Moody, creepy, beautiful and tender. All of that applies to this surprising and original Swedish import. Kare Hederbrant as Oskar and Lina Leandersson as Eli present us with a vampire tale in a way we've never seen before. That , in itself, makes for a memorable evening at the movies. Here, the idea of longing is as beautifully portrayed as the idea of loneliness. We can actually see it and taste it. The structure and pace are clearly Nordic but the palpitating heart at its center is winningly universal. The bullied boy that looks like a girl and the mysterious girl who looks like a boy build a never seen before coupling of opposites. For romantic lovers of the dark, this is a must.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Death Becomes Her
(1992)
A Cult Classic
10 November 2007
I never saw "Death Becomes Her" when it first come out because of a review I had read somewhere. The review was dismissive and made a lot of sense, so I decided to give it a miss. What a terrible mistake! This is a movie I would love to see on a big screen. The script is so brilliantly clever. Disguised as a silly comedy there is a world of serious themes executed by a knowing cast. Meryl Streep in particular, playing convincingly an actress without talent. I remember the bad review criticized the writers for setting the story in a rainy, stormy Los Angeles when California was going through a drought. Imagine if a comedy about magic potions should worry about the accuracy of the weather. In fact the Los Angeles of "Death Becomes Her" feels more like Los Angelers than most realistic movies and it does it with nerve and wit. "In 12 years in Los Angeles have you ever seen a neighbor?" screams Meryl to his mousy Bruce. An absolute delight. Other hidden treasures are a cameo from Sidney Pollack and a very funny and very sexy "76 years old" Isabella Rossellini. A new cult classic and a total must.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
(2005)
Souless Creatures
20 February 2006
Creepy and not in a nice way. Creepy because those faces - Pitt's and Jolie's I mean - are very familiar to us, to me. But, in "Mr and Mrs Smith" they look like repplicants without soul. It is the most depressing experience I've had in a theater in a long, long time. Remember how good Brad Pitt was in "Thelma and Louise" or "12 Monkeys"? Now is some kind of thing, he's being thingified with his consent I'm sure. Angelina is working her way down as an actress and building her virtual state as a star in a world where Scott Petersen and/or Paris Hilton can become a star. How sad! As far as I'm concerned the movie has no redeeming features. I felt so cheated that I had to run and rent "Prizzi's Honor" as an antidote. It sort of worked but I wish I could erase the Smith's out of my mind.
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