Wreck It Ralph (2012) ***

Source: Imdb

This endearing animation about a frustrated video game anti-hero trying to carve a new role for himself is surprisingly original. The plot had some nice twists and was pretty fresh overall, and with a startlingly dramatic and touching ending. I’m not quite on board with the message about just accepting your role in life, though.

As characters go, I found Venellope to be a rather annoying side-kick, Ralph was well-written and three-dimensional. I also like that they made do without any big-name voice actors.

This production truly stands on its own merits. Visually, it’s not quite on Pixars-level, but they did have a fair amount of detail, good colours, great designs and stunning textures. The general quality of the animations, though clearly a product of their time, has aged well. 3/5 

Wreck it Ralph on Imdb

Buster’s Mal Heart (2016) ***

Source: Imdb

This strange drama about a man struggling with life was not at all what I expected. The plot was ambiguous and the script told the story in a very unconventional way. The audience experiences the events through the eyes of Buster, which means that it is not always 100% clear what the reality is, which scenes are actually part of the story, and which are metaphors plucked from inside a disturbed brain – because the main character is quite obviously mentally ill in some way. This is exacerbated by his sad, grey existence in a dead-end job that doesn’t allow him to spend time with the only brightness in his life: his family. The film appears to deal with the struggle of finding your place in the world and the question of whether you can make your own way or are being led. The script also does an excellent job of building a strong sense of foreboding. The foreshadowing is so expertly done that one of the key scenes – Buster’s discovery in the hotel room – didn’t surprise me at all, yet made me feel physically sick with tension. Excellent job!

The acting was outstanding. Rami Malek was very convincing as a mentally unstable hotel worker as we watch him fall prey to ideas that feed into his ideology and drag him further out to sea – quite literally – as he challenges and rejects the reality of  “the system” we live in. I was also pleased to see DJ Qualls (Garth from Supernatural) in a major role here. He did a great job with his shifty character. Lastly, Sukha Belle Potter, who played the young daughter of the main character, was brilliant. She had great chemistry with her on-screen dad and delivered a stunningly natural performance.

Visually, this piece used depressing colours to illustrate the bleak life that the main character is living. The beige hotel was so drab and boring it almost made my eyes water. The nature shots of the mid-winter forest were awe-inspiring. They really picked some good locations to film in.

All in all, a mystifying, shocking and touching arthouse piece with lots of hidden meaning. 3/5

Buster's Mal Heart on Imdb

Submergence (2017) ***

Source: Imdb

Puzzling, yet oddly captivating drama about the doomed (?) romance between an undercover agent and a bio-mathematician. The script gave the impression that this film was aiming for a deeper message, but I couldn’t really make sense of it as the execution was too superficial.

The characters, though mildly interesting, appeared unrealistic. Even though their intimate interactions looked credible on a visceral level, I didn’t really understand their relationship, and their chemistry was marginal at best. Though both James McAvoy and Alicia Vicander delivered good performances, the way their roles were written did not make all that much sense.

Visually, this piece was beautifully made, with a stunning colour palette, great lighting and artistic shot composition. There was also a gorgeous score by Fernando Velazquez.

That’s about it. 3/5

Submergence on Imdb

The Aftermath (2019) ***

Source: Imdb

Yet another film with Nazis (at least, in this one, we have German native speakers as extras so I can actually understand what they are saying), this drama luckily only used post-war Germany as a backdrop for a dramatic, if somewhat lukewarm romance between an officer’s wife and a German widower. The plot, though quite conventional, was well-executed with a poignant script boiled down to the necessary elements and scenes. I could very well see this working as a play, too.

After initial confusion, I realised that the casting was clearly what had attracted me to this film: Alexander Skarsgård as a German architect was great to watch. I was particularly impressed with his delivery of the German dialogue, of which there was quite a lot. Sure, Swedish (Alex’s mother tongue) and German are closely related languages (and I happen to speak both, though my Swedish is arguably better than Alex’s German), but it was still an impressive feat to deliver lines with the required inflection and sometimes even little to no accent. Usually, I need subtitles for the “German” parts of English-language films, but not this time. As for his character, he was a bit wooden, I felt. I know Alex can do better.

Jason Clarke was fantastic as compassionate British officer, who treated the fallen enemy with respect and dignity. Though it was hinted that he had done some dark things during the war, his character seemed genuinely a good guy, and the actor communicated a vulnerability and depth that was quite pleasing to watch.

Keira Knightley may be a good actress, but she was miscast for this film. She had barely any chemistry with Alexander Skarsgård or Jason Clarke. As irresistible attraction was a pivotal element of the film, it was jarring to find it missing. This film would have been better without someone else in her role.

The production itself was of a high standard. They chose a beautiful house as their main set and delivered flawless wardrobe and props. The cinematography was beautiful and well-lit. Editing, though conventional, did not get in the way of the story. The score by Martin Phipps deserves particular mention as it was atmospheric and moving.

All in all, a good film that unfortunately did not reach its potential due to lack of chemistry between Keira Kneightley and more or less everyone else. 3/5

PS: is it wrong of me to be jealouse of these German actresses who got to be on screen with Alexander Skarsgård? ^^

The Aftermath on Imdb

The Good Liar (2019) **

Source: Imdb

Predictable story about a psychopathic con artist with too many fingers in too many pies. Unfortunately, what started out as a film that could have turned into a (rather flat, but somewhat entertaining) (romantic) comedy very easily, was really a crime story about revenge and not knowing when to quit. Though both Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren delivered the usual satisfactory performances, and I enjoy seeing Russell Tovey in just about anything, I just could not warm up to the plot and found everything rather boring after a short while as it was quite clear how the story would go. I just did not expect the graphic violence to trickle in, and that was the last nail in the coffin for me.

As a production, this was well-executed, with stripped-down, clean visuals and an unmistakable Carter Burwell score. None of that would be an argument for paying much attention to this piece, though. That’s about all I can say about this. 2/5

The good liar on Imdb

First Man (2018)****

Source: Imdb

This gripping drama centred on NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong and his long journey to the Moon was well-made. The script covered almost a decade of Armstrong’s life, focusing on his inner workings, his close acquaintance with grief and loss, as well as his relationships with the people around him. His motivations stayed hidden in shadow, though. It was never quite explained what gave him the drive to participate in the dangerous space race. The plot itself was not really new to me, having recently watched “Apollo 13” and the brilliant documentary “Apollo 11” – which, by the way, this film seemed to stick very closely to in a lot of key moments, even going so far as to recreating certain sequences as seen in the archive footage. But even knowing how it would end, the film was still a nail-biting trip, and the additional background was quite interesting.

All actors did great jobs. Ryan Gosling provided a personal and intimate portrait of Neil Armstrong as a grieving, driven man, constantly hit by loss. He gave the faint impression that this might have been a factor in his reckless daring. Claire Foy was brilliant as his wife, with a flawless accent and great screen presence. The fellow astronauts, though supporting characters, all had their own personality, too.

Visually, I wonder if the multitude of out-of-focus shots was a deliberate move. If so, I’m not sure what they wanted to achieve. Overall, the picture looked sort of grainy. I suppose the point was to better capture the vibe of the 60ies. The sets and costumes were great, too. They did a particularly fantastic job at conveying the claustrophobic feeling of a space capsule. The only element I would have expected more of was the score. It just felt neither emotional nor epic enough for this film.

All in all, a great effort, though. 4/5

First Man on Imdb