Movie Reviews - Searching

Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: John Cho, Debra Messing, Sara Sohn, Alex Jayne Go, Megan Liu, Kya Dawn Lau, Michelle La, Joseph Lee, Dominic Hoffman, Connor McRaith, Briana McLean

Description: After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father (John Cho) breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.

Review: Like many of us can’t sit through an entire movie without checking their phone, that’s how attached David Kim is to the digital world. When his 16-year old daughter Margot doesn’t respond to his message, he sends another one. And another one and another one. Just as many times before he gets angry. But this anger soon turns into concern. Where is Margot?
However the police, with detective Rosemary Vick leading the investigation, does everything they can to find Margot, for David it doesn’t go fast enough. He uses Margot’s laptop to find out more about her disappearance. He goes through her social media, e-mail, messages. David finds out that his daughter was a total stranger to him.
In this ambitious thriller, by director Aneesh Chaganty, everything is seen though media screens. It feels weird at first, but you get used to it very easily. We see what David Kim sees and does. Sending messages, clicking and opening tabs, facetiming.
The film has a simple title and a theme that has been used many times before, but this film is very complex and unique because of the used format. And “Searching” is a highly unpredictable film, that will even fool the more experienced moviegoer. There are some unexpected twists, which is very rare in Hollywood these days.
The average film fan will not appreciate this film for what it is and what it does, but if you look deeper and further, you see the excellence that is called “Searching”. It’s great to see originality hasn’t died yet!

Rating: 4,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - The Lovely Bones

Director: Peter Jackson
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime/ Fantasy
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli

Description: Centers on a young girl (Saoirse Ronan) who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from purgatory. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Review: “The Lovely Bones” sows that last days of Susie Salmon’s life and her first steps into heaven. Susan is a 14 year old girl, who dreams of becoming a photographer. Her life abruptly ends when she is brutally murdered. Her parents start a search for the killer. Meanwhile, Susie is in the ‘inbetween’, a place where the dead end up when they aren’t ready for heaven yet. And she watches how her father becomes obsessive in his search for the man who killed his daughter.
The film looks magical, the ‘inbetween’ looks beautiful.
Stanley Tucci and Saoirse Ronan are the two highlights of the film. Both performances are solid and strong. Ronan fits the dream world perfectly and Tucci is creepy as the sinister Harvey. He gets totally lost in his role and it’s really hard to imagine someone else in this role.
The tempo of the film is not that solid though. Sometimes it’s fast paced, sometimes it’s a bit of a drag. And the tone of the film sometimes switches too, which makes it a bit messy here and there. This doesn’t fit the dreamy world at all.
It’s really hard to rate this film, because it’s a really beautiful movie. It looks gorgeous and has some really good performances. And the story is beautiful as well. But there are some inconsistencies here and there. A case of ‘the book was better’ is in place here, but I still really enjoyed the film.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Five to Watch - Movies About Missing Persons

“Searching” is in theaters now and I’m going to see it myself tonight. So this brought me to this theme. I selected five films, where people are reported missing, that I think are worth watching or are somehow overlooked

In the Valley of Elah
A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son’s disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq. The movies does an excellent job of showing that post-traumatic stress syndrome is not an oddity, but rather a growing problem in an army of young men whose job requires to be quick on the trigger. The movie belongs to Tommy Lee Jones, as the grieving father. And Charlize Theron as the determined detective. Both turn in outstanding performances. Jones shines, playing a man who has spent his life holding in his emotions and can’t change now, even as his world is falling apart. Theron radiates strength as a woman trying to survive in a sexist police department where all her male colleagues are certain she slept her way into her detective’s job.

Changeling
A grief-stricken mother takes on the LAPD to her own detriment when it tries to pass off an obvious imposter as her missing child. It’s a terrific story based on true events, has outstanding performances and is very well directed by Clint Eastwood. Angelina Jolie is great as her character fights, what seems to be at first a lost fight, for her son in a world vontrolled by men.

The Vanishing (Spoorloos)
Dutch couple, Rex and Saskia, stop at a service station to refuel. Saskia never returns. Three years later, Rex’s obsessice quest to find her is taken to unprecedented mania, when he starts to receive taunting letters from her abductor. The cat-and-mouse game between the two men ratchets up unbearable tension. There is also an American version, with Kiefer Sutherland, Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges, but it’s not as good as the Dutch version.

Breakdown
A man searches for his missing wife, after his car breaks down in the middle of the desert. It’s a great thriller that keeps you second guessing until the end. And it’s fast paced. Very much underrated.

The Texas Killing Fields
In the Texas bayous, a local homicide detective teams up with a cop from New York City to investigate a series of unsolved murders. This film might never find its audience, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great film. I did like it, a lot. And think it’s underrated and much overlooked as well. I loved Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in this film.

Movies to Look Forward to - September 2018

Another month, more new movies. Here is a look at the movies, that I think are worth my time, that are released this September.

September 6th – Peppermint
Director: Pierre Morel
Starring: Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr., John Ortiz, Method Man, Juan Pablo Raba
Description: Peppermint is a revenge story centering on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her enemies the very life they stole from her.

September 6th – Searching
Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Starring: John Cho, Debra Messing
Description: After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father (John Cho) breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.

September 13th – Papillon
Director: Michael Noer
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Rami Malek, Tommy Flanagan
Description: Wrongfully convicted for murder, Henri Charriere (Charlie Hunnam) forms an unlikely relationship with fellow inmate and quirky convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek), in an attempt to escape from the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.

September 13th – The Predator
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Jane, Jacob Tremblay, Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key, Trevante Rhodes, Sterling K. Brown, Alfie Allen, Jake Busey, Yvonne Strahovski
Description: When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

September 20th – Johnny English Strikes Again
Director: David Kerr
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Miller
Description: After a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all of the active undercover agents in Britain, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is forced to come out of retirement to find the mastermind hacker.

September 27th – A Simple Favor
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively
Description: Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is a mommy blogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.

September 27th – The House with a Clock in Its Walls
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Kyle MacLachlan
Description: A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.

Movie Reviews - Isle of Dogs

Director: Wes Anderson
Genre: Animation/ Adventure
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, Yoko Ono, Ken Watanabe, Fisher Stevens, Liev Shreiber, Courtney B. Vance, Angelica Huston

Description: Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy's odyssey in search of his lost dog.

Review: Wes Anderson is a unique filmmaker. One we can’t compare to any other filmmaker in Hollywood. He shines with his humor, mix of arthouse and commercial cinema. That last is because of all the great actors and actresses he always manages to get. Anderson already proofed with “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, that stop-motion is right up his alley. And “Isle of Dogs” is another one of his masterpieces.
All Japanese vocals are translated by a translator, computer or exchange student. This is what we see at the start of “Isle of Dogs”. The barking of the dogs is indeed English. And it’s true. A lot of Japanese. And not all is translated, but that’s not necessary. The most important tale is told by the animals.
Dogs had to fight for their position in Japan for ages. But in the fictional metropole Megasaki, the four legged friends are no longer welcome. A dog virus broke out and mayor Kobayasho orders to send all the dogs to a trash island. The dogs try to make it their own place. But their peace is disturbed when Atari, the mayor’s nephew, crashes onto the island while looking for his dog Spots.
It’s clear Wes Anderson is not a big fan of 3D. All the dogs are almost always seen in a frontal position, from the side or from above. I love his style, it has charm and it’s never too much. You are amazed by everything without losing your focus of the story.
“Isle of Dogs” is a modern fable about (literally) and underdog that tries to better the situation with unity, wit and humor. Wes Anderson has done it again!

Rating: 5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Director: Jake Kasdan
Genre: Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Colin Hanks

Description: Four teenagers are sucked into a magical video game, and the only way they can escape is to work together to finish the game.

Review: It could have been another useless reboot or nostalgia trip; with Jake Kasdan as a director you expect nothing more than a cliché film. But “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” was surprisingly fun and not bad at all. A movie that actually uses the talent of its cast, a beautiful setting and believable characters. What a surprise!
The first minute are a nod to the original board game from the first film. Somehow the game is changed into a videogame. Four high school students that are in detention, find this game and decided to play it. They pick their characters and instead of the game entering our world, the kids are sucked into the game. Becoming their characters and having to save Jumanji.
The nerdy Spencer becomes the buff and brave Dr. Bravestone. Wallflower Martha turns into man killer Ruby Roundhouse. Jock Fridge now has to deal with a much shorter self, who is a zoologist. And popular and self-loving Bethany, becomes a middle aged man who specializes in reading maps, archeology and paleontology.
At first, the body switch gives a simple and predictable jokes. But the concept stays interesting throughout the whole film, without become lame and juvenile. Dwayne Johnson, who is now the embodiment of a shy and nerdy kid, does this very convincing. And Karen Gillan really does a great job awkwardly dealing with her body language. Jack Black was probably my favorite, a teenage girl trapped inside a middle aged man’s body. Kevin Hart is the least convincing of the four, because he plays himself instead of the character trapped inside of him.
It’s very clever to turn the Jumanji game into a videogame and this makes for a fun and entertaining setting. The characters have strengths and weaknesses and there are clear rules. And the whole décor is fantastic!
Although I love the original “Jumanji” movie, this film isn’t timeless. The special effects of this film are a bit outdated, but overall I still love it. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” really surprised me and I really liked it. A lot!

Rating: 4 / 5

Movie Reviews - Ready Player One

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Adventure/ Action
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Lena Waithe

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.

Review: Author Ernest Cline, who wrote “Ready Player One”, images a grim 2045: the world is a big garbage pile, stacked campers are used as homes and all the worldly problems are ignored. Mankind rather gets lost in ‘The Oasis’, an amazing computer simulation designed by James Halliday. With X-Wings, King Kond, T-Rex and Deloreans, this film is filled with nostalgia. And the book seemed unfilmable. Until Steven Spielberg reported for duty.
In its core, “Ready Player One” feels a bit like the story of Willy Wonka. When James Halliday dies, he scatters three keys through the Oasis. De first player to find all three, becomes the owner of the Oasis. Like Roald Dahl’s classis, the protagonist Wade Watts is a poor kid that has to fight ambitious competition.
The charm of “Ready Player One” isn’t in the fairytale-like tale or even the nostalgia bomb that’s being dropped. It’s the way people communicate through movie quotes and pop-culture. And everyone lives in the past.
I never read the book, so I can’t compare. But friends told me, that the essence of the book and the characters stay intact. Wade is a bit awkward and Samantha is charming. You might even say that the characters have a bit more depth in the film.
“Ready Player One” is an awesome film adventure. Although very busy, Spielberg manages to find a balance. The film has some moments that are a bit too sweet and it’s not one of Spielberg’s new masterpieces. But it’s a joy for every genre fan and people that love nostalgia and pop culture.

Rating: 4 / 5