doejohnson Reviews

Albatross (2015)

All Around Enjoyable

[9/10 · 6 September 2016]

I watched this movie on a flight back from Iceland. I'm so glad I ended with this one, because it was just so enjoyable.

The basic plot is that a young man from the city goes to the country for the summer to work and be with his girlfriend. He arrives to find himself at a not-so-well-maintained golf course with some oddballs for coworkers. Things don't go as planned and he has to rethink his current and future goals.

I loved his coworkers and their interactions with each other. Simple comedic entertainment. Really, this movie was more comedy than anything else, with a bit of serious life planning thrown in the mix. At the end, the main character took what seemed like a bad situation and learned to enjoy his life as it was. It's also family friendly, which is always a plus.

Let me just add, I'm amazed that this is the lead's first acting experience (and that he really is fluent in multiple languages and can paraglide). Bravo!

Sparrows (2015)

Coming of Age Story

[3/10 · 6 September 2016]

Note, my 3/10 stars is mostly based on how much I enjoyed the movie. For craftsmanship it gets a full 10/10. It's beautifully made, I just didn't enjoy the content.

Sparrows is an Icelandic coming of age story about a teenage boy who moves in with his estranged father when his mother goes to Africa. The beginning of it seems average enough, but the later half of it gets darker as the boy experiments with sex and drugs. For me, this really put me off and made me want to stop watching. I liked a couple of his actions at the end which showed forgiveness and an acceptance of responsibility, but the whole thing just felt rather depressing.

If you are like me and tend to dislike gritty shows about the darker aspects of life (drugs, alcoholism, rape), don't watch this. However, if you do like gritty realism, go for it.