The tale itself is rife with moral implications. Should he take revenge, do they deserve it, don't they, should their families also be hurt, what does betrayal mean anyway, etc. It makes you think about all that issue of revenge versus justice. Alternatively, you can skip out on the moral trip and just follow the story, with the Count as the Good Guy and the others are the Bad Guys.
The filming is smooth and unnoticeable. This is both good and bad. It's good because it lets us concentrate on the story, without noticing any fancy camera work, but it's also bad because it's all very banal. The character's all play their parts well. Those that are meant to be silly or unlikable are silly and unlikable, while the other characters play their problems well, moving you to pity.
I personally found the women characters to be flimsy and weak, but that might be in accordance with the novel, which was written in 1844.
Another thing I found to be unlikely and not very realistic, was that no one recognised the Count when in one of his disguises. He disguised himself as a priest, or a lord, to complete certain aspects of his revenge, in addition to the full time disguise of the Count of Monte Cristo. It really boggles me that no one would recognise him while doning a fake nose and wig.
But anyway, intricacies aside, the story is great, and the mini series is enjoyable. Not oscar material, of course, but a good watch, and nice for when looking for a watch to relax to.

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The question on everyone's mind, characters and watchers alike, is who killed Nanna Birk Larsen? The first truly great thing about The Killing is the fact that all twenty episodes are one investigation. At first, this may seem daunting and very long, and prone to unreasonable prolongations, but it is quite the opposite. It allows us see the real gritty bits in an investigation, such as the wait for DNA results, and the false leads, and the interrogations and the long hours. But there is also the more emotional details, such as the strain on Nanna's parents after her murder, and the looming truth that their daughter is gone and that they'll have to clear out her stuff. They are also faced with money problems, and have a hard time keeping up with all the money requirements for the funeral.
In this show, you meet new characters related to the story, if only vaguely, in every episode, and every single one of them, even the two cops on the case, pass through the 'viewer judgement'. That's just a fancy phrase I invented to say that everybody did it. Everyone is the murderer until a new person comes along.
The horrible thing about this series is that it is so exact on details, the plots all fit in properly, that once you are finished and are finally free of the weight of the question to all, and you go back to things such as CSI, or other police series... they just suck. They are over so fast, so many questions still remain, the motive is typical, the evidence is sketchy, I mean, only one fingerprint that happened to be the killers? While in The Killing, we see the police take Nanna Birk Larsen's brothers' fingerprints to exclude them from the hundreds they find in the family's home.
I was also disappointed to hear that a Hollywood version was being made. Why can't the Americans concede to the fact that other parts of the world can make great movies too? I could name so many remakes of foreign films, but I won't. Instead, I'll tell you, no, order you to watch Forbrydelsen, and that way you too will be tortured by the ultimate question as well as blessed to have seen such an awesome show.

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Spaceballs is one of the funniest movies I've seen to date, which is a lot of movies. Not only are the parodies are funny, but the original humor in it is also funny. Although I just said that it was humorous with only the original content, it does help to really know Star Wars, and to have seen many other movies, as the humour multiplies twofold. But enough about that, now about the plot and characters. Well, what do you what me to say? The plot was funny and the characters were well acted and hilarious. I fear there are no other words for this movie; even the romance in it was funny. So there you have it, Spaceballs is funny, humorous, hilarious, amusing, comical, slapstick, witty, diverting, or if you prefer the one word version: priceless.

I recommend it to anyone, although general culture is preferred for maximal enjoyment.
Below is one of my favorite scenes from Spaceballs, along with "jamming the radar".

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Again, this story concentrates solely on first loves and a teenager's life, in the 80's, forgot to mention that, but it is an enjoyable movie which I would recommend to anybody, or rather, any girl, not to be too stereotypical.

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I really enjoyed this movie, especially the combined past and present style. The special effects were also very good considering the time. At times, I found Gulliver to be a little naive and slightly corruptive of the nations he visited. However, by the end, he realises that humans are far from perfect and that they are corrupted and unpure in every way. The secondary characters, such as his wife, his son, and even another doctor who had been making moves on Gulliver's wife while he was supposedly 'lost at sea', were sometimes a little too predictable. The wife was all too willing to believe the doctor when he said Gulliver was being taken care of, while Gulliver was locked in an insane asylum etc. In this manner, I found the doctor to be completely unlikeable. Even though he is trying to win over Gulliver's wife, he shows absolutely no affection or love towards her. The wife on the other hand was annoying with her simple and believing nature. The son was the best of the three as he believed Gulliver, and expressly loved and wanted his father to come home. As for the fantastic characters, the ones Gulliver met on his travels, some were funny, some were creepy, some were tiny, some were giants, some were greedy, some were crazy, and some were peaceful. Gulliver met some many different kingdoms; the tiny people of Lilliput, the giants of Brobdingnag, the ridiculous scientists and mathematicians on the floating rock Laputa, the creepy historian of Glubbdubdrib, the aging immortals of Luggnag, and the wise horses who call themselves the Hyouhnhms. Overall, the story is a very nice one, and it is fit for all ages, although small children may not understand the themes in the story, such as human vices, imperfection, sin and the ridiculousness of so-called 'reason'.

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Screen shot of the movie.

I thought this movie was excellent for varied reasons. The first is the music. It is so nice to listen, and fits perfectly with the themes of the movie. I am sure you must have heard it somewhere before without realising it, it is quite popular as a cover song for various instruments. The second reason is because of the actors. Both (Paulette and Michel) are very talented, and play their parts well. Paulette is played by Brigitte Fossey, and she is a Parisian on the flee with her parents as well as being somewhat bossy and demanding, but innocent at the same time. Michel, played by Georges Poujouly, is a farmer boy who becomes totally bewitched by Paulette and spends his time trying to please her and make her happy, at the risk of being scolded by his short-tempered father. The third reason why this movie is very worthwhile is the story itself, although it is quite depressing. I won't spoil any plots, but it is not the movie to watch when in want of a good laugh, although there were a few moments that made me smile. To summarize, one word comes to mind when I think of this movie: quirky.

All in all, Les Jeux Interdits is a great, touching movie, and everyone should see it in my opinion. Why aren't you watching it already? Go on! Go!

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A good example of shadows and lighting in film noirs. From The Big Sleep

Film noir is not a necessarily a black and white movie, it is actually a movie type that could be incorporated in 'thriller' or even 'crime'. Film noir is not technically a genre, but many treat it as such. In order for a movie to qualify as a film noir, there are many requirements it has to meet. Said in its simplest form, a film noir is a Hollywood crime drama which incorporates sexual motivations and cynical characters. When there was a film noir boom during the 1940's until the 50's, they were simply referred to as melodramas. It was only in the 70's that the term film noir was adopted.
Film noirs are very easy to recognise. The first most prominent aspect is lighting. Film noirs have prominent shadows, dramatic contrasts and low-key lighting. An iconic scene from any film noir is the shadow of venetian blinds across a character's face and upper body.

Venetian blind shadows are very typical of film noir. Taken from Double Indemnity

In terms of camera angles, film noirs tend to use awkward ones to emphasise the uneasiness of the character seen in the shot. Low-angles, wide-angles, and even Dutch angles are used. A Dutch angle is when the camera is tilted to the side making the world look tilted.
The plot line in film noirs is just as important as the Chiaroscuro (extreme low-key lighting). A plot always has crime, mainly murder, and a protagonist investigates said crime, be he a private detective, a policeman or even just a civilian. This is the most basic plot for any film noir, although a film noir does not have to have this plot in particular. This storyline is just the favoured one among film noir makers.

A typical femme fatale. Taken from The Big Sleep

The protagonist is almost always morally questionable, and has countless flaws. The protagonist always meets a beautiful woman too dangerous for him, a femme fatale if you will. She is nearly always tied up in the crime the plot has. Other recurring characters are more femmes fatales, corrupted policemen, corrupted politicians, and jealous men. Most film noirs are filmed on location in urban settings, the most common cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.
The story line of a film noir is always difficult to follow, especially with the flashbacks constantly used. Most have a narrator or narrators monologuing. An unknown person could be retelling the story, or several of the characters each narrating their own sections.
Some examples of classic film noirs include The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd. and The Big Heat.

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