Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 14

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

46/ 100: Se7en (1995)
This David Fincher directed film is a blood-curdling and original thriller about two detectives who team up to track down a serial killer. They discover that the killer is working off the classic seven deadly sins. I have seen this movie so many times and it still gives me the chills and intrigues me. Such a good thriller, with amazing performances from Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. Check out the full review HERE
 

47/ 100: The Lion King (1994)
The young lion prince Simba grows up in father Mufasa’s paradise kingdom, dreaming of the day when he will rule the savannah himself. But that’s not counting on Mufasa’s jealous brother Scar, who along with a gang of hyenas plots to get him out of the way. Classic, hand-drawn Disney musical that actually has everything you could want: from adventure to humor, romance, upbeat songs and heartbreaking drama. I remember when I saw this movie for the first time, in theaters and what an impact it had on me. And still has. HERE is the full review.
 

48/ 100: Clue (1985)
The movie is loosely based on the boardgame clue, where you have to find out who killed the victim, in what room and with which weapon. In “Clue” a group of people, who don’t know each other, is invited to a mansion, for unknown reasons. When a murder takes place, the strangers, together with the butler, have to find out who committed the murder. A classic whodunnit, which is the main reason why I love this movie so much. It has good comedy, which gives it a lighter tone, and the way it’s all played out is really fun and original. You can read my full review HERE.
 

49/ 100: In Bruges (2008)
With its mix of witty humor, brutal violence and unexpected drama, “In Bruges” shows the talent of director Martin McDonagh. The story of two Irish contract killers who go into hiding in Bruges after a job gone wrong is cleverly written and stylishly filmed. The movie succeeds because of the three formidable leading actors: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. HERE is my full review.
 

50/ 100: Spotlight (2015)
Outstanding drama about the Spotlight team of quality newspaper The Boston Globe, which in 2002 publicized in a series of high-profile articles the Catholic Church’s systematic concealment of sexual abuse in Boston parishes. In “Spotlight”, director Tom McCarthy keeps the emotions at bay as much as possible. In this film, no gruesome details of the abuses or images of conciliatory church fathers; McCarthy zooms in on the journalists and their diligent work. And this down-to-earth approach only makes the film more poignant. “Spotlight” won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Screenplay, which is totally deserved. Check out the review HERE.

Still to watch: 50

90s Movie Review - The Matrix

Director: Lana Wachowski, Lily Wachowski
Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Thriller
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Anthony Ray Parker, Gloria Foster, Marcus Chong, Juluan Arahanga, Matt Doran, Belinda McGlory, Paul Goddard, Robert Taylor

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 4: FIRST MOVIE IN A TRILOGY
 
Description: When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo (Keanu Reeves) to a forbidden underworld, he discovers the shocking truth – the life he know is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.  

Review: The mysterious Morpheus recruits hacker Neo and tries to open his mind to the truths lurking within The Matrix.
Since 1999, “The Matrix” has been seen as an influential film that has left a big impression on the American film industry in terms of action/ special effects. The well-organized action scenes offer clear homage to martial arts films, and the many effects still stand strong after many year.
Despite the fact that this film was made in 1999, the film has passed me by all these years. I had seen bits and pieces, but never saw the entire film.
The concept is engaging, makes you think and contains plenty of philosophical issues appropriate withing the science fiction genre. Carefully, the rules of the world are first explained and revealed to the viewer. This brings endless exposition, but is absolutely necessary. Because it’s all quite complex. Later we focus on the action.
I understand why “The Matrix” has so many fans and is as successful as it is. And I’m happy I finally got around to see it. It will not end up on my favorites lists, because it’s simply not really my cup of tea. Even though I believe it’s a really good movie, I will probably never rewatch it.

Rating: 4/ 5

00s Movie Review - In Bruges

Director: Martin McDonagh
Genre: Comedy/ Crime/ Action
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2008
Starring: Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Clémence Poésy, Thekla Reuten

Description: Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray (Colin Farrell) and his partner (Brendan Gleeson) await orders from their ruthless boss (Ralph Fiennes) in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.

Review: The movie starts confusing. A hit gone wrong, we overhear a phone conversation, the person in question has to hide in Bruges. We hear an Irish accents, IRA maybe? What kind of movies is it going to be? And medieval Bruges doesn’t look like the setting for a gangster movie. Then the dialogue between leading characters Ray and Ken starts. Like Vincent and Jules from “Pulp Fiction” they talk a lot and nothing seems to happen. Until Ray meets a girl and Ken gets a phone call from their boss Harry.
In the story that follows, the pieces of the puzzle fall in its place. Why they are in Bruges, what happened and what is going to happen. That build-up at the start seems perfect now, because we understand the characters and their motives. The way to the climax is long and the characters are important for the decisions they will make.
That’s how you build the tension and this is how a movie’s credibility stays up. Martin McDonagh, who directs but also wrote the script, takes us on a winding road. The power of the film is the well written script. But also the cast. Especially Colin Farrell is challenged, for doing something he isn’t used to doing. Farrell’s character is developed and has depth. His best role so far. And Ralph Fiennes is great as boss Harry. With his cockney accent he portrays one of the most hilarious villains, without ever getting ridiculous or forgetting that he is a serious villain.
It’s a special gangster film, on a wonderful location, great cast and a very well written script. It’s not a happy film, but there is enough humor to it. It’s a surprising, lively movie.

Rating: 5/ 5
 

80s Movie Review - Clue

Director: Jonathan Lynn
Genre: Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 1985
Starring: Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp

Description: Six guests are invited to a strange house and must cooperate with the staff to solve a murder mystery.

Review: The movie “Clue” is based on the board game Clue. The setting is perfect: a remote, spooky mansion in New England, USA. In this gorgeous, atmospheric décor a true murder mystery takes place, where the characters from the board game come to life.
The guests are welcomed by butler Wadsworth. Every character that’s is invited, has a secret they are blackmailed with. Host Mr. Boddy will join later. What they don’t know, is that somebody is about to be murdered and one of them is the killer….
The ingredients are simple: a group of strangers locked in a remote mansion, a murder takes place and one of them did it. It’s a typical ‘whodunit’, but who doesn’t love a good murder mystery?
In this detective it’s all about the humor. It could be seen as a mockery  of the genre. To start with the characters names. The victim is Mr. Boddy, Mrs. White is dressed all in black and Mrs. Peacock is all covered in feathers. With that, the many comedy moments filled with screaming, falling and madness. The best thing about the film is the climax, where Wadsworth tells everyone what happened. But that’s not all, because there are many possible scenarios.
The humor is great, very classical comedy. I can watch “Clue” over and over again. It’s so much fun!

Rating: 5 / 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 91

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

Action: The Foreigner (2017)
A humble businessman (Jackie Chan) with a buried past seeks justice when his daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. A cat-and-mouse conflict ensues with a government official (Pierce Brosnan), whose past may hold clues to the killers’ identities.
 

Drama: Straight Outta Compton (2015)
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
 

Comedy: The Big Short (2015)
In 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the US mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
 

Animation: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
A wild stallion is captured by humans and slowly loses the will to resist training, yet, throughout his struggles for freedom, the stallion refuses to let go of the hope of one day returning home to his herd.
 

Romance: The Theory of Everything (2014)
A look at the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife (Felicity Jones).
 

Horror: The Crazies (2010)
After a strange and insecure plane crash, an unusual toxic virus enters a quaint farming town. A young couple (Radha Mitchell, Timothy Olyphant) are quarantined, but they fight for survival along with help from a couple of people.
 

Science Fiction: Upgrade (2018)
Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when the world of Grey (Logan Marshall-Green), a self-labeled technophobe, is turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant.
 

Crime: The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
A motorcycle stunt rider (Ryan Gosling) turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover (Eva Mendes) and their newborn child, a decision that puts him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop (Bradley Cooper) navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.
 

Thriller: Gerald’s Game (2017)
A couple (Carla Cugino, Bruce Greenwood) tries to spice up their marriage in a remote lake house. After the husband dies unexpectedly, the wife is left handcuffed to their bed frame and must fight to survive and break free.
 

Documentary: The River Runner (2021)
A kayaker sets out to become the first man to paddle the four great rivers that flow from Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.
 

Family: Wonder (2017)
Bases on the New York Times bestseller, this movie tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), a boy with facial differences who enters the fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

Book Review - The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Title: The Maidens
Series: -
Author: Alex Michaelides
 
Description: Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University. Fosca is adored by staff and students alike, particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.
Mariana is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is murdered in Cambridge. 

Review: When Mariana Andros gets a call from her niece Zoe that her best friend Tara is missing, Mariana leaves her job as a psychologist and travels to Cambridge University. This brings up a lot emotionally not only because of the situation, but also because that is where she and her husband met. As a result, many memories of her deceased love come into play. Once she arrives at the university, she and her niece discover that Tara is not only missing, but her body has been found and she has been brutally murdered. Mariana’s attention is immediately drawn to professor Edward Fosca. 
Soon Mariana becomes obsessed with Fosca. He is a professor of Greek Tragedy at the university and Mariana is sure he is a murderer. Edward Fosca, however, is a very popular man, both with his colleagues and his student. He even has a group of loyal female followers who call themselves the Maidens. Is he capable of killing his students? 
Mariane grabs your attention from page one. He character tells several stories at once. Her past, her relationship with her late husband’s tragic accident, and the present. There layers of her personality are beautifully described by Alex Michaelides and take you well into her obsessive exploration. 
Because of Michaelides writing style and Mariane’s perspective, as a reader you go along with her conviction that the police are on the wrong track and that Professor Edward Fosca must have something to do with the murders. Both the story and the characters are therefore clever and well put together. This book surprises you. 
“The Maidens” has great tension building and Michaelides has an accessible writing style. The chapters are short, which I love. It’s a rock solide mystery thriller and I would recommend this to people who love the genre.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

90s Movie Review - The Lion King

Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Genre: Drama/ Animation/ Musical/ Comedy/ Adventure
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 1994
Starring: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings

Description: Lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity. His eagerness to please others and penchant for testing his boundaries sometimes gets him into trouble.

Review: “The Lion King” starts with the birth of Simba, the son of lion king Mufasa. Uncle Scar isn’t happy with his new nephew, because this makes Simba the next in line for the throne.
In the first place, “The Lion King” has a good story. This Disney film is one of the most successful animations for a reason. The movie is playful and fun, but also deals with some more serious themes. The execution of it all is sublime. Which makes “The Lion King” funny, exciting and touching and is filled with life lessons for all ages. Parenthood, friendship, loss, mourning, looking for yourself, responsibility, life and death.
The soundtrack is amazing. The songs are catchy, memorable and atmospheric. The characters too, not only the main characters, also the villain and the supporting characters.
“The Lion King” is one of the best animations ever made.

Rating: 5/ 5

90s Movie Review - Newsies

Director: Kenny Ortega
Genre: Drama/ Musical/ Family
Runtime: 121 minutes
Year: 1992
Starring: Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret, David Moscow, Luke Edwards, Max Casella, Gabriel Damon, Marty Belafsky, Arvie Lowe Jr., Aaron Lohr, Trey Parker, Dee Caspary, Joseph Conrad

Description: A musical based on the New York Newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 3: A MUSICAL
 
Review: In 1899, the people of New York got their news from a group of orphans who sold the newspapers of several famous publishers. Like many other children, Jack Kelly dreams of a better life than the hard one he leads now. But when the publishers start paying the children less, Jack has a reason to fight. He must choose between his dreams and his sense of responsibility.
I’m a huge musical fan. I love a good story with some catchy musical tunes. “Newsies” is sadly not one of those films. I think I would have preferred this true story as a non-musical. The music and songs are mediocre and the choreography is altering in quality between messy, mediocre and good. The film itself looks pretty neat on all fronts, the décor looks great and it has the right atmosphere. But the acting left much to be desired. It still is entertaining enough, but it’s not a musical I would recommend easily.

Rating: 2,5 / 5

TV Show Review - After Life (Season 3)

Season: 3
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Number of episodes: 6
Year: 2022
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Tom Basden, Tony Way, Diane Morgan, David Bradley, Kerry Godliman, Ashley Jensen, Penelope Wilton, Joe Wilkinson, Roisin Conaty, Ethan Lawrence, Jo Hartley    

Description: After Tony’s (Ricky Gervais) wife dies unexpectedly, his nice-guy persona is altered into an impulsive, devil-may-care attitude; taking his old world by storm.  

Review: “After Life” is one of the most beloved series on Netflix. I know it’s one of my personal favorites. And the third season from and featuring Ricky Gervais as the grieveing Tony does not disappoint at all.
Gervais tries to hardest thing with “After Life”: make a series about death that is also funny. The first season in particular succeeded wonderfully. We all laughed at one moment and felt tears roll down or cheeks the next.
In “After Life” Gervais plays Tony, a journalist for the local newspaper who has just lost his wife Lisa to cancer. For Tony, life doesn’t have to be after that. He’s unkind to everyone he meets and would prefer to die as soon as possible too. The only thing that stops him is his dog Brandy.
Over the seasons, through people who come his way, he comes to repentance. He finds a little more happiness each day. He helps others and finds meaning again. And all this without losing his morbid and hard-hitting sense of humor.
This was also the case in season 2 and the third season is pretty much a repeat of what we saw in the second series. But that does not take away from the fact that as a viewer you often laugh and cry at the same time. And that remains extremely clever. “After Life” is still a warm blanket that you want to wrap around you when life is not so great. Because there is always hope.
Even though it’s a repetition of movies, the final season focuses on side characters as well. With that “After Life” remains a series to love, mainly thanks to the great writing by Ricky Gervais and his excellent humor.

00s Movie Review - Unfaithful

Director: Adrian Lyne
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Romance
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Olivier Martinez, Michelle Monaghan, Chad Lowe

Description: A New York suburban couple’s (Richard Gere, Diane Lane) goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.

Review: Edward Sumner and his wife Connie lead an exemplary life consisting of a good marriage, a beautiful house in one of the suburbs of New York and son Charlie.
When Connie bumps into a handsome Frenchman during a major windstorm while attempting to find a cab, her life changes abruptly. The man, Paul Martel, invites her to his apartment to treat her scraped knees after a fall. She becomes completely intrigued by Paul. At first she tries to resist the feelings but eventually she falls for the stranger. She invents all kinds of excuses to meet him. The inevitable happens: together they end up in a passionate affair. Eventually the deception takes its toll when Edward discovers what is going on, based on his feelings and little lies from Connie.
Director Adrian Lyne previously made high-profile films as “Fatal Attraction”, Indecent Proposal” and “9 ½ Weeks”. Despire the fact that these films may not the artistic masterpieces, they still managed to achieve reasonable commercial success. Partly due to the lack of innovation, this movie is not nearly as good as the aforementioned movies. The theme of the adulterous man or woman and the consequences for the environment does much less nowadays. The film never really wants to take on serious thriller-like forms and “Unfaithful” cannot be called excitingly erotic either. Therefore, the film, especially the first part of the film, ripples along a bit. The of the film eventually makes up for some of this.  
Richard Gere gives a reasonable performance as Edward, but Diane Lane is particularly convincing.  
“Unfaithful” is not a movie that I would rewatch, but it’s also not a terrible film. The length of the film doesn’t help here, it drags on a bit, especially at the start. But when the thriller elements enter the stage, the movie is a bit better and gets more exciting.

Rating: 3/ 5

00s Movie Review - Final Destination 3

Director: James Wong
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2006
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, Amanda Crew, Alexz Johnson, Texas Battle, Jesse Moss, Chelan Simmons, Sam Easton, Gina Holden, Crystal Lowe, Maggie Ma

Description: Six years after students cheated death, another teen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition she and het friend will be involved in an accident. When the vison proves true, the student and survivors deal with the repercussions of cheating the Grim Reaper.

Review: What should have been a fun night at an amusement park turns into a disaster when Wendy has a vision of a terrible rollercoaster accident. Through her panic, she manages to convince her friends not to go on the roller coaster. Then the vision turns out to be true. Wendy and her friends seem to have escaped death, but when the survivors subsequently meet their end one by one in dubious ways, a race against time begins. If Wendy is to survive, she will have to stop the deadly chain reaction in time. She will have to do everything in her power to outsmart Death.
The films in the “Final Destination” series have a set formula: the protagonist receives a vision of a deadly vision that is about to take place and then prevents a group of people from falling into the accident in question. But there is no escape from fate and so the main characters end up one by one in an unusual and gruesome way. The third part in this series also fully complies with this formula. In principle, there is little wrong with that. In the first and second part there was at least an explanation and solution for the why-do-they-die phenomenon and there was a strong link between the two parts. But in “Final Destination 3” all this is only minimally present. In terms of story, then, we expected a bit more, especially since this third installment marks the return of original creators Glen Morgan and James Wong, to writing and directing. The only new element is the photo gimmick. The movie obviously doesn’t rely on a strong story full of surprising twists and well-crafted characters. It does have, which happens to be the fact for most of the films in this series, some really original death scenes.
“Final Destination 3” is a standard sequel following the fixed formula. But it’s still an entertaining movie wit lots of original death traps.

Rating: 3/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 90

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

Action: London Has Fallen (2016)
In London for the Prime Minister’s funeral, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is caught up in a plot to assassinate all the attending world leaders.
 

Drama: Room (2015)
Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a women (Brie Larson) and her young son (Jacob Tremblay) finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.
 

Comedy: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Six tales of life and violence in the Old West, following a singing gunslinger (Tim Blake Nelson), a bank robber (James Franco), a traveling impresario (Liam Neeson), an elderly prospector (Tom Waits), a wagon train, and a perverse pair of bounty hunters (Brendan Gleeson, Jonjo O’Neill).
 

Animation: Riverdance: the Animated Adventure (2021)
An Irish boy named Keegan and a Spanish girl named Moya journey into the mythical world of the Megaloceros Giganteus who teach them to appreciate Riverdance as a celebration of life.
 

Romance: Endless Love (2014)
The story of a privileged girl (Gabriella Wilde) and a charismatic boy (Alex Pettyfer) whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
 

Horror: Wrong Turn (2021)
Friends hiking the Appalachian Trail are confronted by ‘The Foundation’, a community of people who have lived in the mountains for hundreds of years.
 

Science Fiction: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Peter Parker (Tom Holland) balances his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with his superhero alter-ego Spider-Man, and finds himself on the trail of a new menace prowling the skies of New York City.
 

Crime: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Eddy (Nick Moran) persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriaty). Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.
 

Thriller: The Mauritanian (2021)
Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim) fights for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S> Government for years.
 

Documentary: 27 Gone to Soon (2018)
An examination of the lives and deaths of the six most famous member of the ’27 Club’ – musicians who have died aged 27: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.
 

Family: Hachi (2009)
A college professor (Richard Gere) bonds with an abandoned dog he takes into his home.

What's in a Movie Year - 2009

Taking a look at the year 2009, picking my 10 favorite movies from that year in random order.
 

Zombieland
After zombies take over the world, a young man stays alive by meticulously following a number of self-described rules. For example, he always puts on his seatbelts, watches oyt for toilets and never plays the hero. When he meets a couple of other survivors, they decide to hang out together. Witty, ironic zombie film, worthwhile mainly because of well-written characters. Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, for example, are fun as incisive sisters, Woody Harrelson is fantastic as a macho zombie defender.
 

(500) Days of Summer
Tom, trained as an architect, has a dull job writing texts for greeting cards, but his existence is brightened considerably by Summer, a girl from the office. The story of their relationship is not told chronologically, but in flashbacks and forwards. In this way, details in the film are given different meanings each time. A remarkable and original way to tell a story of ‘boy meets girl’. Good screenplay, excellent direction and particularly fine lead actors.
 

Fantastic Mr. Fox
When titular hero Mr. Fox learns Mrs. Fox is pregnant he must promise her to stop stealing. He keeps this promise for a while, but after a few years the wild beast in him resurfaces. Mr. Fox crawls out of his hole, goes to live above the ground in a hollow tree and pays nightly visits to the storehouse of the mean farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Fine stop-motion animated film from director Wes Anderson, who transformed Roald Dahl’s children’s book into a dryly comic ode to whimsy. Also perfect for adults of course. Favorite Anderson film.
 

Up
The young Carl Fredericksen wants to be  an adventurer, just like his idol Charles Muntz. He meets the like-minded Ellie, they courtship, marry, and solemnly promise each other to go to Latin American Paradise Falls someday. It is not until the age of 78 that Carl, now a widower, ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away. he is joined by a tenacious little boy scout. Wonderful, wityy, poetic animated film for young and old. The first few minutes in particular are brilliant (and if you don’t cry, you are not human).
 

Where the Wild Things Are
After an argument with his mother, nine-year-old Max runs away, climbs unto a sailboat and, after traveling across the ocean, ends up in a land populated by meter-high monsters. Film adaptation by director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Dave Eggers, of the famous children’s book by the same name, written by Maurice Sendak. The film is not made for a young audience, it is too subtle and melancholic for that, the emotions of adults and children are too strong. Well-played, sublimely designed, moving and compelling.
 
 

Inglourious Basterds
A group of touch Jewish-American soldier tries to kill as many Nazis as possible during WWII in occupied France. A cinema owner tries to make the best of it under the occupation. And a German officer hunts down Jews. Director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino intertwined their stories into a clever scenario, which served as the basis for this powerful war film. The agonizing tension in “Inglourious Basterds” is interspersed with dark humor. Razor-sharp dialogues. Christoph Waltz is the star of the film as SS man Hans Landa.
 

Avatar
Private Jake is in a wheelchair. But then he gets an offer: he can serve as the driver of an avatar on the planet Pandora, his brain in his sleeping body then in control of a body grown from genetically engineered cells that looks, walks, runs and jumps just like the Na’vi that inhabit the planet. James Cameron’s groundbreaking use of 3D turned this otherwise average adventure film into and eye-opening and exhilarating spectacle. And the film shows again how mankind ruins everything that is beautiful.
 

Sherlock Holmes
Did Sit Arthur Conan Doyle base his penmanship in the late nineteenth century on himself, on Jesus, or simply on a fellow physician? Whatever the case, in the hands of director Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes became a cynical, anti-social, alcohol loving man with an unexpectedly refines sense of fighting and shooting techniques. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law play the duo Holmes and Watson with frivolous ease, touring filthy London in search of a criminal magician resurrected from the grave.
 

The Blind Side
True story: wealthy Leigh Anne Tuohy takes in a homeless, underprivileged young black man. This Michael Oher makes sure that Leigh Anne’s perfect but somewhat sterile family becomes a lot cozier. Moreover he actually grows into a promising American football player. It’s kind of a sweet feel-good film, but I love it.
 

Moon
Astronaut Sam Bell, after three years of soloing in the lunar helium extraction, finally sees homeward travel and family reunification approaching. Despite mild delusions, he seems to be crossing the finish line in health. Until he has an accident and wakes up in sickbay. Talking flight computer GERTY appeases the incident, but Sam knows: something is not right here. Ingenious screenplay by Nathan Parker and debutant director Duncan Jones makes for a disturbing, disorienting viewing experience in more ways than one. Sam Rockwell is terrific, and Kevin Spacey souffles GERTY