Jacken's Blog

The first R-rated film I managed to get into was a film about an Science park getting infected by virus, I can still remember my disappointment, after going around for a week thinking about how much cooler R-rated films where. Anyway, the next film blew me away. It was American Graffiti. At the time I saw the film I was already interested in American muscle cars and Rods. A lot of the older kids in Jakobsberg had built race machine and rolled around cruising. And I wanted one to. So to finally be able to see this much talked about film was fantastic. One of the ushers smuggled us in and put us up in the front. And I was mesmerized. Must have been around ten years old. Problem was, we also had a big bag of beers which we drank, and after an half an hour my friend Peter started to puke on the floor. So we had to move to rear seat to get away from the stench.
I saw that film three times the consecutive days.

A Swedish film that really spooked is as film called Hets. Mr Ingemar Bergman has written it. It’s about a school with a really nasty teacher called Caligula. Skillfully played by a great swedish actor called Stig Järrel. And he scared the crap out of my 8 year old self. Well, the whole film did. Total mind-fuck. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
My father got to know Stig Järrel later on in life. The nicest person you would met. My father had a massive stroke, and Stig Järrel sat down and recorded his thoughts, did some reading for my father to have at the hospital. What he could have done, had been to just take any of the audiobooks or films he did and sent them. But instead he goes through the trouble of recording specifically for my dad. I think that’s very noble of him.
And If you are a long time reader, you know I like name dropping where I can. I just cant help myself.

Going back a couple of years, I remember seeing my first horror film Them!. It was a science fiction horror movie about gigantic radioactive ants attacking people. Must have been around six years old. I watched it behind a curtain so my father wouldn’t see me. Later when I tried to sleep, I was scared shitless! This was at our house in Ã…land. It’s very remote, and when you turn off the lights, it’s pitch-black.

Later on they started to show films at the youth center where I lived. The first one I saw there was Marathon Man with Dustin Hoffman. But I was convinced that It would be crap, because I hate sports. But what a film! You know you made a film with impact when you can say a catch-frase from the movie like “Is it safe?” and most people knows immediately.

So the next time they showed film at the youth center, my hopes was up a bit. The film this time, Vanishing point, THE ultimate car film. I saw it again just a couple of months ago and it still holds up. But the thing that really impress me is the cinematography. It’s stunning.

I’ll continue this list later. Please write a comment on films that changed you as a person.

I’ve just finished watching the BBC series called Extras with Ricky Gervais. After seeing The Office, I just thought that you couldn’t top that, but Extras manages to do that! Incredible.

Now I just need to write a script for Mr Gervais and Larry David to make the ultimate TV series.

I finally checked out the film Garden State. It’s about this guy who is a struggling actor in Hollywood. After his mother dies he returns to his hometown, get together with his friends, meets a girl etc etc. And I really like it. Great movie. Recommended.

I just finished watching The Stepford Wives. Pretty bland. But it’s ok for wasting 87 minutes. It’s nice to see Mr Broderick on screen again. Apperantly it’s a remake, but I can’t remember if I’ve seen the original so I can’t compare.

Read more here about the film The Stepford Wives.

Paycheck is John Woo’s latest film starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman. It’s a standard suspense/action movie, but it’s actually pretty good. There is a lot of Hitchcock homages in the film. It’s not a masterpiece in any respect, but good entertainment to waste a couple of hours.

Recommended.

The movie Matchstick Men was pretty good. After seeing a couple of really bad movies, but not bad enough to laugh at, It’s refreshing to stumble upon a good one. And Nicolas Cage makes a great performance yet again. One of the few of the actors in Hollywood that can and dare to play quirky characters. In a climate like Hollywood, I guess it’s easy to transform into a narcissistic pansy after being there for to long, but not Nicolas. I wonder what would have happened if Burt Reynolds moved to Arizona after he made Deliverance? He would probably have made a lot of good movies, and today being as highly regarded as Ed Harris, who is man enough to dare not to wear a tupé. Because I still think he had it in him, and that he was ruined by his surrounding. Why this talk about Burt Reynolds? Haven’t a clue…

The film Monster is about the serial killer Aileen Wuornos. I have read about this case and was preparing for the stupid Hollywood version. But to my amazement, it’s great. And the actor Charlize Theron makes a spot on portrait of her. Good to see that Hollywood still manages to get hold of some good actors. Great stuff.

Last night I checked out The School of Rock. I always liked Jack Black, and this film is actually ok. It shows that it’s main target audience is kids. You feel that Jack Black is holding back, just to avoid to get the wrong rating. But still, some good laughs.