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Curt Jensen
Reviews
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Hellbound for Leather?
Some seems to dislike this movie, but why?! I love it.
Jake and Elwood Blues on their somewhat sordid quest (though god-given) to save their fosterhome is a great road-movie. Great characters, 'The Penguin' the ex-girlfriend (princess?), Aretha, Cab Calloway, even Frank Oz and Stephen Spielberg!! The music is damn fine too; what's there not to like? Unless of course you do not like the blues!!
9/10.
UHF (1989)
'Badgers?? We don't need no steenkin' Badgers'!!
This is the one film I return to for a damn good laughter! No summary can explain the appeal of this film, but quotes?
'Did you know that turtles are natures suction cups?'
And when Stanley are chased by the hoods and runs past a 'supplies'-locker, up goes the door, and a lot of japanese karate-experts rushes out, yelling 'supplies!' Some surprise!!!
And Stanley Spadowsky's clubhouse 'Ooh, free toy, free toy'? And Al playing Rambo and just kills like 150 people. Or Stanley: 'My mop, my mop'!!!
Can't really figure why this one wasn't that succesful? It should appeal to all us 9-years olds!!
7.5/10
Harry og kammertjeneren (1961)
A poetic masterpiece.
When Harry (Oswald Helmuth), a sweeet but less than affluent man just wins the lottery he doesn't spend the money on getting away from the junkyard where he lives.. nooh, he decide to hire a genuine butler. The butler (Ebbe Rode) hates the place at first and have great difficulties but eventually recognisces Harry's wonderful humanity. A Great danish film, and one everyone ought to see. This is what humanity's about. I particularly love the scene where Harry's watching TV (though a TV-shop window, he can't afford a TV), and the butler is holding the umbrella over his head. A great movie by any standards!
9/10
All of Me (1984)
Fixboll - Fixboll!
An utterly silly concept - a swami (or some such) trying to move the soul of a dying young (very rich) woman - through a copper bowl - into another body. However this movie is exactly what it should be: a very funny light comedy with great acting, especially from Steve Martin (probably his best comic role to date), Lily Tomlin (never seen her more charming - at times) and Bix the dog. I liked the scenes where male/female lines in the sand were really crossed, like the toilet scene. What do you do if your right hand WILL NOT! touch your male member? Great script!!
The One line summary only makes sense if you've seen the movie!
7/10
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
'Do you call this archaeology??'
This movie is what we all waited for - an update on adventure-movies like 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', 'The Crimson Pirate' and so on.
We have a great hero, played flawlessly by mr. Ford, the utter villains (obviously the nazis) and the quest for the most holy object - the Ark of the Covenant. Who can ask for more??
When I started reading SF, Fantasy and adventure-books a lot of years ago, I didn't think that movies could create the same pictures in my mind as the books, but in this instance I was clearly wrong. Though movie-technology has moved ahead drastically, there are not so many heavy special-effects here (apart from the Island-scene), It's all in the script! Wonderful.
He's not too convincing as an archaeologist, though (I am one).
10/10
Alien (1979)
Is this in fact a Science Fiction Movie?
Don't get me wrong. I love this movie. The sheer beauty of the designs - the 'Nostromo', Giger's work on the Alien, the alien ship etc. all adds to the sheer enjoyment of this movie. I saw it with my father in 1980 on the big screen, and several times we almost fell of our seats. It is horrific! Great stuff.
The Point of my summary is this.. without the SF-trappings it would function fine as an excellent horror movie - which is exactly what it is! In my book, technology in SF movies should add something intrinsic to the action that is just not possible today - like in 'Bladerunner' with the replicants etc. In 'Alien' this is just not the case.
'Alien' could be a great Brothers Grimm's Tale if you replaced the bad guy with a dragon or some other such monster.
The fun part of this film-series is that the movies are so diverse ... a pure horror movie, an action thriller - and a somewhat philosophical thriller. Alas I haven't yet seen #IV, as I got a bit disappointed with #III.
Anyway - a great movie by any standard. Well done indeed Mr. Scott!!
9/10
M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931)
An utterly scary movie
I just saw this movie recently, and it nearly scared the pants off me! The plot as such is maybe not too hot - we've seen this kind of thing over and over - but the direction, acting and photography... absolutely stunning (a bit of overacting, perhaps, but it was an early sound-movie). This movie is 70 years old, and it still moves you. Peter Lorre is great in the title role.
Mary Poppins (1964)
Oh, It's a Jolly Holiday with Mary
In Denmark, we had to wait somewhat longer for 'children's movies' to appear, especially if they were made - say - 10 years before, but I must have seen this when I was about 16. This didn't change a thing. I loved it at first sight. Some have commented that the books were more 'dark' in mood, and the effects could have been better, and I agree, but perhaps a scene like Poppins dancing with the Sun would have been: 1. expensive/impossible to make at the time, and 2. unimportant to the flow of the narration in a 90 minutes movie. An adaptation is always loaded with pros and cons, and in my opinion, the scales here are heavily weighted on the 'con'-side. And I love the penguins...
10 out of 10.