Submik Reviews

Christmas as Usual (2023)

To be seen in its original version!

[7/10 · 17 December 2023]

"Så var det jul igjen" is an outstanding film that demands to be seen in its original language. This Norwegian movie brilliantly navigates the complexities of Christmas traditions, presenting them in a light that is both humorous and insightful. The film introduces a cultural shock that, contrary to initial expectations, is remarkably believable and well-executed. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I laughed, having braced myself for a cliché and uninspiring holiday movie. Instead, what I found was a delightful blend of wit and charm that breathes new life into the often predictable genre of Christmas films. This movie is a hidden gem that deserves a wider audience.

Resident Evil (2022)

Resident Awful

[1/10 · 17 July 2022]

Almost unwatchable. I tried, tried some more, gave it another chance, thought of canceling my Netflix subscription. Then just gave up and almost cried. It's bad, bad, bad. The only thing that's good about this show was the marketing campaign promoting it.

Hold the Dark (2018)

Great, slow, mystical and violent hunt

[8/10 · 16 July 2022]

A very good film in the continuity of Saulnier's work. Here, he brings to his favorite theme - hunting - a mystical dimension where slowness and patience take a great place. All the characters live in their own worlds, struggling to live together and not understanding each other, linked by acts that seem ultraviolent to those who do not belong to the same group, but that ethology considers natural when it comes to animals, and more precisely, those who are omnipresent in this film: wolves. An excellent thriller with a jerky rhythm.

Knock Knock (I) (2015)

no Funny Games at all.

[2/10 · 23 October 2015]

Oh boy, really? What was the idea behind the movie? Drunk producers taking a bet: "what about getting Keanu Reeves raped and blackmailed by some sexy Spanish girls? Let's cast some hot chicks and film them half-naked." The movie actually makes one think of Michael Haneke's "Funny Games", without the guts, without the philosophy, without the smartness, without the directing precision and genius that are Haneke's trademark.

"Knock Knock" has so many plot holes, such a blatant lack of direction, so many mistakes that I will rather waste time with something else than starting listing all of it here.

The worst Eli Roth movie so far.

White Star (1983)

Dennis Hopper's best acting performance ever?

[9/10 · 12 July 2013]

I discovered this movie 30 years after its production, presented by Roland Klick himself. I wouldn't have even want to see it if I hadn't heard about the difficulties encountered by the production to work with Dennis Hopper at this time. What I saw on the screen was Dennis Hopper at its best. And I mean it. I've been mesmerized by his monologues and extremely convincing soliloquies. Hopper's depiction of a frustrated, shameless music manager, as well as his complex relationship to his colt Moody "White Star" (Terrance Robay) alone would have deserved the award that the movie got. An excellent Neue Deutsche Welle movie from the eighties.