vesa-taatila

The overall story of Dingo and Nipa Neumann is probably familiar to everyone who lived their teenage during those years. The reason the story arc seems quite cliche is that it was. A relatively quick rise to the top position, the grinding of the success, the social problems of not being able to live a normal life, alcohol and the quick fall have been seen dozens of times, and this band seemed to follow the recipe quite accurately.

However, what made this movie so enjoyable to me was the production. The city of Pori, the accents, the attitude and the look were very close to what I remember from those years. It was always a pleasure to see those international looking rock stars and then hear them speaking with an accent thick enough to cut through glass. Also the look and the actors seemed very close to the originals.

For me the 4:3 format took a bit too much attention. I understand why it was done, but I kept hoping the screen would have some back to widescreen. I have probably spent way too much time watching the narrow formats.

Overall I recommend watching this if you lived through the Dingo-hysteria. If you are of later generation it may take a bit of studying to get into mood.

I almost missed this movie because of the IMDB-reviews. Thankfully I had nothign better to do so I decided to give it a chance.

It is indeed slow and the notorious sandwich scene is there. However, considering the theme and the setting, the directorial choice can be understood and for me it also works. I am of course in the same age category of the protagonist so that might explain something... it was a pleasure to follow how the ending is set carefully, a realistic step after each other, and the internal logic doesn't fail. Even the very ending follows the development of the character arc.

A few negatives things come to mind as well. The main bad guys are very one-dimensional, represented by their outlook. Secondly, I still find it hard to see any believable acting in Vaughn in any movie.

If you are into slow-moving crime capers, this is worth the time.

Mister8 was a pleasant surprise. A very dark comedy about an exceptional situation, that could almost be true. In this sense the series reminded me of the Black Mirror.

While most of the male characters are very one-dimensional, they actually fit well into the story, which evolves from a suprise to a surprise. Krista Kosonen makes probably her best performance, and the chemistry between her and Pekka Strang holds through the plot. Absolutely worth watching.