Mixx Reviews

Lost: The End: Part 1 (2010) Season 6, Episode 17

LOST - to the world but not to out memories.

[24 May 2010]

Countless have been the discussions about where the story was headed. I am happy to say that my own, rather involved, theory was on the spot. "Knowing" did not lessen the experience, fortunately.

Yes, the ending itself could be a little more smarmy-free, and a couple of times I felt I was back in the Grey Havens when Frodo was leaving, but that was OK too.

I was left with many questions that will take a lot of discussing to iron out the quirks, Darma? Polarbear? Shark? Smokie. What had they for effect? Electomagnetic powers? Healing Waters? Why was Desmond resistant to Electro Magnetism? Despite all - I have loved the series from day one and I will miss it.

Tron 2.0 (2003 Video Game)

We might look forward to new TRON games after all

[10/10 · 24 May 2009]

With TRON 2 coming up 2010/11 , I seriously hope they do a good job in creating another game. I really loved TROM 2.0 and play it through at least once yearly (yes, it actually runs in Vista). Of course the game had it's faults, but they were and are easily overlooked since there are so much that is good. I liked the fact that the background story were delivered via emails, and the look of the world was stunning. Sure, the engine was a bit dated even when the game were released, but it sure does the job, even by todays standards. Very faithful to the movie. The game might be a bit hard on those who like a lot of action and less platforming, but really, this game cates for all tastes. A highly recommended game if you can find it!

Jackie Chan: My Stunts (1999 Video)

great film!

[9 June 2003]

I just saw this on on my comp (yep ripped by that is the only way to get it here). I have to say that I went into it with a large dose of respect for Jacki, and after the feature was over, this respect had grown to even highr proportions. Jag must be one of the most skilled guys around a movieset. I love his movies, and this video didn't change that. Au Contrarire.

A clear 8+ in my book. A film for the fans - nonfans wont get much out of it other than if their curious

BW. Mixx

Equilibrium (2002)

A mans journey.

[15 May 2003]

"When everything is felt for the first time, even loss and pain are sensations to crave" - Mikael Musling "Matter over Mind"

This movie is Beautiful. Every move is calculated to bring the audience the most pleasure it could give. The actors, and especially Christian Bale make you FEEL that they are feeling, or actually not feeling in many cases. This dystopic can be a bit hard to swallow initially, but one one arrives at a conclusion it all fits storywise.

Bale, who plays a Grammaton Cleric, is a man in his prime. He have two children and one of the hardest, and presumably best paid, jobs in town. He is a man with no feelings due to a centrally distributed drug. The rule is, those who refuse to take the drug will be incinerated alive. The drug is rather popular, but not with everybody. Not even in the Grammaton ranks.

Cinematography is top notch, as is the SFX. Sound is great and the fight choreography is close to flawless (one exception with an unneeded "flip" ala John Woo). The Gun Kata must be seen to be believed - Way Cool!

Much action, sure, but also time for a mans inner journey towards enlightenment and finally redemtion,revelation,enlightenment, call it what you will, for good or bad. He is free!

Great pacing of the film and great performances from all actors. Too bad Sean Bean only got a few minutes on screen. He is always interesting and believable.

Sure, there are one scene in there with references to Matrix, the "Columns" scene with dozens of heavy armored opponents blast away at the air Bale's character occupied just a fraction of a second before. Some would say ripoff, I would say homage to a great action sequence. Either way, it did not bother me.

If you want mindless action see another movie. If you want deep calm self analysis go see a doctor. On the other hand, if you want a great mix of those in ONE movie, you could do far worse than seeing "Equilibrium".

I give this one 8.7/10 as it was a fun experience to watch and then later discuss with others. A good film in my book always allows for discussions on the films topics and whathaveya.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Viewing in the privacy of my own home.

[10/10 · 19 January 2003]

The first 3 times I saw this movie, I saw them in large theaters just as it should be. The experiences were great, the movie grew by each of the times I saw it, always something that I had missed or misinterpreted all together. Despite those minor quirks, I loved the movie in all it´s splendor. Now that I managed to get a great TTT DVD from the oscarsjury, I could watch and scrutinize every little scene and make my new judgment.

Well, the movie, on the whole, faired well during the transition between the silver screen and home entertainment. Fact is, several scenes became more clearer on a smaller screen.

I feel that I don´t have to recapitalize the story anymore that what has already been done here. The movie is one of the best of 2002, no argue about that. Probably not THE best, but anyway.... it has a chance, right..?

Best thing with this version is of course the ability for fast forward past those slow, meek Aragorn/Arwen scenes, and perhaps the telepathic link Galadriel/Elrond.

Full score for the other stuff, with Andy Serkis & CCG unit taking first place in the race.

9,5/10

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Interesting, to put it mildly.

[10/10 · 3 January 2003]

The first time I saw this one, I could not decide if I had seen a great film or just a mediocre flick. After my second viewing, my mind were made up. This movie is another masterpiece from Team Jackson. I had some initial problems with the rewrites, but as the scenes "sunk in" they made perfectly good sense. A lot of shortcuts were inevitable since the story is impossible to film. Jackson have made some people very angry with some of the changes, but if one just puts down the book and watches the film instead, one will find that these changes actually works.

*Some Minor Spoilers*

There have been outcries about the Warg-scene, and how this did not happen in the book. That is correct, it did not happen Right There, but it actually DID happen in another place in the book (minus the actual wolf riders that were taken from another book written by Tolkien). It means Jackson just moved the incident to another time and place, no big deal really.

There are a lot of rewrites in this part, some are brilliant and some kind of, well, meaningless. But as a whole they make for a great movie experience. Heck, for my part they could have shaved Gandalf, painted him blue and called him Grand Smurf, and I still would have watched in awe. This IS Middle Earth. They made it! They took one of the greatest books in the world and made a movie based on it. That is pretty amazing in my book.

Hats off to Team Jackson. Salute! 9/10.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

First impressions

[10/10 · 18 December 2002]

So, after a full year, and countless viewings of the first movie, The Two Towers finally have premiered. During the year I have been building up expectations, despite knowing that this behavior is foolish. By, alas, I´m only human and Certified Tolkien Fanatic at that.

It pains me but.... I am not satisfied after my first viewing. Coming out from the cinema, I could not decide if I had seen a good film or not, and with me, that is a very bad sign.

During the movie there were actually scenes when I deliberately looked away since what I saw was completely...embarrassing..?

For a diehard Tolkien:ist the rewritings have truly a great impact. Of course, I understand that some of them had to be done to make an actual movie, but there are some that I do not at all get.

Here are some of the things I´m no friend of:

*WARNING SPOILERS*

That whole thing with Galadriel and Elrond just so that Haldir could show up at Helms Deep is just plain wrong. Aragorn and Arwen, not just the fact that their scenes together this time did not add to the plot or flow of the story, but also for the fact that; It Does Not Work between them. It´s stone cold dead. Timelines (of wich I´m a big fan) does not work anymore in this movie than they did in the previous one. Too many to recount here. The Ents got far too small a role to play. Did someone miss their impact on Helms Deep? How about the Huorns? Also, I have never seen the dwarves of Middle Earth as inferior beings, and Gimli not only lagged during the hunt for the Hobbits, but his height also came into focus at the Deep.

I felt that all those storylines should work better given a little extra time before cutting to the next scene.

But there were magnificent scenes also! As soon as I got used to Gollums appearance, and could ignore the fact that he was a bunch of pixels, he shone very brightly in every scene. Osgiliath were masterful. Gandalf and the Balrog would be a real stunner if it were not cut as short as it were. There are alot of scenes in that cathegory, and it will be a long wait for the extended dvd in 10 months time.

As far as the actors go, many new ones got to show themselves off. Everyone did their job fine, but the ones at the top were Brad Dourif as Grima, Andy Serkis as Gollum and of course Theoden Son of Thengel. Aragorn were great as usual.

This movie will undoubtedly be alot better on the second viewing. And by my third, I will probably think it´s as good, if not better than, as the first installment. This is, however, not the luxury reviewers have usually, so I fear that some reviews will not be 100% truthful.

I have decided now, after having written this, and against better judgement that... I'ts actually a quite brilliant film, and I can´t wait for the concluding Return of the King. I'll give it around 8 and I gave the first film a 9,5 (extended).

What Dreams May Come (1998)

Brings tears of joy to my eyes

[1 September 2002]

This must be one of the most under viewed pieces of film mastery ever in my country. Until recently, I had never even heard of it, and assumed it was another new Robin Williams flick. I was mistaken. The movie had a couple of years on the neck, and Mr. Williams had grown a lot as an actor. I will not recap the plot, since that have been done many times before here, so I will concentrate on what it makes me feel.

In the beginning, it makes me happy, seeing the family together. A perfect picture. Then, when the kids are taken away by that traffic accident, the film hammers on my heart and I get problems with swallowing. If I should explain that whole episode with Williams speech over his son in church, my sight will become dizzy and it´s tissue-time.

This is a movie about not giving up, not under any circumstances, not in life and not in death. It tells me that everything is possible if only love is strong enough. Robin Williams Shines and so does Annabella Sciorra. The rest, Max von Sydow, and the others helped making a good one better. I would liked to have seen more from Sydow, but you cant have everything, can you..?

This movie will be one of my all-time favorites. I have no problem with the heaven-hell thing. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me that we create them ourselves.

High points for the visuals, and equally high for the way the characters expresses their emotions or lack thereof. 9/10

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Definitely worth the wait!

[10/10 · 20 December 2001]

It was always obvious that it would be Steven Spielberg that would make this movie. When I first heard that Peter Jackson should do it, the images that flew through my mind were hobbits mangling orcs with little lawnmowers, brain-eating uruk-hais, and alot of really weird puppets. Later, when I had given it some thought, I knew that he would pull it off, since his greatness lies in his ability to realize his visions, whatever they may be.

I love Tolkiens work. I have read the books over and over again. I have played the roleplaying game, the boardgames, seen the movies, and heard the radio theater version. It's fair to say that I waited for this movie with great anticipation. I was going to watch it with a critical eye, and totally ignore all the usual hype. Here are my takes on the film.

(Possible Spoilers Ahead!)

I was greatly moved the intro. It was fantastic. I cannot believe it is within our grasp to produce such images, but there it is. I had tears in my eyes. Then Hobbiton, I was there. It was exactly as I had imagined it. The hobbits, Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo, they were not actors. Jackson and his crew have found a way to capture images through time and space, and shows us how it actually looked! There are no other words for it but...Magic.

And it goes on, and on, and on... The images never ends. They just gets bigger and better. Usually a movie have a few memorable moments, but this is not such a movie. This one is shock full of them! Hobitton, Bree, Rivendell, Moria, Lothlorien, Isengaard, everything is there.

Ok, I will quit this raving even though it is hard.

How are the actors doing? Well, sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf delivers a razorsharp performance, so does Christopher Lee as Saruman. Bilbo is fantastic, Frodo is totally believable, as is the other hobbits. John Rhys-Davies as Gimli is pure genius, Legolas are played by this incredibly beautiful guy whom I cannot recall the name of, Viggo Mortensen are a natural Aragorn, and Boromir is perfectly casted. The Oscars comittee will have a busy time this year.

Isn't there anything that is flawed with this film then?

Yes, there is! Sometimes the music makes me think of Titanic. Perhaps there were one or two flashbacks to scenes shown earlier that were superflous. And...*SPOILER* Glorfindel were replaced by Arwen, but then again, how would it be possible to film old Glory? I forgive them for that. Other than that, I cannot find anything negative about FOTR. Three hours seemed like 1,5, and that's a good thing, since the chairs are not always perfectly comfortable in modern theaters, to say the least. I, on the other hand, saw the movie at northern europes largest cinema, with very comfortable chairs, with my boyfriend, with a big bag hot mini-doughnuts and a few cans of cola.

If you are the least bit interested in good cinema, you should not miss this one. I give it 9,0 out of 10. Why not 10? Well, there will be two more, and when they have been released in a couple of years, believe me, it will be 10.0!