Ol_Gaffer Reviews

Jadesoturi (2006)

Jadewarrior may very well be the best Finnish film in decades, perhaps in history.

[21 September 2006]

The first major genre-film in Finnish history, Jadewarrior is a slick and stylish movie of epic proportions. Combining both Chinese Wuxia and the national epic, Kalevala, into a seamless whole the movie creates a beautifully realized vision of alternate history and mythology.

Kai is a blacksmith, living in the outskirts of Helsinki. After his girlfriend leaves him, and meeting a mysterious store owner with an obsession of the Kalevala - Kai is thrust into a battle between good and evil that has raged since ancient times. Should Kai fail, it would cost the lives of not only his beloved, but everyone in the world.

Since it's conception, Finnish films have been in stuck in a rut of bad and repetitive storytelling, with films that you couldn't distinguish from each other without looking at their names. With only dozens upon dozens of war and drama films to our credit, Jadewarrior presents finally visions of grandeur of what Finnish cinema could become. Effortlessly switching between modern magical realities á la Neil Gaiman and the epic scopes of Zhang Yimous Hero and House of Flying Daggers, Jadewarrior is brimming with talented storytelling and visual delivery to match it. First time helmer, A.J Annila charges with leaps and bounds to the very small minority of interesting Scandinavian filmmakers to look out for.

Filmed in locations around the world, such as China and it's home country of Finland, Jadewarrior boasts with visually powerful locales to match it's breathtaking action. With production values most Scandinavian films would die for, the film has the look and feel of a major Hollywood blockbuster, but with wit and heart to match it's brawn. Never force feeding it's centuries spanning plot, Jadewarrior constructs a surprisingly intelligent and heartfelt tale of tragedy without ever feeling forced or calculated.

With actors ranging from Finnish newcomers (Krista Kosonen) to Chinese pro's (Jingchu Zhang), the film delivers. First time leading man, Tommi Eeronen works wonders with his challenging dual role as Kai and Sintai. Switching between his native language of Finnish to fully realized Mandarin Chinese effortlessly. Markku Peltola also succeeds in making his character both tremendously threatening and charming with small nuances, also delivering his performance partly in Mandarin. Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu has the fragile beauty of a young Michelle Yeoh, balancing her performance between the maiden in love and the battle hardener warrior. And while some of the Finnish dialog may sound cringe worthy to native speakers - thanks to it's melodramatic inspirations, Kalevala and Wuxia - the subtitled Chinese segments work better than anyone would have dared to imagine.

With 2006 still having a good way to go before it's end, calling Jadewarrior one of the best films of the year may be a slight gamble. But calling it the best Finnish film in memory isn't. Beautiful, heartfelt, with action and set-pieces to die for - Jadewarrior marks hopefully the beginning of a new wave in Finnish film-making, and deserves all praise coming for it.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Revenge of the Sith is a surprise of a movie

[6 May 2005]

After a good thirty years, and two prequels later. George Lucas is bringing the final piece of the Star Wars saga to the fans. And after two opulent misfires, he has a lot to live up to.

So is Episode 3 the messiah of a film that people have been waiting for all this time? Yes, and no. Yes, it's a much better film than both previous episodes. No, it still could have been even better with some changes. Many things that didn't work in the previous episodes are still there, and they still don't work. Anakin and Padme have no chemistry between each other, and most of their horrendous dialogues seems forced. And while the film is the least dialogue heavy of the three prequals, it still suffers from some terribly wooden phrases that the characters are forced to say with a straight face.

Effects wise, the movie is top class once again. While the only grumble is the character of General Grievious, most of the effects are simply stunning and the opening space battle will blow people away.

But therein lies the problem, like in the previous films, Lucas feels at times lost in the splendor of his own visual creations that he loses sight of the big picture, and the movie begins to lose it's momentum. Such instanses are fewer than in the previous episodes, but still noticeable. Mainly the final 45 or so minutes could have used some better editing in parts.

Acting, in terms of Star Wars acting, is good. McGregor has over time grown into the young shadow of Alec Guiness and works his charm very well into some bland scenes and manages to bring some genuine motion to what could have been yawn inducing at worst. Lucas still has to work on his characters and dialogue, even if the effects are the main focus at times.

In the end, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, is a surprisingly good finish to the saga, and hopefully the last part in it. It's at times incredibly thrilling and truly emotional, and at times very cringe worthy. But by the time the credits roll, the good had outweighed the bad, at least on my part.

Constantine (2005)

Constantine is a hell of a time

[21 February 2005]

It should have doomed from the start. A comic book movie, Keanu Reeves playing a British detective of the paranormal, angels and demons battling for the souls of mankind. Sounds like another day in Hollywood alright. Not to mention the fact that the movie was going to be helmed by first time director Francis Lawrence who had only music videos in his resume before this. Another Michael Bay? Thankfully no, and yes. No, that he doesn't cut up his movies till the inch of their lives, and yes that he has the ability to create box office gold from near impossible odds.

What's surprising about Constantine? To begin with, everything. Somehow the movie that should have failed as another attempt to cash-in on comic books and the phase that Hollywood is going through right now, actually brings us a thought out, action packed but still smart supernatural thriller that never makes a parody of itself, but neither takes itself too seriously.

The actors play their parts splendidly. Keanu is in top form in his first big post-matrix film, and while momentarily Neo shines through, Keanu proves himself as a good leading man once again. His Constantine is not the Constantine from the books, but rather a more human and vulnerable version of the character. A man who knows he has no time left and is doomed to Hell. Rachel Weiz plays a dual role as twin sisters Angela and Isabel. Though underused, Weiz plays her small role with conviction and subtlety. In other roles, Tilda Swinton is a marvel as the Angel Gabriel, even to such extent that it's a shame that we see so little of her character. Djimoun Honsou is Papa Midnite, the owner of the bar where demons and angels can take their own time out every once in a while. Convincing, but his part is more of a macguffin than fleshed out character in this part. As for the killer, Peter Stormare is possibly the best person to play the Devil himself. Morbidly hilarious, constantly threatening and oozing with evil, he is the manifestation of the most charming man you've ever met, and at the same time the most evil.

Action, some fine moments of actual thought, great set design and some wonderful acting make Constantine a great kick off for a hell of a movie year. It's the summer blockbuster of this late winter.

*****

Alone in the Dark (2005)

Alone in the Dark is nothing short of shocking.

[1 February 2005]

The notorious Uwe Bolls' latest 'film' has now arrived. And the world would have been a whole lot better off if it hadn't even been made. Like his previous 'film' House of the Dead, this new pile of inane nonsense is a mishmash of lightning fast editing, bad effects and a plot not worth a dime.

Christian Slater plays a detective that has spent his life investigating the paranormal and mysterious. But the biggest mystery that remains unsolved, unfortunately it's not what Slater is doing in this garbage in the first place, but a deep dark secret connected to his own childhood. Alongside him are Tara Reid as the potential love interest (though both seem more bored than in love when on screen together) and Stephen Dorf as the captain of a paranormal police unit.

If you're confused, then good. That's what I felt about thirty minutes in to this 'film'. Events occur without any real explanations as to why they happen, people show up in places with no hints as to why or how they're there. But apparently Boll has decided that the audience doesn't care about details like that. They're here for the violence and monsters!

If only this could be considered a creature flick, or even a no-brainer violence film like Seagals better films in the 80's. But, alas, the film fails to deliver even sub-par scares or thrills. Action scenes are riddled with bad editing, horrendous and out of place heavy metal and very badly animated cgi monsters. It seems that 25 million dollars (the films budget) isn't enough to make even decent action sequences. Which is surprising, considering Peter Jackson filmed both Braindead and Bad Taste with a third of this 'films' budget, and it looked a whole lot better!

You've probably noticed that I speak of Alone in the Dark as a 'film'. This is for the simple reason that I don't find anything in this that allows it to qualify as one. There is no entertainment factor, there aren't any thrills nor any signs of a plot. It seems that Boll has only gotten his hands on a semi-famous thriller game franchise and has used it to create a z-class snoozer of a mess.

If only directing would require a license, then it one could hope that one day someone would take Bolls license away and never allow him to work again. At least not in pictures. Because if this and Alone in the Dark are anything to go by (and to me they're enough) Boll hasn't got any talent, but more ego than the entire population of his homeland of Germany combined, and we haven't seen the last of movies like AITD. Which is a frightening thought.

Saw (2004)

How far would you go to survive?

[24 October 2004]

James Wan's debut feature film Saw is an unnerving psychological horror film that will leave the viewer with countless of emotions.

Imagine waking up in a room without any recollection of how you got there, with a dead man in the center of the room, and a complete stranger in the other end. Your leg is chained. You cannot escape. How far would you go to survive? This is the main element of Saw, and the situtation we kick off from. Cary Elwes plays Dr. Lawrence, a man with marital problems and a mistress, now he must survive to save himself and his family. Leigh Wannel plays Adam, a voyeur who hasn't thought of his life to be anything special until today. Danny Glover plays Detective Tapp, a character not-unlike his previous role as Murtaugh from the Lethal Weapon series, he too hunts the killer.

From the first frames, Saw provides plenty of thrills and shocks for the unsuspecting viewer. The mood is constantly suspenseful, with a controlled color, creating a bleak Sevenish view of the room and world the characters inhabit.

Saw is not a violent movie. It's disturbing yes, but the violence level is surprisingly low, with very little blood or gore. A untypical decision to make in the current world with teen slasher movies creating the mass market of horror movies. The main power of SAW is it's atmosphere, constantly troubling and deeply twisted, it manages to create scares and genuine shocks without fancy cgi or blood splattering effects. Not since Seven has there been a movie with a atmoshpere like this, one can almost touch it.

Saw is a brilliant debut from first time director/writer James Wan, and hopefully we'll see more movies from this talented new filmmaker.

*****

Battle Royale (2000)

It's reality, but so extreme. it's unreal.

[10 April 2003]

In today's fast paced world Kinji Fukasaku takes the single idea of competition and twists it into a stunning metaphor for the battle for a place in society. Set in a fictional reality, the story tells of how in the early 22nd century Japan's economy collapsed and nearly 800.000 people were out of work, nearing 15% of the population. Seeing their chance, the students revolted against school and the system itself. Fearing the youth and the rise of teen violence, the adults along with the government passed the re-educational system also known as the BR act. The story takes place approximately 5 years into the future after the BR act has been put in order, a group of rowdy ninth graders are chosen to play the Battle Royale. While the outer look of BR may seem like a cheap excuse for pointless slaughter, the movie itself offers numerous views and critiques against the modern society in which we live in. From the opening scene with the stunning use of visual and audio techniques, when the winner of last years game is presented to the press, to the taunting instruction video in how to play Battle Royale properly, the movie seems to take a bite at every aspect of the Japanese and perhaps even the western culture. The instruction video that is shown to the `contestants' features a young and beautiful girl who, wearing a similar necklace as the contestants, instructs with an overly cheery fashion the rules and layout of Battle Royale, while at the same time their former teacher taunts them sadistically. When the game begins, the viewer is constantly kept aware of the situation in it, an almost deity like being informs the viewer every now and then of the contestants who have died in the brutal battle. Also a certain subconscious like text appears to the characters in times of need, this can be interpreted as the directors way of showing last thoughts that go through a dying contestants head before they finally die or the despair or motive of a contestant. The single scene in which a contestant that has been portrayed as a ruthless killer to the viewer dies, a single sentence makes the viewer re-think their opinion about her. Kinji Fukasaku was one of the most revered directors of Japanese movies. He directed over 60 movies in his lifetime of which Battle Royale was the last one, and while some have proposed that he had lost his touch over the years, BR proves otherwise. Fukasaku directs steadily without resorting into too many gimmicks of visual presentation and some scenes almost attain a film noir visuality. While certain moments are very Kubrick like, the movie is refreshingly different from the western style of movie making, and perhaps in the hands of a younger director the movie possibly couldn't have made such valuable points that it now makes. In Japan the movie received a mixed reception. While Fukasaku wished that the movie would open for mostly all ages above 15, the censors believed that the brutality would not suit children that age and placed the movie into the over 18 movies. Annoyed, Fukasaku edited a new version of his film for he wished that younger audiences would see the movie for it's message, he succeeded and the movie opened then for audiences of 15 and above. What the censors did not see was that while Fukasaku edited the movie so that many killings were explained and made more understandable and the ending was changed to a more satisfying one, Fukasaku actually added via computer technology more blood into certain battles and some critics even consider that the edited version is even more brutal than the original. Fukasaku uses surprisingly young actors unknown outside of Japan to portray the out of control 9th graders who are chosen to the game. This mainly is that he wanted to show the Japanese youth that where being over competitive can lead to. Fukasaku also uses veterans fromm Japanese movies, Takeshi `Beat' Kitano portrays with unquestionable devotion the sadistic yet melancholy spirit of Kitano, the teacher who runs the BR program. Kitano's presentation rises well over the other actors mainly because of the talent that he has attained over the years of cinema and theatre, his other movie roles include the renowned `Hana-Bi' and `Brother' which he directed himself. Also the acting talents of the young rising star Kou Shibasaki stand out of the crowd. The atmosphere in the movie can be compared even to the bleak and depressing image of George Orwell's `1984'. But while `1984' uses subtle yet depressing imagery to portray a society gone wrong, BR focuses on shocking people into realizing the wrongs of the society that occupies our everyday lives, and while BR may portray this in a surrealistic and over the top way, deep down it portrays a biting satire that really has something important to say.

Raid (2003)

Finland's own action hero

[3 March 2003]

Raid (the superb Kai Lehtinen) returns to Finland to find his ex-girlfriend Tarja (Mari Rantasila) only to hear that she has been killed in an arson made on the public voice press headquarters. Grieving, Raid begins his own investigation of what happened. Meanwhile Captain Jansson (Oiva Lohtander)of the Finnish police is investigating the murder of a protester during the world bank meeting held in Helsinki. Soon he realizes that all clues might be pointing into the wrong direction and with his friends, officers Huusko (Pekka Huotari) and Susisaari (Kirsti Väänänen) begin to take a closer look into the investigation. In the background spins a conspiracy and a strange charecter known as the legioner, but what do all these have to do with the same magazine as the one that Tarja worked for?

While Finland hasn't had a chance to boast with great movies until now with "The Man Without A Past" there still have been numerous great movies that have been made here. Considering that money is limited for movies, most have been small budget comedies and drama movies, but finally Finland can say that they have their own action hero. Kai Lehtinen is superb as the quiet Raid and Oiva Lohtander does a fabulous role as the sarcastic Jansson. While the movie has moments of slight clichés such as the Legioner, the whole movie fixes them and allows the movie really to shine. An excellent action movie with a decent plot that allows the audience really to connect with the characters, these are real people not super heroes.

4.5/5