woensdag 28 februari 2018

Movie Reviews - The Shape of Water

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Drama/ Fantasy
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones, Lauren Lee Smith

Description: At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor (Sally Hawkins) forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

Review: “The Shape of Water” is a fairytale, a version of “Beauty and the Beast” and a reverse version of “The Little Mermaid”. Nothing wrong with that, because there is more to it then just that. Guillermo del Toro’s story of the special band between a vulnerable woman and a amphibious creature has so much depth and substance. And the real question here is, who is the actual monster? The mysterious creature we know nothing about, the scientists, the government?
A central theme here is, when you’re different, you just don’t belong. And that’s why the aquatic creature and cleaner Elisa, who can’t speak, feel so connected. They don’t belong, they are the odd ones out in a crowd. They are different.
But Guillermo del Toro goes much deeper. “The Shape of Water” is set in the early 60s. a period where the Russians were the enemies, people look down on the black community and homosexuality is still not fully accepted. And when these elements pass in the film, it strengthens the bond between Elisa and the creature.
Because society is so hard on them, Elisa and her gay friend Giles have to fight even harder. But there is still room to dream. Like Giles, who buys the most disgusting pie over and over again, just to have a chat with that handsome bartender.
Elisa’s friend and co-worker Zelda is her voice. She is sassy and doesn’t leave anything unspoken. But at home she has a man who doesn’t do a thing and she also suffers under the white doctrine.
“The Shape of Water” is at its best when Elisa seeks contact with the creature. It starts with a look in its eyes, then feeding him a hard boiled egg and followed by light touching and learning him sign language.
Del Toro also pays a homage to the golden years of Hollywood. Giles watches and listens to the stars and composer Alexander Desplat composed a beautiful score.
Doug Jones was the man who had to sit in make-up for hours to become the creature in the water. Del Toro was inspired by “Creature from the Black Lagoon”.
“The Shape of Water” is nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, for me not the typical Oscar movie. Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy drama, a fairytale. This is why I love movies.

Rating: 5 / 5

maandag 26 februari 2018

Movies to Look Forward to - March 2018

February is almost to an end, so it's time to look forward to the March movies.

March 1st – Red Sparrow
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Marie-Louise Parker, Ciarán Hinds, Joely Richardson, Bill Camp, Jeremy Irons, Thekla Reuten
Description: Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to 'Sparrow School' a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. But her first mission, targeting a CIA agent, threatens to unravel the security of both nations.

March 2nd – Battle of the Sexes
Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Starring: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Eric Christian Olsen, Fred Armisen, Sarah Silverman, Andrea Riseborough
Description: The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.

March 6th – Lady Bird
Director: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Lucas Hedges
Description: In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California

March 14th – Stronger
Director: David Gordon Green
Starring: Jake Gyllengaal, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown
Description: Stronger is the inspiring real life story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope after surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

March 15th – Tomb Raider
Director: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dominic West, Nick Frost, Daniel Wu
Description: Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.

March 22nd – Gringo
Director: Nash Edgerton
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron, David Oyelowo, Thandie Newton, Amanda Seyfried
Description: Gringo, a dark comedy mixed with white-knuckle action and dramatic intrigue, explores the battle of survival for businessman Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo) when he finds himself crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal.

March 29th – Ready Player One
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Simon Pegg, T.J. Miller, Tye Sheridan, Mckenna Grace, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Description: When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.

dinsdag 20 februari 2018

10s Movie Review - A United Kingdom

Director: Amma Asante
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Tom Felton, Jack Davenport

Description: The story of King Seretse Khama of Botswana (David Oyelowo) and how his loving but controversial marriage to a British white woman, Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), put his kingdom into political and diplomatic turmoil.

Review: Whenever a film starts with the words ‘based on a true story’, the film makers have two choices: tell the actual facts or exaggerate a bit a make it more Hollywood like. The last is often the more popular choice, but director Amme Asante choose the first option. “A United Kingdom” tells a strong tale of forbidden love, discrimination and political distress, without any.
We end up in London in the late 40s, where Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams meat each other in a stylish jazz bar and have a undeniable click. They seem like an impossible couple, because Seretse is supposed to follow his uncle as the king of Bechuanaland (later Botswana). A marriage between him an a British typist would not be appreciated back in Africa. But Seretse and Ruth take the risk, marry and travel to Bechuanaland to start their life together.
Seretse and Ruth have to overcome many obstacles. The British government want to kick Seretse off the throne, while the citizens of Bechuanaland slowly come to peace with Ruth’s presence. But she still has to stand strong in the place she now calls home.
The script is factual, but it also feels refreshing. It often feels more like a documentary then a melodramatic love story. “A United Kingdom” is a really strong film, also thanks to David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike. They fill in their characters really well. The start of the film, which is also the start of their romance, feels a bit rushed. But the rest of the film takes its time to tell a beautiful story.
“A United Kingdom” tells a real life struggle and has a strong message.

Rating: 4 / 5

dinsdag 13 februari 2018

10s Movie Review - Wind River

Director: Taylor Sheridan
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene, Jon Bernthal

Description: A veteran tracker (Jeremy Renner) with the Fish and Wildlife Service helps to investigate the murder of a young Native American woman, and uses the case as a means of seeking redemption for an earlier act of irresponsibility which ended in tragedy.

Review: Together with “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water”, “Wind River” belongs in the so-called ‘American frontier’ threesome by screen writer Taylor Sheridan. With the screenplays of these three films, Sheridan describes today's America, where there is no compromise and where poverty, violence and a struggling government are still present. And again, this third movie, is a strong crime thriller.
The crime scene is in the Wind River reserve, in the state of Wyoming. An area known for its cold and silence. During one of his track runs, tracker Corey Lambert finds the lifeless body of a young Indian girl, miles away from civilization. The girl isn’t wearing any shoes and coughed up a lot of blood. Suspicious circumstances, so he calls it.
Help arrives in the form of inexperienced FBI agent Jane Banner, who labels this as a homicide. Together with Corey she decides to solve this crime, but she hasn’t realized yet what world she has entered.
The authorities hardly have any interest in this crime, which means that every victim will take the matter in their own hands. For a thriller like “Wind River”, that’s an excellent starting point. The message at the end shows us that native Americans gone missing don’t get registered. And that’s why this is an important film.
“Wind River” is a movie that flew pretty much under the radar in 2017. And it’s definitely a film you need to see. The writing is excellent. It’s not an original story, because it’s based on actual events. But the film makes you feel like you’re watching a literary novel come to life. Psychological depth, no clichés, real people struggling with complex emotions like guilt and loss. The dark poetic tones of the dialogue matches perfectly with the images of the snowy landscapes.
“Wind River” has a limited runtime, but manages to punch you in the face with the emotional load its carrying. Sheridan makes it believable and you feel the impact a homocide investigation like this can have on the people involved. The film is never rushed and is never really sentimental. With that we get an amazing performance from Jeremy Renner, probably in his best role to date. “Wind River” is a movie you should definitely add to your watchlist, it’s a crime thriller at its best.

Rating: 5/ 5

zondag 4 februari 2018

Five to Watch: Movies Set in the Snow

Winter is my second favorite season, because I just love the cold. I really do. And snow. It doesn’t snow very often in The Netherlands, and when it does, the Dutch aren’t prepared. Movies that have a snowy setting, it just adds to the atmosphere. I could name “Fargo”, “The Shining” and “The Thing”, but there are so many movies that people maybe not know about or that I think are underrated or underappreciated. Here are some movies you should watch, that are set in the snow.

30 Days of Night
An Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month. That is scary on its own, but the town is attacked by a gang of vampires. And they feast best when there is no sunlight. The people in the town have to survive those 30 days of night, without being victimized by the bloodthirsty vampires. A seriously underrated film.

Winter’s Bone
An Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father, while trying to keep her family intact. Jennifer Lawrence’s big break in a small indie film. “Winter’s Bone” will grab your attention and never lets go.

The Ice Harvest
A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash. It’s John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton that make this movie. It’s a dark comedy with a hint of film noir. Not appreciated enough.

Snowpiercer
Set in a future where a failed climate-change experiment kills all life on the plnet except for a lucky few who boarded the Snowpieercer, a train that travels around the globe where glass system emerges. Lots of social commentary and one of the most surprising and original films I have seen the past 20 years.

The Hateful Eight
Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters. Most of the film is set in this cabin, with strong dialogue and mysterious, interesting, extraordinary characters. Tarantino did a good job.

10s Movie Review - The Handmaiden

Director: Chan-Wook Park
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Romance
Runtime: 141 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Min-hee Kim, Tae-ri Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo, Hae-suk Kim, So-ri Moon

Description: A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.

Review: It was Quentin Tarantin who ones praised “Old Boy” at the Cannes film festival. He turned out to be a fan of director Chan-Wook Park. And Park’s “The Handmaiden” shows us why, because his style fits Tarantino’s. It’s a Victorian romance through the eyes of Tarantino: stylish cinematography, intelligent writing and a lot of extravagance.
“The Handmaiden” is inspired by the book “Fingersmith” and starts out pretty innocent. Hideko is a rich herein and is locked up at her uncle’s mansion, who wants to eventually marry her. “The Handmaiden” can be compaired, based on its plot. But Park manages to create its own identity.
The film works with an unusual storytelling structure and multiple perspectives. When you think you got it all figured out, there is another twist. No chronological story. And the surprising turning points don’t only manage to shock, but show you a different side of the story.
It’s understandable why Tarantino loves Park’s style, it’s untouchable. “The Handmaiden” is a bit provocative, manages to create its own style within a genre, turning it around. Really well done. Definitely a must-see.

Rating: 4,5 / 5