A MAN CALLED OTTO
Watchable. A remake of Swedish "En Man Som Heter Ove" ("A Man Called Ove") about which I wrote 6 years ago it should have won an Oscar. I carries references to the original, e.g. the protagonist eats semla, but is americanised - Otto has a shotgun. Unlike Ove, unerring Otto is truly grumpy but has a huge heart - out of balance both ways, though it's acted quite plausibly by Tom Hanks. It's also a tragicomedy but awfully sad and overtalked. With morose music - Kate Bush and plenty of less known artists. It also has lots of the back story on the protagonist and feels lengthy - at 126 minutes which is a pretty normal length. It it touching but the number of topics thrown in, including a transgender student, is odd. Maudlin and heart-rending most of all. But very warm - you wish for such neighbours. The cat is a top actor here!
THE OFFERING
Watchable. Awfully derivative horror tropes and lame visual effects open this supernatural flick. A few original music pieces can be heard among very run-of-the-mill horror sounds. Abyzou looks like an overgrown goat with ram horns. Nick Blood in the leading role - nothing wrong about the actor but I keep wondering if he was cast for his surname. Jewish traditions for their exotics? Because both the realistic layer and the supernatural one are dull and predictable but the ending which is tricky and fun. Cheap stuff shot in Bulgaria.
No comments:
Post a Comment