Now I really should get started on that review of the film "Nachttocht", or on the other film "Gutta boys"...or on the rare Russian movie... 4 months ago
Now relaxing, soon I should write the review of "Nachttocht". Or maybe tomorrow or the day after that, I need a vacation! 4 months ago
Now watching the Dutch film "Nachttocht", seems pretty good! 4 months ago
Yeah...! finally got home from work! now having coffee wondering what next film I will watch and review....hm??? 4 months ago
You have most certainly already seen other films about Robinson Crusoe based on the original book by Daniel Defoe (1660-1731, the book Robinson Crusoe dated 1719). This is not the latest, since it was actually made already in 1968 by the director Ralph C.Bluemke (USA) (director of ”I was a teenage mummy”, 1962, ”The kid and the killers”, 1974). However even if it´s rather old, its quality has survived through the decades as being an alternative Robinson-story. The film is centered around a boy about 10-12 years old who is shipwrecked on a remote island. In the beginning he is alone but soon encounters another boy (Friday), who has been on the island much longer and already has been adapted to the environment. If you want you can interprete this meeting between the two boys as ”the modern society meets the unspoiled and natural”. There are some (a few) similarities to the film ”Lord of the flies”, as you are amazed of how soon the shipwrecked boy seems to forget his former life (besides brief moments when memories come back to him and he gets a bit sad). The film is taken place in what many would think of as the natural (?) environment of mankind (including the profound naturistic touch), but still you throughout the film are waiting for ”the rescue” of the boy back to the ”normal” society. This theme is reminding me of the film ”The Genesis Children”. The boy ”Robby” is played by Warren Raum and the boy who plays ”Friday” is Ryp Siani.
This movie is a rather fun coming-of-age story from the US that centers around two brothers, the younger brother with an emotional handicap after a devastating experience in the past and the other completely different and out-going. With the threat of having his brother institutionalized, the older brother Corey (Fred Savage, born in 1976, 13 years old in the film) one day escapes together with his younger brother Jimmy (Luke Edwards, born in 1980, 9 years old in the film), and embark on a journey that will change everything around them. By chance Corey discovers that Jimmy, in spite of his emotional disturbance, has an unusual gift for playing video games, even games he haven´t even seen before. After meeting up with a girl (Jenny Lewis), they start heading for the great video games contest, to be able to prove to the world (and their parents) that Jimmy is an intelligent boy. But the journey isn´t without dangers and difficulties, and in the end everyone perhaps has grown a little (without saying anything about how the story ends). You can find some more info here at IMdB. In summary, this is a warm-hearted family adventure, without some of the usual clichés, and even I (hm..) got some tears in my eyes at one episode….
How about a review of a US Hollywood production? Well, this flick from 1970 represents an era in which there were a little more freedom in the American film industry. A film like ”Hornets nest” would never have been produced in the US today, but could well have been so in for example Italy or Spain. It´s a pity that the best films produced in the US today concerning anything about the genre of coming of age are films like for example ”Dog days of summer”, ”Hotel for dogs” and similar rather lame productions. I know that there are exceptions, but they are few. The story of the film takes place in Italy during the WWII. An American parachute soldier (Rock Hudson) is shoot down by the German troops and rescued by a group of orphaned boys (and one girl) of about 11-13 years old, and taken to their isolated camp in the forest. During the following night they force a female doctor (Sylva Koscina) to go to the camp and help the soldier. After he recovers he gets on with his mission to blow up a dam, thus intending to flood the German military base located downstreams. However this task isn´t so easy to accomplish without involving the kids in the operation, something the doctor is strongly against. Underneath the main story there is the psychological drama of the orphaned children having to have witnessed the shooting of their parents in the beginning of the film. This use of multiple layers in the story, makes it deeper than many US films, that many times have difficulties in getting a single thread going. The children in the film are beautifully acted by very talented boys.
Photo: *****(excellent)
Acting: ****(very good)
Story: ****(very good)
Soundtrack: **(below average)
Total: ****(very good)
The boys:
Aldo (Mark Colleano)
Carlo (Mauro Gravina)
Dino (John Fordyce)
Franco (Giuseppe Cassuto)
Tonio (Amedeo Castracane)
Romeo (Giancarlo Colombaioni)
Mikko (Ronald Colombaioni)
Arturo (Valerio Colombaioni)
Rico (Giuseppe Coppola)
Paolo (Luigi Criscuolo)
This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC. I would like to thank them for supporting my blog by providing the DVD of “Hornets nest” .
Check out lots of other coming of age films at cvmc.net, the oldest movie rental service on the internet – since 1998. Specializing in hard to find & rare films from around the world!
The movie ”Hotel for dogs” has just started to run at the theatres in Sweden, and had its official release on January 16 in the United States. So far the response has been varied, with a median score of about 5 out of 10 in several listings. I don´t know anything yet about the reactions in Sweden. The movie is based on a novel by Lois Duncan with the same name. The story is, in summary, about two orphans, a girl and her little brother who in order to hide their ownership to their dog ”Friday” secretely turn an abandoned building into a hotel for ”Friday” and other stray dogs. Perhaps it´s a kind of analogy to the orphan kids here. Of course the story is highly unlikely and some also say that there are gaps in the story as well. But I guess this is not meant to be a reality drama, just a fun movie for kids and adults with an open mind. When I´ve seen it myself I will give a comment on what I think of it. The main characters, the two orphan siblings, are played by Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin. Down below are some pictures from the film and of Jake T.Austin and an official trailer. I haven´t heard of Jake before, but as you can see in his filmography he has already participated in some other productions.
Born in the same month, the four boys at the orphanage are therefore simply called ”the December boys”. But the boys, Maps, Spit, Spark and Misty, have more in common than a nick name. Without the hope of growing up in a real family, all they have are each other. ”December Boys” is a touching coming-of-age-story about friendship.
A fierceful drama about repressive Catholic priests in a reformatory school in Ireland in 1939. Based on a true story, William Franklin is the new teacher who after bearing witness to the bullying and other abuse of the boys at the hands of their Catholic teachers, attempts to curb the violence by instilling confidence in his students. However, the more he tries to defend the boys the more determined the Brothers become to keep their heavy-handed disciplinary traditions.
From 2001 comes this Spanish film about some boys in a school camp during the civil war. It´s also a ghoststory with many similarities to the Asian film ”Dorm”. Nicely shot and well acted, but rather violent, with escalating tension towards the end. Twelve-year-old Carlos is the latest arrival to Santa Lucia school and is as the rest of the kids an orphan and victim of the war. Carlos gradually uncovers the dark secrets resting behind the walls. But will it be to late?
