David Dencik

David Dencik

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Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Review


OK

Bizarrely, this Dutch film tries desperately to wedge true events into the shape of an American thriller, but the action sequences are so lacklustre that a fascinating story ends up feeling dull and pointless. It's even been rewritten in English, using a random range of British, Australian and European accents. So while the plot manages to just about hold the interest, the film drags out the story and struggles to find any point of emotional resonance.

This is about the largest ransom ever paid, in 1982 Amsterdam. Faced with the collapse of their construction company, Cor, Willem, Jan and Frans (Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten and Mark van Eeuwen) make a desperate decision to risk everything by kidnapping the billionaire head of the Heineken beer empire, Freddy (Anthony Hopkins), demanding a $60 million ransom. They manage to get him into their hideout, but are frustrated as the days drag into weeks while the police fret about the case, believing that they are dealing with a major international crime ring. The question is whether these amateurs can maintain their cool and pull this off.

Further wrinkles are supplied by the fact that Cor is expecting a baby with his girlfriend (Jemima West), who happens to be Willem's sister. This creates an intriguing dynamic between the two men, so the relationship depicted by Sturgess and Worthington is by far the most compelling thing about the film. Meanwhile, Hopkins does his best to walk off with the movie in a superbly relaxed turn as a cocky, demanding victim who's more concerned about his also-abducted chauffeur (David Dencik) than himself. All of these elements have the potential to add tension and intrigue to the movie, but British writer William Brookfield and Swedish director Daniel Alfredson never bother to properly deepen most of the characters or situations, while continually watering things down with under-powered chase sequences.

Continue reading: Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Review

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer


Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken (Anthony Hopkins), head of the Heineken International brewing company, was worth billions. When a group of opportunistic friends land on a simple 5-day get-rich-quick scheme, it involves kidnapping Mr. Heineken and collection a 60 million dollar payday. After months of planning and preparation for the kidnapping, they spring into action - perfectly catching and whisking away Heineken in Amsterdam and taking him to their secure, secret hideout. But here, things start to go wrong. Unable to get the ransom demands, the group discover that they are being toyed with by Heineken, as he plays them at their own game.

Continue: Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer

Serena Review


Good

Gorgeously shot, this period drama has a terrific setting and vivid characters, but is edited together in a jarring way that distances the audience from the situations. As the story progresses, the film also shifts strangely from a riveting exploration of a power couple with a pioneering spirit to a more melodramatic thriller about corruption and murder. It's consistently engaging thanks to the power of the cast, but it should have also been darkly moving as well.

The story is set in the late 1920s, as lumber baron George (Bradley Cooper) struggles under the economic pressures of the impending Great Depression. Then he meets Serena (Jennifer Lawrence) and it's love at first sight. A feisty, outspoken woman with a background in logging, she immediately ruffles feathers in George's camp by giving out advice that's actually helpful. George's two righthand men, accountant Buchanan (David Dencik) and foreman Campbell (Sean Harris), both quietly wonder if this woman is going to mess up their all-male world of underhanded bribes and physical danger. But she develops a rapport with George's hunting tracker Galloway (Rhys Ifans). Meanwhile, the local sheriff (Toby Jones) is trying to get George's land declared protected national parkland.

Oscar-winning Danish director Susanne Bier (In a Better World) gives the film a grand scale with expansive mountain landscapes and a sweeping romantic tone. The Western-style bustle of the logging camp is lively and authentic, as is the continual threat of death or dismemberment on the job. Against this, Cooper and Lawrence have terrific chemistry both with each other and the characters around them, sharply portrayed by strong actors who know how to invest plenty of attitude into even a small role.

Continue reading: Serena Review

Serena Trailer


As the Great Depression begins to sweep across America, George Pemberton (Bradley Cooper) and Serena Shaw (Jennifer Lawrence) meet and fall in love. The whirl-wind romance soon sees the couple married, and entering into a lifelong partnership with the start of a timber empire. As Serena steadily proves herself to be more capable than any man in the company, she strongly boosts the productivity and the spirits of her husband. But soon, the house of cards crumbles to show the truth of George's hidden past, and expose the secrets he never expected Serena to find out. The Pembertons are thrown against their toughest obstacle yet - can their love truly conquer all, or is it destined to fall apart?

Continue: Serena Trailer

The Homesman Trailer


George Briggs is a claim jumper who has only ever known a dishonest life. When he finds himself in serious trouble (sat astride an impatient horse with his hands bound behind his back and a noose around his neck tied to a branch), he starts to think this could finally be the end for him. That is until he is found by a lone woman with a wagon named Mary Bee Cuddy who agrees to free him from his plight in exchange for a favour. Living alone, she is struggling to carry out an important personal mission; she wants to take three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa now that their husbands can now longer cope with them. Thus, she asks Briggs to help her on the dangerous five week journey and, despite his serious reservations, he agrees to act as her aide and protector against the brutalities they may face along the way.

Continue: The Homesman Trailer

We Are The Best - Trailer & Clips


Bobo, Klara and Hedvig are three best friends from Stockholm on the cusp of being teenagers and, like most pre-adolescents, they're all about experimenting with their identity. While their school friends are all about hairstyles and getting involved in dance shows, these girls are all about cutting their hair off and getting involved in punk music. They decide to form a band in spite of the fact that only one of their trio can actually play any music and even she is taking some persuading to get involved with the girls' punk aesthetic. But in the end, other people's criticism and remarks that 'punk is dead' go disregarded, and even when they are told that only boys form bands, they are determined to set out to be the people they want to be. Each other's support is all they need to follow their dreams  and become the best punk rockers in the world.

Continue: We Are The Best - Trailer & Clips

Call Girl Review


Excellent

A confident drama about a real-life 1976 political scandal, this Swedish film is expertly tells the story from three fascinating angles. The government officials are slippery and the cops are tenacious, but it's the intensely personal story of a young girl caught up in a prostitution ring that catches our emotions.

Iris (Karemyr) is only 14, but her life is already off the rails. Sent to a group home, she escapes with her pal Sonja (Asplund) looking for fun. Along the way, they're recruited by charismatic brothel madam Dagmar (August) to entertain her clients, which include high-powered politicians. Meanwhile, the government is preparing for a general election and trying to keep all of this illicit sex out of the newspapers. But a politician (Dencik) and an undercover cop (Berger) are collecting the evidence they need to crack the case. And if it hits the press, there might not be a point in holding an election at all.

The filmmakers layer the story with irony, as the Swedish government is working to build the most open and fair society on earth, drafting laws that will give women fully equal rights. But in their spare time, these same men are frequenting under-age prostitutes who aren't there by choice. Baumgarten's script digs deep to set up complex characters whose motivations and reactions might not always be clear but are vivid and recognisably real. And the cast members play the roles with such natural honesty that we can't help but sympathise with them. Watching the more intimate scenes makes us squirm in our seats.

Continue reading: Call Girl Review

A Royal Affair Review


Very Good
With striking photography, sumptuous production values and strong acting, this Danish epic tells a remarkable true story about a tumultuous moment in European history. It's a fascinating, involving story, although the film is a bit too dry to move us.

In 1766, aristocratic English girl Caroline (Vikander) is married off to the Danish King (Folsgaard) to preserve the dynasty. But his brutish rule turns her against him, and she seeks intellectual stimulation from the King's close advisor Johann (Mikkelsen). Eventually, this meeting of minds turns into a lusty affair, as the Queen and Johann plot to turn Denmark into a progressive, compassionate nation. Meanwhile, the King's stepmother (Dyrholm) is conniving to have him declared unfit so her son (Nielsen) can claim the throne.

Continue reading: A Royal Affair Review

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer


Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist for Sweden's 'Millenium' magazine, a monthly publication that has a decent amount of readers. After publishing a shocking expos' on a billionaire businessman, he is sued for libel but loses the highly publicised case and is sentenced to three months in prison.

Continue: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review


Excellent
It's rare to see a film in which writers, director and cast all respect the intelligence of their audience. So when it happens, it's something to savour.

Especially when it shows as much audacious skill as this British thriller does.

In the Cold War paranoia of 1973, there's a Russian mole in British intelligence. And the top boss Control (Hurt) has narrowed it down to four top colleagues (Firth, Jones, Hinds and Dencik). He asks faithful George Smiley (Oldman) to root out the spy, so he and Peter (Cumberbatch) begin a complex investigation that involves a discredited agent (Hardy) and a murdered operative (Strong). But the truth only seems to get more elusive the further they descend into the rabbit hole.

Continue reading: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review

David Dencik

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David Dencik Movies

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Movie Review

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Movie Review

Bizarrely, this Dutch film tries desperately to wedge true events into the shape of an...

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer

Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken (Anthony Hopkins), head of the Heineken International brewing company, was worth...

Serena Movie Review

Serena Movie Review

Gorgeously shot, this period drama has a terrific setting and vivid characters, but is edited...

Serena Trailer

Serena Trailer

As the Great Depression begins to sweep across America, George Pemberton (Bradley Cooper) and Serena...

The Homesman Trailer

The Homesman Trailer

George Briggs is a claim jumper who has only ever known a dishonest life. When...

We Are The Best Trailer

We Are The Best Trailer

Bobo, Klara and Hedvig are three best friends from Stockholm on the cusp of being...

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We Are The Best Trailer

We Are The Best Trailer

It's the eighties and Bobo, Klara and Hedvig are three lgirls from Stockhom between the...

Call Girl Movie Review

Call Girl Movie Review

A confident drama about a real-life 1976 political scandal, this Swedish film is expertly tells...

A Royal Affair Movie Review

A Royal Affair Movie Review

With striking photography, sumptuous production values and strong acting, this Danish epic tells a remarkable...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer

Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist for Sweden's 'Millenium' magazine, a monthly publication that has a...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Movie Review

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Movie Review

It's rare to see a film in which writers, director and cast all respect the...

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