Nikita Averin Reviews

Lilya 4-Ever (2002)

Disappointing, but good.

[4/10 · 21 August 2002]

Just got back home after seeing a preview of Lukas Moodysson's highly anticipated movie, "Lilja 4-ever". Having seen the brilliant trailer and reading interviews with Moodysson, I expected to see a movie that was disturbing and gripped the viewers emotions. The first part of my expectations was correct, the second wasn't. Perhaps watching movies makes you numb, since many people in the audience were crying, but the experience wasn't as intense as I hoped it would be. Don't get me wrong here, the things that Lilja (brilliantly played by Oksana Akinshina) had to live through were horrible. But I never got the feeling that I was in the movie. My position was always only an observer - sort of like watching a documentary. Moodysson's style of writing and directing is suitable for stories such as the ones in his previous work (heavily dialogue-packed), but when it comes to put a character's emotions on screen, Moodysson's limitations are painfully obvious. In "Requiem for a Dream" (2000), director Darren Aronofsky succeeded to throw you right inte the hell that the characters experience by not only relying in great actors, but enhancing them with cinematography, editing, sound and music (believe me, I was shaking when I got out from that movie and wasn't sure that I wanted to experience that again, although I loved it). Moodysson only uses the actors and the great soundtrack and never visualizes the script he's written. The second problem of the movie, is that it never kicks off. It appears to be standing still on the same place where it begins. Every time that you feel that the story might evolve, it gets back to its original state. Sure, life works this way, but it only made "Lilja 4-ever" seem repetetive and long. I know that my comment may seem negative, but this is only a display of my unsatisfaction. Akinshina is, as told, fantastic and the story is very unsettling and makes you think of what really goes on in this crazy world we live in. Things right in front of us, that you don't see (or don't want to see). Wort seeing and thinking of, but do yourselves a favour and lower your expectations; that way will be more rewarding for you. Rating: 7/10

Vingar av glas (2000)

4/10

[2/10 · 24 October 2000]

Nazli, an 18 year old girl with Persian origin, tries to break away from her father who has decided that she should marry her older cousin. She falls in love with a Swedish guy, something that her father dislikes and tries to prevent. Director Reza Baggher has said that this movie was inspired by "Romeo and Juliet", but the parallels are few and the differences aren't especially good either. Sara Sommerfeld does her best to help this mostly hopeless script, but that doesn't help. How much I tried to find good things in this movie, I couldn't and gave up. The directing is poor and the cinematography is rather bad. And what did the title ("Wings of Glass" translated into English) have to do with the happenings? Rating: 4/10

Sleepwalker (2000)

8.5/10

[7/10 · 24 October 2000]

A couple of times, I have pointed out the best movie in Sweden in 2000. First I thought that "Tillsammans" was the best, then I saw "Före stormen" and found that one even better. Now I know how wrong I've been and that there can't be any better than this right now - I've seen "Sleepwalker".

Ulrik Hansson lives with his wife Monica and their two children in a house, he has a good job and everything seems normal. But Ulrik has had sleeping disorders and has walked while being asleep, something he takes medicine for. One morning he wakes up covered with blood in his own bed and his wife and his children are missing. What's happened to them? And who has done it? Has Ulrik been doing things to them in his sleep?

Horror/thrillers don't come often in the Swedish film industry and it's a delight that this one is as good as it is. The directing by Runeborg (his debut!) is brilliant, probably the best I've seen in a long time. The script is clever, thrilling and even gets you to the wrong lead a several times. The acting is good, too (Novotny is surprisingly good) and for the first time ever in Sweden, a movie is superbly shot. Sharp photography, interesting camera angles; you name it, this movie has it. Even excellent editing.

Promising to the future. I hope to see more movies created by this crew.

Rating: 8.5/10

The War of the Roses (1989)

9/10

[9/10 · 16 October 2000]

The Roses are a perfect family, who have fought their way to wealth. When the children get old, the marriage of Barbara and Oliver Rose starts to crack. They divorce, but no one wants to leave the house they live in and war begins. This is one of the best, darkest and cleverest comedies ever. de Vito's directing (and acting) is excellent. There are lots of great lines in the brilliant and witty dialogue and there aren't any compromises in the script, not even in the bitter end. But what shines the most are the performances by Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas as the Roses. There is so much energy, so much chemistry, so much hate between them, that just watching their performances is a good motive for seeing this movie. Don't miss it! 9/10

Songs from the Second Floor (2000)

5/10

[3/10 · 11 October 2000]

This is the biggest disappointment since "Dancer in the Dark". My hopes were sky high on this movie, since it had won in Cannes (just like "Dancer in the Dark") and also had got superb reviews everywhere. And besides, I enjoyed several of director Roy Andersson's commercials. So what was the problem? Well, the whole movie feels like a poetry-evening with some excellent bits (some of them even almost funny) and some far-fetched, boring and absurd parts. There isn't a story, nothing to tell, just short sequences without meaning. The acting is uneven as well as the rest of the movie. The only truly interesting thing is that in the 46 scenes (and they are really scenes, not clips), the camera only moves once! Still, this isn't enough to make an average film to a good one. Next time, I'll keep my hopes down.

The Unknown (2000)

6/10

[6/10 · 5 October 2000]

Five geologists go out to a forest, where a quite big area has burned down, to investigate the reasons for this happening. They find a species that has never been seen before and soon, one of the geologists starts to behave strangely. Does this creature has anything to do with the fire and with the accidents that occur?

I can't really say that I had high expectations on this hybrid of "The Blair Which Project" (1999) and "Body Snatchers" (1993), but I have to admit, that it wasn't bad at all. The acting and the directing is fair, not sensational, but still good. The script is cleverer than I could ever have imagined from this movie: there are surprisingly many one-liners and some sequences are exciting and even kind of scary in its best bits. The only thing that drags the rating down a bit is the shaky camera work, similar to the one in "The Blair Which Project". I honestly felt sick after half an hour, not to mention how I felt afterwards. Otherwise, an overall good movie, but don't forget to bring a bag with you - simply in case of emergency. Rating: 6/10

Before the Storm (2000)

7/10

[7/10 · 27 September 2000]

Leo, a guy in the seventh grade gets harassed by a two years older boy in school and seeks revenge. At the same time, Ali, the father of a girl in Leo's class (who Leo has a crush on) is contacted by a opposition group from his home country that wants Ali to assassinate an important man for them. Otherwise, they'll kill the family that Ali left when moving to Sweden.

These two stories about morale are connected to each other in Reza Parsa's remarkable debut. The direction is good, the acting is excellent (especially young Emil Odepark in the difficult role as Leo) and the photography is way better than it usually is in the Swedish movie industry.

Lukas Moodysson started a boom of making good films in Sweden with "Fucking Åmål" ("Show Me Love" in the U.S.) and I hope that'll continue with future movies from Parsa and Moodysson, who prove themselves to be the most talented Swedish directors since Bo Wideberg. The best drama-thriller in a while. 7/10

Wing Commander (1999)

6/10

[6/10 · 18 September 2000]

Rented "Wing Commander" this summer, just to see if it was as bad as people said. Obviously, they were wrong. Very wrong. The plot itself is as basic as it can be and so is the dialogue, but the production design and the costumes are brilliant. The photography by Thierry Arbogast is superb, as always and the movie itself is entertaining. The only thing that I don't get is: Why didn't the do the creature effects as good as the other visual effects? Still, the movie was better than expected. A movie suitable for Sunday afternoons; OK, no more, no less. 6/10.

Together (2000)

7/10

[7/10 · 21 August 2000]

Almost two years after the (in Sweden) immense success of Lukas Moodysson's debut "Fucking Åmål", comes his latest movie, "Tillsammans". The plot is very simple; people's trouble with love in Stockholm in the mid 70's. The movie is well-written, the cast makes an excellent work, you get a good laugh (notice Shanti Roney's haircut) and Lukas Moodysson proves himself to be the most interesting and talented writer/director in Sweden. Nearly as good as "Fucking Åmål". I'm already looking forward towards Moodysson's future films. All thanks to him for reviving the Swedish movie industry. 7/10

American Psycho (2000)

5/10

[5/10 · 23 May 2000]

The controversial book has now been adapted to the silver screen... I haven't actually read the book yet, but I've heard from a lot of people that it should be excellent. Too bad that the movie isn't. The actors are great (especially Christian Bale), you really get this 80's feeling and the crew has done a good work overall. So what's the problem then? Well, the script actually. The idea is interesting and the satire about the yuppie-world is clever, but after one hour or so you start nodding off, because at that time everything starts to feel somewhat samey. Too bad that they couldn't keep up the interest all the way based on such a plot... Doubtless one of the greatest disappointments of 2000.

The Avengers (1998)

6/10

[7/10 · 29 December 1999]

I'm too young for having seen the tv-series that the film was based on and therefore I unfortunately can't compare them. Anyhow, the movie is typical for Hollywood today. You take a script based on a popular event, add some "big" actors and then you have a movie that has to become a blockbuster, or is it really that simple. As everyone knows "The Avengers" wasn't a success in the theaters, which is good, but at the same time very sad. Good because the audience (obviously) doesn't watch any movie that has a great budget, but bad because of that there are some great things about the movie. First of all, the script was funny, but since the film was cut down, there's not a lot left of it. The parts that were left, though, were adequate. The cinematography by Roger Pratt is beautiful and both the production design and the costume design was dazzling. The actors do a good job and deliver their one-liners with good timing. Sure, this movie isn't one of the best action-adventures that I've seen, but works out quite well on a sunday afternoon. Too bad is only the bitter aftertaste that they could have made a much better film with the resources that they had.

Rating: 6/10

In Bed with Santa (1999)

Best Swedish film 1999!

[8/10 · 23 November 1999]

Celebrating Christmas today isn´t really how it used to be (or how it supposed to be). Divorces are more usual, which make a completely different view on the family.

Sara (Katarina Ewerlöf) invites her ex husbands and their wives and children to celebrate Christmas at her house with her husband Janne (Peter Haber). While eating dinner, she tells everyone, that she´s pregnant again, but Janne has been sterilized without her knowledge. Who is the father of the baby?

Director Kjell Sundvall made a great effort with his 1996 hit Jägarna, and I knew that there were some good actors in the film, but I can´t really say that my expectations were great, since many Swedish films aren´t good. Fortunately, I was totally wrong!

The script by Monika Rolfner is witty and really catches the family situation of today. This along with really good actors (enjoyable to see Alexandra Dahlström again, who hasn´t done a bad movie so far) with a wonderful timing with the funny comments makes this film to be a real treat to watch. Only the cinematography wasn´t that good, but I strongly recommend this comedy if you´re looking for a big laugh! Rating: 7/10