The Intern

I liked this one. A good solid 4/5 stuff, nothing life-changing, but it was a good movie regardless in many aspects. In the centre of it stands Jules, played by Anne Hathaway, a business woman who started her own start-up and became insanely successful. On the other side of it we have Ben(Rober de Niro), a retired pensioner who misses something in his life and therefore joins a senior internship program and ends up working for Jules Ostin in her start-up about online-shopping.

I like the idea of a movie about re-introducing old people into the work force. It's an idea EU politicians  keep talking about and it's nice seeing Hollywood go at it. I think it was pretty fresh.
I liked that they didn't make Ben out to be with some stereotypical old senior who sees a computer and then takes three days to learn how it is turned on. He caught on fast. Don't get me wrong, there are seniors who are hopeless at learning anything new anymore, but these aren't the people we should encourage to get back to work. Ben wasn't hopelessly behind of anyone, he was a man of his own era, classy and gallant, but he still fit into the workplace and every accepted him and I liked that. It was an awesome collective. I would like to work at AboutTheFit.

I also liked the fact that it was in bits pretty relatable to anyone who has ever been an intern and listened to other people's experience. Sitting around on that first day trying to think what are you supposed to do? Yep.

I also liked that this movie didn't desperately try to be "that movie that shows old people can really be part of society". It did that, but managed to look like it wasn't trying. It did seem a bit like those movies that "show that women can have a successful career and a family, but also it's really hard for them. Poor women." I feel like that was emphasized a bit too much, yes, it was a huge part of the plot, but the dialogue had a bit much of that "You go girl! You are a strong independent woman!" stuff. You know, Really stating it. So that it's really really clear the movie is addressing that problem?

All and all it was a good fun film. There was a lot of good humour. A couple of really dumb sex jokes too, but I have learnt that sometimes you just have to accept those in an American film. I liked the ending too, although personally I would have never forgiven Matt. Cheating is one of those unforgivable things for me, but it was Jules's choice. At least nothing weird happened with her and Ben. Oh! On that note - it's nice to see a movie where the male and the female lead are just friends.

The next films I hope to get a post done on our American Ultra and Ricki and The Flash. I have seen some really interesting Japanese films too, but as I can barely post on everything I see in the cinema I think I'll limit myself to that.

Inside Out - Pahupidi

English

There are certain times when I feel as if cartoons are really wasted on children, because as the movie ended the kids next to me that had been running up and down the corridors still had no idea what the character's names were - for Christ's sake. There were the most obvious, simple, logical, names ever! Joy, Anger, Sadness, Disgust and Fear. For some reason I feel that all of the kid's stuff I see lately is not only more fun likable than the movies for adults, but also carry a deeper message.

The film had those moments that you find easy to relate to, perhaps more so when you're older and have already seen a thing or do. It also included plenty of intelligent jokes, clever, witty solutions and ideas that takes a bunch of imagination to come up with.

While Joy is a pretty generic main character, she's happy, means well, likes adventures and is pretty brave, she's also a bit egoistic and narrow-minded. Like every proper main character she too lives through some good character development, but regardless Sadness is still by far my favorite. Not because I'm a particularly melancholic fellow. She's caring and more willing to listen. She's also....smart, spending a lot of her time reading, she knows a lot. If it came down to a choice between her and Joy to be my friend I'd choose her and not just because I don't think I could keep up with Joy's endless enthusiasm and energy. Fear is also weirdly charismatic. He also seems a bit more clever than the rest. It's interesting to note that Disgust is also associated with girly things like fashion, girlfriends and make-up. Just because she's a girl? It was also fun to see into the heads of other characters not just the main girl, Riley. All that's left is to hope that Pixar won't ruin this masterpiece by giving it a million sequels.

Eesti Keeles

Aeg-ajalt on mul tunne, et multikad on laste peale raisatud. Eriti kui need lapsukesed, kes pärast filmielamust ikka veel ei tea oma joogitopsi peal olevate tegelaste nimesid. Rõõm, Kurbus, Viha, Hirm ja Vastikus - lihtsamaid ja loogilisemaid nimesid on raske välja mõelda, kuid paraku tegelesid pisikesed vaatajad küll rohkem mööda koridori jooksmise kui filmi vaatamisega. Pole midagi teha, film oli pikk ja isegi Pixari filmikompanii maagia ei suutnud seekord põngerjat ekraani külge naelutada. Minu täieliku tähelepanu osaliseks sai linateos aga küll. Üldse tundub mulle viimasel ajal, et lastele tehtav kraam ei lähe mulle mitte ainult paremini peale, vaid on ka sügavamõttelisem.

Filmis oli küllalt selliseid stseene. mida elust enesest ära tunda, võib olla just siis kui oled juba mõnda aega elanud ka. Samuti piisavalt intelligentseid nalju, leidlikke, tõeliselt head kujutlusvõimet nõudvaid lahendusi.

Kui Rõõm on üpris klassikaline peategelane, selline heatahtlik, rõõmus, seikluslik hakkaja, kes on ka pisut egoistlik ja liialt piiratud vaateväljaga, siis minu lemmik tegelane on Kurbus. Mitte sellepärast, et oleksin kuidagi väga melanhoolne tüüp, aga kui peaksin valima kumba neist kahest endale sõbraks tahaksin, valiksin ilmselt Kurbuse. Kuigi Rõõmuga kaasneb nii lõbu kui ka...noh, rõõm, siis Kurbus on küll enamuse ajast masenduses on ta ka hooliv, hea kuulaja ja ...tark. Erinevalt Rõõmust on tema plaanid läbi mõeldud. Ilmselt ei jaksaks ma ka Rõõmu pideva ülevoolava energiaga sammu pidada. Kurbus on seega sügavam tegelane, kelles on peidus tarkust ja mõistmist. Kuigi ka Rõõm teeb läbi peategelasele kohase muutumise jääb kurbus minu lemmikuks. Hirm tundub samuti veidralt sümpaatne. On huvitav, et Vastikus on seotud ka naiselikke mõtetega moest, meigist ja sõbrannadest. Kas lihtsalt sellepärast, et Vastikus on tüdruk? Tore oli ka näha teiste inimeste, mitte üksnes peategelase Riley peas toimuvat. Jääb üle vaid loota, et Pixar ei tiku seda meistriteost veel kümne järgneva osaga rikkuma.

Minions

Now I've heard a lot of things about this one. I read a review and heard some comments and while they all seemed to agree that while it was quite good it really wasn't that good and I think part of that is hidden in the fact that people have the mentality that the first movie is always the best and from there on it goes downhill. It doesn't have to, you know and I could write a whole seperate post about sequels. Maybe I will. It's a topic I'd like to touch.

The following text contains spoilers!

The bottom line is - I liked it. If it had been a first part of something I might not have seen it, because I might not like minions by the look of them, but because I already know them - I did. I didn't have to be disappointed. The narration as it started off with was a bit long and I would have liked them to at least try and tell the beginning without words. It might have worked.

I liked the Villain Con  A lot. It brought forth fond memories of the cons I've been at. I liked the family of friendly villains. In general I love it about this franchise that tries to show evil people as nice guys with a peculiar hobby. I'm not sure how correct that is, but I've seen cartoon villains like that myself as well.

I liked Scarlet too. I think the era was right for her to be the first female baddie. Had it been 21st century - well - bit not good. I liked that she was independent and yet had a loving boyfriend. I was pleasantly surprised they stayed together. I liked the jokes for adults. It seems everyone did. It was nice that the movie had some intelligent humor in it as well.

I missed Gru and I kept hoping that a young him would show up! And he did! The movie ended exactly as I had thought it might and for once I wasn't annoyed at the fact, because it was exactly what I had hoped and left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside. I think it's hugely important how a movie makes you feel and leaves you feeling after your done. It doesn't have to be Oscar-worthy - if it makes you feel good inside - Go for it!

JAFF post - As Gods will - 神さまの言うとおり

I love going to Japanese Anime Film Festival every year and this year I only got to see two movies and neither of them were an anime ironically. I'm not sure if I'll write about the other one. Not because I didn't enjoy it - quite the opposite I did, but because I feel that I may not be qualified enough to comment on most aspects of it accurately.

The movie at hand however was a perfectly good Japanese horror film and if you like the way Japanese do their scary stuff you will like this too. Now some say that Japanese like to use a lot of psychological horror and while that's true this film also has a lot of gore for those of you who are into that kind of stuff. Compared to your average horror flick where a group of young people try to escape lots whatever dangers that follow this movie is more clever. Running and hiding won't save our heroes and classical survival skills are of very little use. They need to use their brains and be witty. Whether the sort of dangers they face are twisted or weird is up to the viewer to decide. I suppose they are very unconventional, but the writer here prefers nesting dolls and polar bears to whatever natural disaster Americans might have them running from. Then again - are catastrophe films same as horror films? I'm not sure, I guess not...tell me in comments?

When I should describe this movie without giving much away I would say that it feels like a strange mixture of Hunger Games and Happy Tree Friends. Hunger Games, because it has this bunch of kids who have to participate in games in order to win a chance to - well live. It's much less like Happy Three   Friends, but it's the only series I know that I can create a parallel with. It has those adorably funny and kind of cute characters at times that do things that are so incredibly creepy and horrible, while still remaining kind of cute. There are good laughs here and there and then there are things that will test your tolerance levels.

The plotting is good and it has a lot of great twists, some of which went fully unexpected for me and some I could sort of get the general direction of, but that still surprised me as well. It's thrilling and captivating as well as pretty creepy and scary at points.

Oh and I feel the need to add that the ending however went over my head. I was really confused about what the moral of the story was and whether there was a God or no. But maybe it was meant that way. Also I didn't get the otaku guy. Who was he in the end? Why was he? Anyone?

Eestikeelne postitus tuleb siis, kui mul selle kirjutamiseks isu tuleb, aga kui seda aega ei tulegi võite rahulikult inglise keeles lugeda... kui saate ja oskate. Kui ei oska, siis ütlen lihtsalt lühidalt, et film on vaatamist väärt kui verd veidi välja kannatad ja põnevus meeldib.

Vehkleja - The Fencer

English

(Since this is an Estonian movie the posts for Estonian and English readers may be slightly different due to the differences between cultural backgrounds and the fact that Estonians simply know more about Estonia. I try to keep them more or less similar through)

All right. Cards on the table. It doesn't happen every day that I get to play a small part in a huge production. In fact it has never happened before the production of "Vehkleja". So this will be a bit of a vanity post too. I played an extra on the movie and if anyone wants to play a game of "Find Helina" I say - go for it! It's possible - I checked. Portraying a communist girl in Leningrad Soviet Russia in 1953. It was fun. If anyone ever gets a chance to be an extra I recommend it. I met many fun people on the set and got to say hi to the lead actor, the locally much loved Märt Avandi. Well, he said "hi" to me, but because it was something like 6 in the morning I said hi back and only realized a moment later who addressed me. Also - this is also hopefully the happiest I'll ever look next to an Soviet propaganda poster. I hope it doesn't need bringing out that this picture in no way actually reflects my political views. But hey - I think this is the only time I'll ever post a picture of me here(There is another one in different clothing below)

So now that I have gotten over myself I can actually talk about the movie. The production wasn't strictly Estonian, it was a collaboration between Estonia, Finland and Germany. The director was Klaus Häro and the writer Anna Heinämaa is also Finnish. Needless to say this resulted in a very nice multilingual soup on the set. 

Now I run at the mention of a sports movie, because I don't like sports and I'm not going to say this isn't a sports movie, because in a way it is, but it certainly isn't a one dimensional. It certainly isn't boring. In fact I go as far to say that it is exciting and good and I swear I say none of this, because I'm in it. Although I can't say if I would have gone to see it or not if I wasn't. 

It offers a good mix of all things that I like in a movie - it has a story that's based on real people.  I find that touching. The main character Endel is an actual historical figure who lived in his times and actually founded that fencing club in the movie. The school in Haapsalu is real and it has legitimately won many fencing tournaments. 

The main character is also an introvert guy who has a nice Sherlock-like coat and who seems cold, but whom you'll learn to utterly love and realize he has a big heart. He also has a dark secret and you're left wondering what exactly that is for a while so there's tension and thrill. It doesn't get mundane. 

There's a good villian. The sort you'll hate and find unlikeable. A guy whose sole object on the movie seems to be to mess it up for the good guy.

There's romance.

There's history and an whole other era portrayed for you done with great accurateness. 

There are a hell of a lot Hollywood movie cliché's, especially for a movie that's been done far far from Hollywood. There's the moment where all seems lost until one man stands up bravely and the rest will follow, there are sad sappy good-byes at the train station and there is some real drama when all seems lost just before victory seems so close. 

But I forgive it all that, because maybe that's what Estonian movies want in the end. The lead Märt Avandi said recently about this very film that everything under an Oscar nomination is now a failure. For those of you unaware Estonia had it's first Oscar nomination this year. Well, this certainly has the war and history theme to it that the Academy seems to favour so maybe his hopes aren't lost.  He also said he hoped women will cry in cinemas, I didn't, but my mum did so he has a half-victory there. 

Either way this is a good film and if you get a chance go and see it. It had English subtitles too. So far it's been premiered in Finland and Estonia, but it might yet make it out there.

Photo :IMDB

Eesti keeles

Ei juhtu just iga päev, et mul õnnestub ise mõnes suures filmis natuke kaasa teha. Tegelikult ei olegi seda enne "Vehklejat" kunagi juhtunud. Nii et eks see postitus teistest edevam saab olema. Ma olin statist ja kui keegi tahab minna kinno "leia Helinat" mängima minna lasku käia! On täiesti võimalik! Proovisin ise järgi! Otsida tuleb mind Leningradist! Kui kellelgi on kunagi võimalust statist olla soovitan järgi proovida, päevad on küll pikad, aga inimesed on toredad. Isegi Märt Avandi ütles hommikul grimmis tere! Olin peaaegu, et liiga unine, vastasin ära ja siis alles sain aru, kellega tegu. 

Ülal pool saab näha minust pilti Nõukogude propagandaplakati taustal. Loodan, et ma ei pea kellelegi selgitama, et see pilt ei peegelda kohe kuidagi minu poliitilisi vaateid. Ikka rõõmu, et sain natuke ka võtteplatsil olla. Erinevatel päevadel olid seljas erinevad riided:

Rohkem ma endast pilte ei postita ja asun filmist rääkima. Eestlased vist teavad, et tegu on Soome, Saksamaa ja Eesti ühisprojektiga. Režišöör on Klaus Häro ja stsenarist Anna Heinämaa, mõlemad soomlased. Suurem osa näitlejaid aga seevastu eestlased. Võtteplats oli ilus keeleline supp, aga toimis hästi. 

Mulle ei meeldi spordifilmid. See tähendab tegelikult, et ma ei vaata neid, sest mulle ei meeldi sport. Ma ei hakka ütlema, et see siin üldse ei olnud spordifilm, sest et tegelikult ikka on küll, aga ma võin öelda, et see ei olnud igav. See oli huvitav ja hea ning mitmetasandiline ja ma ei ütle seda kõike, sest ma ise "mängisin" seal, kuigi ma pole kindel, et ma oleks seda ka muidu vaatama läinud. 

Aga see oli tore. Mulle meeldivad filmid, mis põhinevad tõestisündinud lugudel, vähemalt natuke ja Haapsalus on see kool päriselt olemas ja Endel Nelis oli olemas ja tema algatatud tegevus tõi Eestile vehklemises mitmeid võite. Kindlasti polnud kõik täpselt nii nagu filmis, aga mind puudutab asi rohkem, kui ma tean, et see lugu pole lihtsalt midagi väljamõeldut, mida pole tegelikult väljaspool kinolina kunagi juhtunud. 

Asju, mis mulle hea loo juures meeldib oli veel teisigi. Introverdist peategelane, kes vaatamata külmale kestale vaatajale meeldima hakkab, sest temas on sisemist headust ja soojust ja tal on lahe mantel. Minu puhul aitab alati ka lahe mantel. Loomulikult peab tal olema ka tume saladus, selline, mis vaatajale pikaks ajaks veel mõistatuslikuks jääb ja vaatajas põnevust tekitab, eriti arvesse võttes juba niigi pinget tekitavat ajaloolist tausta. On paha tegelane, selline peaaegu muinasjutuline kurikael, kes tundub eksisteerivat puhtalt selleks, et kõigile keerata, on armastust ja romantikat, mille taustaks ajalooline hõng. 

On ka kuratlikult palju hollywoodilikke klišeid. Alustades sellest, et üks mees seisab lootusetuses olukorras püsti ja hakkab vastu ning kõik järgnevad talle, lõpetades kurbade jumalagajättudega rongijaamas ja lootusetute hetkedega just siis, kui oli lootust, et kõik saab korda, aga ehk tahabki eesti film natuke Hollywoodi poole vaadata. Märt Avandi ütles hiljutises intervjuus, et nüüd on kõik peale Oscari nominatsiooni läbikukkumine. Loodame siis, et tema lootused ei lähe luhta, igal juhul on filmis ka selline sõja- ja ajalooteema, mis akadeemiale iseenesest võiks ka peale minna. Avandi lootis ka, et naised loodetavasti nutavad. Mina ei nutnud, aga mu ema küll, nii et Märt sai siit pool võitu. Kui võimalust tekib, siis soovitan vaatama minna.

Foto: err.kultuur.ee

Cinderella - Tuhkatriinu

English

There are stories that can stand the test of time and fairy tales definitely seem to be one of those stories as they are still told to children everywhere nowadays. However it seems to me not all stories can stand the test of being made into a Disney movie. Cinderella as a 1950 year animation is a gorgeous thing. As a movie it is still pretty, but it just doesn't work and yes - if you were wondering I am bothered by the fact that nor her dress or hairstyle look like in the animation despite the fact that she is a Disney Cinderella, but that's not the point.

Maybe I have simply grown too much. Maybe I am too much of a feminist to no longer just enjoy this classic for what it is, but I feel that the message it seems to carry can be summarized in:"Be kind to other people even when they are dreadful to you. Be happy with your life even when it's awful and do nothing to change it." That sort of thought bothers me immensely. I realize lots of fairy tales might not have the best message for kids these days when we think about it, but to me this movie emphasized on this thought way too strongly. It was pretty much literally repeated throughout the piece and seeing as the movie is meant for modern audience they could have chosen a different angle to tell the story in. Certainly there are more than just one.

It's not all bad through. The evil stepmother is still much prettier than the princess just like you remember from your childhood and Helena Bornham Carter is a brilliant fairy godmother, offering what I thought was the best scene of the whole movie. Also - go for the Frozen movie they show beforehand...

Eesti keeles

Mõned lood peavad ajahambale vastu ja muinasjutud peaks just selliste hulka kuuluma, kuna neid ikka edasi ja edasi jutustatakse. Tundub aga, et mitte kõik lood, ei pea vastu katsumusele saada Disney filmiks.  1950. aasta Tuhkatriinu animatsioon on meeliülendavalt ilus, kuid filmina asi nii hästi ei toimi. Asi pole kindlasti ka ainult selles, et Disney Tuhkatriinul võiks ka filmis olla sama kleit ja soeng kui tema joonistatud ikoonistaatusega kaksikõel.

Võib olla ma lihtsalt ei oska asja omas ajas hinnata. Võimalik, et minus on liiga palju feministi, et lihtsalt nautida klassikalist lugu sellisena nagu ta on, kuid mulle tundub, et selle linateose läbiv mõtteviis sisaldub sõnades:"Ole teiste vastu lahke, isegi kui nemad kohtlevad sind jubedalt. Ole eluga rahul isegi kui see on kohutav  ja ära tee midagi selleks, et miski muutuks." Ma saan aru, et see on üks vana lugu ja  võib olla ma ei tohikski oodata, et see kuidagi tänapäevase mõttemaailmaga kokku käiks, aga mulle tundus, et film lausa rõhutas eelmainitud mõtet, seda üha korrates. Oleks ju võinud tänapäevase publiku jaoks leida mingi muu nurga, teistsuguse lähenemise. Disney on sellega varem korduvalt hästi hakkama saanud.

Kõik pole siiski läbinisti halvasti, kuri kasuema on endiselt ilusam kui printsess nagu lapsepõlvest mäletasite ja Helena Bornham Carter on haldjast ristiemana võrratu. Need stseenid olidki minu meelest filmi parimad. Igaljuhul minge kinno enne "Tuhkatriinut" linastuva Frozeni lühifilmi pärast...