quakeulf Reviews

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Easily the best movie in the Star Wars-saga

[9/10 · 4 April 2007]

I have seen the first three movies evolve from their VHS-releases to their newest DVD-releases. Of the three movies of the "ancient era", this really sticks out as the best of them all.

I was very young the first time I saw this, and it captured me with its fantastic creatures, the action, the whole universe was so convincing to me, and the characters were really good and left a good impression on me. Seeing it again more than 15 years later, still makes me feel like I did back then.

This movie is obviously very influenced by 2001: A space odyssey, as seen in the interior design of the rebel space ship in the opening scene, and the docking scenes with the Death Star. Not that it's a bad thing, it is something I felt added a lot to this movie.

Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi both fail to keep up with the goodness of this movie in terms of consistency and use of scenes. In particular, there is this new CG-enhanced music scene in Return of the jedi that is so embarrassing to watch it almost destroyed the movie, and the coming of the Ewoks just goes from bad to worse. Luckily, Star Wars does not have this sort of bumpy-ride feel to it, and one that had the most graceful evolution of the three movies with the new releases, except for the "Han shot first"-scene treatment.

9/10

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

I cannot see it enough times

[10/10 · 7 January 2007]

First of all I just have to admit that this movie has some outdated shocking material. A lot of movies have outdone this movie now in terms of shocking contents like Baise Moi, Visitor Q, Za ginipiggu and Moomin. Even though they are more shocking, they are not good enough movies otherwise in my opinion. They are lacking in many other areas of which A Clockwork Orange shines through like a billion suns on a bright summer morning.

This is the kind of movie I can watch again and again and still want to watch yet another time. What appeals to me so much is the use of music, the mildly non-formulaic story, the characters like the loud prison warden, the writer and Mr. Deltoid, and how it all fits together so nicely with such unparalleled pacing.

There is something about this movie that moves me, that really evokes feelings inside me that no other movie have come close to give me. It makes me happy to watch, and is to me the very best feel-good movie I have seen so far in my life. There are of course minor things in this movie I find rather unnerving, like the opening sequence with the Korova milk bar and the moving camera that a bit awkward, and the scene with the lodger, but apart from those, there really is nothing I can think of that makes this movie feel bad.

The use of music like "The thieving magpie", "Pomp and circumstances" and Beethoven's symphonies is what makes this movie sound so spectacular as can be. Luckily it also avoids the "epic" movies like LOTR and Eragon's use of clichéd touchy-feely string music in key moments, but that is not to say it does not have its touchy-feely music in there. Which brings me onto the excellent use of pacing, that really makes the use of such music in this movie so great, and because it is only used once, it is totally acceptable and fits in really well. No need for repetition, it gets its point across and that is all that it needs to.

To sum it up: I can at the present moment not imagine a more perfect movie for me to watch.

10/10 on IMDb's rating system is my final verdict.

Casino Royale (2006)

This is James Bond

[9/10 · 28 November 2006]

100% pure, testosterone-pumped, adrenalin-rushed, burly manliness taken to the penultimate extremes, pushing beyond the boundaries that defines and confines the male part in the modern-day specie Homo Sapiens: Daniel Craig as James Bond. Never seen since Sean Connery in the opening of "Diamonds are forever", and never executed in such a manly fashion since Timothy Dalton talked it out on in "Licence to kill". The only limitation, the only confinement being the very length of the movie itself, and this being the longest Bond-movie since "On her majesty's secret service".

This movie is the impeccable testament to James Bond's true nature: Being a burly man and taking massive damage and always shrugging it off, ready for the next scene. Only half his smile and the tip of his little fingernail would be more a man than any other man in the history of men since they reached maturity in the Homo Sapiens-era.

I am ready and begging for more Bond with Daniel Craig. It is time we end the era of inane gadgetry, stop the silliness of previous Bonds, and go down to it raw, muscle by muscle, leaving only the bare skin open and ready to launch one hell of an attack. I can already feel the rugged hairs curl on my back.

I give it: 9/10 (There was one scene in the movie that didn't shout "MAN" to me in both my ears at the same time.)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996)

The best series, anime or not, I have ever seen

[10/10 · 2 October 2006]

Evangelion is a genius work of storytelling. The way it can make 26 episodes make one great story with the most definite solution to a problem (mankind) I have seen yet, makes me feel really happy inside. Unlike a lot of other series out there I have seen, and anime series in particular, Evangelion has almost zero flashback sequences with recycled material, and it always stays fresh with a new discovery after the other throughout the episodes.

It is so conclusive, so full of story and material, so utterly re-watchable that I will ignore the one recap-episode, and just give in to the incredible plot, the great characters, the wonderful ideas, and the marvelous, yet bizarre angel designs.

This series is the only series I have ever seen that gets a fully deserved 10/10 rating from me. No other comes close.

Watch the restored episodes with Japanese language for best effect, and replace episodes 25 and 26 with End of Evangelion for best effect, or just watch it after episode 26.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

So simple and so effective

[10/10 · 3 April 2006]

I first saw this movie a couple of years ago at a special screening in Norway after a friend of mine recommended it to me. I remembered it because I have never experienced a cinema with a louder volume than this had. At that point I didn't quite get what it was all about, but I also had this feeling I shouldn't really bother to "get" it, which is why this movie became most importantly an eye-opener for me.

Way too many times people try to "get" things when there is nothing to get, as if you try to subtract 3 from 2. Where will that extra 1 appear from? What you see is what this movie gives you. The stage is simple: Man evolves and goes to space. The straightforwardness of this is so beautifully portrayed in this movie I will never forget it.

This movie is not one you watch when you are all hyped up, mind. I find it best to watch late in the evening when it is dark outside.

Probably the finest sci-fi yet.

10/10

The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975)

Incredibly charming even after seeing it again and again

[10/10 · 31 March 2006]

I remember first seeing this movie at a showing at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway. I was about 7 years then. I remember how funny all the characters were, and how I loved the cars and the racing action in it. After that I have seen it a lot of times at home with friends and family, but I never got tired of it.

Then I watched it again, age 20, thinking this movie would sadly be "one of the childish past", but I was wrong. I laughed, and I got this really good feeling inside me, and I was amazed at the great attention to detail in this movie. There are so many things I didn't catch as a child that I could relate to this time, like the moonshine brewery kit, the moose on the wall with its moving eyes, the living fur, and the incredible "burnt asphalt" speed start of Il-Tempo Gigante. Of course, had this been anything near realistic, the Il-Tempo Gigante would have failed for lacking a streamlined profile and having too much gadgetry on it. But that is not what I see this movie for.

It is for me pure escapism to a small village in Norway's mountains filled with all sorts of quirky, funny devices and an excellent array of charming characters. It is among the five best movies I have ever seen, and the best puppet-animated movie yet, and is well overdue a place among the top 250 here on IMDb.

10 out of 10. "There is no question about it." -HAL