A dangerous Method, 2011

A dangerous Method, 2011
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen



Stage: Kino Šiška, Liffe


A dangerous method in short: In his latest film, the iconic director David Cronenberg goes back in time to the dawn of of psychoanalysis. A look at the intense relationship between the fathers of psychoanalysis, Jung and Freud, and their patient to whose charms they both succumb.


On the eve of World War One, Zurich and Vienna are the settings for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, the film takes a glimpse into the turbulent relationships among fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein – the troubled but beautiful young woman who comes between them. Their personal exploration of sensuality, ambition and deceit drive Jung, Freud and Sabina to challenge and forever change the nature of modern thought.




Preps: Well, apart from relationship Jung/Freud, I don't know much other things about this piece. But I am eager to find out.



Reality: The movie strikes me with its energy which draggs me into this world of Jung and Freud - from its beginning to the end. I am thrilled to see how scientists once exchanged their ideas and how once life was. Writing letters for real, not emails as nowadays. Seeing each other once per a month or even longer. Having a relationship for the sake of a marriage and kids, on the other hand, having mistresses and letting everyone know you are pure and prudent.

Plus, an excellent way to describe the turbulence between two friends, in some cases caused by two dividing paths they chose to take, sometimes driven by Sabina, a deluded woman, excellently played by Knightley. I was excited to see her in an unusual not Hollywood-like piece and she did an excellent job. The mimic she used to depict the illusions and horrors inside her soul is extremely good and it gives me shivers. On the other hand, I am sure she must have done hell of a job just trying to get under the skin of this role. I am surprised how well the three characters interact with each other and the viewer can almost smell the fear and anxiety when they show it, can feel the love when it's on the stage and can most definitely take position in disputes Freud and Jung have between each other. The sexual analysis that Freud is pursuing can be a bit annoying (you cannot explain everything in sexuality, or can you?)

What is real love and is something you have at home (just for the sake ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif being there and make you a man to admire, because you are a family man)? Do you take what's on the plate in front of you or do you stay clean in front of yourself? This is one of the dilemmas, depicted in this movie and not solved in favour of the young Sabina. She is betrayed, although deep inside aware that she cannot have more than just a romance. On the other hand, Jung doesn't want to get involved, yet he gets involved and he regrets it on the outside, on the inside he would repeat it in a second, and so he does. The love story is sad, because both parties get wounded and not find a way out to make both or at least one happy. As Trier would said.. no true love unless you suffer greatly.


My personal rate: 9.0 (a splendid piece, filled with documentary facts and things that will make you think about this long after you leave the cinema).


A dangerous method on IMDB

Circus Fantasticus, 2010

Circus Fantasticus, 2010
Director: Janez Burger
Cast: Leon Lučev, Ravil Sultanov, Daniel Rovai




Stage: Kino Dvor, local theatre


Circus Fantasticus in short: A man stays alone with his children in a half demolished house in the middle of a desolate field. His wife has just been killed by a grenade in a military battle. He is expecting a new attack. Instead a wandering caravan called Circus Fantasticus stops by the house. They bring along the dying director of the circus. Is it possible for anything beautiful to happen in a landscape of war and death? Can life go on? Is it possible to realize that death does not exist?


Preps: I need to see the first silent slovene movie after a looooong time. And I admire Burger's work all in all, one of the most talented slovene artists of all time (or directors). Besides, I don't know anything about this and it's supposed to rock slovene movie scene to its grounds.


Reality: The movie's first scene is breath taking, as you follow the devastation of a war in a family. You don't really need them to talk at all, but the deep feelings they are showing in their faces or with their body language, goes beyond belief. The war, taking place in.. well, in this case, it's not important. It is not placed in time and space, you don't know what it derives from and what they should be fighting for. The movie specifies the consequences you are faced within a war, followed up with some inserts of everyday fun, that comes handy in the time between. The movie is actually serving as a critic to all wars, that are happening or were happening. The lack of speech in the movie shows uneffectiveness of words and big speeches in the wartime. And our life is continously shaked by some dramatical actions. The arrival of the Circus Fantasticus drives changes in the main man (lead) role. The changes in life, conflicts that he has with himself, are distributed through the relationships he establishes with the new neighbours.

The circus as itself could be interpreted as a strong symbol of the people, that are observing the war, not understanding its point and path. The dance between two artists and the tank could be a subsymbol for the things just stated. There are a lot of metaphorical sub-understandings in this movie, left to the interpretation of the viewer, because they are not put into words. You need to read between the lines here, as it is with every book where the blanks must be filled by the reader. The piece leaves a powerful strike of sadness and a feeling that we are just silent bystanders, with no chance to influence bigger fluctuations in our lives (as a war definitely is). The mocking of the tank would be in this sense mocking of the living nation to the brave polititians that urge to get wars to see their decisions living the reality, but after striking a war, they are safely put in their offices, and people are left with tanks and afterwards, the distruction, that war brings.

A subtheme I sense in the movie is also a dramatical impact of the dead that want to say goodbye and younger people (or artists), that are more sensitive to the things "beyond" - so they can sense even dead people or interpret their movements, behaviour, etc. Bringing out the last performance for the main director of the circus as a farewell story (and him leaving afterwards), would probably mean, bowing to the life and having a decent walkaway (comparing to the indecent you are given when being a part of war and being blown away).

The moral maybe would be also in leading a life afterwards. Bringing memories to their right places and leaving with optimism. You can leave the past behind, but you will never forget it. Certainly.





My personal rating: 8,0 (it will make you think about your values and what is the purpose of speech.. what are the words meant for and what do they bring)


Circus Fantasticus on IMDB

Critic about Circus in Slovene newspapers..

Don't say a word, 2001

Don't say a word, 2001
Director:Gary Fleder
Cast: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Famke Janssen


Don't say a word in short: When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret...


Stage: Home TV selection
Preps: None in perticular. The movie catches my eye while lying down after a hard day. It seems familiar, although I cannot verify seeing it yet.


Reality: I am a deep fan of the genre, in its best it fits the needs of my curious soul. The kidnapping of a child and combining it with a psychologist as a father and Douglas's energy seems like a good recipe for victory, from the director's perspective. It doesn't go too deep into revealing the secrets that the kidnapper have, however it maintains a thin red line between the beginning and the end - the precious jewel that the kidnapper wants to take his hands on.

The story inbetween (Douglas chasing his daughter) is just some sort of filling. The real thing lies in the revealing of a secret of a psychotic young woman (brilliantly played by Brittany Murphy) and finally the turnover at the end, when you think that everything is won by the dark side.

The kidnapping part seems much more harder to believe (and the means to getting to the young woman with a secret by Douglas)than the mere idea of getting the stone and not thinking of the means used on the path to get it. The movie is a decent replica of many of the kind (or more accurately, one decent in a line of many decent movies in this topic, like Taken, for instance).

A lot of action, changes of scenery. Some dialogues put very poorly together, the monitoring of the wife of the shrink put to perfection (in this sense, not very believable). A good Saturday evening choice, to my opinion. It will set your feelings on tension until its very end.




My personal rating: 6,5 (a pretty decent psychological drama, just adequate to fit the needs of a good evening. Douglas in his best age and act)



Don't say a word on IMDB

Frozen, 2010

Frozen, 2010
Director: Adam Green
Cast: Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers




Frozen in short:
Three skiers are stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life-or-death choices that prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death


Stage: home cinema

Preps: I have seen the plot and the movie sounds interesting. No special expectations nevertheless.


Reality: The movie kicks off with a live skiing resort ideal world of three persons going for the Sunday skiing in the local resort, at its third it is broken down to a static sequence of them being stuck on the mountain for unknown period of time, forgotten on a ski lift. Sounds believable, however the main fact that the degrees on the ski resort are below zero makes it hard to believe they would even survive a night, yet alone the complete week.

The script makes the spectator even laugh a bit about the dreadful situation, however, a tiny approach of the director to make something dynamic about the things young people share with each other or even evolve some stressful situation results this "being stuck on the ski lift and very likely to die from" situation offers.

None of this happens. After a good half of the movie I don't want to look at it anymore, because nothing really happens. The scenes are prolonged beyond belief, the movie lacks energy and some believable moments. The one good attempt would be being eaten by the wolves - this makes the movie a bit more interesting again and puts this situation into another perspective. However, it also accuses the young people being stupid - making them jump without thinking from the ski lift is one good example of this.
The story also lacks some background. Surely the three persons would be filed missing and being searched by their parents, therefore I strongly doubt this could be a real situation. It could be a good reminder to ski fans, though, not to exploit working times of ski resorts- in the end after some thoughts I can also see it this way. And the ironic, dramatical moment - would the girl live normally? I suppose she would froze the first night.


My personal rating: 3,0 (some highlighted moments and the start made it easier for me to follow at least until its half. Apart from that, do something else. Not worth your time.)

Frozen on IMDB

Inception, 2010

Inception, 2010
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo Di Caprio, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine



Stage: Local theatre, third row :)

Inception in short: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception


Preps: After screening for several weeks now and all my friends almost went to see it already, all of them thrilled and excited, after reviewing some of the excellent critics, my mind is set to experience something beyond borders and am so anxious to see it. I don't care anymore if I go on a child show (in terms of hours of seeing this piece), I definitely need to see it. I don't care even sitting in the third row.


Reality: Inception means the beginning or creation of something.From Latin inception-, stem of inceptio, from inceptus, past participle of incipere (to begin).

In this sense the Inception implies returning to one's roots and implementing an idea into someone's brains on the shore of his/hers subconscience - dreams. Therefore a spooky thing to think about - if you can hire people to do it, make you dream and enter your alter reality you can see only in your dreams.

The movie is an absolute upgrade to anything I have seen so far. The idea / scenario fresh as it can be, absolutely stunning effects and the perspective for the viewer definitely makes your eyelids wide open and your mouth filled with saliva, wanting more and more of this. Two hours and a half of action, changing scenery, making impossible possible - the viewer is sucked into the center of the action which never stops.

All the turnovers amaze, unexpected action when you think there isn't any action left, wrestling on the walls and physical aspect of time floating - as you enter each level, the time slows down, same as it goes in the animal kingdom with the life expectancy or height perspective.

The music is so powerful it enhances each moment of the movie. The cast is superb and exclusive - seeing Di Caprio in yet another supreme role he plays after Shutter Island makes me impressed in every possible way. Imagine the mixture of Matrix, Memento, three best science fiction movies you have ever seen, Mission Impossible, and several others and upgrade them for five levels in difficulty of scenes, impressive scenario, absolutely fabolous photography and cast - there you go, you have Inception.

To imply at least one drawback of the movie - I mentioned Mission impossible - like in Matrix, if the viewer doesn't accept certain facts or physical stuff that seems to be beyond understanding of an average person - well, then you might have a problem tracking this. The mathematical idea - you get it in general, but not in details. In terms of understanding, how this can be even possible. The director never shares with us what stands behind the Architect, but maybe this is a topic for one of the sequels.

The viewer is left in doubt, what is the reality. The symbol / totem Di Caprio (Cobb) uses to determine dreams from reality never seems to stop at the very end of the movie, which would imply that he's still left in one layer of his dreams. And in Nolan's style - makes you wonder philosophically, what is a dream and what is reality. The same way as in Avatar or Matrix - some aspects of one's dreams can be so tempting, you never want to leave them and would sacrifice everything just to live there where you cannot.

Nolan scores big time with this piece. One of the best movies lately or shall I say ever. However, I need to see it several times (funny, had the same idea with Memento or Matrix). The movie is so rich that in my opinion you can watch it several times and each time discover a new perspective. A MUST to see, definitely.



My personal rating: 9,8 (it's not a perfect ten for me, as I seem to be not so clever as I would like to be and don't understand the different physical and mathematical levels on which the movie operates. So I am satisfied with a general overview and I accept everything. The same thing as happened with Matrix when you watch it for the first time. But definitely one of the better movies I have ever seen, worth seeing several times).



Inception on IMDB

Looooots of details on Inception on WIKI


Inception Home page

Shutter Island, 2010

Shutter Island, 2010
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo di Caprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley



Scene: local cinema/Colloseum

Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Drama/Psychological Sci-Fi

Short synopsis: Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island


Preps: One of the hotties right now at the movies. Some of the people I do give a damn about their opinion thought it was good. Well, I got the chance to see it in the movies, so here it goes.


Reality: I am somehow impressed by its half and dissappointed by the second half. The beginning is good, but as predicted, I saw it on the powerful trailer. Two cops investigating a murder on an island, full of mad people in a funky institution. With hystorical tools, as the scenery is from 1954. Classic story, which I like to follow, because I adore cop investigations in a movie and psychological moment gives me a drive. Also, the flow goes on smoothly (with the story)

Right in the middle, I am puzzled, the movie loses me. The halucinnations that Teddy has, are just too much. Ok, he has them, but do they have to be one third of the movie? I start to feel a bored itch in my shoulder. Such a shame because of the good beginning. I never got to see how the hell the lady went out of her room :)

The turnover 15 minutes before the end is amazing. I kept wondering whether all of this was in Caprio's head or not. What really happened and how it happened, was it all a governmental trap or something. Anyhow, in the last round the movie offers a new dimension, for which my personal rating just exploded from prior maybe low 4,0 to a solid 8,0. Absolutely great. I just love unexpected turnovers, especially that all you have seen so far was a fragment of your imagination and Di Caprio just fits into these roles. I subconsciously think of The Beach, where he also diluded into one of his fantasies, at that point due to pot, this time due to.. I wonder what. And this is what made this movie again a good one and worth seeing again.

By the way, you will hate the institution. You wouldn't even want your mother-in-law (in case you hate her) there, yet alone think about being treated there. Spooky indeed.



My personal rating: 8,0 (the twist made me change my mind and I believe I should see it again, as I believe it might be worth it. Will skip the middle, I think, or fast forward it for a bit)



Shutter on IMDB
Shutter official site

Deadline, 2009

Deadline, 2009
Director: Sean McCornville
Cast: Thora Birch, Brittany Murphy, Marc Blucas


Deadline in short: Alice, 32, a writer recovering from a psychological breakdown retreats to a remote Victorian house to convalesce and focus on completing her screenplay in time for a fast approaching deadline. Shortly after her arrival, mysterious noises and strange happenings cause her imagination to run wild, sending her on a twisting and terrifying pursuit to find out what is behind the endless mind games.




Stage: Home theatre, the third one in the row. Had to be brilliant at least to catch my attention


Preps: Also a movie I don't have a clue about. I just got it somewhere and it was in a row of all those that seek my attention.


Reality: It drags my attention, as the cast shows up. Murphy, isn't this the girl that died just a few months ago, young and healthy? Well, the history proves that the work of someone that just died, can trigger interest or more interest than ever. I am inspired right away. The story is somehow good, the house is old and the saying - Old houses are like old people, they cry in pain, I love it. And it's the perfect scene for a horror.

Pursuing the original thought, I await anxiously to see something HItchock - like or even close. This one isn't even close. But it has some good turnovers and some good changes of the time and space. You float from reality (Brittany) to the past (Thora) and I love the way Brittany finally takes over the role that Thora Birch (Lucy) had in the past. Even has her dress and wears her jewelery.

Apart from the psychological aspect, the movie can be a bit boring, it loses my attention in the middle, but gains and repays in the end. Not a bad attempt, although a very american and Hollywood - praiser.

The idea, that loneliness drives you mad is perticulary highlighted in the movie. It reminds me of The Others (see it, a very good one!), The Shining (even more brilliant - Jack Nicholson's one of the best ones). I couldn't agree with it more, here it isn't evolved in a way I would buy it. And it turns out the horror is in flesh and bones. I would prefer it in a ghost shape :)



My personal rating: 7,5 (yes, a re-make. Yes, an attempt of horror. But I love the ending. Made me doubt about the whole essence and think about it all over again. And yes, it proves that music or lack of it makes the horror, not the actors or act itself.)

Deadline on IMDB
Official (Myspace) Site
Britt on Wiki