Harri reviewed Shadows (1922)

Lon Chaney and Harrison Ford in a Thoughtful and Heartwarming Christian Story

A great part of the thematic content of Shadows, at least at the outset, appears much too Victorian for the film to be exceptionally good as a 1922 feature, let alone survive more than viewable into 21st century. What makes the film longevous, in the end, is its sufficiently profound ethical crux. Good performances help.

This time chameleon Lon Chaney portrays a wise and humble Chinaman (I will argue that the character is indeed not ...

Harri reviewed Koyaanisqatsi (1983)

Introduction to Civilization with a Pinch of Healthy Counterculture

One insightful critic described Koyaanisqatsi as "an alien travel documentary on the Earth". This is a very profound statement, illustrating the genius of the film in expressing substantial content with minimal language. It is actually a good approach to the film to start with the question: what should be communicated of our modern culture and how to communicate it? Koyaanisqatsi can feel like a journey through foreign territory because its cinematography is constructed in a way to make the viewer feel they are watching strange and mystical things, even though the ...

Harri reviewed The Happening (2008)

Are We There Yet?

What really perfects good endings is making the viewer not wait for them. Imagine watching one of the best films ever, one that's moving along so well you don't wish it to end. But as the film inevitably comes to its conclusion, you find the end so good as to make it hard for you to decide whether it was better for the film to end of not. This conflict makes the film even more memorable and longevous. What's happening in M. Night Shyamalan's newest attempt is the exact opposite.

Harri reviewed The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

No, It Won't Stop: The Tudors Will Keep Coming Back

After browsing a couple of helpful and quite critical reviews in advance, I was not exactly disappointed to witness bad history seasoned with even worse dialogue. I have to admit that I rarely have high expectations for Tudor-flicks for various reasons. For one, characters can be awfully flat and one-sided partly due to audiences' preferences and expectations. Also, historical accuracy tends to come out quite uneven: minor details (though not unimportant) such as language, food, architecture, costumes and so on seem to be much easier to get right than world views ...

Harri reviewed The Creation of the Humanoids (1962)

Unexpectedly Successful Science Fiction Despite Obvious Weaknesses

It is difficult to tell who is performing more bluntly in The Creation of the Humanoids, humans or robots. With a mediocre cast and a cliché-driven execution, there seems to be no reason to expect anything categorically better than the average Mystery Science Theater 3000 feature. On the other hand, it hardly demands much attention to notice that there is a reasonable amount of substance behind budget restrictions. So, to begin with, the mostly poor delivery and cheap sets give an initial feeling that the film might have been much better ...

Harri reviewed Firewall (2006)

Mostly Average Hostage Thriller with a Rather Reasonable Storyline

With Harrison Ford having performed the same character type for a couple of times already, one should think he had developed solid methods to deliver appropriate suspense, anxiety and fear, followed with frustration, anger and resolution. In Firewall, he does deliver all of that, with a straight face.
Indeed, the sense of gravity surrounding the security expert Jack Stanfield is almost unbearable at times. Yet it is one of the few things in the film that build up suspense, focus and the sense of presence necessary to make a standard thriller function ...

Harri reviewed Dragon Wars: D-War (2007)

Limping Creature Havoc with Moments of Good Action

With 2001 Yonggary to continue from, one couldn't expect anything else than improvement from writer/director Hyung-rae Shim. Released in 1999, that dragon/godzilla-themed sci-fi attempt was not even remotely impressive in terms of effects and cinematography, the only areas these films can usually hope to receive acclaim. This is where bigger budget of D-War, or "Dragon Wars", really shows and pays off. However, where visual effects have certainly developed, the story has not. As is often the case with these monster havoc films, characters are neither believable nor sympathetic.

Harri reviewed I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Paul Muni delivers an amazing story filled with suspense and substance

Heavily based on an autobiography of Robert Elliott Burns, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang presents an incredible story, which is at the same time bafflingly realistic on various levels. The story is about young James Allen (Paul Muni) who, after returning from war and being eager to start a new modern career as a construction engineer, leaves his secure job at the local factory and travels to the industrial north to find luck. Experiencing the economic frustration of the brief Post-World War I recession, however, he is unable ...

Harri reviewed The Monster (1925)

Quirky, Unbalanced Horror Comedy, Yet Influential and Rewarding.

As one of the very first films in the Mad Scientist genre, "The Monster" presents plot devices and characters that are novel in its day and that will be prominent in later classics. Though not a classic in its own right, this odd gem offers a great deal of entertainment through its characterization, some flashy special effects, speedy action scenes and partially funny dialogue. The humour indeed contains both hits and misses, ranging from blatant to laughable. All of the unsuccessful comedy does not, however, overshadow any of the film's stronger ...

Harri reviewed Sunshine (2007)

Thought-Provoking and Engaging Science Fiction Symphony

Danny Boyle did commendably with his earlier apocalyptic undertaking 28 Days Later, delivering a visually successful and atmospherically involving doomsday ride filled with gory thrills and appropriate apocalyptic gloom. In essence, though, that film was not all too clearly distinguishable from the mediocrity-filled zombie-genre, adding hardly any substance to the early 21st century bloom of end-of-days -cinema.
Sunshine, on the other hand, moves along an intriguing ideological thread that becomes apparent in various forms through the film's characters in their struggle to save the humanity from destruction - here, of course "humanity" ...

Harri reviewed Taps (1981)

Promising Young Actors Shine in an Exceptional Military Drama

Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn in the same film in 1981 is definitely a must-see. Adding Hutton's Golden Globe nomination, great veteran actors like George C. Scott and knowing that these young actors actually share a lot of scenes together, all of them having quite a lot screen time, one cannot really turn down this gem. Hutton's performance is actually good enough to make one wonder, whether his early Academy Award nomination was only thwarted by it being a phenomenally good year for leading actor roles (Kingsley in Gandhi ...

Harri reviewed Starcrash (1978)

A Critic's Mount Everest

It is not often that a critic is left speechless after a film, or, in addition, for a film to have multiple scenes or lines that literally make one's jaw drop. The end credits went by fast, if you know what I mean.
And yet this is a rather catastrophic film, and was supposed to be, according to all the normal indications. One was to expect the whole range of stale space fantasy fiction clichés including gigantic "monster" robots, sword-wielding robots, police robots and a character robot; stop-motion effects, holographic images ...

Harri reviewed When Nietzsche Wept (2007)

The Film Is Something to Be Overcome.

Nietzsche and Freudian psychoanalysis in a motion picture? The medium has been unforgiving to philosophic themes, but this one might work. Yes, I had great expectations immediately, even though some part of me realized the obvious difficulties.
In terms of casting, I did have high expectations about all the major performances. In the background I recalled Cross's successful and powerful work in Chariots of Fire (phenomenal lead) and in First Knight (memorable antagonist), giving me reason to expect a fitting portrayal. I can't recall an exceptionally good role from Assante, but on ...

Harri reviewed Adam's Apples (2005)

This Is Going to Be a Good Day!

Anders Thomas Jensen has with his earlier films, "De grønne slagtere" and "Blinkende lygter", convinced the audience of his scriptwriting talents, especially his distinct sense of dark humour. "Adams æbler", clearly a more ambitious project, is now gaining him recognition as a director with a vision. Apart from merely being amusing and intriguing as a comedy, the film succeeds in communicating a meaningful message to the audience, while being deep and sufficiently complex in its values. Indeed, the film's theme questions our central notion of good and evil without ultimately giving ...