Camping (2009, Jacob Bitsch)

Filmen starter med et selvmord. Faren skyder sig med et gevær i en campingvogn. Velkommen til den dysfunktionale familie Nielsen. Forældrene var en gang med i en Melodi Grand Prix, men det er længe siden. Efter farens død drikker moren og har et udvidet forbrug af lykkepiller.  To år efter farens suicid får moren den idé at tage på campingtur i lige netop den vogn hvor hendes mand kom af dage. Hun tager datteren Connie med sig, som har litterære ambitioner. Hendes bror Christian var engang interesseret i hockey, men har siden udviklet sig til bølle.
På campingpladsen støver moren en midaldrende mand med en lam datter op. Der kommer lidt akavet interaktion. Connie og Christian skal gennemgå en fornyelse, men campingpladser duer ikke til psychoterapi.
Camping er en af de mest overflødige film jeg har set i lang tid. Musikken indikerer en folkekomedie, men der er ikke meget morskab her. Dialogen refererer til social realisme. Det bedste er, at filmen er forbi efter 80 minutter.
2/10

Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014, Ridley Scott)

What is the purpose of making such a film? Earning money? Then make sure it is enjoyable. Exodus has three parts, each has only a thin relation to "the book" on which this story is based.
In part 1 Moses believes that he is of Egyptian heritage. His best buddy is Ramses, the future pharao. During a battle Moses saves Ramses' life - doing this he fulfills a prophecy about two leaders. In part 2 Moses is exiled from the Egyptian court and becomes Moshe. In part 3 he leads his people to the promised country.
This film lives on special effects and CGI. Thus the Nile is red, because crocodiles have made a massacre. Scott tries to please the modern audience. God chooses not only to talk through a burning bush, but also is manifested as a little boy. Scott also "improves" on some of the stories told in the original Exodus. However, he cannot manage to present a satisfying modern version, in spite of all efforts.
3/10

Fack ju Göthe 3 (2017, Bora Dagtekin)

Der erste Teil hatte eine freche Frische. Die Lümmel von der letzten Bank sind Generation Doof geworden. Der zweite Teil wiederholte zwar die meisten Gags, brachte dann aber duch die Verlegung nach Thailand etwas Neues. Und hat es Herr Müllers "Arschloch-Klasse" bis zum Abitur geschafft. Sie haben es auch geschafft stets bildungsferner zu werden. Immerhin schafft es einer der Helleren noch, die Bedeutung des englischen Wortes "dog" zu googeln. Bildung im 21. Jahrhundert.
Und was fü ein Signal dann auch wieder: Zeki Müller als untypischer Quereinsteiger bringt seiner Klasse eben das bei, was er weiß: Nichts. Und das reicht dann immerhin noch für einen  Notendurchschnitt von 3,9.
Schantalle und Kompagnie brauchen somit nicht wie noch extremere Loser als Altenpfleger oder Angestellte im Klärwerk arbeiten. Es reicht immerhin zum Volontariat bei Cosmopolitan.
Schade, dass das Manuskript auf dem bewährten Gleis fährt und die bewährten Jokes auslutscht.
4/10

La mafia uccide solo d'estate (2013, Pierfrancesco "Pif" Diliberto)

What would you tell a child that is afraid of the mafia and refuses to get out during winter time? Maybe you would say that there is no danger, as the mafia only kills in summer time. Mafia as a good weather phenomenon.
Arturo is the boy with a special relationship to the mafia. Actually he is "he" because of mafia. When his parents conceived him, the Viale Lazio Massacre took place in the same building. The other sperms were looking for shelter, sperm Arturo fertilized the egg cell. Wait a minute - Massacre of Viale Lazio doesn't mean anything to you? Don't worry - it doesn't say anything  to me either. Anyway, Arturo was the fittest survivor in this special context - Darwin rules, maybe.
Next we get mafia as experienced through the eyes of a child. So - at a time Arturo was supposed to be baptized. But - but  - but at the the same time Vito Ciancimino was appointed mayor. The corrupt priest preferred to attend that celebration. Vito Ciancimino is not a pert of your living history? Probably you are not Italian. Neither am I, never mind the details.
So what? This is the part we will call Mafia as seen through the eyes of a child? If it were like this it  be something like Io non ho paura of 2003, in spite of the obtrusive voice-over of the grown-up Arturo
However, before we know it Arturo has grown up - and yes! he fell in love.Unfortunately Diliberto insists in mixing romance in his Mafia tale. The object of Arturo's  desires? Flora Guarnieri, the daughter of s local banker - who incidentally lives in the same complex as judge Rocco Chinnici. On TV he hears how Giulio Andreotti met his wife. He takes this as important dating hint. Andreotti becomes his hero. He even dresses up as the Prime Minister (although the costume is mistaken as the Hunchback of Notre Dame). Yes, very funny.
A journalist (Arturo suspects at first that he could be a member of the Mafia) arises in Arturo an interest in journalism.  Arturo is now an observer of the events while the Mafia goes on to killing its enemies. Surprisingly he also gets Flora at last.
This film about life in the shadow of the Mafia is a mixed bag. It got as prize as best European comedy of 2014, but it is particularly unfunny. How many laughs can you get from Mafia killings? So, although it is an interesting concept to treat the Mafia light-heartedly, this attempt leads to nothing but a growing irritation
3/10

Two-Gun Gussie (1918, Alfred G. Goulding)

The most remarkable thing about the early Harold Lloyd features is their mediocrity. Harold is here mistaken for the rough Dagger-Tooth Dan. He thrives on being respected and gets the girl at last, rather by chance than by virtue.
3/10

The Non-Stop Kid (1918, Gilbert Pratt)

This is number 2 from the DVD with early shorts of Harold Lloyd. The plot is very simple: The Boy sees the Girl who is going to marry Prof. M. T. Noodle. He impersonates the professor and runs away with the girl. Slapstick.
3/10

Creation (2009, Jon Amiel)

Did Darwin kill God? This seems to be a stupid question. Maybe you have to be a fundamentalist to raise such a question at all. Very stubborn creationists might believe that everything their translation (!!) of the Bible says, is undiluted word of God. They will also think that the Bible, including the accounts of creation are meant to be a cosmological manual. How would a person 4000 years ago have been able to grasp the idea of Big Bang? No, Darwin did not kill God. He explained how sapiens came into existence. Darwin gave an account on natural selection and the mechanisms of evolution. And thus he killed the idea that thw first chapters of Genesis can be interpreted as a part of natural history.
In this film Thomas Huxley says: "The Almighty can no longer claim to have authored every species in under a week. You've killed God, sir!" Of course this statement is rubbish. Those sentences are completely unrelated. Thomas Huxley appears like the modern fanatic Richard Dawkins. How can it be so difficult to grasp that? Logic for primers?
This is a kind of biopic, but I have been told that it mixes facts and fiction. This is not the way to make biopics. Either you enlighten the world or you fool it. If you are a specialist, you may know what is which, but as general audience you will be in the wild.
One focus of this movie is Annie Darwin, Charles Darwin's daughter. In this film he procrastinates the publication of his findings because of temporary madness after the death of his daughter. The sequences with visions of the child and flashbacks fill a considerable amount of time. Probably they are to show us that Darwin was a human beings with doubts and deficiencies. This could have been achieved in a les sentimental way. Sometimes you think that science made Darwin mad. (Sometimes I thought that this film was made by a creationist.)
The film is disappointing as a dramatic account on Darwin's life. If it is about a fictional character called Darwin, you will find a sentimentalized account of a man who at last learns to live with his demons. You might also find the effects of sexual oppression. You will also find brilliant acting, but this is not enough to save a failed script. Too many thumbs down.
5/10

Haunted Spooks (1920, Alfred J. Goulding / Hal Roach)

Until now I didn't watch much with Harold Lloyd. Again another deficiency. Now I am catching up, but I am much in doubt if this is really worth the trouble. The first item on the DVD with Lloyd's shorts is Haunted Spooks.
The spooky part is probably meant to be the climax of this film. "The Girl" can only get her uncle's estate when she is married. Therefore relatives want to scare them away by pretending that the place is haunted. After some appearances of "ghosta" they move in. Boy and girl together at last.
The main part of this short is aboutr the misfortunes of the boy. As his doesn't get the girl he sues he tries to commit suicide, but no success whatsoever.
It is strange that a short with a running time of around 25 minutes cannot develop one plot line. This is like three sketches stitched together. Disapointing.
4/10