Change Your Image
mortensn
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Watchmen (2019)
For a US audience only it seems
This has nothing to do with the Watchmen comic and - unless you live in the US perhaps - the racial theme don't really make for a good an interesting plot in itself. A critique of contemporary US politics that is lost on everyone not living there.
Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall (2017)
Obvious they ran out of books
Storytelling went out the window in favour of a faster pace and more action. For 6 seasons the world has felt massive, with people spending weeks to get from one place to another. Now they just teleport across across half the continent when the story needs to speed up. From the show being a great mix of House of Cards and Lord of The Rings, its now fantasy version of Transformers.
Warcraft (2016)
Good action movie
Overall, Warcraft is a solid movie that will appeal to both fans of the games as well as others. The acting is good, the plot is not overly simplified and the effects are nothing short of amazing. However, one major shortcoming haunts the movie, which is a lack of proper character building and story arc. Everything seems a little rushed to get the plot going, which is a shame when there is so much lore and character background from the games. Its OK that the storyline diverts from the games a little here and there, but its less forgivable that the story is rushed so much. Its clear that more movies will follow, so there was no need to throw so much into one movie instead of letting the story flow a little slower and allow a more complex narrative to unfold.
Matador (1978)
Danish drama at its best
This is arguably the best Danish TV series ever made. It captures the time up to and during World War 2 in Denmark perfectly. It captures the class structure and fundamental values of Danish society perfectly. It captures timeless 'big themes' like ambition, family, courage, revenge and love perfectly. The writing is great, the characters are great and the acting is great.
The character development is particularly interesting. Without spoiling the plot it is clear that a central theme is the transformation of Mads Skjern's from an entrepreneurial commoner to a powerful business tycoon and how he changes his character through small incremental steps in response to what he considers necessary actions along the way. A phenomenal script.
The Revenant (2015)
Pretty but boring
I guess this film is OK if you like 2.5 hours of un-narrated Bear Grylls with some landscape shots to act as filler content. Leonardo DeCaprio and Tom Hardy deliver brilliant acting, but they can't save a boring plot in a film that should have been at least an hour shorter. Its a big production with great costumes, great acting and great visuals... the problem is that nothing happens. Its not an art film like e.. Valhalla Rising where you can enjoy the slow pace since the producer is trying to do something different. Here you just fall asleep and the only thing keeping you awake is the expectation that the star cast will somehow save it in the end. Too bad they don't
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Intelligent but a bit too long
The Hateful Eight is a good movie but probably a love-it-or-hate-it kind of deal. Personally I liked it a lot, but my better half found it awful and had to endure. Below is a brief summary of three main strengths and weaknesses without any plot spoilers.
The good:
Intricate dialogues throughout. Tarantino doesn't disappoint here and fans will appreciate the mix of intelligence, humour and provocative themes that are constantly present in the interaction between characters.
Tons of throwbacks. Tarantino pays homage to old westerns, and each character is almost a stereotype from different types of westerns. You have references to spaghetti westerns, wild west westerns, colonial westerns, etc. His inner movie geek is on display in full force.
Intimate atmosphere. 95% of the movie takes place at a single location. Many classic movies have done so with great success: 12 Angry Men, Rearview Mirror and Cube just to name a few. It is a very powerful setting if done right, and the raw quality of the acting makes sure it is done right here.
The bad:
Its too long. This is my biggest complaint by far. Quality acting, great directing and intricate dialogues can only keep you captured that long, and at almost 3 hours it pushes the limit. For me it went over by about half an hour.
The plot isn't spectacular. To avoid spoilers I won't provide any details, but lets just say its not the complexity of the plot that drives this movie home. The plot is sufficient to justify the setting, the dialogues and the character development... but nothing more. Don't come into this expecting a western version of Inglorious Basterds.
The references to contemporary issues are a complete miss. I feel Tarantino tries to force a connection to modern day racial and gender issues in his own quirky way. There's nothing wrong with the attempt I guess, but it doesn't work at all for me. Like most of the things that are wrong with The Hateful Eight it seems to stem from a need to stuff 3 hours in a single setting with enough filler content. Neither the filler content or the length of the movie is justified by this and both end up becoming annoying. Luckily it doesn't detract much from the overall qualities of the movie.
If like me you value the intimacy of Tarantino's previous movies you will likely also appreciate them here and look beyond the flaws.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
A 2 hour commercial for Levi's, McDonald's, The Sun, Guinness, etc
This is a fun action movie in the 'Bond on speed' style. Acting is good, story is OK for the genre and the fight scenes are top shelf. But we aren't even 30 seconds in before the first thug pulls out a gun from his pants, with the resulting zoom on a Levi's pocket for a good 3 seconds. The bar is set for the rest of the movie, where the main characters make sure to announce they are enjoying their Guinness at the pub and have front pages from The Sun plastered all over their office (despite playing an intellectual liberal who likely doesn't share a single perspective on anything with that newspaper). Product placement is fine when it is suble, but The Kingsman it is a constant barrage of in-your-face product references. It feels like its one giant viral video campaign since there is a reference to a product every minute or so. It got so distracting after 30 minutes that it ruined an otherwise enjoyable movie for me.