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Kukushka, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are:  Russia
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Kukushka (The Cuckoo)
Year of Release:  2002
Directed By:  Aleksandr Rogozhkin
Starring:  Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Viktor Bychkov, Ville Haapasalo
Genres:  Drama, Comedy, War

Overview:
September 1944, in a land torn apart by war, a Finnish sniper is labeled a coward by his compatriots; as punishment, he is nailed to a rock and left to his own devices. Not long after, a disgraced Russian Captain, en route to his court martial, is injured in an accident. Both men are about to find out how they have one thing in common. Wounded and emotionally tortured, they are taken in by Anni, a young, resourceful war widow, who offers shelter to one while nursing the other back to health. None of them understands the others' languages, but it doesn't seem to matter. Isolated, the three unlikely roommates - a Finn, a Russian and a Lapp - overcome both comic and tragic misunderstandings to form a passionate three-way...relationship. Because after a day of hard work on Anni's farm, who needs words?

My Thoughts:
I must say, I'm glad Mom insisted we watch this one out of our Russian films.  We really enjoyed this film.  It has a stark kind of beauty to it, especially the landscape once the focus gets to Anni's farm by the lake.  It's also a powerful anti-war film.  In the featurette on the making of the film, Haapasalo talks about how once you get to know someone you can't go to war against them, for you see them as a human being just like yourself.  The film has the same message, in the eventual friendship between Ivan and Veikko.  That friendship, and their mutual friendships with Anni, however, are only so deep.  Though they find a way to communicate without language, and do come to understand each other to a certain degree, their relationships would have been much deeper and much stronger than they became.  The film really emphasized to me the fundamental importance of language in human relationships.  The language barrier led to several very humourous parts of the film, especially the sequence between Ivan and Anni about the mushrooms, but it was also the biggest tragedy between all of them.  Of course, had they been able to communicate we might not have gotten another valuable point the film tries to make - that one should not judge someone so quickly.  Ivan believes Veikko to be a fascist, when Veikko is trying to tell him that the war is over for him and all he wants is to go home and live in peace.

Ultimately, this is a film that promotes the idea that love, friendship, pleasure, and life are really what is important and what are really worth striving for.  The only thing I wasn't happy with was the ending.
I think I understand why the director chose to end it as he did though.  A wonderful film, though, and recommended.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall: 3.75/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on September 2nd, 2013)

Severance, a review by Boomstick98

Severance (2006)  

Plot: When a weapons multinational Palisade Defence reward their European sales division with a team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe, comedy blends with horror as the team fight first amongst themselves, and later for survival against a group of war-crazed killers intent on revenge.

My O: This is my second time watching this film and I enjoyed it a much the second time as I did the first. There are some very funny moments in this film and some really good gore effects. Nothing original about a group of people stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of crazed killers, but this one does it well with a comic flair.

(From Boomstick's 2009 Horror Marathon on October 2nd, 2009)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: SG-1 is in hell. Their plan to escape didn't work after Apophis had unexpectedly risen from the dead. And he needs a dead pledge to prevent Sokar from executing him. But the Tok'ra have also a plan B: They intend to blow up Ne'tu.

My Opinion: Cool continuation. Apophis managed to save his skin again. I also liked the hallucination sequences due to the "Blood of Sokar".

Synopsis: After SG-1 returns from a mission something strange happens: Teal'c awakes in the infirmary and overhears a conversation between General Hammond and an unknown alien. There are two possibilities: Either the base has been overtaken or they have been exposed to a dangerous chemical that causes hallucinations.

My Opinion: When I watched the episode for the first time, until a certain point it was unclear to me which one is the truth, especially with the argument between Jack and Maybourne. What I like about such disguise devices is that they can actually change the size and form of a person.

Synopsis: Klorel crashes with a Deathglider on the Tollan homeworld. For a short moment, Skaara is in control of his body and he asks the Tollans for help. They agree to hear both sides.

My Opinion: A great episode. I love episodes with court hearings, especially when you could agree with both sides. I also liked the split where Daniel argues with logic and Jack with his heart. I thought this episode stands in one row with Star Trek TNG's The Measure of a Man. Regrettably we haven't seen Omac (Enigma) again.

Synopsis: SG-1 can't remember being on a planet for 15 hours. But then they find a microscopic device implanted into their brains. It generates an audio-visual hologram that only SG-1 can see and hear: Urgo.

My Opinion: Dom DeLuise (Cannonball Run, father of Peter DeLuise) is too funny as Urgo. I had a really good laugh, it was a great fun episode.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on March 17th, 2008)