Mr. Hammond, I think we're back in business!

It seems I've finally landed back on my digital feet again. My PC has been returned to me, Windows Vista freshly installed (and hopefully a legit version this time), but it took me the purchase of a new monitor to finally get rid of my start-up problems once and for all (or so it appears). Fingers crossed! So I can finally get serious again where my blog is concerned, though of course my work as a news editor on MovieScene keeps preventing me from posting on this blog as regularly as I would like (certainly not daily as I once intended a little bit too optimistically). However, I will continue to post everything I post on MovieScene here as well, and I will keep posting other movie news and reviews (though certainly not as lengthy as I used to write them). Let's hope my good intentions won't come to naught in the long run.


In the three months I was (mostly) computerless I did - naturally - keep watching movies, both new and old. Sadly I didn't really get around to discuss any of them, but today and the next few days I'll post a list of all the new movies I saw in the meantime (both in regular theatres and at my local arthouse cinema Provadja, where I still screen movies every Wednesday night). There's some great stuff here, and a few duds too.

-Meek's Cutoff: **/*****. Unusual and unorthodox neo-western about a goup of settlers lost on the great plains, looking for water. Their leader proves increasingly untrustworthy, while a captive Indian might be their only hope. Could have been a great film, but the age old 1,33:1 aspect ratio takes the fun out of all the potential western landscapes, while the abrupt ending leaves a lot to be desired and can even be accused of cheating the audience, even though it leads to the promise of hope for the protagonists.

-A Perdre la Raison: ****/*****. The deconstruction of a family drama. A French man of Moroccan descent marries a western woman, but their happy union over time leads her to an ever more restricted and mentally unbalanced life as she finds herself trapped between her own upbringing and the desires placed on her by her new family, which includes a very intrusive old would-be uncle and  financial benefactor who soon seems to run both their lives. Eventually, the completely unhinged woman can find only one shocking way out for her and her three children. A movie filled with increasing moments of unease, complete with a shocking climax which, despite being quite predictable, sticks with you for a while. Not an easy watch. At all.

-All You Need Is Love: **/*****. Seriously toned, Scandinavian counterpart to Mamma Mia. A cancer stricken woman travels to overly sunny Italy for her daughter's wedding, where family troubles are stirred due to her being cheated on by her lousy husband. Fortunately, the Mediterranean vistas come with Pierce Brosnan as an angry widower who might just cheer her up, and vice versa. Not very inspired and rather bland, despite good acting.

-Jagten: ****/*****. Harrowing drama about a kindergarten teacher (fabulous performance by Mads Mikkelsen) who is wrongfullly accused of child abuse by one of his pupils and despite formerly being a beloved and popular guy quickly finds himself without friends in his small community. Things continue to get out of hand as he must persuade his fellow man of his innocence, though he's the subject of a witch hunt that appears not to blow over until it has claimed his now ever more sorry life. The lenghts people will go to to get back on what they consider to be bad people - without for a moment considering they might actually be innocent -  while acting against the law themselves in the process, is made frightfully clear in this excellent but disturbing social drama, which unfortunately got snubbed all too easily at the 2012 Oscars in favour of Amour. Don't expect to go home in a cheerful mood.

-Sister: ***/*****. Social drama about an apparent pair of siblings (older sister and younger brother) who live a hard and sad life in the French mountains without parents. The boy scrapes together a meager living by stealing ski equipment off of rich tourists and selling it on, while his sister (French femme fatale Lea Seydoux) hangs out with all the wrong guys and spends what little money he makes for them both. Their situation gets ever more desperate, leading to a surprising confrontation about their actual relationship they both try to deny is real. Depressing and gritty drama showcasing society's forgotten kids and the reasons they exist at all. So, another gloomy movie. Also guest starring Gillian Anderson.

-Killing Them Softly: ***/*****. Slow paced and at times alarmingly violent thriller about a hitman (Brad Pitt) who is hired by mobsters to clean up after a card game robbery orchestrated by three not-so-intelligent petty thieves. He decides to make his job more low profile, and easier for himself, by first setting them up against each other, having them rat each other out, before moving in for the decisive kill. Andrew Dominik directs, and as is usual throws in ample amounts of social commentary, mostly directed at the current economic crisis. It shows a little too obvious at times, detracting from the story proper, but does make for a memorable closing argument by Pitt's character.

More mini-reviews to come soon.