Movie Trailer Sunday (202)

Here are this weeks trailers.

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Description: Three scouts, on the eve of their last camp-out, discover the true meaning of friendship when they attempt to save their town from a zombie outbreak.

Director: Christopher Landon

Starring: Halston Sage, Tye Sheridan, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Cloris Leachman, David Koechner, Sara Malakul Lane, Blake Anderson, Logan Miller

Trailer: Trailer "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse"

Comment: Never doubt a scout!

Spotlight

Description: The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

Director: Tom McCarthy

Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, John Slattery, Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle

Trailer: Trailer "Spotlight"

Comment: What a great cast!

Room

Description: A modern-day story about the boundless love between mother and child; young Jack knows nothing of the world except for the single room in which he was born and raised.

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Starring: Brie Larson, Joan Allen, William H. Macy

Trailer: Trailer "Room"

Comment: Love knows no boundaries

The Final Girls

Description: A young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, finds herself pulled into the world of her mom's most famous movie. Reunited, the women must fight off the film's maniacal killer.

Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson

Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Nina Dobrev, Alia Shawkat, Malin Akerman, Adam Devine, Thomas Middleditch, Alexander Ludwig

Trailer: Trailer "The Final Girls"

Comment: A feel good horror movie

Kill Your Friends

Description: An A&R man (Nicholas Hoult) working at the height of the Britpop music craze goes to extremes in order to find his next hit.

Director: Owen Harris

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, James Corden, Ed Skrein, Rosanna Arquette

Trailer: Trailer "Kill Your Friends"

Comment: A more controversial role for Nicholas Hoult.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 106: Clerks

Director: Kevin Smith

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 102 minutes

Year: 1994

Starring: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Lisa Spoonhauer, Scott Mosier, Walter Flanagan, Scott SChiafo, Al Bekowitz, David Klein, Ed Hapstak, Pattijean Csik, Ernest O’Donnell, Kimberly Loughran

Description: A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.

Review: Director and script writer Kevin Smith filmed this movie in a convenient store, where he was working at the time. He could only film after hours. For the script he had years of stories that he could use from his own experience as a convenient store clerk. The movie basically has teen humor: almost every conversation is about sex. How many people have you slept with, how a blowjob isn’t having sex with someone, the best porn movies and women. Very juvenile, yet fun.

The film was financed with the ten credit cards director Kevin Smith has and the sale of his comic book collection. The film eventually cost him 27,575 dollars, basically half a second for making “Titanic”.

Smith was originally going to play Jay, the one with the most catchy lines. Eventually he choose Jason Mewes for this role and took on the part of Silent Bob himself. This character has been a cult figure since then. Although he only has one line in the film, he is the one that stays with you.

Besides an iconic character, the movie itself also gained a cult status. The movie has a large amount of fans. I’m not one of them, which doesn’t mean I don’t like “Clerks”. It’s a fun film, but to me it’s not more memorable then other 90s comedies.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 105: Eyes Wide Shut

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 159 minutes

Year: 1999

Starring: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Madison Eginton, Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Jackie Sawiris, Leslie Lowe, Peter Benson, Michael Doven, Sky Dumont, Louise J. Taylor, Stewart Thorndike, Randall Paul, Julienne Davis, Lisa Leone, Thomas Gibson, Leelee Sobieski

Description: New York City doctor Bill Harford (Tom Cruise), who is married to an art curator (Nicole Kidman), pushes himself on a harrowing and dangerous night-long odyssey of sexual and moral discovery after his wife admits that she once almost cheated on him.

Review: Almost thirty years before “Eyes Wide Shut” premiered, a befriended journalist of Stanley Kubrick bought the rights to the book “Traumnovelle” by Arthur Schnitzler. So Kubrick had the idea for this film for almost three decades. This shows how much of a perfectionist he is. And when he started filming, it took him another two and a half years to finish the project.

Stanley Kubrick managed to create an oppressing atmosphere, and it’s not so much because of the sex scenes that are included. It’s the mystery of the story, you start out with having no idea where the story is heading. Slowly it enfolds.

For instance the meeting between Bill and his former college friend Nick Nightingale. At first it looks like just another scene, but later that moment turns out to be a crucial moment in the film. The scenes in the mansion are bizarre and a bit macabre, but it fits the style and atmosphere of the film.

The movie is a bit slow and it has a long running time. You feel this sometimes.

It’s a fascinating film, that you won’t forget easily.

Rating: 4/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: "Mission Impossible" Movies

As a teenager I was in love with Tom Cruise (and maybe I still am a little). The “Mission: Impossible” movies are part of his very successful career and he is the face of the franchise. Tom Cruise is such a great movie star and I love this franchise. And it’s different from many others, because they keep getting better. And I don’t mind if they make a sixth one (which is the plan). Here I ranked the five movies we already have.

5. Mission: Impossible 2

This is my least favorite of the series. It’s not terrible, but it was a bit disappointing. Although that rock climbing scene was pretty awesome.

 

 

4. Mission: Impossible

The movie that started it all. It wasn’t as spectacular as the once they make now, but it’s still an amazingly, awesome spy movie.

 

 

3. Mission: Impossible 3

This instalment was especially good because of the villain. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a great bad guy, very convincing.

 

 

2. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

High expectations, because I only heard good things about “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”. And I got exactly what I wanted. The franchise is still going strong and I can’t wait for another sequel.

 

1. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

At the time this movie came out, I thought the franchise was dead. I didn’t think that “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” would be this great. It's my favorite, just because. 

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: -

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 104: Black Sheep

Director: Jonathan King

Genre: Action/ Horror/ Comedy

Runtime: 87 minutes

Year: 2006

Starring: Matthew Chamberlain, Tammy Davis, Oliver Driver, Peeter Feeney, Jono Manks, Danielle Mason, Nathan Meister, Glenis, Levestam, Tandi Wright

Description: An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.

Review: In New Zealand, it’s not people but sheep that are the dominant species. About 40 million sheep live in New Zealand, against 4 million people. Thankfully they are innocent animals, but that’s not the case in “Black Sheep”.

In this dark horror comedy, sheep turn into killer machines after an experiment gone wrong. It’s clear that director Jonathan King was inspired by movies like “Evli Dead” and “An American Werewolf in London”. It’s the same kind of horror and comedy mixture.

It’s a simple story, with fun actors who portray their characters well. But the stars are the sheep. They make sure this movie is entertaining, because how can you ever be afraid a sheep. Well, here they are scary. Then it doesn’t matter if the character hardly develop and the story is wafer thing. It is very original, funny and good entertainment.

Rating: 3/ 5

Pic Spam: Jake Johnson

Jake Johnson is one of my new favorite people. Off course I love him in "The New Girl", but what about "Let's Be Cops". It was such a fun film. And he is going to be in a lot of more movies. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 103: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

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Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Thriller

Runtime: 131 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, Simon McBurney, Tom Hollander

Description: Ethan (Tom Cruise) and team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate - an International rogue organization as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF.

Review: How many actors over 50 do their own stunts? And how many of them will climb tall buildings and hang on an airplane during takeoff? Well, nobody but Tom Cruise. That alone is reason enough for us to see “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”, already the fifth installment in the franchise.

In this film Ethan Hunt is trying to track down the Syndicate, an international terrorist organization lead by former spies. The movie starts with spectacle, where Ethan Hunt is hanging from an airplane that’s taking off. We all know that he actually did that, which makes this scene even more awesome! This is only a warm up, because the film is filled with many more spectacular stunts, scenes and actions. The fact that the stunts have been actually performed, instead of created by computers, gives this movie extra tension and excitement. All the action is fast, intense yet not chaotic.

Tom Cruise is, like in the other films, the star. He is amazing as Ethan Hunt. Simon Pegg again has a bigger role and I love him as Benji Dunn. He takes care of the humor in the movie. And in combination with Cruise he is also good. Ving Rhames is also back and Jeremy Renner is solid as well. Newcomer to the franchise, Rebecca Ferguson, was very good. She was like a female Ethan Hunt, she totally kicked ass.

It seems like the “Mission: Impossble” films keep on getting better and better. I was expecting a lot and “Mission: Impossible – Rogie Nation’ met my expectations.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 102: Entourage

Director: Doug Elin

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 104 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connelly, Jerry Ferrara, Kevin Dillon, Jeremy Piven, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Perrey Reeves, Rex Lee, Debi Mazar, Ronda Rousey, Haley Joel Osment, Billy Bob Thornton, Constance Zimmer

Description: Movie star Vincent Chase (Adrien Grenier), together with his boys Eric (Kevin Connelly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), and Johnny (Kevin Dillon), are back - and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) on a risky project that will serve as Vince's directorial debut.

 

Review: The TV show “Entourage” was very popular, it ran from 2004 till 2011 on HBO. The adventures of Vince Chase and his close entourage get another shot in a full length film. Like the show there are lots of beautiful women, famous locations and many cameos.

Vincent Chase wants to direct his next movie, where he will also star in and his brother Johnny “Drama” will also have a role. Ari Gold, once his agent, is now a big moviemaker and he trusts Vince with a million dollar project.

Financially, it’s getting a little bit out of hand. A big shot in Texas and his son want to invest, but that’s when the real problems start.

As you can see, the synopsis sounds like any other “Entourage” season, only this time an entire season is put into one movie. Or, it’s an extended episode. The movie brings you nothing new, it’s just enjoyable for the fans of the show.

“Entourage” is fun for one time, but if you skip it you wouldn’t really miss a thing.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 101: Magic Mike XXL

Director: Gregory Jacobs

Genre: Comedy/ Drama

Runtime: 115 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Elizabeth Banks, Amber Heard, Donald Glover, Andie MacDowell

Description: Three years after Mike (Channing Tatum) bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, he and the remaining Kings of Tampa hit the road to Myrtle Beach to put on one last blow-out performance.

Review: Channing Tatum broke through as the lead in a dance movie called “Step Up”and returned to his ‘roots’ in “Magic Mike”. This Steven Soderbergh directed movie was loosely based on Tatum’s past as a stripper. The movie was a hit and fans were really excited about a sequel. This time without Matthew McConaughey and director Soderbergh, but some extra women in the cast and more sexy dance movies and six-packs.

Like the character that Donald Glover plays says in the movie: “All we got to do is ask them what they want”. And that is “Magic Mike XXL”. We get more naked body parts and lap dances. The ‘Kings of Tampa” have to practice for their last performance, where Mike returns after being absent for three years. During their road trip they get in trouble a couple of times and they meet some colorful people along the way. Like Rome, played by Jada Pinkett-Smith, the owner of a club. She actually outplays all the guys in the film.

There isn’t as much humor in this film as the first. The story on the other hand, has become more important. This takes the pace out of the movie, it drags a bit. And that final dance act should be the highlight of the film. For many people it probably is, but I hated it. Male strippers should look masculine, but for me it’s a big turn off.

For the fans of the first movie, they get what they want: more half naked men and more sexy moves. But for the people who want a bit more, like humor and pace, it’s a letdown. The movie was saved by the women, pretty strange when it’s about stripper men.

Rating: 2/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (201)

Here are this weeks trailer.

Victor Frankenstein

Description: Told from Igor's perspective, we see the troubled young assistant's (Daniel Radcliffe) dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Viktor Von Frankenstein (James McAvoy), and become eyewitnesses to the emergence of how Frankenstein became the man - and the legend - we know today.

Director: Paul McGuigan

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy

Trailer: Trailer "Victor Frankenstein"

Comment: "It's alive!"

Every Thing Will Be Fine

Description: One day, driving aimlessly around the outskirts of town after a trivial domestic quarrel, a writer named Tomas (James Franco) accidentally hits and kills a child. Will he be able to move on?

Director: Wim Wenders

Starring: James Franco, Rachel McAdams, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Peter Stormare

Trailer: Trailer "Every Thing Will Be FIne"

Comment: Very excited to see both James Franco and Rachel McAdams, two of my favorites!!!

The Witch

Description: New England, 1630: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life, homesteading on the edge of an impassible wilderness, with five children. When their newborn son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another. 'The Witch' is a chilling portrait of a family unraveling within their own fears and anxieties, leaving them prey for an inescapable evil.

Director: Robert Eggers

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dicke, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger, Julian Richings

Trailer: Trailer "The Witch"

Comment: Aaaah.... witches always scare me.

A Brilliant Young Mind

Description: A socially awkward teenage math prodigy finds new confidence and new friendships when he lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad.

Director: Morgan Matthews

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan

Trailer: Trailer "A Brilliant Young Mind"

Comment: I love Sally Hawkins!

Carol

Description: Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk (Rooney Mara) who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman (Cate Blanchett).

Director: Todd Haynes

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler

Trailer: Trailer "Carol"

Comment: Beautiful trailer.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 100: Trainwreck

Director: Judd Apatow

Genre: Comedy/ Romance

Runtime: 125 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, LeBron James, Tilda Swinton, Vanessa Bayer, John Cena, Ezra Miller, Daniel Radcliffe, Marisa Tomei, Method Man

Description: Having thought that monogamy was never possible, commitment-phobic career woman Amy (Amy Schumer) may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.

Review: Amy is a writer for a popular magazine. She drinks a lot and sleeps with lots of men, because she doesn’t believe in monogamy. Amy takes care of her father who has MS and is close to her younger sister. When Amy has to write a big article about sports doctor Aaron, she realizes she is falling for him. Can Amy have an actual relationship or not?

Amy Schumer is a very popular comedian and has her own sketch show, “Inside Amy Schumer”. With her friendly face she messes with everyone and makes jokes about booze, sex and especially herself. Schumer writes the show herself and director Judd Apatow noticed that. Schumer wrote “Trainwreck” and Apatow directs. And the story is partially based on Amy’s real life. Besides sharing the name, she is close to her sister and has a dad with MS. The movie version is a younger and more enhanced version of herself.

Schumer does fine in her lead role. Besides the jokes she obviously succeeds in, she is also convincing in the more serious scenes. Bill Hader is a good choice for the love interest. Hader, who is also most known for his comedic performances, creates a very likeable character. Although I do prefer him as the funny guy. Surprising is the role by LeBron James, who plays himself, who is really funny. And also Tilda Swinton, who plays the boss from hell. She is normally a very serious ‘ice queen’, she was seriously hilarious n “Trainwreck”.

Amy Schumer is known for her humor and that it might cross some boundaries. She plays the role that normally a man would play in a movie like this. In “Trainwreck” there are a lot of lines crossed, jokes about sex, tampons, monogamy, penises. The plot is standard and there are lots of conventional romcom clichés present. But Amy Schumer’s character makes it all original, that’s why you’re never bothered by it. Two hours is a bit long for a movie like this though.

“Trainwreck” is a fresh romantic comedy with rising star Amy Schumer. The harsh humor and sometimes improvisation, make this movie to a success.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movies About Survival

It’s always fascinating to see how far some people go to survive. I decided to make a list of survival movies, some based on true events, some fictional.

5. The Descent

This is one of the creepiest movies I’ve seen over the last ten years. Just the fact alone that you’re stuck in a cave gives me the chills.

 

 

4. Cast Away

The ultimate survival movie, being alone on a deserted island. Tom Hanks is brilliant in this movie, it’s just him and a volleyball. Only Hanks can make you cry over a volleyball.

 

 

3. The Hunger Games-series

I’m not picking just one movie here, because they are all amazing. Okay, the second is my favorite. How horrible would it be to fight for life and death, so other people are entertained? Thanks God we have Katniss Everdeen, right.

 

 

2. Into the Wild

This survival movie is slightly different, because Chris McCandless choose this life of survival. With that being said, “Into the Wild” is one of the most amazing stories I’ve ever heard.

 

 

1. 127 Hours

This is, without a doubt, my favorite survival story. Like “Into the Wild” it’s based on a real life story. James Franco portrays Aron Ralston brilliantly, his best performance so far.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Life of Pi, The Road, Rescue Dawn, I Am Legend, Zombieland

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 99: Far From the Madding Crowd

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

Genre: Drama/ Romance

Runtime: 119 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple, Jessica Barden

Description: In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak (Matthias Shoenaerts), a sheep farmer; Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a prosperous and mature bachelor.

Review: Danish director Thomas Vinterberg has made some great movies, like “Festen” and especially “Jagten”. Three years after the lather, Vinterberg takes a trip beyond the borders with “Far From the Madding Crowd”. He manages to create a good balance between classic and contemporary storytelling.

The movie, based on a novel by Thomas Hardy, centers young Bathsheba Everdene who constantly has doubts about her different lovers and her independence. In the very beginning of the film she is asked to marry to charming sheep farmer Gabriel Oak. He offers her a comfortable life, but decides to decline. Bathsheba doesn’t want to be anyone’s wife. Gabriel eventually loses his sheep and Bathsheba inherits a farm herself. When Gabriel helps Bathsheba to save her famr from a fire, she hires him. In the meantime Bathsheba gets the attention from the aristocratic widower Boldwood and the young soldier Francis Troy.

Although the plot sounds like your average soap opera, director Vinterberg and script writer David Nicholls do manage to make a good book to move adaptation. You see the differences between classes and the feministic character of Bathsheba. It’s great to see such a strong woman again in a costume drama, who chooses independence over the security of having a husband.

Vinterberg did make some big changes though. In Hardy’s book, he often lets certain situations be decided by faith. Like a wrongly send letter or missing a wedding. In the movie that’s not as present. And the crucial role of character Fanny Robin is also underused.

Even the small criticism make this a very good movie. The cinematography is good and also the acting by Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts and especially Michael Sheen are worth watching “Far From the Madding Crowd”.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 98: Gosford Park

Director: Robert Altman

Genre: Drama/ Romance/ Crime

Runtime: 137 minutes

Year: 2001

Starring: Kelly MacDonald, Clive Owen, Michael Gambon, Alan Bates, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Kristen Scott Thomas, Jeremy Northam, Richard E. Grant, Stephen Fry, Bob Balaban, Eileen Atkins, Charles Dance, Emily Watson, Camilla Rutherford

Description: The lives of upstairs guest and downstairs servants at a party in 1932 in a country house in England as they investigate a murder involving one of them.

Review: The start of the film sets the tone. This is not an ordinary detective, but an analysis of the English society of the 1930s.

On a rainy day, made Mary and her lady Constance Trentham leave for a hunting weekend. The head of housekeeping, at the mansion they are visiting, is Mrs. Wilson. It’s soon clear that nobody is called by their name, but by the name of the people they are serving. The tone is set.

Meanwhile many different characters are introduced. Upstairs we meet actor and singer Ivor Novello and his movie producing American friend Morris Weissman; the casual Isobel and her sister Sylvia; crafty Freddie Nesbit and his plain wife Mabel. We see lots of married couples, bt everything is a lot more complicated. Downstairs we have servant Henry, an arrogant young man; Butlers George, Arthur and Probert; alcoholic head butler Jennings; Head of the kitchen Mrs. Croft. Upstairs people don’t talk that much about each other, but downstairs is where the gossip starts.

It’s a pretty complicated setting, lots of characters you meet and have to get to know. You have to pay attention to keep up and to discover all the intrigue. But during all this puzzling, you enjoy all the humor that is in this film. Good dialogues, great acting and fantastic actors.

Halfway through the film, someone is murdered, which also gives this movie a detective story touch. You could criticize this, but the context is much more important than the story. Because the context is brought to the surface, the characters come to life. And also the acting makes this happen, actually by all the actors. Both the bigger and the smaller roles are performed very well. It shows that “Gosford Park” has been made with a lot of love and enthusiasm.

“Gosford Park” is a classy, yet funny and surprising costume drama. I highly enjoyed it.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 97: The Maze Runner

Director: Wes Ball

Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Thriller

Runtime: 114 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Dexter Darden, Kaya Scodelario, Chris Sheffield, Joe Adler, Alexander Flores, Jacob Latimore, Randall D. Cunningham, Patricia Clarkson, Don McManus, Michael Bow, Jerry Clark, Michael Deville, Dylan Gaspard

Description: Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.

Review: Since the “Harry Potter” movies, the adaptations of the “Twilight” films and the movies of “The Hunger Games” series, the young adult films have become a new subgenre. Themes as friendship, love and the fight between good and bad are illustrated. I didn’t like the book that this movie, “The Maze Runner”, is based on. I was skeptical about it, but it was better than I thought it would be.

In the opening of the film, the audience is right in the middle of all the action. After a ride in a dark elevator, protagonist Thomas ends up in a strange place surrounded by walls. A group of boys his age are looking at him. Nobody knows why they are there. The walls they are surrounded by form a maze. A select group of boys, called runners, is allowed to enter that maze. Maybe they find clues or even a way out, but no one has found out anything important yet. And at night the search is even harder because of the grievers, robotic insect like creatures. Everything becomes even more complicated when another new victim arrives, the first girl.

“The Maze Runner” follows a different structure than most young adult films. Not just a story that goes from A to B. The maze adds a lot of mystery to it all and you feel involved in the puzzle the boys are trying to solve. The movie isn’t all that predictable.

The problem I have with the movie, that I also had with the book, are the characters. The story has no memorable characters, like for instance Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen are. If you ask me to name five, I think I won’t manage.

“The Maze Runner” is better than I expected it to be. I didn’t like the book and didn’t want to read any of the sequels. I actually do want to see the second film.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (200)

Here are this weeks trailers.

The Hateful Eight

Description: In post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception. Will they survive?

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Zoë Bell, Bruce Dern, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins

Trailer: Trailer "The Hateful Eight"

Comment: I've been waiting for this! I love Tarantino and I can't wait to see his 8th film!

Burnt

Description: Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) is a Chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars.

Director: John Wells

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, Matthew Rhys

Trailer: Trailer "Burnt"

Comment: I love movies about cooking!

Goodnight Mommy

Description: In the heat of the summer, a lonesome house in the countryside between woods and corn fields, lives nine-year-old twin brothers who are waiting for their mother. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before. The children start to doubt that this woman is actually their mother. It emerges an existential struggle for identity and fundamental trust.

Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz

Starring: Susanne Wuest, Elias Schwarz, Lukas Schwarz

Trailer: Trailer "Goodnight Mommy"

Comment: This trailer freaked me out!

By the Sea

Description: Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa (Angeline Jolie), a former dancer, and her husband Roland (Brad Pitt), an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner.

Director: Angelina Jolie

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent

Trailer: Trailer "By the Sea"

Comment: Pitt and Jolie rule!!

The Keeping Room

Description: Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three Southern women - two sisters and one African-American slave - must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army.

Director: Daniel Barber

Starring: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington

Trailer: Trailer "The Keeping Room"

Comment: A feminist western.... it's about time.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 96: Shaun the Sheep Movie

Director: Mark Burton, Richard Starzack

Genre: Animation/ Family/ Adventure

Runtime: 85 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili, Richard Webber, Kate Harbour, Tim Hands, Simon Greenall, Emma Tate, Henry Burton, Dhimant Vyas, Sophie Laughton, Nia Medi James, Nick Park, Andy Nyman, Stanley Unwin

Description: When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it's up to Shaun and the flock to return everyone safely to the green grass of home.

Review: Lots of people have been enjoying the adventures of Shaun the Sheep for a while. This animated character, who first appeared in “Wallace and Gromit”, got his own show in 2007. The British production company Aardman decided to make a full length film.

The local farm animals try to change their daily routine, but get into a lot of trouble. It sounds a lot like the plot to “Chicken Run”, also made by Aardman. But it’s still very original and extremely entertaining. And the movie has no narration or dialogue, whatsoever.

“Shaun the Sheep” is a very optimistic movie. Although the sheep are in big trouble, they are having the adventure of their life. It always amazes me, stop motion and Claymation. As a creative mind myself it fascinates me how dedicated you have to be to create such a movie. There is so much detail and the characters all look amazing.

“Shaun the Sheep” is not as good as “Wallace and Gromit”, maybe also because it’s targeting a younger audience. But the film succeeds in entertaining the audience and it’s just a lot of fun.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015- # 95: Still Alice

Director: Richard Glatzer
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, Kristen Stewart, Hunter Parrish, Shane McRea, Seth Gilliam, Stephen Kunken, Daniel Gerroll, Erin Drake, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Maxine Prescott, Orlagh Cassidy, Rosa Arredondo, Zillah Glory, Caridad Montanez, Caleb Freundlich, Charlotte Robson

Description: A linguistics professor (Julianne Moore) and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

Review: How it can change your life, when your memory suddenly starts to fail, is something Alice discovers. This intelligent woman is confronted with the Alzheimer ‘s Disease.
Alice Howland really needs her brain. She is a very spirited linguistics professor at a university, like her husband John. Together with him, their two daughters and son they celebrate her 50th birthday. Alice is enjoying her evening, but realizes that sometimes she doesn’t find the right words to say. She knows them, but can’t find a way to produce them.
No one seems to notice, but Alice is smart enough to mask it. John claims it’s her busy job, but Alice doesn’t trust it. When she goes jogging, she suddenly forgets where she it. This is reason enough for her to visit the doctor. The neurologist tells her she has a rare form of Alzheimer’s and it’s genetic, so her kids could have it as well.
It all sounds like one of those bitter sweet stories about a successful woman fighting a disease till the end. “Still Alice” has so much more to offer and all thanks to the brilliant acting by Julianne Moore.
She accepts her faith, but is also frustrates her. Although she is strong, her fear never goes away. It’s very touching to see how Alice’s disease is slowly getting worse. Julianne Moore received an Oscar for her performance, and it’s well deserved.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 94: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Comedy

Runtime: 90 minutes

Year: 1964

Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens, Keenan Wynn, Tracey Reed, Peter Bull, James Earl Jones, Jack Creley, Frank Berry, Robert O’Neil, Glenn Beck, Roy Stephens, Shane Rimmer, Hal Galili

Description: An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

Review: “Dr. Strangelove” is a direct movie, with a fairly simple story and it’s pretty light. It’s also a bit weird, thanks to actor Peter Sellers. It’s a comedy, the only comedy director Stanley Kubrick ever made. The movie wasn’t meant to be a comedy though, but Kubrick thought the satire would give this film more power and he was right.

The humor and the message of the film are stronger because of it. The humor works so well, that the conspiracy theories of general Ripper are extra amusing. But it’s not the kind of humor that will makes you role on the ground of laughter. It’s satire, with drama lurking around the corner. It’s sometimes even disturbing to laugh out loud when our reality isn’t that different. Pure comedy, but the truth is scary.

The movie is carried by its characters. Peter Sellers plays three roles: the American president, English RAF soldier Mandrake and off course title character Dr. Strangelove. That last one is the most memorable, especially in that scene where he is trying to hide his “sieg heil” gesture. Seller improvised a lot of his dialogue, which gave us some hilarious and very memorable scenes.

It’s been on my watch list for way too long, but now that I finally saw it there is only one thing I can say: Watch this film!

Rating: 4,5/ 5