10s Movie Review - While We're Young

Director: Noah Baumbach
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Grodin

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 23: A FILM WITH AMANDA SEYFRIED
 
Description: A middle-aged couple’s (Naomi Watts, Ben Stiller) career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple (Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried) enters their lives.

Review: Growing older is not easy, especially in a society as youth-oriented as ours. Becoming an adult is even more difficult these days, and increasingly less the same as growing older. What does it mean to be an adult, if it is no longer strictly tied to age? How do you become an adult and stay young at the same time? These questions are the basis of “While We’re Young”, by director Noah Baumbach.

Josh and Cornelia are a couple in their forties who are torn between what is expected of them at their age and their longing for their younger selves. The lives of their best friends revolve solely around children and parenthood, but the couple is not (yet) interested in that. Josh is a documentary filmmaker who has been working on his second film for ten years, without success. In doing so, he is actually postponing further development in his life, always citing the completion of his film as a reason for not doing anything else.

Then they meet Jamie and Darby, two incredibly hip twenty-somethings. They come acress as so original and spontaneous to Josh that he tries to become young again through his interactions with them and drags Cornelia along with him. This results in some funny scenes, where for example Cornelia is learning to dance to hip-hop after fleeing her best friend’s baby music class.

Baumbach skillfully interweaves artistic doubts with uncertainty about growing older and/ or becoming an adult, and the question of how to deal with this (and how not to). Baumbach has his own unique style, I always love his tragicomedies. And I feel like this is a movie that is overlooked by many.

Rating: 4 / 5

10s Movie Review - Frances Ha

Director: Noah Baumbach
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: great Gerwig, Micky Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen, Grace Gummer, Michael Esper

Description: A New York woman (Greta Gerwig) apprentices for a dance company and thros herself headling into her dreams, even s the possibility of realizing them dwindles.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 16: A FILM FROM 2012
 
Review: The strength of Noah Baumbach’s film have always been the characters: they are pure and human, without grand gestures. He shows that you don’t have to go all out to make a compelling drama. With “Frances Ha”, he aptly zooms in on small developments in an average life.

The film revolves around Frances, a young woman who needs stability, but has yet to find it herself. When her boyfriend suggests they move in together, she refuses. After all, she has agreed to stay with her best friend so she can enjoy being an eternal student. But the relationship ends and not much later her friend turns out to have other plans. So the she is, adrift on her own. Yes, she can dance, but not well enough to really get ahead. While people around her begin to settle down, Frances has no idea where to go.

Frances has many traits that make her likeable. She is kind, free-spirited and open-minded. But her more annoying traits make her the protagonist of realy felsh-and-blood with understandable shortcomings. And that this film works so well is because of Greta Gerwig. She has something tough and cheerful, but at the same time you see that she is constantly trying to give herself a certain attitude. A cleverly convincing fake self-assurance.

With a runtime under 90 minutes, a rippling pace and simple black-and-white photography, Baumbach keeps it small and simple. “Frances Ha” is an intimate portrait of a mid-twentysomething trying to get her life on track. Loved it.

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Report

Director: Scott Z. Burns
Genre: Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, John Hamm, Ted Levine, Tim Blake Nelson, Maura Tierney, Corey Stoll, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Morrison

Description: Idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver), tasked by his boss to lead an investigation into the CIA’s post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program, uncovers shocking secrets.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 20: A FILM WITH A STRON POLITICAL OR SOCIAL MESSAGE
 
Review: In the years following the 9/ 11 attacks, it slowly but surely became clear that the US had little to fear in the war on terrorism. The CIA engaged in gross torture techniques on a large scale in order to extract information from often innocent suspects. “The Report” shows how one drive investigator brought the world’s most advanced intelligence agency to its knees.

Dan Jones is a young man with sky-high ambitions. When Senator Dianne Feinstein gives him the task of working with an independent team to investigate the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation techniques, he bites the bullet. What he discovers bit by bit is unsettling and not for the faint of heart. The CIA saw little in the conventional interrogation techniques of Arabic-speaking agents who slowly tried to gain the trust of suspects. Two psychologists introduce new techniques, that they claim are scientific proof of more effective interrogating methods.

This is just the beginning. Whereas the CIA was initially cooperative, as Jones discovers more, of course, more and more doors are closing. Meanwhile, the investigative team he started with is thinning out. His colleagues no longer see any point in a mission doomed to failure. But Jones continues stoically.  

Adam Driver has already shown that he can play a wide range of roles. But he was made for this film. I think the film could have turned out a lot different with another lead actor. “The Report” may feel a bit ‘dry’ sometimes. It’s a lot of facts. Driver manages to create a character that you really want to succeed, even though he doesn’t show a lot of emotions. At least at first. Jones is a very stoic, pragmatic man, but when he gets deeper in the investigation, emotions do arise and that makes Driver’s performance even more impressive.

Unlike many American political films, for once it does not point exclusively at the Republicans. “The Report” is a very anti-America film if I may say so. But it’s still a political drama of integrity in the tradition of films like “All the President’s Men” and “Spotlight”.

The political drama is a sub-genre that might not speak to everyone. I happen to be drawn to it. Political intrigue keeps my attention and with “The Report” I was invested from start to finish. I can’t believe nobody talked about this film when it came out. At least, I didn’t hear a lot about it.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Movie Review - The Last Duel

Director: Ridley Scott
Genre: Drama/ Action
Runtime: 153 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck, Marton Csokas

I WATCHED THIS FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 50: A MOVIE SET IN A EUROPEAN COUNTRY
 
Description: King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) settle his dispute with his squire (Adam Driver) by challenging him to a duel.

Review: Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris are two friendly squires who go to war together for the king of France in the fourteenth century. De Carrouges is a somewhat gruff, antipathetic fellow who is at odds with everyone, while Le Gris is a charming man who gradually works his way up to become the confidant of the local count Piere d’Aleçon. And then Marguerite, the Carrouges’ beautiful wife, accuses Le Gris of rape.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon join forces again and wrote this script. Ridley Scott directs and the cast is completed with Adam Driver and Jodie Comer. The script is ingeniously put together. The film consists of three chapters, each of which sheds a different light on the case. The chapters show the whole case each time through the eyes of one of the protagonists: the Carrouges, Le Gris and Marguerite. Small details show us how the characters view the case, but in the end the truth comes out.
Ridley Scott is a master at creating atmosphere. As a result, the Middle Ages thought his eyes look almost as beautiful as they are brutal. The battles, the everyday worries, everything is cleverly rendered with a great eye for detail. And to top is all off, we get a brilliantly portrayed duel between the two formal friends.
Matt Damon is perfectly cast as the gruff Carrouges, while Driver seems the ideal Le gris. They are ably supported by a ravishing Jodie Comer, who I think is the true star of the film. Ben Affleck, not always strong as an actor, is the only downside when it comes to the performers. He comes off a bit cartoonish at times.
The contemporary theme is subtly addressed with, at the end, even the question of whether the punishment exceeds the crime and a stunning image of the peasant women who seem to silently encourage Marguerite. In short, a powerful epic with heroic battles and a particularly beautiful moral that manages to justify its long runtime.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Marriage Story

Director: Noah Baumbach
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Merritt Weaver, Julia Hagerty, Wallace Shawn

Description: Noah Baumbach’s incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.

Review: “Marriage Story” follows the story of two young parents in a divorce. Their flame is as good as out. She wants this and he wants that. And with a child between them, their divorce is not the same as simply ‘not being in love anymore’. It’s all a bit more complex.
For director Noah Baumbach this is familiar territory. Some time ago, the filmmaker himself, was separated from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. Although we should never automatically blame the filmmaker for these fictitious events, “Marriage Story” seems to be an obvious look over Baumbach’s shoulder. In “Marriage Story” he flirts very sympathetically with his own story: that of a director and an actress who are in a divorce.
At the beginning of the film, both are instructed by a mediator to write down the good things about each other. He about her and she about him. About their peculiarities, parenting and other qualities. But to read the story aloud for her almost-ex (something like ‘the opposite of a fiancée) goes a little too far for Nicole. She leaves the session stamping het feet and yells at Charlie and the mediator, because they ‘get along so well’.
This comical and dramatic opening scene sets the tone of what is to com: bizarre (but realistic), sentimental (but cheerful) and intense (but also warm-hearted) scenes from a broken marriage. Slowly but surely their relationship becomes one of subpoenas, lawyers and guardianship issues, not knowing that they are pushing each other so closely into a corner.
Like other Baumbach films, “Marriage Story” is also full of lightness and healthy irony. More than enough in fact: Woody Allen is emphatically echoing in this wonderful work, including razor-sharp dialogues and long, uninterrupted scenes. Johansson and Driver form a perfect couple. Even though, ironically enough, they are in a divorce.
Because “Marriage Story” is undeniably supported by their acting skills and those of the rest of the cast (especially the two spirited divorce lawyers, played by Laura Dern and Ray Liotta). The happiness and misfortune that Charlie and Nicole experience at a wild pace, feels very natural and is beautifully captured by clever direction. The fact that Charlie enters the stage of melancholy mood and picks up the microphone to sing “Being Alive” by Stephen Sondheim, fits in perfectly with the film. This scene, and the ‘big fight’ between Charlie and Nicole, where the best moments of the film.
And even if it’s about a divorce: according to Baumbach, it’s worth looking at the wedding story just then. Do that too.
“Marriage Story” is one of the best films of 2019m I just can’t fault it.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - The Dead Don't Die

Director: Jim Jarmusch
Genre: Comedy/ Horror
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, RZA, Rosie Perez, Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Iggy Pop

Description: The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves.

Review: With "The Dead Don't Die", director Jim Jarmusch adds a dry-comic zombie film to his oeuvre. The film was declared dead in Cannes, but that doesn't spoil the fun.
Agents Cliff and Ronnie make their daily rounds through the sleepy town of Centreville ('A Nice Town', as can be read on the place name sign) when something strange strikes them. It just doesn't get dark. And then there are all kinds of reports of missing pets. Could it have something to do with the 'solar fracking' that is being reported about, a peculiar phenomenon that causes the poles to shift? Be that as it may, it doesn't take long before the dead start to get up. What makes these zombies different is that they fall into old habits. One has an uncontrollable urge to drink, the other is diligently looking for a wifi signal.
The film takes place in the fictional town Centerville USA, where Sheriff Cliff Robertson, deputy Ronnie Peterson and officer Mindy Morrison form the police force that has to protect the villagers from zombies. The dry-humorous Bill Murray and the cool Adam Driver make no attempt at convincing the villagers as policemen. On the contrary: the central joke in “The Dead Don't Die” lies in the idea that the actors were asked by director Jim Jarmusch to play in a zombie film. Murray and Driver literally mention this aspect and these characters are aware they are in a movie. And two actresses emphasize it with the names of their characters: Rosie Perez is called Posie Juarez in the film and Tilda Swinton plays undertaker Zelda Winston.
Their laconic struggle against the corpses is thus comical enough for less than an hour, but when the joke is worked out and Jarmusch and the actors repeat themselves, the thoughts go out to all the zombie comedies that did shake from start to finish. There are too many of them to mention. Maybe that's Jarmusch's biggest problem: he tells a joke that was long dead and buried. And he kept coming back.
The horror comedy is one of my favorite genres, but “The Dead Don’t Die” didn’t give me what I wanted. It has a few funny moments and a fantastic cast, but this movie was super disappointing.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - BlacKkKlansman

Director: Spike Lee
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Alec Baldwin, Laura Harrier, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Robert John Burke, Brian Tarantina, Arthur J. Nascarella, Ken Garito, Frederick Weller, Michael Buscemi, Damaris Lewis, Ato Blankson-Wood, Corey Hawkins, Dared Wright, Faron Salisbury, Ryan Eggold, Jasper Pääkkönen

Description: Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate (Adam Driver) who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.

Review: Director Spike Lee starts with a raging Alec Baldwin, trying to film a promo video for the Ku Klux Klan. We also see clips from “Gone with the Wind”, a classic with a doubting reputation because it romanticized the slave period. The opening scene is funny, but also has a worrying undertone. And that’s also the tone for “BlacKkKlansman”. Lee tells the bizarre yet true story about racism in the 70s, which shows the painful and entertaining political and social situation and brings it back to modern day America.
“BlacKkKlansman” is a typical Spike Lee movie: angry, funny, colorful, painful and topical. It’s funny to see Alec Baldwin being cast as a KKK member, he is known for his Trump imitation. And lines like ‘America First’, ‘take back our country’ and ‘to achieve its greatness again’ are used very often in this film.
This starting point is perfect for a director like Spike Lee. At the end of the 70s, tha black cop Ron Stallworth manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch in Colorado Springs. he pretented to support the KKK and was in close contact over the phone with the klan, even with the ‘Imperial Wizard’ David Duke himself. When he has to meet th members, he sends his white, Jewish colleague Flip Zimmerman.
The movie is based on Stallworth’s book, that he wrote many years after the fact because of secrecy.
The most impressive scene is also the one with the least nuance. Lee jumps masterfully between two meetings that happen at the same time: a ceremony where members of the KKK are cheering during the showing of the classic film “Birth of a Nation” and a meeting of a black student group where an elderly man tells about how his childhood friend was killed by the KKK.
“BlacKkKlansman” is a fantastic film, with a parallel between the past and present. It’s powerful and very wonderfully done, how Lee manages to wrap the heavy message into an entertaining cover. John David Washington is really the man to watch and Adam Driver is amazing as Flip Zimmerman.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 131: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Director: Rian Johnson
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 152 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Gwendoline Christie, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, Lupita Nyong’o, Warwick Davis, Peter Mayhew, Kelly Marie Tran

Description: Rey (Daisy Ridley) develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.

Review: As a fan of the Star Wars franchise, I am relieved. It’s a good one! “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was already a great start of a new Star Wars series and I was extremely excited for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. Director Rian Johnson took over from J.J. Abramds and manages to impress with a good mix of action, character moments, humor and drama.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” showed that the franchise still had the magic, we saw old heroes and new ones stole our hearts. Rian Johnson had a difficult task. He clearly respects and loves the Star Wars universe, but is also not scared to make it his own, especially with the humor he adds to it. The meeting between Rey and Luke Skywalker is great, but really nothing like you’d expect.
The film doesn’t focus on the training that Rey is undergoing, but more the inner struggle and insecurities of Rey. Daisy Ridley really does a great job. She is looking for her identity and in this she has a connection with Kylo Ren, who is also dealing with some struggles. How much are they alike and which character trade will eventually dominate?
I loved the fact that Poe Damercon, played by Oscar Isaac, had a bigger role in this film. He’s a character a liked from the start, also thanks to his sidekick BB-8, but his character was a little underused in the previous film. We got to know him better and he had a more important role too.
The return of Mark Hamill to the franchise probably made every nerd heart beat a little faster. And I have to say he was the best Luke Skywalker ever. I loved him in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. Also in combination with Daisy Ridley.
The addition of the Porgs was exactly right. I expected them to be as annoying as Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”, but they were in it just enough to make them loveable and not annoying.
The storyline of Finn and Rose is probably my only negative of the film. It took the pace out of the film a little bit and wasn’t as interesting. And off course the last performance of Carrie Fisher. It’s a bit heart breaking, but I loved seeing her one last time as Leia.
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was really good. I enjoyed it very much and wasn’t disappointed one bit. It’s not better than “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, but certainly an excellent sequel. I would say they are equal.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 66: Midnight Special

Director: Jeff Nichols
Genre: Science Fiction/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Leberher, Sam Shepard, Adam Driver, Bill Camp

Description: A father and son (Michael Shannon, Jaeden Leberher) go on the run, pursued by the government and a cult drawn to the child's special powers.

Review: Director Jeff Nichols has proven to be very promising. Look at “Mud” and “Take Shelter”. “Midnight Special” is very different from his previous films. It’s really hard to put “Midnight Special” in one genre. It’s a paranormal, science fiction, thriller, drama.
The movie follows the eight year old Alton. Alton is a member of a religious cult and raised by its leader. The boy has a special power, but isn’t benefiting from this ‘gift’. Alton also receives messages that tell him he should go to a swamp in Texas. His father Roy and Roy’s friend Lucas believe him and take Alton to that place. But the FBI is right behind them. What happens next is a cat and mouse game between the three, the cult and the FBI.
The story is not as clear, neither is the direction Nichols is heading. But there is still enough to enjoy. The cinematography is great. And so is the cast. Michael Shannon is very strong in his role as determined father.
The movie is captivating from beginning till end, but you can see the film is a bit adrift. You never really know what is going on exactly.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 31: This is Where I Leave You

Director: Shawn Levy

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 103 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Corey Stoll, Dax Shepard, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Rose Byrne, Katherine Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Debra Monk

Description: When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.

Review: In “This is Where I Leave You” we follow a family that comes together after the father of the family died. There are a lot of unsolved issues, frictions and relationship problems and this doesn’t make the mourning process any easier.

After Judd finds his wife in bed with his boss, he gets a call from his sister Wendy, that their father passed away. His father wants to be buried within the Jewish tradition and this means they have a ‘sitting Shiva’. Here people will visit them for an entire week, to give them their condolences. Which also means that the family has to be together the entire time.

The family is a party of five: Judd, sister Wendy, oldest brother Paul, youngest brother Philip and mother Hilary. Judd is trying to deal with his upcoming divorce and he also bumps into a woman he used to like. Wendy is married with two children, but her husband is a work-aholic and she is secretly still in love with her first love Horry, who she was in an accident with. Paul and his wife Annie are desperately trying to have a child, but nothing has worked so far. Philip, who just brought home his new girlfriend Tracey who is much older, never really grew up. Mother Hilary has to deal with all her children, while also saying her final goodbyes to her husband.

The movie is a mix of drama and comedy, but the focus is more on the drama. Although that’s very light. There are subtle jokes and especially the dysfunctionality of the family is funny. All the characters are really interesting to get to know.

The cast is really good. Jason Bateman plays a role he has played before, but he is likeable and proofs he can carry a movie. Tina Fey is also strong in a more serious role then we are used to from her. Adam Driver is solid and Jane Fonda is delightful as the mother, who sometimes overshares information that as a kid you wouldn’t be very happy with.

“This is Where I Leave You” is an excellent film about a family with problems. Dysfunctional families somehow always interest me, it reminds me of how great mine is.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 69: What If

Director: Michael Dowse

Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Romance

Runtime: 102 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver, Megan Parks, Mackenzie Davis, Rafe Spall, Lucius Hoyos, Jemima Rooper, Tommie-Amber Pirie, Meghan Heffern, Jonathan Cherry, Rebecca Northan, Jordan Hayes, Oona Chaplin, Adam Fergus

Description: Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe), who is burned out from a string of failed relationships, forms an instant bond with Chantry (Zoe Kazan), who lives with her longtime boyfriend (Rafe Spall). Together, they puzzle out what it means if your best friend is also the love of your life.

Review: Not very original, but very enjoyable is this romantic comedy “What If”, with Zoe Kazan and Daniel Radcliffe, who manages to make us forget about Harry Potter.

Radcliffe plays Wallace. This young twenty something lives in his sisters attic, he has a crappy job as the writer of manuals and has been single for quite some time. Because Wallace and his ex where both in school to become doctors, Wallace dropped out. Since then he hardly has a social life. His friend Alan invites him over for a party and that’s where Wallace meets Alan’s cousin Chantry. The two have an instant connection, but later that night he finds out she has a boyfriend. They decide to be just friends. When Chantry’s boyfriend has to go to Ireland for work, Wallace and Chantry’s friendship develops.

“What If” is a charming comedy, that is fun because of the natural charisma of the two leads. Radcliffe and Kazan have perfect chemistry. The question, if men and women can have a platonic relationship, has been asked many times before. Director Michael Dowse and script writer Elan Mastai gave it a fresh twist.

Another plus is the dialogue. Sometimes strange and cynical, but so pleasant to listen too. The story is sometimes over the top, like the first meeting between Wallace and Chantry’s boyfriend Ben or the moment where one wants to follow the other overseas.

“What If” is still a joy to watch, even with some clichés and unoriginality. Lovely leads and sharp dialogue are the two things that make this movie worth your time.

Rating: 3,5/ 5