Series Review: Brotherhood – Season 2 (2003)

Last summer I covered the first season of this show. And I found it to be very good, which is something I don’t often get to say about media from my home country of Sweden. And now we’re back to cover the second season! So let’s see if this continuation is any good. Oh, and SPOILERS for the end of season 1, as that sets up this one. So yeah, let’s go.

Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binaries… “Brotherhood” season 2!

After finally having gotten arrested for robbing a bunch of banks, Jan “Hoffa” Lenhoff (Ola Rapace) gets sent off to prison. And so we follow him in his day to day life there, trying to get by while also thinking of getting out and back to his family. Right off the bat, this season is off to a good start. It’s nicely paced, the writing’s engaging, and the internal monologue of our main character really brings us nicely into the world. And as the season keeps going, the drama escalates and becomes more and more engaging… up until episode 4. Now, do not take that as the show jumping the shark at that point, because it doesn’t. The dramatic beats are still really solid. I do however feel that the pacing in episodes 4 and 5 is a bit off. What happens is that they’re working to cover A LOT of ground in just two episodes, when really it should’ve been spread out a little more, having maybe at least one more to help it from feeling so overstuffed with content. Again, the drama in itself is really strong and compelling, giving us a pretty nuanced look at these characters and their predicaments. I just wish we had another episode or two to space out the latter parts of the story a bit.

The characters in this are all pretty flawed, nuanced, and interesting. They all feel pretty believable, and they all work wonderfully within the story. Ola Rapace of course returns as Hoffa, our main guy from the first season. He was already a pretty interesting character, having an interesting arc in the first season. And in this second one he goes through another one, as his relationships get strained by his stay in prison, which makes for some compelling development. And Rapace is great in the role. We also get supporting work from people like Anja Lundqvist, Magnus Krepper, Jakob Eklund, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Özz Nûjen, and more, all doing very well in their respective roles.

As with the first season, the music for season was handled by Martin Hansen and Mikael Nord Andersson, and they really brought their A-game here. The score of season 1 was already damn good, a moody, minimalist, blues-inspired score. And for season 2 they don’t alter the formula too much, other than adding some extra instrumentation to the various tracks, which I think really elevates it to being as great as it is.

As with season 1, the second season of “Brotherhood” was written by Lars Lundström and directed by Erik Leijonborg. And the two really did a damn fine job with it. I already talked about how solid the story and character stuff was, so I don’t think I need to mention much more about the writing. I will however say that Leijonborg’s direction remains one of my favorite aspects of the show. His style here isn’t exactly flashy or in your face, it’s very understated, almost having a bit of a fly on the wall feeling to it. And I think it works really well for the show.

This show doesn’t really exist much on my usual sites, so this section’ll be extra brief today. But I can say that it does have a score of 8.2/10 on imdb.com.

So while the pacing in the last two episodes if a little off, season 2 of “Brotherhood” is a damn good drama and further cements this as one of Sweden’s better television shows. It has a really good story, really good characters, great performances, great music, and really good directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for season 2 of “Brotherhood” is an 8.90/10. So while flawed, it’s definitely worth watching!

My review of “Brotherhood” season 2 is now completed.

Quality tv, woo!

Movie Review: Regression (2015)

Is there a devil? Fucked if I know, so let’s talk about a movie, which is something I do know about!

Ladies and gentlemen… “Regression”.

Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) is tasked with finding the culprit behind the traumatic events in a young woman’s (Emma Watson) life. And while investigating, evidence starts pointing towards a satanic cult potentially being involved. I’m gonna be honest, I like the premise of this one. It is interesting, it has potential to be a really fascinating thriller. And credit where it’s due, I did find the first half of the film kind of enjoyable. Admittedly a bit rote in what was going on, as we’ve seen similar shit in other procedurals, but it was still a decent take on familiar story territory (terristory?). Buuuuut when we entered the second half the train started to derail a bit. The pacing started dragging, and things started to get convoluted and messy. It all felt like it was in service of trying to shock its viewers with weird twists and revelations rather than make something that feels coherent and satisfying in any way. It also has a habit of getting a bit silly at a few points, which would be fine if the rest of the movie didn’t take itself so god damn seriously all the time. So yeah, solid premise, decent first half, trainwreck second half.

The characters in this, much like the premise, have solid enough setups. The foundations for them is strong, and could make for some intriguing character dynamics. However, much like a chicken that gives you salmonella, they are a bit undercooked. Ethan Hawke plays detective Bruce Kenner, our skeptic lead character whose stance is constantly shifting. He’s probably the closest we get to an interesting arc at times, but then in the end I felt very unsatisfied by it. Hawke does a damn good job with his performance, but the character isn’t quite as interesting as he clearly could be. And in supporting roles we see people like David Thewlis, Emma Watson, David Dencik, Lothaire Bluteau, Dale Dickey, and more, all doing pretty well in their roles, but just like with Hawke’s detective Kenner, their characters don’t feel fully fleshed out. And when you have a top notch cast like this, it gets to be a bit of a shame when the characters themselves feel so undercooked.

The score for the movie was composed by Roque Baños, and he did an alright job. It’s a fairly standard thriller score with some mildly eerie strings and piano, with the occasional bit of brass to increase intensity in certain scenes. Not saying it really succeeds at that (sadly), but I recognize what he was going for. And all things considered, it was an alright score in itself.

“Regression” was written and directed by Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar, and I think he did a fine job. There are times when he creates a decent atmosphere, however it seldom lasts long enough to really elevate the messy narrative. And even in scenes that are meant to be less atmospheric and more investigative, you know, the procedural stuff, Amenábar’s skill never really manages to help much beyond a “I guess this scene is well constructed in the technical sense”. Speaking of which, to be slightly positive for once, I have to say that Daniel Aranyó’s cinematography does look nice, it is pleasing to my eye. Again, it doesn’t really do enough to save the narrative or characters, but it’s at least something I can be nice about.

This movie hasn’t been very well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it hs a 15% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 32/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 5.7/10.

Despite some promising elements, “Regression” sadly fell short for me. The plot felt like a mess, the characters are uninteresting, the performances are really good, the music is fine, and the directing is fine. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Regression” is a 4.23/10. So sadly I’d have to recommend skipping it.

My review of “Regression” is now completed.

Damn it.

Movie Review: The Mustang (2019)

Horses, wonderful creatures. Absolutely astonishing beasts. Also, huge and terrifying and able to crush a dude like a bug. So you know… try to not annoy a horse. Also, don’t annoy people. Just a bit of advice from Uncle Markus.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “The Mustang”.

While doing time in prison, Roman (Matthias Schoenaerts) soon gets involved in a rehabilitation program where convicts learn to train wild mustangs. And we follow him as he struggles with this new task, as well as the struggles he faces when confronting himself and his violent past. If you are an impatient individual, you might not enjoy the storytelling of “The Mustang”. It’s a slow burn, taking its time to really let moments simmer, let us get into the heads of the characters and their situation. Of course there are moments where shit gets real and things become less calm, but on the whole this is a movie that is in no hurry to tell its story. And I appreciate that. It helped immerse me in the story presented to me. And in the end I found it to be an insanely heart-wrenching and engaging story.

The characters in this are all pretty engaging, and all work very well in making the story and world therein to feel more lived in. They all feel very real in that sense. Matthias Schoenaerts plays Roman, our main character. He’s a man who clearly has a bit of a troubled past (to say the least), and the way we see him developing and confronting himself throughout the film is insanely engaging, with Schoenaerts delivering a masterful performance. And then in supporting roles you have people like Bruce Dern, Gideon Adlon, Connie Britton, Josh Stewart, Thomas Smittle, and more, all doing very well in their respective roles.

The score for the movie was composed by Jed Kurzel, and I think he did a terrific job with it. It very much fits with the contemplative vibe that the story goes for, brought to life beautifully by a mix of guitar, piano, and various other stringed instruments. It really finds a nice middle ground between the dusty Nevada setting and the eerie, soul-sucking confinement of prison. It’s a mesmerizing score that really elevated the movie beyond the already high quality.

“The Mustang” was the first film directed and co-written by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, and I think she did a fantastic job with it. Just seeing the skill and level of control she clearly has over each scene is mesmerizing. When I was watching I thought she’d made  whole bunch of movies, but no, this was her first. And if she shows this level of skill with her debut, I am excited to see what she could bring in the future. Anyhow, back to the movie itself. The direction like I said, it’s great, beautiful, just superb. The direction really brings you into the world in a way that feels very raw and real. And the cinematography by Ruben Impens is just gorgeous. So yeah, the craft in this movie is terrific.

“The Mustang” has been well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 95% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 77/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.9/10.

The slow burn of “The Mustang” may put some people off, but I personally found it to be a highly engrossing and heart-wrenching drama. It has a great story, really good characters, fantastic performances, terrific music, and fantastic directing/cinematography. Time for my final score. *Neigh*. My final score for “The Mustang” is a 9.90/10. Which means it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “The Mustang” is now completed.

Schoenaerts not getting a best actor nomination for this is just criminal.