eklund-par Reviews

Only Murders in the Building (2021– )

Two out of three

[7/10 · 9 December 2022]

Steve Martin and Martin Short make this show worth watching. Selena Gomez on the other hand is so bad that it's painful to watch the scenes she's in. She delivers her lines as if she read them from a large sign, teeth clenched and staring emptily. It is hard to believe that she would have landed this role if she hadn't financed part of the show. Please replace her in season 3!!! Maybe a small animal could take her place.

Season 2 is slightly better that the first one, so it seems they are still looking for a suitable form for this show. Combining comedy and drama/crime is not an easy genre, but Steve and Martin know their trade.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

Wow. Didn't expect this

[9/10 · 15 August 2020]

I'm not a great fan of Will Ferrell so I thought this was going to be another corny over the top comedy like Blades of Glory. Boy was I wrong. I laughed, smiled and cried my way through this one. Best movie so far in 2020.

Bird Box (2018)

Unexciting

[3/10 · 3 April 2019]

If you've seen The Happening then you basically already seen this one: a group of people trapped in a house with their blinds down. Nature is striking back and trying to kill them. There's the Black Guy (friendly, but eventually doomed), the Asian (innovative but too optimistic), the Old Lady (unreliable), the Old Man (grumpy but goodhearted) and so on. Haven't seen so many clichés in one movie for a long time. Not very scary, unless you find rattling leaves frightening.

The ABC Murders (2018)

Sooooo funny!

[10/10 · 19 March 2019]

This is great stuff! Malkovich reprises his role from the first Jonny English movie: crazy french guy living in the UK, speaking with a hilarious accent. Not even Peter Sellers as Inspector Closeau could say "what's wrööng" like Malkovich does. I couldn't spot Rowan Atkinson though, so I guess he was disguised as that red-haired guy from Harry Potter. Haven't laughed this much in years. Brilliant!

Tony Rome (1967)

Diamonds and Dames

[6/10 · 12 November 2018]

Sinatra is Tony Rome - Private eye, womanizer and wise guy. He lives on a boat and sells his services and oneliners at a cheap rate. As you can tell it's all clichés here but if you enjoy Lew Archer and Travis McGee stories then you will probably like this. You won't love it though. The plot is too weak and Sinatra is a bit too old (52 at the time) to be fooling around with young 'dames'. It seems to me that these movies were mainly attempts to restore Sinatras reputation as a cool dude, instead of making great films. Still watchable, though.

Exposed (III) (2016)

Surprisingly good

[7/10 · 4 May 2016]

I really liked this one. Several different stories cleverly weaved together and the ending is powerful and heart-breaking. Ana de Armas gives a stunning performance as the young Latin girl who only has her faith to hold on to after she loses everything. The movie shows a side of America that we don't see too often, a country where different ethnic groups live very different lives and the culture clashes that occur when their paths cross. My only objection is really the main actor. Keanu Reeves must be the least charismatic person in the history of acting. It's actually embarrassing to watch him. Even the 'Walking Dead' zombies are more alive than he is.

Monsters (2010)

Not bad at all

[8/10 · 30 August 2013]

I didn't have any expectations for this one. In fact I hadn't heard of it, nor its actors or director before watching it. Maybe this is why I felt really positive about it, I don't know. I like to think there's more to it than that. First of all: the acting is not bad as some people claim on this forum. It is however more low-key and realistic than most of the loud Hollywood-style acting we're used to. Maybe that's what confuses some reviewers. The girl looks like a young Cameron Diaz, and she's lovely. The male character is initially a bit loud and annoying but gradually becomes more mature and nuanced. They are both solid and the chemistry between them is excellent. The photo is beautiful (reminds me of Thin Red Line). The monsters are more hinted than shown, but to compare it to Cloverfield is just plain wrong. Monsters is much more 'artistic' and it does not have the intention to scare you senseless. It just proves what you can do with todays technology and a good portion of talent.

Nevada Smith (1966)

Revenge without commitment

[5/10 · 23 August 2013]

I can't agree with those who say that "Hey, Steve McQueen, being 36 and blonde, is perhaps miscast as a young 16 year-old half-breed but it's still a great movie". You may as well argue that John Wayne at the age of 70 could have made this part. Or maybe Sidney Poitier. Well he couldn't. The young boy who loses his parents and has to grow up fast, eventually becoming a killing machine is the key element of the story. If you remove this, there just isn't much left except for the standard revenge scenario. Steve McQueen is so far from his character that he just can't pull it off. And he doesn't even try. In fact he looks mostly embarrassed throughout the movie. And I shared his feelings.

Journey to Shiloh (1968)

Funny but not very exciting

[4/10 · 23 August 2013]

As a political anti-war statement it has its points but as a western, it's quite awful. The acting is cheerful and jolly in the same way as in Bonanza or High Chaparral. The main characters remain smiling and optimistic even when all their friends are getting killed in the war. The guys have 60's style hair and the gals are made up in the same fashion. In fact you feel like you are watching the musical Oklahoma and everybody will start to sing soon, but alas. The film is mostly set in a studio and the battle scenes seem to be from another movie, or a documentary of some sort. It's low-budget all over. James Caan is solid even with the funny hair and Harrison Ford couldn't act even then. It's actually hard to believe that this was made during the same time as Once Upon a Time In the West. I give it a 4 just because I'm a sucker for westerns. Silly.

The Hunting Party (1971)

Better than expected

[7/10 · 22 August 2013]

When you watch western movies from the late 60's early 70's, the quality is very uneven. Some films are spaced-out, sort of hippie-style nonsense while others are highly watchable and very modern. Some are even masterpieces. So, my point is just that you never know what to expect. This one is quite OK, in fact it's better than I expected. It is very intense and qlearly influenced by the Italian westerns in terms of camera work and sceneries. It is a bit too long though, and a bit too violent. There's no real explanation for the behaviour of Hackman's character, so I can't help but feel that it could have been a great movie because there's so much more you could have extracted from this plot.

The Man Who Came Back (2008)

Uninspired and lackluster

[1/10 · 23 January 2013]

It looks like one of those movies shot by a college student using his own back yard as location and his friends as actors. You know: dv camera instead of film, cheap props, too few actors etc. The sad thing is that someone probably invested money in this movie. If you are curious of what once great actors like George Kennedy and Sean Young are doing nowadays, here's the answer. They appear in this kind of garbage. Kennedy seems to be intoxicated most of the time, but Young is sober, but almost as embarrassed as I was. The main character (Braeden) is also the producer, so it's fair to assume that he decided to pay up to realize his childhood dream of becoming a western hero. I didn't know this guy from before, but when I saw him act I understood why. A critic once wrote a one-sentence review on a movie: "The acting is bad, the script is bad and the directing is bad." In this case it's on the generous side. Make sure you have a pillow at hand. You will need it.

Poirot: Three Act Tragedy (2010) Season 12, Episode 1

Not one of the best

[8/10 · 5 July 2010]

It is hard to say anything bad about the Poirot/Suchet films/episodes, since in my opinion they represent TV at its best. Well-produced, well-played and a deep respect for the original work by Mrs Christie. This episode however is not among the best in the series. It strangely fails to exploit the fine scenery and environments and instead has a sort of staged indoor quality to it. Compared to e.g. Death on the Nile it seems almost low-budget. The acting is mostly top quality although the usually brilliant Suchet himself seems a bit uninspired sometimes. The first half is a bit dull, but it gets better. The story itself is perhaps a bit artificial and not among Christies best, and therefore you can't blame it all on the cast and crew.