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Movies seen in 2011
 319  8  8.1 19.12.
DVD, 1st viewing I was undecided if I should give it a 3.5 or a 4.0 but I'll be nice today and give it the extra half-star for (once again) outstanding photography by Sven Nykvist. The sound design was fantastic as well: bird calls, the rooster crowing, etc. It's a pretty straight-forward, story-centered film for Ingmar Bergman which isn't a bad thing. But still I think it was a bit too grim for its own good (although I chuckled a bit at the end: gee, thanks God, you allowed me to kill those who raped and murdered my daughter, I'll build you a church!). Also, lesson learned: in case you plan to rape and murder a girl, don't try and sell her clothes to her parents. Especially if the father is Max von Sydow.  Sauna comes first. blue_skies's rating:
 
262 8 7.7 18.12.
DVD, 1st viewing It's only the second Tati film I've seen but he's already becoming one of my heroes. Incredible eye for details and fantastic mise-en-scene. Brilliant satire that does not falter into being cynic at all. It creates an absolutely charming world during two hours of a film.  blue_skies's rating:
 
233 7.2 7.2 08.12.
Cinema, 1st viewing Funny, sweet and atmospheric. Didn't flow quite perfectly and the ending was a bit odd but it sure was a great movie nevertheless.  blue_skies's rating:
1631 8.6 8.9 27.11.
TV, re-watch Still bloody fantastic. I love films that have simple premises but lots of layers to the screenwriting and/or directing. The moment when that bead of sweat emerges on the forehead of Juror #4 is magical. As well as when the rain starts.  blue_skies's rating:
 
868 8.4 8.4 06.11.
TV, 1st viewing Freaking brilliant! Fascinating film in that the plot is very minimal and mundane yet the film sets out to be such a multi-layered, thought-provoking drama. Lamberto Maggiorani makes an incredible, unforgettable performance as the anxious father whose bicycle, required for his job, is stolen. The ending is just spellbinding.  blue_skies's rating:
114 8.2 7.7 01.11.
TV, 1st viewing A fairly entertaining, humorous detective film with a cosy atmosphere. Great cinematography. I think I prefer the sequel Kaasua, Komisario Palmu though. The ending here was a bit anti-climactic but then again it was a sort of funny way to close it. Also the sound quality kinda sucks and I had occasionally hard time making out what the people were saying. Elina Salo's really pretty btw.  blue_skies's rating:
913 8.5 8.6 30.10.
TV, 1st viewing For me, City Lights succeeds where The Kid disappointed me: in combining melodrama and comedy into a beautiful film. I can see how Aki Kaurismäki (who chose this film to be aired on the Yle Teema TV channel on its anniversary week) must've been greatly influenced by it: romantic comedy with dark social undertones. The ending was nothing but magnificent. The tramp staring into his loved one's eyes after his time in jail. Definitely one of the most touching scenes in cinema.  Virginia Cherrill was brilliant in her role as well blue_skies's rating:
271 7.8 7.2 29.10.
PC, 1st viewing My Halloween pick this year. I'm really not sure at all what the fuck I should rate this (so 3.5 it is). It's definitely one of the most confusing films I've seen. Amazingly shot, bat-shit insane and borderline annoying. I don't know. Excuse me, I'll go looking for my brain.  Loved the sets. blue_skies's rating:
185 8.4 8.1 27.10.
DVD, 1st viewing While it felt a bit too long at three hours, I think the length helped to root for the characters and get into the feel of the movie. A beautifully told story of humanity and caring. I like Mifune when he's not overacting.  blue_skies's rating:
 
216 7.9 8.2 25.10.
Digibox, 1st viewing 'Twas alright, but Harold Lloyd doesn't quite have the body movement of Chaplin, the stone-face of Keaton or the charisma of either. Definitely not bad for 1923 though.  blue_skies's rating:
 
2234 7.1 7.5 22.10.
TV, 1st viewing Incredibly entertaining: Bruce Willis with the best hangover of all time paired with Samuel L. muthafucking Jackson and Jeremy Irons being a badass German villain (I think I prefer Simon Gruber to Hans Gruber). The first half of it was on par with the first film. The ending was a lackluster though. Also it was maybe a bit too ridiculous for its own good but what can you expect from a mid-nineties action film. Tony Halme spotted.  blue_skies's rating:
185 6.6 5.5 08.10.
PC, 1st viewing What on earth did I sit through? Truly a mindfuck film like no else. NICOLAS CAGE losing his shit because of a lost contract, harrassing his secretary, getting sexually aroused by a fucking BAT, turning into a vampire, shouting out I'M A VAMPIRE repeatedly while running, spontaneously catching a pigeon under his suit, wearing plastic vampire teeth for absolutely no reason, carrying a huge piece of wood while roaming the streets looking retarded... Just really surreal and hilarious. A lot to quote. The Citizen Kane of vampire movies. A B C D E F G H I...  Alva's fucked. blue_skies's rating:
1682 7.8 7.9 07.10.
Cinema, 1st viewing OK, I went to see it knowing almost nothing about it or Nicolas Winding Refn. All I knew was that it won the "best director" price at Cannes and that one shouldn't watch its trailer for its mismarketing and spoiling nature. So I decided that I won't read anything about it to avoid spoiling the fun and just expected to see a good film. And boy did I love this movie! The atmosphere is full of danger, coolness and thrill (akin to Taxi Driver). I loved the romance part of it as well for it was very subtle and because Carey Mulligan is one of the prettiest American actresses at the moment. Ryan Gosling made an incredibly cool performance, I couldn't help thinking about young Robert De Niro. Also the soundtrack by Cliff Martinez was dreamy and fantastic. So basically it's Bullitt, Lost Highway, Taxi Driver and Lost in Translation together in a beautiful harmony. Freaking loved it!  The only guy ever to inspire me to get myself a scorpion jacket and some toothpicks. blue_skies's rating:
652 8 8 01.10.
DVD, 1st viewing Such a fantastically charming and beautifully coloured film. Basically, I loved all the characters - especially Faye who just became one of my all-time favorite film characters. I wouldn't mind her breaching into my apartment! I loved how 'free' it felt. Like Godard but more honest.  blue_skies's rating:
147 7.7 7.7 20.09.
Cinema, 1st viewing Because there had to be a positive surprise to make up for the few minor cases of disappointment! Just an absolutely beautifully written drama with a whole lot of layers, great character development and fantastic acting. It's a rare thing for me to come across a "straight-up" story-telling drama movie that is this immersive and genuinely touching.  blue_skies's rating:
377 7.6 7.6 19.09.
Cinema, 1st viewing A slight disappointment maybe. In terms of plot and atmosphere, it was a pretty basic samurai epic but still really well done. The 45-minute battle final was intense and pretty interesting throughout. Some irritating cliché dialogue and writing here and there but overall it was a great film experience. What made the film stand out was the symbolic quality of the 13th assassin. Did he really exist? I thought that was a very good idea.  blue_skies's rating:
675 8.3 8.3 17.09.
DVD, 1st viewing Surprisingly it was not all that funny, more of a melodrama actually. Jackie Coogan had a great performance in it but overall the film just doesn't quite have the genius choreographies of his later films. The weakest Chaplin film I've seen so far but still a pretty good one.  blue_skies's rating:
106 7 7.1 16.09.
Cinema, 1st viewing What a ridiculously brilliant and pitch-blackly comical film! Never have I laughed at dismemberment, rape and domestic violence this much, I think. So over-the-top. A bit too long maybe but I'll let it have the +0,5 cinema bonus.  Winner of the annual "Dad of the Year" prize, 2010 blue_skies's rating:
1278 6.9 6.8 13.09.
Cinema, 1st viewing Holy mother of God, this film left me without words. The music, the sunlight, the water, the faces, the grass, the space, the nature. Imagine life contained within a film. Because this film actually gets pretty close in managing to do that. Seriously, almost every frame of it is absolutely beautiful. It may have been a tad too long but it has so many six-star moments that rating this any lower than a fiver would've felt like underestimating it. Definitely the most intensive experience I've had in a movie theatre, and one of my top film experiences overall.  blue_skies's rating:
281 7.9 7.9 11.09.
TV, 1st viewing A nice enough heist film with a cool '50s atmosphere. It didn't quite have the thrill and the twisted, interesting characters that I most like about the best film noirs I've seen (The Third Man, Touch of Evil..). So yeah, nothing really revolutionary or remarkably memorable here but it's entertaining, well acted and finely shot.  blue_skies's rating:
657 7.7 7.7 20.08.
Digibox, 1st viewing A relentless and violent revenge film with a touch of black humour. Splendidly written, well-acted and shot beautifully. A bit over-the-top with all the murder but it's just a really entertaining film that also manages to have a message to it.  Loved Bae Doo-na blue_skies's rating:
1457 7.1 7.2 15.08.
DVD, 1st viewing I may have missed the point but I didn't think this film was much up to anything. If its intention is to make the viewer root for any of the characters, it essentially fails for there's no real character development and everything just feels distant. Not bad though, it has an original atmosphere to it and some personal use of camera. The shoot-out feels intense but the build-up just could've been more interesting.  blue_skies's rating:
847 6.1 6.4 15.08.
DVD, re-watch Not as funny as it was back in the TIMES but.. it still has Charlie fucking SHEEN with a ridiculous haircut in it. My favorite moments were the hilarious romance scenes and the dude who's going to buy a big-ass house and blow it up when he's done with the payment. Stupid as fuck film - which is both a pro and a con.  Words = unnecessary blue_skies's rating:
 
2456 7.9 8.1 11.08.
Cinema, 1st viewing A really positive surprise! I was afraid it would fall completely flat since it's my favorite book of the series (along with Half-Blood Prince whose film version was pretty bad) but it did manage to deliver. I thought the CGI was very well done here and at best it was really impressive visually, like the scene where Voldemort breaks through the protective spells of Hogwarts. Also the dragon actually did look like a terrifying being. I liked the overall atmosphere of it a lot, too. I was annoyed by some of the blockbuster clichés and the ending sequence - while I sorta liked it in the book - was a bit too syrupy. The best Potter movie though (haven't seen the first Deathly Hallows yet), and not as rushed as most of the films were. PS. I loved how Crabbe or Goyle had suddenly turned black. Racial equality!  blue_skies's rating:
725 7.3 7.4 10.08.
Digibox, 1st viewing Can't say I wasn't moved by it but occasionally the melodrama gets just too excessive with all the string music and slow-motion kissing scenes. POINT TAKEN. I preferred the first half of the film where the relationship between Francesca and Robert was built. In any case, it's a wonderful depiction of what love and dreams mean to people and does have some great, if a bit too dramatic, acting.  blue_skies's rating:
584 7.7 7.7 09.08.
Digibox, 1st viewing Proto-Last Action Hero, cool! Yeah, I liked it. It's entertaining, funny and a bit touching as well. Nothing monumentally amazing here but an enjoyable film nonetheless. Grim ending for such a generally light-hearted movie, by the way.  blue_skies's rating:
1683 7.2 7.7 06.08.
DVD, 1st viewing The script is genius and there are two, yes, TWO Nicolas Cages here. But seriously, this was his best performance I've seen so far. The film's a bit flawed as I wasn't too keen on the parts dealing with Meryl Streep's character and the orchid, but the parts with Kaufmans were the shit. Entertaining stuff.  TWO. blue_skies's rating:
350 7 7.3 03.08.
DVD, 1st viewing A bold, funny and thought-provoking film. Barry is a hilarious character. Many great quotes! The ending is legend.  blue_skies's rating:
44 5 5.2 02.08.
VHS, re-watch It's actually sorta funny as it aims to be a profound and grand movie but essentially is just a clumsy effort. I don't know if I'm supposed to root for the kid here but I just wanted the guy to leave the damn cat alone (or the lynx to savage him). Nice Disney-worldesque ideas of wild animals, fool. Well at least it wasn't boring as shit and had some good nature shots.  Oula ja poika. blue_skies's rating:
 
750 7.6 7.6 31.07.
Digibox, 1st viewing Wow! Paprika's a story of tracking down a terrorist who breaches into people's dreams to control the world and shit; I've heard it was a huge influence for Inception, which I have yet to see. A trippy film backed by a brilliant, original soundtrack. Possibly the most creative and imaginative film I've seen. Satoshi Kon makes drawings move in ways that most people couldn't even dream of. It's such a sad thing that the guy passed away last year :|  blue_skies's rating:
1103 5.9 6.3 30.07.
DVD, 1st viewing Watching Out for Justice and this back-to-back is incredible and manly. This film actually was not as bad as I expected but definitely not very special either. Zac Efron is so HANDSOME.  Everyone's favorite character. blue_skies's rating:
190 6.1 5.6 30.07.
DVD, 1st viewing Seriously one of the best and most badass action films in existence. Steven is the coolest faux-Italian ever and his lines are perfect. The bar scene is as intensive as all the Godfather films put together. He BOUNCES a BILLIARD BALL off the FLOOR for fuck's sake. Good times.  Gotta love that style blue_skies's rating:
3145 6.4 6.9 29.07.
DVD, re-watch Fuck it, I actually kinda really like this film. It's well-written, spot-on and has many great lines and memorable characters. My favorite being the black slum-born principal of course.  Pink as fuck. blue_skies's rating:
1028 5.8 6.3 29.07.
VHS, re-watch Nice job, Usher, you're in the front on the poster. It doesn't matter that you utter only a few lines, you're the MAN. In the mix.  T-1000: critical error. blue_skies's rating:
58 5.5 4.9 28.07.
TV, 1st viewing I honestly don't know what I "should" rate this so here's my weighed average of sheer entertainment and crappy film-making. While campy '80s & early '90s action films usually disappoint me with being boring shootouts after boring shootouts, THE HITMAN actually manages to give a viewer like me time to BREATHE. The drama shit makes a great contrast to the action. And actually the drama is at least as hilarious as the action side of it, I mean CHUCK NORRIS teaching his black neighbour kid how to FIGHT. Ace Karate Kid influences. Lots of pointless details and some funnily useless characters. Also what's the point with the SMOKE rising out of everywhere? There's a fucking CLOCK that smokes for no reason? Chuck only knows. "Heitä homo voltti" - Chuck  blue_skies's rating:
4709 7.7 8.1 28.07.
Digibox, 1st viewing American teen movie meets David Lynch. Lots of fun and the rabbit guy was an essential add. Jake Gyllenhaal makes it memorable as a schizophrenic high school kid. "I like your boobs" - Seth Rogen  blue_skies's rating:
2122 8.1 8.1 25.07.
Digibox, re-watch Sheeeeeiiitt! I guess I've developed a fixation on rich, cynical fucks because this worked a whole lotta better on the second viewing. Daniel Plainview is an awesome character: he can be frightening and hilarious at the same time, he can wipe out ANY MOTHERFUCKING CONTENDER, his INSULTS actually HURT and he's got more money than you. So basically he's a more badass Charles Foster Kane. With a shitload of great quotes: BASTARD FROM A BASKET DRAINAAAAAAGE I'LL DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE and my personal favorite "Those areas have been drilled" It's not ALL about the protagonist though; the beautiful camera work, the hypnotic pacing and the score by Jonny Greenwood really hit the spot as well. Very close to five stars.  blue_skies's rating:
103 6.4 7 24.07.
VHS, re-watch Oh well, it's the Holy Grail of Finnish catch phrases during the change of Millennium but it hasn't aged as well as I'd hoped. As often is the case with TV-series-based films, the film as a medium for Kultakuume feels awkward. It essentially has a feel of a slightly watered-down and overlong Kummeli sketch. Still, lots of legendary scenes, dialogue, characters (I had completely forgotten Vesa Vierikko's performance as a neo-nazi called Hermann Göring) and nostalgia so can't fault it too much. And it's pretty well done too. Just not as funny as it should've been.  blue_skies's rating:
1092 8.6 8.6 23.07.
Digibox, 1st viewing Very good film. Stellar performances, a great catalogue of characters, nice plot and wonderful cinematography. It was fun spotting elements that were borrowed in Mulholland Dr. (a young eager woman named Betty for example). Still I thought that the film would've been more exciting if the death of Holden's character hadn't been shown until it really happened. Also I feel that the plot could've developed into a much deeper satire of Hollywood life. Anyway, the way the whole film was shot and some classic scenes (the ending!) were fantastic enough to keep it as a 4.5.  blue_skies's rating:
3372 7.9 8.2 12.07.
Digibox, re-watch Freaking funny although I don't relate to The Dude as much as most people seem to. I prefer Walter, Jesus, the nihilists, Donny and the Eagles-loving taxi driver as characters. Especially the taxi driver, man that scene is hilarious! However, the films is full to the brim with brilliant quotes, the characters are fantastic and the soundtrack works well too. Also, the dream sequences are really cool.  blue_skies's rating:
260 8.6 8.2 10.07.
Digibox, 1st viewing Kicks off slow and rather uninteresting but develops into a brilliant, thrilling crime/noir film. Great performances by Nakadai, Mifune and especially Tsutomu Yamazaki as the villain. The scene where he walks among the narcomans wearing those badass glasses is just damn cool. Along with Ikiru and Ran, it is the best Kurosawa I've seen so far.  blue_skies's rating:
1054 6.9 7.2 30.06.
Digibox, 1st viewing Jim Jarmusch sure made me intrigued for the rest of his oeuvre with the hilarious, subtle and symbolic Broken Flowers. He's got an amazing eye for detail in the mise-en-scene and the characters are fun to watch. Great acting by the whole cast but Bill Murray strikes it home with his typical poker face genius.  blue_skies's rating:
1241 6.6 6.8 28.06.
PC, 1st viewing High art, for sure, but I was disappointed with it. Too much inane political mumbo jumbo and too little screen time for Jessica Alba's breasts. Also I felt it lacked the true spirit which made films such as Commando incredible. Still, it's got a fantastic cast (Trejo, Seagal, Alba, Lohan, De Niro, Marin...), and some brilliant, funny scenes (intestines used as a rope, minigun on a motorbike) so I can't fault it too much.  blue_skies's rating:
13 7.1 7.7 17.06.
Digibox, 1st viewing A Finnish cult classic of some sort. It's a tale about a rich men's club who gather to eat together and make bets on what they are served. A doctor struggling with debt then comes up with an ingredient which "no one in the club would guess": children's tonsils! The concept is absurdly funny and the film is entertaining and well made. Not as funny as I expected but a good film in any case.  blue_skies's rating:
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