A very sweet, funny, anti-bitter, weird and odd film with a slew of likeable, weird and human characters. The kid Ronnie is awesome, and I love how the so-called grown-ups deal with the kids – I hate it when some persons are treated like “special beings” because of their age – though not all the time in this film… It’s a hoot, and if you’re into “Office Space” and films like that, this should be right up your alley. Love, life and friendship abound.

Marilyn Monroe was a legend.


In her own lifetime she created a myth of what a poor girl from a deprived background could attain. For the entire world she became a symbol of the eternal feminine.


But I have no words to describe the myth and the legend. I did not know this Marilyn Monroe. We gathered here today, knew only Marilyn – a warm human being, impulsive and shy, sensitive and in fear of rejection, yet ever avid for life and reaching out for fulfillment.

This collection of letters that Marilyn never sent, notes, diary-like entries, thoughts ranging from her first, failed marriage, up to a run-through of answers to interview questions just before her death, is a very intimate collection.

In the notes – mostly written by herself but also through typed transcriptions by her assistant – and the diary-entries, Marilyn goes through an array of emotions regarding a variety of subjects, persons, projects and other matters, ranging from her psychoanalysis, her seemingly constant self-questioning and self-doubt, to happiness, being married, succeeding with her own production company and of course, on reading.

This brings a very different image of the person, rather than the very two-dimensional, simple creature that some seem to prefer her to be.

Her honesty is key here, to me. Her writing reeks of honesty and is very interesting, especially when she writes of her fears, examining her past and considering her future, notably through the founding of her own production company (taking on MGM by doing so), which is professionally no small feat.

She seems to have been very self-critical. She doesn’t dump down on anybody else in these notes.

As a poet, she is quite rough; not my cup of tea, and the lyrics don’t seem to have been worked over much. Still, these are notes grabbed from a box in a garage. It’s not like she attempted to get them published.

All in all, it’s an accomplished bunch of pieces from a very talented, intelligent and seemingly pleasant and honest person’s life. I wish she’d get more recognition for all of the things for which she’s not most famous, but that’s show business, I guess.

More solemn and less wooden than the Swedish version, this film wins through cinematography, good editing, Mara’s acting, Reznor/Ross’ soundtrack and Fincher’s direction. It’s like a Brian Wilson album: a lot of minute work is behind the finished product, which is designed to seem effortless, and I think Fincher pulls that off very well. The reality feels real, and I’ve lived in Stockholm my entire life. The story is exciting, a bit scary and the dialogue – which is what most sets this version apart from the Swedish – sounds as though human beings would actually use it. I dislike the Swedish words thrown in, and the weird thing about loads of interior design feels like it’s from the 1970s, but other than that, I think it’s all well-made. To me, Fincher’s one of very few popular directors who can make a modern, expensive film and use visuals to genuinely improve the conveying of human emotions.

Almodóvar’s classical foci on human needs like sex, passion and selfishness are all involved in this slow, twisted drama. Interesting and clinically squeaky-clean, it’s an intriguing show from start to finish.

While I’ve just finished “Fragments”, a recent book containing Marilyn Monroe’s personal reflections, poems and letters, this film just doesn’t cut it. While Monroe’s inner demons are somewhat displayed, who is to say this is – as the film claims – the truth? One boy who spent infatuated time with Monroe for a week has written a book about this, published over 30 years after the fact, and I can’t help but ponder the level of distortion. Never the less, Williams plays very well.

Available for free download!

This film is from 1971. One must take that in before watching it. Also, I’m guessing this film shows more of a city than any other, in the same way; the cinematography is at times astounding, as are the choices by the characters. Talk about hard, illegal police-work! This is like a major precursor to “The Wire” where Hackman’s character – with the outrageous name Popeye Doyle – rules all. Nearly. And the ending is really suspenseful and action-filled.

Only a severely lobotomised rat can miss the bundle of holes-in-logic in this crapfest, where Eric Bana – an actor who cannot act – plays a time-traveller who cannot change “major events” but can change a lot of other things. He goes to say hi to himself a multitude of times. And somehow forgets major things. And does not go insane. There’s so much that can have been done in this book-goes-film, and is wasted. And yes, Bana’s acting is pure pap.

Kate Hudson, known for brilliant parts in “Almost Famous” and “The Killer Inside Me”, does this shitfest with Mr. Shortarms, where she plays a journalist who’s at the equivalent of Cosmopolitan where she wants to write about politics, economy and injustice – go figure – but gets to find a guy to lose in 10 days for an article (so that she can write about what REALLY matters) and Shortarms tries to get her to love him, to win himself a deal. Sad and pathetic across the board, even though the cheap shots should actually have done it for this film. Even Adam Goldberg should be sad for being in this film. Bad, even for expecting it.

A very good Swedish poetry anthology. All over, it collates Swedish contemporaries by pulling stuff from their published works and is very recent in its content.

My faves:

Tuija Nieminen Kristoferson, Johannes Anyuru, Åsa Ericsdotter, Leif Holmstrand and Åsa Maria Kraft