Don't Forget To Love, part 24 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Seven (1995)

Twenty-four days ago we embarked on a careless mission of consumerism. We hate it, but we can't help ourselves. No one asked us if we wanted to do it this time around, but like lemmings we did what we always do. We were powerless. Victims of fate and tradition. It's the same every year, and so here we are, three and a half week later, and it's the 24th of December, yet again. Christmas day. Unavoidably so.

You see the link to our movie of the day, don't you?

It's hard for me to put into words how much I love Seven. No wait, it's not! I love it with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. It's the best movie ever made. Why? An absolutely fascinating story, both erudite and trashy, as elegant as it is raw and gritty. Absolutely stunning visuals - one of the most beautiful movies ever shot. I could go on for hours, but it's Christmas, so I'm not going to.

Seven is simply a masterpiece. I wouldn't change a frame.

Never ever, ever forget to love it. And have a merry Christmas.

Don't Forget To Love, part 23 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Beautiful Girls (1996)

Willie, a less than successful piano player, returns to his home town, to visit family and old friends. He's at a crossroad in his life. He's about to get married, and by all accounts he's got a great life, but he can't help but ponder how nothing really panned out the way he wanted. Compared to everyone else, though, he's an astronaut.

This Ted Demme movie is an absolute delight of tender nostalgia and melancholia. Timothy Hutton's Willie is our entry point, but this is really an ensemble drama full of well-observed little characters, played with absolute conviction by a great group of familiar actors. Everyone gets their moment, and no one steals the show.

Still, my favorite scenes are the ones between Hutton and Natalie Portman. She plays the 11 year old girl who lives next door to him, wise beyond her years, and the two of them have a connection. So sweet. A real heartbreaker. In fact, this whole film is just heartbreaking.

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 22 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Natural City (2003)

With only a few days until Christmas now, it's time for us to take stock and remember all the important things. The good moments in life, however small. Let's do that with this fantastic Korean science fiction action movie.

We're somewhere in the future, in a dark hopeless world, where cyborgs have become an integral part of society. We follow an elite soldier, "R" (played by Yu Ji-Tae of Old Boy fame). The love of his life, an android named Ria, will expire and die in 78 hours, and she's already falling apart. Meanwhile a renegade combat cyborg has his own sinister plan...

Ostensibly a ripoff of Blade Runner - both visually and thematically - this film nonetheless succeeds where Ridley Scott's influential masterpiece fails, on the emotional level. The story is kind of heartbreaking, and in that respect (if nowhere else) a lot more satisfying than watching Harrison Ford not act.

(You can read a longer review here, if you have nothing better to do.)

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 21 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986)

To me, this is the real Robin Hood! Forget the Disney version, forget the Costner thing, this is it! I remember cozying up in front of the TV watching Robin of Sherwood when I was a kid. One of the few exceptions to the "no TV during dinner"-rule.

I guess this is kind of corny by today's standards, but that's just part of the charm. The tempo is fairly mellow, and they get a lot less done in a 50+ minute episode, than a modern show will manage in a 42 minute episode, but I don't care. A perfect Robin (Michael Praed), the best Marion ever (Judi Trott), and a charming band of merry men (including a baby-faced Ray Winstone) keep me entertained. Also, the inclusion of black magic, forest spirits, and other supernatural elements keeps the show fresh and interesting. Robin is not just a nice guy. His fate is tied to the Sherwood forrest in a way I haven't seen in any other version.

Fans of the series are in for a real treat, as the show has received the royal treatment on Bluray. The original 16mm film elements have been restored to their former glory, and even though the result still pales compared to modern HD material, it's safe to say that the show has never looked better - Even back when it was brand new.

The series is available from Network in England in two box sets. The first box covers series one and two, featuring Michael Praed as Robin of Loxley, while the third and final season gets its own box. They each run 13 episodes. The special features include audio commentaries, documentaries - with the restored film-clips added - original scrips, outtakes and hundreds of stills. This is hands down THE best treatment of an older TV shows I have ever laid eyes on. Magnificent.

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 20 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

The Killer (1989)

This John Woo movie is one of a handful of titles that paved the way for Asian action cinema to be accepted by western movie geeks. Chow Yun-Fat plays the hitman who accidentally blinds a nightclub singer, and feels duty bound to step into her life and help her out. On top of this he must take on a local gangster, hellbent on revenge, with dramatic bloody consequences.

The Killer is a stunning example of the power inherit in the heroic bloodshed genre. The blood-soaked acrobatic gun-play here is matched only by the over-sentimentality of the love story. It simply doesn't get any more schmaltzy than this.

I saw Hard-Boiled (1992) before I saw this, so I was well prepared for John Woo's outstanding action sequences, but I wasn't ready for the tragic, melancholic mood of The Killer. It sounds a little wrong to say this, in light of the body count, but Hard-Boiled was fun, it was a ride. There is nothing amusing about The Killer. This is one gunfight where you'll need more than an unending supply of ammo. You need Kleenex as well.

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 19 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Shameless self-promotion time! A few months ago I recorded an unofficial audio commentary for Young Sherlock Holmes with my fellow podcaster Dennis Rosenfeld.

The movie is from 1985. It's produced by Steven Spielberg. It features visual effects by Industrial Light and Magic. In other words, this is perfect example of a '80s movie - by now you'll have noticed that I have a certain affinity for those. The movie is also a great example of a high-concept story: How did Sherlock Holmes and Watson meet? How did they become friends? And what was their first case?

The beautiful snow-covered London setting will instantly transport you to a different time, and you'll have no trouble buying the two charming leads (Nicholas Rowe and Alan Cox), as the younger versions of the popular characters. Director Barry Levinson interjects a wonderful sense of energy into the proceedings, too bad he never did anything quite as adventurous again.

Never forget to love it. It's elementary, really.

PS: Download the commentary track on this page.

Don't Forget To Love, part 18 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

The Replacement Killers (1998)

It's a little strange, but when all the great Hong Kong action directors came to Hollywood, they seemed to lose the signature style that made them special in the first place. John Woo came close to replicating his style with Face/Off (1997), but the one director who truly captured the Hong Kong style and put it in an American film, was Antoine Fuqua, a music video director no one ever heard of.

The Replacement Killers was Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat's first English film, and even though he struggles with the language, he is still very eloquent when he lets his twin guns do the talking.

What really makes the film work is the unusual decision to pair Chow with Mira Sorvino. She was no action star, but she slips so easily into the part you would think she had never done anything else. The emotional core this duo brings to the film is stronger than it has any right to be, considered that this is a fairly pedestrian revenge story, barely 90 minutes long.

There are so many fantastic moments in this film, so many perfect shots, such a great mood, and the "She Makes Me Wanna Die"-montage still gives me goosebumps

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 17 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Nikita (1990)

Luc Besson is another one of those directors we've just lost. I mean, he just stopped making good movies, but in his early days he was a force to be reckoned with, and Nikita might be his best movie.

There are two parts to this film's success. The first one is the character of Nikita, possibly the most iconic female assassin ever put on film. She starts off as a screaming mad dope fiend, then she's broken down to a frail little bird, and finally - of course because of love - she's reborn as complete human being. Mad probs to Anne Parillaud for her unflinching portrayal of the titular character.

The second part of the equation is Luc Besson's flawless filmmaking. I absolutely adore the look of his earlier films, he could really shoot an action scene back then, and name another filmmaker who can use wide-angle shots this effectively. He lost his filmmaking abilities after Léon (1994), but it was great while it lasted.

Nikita is a modern masterpiece. Nothing less. And the ending still makes me cry. Yeah, I said it.

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 16 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Under Pressure: Making The Abyss (1993)

The Abyss (1989) is one of my favorite movies, but I am well aware that many people don't share this admiration, and I will also freely admit that the final sequence of the film is dangerously close to being unintentionally funny. Be that as it may, The Abyss is still a fascinating production, and any film geek should know about the making of the film. This is where Under Pressure comes in.

Under Pressure is not a full feature length documentary, meant to have a life of its own, it only plays 60 minutes and was always intended merely as bonus feature to accompany the actual film on DVD, Laserdisc, VHS or whatever format is in style.

The documentary shows exactly how difficult it is to make a big, complicated, tech heavy Hollywood film. It makes no attempt to gloss over any of the production problems, the escalating budget, or the fact that director James Cameron isn't exactly what you would call "a people person". His ruthless dedication is frightening, but it's hard not to marvel at his passion, precision and attention to detail. Love or hate The Abyss, but never forget to appreciate the astonishing amount of work that goes into a film like that.

If you only ever watch one special feature, watch this one. Or the uncut footage of Pam Anderson semi-nude on a swing from Barb Wire.

Don't Forget To Love, part 15 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Lifeforce (1985)

You have to wonder about every single decision that went into the making of this film. Who found the novel The Space Vampires and thought "Gee, this'll make a swell film that everyone will love, let's spend a fortune on it"? Who thought it was a good idea to hire the guy who directed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), but was apparently usurped by Spielberg on Poltergeist? Who hired Mathilda May to walk around and pretend she was an alien trapped in a human body? A naked human body, mind you!

Well, whoever made these decisions.... I BOW TO YOU!

Lifeforce is a fantastic film! Part space movie, part alien invasion movie, part zombie movie! All madness, all nonsense, all good! It's full of fantastic '80s visual effects, grotesque special makeup effects, and to top it all off we get long lingering shots of Mathilda May's perfect nude body! Did I mention the epic score by Henry Mancini? This must be what heaven is like (you know, sans the lifeforce-sucking-part).

Lifeforce is a preposterous film on every level. And I love everything about it.

Never forget to love it.

PS: If you don't already know this film, and my mad ranting has somehow convinced you to check it out, be sure to watch the extended version, which runs 116 minutes.

Don't Forget To Love, part 14 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Goodfellas (1990)

Ray Liotta plays the lead in this epic story about the rise and fall of real-life gangster Henry Hill. As much as I love The Godfather (and I do love it), I must admit that it glorifies the gangster world in many ways. Goodfellas does the same thing initially, but slowly the story shifts. It becomes dark and nasty, and it gets its hands dirty on a completely different level. When all is said and done the gangster world is suddenly not as alluring any more.

Some people claim Martin Scorsese is the greatest living director. It's hard to agree with that unless you ignore two-thirds of his filmography. Having said that, this is a masterpiece. A perfect film on every level.

I always point to this, as a film to watch if you want to learn how to make movies. It's got it all: Drama, humor, romance, action. Explosions of raw violence, mixed with gorgeous montages, set to period song. The rhythm of the music, the camera moves, and the sound creates a unique flow, unmatched by any other film. It never ceases to amaze me how some filmmakers fumble their way through a film, when there's a perfect instruction manual is available in Goodfellas. All you've got to do is watch and learn. You can't be a serious filmmaker unless you know it by heart. It's that simple.

Never forget to love it. I'm not asking.

Don't Forget To Love, part 13 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Groundhog Day (1993)

Karma. It's a bitch. For Phil Connors more than for most people. Bill Murray plays the utterly unpleasant weatherman who must relive the worst day of his life over and over again, until he gets it right.

This movie is in tight competition with Ghostbusters for being the best thing Harold Ramis and Bill Murray have ever been involved in. The film derives most of its humor from Murray's perfect dry delivery of his pompous lines ("ALL the long distance lines are down? What about the satellites? Is it snowing in space?"), and those signature repetitious scenes, but what makes this one of the best comedies ever written is the deeper story. The story about redemption, self-sacrifice, and - to put it less eloquently - the story about not being a jerk. Oh, and finding true love as well.

Watch it, re-watch it, and watch it again. Laugh until you puke, but never forget the phrase "it's funny, 'cause it's true". It was never applied more appropriate to anything than to this film. Bing!

Never forget to love it. Again and again.

Don't Forget To Love, part 12 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The idea itself is inspired: Cartoons are shot just like regular films, and the cartoon "actors" live among us. They have their own laws of physics, and even their own town. Add to that one of the most charming animated characters ever conceived: Roger Rabbit, a crazy, frantic, infuriating, lovable creature - and admittedly a hotchpotch of familiar cartoon characteristics. Wrap the whole thing in a gorgeous, nostalgic '30s setting and a dime novel detective story. That's how you make a movie!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an unstoppable, impressive, hectic ride. An explosion of creative filmmaking! Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Steven Spielberg produced, and managed to secure the rights to several classic characters from various studios. Industrial Light & Magic provided the brilliant visual effects, and director Robert Zemeckis reached the zenith of his career.

Incidentally, don't forget the three Roger Rabbit shorts, released theatrically with other Disney films: Tummy Trouble (1989) (with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990) (with Dick Tracy), and Trail Mix-Up (1993) (with A Far Off Place). These are available with the feature film on DVD.

I was sad that they never made a sequel back in the day, but now I hope they never will. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a unique film, it deserves to stay that way.

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 11 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

C.R.A.S.H. (1984)

I apologize to non-Danish readers for this, but it's time for some serious childhood nostalgia. Back in 1984 Danish TV launched a weird series for kids. It was created by Carsten Overskov, and told the story of the boy Birger, who discovers that his room can fly. All the way into space! He immediately ends up in the middle of an intergalactic crisis. A mad genius wants to take control over the universe, and he's got an evil plan that involves a black hole.

This show had it all: Space ships, robot soldiers, a space station on the edge of a black hole, a girl with humongous boobs, and more visual effects than in any other Danish TV production before or since.

Back then I was already a huge Star Wars fan, but I had also begun to take an interest in how visual effects were made, so I watched with bated breath as the 1 hour behind the scenes documentary carefully explained how they created the show. I went to an exhibition of the actual models used for the show, and I was building my own versions of the space destroyers out of LEGOs. Good times.

This show probably won't impress new viewers, but I don't care. Back then it BLEW MY MIND. I don't think I ever quite recovered.

Never forget to love it, assuming you knew it in the first place.

PS: The show can (for the time being) be watched online at dr.dk.

Don't Forget To Love, part 10 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

The Tom and Jerry Shorts

I'm not a cartoon aficionado by any stretch of the imagination, but I love the old animated shorts, like Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies. I've noticed something, though: Every Christmas I seem to bring out my Tom and Jerry DVDs.

I've got plenty of other classic cartoons in my library, but I just can't watch more than a couple of Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck shorts, before I want to smother myself with a pillow, I'm indifferent to Donald Duck, and Road Runner is just too damn repetitive, which I guess is part of the joke.

Tom and Jerry, on the other hand, I can watch nonstop. Every short, one after the other, without break. Maybe it's because they rarely talk, or maybe they're just more varied? Whatever the reason, these characters are gold and every Christmas, like clockwork, I give my DVDs a spin. You should too, so you never forget to love them.

PS: It sort of goes without saying, but we're talking about the Hanna-Barbera shorts, none of the other ones count. The images below are from one of these, Sleepy-Time Tom from 1951.

Don't Forget To Love, part 9 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Deep Rising (1998)

The location may be posh - a brand new cruise ship on its maiden voyage - but throw in a group of up-to-no-good bandits, plus a deadly underwater creature, and this perfect example of a modern B-movie begins to take shape. Treat Williams is perfection as the reluctant hero, while Famke Janssen is deliciously foxy as an unsuccessful thief, and their in-the-heat-of-battle-romance is irresistible.

Director Stephen Sommers keeps a relentless pace going throughout the film, so you don't have time to think about how utterly ludicrous the whole idea is, and before you know it the film culminates in an awesome cliffhanger ending, which some people still don't get is a joke.

Even though the creature is created through computer animation, special makeup effect guru Rob Bottin was brought in to design the thing, a fantastically gross abomination, responsible for the film's most memorable moments

"Full scream ahead" the poster announces. That's true, but you'll be screaming with joy. So do that, and never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 8 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Epidemic (1987)

Before Lars von Trier lost his ability to make films, he made three of the best Danish films ever made: Element of Crime, Epidemic, and Europe, known as The Europe Trilogy. Epidemic is the only comedy among them.

It deals with two writers - the actual writers Trier and Niels Vørsel - who must come up with a script for a film in a few days. They chose to tell a story about a deadly epidemic, which we see clips from during the film, while - unbeknownst to them - a real epidemic breaks out in the real world.

This is a new level of metafilm. It's almost incomprehensible unless you're a film nerd and know a little about screenwriting, but if you do it's funny as hell. I've showed this film to friends, and while I was rolling around on the floor reduced to tears from laughing, they were watching the screen with a completely bewildered expression on their faces. Which just makes me love it even more.

This is an utterly unique film, in every sense of the word. For that reason alone, you should never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 7 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Third Watch (1999-2005)

Cop shows and medical dramas are a dime a dozen. There are literally hundreds of TV-shows about the brave souls who try to keep our streets safe and our bodies in one piece. These series come in all shapes and sizes and many of them are very good. In spite of this Third Watch felt different and special. It wasn't just the fact that it covered both police, firefighters and paramedics. Right from the raw title sequence, featuring "Keep Hope Alive" by The Crystal Method, you got the clear sense that this was a show that wouldn't pull its punches.

Through a wide variety of stories, combining all three divisions, Third Watch was never afraid to expose its characters as deeply flawed human beings, unforgivably so at times. We could never be sure they would all make it home alive at the end of the day, the series killed of enough regulars along the way to make us afraid, every time a beloved character stepped fearlessly into another life and death situation.

Highest praise must go to the actors, especially Kim Raver, as the divorced paramedic Kim, who was both fragile and bulletproof. Bobby Cannavale starred as her partner Bobby, whose untimely departure provided the single most heartbreaking moment of the series. Skipp Sudduth played the jaded officer Sullivan. His season 3 and 4 storyline featured Roy Scheider as a Russian mobster - his best work of the last 15 years of his career. Jason Wiles' breakthrough was in Beverly Hills 90210, but you wouldn't know that from watching his portrayal of the headstrong Officer Bosco, who could only be tamed by his older partner Faith, played by Molly Price. I could go on.

Strong characters, strong stories, beautifully shot. Not to be missed.

Never forget to love it.

Don't Forget To Love, part 6 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

Home for the Holidays (1995)

Holly Hunter plays the woman who returns home for thanksgiving with the family, a yearly ritual loathed by everyone involved. So why keep doing it? It's tradition, it's family, and because we have to.

"I'm giving thanks that we don't have to go through this for another year. Except we do, because those bastards went and put Christmas right in the middle, just to punish us."

This is a christmas film for me. Yes, I know, technically it takes place during thanksgiving, but the trials and tribulations of this particular family will be familiar to anyone, regardless of the holiday. We've all been at one of those family gatherings full of stories you've heard a thousand times before, plus some new ones you wish you hadn't heard.

This film brilliantly captures a family who has been through this ritual many times before, and seems to have reached a breaking point. It mixes tragedy and comedy to create a perfect experience, which is both funny as hell, and surprisingly poignant, sometimes in the same sentence. Quite a feat. It's tragic and heartbreaking, weird and wonderful, with more truth in one scene than you can find in all the holy books in the whole world.

Never forget to love it. At a distance. The family, I mean.

Don't Forget To Love, part 5 of 24

Welcome to the Single-Minded Movie Blog advent calendar. Between the 1st and the 24th of December every day will bring you a short post about a film or a TV-show you shouldn't forget to love.

The X Files: Fight the Future (1998)

The second, third and fourth season of The X-Files gave us some of the most outstanding TV ever produced. By the fifth season, though, the series was losing its steam. The carefully constructed mythology story started to crumble, and became increasingly silly. This feature film was supposed to change that and revitalize the show. It didn't. Instead it became the absolute high point of the whole franchise.

The small-screen story was beautifully expanded to fill the big screen, and my favorite of the series directors, Rob Bowman, took the helm and created a convincing, fast-paced conspiracy-action-thriller, with some spectacular set-pieces. The bombing of the FBI building is still a stunning sequence even by today's standards.

I wish they had just kept the show on the big screen from then on, with a new feature film ever other year. Instead, The X-Files fizzled out culminating in a spectacularly underwhelming second feature film. Too bad.

Cherish the past. Enjoy the present. Fight the future. And never forget to love The X-Files.