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Reviews
The Booth at the End (2011)
Meandering
SPOILER ALERT
Each episode is maybe 3 minutes long then the credits roll and the logos are displayed. After that the next episode comes up.
Imagine a bunch of adults meeting Santa Clause in a diner to make their wish except this Santa is evil and requires something for whatever he will grant you. So episode after episode you get people making wishes and then reporting back on their progress. I mean over and over with people whining and nothing happening. The narrative stays in one place there is no development there is no motion forward.
At the end of a half hour of episode one, I was exactly where I was at the beginning of episode one: nowhere.
Graceland (2013)
Mindless mildly entertaining post teenager fare
It's like those 90s beach bum 90210 vibes, but with FBI agents. A cast of all young attractive feds living it up by the beach and just getting in and out of fed criminal related situations without even displacing one hair on their heads.
You've got the guy that played Franco on Rescue Me as their leader, and a few other people that I've never seen before, cobbled together under some very bland writing. This is meant for the sort of audience that enjoys shows that could be on MTV aka teenagers who want to fantasize about being beach bums but still working as responsible adults. Maybe the writing will evolve later into the show.
The Bridge (2013)
an insult to the original
i agree with narafem in that the American version just doesn't cut it. there is something about the Nordic aversion to the impassioned way of being (that is itself a character in this story) that is completely absent from the American version. the landscapes, and the now peaceful descendants of vikings living their days in their calm deliberate way...
it is as if the story were being retold not only with less one character but with a storyline that has been copied ineffectively. the tension between the American and the Mexican just doesn't have the same credibility as it does between the Dane and the Swede. the American show "The Killing" is a better executed copy and might i say improvement on the Danish show "Forbrydelsen."
The Master (2012)
Notable moments held together by long stretches of worn thread
Joaquin Phoenix acted the hell out of his role - there were moments where I had to question if it was actually him on the screen. Hoffman as expected delivers an exalted performance. These two hold your attention from beginning to end.
The story, though great in many single places, feels more like an expansive suburban area connected by a series of overly long barren highways. There is excitement once one arrives in a place, but the "getting there" process is quite a struggle.
There was a bit too much story-telling indulgence. I'm sure that the film makers felt that ever minute of the movie helps tell the story, it was very difficult as a viewer to share that sentiment.
Bron/Broen (2011)
Tightly Woven story
Great storytelling with lots of action and very little slack. Moves along like a freight train transporting you from one significan event to another, with your mind feverishly trying to piece clues together and do your own futile police work as things unfold. And a little Danish-Swedish societal rivalry thrown in for fun. Both lead actors are great and Kim Bodnia I recognized from many great Danish films like Pusher and others. Sofia Helin I was less familiar with but her portrayal of Saga Norén and her idiosyncracies was so spot on I thought the actress might be like that in real life! I'm looking forward to Season Two for sure.