Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (September 2016)

I watched some great classic movies this month and not a lot of really bad ones, at least not for this challenge. Here is my top five of movies I watched for my challenge for the month of September.

5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
I can’t believe I never saw this before. Okay, parts of it, but never from beginning ‘til end. It’s a great film, and this is a film that proves you don’t need jump scares or big special effects. Just sound effects, lights and stuff. Spielberg knows how to captivate you.

4. City Lights
Such an endearing and adorable film, very funny and touching at the same time. Charlie Chaplin is fantastic.

3. The General
Another silent movie that I really love. Buster Keaton is great and this movie is action packed and hilarious. I really enjoyed “The General”.

2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Sadly this is one of those movies that many people will never see, so I’m shouting out to the world that everyone should see it if you have the chance. “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” is a fantastic film.

1. The Apartment
Another great classic that I never saw before and now I’m glad I did. This is a perfect comedy, Jack Lemmon at his best. “The Apartment” even made it into my list of favorites of all time.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Evil Dead 2, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Cinderella

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 129: White Heat

Director: Raoul Walsh
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 1949
Starring: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O’Brien, Margaret Wycherly, Steve Cochran, John Archer, Wally Cassell, Fred Clark, Fred Coby, G. Pat Collins, Garrett Craig, Paul Guilfoyle, Micky Knox, Perry Ivins, DeForrest Lawrence, Ian MacDonald, Ray Montgomert, Robert Osterloh

Description: A psychopathic criminal (James Cagney) with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. Shortly after the plan takes place, events take a crazy turn.

Review: Many say that the role of Cody Jarrett was James Cagney’s best. “White Heat” is a classic gangster film. The opening is pretty bold for a movie from 1949. During a robbery on a train several witnesses are shot in cold blood, because they know the name of the leader. And one of the robbers gets sevearly burned. Jarrett eventually wants this man to be killed, because he slows the group down.
Cody Jarrett is a sickly character. He has a strong relationship with his mother and terrible heatache attacks. But he is not stupid: he knows he will get the electric chair when he is caught for robbing the train. He decides to turn himself in, for a different robbery in another state. The plan works, but detective Hank Fallon decides to go undercover and catch Jarrett once and for all.
“White Heat” is a must see for movie fans and also fans of the crime drama or gangster films. James Cagney did first what later actors like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino did. Cagney is fabulous as maniacal Cody.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (260)

Here are this week's trailers.

Passengers
Director: Morten Tyldum
Description: A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers (Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt) are awakened 90 years early.
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia
Trailer: Trailer "Passengers"
Comment: I was already escited, but now I that I saw the trailer I definitely am!!!

Smurfs: The Lost Village
Director: Kelly Asbury
Description: In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting race through the Forbidden Forest leading to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history.
Starring: Bill Hader, Joe Manganiello, Mandy Patinkin, Rainn Wilson, Demi Lovato, Keegan-Michael Key, Jack McBrayer
Trailer: Trailer Smurfs: The Lost Village"
Comment: More Smurfs? Nooooooo!

Trespass Against Us
Director: Adam Smith
Description: A man (Michael Fassbender) looks to find a way to escape the criminal ways of his outlaw family.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson,
Trailer: Trailer "Trespass Against Us"
Comment: Looks good.

Bastards
Director: Lawrence Sher
Description: Upon learning that their mother has been lying to them for years about their allegedly deceased father, two fraternal twin brothers hit the road in order to find him.
Starring: Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, J.K. Simmons, Glenn Close, Ving Rhames, Terry Bradshaw, Harry Shearer, Bill Irwin
Trailer: Trailer Bastards"
Comment: Yeah, why not. I like Owen Wilson.

Fist Fight
Director: Richie Keen
Description: When one school teacher (Charlie Day) gets the other (Ice Cube) fired, he is challenged to an after-school fight.
Starring: Charlie Day, Ice Cube, Christina Hendricks, Tracy Morgan
Trailer: Trailer "Fist Fight"
Comment: I think Charlie Day is hilarious.

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 128: City Lights

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 87 minutes
Year: 1931
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, Al Ernest Garcia, Hank Mann, Jean Carpenter

Description: With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp (Charlie Chaplin) who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl (Virginia Cherrill) accumulates money to be able to help her medically.

Review: In “City Lights”, Charlie Chaplin falls in love with a blind flower girl and he tries to collect money for her operation. And with this film Chaplin proofs that he is one of the masters of silent film. And still, so many years after it was released, it’s a joy to watch.
Chaplin’s physique is perfect for silent film. His style is well-known and the choreography in the film is fantastic. The film has many hilarious moments, like the scene where he swallowed a whistle and the boxing match. But the film also has some heartfelt and adorable moments, the ones between him and the blind girl.
“City Lights” is an absolute classic and a movie that any film fan should have seen.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 127: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Director: Taika Waititi
Genre: Adventure/ Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Riama Te Wiata, Rhys Darby, Rachel House

Description: A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid (Julian Dennsion) and his foster uncle (Sam Neill) who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.

Review: I wanted to see this film as soon as I saw the trailer and I didn’t disappoint me one bit. A foster kid from the big city and a grouchy bushman are forced to form an unlikely alliance to survive in the New Zealand wilderness. The film is adapted from the book “Wild Park and Watercress”. The movie is in perfect balance, it blends comedy, drama, action and heart all together.
The two leading characters, Ricky and Hector, are polar opposites. Not only because of their age difference, but Ricky is from the big city and Hector is an outdoors man. The intereaction between the two is fun to watch, it’s funny and heartfelt. The young Julian Dennison and acting veteran Sam Neill are fantastic in this film.
The movie is divided in novelistic chapters and has many great moments. My favorite is the scene where they meet Psycho Sam, which is the most hilarious part of the film. But “Hunt for the WIlderpeople” also as some touching moments of drama.
“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” is a movie that will probably be overlooked, but this is just one of those gems. I got the chance to see it, if you have that chance too, go see it. It’s a great film!

Rating: 5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movies You Need to Watch in Theaters

I always love going to the theater, but I always choose films that will probably add something extra to the film when watching it on such a big screen. Some movies are just better in theaters, because of the effects, cinematography or the whole experience. Here are my five picks for movies you need to watch in the theater.

5. Avatar
I was stupid enough to not see this in theaters and I regret it to this day. It is such a visually beautiful movie, even on television. So how about on the big screen? It will blow my mind.

4. The Revenant
The story might not be that special, but the cinematography is reason enough for me to watch this. I saw it in theaters and it took my breath away. I wish I made this movie!

3. Inception
This movie looks amazing, what a visual masterpiece. And it’s most impressive on the big screen.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road
This film is one giant adrenaline rush and it really has a great impact when you watch it in theaters. Action in its purest form.

1. Jurassic Park
Probably one of the most jaw-dropping movies I’ve ever seen. And it still amazes me how fantastic and breathtaking this movie is. And on the big screen it’s even more beautiful. It’s one of my all-time favorites.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Saving Private Ryan, Gravity, Star Wars franchise, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Blade Runner

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 126: Evil Dead 2

Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: Horror/ Comedy/ Action
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 1987
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie DePaiva, Ted Raimi, Denise Bixler, Richard Domeier, John Peakes, Lou Hancock, Snowy Winters, Sid Abrams, Josh Becker, Scott Spiegel, Thomas Kidd, Mitch Cantor, Jenny Griffith, William Preston Robertson, Sam Raimi

Description: The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holds up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.

Review: Ash, The only survivor of a demonic slaughter returns, with his girlfriend, to the same cabin where once the blood was flowing. By playing a tape, the demonic powers are again released and take possession of his girlfriend. Ash has to fight the demons himself.
“Evil Dead 2” is the sequel to the film “The Evil Dead”, that was released six years earlier. But it also parodies the first. The stories of both films are very similar. The difference is in the amount of blood splatter and the running gags.
For fans of the genre, this is pure entertainment. People who don’t like horror or horror combined with comedy, they will not change their minds after seeing “Evil Dead 2”. For me, it was a fun watch. I liked it just as much as the first.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 125: Cinderella

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Genre: Adventure/ Drama/ Romance/ Fantasy
Runtime: 113 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Hayley Atwell, Ben Chaplin, Stellan Skarsgård, Derek Jacobi, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera

Description: When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella (Lily James) finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her scheming step-sisters (Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera). Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger (Richard Madden).

Review: In 1950 Disney came with the animated musical “Cinderella” and 65 years later the studios turn it into a live action film. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, “Cinderella” is a surprisingly good fairytale.
Disney always gives us heroes, beautiful costumes, emotion, morals, villains and depth. And although “Cinderella” is sugar sweet, it’s a delightful film for the whole family. And for the hopeless romantics among us.
Cinderella is played by Lily James, who isn’t an extraordinary actress but manages to make her character charming and very likeable. The prince is played by Richard Madden, who we know as Robb Stark from “Game of Thrones”. The stars are actually the bigger names in the cast: Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother. These great actresses support “Cinderella” well.
“Cinderella” is filled with great décor and scenery, but also gorgeous costumes. Really something from a fairytale. But it’s not a film that hides behind all the beauty it shows. There is a moral and it’s supposed to inspire, escepcially young girls. “Cinderella” touches you and is really easu to watch. A guarantee to put a smile on your face. I didn’t expect to like it this much. It’s an enchanting film.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 124: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Drama/ Science Fiction/ Adventure
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 1977
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, J. Patrick McNamara, Warren J. Kemmerling, Roberts Blossom, Philip Dodds, Cary Guffey, Shawn Bishop, Adreinne Campbell, Justin Dreyfuss, Lance Henriksen, Merrill Connally, George DiCenzo, Amy Douglass

Description: After an encounter with U.F.O.s, a line worker (Richard Dreyfuss) feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

Review: What would it be like to get in contact with extra terrestrial life? Do they even excist? And if they do, are they friendly or hostel? Nowadays we know a little bit more about space travel and such, but in 1977 we didn’t. But that didn’t stop Steven Spielberg to create one of the most realistic science fiction films in movie history. And “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is about the first contact between people and aliens.
What makes “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” so great is the buildup of the tension, because it’s only in the last part of the film that we know exactly what the extra terrestrials want. It all starts with Roy Neary, who witnesses a strange object in the air while on a job. This also happens to Jillian, who sees weird flashes and also sees her son Barry disappear. For both of them it becomes an obsession and they want to know more about what they saw. And the American government is trying to prepare for the coming of the extra terrestrials. ‘
Steven Spielberg makes it look so simple, how he build up the tension of this film. Objects moving, sound effects, light flashes. And it is that simple. The scene where Roy is in his ca rand experiences all this, or that part where Jillian and Barry are in their house, right before Barry disappears. Those two scenes are the best and are very exciting. And Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Neary is also fantastic.
The movie grabs you and keeps your attention at all times. And the music, by John Williams, is enchanting. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is a true classic and a film for every sci-fi lover.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 123: The General

Director: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
Genre: Comedy/ Action/ Romance
Runtime: 75 minutes
Year: 1926
Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Charles Smith, Frank Barnes, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley, Frederick Vroom, Joe Keaton, Mike Donlin, Tom Nawn

Description: When Union spies steal an engineer's (Buster Keaton) beloved locomotive, he pursues it single-handedly and straight through enemy lines.

Review: Who would have thought that I would love “The General” as much as I did? The dry humor, a beautiful love story and a clumbsy leading character. All together works. And the film has amazing stunts and action too, somethine I didn’t expect at all.
Buster Keaton is one of the masters of the silent movie. He plays Johnny Gray, an engineer with two loves in his life: his locomotive (the General) and Annabelle Lee. The story is set around 1862, at the start of the American Civil War. Annabelle brother and father sign up for the army, but Johnny is rejected. They don’t tell him why, but this makes his motivation bigger to proof himself to Annabelle. Because she thinks Johnny is a coward. When spies steal the train with Annabelle on board, Johnny doesn’t’think twice and follows them.
What follows is a chase over a railroad, ending in one of the biggest stunts in silent movie history. It’s hard to imagaine how a railroad chase can be interesting for an entire movie, but it is so much fun to watch. Because there are so many creative solutions and the humor is genius. And you would think that there is overacting involved, because of the physical humor. But it’s not. Buster Keaton’s facial expressions are very subtle.
The musical score is great and the love story starring an anti-hero is just perfect to identify with.
“The General” is one of the most fun comedies of all time and definitely a classic.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 122: Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Director: Nicholas Stoller
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Seth Rogetn, Rose Byrne, Zach Efron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Dave Franco, Selena Gomez, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Description: When their new next-door neighbors turn out to be a sorority even more debaucherous than the fraternity previously living there, Mac and Kelly (Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne) team with their former enemy, Teddy (Zac Efron), to bring the girls down.

Review: For freshmen students Shelby, Beth and Nora decide to start their own sorority outside campus, so they can have parties. And sadly to say, Mac and Kelly Radner are their neighbors. Because after having a fraternity next door, now they are going to have a sorority. And again they are going head to head.
Comedy sequels don’t have a good reputation, but this doesn’t really go for “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”. It’s not better than “Neighbors”, but it’s again really funny. And when a comedy does what it has to do, make you laugh, it succeeds.
Seth Rogen and Rosey Byrne are again so much fun as the married couple that tries to scare away their new partying neighbors. Their little daughter, that is now not a baby anymore, has the disturbing habit to find her mother’s vibrator and use it as a doll. Zac Efron is also back and surprises again with his humor. Chloë Grace Moritz feels the one out of place in “Neighbors 2: Sororty Rising”. Comedy isn’t yet her genre.
“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” is a fun comedy sequel, with some really good jokes. Better than I expected, just as fun as I hoped.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Trailer SUnday (259)

Here are this week's trailers.

The Promise
Director: Terry George
Description: Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise follows a love triangle between Michael, a brilliant medical student (Oscar Isaac), the beautiful and sophisticated Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), and Chris (Christian Bale) - a renowned American journalist based in Paris.
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon
Trailer: Trailer "The Promise"
Comment: The last days of the Ottoman empire, it looks interesting.

Fifty Shades Darker
Director: James Foley
Description: While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her.
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jarmie Dornan, Kim Basinger, Hugh Dancy, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden
Trailer: Trailer "Fifty Shades Darker"
Comment: Okay, I couldn't care less....

Miss Sloane
Director: John Madden
Description: An ambitious lobbyist (Jessica Chastain) faces off against the powerful gun lobby in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Alison Pill, Mark Strong, John Lithgow, Michael Stuhlbarg
Trailer: Trailer "Miss Sloane"
Comment: I love Jessica Chastain, she is amazing. I know she is going to be in "Miss Sloane".

Nocturnal Animals
Director: Tom Ford
Description: An art gallery owner (Amy Adams) is haunted by her ex-husband's (Jake Gyllenhaal) novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale.
Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Sheen
Trailer: Trailer "Nocturnal Animals"
Comment: Definitely on my mst-see list. Can't wait!

Don't Breathe
Director: Fede Alvarez
Description: Hoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn't as helpless as he seems.
Starring: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette
Trailer: Trailer "Don't Breathe"
Comment: They had it coming!

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 121: The Phantom Carriage

Director: Victor Sjöström
Genre: Horror/ Drama/ Fantasy
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 1921
Starring: Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg

Description: It's New Year's Eve. Three drunkards evoke a legend. The legend tells that the last person to die in a year, if he is a great sinner, will have to drive during the whole year the Phantom Chariot, the one that picks up the souls of the dead... David Holm, one of the three drunkards, dies at the last stroke of midnight...

Review: Special effects in 1921? Well, “The Phantom Carriage” proofs that it’s possible. In the adaptation of Selma Lagerlöf’s book, three drunk men on New Year’s eve talk about an old legend. This legend tells the tale of the last dead person of the year, that has to ride the Phantom Carriage. The carriage that collects all the souls of the dead. David Holm, one of the three men, dies right before midnight.
I like horror movies and I decided to try a completely different one: a silent horror movie. I appears this is not something for me. The movie has no spoken dialogue, at least not in sound. What they say, appears written on the screen, as it is with all silent movies. Through the movie there is constant music, creepy music that raises the atmosphere. But I found it very annoying music as well. It had no diversity at all.
The story itself is original and I was actually amazed how they executed the phantom carriage. This is where the special effects come in. It looks really good for the early 20s.
Overall, “The Phantom Carriage” is probably a movie that a lot of movie fans love, especially fans of the classics. For me it just didn’t work. I found it boring and the music eventually bothered me.

Rating: 2/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (258)

Here are this week's trailers.

Certain Women
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Description: The lives of three women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.
Starring: Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Jared Harris
Trailer: Trailer "Certain Women"
Comment: A film filled with strong actresses.

Colatteral Beauty
Director: David Frankel
Description: A tragic event sends a New York ad man on a downward spiral.
Starring: Will Smith, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Naomie Harris, Michael Peña
Trailer: Trailer "Collateral Beauty"
Comment: Looks beautiful.

Live by Night
Director: Ben Affleck
Description: A story set in the Prohibition Era and centered around a group of individuals and their dealings in the world of organized crime.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Scott Eastwood, Zoe Saldana, Sienna Miller, Chris Cooper, Elle Fanning, Chris Mesina, Anthony Michael Hall, Titus Welliver
Trailer: Trailer "Live by Night"
Comment: I'm not a fan of actor Ben Affleck, but director Ben Affleck is strong. This can go either way.

Gold
Director: Stephen Caghan
Description: An unlikely pair venture to the Indonesian jungle in search of gold.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Bryce Dallas Howard, Toby Kebbell, Edgar Ramirez, Rachael Taylor, Corey Stoll, Bruce Greenwood, Stacy Keach, Bill Camp
Trailer: Trailer "Gold"
Comment: I probably won't like these characters.

Free Fire
Director: Ben Wheatley
Description: Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival.
Starring: Sharlto Copely, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer
Trailer: Trailer "Free Fire"
Comment: This looks like so much fun!

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 120: Brigadoon

Director: Vincente Minnelli
Genre: Musical/ Drama/ Romance/ Fantasy
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 1954
Starring: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart

Description: Two Americans (Gene Kelly, Van Johnson) on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past.

Review: A romance in Scotland. I’m a big Gene Kelly fan and I was looking forward to finally seeing “Brigadoon”. I was a bit disappointed. Tommy and Jeff are two Americans on a hunting trip in Scotland. They get lost and stumble upon a little town called Brigadoon. The town isn’t on the map and the people there live like they are still living two hundred years in the past.
The décor in “Brigadoon” would work perfect on stage, but in this movie it looks too make-believe. The songs stop the story and not one has stuck with me.
Gene Kelly doesn’t disappoint, because he is was a talented singer, dancer, actor and choreographer. He makes “Brigadoon” watchable and lifts it to a higher level.
Overall, “Brigadoon” is a perfect stage musical, but it just doesn’t work as a movie. I wasn’t taken by this film, sadly, because I really wanted to love it.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: 2016 Fall/ Winter Movies to Look Forward to

Summer was okay, not very spectacular when it comes to movies. But fall (my favorite season) and winter has a lot in store for us. Here are the movies I’m most looking forward to.

5. Arrival
I’ve seen two trailers now and it looks fantastic. It’s directed by Denis Villeneuve, who also directed “Prisoners”, “Enemy” and “Sicario”, all movies I LOVED! The film follows a linguist, played by Amy Adams, who is recruited by the military to assist in transliting alien communications.

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
All set in the Harry Potter universe, so for me that’s reason enough to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. The movie is about Newt Scamander, a writer who delves into the world of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his books in school.

3. Passengers
The movie doesn’t have a trailer yet, just a couple of movie stills. But Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt got me excited enough. A spacecraft traveltng to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two of the passengers are awakened 60 years early.

2. La La Land
This trailer got me jumping for joy! It looks so beautiful. The cast is stunning, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. And its director, Damein Chazelle, already showed us he is amazing with “Whiplash”. The film follows a jazz pianist who falls in love with a aspiring actress. And…. It’s also a musical!

1. The Girl on the Train
I read the book and it was one of those stories I couldn’t put away. And the trailer looks so amazing, I just can’t wait to see it. Emily Blunt plays the lead and there are also roles for Justine Theroux, Luke Evans, Haley Bennett, Allison Janney, Lisa Kudrow and Rebecca Ferguson. The story is about Rachel Watson’s post-divorce life. Every day, she takes the train to work in New York, and evert day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple who live a few houses down, Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are the perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Sully, The Magnificent Seven, A Monster Calls, Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Inferno, Sing, The Light Between Oceans

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 119: The Apartment

Director: Billy Wilder
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 125 minutes
Year: 1960
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen, Edie Adams, Ray Walston, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens, Johnny Seven

Description: C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.

Review: Movies by director Billy Wilder stand the test of time. Wilder is a master in portaying people in the most comical, tragic, honest and human way. These ingredients are all present in “The Apartment”.
Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a lonely office worker. He can’t even go to his own apartment, because he lets his co-worker with higher positions use it to have affaires. Baxter plays along, probably to be liked and also to get a promotion. Baxter also has a thing for Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), one of the elevator girls in the office he works in. he is hurt when he finds out Fran is having a relationship with his married boss Sheldrake. And the two also used Baxter’s apartment. When Sheldrake tells Fran he won’t divorce his wife, Fran tries to commit suicide. In Baxter’s apartment.
The power of “The Apartment” lies in the honest and human characters. For both MacLaine and Lemmon this was a new beginning in their career. Jack Lemmon was mostly known as a comedy actor and he showed in “The Apartment” that he can easily switch from comedy to drama to everyday situations. Shirley MacLaine had been in lighter comedies, but “The Apartment” made her a more believable and serious actress.
“The Apartment” has some daring themes for the 1960s: suicide, adultery. But the film was a huge success and to date is still a favorite to many. I simply loved this comedy, over two hours long but I didn’t feel it at all.
For every comedy fan, “The Apartment” is a must see.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (257)

Here are this week's trailers.

Rings
Director: F. Javier Gutiérrez
Description: A young woman finds herself on the receiving end of a terrifying curse that threatens to take her life in seven days.
Starring: Bonnie Morgan, Aimee Teegarden, Laura Wiggins
Trailer: Trailer "Rings"
Comment: The other movies creeped me out, so I probably skip this.

Shut In
Director: Farren Blackburn
Description: A heart-pounding thriller about a widowed child psychologist (Naomi Watts) who lives in an isolated existence in rural New England. Caught in a deadly winter storm, she must find a way to rescue a young boy before he disappears forever.
Starring: Naomi Watts, Charlie Heaton, Jacob Tremblay, Oliver Platt
Trailer: Trailer "Shut In"
Comment: Thrilling....

Max Steel
Director: Stewart Hendler
Description: The adventures of teenager Max McGrath (Ben WInchell) and alien companion Steel, who must harness and combine their tremendous new powers to evolve into the turbo-charged superhero Max Steel.
Starring: Ben Winchell, Josh Brener, Maria Bello, Andy Garcia
Trailer: Trailer "Max Steel"
Comment: Meh...

Morgan
Director: Luke Scott
Description: A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.
Starring: Kate Mara, Ann-Taylor Joy, Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Toby Jones, Brian Cox, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Giamatti, Chris Sullivan
Trailer: Trailer "Morgan"
Comment: Second trailer, still not completely sure what it's about.

My Blind Brother
Director: Sophie Goodhart
Description: The rivalry between two brothers reaches a fever pitch during a charity swim competition.
Starring: Adam Scott, Jenny Slate, Nick Kroll, Zoe Kazan
Trailer: Trailer "My Blind Brother"
Comment:

Movies I Watched for My Challenge (August 2016)

A saw a bunch of new one, a few I rated very high. Ntot a lot of classics, that I will save for the month of September. Here are my favorite film for the month of August, that I watched for my challenge.

5. The Gift
A very exciting and surprising thriller, that sadly not a lot of people have seen. Good directorial debut by Joel Edgerton.

4. X-Men: Apocalypse
A very good superhero film, a good continuation of the prequel series. I really liked to see Sansa Stark in this ;)

3. Green Room
A disturbing and violent thriller, not for people with a weak stomach.

2. Little Shop of Horrors
Such a fun musical, with catchy songs and a lot of humor.

1. We Bought a Zoo
I LOVED this film. Matt Damon was really good in “We Bought a Zoo” and I liked him together with Scarlett Johansson. Okay it’s super sweet, but I enjoyed it sooooo much.

They Almost Made the Top 5: The Shallows, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Suicide Squad