SimonHeide Reviews

Killing Eve (2018–2022)

Obsessive contract killing.

[3/10 · 27 October 2018]

Through the episodes we partly follow a team of investigators (excluded MI5 cops) trying to solve a series of murders across Europe. They follow a theory that it is the same killer who is responsible for the murders. In these scenes the atmosphere can be compared with social drama. The leader of the investigaters, Eve Polastri, is having problems with her marriage and is in no way portrayed as a stereotyped super detective.

In the other part we follow our contract killer, Villanelle, when she gets her assignments and on her missions. She gets her assigments from Konstantin Vasiliev, played by Kim Bodnia. These parts are done with humour and the interaction between the two is odd and entertaining. What is really going on between the two? Is there some strange erotic energy lurking or does he symbolize a father figure?

Then we watch Villanelle on her missions where she assassin her victims. In my view these parts are horrendous. She often moves carelessly through rows of guards, protecting her target, with such an ease that is ludicrous - I am not going to elaborate on this point.

She is depicted as a psychopath, with a weird grin plastered on her face, that actually mostly looks like a grimace. It is as if this is the way to give her a twist of dangerous "craziness". She is more or less bored killing people and she is presumably trying to spice things up by very intensely watching her victims last breath.

She finds it reliefing when she is told that she is being followed by a team of ex-cops from MI5 trying to chase her down and the hunters all of a sudden becomes the hunted.

Technical evidence for some reason simply doesn´t exist in this world. At least not for the first four episodes I saw before I gave up. DNA and fingerprints....? In episode 2 this new task force is discussing whether it is the same person who has murdered a long list of persons across Europe without taking into consideration what was found of technical evidence at the crime scenes.

I just couldn´t take it seriously.....

Regards Simon...

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Team Albert (2018)

Kiddy Booz over High school.

[3/10 · 22 October 2018]

So the highschool student, Albert, all of a sudden gets the chance to live out his dream to become a youtube star at the cost of almost everything that has any value to him. He leaves his friends, drops out of highschool, sponsors an alcoholic drink for children (Kiddy Booze) and very quickly finds himself lonely and with no opportunity to fulfill his artistic ambitions.

It´s actually a sad story that only in the beginning tries to live up to the "comedy" label that it has. I went in with my daughter age 12 and her friend and afterwards we agreed that there was two funny scenes and a third one trying to....

I had also had this weird visual experience as if the movie was shown in the wrong format. It was as if there had been zoomed to much into the scenes which was especially annoying in the close-up scenes. Part of the hair, faces, hats etc. was simply not within view.

My own more personal expectancy was to see the talent of a youtuber unfold which Albert is in his real life. What does this consist of? Walking around in submanic overdrive with a camera in selfie mode and being able to integrate whatever you meet on your way in a very creative and humoristic fashion without losing whatever focus you might have? Albert was totally eaten up by a manuscript and a director the way I saw it. If he has any talent he didn´t bring it with him into the movie.

Regards Simon

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Mr. Mercedes (2017–2019)

Slow and corny.

[3/10 · 27 August 2018]

I gave up after five episodes - so take this into consideration reading my review.

In the Pilot, a big Mercedes hammers through a big crowd of people, standing in line waiting for a job, at a jobs fair, and leaves many dead, including a young mother and her young child.

After five episodes, the retired and hostile police officer, Bill Hodges, with a massive drinking and actually no positive qualities at all if you think of it has gotten nowhere closer in solving the crime. We are introduced to the killer ourselves, and yes it is clearly that he is mental, but not to the extent that involves the before mentioned slaughter of innocent people. These five episodes have been wasted with the so called character development. Some may think it is a wise choice to show us, that Hodges is now so old that he is having problem taking a piss and that he probably has a small brain damage, maybe because of his alcohol abuse, that makes him pull out his gun again and again and look out into the street every time he gets some sort of message on his computer from the killer but they didn´t need to hit the "pause" button as far as the detective story goes for these five episodes.

Character development as far as Mr. Mercedes, our mass murder goes, takes us back into a messed up childhood and also shows us his his present "tendencies" and technological skills. He has his sadistic urges, but still with some sort of moral component and the product, that can be seen as the culmination of his technological skills, is a giant lookalike walkie-talkie with four buttons and a joystick, that can control everything electronic within 100 yards.

On the upside we have Lou Linklatter, a colleague to Mr. Mercedes in the electronic store he works at, who is an absolute expert in sarcasm. The way she handles annoying costumers and a boss who has ambitions beyond any comprehension made me laugh with tears in my eyes. It actually made me wonder if it was the actor, Breeda Wool herself, who had thought up the dialogue. It just stood out so much.

Regards Simon

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

The intergalactic Musketers finally swear their oath to each other....

[7/10 · 24 April 2018]

The real force of the movie is that it contains a lot of humor of the more self-ironic stuff. The group dynamics of the Guardians is, until around 2/3 into the movie, based on interpersonal conflicts that are depicted in the most funny way.

When the guardians actually put aside their thirst for revenge and distrust to each other it helps them fall into their specific role that fits their special abilities and this makes them fight as a unity. I had a wish for this to happen but as it progressed I found to my surprise that it was boring. With the loss of their dark sides they became one dimensional with predictable behaviour. For instance they prove their friendship by risking their own lives saving each other, they have their moments of doubt that they overcome and they redeem themselves. All of this adds to a very solemn atmosphere that stands in a stark contradiction to the first part of the movie.

This harmony cannot develop with sarcastic comments and antisocial behaviour so I am sad to say that the very happy end competes with any Disney story...

The big showdown isn´t bad - the special effects are cool but everybody knows what it will up to so the suspense is absent.

Regards Simon

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Irreversible (2002)

The horror, the horror...

[10/10 · 16 April 2018]

The story is told in reverse....

This is not just some artistic pseudo aspiration but something that makes a very interesting difference. Because of the reverse order you already know some of the consequences for what is going on. So instead of trying to figure out what will happen you wonder about what has already happened. I found that refreshing - it gave me a feeling of watching it more intensely.

The violence and sexual aberration brakes every filmic scale....

Was it necessary to depict the horror that can be involved with sexuality in such an extreme way...? How to judge this? I have always thought that showing scenes with intense violent content could be done very effectively in a subtle manner if you have to do with a very skillful director. But not this time. The part of the story that takes place in the nightclub "Rectum" is absolutely brilliant. The dominant red colour that blends with the shadows and erases every idiosyncratic feature of the faces and only lets the lust and perversion shine through building up to a repulsive climax. It´s like taking the trip down to the perverted Freudian "id" where no morality or known norms seems to exist. The super-ego has been cleaved. Scary and strangely fascination at the same time.

Then the rape scene....

Was it to be endured because there was actually something new about the dangerous mix of sexlust and aggression that could be learned? Or was it just a director who wanted to provoke? I had to mute the sound and go further away from the screen in order to see it. If you have the slightest experience with somebody who got too "close" to you at a certain time in your life don´t watch this scene...! Don´t!

The first half part of the story....

Here the atmosphere is permeated with joy, harmony and humour with the couple, that later will go through the living hell, teasing each other. These scenes delivers a sense of tragedy as they are watched with negative sign.

I wish I could rate this movie on another scale than good/bad. I am not through thinking about it and still watches different scenes.

Regards Simon

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Legion (2017–2019)

t's like a radio turning way down low Telling me things I do not know I know.

[6/10 · 6 April 2018]

Season 1. So the evolution has continued and has brought a new breed to the world - the mutants.... With their extraordinary powers they are seen as being a potential danger to mankind but at the same time as a mean to serve an ordered purpose.... Therefore several conflicts has arisen both with unkown and dark forces but also with humanity...

Our protagonist, David, is locked up in a mental institution (Clockworks) and are treated for a sickness that seems similar to skizofrenia. He hears voices inside his head and at the same time have a very lively imagination that could seem psychotic.

But no! He is a very powerful mutant with an extreme telekinetic ability and soon he discovers this and the real story can begin.

He meets kindred spirits - each with their own ability.

There are several sidetracks from the main story, that at times seems refreshing but often seems to "take over". For example In episode four where David, on the astral plane, meets an essentric guy (Oliver), who left the real world in the 1970 ties and therefore loves fusion jazz and beat poetry.... He serves vermouth/vodka with olives, wants to start a band and all of a sudden in this confusion has some very, very important things to say.... My, my.... It´s funny but makes the story to unfocused as I see it.

Still has an air of low budget that permeates several scenes but you have to forgive and ignore this part.

The serie seems to be very focused on "style". The music is a chapter by itself - such a nice score - Robert Plant, Radiohead, Nina Simone - I could continue... The interior of the mutants hideout and their dress is all retro - a funny choice that brings old seasons of Star Trek to mind.

From episode 6 and forth contains very much dream material and the "are the mutants in reality mentally ill and delusional about their superpowers" theme to an extent that felt confusing and unecessary. There is no real progression in the story and maybe others like sequences with heavy symbolic but I found it boring and much to David Lynch like. There are confusing elements involving dreamlike sequences containing a maze of memories blended with psychic powers but with great visual and audio effects...

It´s a daring choice to mix humour and eerie darkness so much as happened here and when the big show down comes closer the funny parts was so distracting that I couldn´t give a damn what happened.

All in all it started out promising with an introduction of a gallery of persons that was full of secrets you wanted to know all about but as we got further into the story it became irritating to watch..

/Simon

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American Crime (2015–2017)

90 % blame and guilt - 10% crime story.

[4/10 · 26 March 2018]

So one unifying event, a murder and a rape on a married couple (man gets killed - wife gets raped), becomes the excuse for us to take a deep look into the lives of the affected people.

Besides getting acquainted with the two affected families we are also introduced to the four suspects.

The deep look involves a glance into "what lies beneath the surface". Here secrets and conflicts travel to the surface ignited by the crime.

Blame and a need to place responsibility in the most insisting manner is a major theme for the two involved families. It is of course a very realistic theme to appear in a dysfunctional family that are faced with a great tragedy but the danger is, that this very easily can become very tiresome without any progression. It also allowed to overshadow the rest of the story. And in fact this is my biggest disappointment. Too much time is put into this aspect.

Further a high focus is set on character development and it seems that this in a way competes with the detective story.... You can have a whole episode where no progression is being made as far as solving the crime goes. You can kind of forget that an investigation is taking place because focus on showing us the consequences playes such a big part in the story....

(Spoiler).... I gave up in episode 7 - fourteen minutes inside the episode. The mother to the killed guy has a really strained relationship to her other son. She loves him but he has given her a warning that he is tired of what he considers racism for her part and for several things in his childhood. Despite of this she tries to persuade his girlfriend (who is ethnic Asian) not getting married to him. A total suicidal suggestion under these circumstances. The purpose of this scene is not good storytelling but to create new suspense through conflicts. It simply doesn´t add up - sorry to say its soap opera.

Regards Simon

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Northwest (2013)

When crime is not a choice....

[8/10 · 21 March 2018]

Casper, our main character earns a living by skillfully breaking into peoples homes and sell the stolen goods to the local receiver (Jamal).

He doesn´t get any respect from Jamal and his men, he is humiliated and it seems that he doesn´t get fair prizes for the goods he has stolen. So one day he is approached by a stranger, that makes a proposition. You get the feeling that Casper senses danger, as well as we does for that matter, as he does not accept the proposition in the first place but later he changes his mind and then the real drama can begin.

The stranger is a guy named Bjørn who is involved in organized crime. He has a brothel (this is usually Hells Angels in Denmark) and needs somebody to handle transport, security and economy and slowly, no, very fast as a matter of fact, is Casper in charge of these assignments. Casper wants to be involved but at the same time we get a very clear notion, that at a certain point he cannot pull out without problems. He is slowly losing control over his own life.

When the old receiver sends out his guys to get Casper back into his old business a conflict of interests has started that can only be ended in one way...... Casper is together with his kid brother brought out into a forest and taught how to use a gun. By the instructions given you get a very, very clear notion that an execution is going to take place.

It´s rare to watch social drama wherein everybody doesn´t stand out on some pathology scale. Casper and the rest of his family doesn´t stand out as sociopaths or having a drug/alcohol addiction. Casper is very affectionate towards his little sister and really seems resourceful here. The mother isn´t introduced much but there is nothing that stand out as suspicious.

So the big question - why does Casper and his brother get involved in criminal activities? Well, the explanation cannot be found within the family so instead....? Its the simple fact of growing up in Northvest - or a ghetto for that matter. Its a society within the society governed by its own laws. The mother knows what is going on - suddenly he wears a Rolex watch and it is as if she wants to have a conversation about this but in the same moment gives up. Alone she cannot fight and win the battle to get Casper back on track.

The pace of the story, the portrait of the characters and the description of the milieu in "nortvest" is put very well together in this movie.

A small masterpiece....

/Simon

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My Own Private Idaho (1991)

The Connoiseur of roads with no directions or landmarks....

[8/10 · 28 February 2018]

So we are introduced to and follow a group of hustlers living on the very buttom of society. We zoom in on Mike (River Phoenix) and Scott (Keanou Reeves) each with their sad story that slowly unfolds.

Mike is really tragic and sad. His mental state seemed to be infantile and instead of dealing with diverse inner conflicts in a manner that could have some sort of therapeutic effect he escapes into one narcoleptic seizure after another. It was as if he needed to start life all over again by returning to the very time of birth and here being nurtured as supposed.

Hollow as a result, responsibility that follows an adult life was by any standard not possible. The relationships that could be established was superficial and more driven by common destiny with the others in the group than by an explicit choice. With one exception. Scott. Their friendship though still rested on the premise that Scott needed to stay in a position as the grown up who could be in charge.

Otherwise Mike only had short moments of joy when luxury in a hotelroom etc. could be enjoyed as a prelude to the exchange of sex for money. Luckily the director had chosen not to depict these scenes - it would have very unpleasant, maybe even as watching a peadophile scene, and without a real purpose. It was easy enough to imagine.

Scott is finally able to break his social heritage and with that the friendship with Mike. This is depicted in the most beautiful ending scene where both Mike and Scott attends a funeral at the same church yard at the same time and the estrangement between the two is shown with great effect.

The acting in itself makes the movie worth watching. One thing is the undeniable talent of both River Phoenix and Keanou Reeves but the directing seemed to provoke different modes of acting.

At certain times it seemed as if the acting had an almost theatrical quality to it. It consisted of monologes that seemed to be spoken out to an audience all the while the actor walked around, like on a theater scene.

At another time it seemed as we were watching an interview with two hustlers telling about their first experience selling sex.

And then we had the two scenes, surreal in their quality, where sex and a strong and odd narcissistic tendency blended together which gave the feeling that this was a way of dealing with a topic in a more humerous way that didn´t correspond with the more general narrative. They existed in their own right. And right they had!

The target audience to this movie is hard to define. You must find out yourself...

Regards Simon

The Square (2017)

Left or right kids jump? Up or down marching?

[7/10 · 25 February 2018]

Watching the Square very quickly made me wonder if a movie needs to have a plot or maybe a theme to be good? A plot or a theme that can be identified with some sort of progress in that you can observe and wonder about on those dimensions that usually guides you in enjoy a movie.

The Square contains splendid acting, a milieu that is believable and depicted in a funny way and characters, that stands out (the ungrateful and apathic beggar, the two PR-guys trying to pop the exhibition up etc.). Still the movie left me bored and restless.

The storytelling is decided by the chronology of events. Meaning that when you leave one scene and go to the next it is the simple result of time passing by instead of having the inner logic of a string of events decide the matter. Themes can be identified but you drift in and out of them.

I suppose that this is the way all of us experience life. Events are related, sometimes not at all, sometimes coincidences changes your life and sometimes it does because of specific decisions. The plot in your life can be lost and found againg and time is always the underlying factor for this to occur.

In movies I want something else - a detective story either with a crime or something that can replace it. You need the "it".

Regards Simon

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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Melodrama in disguise makes the movie fall apart....

[1/10 · 4 February 2018]

From a very focused starting point, that seems almost poetic, namely three Billboards outside a small town with a simple question asked in an accusetory tone the movie gets desorientend and graps to sentimalism in order to create progression.

Mildred is angry. Angry and bitter beyond point of no return. She insists upon, and thereby gambling everything in her life, to have those three billboards standing, accusing the local sheriff (Woody Harrelson) for not catching the person who raped, killed and burnt her daughter.

We follow the reactions in the town as a result of this and at this point it seemed like an interesting premise to explore what conflicts and alliances this could bring about.

Sad to say, but every single personality trait was stereotyped.... I will elaborate by pointing out how the movie seemed to try to force us to laugh of two insecure and retarded people making stupid comments as their most defining characteristic. Even Adam Sandler is more funny than this.

Everybody shouts, curses, threats and beats the hell out of each other.

And then, more or less as a consequence of the sheriffs suicide, everybody decides to become friends and although the movie plays on the socialdrama theme, the reconciliation is fairy tail like. For instance (spoiler) One of the retarded police officers has beaten the hell out of a guy and afterwards thrown him out of a first floor window. By accident they share a room in a hospital and this guy without any preliminary process of anger accepts the apology by leaving a glass of orange juice on the officers table. That scene in itself made me want to leave the cinema. My god!

Definition of "Melodrama": a sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.

Need I say more?

Regards Simon

Ps. I have only once left the cinema before time (Sean Connery in "Medicine Man" 1992) but was very, very close at doing that again...

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Jul på Vesterbro (2003)

Stardust Christmas

[7/10 · 6 December 2017]

The well known stand up comedian Anders Matthesen made a Christmas series, containing 24 episodes in 2003.

It evolves around a family that consists of a father (Stewart Stardust) who seems to be a ex sailor that has left his life as a sailor behind but at the same time forgot to leave his bad manners out on the ocean. He shouts and yell like the infamous Captain Haddock with a deep felt love for strong, tepid beer. We are told that his wife is in the bedroom with a chronic menses that makes no contact possible except for a shout "get out of here", that can be felt on the Richter scale, every time somebody tries to open the door to her bedroom. His son (Danny) has just left prison on parole and has brought with him a parole officer (Arne) that is a reminiscent of the hippie culture with such an undeniable trust in Danny that it beats the law of physics. Danny could be a distant relative to Chong (from Cheech and Chong) with his drooling voice and a mind that is so intoxicated that everything, and I mean everything, is funny.

Stewart needs money for the rent and has a plan of selling sausages from this mobile sausage wagon that by the way is a very unique danish culture product. The terror organization "the yellow half- moon " lead by the immigrant Kefir has deceived Mr. Stardust into believing that it needs a repair and we know for sure that dark and sinister plans are being made

As with other "Christmas calendars " some elements are repeated in each episode but with different luck. The supposedly effect that this have is "the moment of recognition " that can feel so cozy and Christmas like.

For instance we have the present he gives to himself each day that consists of a beer he drinks and we have the mother shouting in her bedroom when Steward tries to make contact with her.

Stewart has apparently been brought up by a sadistic father and in every episode he has a flashback that lasts approx 10 seconds where this father says something educative and then raises his arm with a tool in it and starts to hit him. As this Christmas Calender is a comedy I have tried to figure out how this in any way can be funny but must admit that my mind is too limited to understand this.

The force of the episodes is partly that Anders is so brilliant in spotting cultural stereotypes and making them come alive on the television and then making a dialogue that starts out pretty normal but then escalates into something strange and weird either because everybody misunderstands each other or because the ability to think straight is very reduced.

Regards Simon

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Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Still waters run deep.

[10/10 · 30 March 2017]

In the book "The Stranger" by Albert Camus, Meursault feels totally estranged and detached from reality when he attends his mothers funeral. With his mechanic behavior, monotone voice and absence of emotional response Lee Chandler is a kindred spirit.

He doesn't get involved neither does he avoid. He is just there with no aim but not suicidal enough to take the full consequence of this state of mind. And yet you sense something. A reminiscence of character and you want to learn, find out what this points back to. And after the prologue, with Lee shoveling snow (yes like Sisyfos) and pluming without taking any pride in doing so the real story begins when his brother dies and he travels from his cellar flat in Boston to Manchester by the sea.

Via several flashbacks you enter an existential detective story that brings you closer to a heartbreaking point that will make the worst horror movie seem like a fairytale story.

I will rest my case now. See it. Cry with it and if you are having a panic attack it is just a sign that shows you that your ability to have an empathic response is intact.

Regards Simon

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Skam (2015–2017)

Transition from childhood to....?

[8/10 · 13 March 2017]

High school is for many the defining moment for the crossover from childhood to adulthood. Its a period that has its charms and certainly its complications. "The first experience" for so many things happen here. You can fall in love, break up, feel jealous and insecure and will probably have your first sexual experience. Social media will shape and form these experiences with all of its possibilities and pitfalls. A very easy identified theme in many movies and series, that depicts these years, centers around the feeling of being awkward which Skam also does to a certain extent.

Skam hits all of these themes spot on with a well adjusted pace, young actors that seem very comfortable in front of the camera showing emotions of vulnerability.

It flirts with social drama but the themes doesn't weigh you down as a lot of humour is blended in but without betrayal.

The way I see it the show have a broad appeal given its theme of young adulthood and having a gallery of so many different personalities that identification should be possible.

I will recommend the story of Vilde, Noora, Chris, Eva and Sana to anyone who either have a direct of indirect connection to youth culture of today or to anyone else who has the curiosity of an anthropologist towards this theme.

Regards Simon

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Ray Donovan (2013–2020)

The Mechanic.

[7/10 · 16 January 2017]

Ray Donovan (Season one).

We follow Ray Donovan, who has a questionable work helping out rich people who gets in all sorts of problems. The end justifies the means and Ray, with a mix of distortion, threats, violence and murder, always gets the job done.

Ray has a marriage that suffers both under his absence and lack of ability to show any kind of emotional response. He seems tired and burnout all the time as if he has been carrying a responsibility that is too big for to long. He is so expressionless that it at last gets on your nerves.

Furthermore he has his two brothers. One with an alcoholic problem, that appears infantile, and another who has a boxing gym and a right arm with some odd motor deficit that you sense there is some secret behind.

His father is released from prison after twenty years and season one can now begin.

At one level Ray Donovan is action packed but at another a lot more is going on as the interaction between the characters is given much attention.

The father, played brilliantly by Jon Voigt, enters the scene and shows us in a most convincing way what a life in prison does to your social abilities. He is full of good intentions but flunks again and again with his own belief that he can charm anybody with his superficial humor. He furthermore has an inappropriate language and to a certain degree moral values that has been in a time capsule for twenty years.

The dynamics between Ray, his father and brothers are very engaging to watch but as far as the marriage goes the repeat button has been pushed too hard. The recipe is that his priority, without exception, is his job and his wife again and again, and yes again, shuts and yells at him for not being there while he leaves the scene often with a cell phone in his hand.

There is much anger and bitterness on Rays part pointed at his father and the secret behind this slowly reveals itself with all the suspense this involves. This part is in my view the most exciting to watch and is beautifully intertwined with all the other stories that come to life.

Regards Simon

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American Honey (2016)

Lost and found on the road to nowhere.

[8/10 · 2 January 2017]

A young girl, named Star, with no economic abilities, bears the heavy responsibility of raising her two younger siblings.

Hungry after living the life of a teenager she gets attracted to a group of young people at a supermarket with high spirit and a bad attitude. She leaves her siblings behind and joins the group who lives from day to day selling magazines to whomever they meet. The common denominator is the selling of magazines. How to do it? How to manipulate the potential buyer with different kind of stories up the sleeve that is supposed to impose sympathy? As Oliver Twist is lured into Fagins lair and is taught to pick pockets without knowing what he is doing so is Star initially. At the point where she understands the rules and laws of the group, she is involved in such a way that she accepts the game and takes some very big risks and further compromises her own moral values.

The force of the movie is the depiction of the life on the road, the interaction between our marginalized young people and slowly getting to know our protagonist, who in the beginning is the silent observer and little by little starts to unfold her personality.

I can see that the movie is being criticized for being very long and not having a story that develops from a start- to an endpoint. I agree that some of the scenes are prolonged to a point that seems unnecessary. Besides this I think that this movie is a perfect example of how the truth often lies in the detail. This means that we need to dwell in some of the scenes and that the artistic challenge is to let this happen in a way that gets the audience involved.

Again I must express my deepest respect for director Andrea Arnold who has the rare ability to show a milieu in such a convincing way that it at certain points seems as if you are not watching a movie but instead a documentary but without losing the storytelling.

Regards Simon

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Summer of '92 (2015)

The story of David and Goliath rewritten by H.C. Andersen.

[7/10 · 8 October 2016]

Against all odds Denmark won the 1992 European championship in football. As a matter of fact stating "against all odds" could even seem to be an understatement.

Denmark didn't even qualify but got the chance to participate when Jugoslavia couldn't play because of a civil war.

Michael Laudrup, by many considered the best player, had left the team because of the coach, Richard Møller, who had a totally different vision of how to play football than him.

When the tournament started Denmark played the first match 0-0 and lost the next.

But then everything was turned around......

Such a great (national) story has been depicted in this movie. It follows the events fairly chronological and from the viewpoint of the very unpopular coach Richard Møller. The movie both tries to be entertaining but also to pay some respect to Richard Møller.

Several elements are being used to dramatize the story. We focus on one of the key players, Kim Vilfort, whose daughter is sick with cancer and how this affects the team.

Further we are shown some of the choices Richard Møller makes in a way that we understand that if he doesn't get success with these choices then he will either loose his job or risk total mockery.

When we actually watch the matches they have been inter cut between the real footage and the actors performing them. I think it was a wise choice to inter cut as the atmosphere permeating the critical situations simply cannot be reproduced in any kind of acting.

When the apparent choice has been made to let the movie, in a strict sense, follow the actual events of the European championship 1992 then there is less to comment upon. The errand, above the wish to entertain, as stated before is to let Richard Møller get some of the respect that he might never got.

So all in all the movie gets the job done and can be seen as a kind of historical sports movie that stays true to the circumstances of the European championship 1992.

Even though the original story is so great, that it could have been written by H.C. Andersen, I would still have liked if the director had chosen to focus more on some specific themes (like the conflict that existed between Richard and the players) instead of choosing the easy one - the chronological story.

Regards Simon

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The Judge (2014)

Make-up, dyeing hair and social drama

[1 October 2016]

To summon up its a drama where the prodigal son (Robert Downey) returns to his home town on the occasion that his mother has died. During the visit we very quickly sense, that something is wrong in his family, consisting of two brothers and a father.

This setup is a perfect starting point to explore how thing can go wrong in a family and further ad some suspense in a clever way if the depiction of the distorted relations go hand in hand with the discovery of the historical incidents with explanatory power: almost like a detective story.

Sadly, the choice has been to tell the story with one big overwhelming theme: our protagonist wants to get his fathers recognition no matter the cost. This need is in a filmic way never challenged but instead blindly accepted as a, sorry "the", way to find closure. If you humiliate yourself in doing so it apparently doesn't matter. When Robert Downey as last gets this recognition it felt so Hollywood that it left the movie in ruins.

Regards Simon

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Ant-Man (2015)

Finds a splendid balance between humour and action....

[7/10 · 21 August 2016]

The reason I gave this movie a chance was simply that I was very curious as to how an action movie could be built around a superhero with a reference to ants. Ants? Not scary, not cool or tough or sinister or anything else than being annoying.

Our Antman is the classic Antihero, that flunks in almost every detail of his life. Gets fired from an Ice Cream Store selling smoothies, having three not very bright "Vombat" friends, living in a flat where the neighbors are having a 24/7 rave party and having this amazing ability as a thief of absolute no use as he is trying hard to rehabilitate himself.

He is also a father and without going into much detail here I would just comment, that this part of the movie is its weakest. His daughter is "ah so cute" and displays such deep affection towards him, although he has been in prison for quite a while (and probably having very little contact with her), that it seems fairy-tale like.

As other have pointed out the super villain is partly a mystery as to the motives of jeopardize the future of the earth.... His brain has been grilled? He has a father complex? Money?

Still the movie gets the job done by being entertaining and finding this well blended harmony between being ironic towards its own superhero and still making the action scenes being one big long thrilling roller-coaster ride.

Regards Simon

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Mr. Robot (2015–2019)

Elliot and fsociety in a digital showdown with Evil Corp.

[10/10 · 18 July 2016]

Others have given a good synopsis of this wonderful first season so I will just focus on what I think makes it stand out.

There is a bearing plot that follows through the season. It progresses in a perfect tempo and still lets other subplots emerge and find resolvement. In my view, pace, especially in a series, is a delicate matter. Most often a story is prolonged in absurdity but this is not the case with Elliot Alderson and his friends, family, colleges and demons. The story often takes some "point-of-no-return" directions which feels so refreshing and actually surprising.

Elliot Alderson is a well constructed protagonist. He has his dark sides and at first I was afraid that this would follow the all to known script where the really brilliant character is portrayed with a dark and destructive side that just adds to his heroism. Elliot's dark side(s) has an actual impact on the story and is furthermore shown in a way that challenges the audience in a brilliant way in deciding Elliot's level of sanity/insanity and as a further consequence what meaning a specific situation should be given.

His talent, that anything with a microchip, can become his uorganic bodily extension, is exaggerated to a certain degree but its nothing I am going to dwell upon.

Rami Malek, who plays Elliot Alderson, does so in a very restrained way. He is thoughtful in such a way that you almost become concerned if he is mentally present in social situations which maybe is exactly the point. Furthermore he (inter)acts almost without any expression and I think that this is an expression of a big artistic gamble as the risk for us to be indifferent towards him.

I really look forward to meeting Elliot, fsociety and Evil corp. again very soon.

Regards Simon

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The Revenant (I) (2015)

To endure, suffer and survive. Repeat.

[4/10 · 14 June 2016]

The movie got such a high acclaim when it came to Denmark and therefore it was with expectations high that I watched it the other night.

The story itself is quite plain and linear without surprises. An escape that turns into a hunt for the man who has killed our hero's son. A hunt you know how will end the very second it starts. The score (spoiler) is to be settled and our hero is going to find full closure which will bring meaning to all the suffering that he is going through.

The story takes place at the frontier with all the fascination this involves. It's the simple life without all the obligations of modern lifestyle and further a life where you can test yourself against the merciless and indifferent mother nature that is at play. For some, maybe the pioneers who lived and died here, shaped the national character of the American people and therefore this period is given a high amount of importance.

All the suffering Leonardo endures on his high octane thirst for revenge is to repetitious and although the movie is beautifully made its not enough. The story itself is too straightforward.

Regards Simon

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A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015)

Maslow's hierarchy of needs doesn't apply to women.

[9/10 · 20 March 2016]

We follow a lovely, and at the same time incredible tough, 18 year old girl (Saba) who survives a murder attempt carried out by her father and uncle.

Her crime is to have fallen in love with the boy that her family wanted as her husband. A new decision about marriage is taken but Saba follows her heart instead of her fathers rules and runs off and gets married.

This act of independence is so hideous and dangerous that the only thing that can restore the family's honor is to kill her. She survives and through interviews with her, the police, a lawyer and family we start to get a picture of how women are looked at in a society that are governed by feudal laws.

Especially the interview with her father and uncle in prison makes us understand that daughters should be considered being in eternal debt to their father who has worked so hard to sustain their lives. If she gets "meal three times a day" then she shouldn't ask for more.

Womens rights are so neglected that if an honor killing is committed and the killer afterward are forgiven by his nearest family - then he walks free. So if Saba forgives her father then he will walk free and so the suspense starts. Will she do this or not? I will not spoil the last part of the story for you but just recommend the movie for being more than politic correct.

When you see Saba together with her newly wedded husband you simply cannot understand that this marriage is looked upon as a crime.

The happy end is that the movie has gotten so much attention that a fund raising has gotten the couple enough money to buy their own land.

/Simon

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The Normal Heart (2014 TV Movie)

Bravery over stupidity.

[3/10 · 20 March 2016]

It is impossible to depict a historical event like this, where homosexuals rights where so ignored, in a more balanced view. No guilt can be divided. We know that society did not live up to it's responsibility and reacted too slowly as the virus spread and that this showed an underlying aversion against gay people. Many died an unnecessary and painful death.

Ned (Mark Ruffalo) fights his cause against AIDS and in doing so is confronted with one idiot after another throughout two whole hours. He does so screaming, shouting, crying and begging to a point where I lost my interest. Representants from the government etc. are stereotyped big clowns and fifteen minutes into the movie you have figured this out. There are those that don't have the guts to fight, those who are indifferent and those who think that gay people are getting what they deserve.

Don't get me wrong. My sympathy is undivided but I would have loved to become more challenged or shown some aspects of this period that I didn't know of watching the movie.

To spice the story up you have the tragic love story and a heroic Julia Roberts in a wheelchair fighting side by side with our minority group.

/Simon

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Antboy 3 (2016)

Ant, Flea and Sidekick meets Cruella Dufort.

[6/10 · 20 February 2016]

So Pelle keeps getting older and now public school is over. He is enjoying summer and everything seems peaceful with low criminal rates in his town of Middellund. He has done his job well and is about to be honored with a big statue of himself.

He has decided to start school in another town after summer to his friend, Wilhelms big disappointment.

His alter ego, the superhero Antboy, has almost retired but suddenly an old enemy, the Flea, is released from prison. Antboy, as well as the Citizens of Middellund, is afraid, and almost certain, that the town again will suffer under his Reign. He has a curriculum vitae as a child kidnapper and earlier nothing would stand in his way to bring Antboy down....

Antboy is called out to deal with three burglars but as the action is about to start a new superhero enters the scene, much to Antboys dismay and takes over in a very impressing way. Antboys position as the towns big and only savior has now been challenged and jealousy is starting to get hold of our hero. The new superhero is on every citizens lips and Antboy (maybe because of his jealousy) is very suspicious of him.

The story develops, not so straightforward as you might fear, but of course disclosure finally settles in as the camera leaves our protagonists joyfully.

The force of the movie is its humour, as our hero in many ways resembles an anti hero. Not only as Pelle, but as much when he emerges as Antboy. Small, with a weird suit on and no sign of even the smallest muscle he saves Middellund. A couple of scenes was well told but humour could have been added with much more flavor. The special effects cannot challenge those of other similar movies and therefore the formula should have been more creative.

I don't expect a movie like this to give a proper an nuanced description of a given milieu in which it takes place but having said that, it could have spiced things up a little if the whole story didn't take place between big villas in an upper class neighborhood.

I went in with my two daughters, age 9 and 11. My oldest almost gave up after half an hour but I succeeded in challenging how to predict the story. My youngest daughter was engulfed and enjoyed the slapstick scenes.

On a rainy winter day it served its purpose.

Regards Simon

Still Alice (2014)

As John Black sails into darkness.

[9/10 · 13 February 2016]

To make a movie, where the story is very predictable, is a big challenge in order to make the movie worth watching. Here it is very clear, that Julianne will become more and more affected by her Alzheimer decease.

When the story in it self is very easy to predict why watch the movie then? The focus is on how the disease in a more specific sense forces our protagonist and family to accept the prognoses and further how the disease in a specific sense affects the ability to express herself early on and how the lack of memory makes it more and more impossible to live the life without help.

Julianne plays the role with such a great ability to emphasize with the different aspects disease that she can show us the desperation and sadness involved with accepting this disease and it's consequences.

In the french movie "amour" we have seen the same theme described with the angle on how it affects a marriage and in relation to this how the dignity of the person with Alzheimer is very difficult to sustain.

Our relationship to friends and family is to a very big extent build upon memories with that person. To lose those memories is therefore also to lose the relationship and can you then answer the question "why not commit suicide?" with other than a "yes"? And this question was one of those the occupied my mind watching the movie.

The ultimate end is to become the so called "vegetable" whose quality of life is nothing but the "here&now" situation.

To watch the movie is probably to prepare yourself to one of the variations of a terminal disease and it gives us an opportunity to reflect upon what is the very core of our existence.

The only annoyance is that it centers around a prototype family with a lot of success (more or less) and further involving giving and caring relationships. Would it have been disturbing to reflect upon the theme if our main characters had been from a lower social group or with another ethnic background?

Regards Simon

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