10s Movie Review - How to Be Single

Director: Christian Ditter
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann, Alison Brie, Damon Wayans Jr., Anders Holm, Jake Lacy, Colin Jost

Description: A group of young adults navigate love and relationships in New York City.

Review: A film with multiple storylines is a common given in modern day romantic comedies. There is off course so much to tell about love. Since “Love Actually” this concept has almost become a romcom cliché. “How to Be Single” is also set in this format. Not persee a search for love, but the will to live without. And it soon shows there is not a lot to talk about, because the message is clear pretty quick.
In “How to Be Single” we follow four women in New York. All have a difficult time dealing with relationships in their own way. Either because they can’t commit or they simply can’t let go. Alice has decided to take a break from her relationship, in order to find herself. Her older sister Meg is a workaholic with the dream of becoming a mother, without a man. Alice friend Robin lives for parties and having one night stands. Lucy is focused on online dating, without noticing the men surrounding her. And there are plenty of great men in new York. But if you don’t know what you want, it doesn’t help you much. First get to know yourself, before getting to know someone else. This is something that the women in this film don’t really understand.
Alice’s story is the lead, mainly because she is the connection to Robin and Meg. Lucy’s storyline is dangling on the side. And Alison Brie’s talent is underused this way. I will choose Brie’s energetic performance over Dakota Johnson’s anytime. Her character Alice is constantly needing people around her, she is hopelessly naïve and her storyline quickly bores. Her sister’s story has that same effect. And all the male roles lack any depth. Thank goodness for Rebel Wilson, because she is the funny aspect in “How to Be Single”. If it wasn’t for her and Alison Brie, this film would be even worse.
“How to Be Single” does something that has been done so many times before. A very forgettable romcom.

Rating: 2/ 5

Movie Reviews - The Death fo Stalin

Director: Armando Iannucci
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Jeffrey Tambor, Andrea Riseborogh, Olga Kurylenko, Paddy Considine, Michael Palin, Tom Brooke

Description: Follows the Soviet dictator's last days and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death.

Review: It’s a rather bizarre story, that probably a lot of people don’t even know, but it’s worth it: the death of Sovjet dictator Stalin. Under his command, hundred thousand political opponents were executed or send to the Goelag. It seems that six to nine million people lost their lives under the command of Stalin. No wonder that, when Stalin was found unconscious in his office, help didn’t come running. With this starting point, director Armando Iannucci brings us the somewhay genius “The Death of Stalin”. A tragic comedy.
After Stalin was founf, it took another three days before he was actually dead. The stories of how he was pronounced dead are legendary. But the fight for power after the dictator’s death is also very interesting. These two subjects center this story. Iannucci based his screenplay on a graphic novel by Fabien Nury. And the way this film is styled is pretty remarkable and interesting. All the dialogue is in English and all the actors speak in their own accents, British, American.
The film is also filled with beautiful observations and detail. And in a dark way, this makes the film funnier. Especially the fight for power, after Stalin’s death, were there is a lot of betrayal and stabbing each other in the back. “The Death of Stalin” is sometimes painfully funny. Because you realize that most of it actually happened. The absurd fight for power and they way some situations go.
It’s not a film everyone will see the humor of, but I think for people who enjoy learning about history, it’s a film to watch.

Rating: 4 / 5

Movie Reviews - Red Sparrow

Director: Francis Lawrence
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Ciarán Hinds, Joely Richardson, Bill Camp, Jeremy Irons, Thekla Reuten, Mary-Louise Parker

Description: Ballerina Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is recruited to 'Sparrow School,' a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. Her first mission, targeting a C.I.A. agent (Joel Edgerton), threatens to unravel the security of both nations.

Review: “Red Sparrow” is an old school spy story, filled with betrayal, twists and strange accents. The film is almost completely set in Russia and Eastern Europe, but all characters are portrayed by non-Russians taking on a Russian accent. It doesn’t have the nuance of a John Le Carré film, but it’s a simplistic and entertaining spy thriller.
Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika Egorova, a promising ballet dancer who is part of the Bolsjoi ballet. She has lived for dancing all her life, but due to a certain turn of events, has to end her career. Manipulated by her uncle Vanya Egorov, she starts working for him. He is an important man working for the SVR, the Russian CIA. Dominika is trained to become a Sparrow, special spies who use their bodies as a weapon.
“Red Sparrow” is an interesting spy thriller, that has more to offer than some cheesy and cliché twists or typical spy operations filled with betrayal and lies. But it doesn’t have the substance that movies like “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” have.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Five to Watch - Movies Starring Jack Black

“The house with a Clock In Its Walls” is now playing in theaters and it stars Jack Black, one of my favorite funny guys. He doesn’t only seem like an all-around down-to-earth nice guy, he is genuinely an actor I love to watch. I decided to create list of five films, that I find worth watching. Somehow they are underrated or overlooked.

Bernie
In small-town Texas, the popular mortician Bernie Tiede strikes up a friendship with Marjorie Nugent. She is a wealthy widow well known for her sour attitude. When she becomes controlling and abusive, Bernie goes to great lengths to remove himself from her grasp. Jack Black plays the role of Bernie and it’s easily one of Black’s best performances. It’s a weird true story, but this movie took me by surprise. It’s highly overlooked.

High Fidelity
Set in a record store, that doesn’t get a lot of costumer’s. It follows Rob, the store owner portrayed by John Cusack, who’s dealing with some problems. Jack Black plays the role of Barry, an exhibitionist music freak who wants to be in the music business himself. “High Fidelity” finds a good balance between humor and drama, but is mostly carried by the music and the meaning of it in the character’s lives. I think it’s an underappreciated movie, more people should love it. As Rob, I’m an avid top 5 list maker and “High Fidelity” is definitely in my top 5 of all-time favorite movies!

The Big Year
Three fanatical bird-watcher, played by Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin, spend an entire year competing to spot the highest number of bird species. I loved the theme, it’s a feel-good film. It could have easily fell into the ridiculous comedy trend, where everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. Luckily that didn’t happen and this film felt fresh and I really enjoyed it. It’s such an underrated film.

Be Kind Rewind
Mos Def and Jack Black play tow bumbling store clerks, who inadvertently erase the footage from all of the tapes in their video rental store. In order to keep the business running, they re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera, with a budget of zero dollars. This is a film that probably doesn’t speak to the younger crowd. Us 80s and 90s babies, we know what the phrase ‘be kind rewind’ mean. Because how annoying was it that you lend a VHS tape to someone and they’d return it to you without rewinding it. The cheap ways to recreate expensive special effects of some of our favorite movies. Those are the most fun parts of the film, when they are shooting the movies. Sometimes hilarious. And for someone who is creative herself, I can appreciate the creativity behind it all.

Orange County
Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County, played by Colin Hanks. He dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family. Somehow mistakes are made and Shaun doesn’t get into Stanford. With the help of his brother Lance, a role by Jack Black and his girlfriend Ashely, he tries to do everything to get into the school. I don’t think there are a lot of people that even know this film. I know my friends haven’t, which is such a shame. It’s a good film, with great humor and fun characters. Like Jack Black’s Lance, he is hilarious as Shaun’s useless and lazy brother. I’ve seen it many times, there was a time I rewatched it several times a month.

00s Movie Review: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Director: Adam McKay
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2006
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Leslie Bibb, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, Michael Clarke Duncan, Amy Adams, David Koechner, Rob Riggle, Molly Shannon, Greg Germann

Description: Number one NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) stays atop the heap thanks to a pact with his best friend and teammate, Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly) But when a French Formula One driver (Sacha Baron Cohen), makes his way up the ladder, Ricky Bobby's talent and devotion are put to the test.

Review: NASCAR: fast cars driving hundreds of laps on a simple oval track. In America it’s one of the most viewed sports. The NASCAR world was already put in the spotlight with the Tom Cruise film “Days of Thunder” and in the animated Disney film “Cars”. In “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Rocky Bobby” it takes on the comedy genre and the world is brought to us with a big fat wink.
We follow Ricky Bobby, a successful NASCAR driver. At first, everything goes uphill for him. Rocky becomes an egocentric superstar, but eventually ends up in the gutter. And everything that he once had and loved, slips through his fingers. And although this all sounds super cliché, which it is, the film is so entertaining and funny.
Will Ferrell is one of those actors that makes me laugh, no matter what. I just have to look at him and he cracks me up. And surely not everyone likes his humor. If you don’t like Will Ferrell’s films or roles, you don’t like this one either. Because it’s Will Ferrell, being Will Ferrell. The humor is never subtle, yet very hilarious.
Sacha Baron Cohen is really funny as Ricky Bobby’s big rival, Jean Girard. The way he pronounces Rocky Bobby is something that cracks me up constantly, even now, while writing this review and saying it in my head. My dad can do a killer impression of him by the way!
“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” is definitely not a masterpiece or one of America’s best comedies. But somehow, this movie always makes me laugh out loud and that’s what a fun comedy should do.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

10s Movie Review - Happy Death Day

Director: Christopher Landon
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, Jason Bayle, Rob Mello, Rachel Matthews, Ramsey Anderson, Brady Lewis, Phi Vu, Tenea Intriago, Blaine Kern III, Cariella Smith, Jimmy Gonzales, Billy Slaughter, Donna Duplantier

Description: A college student (Jessica Rothe) must relive the day of her murder over and over again, in a loop that will end only when she discovers her killer's identity.

Review: Using the concept of 1993s “Groundhog Day” and combine it with the slasher genre. A film where college student Tree relives the same day, over and over again. But she also dies each day.
Tree is a somewhat superficial, bitchy girl that one day wakes up in some guys dorm room one morning on her birthday. At the end of the day she is murdered by a masked killer. The next day, she wakes up, in the same place at the same time, on her birthday. She relives the same say and at the end of the day, someone kills her again. The reason is unknown, but she now has time to find out who her killer is. But like a cat with nine lives, she will eventually run out of lives.
“Happy Death Day” turns a standard slasher film, into a somewhat original and fresh horror film, by adding the original twist of the repeating day to the plot. It was a surprisingly fun film. Definitely not brutal, scary or bloody enough for the real horror fans, but for the viewers that aren’t massive horror fans it’s perfect.
The repetitive style of the film, gives the makers some room to be creative in all the ways Tree can die. Which becomes somewhat of a running gag throughout the film. And the film is not super serious. It adds some humor to the mix as well, which makes it even more fun to watch somehow.
The motive of the killer is a bit stupid, but the characters in the movie also believe that. So in a way, the movie mocks itself. Which adds a star to my rating.
“Happy Death Day” was better and more fun then I initially thought.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Flatliners

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Genre: Science Fiction/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, Kiefer Sutherland

Description: Five medical students, obsessed by what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods, each triggers a near-death experience - giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife.

Review: Another remake. Only a few really succeed. And “Flatliners”, a remake from the 1990 version, is not one of them. This is proof a totally useless remake.
The original “Flatliners” by director Joel Schumacher, wasn’t the best film in the first place. But it was entertaining and was solid. This remake doesn’t add anything new and is hardly ever surprising. It’s just an incoherent mess.
The story stays the same though. We follow a group of ambitious medical students. Courtney has a theory, which can give you a look inside the brain of someone who just died. Her experiment involves dying, stopping the heart for a minute, and then bring the patient back. During this minute, they monitor the brain activity. Courtney does it herself first and lets her fellow students bring her back. After Courtney’s near dead experience, things start happening to her. She remembers things that happened years ago, can all of a sudden play the piano extremely well and copies a recipe from memory. Soon her friends all want to experience it too. But it’s not all good. They start seeing things, that are not there.
All the characters are stereotypical: The rich boy, know it all, hard worker. And good performers like Ellen Page and Diego Luna can’t help any of that.
In the first half hour, a lot happens. The voluntary patients are confronted with their worst nightmares, which turn out to be things they feel guilty about. Director Niels Arden Oplev doesn’t know how to dose it here. The film is also very repetitive and along the way the movie gets less and less credible.
“Flatliners” is a big miss, very forgettable and wasn’t scary or inventive at all. I almost flatlined.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

Movies to Look Forward to - October 2018

October 4th – A Star is Born
Director: Bradley Cooper
Starring: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliot, Dave Chappelle
Description: A musician (Bradley Cooper) helps a young singer and actress (Lady Gaga) find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

October 4th – Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, Jenny Slate, Riz Ahmed
Description: When Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) acquires the powers of a symbiote, he will have to release his alter-ego "Venom" to save his life.

October 11th – Bad Times at the El Royale
Director: Drew Goddard
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Jeff Bridges, Nick Offerman
Description: Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption - before everything goes to hell.

October 18th – First Man
Director: Damien Chazelle
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Ciarán Hinds, Ethan Embry, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Patrick Fugit
Description: A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling), and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

October 18th – Hell Fest
Director: Gregory Plotkin
Starring: Amy Forsyth, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards
Description: A masked serial killer turns a horror themed amusement park into his own personal playground, terrorizing a group of friends while the rest of the patrons believe that it is all part of the show.

October 18th – Mowgli
Director: Andy Serkis
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Andy Serkis, Naomie Harris, Eddie Marsan, Matthew Rhys, Freida Pinto, Tom Hollander, Rohan Chand, Peter Mullan, Jack Reynor
Description: A human child raised by wolves must face off against a menacing tiger named Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch), as well as his own origins.

October 25th – The Girl in the Spider’s Web
Director: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Claire Foy, Sylvia Hoeks, Sverrir Gudnason, Stephen Merchant
Description: Young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) and journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason) find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.

10s Movie Review: Hartenstrijd

Director: Janice Pierre
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Jennifer Hoffman, Tibor Lukács, Eva van de Wijdeven, Oscar Aerts, Georgina Verbaan, Anniek Pheifer, Loek peters, Willeke Alberti, Cees Geel, Murth Mossel

Description: A lovelorn police officer (Jennifer Hoffman) and a womanizing bar owner (Tibor Lukács) get into a romantic game of cat and mouse as they both attempt to take their love lives in new directions.

Review: Romcoms mostly follow a certain path. Lovebirds trying to be noticed by the other, they find each other, due to a misunderstanding they lose each other and eventually they end up together. And that final moment is often during a dramatic race against time. This is the format it apparently needs, but it’s the execution and its details that makes the difference. In the Dutch romantic comedy “Hartenstrijd”, we follow a bet which will bring two different characters closer together.
Tina is a motor cop, who believes in true and eternal love and always hopelessly clings herself to men. When her boyfriend breaks up with her, her world crashes and Tina claims she is done with serious relationships. She moves in with her best friend Fleurtje and makes a bet with her that she won’t be in any serious relationships for at least a year. Tina thinks she can do the ‘no strings attached’ routine and have meaningless sex with men without getting feelings. So she starts to casually date Sven, a guy that is known for his smooth talking and sleeping with women without dating them or let alone be in a relationship with them. Sven just made a bet with his best friend Dennis, that he can go on five dates with the same woman without having sex with her. And Tina is his project.
The whole idea behind “Hartenstrijd” is the big difference between Sven and Tina, how they view love, relationships and dating. And this movie is, like most romcoms, very predictable. A lot of tossing and turning between the two, before eventually reaching its core. Tina and Sven are very stereotypical, almost caricature like. Tina is a dull and clumsy woman, who can’t live without a man in her life. Sven is a playboy, who objectifies women. Jennifer Hoffman and Tibor Lukács are both not very comfortable in their roles somehow. It’s the supporting characters that catch your eye. Like Eva van de Wijdeven as Fleurtje, I loved her sass. And Aniek Pheifer as Sven’s pregnant friend, giving him advice wherever she can. And I really enjoyed the scenes with Tina and her co colleagues.
If the roles were a bit more realistic, you could actually care about the leading characters. “Hartenstrijd” has its moments, it’s not all bad. But it’s the small jokes and moments. It’s not cohesive and feels unfinished.

Rating: 2/ 5

80s Movie Review - Purple Rain

Director: Albert Magnoli
Genre: Drama/ Music/ Romance
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 1984
Starring: Prince, Olga Karlatos, Clarence Williams III, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Jerome Benton, Billy Sparks, Jill Jones, Charles Huntsberry, Dez Dickerson, Brenda Bennett, Susan Moonsie, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Bobby Z., Matt Fink, Brown Mark, Gary Johnson, Mark Cardenas, Paul Peterson, Jesse Johnson, Gerald E. Hubbard Jr.

Description: A young musician (Prince), tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.

Review: The passing of Prince was a shock to the world and a big loss for the music industry. His unique sound is legendary. He was known for his great songs “When Doves Cry”, “Purple Rain” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, among many more. Prince wasn’t known for his acting and that was clearly not one of his many talents. In “Purple Rain” a semi-autobiographic story is told, off course filled with his music.
The story focusses on singer The Kid and his band The Revolution. While he has a hard time keeping his band together, he also has to deal with a rivaling band The Time. There is a lot of tension in Kid’s band and the abusive situation he is living in at home doesn’t help him. After his father tried to kill himself, Kid finds his music and uses it as his biggest inspiration.
“Purple Rain” is shot like an 80s music video. And the only redeeming feature of “Purple Rain” is the music. Especially the last 15 minutes are amazing, because it’s a mini concert. But the acting is so bad, by all the performers, that’s it’s impossible to ignore.
While Prince wasn’t a good actor, he was a phenomenal artist like no other. And he shows that too in this film. “Purple Rain” is mostly for nostalgia reasons a film you should watch and if you love Prince’s music. Don’t expect any quality, when it comes to the story, acting or overall. It’s actually a pretty bad movie, with great music!

Rating: 2 / 5

10s Movie Review - The Mountain Between Us

Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Genre: Drama/ Adventure/ Thriller/ Romance
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney, Linda Sorensen

Description: Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers (Kate Winslet, Idris Elba) must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.

Review: Neurosurgeon Ben is on his way to perform a very complex surgery on a young patient. Photographer Alex is about to get married. Both are stranded on an airport, when their flights are cancelled due to the weather.
Alex manages to rent a private plane and overhears Ben, who is in a similar situation having to be at his location the next day. They board the plane together, but their pilot suffers from a stroke and they crash. They end up in a snowy landscape, with no people or towns nearby. Ben and Alex don’t know each other, but are forced to survive together.
The pilot didn’t survive, but his dog did, so Alex and Ben have a companion. With minimal supplies and a couple of chocolade bars they two have to decide if they wait for help or look for help by foot.
Director Hany Aby-Asad used the book “The Mountain Between Us” by Charles Martin, as its inspiration. It’s an ambitious project, while the screentime is filled with only two characters and a dog. And he got lucky with Kate Winslet and Idris Elba as his stars. “The Mountain Between Us” is beautifully shot. And the first half of the film I really liked. Ben is the stronger of the two, so he has to make sure Alex makes it through. But as soon as the two are on an equal playing feel, so to say, you realize hos old fashioned this story actually is. Alex becomes this ‘damsel in distress’, when she is in fact a very strong woman on her own. And Ben is ‘the knight in shining armor’, who will make sure that he will get her of that mountain.
And what bothered me the most: this is supposed to be a survival movie, right?. I really loved this part. Why does there have to be a love story? From being a good and solid survival tale, it turns into a mediocre romantic drama. With a very cheesy ending I might say.
I was so disappointed in this film. Not because of Elba and Winslet, they are great. But the direction the story takes is just so lame.

Rating: 2/ 5

10s Movie Review - Bridget Jones's Baby

Director: Sharon Maguire
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 123 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Emma Thompson

Description: Bridget's (Renée Zellweger) focus on single life and her career is interrupted when she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch ... she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of her baby's father.

Review: After an absence of twelve years, the clumsy and most awkward single woman of all-time is back: Bridget Jones. The previous two films, “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”, were based on the books by author Helen Fielding. For this movie, the inspiration came from columns Fielding wrote for ‘The Independent’. The third book, where Bridget is a 50-year old widow, remains untouched. The result: a somewhat happier story that takes place ten years before that.
When we first meet Bridget in this film, she is celebrating her 43rd birthday. Alone. On the couch. In her pajamas. Singing to 90s music. At the end of “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”, she claims to have found true love and happiness with Mark Darcy. But she is once again single and Bridget doesn’t really mind that.
Her lonely, happy and seemingly uncomplicated life comes to an end when it appears she is pregnant. Who the father is, she is not sure of. In a short period a time, she had ‘relations’ (her words) with two men: Handsome American Jack Qwant and her old flame Mark Darcy.
Jack appears to be a billionaire, who earned a fortune by working out algorithms that calculate if you’re right for your partner or not. But can love be based on that?
“Bridget Jones’s Baby” is definitely not new and original and it has some really predictable moments. But like the first two, the main element is fun. They are such a joy to watch, as is this third film. Renée Zellweger still does a great job portraying Bridget and the moments between Jack and Mark are really funny. My favorite part was actually Emma Thompson, with only a small but very memorable role. All her scenes are gold.
Bridget’s new boss is a downside of the film. She is an annoying character and doesn’t really add anything to the story. And the fake twist. Didn’t like that either. We all knew how it was going to end and they led us to believe something else first and then make the ‘big reveal’. That’s thinking the audience is dumb.
Overall, I really enjoyed this comedy and the return or Bridget Jones. There are hints to a possible sequel, but I think they should leave it here.

Rating: 3/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Circle

Director: James Ponsoldt
Genre: Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Karen Gillan, John Boyega, Patton Oswalt, Glenne Headly

Description: Mae Holland (Emma Watson) lands a dream job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, only to uncover an agenda that will affect the lives of all of humanity.

Review: In 2013, author Dave Eggers finished “The Circle”, a dystopian novel that was compared to George Orwell’s “1984”. It was a popular book and it’s a surprise it took four years to be turned into a film. But does a praised book always need a movie adaptation? Well, for “The Circle” it’s a no.
Mae Holland’s life is about to change, when she is invited for a job interview at ‘the Circle’. You see the big difference between the dusty and old school call center Mae works at, to the ultra-modern and complex 'the Circle'. For Mae, ‘the Circle’ is the place to be. She ends up at the ‘customer experience’ department. We also meet CEO Eamon Bailey, who presents an advanced camera system. It’s clear that ‘the Circle’ is a company that sees the invasion of privacy as a device to reach political goals.
Everyone listening to Bailey believes in ‘the Circle’, Mae is one of them. And it doesn’t take her very long to become one if the icons of the company. Emma Watson is a fantastic actress, but her talent is underused. And it feels like Tom Hanks, my all-time favorite, is out of place. Both do a solid job, but if you have these fantastic performers, give them something to work with.
Bailey and his neurotic followers can’t be taken seriously. And when they present a program called SoulSearch, that’s the ultimate low. And the creators of this system, never see that it’s a dangerous tool? Not very credible.
The story criticizes society and there it’s crucial to be believable. And it never feels like that. It’s rushed and it loses the actual focus of Eggers’ novel: the danger of digital independence.
The story and concept of “The Circle” are really good, the book was great. I think it would have been better as a mini-series.

Rating: 2 / 5

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