Quarantaine Reviews

Punttikomedia (2022)

Almost greatness

[7/10 · 15 January 2024]

Iina Kuustonen does what really gives a lift - gets herself in top notch physical shape for her fitness role. On her side Mikko Töyssy pulls points with his captivating emotional ability and refreshingly spontaneous delivery. A detail, rarely intriguing to follow, is how director Aleksi Delicouras keeps his main character's husband so passionately in the shades. The man apparently has brilliant ideas when it comes to story supportive images. The writing takes efficient use of know-how about diet and lifting techniques, but Pekko also pens what makes the movie drop the weights on the toes. The obvious disjointed commercial break feel in the story, origins from an overfeed of information about the gym staff's personal lives. Cut ten minutes of those brutal endeavors from the movie's first half and the smooth flow has the audience leaning in. I tested so it is a proven fact.

Hirttämättömät (2023)

Designed for 5 year-old stoners

[4/10 · 1 November 2023]

It's not ruled out yet that this won't find itself a cult following. These days with an increasing number of home viewers, enjoying extensive drug cocktails... A closer look at this humpy ride reveals that writer director Andrei Alén's shooting material is indeed significantly better than his movie. Re-cut and leave out all the improvised dialogue nonsense - as much as 50% from the first act's running time and you're left with a movie that is genuinely funny. I tested so it is a proven fact. It's a western that pays homage to late Spede Pasanen by at times delightfully imitating him and his low-budget movie making. Spede gladly played with logic and then verbally milked that quell dry during a scene. Where he was very inventive in the use of his stylistic trademarks, today's vessels appear to mostly improvise with a toddlers lacking maturity.

Maria's Paradise (2019)

Forbidden girl power

[3/10 · 23 March 2023]

For a story inspired by real events, hardly anything could be more intriguing than such a religious sect experience. A spooky over-natural element and the use of ideological violence take us right into the heat. The two faced leader has a generous caretaker side but was apparently also a self-serving nutcase. This impulsive tyrant picks herself a lucky orphan girl, Salome, as her girl-power ally. From here on our destined main company is this almost totally will lacking honorary friend, played by Satu Tuuli Karhu. Her curiously expressive eyes are full of life, but she isn't underway to sweep us off our feet with a whole lot of character traits. Instead we find ourselves kept in the dark and often puzzled, when an emotional scene plays out. If the director's intended reaction was a positive or a negative is many times hard to figure out.

Huonot naiset (2022)

Wedding crashers of the worst kind

[7/10 · 10 February 2023]

An extremely conservative region celebrates a wedding and are ill-prepared for a group of Russian sex-workers, hiding in the same communal building. In all of this the main story-line is focused on the wedding hostess' dilemma and is so solidly constructed that also the supporting story-lines give us all the wrong things for the right reasons. It tends to go extra well for a movie where the bad guy is doing her mean deeds and at the same time fills the room with a positive aura. Actress Rea Mauranen brings just this to the table and is an absolute pleasure to watch as narrow minded leader for the community. It's a comedy where the characters unfortunately smile with their fists clenched. Could be material for a stylistic disagreement.

Sihja - kapinaa ilmassa (2021)

Magic in the air

[6/10 · 7 February 2023]

A suburban child's everyday life is visited by a magical fairy. This fantastic element always makes a movie fly, as it brings so much life embracing creativity to the viewing experience. And just like in the movie ET, a lucky human gets to be close friends with his inspiring visitor. These two buddies then support each other when the story lines up things that could very well be a To-Do list from a kid's wildest dreams. They fly together, crawl in the mud, sneak in forbidden places and solve a crime. Such a good concept deserved its slightly larger budget than the average Finland produced films. The out-turn avoids all big fall downs but is a bit like its oddly vague movie poster that weirdly manages to avoid to beautifully decorate all the magic with that cozy sparkle.

Eden (I) (2020)

Trust in director in free-fall

[2/10 · 3 February 2023]

Ulla Heikkilä sends her cast to summer camp and skillfully juggles a handful of the most recognizable teen moods. In her homoerotic storyline she sets up an approaching make-out scene with an admirable patience. The movie gets an extra gear of conviction through the camp leader, played by Tommi Korpela, who is so strong in his delivery that I suspect he was determined to boost his co-stars to shine a bit extra. And they do exactly that. Main character Aamu Milonoff's delightfully uncomplicated aura sends warm vibrations through the screen every time she's on. The writer director also makes one of the big mistakes. She designs a heroine with a lover and ignores that the audience must approve or they'll hate being on her journey. An easily made mistake when cynically squeezing in political viewpoints into entertainment.

Etsivätoimisto Henkka & Kivimutka (2022)

Boldly appropriate

[6/10 · 14 January 2023]

This take on the children's detective genre sticks out from the crowd by bringing in a handful of carefully chosen elements to please the crowd that little extra. Such as scenes where the movie turns into a musical, efficiently executed fake day-dreaming sequences and emotional intelligence lessons for beginners. You have something nice to hold on to during the ride when the makers manage to convince you that they have their hearts in the rightest of all places. We can sit comfortable during the young detectives investigating their blood stained axe discovery and taking a stab at a murder case. Despite the thrilling hint of gore, the story struggles from low stakes and adult actors whom on the emotional level, simply cannot hold their own, next to true natural talents. The kids are mighty great, in other words.

Tatu and Patu (2016)

Well structured

[6/10 · 29 December 2022]

Despite the two awkwardly over-happy idiots on the movie poster we have an inspiring child story at hand. An ambitious little girl has arranged a rendezvous with two of her fantasy friends and mom is willing to play along enough to take her there. However, when the expected complications appear, mom increasingly questions, if running after a couple of non-existing persons, truly is worth her time and effort. Our heroine's scenes with her ally-mom are logically rock solid and also emotionally authentic. Very, very nice. Another positive surprise is that the story is structured to keep your interest from beginning to end. The two fantasy dudes' ramblings however feels underdeveloped. And when characters are a product of a child's fantasy, there's simply no way around it, they'd rather be expressing genuine charisma than clunky imitations of enthusiasm.

Wonderland (2017)

A stud for Christmas

[5/10 · 20 December 2022]

The main focus is on two mothers whose lives have taken a turn to ongoing painful territories. These ladies are so lost that they are unable to reach out for help. Inari Niemi's writing and directing explore these characters' inner pain with the necessary dare. She keeps us hooked by cleverly revealing the pains at stake often delicately between the lines only. Interestingly, a supporting role - a pain free seducer stud, brings a lot of light to the midwinter darkness. The way he plows against the stream gives us our sought after relief. Sightings of jokes, being as extinct as Santa in the summer, is a letdown. The cast being decorated with names like Martti Suosalo, and being practically woke free, -a plus.

There Will Be Spring (2020)

Joyless past

[3/10 · 7 December 2022]

To underline the characters' suppressive mindset the movie score lays over us like a thick, monotone and heartlessly dooming cloud. A glimpse of storytelling greatness is at display when the gypsy lady sings and the leading lady gets herself lost in the moment. Another up to par part is the misty color correction.

We're in a farming community and reminded about how back in the day joy was driven from our souls through shaming and existence was like a punishment. We take special interest in a young woman during her forbidden romance. The film making has its merits, but the heroine's main goal is just something she's thinking about getting involved with. Hence we aren't involved. The drama doesn't pull us in.

70 on vain numero (2021)

Elderly lady romances younger man

[5/10 · 2 November 2022]

The Finnish icon Hannele Lauri oozes all the charm and energy that she's ever had. Her character steps into the shoes of a famous entertainer who is suggested to adapt the tactics of today's younger artists. Thus meaning, publish songs about wrinkles in her face. Writer director Johanna Vuoksenmaa steers her baby into pregnancy substitute comedy waters, using high quality cameos and cleverly letting her camera say what words couldn't. The production value peeks during the characters' awkward impregnation attempts. Here the great movie you mostly just see between the lines blooms up fully. Big chunks of it is overshadowed by a hostile verbal delivery tone.

Born in Heinola (2016)

Greetings from Heinola gutter

[9/10 · 29 April 2022]

A school example how to get a biography right. Too often the midpoint introduces the beginning of the main characters' downfall, turning the spectacle into a long and winding anticlimax. Not here. Uncertainty and real life tragedies practically shower the band members down the gutter, but the driving force that makes their soon to be breakthrough inevitable remains. What makes this story truly rise is in the details, describing all the character treats. Everything feels honest and fits together so smoothly because the stuff most likely is the real nitty gritty. It's not a band which music I'm familiar with, but boy is it great to climax with their first hit single.

Ladies of Steel (2020)

Seniors on a youth pill

[6/10 · 27 April 2022]

A wild teen movie with a seniors cast. This was a nominee at the European Film Awards for best European comedy. Its vivid main storyline stumbles onto unexpected paths with an exemplary wide range of emotions that throw us rather brutally into several directions. The ladies sometimes score big and at other times they're heartbreakingly helpless. Director Pamela Tola angles for an authentic sister portrait through a surprisingly rude and also straight out hateful tone. Found myself covering my ears and thinking the award members must have seen dubbed versions.

Perfect Christmas (2019)

A Christmas party-crash

[4/10 · 7 April 2022]

This is a Finnish remake of a German movie and their infamous shouting comedy style has also been adopted. We follow an offspring-productive mom, who has several of her exes in under the same roof for Christmas. In this punchy setup, her dude stubbornly decides to sit on a dumb little secret, being to a relationship, as hug friendly, as the tree in the living room. All this insanity is done with a brutal humor and precisely these deliberate steps across the line keeps this sleigh from crashing. A storyline has been added to lecture woke behavior patterns.

Ihmisen osa (2018)

Gut wrenching fun

[6/10 · 7 April 2022]

A tongue in cheek drama about a man down on his luck and therefore turned con artist. We're off to one major gut-wrench after the other. His luck always miraculously returns, though. That is, when he doubles down after already losing everything. A well disguised comic relief, see. Despite quite a few delicious genre bulls-eyes, the movie stubbornly suffers from a main character who avoids the issue he's trying to solve. But the story still floats, thanks to that they've together with the novelist, clearly gone the extra mile to get their vision crystallized.

Compartment Number 6 (2021)

Contradicting visuals

[5/10 · 6 April 2022]

We're right there on the train with the main characters, bunking in the compartment and the illusion hardly ever breaks. Very nicely done. The ride clonks on forward in a positive well meaning mood and oozes sincerity. Also the charming end goal is in the same vein. At the same time the visuals give us messy hair, indoor smoking, too much alcohol and somebody who looks like she needs a shower already last week. A hang-out movie. One appreciates the ride, as much as one would genuinely enjoy hanging out with the characters.

Tuftland (2017)

Horror without dumb jump scares

[5/10 · 25 March 2022]

The Oscar success Get Out is a very similar movie that was produced the same year and did very well. Roope Olenius' debut feature is slow phased and reveals information with admirable patience. Veera W. Vilo brings exactly what this style needs - a captivating presence when very little happens. She is also spot on believable as raising her voice taking charge. Despite a clumsy clarity blunder very early on, the two first acts prove well structured and are a joy to watch. The third act however falls apart, when the original tone escapes the cage and the heroine is turned dumb for convenient reasons.

Vuosisadan häät (2021)

Watch beyond the obvious

[5/10 · 24 March 2022]

We follow a woman who desperately seeks herself a date. That setup screams romantic comedy, but here's no intention to give anybody anything romantic here - the opposite. The main character is an utter mess and we're made kiss the frog - up close admire how ugly this person is. It's unnecessarily hard to see that this was on purpose, but once realized, I could so to speak detect things to appreciate. Such as, a masterfully written dialogue and a well constructed main character. A challenging movie. Actors see them as a wonderful gift to be part of, for sure.

Lapland Odyssey (2010)

Consistent greatness with one blunder

[7/10 · 20 March 2022]

Oh, wow. This ending is one of the finest I've ever seen. Absolutely brilliant. The movie Hangover has clearly been riding along when Pekko Pesonen typed this madness down. His scenes are seriously over you, like a group of killer bikini chicks. Very nice. At first I thought I had walked into an exhausting exercise in endurance of sole stupidity, but then I realized my mistake. These buddies are in fact in a confused state of mind due to unemployment. Hence mentally crippled and do the best they can. This is a very unfortunate clarity blunder, but otherwise director Dome Karukoski's movie is a master class in consistency. Much thanks to Jussi Vatanen's believable laid back style.

Miami (2017)

Angelic crooks

[6/10 · 30 December 2021]

A sweetheart of a woman finally gets her lifelong dream fulfilled - a relationship to her awesome older sister. The kind of admiration is at play, as in the father daughter relationship, in the movie Taken. Pretty awesome. But it gets better. Krista Kosonen looks more stunning than ever. And to my big surprise I get just as much entangled with Sonja Kuittinen's miracle smile. But then Zaida Bergroth's second act takes a turn down a Thelma & Louise lane. With that comes characters who are plain crooks and since their actions are sloppily justified I chicken out.

Force of Habit (2019)

Finger poking the beast

[5/10 · 27 December 2021]

The ladies of the western world have had it with inhibited sexual attraction expressions and are updating some new and clearer rules. The general discussion so far mainly focuses on the don'ts so a movie to fix that would be sensationally effective and entertaining. In this movie all episodes open very nicely with a recognizable sexual-abuse situation. Some of them even so delightfully delicately that it is highly touching. The makers however settle for a rather shy approach which doesn't create a lighthouse for the debates, as none of their episode-lead continues her day as a winner.

Life After Death (2020)

Adorable family madness

[5/10 · 26 December 2021]

Writer director Klaus Härö drags us into the mad world of family-ties dynamics. He authentically portraits a strong-minded father, whose bad temper poisons the atmosphere for everybody. Such an anti-hero movie needs a lead actor like Peik Stenberg, who convincingly can be unbearable, only to switch to totally sympathetic in less than a second. I would prefer for more comedy, bluntly to be squeezed out of the suffering father, but this story focuses more on him being a burden.

Headfirst (2014)

Brilliant first half

[8/10 · 24 December 2021]

Antti Heikki Pesonen wrote and directed this highly impressive debut feature. What's extra impressive is how well in control he is. His dialogue is laugh out funny every time he decides it to be, it seems. At the same time his actors spoil us with a refreshing intensity. Especially Armi Toivanen's, but also Mimosa Willamo's wide ranges are absolutely spectacular. The movie is truly world class during the entire first half. Then, for some weird reason there's a calculated change of tone, steering the brilliant comedy into a just average drama.

Winning Ticket (2018)

Beautifully shot passive characters

[3/10 · 22 December 2021]

D.o.p. Robert Nordström's images are grandiose. His frog perspective shots at the heroine's workplace, as one example. Further the beautiful Elsa Saisalo is on top of her game with great energy. Director Lenka Hellstedt tells her vision with impeccable accuracy, but her lead characters are so called passive characters, making the movie a tough watch.

Class Reunion 3 (2021)

Renny brings down the house

[7/10 · 3 December 2021]

This is a very energetic film where I sometimes found myself laughing out loud even before the payoff. It's a great thing sensing the creators' enthusiasm this clearly.

Renny leaves his soul on the stage. His movie has a bold general feel, which pulls points by being completely out there, and proudly so, with a strong self-awareness. It's like the writers were looking for thoughts they would never admit to have had in their heads and put them on paper. At some parts, I did not follow the characters. This approach to the genre requires large portions of hysterical screaming.