Måns Lindman has seen the following films during January 2023:
The Little Things (HBO Max)
Denzel Washington, Rami Malik and Jared Leto in an intricate hunt for an elusive serial killer sounded like a million bucks and exactly my cup of tea, but this was pretty risque if the truth be told, and it must be understood. At times a shameless parody of True Detective. Melodramatic acting, sometimes bordering on parodic, mixed with scenes where the least possible effort seems to have been the watchword. Strange characters without any personal chemistry. Also, over two hours long, for absolutely no reasonable reason. John Lee Hancock has apparently been sitting on the script since the 90s and it shows. There is much that is out of date in this roll and there must have been a reason why no one wanted to touch it until now. No, there must be a severe drought in the supply to have to dig up an old fossil like this.
X (Viaplay)
Ti West’s horror film, which is in many ways a homage to bygone times, when horror films were sleazy B-rolls, happy porn and slashers in one and not extravagant Internet phenomenon with its own hashtag was actually not so stupid, Clearly exceeded my expectations, which were not particularly high, admittedly, but still. But it’s clear, after a bunch of child-approved rolls in the genre, it was a relief when X landed on Viaplay. In contrast to the mentioned sweatpants, it was a full spray right away. Rock hard, brutal, hysterical but at the same time not without either tension or humor. Here you got the whole package, a couple of weeks after Christmas, and it was tough.
M3gan (Cinema)
And it was precisely the children’s allowance in the M3gan. The horror film that was admittedly soft and filled with greedy bait, adapted to tickle the taste buds of the TikTok generation but still managed to be thoroughly entertaining. Somewhere under the child-friendly surface, there was something here, ready to go wild, and if you had followed a more child-prohibited line, I am convinced that it could have been senselessly sleazy. The AI doll, hiding a real person, was as creepy, well-coiffed and irrational as you’d want it to be, but instead of qualifying as an evil successor to Chucky, M3gan was better suited as a relationship drama. Which sounds absurd in text but that’s how it was.
This is an ad:
André Lamartine:
Avatar: The Way of Water (Cinema)
Yep. There was a second round of Space Smurfs directed by James Cameron. While I wouldn’t categorize Mall of Scandinavia’s big screen as an Imax, it’s the closest I’ll get to Cameron’s dreamy paradise planet and the fact remains that it’s one of the most spectacular action movies I’ve ever seen in theaters. It’s pompous, clichéd and immensely entertaining – everything I could want from a pure popcorn roll! Way of Water is magically beautiful and the effects are so realistic that you often forget you’re watching computer-animated space cats. I think it may very well be a third cinema visit…
The Son (Cinema)
When The Father director Florian Zeller returned with the second part of his trilogy of plays, I had expected greatness, but The Son – which flopped pretty hard – was stiffer than expected. Hugh Jackman did his best and the film was packed with hard feelings, but there was just something that didn’t quite land with the drama. It all felt very much like a play, but in film format, play films have a tendency to become cheesy and The Son is unfortunately no exception. However, it is a film that makes room for lots of discussion, which at least makes it worth watching if you haven’t seen the play.
You People (Netflix)
I’m pretty picky when it comes to romantic comedies, but like to be pleasantly surprised. The Netflix flick You People is a good attempt to refresh the romcom conventions, but despite wanting to say a lot about culture clashes in a more modern way, the film ultimately said very little as the film lacked credibility and flow. A few fun scenes and an Eddie Murphy in top form unfortunately didn’t save the Jonah Hill movie from mostly being one of the many romantic comedies you’ll scroll past on those Netflix nights when you can’t decide what to watch.
This is an ad:
Marcus Persson:
The man from Mallorca (Blu-ray)
There has been a certain emphasis on Swedish classics this month. Not least thanks to Studio S recently delivering a whole bunch of beautifully remastered Blu-rays of films that were previously only available in potato quality. The man from Mallorca was first released in January and is of course based on GW Persson’s debut novel Grisfesten. The parallels with the political scandals of the 70s are clear and Bo Widerberg’s thriller is still so lovely, stripped down and raw in its appearance with magnificent performances from the who’s-who among Swedish actors of the time. Sven Wollter, Tomas von Brömssen, Nina Gunke and many others make this what is still one of the best police films in Swedish history.
November 30th (Blu-ray)
Søkarna is indisputably one of the most loved Swedish films from the early 90s, but I think that far fewer people remember Daniel Fridell and Peter Cartier’s love drama that premiered a few years later. With Göran Gillinger in the lead before he had his impact in the TV series one four for three, the 30th of November offers an unusually accurate framing of the social climate in the mid-90s. Immigration, integration and skin skulls are mixed fresh with youthful love and the ever hairy Gillinger is still excellent in his role as Adam. The script is effective and still touches today despite parts that, for better or worse, are clearly rooted in and are a product of the views of the time.
In the name of the law (Blu-ray)
More charming clip with Sven Wollter and Stefan Sauk in the lead. Yes, it’s hard not to snuggle up in the warmth of the couch with pure nostalgia when Kjell Sundvall invites us on a wonderfully provocative and violent journey into Stockholm’s underworld. As with The Man from Mallorca, in the name of the law it was also based on one of Leif GW’s many novels and is a wonderfully intense thriller that is just as engaging today as when it premiered more than 30 years ago. Also, now having the opportunity to see the completely newly restored version is nothing but pure pleasure. Hats off to Studio S for the work they put in here and the extra material with excerpts from the TV program of the time where the film is discussed is a time travel like no other.
Henric Pettersson:
Alone (Blu-ray)
I’m a sucker for kidnapping stories on film. Watch most anything I can get my hands on, whether it looks good or bad. Alone is a film I’ve had on my “to see” list for a long time in which a newly widowed woman is kidnapped by a cold-blooded man. However, the man in question is careless and the woman manages to escape, but since he had imprisoned her in the middle of the forest, she has a long way to go to safety and the kidnapper is hot on her heels. An incredibly exciting film that is even based on the Swedish film Försvrunnen. It must be said that Alone becomes quite predictable and does not stand out very much from other similar titles, but still offers a pleasant movie experience.
Nope (Blu-ray)
I loved Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out. Us, on the other hand, was nowhere near as good (although it offered decent entertainment). Nope, on the other hand, didn’t look very interesting beforehand, but since I loved Get Out, I naturally had to check it out. At the end of the month I therefore took the time to look at it and this is undoubtedly Peele’s worst film to date. I honestly don’t understand any of the praise and think the film was just one long sleeping pill. From beginning to end. Right now it’s starting to look like Peele is just going downhill and I’m no longer impressed by his name. I just hope that it will be better next time, even if then I will be hugely skeptical.
Bullet Train (Blu-ray)
It’s not often you see a movie trailer and think you have to see it immediately at the premiere. That’s how I felt when I first saw the trailer for David Leitch’s Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt. Now, of course, there was never a premiere for me, but I haven’t looked forward to the film any less because of it. And it was an okay movie. Certainly nowhere near as amusingly open as it looked in advance, but it would probably have felt good to be 25 minutes shorter. Least. Because even though I liked the action scenes and the well-written characters, it got a bit tired at the end with the mafia. Okay popcorn roll. No more no less.
Petter Hegevall:
M3gan (Cinema)
Sigh, sigh, sigh… I don’t understand anything about the chorus of praise that screamed hoarse over the brilliance of this mindless reel. Making the Evil Doll in 2023 with a dancing girl-child robot could have worked if it hadn’t been made for children, with an 11-year-old age limit and with deliberately forced forced viral moments squeezed in only to be cut down in various trailers. I liked pretty much nothing about the M3gan.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney Plus)
Political ideology and recycling of old mannerisms and already told nonsense story was what was shoved down my throat when I looked through the latest junk signed Marvel Studios and I can only state once again that it only gets worse and worse, this. It is so noticeable that Marvel’s film factory no longer revolves around respect for the source material, creative joy, richness of imagination and ambition, but only (only) about money.
Autumn legends (HBO Max)
The narrative structure of Edward Zwick’s iconic family drama is hopelessly messy and, unusually, Hopkins overplays, especially in the film’s final act, but it never bothers me, because Legends of Autumn is like a journey. Like a little adventure. And I’ve probably seen it five times in the last five years, to be completely honest. This type of epic drama reel with extensive photography and grand storytelling is very rarely made today, and that’s why I’m more than happy to take an extra look at Höstlegender.
What have you seen during January 2023?
