It almost sounds like a cheap marketing trick: releasing a new extended version of a movie that is already available on DVD and VHS in its original form. Most ‘director’s cuts’ don’t really add too much to the original story and can even completely ruin a film. Or the difference with the initial cut is hardly noticeable. I must admit I had mixed feelings after I heard about the extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ‘ especially because it was released late 2002 and I had heard from several friends they were a bit annoyed by what appeared to be a commercial scam since they had already bought the initial movie on DVD. However, these extended editions of The Lord of the Rings are not a way for New Line to get more out of naive costumer’s pockets. Besides the ton loads of really interesting and useful extras, these extended versions are the movies director Peter Jackson originally had in mind but were not possible to release in regular movie theaters due to their length. An extra advantage is that these versions do more justice to Tolkien’s legacy and provide more satisfaction to his fans who consider every possible conflict with the books a mortal sin.

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Anyone heard about this event taking place in Amsterdam’s Filmmuseum Cinerama, on 13 December? Basically, the Netherlands are trying to break the current world record for non-stop film watching (which means you have to stay awake from midnight on Sat 13 Dec until the evening of Tue 16 Dec).

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I have the impression that there are several particular vibes ‘happening’ in Hollywood nowadays. Aside from the usual blockbuster drone, we see more and more movies coming out with a certain feel to it; this special feel is mainly created by the people behind and in front of the camera. You have the distinct impression that the people responsible are more in touch with each other and the material they used for the movie. It is often obvious that the fun and snug feel-good atmosphere in front of the camera undoubtedly continued off-camera. The names that pop up here these last times are not seldom the same: Kauffman, Coen, Andersson, Soderbergh and Clooney. It’s the latter two that were responsible for this movie, albeit on the production level (and a small role for George Clooney). The fun didn’t stop there, a ‘gourmet-cast’ was assembled that would wet every film enthusiast’s appetite (like Luis Guzmán, William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell and Clooney). Nothing could go wrong then, right..?

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As a kid I never really liked horror movies. I was easy to scare even by mere suggestion. I kind of got back to that and lately I am watching all these classics I never saw. So when Child’s Play hit the screen last weekend, well I had to watch it. Despite the film being a much talked about one, the story didn’t offer many surprises.

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It had been a while since I went to my local Sneak Preview. The last two movies shown were “Finding Nemo” and “Kill Bill vol. 1″, so I was hoping for yet another major holiday season release. Last night’s entertainment turned out to be this French drama/comedy instead. About half the audience left the theatre somewhere during the first half an hour or so, but I don’t think that’s what this movie deserves.

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I switched off Riff-Raff halfway through (something I rarely do!), but LadyBird, LadyBird almost moved me to tears, so I decided to give Ken Loach another chance and rented Sweet Sixteen. It tells the story of Liam (Martin Compston), a fifteen-year-old lad growing up in Greenock near Glasgow who isn’t exactly having an en enjoyable adolescence. His ex-addict mum is doing time for a drug offence committed by her violent boyfriend, Stan, his grandfather only ever tells him to f*ck off and he has a habit of getting seriously beaten up.

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German director, Wolfgang Becker, has made a charming film that explores the gray areas of the former DDR. When his mother awakens after eight months in a coma, Alexander Kerner is determined that nothing will upset her and endanger her health. Given that during her unconsciousness the Berlin wall had come down and Germany had been united, he goes way, way, way out of his way to make sure she will not be confronted by this radical piece of news…

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In a freak storm, ten people find themselves stranded at a dingy roadside motel. There’s no road out, the phones don’t work, nor the radio and it’s raining heavily. Oh yeah, and somebody’s killing them, one by one. But there’s a reason they’re all there together, but what can the connection be? And what does it have to do with a serial killer who’s about to be executed? Copland director James Mangold and a pretty decent cast want to tell us.

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After having watched the digitally remastered DVD I just couldn’t believe that this movie is more than 35 years old! The revamping of this masterpiece has taken nothing away from the sheer genius of the original. Yes, the image is razor-sharp and the music and sounds are sublimely re-recorded, but the main work was already done when Stanley Kubrick and Douglas Trumbull created the original fantastic look of the movie. Again, this is a quintessential Kubrick-movie: alienating, eerie, beautiful and mysterious. The benchmark for all science fiction movies and possibly Kubrick’s best work.

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The Man Without A Past, or ‘Mies vailla menneisyytt” in Finnish, is Aki Kaurism’ki’s latest.

Marrku Peltola is ‘M’. A guy who has just arrived in Helsinki, when he gets beaten up really bad. His head injuries caused him to develop Amnesia. Unable to remember anything from his former life, he starts again on the outskirts of the City.

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