Title: Doomsday
Tagline: Mankind has an expiration date.
Genre: Action / Science fiction
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Craig Conway
IMDB: Doomsday (2008)
Rating:

A lethal virus dubbed the reaper virus has hit Scotland. In an attempt to contain the death and misery, a wall is built where the wall of Hadrian used to run, a wall so high that none can get out of Scotland, and none can get in, should they want to. A woman tries to save herself and her little girl, but it is too late for one of them - the little girl (who gets shot in the eye during the rioting) is finally taken out on a helicopter, as one of the soldiers trades his place for hers.
25 years later, the reaper virus resurfaces in London. Having spotted living humans in Scotland via their satellite surveillance, UK government decides to send in a team to try and obtain a cure from a scientist who was shut inside during the initial virus disaster. The team is led by the now not so little girl, Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra). What they find behind the wall is complete mayhem, a new order, led by a man named Sol. The people they find are brutal, savage, even cannibals - and they do not want the London team to find a cure, if such a thing even exists…

My first thought after watching the movie? Uhm. The movie can said to be a blend of 28 Days Later and Mad Max 2, and it also reminds me somewhat of John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars. If you’ve seen those three movies, now try picturing them mixed together. Add in some knights, pretty women and an insane stage show, and you’ve got Doomsday, more or less.

Now I’m not saying this is a shitty movie. It’s not. I actually found it quite entertaining. If you’re after a quick bit of crazy action, and you don’t mind the cannibalism (the scene where they barbecued reminded me of Silent Hill), then you might like it too.

“These walls around you; they were built to last, and so shall we. What we’ve built here, from the ashes, is pure blood. Uninfected by the outside world… until now.” - Kane

Title: Iron Man
Tagline: Heroes aren’t born - they’re built.
Genre: Action / Adventure / Superhero
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
IMDB: Iron Man
Rating:

Iron Man is Marvel’s latest addition to the line of comic-based superhero movies we’ve seen over the past few years, and it doesn’t let the fans down. Me, I’ve never been much of a comic book kind of girl, but the movies, the movies I have to go see.

The main character, Tony Stark (portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.) is a highly successful arms manufacturer. On a marketing tour in the Middle East to show off his latest weapon to the military, his convoy is attacked by terrorists, and he is hit by shrapnel while trying to escape, while the soldiers around him are dying. The terrorists capture him, and try to force him into using his skills to make his weapons for them, the very people he is trying to battle by manufacturing weapons. He instead uses his time (and limited resources) to first make a device to put in his chest to stop the shrapnel going into his heart, after which he moves on to making a suit to aid him and his new associate in their escape from the terrorists. And thus, Iron Man is born.

Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by a movie that I really had no high expectations for. Robert Downey Jr did a very good job as Tony Stark, being all snarky and self-obsessed for larger parts of the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow has to be mentioned as well, for her part as his administrative assistant, Pepper Potts.
The action is good, but not too overdone, the comedy is good as well, and you just walk out of the theatre feeling like you did NOT just waste a couple of hours of your life. Win!

“I’m sorry. This is the fun-vee. The hum-drum-vee is back there.” - Tony Stark

Title: Fool’s Gold
Tagline: This February true love takes a dive.
Genre: Adventure / Comedy
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland
IMDB: Fool’s Gold (2008)
Rating:

It’s no secret that I am a sucker for the combination McConaughey/Hudson. After seeing How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days I fell completely in love with the pair. However, not knowing anything about this movie at all, I went into the movie with no expectations at all.

I came out feeling good. This is a feel-good movie - it provides light, easy and unpretentious entertainment, just the way I like it. Save your social commentary for someone else, movie makers. I’m in it for the cheap thrills. And for Matthew McConaughey’s bare chest. As I predicted, his shirt was off for most of the time. Kate Hudson was also her usual gorgeous self, making me feel bad for not going to the gym these past few weeks.

The movie, in short, is about treasure hunting in the Caribbean sea. McConaughey plays the head treasure seeker, Finn, while Hudson plays his disgruntled (ex-)wife Tess, who eventually hooks up with him yet again to go on a hunt for the presumed lost treasure of the Spanish royal family, the Queen’s Dowry. The two team up with millionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Sutherland) and his airhead of a daughter, Gemma (Alexis Dziena). As is to be expected, they are of course not alone in seeking this treasure.

If you’ve previously enjoyed movies such as Sahara, National Treasure and Indiana Jones, then I suggest checking out Fool’s Gold. If you’re after a bit of lighthearted fun with a dash of romance on the side, you won’t be disappointed!

Title: Cloverfield
Tagline: Some thing has found us
Genre: Action / Science Fiction
Starring: Lizzie Caplan, Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller
IMDB: Cloverfield
Rating:

Ok, critics be damned, this was a pretty good movie. Yes, sure, it has caused me a rather nasty headache which I assume will be staying with me tomorrow as well, but still. Good movie.

The movie begins with a going away party for one of the main characters, Rob, who is moving to Japan. One of his friends, Hud, is in charge of taping the entire party so that Rob can watch his friends on video whenever he wants to. During the party, Rob has a falling out with his friend with a one-time benefit whom he actually kinda loves, Beth, and she leaves while they are both mad at each other.
Suddenly there is an earthquake, or so they believe to begin with. After a while it becomes “clear” that a monster has arrived in New York and is rampaging through Manhattan. While trying to leave the area and get to someplace safe, Rob gets a call from Beth, saying she is trapped in her apartment and badly injured. He and his friends go on a rescue mission, despite the fact that they will be heading towards the chaos, not away from it.

The entire movie is shot with a hand-held camera - we see everything through the eyes of Hud as he documents the happenings. I think this is why the movie is so intense - there are no awesome panoramic sweeps, no teary closeups. It focuses solely on what goes on around the group of friends. It had me thinking a lot about what I would do in such a situation. Would I be able to leave my family and loved ones? Would I run, or would I stay and help, however little I would be able to help?

It is not the most amazing of movies, but it is definitely worth the watch. If you get headaches easily, closing your eyes every now and then might help, it did for me. It is also interesting to note that there is no music during the entire movie, no soundtrack at all. I didn’t notice this during the movie at all, but it makes the end credits theme hit you harder. The ending was pretty open, leaving room for the sequel that I understand is planned for release in 2009. I know I’ll be going to see it!

Also, how many times have I not told people that there are monsters in the deep trenches of the ocean? THEY ARE THERE.

“Look, all I’m saying is that this thing coulda have come from anywhere! It could have come from outer space!” - Hud

Title: Juno
Tagline: A comedy about growing up… and the bumps along the way.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
IMDB: Juno
Rating:

Juno, Juno, Juno. What can I say about this movie? Well, I would start with saying that it is awesome. Fo shiz! I was hooked from the very first minute (well, after the intro was done anyway). Gripping AND hilarious, Juno actually made me laugh out loud, something I hardly ever do when I’m at the cinema. Actually I can’t even remember the last time, if there ever was one.

It all started with a chair… The story revolves around 17 year old Juno, who gets pregnant after having sex with her very good friend, Bleeker. She decides to give the baby up for adoption, and finds a suitable couple in a magazine/newspaper called The Penny Saver. She meets with them and immediately connects with the man of the couple, the musician Mark.
The movie is mostly just about how Juno deals with her life as a pregnant teenager, a “cautionary whale” among her fellow high school students. It is filled to the brim with great lines and gives a rather different view of teenage pregnancy than the one we usually get from movies.

Highly recommended! My only regret is that the movie started showing here this late - what is up with that, Norwegian movie distributors??

“I’m just gonna go ahead and nip this thing in the bud. Cuz you know, they say pregnancy often leads to, you know… …infants.” - Juno MacGuff

Title: The Golden Compass
Tagline: There are worlds beyond our own - the compass will show the way.
Genre: Fantasy
Starring: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Ian McKellen (voice)
IMDB: The Golden Compass (2007)
Rating:

The Golden Compass is based on the book by the same name (or some places known as Northern Lights) by author Philip Pullman. It is the first in a trilogy, and it is said that if the first movie earns enough, the next two books will also be made into movies. One can only hope… Even though the first book and movie are good enough stand-alone stories, they do not feel complete - there are loose threads and unanswered questions in abundance.

As with all book to movie adaptions, things have had to be cut from the movie version. However, as with The Lord of the Rings, the things that are cut and/or altered to fit the movie, it doesn’t subtract too much from the story - as a fan of the book, I still enjoyed the movie a lot (more so than I thought I would), and the changes didn’t bother me much. The story still seemed a little chopped here and there, as it lacks most of the background info you get from the book. Still, Tor had not read the book and he felt he was able to follow the story well enough to enjoy the movie.
The one scene that really stood out as, well, outstanding, was the intercision scene. I could really feel the desperation of Lyra and Pan, it actually made me hold my breath throughout the entire scene, even though I knew the outcome.

The primary strength of the movie does not lie in the story at all, nor really in the acting, but in the special effects and the sceneries. The special effects are impeccable - the panserbjørne and the daemons are fantastic. The shots from Svalbard were beautiful, enough to make any Norwegian heart swell with pride (not that I have any connections with Svalbard at all, besides it belonging to the Norwegian kingdom…), and the Oxford surroundings were just as I had imagined - grand and scholarly, for lack of a better word.

When I say that the acting isn’t one of the primary strengths of the movie, that’s not saying that the acting is bad. Especially Dakota Blue Richards does a great job as Lyra, and Nicole Kidman is perfectly cold and creepy in a dazzling way in her role as Mrs Coulter, the head Gobbler. I had looked forward to seeing Daniel Craig again (he’s the only Bond who’s made me want to watch a 007 movie more than one time), but I’m not really sure about his performance here - to his defense though, he hardly got any screen time at all. He did however fit his character, exactly the way I’d pictured Lord Asriel to be. Had the ending not been cut, we would have gotten to see more of him, and in a scene where he would have the possibility to shine, and not merely be present.
In a movie such as this, the voice acting is just as important as the on-screen acting, and I really think they were spot on with the casting here. I was a little put off by Pantalaimon’s voice at first - he sounded whiny and annoying - but it grew on me and in the end I found that I actually liked it, it fit his character. Also, Ian McKellen as Iorek - fabulous! But really, can one ever go wrong with McKellen? I don’t think so.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by how this movie turned out. Tickets, time and money well spent. I’ve already recommended it to everyone I know, and now I recommend it to you. And if you haven’t already, read the book(s) as well. Even though the first book is by far the best, the other two are worth the time it takes to read them.

Title: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Platform: Nintendo DS
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Action/adventure
Rating:

In 2003, Tor surprised me with the birthday gift of all birthday gifts, the one that has yet to be topped: A Nintendo Gamecube with The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. I have to admit, I was a little suspicious of the green clad little boy all made up in cell-shaded graphics, he was no Mario, no Ice Climber, no Alex the Kidd. Yes, fine, I’d met him before, in his NES days, but he didn’t really catch my attention at the time.

Until Wind Waker. As this is not a review of Wind Waker, I’m not going to go into lengths about why I loved the game and how I used to spend long, unemployed days playing it while talking to myself in the mirror on the wall by the TV (”why did you do that? You should’ve used the boomerang, not the grapple hook!”). Anyway, Wind Waker is the best video game ever to grace the genre of action-adventure. It gave me entertainment for hours, a reason to get up before noon, something to do instead of the dishes. I loved it, truly loved it. When I finished it, it didn’t matter - it is the game that keeps on giving (as long as you don’t do 100% of all side quests on your first playthrough, but honestly, who ever does that?), and I always find myself wanting to play it. Always. Like right now? I want to play it.

But again, I digress! The reason we are all gathered here tonight is to praise not Wind Waker, but its sequel, Phantom Hourglass.

Phantom Hourglass picks up sort of where Wind Waker let us all go (or in my case, never let go): Link and Zelda (using her pirate name Tetra) are sailing the high seas looking for goodness knows what - they might have told me in the beginning of the game, but I was too excited to catch everything. Tetra is kidnapped, and Link goes on a quest to save her and most likely the world. Again, sailing around to different islands is a key point of the game. However, the islands are changed since Wind Waker, so it’s a whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew. Also, the boat is steam powered, and comes with a lazy, slightly snarky captain.

New in PH is the way of controlling Link and the boat. Everything is done using the DS’ stylus - you don’t have to touch the D-pad or the buttons at all unless you really really want to, and even if you try it feels odd and plain wrong after having used the stylus for a while. I was a little apprehensive about this new, innovative way of controlling Link (much like I was apprehensive about the Wiimote, or the Gamecube controller for that matter), but once I tried it, it was smooth sailing and felt like the most natural thing in the world.
The stylus is also used to draw on your world and island maps. Rather often you’ll get hints on how to solve a puzzle, where to find a treasure, things like that, and you’ll be encouraged to write it down on your map. So far in my adventure I’ve also come across an uncharted island where I had to draw the map myself (note to self: do not quit your day job to become map maker). Thankfully you also get the option to erase what you’ve drawn and try again. I tried leaving this island without finishing the map, but Captain McSnarkypants told me to get on with it and make that map already. Wanker.

The game gets its name from, believe it or not, an hourglass. There is a dungeon you keep returning to that drains your life energy unless you’re in safe spots, which can be few and far between - however, with the Phantom Hourglass in hand you get a certain amount of time where the dungeons life-drainage doesn’t harm you at all. It also adds a certain degree of stress which could have you tearing out your hair because you turned the wrong way AGAIN, and where is that damn switch, ARGH.

I have to admit I’m not that far along in the game. Silly things like work and exams keep getting in the way of me playing, which might be a good thing - now I can bring it along with me when I go home for Christmas and face long hours on planes and in airports (flying north during the winter season is always a gamble with time, you’re lucky if everything is going along as scheduled). However few hours of playtime I’ve had though, I can tell you this: Awesome, awesome game. The storyline is intriguing enough to keep you interested, the dungeons are just as hard as they should be, the monsters are just as cute and/or menacing as they should be (those phantoms creep me out), and Link is just as persistent in his quest to be the hero as he should be.

In the end, I have to go along with what everyone else is saying about this game: If you’re looking for a reason to acquire a Nintendo DS, this is it. Do it. Do it now.