vesa-taatila Reviews

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

Slow but for a reasom

[8/10 · 25 September 2022]

I almost missed this movie because of the IMDB-reviews. Thankfully I had nothign better to do so I decided to give it a chance.

It is indeed slow and the notorious sandwich scene is there. However, considering the theme and the setting, the directorial choice can be understood and for me it also works. I am of course in the same age category of the protagonist so that might explain something... it was a pleasure to follow how the ending is set carefully, a realistic step after each other, and the internal logic doesn't fail. Even the very ending follows the development of the character arc.

A few negatives things come to mind as well. The main bad guys are very one-dimensional, represented by their outlook. Secondly, I still find it hard to see any believable acting in Vaughn in any movie.

If you are into slow-moving crime capers, this is worth the time.

Mister8 (2021)

A surprisingly hilarious black comedy

[9/10 · 2 February 2021]

Mister8 was a pleasant surprise. A very dark comedy about an exceptional situation, that could almost be true. In this sense the series reminded me of the Black Mirror.

While most of the male characters are very one-dimensional, they actually fit well into the story, which evolves from a suprise to a surprise. Krista Kosonen makes probably her best performance, and the chemistry between her and Pekka Strang holds through the plot. Absolutely worth watching.

Tove (2020)

Alma Pöysti makes a multi-dimensional role

[7/10 · 17 October 2020]

The story of the formative years of Tove Jansson, the creator or popular Moomin-stories and charactes relies heavily on the excellent performance of Alma Pöysti. She is able to show the inner struggles and uncertainties of the main character, under the pressures of her father, poverty, artistic dreams and endeavours, and two main love interests. The support cast is also mainly ok, and the production values are better than average for a Finnish film. The director is able to play with camera angles and portray the characters in interesting compositions, but the dialogue would have benefited for a bit more work. The movie feels also a bit too long for its story line - some more drama might have been in order. Overall this is one of the best Finnish films for the last years, well worth watching.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Brie takes the center stage

[8/10 · 9 March 2019]

I went to see the movie with very mixed feelings. MCU has produced some excellent movies and a bunch that come from the other end of the scale. After seeing the trailers I was most afraid that Captain Marvel would fall into the latter category. Thankfully I was wrong. To me the movie and especially Brie Larson were able to produce a coherent and a very understatedly funny coming of age -story. Sometimes it felt that the screen writer came from a British school of comedy writers with the subtle and very quick jokes that had considerably more depth than met the eye. Naturally, the movie could have gone deeper to the motivational aspects of the main characters, especially Nick Fury whose backstory this was as strongly as Captain Marvel's. Still, for me the psychological aspects of change were handled much more convincingly than in most MCU stories. The action did not take the center stage which, for me, is also positive. The fight scenes were choreographed quite messily and I still cannot understand, why the ultimately strong character has to take few hits even after it has been proved that she is in different scale with the competitors. The best part, IMO, was the end of the last fight between Captain Marvel and Yon-Rogg. I think that every other major player in the MCU would have needed to prove herself as ordered. It would have been interesting to have Carol Dancers discussing emancipation with Darlene Sweet from the Bad Times at El Royale.

Juice (II) (2018)

Brings out the man behind the legend

[7/10 · 29 December 2018]

Having lived my youth the 1980's, Juice had always existed and was still creating new music. He was one of the (if not The) fathers of Finnish-speaking Rock-genre still active today. Going to the film I was eager to find out what aspect of his life the director had selected as the key message. After the film, I'm still second-guessing myself whether I think he had made the right choice. Juice is a movie of the personal life of an uncertain, vindictive, stubborn, selfish and extremely talented musician. However, the movie also portraits the shallowness of life by making the protagonist a normal man whose struggles are shared with numerous other humans. Juice Leskinen is not made a bigger-than-life character either as a writer, performer or an alcoholic. And there lies my struggle. Humanizing a legend is always a tricky task. While it may convey a true picture, it simultaneously removes the views that are often needed to make a film interesting. This film made a good task in making Juice mortal but simultaneously I started to think why do I want to see a movie about the "normal days" of a rock-legend. Sometimes the legend is made in the films about musicians through other dimensions than the music, but in my in my view this film was able to soften the edge of the negative parts as well. So, I'm still struggling with my overall view. However, two things I know I did not enjoy. His wife's role was written very one-dimensional and did not live up to the expectations. And I still do not understand the reason for the few short clips of Juice's childhood. Replacing them with deeper portraits of his band dynamics or playing longer cuts of his excellent music would have made my experience much more pleasant. The cinematography was very interesting. The movie had an unfocused and grainy feel of a 70's homefilm and that I did enjoy. So, should you go and see? Yes, I think so, but do not expect a legend, neither as a man or a musician.

Utoya: July 22 (2018)

The most powerful movie of the year

[10/10 · 21 October 2018]

I have rarely seen movies this touching and personal. The "one-shot" camera that followed the young people very close made the feeling both intimate and frightening. Some comments have criticiced the film for being too slow from time to time but for me it just increased the feeling of being there. After all, that is for how long the situation developed in real life, and there are moments of quietness also in the crisis situations, It was also a smart move to leave the terrorist out of the focus without even naming him in the end credits. This should win an Oscar in several categories, but sadly it will not.

Rodin (2017)

A beautiful and fleshy story of a human

[8/10 · 21 January 2018]

The film "Rodin" was able to convey a multilayered picture of the life as it is; not always beautiful and smooth, but fragmented and rough. The closer the viewer got to the main characters the moe it was possible to feel their personal agonies. For me, the movie followed very closely the way Rodin presented his sculptures in all their fleshiness. Acting was mainly superb, but for me Lindon underplayed his role. Cinematography was absolutely beautiful and the music fit the overall ambience. I would have liked to have seen a bit more focus on Camille Claudel, portrayed bu Higelin, but of course she deserves her own movie. The ending was absolutely excellent.