40. Night Moves
Since 2006, Kelly Reichardt has found a way to reach inside of the hearts of her audiences, plucking out strings one by one with desolate re-imaginations of the American Pacific Northwest, seen through the eyes of people not so different than ourselves. With Meek’s Cutoff, she departed from her typical genre and moved in to the Old West, but you could still see her stark realism, perfectly imagined on-screen. Now, Reichardt has shifted gears again, this time to present day (still in the Pacific Northwest), following three environmental activists as they plan to blow up a dam. But this time Reichardt has eschewed all sense of dry, dirty characterization for a much more flowing story where the characters emerge from their settings more fully. It’s still methodical, but somewhere in between the planning and heist itself, Reichardt’s star Jesse Eisenberg finds notes we haven’t seen...
Since 2006, Kelly Reichardt has found a way to reach inside of the hearts of her audiences, plucking out strings one by one with desolate re-imaginations of the American Pacific Northwest, seen through the eyes of people not so different than ourselves. With Meek’s Cutoff, she departed from her typical genre and moved in to the Old West, but you could still see her stark realism, perfectly imagined on-screen. Now, Reichardt has shifted gears again, this time to present day (still in the Pacific Northwest), following three environmental activists as they plan to blow up a dam. But this time Reichardt has eschewed all sense of dry, dirty characterization for a much more flowing story where the characters emerge from their settings more fully. It’s still methodical, but somewhere in between the planning and heist itself, Reichardt’s star Jesse Eisenberg finds notes we haven’t seen...
- 12/28/2014
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
When is a gimmick not a gimmick? When it underscores strong storytelling rather than distracting from a bad script. It was easy to think of the selling points behind “Boyhood” (actors age in real time during a production spread out over a dozen years); “Locke” (movie centered around one man in a car making phone calls) or “Birdman” (camera and editing tricks employed to make the film look like one continuous take) as mere hoopla – and then we saw the movies.
Not all of the year’s best films employed such razzle-dazzle, but it was heartening to know that in...
Not all of the year’s best films employed such razzle-dazzle, but it was heartening to know that in...
- 12/24/2014
- by Alonso Duralde, Inkoo Kang and James Rocchi
- The Wrap
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Bound by Flesh"
If you're a fan of "American Horror Story: Freak Show," you'll want to get to know sideshow stars Daisy and Violet Hilton. Leslie Zemeckis writes and directs this doc about the world-famous conjoined twins.
"Nightbreed: The Director's Cut"
This is the first time that Clive Barker's original cut has been released, with 40 minutes of fresh footage. The limited edition release comes with the theatrical cut, as well as a third disc of extras, but it's already sold out. Still, the regular release has the long-awaited director's cut, Barker audio commentary, and some other goodies that make it a worthwhile investment for fans.
The Complete Jacques Tati
This seven-disc Criterion set comes with Tati's six features, plus...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Bound by Flesh"
If you're a fan of "American Horror Story: Freak Show," you'll want to get to know sideshow stars Daisy and Violet Hilton. Leslie Zemeckis writes and directs this doc about the world-famous conjoined twins.
"Nightbreed: The Director's Cut"
This is the first time that Clive Barker's original cut has been released, with 40 minutes of fresh footage. The limited edition release comes with the theatrical cut, as well as a third disc of extras, but it's already sold out. Still, the regular release has the long-awaited director's cut, Barker audio commentary, and some other goodies that make it a worthwhile investment for fans.
The Complete Jacques Tati
This seven-disc Criterion set comes with Tati's six features, plus...
- 10/27/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
The Hype Cycle: Contenders Arrive in Theaters
Excuse the absence in this column for the last few weeks. I’ve been covering the Chicago International Film Festival, catching up with a few of the Foreign Language Oscar contenders while there. Now however, many of these movies are finally making their ways into theaters, providing an extra wrinkle into the race as both critics and fans weigh in on their quality… click here to read the full article.
31 Days of Horror: 200 Greatest Horror Films
The hardest part about choosing my favourite horror films of all time, is deciding what stays and what goes. I started with a list that featured over 200 titles, and I think it took more time to pick and choose between them, than to actually sit down and write each capsule review. In order to hold on to my sanity, I decided to not include short films, documentaries,...
Excuse the absence in this column for the last few weeks. I’ve been covering the Chicago International Film Festival, catching up with a few of the Foreign Language Oscar contenders while there. Now however, many of these movies are finally making their ways into theaters, providing an extra wrinkle into the race as both critics and fans weigh in on their quality… click here to read the full article.
31 Days of Horror: 200 Greatest Horror Films
The hardest part about choosing my favourite horror films of all time, is deciding what stays and what goes. I started with a list that featured over 200 titles, and I think it took more time to pick and choose between them, than to actually sit down and write each capsule review. In order to hold on to my sanity, I decided to not include short films, documentaries,...
- 10/26/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
This week on Sound On Sight, Simon and Ricky discuss Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank, a film with a striking performance from Michael Fassbender, who has to generate emotion without using the actor’s most visible asset: his face. But first we review We Are The Best, directed by Lukas Moodysson and adapted from a semi-autobiographical, Daniel Clowes-style graphic novel by Moodysson’s wife, Coco. In between we discuss various television shows including The Leftovers, The Knick, Bojack Horseman, American Horror Story, The Flash, Gotham and the art of making mix-tapes.
Playlist:
The Ramones – “Blitzkrieg Bop”
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Playlist:
The Ramones – “Blitzkrieg Bop”
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Tumblr
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Google +
Follow us on YouTube
Please give us a rating on Itunes. It would be very much appreciated!
Listen on iTunes
Follow Ricky on Twitter
Follow Simon on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Hear...
- 10/21/2014
- by Sound On Sight Podcast
- SoundOnSight
Stars: Mira Barkhammer, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne, Johan Liljemark, Mattias Wiberg, Jonathan Salomonsson, Alvin Strollo, Charlie Falk | Written by Lukas Moodysson, Coco Moodysson | Directed by Lukas Moodysson
One thing that always happens when we become adults is that we miss childhood. Responsibility sucks but there is nothing we can do but just continue with life and be nostalgic for the time we can’t revisit. We Are The Best! is a movie for those people who want to remember what it was like to be a kid again, oh and maybe for punk fans too.
Bobo (Barkhammer) and Klara (Grosin) are two girls just reaching their teenage years, marked out as the outsiders by their peers they don’t care what people think, and that includes the ones that tell them that punk is dead. Fighting against the popular opinion they form their own band to prove them wrong, pulling...
One thing that always happens when we become adults is that we miss childhood. Responsibility sucks but there is nothing we can do but just continue with life and be nostalgic for the time we can’t revisit. We Are The Best! is a movie for those people who want to remember what it was like to be a kid again, oh and maybe for punk fans too.
Bobo (Barkhammer) and Klara (Grosin) are two girls just reaching their teenage years, marked out as the outsiders by their peers they don’t care what people think, and that includes the ones that tell them that punk is dead. Fighting against the popular opinion they form their own band to prove them wrong, pulling...
- 8/4/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
An adaptation of the graphic novel written by Lukas Moodysson's wife Coco, We Are the Best! (2013) revolves around three girls (Bobo, Hedvig and Klara) in 1980s Stockholm who decide to form a punk band - despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead. To celebrate the home entertainment release of Moodysson's winning crowd-pleaser this coming Monday (28 July), we have Three DVD copies of We Are the Best! to give away to our valued readers, kindly provided by the always generous folks at Metrodome Distribution. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.
- 8/1/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
★★★★☆Coco Moodysson's autobiographical 2008 graphic novel Never Goodnight related the delight and difficultly of forming a punk band, aged 13, in 1982. Along with two friends, and against the expectations of their peers and the adults around them, Moodysson created a dark and poignant tale of three friends who evince the spirit of punk at an age when change is painful, exhilarating and inevitable. Five years later the writer's husband, the director Lukas Moodysson, was looking for a new project. Following the death of Lukas' father, Coco felt a lighter, more upbeat film would be ideal. So, when he asked to adapt Never Goodnight, Coco's blessing was duly given to what would become We Are the Best! (2013).
- 8/1/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Swedish director Lukas Moodysson's filmography has had a spotty history of even being seen in the United States. His earlier works Show Me Love and Together managed to receive distribution here, but some of his more serious films (like the brutal sex-trafficking drama Lilya 4-ever and A Hole In My Heart) never were even properly released here. In 2009, he made his English-language debut with a film called Mammoth that IFC released stateside and then he fell off the radar for a few years.
He's finally returned to the big screen with We Are the Best!, a lighthearted adaptation of the graphic novel Never Goodnight, written by his wife Coco Moodysson. Set in 1982 Stockholm, we're introduced to Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), two 13-year-old best friends who don't really fit in socially at school. They're tomboyish and seem to live in their own little world, mostly happy to...
He's finally returned to the big screen with We Are the Best!, a lighthearted adaptation of the graphic novel Never Goodnight, written by his wife Coco Moodysson. Set in 1982 Stockholm, we're introduced to Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), two 13-year-old best friends who don't really fit in socially at school. They're tomboyish and seem to live in their own little world, mostly happy to...
- 6/16/2014
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
Screenwriters, movie studios and other industry forces that name films should be wary of titles with superlatives, since they can turn into hyperbole if the quality is not up to par. For instance, do not name your CGI extravaganza Oz: the Great and Powerful, if its wimpiest quality is the actor playing that titular character. Furthermore, be careful of updating a franchise by adding the word “Amazing” before Spider-Man if it will not ring true upon release.
Swedish director Lukas Moodysson took a risk by naming his latest shot of energy We Are the Best! Though the film will, unfortunately, not top my list of 2014’s greatest films, it is too infectiously joyous and terrifically acted to not feel like a self-proclaimed winner.
Based on a quasi-autobiographical graphic novel by the director’s wife, Coco, We Are the Best! focuses on two best friends, the withdrawn Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and the stubborn,...
Swedish director Lukas Moodysson took a risk by naming his latest shot of energy We Are the Best! Though the film will, unfortunately, not top my list of 2014’s greatest films, it is too infectiously joyous and terrifically acted to not feel like a self-proclaimed winner.
Based on a quasi-autobiographical graphic novel by the director’s wife, Coco, We Are the Best! focuses on two best friends, the withdrawn Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and the stubborn,...
- 6/1/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
If Yasujiro Ozu—the Japanese filmmaker who excelled at telling stories about the lives of young children—lived long enough to turn his camera on punk rock, the result might look something like Swedish director Lukas Moodysson's warm portrait of middle school angst "We are the Best!" Despite the unruly music at its center, the filmmaker has crafted a uniformly gentle ode to growing up. Adapting the graphic novel by his wife Coco, Moodysson presents an energetic look at three young women in early eighties Stockholm finding catharsis from their mundane lives through the riotous energy of the music, even as many around them roll their eyes. If—as one character asserts early on—punk has already died by the time they discover it, their youthful investment manages to resurrect its spirit. Unlike many dramatizations of the punk scene and its reverberations, "We are the Best!" roots its subject in its adorable young protagonists,...
- 5/29/2014
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The work of director Lukas Moodysson has always been challenging, with the filmmaker coming to the attention of cinephiles with 1998's "Fucking Åmål," and earning further attention for his often tough dramas such as "Lilja-4-Ever," "A Hole In My Heart" and "Mammoth." But Moodysson's latest couldn't be more different. Hilarious, and infused with pure joy and a playfully rebellious spirit, "We Are The Best!" might be one of the, well, best times you have at the movies this summer. Based on the graphic novel by the director's wife, Coco Moodysson, the film follows the travails of three young girls who decide to form a punk band in 1980s Stockholm. The decision finds them battling against what's expected of their gender, all while they navigate coming of age and learning who they really are as people and friends. It's effortlessly charming and sweet with a streak of authenticity that makes every moment feel real.
- 5/29/2014
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
There's a rich history, from the grit of “Breaking Glass” and “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains” to the gloss and glitter of “Starstruck” and “Josie and the Pussycats,” of great movies about young girls using drive (although not always talent) to pull themselves out of the doldrums with the power of rock and roll. Add to the pantheon the deliriously entertaining Swedish import “We Are the Best!”, a smart little movie that left me with a big, dumb grin on my face. Adapting a graphic novel by his wife Coco Moodysson about a trio of teen girls in 1982...
- 5/29/2014
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Lukas Moodysson goes back to his directorial roots with an enjoyable adaptation of a graphic novel by his wife about a trio of 12-year-old girls forming a band
Lukas Moodysson has circled back to his roots with this ingenuous, good-natured story about three lonely 12-year-old girls in 1982 who form a punk band. It is a long-overdue rediscovery of humour and gentleness, based on a graphic novel by the director's wife, Coco, Moodysson and possibly doubly autobiographical in the sense that Lukas and Coco are remembering their own teen rebellions and casting a keen eye on their children. Mira Barkhammar is the introverted, bespectacled Bobo, the driving force of the band, who finds herself marginalised by the dynamic, prettier Klara (Mira Grosin) and talented guitarist Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne). The movie is more about their downbeat, dull, day-to-day lives and interminable, inconclusive band rehearsals than any actual musical identity; all this is entertaining and real,...
Lukas Moodysson has circled back to his roots with this ingenuous, good-natured story about three lonely 12-year-old girls in 1982 who form a punk band. It is a long-overdue rediscovery of humour and gentleness, based on a graphic novel by the director's wife, Coco, Moodysson and possibly doubly autobiographical in the sense that Lukas and Coco are remembering their own teen rebellions and casting a keen eye on their children. Mira Barkhammar is the introverted, bespectacled Bobo, the driving force of the band, who finds herself marginalised by the dynamic, prettier Klara (Mira Grosin) and talented guitarist Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne). The movie is more about their downbeat, dull, day-to-day lives and interminable, inconclusive band rehearsals than any actual musical identity; all this is entertaining and real,...
- 4/17/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆Whilst it would be churlish to say that Lukas Moodysson has ever really been away, it's still possible to proclaim his return with the irresistible We Are the Best! (2013). Adapted from the loosely autobiographical graphic novel by his wife, Coco, it's difficult not to be reminded of the authenticity and charm of Moodysson's 1998 debut, Show Me Love. Expertly combining a youthful desire for agency and rebellion with the death throes of the Swedish punk movement, it's a heart-warming tale with three captivating performances from its young female leads. The bespectacled Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and the mohawked Klara (Mira Grosin) form a friendship based on mutual feelings of adolescent exclusion.
- 4/16/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Outcast tween girls in 1980s Stockholm form a band and flip the bird to everyone who tells them punk is dead — and it’s a Lukas Moodysson film? The director is perhaps best known for his devastating, challenging stories — I don’t think I’ve recovered from Lilya 4-Ever — but he shows his softer side with this adaptation of his wife Coco’s graphic novel Never Goodnight. We Are the Best! isn’t a brutal tale of human trafficking and isolation like Lilya, but Moodysson is still a master at revealing the inner lives of others — in this case, the alienation that rebellious girls Bobo, Klara and Hedwig feel as they try to find their place at school, at home and with each other. There’s no American release date planned for the...
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- 4/9/2014
- by Alison Nastasi
- Movies.com
We Are the Best! is certainly one of the most honest portrayals of adolescent punk culture that I have ever seen. (Check out my 8 out of 10 review from AFI Fest 2013.) Adapted from writer-director Lukas Moodysson's wife, Coco Moodysson’s semi-autobiographical graphic novel, Never Goodnight, We Are the Best! perfectly captures the adolescent desire for self-expression and individuality. We Are the Best! prompted me to look back at my own glory days as an adolescent punk rocker in the mid-1980s, making me realize that the anti-establishment mentality and rejection of mainstream society that defined my personal punk ethos, also defined my feelings as an adolescent. One of my favorite films from AFI Fest 2013, We Are the Best! is scheduled to be released in select theaters on May 30, 2014 courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. For now, check out the film's brand new trailer:...
- 4/8/2014
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Magnolia Pictures has just released their trailer for "We Are The Best!" Directed by Swedish master Lukas Moodysson and based on his wife's Coco's graphic novel "Never Goodnight," "We Are The Best!" follows three girls in 1980’s Stockholm who decide to form a punk band even though punk is allegedly dead. The film will come to select theaters on May 30, 2014. It played at a number of festivals including Venice, Toronto and AFI Fest. Keep calm and rock on. And watch below:...
- 4/7/2014
- by Luke Slattery
- Indiewire
For some punk rock is a lifestyle, and for others it's a fashion statement, but for the trio in Lukas Moodysson's "We Are The Best!" it's an attitude, an energy that sees three young kids find themselves in an era of lipgloss and synthesizers. Starring Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin and Liv LeMoyne, and based on Coco Moodysoon's graphic novel “Never Goodnight" (inspired by her own punk rock years), the story follows three teenage girls who fall out of step with the world around them and form a punk rock group. This is a coming-of-age tale with both loud guitars and heart, landing in the honorable mentions of our list of The 21 Best Films Of 2014 We've Already Seen. For anyone who's felt like a freak or on the outside, this one looks like it's for you. "We Are The Best!" opens in limited release on May 30th.
- 4/7/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
While we don't have a full review up just yet, Lukas Moodysson's "We Are The Best!" made a strong enough impression on us on the festival circuit, that it made the honorable mentions of our list of The 21 Best Films Of 2014 We've Already Seen. While the filmmaker is perhaps best known for his grittier fare such as “Lilja 4-ever," “Together," and “Mammoth," for his latest he turns in a different direction. Set in early-1980s Stockholm, and starring Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin and Liv LeMoyne, the story follows three teenage girls who form a punk rock group and let their new ethos spread into every aspect of their education, friendships, and family lives. Sounds like a unique take on the coming-of-age tale, and it's based on the actual experiences of Moodysson's wife, Coco Moodysoon, whose graphic novel “Never Goodnight," was adapted for the film. "We Are The Best!" plays...
- 4/4/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
With a slate of films during the ‘00s including “Lilja 4-ever," “Together," and “Mammoth," director Lukas Moodysson may not seem the most apt director for an upbeat, crowd-pleasing period rock drama. Yet that’s exactly what he’s done across the world with his new film “We Are The Best!” and a brand new trailer has landed to showcase the unique type of tale that Moodysson has concocted. Based on Moodysson’s wife Coco’s graphic novel “Never Goodnight”, the film follows three tween girls—Bobo, Klara, and Hedwig—in 1985 Stockholm who form a punk rock group and let their new ethos spread into every aspect of their education, friendships, and family lives. Showings at Venice, Tiff, and AFI Fest last year led to solid critical notices all around, we named the film as an Honorable Mention in our piece on the Best Upcoming Films of 2014. A U.K. release...
- 3/1/2014
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
Quietly and smartly, Lukas Moodysson is becoming one of the folk heroes of the indie world. He’s directed an array of Swedish gems since he burst onto the scene with Show Me Love in 1998, and penned novels and poetry for good measure. He’d have been under pressure to follow suit with his latest, We Are The Best!, a 1982-set comedy-drama which has a new trailer and a poster to share, not least because he’s adapted it from his wife Coco’s book Never Goodnight. We Are The Best! is whimsical, warm and nostalgic in the spirit of hippie drama Together. It’s got two Stockholm tweens, Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), some (very) raw punk music, a Riot Grrrl spirit and several scenes of gym-based moshing. Then a third girl Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne) joins the group and her actual real-life musical skills threaten to lift...
- 2/27/2014
- EmpireOnline
An exuberant rock ’n’ roll comedy in which three of the most memorable movie teens ever embrace their adolescent angst and give it screaming voice. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
It’s 1982 in Stockholm, and don’t you dare say punk is dead. Not when 13-year-old pals Klara (Mira Grosin) and Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) have decided to start a punk band. True, they don’t know what chords are, or what constitutes a harmony, but what the hell. As a “political” act, they befriend a loner Christian music nerd at their school, Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), which also has a purely practical side effect: she can teach them how to play guitar. Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson (together) — writing with his wife, Coco Moodysson, from her graphic novel — gives...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
It’s 1982 in Stockholm, and don’t you dare say punk is dead. Not when 13-year-old pals Klara (Mira Grosin) and Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) have decided to start a punk band. True, they don’t know what chords are, or what constitutes a harmony, but what the hell. As a “political” act, they befriend a loner Christian music nerd at their school, Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), which also has a purely practical side effect: she can teach them how to play guitar. Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson (together) — writing with his wife, Coco Moodysson, from her graphic novel — gives...
- 1/22/2014
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The best films for kids (and fans of a sing-song) coming up in 2014, including movies starring Angelina Jolie, Steve Carell and Meryl Streep
• 2014 preview: blockbusters
• 2014 preview: thrillers
• 2014 preview: comedy
• 2014 preview: Oscar hopefuls
• 2014 preview: science fiction
• 2014 preview: romance
• 2014 preview: drama
Maleficent
Nega-fairy tale in which The Sleeping Beauty story is told from the point of view of Maleficent, the misunderstood fairy godmother. Angelina Jolie stars as the artist formerly known as "The Mistress of All Evil". Elle Fanning is that scheming harpy, Princess Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty. Following the recent trend for skew-wiff folk tales (Snow White and The Huntsmen, Mirror Mirror) special effects veteran Robert Stromberg makes his directorial debut with a Disney film that looks stranger and darker than the average. 28 May
Muppets Most Wanted
Jason Segel's Muppets reboot positioned Kermit and ko as comeback kings - old friends returning from the edge of showbiz to full-felted glory.
• 2014 preview: blockbusters
• 2014 preview: thrillers
• 2014 preview: comedy
• 2014 preview: Oscar hopefuls
• 2014 preview: science fiction
• 2014 preview: romance
• 2014 preview: drama
Maleficent
Nega-fairy tale in which The Sleeping Beauty story is told from the point of view of Maleficent, the misunderstood fairy godmother. Angelina Jolie stars as the artist formerly known as "The Mistress of All Evil". Elle Fanning is that scheming harpy, Princess Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty. Following the recent trend for skew-wiff folk tales (Snow White and The Huntsmen, Mirror Mirror) special effects veteran Robert Stromberg makes his directorial debut with a Disney film that looks stranger and darker than the average. 28 May
Muppets Most Wanted
Jason Segel's Muppets reboot positioned Kermit and ko as comeback kings - old friends returning from the edge of showbiz to full-felted glory.
- 1/2/2014
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ Moving away from the stark, often serious approach he's become notorious for, Lukas Moodysson's We Are the Best! (2013) is a winning Swedish coming-of-age tale about three spirited girls who form a punk band. A breezy and tender reading of Coco Moodysson's (Lukas' wife) semi-autobiographical graphic novel Never Goodnight, We Are the Best! may lack Moodysson's cynical edge but makes up for it with charm and youthful vigour. Soaked and left to marinade in a consommé of adolescent nostalgia and punk rock ethics, Moodysson's latest opens on the friendship shared by two young girls.
Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), a pair of inseparable pals growing up in 1980s Stockholm. Both girls are obsessed with punk, listening to it on Klara's brother's vinyl and cutting their own hair in order to replicate the insubordinate appearance of their musical deities. Epitomising the spirit of punk - although perhaps not...
Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), a pair of inseparable pals growing up in 1980s Stockholm. Both girls are obsessed with punk, listening to it on Klara's brother's vinyl and cutting their own hair in order to replicate the insubordinate appearance of their musical deities. Epitomising the spirit of punk - although perhaps not...
- 10/14/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
There is an instant vitality and endearing quality to Swedish writer-director Lukas Moodysson’s new coming-of-age drama Vi är bäst! (We Are The Best!) that gradually warms from within. It’s not just the experimental buzz of youth and the promise of reliving your memories through the voice of punk music, but being placed in a privileged position as a viewer to re-experience those key moments when adulthood beckons. Moodysson’s colourful production offers just that, inviting us into the personal lives of three young girls growing up at an exciting and pivotal age, a clash of innocence and anarchy at play.
It’s Stockholm in the 1980s and punk is not quite dead. 13-year-old punk music lovers Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin) decide to form a band when a prank at a local youth centre escalates – the trouble is neither of them can play an instrument. They...
It’s Stockholm in the 1980s and punk is not quite dead. 13-year-old punk music lovers Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin) decide to form a band when a prank at a local youth centre escalates – the trouble is neither of them can play an instrument. They...
- 10/10/2013
- by Lisa Giles-Keddie
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Our Nicholas Bell consider it among his top 5 best at Tiff this year and both Variety (will thrill to this sweet, spirited return to form) and THR (boards the rollercoaster of early adolescence with infectious results) come to the same consensus in Venice claiming that Together and Lilya 4-ever director Lukas Moodysson is back in great form and the Magnolia Pictures took notice (and so did 24 other territories who picked up the rights from TrustNordisk) – picking up the North American rights to the punk fueled coming-of-ager. Magnolia will release We Are The Best! in 2014.
Gist: VI ÄR BÄST! is about Bobo, Klara and Hedvig. Three 12-13-year-old girls who roam the streets. Who are brave and tough and strong and weak and confused and weird. Who have to take care of themselves way too early. Who heat fish fingers in the toaster when mom is at the pub. Who start...
Gist: VI ÄR BÄST! is about Bobo, Klara and Hedvig. Three 12-13-year-old girls who roam the streets. Who are brave and tough and strong and weak and confused and weird. Who have to take care of themselves way too early. Who heat fish fingers in the toaster when mom is at the pub. Who start...
- 9/18/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American rights for Lukas Moodysson’s We Are the Best! from Danish sales group TrustNordisk. An adaptation of the graphic novel written by Moodysson's wife Coco, We Are the Best! revolves around three girls in 1980s Stockholm who decide to form a punk band -- despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead. Photos: Toronto: Exclusive Instagram Photos of the Fest's Biggest Stars The seventh feature film from the acclaimed Swedish helmer marks a departure from the grimmer social commentary of his Mammoth (2009) and Lilly-4-Ever (2002) and
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- 9/18/2013
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Devil’s Knot, a docudrama about the tangled and still-loaded West Memphis Three case, directed by Atom Egoyan, is for the most part a tense and absorbing movie. It’s the intelligent, detail-jammed, well-executed version of what we used to call “a TV movie” — a phrase you can’t really use anymore, since it once connoted a certain second-rate, connect-the-dots Madame Tussauds biopic quality that’s become irrelevant in the age of HBO. (There was never a “TV movie” like Behind the Candelabra or Recount.) Yet that term also summoned up the basic, childlike voyeuristic appeal of seeing interesting actors...
- 9/13/2013
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
Casting Freddy Mercury, Mike Figgis's sexy lingerie and Judi Dench's first steps to her next Oscar
The great pretender
News that Sacha Baron Cohen has withdrawn from playing Freddie Mercury in Tom Hooper's proposed biopic of the Queen frontman means that Rhys Thomas's documentary Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender remains the definitive chronicle of the singer. An actor and star of The Fast Show and Star Stories, Thomas was an adviser to the planned movie in its early stages. Does Baron Cohen's departure leave the door open for Thomas to prance in as his idol? "It would be a whole different level of financing with me, but I wouldn't say no," says Thomas, whose doc features a duet between Mercury and Michael Jackson. "They made three tracks together that were never released," he tells me. "Freddie flounced off because Michael kept bringing is pet llama to the recording studio.
The great pretender
News that Sacha Baron Cohen has withdrawn from playing Freddie Mercury in Tom Hooper's proposed biopic of the Queen frontman means that Rhys Thomas's documentary Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender remains the definitive chronicle of the singer. An actor and star of The Fast Show and Star Stories, Thomas was an adviser to the planned movie in its early stages. Does Baron Cohen's departure leave the door open for Thomas to prance in as his idol? "It would be a whole different level of financing with me, but I wouldn't say no," says Thomas, whose doc features a duet between Mercury and Michael Jackson. "They made three tracks together that were never released," he tells me. "Freddie flounced off because Michael kept bringing is pet llama to the recording studio.
- 7/29/2013
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Casting Freddy Mercury, Mike Figgis's sexy lingerie and Judi Dench's first steps to her next Oscar
The great pretender
News that Sacha Baron Cohen has withdrawn from playing Freddie Mercury in Tom Hooper's proposed biopic of the Queen frontman means that Rhys Thomas's documentary Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender remains the definitive chronicle of the singer. An actor and star of The Fast Show and Star Stories, Thomas was an adviser to the planned movie in its early stages. Does Baron Cohen's departure leave the door open for Thomas to prance in as his idol? "It would be a whole different level of financing with me, but I wouldn't say no," says Thomas, whose doc features a duet between Mercury and Michael Jackson. "They made three tracks together that were never released," he tells me. "Freddie flounced off because Michael kept bringing is pet llama to the recording studio.
The great pretender
News that Sacha Baron Cohen has withdrawn from playing Freddie Mercury in Tom Hooper's proposed biopic of the Queen frontman means that Rhys Thomas's documentary Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender remains the definitive chronicle of the singer. An actor and star of The Fast Show and Star Stories, Thomas was an adviser to the planned movie in its early stages. Does Baron Cohen's departure leave the door open for Thomas to prance in as his idol? "It would be a whole different level of financing with me, but I wouldn't say no," says Thomas, whose doc features a duet between Mercury and Michael Jackson. "They made three tracks together that were never released," he tells me. "Freddie flounced off because Michael kept bringing is pet llama to the recording studio.
- 7/29/2013
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Lukas Moodysson's 2000 film “Together” may have followed the director's breakout debut, “Fucking Amal,” but it is notable purely from a tonal standpoint as one of his most accessible and warm works in a sea of unrelenting dramas. Announced early last year, his latest film “VI ÄR BÄST!” (roughly translated as “We Are The Best”) appears to aim for the same optimistic mood, and now the first trailer has arrived to confirm the suspicion. Set in 1980s Stockholm, the film is based off the graphic novel “Never Goodnight” by Coco Moodysson, and follows three 12-13 year-old girls who roam the city streets and form a punk band without instruments. Newcomers Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin and Liv LeMoyne populate the lead trio of roles, while alongside them sits a supporting cast of David Dencik (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”), Johan Liljemark, and Anna Rydgren. The first trailer—in Swedish without English subtitles,...
- 7/23/2013
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
Globalisation, infidelity, pornography, riots, sex trafficking: these are the subjects that have occupied Lukas Moodysson's mind in recent years. It seems, however, that he's up for having some fun now, since his next project is set to be the feelgood punk project VI ÄR BÄST! Or, in English, We Are The Best! Based on the comic Never Goodnight by Lukas' wife Coco, the film, as currently described, revolves around three girls in their early teens who decide to rock out and form a band. Coco's book is autobiographical, and also deals with being the middle child of estranged parents in stifling early 80s Stockholm.She and her friends Clara and Matilda got into The Clash and the punk scene to stave off the boredom, and continued to play together for a few years; their career highlight was a support slot for Sator. The humour can be dark -...
- 4/17/2012
- EmpireOnline
Lukas Moodysson sure knows how to bring a bad time. Films like "Lilya-4-Ever," "A Hole In My Heart" and "Mammoth" viewers were left stung with unrelenting and at times, hard to watch drama that was unshakeable even after you left the theater. But for his next effort, he's trying some little breezier, a bit more musical and hell, a bit more punk rock.
THR reports that Moodysson will next get behind the camera on "VI ÄR BÄST!" (roughly translated as "We Are The Best") based on the graphic novel "Never Goodnight" by his wife Coco. The promising film will center once get put female protagonists at the fore, this time centering three, 12 and 13 year-old girls in 1982 Stockholm who decide to form a punk band in what is said to be a "feel good" film. Certainly, one can imagine The Shaggs having some kind of influence here (and indeed, there...
THR reports that Moodysson will next get behind the camera on "VI ÄR BÄST!" (roughly translated as "We Are The Best") based on the graphic novel "Never Goodnight" by his wife Coco. The promising film will center once get put female protagonists at the fore, this time centering three, 12 and 13 year-old girls in 1982 Stockholm who decide to form a punk band in what is said to be a "feel good" film. Certainly, one can imagine The Shaggs having some kind of influence here (and indeed, there...
- 4/16/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
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