One-word Film Titles Vol. 2: A New Year’s Crossword…

Long time, not much writing done here… I have been publishing some stuff in Swedish, mostly at russin.nu and above all teaching, which is my daytime job. Moving from an apartment to a house with my wife last year also took some time and focus. But we’re approaching another new year and hopefully, new beginnings, right? Or even restarts. Currently, this is obviously the time to figure out which movies of the past year was most memorable. Before I settle on my choices, I still have to catch up with a few possibly great ones I haven’t seen yet. So, I’m probably not going to post my own Top Ten until January. To be continued… But I thought I could share a crossword, actually a sort of sequel to something I’ve published before. Can you figure out these titles, just by reading the quotes? And without googling? Well, as a last resort that’s where you might go, but good luck with solving this by pure brainpower, on your own or working as a team or whatever. The crossword was constructed by me using an online resource called Teacher’s Corner – a page I sometimes use for developing material in my ordinary line of work as well. See you soon – hopefully! And of course; Happy New Year!

Wintry Image: PJ Lindahl.

Bond Briefs: ”The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974) – The One with Christopher Lee

First things first: this is the one with not only one but two Swedish Bond girls: Maud Adams and Britt Ekland. It had to be mentioned.

Apart from that this is one of those 007 outings that may be typical for the Roger Moore era. Playful at times, very 70’s-ish. Not one of the very best, rather in the middle if you would rank it along with the other films in the franchise. 

It has a mean midget and also, not insignificantly, it has Christopher Lee. Quite a magnificent, almost effortless presence, maybe one of the best Bond villains ever: Scaramanga. Comic Relief is provided not only by the short-statured sidekick Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize, who had his breakthrough here), then there is the Southern (as in the American south) sheriff with the broad accent turning up as a tourist in Thailand and coming along for the ride. Yeah, the one who turns up in two Bond movies. Yes, there are quite a few caricatures in here, but remember it is a Bond movie. From the 70’s.

Needless to say there is some impressive architecture. A secret hideaway where the villain orchestrates his evil plans, a beautifully constructed mansion hidden on a small virtually unknown island. Those little details are always welcome. Roger Moore has that ability to be quite mean and, what would in the world at large, be considered somewhat sexist without seeming like a total brute. While his main Bond girl Britt Ekland is somewhat flaky but undeniably cute. There, I said it. I just wanted a rhyme, you know.

All in all: Is this compulsory? Maybe not one of the most important in the franchise. For completists – of course. It’s quite a fun ride from a different time.

The Basics from IMDb

One-word Film Titles Vol. 1: A Summertime Crossword…

Time for some good old summer fun and games, right? Before we get back to serious business again. Time flies and I realize I am behind on most everything. Such as film blogging. Anyway, here’s a crossword for those who feel up to it. The premise is quite simple. Film titles can be long or short or something in between. In this case, they’re all very short. At least they’re only made up by one word each. One word only. Clues provided consist of a line from the film. Different times and eras. Though in this Volume One of the One-word film title challenge they all have one thing in common: they are all mainly English-speaking films and the clues didn’t need any translation – unless I made a mistake somewhere. Constructed with a little help from online tool Teacher’s Corner. Good luck!

One-Word Film Titles-Vol1-210624

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Popes, Parasites and Portraits – My Favourite Films of 2020

Yes, I am going to cheat now and then this time. Some of these films arrived in Sweden late 2019. However, I didn’t get to see them before I provided last year’s compilation. And if there is one year in recent history where it could be allowed to – yes – cheat a little, 2020 could be it, right? Surprisingly you might say, quite a few films actually opened though not always in cinemas, but you knew that already. 2020 was the already infamous year when I got to watch exactly one (1) film in a venue we used to call a movie theater. Intermittently it was possible. Though like for most other people, the rest came down to streaming platforms and a few rentals like physically rented DVD or Blu-ray copies. Nevertheless, aware of the fact that there are still a few contenders available that I should watch as soon as possible, this is where I’m at right now, February 2021:

1. Parasite (Directed by Joon-Ho Bong). Yes, that one. the South Korean Oscar winner that simply manages to combine an alarming amount of different genres in one package. And is almost without interruption thoroughly engaging, surprising and thought-provoking.

2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma). Like my Number One above, it reached Sweden late 2019 but it’s part of the cheating aspect here. A beautifully realized and intimate drama about friendship, love and art.

3. Tenet (Christopher Nolan). The one I actually saw in a theatre, for which I’m thankful. Maybe it’s true what they say: it needs rewatching. And maybe I will. But it is one heck of a ride whatever else you might say about it. Always intelligible and easy to follow? Perhaps not. Then again, not as confusing as some people would have you believe. At the very least, I was entertained. Very much so.

4. Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi). Can you make fun of Adolf Hitler anymore? When I was younger there were certainly ways to make fun of Nazis. Some people have pointed out that it gets increasingly difficult, hitting too close to home to be comfortable. This film performs a delicate balancing act and I genuinely liked most of it, not so much for the scenes involving Hitler himself – but basically all the rest.

5. Bad Education (Cory Finley). One of these made-for-TV movies that could easily be overlooked, starring Hugh Jackman as a charming though (as it turns out) a little bit manipulative head of a successful school. When irregularities in their practices become exposed one by one, his life starts crumbling until there is no salvation to be found.

6. The Two Popes (Fernando Meirelles). Two popes… Well, obviously they can’t both be on that job at the same time, but one of them actually resigns voluntarily which is a bit of a deviation from tradition. The story of how to of these powerful patriarchs formed an unlikely friendship though they were different in so many ways. How much of it is actually true? Not exactly clear, but it’s a showcase for two of the greatest actors of our time if nothing else.

7. Mank (David Fincher). Perfectionist Auteur Fincher in black-and-white, telling the story of how one of the supposedly greatest films ever made came to be. ”Citizen Kane” is a film which I never personally enjoyed as much as I know I’m supposed to, even though it’s easy to see its greatness in many respects. This? The story of an ageing, troubled scriptwriter in Old Hollywood losing friends and alienating people while still coming up with a script that changed film history, is mostly quite brilliant. And beautiful.

8. Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach). It hurts. And there were times when I wanted to get off this train. Divorces are seldom peaceful and friendly negotiations. Separations can be painful. But it is so well told – and acted – that it overshadows its few lulls and weak spots.

9. The Vast of Night (Andrew Patterson). Where did this come from? Yes, I noticed it was available on one of my streaming services but wasn’t sure exactly what it was, until I heard it recommended by more than one reviewer (on different podcasts mostly). A low budget, not exactly star-studded science fiction epic. Well, not really an epic. It’s fairly brief and efficient and it moves, very seldom stops, basically following two young people caught up in something they never experienced before in 1950’s New Mexico.

10. Death to 2020 (Al Campbell, Alice Mathias). Just before the end of the year it portrays, it was released by Netflix. Sort of a fake documentary commenting on all the weird stuff that went on and which you might rather choose to forget. But I do appreciate the dark sense of humour that they virtually wallow in here.

 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: 

Uncut Gems. Of course I see it. The energy. I feel it. The restlessness and impressive camerawork. And of course, Adam Sandler is better here then he almost always is. He can be this good. It should also be pointed out that his character, this particular protagonist, is a rather annoying figure. You just have to follow him making worse and worse decisions until… well. Worth seeing, though hardly compulsory for everyone.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. So it is a bit weird and corny and overblown and silly. That’s kind of the point. If you are a European grown up watching the Eurovision song contest, it’s not that difficult to appreciate all the things they get right in this comedy and ignore the things that don’t really make sense. The subject matter actually doesn’t make much sense in itself. And that’s also the point.

The Old Guard. Not a perfect movie. Not even a perfect action movie, but a pretty good one with an added twist of almost immortal soldiers fighting on through the ages.

Sergio. A good man. He really seems like that, the Brazilian diplomat who made a career out of trying to solve conflicts around the world and ended up taking on one too many in Iraq. The road up to his last mission is told in a moving way. Maybe a somewhat preachy film and a flawed script – but still very likeable and respectable.

 

THE WORST: 

365 days. Sort of a Netflix phenomenon, they say. In what basically could be summed up as a stupidly annoying movie with attempts at being erotic, about a bunch of stupid and annoying people that you really wouldn’t want to spend time with in real life.

 

 

Bond Briefs: ”Dr No” – The Birth of 007

 

So, while waiting for the latest addition that seems to be postponed again and again, for reasons legitimate but still saddening – why not start out revisiting the very first one? From time to time I plan to deliver brief assessments of as many as possible in the long run of films, forming the franchise known as James Bond. A curious thing about the whole concept is how divided opinions tend to be; which ones are the best and the worst? I’m fully aware of the fact that my personal preferences in the matter are not shared by everyone. What they are might become more obvious as this little franchise of my own gets further along. I should point out, the whole catalogue will not be presented in chronological order, more like… completely random. As I said, I will try to be brief. This little introduction will not be included every time. Also, I will try to not to be too pretentious. Mostly this is about having fun. And whenever I reach the end of this project, I might provide the complete ranking of all of the films involved. We’ll see…

No, I wasn’t around when ”Dr No” was released. I didn’t grow up watching all of the early Bond movies in the cinema, discovering the birth of a new phenomenon. It was already an established part of pop culture when I came along. But there was a time when it was all new. The new kid on the block. An actor previously not known for starring roles. This was that time. Interestingly, many of the particulars we have come to associate with the 007 universe are not there yet. For one thing, ”Dr No” is shorter than most of the other adventures that came later. Taking place almost entirely in Jamaica without all the globetrotting that was to become a staple, it’s comparably unassuming and a smaller production as a whole. But it does have Sean Connery making his grand entrance and simply just becoming James Bond – just like that. It also has Ursula Andress making her famous entrance on the beach almost exactly one hour into the film and becoming part of the legend. Furthermore, a villain who we also don’t see until late in the proceedings – but will make an indelible impression, played by a restrained but riveting Joseph Wiseman.

• What’s the weather like? Sunny, of course! It’s a Bond movie.
• Special effects? Overall decent, considering the circumstances and the limited budget as compared to what became the norm. But the film doesn’t rely on them. Not as much as the charisma of its protagonists anyway.
• Is it compulsory? Of course. If for no other reason, it was the first. And aged as it has in many aspects, it still has a natural charm about it, an easy elegance and eloquence and of course: Connery.

Greatness, Gambits and Gore Galore – My Favourite TV Shows of 2020

Elle Fanning stars as Catherine the Great in ”The Great”, a show that turned out to be sort of… Great. Photo: Nick Wall / Hulu. Copyright: Hulu. Credit: hbonordic.com

While the world at large seemed to stop in its tracks off and on… There never seemed to be a lack of TV dramas, serialized at least, to choose from. Someone predicted this would be the year of less production and decided to overcompensate in advance, or what? At least I had a hard time keeping up and making priorities. Certain well-reviewed shows I simply haven’t gotten to yet. Or might not get to in the foreseeable future. I do have a day job. So this is what it is, but still a pretty interesting bunch of powerful or at the very least entertaining shows from different genres – I think.

 

The Best of the Best:

1. Le Bureau de Legendes (a k a The Bureau, creator/showrunner Eric Rochant). They have been building up to this. The fifth season was to a large degree the climax, the resolution to some of the most poignant and decisive story elements we have witnessed until now. Some of it hurt, some of it was business as usual and if they will be back someday, these loyal (well…) servants of the French Intelligence Service, it will probably feel like a new world. Or at least a world populated by predominantly fresh faces and new storylines. Thanks for everything so far. 

2. The Great (Tony McNamara). It’s not history, exactly. But it wouldn’t be this…great without the historic premise to build on and play around with in the possibly most consistently surprising and entertaining show of 2020, loosely based on the life of a young Catherine the Great in the Russian court. 

Shea Whigham and Matthew Rhys conspiring in the reboot of ”Perry Mason”. Credit: hbonordic.com

3. Perry Mason (Ron Fitzgerald, Rolin Jones). Actually, that old original show has never really stuck in my mind; probably broadcast mostly before my time and the name is more of a legend in itself, something regularly referred to in crime drama/lawyer/courtroom-drama-you know the drill-contexts… So, anyway, this reboot worked out just fine with me, starring the already battle-proven warrior Matthew ”The Americans” Rhys as a less than glamorous private eye looking for redemption and a purpose in life. 

4. The Queen’s Gambit (Scott Frank, Allan Scott). Well, everything’s already been said and written, right? So, it was a show that did most everything right and managed to bring out as much excitement as you might imagine (and then some) from the game of Chess.

5. Narcos: Mexico (Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato, Doug Miro). Second season, post-Camarena story turned out to be just as riveting and moving. For reasons somehow not always easy to explain. It just has this flow, photogenic vistas and characters that draw you in and prove difficult to forget. 

6. Killing Eve (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Suzanne Heathcote). Third season of this unconventional take on female friendship (something we as men will never completely decipher) and, as it happens, serious crime and professional psycho killers touring Europe just keeps reinventing itself and offering new surprises as it goes on. 

7. Stateless (Tony Ayres, Cate Blanchett, Elise McCredie). Underrated, I say. This Netflix miniseries might seem to preachy or obvious for some, but it certainly did keep the drama going about the plight of refugees stuck in the Australian detainment system, and incidentally a lot of heart. 

8. The Boys (Eric Kripke). Well, yes, it might be too much of a lot of things, but the second season seemed to double down on everything that made the first one so intoxicatingly addictive. Probably not the most healthy and wholesome thing around, but just the way it inverts the the whole superhero-concept while complicating every relationship in the story, combined with the regular head-exploding routine… As I said, addictive. 

What is it about? What isn’t it about? ”Lovecraft Country” turned out to be a wild ride. Credit: hbonordic.com

9. Lovecraft Country (Misha Green). So what was this, exactly? Not sure, but I enjoyed most of it. Visually, verbally and with all the twisting and turning between worlds. Which one was the scariest? The real one or the transcendent seemingly supernatural one? And where do you draw the line?

10. Devs (Alex Garland). Speaking of different worlds and not knowing in which one you’re really present at the moment… ”Devs” just appeared in the menu without warning and for my mind, managed to make something intriguing with the basic premise that I appreciated in ”Westworld” for the first two seasons, but became less mind-blowingly fascinating in the third one. Where are we? Who are we? Why? And to what degree are you allowed to alter that reality?

Runners-up: Hunters (first season), Roadkill (miniseries), Homeland (last season), La casa de papel (fourth season, sort of), Billions (half of the fifth season still missing but the first half was pretty good), The Good Fight (season 4). 

Honourable mentions: Messiah, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Westworld, Brave New World, Upload, Avenue 5, Miracle Workers (season 2), Bosch (season 6), Trackers, Strike Back (probably the seventh and last round, depending on how you count). 

Recently started watching: Raised by Wolves, Fargo (season 4), The Stand, The Name of the Rose, La Révolution, Björnstad, Bridgerton, Ted Lasso… and a few others. 

Memorable Music Videos: ”Land of Confusion” – Genesis (1986)

People are so polarized these days… Anyway, so they say. We can’t agree on much, right? Or maybe we never did. But this thing I am certain absolutely everyone everywhere can agree about. Ok, probably not, but I will present it as Gospel Fact supported by Science: the age of great music videos is not the present one. Maybe it has something to do with growing up during the 1980’s, or it’s just the plain objective truth. Regardless, I thought I might, now and then, share an example of what might be considered great or at least very memorable music videos. These might even be accompanied by a decent song. Like this one. Genesis at their peak pop superstar status, with a considerable budget to spend on the visual stuff, borrowing a few caricature puppets from a then-famous British satire show, taking on the threat of nuclear holocaust as well as aging and possibly not 100 percent reliable leaders on the world stage… And celebrating peace and love with a catchy chorus. As I said, it wasn’t just about the visuals. Solid pop song – truly classic music video. I could go on about its merits, but I’ll start planning for the next installment in the series instead. And hopefully get around to some movie reviews and such before long. To be continued…

”The Old Guard”: Too old to rock’n roll – but not to rock the world?

THE OLD GUARD – Charlize Theron (“Andy”) and Kiki Layne (“Nile”) Photo Credit: AIMEE SPINKS/NETFLIX ©2020

They are immortal. Or almost. There are nuances even in this seemingly eternal cycle for a group of heroic mercenaries who have been fighting through the centuries, or in some cases, millennia. Everything about their background isn’t revealed right off the bat in this action-thriller which initially looks and sounds a lot like a common, yeah, action-thriller. A small band of elite soldiers working freelance commit to another assignment, in what seems to be a long line of missions. One of them is slightly more hesitant and as it turns out, the mission is not exactly what it was purported to be. But as I said, this bunch is quite special and extraordinarily difficult to simply kill off.

Simultaneously, somewhere else in the world, a young female soldier stationed on another mission is wounded – severely. So severely in fact, that she logically should be quite seriously dead. Guess if there is a connection? And guess if the mercenary squad we already got to know somehow finds her and regards her as a new recruit? None of this happens lightly though. Because these people have learned to take life seriously. Especially the oldest one, inofficial squadron leader Andy (Charlize Theron). She doesn’t smile a whole lot, in a part as physically demanding and generally authoritative as, say ”Atomic Blonde” or ”Mad Max: Fury Road”. The circumstances are obviously a little bit different here. This small band of brothers and sisters may have a gift that many would find attractive and desirable– but be careful what you wish for. They don’t appear particularly happy, at least not Andy. Well, two of her compadres actually met during The Crusades – on opposite sides – and have been in love ever since, so yes – they are a little bit more cheerful. But the film makes clear that even these people can get into situations difficult to get out of and they may have lost one or other partner through the ages.

MARWAN KENZARI as JOE and LUCA MARINELLI as NICKY in THE OLD GUARD. Cr. AIMEE SPINKS/NETFLIX © 2020

Meanwhile there’s advanced medical research going on, in the eternal search for something we might simply call immortality. Could this be connected to this Old Guard? Yes, we are all aware of Big Pharma, always suspicious of their motives, right? And the part they’re playing here might lead to a few ethical debates and provides a dimension which in some ways makes the movie more profound, even if most films in this genre nowadays try to add something more than truckloads of fighting and running and shooting. Exactly how well and elaborately these ideas are developed may vary, as you know.

This little foreign legion with experience from Antiquity, Medieval times and the campaigns of Napoleon, plus the latest rival, may have the capacity to heal from what others don’t survive, but they do feel pain and life is not a rose garden. Allt things considered, could it be that their bodies carry secrets that could benefit mankind and is it defensible to find out what?

As an action piece, ”The Old Guard” (directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood) is sufficiently spectacular, well choreographed and of course pretty violent. Not much innovation there really. The film doesn’t particularly prioritize being pioneering in that respect. However, they do give us a final stretch that manages to  live up to the expectations from what has happened until then. Most interesting though, might be the subtext concerning the inevitable loneliness for people cursed or gifted with something as unique as the ability to live on for hundreds of years, when people around you don’t. Or the sinking feeling that there might not be a real purpose to it all, when in fact there could be such a specific purpose, something that guides you and even might work to the benefit of mankind at large. If the latest Michael Bay orgy ”6 Underground” to some degree worked from similar basic ideas, about certain carefully chosen individuals saving the world while also looking for something resembling a family, and in the process managed to be more unpleasant than exciting, ”The Old Guard” is actually something that could merit a sequel or two. Which undoubtedly is something that the denouement hints at.

”The Old Guard” is a Netflix original, available through the streaming service.

Dead Serious Digital Dreams in ”Devs”

 

Even if you didn’t know this was the brainchild of a certain Alex Garland, known for ”Ex Machina” and ”Annihilation” just to name a few things, you might have guessed it. On the other hand; I will never know if I had, because that very fact was one of the things that piqued my interest to begin with. Apparently the guy is somewhat fascinated by the Brave New Digital World in general and Artificial Intelligence in particular. 

– So many decisions are made about our future, by people who know so little about our past, complains a character involved in extremely advanced tech development. 

But who can you trust in this day and age, if not the most ground-breaking, pioneering IT companies around? The ones who keep radically changing our entire worldview and our potential as a species? What could possibly go wrong? 

The techno-conglomerate around which everything revolves in ”Devs” certainly has power and influence. Big buildings, impressive architecture surrounded by lush environment while harbouring a few secrets. One employee, recently recruited to the most secretive, prestigious department of all, suddenly dies. Suicide, according to the company itself, a version supported by a disturbing video which would convince most people. One notable exception being the dead guy’s girlfriend who also happens to be employed by them. Industrial espionage appears to be part of the story, but as the series moves along it becomes pretty clear that’s not the real point, rather a narrative device to get the plot going. 

So, what is ”Devs” about, really? This is where it gets interesting for real. You have a traumatized but still determined young woman seeking the truth about a gruesome death, her ex-boyfriend reluctantly being brought in to help her in her quest; a likewise emotionally damaged tech visionary running experiments concerning the past, using advanced algorithms in his own quest to determine the future, and, well… There are other things going on here, but what makes this show special is the philosophical-existential inquiry. The plotting may be somewhat scattered and some details are simply there to make things happen, quite obviously so. But Garland and his team are on their own quest. The search for the truth about free will, maybe?

Remember the Tree of Knowledge, as described in The Book of Genesis: How much knowledge is too much? Is it a good idea to accomplish everything we can accomplish? Would it actually be possible in the near future to predict all human behaviour based on what happened before, as registered by powerful computers examining every pattern in history since the dawn of time? Then again, the idea of a Multiverse, where there might be different potential scenarios playing out simultaneously. There are competing views displayed here, regarding the idea of one given direction as opposed to multiple, parallel outcomes depending on where a certain simulation takes you. If I got this right. And I can’t say I’m 100 percent certain of anything even after watching the complete miniseries. 

”Devs” in other words, deals openly and unashamedly with the why of everything. As a viewer though, of course you will notice how the showrunners make choices in terms of visual design and – not to be neglected – sound. Sometimes it’s all stunningly beautiful and the next moment permeated by everyday greyness, but there is a clear visual strategy. Garland and his accomplices are also fond of starting out and finishing episodes accompanied by minimalist yet suggestive and intriguing pieces of music, emphasizing dissonant harmonies and reinforcing that sense of uncertainty; the paradoxical qualities of a show that manages to be frightening, inspiring, surprising and soothing in almost equal measure. You could argue it’s moving at a snail’s pace at times before exploding and turning things we’ve seen so far on its head. It illustrates breathtaking concepts followed by mundane observations. 

If someone tells you what you are going to do, how will it affect what you actually do? The question of free will and the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy comes into play. It becomes increasingly obvious that the show asks you to deal with concepts like determinism and destiny. If there really is a choice or everything you do in life is the inevitable result of events and actions that took place before. When someone tells our heroine ’the sense that you were participating in life was only ever an illusion’ this might be where the plot was leading us all along. Or maybe there are conflicting worldviews here: one or the other could be confirmed, while another is discarded. Unless there are options and we are given the choice of deciding to which one we prefer to subscribe. Arguably, not all of the problems presented are resolved, simply because it’s kind of impossible. But ”Devs” does manage to maintain suspense and unpredictability all the way into the closing moments. Amen. 

Remember This? A Movie Trailer Like No Other…

Times are tough. We need stuff like this, right? Like the movie trailer to end all movie trailers, presented some years ago as… yes, a spoof. But it does have everything you could possibly want from a trailer. Will it ever turn into a proper… movie? Probably not. Since it is also Holy Week, I’ll try to get back to you soon with a few suggestions for Easter-themed films to seek out this weekend. Until then… Have a little fun with this. You know you need it.