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The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Missing X-Files Episode?
I've never been a fan of Richard Gere as an actor, but I must admit that he did a good job in "An Officer and a Gentleman" as well as in "Chicago".
I really didn't know anything about The Mothman Prophesies, and I thought it would suck...but it didn't. The best way for me to explain the movie, is that it could just as well been an episode of the X-Files show, and an OK episode at that. It's just in the same genre, has the same atmosphere and is just as silly (hollywood) when it comes to it's conclusions. I don't agree with those who compare this movie with Dragonfly starring Kevin Costner, they are not alike at all... The Mothman Prophesies is backed up by an OK cast, OK directing, OK (yet dark) photagraphy and sub average plot. All in all, this movie deserves a little bit more than an average score, mainly because this movie isn't about being original, it isn't about special effects or great characters. All it is about is an old myth many believe to be true, and to this extent it does its job well...
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Wow
When I decided to see this movie, I didn't know what to make of it as I had no expectations at all. I have not seen the original "Open Your Eyes", so fans of that particular flick, please excuse my ignorance.
The whole movie starts out interesting enough but then it gets a little bit slow for a while. Things start to get really interesting when Tom Cruise is involved in the car accident caused by Cameron Diaz. From there on, the movie plays like an imotional rollecoaster and gets more intresting all the time. What I really liked was that I, as a viewer, always thought I had it figured out but in the very next second I was proved wrong. The way the movie ends was a surprise to me, yet believable. I loved it.
The directing of the movie is excellent, there are lots of memorable scenes in the movie, my favorite three must bee; 1: The Times Square Scene 2: The Car Crash Scene 3: The Rooftop Scene. The opening scene is also very good, backed up by very suiting BGM; "Everything In it's Right Place" by Radiohead...perfect. Radiohead may also be heard in the background in the restaurant scene, the also very suiting "I Might Be Wrong". The rooftop scene is themed with Sigur Ros's excellent Njosnavelin, also known as the Nothing Song. The performance of Tom Cruise really impressed me in this movie, I really think it is his best performance right after the performance in Magnolia.
For the first time in a very, very long time I wanted to see this movie once more the second the credits kicked in at the end... 9/10
Himmelfall (2002)
One of the best norwegian movies ever.
"Himmelfall" is one of the best norwegian movies ever. While some is of the opinion that "Pathfinder" is the best norwegian flick ever others argue that "Elling" is the best. In my opinion this is the best yet due to excellent actors, good balance between comedy and drama and a very reasonable pace to the storytelleing. The main character is played by Kristoffer Joner and he does his best job as an actor ever. He is very believeable as Reidar, a paranoid psychiatric patient convinced that the earth is in danger of total anhilation at any moment due to a meteor strike. The female lead, played by Marie Bonnevie, is the suicidal Juni who hide a dark past.
The movie is instantly funny while never forgetting to maintain the dramatic undertones. As with "Elling" I will not be surprised to see a "Hollywood" remake of this fantastic piece of entertainment... Recommended.
Memento (2000)
Ignorance is NOT blizz...
This movie came as a huge surprise on me in a very positive way. Once in a while there are screenwriters and/or directors who really want to do something extraordinary to impress the viewers of their production. As an example, Groundhog Day had the main character relive the same day over and over again for ages until he finally got the girl of his dreams in the end, and it worked. Fight Club also gave you an intense story where two very different characters slowly evolved to a movie climax rarely seen, because to most people the answer to all the story's conflicts is to unimaginable. A closer example to "Memento" is "The Usual Suspects" from 1994, which gave you a very exciting story set in the criminal underworld run by Kayzer Zose, a man everybody fears but no one knows who he is...a lot like the main character in "Memento."
The story is about insurance investigator Leonard, who suffers from short-term memory loss. Leonard got injured after intervening on his wife's murder. The murderer was still there when Leonard walked in on them, thus the main character ended up with a cracked skull (figuratively speaking).
The movie's opening scene is where most crime stories would end; the main character gets his wife's murderer. The rest of the movie is built upon the fragments of memories that led Leonard getting his guy, in other words this movie is kind of told backwards, starting from the mentioned opening scene and ending where the whole situation actually begun... sound confusing? Well, I was confused for about fifteen minutes but once I understood what was going on the rest was just pure genius. At one point I asked myself: "How can a story told backwards actually get more exciting by the minute?" As much as I would give you some information about this, you really have to see the movie for yourself to actually understand what a gem this really is. The tension curve is always rising, with an ending so surprisingly good that this movie is up there with stunners like aforementioned "The Usual Suspects" and "Fight Club."
This is a totally unmissable movie for lovers of the crime/mystery genre.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
The new 2001 - A Space Odyssey, now with Spielberg involved :)
This movie was originally a Stanley Kubrick production but he sadly passed away some time before he could finish this project, which is sad.
Kubrick really was ahead of his time when he back in 1960 directed Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas. This was a movie of epic scale with movie sets bigger than ever seen before. Eight years later, Kubrick directed and produced the timeless classic "2001 - A Space Odyssey," a production he cared so much for that even details as what kind of screws the set crew used for assembling the spaceship had to be verified by Stanley himself.
This kind of attention to detail resulted in one of the biggest movies ever. Kubrick was a man eager to explore the human mind and how it reacted when exposed to bizarre and sometimes unimaginable situations. In 2001 ASO, we had HAL, a supercomputer threatening to take over command on the spaceship, where the humans had to struggle for their lives against a.i.
"2001 - A Space Odyssey" came out when the space age was in its infancy and made some people fear the technological progression while others laughed of Kubrick's fictional sense of drama.
This brings me to AI, a movie that really is true to Kubricks insights in modern society and where it will take us in a "what if..." scenario. AI is in many ways comparable to 2001 A Space Odyssey in which the viewer is required to really stay focused on what is really going on. If you watch the movie with a laid back attitude while concerned about if you brought enough popcorn to last the whole movie, you should have picked another movie for your viewing pleasure.
There is a lot of layers in AI, and to get the most out of it you should see it once and digest it for weeks, months even, and then pick it up on video/DVD and watch it all over. I guarantee that the story will grow on you and you will always remember it, much in the same sense the viewers of 2001 A Space Odyssey back in 1968.
Even in the year 2001, people still fear what Kubrick may have foreseen while the rest yawn through the 2 hour + movie and then laugh of his fictional sense of drama.