"Star Trek" A-Seen-Before

A true piece of pure Sci Fi Entertainment

I was truly skeptical the first time I saw this movie; I was thinking how easy it could be to completely destroy the classic show with a remake that would only focus on the effects and not the plot at all. But man, was I in for a surprise.

The story starts with a mysterious Romulan ship that appears from out of no where, appearing out of a lighting storm in front of the USS Kelvin, a federation ship which holds George Kirk as co-captain. The desperation of saving as much of the crew as possible, including his pregnant wife, Kirk steps up as captain of the Kelvin when the captain is murderer and sacrifices himself to save almost the entire crew.

Two decades later the cocky womanizer Jim Kirk has a hard time fitting in, but is convinced to joining the federation - where he meets the young half human half vulcan Spock - and it doesn't take long before the two strong personalities crash together. But can they put aside their differences and come together when an old and unconquered enemy resurfaces?

You're thrown into the action, the effects are yes, amazing, but from the beginning you can see that there is more than just mindless action - here they've actually spent time constructing a story which is not just cool and fun, but that brilliantly also changes the course of the Star Trek history, giving J.J. Abrams and the others behind this movie the opportunity to create a new Star Trek universe.

And I sure am looking forward to the sequel(s)!

Sincerely
JanaMart

"Ponyo"

Beautiful animation from a beautiful imagination

I'll admit that I'm not too fond of Japanese animation, and would have never bothered to see this movie if it hadn't been for my best friend, who absolutely adores them. But there is something special about Studio Ghibli, and especially the maker of this movie, Hayao Miyazaki. He has in the past made those Anime Movies I can say I've truly enjoyed - such as "Porco Rosso", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "My Neighbor Totoro". He gives life to the characters and to the settings and much like the classical Disney Animation and the Pixar of today he creates entertainment worthy of all ages.

"Ponyo" was truly a magical piece of movie, I'll say that. It follows the little magical gold fish princess with the same name that meets a human boy - and creates a bond with him that makes her desire she was human. In being entrusted with wonderful power, she turns herself to a human girl just to be close to her new friend, but with that sets the nature of the sea out of balance. Can she give up her legacy, destiny and power to be human forever?

Strongly recommended, ladies and gentlemen. Especially if you have kids, they'll love it.

Sincerely
JanaMart

"Surrogates"

Could have been a lot better, but also a lot worse

It seemed like very few people liked this movie, and it was pretty much only given 2's and 3's from all the major newspapers in this country. To top it off, everyone I talked too seemed to either dislike it or just find it boring. So when I embarked into the Cinema darkness I had extremely low expectations.

And I must say I was positively surprises! Sure, the plot of the movie has it's weaknesses, and it could have been done more exciting - but that it deserves to be slaughtered is something I strongly disagree with.

The plot follows police officer Tom Greer in a reality in which the world is controlled by surrogates - everyone has replaced their bodies with robots they hook directly into to their consciousness and control - therefore you never need to leave your home, or even your chair. It allows people to look young, more good looking, even change gender if they want too. But when a weapon appears that not just destroys the surrogate but also fry the brain of the operator, Greer must battle for the survival of humanity - by being the only real human out there.

The idea is brilliant, and so are the effects. They've truly made the actors look like plastic, chosen actors that could really be manufactured beauty and the acting isn't too bad either.

I do agree that a lot of the things presented in the movie could have been done better - there could have been more action, more emphasis on details and maybe more detailed and thorough acting - but generally it was entertaining enough for me to hand it a 4 popcorn score.

Sincerely
JanaMart

"The Omen" Original 1976 version

A cool concept, poorly executed

"The Omen" has sparked an entire generation of horror films and leaves a legacy undeserved. Sure, the idea around the movie is appealing, but for me it was rather boring. Old horror films are rarely that scary, and they rely therefore mostly on their ideas more than the acting and effects.

"The Omen" tells the tale of an American foreign politician that loses his child at childbirth and who's given another child to substitute it - without telling his wife. As we jump 5 years forth in time, the child is now Damian - and things start to happen that no-one can explain. After Damian's nanny suddenly commits suicide, a new nanny appears, together with a dog - both seemingly obsessed with the little child. Is the child more than human? Is he the manifestation of something powerful... something evil?

Now, sure, it had it's moments, and had a few entertaining aspects. But really, it was rather boring and felt like it lasted too long. The actors weren't too bad, so I'm handing it a 3-popcorn score. Completely average.

Sincerely
JanaMart

"It"

Starts out brilliant, ends up brilliantly ridiculous

Stephen King's infamous novel "It" was released to the TV-screen as a mini-series in 1990, and has later been gathered to a rather long film, almost 3 hours long.

In this movie the villain is the unforgettable clown Pennywise, performed by the unforgettable Tim Curry - and it might just be one of the greatest bad guys ever, certainly in the league of characters like Hans Landa and The Joker.

In real Stephen King style, it starts out brilliantly - we're like always in New England - we, like always, meet a gang of friends both when they were young and when they've grown up. And sure, it has turned into a Stephen King cliche, but it works with him so who cares? - now, when what seems like a serial killer posing like a clown kills the brother of the main character, he and all of his friends starts seeing things no-one else can see. And they all see the same clown - the sarcastic, evil and ridiculing clown - who underneath is a terrible and unimaginable creature they simply call "It".

The beginning and well into the movie I have to admit I loved it - and I certainly understand why people develop a lifelong fear of clowns after seeing this movie. But it all the time builds to the climax you know is coming - when all the friends unite to once again try to defeat Pennywise.

But then it really plummets. It plummets as fast as a bullet strapped to a rocket going down a ski slope. And it ends up in the bottom. All the way down in the bottom of the valley.

None the less, it deserves the title classic, and it gets a 3 popcorn score because of the entertainment I got from the first part of the movie. But nothing more - a movie like this needs to be punished for being this crappy in the end. Sort of like Perfume (even though that was even better and the end was even crappier).

Sincerely
JanaMart

"The Shawshank Redemption" A-Seen-Before

And here I am, posting the review for what I feel is the greatest motion picture ever made by man - on the night before my twentieth birthday. Ladies and gentleman, it will be a tradition from now on to see this movie every 25th of September - 'cause it does nothing else than give me a big smile and a warm feeling every time - and it just never gets old.

Yes, my love for "The Shawshank Redemption" is as essential as my love for film itself. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of favorites - but somewhere down the road they just came and made this movie perfect in my eyes - the subtle details that I love, the plot that unravels suddenly and unpredictably in the end, characters you love or hate and certainly never forget - and based upon a short story written by one of the biggest litterateur masterminds of our day, Stephen King himself. Now, how can it get any better than that?

"The Shawshank Redemption" starts with successful banker Andrew Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who suddenly gets sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife and her lover - and introduces Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman) who's spent 20 years of a life sentence in Shawshank Penitentiary when he's denied parole for the second time. As their paths cross, they form an indestructible friendship, and as time progresses, it ages them both in every way a prison can and will age a man - before it eventually brakes you down and you end up an old and institutionalized being whose soul is defined in the walls you've grown accustomed to.

"The Shawshank Redemption" doesn't just have morale - it displays unity, friendship, corruption and cruelty -but most importantly it displays the human nature and the human hope - and the power it can bring.

that and a big god damn poster.


Sincerely
JanaMart

"The Girl Who Played with Fire"

You can't help but love a character like Lisbeth Salander

Stieg Larrson wrote crime fiction that will never be forgotten, and not just because of his tragic death, but also because of his extensive skill to create plots and characters you either love, hate and/or will never forget.

"The Girl Who Played with Fire" is the second in the trilogy to be released onto the big screen, and does so almost as successfully as the first one did. It picks up the plot where we left Lisbeth Salander, a misfit and disturbed young hacker who's experienced more horror and hatred than you can imagine - Mikael Blomkvist, a leftist journalist and editor of the hard-hitting magazine "Millennium" - and Sweden presented as a dark modern world drowned in trafficking and corrupt heads of state. It gathers the treads and answers a few of the questions in which were open in the first film - but might have created a few more in the process.

Now, Swedish Crime Fiction has always had a certain level of entertainment and quality (especially if you compare it to Norwegian produced material), but this tops it none the less. It has morale, integrity, and brilliant actors; the newcomer Noomi Rapace in the role as Lisbeth Salander and a known face to the Swedish world of film and series; Michael Nyquist in the role as Mikael Blomkvist.

All I can really say about the plot is that it contains delightful scenes of psychological torture, smart action that doesn't become boring to watch, a plot which unravels more and more deep secrets and details - an overall entertaining and well-structured movie.

Enjoy this Scandinavian movie pearl, ladies and gentleman.

Sincerely
JanaMart