Jonas Ferry’s blog

Moznosti dialogu (English title: Dimensions of Dialogue) (Jan Svankmajer, 1982). In three short animated films Svankmajer examines different forms of communication. These are wild, imaginative and playful shorts that are both fun and thought-provoking. [9/10]

The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica, 1948). An Italian man gets a job that requires a bike, and all is well until it gets stolen. Slow moving film that feels predictable, but with nice portraits of people. [7/10]

The Return (original title: Vozvrashcheniye) (Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003). The father of two boys returns and takes them on a trip to make up for lost time, but not all goes well. A very moody film, filled with symbolism, but mostly very realistic. [8/10]

Armbryterskan från Ensamheten (Helen Ahlsson and Lisa Munthe, 2004). A documentary on the Swedish female arm wrestler Heidi Andersson and her road to the world championship. It’s always nice to see strong women instead of the all-too-common “be beautiful, it’s all you’re good for” stereotype that plagues women. Heidi’s boyfriend the Night Watch (original title: Nochnoy Dozor (Timur Bekmambetov, 2004). The forces of light and darkness fight it out in present day Russia, with the main character caught in between. Nice production values, an interesting if somewhat muddled story and a nice combination of comedy and horror. [7/10]

Bande à part (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964). Two men and a woman decide to rob the place where the woman lives. Very fun film, with Godard using tricks like when the characters have a silent minute all sound disappear, fast-paced and cool. [9/10]

The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach, 2005). When a man and a woman separates their two sons fall between them, gravitating to a parent each. A nice drama, very intelligent and Kafkaesque. No, not really, that’s a joke for the people who have seen the film. [8/10]

Hem ljuva hem (Dan Ying, 2001). A family abused by the father hits back, but the abuser survives and haunts them from his wheelchair. A portrait of a really bad man, but it still feels real enough. [7/10]

M (Fritz Lang, 1931). The “M” stands for murderer, a murderer of young children in a German city where the public take matters in their own hands. This is one of the first German “talkies” if I’m not mistaken, but still very good. Even if the world hadn’t seen the famous 20th century serial killers yet, this film feels like it treats the subject matter without being silly about it. [8/10]

Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974). When a private detective is hired by a wife to spy on her husband and the wife turns out to be someone else, he realizes something’s not right. A great modern noir with all the trappings of the old ones, with the same themes of jealousy, murder, and occupying the same gray moral zone. [9/10]

When I started writing stuff here I used all five categories. Since my two main interests are RPGs and film, that’s what I’ve mainly written about, but lately I’ve neglected the films. So, here’s a whole bunch of them, presented in a two-sentence review format. The first sentence is a summary of the characters and plot, and the second is my opinion of the film. I mainly write this as a film diary, but please ask if you’re interested in any of them.

Howl’s Moving Castle (original title: Hauru no ugoku shiro) (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004). A young girl is cursed to get the body of an old woman, and must seek the help of a wizard in a moving castle to break the spell. It’s Another Miyazaki a film with cute creatures, a ton of stuff happening and a plot that’s more linear than a ruler.

Audition (original title: Ôdishon) (Takashi Miike, 1999). A middle-aged man seeks a new wife, but a friend’s suggestion that he should arrange an audition for one attracts a really scary applicant. The main strength of the film, that I’m about to spoil, is that it starts out as a romantic comedy and ends up with torture and horror, which makes the horror much more revolting.

Toolbox Murders (Tobe Hooper, 2004). A young couple moves to a building that’s haunted by a serial-killer, and the woman has to fight to survive. A remake that follows the Friday the 13th formula of killing of characters one by one, that is enjoyable if you like that kind of films.

Resurrection of the Little Match Girl (original title: Sungnyangpali sonyeoui jaerim (Sun-Woo Jang, 2002). A modern Korean version of the H.C. Andersen tale of the matchstick girl with a computer game that blends with reality. I was pretty drunk when I watched this, but it’s a nice real-life anime with some interesting ideas.

The Last Castle (Rod Lurie, 2001). Robert Redford, a decorated military, is sent to prison and stages a revolt against an oppressing prison chief. An ok action movie without any real surprises.

The Manson Family (Jim Van Bebber, 2003). A present-day documentary team tries to figure out what made the Mansons do what they did, and is attacked by their modern spiritual ancestors. It’s an ok film, but the present-day Mansons are unnecessary and the film should’ve focused entirely on the sixties.

Gacy (Clive Saunders, 2003). Serial-killer John Wayne Gacy, the original killer clown, picks up boys and buries them under his house. A disturbing film, more so if you know that his neighbours actually did smell something from under his house but didn’t alert the police.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Brad Silberling, 2004). Based on a series of books I haven’t read, this is the story of three children and their fight against an evil foster-father who’s trying to kill them. Fascinating characters, a great performance by Jim Carrey and the best animated credit sequence I’ve seen in a very long time.

Festen (English title: The Celebration) (Thomas Vinterberg (uncredited), 1998). A man takes the opportunity on a family reunion to reveal a dark family secret. A very, very good film that would make a great LARP if someone would like to produce it.

May (Lucky McKee, 2002). May is a socially inept woman who decides to build a friend from body parts. Together they give you a creepy movie that’s a very nice example of post-modern magic.

Birth (Jonathan Glazer, 2004). A ten-year old boy claims to be a woman’s reincarnated husband. The problem with this movie, as with most ghost stories, is that the boy’s way of communicating his dilemma is so absurd that it’s not very believable.

For a Few Dollars More (original title: Per qualche dollaro in più) (Sergio Leone, 1965). A bounty hunter gangs up with another one to hunt a notorious criminal, with one of them infiltrating the gang of outlaws. A prime example of Leone’s spaghetti westerns, complete with acting by Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef and music by Ennio Morricone.

Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993). A cynical news anchor travels to a small town to cover the Groundhog Day, but is caught in a time loop and has to relive the same day. Bill Murray is great, and this is one of the best time travel films of all time.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Garth Jennings, 2005). Arthur Dent is saved from being destroyed when Earth is, and is dragged along an adventure throughout the galaxy. I was pleasantly surprised, but I didn’t expect much either.

8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963). The film takes us on a journey through reality and fantasy in the life of a film director. Very confusing, but it’s obvious that it’s supposed to be.

Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944). An insurance man falls in love with a woman who wants to kill her husband, and he decides to help her set up an insurance scam. This is one of the best noir films out there, using the tropes before they turned cliché, so if you’re the least interested in the genre this is a must.

Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005). The story of a young boy who gets his parents killed decides to put on a bat costume and fight crime. I really liked the down-to-earth realistic take on superheroes, but they could’ve spent less time in training-flashback mode and should’ve introduced more wacky supervillains.

Jungfrukällan (English title: The Virgin Spring) (Ingmar Bergman, 1960). In 14th century Sweden, a young maid is murdered and raped on her way to the church and afterwards the perpetrators seek shelter at her parents’ house. This is currently on my Benny & Joon (Jeremiah S. Chechik, 1993). Benny and Joon are both “weird” people, misunderstood by others, that find each other and fall in love. I really liked the fact that there was no easy way for them to be together; when everything was going to be ok you find out that Joon’s overprotective big brother has a good reason for acting that way.

Dial M for Murder (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954). A man hires another man for the perfect murder: to kill his unfaithful wife. A very cool application of the kind of film where you first get the action spelled out, then the characters perform it and then one tiny detail ruins the whole planning.

North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959). A man is mistaken for a spy and is chased across the USA. A real classic; the Mount Rushmore scene is really cool and the attacking airplane is hilarious if you’ve seen Vincent Gallo’s re-enactment in Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945). A man who has lost his memory impersonates a famous psychologist, but falls in love with a colleague who decides to help him. This film is kind of silly, especially the popular psychology that the audience is expected to believe.

Lady in the Lake (Robert Montgomery, 1945). Raymond Chandler’s private detective Marlowe tries to figure out who has killed a woman, with everyone having a motive. This is filmed entirely from a first-person perspective; who would’ve thought that they’d do that in a film from the forties?

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958). A police chief who runs his border town like his personal kingdom is confronted by an idealistic man, responds by kidnapping the man’s wife and end up being betrayed by his own men. Another noir classic; totally dark and disturbing, but very special.

Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003). A bunch of love stories in contemporary London, with Hugh Grant. Unfortunately Hugh Grant is in it, but otherwise the film’s generally quite nice, especially the story about the guy who’s in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.

Fantastic Four (Tim Story, 2005). Five people are on a space station that gets bombarded by radiation, turn into four superheroes and a villain and fight some. I was admittedly a bit drunk at the moment, but it felt like a bunch of unrelated scenes put together, and I really like the comic.

The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949). An American man reaches Vienna to meet his old friend, who has recently died under suspicious circumstances. Orson Welles is in this one, but we have to wait to meet his character, which is a great way to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

The Eye 2 (original title: Jian gui 2) (Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang, 2004). A young pregnant woman starts to see dead people, and realizes that her unborn child is in danger. This is strangely enough not at all related to The Eye, but still a nice horror movie with a great idea of why childbirth could be interesting to ghosts.

Maria Full of Grace (Joshua Marston, 2004). To escape Colombian working conditions, her demanding family and create a future for herself and the child she’s pregnant with, Maria smuggles swallowed heroin containers. It was nice that the main character wasn’t turned into a saint or a martyr, but a human that did both good and bad things.

What Dreams May Come (Vincent Ward, 1998). A children’s doctor dies and has to fetch his wife and kid from hell and bring them to the family’s personal paradise. The main part is perfect for Robin Williams, and luckily he’s the main actor in this movie.

One Missed Call (original title: Chakushin ari) (Takashi Miike, 2003). Japanese teenagers start receiving voice messages from the future, from their own violent deaths. A fairly good Japanese horror, but it didn’t leave a very lasting impression.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (Tay Garnett, 1946). A drifter starts working at a countryside hamburger place, falls in love with the owner’s wife and together they try to kill him to get his insurance money. A noir film with a very obvious femme fatale, especially interesting since she’s not only glamorous, but also down-to-earth and practical.

Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang, 1945). A dissatisfied cashier and hobby painter meets a girl that tricks him into a messy situation. I really like the actor The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946). The private detective Malowe is hired to clear a rich guy’s daughter’s name from involvement in a murder. Another Chandler story, this time with Humphrey Bogart as Marlowe.

Tokyo Godfathers (Satoshi Kon, 2003). Three homeless people in Tokyo with their own stories of how they ended up on the street find an abandoned baby and try to find the mother. This was really good, and managed to mix seriousness and silliness to produce a touching story of the characters’ situation.

Riget (English title: The Kingdom) (Morten Arnfred and Lars von Trier, 1994). In a hospital ghost awaken and haunt the patients, while the doctors are locked in power struggles and scheming. This Danish miniseries is a must, all the characters are great and I especially enjoy the acting of Ernst-Hugo Järegård and that von Trier made screaming “Danish scum” his character’s trademark.

Land of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2005). The zombie catastrophe is a fact and people try to survive hidden in a sealed-off city, but the zombies will find a way to get in. The movie was so-so, I really like zombies, but there was a lot of pointless stuff you’ve already seen too many times before.

Riget II (English title: The Kingdom II) (Morten Arnfred and Lars von Trier, 1997). The second season of the series starts where the first one ended, but unfortunately ends with a whole lot of cliffhangers with no real answers. If you’ve seen Riket you have to see this, and can look forward to seeing Ernst-Hugo’s character look for “floaters” and “sinkers” when he visits the toilet.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Tim Burton, 2005). The young Charlie wins a ticket to a guided tour of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and has to watch a billion Oompa-Loompas dance and sing. I liked the cloned Oompa-Loompa, but I thought the end of the film dragged a bit.

A Tale of Two Sisters (original title: Janghwa, Hongryeon) (Ji-woon Kim, 2003). Two sisters go to live with their father and their evil stepmother, but soon reality and fantasy are blurred and you don’t even know which of the characters really exist. A very nice psychological thriller that starts with cheap horror scare-tactics, but turns darker, more disturbing and more complex story-wise towards the end.

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1943). An old newspaper mogul dies with the last word “Rosebud,” and a reporter tries to uncover what it means. This film is a monument over the state of cinema when it was made, but is also, with its use of camera techniques, plot twists and the ambiguous ending, something that can still be relevant today.

The Happiness of the Katakuris (orginal title: Katakuri-ke no kôfuku (Takashi Miike, 2001). The story of a family who runs a guest house, but has the bad luck of several customers dying and has to get rid of the bodies. This is a horror-musical-comedy, and parts of the plot are told through the characters singing it.

Frenzy (Alfred Hitchcock, 1972). A serial-killer who strangles woman with his tie is loose, and the main character is innocently accused. It was fun to watch a late Hitchcock, and I feel that the disturbing subject matter was just his way of continuing to shock audiences the same way he had done in his black-and-whites.

Onibaba (Kaneto Shindô, 1964). It’s fourteen century Japan and a civil war forces an old woman and her daughter-in-law to attack wounded samurai who has strayed from the battles and steal their valuables. This is a very nice film that starts out as a realistic piece of desperation and forbidden love, but takes a turn into the supernatural.

Battlestar Galactica, season 1 (TV-series, 2004-2005). Human-created robots called Cylons revolt and humanity has to flee through hyperspace with the ships they have left, defended by the military vessel Galactica and her fighter pilots. So far I’ve seen season 1, and very much like the moral dilemmas posed and the situations people have to face.

House of Flying Daggers (original title: Shi mian mai fu) (Yimou Zhang, 2004). Two men of justice decide to expose a hidden group of rebel assassins with one of them going undercover, but he falls in love with one of the members. Very beautiful, but too melodramatic and too many almost-dead-but-can-deliver-his/her-last-words scenes.

Bring It On (Peyton Reed, 2000). Two rival cheerleader groups compete to find out who’s the best. A couple of funny moments, but overall just something to watch if there’s nothing else on.

The Sky-Colored Seed (original title: Sora Iro no Tane) (Hayao Miyazaki, 1992). A boy trades his toy plane with a fox for a seed, but when it grows into a house the fox wants it back. An incredibly funny 90-second short with the best greedy fox in history.

A new bunch of movies seen. Don’t worry if you’re here to read about friform, my comments will be brief.

Helena and I have two types of films we try to watch all of: Hitchcocks and serial killer movies. I forgot to write about Ted Bundy (Matthew Bright, 2002) when we watched it. It’s a creepy movie about one of the more interesting American serial killers, mainly because of his outward appearance of success in life. Bundy was politically active and a good student of psychology and later law, but with an interest in abducting twenty-year old girls with long dark hair parted in the middle. From what I know the movie is accurate in its description of the events, and I recommend it.

Så som i himmelen (English title: As in Heaven (Kay Pollak, 2004) is a Swedish film about a successful orchestra conductor (Michael Nyqvist) who returns to his old home town in the north of Sweden. It’s an ok film, but is unfortunately full of clichéd characters and events.

In Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004) Clint Eastwood plays an old boxing manager who takes on training a woman boxer. It’s a good film with great performances from Hilary Swank and Eastwood. I liked the fact that the boxing scenes didn’t turn into Rocky-like things with the fake drama of whether she would beat the opponents or not. The boxing wasn’t the focus, the characters and their interactions were.

In the Mood for Love (original title: Fa yeung nin wa) (Kar Wai Wong, 2000) is a Hong Kong love story of two people of are betrayed by their spouses and find each other. Beautiful and mesmerizing, with a great recurring song accompanied by slow-motion scenes of the two main characters. Recommended.

I had to watch Nightbreed (Clive Barker, 1990) because I’ve just read a Swedish Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Kerry Conran, 2004) delivers what one might expect from the movie. A kind of fun pulp adventure of a flying ace fighting an evil nazi and his robot soldiers, but not that memorable.

Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1981) is Cronenberg’s cult classic. The story is centred on a scanner, a psionic capable of projecting and read thoughts as well as hurt people by the power of his mind. He gets drawn into a fight between two competing organisations and has to choose side.

The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003) is the story of a young American man living with a French brother and sister in Paris 1968. The siblings’ relationship is a bit closer than normal, and the three get involved in a love triangle that can’t end well.

The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, 1953) is a movie you should see if you’re either a fan of 50s sci-fi movies or want to see both the new and the old version. It’s a movie full of silly and one-dimensional characters, but it’s always fun to see the scientist-as-hero character that’s both intelligent and resourceful.

Don’t watch Godsend (Nick Hamm, 2004), it’s that easy. It’s a movie about a couple who lose a child and get an identical clone with the help of Dr. Richard Wells (Robert De Niro). I wasn’t very surprised to see De Niro in this sucky movie, since he’s made some bad choices in movies lately, but apperantly he was less than thrilled himself. He was supposed to do a couple of brief scenes, but was convinced to shoot some more, only to see his name all over the movie poster. This movie is so clichéd it’s not funny.

Saw (James Wan, 2004) is a horror thriller with a very simple, but effective setup. Two men regain consciousness, with no memories of why they’re there, in a room chained to separate walls. They find a tape player with tapes with their names on, and are briefed of their situation. They also find a saw which is too weak to cut through the chains but not their legs. I liked the movie, and it kept the tension up until the end.

The Door in the Floor (Tod Williams, 2004) is another movie about a couple who have lost children. The writer Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) hires a young assistant for his wife Marion Cole (Kim Basinger) to use to get over the loss. A good film, with strong acting and perfect pacing.

Filmer jag sett sen senast, den senaste längst ner. Angående Henkes kommentar i gästboken om Ed Gein är jag beredd att hålla med. “Normal” är förmodligen fel ord att använda om allmänhetens syn på Gein, snarare var “harmlös” ordet jag letade efter. Han ansågs vara en kuf, men inte en kuf som förvandlar folk till möbler. Film var det, ja..

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003) är en dokumentär om en prostituerad som började mörda sina kunder och därmed bli en av de få kvinnliga seriemördarna. Dokumentären är informativ och lyfter fram människors olika versioner av Aileen och hennes uppväxt. Klart intressant. Att det i efterhand är svårt att ha en definitiv bild av Aileen eller vad som hände är garanterat meningen från dokumentärskaparens sida.

Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977), Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) och Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) har jag sett förut, men inte på projektorduk. En rolig sak var att se dem i ett sträck, en annan rolig sak var att ha riktigt fint surround-ljud, men det som riktigt höjde upplevelsen var vårt Star Wars Drinking Game. Förutom “uppenbara” saker som att dricka när någon förlorade en hand eller när några kysstes var det skoj att upptäcka mer subtila saker som att det bara är med en kvinna förutom Leia i den första filmen (Aunt Beru. Man skulle dricka när någon annan kvinna än Leia dök upp). De nya filmerna känner jag mig ljummen till, och även de nya scenerna i originaltrilogin. Intressant att den unge “ande-materialiserings-Darth” i slutet av episod 6 på DVD-utgåvan verkar bytts ut mot skådespelaren i den kommande episod 3.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) är också en film jag sett förut, på bio såklart. Efter Star Wars-vaganzat fick jag tillfälle att se om den. Ettan är klart mer actionspäckad än tvåan, och än så länge min favorit. Frågan är dock om det går att misslyckas med blandningen Tarantino, japanska storstadssamurajer och anime.

I Charles Manson Superstar (1989) får man lyssna på intervjuer med en av de mest kända seriemördarna genom tiderna. Vad som förvånade mig var att man aldrig i en rättssal kunnat visa att Manson medverkat eller ens framtvingat morden han sitter inne för. Exakt vilka åtalspunkterna var eller varför han inte blivit frisläppt framgick inte riktigt av dokumentären, som var var ganska sparsam med hårda fakta. Desto mer frikostig var den med att ge Manson kameratid, något som jag tyckte var intressant. Det är sällan man i dokumänterer om seriemördare får höra dem prata fritt om vad som faller dem in och får en chans att se hur personen beter sig. Dokumentären har fått kritik för att vara okritisk eller till och med hylla Manson, men jag tyckte snarare att den undvek att döma honom. Sevärd, helt klart.

The Punisher (2004) med Thomas Jane, och inte Dolph Lundgren, som Punisher har jag sett nyligen. Den gamla versionen har jag sett nån gång för länge sedan, men minns inte så mycket av den. Den här filmen var ungefär så standard man kan vänta sig av den nya vågen serietidningsfilm som pumpas ut från Hollywood. Lite lagom snygg, med en lagom ointressant story och lite “roliga” karaktärer som Frank Castle kan skydda ger en sevärd film, men knappt mer.

Bar Girls (1994) hyllas både som den bästa och sämsta skildringen av livet för lesbiska kvinnor. En stor del av handlingen kretsar kring en bar och ett antal av dess kvinnliga invånare som i rask takt byter partners med varandra. Filmen var väl okej handlingsmässigt, men knappast Det Bästa. Jag tror att även de som hyllar filmen som det bästa måste hålla med om att personligheternasom sklidras är överdrivna karikatyrer, men hänger man i kretsarna kanske man kanske känner igen personlighetstyperna.

The Icredibles (2004) var jag tvungen att se på bio eftersom kombinationen Pixar och superhjältar verkade svårslagen. Mycket riktigt var det en rejält bra film, både karaktärs- och handlingsmässigt. Förutom att det var skoj att se superhjältar brottas med vardagsproblem var actionsekvenserna mot jätterobotar och liknande skurkar klart fartfyllda. Ett måste att se, helst på bio om den fortfarande rullar.

Jag var tvungen att se om The Game (1997), trots att jag sett den ett par gånger tidigare. Handlingen är snygg, och jag har slutat känna mig lika frustrerad som jag gjorde första gången jag såg filmen. En riktigt, riktigt bra film som man ska ha sett. Det går inte riktigt berätta varför utan att avslöja för mycket handling. Lita på mig.

Skenbart - en film om tåg (2003) är man svensk och gillar film antar jag att man bör ha sett den här. Dessutom hörde jag ett gäng killar på campus hylla den som det bästa de sett, vilket avgjorde saken för mig. Nu blev jag inte riktigt lika tagen som de måste ha blivit, framför allt för att en stor del av humorn bestod av folk som slog sig eller folk som gjorde bort sig, där ingetdera brukar vara särskilt roligt. Nä, se nåt annat istället, den var faktiskt knappt sevärd.

När jag var hemma över julhelgen och tvingad att se det tv:n erbjöd såg jag 100 Girls (2000). College-filmer brukar kunna vara bra, men de ska helst vara från 80- eller tidiga 90-talet isåfall. Det här var en platt historia fylld av fördomar, som dock maskerades genom att de framfördes “ironiskt”. Jag vet inte riktigt vad poängen var, men jag antar att jag borde sett den med ett blandat gäng killar och tjejer så att båda grupperna kunnat säga “precis så är det” för att provocera de andra. Jag vet inte. Se den inte. (Den handlade om en kille som under en strömavbrott hade sex med en tjej i mörkret och sedan skulle hitta henne bland tjejerna på campus, typ, om du nödvändigtvis måste veta.)

12 fördömda män (originaltitel: The Dirty Dozen) (1967) såg jag också på tv. Klart bättre film än 100 Girls kan man säga utan att överdriva, och en riktigt klassiker. Vill man ha två och en halv timme hårda killar som skjuter nazister är det här en mycket bra film.

Det är roligt att se om Fight Club (1999), och eftersom Helena inte varit helpigg när hon såg den första gången var vi tvungna att kolla på den. Ja, vad ska man säga? Brad Pitt och Edward Norton är båda två stabila skådisar. Den lätt skruvade handlingen kombinerat med ett snyggt foto och en fyndig berättarteknik gör att filmen hamnar bland favoriterna. Jag gillar handlinge såpass mycket att jag blivit intresserad av författaren, Chuck Palahniuk, och kanske blir tvungen att kolla in hans andra böcker.

The Prophet’s Game (1999) är inte på något sätt en bra film. Jag vet inte om jag sett Dennis Hopper i en bra roll, och det här är inget undantag. En ganska ointressant mördarhistoria som kunde gjorts så mycket bättre.

Cabin by the Lake (2000) var däremot en okej mördarfilm som kretsade kring en författare som utsatte kvinnor för saker han skrev om för att se hur de skulle reagera. Jag hade gärna sett mer scener där han just undersökte deras reaktioner. En märklig sak var att det var svårt att veta om man skulle skratta eller förfasas över filmen. Den var kryddad med komiska situationer och överdrivna karaktärer, samtidigt som ämnesvalet inte var särskilt muntert. Sevärd film om man lyckas se den på tv, men knappast värd att anstränga sig för att se.

Jag har inte sett föregångaren till Appleseed (originaltitel: Appurushîdo) (2004), utan kastade mig rakt över den senaste versionen. Visuellt är åtminstone miljöerna helt makalöst snygga, även om karaktärerna lider av “dock-ögon-fenomenet” och inte alls är lika realistiska. Man kastas rakt in i handlingen och har i början svårt att veta vem huvudpersonen är och vilka som är motståndarna, men jag misstänker att det är meningen. Jag tyckte inte att handlingen var överdrivet komplicerad, men jag förväntade mig också en Shirow-handling och gjorde mitt bästa för att vara alert på olika personer och deras grupptillhörighet. Bitvis visste man inte riktigt vad allt handlade om men det avslöjades snart, med efterföljande actionscener. Självklart måste man se den, men av samma anledning som man måste se Ghost in the Shell 2: de snygga datoranimationerna.

Efter att ha genomfört en läsarundersökning har jag beslutat att vända på ordningen filmerna presenterats. Nu hamnar istället den senast sedda filmen längst ner, så man rekommenderas läsa uppifrån. Sen senast har jag och Helena sett fyra filmer om seriemördare. De två första handlar om fiktiva mördare, de två senare är biografiska.

Red Dragon (2002) är såklart inte lika bra som När lammen tystnar (originaltitel: The Silence of the Lambs) (1991), men det är svårt för en film att vara. Faktum är att jag tyckte att den var sämre än Manhunter (1986) också, som är samma historia. Edward Norton är som vanligt stabil, och Anthony Hopkins kan man inte klaga på, men jag gillade inte de “dramatiska vändningarna”. Mördaren i Manhunter var långt mer obehaglig i mina ögon.

The Cell (2000) med Jennifer Lopez i huvudrollen utspelar sig i en nära framtid där man kan resa in i människors psyken via en maskin. Jennifer är psykolog och springer runt i en mördares förvridna drömvärld för att ta reda på var ett offer finns. Ja, det var väl rätt okej effekter, men inte mycket till story. Man visste hela tiden precis hur det skulle gå och saker som skulle kunnat vara känsloladdade lämnades helt till förmån för spaceiga miljöer framställda med datorer. Kul att ha sett, men svår att rekommendera.

Ed Gein (originaltitel: In the Light of the Moon) (2000) handlar om en helt vanlig amerikansk farbror som har ovanan att äta folk och förvandla delar av dem till möbler. Det är alltid svårt att veta vilka delar som är biografiska och vilka som är sanna, men jag antar att det är ett rättvisande porträtt. Ed Gein uppfyllde verkligen mördarrollen som folk säger “men han som verkade så normal” om, och filmen är klart sevärd.

I Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) får man följa med i en del av Henry Lee Lucas vardag. Det som verkligen lyfter filmen är den realistiska känslan av det meningslösa i våldet. Det är inte särskilt många grafiska scener, men hela situationen och karaktärernas likgiltighet gör att handlingen känns äkta. Filmmakarna har tydligen tagit sig en del friheter och tar död på folk som egentligen dog långt senare och liknande, men det märkligaste är nog att filmen slutar “mitt i”. Utan minsta tecken på upplösning rullar plötsligt eftertexterna, och man får egentligen varken veta var mördaren kom ifrån eller vad som hände senare. Klart uppfriskande att slippa textrutor som berättar “hur det gick sen”, sånt är fruktansvärt, men någon form av avslutning vill man gärna ha hos filmer man ser. Hursom är den en klassiker bland seriemördarfilm.