daniel-169 Reviews

The Kovak Box (2006)

Science and Fiction

[9/10 · 29 September 2006]

Usually, people write summaries of the story, but I won't. The plot summary on the movie page is good enough. :) It's important not to give away the story to get the most out of this film.

I really liked the movie. It was extremely well put together with a tight script. It had nice photography and a great score. The story is engrossing and you connect with the characters and I found myself unable to second guess them very much (something that is a constant problem in present day Hollywood productions, it is far to easy to think up easy solutions to their predicaments that they so conveniently miss just so that the story can continue).

I saw the movie at the Fantastisk Filmfestival (FFF) here i Lund, Sweden, today (a few hours ago). The director was present at the screening (apparently the third screening worldwide and the movie will have a wider release early next year) and I had a chance to talk to him. We talked about his inspirations for the movie (9/11 among other things, but not in any way that you really can understand from seeing the film), the progress of science into fiction and vice versa and the fact that he had set out to make a "Hitchcockean" movie (something I think he managed, albeit I must admit that I'm embarrassingly lacking in knowledge of Hitchkock's works, I found "The Birds" quite unwatchable for example).

Either way, I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes mysteries and a good thriller.

11:11 (2004)

Chilling, effective but somehow unsatisfying

[7/10 · 13 August 2004]

There usually is a plot summary here, so I'll skip it.

I thought the movie was very effective. I found it scary and actually got chills at one point. But somehow the story didn't feel real, you never got sucked into the film. Perhaps partly because of some of the acting was awful (like the professor), but also because the prophecies used in the film did not seem to have any consistency to them, they just seemed like random events.

Of course, it could just be my own skepticism at anything that has to do with dates, since dates are inherently arbitrary. There is no magic to dates. But let's not get into that discussion.

All in all, I thought that most of the acting was very good. The story line had a good arc to it, though the end to me seemed unfinished. I see this a lot with stories that try to be deep and complex, in the end they have a huge problem tying all the loose ends together so instead they make it open ended and leave the loose ends flopping in the tailwind of people leaving the theater unsatisfied.

But it seems like a low budget stretched until the very breaking point. They made a lot with whatever they had (I don't think it was that much by today's standards). It looks good and is very scary in parts. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes horror and I bet the director will be back with more, hopefully better, stuff. I'll definitely see what he comes up with.

I, Robot (2004)

Quite good and not as irreverent as one might have thought

[8/10 · 13 August 2004]

What impressed me about the movie (and I won't regurgitate the story, because I think you all know it by now) was that it was *not* based on Asimov's work. It would have been more effective, I think, if it had not used his universe for the story but the story itself was very good. In fact, the weak point was the inclusion of the three laws. The three laws made the story impossible if you think about it.

That aside, the movie was beautifully shot, the effects were extremely well done and "bullet time" was used effectively *to show us what happened* not only because it's a cool effect. Now, some of the impossible crane shots in the final fight scenes were very cool, but made me just a teeny bit nauseous.

No doubt this movie is worth the cost of admission, I'd recommend it to anyone. I think the ladies will appreciate Mr. Smith, who certainly doesn't seem to be ashamed of his physique, and the guys will love the cool robots and all the action, there certainly is plenty. For us cerebral movie-goers, some suspension of disbelief is required but not so much that the movie can't be enjoyed fully.

Close Your Eyes (2002)

A good thriller movie

[8/10 · 28 September 2002]

The story in short: 4 little girls have been found dead from having the wrong blood type injected into them. All had been gone for days before they were found and had tattoos with occult symbols. One girl has managed to escape but is unable to speak because of her trauma. Drawn into this affair is a hypnotist with a remarkable power to empathize with his patients almost to the point of telepathy. He is reluctantly enlisted to help in the investigation.

This movie was a nice bit of craftsmanship. It's not revolutionary in any way, it is one of what have become a genre of serial killer movies, where the murderer or murderer-chaser has some supernatural powers and where occult references are abundant.

But as such, it is well made, with a story that is more than decent and the only real complaints could be that it sometimes is just a little bit too standard in its execution. A more unexpected twist would have been welcome, or something that breaks the mold, like the police *helping* in the investigation for once.

Well worth the movie ticket cost or at least the rental. You will enjoy it if you like thrillers.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Almost as great as My Neighbour Tottoro

[10/10 · 12 February 2001]

This is an adventure movie on an epic scale. Comparing it to Star Wars is about right, but still fails to describe the level of storytelling in this saga. It is not only a story of heroism and death, but one of our own battle against nature, how we keep forgetting how to live with nature instead of against it, it is of hatred and forgiveness, love and pity.

The only reason why this movie is not as god as "My Neighbour Tottoro" is that that story is entirely void of any action, any cheap effects. It is a story that carries itself and keeps you riveted, even though nothing really happens. To make a story like that interest is truly genious.

But in waiting for "My Neighbour Tottoro" we can only watch the director's genious at work.