ARRU (2026) Tribeca 2026

 

A family of reindeer herders take on a mining company and occasionaly burst into song and dance numbers.

This is one of the more "what were they thinking?" films of 2026. I had forgotten it lists as a musical so when the songs started I was confused. Having seen the film I still am. Give the cast and crew points for trying to enliven a kind of dull art house film with music but take it away since it doesn't really work. Partly because the musical numbers are very uneven, but mostly because it breaks the sense of reality in ways it shouldn't be broken.

Yes, its an interesting film for those who collect interesting films but most people are not going to care.

KRAKEN (2026)

One of the joys of this year, KRAKEN is a film to see and lose yourself in.

The plot of the film has the giant sea beast appearing in the deepest fjord, which is the home of fish farm that had gotten into trouble with the government.  The fish are suddenly behaving strangely and no one knows why. The government sends the woman who originally blew the whistle on the farm and as she begins to investigate The beast begins to feed.

A solid cast who don't stop selling the seriousness of the situation turn what could have and should have been a silly film into a suspenseful tale. Sure it follows every cliche, but it does so in such away that you just go with it. Who are we to spoil the fun when really cool things are happening.

In point of fact, short of lying and saying the film sucked, this film is review proof. Its a glorious popcorn film that does what it needs to, which is help you eat a bowl of popcorn.

Highly recommended, this is a monster must see.

Ninjababy (2021) North Bend Film Festival

 Ninjababy is a great film.  It’s a fantastic slice of life based upon Inga Sætre‘s autobiographical graphic novel that will win you over and should you be someone who can relate to our heroine, it might be one of your favorite films of all time. (yea it’s that good)

The film follows Rakel a twenty something young woman who has list of things that she wants to be. Nowhere on that list is mother. Unfortunately life has decided to mess up Rakel‘s plans and pushes her toward motherhood. However things are complicated because the dad is a one night stand (the dad is her aikido teacher whom she slept with because he smelled good) and she isn’t sure what do .  

What Rakel does is the film and it’s a great journey. I say this not because it’s touchy feely good time but because it is a journey we haven’t taken before. It is a trip that isn’t down well work paths and as a result is frequently surprising. More importantly it’s a story that feel lived in. Yes this is  essentially a true story, but even if it wasn’t I would swear it was. There is a connection to life that we don’t often see. Even if this wasn’t autobiographical you can still feel how this had to be real, I mean how the characters turn is not how any movie characters I’ve ever seen turn.

Helping the autobiographical nature of the film is the first rate cast.  There isn’t a bad performance anywhere in this film with the result we completely believe everything we are seeing is real. If Oscar gave an ensemble award I would hope they would be in the running.

I love this film. I loved it to the point of stopping the film and emailing several friends to say they had to see it.

This is a wonderful film and highly recommended when it plays at the North Bend Film Festival or anywhere else you can find it.

an incredibly short review of Queen of Niendorf (2018) NYICFF 2019

Ten year old Lea finds the girls in her town boring. She would rather hang out with the boys.

Good looking film is a moody coming of age film that feels like a long lazy summer afternoon. This is a sweet and lovely tale that will delight young ladies of Lea‘s age or ever were and can appreciate the shifting nature of growing up.

QUEEN OF NEINDORF plays this weekend and next at NYICFF. For tickets and more information go here

Lords of Chaos (2018)

Steve here with a quick note. 

After I saw that Lord of Chaos I sent an email to Eden to ask what she thought of the film. I was curious because she's familiar enough with the Black Metal scene that I wanted to know her take. She hadn't seen it yet so when the film’s release was announced I arranged for her to see the film because I feel her perspective, as someone who is familiar with the music, the events and life adds a great deal to how we should see the film.

What follows is her thoughts on the film.

In a voiceover that starts off Lords of Chaos, Euronymous (Rory Culkin) says this will end badly for him.

If you’ve heard of black metal, this is probably the one story you know about it -- a band called Mayhem whose history involved a bloody suicide, church burnings and an eventually murder.

To be fair, it’s not like Norwegian black metal is all puppies and kittens -- far from it. The music is heavy and often deals with a lot of darker issues. And certainly, this story has the most drama, but it just reinforces everyone’s worst opinions of what black metal is.

On the surface, Jonas Åkerlund is not a bad choice to tell this story. He was in black metal band Bathory early in its history and he clearly has experience in the music industry and an affection for darker imagery. Strangely, though, it’s impossible to tell where his sympathy lies here. Lords of Chaos is all over the place, tonally. Sometimes it seems like he’s expressing great empathy for these kids whose lives just ran away with them; other times it seems like he’s cruelly mocking them for being self-involved idiots. While it would be fine if the movie landed somewhere in between the two, it just mostly feels like Åkerland couldn’t make up his mind. Consequently, I really felt nothing -- neither pity nor contempt.

I think the suicide of Dead (Jack Kilmer) is a great representation of this. Dead is supposed to be fascinating and magnetic but he’s not in the movie long enough for us to care about him. His bloody suicide, which should be emotional, goes on too long and just seems to revel in the gory special effects.

It also never dives deep enough into what they were rebelling against. Norway did have a state church at the time, and these characters had privileged backgrounds (Eronymous’ dad helped him open his record store; Varg’s mom loaned him money to record his album) but we’re never given a clear sense about what they were angry about, specifically. We don’t know why black metal came out of this environment.

There are glimpses of what this movie could be when they’re just hanging out eating shawarma or drinking in bars. Those brief insights remind us that these are real people. Even Varg (Emory Cohen) starting out as a shy poser who wants to hang with the cool kids feels real … until it doesn’t.

It’s at least a stylish movie. Åkerlund has a great visual eye and while some of his music-video tricks are restrained here, he gives it a dynamic pace. The first half feels stronger than the first, though, and the second half feels like it’s just moving all the pieces into place for the inevitable outcome.

And speaking of that, Euronymous’ killing at the hands of Varg is surprisingly emotional, but even the effect of that is minimized by how long its dragged out. The movie didn’t build the relationships strong enough for us to fully care. Euronymous is dead and Varg goes to jail. Black metal lives on. Or something.

Ultimately, I’m not sure who this is movie is for. If you already know the story, it’s not going to offer any more insights into who these people were or the whys of black metal and it may actively offend you. If you don’t already know the story, the moral seems to be “black metal is bad,” which seems like a weird takeaway coming from Åkerlund.

Black metal is about more than that “one psycho and a few confused kids” (as someone I know concisely put it) but Lords of Chaos will leave you thinking that’s all there is. And that’s a shame. I can only hope it inspires people to read more about and listen more. I know I did want to go listen to more black metal after I watched this. At least there’s that.

(It’s a bit hard to find, but I recommend Icelandic movie Metalhead from 2013, about a young woman connecting with black metal after a family tragedy. It feels more true to life than this supposed “true life” story.)

Snowman (2017)

I have no idea about The Snowman. Based on the seventh Harry Hole novel the film has something to do about a killer who decapitates his victims and replaces them with snowman heads, or something. Is it good? Is it Bad? It’s up to you.

Its dark and brooding and missing details due, according to the director, in large part to the fact that quarter of the script was not filmed. I can buy that since as everyone has pointed out plotline comes and goes at random. I have no idea if a serviceable film could have been cut from the existing footage but I’m of the opinion either they should have tried harder or just scraped it. What's here is interesting in fits and starts but it never comes together owing to the very real sense that stuff is missing.

On a personal note I think it’s a bit too brooding. Is anyone happy? Apparently not. Does it matter? Probably not.

Is it a good film? I have no idea. I don’t think it’s the full on disaster of the reviews but I don’t know beyond that. That the film is running around 5 out of 10 at IMDB is intriguing because clearly some people like it. My advice is give it a shot if the idea intrigues you.

In Brief: El Clasico (2015) Tribeca 2016

Two brothers in the Kurdish territory of Iraq decide to set out to meet Cristiano Ronaldo of the Real Madrid soccer team as means of proving to the father of the woman he loves that he is worthy to be her husband. Taking his brother, a Barcelona fan, along the pair sets out on an adventure to do something big

Nice sweet film scores many bonus points by  largely staying away from cliches. By the time it  kind of turns into your typical feel good film at the end the film has earned the right to at least have a little schmaltz.

I'm guessing that the one thing most people are going to mention is that the role of the brothers are played by two real life brothers, who are little people. Both major fans of the football teams they root for in the film and an interview I read with the director they helped in shaping pieces of the film. It took a little while before I stopped thinking about whether the casting of the brothers was stunt casting and just let the story play out. To be honest the leads could have been any brothers, at the same time if they hadn't been cast odds are this nice gem of a film would never have gotten any notice, which would be a shame.

Definitely worth your time

For tickets and more information go here.

Børning (2014) Fantasia 2015

I've seen any number of films that have had dedications to the late great Hal Needham but very few actually could live up to the auto insanity that he could bring to the screen,  Børning does that.

Despite what critics may say about SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT or CANNONBALL RUN the films were fun. They were pure spectacle made simply to entertain. And they did in spades returning a mint at the box office. Eventually Needham fell out of favor but ultimately the damage was done and how the world viewed car chases films was changed forever.

Børning tells the story of Roy. A supreme gearhead Roy loves to race. When a race with his pregnant wife ends with him winning the race but upside down in a ditch, he ends up thrown in jail-but not before seeing his new born daughter in her mother's arms. Years later, on a rare long weekend with his daughter (Roy had long since separated from his wife) Roy is challenged to a race by his old rival TT. As the two choose a course it turns into a 1350 mile race across Norway. What was to be some time with his daughter becomes even more crowded as dozens of other cars join the race for a variety of reasons.

The Fantasia promotional material compares it to CANNONBALL RUN and it's that but it also riffs on any number of other films as well. Actually what the film really is is a character driven chase film. Yes there are race scenes but always there are characters. People are driving the cars and interacting, not in the wise ass Burt Reynolds sort of a way, but in the way you interact with your buddies.  In this film people are more important than the cars.

What I like about the film is that it is not a straight out balls to the wall  chase film. we're a half hour in before we're at the big race. On top of that its not all crazy speeding and jockeying for position. This is very much a race that friends who didn't want to get killed would have. Yea there are duels but largely this is something else.

Hallvard Bræin, the cinematographer  for TROLL HUNTER, has made a great looking film. Norway looks lovely, the chases are pulse pounding, and every now and again there are these really wicked shots that are just wicked cool (I love when TT comes to challenge Roy and TT's car and camera circle around Roy).

He is also to be applauded for making a film that is pretty much computer graphic free. Other than some shots at the very end I didn't notice anything that was obviously CGI. How nice to have a race film that obeys the laws of physics and has cars that have real weight.

I had a blast seeing this film. This is hunker down and watch it with a huge bowl of popcorn sort of film. I hope to hell this gets a US theatrical release because I want to see this on a HUGE screen with a great sound system.

One of the absolute joys of Fantasia.

A few words on Ballet Boys (2014) New York International Children's Film Festival 2015

This is the story of three friends Lukas, Syvert, and Torgier over four years as they train to dance and hopefully get into a prestigious ballet academy.

I have to be honest here this film was not my cup of tea. I kind of knew about five minutes in  that this wasn't going to float my boat. I am not a ballet person and as such this was a tough go for me.

This isn't to say that the film is bad, it's not. The film does present the lives of the three young men wonderfully, and the dance sequences are great to see, but it never pulled it all together for me in a package I could really get behind.

On the other hand if you are a dance and ballet fan this is a must see. All others will have to decide for themselves.

The film runs at the New York International Children's Film Festival  Saturday March 14th. For more information and tickets go here.

Pioneer (2013)

I hate it when they  announce that a film is going to be remade before it even hits local cinemas. Its the sort of thing that both gets your hopes up and makes you wonder why are they bothering since in the US most people will wait until the George Clooney version comes out. On the other hand  seeing it now allows you to see a very good little thriller that deserves to be seen on its own terms.

Set in the 1970's  right after gas and oil was discovered in the North Sea PIONEER tells the story of what happened when the the various governments and oil companies raced to figure out how to create a pipeline along the sea floor to get the natural resources to market.  Based on actual events but recrafted as a thriller, the film tells the story of two brothers who are part of the teat dive team. When a tragic accident happens one of the brothers decides to find out what really happened after he is given non-answers by everyone involved.

Director Erik Skjoldbjærg who is probably best known for the original INSOMNIA, has fashioned a gripping tale of corruption and greed that is still playing out. Petter, our hero, is trying to figure out what happened not only at the bottom of the sea but also in training exercises where he and the other divers began to hallucinate. The injuries to divers like Petter are very real and still affecting people. George Clooney's interest in remaking PIONEER comes not only from his desire to tell a good story but also get help for the surviving divers and their families.

While the film isn't filled with car chases and shoot outs the film is full of suspense. What is going on and why isn't anyone willing to talk? While the higher ups and people with dirty hands are willing to try and stop Petter it's never completely clear how far they'll go to stop him- especially since they need him as a high profile diver, the question is is that enough to keep him safe?

I'm not telling.

I will say that this is a great ride. This is a nifty little thriller that is perfect for curling up with with a large bucket of popcorn and a beverage of choice. The cast is first rate with the handful of American actors (Stephen Lang and Wes Bentley) blending in seamlessly with their Norwegian counterparts. The film is also full of haunting images with some of the under sea shots and the films final images being the sort of things that burn their way into your brain.

This is a super little film that is the perfect antidote for all of the big Hollywood sturm und drang that is being unleashed upon us during the holiday season. This is one you'll want to search out because it's not your typical clap trap.

Magnolia is releasing the film to I-Tunes, VOD platforms and theaters  Friday.

The Deep and Kon Tiki at Lincoln Center's And the Winner is....

Lincoln Center's series of foreign Oscar hopefuls lucked out with two of the short listed titles playing back to back Saturday night. I and a good number of other New York film people were there.

The evening was thematic in that both stories had to do with true stories set on the ocean, one on the waters around Iceland and the other the vast expanse between South America and Polynesia.

THE DEEP completely flummoxed me. The write up talked about the story being based upon the true life story of how one man survived the sinking of a fishing boat. It made it sound like it was an epic survival tale. I then watched the trailer on You Tube and was completely confused because the film looks like a heavy personal drama with survivor guilt and questions about why did he survive and everyone else die. The actual film has elements of both of those ways of looking at it but it's something else instead, it's more a character study of the man, Gullie, who survived.

Beginning the night before the ship sails the film quickly introduces us to all of the characters. The ship then sets off on it's doomed voyage. We watch as the ship goes down and we see what happens. We also see the reaction to everyone back home, which is at first that Gullie was mistaken, but then they realize he was telling the truth and he quietly becomes a hero, and the object of study since doctors want to know why he survived.

This is a quietly powerful film. It doesn't amp up the story, it just tells it matter of factly. These are just a bunch of guys doing their job until it all goes wrong in an instant. When the ship sinks, the sequence is so matter of fact that we can't really believe that this is how it ends. Its a tragic error that quickly ends the lives of five men, and it's scary because of the simplicity and lack of freaky camera angles or over done sound tracks. This is just the way some people die.

Once the film gets back on land the film remains matter of fact showing the grieving process and how Gullie tries to recover from his own injuries and tries to help the researchers trying to see why he survived.

Its a solid little film that is completely opposite something like The Perfect Storm, with the result that we have a film that moves us with the tale of simple folk who meet tragedy in their lives and just seem to go on. Its real life and not high priced actors in death porn. This really is about the characters and the life they lead.

I really like the film a great deal, and while I understand why it made the short list of possible Oscar nominees, I really don't expect it to make the final cut. I do however heartily and highly recommend the film.

And DO see this in a theater if you can. The scale of the landscape and the smallness of the figures in it are best reveled on a screen as big as possible.

The second film screened Saturday was Kon-Tiki about Thor Heyerdahl's obsessive drive to prove that Polynesia was populated from the East, and South America in particular.

Best described as a big Hollywood epic by way of Norway, this is as an exciting a film as I've seen in a while. It's the exactly the sort of film that makes you forget that you've read the story and instead has you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to see how it comes out. (A reviewer sitting behind me was loudly reacting to each twist and turn in the story as if it were a life and death matter)

A beautiful condensation of the events, this is on many levels a grand adventure that not only we don't get in the movies any more, but it's an adventure  that people don't do any more. If  Heyerdahl tried this today there would have been six follow boats and numerous precautions, not a bunch of guys on a boat completely unable to be rescued.

One of the things that I like about the film is the unexpected complexity. Heyerdahl is a seemingly simple character, but as time goes on we see lots of shading. Sure he's obsessive, but it's a mania that will cost him in unexpected ways. I also like how the complexity carries over to the other characters in small ways that say great things. Even Liv, Heyerdahl's far away wife, and a seemingly throw away character is revealed to have more going on than we might think.

Easily the the first film I've seen in 2013 that I know I'll be talking about it at years end. A must see on a BIG screen.

I do have to point out that the film screened in an English language version at Lincoln Center. It didn't looked dubbed, which confuses me since I think this is a shoe in for one of the five best Foreign Language Film nominations.

Body Wars (1996)

As part of the Lincoln Center Film Society Family Series this film will be screening this Sunday at 2PM and on the 26th at 11AM. Tickets are 6 bucks and it's worth checking out.

A little kid who lives with his grandfather shrinks himself, with the aid of his teddy bear, in order to go inside his grandfather's body to see whats making him ill. With the help of two "people" he meets on the inside he sets about making his grandfather well.

Sue me I really liked this movie. I have no idea why I should have warmed to this kids film but I did. Perhaps its the design (which is just neat to look at) and the sense that there is something behind the story beyond just being a live action Osmosis Jones for kids. I think it helps that it is very clever a good deal of the time. This is a kids film that just tells its story and so it becomes something more than just a kids film. Its a film adults will like too.

No, its not perfect. I could pick it apart by saying the talking teddy bear oddly done, the real world stuff just misses and the pacing is off, but whats the point? Despite any flaws I still I liked it. Though I do have to admit that in many ways its better in the parts than as a whole.

Definitely worth trying if you run across the film, especially if you are open to good, but not great kids films, with really cool looks to them.(And as I said at the start the film is screening at Lincoln Center the next two weekends. Details are HERE)

Turn Me On Goddamn It (2011) (Tribeca FIlm Festival)

Here’s another case of wanting to talk about a film but being restricted by the need to wait for the world premiere. Normally I wouldn’t mind except that here is a little film that is probably doomed not to get real release in the US and which is one of the finds of the year. It’s a film I would have loved to have written about before the festival so I could direct you to getting tickets to all the screenings, but I wasn't allowed. As it is I’m just going to say go to any screening you can. It’s not the best film ever made, it’s probably not one of the best of the year but it is a small treasure.

The plot has 15 year old Alma trying to navigate life in her small town in Norway. She lives with her single mom, hangs out with friends, and calls the phone sex lines because she is so horny. When Artur, the boy she likes, pokes her with his privates, she is so shocked that she tells her friends, one of which conspires to ruin her since she likes him as well. How it spins out is the film.

Yes it deals frankly with sex but it’s not dirty. And no its not exploitative or dark. Its like life. It just sort of is.

It’s the sort of thing where it starts off and you think, hey I like he way this looks (the photography is beautiful) and sounds(it has one of the soundtracks in ages) before the film starts to move so as to trick you into thinking perhaps this is going to go into trashy territory…only it never really goes there and the film remains firmly real and human.

When I saw this in the film list I thought , well this might be good. I went to the screening where I started out being curious, then went to thinking hey this looks good, to oh no this is going into cliche on to no it’s not, to hey this is good and finally feeling all warm and fuzzy at the end.

What a wonderful charming marvelous little film.

Sadly this film will probably not get a real release in the US. The nudity and frank sexuality of 15 year olds is going to give the MPAA kittens. Never mind that the film is the sort of thing that should be shown to kids in high school… the powers that be will prevent it from being seen by the audience who would love it the most.

I loved this film and hate to think that without Tribeca I might never have seen this film.

When it was over one of the other people at the press screening said that was good. I added I liked it too and she replied it was a treat since she had seen so many films from the festival and this as only the third she liked.

A must see. A must find.

Its exactly the sort of film this blog was started to highlight.