cykelsmurf Reviews

The Meaning of Hugo (2012)

One of my favorite comedies

[9/10 · 6 August 2013]

"Meningen med Hugo" ("The meaning of Hugo") is a fun and heart warming story about a man who spends all his days just trying to behave as oddly as possible. His motto is that if his life purpose is solely to do a lot of strange things, he can never fail in life.

This movie might not be for everyone, since the type of humor is very bizarre. A bit like Gary Larson's cartoons or perhaps like a nicer version of Family Guy. (This is not a cartoon or an animated movie however; I'm just comparing the type of humor.) I'm guessing Henrik Elmer (who plays the role of Hugo) has watched a fair share of Monty Python episodes as well.

This movie is in Swedish so I have no idea of how well the comedy translates to other languages. But I really liked it. To me, this is a movie to watch again and again.

How to Look Good Naked (2008)

A nice little scam

[6/10 · 29 February 2008]

This comment is for the Swedish version of this show. I've never seen the British or American versions so I don't really know anything about those. But I guess that the formula is more or less the same.

I like the basic idea about making women feel better about themselves. But one thing really puzzles me. Do women really drop their clothes this easily? And in front of a camera? Sounds strange to me. Even if they do feel more beautiful than ever before. My guess is that these women were asked BEFORE doing the show, if they would consider getting naked.

Would the producers really waste all this time and money on a woman, and then just HOPE that she will agree to get naked after everything else has been done and paid for? Otherwise the episode has to stay in the archive together with film of 20 other women that didn't want to get naked on TV? But I guess a little cheating on TV isn't that unusual.

And the show does have a positive message, after all.

Birth (2004)

Noted spoiler

[22 January 2008]

A letter to IMDb:

Hi, This is no review but I couldn't find any other way to contact you about a spoiler I unfortunately saw on the message board. It concerns the movie "Birth" with Nicole Kidman. One of the top comments is -"so if he wasn't sean, how did he know all those things?". That pretty much reveals that the person referred to wasn't Sean, doesn't it? This would of course be an important part of the movie that you're not supposed to find out until the end. I also have to go on about nothing here to fill the 10 lines that are requested. Is there any easier way to contact you at IMDb about noted spoilers? That would simplify matters. Only 9 lines? Then I'll write this sentence too. Now let's see if I've reached the right amount of lines.

Ski School 2 (1994)

Dated but still pretty decent

[18 January 2008]

This movie is OK for being made in the early 1980's. The same kind of humor as shown in Stripes or Bachelor party. But wait... this was actually made in 1994. So it was dated even when it was new. Oh well, if you like 80's comedies then this might still be okay if you've got a bit of spare time. And a few lovely ladies take their clothes off, that's also reminiscing of the 80's. But au contrary to what some other reviewer said, there is no full frontal scenes. Or perhaps there are different versions of this, mine is 90 minutes. The plot with the good guys and the bad guys is predictable, but that's of course part of the fun. But don't expect too much of this.

American Revenge (1988 Video)

Avoid this even if you like B movies

[2/10 · 17 January 2008]

Do you watch the Tonight Show with Jay Leno? One of the occasional segments is when he goes knocking on people's doors. Just regular people, and ask them if they have a favorite movie star. Then they're asked to act out something from that moviestar's films. Imagine that for an hour and a half, and this movie is what you get. This is by far the most amateurish production I've ever seen. Despite the picture quality in itself being close to crystal clear! Something's just terribly wrong. Normally, I enjoy B movies. And when I saw this movie had gotten 1.9 points out of 10 here on IMDb I thought it could be fun to check it out. I wish I hadn't. The only reason I give this as much as 2 points is because of the shower scene in the beginning. Not the best I've seen but pretty nice. I'm still glad I only paid 10 kronor (about $1.50) for this piece of !"¤%&

Heartbreak High (1981)

Not that good, no

[4/10 · 25 December 2007]

There's a lot of football in this movie. Since I'm from Sweden I don't really understand American football. That might me one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy too much of this. And you have the ordinary crowd with some tough guys and some geeky guys. And the cheerleaders who of course look pretty. There are a couple of brief boob-shots during a strip poker game, if you think that nudity is a requirement in an 80's comedy. And the plot isn't too predictable, to be fair. But when you reach the end of the movie, you really don't care who wins or whatever happens. The type of humor you see in 80's movies often feels dated nowadays. This is no exception.

A Different Way (2003)

An unusual movie

[7/10 · 18 December 2007]

Hannah is a young woman who lives on her own. She starts to get this feeling that she is being watched. The phone starts ringing at night and when she answers, no one is there. Is she imagining everything or is it for real? You'll never guess the ending (unless you've already read some spoiler that is). This movie has been criticized for its nude scenes where Hannah (Tove Edfeldt) walks around butt naked in her apartment. Some people say this is just to show off her body. I say, the nakedness in the beginning of the movie is off course symbolic of the way she has to give up her freedom as she begins to feel watched. The further the movie goes, the more clothes she puts on (I hope this doesn't count as a spoiler). If you want to see a movie with an unusual story, it might be worth watching this. And Hannah (Tove) is very pretty.

Caged Fear (1991)

An OK Women in Prison movie

[6/10 · 18 December 2007]

You've seen this basic idea before. A beautiful woman going to jail although she's innocent. In this case for being together with her boyfriend, as he robs a jewelery store. And of course when the police catches her, she's just so good-hearted (or something) that she takes the blame. Inside the prison you get most of what you expect EXCEPT for nudity. There's actually a quick shower scene that's pretty funny (you'll know what I mean when you see it) but NOTHING is revealed. If you don't consider bare shoulders being of interest. There are however a few interesting, unusual turns in the intrigue. Nothing great but at least someone tried. Don't pay too much money for this, but it's OK to watch the film if it airs on TV.