Review: Hanks Makes 'A Man Called Otto' Watchable

By Christopher James

The practice of remaking international films for an English language audience is a lazy process. Though we sometimes get a stray hit like Scorsese’s The Departed, too often we see a film’s teeth and charm whittled down to nothing (see Oldboy, Downhill, Ghost in the Shell to name a few). A Man Called Otto isn't an abject artistic failure like some of those, but it doesn't bring anything new to its Swedish counterpart, A Man Called Ove. It doesn't feel quite like a Google translate job (most of the American-ized changes work), but definitely only exists because it feels US audiences are unlikely to seek out the Swedish original.

You may think you’ve seen a curmudgeon before, but you haven’t met Otto (Tom Hanks). Every morning he makes his rounds, which includes cleaning up his small neighborhood development, closing the gate on his street and sneering at every smiling “idiot” he comes into contact with...

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Tom Hanks To Be "A Man Called Ove"

by Ilich Mejía

In 2015, Sweden selected Hannes Holm's A Man Called Ove as their submission for the Academy's Foreign Language Film race. The selection payed off, as the country earned their 15th nomination in the category. Now, Tom Hanks and his production company Playtone have acquired the rights to develop an English version of the film.

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Prime for April - Screengrab Roulette

As we do, we've frozen random new to Amazon Prime titles and grabbed the first screengrab that popped up. Though they're leaning heavily on 1990s titles at the moment, their quality of offerings is far outpacing whatever B pictures Netflix has been licensing of late. Comment Party: Which will you be watching and which of the "new" streaming titles would you most want to read a write-up on this month? I'll obey your consensus command. 

Okay on to the random screengrabs.

Every morning the ground is soaked with blood. The workers believe I brought this terror since it didn't begin until my arrival. Whatever I try they seem to know. All the deaths are on me. 

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
Yes, yes, great Vilmos Zsigmond cinematography, a sound Oscar, and killer lions and but on a scale of 1-100 how kissable were Val Kilmer's lips in his prime? My vote: 118.

[no dialogue]

Sliver (1993)
Remember when wealthy perv Billy Baldwin was spying on all his tenants including sexy Sharon Stone who caught on to him? The 90s were THE decade for erotic thrillers, which have gone completely out of fashion, just like romantic comedies. 

more after the jump...

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Joint Statement from Best Foreign Language Film Directors

The nominated directors from this year's Best Foreign Language Film nominees (Land of Mine, A Man Called Ove, The Salesman, Toni Erdmann, and Tanna) have released a joint statement about the Oscars, human rights, and the growing climate of nationalism around the world. It's a must read.

They write...

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The Great "Make-Up and Hairstyling" Bake-Off of 2016

We just wanted the blog post title to sound fancy. Who knows if the screening/meeting/deliberation at the Academy was anything like a superlative adventure this year? But let it suffice to say that they narrowed down some unknown number of films (why no semi-finals list, AMPAS?) to seven films which will compete for the 3 Oscar nominations in Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Those films, with photos to jog your memories, are after the jump with some commentaries about their specific follicular and beautifying achievements...

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