10s Movie Review - Before We Go

Director: Chris Evans
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Chris Evans, Alice Eve

Description: Two strangers (Chris Evans, Alice Eve) stuck in Manhattan for the night grow into each other’s most trusted confidants when an evening of unexpected adventure forces them to confront their fears and take control of their lives.
 
Review: Usually I’m a little skeptical of filmmakers who give themselves the leas role, but fair’s fair: Chris Evans did an excellent job at both. “Before We Go” follows two strangers that meet one night in New York and decide to help each other.
The film is reminiscent of “Before Sunrise”. After meeting something is brewing between these two. It’s a really good film and it has some great moments. But it’s nothing like the forementioned movie.
The main thing that made this film good was the chemistry between Chris Evans and Alice Eve. The tension between the two is very noticeable and I loved them together. It is titled as a romance movie, but it’s not one of those cheesy, predictable ones. This film has layers and depth and two characters you get to know in a very short time.
I highly enjoyed “Before We Go” and I really want to know what Nick wrote to Brooke. We will never know.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The First Purge

Director: Gerard McMurray
Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Action
Runtime: 98 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Y’lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, Mugga Patch Darragh, Marisa Tomei, Luna Lauren Velez, Kristen Solis, Rotimi Paul, Mo McRae, Jermel Howard, Siya, Christian Robinson, Steve Harris, Derek Basco, D.K. Bowser, Mitchell Edwards, Maria Rivera, Chyna Layne

Description: America’s third political party, the New Founding Fathers of America, comes to power and conducts an experiment: no laws for 12 hours on Staten Island. No one has to stay on the island, but 5,000 dollars is given to anyone who does.
 
Review: For a film that both the press and audiences weren’t hugely excited about at the time, 2013s “The Purge” turns out to have a remarkably long run. I liked the first movie and also enjoyed “The Purge: Election Year”, “The First Purge” doesn’t really add anything to the franchise. Even though it’s an interesting premise, getting to know how it all started. It’s pretty much the same as all the other editions and isn’t captivating whatsoever.
This first edition of the purge is smaller in scale. This is because it is a pilot taking place on Staten Island, the district of New York. The fact that this island was chosen as a test location because of its representativeness for the rest of the country seems rather out of the blue. The populations shown consists purely of ethnic minorities of low social status, many of whom engage in drug trafficking or other crimes. In any case, it doesn’t look like a place where the police would drop by, so a night when the authorities don’t turn up and everyone is left to fend for themselves shouldn’t exactly be considered a completely new situation.
Anyone who wants to preserve their lives would do well to leave the island for a night, but there is a way around that: those who stay get an allowance from the government that many can only well use. The allowance is even a bit larger with active participation in the purge. While previous films in the “Purge” series have shown some of the atrocities that people are capable of when protected from prosecution, this part seems to focus on what people without money are willing to do to improve their financial situation. But as often in this film series, very little is done with this potentially interesting fact. The only ones who really get to kill are those who would probably do so without the purge.
It is hard to believe that someone who is permanently rigid with aggression would restrain for 364 days a year because he fears legal prosecution. And what about a drug lord who tries to kill his competitor, only to have the latter destroy him? Does that really require a Purge? Drug criminals in general pay very little attention to prevailing laws when it comes to protecting their power status.
This is an unnecessary film, that even Marisa Tomei couldn’t save. “The First Purge” is a waste of your time.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Paul

Director: Greg Mottola
Genre: Comedy/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2011
Starring: Simon Pegg , Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Sigourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Jane Lynch, John Carroll Lynch, Jesse Plemons, Jeffrey Tambor, David Koechner, Joe Lo Truglio

Description: Two English comic book geeks (Nick Frost, Simon Pegg) traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien (Seth Rogen) outside Area 51.

Review: Simon Pegg is a great comedic actor, Nick Frost is hilarious. But they are best when they are together. So seeing them in a comedy about an alien, not directed by Edgar Wright, excites us. It’s not as good as any of the Cornetto films, but “Paul” is definitely funny enough to watch and rewatch.
“Paul” follows two British nerds, Graeme and Clive, who saved money to go to Comic Con. On their way, they want to spot some UFO’s. They bump into Paul, an alien, who has been on planet earth for already 60 years. Graeme and Clive decide to take Paul on their road trip. Of course that’s not a very good idea.
Like I stated before, Pegg and Frost aren’t working with Edgar Wright this time. Greg Mottola is the director and he knows how to make a buddy movie work. Just look at “Superbad”. Here he has to combine the British humor from Pegg and Frost with the typical American humor from Seth Rogen. I can say, that I miss Wright, because it’s a little but to ordinary. But “Paul” is still a very enjoyable watch with lots of successful jokes. It’s a very good comedy. And Seth Rogen is a great choice for voicing Paul.
I really enjoyed “Paul”, it’s a funny film, with three excellent comedic performances.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Book Review - Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge

Title: Pop Goes the Weasel
Series: Helen Grace (Book # 2)
Author: M.J. Arlidge
 
Description: The body of a middle-aged man is discovered in Southampton’s red-light district, horrifically mutilated, with his heart removed. Hours later, the heart arrives with his wife and children by courier. A pattern emerges when another male victim is found dead and eviscerated, his heart delivered soon afterwards. The media call is Jack the Ripper in reverse; revenge against the men who lead sordid double lives visiting prostitutes. For detective Helen Grace, only one thing is certain: there’s a vicious serial-killer at large who must be halted at all costs. 

Review: In Southampton the body of a man is found in an abandoned building. Not much later, a gruesome package is delivered to his wife and children, which turns out to contain his heart. When soon a second victim is found, Inspector Helen Grace turns out to be dealing with a serial killer, a prostitute who cuts her clients open and robs them of their hearts. The media soon make their own story out of it and not everyone in the network seems to want to cooperate. It remains to be seen whether Inspector Helen Grace succeeds in catching the culprit before more victims fall. 
In the beginning of the book, you are immediately gripped by tension. Two bodies are found in one day and immediately, as a reader, wonder if they are linked. They take place in the same environment but otherwise seem to have no similarities. You only get a glimpse of the perpetrator which quickly leaves you with hundreds of questions that you don’t seem to be able to answer in the first few moments. M.J. Arlidge leaves you in the dark and manages to build up the tension nicely. 
The story contains many short chapters in which the perspective changes between different characters of the police force, the victims and the perpetrator. You get to know all the characters in small bits and each time you discover something new in the next chapter. In this way you get a good picture of the characters without it getting boring. 
M.J. Arlidge manages to leave you in ignorance until the end. you think you know the perpetrator and her motive, but nothing is further from the truth. “Pop Goes to the Weasel” is an innovative book, a female serial killer is not a common. The book is exciting from start to finish and I’m really loving this Helen Grace-series. Book number 3 and 4 are already on my TBR-pile. 

 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Review - The Adam Project

Director: Shawn Levy
Genre: Science Fiction/ Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana, Catherine Keener, Walter Scobell

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE

WEEK 12: A NETFLIX-ORIGINAL MOVIE

Description: After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) teams up with his 12-year-old self (Walter Scobell) for a mission to save the future.

Review: Anyone who goes to see a movie starring Ryan Reynolds knows what to expect: sarcasm, self-conscious commentary, and many jokes. Whether you like Reynolds or not, you have to admit: his talent for verbally annoying others is undeniable. In the infectious Netflix time-travel film “The Adam Project”, he finally gets a big mouth back. From his 12-year-old self.
The films opens in 2050. Fighter pilot Adam Reed has just stolen a jet and is skimming through space, with an angry pursuer in his wake. Reed is injured, but manages to narrowly escape by flying into a wormhole, which lands him in the year 2022. There he sees how his life as an adolescent once was: playing video games, taking beatings in the schoolyard and making irritating jokes to annoy his grieving mother. 
The conversations he has with himself are deliciously caustic. “How did you get so smart?” asks Adam at one point to his younger self, wo which the latter responds with: How did you get so stupid?” It’s not often we see an exasperated Ryan Reynolds twist himself into so many turns to win an argument with another on the basis of wit. It lends the film a surprising amount of sass.
The dialogue-rich “The Adam Project” is also self-aware enough to poke fun at its own internal logic; time travel causes plot holes one way or another. The longer you dwell on it, the more inconsistencies you will find. The open naming of such pitfalls is a smart move, because it takes the wind out of the sails of even the most skeptical viewers.
Sometimes it gets a bit much, all that bickering. The holy adage ‘show don’t tell’ would have deserved more compliance in that sense. On the other hand, the dynamic between Ryan Reynolds and the talented young Walter Scobell is actually much too funny not to maximize. Besides, you get your share of action in the end, albeit in modest doses.
Fortunately, those action scenes are very smoothly, skillfully and flashily portrayed by Shawn Levy, the director with whom Reynolds previously made the entertaining “Free Guy”. Adam and Adam are on the run from a bunch of futuristic soldiers, let by a villain with rather predictable motives: power and money. And the way the created a younger version of Catherine Keener’s characters is really bad.
The latter is a major weakness in a film that really isn’t so much about action or messing with timeless as it is about dealing with personal trauma. In the final phase, Ryan Reynolds is allowed to squeeze out a few tears and the scope of his performance turns out to be broader than expected. Behind that big mouth, there is of course a lot more hidden. No matter, sometimes it pays to be a nerd.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Review - Kimi

Director: Steven Sodenbergh
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Zoë Kravitz, Byron Bowers, Rita Wilson, Erika Christensen, Devin Ratray, India Beaufort, Derek Delgaudio, Darai Kooi, Jaime Cahill
 
Description: An agoraphobic Seattle tech (Zoë Kravitz) tech worker uncovers evidence of a crime.

Review: “Kimi” builds on older films, but is also very much or our time. In Steven Sodenbergh’s latest thriller, seventies paranoia and pandemic psychology come together in a thrilling way.
The Kimi of the title is a device that, like Siri or Alexa, respond to your voice and executes commands. However, the Kimi does not work with algorithms to improve its service, but with people. Angela is one of them: her work consists of listening to anonymous recordings where the Kimi misunderstood the customer. Then she enters some new code into the system, which prevents that particular mistake from happening again. Until one day she thinks she hears a possible murder in an audio clip.
When Angela puts on her headphones to start working, for a moment the entire soundtrack of Kimi falls silent. It is an oasis in the sound design, which on the contrary constantly emphasizes the hum of machines around us. This emphasizes the fear and mental turmoil of Angela, who even before the pandemic hardly dared to leave her apartment. Although there is no longer a lockdown in the story of “Kimi”, Angela still lives in a mental lockdown that she cannot get out of.
As a result, meeting up with the neighbor across the street for breakfast out of the house already becomes a hassle. All kinds of actions before going out the door are given extra emphasis by close-ups and the editing, up to the moment when she has to turn the key in her door. An everyday act that most of us never think about.
But for her, it’s too much of a task. As Angela slumps down in frustration at her door, Sodenbergh cuts from a close-up of the key in her hand to a shot from far above. To make palpable how small she feels at that moment, and to emphasize her isolation and physical distance from the rest of the world. Before she can recover from that, in the apartment above her, remodeling is underway with cozy pneumatic drills. So far, this is the best depiction in a movie of what lockdown might feel like for many of us.
When she does have to go outside to report a possible murder to someone at the company and call the FBI, the sound really becomes overwhelming. The image also changes and seems to race by as Angela stumbles through it. In this way you can see and hear very clearly what it feels like for Angela just to go outside.
These expressive scenes are therefore exciting in themselves, and then the tension is heightened by a literal chase through the streets of Seattle. Sodenbergh cleverly plays on modern fears surrounding privacy and surveillance, while the indebtedness to those aforementioned classic as well as “Rear Window” indicates how timeless these concerns actually are.
All of this could perhaps have been fleshed out a bit more, but there’s also a lot to be said for the length of Kimi”: Under 90 minutes. This effective thriller with bold stylistic choices is a breath of fresh air.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 99

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: The Ice Road (2021)
After a remote diamond mine collapses in far northern Canada, a big-rig ice road driver (Liam Neeson) must lead an impossible rescue mission over a frozen lake to save the trapped miners.
 

Drama: All or Nothing (2002)
In a poor working class London home, Penny’s (Lesley Manville) love for their partner, taxi driver Phil (Timothy Spall), has run dry when an unexpected tragedy occurs, they and their local community are brought back together.
 

Comedy: Life of Brian (1979)
Born on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth (Graham Chapman) spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
 

Animation: Castle in the Sky (1986)
A young boy and girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
 

Romance: Hello, My Name is Doris (2015)
A self-help seminar inspires a sixty-something woman (Sally Field) to romantically pursue her younger co-worker (Max Greenfield).
 

Horror: Shelter (2010)
A forensic psychiatrist (Julianne Moore) discovers that all but one of her patient’s multiple personalities are murder victims. She will have to fins out what’s happening before her time is finished.
 

Science Fiction: Paul (2011)
Two English comic book geeks (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost) traveling across the U.S. encounter and alien (Seth Rogen) outside Area 51.
 

Crime: Man on Fire (2004)
In Mexico City, a former CIA operative (Denzel Washington) swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.
 

Thriller: Windfall (2022)
A man (Jason Segel) breaks into a tech billionaire’s (Jesse Plemmons) empty vacation home, but things go sideways when the arrogant mogul and his wife (Lily Collins) arrive for a last-minute getaway.
 

Documentary: Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (2022)
Examining the months since the tragedies, which caused global pandemic in March 2019 after two new aircrafts crashed within five months, killing 346 people.

Family: Here Comes the Boom (2012)
A high-school biology teacher (Kevin James) looks to become a successful mixed martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to prevent extracurricular activities from being axed at his cash-strapped school.

What's in a Movie Year - 1996

Taking a look at the year 1996, picking my 10 favorite movies from that year in random order.
 

Fargo
Tragicomic masterpiece y Joel and Ethan Coen in which Jerry has his own wife kidnapped because he needs money for a business deal. The evil scheme faisl miserably due to, on the one hand, the botched work of the criminals and, on the other hand, the exceptional detective skills of the heavily pregnant police chief Marge. Probably my favorite Coen brother movie.  
 

That Thing You Do
It’s a lighthearted film that tells the story of the rise and fall of a pop group in the mid-1960s. under the name Oneders (later changed Wonders, because they always pronounce it as Oh-needers) they record their first song independently. Their song, That Thing You Do, becomes a hit and we see what it does with each band member. It’s a fast-paced story, with a fun setting and it’s a perfect feel-good film. Directorial debut by Tom Hanks, who also has a small role in it.
 

Matilda
Great adaptation of one of Roald Dahl’s children’s books. The six-year-old Matilda si not very loved by her parents and brother. And school director, Mrs. Trunchbull, isn’t a peach either. Fortunately there is her friend Lavender and teacher Miss Honey, who she gets help from. As well as from the paranormal force within herself. Directed by Danny DeVito, who also stars as Matilda’s father. The black comedy fits in seamlessly with writer Roald Dahl’s aversion to false sentiment and his humorous take on cartoonish powerful and mean adults.
 

Jerry Maguire
Tom Cruise plays a sports agent. He speaks his conscience and is subsequently fired. The only two who support him are accountant’s assistant Dorothy and football player Rod Tidwell, one of his clients. We follow Jerry’s trial and error in his new world of love and depth. Tom Cruise performance is formidable and a breakthrough role for both Renee Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr.
 

Trainspotting
Strong, original and fresh portrait of the life of a group of drug addicts in Edinburgh. The central character is Renton, who tries to kick the habit. That this is not easy is shown in a hilarious scene with the “filthiest toilet in Scotland”, without a doubt one of the most disgusting scenes in film history. Such funny moments are interspersed with shocking and sometimes deeply sad scenes. Ecellent acting, especially by Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle.
 

Primal Fear
When an archbishop in Chicago is murdered by and altar boy, lawyer Martin Vail is eager to take on the defense, because he likes cases that will generate a lot of media attention. But it’s a tough job: the stuttering defendant is a wimp, but was caught covered in blood. Thrilling courtroom thriller, with one of Richard Gere’s better roles and a chance for Edward Norton to showcase his talent. A movie with a great twist.
 

The Craft
“The Craft” beings as an average American teen movie: Sarah moves to Los Angeels and at her new school she experience all the problems of a newcomer. But then she meets three other girls who are outcasts. They bombard her as the fourth member of their coven of witches. “The Craft” might not be one of the best films of 1996, but it’s surely nostalgia for me and a movie I have revisited a lot. It’s a fun, pleasantly harsh horror film.  
 

Twelve Monkeys
After “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”, Terry Gilliam, the only American of the company, turned entirely to feature film. His films weren’t always successful, but always interesting. “Twelve Monkeys” is a bizarre future fantasy film in which humanity is forced to live underground after 99 percent of the population has been killed by a deadly virus. A ‘volunteer’ is sent back in time to investigate the origin of the virus.
 

The Cable Guy
Steven is heartbroken and in need of distraction. He asks Chip, the cable guy, to secretly add some extra channels to his connection for fifty dollars. Chip will fix it, but then he wants to be Steven’s friend. And Steven has little need of that, especially after he notices how tenaciously Chip tries to worm his way into his life. It’s one of Jim Carrey’s darker comedies, directed by Ben Stiller. Besides being funny, it’s also a bit scary at times, in a satirical way. Robert Ebert actually included the film on his list of the worst films of 1996. Well, it’s on my favorites list.
 

From Dusk Till Dawn
After his worldwide success with “Pulp Fiction” screenwriter/ director Quentin Tarantino was given the opportunity to film previously rejected scripts after all. “From Dusk Till Dawn” was one of them. Brothers Seth and Richie (George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino) think they can find peace in Mexico’s nightclub the Titty Twister after a bank robbery and a hostage situation. But it’s going to be another long night Critics saw “From Dusk Till Dawn” as an offer of weakness and slammed it for its lack of coherence, bad taste, misogyny and excessive violence (it surely isn’t for the faint of heart). I, for that matter, love it. And with me many others, making “From Dusk Till Dawn” a cult classic in the pulp, B-movie type of genre. 

Book Review - Welcome to Ferry Lane Market by Nicola May

Title: Welcome to Ferry Lane Market
Series: Ferry Lane Market (Book # 1)
Author: Nicola May
 
Description: Although thirty-three year old Kara Moon loves her hometown of Hartmouth in Cornwall, she has always wondered if she should have followed her dream of leaving to study floristry. But she couldn’t brin herself to leave her emotionally delicate father, and has worked on Ferry Lane Marker’s flower stall ever since leaving school.
When her good-for-nothing boyfriend cheats on her and steals her life savings, she finally dumps him and rents out her spare bedroom as an Airbnb. Gossip flies around the town as Kara welcomes a series of foreign guests to her flat overlooking the estuary.
 
Review: “Welcome to Ferry Lane Market” is the first book in the Ferry Lane-series by Nicola May. The story is about the 33-year-old Kara, who likes her routine and quiet life, yet she longs for more. After high school she decided to stay in Hartmouth with her father, because her mother left them. Her passion is flowers, so she works at the local flower stall. Kara is a bit stuck, but after she breaks up with her boyfriend Kara decides to take more risks and rents out her spare bedroom as an Airbnb. 
Kara is the main character and one you like immediately. She is a loving woman, who sacrificed a lot for her father. She is constantly being treated bad by her boyfriend and her boss, who don’t seem to realize what a great person she is. There are tons of other characters that we meet, that are in Kara’s life or enter it at some point in the story. 
“Welcome to Ferry Lane Market” is the perfect feel-good read, it’s fast paced and easy and quick to read as well. It’s easy to relate to Kara. 
The book is a bit predictable though. And I found many things a bit too implausible. How everyone just opens up to each other that easy, how all the men Kara meets are handsome and kind at the same time and how quickly she befriends all the people she just met. With one character I can understand this, but not with every character she meets. 
Although I did go through this book fairly quickly and I loved the setting of the story especially, I caught myself several times getting annoyed with various events and characters. Because I didn’t feel credible. And this was a constant throughout the book. And that’s the reason I ended up not liking this book as much as I hoped.
 
Rating: 2,5/ 5

20s Movie Review - Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Director: Jason Reitman
Genre: Adventure/ Comedy/ Fantasy
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Annie Potts, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Bob Gunton, Sigourney Weaver

Description: When a single mom (Carrie Coon) and het two kids (Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard) arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

Review: I was not excited for this movie at all, when I heard about it for the first time. When I saw the trailer I got a bit more excited and after seeing it I’m sad I never saw it in theaters.

WARNING!!! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

Callie leaves with her son Trevor and daughter Phoebe for a small town in Oklahoma, where she inherited the house from her absent father. It soon becomes apparent that Callie’s father had some rather strange habits and the village was not particularly fond of him. Phoebe learns that her grandfather was one of the original Ghostbusters, and using old items of his, she figures out how to track down ghosts.
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is a movie you can watch as a standalone. It is not so much a sequel, but rather a story that takes place years after the original “Ghostbusters” from 1984. Phoebe and Trevor are the grandchildren of Egon Spengler, one of the four original Ghostbusters.  The actor who portrayed him back in the day, Harold Ramis, is no longer with us. To honor him, he was incorporated into the film anyway, and they did this very respectfully.
Phoebe is a scientist who is way too smart for her age. Unfortunately, she does have to go to summer school because she is new to the town. There she meets Mr. Grooberson, who is interested in the unexplained earthquakes the town is dealing with. Together they find out there is more going on than just earthquakes.
Paul Rudd is an actor I always enjoy watching. I’m surprised that his role isn’t as big as I expected it to be. I wished he was in it more. He’s well-accompanied by Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard, but it’s really Mckenna Grace’s movie. I think I go to far to say that she carries the movie, but she is such a talent and the best and most interesting character in the film.
Director Jason Reitman is the son of Ivan Reitman, who, of course, directed the original “Ghostbusters”. You can see Reitman’s love for the film, how he paid respects to the late Harold Ramis and how he treated the original source material with such respect as well. As I stated before, it’s a film you can easily watch without seeing “Ghostbusters” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” stands on its own too. But the film maybe even more enjoyable if you know the original film or if you are a fan, like I am. So much nostalgia, not only for nostalgia sake. And that moment where we see Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson, I jumped for joy.
I thought I didn’t need this film, but I clearly did. I also believe that the people loving the original film as much as I do, will appreciate “Ghostbuster: Afterlife” more.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Turning Red

Director: Domee Shi
Genre: Family/ Animation/ Adventure/ Comedy
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen
 
Description: A 13-year-old girl named Meilin (Rosalie Chiang) turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited.

Review: Pixar has always had that edge over its competitors. Not only because of the high quality of their animations and stories, but also because of the way they know how to tap into difficult subjects. Whether it is the complex human mind or soul: Pixar knows how to deal with it. But how do they do it when it comes to puberty?
The short answer is: mediocre. This is mainly because the writers did not focus on just the subject of puberty but dragged in a whole lot. The metaphors in “Turning Red” are almost innumerable, if you feel like delving into them. If you don’t, you’ll see a very pleasant animated adventure about a girl who turns into a giant red panda when she lets her emotions run wild.
The thirteen-year-old Chinese-Canadian Meilin lives with her overprotective parents in the Toronto of 2002. Her mother in particular does not allow her daughter much freedom. In turn, Meilin feels a great responsibility to make her parents proud. Meanwhile, hormones are coursing through Meilin’s body. She is preoccupied with boys and swooing over her favorite boy band 4-Town. She is also quite hyper and hysterical, to the point of being irritating.
Meilin wakes up one morning, walks to the bathroom with sleepy eyes and gets the shock of her life when she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She has turned into a big red panda. In amusing dialogue, her mother thinks her first period has occurred. Her good intentions cause Meilin even more embarrassment. And for even more emotion, which awakens the red panda within herself.
“Turning Red” is the first full-length animated feature for director Domee Shi, who made her debut at Pixar with the animated short “Bao, about a lively dim sum. What is special is that almost the entire main crew of this production consists of women. Even more extraordinary that this should be worth mention anno 2022. Shi, along with her co-screenwriter Juli Show, drew from her own life and formed Meilin from her own experience and personality.  
Visuall, Pixar breaks new ground. Even thought it revolves around a Chinese family, there is a slight alignment with the Japanese animation style. The clumsy body proportions of the characters and the almost pastel-colored softness of the backgrounds are also special.
This urge to experiment is also reflected in the themes that are fired at the audience in a rather confusing manner. As if puberty were not enough, Shi and Sho also cram in themes such as the traditional Asian family relationship, friendship, being who you are, cherishing your own emotions and demanding parents. So it’s jam-packed, although the meager elaboration doesn’t get in the way of the action moments.
There appears to be a reason for Meilin’s special transformation and this guarantees both comic and exciting moments. The climax takes place at a concert by the band 4-Town, whose music was written by Billie Eilish and her borther Finneas. With “Turning Red”, Pixar and Disney attempt to address taboos, albeit very carefully. Unfortunately it was completely successful.

Rating: 3/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 98

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021)
The bodyguard, Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), continues his friendship with assassin, Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), as they try to save Darius’ wife Sonia.
 

Drama: Big Fish (2003)
A frustrated son (Billy Crudup) tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father’s (Albert Finney) life.
 

Comedy: American Pie 2 (2001)
Jim (Jason Biggs) and his friends are now in college, and they decide to meet up at the beach house for some fun.
 

Animation: The Wind Rises (2013)
A look at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during World War II.
 

Romance: Life as We Know It (2010)
Two single adults (Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel) become caregivers to an orphaned girl when their mutual best friends die in an accident.
 

Horror: The Unholy (2021)
A hearing-impaired girl is visited by the Virgin Mary and can suddenly hear, speak and heal the sick. As people flock to witness her miracle, terrifying events unfold. Are they the work of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister?
 

Science Fiction: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
After Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is bitten by a genetically altered spider, he gains newfound, spider-like powers and ventures out to save the city from the machinations of a mysterious reptile foe (Rhys Ifans).
 

Crime: The Town (2010)
A proficient group of thieves rob a bank and hold Claire (Rebecca Hall), the assistant manager, hostage. Things begin to get complicated when one of the crew members (Ben Affleck) falls in love with Claire.
 

Thriller: 1922 (2017)
A simple yet proud farmer (Thomas Jane) in the year 1922 conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to assist. But their actions have unintended consequences.
 

Documentary: Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives (2022)
After marrying a mysterious man who claimed he could make her dog immortal, a celebrated vegan restauranteur finds her life veering off the rails.
 

Family: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Against all the odds, a thirteen-year-old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.