OWFilm World Cup Round 2: New Zealand vs. Sweden

By Laurent Kelly / June 30, 2011

Dim your lights. Cue epic Requeim for a Dream style theme music. Take a deep breath as it is time for the most exciting match in the tournament so far as Peter Jacksons much loved The Return of the King prepares for battle against Swedens cult vampire sensation Let the Right One In. Swedens film has been slightly unlucky in the draw having to first face off against South Korea's highly acclaimed Oldboy and now being drawn off to take on the power of the ring. It wont be an easy task but the film was more than competent in its surprisingly comfortable first round win and obviously cannot be underestimated. Plus there are some concerns in the New Zealand camp after Return of the Kings slightly underwhelming win against Gandhi. Sure it may have taken just over eighty percent of the poll but to give away seven votes to the little fancied Indian entry may be a subtle indicator that there are a fair few Lord of the Rings detractors within the Obsessed with Film community. The decision as always is in your hands. Tale of the reel is after the jump...

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

OSCAR COUNT (11) IMDB (8.8, #12) ROTTEN TOMATOES (94%) EMPIRE TOP 500 (#34th)

Return of the King is a film which is pretty impossible not to like. It is so well made and filmed with such bravado that you cant help but admire the hard efforts that made such a picture possible. That being said however the movie is sometimes a little too epic for its own good. Within the first half hour alone, we have seen the same fleeting close-ups and swelling score so many times over that you get the sense that both cast and crew are just trying a little too hard. It is one thing to play up a big moment but to do it in every single scene seems a little unnecessary In terms of drawing you into its epically crafted world and larger than life characters however The Return of the King is a mind-blowing success as it expertly manages the hard balancing act of providing big budget special effects whilst still inciting the imagination of the audience. When it comes to battle scenes and physical set-pieces the film is in true five star territory but the overblown theatrical elements prevent The Return of the King from being a true masterpiece. I personally prefer the darker and less showy Fellowship of the Ring. INTERESTING FACT: The Return of the King won literally every single Oscar it was nominated for; a perfect 11 wins from 11 nominations. The films record sharers Ben Hur managed 11 wins from 12 noms, and Titanic 11 from 14. Titanics 14 nominations also has James Camerons epic tied with All about Eve for the title of most nominated film.

Let the Right One In (2008)

OSCAR COUNT (0) IMDB (8.1, #204) RT (97%) EMPIRE TOP 500 (not listed)

At a time when the adolescent and generally uncreative Twilight series is causing young girls up and down the country to scream with joy; at least serious filmgoers can take comfort in the fact that it is still possible for mature and artistic films to be made in regards to the vampire genre. Let the Right One In is a dark and deeply atmospheric horror drama which works primarily as a character study focusing on the impact that an eternal twelve year old female vampire has on a young and timid twelve year old boy. Their friendship is beautifully explored through a series of powerful, striking images and authentic, layered dialogue and you find yourself completely engrossed in their odd and disturbing journey. The moments of horror and violence are also expertly handled with pain that you can almost feel and blood that you can almost taste. There are moments such as a woman being attacked by a pack of crazed cats and a serial killer revealing his hideous self-inflicted facial wounds which are so strongly presented that they are unlikely to leave my mind for quite some time. This is a film which I cant wait to re-watch in order to unravel some of the more layered theme and nuances. INTERESTING FACT:Let the Right One In won the Empire Magazine Award for Film of the Year in 2009 which was the first time since City of God (also featured in this contest, representing Brazil) that a foreign language movie had taken home the top prize. WRITERS VERDICT: I have a feeling that after a few more viewings Let the Right One in may very well become one of my favourite films. At the moment however I am very intrigued and interested with images from the movie still floating around my mind but Im just unsure yet as to its status as a masterpiece. For that reason I give the nod here to Return of the King as it a great film in a far more obvious way stunning cinematography, epic battle scenes, awesome set-pieces etc its definitely not perfect but its an enlightening blockbuster nevertheless.

Authored by Laurent Kelly

Contributor

"Growing up, Laurent was such an ardent fan of wrestling superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin that he actually attempted to send the Texas Rattlesnake a letter demanding that he defeat arch-nemesis The Rock at Wrestlemania 15. Oh hell yeah, it was all still very real to him back then dammit. As an aspiring writer of multiple genres and platforms, he has also recently co-authored a non-fiction movie e-book entitled 'Egos, Cliches, Flops and Lost Films: Examining the powerful madness of the movies' which is written in a similarly light hearted and informative style to his wrestling articles and which can be browsed and purchased by following the link below - http://www.amazon.com/Egos-Cliches-Flops-Films-ebook/dp/B0088YNTBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339093928&sr=8-1"

Posted On: 12th Jul 2010

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Film World Cup