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Reviews
Summer of Rockets (2019)
Well acted, cold war drama.
The key word, that the whole story one way or another revolves around is destruction.
Firstly there's the utter and total destruction that a full scale nuclear exchange sets loose.
Secondly there's the destruction of facades and roles, both assumed and those that the society sets. Most poignant is the case of Mr. Petrukhin, who is seeking to live up to a notion of what being a perfect English gentleman encompasses. This however is shattered by the vile, antisemitic reception he receives from many of the very crowd he wishes to be part of.
..And finally what is also touched upon is the destruction of other species (for nutrition) by us people. In the end, this is revealed to have been a major reason for Anthony's breakdown and disappearance. I found this theme a good counterpoint. Too often we are preoccupied and oblivious to what we do to other, supposedly lesser beings. Bravely written, Mr. Poliakoff.
All above is fitted with surprising ease to very good script and most of all, it is nicely delivered by a strong cast. Indeed. This is probably among the finest roles Toby Stephens has delivered. Also, one who really merits a special mention, is the young Toby Woolf. Now and then, it truly amazes, how well some child actors do. This was one of those occasions.
The Eurovision Song Contest (2007)
Good show
Not maybe the best ever Eurovision, but a good show on all accounts. Some good songs (on the Eurovision standard) entertaining and charming hosts (Jaana Pelkonen especially) and a nice atmosphere.
Though I'm biased to say so, I think Finland did a good job hosting the competition.
Serbia deserved to win. The girl Marija Serfovic has a strong voice and the song was very good.. They didn't need to have sexy girls in miniskirts or clowns jumping around to win it.
Georgia was a pleasant surprise, the song with a Björk influenced sound to it was one of the most memorable.. France's entry was nice too, a catchy tune with an element of good humor. Hungary's blues also left a good impression. I must also mention Iceland, who IMO should have progressed to the final, excellent rock tune with an 80s sound. Shame how Eirikur Hauksson didn't get enough votes in the semifinal.
Finland's entry was admittedly quite a dull rock song, so it was hardly a surprising that it didn't get too many votes.
Greece was rubbish, a lame disco tune that was almost identical to Turkey. Ireland, what can I say? you can hear that kind of dull nonsense as a background music in your average backwater irish pub. The UK entry (once again) was a bad joke.
Befreite Zone (2003)
What was this supposed to be all about?
The football was just barely a side note here, there was much more drinking, smoking & most of all sex.. Various kinds of sex, adultery, interracial, juvenile etc.
In fact in every other scene someone was getting laid.. and those masturbation scenes??? What the heck was that all about? the same guy wanking off all the time in his bedroom, while watching a football poster? OK, if he's supposed to be gay there are easier (and a lot more comfortable) ways to explain/hint that to the audience.
This was just so messed up I didn't know what to make of it all, a football film it certainly isn't. 3/10.
Goal! (2005)
Own goal.
Movies about sports are very rarely hits, this is due to the fact that you can't predict what happens in, for example, a football match. If, however you make a movie about sports, we can all predict the outcome before hand. "Goal!" is no exception. The viewer is served with a story filled with so many clichés of the genre that the movie becomes almost a parody of itself.
The cameo appearances of all the Beckhams, Zidanes & Shearers top it all off, I don't know if they're supposed to give some sort of lift to the story but the end result is a total pan cake. The celebrity footballers appear to their scenes from no where and disappear just as fast (really guys, just stick to the Pepsi ads).
What really is unbelievable is that this story is being stretched into a trilogy, really 2 hours was enough to do my head in.
If you want a piece of a "from rags to riches" football story, go ahead and read a copy of "Roy of the Rovers" or any similar boys comic.
Wallander: Innan frosten (2005)
Disappointing
Despite a promising prelude, especially with the use of real(?) documentary footage, the movie fails to build on the good start. The old cliché of police movies; the troublesome relations of the father and the daughter, both working as cops in the same police station is just one example of how tedious the storyline is.
"Innan Frösten" seems like a quickly shot TV-episode. The characters lack depth and the story moves too fast.
I like the Wallander novels but this movie does not do any justice to the complex character of Kurt Wallander. I don't think that Krister Henriksson is at all that unsuitable for the role of Wallander, it's the lacking script that makes the legendary policeman look shallow.
Ola Norell on the other hand looks way too young to be Stefan Lindman, I'm not sure but I think this is because they wanted to create more electricity between Lindman and Linda Wallander, if that's the case it certainly did'nt work for me.
Al di là delle frontiere (2004)
definitely worth seeing
"Al di là delle Frontiere" which is based on a true story, tells the story of an Italian woman (Ferilli) who works the Italian partisans, she loaths the fascists and their German allies. Due to a strange twist of destiny she meets a German officer (Brandrup) who is not a nazi but a man with the heart of a true romantic, the two fall in love but can they survive the war between them? The film rises above the average TV-film and although the story may sound like a "harlequin"-style kiosk stuff don't be fooled.
The casting is a success, both lead roles are well played, Ferilli especially is wonderful as the woman torn between her allegiances. Quality drama.
P.O.W. (2003)
the British TV pulls it of again
While "P.O.W." won't be ranked in the alltime great TV series it is a well done and accurate piece of British quality drama.
"P.O.W." does honour to the real prisoners of war by telling their story in all it's heroism but also not forgetting the sides of their captivity which are taboo..
Supporting actors Patrick Baladi and Ewan Stewart stand out especially well in their roles, Baladi as the calm CO. and Stewart as the Scottish NCO who heads of the escape commitee. Both deliver their roles without falling into any clichés.
Also the shooting location in Lithuania passes well of as the WW2 German rural country.