King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastøy) (2010)

Director: Marius Holst. Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner. 120 min. Norway/France/Sweden/Poland. Drama.

The true story of a group of delinquent adolescents who in the early 1900s revolted against the brutal  authority of a correctional facility in Norway. The story may sound repetitious, but I found myself significantly moved, either by the beautiful icy photography, the tragic fate of some characters, or Stellan Skarsgaard's complex character as "the Governor", who continued to be a mysterious but ruthless villain throughout the film. I'm giving this a MoMagic instead of a Mojo, because I want to attract your attention to this obscure gem.

PS: The movie is streaming on Netflix.

Mo says:

MoMagic!

In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)

Director: Angelina Jolie. Cast: Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Rade Serbedzija. 127 min. Rated R. Drama/War.

Angelina Jolie's directorial debut. She has a lot more to learn in the realm of directing. And writing. And probably producing. It's a love story between the two sides of the Bosnian War; but to be more accurate, it's a hodgepodge of a few heart-wrenching violent events that happened during the war, without any logical story elements linking them. The characters' motivations are unclear, and therefore it's impossible to sympathize with them in their perils. Of course, the attractive production elements prove how much money Jolie poured into the project. But she is no filmmaker.

PS: For a much more skillful approach to the Bosnian War, try Michael Winterbottom's Welcome to Sarajevo (1997).

Mo says: 

 

Kwaidan (1964)

Director: Masaki Kobayashi. Cast: Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Takashi Shimura. 183 min. Unrated. Japan. Fantasy/Horror.

Have you ever heard of a "beautiful" horror movie? Or one that tells its story just by lighting, changing colors, or background music? Look no further. Kobayashi narrates four horror stories from ancient Japanese folklore, but this is more an experiment in audiovisual beauty, and how one can manipulate the human psyche merely by manipulating the atmosphere. The first episode is obviously inspired by Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), but the last episode must have been the inspiration for The Ring (2002)'s famous scene (the girl crawling out the TV). The third episode's dreamy river battle sequence is a blast.

PS: Thank you, Hooman, for the recommendation.

Mo says:

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011)

Director: Constance Marks. Cast: Kevin Clash, Whoopi Goldberg (narrator), Frank Oz. 80 min. Rated PG. Documentary.

If you know Jim Henson, if you know the Muppets, if you've watched Sesame Street, or if you've ever been mesmerized by a puppet as a kid (so that includes everybody on planet Earth), ... you owe it to yourself to watch this - about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo. I found myself glued to the screen, blown away by the amount of delicacy in designing every puppet, planning their every gesture, translating every human emotion into moving an inanimate object. If you think this is baby stuff, think again. And Jim Henson? What a loss. What a loss.

Mo says:

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Director: Christopher Nolan. Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Matthew Modine, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy. 164 min. Rated PG-13. USA/UK. Action/Drama.

How can the finale to the great Nolan's Batman trilogy be watched, without having high expectations created by 2008's The Dark Knight? How could Bane, the movie's cool villain, ever upstage the Joker's powerful presence from the last? So be fair; watch Dark Knight Rises in its own context. Opening with a well-crafted slow rhythm, it makes thought-provoking jabs at the Occupy Wall Street movement, and ends in an incredible climax. Ann Hathaway surprises as Catwoman, and even though Nolan has bid the series farewell, he's kind enough to provide a Robin for future installments. What huge shoes to fill.

PS #1: Comic Book Girl 19 rounds it up pretty well.

PS #2: Watch for a cameo by the Scarecrow, the villain of Batman Begins (2005)!

After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet) (2006)

Director: Susanne Bier. Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Rolf Lassgård. 120 min. Rated R. Denmark/Sweden/UK/Norway. Drama.

A Scandinavian working in a poverty-stricken school in India, comes home to negotiate a large donation from a Danish billionaire, who casually invites him to his daughter's wedding. At the wedding, he discovers he's the father of the bride - a daughter he never knew he had. Interesting melodrama, huh? But the movie isn't merely a tearjerker. It takes steps for a broader message, and nicely demonstrates the universality of emotions such as betrayal, love for family, and fear of death. Great acting by the versatile Mikkelsen (the blood-teared villain in Casino Royale). Nominated for a Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar.

PS: This is streaming on Netflix.

Mo says:

21 Jump Street (2012)

Director(s): Phil Lord, Chris Miller. Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube. 109 min. Rated R. Comedy.

I don't understand why I keep doing this. I walk into a movie that I whole-heartedly know beforehand is going to be a long brainless comedy with many cheap laughs (and rare good laughs, mostly vulgar ones), which will never stimulate me to think about any element in the universe for even a fraction of a second. Yeah, yeah, Jonah Hill is a great actor, and I'm his true fan, but that's no excuse to knowingly waste your time, because life is too short. Don't be deceived by the ads and good reviews; you can pass on this one.

PS: How did Johnny Depp get lured into this for a cameo?

Mo says:

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Director: Marc Webb. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Denis Leary, Sally Field, Campbell Scott. 136 min. Rated PG-13. Action/Fantasy.

More of the same ... more of the same. If you're going to remake a movie (that was just made 10 years ago!), you need to improve upon what you already have. Now how in the world were the filmmakers expecting to top the train sequence or the character development of Spider-man 2? Copying the brilliant Dock Ock for the villain here shows how desperate they were. The only captivating moments, were the rare human interactions between Garfield and Stone, and the newly innovated point-of-view shots of Spidey flying through Manhattan. And of course, the hilarious 2-second Stan Lee cameo.

Update: I'm appalled at why this remake was made. According to ComicBookGirl19:  

"The reason is because if Sony didn't make another Spider Man movie soon, the rights to the franchise would revert back to Marvel/Disney, and Sony couldn't have that".

Mo says:

Purple Rain (1984)

Director: Albert Magnoli. Cast: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Clarence Williams III. 111 min. Rated R. Musical.

Merely watched it because of its status among musicals, expecting a corny vehicle that fed Prince's claim to fame in the 80s. But I was surprised. Very similar to 8 Mile, it's about a singer who with all his glorious facade, is struggling with his inner demons, including his extreme fear of rejection, an abusive father, and a downward drift into repeating his Dad's self-destructive behavior. The decent job Prince does at acting brings up the question how much of this based on his own life story. Contains the obligatory singer biography scene where the singer trashes his own house.

Mo says:

The African Queen (1951)

Director: John Huston. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley. 105 min. Unrated. UK/USA. Adventure/Romance.

Why don't they make movies like this any more? Just watching these two immortal stars interact (and Bogie playing so ... against type!) in such a beautiful African backdrop would have been enough to make this a classic. But Houston is as great a director to give you more, including engaging dialogue between Hepburn and Bogart, and comedic moments as a sighing relief. Even though the love relationship between such extreme opposites is a tough sell, and even though the ending is a one-in-a-million shot (literally), still, this is one of those films you need to see before you die.

Mo says:

My Afternoons with Margueritte (2010)

Director: Jean Becker. Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Gisèle Casadesus, Sophie Guillemin. 82 min. France Drama/Comedy.

Pleasant story of a big oaf (Depardieu) befriending a little 95-year-old educated lady in a park, showing how such friendships are possible between such extreme personalities, and how beautiful they can be. But that's all it is: a nice pleasant movie, to relax and watch after a rough day. And what a treasure the French have in Depardieu.

Mo says:

The Omega Man (1971)

Director: Boris Sagal. Cast: Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash. Rated PG. 98 min. Sci-fi/Thriller.

Post-apocalyptic sci-fi with Heston as a Christ-like figure (check out the last shot) trying to save humanity from the results of a biological weapon that has changed the human race to vampiroid light-avoiding zombies - zombies of the fast kind, that is. If Heston was the sci-fi star of the seventies (Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green), then this was his weakest and least thought-provoking movie of the genre. Amazing how lax the movie rating system was in those days, giving this a PG with all its violence and nudity.

 Mo says: