.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 65.1 mil. $ (10.5 %) and the UK with 41.5 mil. $ (6.7 %). It was the year's 12th highest-grossing and the 2nd highest-grossing animated film of the year, behind Big Hero 6. The film was nominated for the Best Animation Oscar, lost to Big Hero 6. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs and won a Golden Globe and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. The film additionally made an estimated 74.9 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. DeBlois returned with the last in the trilogy, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). Baruchel returned in Lovesick (2016). How to Train Your Dragon 2 is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of How to Train Your Dragon 2?

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) - Dazzling animation, tired sheet

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Splashy fresh colors and inviting animation lures from this poster for Dean DeBlois' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Hiccup is under pressure in his viking world, which is getting overcrowded with rescued dragons.

 

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is written and directed by Dean DeBlois (Lilo & Stitch (2002)). It is the 3rd and final film in DeBlois' How to Train Your Dragon trilogy (2010; 2014) based on the How to Train Your Dragon novels (2003-15) by Cressida Cowell (The Day of the Dreader (2012)).

A flat and formulaic plot together with Jay Baruchel's (Random Acts of Violence (2019)) unfunny, irony-laced voice performance sucks the magic out of this film, despite it having dragons by the dozens, many of them very cute ones. A feeling of awe for the incredible designs and animation is the sole attraction here.

 

Related posts:

Dean DeBlois: 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 

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) - A well-made, dazzlingly animated family favorite

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 129 mil. $

Box office: 524.5 mil. $

=  Big hit (returned 4.06 times its cost)

[How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World was released 3 January (Australia, New Zealand) and runs 104 minutes. It opened #1 to a 55 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend at #1 and then 3 more in the top 5 (#2-#4-#5), grossing 160.7 mil. $ (30.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 54.5 mil. $ (10.4 %) and Russia with 27.9 mil. $ (5.3 %). It was the 5th highest-grossing animated film of the year. It was nominated for the Best Animation Oscar, lost to Toy Story 4. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. How to Train Your Dragon returns as a live-action film also by DeBlois in 2025. DeBlois returned with TÍU (2022, documentary) but has yet to make his theatrical return. Baruchel returned in The Kindness of Strangers (2019). How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is certified fresh at 90 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World?

Hærværk (1977) - Danish alcoholism drama a true downer

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'Who wins when you fight against yourself?' asks the poignant tag-line on this very 1970s-styled poster for Ole Roos' Hærværk

A man latches himself to alcoholic fringe characters and lets his life fall apart.

 

Hærværk is written by Klaus Rifbjerg (Tukuma (1984)) and co-writer/director/editor Ole Roos (Kys til Højre og Venstre (1969)), adapting the same-titled 1930 novel by Tom Kristensen (Fribytterdrømme (1920)). The original Danish title translates to 'vandalism'.

Ole Ernst (Okay (2002)) and Jesper Christensen (Before the Frost/Før Frosten (2018)) are both increasingly sad and consumed by alcoholism in the long, downbeat drama downer with Kristensen's apt title encapsulation of the universal discipline of self-destruction and downfall. The obvious lack of 'fun' in the circle of the addicted, the mean misery of it all and the ritualized and egotistical nature of the behavior, - all aspects are caught vividly here in a seething depiction of alcoholism. Regrettably Hærværk is simultaneously an overlong and dour watch.

 

Here a video with Ernst talking about addiction

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Approximately 1.68 mil. $

= Uncertain

[Hærværk was released 4 November (Denmark) and runs 132 minutes. The film was a hit in Denmark, where it sold nearly 209k tickets. It was also released in Norway, but its sale here is unknown. Roos returned with 4 TV credits prior to his theatrical return with Forræderne (1983). Ernst returned in Lille Spejl (1978). 227 IMDb users have given Hærværk a 6.5/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Hærværk? 

Hoffa (1992) - Luminous performances in DeVito's great biopic

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A-list star Jack Nicholson with filmmaker/co-star Danny DeVito chewing a cigarette behind him makes up this poster for DeVito's Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa is an untiring force, when he creates his - later very powerful and lucrative - Teamsters union for truckdrivers in post-war America. But power has a way of corrupting. Or perhaps Hoffa simply didn't shy away from any methods since the outset.

 

Hoffa is written by David Mamet (The Verdict (1982)) and co-produced and directed by the also co-starring great New Jerseyite filmmaker Danny DeVito (Throw Mommy from the Train (1987)). 

Jack Nicholson (Wolf (1994)) is resplendent as the fascinating, faceted title character, and DeVito is also outstanding as his right hand man, (a made up character that's an amalgamation of several people in Hoffa's real-life posse.) The production is splendidly handsome, and Mamet's script is excellent, keeping us engaged as audiences throughout. Hoffa is rich with narrative, and a few stylistic flourishes, of which most of them work really well in what is arguably DeVito's best film as a director.

Hoffa is a relatively open and muscular star biopic, a big time Movie.

 

Related posts:

 

Danny DeVito: Solitary Man (2009) - Forgettable, undistinguished NY egotist dramedy (co-starring)

Anything Else (2003) - Allen's perfect, underrated millennial relationship comedy (co-starring)

Hercules (1997) - Clements and Musker aim for more adult laughs in colorful musical adventure (voice performance)

Get Shorty (1995) - Sonnenfeld's Tinseltown flick is breezy fun (co-starring)

Batman Returns (1992) - Burton gives us the ultimate, Gothic spin on Gotham City and its sinister characters (co-starring) 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - Forman's 1970s gold-rimmed classic (actor)

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 29.3 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.83 times its cost)

[Hoffa was released 25 December (USA) and runs 140 minutes. Mamet was reportedly paid 1 mil. $ to write the script, and Nicholson got 10 mil. $ for his performance. DeVito forewent his own salary and became co-guarantor for the film in order to secure a 50 mil. $ budget, of which reportedly 'just' 35 mil. $ was eventually needed. Shooting took place from February - June 1992 in Pennsylvania, Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California and in Michigan. The film opened #6 to a 6.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 24.2 mil. $ (82.6 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Cinematography (Stephen H. Burum (Mission to Mars (2000))), lost to Philippe Rousselot for A River Runs Through It, and Makeup, lost to Bram Stoker's Dracula. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. DeVito returned with Matilda (1996) as a filmmaker, and in Jack the Bear (1993) as an actor. Nicholson returned in Wolf (1994). Hoffa is rotten at 52 % with a 5.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hoffa?

The Hurricane (1999) - Terrific performances in Jewison's long racism drama

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An intense still of a knuckle-wielding star Denzel Washington captures the viewer's attention on this classy poster for Norman Jewison's The Hurricane

Rubin 'The Hurricane' Carter is a boxing champ, when his life in 1966 is put on pause, because he is convicted of a double homicide, which he did not commit.

 

The Hurricane is written by Armyan Bernstein (Windy City (1984)) and Dan Gordon (Rambo: Last Blood (2019)), based on Rubin Carter's autobiography The Sixteenth Round (1974) and Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton's Lazarus and the Hurricane (1991), and directed by great Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison (40 Pounds of Trouble (1962)).

A miscarriage of justice in a racist system is treated with refinement here and a framing story of a young black man, who gives an aged version of Carter back his optimism through the iron bars. This lifts what would otherwise have been something of a long ordeal to sit through.

Denzel Washington (Fallen (1998)) is outstanding; Rod Steiger (Duck, You Sucker! (1971)) is fitting, and excellent, as the judge who finally brings justice forth. The Hurricane is good but feels a bit like sitting through a long triple hour home study class. 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 73.9 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.47 times its cost)

[The Hurricane premiered 17 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 146 minutes. Washington was paid 10 mil. $ for his performance, which reportedly required that he did boxing training for a year prior to production. Shooting took place from November 1998 - February 1999 in New Jersey and Toronto, Ontario. The film opened #21 to a 384k $ first weekend in 11 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #2, behind new release Scream 3, and spent a total of 5 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#3-#3-#2-#5), grossing 50.6 mil. $ (68.5 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, lost to Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. It won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Jewison returned with The 20th Century: Funny Is Money (1999, TV movie), Dinner with Friends (2001, TV movie) and theatrically with The Statement (2003). Washington returned in Remember the Titans (2000). The Hurricane is certified fresh at 82 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hurricane? 

Hereafter (2010) - A movie so bad it might kill you

[ZERO]

 

Star Matt Damon blocks most of his unnamed female co-star (Cécile de France (The French Dispatch (2021))) on this mysterious, greyish blue poster for Clint Eastwood's Hereafter

A French woman passes away in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Two brothers have a neglectful parent in London. And in the States George is having a tough time, since he is a clairvoyant.

 

Hereafter is written by Peter Morgan (The Queen (2006)) and co-produced, directed and scored by Californian master filmmaker Clint Eastwood (Play Misty for Me (1971)), whose 31st film it is.

Eastwood attempts to make a metaphysical 'fates-intertwine' type of film here, (he has seen Babel (2006), it seems), but the result is the worst film of his career. Hereafter wallows in pointless roughness and saccharine sentimentality. 

Matt Damon (Ocean's Eleven (2001)) as a clairvoyant is teeth-grindingly god-awful. His predictable romance with Bryce Dallas Howard (Rocketman (2019)) at Steven Schirripa's (Jersey Boys (2014)) cooking class is simultaneously colossally uninteresting and the movie's most watchable scenes, which says something.

Hereafter is a film that depends entirely on a connection with its audience in order to work. But here is no connection, and its serving of phony mumbo-jumbo as thoughtfulness is enough to drive good people into their graves.

 

Related posts:

Clint Eastwood: The Mule (2018) - Drug-runner true story proves another fine fit for screen legend Eastwood 

Sully (2016) - Eastwood's miracle landing biopic is inert and overrated  2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
American Sniper (2014) - Eastwood conveys an American man and myth in electric masterpiece  
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess   
J. Edgar (2011) - Eastwood, Black and DiCaprio's great, intense biopic   

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Gran Torino (2008) - Eastwood's actor persona comes full circle in absolute smash (co-producer/director/starring actor)
The Changeling (2008) or, The Christine Collins Story  

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]    
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Letters from Iwo Jima/硫黄島からの手紙 [Öjima Kara no Tegami] (2006) - The Japanese side of Eastwood's remarkable WWII two-parter   
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - Eastwood's Iwo Jima portrayal is captivating and profoundly moving 

Blood Work (2002) - Eastwood churns out uninspired thriller adaptation (producer/director/starring actor)

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Absolute Power (1997) - Eastwood stumbles with low-caliber thriller (director/co-producer/co-starring)

The Dead Pool (1988) - The highly entertaining last Dirty Harry movie (starring actor) 

Heartbreak Ridge (1986) - Lots of deficiencies in Eastwood's weak Marine movie (producer/director/starring actor)
City Heat (1984) - Eastwood and Reynolds wrestle dispassionately in Benjamin's messy period affair (co-starring actor)
Tightrope (1984) - An undervalued Clint Eastwood sex killer thriller (starring actor)
Any Which Way You Can (1980) or, More Monkey Business! (starring actor)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) - Siegel, Tuggle and Eastwood's phenomenal prison escape thriller (starring actor)
Every Which Way but Loose (1978) or, Honky Tonk Monkey Business! (starring actor)

The Gauntlet (1977) - Locke/Eastwood cast sparks in corny shoot-em-up (director/starring actor)
The Enforcer (1976) - Eastwood teaches revolutionaries a lesson in third, less punchy Dirty Harry (starring actor)
The Eiger Sanction (1975) - Eastwood's mountain climbing dud (director/star)

High Plains Drifter (1973) - Eastwood cleans up red town in great western (director/star)
The Beguiled (1971) - Intense, erotic Civil War kammerspiel thriller (starring actor)  
Dirty Harry (1971) - Eastwood's great, signature renegade cop character comes to life (starring actor)
Coogan's Bluff (1968) or, Dopes and Hippies, Beat It! (starring actor)  

Hang 'Em High (1968) - Post and Eastwood make spaghetti in the West (starring actor)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) - Leone ends his poncho trilogy with certified classic (starring actor)
For a Few Dollars More/Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (1965) or, Return of the Poncho Killer (co-starring actor)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) or, Killer in a Poncho (starring actor)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 106.9 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.12 times its cost)

[Hereafter premiered 12 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 129 minutes. Eastwood was paid 6 mil. $ to make the film. De France received 300k € for her performance in it, approximately 327k $. Shooting took place from October 2009 - February 2010 in London, England, France, including in Paris, California, including in San Francisco, and in Hawaii. The film opened #28 to a 220k $ first weekend in 6 theaters in North America, where it peaked the next weekend at #4, behind new release Paranormal Activity 2 and holdover hits Jackass 3D and RED, staying in the top 5 for one more weekend (#5), grossing 32.7 mil. $ (30.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 16.7 mil. $ (15.6 %) and Spain with 14 mil. $ (13.1 %). The film was nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, lost to Inception. It won a David di Donatello award and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 6 notches over this one. Eastwood returned with J. Edgar (2011). Damon returned in True Grit (2010). Hereafter is rotten at 47 % with a 5.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hereafter?

Honeydripper (2007) - Sayles' warm Alabama blues yarn

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Warm images of vivacious actors and the musical theme are front and center on this poster for John Sayles' Honeydripper

Pine Top Purvis' Alabama bar is on the downturn in competition with a more popular newer establishment circa 1950, when a young man rides in to town on the train, bringing with him a gift for a different type of guitar-playing.

 

Honeydripper is written, directed and edited by great New-Yorker filmmaker John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980)).

Sayles' fiery lines and some warm, dedicated performances from Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)), Charles S. Dutton (Android Cop (2014)), LisaGay Hamilton (The Blacklist (2019, TV-series)), young Gary Clark, Jr. (Elvis (2022)) and Yaya DaCosta (The Nice Guys (2016)) as China Doll, who have great chemistry, and Stacy Keach (Tokyo Trial (2017)) as the bastard local sheriff, all help make this slowly paced yarn worthwhile. Along the way you may think to yourself that, for the kind of story this is, it really isn't that great of a tale. But the aforementioned qualities make it work fine nonetheless, up until the film's marvelously rocking culmination. Sayles chooses to hold back in terms of violence and pathos, and his ode to early rock also works without these popular spices.

 

Related posts:

 

John Sayles: 2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Casa de los Babys (2003) - Sayles' great adoption drama 

The Howling (1981) - Colorful escapade from Dante, Sayles et al. (co-writer)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Estimated 5 mil. $

Box office: 544k $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.10 times its cost)

[Honeydripper premiered 10 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 123 minutes. Shooting took place from September 2006 - ? in Alabama. The film opened #61 to a 9k $ weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #55 and in 26 theaters (different weeks), grossing 267k $ (49.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 168k $ (30.9 %) and Spain with 85k $ (15.6 %). The film won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Sayles returned with Amigo (2010). Glover returned in Be Kind Rewind (2008); Hamilton in Deception (2008); and Dutton in The Third Nail (2007). Honeydripper is fresh at 69 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Honeydripper?

Rom (2024) - Bendixen and terrific trio win with great romcom

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A beloved trio of seasoned actors in one of the world's most beloved cities tease on this poster for Niclas Bendixen's Rom

Gerda and Kristoffer have been married for 40 years and have been gifted a vacation in Rome by their daughter. But when they happen upon Gerda's old Swedish art teacher there, the stay gets thrown on its head, and old secrets and truths start to seep out.

Rom is written by co-writer/co-star Kristian Halken (A Funny Man/Dirch (2011)), co-writer/executive producer Christian Torpe (Rita (2012-20)) and co-writer/director, great Danish filmmaker Niclas Bendixen (Ditte & Louise (2018)). The original Danish title translates to 'Rome'.

The film's motor is first and foremost its star trio: Halken as the delightfully frank and ordinary man Kristoffer; Bodil Jørgensen (Hvide Sande (2011, TV-series)) as the more vivacious Gerda, whose buried passions are unearthed by Rolf Lassgård (Min Pappa Marianne (2020)) as the expat hedonist. They all three give delightful performances in a film that bursts with a sense of spontaneous fun and lightness.

Manuel Alberto Claro's (The Pact/Pagten (2021)) cinematography imbues the Roman holiday that encompasses the entire film with this sense of 'real-life' and spontaneity. The plot and lines are funny, filled with fine little details and unpretentious but charming turns. Underlying the misadventure rests a keen wisdom about love and marriage, and Bendixen and his stars capture this very well in a genuinely funny, very successful romcom that also wins on lots of lovely local Italian flavors in the guise of performances, locations and vocabulary.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2.592 mil. €, approximately 2.8 mil. $

Box office: 1.01 mil. $ and counting

= Uncertain

[Rom premiered 3 February (Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden) and runs 98 minutes. 1.347 mil. € of the film's budget came from a DFI subsidy. Shooting took place in Rome, Italy. Bendixen's mother passed away suddenly during shooting. The film opened #1 in Denmark, where it has sold 90k tickets to date and plays in the Biografklub Danmark/Cinema Club Denmark, meaning that a large portion of its patrons pay only half prize. It is set to release in Sweden on 5 April. Bendixen does not have his next film announced yet. Jørgensen returns in Seaside Hotel/Badehotellet (2013-) and theatrically in B.O.Y - Bruises of Yesterday; Lassgård in Whiskey on the Rocks (2024, miniseries), with no theatrical return announced yet; and Halken's return is not announced yet. 67 IMDb users have given Rom a 7.4/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Rom?