Brief reviews #4 – Erik Gahner Larsen

Here are a few brief reviews of some of the things I have been watching and reading lately.

Movies/TV series

Alle for to (2013): If you ever need a reminder that mainstream Danish humour is bad, look no further than this movie. It is a contemporary version of Olsen-banden but, of course, nowhere near as good. It is a bit more than ten years old, and while I am sure it was bad when it came out, it has not aged well.
Animals Are Beautiful People (1974): It should come as no surprise when reading the title that this movie is doing a lot of anthropomorphising of animals. The movie is clearly impressive for what it was at its time but it is impressive what five decades and work by David Attenborough can do to a movie. There are specific funny scenes in this movie but the editing feels off to the point where you can really see how the narrative is being constructed rather than being told as is. For that reason, I feel that this movie is almost closer to being a comedy than a documentary.
Apocalypse: La 2ème guerre mondiale (2009): I am yet again in a period where I watch a lot of World War II documentaries. (I mentioned this to a friend the other day and his response was that it is good to be all caught up on the series in case of World War III happening soon.) This French documentary in six parts provides a comprehensive overview of key events with a lot of clips I have never seen before and facts I was not aware of. Highly recommended.
Appropriate Behavior (2014): A romantic comedy set in New York. It is easy to see how this movie draws on the work of writers and directors like Woody Allen and Noah Baumbach, and I mean that in the best possible way. There is a lot of energy in the movie with the interactions being layered and moving from very explicit to very subtle. A strong directorial debut.
Breakfast of Champions (1999): I read in The New Yorker that this movie now emerges as an inspired comic extravaganza. I don’t really know what to think of this movie but I hated it. It is funny that the movie came out in 1999, the same year as American Beauty. If you want to watch a great R rated movie from 1999 about a suburban father with a mid-life crisis told with some dream like sequences, this one ain’t it.
Celebrity (1998): One of the least interesting Woody Allen movies I have seen. Woody Allen can make great movies about couples going through a divorce, but they work much better when it is about the micro-level dynamics between a very limited set of people (i.e., when he is inspired by Ingmar Bergman). There is way too much going on in this movie with way too many actors and cameos. Sad to see such great actors being wasted on this material, especially Kenneth Branagh. I was not expecting to see a Donald Trump cameo though.
Common Side Effects (2024): Overrated animated show. An interesting idea for a conspiracy thriller but the writing is bad. As we get further into the first season it is clear that there is not much of substance to be found here. I do enjoy anti-capitalistic hot takes on the American health care sector as much as the next guy, but this is not it. I will not be watching the second season.
Dar sarzamin-e baradar (2024): This movie begins with the fact that there are five million Afghan immigrants living in Iran. There are three chapters in this movie, each set in a different decade in this century, telling a story about an Afghan immigrant. Two of these stories work significantly better than the third, but they are all interesting in their own way. Most of the movies I have seen dealing with the immigrant experience take place in Western countries, so this was a breath of fresh air.
Friendship (2024): I had very low expectations going into this one. American comedies with Paul Rudd are usually not that good. Luckily, this is more of a dark cringe comedy with the focus on Tim Robinson. The movie is uncomfortable in the best possible way. The plot could be a bit tighter, but again, I had low expectations for this one and I was pleasantly surprised.
Great Performances: Next to Normal (2025): The live performance of the London production of Next to Normal. A great performance indeed. Heavy stuff on mental illness, grief, drugs, depression, suicide, etc., so not for everybody. If you are into rock musicals, this is very much recommended (also to see it live if you have the chance of course). In musicals, rock is a force of agency and empowerment, which is also the case here, but for the internal turmoil.
Grenfell Uncovered (2025): A documentary about the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire. It is a classical story about the trade-off between private profit and public safety. The documentary does a great job of demonstrating a systemic problem with failures within institutions and the people in power (without giving in to populist tropes). Specifically, it shows the combination of political, economic and social factors, in particular related to a deregulatory agenda and what looks like policy drift caused the tragedy. It is clear that the Grenfell tragedy never should have happened, and the movie facilitates a conversation about what should take place to avoid similar scenarios in the future (and even being critical towards people claiming they were primarily to blame). Accordingly, if you are looking for a documentary with a simple narrative with one or two persons or entities to blame, this is not a documentary for you.
Jerrod Carmichael: Don’t Be Gay (2025): I found his Rothaniel show overrated and I have not watched Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (though as a fan of Tyler the Creator I am curious about the series). This show found a great balance between humour and honesty, and finding humour in honesty and vice versa. Based upon the reviews I have seen of this comedy special, I would say that it is underrated and worth checking out.
Louis Theroux: The Settlers (2025): A documentary following Louis Theroux as he interviews people associated with the Israeli settlement movement in Palestine and the people affected by said settlement. This is a good reminder that you can find extremists within any religious and cultural group. Louis Theroux demonstrates a unique ability to remain impartial yet with a contempt for the actions being described by the people he talks to.
Mighty Aphrodite (1995): A very mediocre Woody Allen movie. There is a weak plot and it is not a funny movie. And do not get me started on the Greek chorus. I guess it is fair to say that the 90s was truly not Woody Allen’s best decade.
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988): A comedy about women being in love with the same man. This is one of the older movies by Pedro Almodóvar, and I enjoyed the cinematography a lot. However, overall, I guess I will never understand Spanish comedies and this one did not resonate with me. Fun to see a young Antonio Banderas in a comedy though.
News from Home (1976): Chantal Akerman captures the ordinary in New York in a more subtle way than anybody can today (it reminds me of John Wilson in certain ways though). Chantal Akerman could indeed capture the ordinary of anywhere. I find the letters from her mom interesting but I do miss more of the correspondence. That is, what was the content of the letters that Chantal Akerman sent to her family? A good movie, but it feels like something is missing (and not necessarily a plot).
Night Will Fall (2014): I watched the restored version of the German Concentration Camps Factual Survey prior to watching this documentary. It has some of the most disturbing scenes from World War II that I remember seeing. Night Will Fall provides a sensible context for the original documentary and goes into detail with relevant considerations on documenting the horrors of the war, including how to deviate from previous approaches to make sure that there could never be any doubt about the nature of the atrocities.
Rewind (2019): A heavy documentary. There is something weird about the structure of the documentary. The premise of the documentary is that there are missing pieces in the puzzle and the documentary is a way to truly move on from traumatic events. However, as the documentary progresses, it is clear that there are not really any missing pieces in the puzzle. An important topic and, at the end of the day, a good documentary.
Sinners (2025): Let the White one in. Ryan Coogler is a great director when he is not wasting time in the MCU, and this is one of the better vampire horror movies. The problem is that most vampire horror movies are bad and this one suffers from some of the limitations of the genre. The blues music is good, and I even enjoyed the Irish folk music. A must watch if you are a fan of the genre or Ryan Coogler, but it is skippable if you are not.
Still Smokin (1983): I have never been much into stoner comedies and this one is another good example of how bad they can be. The writing is lazy, the acting is even more lazy, and just when you think the movie cannot get any worse, well, it becomes even worse. The only good thing about the movie is to get a view of certain parts of Amsterdam in the 1980s.
Take the Money and Run (2025): A documentary about the artist Jens Haaning and his artwork Tag pengene og løb. We follow the artist as he deals with his problems, external and internal. This is a relatively boring documentary as not much is happening and the conversations are trivial. Sure, there is a lot of media attention and some legal and financial struggles, but for the most part you get the feeling that most of the conflict stems from the artist’s struggle with mental illness.
The Damn! Show (2005): Damn. That was the opposite of funny. Actually, I found it deeply depressing to watch. I can understand why some people would find it funny twenty years ago, at a time where there was a strong correlation between being edgy and being funny. I was wondering whether I would have found it funny if I watched it as a teenager twenty years ago, and sadly, I could see myself having found some of these scenes funny back then. This movie is a good reminder that when things have not aged well, it is primarily because we are in a better place today.
The Rehearsal (2022): Nathan Fielder is one of the most interesting alternative comedians making TV today. It is hit or miss with his work, but that is part of the charm. You never know where things are going, and even when it misses the mark, it is worth the journey. I did not like the first season of The Rehearsal but the second season worked much, much better. My recommendation is to start watching the first season, and if it is not of interest to you, go directly to the second season. That is, you can watch the second season without having watched the first (you will only miss a few references). Definitely recommended. However, if you are afraid of flying, you might have to avoid this particular journey.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013): There is absolutely no reason for this movie to have a playtime of around two hours. With a bit of editing and better pacing there might even be a good movie hidden somewhere in this material. You can see some early signs of Severance in this movie, and Ben Stiller has learned a lot over the years. This movie also deals with a guy working in a small unit within a large corporation (and you will find a couple of actors from Severance in this movie as well). The problem is that this movie tries to travel the world but still feels immensely small. There are also too many shallow feel good vibes. In other words, I will only recommend this movie if you are a hardcore fan of Ben Stiller as an actor, producer, and director.
The Studio (2025): A really funny show with a lot of cameos. If you are into movies and know the plot of Chinatown, you will like this show. If you are a fan of everything Hollywood and are familiar with Matthew Belloni, you will love the show. I enjoyed the long takes and the Sorkin-inspired verbal comedy, but the final few episodes with more physical comedy did not do much for me. I am ready for a second season.
Wir (2020): This German movie deals with emotions related to identity and belonging in an engaging and sentimental way. The movie is much better than its IMDb rating. One reason can be that it is better if you understand contemporary Iranian culture and have a very progressive mindset, and I can imagine that a significant proportion of the people watching this movie can tick one but not both boxes. Not a masterpiece but deserves a bigger audience.
World War II in Colour (2009): Thirteen episodes on going through the main events of World War II. The documentary is less Eurocentric than many other documentaries about the war, with episodes dedicated to the war in the Mediterranean region and the islands in the Pacific. Not much to gain for history buffs but I found it very interesting.

Books

Am I Overthinking This?: Over-answering life’s questions in 101 charts by Michelle Rial: There is little overthinking, let alone thinking, in this coffee table book. You will find some fun artwork but none of the ‘data’ charts work. That is, they do not make sense as dataviz and they are not funny.
Funny Story by Emily Henry: I decided to read Funny Story because I was in the mood for something light and easy. This book was light and easy but in the most predictable and cliched way possible. The funny thing about reading this story was that when I asked myself ‘Would it not be a big cliché if X happened?’, X happened in almost all cases. I guess that is what some people are looking for in books, and despite being easy to read, I would not recommend it to anyone. I do like the focus on a limited number of characters and the changing nature of the interactions between them, but these dynamics were not explored in any meaningful or interesting ways. This book will be very difficult to turn into a movie. Not because it is a complex novel, but because the weak plot points would become even weaker on screen. I guess a general lesson is that for contemporary romance novels, I prefer Irish authors over American authors.
I Am a Hero, #1 by Kengo Hanazawa: I do not read a lot of mangas but I decided to give the first volume of I Am a Hero a chance. Alas, I found it pretentious and boring. It is not that I have any problems with the themes or storytelling per se, but the first volume does very little to establish a universe or even a grounded premise. It seems like the only point of the first volume is to promise more of an actual story in the second volume. I will not continue with the series.
Mathematical Foundations of Data Science Using R by Frank Emmert-Streib, Salissou Moutari and Matthias Dehmer: This is an uneven book with too much going on. The first and second parts are a (good) introduction to R which could in and of itself be a book. Part III is simply called ‘Mathematical basics of data science’ and consists of nine different chapters covering topics such as linear algebra, differential equations, graph theory, and optimization (this could also be a separate book). That is, I would have preferred for the authors to write two books instead of this one and in particular focus more on making part III a lot more coherent and introductory. For that reason, I will not recommend this book to learn R or data science despite the good quality of the content.
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari: A great book on AI, at least compared to other books dealing with AI within the social sciences these years. If you are vaguely into history and/or AI, but do not know a lot about one or the other, this book might be for you. As in Harari’s previous books, there are a lot of sensible perspectives. My main issue is that AI and information are vague concepts that can be used to cover a lot of material. In this case it results in a book that covers a lot of topics but never mounts to more than the sum of its parts. That is, the value of the book is more as a collection of essays and reflections on how to (re)interpret historical events and periods in the wake of AI than as a coherent history of information networks. Finally, there are also some very speculative claims about the future.
Python Tricks: The Book by Dan Bader: A great book with a lot of tricks on how to write better Python code. A book like this becomes more important in the world of AI chatbots and agents. Sure, ChatGPT can write a lot of your code, but to evaluate the code from ChatGPT, you are still in a much better place if you understand the content in books like this one. There are chapters on effective functions, data structures, dictionaries, etc. For the sections where I had issues with understanding the examples, ChatGPT was a great help though.
Sex Lives of Superheroes: Wolverine’s Immortal Sperm, Superman’s Porn Career, the Thing’s Thing, and Other Super-Sexual Matters Explained by Diana McCallum: I was a bit cautious when picking up this book, mostly because I do not care a lot about superheroes, and I could easily see this being an annoying and boring book. However, luckily, this book is anything but annoying and boring. It is funny and full of interesting insights. You do not need to know anything about superheroes (or sex for that matter) to find this book interesting, and it is not shy about touching upon lesser-known sexual topics and practices.
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport: I have now read four books by Cal Newport and the only one I would recommend is Deep Work. This one is to me the least interesting. Ironically, it is the one that feels most like a self-help book without much of the content being directly related to self-help. This is a collection of anecdotes and stories forced into a vague idea about slow productivity. I do not disagree with the three mantras of the book (do fewer things, work at a natural pace, and obsess over quality), but I am not even sure the book itself agrees with the three mantras. The book is trying to do a lot of things, the pacing does not seem natural, and I do not see an obsession with quality. If you are curious about these ideas, read Deep Work and not this one.
The Mini Rough Guide to Dublin by Rough Guides: A good book to consult if you plan a short stay in Dublin. I read this as prep for a few days in the city, and it managed to provide all the necessary information without going into too much detail on all locations and attractions.
Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI by Anil Ananthaswamy: This book took me a long time to read. An introduction to machine learning from a mathematical perspective. What I like about the book is that it cares a lot about real-world applications but also goes deep into the math (starting with vectors and never looking back). If you are looking for a better understanding of the inner workings of machine learning and AI, this book is a good place to begin (although it is technical and not a typical popsci book).