In these two months I’ve seen the following films, most from the DVD rental store but the last one in the cinema:
- The Expendables (2010)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
- Gegen die Wand/Head-On (2004)
- Todo sobre mi madre/All About My Mother (1999)
- Låt den rätte komma in/Let the Right One In (2008)
- Shame (2011)
The Expendables wasn’t meant to have the qualities of a good film, it’s an old school action film which aims at exciting it’s viewers with fighting, firearms and exorbitant explosions. It’s not as action packed as Stallone’s earlier work Rambo (2008) which probably shares the first place for the most violent film I’ve ever seen with The Passion of the Christ (2004), but that’s no wonder given the excess of that film. It’s good to see an uncomplicated action film like this once in a while, but I was not impressed by the hand-to-hand combat. Other films manage to do that better, this brilliant action scene from the film Flash Point (2003) is one of the best examples of what an hand-to-hand combat action scene should be like.
Howl’s Moving Castle is another one of Studio Ghibli‘s wonderful films. Some scenes in this film amaze me with their detail, and must have taken a lot of work to draw and animate. Spirited Away (2001) is still my favourite however. I hope to see some of there more recent films, too. Gegen die Wand shows us the life of Cahit and Sibel, two Germans with a Turkish background being torn between two cultures, not feeling accepted by both. It shows themes such as honor killing and averted love becoming true love, but it ends with Sibel’s sense of loyalty or duty to her children and new husband winning over her love for Cahit. It’s an ending which is sad but justified at the same time. Having become a fan of its director Almodovar, Todo sobre mi madre didn’t disappoint me with it’s brilliant dialogues and script. Låt den rätte komma in is one of those rare good horror films, the gloomy snowy winters of Sweden make a great decor. I went to see Shame after having seen Steve R. McQueen’s previous film Hunger (2008). While it doesn’t surpass Hunger, Shame is another great film from his hand. As someone who has had to cope with serious procrastination issues, I think I can understand how Brandon is affected by his addiction. We see that he suffers, he desperately wants to change his life and lose his addiction, but he can’t because his will has no control over his addiction. I had a wtf-moment when Brandon was walking around New York at night and is then invited for a ‘lift’ by a female in parked car who is is apparently preying on hot guys to pick up. I wish real life would be like that.