rklok Reviews

The 13th Warrior (1999)

Totally unexpected, this was a great movie!

[9/10 · 5 May 2008]

Don't believe the negative reviews on this one. Its easily the most underrated movie I have come across, and can best be described as a hidden gem for the ones who like historical adventure/action-movies (Braveheart/Gladiator/Kingdom of Heaven/Robin Hood) and fantasy-movies.

Others have described it better here on IMDb, so I am just going to say this: It is not a historical correct piece, and do not try to be. It should be viewed as a fantasy, even though the vikings portrayed and their buildings/settlement is the most realistic I have seen in any movie to date.

Btw: To all you who like the above-mentioned movies for the big battle-scenes and sword-fighting, don't expect this one to have its major impact in that area (even though it got them). On the other hand this movie portrays a much more realistic take on fighting in pre-medieval times. Instead of having the one super-hero defying all logic, you get a band of fighting comrades which together becomes a fierce force. There is a fantastic cast in this movie, with Banderas, Storhøi and Kulich making their characters come truly alive.

This is a great adventure of a movie, which should be regarded alongside the other movies I mentioned above.

9/10 - Must see for all who like adventure/fantasy

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Too unrealistic and NO comedy

[5/10 · 7 April 2008]

I too read here on IMDb before seeing this one. Most were very positive, and I expected a great comedy/drama here.

Well it was no comedy. Anyone who has had anything to do with people with mental illness, can see this is a man in serious pain. I would say its more than sad to see people labeling this as a comedy, as you are then laughing at others in pain. Its like laughing at an elderly lady fall and break her hip in a funny way.

As for drama, it just became very unrealistic. Not the part about him suffering delusion seeing the doll as real, or being socially crippled. But the reactions of people, with all the community supporting him. Treating her as real etc. Sorry folks, thats just not the way the world works.

In real life, his brothers initial reaction of sending him to a mental hospital would have happened, end of story.

The rest of the story is more of a fairy-tale for the good-hearted. Most ordinary people, especially in the so-called "caring" communities of our western world have strong aversions against people with mental illness. They would have stayed far away from Lars, and used all they could to show how they wanted to distance themselves from "the freak".

We have a long way left to become as understanding as all(!?) the people of this community were. I could have believed it, if it was just some of the people who played along. His brother with wife, the doctor and some others. But all? No, no. Not in todays world.

Couldn't the director at least throw in some laughing out loud teenagers mocking him and his doll? Some elderly men tired of silliness walking up to him and tell him to stop the charade? No, no, they all treat him and his doll soo seriously. Elected in the school counsel?? Funeral for a doll?? If this was the funny part, its beyond me..

It gets 5 stars from me because of the great acting all over. Was very impressed with Ryan Gosling.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Possibly the dumbest story of all time

[2/10 · 1 April 2008]

This movie makes me wonder if Hollywood is testing out the masses. "Lets see how stupid a movie-script we can produce, and still get lots of people to like it?" Well you have to do worse than this. It seems, with a rating of 8.0 after nearly 50k votes here for this movie, that people buy anything nowadays. As long as it has profiled actors, entertaining action and believable costumes.

The story of this stupidity of a movie utterly insults my intelligence.

I should have understood it from the very beginning, when the bandits are to rob a coach. Instead of lying in ambush, and just shoot the people on the wagon (espescially the ones with a gatling-gun!), they all (with the exception of their bad-ass leader who just hang back (!)) ride head on shooting wildly, not hitting anyone. Several of them gets killed. But hey, they have a sharpshooter in the bushes! He take out one of the two operating the gatling-gun. Then the one left swings the gatling-gun away from the huge targets of horses and riders around the wagon to shoot at the sharpshooter far away! Just ridiculous. And it just get worse and worse throughout the movie, till it explodes in such a stupidity it had me groaning in mental pain when the final scene ended.

As another wrote here, western-movies is not about realism. They should not be either. Sure the wild west was a frontier to the wild, with lots of murders and lawlessness, but the gunslingers of modern westerns did not exist as they are portrayed in the movies. They were exaggerated even back then, and the two feathers have now become several hens.

And that is the really silly thing about this movie: The seriousness of it. There is not a hint of humor or irony. It seems I am supposed to feel something for the characters, and believe the story.

I could fill a book of all the why's in this movie. In the end I just wanted the only believable character, the right hand man of the bad-guys leader, to just kill the leader (who had a change of heart and suddenly became a good guy (please!)), the hero and his son. Because of their stupid actions they all would have deserved it!

The only redeeming factor is Ben Foster, playing second in command to the bad-guys. Yes Russel Crowe and Christian Bale do a good job acting as well, its just that their characters actions are totally unbelievable, thus making their performances a waste.

2 stars to Ben Fosters portrayal of Charlie Prince.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Just boring

[3/10 · 31 March 2008]

After reading an article about the movie describing it as a masterpiece, I decided to check this one out. I am not a fan of Burton, and I usually despises musicals so to say I had small expectations is a understatement.

But boy what a piece of rubbish this was! It had the great costumes/atmosphere of a dark London in the late 1800's, but that was it.

Other than that it was bad singing/music, cartoonish characters, boring story than never make you really interested or exited, blood, blood and more blood. Depp disappointed me hugely in the role as Sweeney Todd, as that could have been a redeeming factor.

This movie is just boring and insanely over-hyped.

The Golden Compass (2007)

Confusing and disappointing

[6/10 · 31 March 2008]

I went into this movie with medium to low expectations. Still I was very disappointed and utterly baffled when the end-credits appeared.

Disappointed mainly because another monster-budget fantasy film with fantastic CGI had turned out to be eye-candy with no substance.

Baffled because I really did not know what it was all about in the end. The film just ended without having explained anything. Most notably: What where that dust they talked about all the time? Why did she try to separate the kids from their "demon"? Where did the witches come from to the final battle, and why? Who were they really? And on and on. I have more questions than answers after the movie, but it doesn't really matter that much, because the movie never gave me enough information about any of the story to make me curious about it.

I have not read the trilogy the movie (and possible sequel(s)) is based on, and after seeing that many in here are fans of the books, I may check them out. But in itself the movies story was just confusing and appeared to me as more of a shallow, simple children's story with colourful characters, talking animals and unrealistic children-heroes with no substance or debt to it. More as an excuse to put in some interesting CGI-characters than anything else.

I am a huge fan of fantasy. It has always been a dream that LOTR, and other fantasy-worlds could be made into movies. Now we can, with the huge advancements in CGI over the last years. We got LOTR, and it was very well done, even if it can never duplicate the delight of Tolkiens books. I reckon no movie can truly describe any of the great universes authors like Tolkien, Jordan, Feist, Goodkind or Pratchett have created, as well as they do in the books. Movies will never be able to replace books in that way.

But still. If they are to use millions of dollars making fantasy-movies, why are they making them into stupid, mind-numbing stories only kids between 6 and 14 care about? (with the honorable exception of LOTR) TGC has got absolutely fantastic CGI. The cast is great. Especially the young girl in the leading role. Therefore I give it a 6, even though I'm so disappointed of yet another failed fantasy-movie that I really should have given it a 1.

Enchanted (2007)

Magical movie!

[8/10 · 30 March 2008]

To think I was to register at IMDb to comment on a Disney-production! And at that, one with music and dancing and all the sweetness only Disney can deliver? But here I am, and I felt compelled to.

After watching Enchanted I logged on to IMDb with the thought that THIS movie could not have received any bad reviews. Well, there were 68 negative reviews, and I am wondering what the world is coming to..

How can anyone not like this movie? It is a great traditional fairy-tale story mixed into a funny romantic comedy for the whole family!

Others have described it in so many good ways so I'm just going to say this: I am as far away from the intended audience as you can get to this movie. I mostly like gritty, realistic movies where romance usually ruins it all for me. But this IS a fairy-tale/romantic comedy. And on those premises this movie is an instant classic for me.

I think beside the great humour, music, story, actors and special effects, this is a movie that truly awaken the child in you.