Zero Dark Thirty (2013) - Review

When: February 18th

What format did I watch: Cinema

Review: So much better than I expected! I wasn't actually planning to go see it, at least not at the cinema, but some of my friends invited me to come along. I'm glad I did. I'll probably not watch it again though... It being a documentary-style movie and all. But having lived through all of these events it was interesting to get an in-depth look at what was actually going on at the heart of things.

Drawbacks? The film was a tad too long for my taste, but never boring though.

Why you should watch it: Jessica Chastain's portrait of Maya, the woman who devoted all her time and a large part of her life to hunt down Bin Laden. Her acting is an absolute delight to watch as she carries the entire movie on her shoulders.

Rating: 7/10 - COOL

Silver Linings Playbook (2013) - Review

When: February 13th

What format I watched: Cinema

Review: I knew I was going to love it! I mean, with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in the same movie it had to be great. The mood is actually quite light even though the story deals with people with different problems and psychological issues, but for my taste that's a welcome change compared to a lot of other movies dealing with the same things. It's honest and real and has got three-dimensional characters that you actually grow to like and roots for. A truly great movie that gives you *so* much more than your regular romantic comedy.

Drawbacks? The entire movie being so different and all, the ending was a little bit too predictable... The bet and the dance-competition was not as original as I might have hoped?

Why you should watch it: The acting is some of the best I've seen in a long time... It was not surprisingly nominated for Oscars in all of the acting-categories (as well as best film). Cooper and Lawrence are standouts, and Lawrence won a well deserved oscar for her portrail of the exciting and difficult role of Tiffany.

Rating: 9/10 - AWESOME

Life of Pi (2012) - Review

When: February 14th

What format I watched: Cinema 3D

Review: I'd heard the book on a digiplayer, so I already knew the story. But that also ment my expectations were even higher when I learned that they were actually going to make it into a movie! You see, this story has actually been said to be impossible to film. It's literally about a boy and a tiger all alone on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean... Somehow, I will never understand how, but Ang Lee was the director/magician that actually managed to turn the impossible challenge into gold! Literally. It won several Oscars. I loved it with all my heart.

Drawbacks? Hm... I dont know really? Perhaps it spent a little too much time before it actually got into the story. And it also spent a great deal of time explaining the background-story in India when it most likely could jump more-or-less straight into the journey itself. But honestly, that's just me looking for something to pick on...

Why you should watch it: The visuals. I don't think I've seen a more visually beautiful movie at the cinema before... You have to watch it in 3D, though! And for all of you 3D-haters out there... This movie was made to fit that extra dimension, and does so like no other movie before it. Give it a try!

Rating: 10/10 - AMAZING

The Dragons That Conquered The World

It's been quite a long time since I first got to know the band Imagine Dragons.

Back in february 2012 they released an EP named Continued Silence consisting of six tracks. Shortly after that I actually watched a live-chat with youtuber makeupkatie95 where she talked about this band she'd fallen in love with. I took her advice and searched for Imagine Dragons on iTunes the same day. After having listened to the preview for only the first couple of songs I was so amazed I bought the whole EP right there and then! 

A couple of months later I was thrilled to discover that the very first song to be featured in the fourth season of the TV-series Glee was "It's Time", Imagine Dragons' lead single. After that suddenly everybody knew the song! Friday they were even invited to play on the Late Show with David Letterman...

Like a lot of the bands I've been liking lately, their music can be put under the category indie-rock. Normally that's not the kind of music that gets featured on the radio or becomes number one hits around the world... So you can picture my surprise and amazement when Imagine Dragons suddenly became famous all across the world through the end of 2012 and start of 2013! Chances are pretty high you have heard a lot of their songs on the radio already... Radioactive? It's Time? Demons? Tokyo?

The funny thing about this whole story is that Bergen, the Norwegian city in which I'm currently living, was one of the first places Imagine Dragons got to play in front of an international audience. As early as 2011 they cought the attention of Frank Nes, the General Manager of the annual summer festival Bergenfest. He flew the then unknown band all the way actoss the Atlantic and never regretted doing so! Today, in 2013, they are one of the hugest rising stars in the music industry world-wide, but they never forgot the people who believed in them in the beginning. This summer they're headed back to Norway and to Bergenfest, and now they are the headlining act!

Like I said they released an EP named Continued Silence in early 2012. In September they also released their first full album titeled Night Visions, but unfortunately this was limited to the States only... Here in Europe we had to wait until early 2013. But it was worth the wait. I absolutely loved it, and so did luckily the rest of the world!

Radioactive and It's Time, their two singels, are two of my favorite songs of all time actually. Other great ones from their album includes Bleeding Out, On Top Of The World, Demons, Amsterdam, Tiptoe... and just about all of the others as well! The entire album is brilliant and a world-class masterpiece.

If you haven't already, run to the nearest record-store and get Night Visions at once! You'll not regret it.