zondag 17 maart 2024

20s Movie Review - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Director:
John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Genre: Fantasy/ Adventure/ Action/ Comedy
Runtime: 134 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page

Description: A charming thief (Chris Pine) and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they tun afoul of the wrong people.

Review: After a theft that went wrong, Edgin and Holga try to get their lives back on track. This is harder than expected, as one of their friends seems to have betrayed them. To set things right and prove himself to his daughter, Edgin joins Holga and other magical misfits on an epic adventure full of bizarre monsters and plans that don’t always go according to plan.

“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is a blockbuster the way we know them: special effects, action spectacle, funny main characters and an okay story. Yet the film distinguishes itself by cleverly making fun of both the game on which it is based on and the fantasy genre. The simplicity of the story and characters are also a definite plus.

Although a wide audience can enjoy this film, fans of the original game are rearded. Many typical things from the game occur: spells, failed plans and unnecessarily long backstories give the film a fairly authentic tone. But the writers took some creative liberties and this worked really well.

The magical side of the world where the story takes place is used in the craziest way. It gives the film a refreshing quirkiness. Aside from the CGI, there are also lots of practical effects and remarkable costumes.

“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” makes for a great viewing experience, which I now wished I had seen in the cinema. A strong cast portraying fun characters, and enjoyable world and setting with an entertaining story. A movie I will definitely rewatch at some point.

Rating: 4/ 5

20s Movie Review - The Silencing

Director:
Robin Pront
Genre: Action/ Crime/ Mystery/ Thriller
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Annabelle Wallis, Zahn McClarnon, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Jason Jazrawy, Melanie Srofano, Charlotte Lindsay Marrow

Description: A reformed hunter (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) living in isolation on a wildlife sanctuary becomes involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse when he and the local Sheriff (Annabelle Wallis) set out to track a vicious killer who may have kidnapped his daughter years ago.

Review: Rayburn Swanson lives alone on a wildlife sanctuary. After his daughter disappeared 4 years ago, he lives a life of solitude and protects the area. When a mysterious killer appears in this sanctuary, he and the local Sheriff try to figure out who he is and if he might have been involved in his daughter’s disappearance.

The setting is perfect for a thriller like this, somewhere in the chilly woods in northern US. The film is nowhere remarkable or original, but it’s engaging and suspenseful and I don’t get all the negative reviews this film is getting.

The script aims higher then a no-nonsense and taut thriller about the search for a killer. Director Robin Pront gives the characters more depth increase dramatic potential. And that’s successful for most part. The Sheriff dealing with a moral dilemma, Rayburn’s personal demons.

The film is somewhat predictable, but overall it’s a pretty solid thriller that I really enjoyed and kept me engaged the full runtime.

Rating: 3/ 5

zaterdag 16 maart 2024

Book Review - A LIttle Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Title:
A Little Life
Author: Hanya Yanagihara
Genre: Fiction/ Contemporary
Published: 2023
 
Description: When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.
 
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and price. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome – but that will define his life forever.
 
Review: “A Little Life” tells the story of four friends who met in college and spend their lives together in New York City. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.
 
The story focuses mainly on the life of one of these friends, Jude, who carries with him a traumatic past and as a result not only struggles with himself but also with the relationships with others. The book discusses various themes such as friendship, trauma and love. In addition, “A Little Life” beautifully depicts the complexity of human emotions.
 
The book is both heartbreaking and beautiful, the characters feel real and their stories touch you to the depth of your soul. It’s very well-written, with an almost poetic use of language and wonderful sense of detail.
 
Be prepared that this book deals with very heavy topics of child abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, self-harm and suicide. It’s a very sad book and it got me emotional on several occasions.
 
Author Hanya Yanagihara uses an authorial narrator, who alternately zooms in on the various characters, giving you as a reader a deeper understanding of their thoughts and emotions. This makes for a memorable reading experience. Only downside is that it’s really long and slow paced, which I felt at some parts of the story.
 
This book is very emotional, but so beautiful. I understand why so many people love it and why it’s on so many favorites-lists.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Oldies Movie Review - The Sting

Director:
George Roy Hill
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 1973
Starring: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Robert Shaw

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 11: A MOVIE FROM THE 1970S
 
Description: Two grifters (Robert Redford, Paul Newman) team up to pull off the ultimate con.

Review: After the complete success of cowboy film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”(1969), director George Roy Hill and lead actors Paul Newman and Robert Redford reunited four years later for the equally successful “The Sting”.

Two small time crooks, Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker, teak up to take on Doyle Lonnogan, using their wits and slight-of-hand tricks.

“The Sting” is basically a modern version of Favid and Goliath, with Newman and Redford playing the small David character and Robert Shaw is the big-time villain. It’s has a good portion of comedy in it, without becoming a slapstick, which would made this a completely different movie. “The Sting” has won 7 Oscars (out of 10 nominations) and is such a joy to watch. I just love young Newman and Redford together.

I really loved this movie experience, just a bit more than “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - Dune: Part Two

Director:
Denis Villeneuve
Genre: Science Fiction/ Drama/ Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 166 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Javier Bardem, Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Léa Seydoux
 
Description: Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.

Review: It’s finally here: Denis Villeneuve’s long-awaited second part of his epic film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel. “Dune: Part Two” offers an engaging, lucid and spectacular continuation of the story and tells interesting things about myths, colonialism, ecology, religion and fate. But it impresses above all with its great visuals.

It is a sequel, because it’s the second film, but they are not two separate films. They form a whole and one can not be viewed without the other. Part two picks up when Paul Atreides and his mother Lady Jessica have been taken in by the Fremen, the indigenous people of sand planet Arrakis. What follows is the evolution of Duke’s chils Paul into Maud-Dib, or Lisan al-Gaib. An evolution with extreme consequences.

Villeneuve has focused on the development of Paul, who brings together moderates and fanatics and struggles with his identity. The film has a geopolitical and (post-) colonial layer, with Arrakis as the oil-rich Middle Each, House Atreides as the more progressive Europe, House Harkonnen as representatives of the nihilistic dictatorships pursuing unscrupulous colonial policies and the emperor as the puppeteer.
I was very impressed by Austin Butler, who is a new character and the villain Feyd-Rautha of this second part. Timothée Chalamet manages again to proof that he can easily lead a big film. And Rebecca Ferguson, as Lady Jessica, really showed a nice transformation of her character.

The camerawork is mesmerizing, the way these amazing action scenes were shot.

I already loved the first film, but “Dune: Part Two” is even slightly better. It’s a true epic sci-fi saga, with a complex world with equally complex characters. I just can’t wait for this saga to continue.  

Rating: 5/ 5

maandag 11 maart 2024

Book Review - The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Title: 
The House Across the Lake
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2022
 
Description: Casey Fletcher a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of liquor, she passes time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing: a tech innovator, Tom is rich, and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.
 
One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other – and the longer Casey watches – it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage is not as perfect and placid as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey becomes consumed with finding out what happened to her. In the process, she uncovers eerie, darker truths that turn a tale of voyeurism and suspicion into a story of guilt, obsession and how looks can be deceiving.
 
Review: Casey has lost her husband, is constantly drinking and lost her acting job. She is now trying to escape reality by staying at her family’s lake house. Spying on the people that live in the house across the lake, Tom and Katherine, is her idea of passing time. When one day she saves Katherine from drowning, the two become friends. When Katherine all of a sudden goes missing, Casey is sure her husband Tom has something to do with her disappearance. But the truth is much more complicated.
 
Riley Sager is a favorite for me, I have liked all but one of his books. And I can now add this one as well. I have read all of them now. The setting for me is already a win. A lake house in autumn time, with only a few people around. Casey is a complex character: she is troubled because she lost her husband Len not that long ago. She drinks a lot, but says she is not an alcoholic. And her acting career is also not going well. Because Casey is almost always intoxicated, she is an unreliable narrator. One of my favorite things in thriller books.
 
The book only has a few characters aside from Casey, but you have no idea who you can trust or not. Because, besides her next door neighbor Eli, all the people that are staying at their lake houses, are strangers for Casey.
 
People had warned me for the crazy twist in this book. And they weren’t wrong. It’s really nuts and not something you can predict (if you did, you’re either a liar or a psychic). It is really original and surprising, but it was a bit too much for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. The book had five-star energy, up until that twist. That’s the reason I knocked of a full star.
 
“The House Across the Lake” is a really good thriller, solid atmosphere and great suspense building. And it’s well done by Sager to provide so many twists and reveals with the story being set at one location (the lake and its surroundings) and with just a few characters. I just couldn’t really get behind that crazy twist.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Damsel

Director:
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Genre: Fantasy/ Action
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, Nick Robinson
 
Description: A dutiful damsel (Millie Bobby Brown) agrees to marry a handsome prince, only to find the royal family has recruited her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt.

Review: Elodie marries a handsome Prince, so her family can have a more fortunate life. However, she discovers that the royal family has recruited her as a sacrifice to pay off an old debt and is thrown into a cave. She will then have to rely on her wits and willpower to survive.

The term ‘damsel’ is often used in fairytale-like stories, as the damsel in distress. A woman in need of help. The damsel in this story, could need some help, but doesn’t have anyone to lean on. And she perfectly manages on her own. Elodie is portrayed as a self-reliant young woman.

We don’t get much backstory. We are introduced to Elodie and her family and dive into the story right away. We don’t learn much about the other girls that had to endure the same fate as Elodie. The film does flow smoothly and “Damsel” is a very easy watch.

The acting is fine, Millie Bobby Brown does a good job as Elodie. The rest of the actors don’t get much to do. Her character only has a short amount of time to really develop, but I did like following her journey of survival.

The special effects look really good. The dragon is imposing and really stands out.
“Damsel” is a fine fantasy film, I really enjoyed it and it’s entertaining.

Rating: 3/ 5