Uno (2004)

Aksel Hennie is a recognizable face in Norwegian cinema. Perhaps his most recognizable role stateside is as Roger in Headhunters based on the eponymous novel by Jo Nesbø. Uno is Hennie’s directorial debut; he also wrote the screenplay.

Twenty-something David (Hennie) lives in a cramped apartment with his distant mother, terminally ill father and younger brother Kjetil (Espen Juul Kristiansen) who has Down’s Syndrome. David actually sleeps in the apartment’s storage space, ceding the shared bedroom to his brother.

David spends his days working at a gym with his best friend Morten (Nicolai Cleve Broch). Gym owner Jarle (Bjørn Floberg) would have his hands full with his inept thug of a son Lars (Martin Skaug) were it not for Aksel’s constant interceding to get Lars out of jams. Lars sells steriods and brings guns to the gym while holding on to his dream of becoming a cop (social commentary?). Jarle disapproves of Lars criminal missteps, not in the criminal activities themselves. Lars’s floundering illegal activities thrust David into the crosshairs of real gangsters when Lars backs out of a shady steroids deal with Khuram (Ahmed Zeyan), a deal David helped Lars secure by assuring Khuram that Lars was good for an outstanding 40,000 worth of drugs. When Lars can’t meet the deal, David is on the hook. This follows a steroids bust at the gym when David is faced with a choice that will change his life.

Uno delves into friendship dynamics and betrayal. It’s a character-driven drama and while David is no longer an adolescent, Uno plays like a coming-of-age meets loss-of-innocence meets welcome-to-the-world movie. Hennie gives us clues. The ending has problems but overall, the movie works. There’s even a subplot involving a dog but that doesn’t end well, especially if you are a dog lover.

If you like Uno and want more of Hennie and Broch, check out Buddy, another Norwegian offering starring Broch and Hennie. It’s a feel-good movie—very different from Uno.

Writer/Co-director: Aksel Hennie

Country: Norway

Genre: Drama

Run time: 100 minutes

Scale: 3

Magic Mike (2012)

The eponymous hero is Mike (Channing Tatum), a roofer by day and stripper by night. His goal is to finance his furniture-making business.

Mike and Dallas (Matthew “When Do I Get to Take Off My Shirt” McConaughey) run a growing male-stripper joint with hopes of expanding into a second location.

At his roofing job, Mike meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer) who is 19, aimless and crashing on his sister Brooke’s (Cody Horn) couch. Mike and Adam quickly get bromantic. Mike sets up Adam to become the club errand boy. When the club has a no-show, Mike pushes Adam on stage. He does an emo-boy routine to a funk version of “Like a Virgin.” Unchoreographed and sexy, Adam earns his g-string wings.

The dance routines are big numbers. Channing can dance. His moves are so fluid, he slithers across stage. Watch the Magic Mike trailer for the high notes.

Mike continues meeting obstacles to his dream. The bank turns him  down for a loan. It’s not clear how much he needs and why. With $13K saved, why he couldn’t launch is unclear. He had a friends-with-benefits/ménage-a-trois situation happening with Joanna (Olivia Munn) that he is trying to morph into something more.

The lifestyle of money, parties, women and drugs agrees with Adam while it irks Brooke who blames Mike for Adam’s benders and all-nighters. In the end, Mike’s bet on Adam costs him big in one respect but might be a victory in another.

Magic Mike wasn’t awful. Mike’s journey winds with no real arc but the story has its moments. McConaughey is good as the conniving co-owner. Had the movie delved into Mike’s path and offered some resolution, it would have been more satisfying. Instead, it ends abruptly and loose ends are left flapping. That said, there are rumblings about a Magic Mike 2.

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Country: US

Genre: Drama

Run time: 110 minutes

Scale: 3

Savages (2012)

It’s Oliver Stone. The setting: Laguna Beach, California. The colors are saturated. I can feel the splash of the water and the hot sand. There’s O (Blake Lively) and her boyfriends Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson) in a functional love triangle—the men are like brothers and she is lover to both.

Ben and Chon cultivate and sell one of the strongest pot strains in the world at 33 percent THC. This puts them in the crosshairs of the Tijuana cartel, who offer/compel the two an 80-20 deal (in favor of the dudes) to go into business. Ben and Chon are happy making their lesser millions and refuse the deal. The cartel is relentless. Ben, the philanthropic one, suggests they give up the business. Afghanistan war vet Chon won’t agree, on principal alone. Cartel queen Elena (Salma Hayek) demands the guys be her worker bees.

The trio plan to scamper across the world and live quietly, leaving no breadcrumbs. Before they take action, the cartel with the help of a double-crossing DEA agent Dennis (John Travolta) kidnap O. Savages is the story of getting O back.

Sounds good? There are several problems. The story isn’t original. It goes on a convoluted path that takes eons to conclude. The ending isn’t bad but by that time, I was super annoyed with the whole lot. And, they are an impressive bunch: Benecio Del Toro as Lado, Hayak and Esteban Reyes (oh wait, that’s Demián Bichir from Weeds playing the same character). I liked Hayak as the female helming the cartel. Savages heads in possibly redeeming directions a few times but they are red herrings, never going deep with any of the characters. You get fed what you should think of all of them and they end up puddle-deep and flawed in uninteresting ways. The story could have done better with O and Elena. It was ripe for transference and countertransference what with an ignored daughter and an ignored mother, respectively. Savages lacks tension. Considering the double crossing and guns, it makes little impact on the nerves. You know from the beginning that the trio will never betray one another. Albeit a unique and strong detail, it makes for lousy suspense.There’s narration by O’s character through the movie that didn’t work.

I didn’t hate it but I can’t say I liked it without stating the caveats. In the end, it got an extreme eye roll.

Director: Oliver Stone

Country: US

Genre: Drama

Run time: 130 minutes

Scale: 2.5

Looking for Eric (2009)

An on-going discussion regarding the best movie watched in 2011, Looking for Eric is likely the one. This was a year of excellent movies viewed, including Up, Whip It, The King’s Speech, Mary and Max, Bridesmaids, Beginners, Boy (a very close second), Exit Through the Gift Shop (a near tie with LFE), Fish Tank and TiMER), so why does Looking for Eric stand out?

You experience every emotion as you watch. Looking for Eric delves into depression, camaraderie and friendship, love lost, complicated family issues, divorce, redemption, honesty, new love, violence, sports, lost dreams and discovering you can change a lousy existence.

Our postal carrier protagonist Eric (Steve Evets) is a broken man. Two failed marriages, two unruly step-sons and three decades of regret. Eric keeps his mess to himself, that is until he starts having visions of his favorite footballer—former Manchester United player Eric Cantona. Cantona pushes Eric to revisit the mistakes he’s made and share his struggles instead of keeping them to himself. He encourages Eric to own up, open up and make changes.

This is a complex and layered story as Eric holds onto a huge regret that he cannot surpass. He has a miserable relationship with his two step-sons, Ryan (Gerard Kearns) and Jess (Stefan Gumbs). The only sunshine in his life are his daughter, Sam (Lucy-Jo Hudson), his granddaughter, Daisy (Cole and Dylan Williams) and his favorite team Manchester United and footballer Eric “King Eric” Cantona. As the world conspires to push Eric out of his comfort zone with his step-son, Ryan, his first ex-wife Lily (Stephanie Bishop) who he hasn’t seen in 30 years and a local thug, Zac (Steve Marsh), who threatens his family, Eric will come out transformed but will he find himself and win back his life? (Tip: View with subtitles to ensure you don’t miss any of the good stuff. Otherwise, they speak 2 fast, 2 furious, and with very strong accents.)

Director: Ken Loach

Country: UK

Genre: Drama + Comedy

Run time: 116 minutes

Scale: 5

Cold Weather (2010)

Protagonist Doug (Cris Lankenau) drops out of college where he studied criminal justice and forensic science. He’s back in Portland, Oregon, and moved in with his gainfully employed (though you never learn what she does) sister Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn). Unsure what he’ll do next, Doug secures a job at an ice packing factory and befriends Carlos (Raúl Castillo), my favorite character.

When Doug’s ex-girlfriend Rachel (Robyn Rikoon) visits Portland, the foursome become fast friends. When she disappears, Doug leads the investigation. I liked tagging along as they search for clues and make discoveries in Portland, but the way they determine Rachel is missing is far-fetched.

Cold Weather takes its time (which isn’t a bad thing) but the mystery they solve is underwhelming. It’s not clear much was solved. It ends abruptly and has a feel-good sibling-bonding moment. Gail and Doug relate to each other more like a couple rather than siblings. I enjoyed Carlos and Doug’s friendship. Rachel was the least compelling; consequently, so was her disappearance. They should have explored something at the Star Trek convention instead.

Co-writer/Director: Aaron Katz

Country: USA

Genre: Mystery

Run time: 96 minutes

Scale: 2.75

The King’s Speech (2010)

The King’s Speech blasted into theaters amid so much praise that it begged the question—is it deserved?

The King’s Speech tells the story of King George VI (Colin Firth) of Britain’s sudden rise to the throne and his relationship with a speech therapist who helps him with his stammering. George has consulted every renowned specialist and their cornucopia of treatments to no avail. One day, Queen Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) makes her way to the consultation office of Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Despite the shabby and sparsely decorated office, the confident Logue makes an impression and soon the Queen is there with the King.

The acting is impressive and the character development is rich and nuanced. Firth is believable as a stammerer. Rush is delightful as his speech therapist; I relished each moment of his screen time. So much so that when Christian Bale won the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, I was offended. (Then, I saw The Fighter and understood why it had to go to Bale—not that Rush wasn’t still da bomb, but if you saw The Fighter and Bale’s performance, you know).

Beyond the talent, the story is magnetic and has comedic moments. You have a man who’s stammered since he was a boy. His powerful father who tries to bully him out of stammering. His brother, the ascendant to the throne who wants no part of it. The hesitant man taking over the throne when a war is brewing. The wife who supports her husband through his suffering and believes the stammer can be cured. While supportive, she also challenges him. It’s refreshing to see a strong female royal, wherein you they’re typically depicted as ceding to their more powerful husband or boyfriend.

It must be stated that the the trust that develops between King George and Logue is bromantic napalm. When it ended, I wanted to see it again. The plot moves toward its climatic ending and, when you get there, you know there’s no other way it can end.

Director: Tom Hooper

Country: USA/UK

Genre: Drama

Run time: 118 minutes

Scale: 4.5

Matando Cabos (Killing Cabos) (2004)

This uneven caper film borrows heavily from Quentin Tarantino with some Seinfeldian moments but doesn’t quite pull it off. Feels and plays like an early-in-movie-making-career effort.

Jaque’s (Tony Dalton) boss Oscar Cabos (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.) is also his girlfriend’s father. He recently beat up Jaque after finding him in bed with his daughter, Paulina (Ana Claudia Talancón). Today, Jaque has been called to Cabos’s office. He finds himself locked in as Cabos comes at him with a nine iron ready to pummel him, when an unexpected twist saves him…for the moment.

(Spoiler Alert: Read at Your Own Risk!)

Jaque enlists the help of his bosom buddy Mudo (Kristoff—the Spanish speaking Ethan Hawke) to help him deal with Cabos’s body. Mudo calls Ruben, aka “Mascarita” (the mask) (Joaquín Cosio), a has-been wrestler with a short fuse when called by his wrestling name. Ruben is accompanied by his side-kick, Tony, aka “El Canibal” (the cannibal) (Silverio Palacios). Tony is the small guy (who might be a cannibal) to Ruben’s giant.

Jaque/Mudo/Ruben/Tony are trying to get rid of Cabos’s body before he wakes up in the trunk of Jaque’s car but they continue being sidetracked. On the same side of town, Botcha (Raúl Méndez) and Nico (Gustavo Sánchez Parra) are taking care of an old debt with the help of Lula (Rocío Verdejo), Paulina’s best friend. Botcha/Nico/Lula end up with the wrong body. When forced to take desperate measures, their path crosses with Jaque/Mudo/Ruben/Tony and the situations become more complicated for everyone. For good measure, you also get a cross-eyed bus driver with emotional scars, an obnoxious parrot who alerts the building when the neighbors are home and a unwitting maid dealing with harassing phone calls.

Some gags, dark humor, extreme beatings. Matando Cabos goes too far in trying to shock and be funny. The acting is bland with a few of them barely showing up. There’s too little known about most of the characters—especially Mudo and Jaque. Connections between characters are left hanging in an unsatisfying manner. For example, how are Mudo and Mascarita acquainted? The subtitles refer to Oscar Cabos as Jaque’s father-in-law despite the fact Jaque and Paulina are dating/not married (this may be culturally common, but it causes logistical confusion, as you will see if you watch). How did Botcha manage to find Nico? What is the deal w/ Paulina and Lula?

All that said, the dialogue contains quick-wit, the sets are colorful and festive and I didn’t once think about turning off Matando Cabos.

Director: Alejandro Lozano

Country: Mexico

Genre: Dark comedy

Run time:  93 minutes

Scale: 3

Get Him to the Greek (2010)

Low-rung record executive Aaron (Jonah Hill) is charged with getting his rock idol and infamous drug addict Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from London to New York City for a performance (on the Today Show) and then to Los Angeles within 72 hours for Snow’s 10-year anniversary performance. Aaron is an uber-fan of Snow’s, but has no idea the challenges he will face fulfilling his task. As Aaron is set to depart on his mission, his girlfriend, Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), drops a bomb that puts their relationship on hold.

Once Aaron meets the eccentric Snow in London, he realizes he has no control. Can they survive the celebrity antics, paparazzi, groupies, sycophants, hateful respect and still make the big show? Can Aaron keep a lid on his scorn toward Snow’s last album, African Child? Add to this that Snow is still trying to win back model/actress/mother of his child Jackie Q (Rose Byrne).

This movie is fun with some great party shots. Are there lame scenes? Yes. But, they are overshadowed by Brand and Hill’s chemistry, their bromantic appeal and the furious banter. Brand’s expressions, his delivery and his movements mesh with Hill’s awkward deer-in-the-headlights’ reactions. Kristen Schaal has a tiny role as a Today Show producer. Ellie Kemper (Erin from The Office) has an unspoken cameo—a wasted opportunity. While Moss is fine as Aaron’s girlfriend, Kemper would have rocked it. P.Diddy isn’t going to win an Oscar but he delivers some humdingers. Colm Meaney as Snow’s father is excellent. You even get Lars Ulrich as Jackie Q’s lover and muse. If you saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you know that Brand is reprising his role (there’s a Sarah Marshall/Kristen Bell cameo). If that’s not enough (talking to you, John Kennedy), perhaps you might be swayed by the ridiculous songs, such as The Clap, Ring ‘Round (My Dirty Posy), Beans and Mash, Going Down and Furry Walls. Apologies to those who will watch and hate; I loved it.

Writer-Director: Nicholas Stoller

Country: USA

Genre: Bromantic comedy

Run time:  109 minutes

Scale: 4