"You want me to cry? Scream? Say 'Dear god, why me?' That's not me."

Year: 2015

Directed by: Fouad Mikati

Written by: Patricia Beauchamp & Joe Gossett

A small town nurse Miranda is preparing for her blind date, when a man she mistakes for her date rapes her. The man is sentenced to prison, but Miranda's life is falling apart. Then she starts visiting the man in prison to confront him and her fears, but she doesn't leave it just at that.

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I saw the trailer for this film last year and I thought hey, that reminds me a lot of Gone Girl. Of course it's slightly different, for example, Gone Girl is written better. But it has similarities, like Rosamund Pike. Her character seems to be Amy from Gone Girl - again! 

I've read it a million times online and I can now say it myself, the plot of Return to Sender is pretty standard. I don't even usually watch movies where the two main themes are rape and revenge, because they tend to go the same way over and over again. Return to Sender has it's differences, mostly the character of Miranda, who I'm going to talk about later. But the thing is those little details don't matter that much when the plot has been repeated million times. 

The character, Miranda is interesting in a lot of ways. She seems likeable, but it's hard to say why. She has friends and she's a nurse, so clearly there's something nice about her. There also seems to be something off about her. She seems to be very careful about few things. She seems very distant to the viewer. When she starts visiting the rapist, she seems even more distant. We see what makes her go to him, but we still don't know the exact reason. Of course we can guess it, because it's easy to expect that, but still it's very confusing for a moment. The thing about Miranda is that she seems to be this nice nurse but you can't help but feel there's something weird about her. Trust that instinct. But that's what makes her character more interesting - except that she's now too close to Amy. If Miranda had been played by any other actress, maybe that connection wouldn't be so easy to make. Of course she is good at playing this kind of characters. Rosamund Pike is good at being weirdly and calmly scary. 

And the movie is timed very well. It's not exactly a long film, but the weird relationship between Miranda and William kept going for a while, so I almost thought I had figured the movie out all wrong. Well, I wasn't wrong, but making that even that one small moment longer made it feel like wait a minute, what is going on? That's one important thing about structure - you change something in the usual timed structure of the film and it feels weird, because we are so used to that typical tempo.

What's mostly wrong about it is the timing. People weren't over Gone Girl when this one came out, so obviously everyone is starting to compare it to Gone Girl in their heads. And comparing to Gone Girl, Return to Sender doesn't stand a chance.

Return to Sender is worth a watch, if you haven't seen too many "rape & revenge" type of movies, or if you really like them. If you're bored with them, then it's not for you. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

7 / 10

"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone."

Year: 2003

Directed by: Park Chan-wook

Written by: Garon Tsuchiya (story), Nobuaki Minegishi (comic), Park Chan-wook, Chun-hyeong Lim, Jo-yun Hwang, Joon-hyung Lim

Oh Dae-Su is hold prisoner for 15 years, and he has no idea why. When he gets released, he has five days to get his vengeance and find out the reason for his imprisonment.

---

To be hones I'm in a shock right now. 

The story of Oldboy is absolutely horrible. And no, I don't mean it's written badly, I mean the story is so horrifying that after I was done I just had to sit and stare the screen for a while. The only thought in my head is: "What the hell did I just see?" This is the beauty of movies with clever plot twists that actually do surprise you: Oldboy, Primal Fear, Fight Club... I'm sure there are many more, but just making a list would be lazy. The plot twist in Primal Fear is just surprising. It's clever, but the thing is, it's not that bad. while Oldboy... That plot twist is absolutely shocking. And the story is well written even when you don't count the plot twist. The main character's narration gives a lot more interest to the story. The mystery is intriguing, and the writers have a way of keeping the viewer invested in the story. Even when you don't really like Oh Dae-Su, you still want to know why. And even Oh Dae-Su is not really a likeable character, you still wonder if he deserved that. That would be an interesting philosophical debate.

There are a few group fight scenes in this film, and they are excellent. They are well coordinated and enjoyable (or as enjoyable as fight scenes are) to watch. The visual side of Oldboy amazes with how good it looks when it needs to. There were few gore-y scenes, yet nothing too horrifying was shown, so something was left to imagination. Still those scenes keep you on the edge of your seat.

There's always that one problem when watching a foreign film: cultural differences. That's mostly the case with Asian movies. When a character says something you find weird, is it a cultural thing, or is that character weird even in that culture? That problem wasn't that huge with Oldboy though. How many Korean movies have I seen? Not enough, but Oldboy definitely gives a good first impression on Korean cinema. 

Oldboy is a very well made movie. It's shocking, and I'm not sure how good it is when you watch it a second time, but at least after this first time I am astonished - and shocked. I'd love to recommend this movie but I don't know how risky that would be. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

8 / 10

"How could they penetrate security? Same way they always do. Money, sex or God."

Year: 2014

Directed by: Jalmari Helander¨

Written by: Jalmari Helander (Screenplay and original story) & Petri Jokiranta (original story)

Oskari is in the forest, hunting as a rite to adulthood, when he discovers the president of United States, whose plane was attacked. Oskari is the president's only chance to survive the northern wilderness and escape the men after him.

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I remember when I first saw the trailer for this film - it was so absurd. I had heard of Helander before, since he made Rare Exports. I hadn't seen that film, but I definitely liked his style already. But the most absurd thing about Big Game was Samuel L. Jackson. Why would a big star like him star in a Finnish film? Of course I was psyched about it. The idea of the president of United States landing in Finland and being helped by a Finnish teenager was so stupid it was kind of cool. 

Of course the movie isn't completely serious, if at all. It's a Finnish film, but it's so American it's very close to a parody. Yet no matter how funny it is, it's still very thrilling. The plot was very clever because it seems simple until it doesn't. It's still very straight-forward, but it's very entertaining for someone who is into conspiracy plots.

I've heard a lot of complaints about Onni Tommila. Some of them are about his acting skills, some are about his english. But let's be honest, all 15-year-old Finns speak English exactly like that, no matter how bad they want to think otherwise. And for someone his age, his acting is alright. And of course Finnish acting is different from Hollywood. We are much more minimalist with our expressions and such, and that's not just us, it's pretty much all Nordics. I've seen several Danish movies so I'm basing my ideas on that.

Visually this movie was amazing. It was very detailed and very colourful. And the scenery... That was so perfect. And because it was so perfect, it's very obvious that it was filmed elsewhere, in this case, Germany, if I recall that correctly. And the music was also surprisingly good. I don't know what I was expecting.

When I saw the trailer I didn't quite get the idea why Oskari was sent into the wilderness. To be honest, I still don't quite get it. 

Big Game is a very entertaining film. It looks amazing, the story is fun, and it has amazing cast, it has American superstars and Finnish actors and basically many different kind of actors in between of those two. It is definitely worth a watch, and I'm not just saying this as a Finn. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

7 / 10

"Cancer's only in my liver, lungs, prostate, and brain. All things I can live without."

Year: 2016

Directed by: Tim Miller

Written by: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (written by), Rob Liefeld & Fabian Nicieza (character)

A mercenary Wade Wilson finds out that he has cancer. He admits to a rogue experiment hoping it will cure his cancer. The experiment leads him with regenerative healing factor, and he adopts a new alter ego: Deadpool. Armed with weapons and his sense of humour, he starts to hunt the man responsible for the experiment and Wade's disfigured face.

---

Last year I said I hated Avengers Age of Ultron because it was just throwing one-liners at the audience. And yes, Deadpool was one one-liner after another, but Deadpool is different. It has substance where Avengers doesn't. It has a character we've been waiting for so many years. 

The movie is hilarious. Basically the audience got to laugh almost all the time. I think it's almost useless to say that Deadpool was funny, because we have been able to see that from the trailers and the marketing of this film alone.

The story was good. It was very similar to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, to be honest. Wilson gets new powers through experimentation he agreed to, but which turned out to go not as smoothly as previously thought, and then he hunts down the people who did that to him - and of course there's romance. But Deadpool does that story way better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, mostly because it doesn't ruin any characters and other story lines while doing so. Quite the opposite: Deadpool introduces old familiar characters (Colossus) and some really cool new characters (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), and doesn't ruin them. And in Deadpool Colossus has the right accent, because I don't remember him having any accents in the other movies we saw him. Did he even talk in those? I doubt it.

The action scenes were alright. But the thing is, in superhero movies - especially anything related to X-Men - I kind of hope to see a lot of different mutant powers during those fights. Like sure, we might not know who those people are, but the powers are cool. Well, here we had like two villain mutates, and both had pretty boring skills. Of course Negasonic Teenage Warhead - whom I am in love with - pretty much made up for everything else.

I love the soundtrack of this movie. Thankfully it's on Spotify!

Deadpool is kind of like one of those new wave superhero stuff, like Kick-Ass: incredibly violent and filled with twisted jokes. However, comparing Deadpool to anything else than a superhero movie, it's just decent. And of course I have to compare it to my favourite action movie, compared to which Deadpool is only okay.

Deadpool was everything I wanted it to be - it was funny in a lot of different ways, it had enjoyable battle scenes and cool characters. It might not be the best action movie there is, but it definitely beats every Avenger movie there is. It's kind of like one of those new wave superhero stuff, like Kick-Ass: incredibly violent and filled with twisted jokes. Deadpool is worth your money, because ever comic book geek is going to love it. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

7 / 10

"Our love fern! You let it die!" "No, honey, it's just sleeping."

¨

Year: 2003

Directed by: Donald Petrie

Written by: Michele Alexander & Jeannie Long (book), Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan & Burr Steers (screenplay)

Andie is writing an article on how to lose a guy in ten days, meanwhile Ben has made a bet he'll make any woman fall in love with him in ten days. Then they meet each other...

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Last night I was suddenly in the mood for some romantic comedies. I'm tired of saying they are not my style, because I really like watching something this silly every once in a while. It's refreshing. I mostly wanted to watch something because my friend Petra was asking for sappy movies in Twitter, so I thought hey, why the hell not?

I like the idea that both characters are not 100 % into the relationship forming between them, but not for the usual reasons. Both are doing it for their job, but their goals are the opposite. And it's hilarious for the viewer to watch them struggling with what they got themselves into. Andie's driving Ben crazy, but Ben doesn't want to give up on the bet, so he tries to hold on to Andie, which frustrates her. The tension is amazing.

A lot of things in this film were pretty generic. The soundtrack is generic, so are the characters and the structure. But then again, in romantic comedies it's kind of good we can trust the structure to be similar. We don't watch romantic comedies to see an amazing art film, it's for fun and crying your eyes out if you need to. (This one didn't make that happen though.) The dialogue is also very generic, but! There was one specific piece of Dialogue I really enjoyed. It was when Andie and Ben first met.

Andie: Unattached?

Ben: Currently.

Andie: Likewise.

Ben: Surprising.

Andie: Psycho?

Ben: Rarely, Interested?

Andie: Perhaps.

Ben: Hungry?

Andie: Starving.

Ben: Leaving?

Andie: Now?

I love that dialogue! It's so simplified! And that's what makes it amusing. It's also a kind of smart way to show how they are testing the waters. Neither of them is actually looking for serious relationship. Andie is looking for a normal guy she can hook and then destroy. Ben is looking for someone he can make fall in love with him. So why use long sentences when just trying to check if the other one seems alright for the "mission"? 

But How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days is an amusing film. It's entertaining and kind of cute. It's predictable, sure, and the writing is not the best, yet even though it's surprisingly long, it doesn't frustrate you, at least during the first view.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

6 / 10

"Martyrdom is out of style."

Year: 1948

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Written by: Keinosuke Uekusa & Akira Kurosawa

"After a battle with rival criminals, a small-time gangster is treated by an alcoholic doctor in post-war Japan. The doctor diagnoses the young gangster's tuberculosis, and convinces him to begin treatment for it. The two enjoy an uneasy friendship until the gangster's former boss is released from prison and seeks to take over his gang once again. The ailing young man loses his status as gang boss and becomes ostracised, and eventually confronts his former boss in a battle to the death."

- Summary written by Bernard Keane

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I found this film in the local library, and thought I'd check it out for two reasons. Firstly, Drunken Angel is an old Japanese movie. Second, the plot seemed very interesting. The movie just happens to be so slow-paced that most of that plot just flows through. I usually enjoy somewhat slow films, but for some reason Drunken Angel was weirdly boring. Of course it was a great movie, with amazing writing and dialogue, but it just isn't something I like.

The use of music was astonishing. Even if the scenes were slow and it was easy to start thinking about something else, the music made those scenes more intensive, which definitely made me pay more attention.

But it's really hard to say anything about the movie. It is good, that I can say for sure, but somehow it just doesn't stand out as much as I hoped it would be. It blends in. Of course it may have something to do with culture differences - and time difference!

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10