jon-larsen Reviews

American Reunion (2012)

Great film!

[9/10 · 12 April 2012]

I RARELY like teen films but the first American Pie film was excellent, the second one was OK and American Wedding was awful thanks to Stifler. I was worried how the characters would be and especially Stifler because he was overplaying in American Wedding, but he turned out to be one of the best character in the film! It is hard to say who the best character was because pretty much everyone were excellent!

All the guys had balanced screen time which I liked and even Jim's Dad had a big role, and a good one too!

I somehow felt like this film was a satire of the new generation, but a good and hilarious satire!

Overall, this film was extremely hilarious throughout and an absolute delight!

If you liked the first American Pie, you will definitely like this one too, but watch it in the cinema. It is worth it!

I don't know if it was because of the nostalgia of seeing all the actors from the first film again or if it was because of the great scripted and fresh film, but I gave this film a 9/10. Could have been higher, but some parts were a bit disappointing, for example Jessica's and Nadia's cameos!

Tokyo Story (1953)

Simple, but beautiful.

[9/10 · 5 February 2012]

Just watched Tokyo Story.

This was my first film by Yazujiro Ozu. I got captured like after the first 20 minutes. I've been putting it off because of the length and the plot, but I really loved it. It's not visually beautiful, because there are almost no camera moves, but it did fit in the simpleness of the film, but damn, story-wise, it was incredible! It looks like some people were bothered by the acting, but I thought it was fantastic and also natural IMO. The characters were amazing, and I just wanted to knock some sense into the adult children (whose names I've forgotten), because here we have a couple who're going to visit their children who they haven't seen for a long time, but the children don't have much time for them, so their daughter in-law has to be the kind one.

One of the themes in the film, that I really loved were selfishness and also ingratitude. There was one scene that made me realize how very thankful I am to have fantastic parents and made me love them even more, and I hope I won't make the same mistake as the children, because we don't have our parents forever.

There are many forms for art. What I love about art is that it's subjective and can touch people in many different ways. Tokyo Story, is what I call simple but beautiful art.

American History X (1998)

American History X

[10/10 · 6 October 2011]

Film Review American History X is about a skinhead called Derek Vinyard. He brutally kills two black guys and goes to prison for only three years. His brother, Danny, who worships Derek, was the only one who saw him kill those guys, but he didn't testify. In prison he slowly befriends a black guy. This black guy, Lamont, tells Derek that he went for prison for 6 years because he stole a television and accidentally dropped it on the foot of a police officer. Derek realizes that black people and all the foreigners are not treated fairly. He also realizes that what he has been doing is completely wrong. After three years when he's released, he notices that his little brother, Danny, is following his footsteps. Derek teaches him a life lesson and tells him that he's choosing the wrong path in life.

This is an amazing film. The director, the cinematographers and actors did an amazing job. I thought it was a fantastic idea to shoot the film in color and black and white. When you shoot films in color it's to get a more natural image of life and black and white is to express the realism in films. That's mostly used in documentaries and films that are based on real life. Although, back in the very old days, almost every film were filmed in black and white. I also loved the idea of filming the flashbacks in black and white, because Derek regrets his past and the color white symbolizes innocence, which I assume is not the right symbolism in this case, but it does symbolize for some common sense, although black symbolizes something more depressing like death, grief and melancholy.

That's not the main reasons why I love this film. The main reason why I loved the film is the story and the message. The film does an amazing job to show what's right and wrong and the way it builds up to the message is just genius. It's a story of hope and even people who have so much hate in their minds can be flipped.

This is a film that everyone must watch and I hope it touches everyone who watches this film just as much as me, and I hope they learn a lesson for life.

I have seen many films in my life but there are not many films that touches me so deeply like this film. It's one of the best film I have ever seen in my life.

10/10

Snatch (2000)

My stomach hurts! It literally hurts!

[10/10 · 14 December 2010]

Last year I was working on the IMDb Top 250 list, and I noticed that Snatch was on the list, so I decided to take a look at it. I was in Denmark at that time. I live in Faroe Islands.

I stayed at my uncle's apartment, and he told me that you have to watch some of Guy Ritchie's movies before watching Snatch to get to know his movies better, so I watched Revolver. I was not very keen on it and then I was not looking forward to see Snatch.

While my uncle was not at home, I decided to watch it. I wanted to turn it off after the first second, because I thought it was so weird. I'm 14 years old now, and I knew almost nothing about cinema back then, and I had never seen such a movie like Snatch, and it's style! I thought it would be stupid of me to turn it off after 1 second so I kinda forced myself to watch it. To be honest, I actually loved the weird style after 10 minutes!

The cinematography was great. I had never seen something like that before and the editing was just as great too. There were lots of great characters and the script was excellent. It was funny and clever and it will you make you laugh every single second! This movie is like Pulp Fiction. You can almost quote every line! The acting was totally awesome! Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones and the rest were great, but Brad Pitt totally stole the show!

I was thinking to myself "This movie can't be any better!", but then it got better! Brad Pitt showed up! His accent got me laughing all the time! My stomach hurt, it literally hurt, and I got many bruises on my thighs because I could not stop hitting myself from laughing!

This was one of the few movies that I didn't want to end, so I decided to watch it again the next day and the next day after that.

I have seen a lot of movies in my life, but there are few movies that are better than this one! It's definitely in my top 15 of all time.

It truly deserves a 10/10

Mary and Max (2009)

Masterpiece!

[9/10 · 31 October 2010]

To say it short, this movie is about a friendless 8 year old girl in Australia who befriends an obese 44 year old male in New York by writing mails to each other.

I'm not a big animation fan, so I wasn't looking forward to see this movie. I am currently working on the IMDb Top 250 list and Mary and Max just entered the IMDb top 250, so I took a look at it.

I watched it with a small screen on my computer while chatting with someone on Facebook. But then I logged out because I got hooked by the fantastic but sad narration mixed with humor by Barry Humphries, so I watched it with a big screen. Thank God that I did that, because this is an unforgettable and heartbreaking cinematic experience! It got fantastic narration and dialogue that will make you laugh and cry!

PS.There are many scenes that will choke you up, so bring some tissues.

PSS.Don't watch this movie with your kids!

I hope this review was useful!

King Kong (1933)

King Kong - One small step for man. One giant leap for film making!

[10/10 · 25 April 2010]

It's a shame that young people these days, don't know how to enjoy a black & white movie! I'm 14, and I love black & white movies. We saw this movie at school, and everyone hated it. They said it sucked, because it was in black & white, and the effects were hilariously bad!

I disagreed!

This movie is nearly 80 years old, and it's still a hit!

The cinematography is incredibly beautiful. One of the greatest shots of all time is when Kong is on the top of the building!

The acting is fine.

The story is great, but my friends found it stupid. They thought it was unrealistic because there were dinosaurs and a giant gorilla on the island etc.

This movie is entertaining throughout the whole movie! Most black & whites movies got a lot of dialog and long scenes with no editing, but not in this one! There are plenty of scenes in this movie where there are no dialog, but great editing and entertainment!

The effects are so fantastic! Young people may find Kong hilarious when they see a close-up picture of him. But I was absolutely blown away! Imagine that you're in 1933. You go to the movies and you've never seen something like this before!

King Kong is a one small step for man. One giant leap for film making!

10/10

Twilight (I) (2008)

On my bottom 5!

[1/10 · 24 April 2010]

This movie is simply awful! I don't hate it because it's a chick flick. I hate it because the acting was so awful, i just wanted to scream at the television!

The story was so incredibly bad!

There is no character's development, and the characters are so bad!

This movie is a disgrace for vampires!

Are vampires vegetarian? Do vampires go out while it's sun outside? Are they supposed to sparkle? Are vampires supposed to be driving and wearing sunglasses? No, they're are not supposed to drive and vampires do not wear sunglasses, because they're not supposed to be outside on a sunny day! Do vampires eat animal blood instead of human blood? And do they have souls? NO!!

I gave this movie 1/10 because I enjoyed the cinematography!

This movie is a great example of a bad movie!

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

One of the greatest movie ever made in cinema history!!

[10/10 · 14 March 2010]

When I heard about this movie for the first time, I thought it was just a forgettable and funny movie. But I was wrong. I saw this movie last Christmas and I did not find it funny, but I loved it, though! Everything is so great in this movie. The story is amazing. The characters are great, and the character's development is fantastic! the cinematography is grea, and the acting is fantastic. James Stewart was mind blowing. The whole movie is amazing,touching and encouraging. You cannot describe how good this movie is. Nor can you describe how good the message is.

This is the best feel-good movie ever. It's a life changing movie, actually. It makes you feel good to be alive. Do me a favor and watch this movie as soon as possible! When you're sad, think about the message this movie delivers, because you will get a smile on your face! I'm 14 years old. My English is not very good, but I hope this review was useful!

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Hollywood at its best!!!!!

[10/10 · 7 January 2010]

Ellen Burstyn blew me away in this film! This is her best role so far!

This movie is about four drug addicts. They all have dreams, but as dependence on drugs is increasing, their dreams are turning into nightmares.

The acting is phenomenal. The story and how Aronofsky tells the story is just fantastic! The music is extraordinary. The cinematography is amazing! The directing is great. I also love how Aronofsky expresses his feelings without words and body language but with camera!

I've almost seen a thousand of movies and no movie has ever affected me like this one!

Even though this movie is amazing, I warn you: This movie will haunt you for several days!

Mr.Aronofsky has done a great job, if you feel sick,depressed or got the feeling that you're not going to touch drugs, after you've seen this movie! The movie is very brutal,tragic and honest. I hope you stay off drugs after you've seen this!

This is a cinematic masterpiece and a fantastic work of art!

10/10