Tag: Tomas Alfredson

THE SNOWMAN – Review

Michael Fassbender in THE SNOWMAN. Photo by Jack English. © Universal Pictures

Director Tomas Alfredson helmed a pair of outstanding films, the gripping ground-breaking Swedish vampire film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, and TAILOR, TINKER, SOLDIER, SPY, a moody, first-rate film adaptation of John LeCarre’s brainy bestselling spy novel. So one has to wonder what on earth happened with his latest film THE SNOWMAN, a crime thriller that boasts a cast including Michael Fassbender, Charlotte Gainsbourg, J.K. Simmons, Toby Jones, Val Kilmer, and Chloe Sevigny. THE SNOWMAN is not merely bad, it is outright awful. Reportedly, even the director thinks the film is bad, expressing frustration the conditions under which it was made.

Adapted from Jo Nesbo’s novel of the same name, THE SNOWMAN focuses on Olso policeman Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) investigating the case of a missing woman who turns up links to a cold case. One thing that seems odd about this new case is the sudden appearance of a grim-faced snowman outside the missing woman’s house.

As the veteran detective and his rookie assistant Katherine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson) investigate, it quickly becomes clear that a serial killer is at work. The investigation takes them into a web of mysteries, many of which link to a powerful business leader, Arve Stop (J.K. Simmons).

Harry has a reputation as a legendary crime solver based on his past work as police detective but now he has become an alcoholic and that reputation shields him from scrutiny as he goes on one drunken bender after another. The detective’s personal life is complicated too, as he tries to maintain a relationship with the son of his ex-girlfriend Rakel (Charlotte Gainsbourg) even though he is not the boy’s real father. Oddly, Harry’s messy personal life has eerie echoes to some aspects of the cases he is investigating now.

 

The film starts out well enough, moody and atmospheric, teasing us that it will develope into a meaty thriller. Cinematographer Dion Beebe creates a dark, snowy world that echoes LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and there are visual parallels to TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY too. Although the story takes place in Norway, the actors all sport British accents, even the non-British cast members. The director creates an eerie, suspenseful atmosphere, and the cast do their best to round out their characters, but as the story gets more complicated, it is all for naught as nothing appears to clarify how all this connects. Until it does, when the film suddenly dive into a remarkably far-fetched, even silly ending.

The real problem seems to be a laughably bad script. At first, everything is complicated and murky, but as we wait for the fog to clear, it starts to dawn on us there will be no clarity for this story. Red herrings appear and vanish, flashbacks (including one with a bizarre Val Kilmer) pop up and dissolve without adding much useful information. While there is not a lot of on-screen violence, we do get gruesomely views of the aftermath of killings, and the killer’s penchant to replace victim’s heads with those of snow men. The film suddenly wraps up all its plot’s loose ends in a ridiculously pat and formulaic bow, an ending that is as laughable as it is unconvincing and trite. The story would be a disappointment even as the plot of a bad 70s television show.

Why Tomas Alfredson chose this story for his film, why all these stars signed on, and what went wrong during filming, are the real mysteries of THE SNOWMAN. What is not a mystery is how quickly this stinker will sink out of sight, just as couple of characters do in this snowy mess.

RATING: 1 out of 5 stars

Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, And J.K. Simmons Star In First Trailer For THE SNOWMAN

Michael Fassbender (X-Men series), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Independence Day: Resurgence), Val Kilmer (Heat) and Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) star in THE SNOWMAN, a terrifying thriller from director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), based on Jo Nesbø’s global bestseller.

In theaters October 20, watch the first trailer.

When an elite crime squad’s lead detective (Fassbender) investigates the disappearance of a victim on the first snow of winter, he fears an elusive serial killer may be active again. With the help of a brilliant recruit (Ferguson), the cop must connect decades-old cold cases to the brutal new one if he hopes to outwit this unthinkable evil before the next snowfall.

THE SNOWMAN is produced by Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (The Theory of Everything, Les Misérables), as well as Piodor Gustafsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Robyn Slovo (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

A Working Title production—in association with Another Park Film—the thriller is executive produced by Nesbø, Niclas Salomonsson, Martin Scorsese, Alfredson, Liza Chasin and Amelia Granger.

The film was shot entirely on location in Norway in the cities of Oslo and Bergen and the area of Rjukan.

http://www.thesnowmanmovie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thesnowmanmovie

WAMG At The TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Red Carpet Premiere

Hollywood lit up on Tuesday, December 6th  for the Los Angeles Premiere of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY at the Cinerama Dome at The ArcLight in Hollywood, and WAMG was there!

Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, David Dencik, director Tomas Alfredson, screenwriter Peter Straughan, producer Robyn Slovo and notable guests which include the below attended the screening/after-party: BJ Novak, Brenda Vaccaro, Christopher Nolan, Clifton Collins Jr., Corbin Bleu, Edgar Wright, Emily Blunt, Johnny Whitworth, Mia Wasikowska, Mindy Kaling, Natassja Kinski, and Olvia d’Abo.

After-party followed at the Chateau Marmont. Sorry kids… no pictures from there!

 

Just click on an image below to enlarge

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS:

The long-awaited feature film version of John le Carré’s classic bestselling novel. The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries’ espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control (John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim’s mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus – as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a career spy with razor-sharp senses. Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is soon called in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney); he is to be rehired in secret at the government’s behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlier interaction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla. The mole’s trail remains cold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts Lacon. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who claims to possess crucial intelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), whom he had code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and – Smiley himself. Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate…

Focus Features’ TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY, MPAA-rated “R,” opens Dec. 9 (NY/LA); Dec. 23 (add. cities); and Jan. 2012 (more cities)

 Check out the website:  www.tinkertailorsoldierspy.com

Facebook: www.facebook/com/TinkerTailorMovie

Twitter_Hashtag: #TTSS

New TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Trailer

Watch the exciting new trailer for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. The much anticipated thriller features a stellar cast including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Kathy Burke.

Synopsis:

Set in the 1970s, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY finds George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a recently retired MI6 agent, doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage. Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects – all experienced, urbane, successful agents – but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment.

The screenplay is by Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor and the film, which was shot in London, Budapest and Istanbul is produced by Working Title’s co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and Robyn Slovo. The executive producers are Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin, Douglas Urbanski, Peter Morgan, Olivier Courson, Ron Halpern and John le Carré.

Directed by Tomas Alfredson (“Let The Right One In”) TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER is a Working Title production for STUDIOCANAL. The film will be released in UK & Ireland on 16 September 2011 through Optimum Releasing and in US theatres on November 18, 2011 from Focus Features.

Visit the film official site: http://www.tinker-tailor-soldier-spy.com/

“Like” the film on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TinkerTailorMovie

Watch The First Trailer For TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Here’s your first look at the trailer for Working Title’s TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY.

Synopsis:

George Smiley, a recently retired MI6 agent, is doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage. Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects – all experienced, urbane, successful agents – but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment…

The hotly anticipated film from director Tomas Alfredson (LET THE RIGHT ONE IN) is an adaptation of John le Carre bestselling novel and boasts an all-star cast including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY will be distributed in UK theaters on September 16, 2011 by StudioCanal and in US theatres on November 18, 2011 from Focus Features. “Like” the film on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TinkerTailorMovie

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Let the Right One In’

Travis:

Move over ‘Lost Boys’… you’re no longer the coolest under-aged vampires. Kiefer and the two Coreys have nothing on Eli! Director Tomas Alfredson has created a masterpiece of eerie vampire drama. ‘Let the Right One In’ is a tale about two young people who create a strong bond out of abnormal conditions. Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a 12 year old boy without any friends in the snow-laden winter of Sweden. Oskar is bullied by a gang of three kids on a daily basis, but he does not fight back. Oskar does however yearn for revenge, but can only muster the courage to retaliate in his imagination while by himself.

Oskar first meets Eli (Lina Leandersson) one night outside his apartment building while imagining how his revenge would play out. At first, Eli is stand-offish, but as the two continue to meet in the dark of night they begin to talk and become friendly. Oskar soon finds himself falling in love with Eli, but she is wise beyond her years and is careful not to toy with Oskar’s emotions. Eli lives in the unit next to his with her guardian, but it’s not entirely clear who this man is at first. When her adult companion’s luck runs out, Eli becomes even closer to Oskar and the truth about her and Eli and her past begins to unfold as delicately as a flower blooms for the first time. The film is so brilliantly written and the young actors are marvelous. In particular, Leandersson gives a phenomenal performance as the strange and quiet nomadic girl who only comes out at night.

‘Let the Right One In’ opens by introducing us to Oskar as he imagines forcing his bullies to “scream like a pig” before he exacts his revenge, followed an introduction to Eli’s guardian as he harvests a meal from a local man. These scene is set amidst a grove of birch trees in the snow, creating a bleak and beautiful landscape like that of an Ansel Adams photograph. The mood is important to the story because for Oskar and Eli, all they have is each other. We get to know our two young characters fairly well before they become closely entangled in each other’s lives. Oskar has become relatively numb on the outside to his being repeatedly bullied, but refuses to tell anyone its happening. Eli finds herself slowly starving as her guardian is finding it more difficult to successfully harvest meals for her. One night she can no longer stand the hunger pains and we witness her kill for the first time and it is an eerie and frightening scene, even though we can see it coming. Leandersson convincingly portrays a girl whose entire existence is in contradiction. She is quiet and reserved until she feeds, when she becomes a raging killing machine. She appears to be young, but she exudes a wisdom and calmness that only comes from experience.

The cinematography is fitting but the score truly accentuates the look and feel of the film, often quiet but always powerful in its subtlety. Special effects really isn’t the term I would prefer to use when describing the scenes of Eli displaying her inhuman traits. Low key but highly effective, these scenes offer just enough of a glimpse of her abilities to reassure us of what she is and freak us out just enough to stay on edge. Nothing in the movie is overdone and the story becomes one of a life that continues beyond death in a recurring cycle of mutually beneficial relationships. ‘Let the Right One In’ is filmed in Swedish with English subtitles. For those of you scared off by this, please set that fear aside. The dialogue in this movie is somewhat sparse, but the language of great acting is at play in full force and that’s a language we all speak. You are truly missing one of the best films of the year (at least) by not seeing ‘Let the Right One In’. [Overall: 5 stars out of 5!]

Ram Man:

The foreign film industry has come a long way over the years. They are now becoming more mainstream and you find yourself almost ignoring the subtitles and just able to watch the film and understand the characters and what they are going through. A perfect example of this is Tomas Alfredson’s ‘Let The Right One In’. The ‘Right One’ is an adolescent vampire movie more along the lines of Romeo and Juliet than Dracula.

‘Let The Right One In’ tells the story of Oskar, a Swedish boy and a loner, who is bullied at school and has no friends. That is, until a mysterious girl named Eli moves in next door. Oskar who dreams of standing up to his foes at school  wielding a knife in his empty room telling the bullies to “squeal like a pig”. I guess he has seen ‘Deliverence’. One evening Eli appears on the jungle gym   to Oskar’s amazement. the two strike up a conversation that quickly leads to a close friendship. Eli not wanting to hurt her friend tells Oskar her dark secret as he begins to unravel her mystery, she is a vampire. She tells Oskar she is 12 years old and has been for a very long time.

This doesn’t phase Oskar, who is able to look past the issue of blood sucking and just see the girl he cares about. The picture painted of a very dark and cold Sweden adds to the enjoyment of this film. Eli’s attacks are like that of a rabid dog, leaping on the victim and going for the jugular.   Another aspect of the film that I really liked was that it was not predictable and the good guys always win in the end. Make sure to find out when this is showing in your local theater and check it out. It is destined to become a classic among horror films.   Let The Right One In is scheduled to be shown during the S.L.I.F.F.   at the Frontenac Theater Saturday Nov. 15th at 9:30 pm. Don’t miss it! [Overall: 4.25 stars out of 5]

Jeremy:

Hyperbole aside, the Swedish film ‘Let the Right One In’ may be the best vampire movie ever. Â  It is definitely the best since ‘Nosferatu’ came out over 80 years ago, but it may even surpass that classic film. Â  It’s smart, funny, scary, everything that makes a horror film an instant classic.

Based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist who also adapted the screenplay, ‘Let the Right One In’ tells the story of Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), an unfortunate 12-year-old. Â  His parents are divorced, he is basically an outcast at school, and he is continuously picked on, violently at times, by bullies. Â  Oskar dreams of taking up arms and fighting back against the bullies, but he never does. Â  One night, while out in the courtyard of the apartment complex where he and his mother stay, Oskar meets Eli (Lina Leandersson), a young girl who has recently moved into the apartment next to Oskar’s. Â  Eli is not like other girls. Â  She is, in fact, an age-old vampire who is forever trapped in the body of a 12-year-old. Â  Oskar and Eli quickly form a strong closeness. Â  She offers him the strength he finds within himself to finally stand up for himself, and he offers her a friendship she hasn’t felt in years.

Per Ragnar plays Hakan, Eli’s caretaker, who routinely goes out in the middle of the night to drain people of their blood. Â  The film deals, too, with his relationship with Eli. Â  He acts somewhat as a father figure, but you feel that there is a deeper bond between them that goes back long before the film starts. Â  This also gives you a sense of where the story is headed.

Vampire films are a dime a dozen. Â  The shelves of Blockbuster are stacked with cheap, vampire flicks that generally are filled with fake teeth and wall-to-wall gore. Â  It’s rare to find something original and breathtaking in a vampire movie, but we have all of that here in droves.

‘Let the Right One In’ is a film that would have worked perfectly as a coming of age story. Â  Had it just dealt with these two kids and the relationship they form, it still would have been a beautiful story. Â  The fact that Eli is a vampire is a driving force that branches the typical, coming of age story off into another direction, and it opens so many doors that previously have not been addressed.

Tomas Alfredson acts as director and his camer work is magnificent. Â  There are exquisitely framed shots that reveal so much yet not too much. Â  Much of what he shows is just enough for us to get an idea of the things that are happening, but our minds fill in the details. Â  ‘Let the Right One In’ is not a gory film, per se. Â  There are several instances of blood, but, like so many classic horror films like ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Halloween’, the most horrifying parts of the violence in ‘Let the Right On In’ are what is left to the imagination.

Alfredson handles the special effect in the film incredibly, as well. Â  Most of the effects are practical, but there are a few occurrences of CGI effect that enhance what is shown. Â  Some of these uses of CGI go unnoticed. Â  When we first see Eli, she is standing on top of a jungle gym. Â  She jumps down as she is talking with Oskar, and the way she falls to the ground gives the impression that her body is slowing, almost gliding gently to the ground. Â  It’s such a small change in speed that it may not register, but it’s there.

Later on, Eli and Oskar enter a darkened room, and her eyes are seen glowing. Â  It’s not a bright, neon yellow, but a glow, nonetheless. Â  It’s just enough for you to turn to the person sitting next to you and say, “Did you see that?”

There is one scene, one occasion where the CGI is not used very well. Â  It involves a number of cats, and it is pretty obvious CG. Â  This is the only complaint found in the entirety of the film.

The child actors involved in the film are also unbelievable. Â  Hedebrant as Oskar is such a realistic child, yet he performs the part very well. Â  Lina Leandersson is not a particularly pretty girl, but that is a good thing. Â  She, too, gives the part a realistic feel, and the sweetness she puts behind her part is undeniable. Â  I’m sure when the Hollywood remake comes out, these two parts will be rewritten for pretty people, and that is a shame.

I won’t rant about the absurdity of Hollywood remaking ‘Let the Right One In’. Â  I’ll just say it is a horrid idea, and it’s insulting that Hollywood studios don’t think people are smart enough to enjoy foreign films.

‘Let the Right One In’ is an incredible film, an engrossing story about the darkness within two children and the life-altering wave of events that comes from their bond. Â  It is a horror film about a vampire, but it’s also a coming of age tale about a lonely boy and the strange friend he makes. Â  It’s the kind of film that launches a wave of second-rate knockoffs. Â  It’s convenient that ‘Let the Right One In’ screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival the week before ‘Twilight’ comes out. Â  Not having seen ‘Twilight’, I can’t fully say if it is any good or not, but there is no way it can compare to the astonishing work that was put into ‘Let the Right One In’. Â  If I am allowed a pun, this film puts the stake into all other vampire films, period. [Overall: 5 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Saturday, November 15 @ 9:30pm (Frontenac)

Red Band Trailer for ‘Let the Right One In’

Plot Synopsis: Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl. She can’t stand the sun or food and to come into a room she needs to be invited. Eli gives Oskar the strength to hit back but when he realizes that Eli needs to drink other peoples blood to live he’s faced with a choice. How much can love forgive? Let The Right One In is a story both violent and highly romantic, set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982. — IMDB: by John Nordling, Producer

My Thoughts: Holy Crap! I REALLY want to see this and I want to see it now and on the big screen. My fingers and toes are crossed that we get even a short run of this in theaters in St. Louis because it deserves the true film-going experience. This trailer has me sold! ‘Let the Right One In’ looks amazing, original and extremely compelling. I’d like to see this get more attention and not see Hollywood jump on remaking this already, but who’s going to listen to me?