Tech reviews:
CD
DVD
DVD+CD
VCD
Art reviews:
Films
Games
Music
DVD

Døden på Oslo S DVD Norway
Reviewed: 2005-09-19 Score: 4/6
Døden på Oslo S is finally out on DVD, and luckily the DVD presentation is great – except for the lack
of bonus materials.
Video: The film is clearly digitally mastered and restored - this film probably never looked better! At
least not for me, since I didn't see it in the cinema – only on TV and VHS. The film is a bit... read more
Giftige løgner DVD Norway
Reviewed: 2005-09-19 Score: 3/6
Giftige løgner – the successor to Døden på Oslo
S – is finally out on DVD, and luckily the presentation is great – except for the lack of
bonus materials.
Video: The film is clearly digitally mastered and restored. There are no visible artifacts, dust or s... read more

De blå ulvene DVD Norway
Reviewed: 2005-09-19 Score: 2/6
It seems like all the money and time was spent on Døden på Oslo S and Gifige løgner, because here is Nordisk Film sadly back to their usual
habits when it comes to their ... read more
CD
Blue Tattoo CD Germany
Reviewed: 2005-03-29 Score: 6/6
This is CD audio the way it's meant to sound. A rich wall of sound that builds up in the room. Stereo effects fly through the room, the subwoofer is booming. It seems like the artists are standing in front of you. Pure perfection! Be sure to play it in stereo mode of course. There's no annoying copy-protection on this CD, so you can play it in any ... read more

Traces of Sadness CD Germany
Reviewed: 2005-03-28 Score: 6/6
This is CD audio the way it's meant to sound. A rich wall of sound that builds up in the room. Stereo effects fly through the room, the subwoofer is booming. It seems like the artists are standing in front of you. Pure perfection! Be sure to play it in stereo mode of course. There's no annoying copy-protection on this CD, so you can play it in any ... read more
Traces of Sadness CD Germany
Reviewed: 2005-03-28 Score: 6/6
This is CD audio the way it's meant to sound. A rich wall of sound that builds up in the room. Stereo effects fly through the room, the subwoofer is booming. It seems like the artists are standing in front of you. Pure perfection! Be sure to play it in stereo mode of course. There's no annoying copy-protection on this CD, so you can play it in any ... read more
DVD

Traces of Sadness DVD Germany
Reviewed: 2005-03-28 Score: 5/6
The production of this DVD is amazing with long crane-shots and few cuts. Unfortunately in 4:3 format, but nothing is perfect. The sound is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 track with thundering sub-bass. A DD 2.0 Stereo track is also supplied. Unfortunately there is problem with the way the chapter changes are made that makes certain DVD-players s... read more
Jalla! Jalla! DVD Norway
Score: 4/6
The video quality on this DVD release from Sandrew Metronome is very good. I can't notice anything negative. Nice animated menus, but still a bit boring. Also a boring cover design. Great with a commentary track (still haven't listened to that one) and behind-the-scenes footage (a little short though). By the way, if you select Norwegian language f... read more

Sherdil DVD Sweden
Score: 4/6
This DVD is produced by SDC, and the video quality isn't the best I've seen, with some visible artifacts in dark scenes. In addition I'd wanted some more exciting extras than the text pages, trailer and video clip we get. But it's better than nothing, after all.... read more
Fucking Åmål DVD Germany
Score: 2/6
Concorde Home Entertainment first canceled their release of Raus aus Åmål on video, but after a massive mail-storm from the fans, they turned around despite of «technical difficulties». The DVD was released one day before the relase of !Zuzammen! (or Together) in German cinemas. Thanks to this they also received the German Youth Video Prize in 2001... read more

Fucking Åmål DVD Denmark
Score: 4/6
This was actually the first release of Fucking Åmål on DVD anywhere in the world, in autumn 1999. The release for the rest of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Finland) was delayed because the producers weren't really pleased by this DVD. The menu design is very simple and almost identical to the Scandinavian disc, except for a little animated introd... read more
Fucking Åmål DVD Sweden
Score: 4/6
Audio: The Dolby Surround 2.0 soundtrack is a very good mix, with good use of the rear channels for environmental audio and music - and even voices when appropriate. Dialog is clear and easy to hear, and well seperated from other audio. A Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack would of course have been prefered, but keep in mind that Dolby Surround was the t... read more

Tillsammans DVD Norway
Score: 4/6
The video quality on this DVD release from Sandrew Metronome, produced by Tocano in Denmark and with graphical design by Head & Tail in Stockholm, isn't much better than Fucking Åmål, which proved to be done a lot better by other distributors. It's still not even anamorphic (yes, it is 2001). The lack of a Director's Commenta... read more
Better than Chocolate DVD Canada
Score: 3/6
Quite good release from Trimark, but the video quality is far from reference quality with noticeable artifacts in dark scenes. It's also not anamorphic. I'm also missing Cast & Crew information. But a Director's Commentary is always great! It's also great that we get a Director's Cut version on this DVD.... read more

Christiane F. Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo DVD United Kingdom
Score: 3/6
Better than the U.S. release - new improved soundtrack (still sounds quite mono though) and English subtitles. A bit strange that the U.S. release has a 1.77:1 aspect ratio, while this one is 1.66:1 (probably just a misprint).... read more
Eva & Adam 9-16 (3+4) DVD Sweden
Score: 3/6
Incorrectly stated on the cover that the picture is anamorphic widescreen. There are also no closed captions (as incorrectly stated on the cover). Problems with menu navigation and "play all episodes" feature on some players. Otherwise very good and crisp transfer with no significant digital artifacts.... read more

Eva & Adam Fyra födelsedagar och ett fiasko DVD Sweden
Score: 4/6
Notice the English subtitles! Great! Good video quality and even DD 5.1 soundtrack. Not that you notice much surround effects really. There was a problem with some prints of this DVD, but let's hope this is all fixed now and all bad copies are removed from the stores. I'd liked more extras though. This is all in all a pretty boring DVD release in 2... read more
Sanning eller Konsekvens DVD Sweden
Score: 4/6
Not much to say, fairly good video quality on this DVD produced by Tocano in Denmark. The menus are sometimes causing the player to crash. We could have hoped for a Director's Commentary, but the interview is a good replacement. All in all, a quite good DVD production.... read more

Boys Don't Cry DVD USA
Score: 4/6
Good release from Fox. I'm missing Cast & Crew information. The featurette is rather short and don't say much. I haven't listened to the Director's Commentary yet, because the film itself is so emotionally moving I don't want to spoil the feeling by listening to this commentary just yet. But it's always great that it's included. Please note that th... read more
Lilja 4-ever DVD Sweden
Audio: Great Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track that sounds a lot more dynamic than in the cinemas I visited. Rammsteins roars at you with their Mein Herz Brennt just like I always thought it should sound. Dynamic sound is also used to recreate environments (like a diskoteque) and portray emotions/ moods. It's interesting that orchestrated music is mixe... read more

Lilja 4-ever DVD Norway
Audio: Great Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track that sounds a lot more dynamic than in the cinemas I visited. Rammsteins roars at you with their Mein Herz Brennt just like I always thought it should sound. Dynamic sound is also used to recreate environments (like a diskoteque) and portray emotions/ moods. It's interesting that orchestrated music is mixe... read more
Tillsammans DVD Sweden
The video quality on this DVD release from Sandrew Metronome, produced by Tocano in Denmark and with graphical design by Head & Tail in Stockholm, isn't much better than Fucking Åmål, which proved to be done a lot better by other distributors. It's still not even anamorphic (yes, it is 2001). The lack of a Director's Commenta... read more

Tillsammans DVD Germany
The picture quality is similar to the UK disc, a little bit pale compared to the Swedish release, but this isn't very major. No other artifacts or problems as I could notice. The picture is a bit grainy and not as smooth as you're used to from Hollywood, but this is of course how the film looks originally. The sound is two-channel Dolby Stereo orig... read more
Tillsammans DVD United Kingdom
First of all it's great that an English-subtitled DVD is available so soon (unlike Lukas Moodyssson's first feature film Fucking Åmål – Show Me Love. Unfortunately this DVD could have been better – the subtitles are removeable, but I guess most people who buy this DVD want to have them t... read more

Christiane F. Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo DVD Germany
Score: 3/6
Technically better than the UK release, if you can manage without subtitles.... read more
Bear's Kiss DVD Russia
Audio: Very good Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Both the original English audio track and a Russian dubbing track is included. This is really a great dynamic soundtrack with really good use of surround channels and bass that creates a great atmosphere (not very suited for night-viewing in other words). My only complaint would be that the dialogue i... read more

Syostry DVD Russia
Good production, but they could have spent the time to make subtitles for the documentary aswell, and maybe an optionable English menu. The English subtitles are pretty good, but could have been even better.... read more
Grease DVD Sweden
Score: 4/6
As usual with Paramount's backlog releases the video transfer is unfortunatly rather grainy - and especially so on this release. On the other hand I couldn't spot any digital artifacts. The sound is good, but the film was obviously not 5.1 originally. Let's hope Paramount will do better some day - and re-release their classics with the picture qual... read more

En Kärlekshistoria DVD Sweden
Score: 6/6
Video: The film has been completely remastered to a HD (High Definition) master for the theatrical and DVD premiere in 2003 for the first time in Sweden, and the result is astoundishing. It's not every day you watch a film from 1969 that technically looks like it could just aswell have been made yesterday! Okay, there is a little bit dust and rathe... read more
Jalla! Jalla! DVD Sweden
The video quality on this DVD release from Sandrew Metronome is very good. I can't notice anything negative. Nice animated menus, but still a bit boring. Also a boring cover design. Great with a commentary track (still haven't listened to that one) and behind-the-scenes footage (a little short though). By the way, if you select Norwegian language f... read more

Lilja 4-ever DVD United Kingdom
Audio: Unfortunately this is nothing like the Scandinavian audio track. It seems like Metrodome has messed up the 5.1 track completely. There's almost no use of the rear channels even for music, it's a lot less dynamic, and the bass sounds strange. The sound image seems very front-centered and doesn't surround you and include you in the film like t... read more
Tillsammans DVD USA
The cover states that the theatrical trailer is included, but this is probably not correct.... read more

Eva & Adam Fyra födelsedagar och ett fiasko DVD Norway
Score: 4/6
Notice the English subtitles! Great! Good video quality and even DD 5.1 soundtrack. Not that you notice much surround effects really. There was a problem with some prints of this DVD, but let's hope this is all fixed now and all bad copies are removed from the stores. I'd liked more extras though. This is all in all a pretty boring DVD release in 2... read more
Bare Bea DVD Norway
The anamorphic video transfer is good with no signs of artifacts. On my test disc only a DD 2.0 soundtrack was supplied. It sounds decent, but of course you get a 5.1 track with the retail versjon, along with some more bonus materials also not included on the test disc. No English subtitles on the disc unfortunately. Reviewed by OEB 26.08.04.... read more

Spun DVD Sweden
Score: 3/6
Generally great video transfer. The source is obviously 16mm, but the video transfer is crisp and clear. Unfortuantely there are a few signs of digital artifacts, especially around 1:26:30. The 5.1 soundtrack is great (2.0 not tested). At first you might think it's rather dull and front-centered, but then "hell breaks loose" in certain scenes :). L... read more
Hip hip hora DVD Sweden
Score: 5/6
Good anamorphic picture transfer - I couldn't notice any artifacts or other faults. Of course. this still isn't reference quality, but good for a Swedish film. It looks cool with DTS sound, but I'm not sure if this film really needed it and I even thought the DD 5.1 track sounded a bit better. The voices got a bit exagerrated (never noticed that b... read more

Lilja 4-ever DVD Hong Kong
The quality of the DVD is unfortunately pretty equal to the UK release, that means a lot less sparkling audio and video than you get on the Scandinavian version. So get that if you have the chance.
Audio: Unfortunately this is nothing like the Scandinavian audio track. It seems like they've messed up the 5.1 track completely. There's almost no us... read more
Fröken Sverige DVD Sweden
Score: 5/6
The image is wonderful – a classic film-look with great lightning and contrasts. The film stock used here can never give reference quality if you want to show off your new equipment, but nobody would except that either. There are no noticeable digital artifacts to spot and the picture is of course in anamorphic widescreen. Anything else than ... read more

Lilja 4-ever DVD Germany
Audio: Great Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track that sounds just as good as the Scandinavian DVD release. Rammsteins roars at you with their Mein Herz
Brennt just like I always thought it should sound. Dynamic sound is also
used to recreate environments (like a diskoteque) and portray emotions/
moods. It's interesting that orchestrated music is... read more
Hip hip hora DVD Norway
Score: 5/6
Good anamorphic picture transfer - I couldn't notice any artifacts or other faults. Of course. this still isn't reference quality, but good for a Swedish film. It looks cool with DTS sound, but I'm not sure if this film really needed it and I even thought the DD 5.1 track sounded a bit better. The voices got a bit exagerrated (never noticed that b... read more

Better than Chocolate DVD USA
Score: 3/6
Quite good release from Trimark, but the video quality is far from reference quality with noticeable artifacts in dark scenes. It's also not anamorphic. I'm also missing Cast & Crew information. But a Director's Commentary is always great! It's also great that we get a Director's Cut version on this DVD, it seems like the film had to be cut to get ... read more
Bare Bea DVD Norway
The anamorphic video transfer is good with no signs of artifacts. On my test disc only a DD 2.0 soundtrack was supplied. It sounds decent, but of course you get a 5.1 track with the retail versjon, along with some more bonus materials also not included on the test disc. No English subtitles on the disc unfortunately. Reviewed by OEB 26.08.04.... read more

Bare Bea DVD Sweden
The anamorphic video transfer is good with no signs of artifacts. On my test disc only a DD 2.0 soundtrack was supplied. It sounds decent, but of course you get a 5.1 track with the retail versjon, along with some more bonus materials also not included on the test disc. No English subtitles on the disc unfortunately. Reviewed by OEB 26.08.04.... read more
Fröken Sverige DVD Norway
Score: 5/6
The image is wonderful – a classic film-look with great lightning and contrasts. The film stock used here can never give reference quality if you want to show off your new equipment, but nobody would except that either. There are no noticeable digital artifacts to spot and the picture is of course in anamorphic widescreen. Anything else than ... read more
DVD+CD

Lilja 4-ever DVD+CD Sweden
Audio: Great Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track that sounds a lot more dynamic than in the cinemas I visited. Rammsteins roars at you with their Mein Herz Brennt just like I always thought it should sound. Dynamic sound is also used to recreate environments (like a diskoteque) and portray emotions/ moods. It's interesting that orchestrated music is mixe... read more
VCD
Fucking Åmål VCD Taiwan
Hmm... this is actually my first VCD – so I'm not really sure how it should look. But the picture quality is quite equal to VHS, depending on what you find most irritating (the VHS blur or digital artifacts), because there are of course a lot of digital artifacts here. I've got to know that most VCDs are a lot better than VHS, and that this is a st... read more
Film
Råzone
Reviewed: 2007-02-13 Score: 6
Råzone (Life Hits) is a Danish film about a group of four girls whose actions spin out of control – and eventually friendship turns to hate. This film has an intensity on the level of read more
Container
Reviewed: 2007-01-08 Score: 5
The theme of “Container” is in a way similar to “Fucking Åmål” told in a completely different way. The monologue is coming from a woman trapped in a man's body. It's about sexuality, about not fitting in. There are plenty of international pop-cultural references. Similar to “A hole in my heart” this... read more
Loser
Reviewed: 2006-10-29 Score: 5
A surpringly warm and heartfelt comedy-drama featuring Mena Suvari and Jason Biggs. (Temporary text.)... read more
Sandor /slash/ Ida
Reviewed: 2006-09-14 Score: 4
This film could be described as a mix of two other Nordic youth films - Bagland and Fucking Åmål. The story is thus not very original, apart from the fact that Sandor and Ida meet online of course. On the other hand, that's after all just another contact method. During the course of the film Sandor ... read more
Du ska nog se att det går över
Reviewed: 2005-03-25 Score: 5
"Du ska nog se att det går över" is a documentary about three girls and their struggle towards "coming out" as lesbians. It's both fun and sometimes a bit sad to listen to their experiences. Anyone can certainly recognize parts of these girl's experiences from their own youth – regardless of s... read more
Fröken Sverige
Reviewed: 2005-01-21 Score: 4
Fröken Sverige (Miss Sweden) featuring Alexandra Dahlström in the leading part as Moa is
another good Swedish youth film with focus on a bit older kids than traditionally
in this genre. Moa is 19 years old and her friends is around the same a... read more
Große Mädchen weinen nicht
Reviewed: 2004-10-22 Score: 5
Grosse Mädchen weinen nicht (Big Girls Don't Cry) is a great German youth drama from 2002 focusing on the two girls Kati and Steffi who's been best friends since they were little kids, but grows further and further apart in the hectic stage between youth and adult. read more
En Kärlekshistoria
Reviewed: 2004-10-06 Score: 5
Selv om En kärlekshistoria er fra 1969 kunne den nesten vært laget i går. Det er en tidløs ungdomsfortelling sentrert rundt kjæresteparet Annika og Pär. Det er genialt enkelt, men film handler nettopp om å fortelle gode historier. Det spesielle med En kärlekshistoria er at voksenverdenens konflikte... read more
Hip hip hora
Reviewed: 2004-08-28 Score: 5
I can't really decide if I should watch this film as a tragic comedy or a drama. Swedish film producers like to slap the comedy tag on anything (even Fucking Åmål), but this time Sandrew has put drama on the cover for Hip hip hora or The Ketchup Effect (the English title becomes obvious when you see... read more
Døden på Oslo S
Reviewed: 2004-08-26 Score: 5
This film brings back memories to my childhood when I read all books in the Pelle & Proffen series. I'm not that fond of Ingvar Ambjørnsen's style of writing so it wasn's that exiting to return to one of the books a few years ago, but the film Døden på Oslo S still stands as my favourite Norwegian f... read more
Bare Bea
Reviewed: 2004-08-25 Score: 5
I was happy to be able to see this film in the cinema, which is always a special experience, but especially when a Norwegian film is showing. That really creates a special atmosphere you can never get with a foreign film. The last time I experienced the same athmosphere was with Elling, now director... read more
Spun
Reviewed: 2004-08-20 Score: 5
A great drama-comedy from the Swedish Music Video-director Jonas Åkerlund (Metallica, Madonna...). I was a bit reluctant to watch it because I thought it had got rather cold reviews elsewhere, but there was cearly no need for that. Even though the characters are exagerrated and stereotypical, this f... read more
Lizzie McGuire - The Movie
Reviewed: 2004-02-01 Score: 4
”Why not take a crazy chance?” synger Hillary Duff selv på soundtracket, men det har ikke Walt Disney akkurat gjort med denne filmen. Det er en veldig søt og morsom historie, men alle som har vært eller er ungdom vet at så søtt er ikke virkeligheten. Nå skal det sies at hadde man laget en realistisk... read more
Better than Chocolate
Reviewed: 2003-11-03 Score: 4
A quite sweet and happy lesbian «coming-out» story set as a comedy, but with some serious undertones.... read more
Alla älskar Alice
Reviewed: 2003-05-21
Great emotional film - especially for those of us who have experienced a divorce. Hopefully those who didn't will be able to comprehend how this feels aswell; how the world as you knew it collapses all around you. At last there is also a film that focuses on the subject from children's point-of-view... read more
Christiane F. Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
Reviewed: 2003-04-29 Score: 5
If you just climb higher and higher you will eventually fall down, and that fall might be fatal... This film takes us to a different world than you most likely know, a true story about how easy it is to get on the wrong side. Featuring music from David Bowie it was a major hit when it was released t... read more
Bully
Reviewed: 2003-04-27 Score: 6
Another masterpiece from Larry Clark (Kids, Another Day in Paradise). I could really start saying just the same about Bully as I said about Kids - this is a that shows teenagers like they really are, despite that some besserwissers say otherwise. Even though all of us doesn't - or didn't - act and d... read more
Lilja 4-ever
Reviewed: 2002-09-21 Score: 6
I can say one thing - Lukas Moodysson is like a sign of quality - it's not a question if the film is great or not, it's a question of how great it is. Unlike Fucking Åmål and Tillsammans this is a rather dark film, but you still recognize his style - and it confirm once again that a Lukas Moodysson ... read more
Eva & Adam 1-8 (1+2)
Reviewed: 2001-06-01 Score: 5
Det er morsomt å se disse første episodene om igjen nå - de gikk jo på NRK våren 2000. Denne serien er for så vidt mer en filmserie enn en vanlig TV-serie (det er jo Svensk Filmindustri som har produsert den også), så den er absolutt verdt å eie på video. Denne første serien er utgitt på VHS og DVD ... read more
Eva & Adam 9-16 (3+4)
Reviewed: 2001-06-01 Score: 5
Mange av de samme kommentarene gjelder for denne andre serien, som for den første, så jeg har unngått å gjenta meg for mye. Man merker på en måte at de har kommet bedre inn i stilen her, samtidig kan ikke denne serien sies å være bedre enn den første. De er nærmest jevngode.
Først vil jeg fokuser... read more
Eva & Adam Fyra födelsedagar och ett fiasko
Reviewed: 2001-06-01 Score: 5
Another great Swedish film set in a youth environment with kids slightly younger than in Fucking Åmål. It's tone is a lot lighter and sweeter than the previously mentioned film, with pastel colours and beach parties. But some times we want something sweet too, and this is still a great film about pu... read more
Fucking Åmål
Reviewed: 2000-04-02 Score: 6
A fantastic film! This is a unpainted story about the hard youth time, almost like a documentary. Although the setting is a small town in Sweden, is the approach and story universal for at least the whole western world. It's about the frustrating, to put it mildly, period of life which the whole tim... read more
WarGames
Reviewed: 2000-02-06 Score: 6
Med sin totale mangel på vold kan denne filmen passe alle aldersgrupper. WarGames er, samtidig som den retter et veldig kritisk blikk på å overlate for mye kontroll til datamaskiner, og atomvåpen, et herlig tilbakeblikk til åttitallet, da datamaskiner var for hackerne. Også den musikken, da! Det er ... read more
Tillsammans
Score: 6
While I watched Fucking Åmål – Show Me Love without any prior expectations I did approach the cinema with quite a lot of expectations when I went to see Lukas Moodysson's new film Tillsammans aka Together Saturday November 4, 2000. And my expections were in many ways answered.
There... read more
Music
Blue Tattoo
Reviewed: 2005-03-29 Score: 6
When the new album Blue Tattoo arrived in the mail just before Easter it was evident that Vanilla Ninja along with producer David Brandes have made it again – an amazing-sounding album with less use of synth this time, but that doesn't matter with the rich use of bass (drums and bass guitars i... read more
Traces of Sadness
Reviewed: 2005-03-28 Score: 6
Tired of hip hop and boring pop songs? Then it's time to check out Vanilla Ninja's trip down the memory lane to a world of drums, guitars and syntheziers. This is the 80's synth-rock in a new and timeless form – there are even elements... read more
Vanilla Ninja
Reviewed: 2005-03-28 Score: 5
Needless to say, I was of course curious to check out the first album from Vanilla Ninja after hearing the excellent "Traces of Sadness". Unfortunately it wasn't quite the same without David Brandes' superb production. There are some hints of what to come, but it sounds really different – like... read more