fredrik nordgren online

Once in a while, you run into a gem, unknowingly.

Ink is one of those gems. A wonderful fairy tale out of the blue. Peculiar, a bit strange, odd looking and still just wonderful.

Of loss, grief, dreams and of love.

I love stories like this, where the wizardry of moving images connect with magic and belief and feelings and… I digress.

The pic is an exquisite piece of art to remember. Beautifully composed imagery,  good acting and the touch of orchestration is added with feeling. You might be able to tell Hollywood stood this one over, but that only proves low budgets can create fantastic results (and happily Big Money’s loss). I, for one, will be sure to check out writer and helmer Jamin Winans every other work, current and future.

From time to time, it reminds me of Requiem from a dream, with its flickery stylistic finish. It also reminds me of tales like The City of Lost Children and Dark City. Added are touches from A Scanner Darkly and quite a few other noirs.

The underlying story about a business man lost in his work, and its dialogue, might be a bit weak, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter here is the tale of light and dark and how it is portrayed.

I may not have seen all movies this year, yet I have no problem declaring this wonder the bestest of 2009.

A man is disturbingly thin and getting thinner by the day, can’t sleep and seems deprived of even more. As is the film. Deprived, that is. Of color. And pace.

On the margin of being too slow, The Machinist is a very good dramatic thriller with very good acting, primarily by Christian Bale, very nice photography and very nice scenography. In all everything good, except for that little pace thingie.

Twists and turns, dreams and reality. It is said sleep deprivation can drive a man insane, and seemingly it can. Or?

As I do with Robin Williams, I tend to like movies with Clive Owen as well. I totally loved Children of Men and have been a follower ever since the BMW shorts. Supporting is another lovable in the form of stunning beauty – Monica Belucci. Paul Giamatti tries on a new costume as antagonist and hitman, and it fits fine.

Shoot’Em Up is a no-brain full speed action flick from first frame to last. Uma Thurman‘s character must be her most short-lived, since she’s outed in the first few scenes. Bad guys hunting her sees to that. Clive the hero, tries to save her, fails, but not until he delivers her newborn. Our hero of the day kills quite a few bad guys, saves the baby and flees to the lactating prostitute played by Monica where he kills some more bad guys and they both flee.

You see the basic storyline? Right, simple and straightforward, as it should be in a great actioner and this is definitely one of the best of 2007.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – a movie with Robin Williams on the cast never sucks. I can’t decide whether I like his comedic or dramatic flicks most – I like’em all.

This particular piece is a dark, slow paced something in-between drama and low-key thriller, playing a gay and very toned down Williams as night radio host. As such, he starts to talk to a 14 year old fan over the phone. A fan with a story of abuse, interesting Williams’ character. Digging deeper, questions arise about whether the story is fact or fiction.

Flick is quite predictable, but you are still never certain how it will end. The Night Listener is one of those movies not needing an immense focus nor attention. Suitable for night screenings, and I for one would sure tune in the night show hosted by Williams’ character.

So, I’ve been a good boy and actually went to the film festival this year (the first since I moved here in 1998). And this, this is what I have seen:

Into the wild

Didn’t know much about this movie except that Sean Penn was the director. But it is a truly great, and at least partly true, story about Christopher McCandless – a young man trying to free himself, from the norm, from society and even his family. Emile Hirsh make a believable protagonist, and should be a definitive candidate for an Oscar.

The Ten

A comedy episodial about the ten commandments, in true Saturday Night Live style. Quite a few laughs, but no consistent quality and perhaps a bit incoherent.

Grand Ma (short movie)

A 12 minute long story about a terminal grand mother with relatives gathering around. Few words, beautiful pictures, and a nice message.

In the Valley of Elih

A great low key thriller, with solid performances of all key players.

Surprise 2 – Km 31 (Kilómetro 31)

The only disappointment of the fest, a Spanish version of a combination of The Ring and The Grudge. Looked good the first scene or two, and from there it went straight downwards. Almost fell asleep in the middle of the movie, but although it’s nice looking and all, it fell quite short.

Eastern Promises

This is a really solid thriller. London is the theater, Russian mobsters are the people stirring the pot, and trafficking is the story background. Viggo Mortensen gets to play his best role so far, directed by the masterful threads of David Cronenberg. As usual, we are offered a few scenes of primed gore, which quite a few of the fest audience gross out on. Cronenberg at his best, focusing on people and meaning, rather than story.

We Own the Night

Pretty decent cop thriller about the regular drug trade. Russians (again) making the earnings, and the cop family gets in between. A war that can have only one end starts. Darkish tone on this flick making it a positive addition  to a genre seemingly full of mediocrity.

Ark (short movie)

Clever mind-tricking animated short about a man searching for a cure the the world’s plague and going for the suicidal variant when failing. Not top notch animation, but good indeed.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et la papillon)

Based on the book with the same name by Jean-Dominic Bauby. About a man who gets a stroke and end up in Locked-In Syndrome and whose only way to communicate is to blink with the last working muscle in his body – the left eyelid. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a truly great, and very poignant, story – and the best of the ones in this festival. Not many remarks on the bad side, a few scenes could have been cut a bit shorter. Otherwise – the photography, the acting, the scenography, the music, and backed by the deeply tragic, but still very inspirational story, this is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Shame on any jury not giving this at least one award!

The War on Democracy

Ah. The documentary, the vile, dividing flicks with few hidden messages.

John Pilger is famous for his criticism of mainstream media and western warfare policies, and few reporters has actually seen as many wars and its effects.

In The War on Democracy, John takes us on a journey to South and Latin America, to visit a few of the countries there, to revisit the democracy and government developments during the 20th century. We are are told a story of USA meddling by proxy, intelligence agencies , coup d’états and open war. This is a very important tale of recent history, a base for future choices. And yet I watched it in an almost empty, big theater…

No Country for Old Men

The Coen brothers never fail. They might produce a somewhat weak produce sometimes, but they never fail. This one is not even close to failing – a dense thriller played in a slowish pace about a killer hunting money from a failed drug deal and the man who thought he would get away with it.

I think I will need a second sitting with this one to fathom and appreciate it fully though. Should be an obvious Oscar candidate.

I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK

One of the little strange birds of the festival. Chan-wook Park is back after his Vengeance trilogy, with a colorful story about a girl who believes she is a cyborg and checked into a mental hospital. It’s a odd pick and won’t be found among the blockbusters, but well worth a view.

I tend to like Robin Williams‘ movies. They don’t all have high quality, nor are they always very good. But Robin Williams is a good actor, and a brilliant comedian. That mix often ends up with at least watchable movies.

In Man of the Year, he plays a politician comedian combo playing his cards to win the presidency. And with a little help of corruption, wonders can happen. Wonders seldom go unnoticed, and we get a bit complexity added to the otherwise pretty simple story.

Together with sidekicks Christopher Walken and Laura Linney, Robin does a good job holding the pieces together. And that is something that needs to be done. The story seems to be unable to decide whether to be a comedy, a drama or a thriller.

In the end, I remember smiling reasonable much. Smiling is good. Recommended movie.

Hard indeed. This film is a special treat, especially for men one might say. Contains quite a few disturbing scenes, beautifully shot. Impressing acting as well.

About a flirty teen looking for trouble with older men, but with more than a little twist. What starts out as a lolita wannabe soon turns out to be an extremely efficient psychological thriller.

Hard Candy is one of those thrillers you really want to see, but maybe not choose for the first date…

This is a great drama! Not entirely unique in itself. But a really good story, a nice buildup, great acting, beautiful photography that lets the camera really explore the characters.

Based on a true story. Freedom Writers are all about a fresh teacher and her racially mixed class full of warring gang members. How she manages to get them to listen, to learn, see the world outside their violence-ridden neighborhoods, to write about their own painful experiences, to accept their former antagonists as classmates, even friends, to fathom the concept of each individual’s capability to change.

Hillary Swank plays Erin Gruwell, the teacher sacrificing a lot for her calling. Could have been cheesy but isn’t. And she’s great! All her students performs really well, as do her father, played by Scott Glenn.

See Freedom Writers! Really!

Slow paced, story a bit like others, still different though. Based on true story they say. With mixed level of acting, Chris Cooper is a rock and Ryan Philippe is, well, cute? Good enough to bring his character through the flick anyway. Good looking shots in it and is pretty well directed.

Breach is a really nice agent thillery drama – highly recommended!