Lolita

A film based upon the classical novel by Vladimir Nabokov.

Plot:

Centers around the relationship between an older man and a young girl.

Review:

The novel has spawned two dramatizations, one that came 1962 and then this one, which came   in 1997. Unfortunately I haven't seen the first one. Vladimirs novel has reached widespread critical acclaim and it stirred quite a controversy back in the day when it came. The subject which it revolves around is still today a touchy subject. That of pedophilia. 

The history or reason behind the "older man" Humbert Humbert's ( Jeremy Irons ) fascination with the "younger girl" Lolita ( Dominique Swain ) is displayed in the beginning, as a flashback moment, wherein a young Humbert is mesmerized by an older girl. In Lolita, later in his life, he sees a spark of that girl and recognizes that feeling he felt when he was younger and in love. 

Lolita is a curious and playful teenager on the verge of blossoming as a young woman. The interaction between these two characters is really fascinating and they both have complex layers. Do not get me wrong here, this is a film about lust. About how your sexuality can completely consume and control you. But this is also not a very blunt film. There is no sexual content thrown in your face the way it usually is in films nowadays. It is a subtle film, in alot of ways. A foreplay, of sorts.

There is a struggle here between these characters that might look like a cats play with a mouse. Lolita always seem to have the upper hand, of being in control, and Humbert quite the opposite. This is something that I feel is being revised, as the film goes. Perhaps Lolita is dependant on Humbert aswell? What she wants or needs from him is necessarely not as easy to understand. Perhaps its just classical affirmation of her worth due to being desired.

Perhaps due to its background in a novel being written quite a while ago, there is a retro feel to it. A film from a different era, is the impression I get, not that its made in 1997. I recommend this to any film lover! 

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Friends with money

Just look at that poster.

Plot:

Woman quits her job and finds herself in an awkward position being the only one in her circle of friends who doesn't have a "career".

Review: 

Looking at the poster and reading the plot makes me quite, shall we say non-interested, in this film. Jennifer Aniston doesn't really help at all, she has done nothing but romantic comedies since the 90's. This is, however, quite a pleasant film. It follows my favourite theme, a slow paced somewhat uneventful film with an interesting dialogue. I also appreciate the fact that it is about people in their mid-lives living day to day and doing all the things we classify as "normal". In films this can seem "uneventful" and "boring". I find this quite exciting.

The main character is Olivia ( Jennifer Aniston ) who seems to have some sort of midlife-crisis where she quits her job as a teacher and start working as a maid. She meets all kinds of strange guys and smokes pot. Her social sphere recognizes something is up but approaches her gently. Franny ( Joan Cusack ) seems to be quite the opposite to Olivia. She is perfectly in balance, or atleast thats what it seems, with herself and everything around her. Christine ( Caroline Keener ) is a scripwriter and works alot with her husband. This seems to be quite the strain on their marriage and the often fight, passively aggressively, through reading the scripts. Quite comical. The last character in the woman quartet is Jane ( Frances Mcdormand ). Jane works as a clothing designer and has quite the temper and her husband's story( Simon Mcburney ) through the film is the question of whether or not he is a closet homosexual. 

The non-dramatic approach is something that I appreciate quite alot. Its also a film of sublety and contradictions. One moment they all seem happy with what they have and then in the other they act out and seem to be quite the opposite. I believe this also has to do with the fact that what they show outwards and how they actually feel about themselves and their lives is two different things. As a consequence of this the characters are actually often times relatable and dare I say life-like. This is at the same time, ironically enough, the number one reason why I think it hasn't reached a big audience or credit.

I strongly recommend this to everyone.

Trailer:

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The kids are alright

Plot:

Follows a lesbian couple and their kids.

Review:

Anette Benning and Julianne Moore plays a lesbian couple, Nic and Jules. They have two kids together, Laser and Joni. ( Played by ) They live quite the average suburban life and all that comes with that. As the kids have grown older they have been more and more interested in getting to know their biological father. They secretely contact him and meet him. They get to meet Paul ( Mark Ruffalo ) who portrays a very laid back and relaxed kind of guy who "didnt think they were gonna use his stuff anyway". He growns his own vegetables and has a restaurant. The two children get quite the split opinions about him but they continue on seeing him and tells their two mothers after a while. This is where things get interesting.

The single biggest issue I have with this movie is something that I expected not to be in it. I do not 

feel like spoiling anything however. Even though I am linking a trailer I do not really recommend watching it because it gives you quite a strange view of this film. This is an interesting portrail of a different family setting that go through alot of the same issues as everyone else does. Its not full of clichees or anything along those lines, the only thing that this has in common with alot of other films in general is the cheating theme, which obviously always makes for good drama.

A big star also goes out to this film in regards to the fact that the homosexual people in this film are not portrayed in an extreme manner. Male homosexuals tend to be portrayed as "flamboyant" and "fabolous" with larger than life personalities. Female homosexuals tend to be portrayed as pretty much the opposite. Neither Benning nor Moore fits into this stereotype. Very refreshing.

Trailer:

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Angels In America

This is my first tv show review.

Plot:

Follows a group of homosexual men in the 1980's New York and the AIDS breakout in the West.

Review:

I saw this show on television when I was in highschool and I was very intrigued by it. When a show, documentary or film is genre-overlapping I automatically become very interested. It may be hard to balance that, which I think is why its so seldomly done, but when they get it right, its an absolute delight. The film Southland Tales is a good example of that, Angels in America is another. This is part play, part drama and part fantasy. And I would also recommend viewing it as such.

We get to follow a couple of interesting individuals who's lives intertwine. Roy Cohn ( Al Pacino ) is a successful lawyer who hides his real sexual orientation and his disease ( AIDS ) from other people. We also get to meet Joe ( Patrick Wilson ) who also is "in the closet" even though he's married to Harper ( Marie Louise Parker ). They have quite a miserable relationship and that has made Harper neurotic and bordering on psychotic and as a result started to abuse valium. Joe has a mother, Ethel and Meryl Streep is doing a fine job of acting in portraying her. in this show. Emma Thompson plays a small but interesting part, but of this I will not disclose further.

Got a few golden globes and I can see why. There are only 2 episodes of this mini series or tv-show which is quite an unorthodox format. I highly recommend it. It has a nice scope and deals with alot of subjects from politics to religion to the nature of our human existence.

Trailer:

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Mysterious Skin

Based on a novel by the same name.

Plot:

Follows two boys who were molested by the same man growing up.

Review:

Despite the heavy theme this is not necesseraly, as you could expect, all that hard to watch. There might be a scene or two that one could define as uncomfortamble but overall it has an interesting and unexpected tone, even humorous at times. Greg Araki is the director behind this   film who came out 2004.

In the 1980's a little-league baseball coach played by Bill Sage is a child molester and both Brian ( Brady Corbet ) and Neil ( Joseph Gordon Lewitt ) become his victims. At the time the two boys are only 8 years of age. We get to follow them in these younger years a short while and then we fastforward to the upper teenage/young adult age.These encounters has has two completely different impacts on these two boys, who are also friends. Neil has a positive attitude towards it and thinks of it as fine memory on how his sexual journey began. Having moved to New York, Neil has continued to have sex with men and has also become a prostitute/hustler. You do not get the impression he is any kind of victim here, despite all of this. 

Brian on the other hand has repressed what happened to him and has had blackouts and noosebleeds as the only rememberance that "something happened", becomes asexual and develops the theory that he was abducted by aliens at a young age. Brian ends up staying in the town the boys grew up in and finds a fellow "abductee" in Avalynn ( Mary Lynn Rajskub ) in which he finds "companionship".

To go on further would probably spoil it. Not being a fan of Joseph Gordon Lewitt myself I was pleasantly surprised to see this film in which he truly does a good job portraying Neil. For some reason it seems like a 90's film. I dont really know why, but it does. It has that toned down quality in which the film doesn't aspire towards achieving some sort of status or appearance. Its "just" a film. 

                                                                           Trailer:

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