100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 111: The Gift

Director: Joel Edgerton
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton, Allison Tolman, Busy Philipps, David Denman

Description: A young married couple's (Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall) lives are thrown into a harrowing tailspin when an acquaintance (Joel Edgerton) from the husband's past brings mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than 20 years.

Review: Simon and Robyn trade cold Chicago for sunny California, to build a new future and maybe even start a family. Simon isn’t the man to sit still and look back to at the past. His new job and their new house should only mean good things for them. Until they run into an old classmate of Simon. This Gordo has always been a bit weird, he leaves gifts for the couple and comes over unannounced. Quickly Gordo’s presence starts to affect Simon and Robyn’s life.
“The Gift” is a stalker film, a home invasion thriller and also a revenge film. A healthy relationship starts to show cracks after a man from the past comes into their lives. The film has an old fashioned thriller feel to it, like for instance “Fatal Attraction” did and it also has the suspenseful atmosphere that we know from Hitchcock movies. It’s clear that Joel Edgerton, who stars and directs, is a great Hitchcock fan.
The movie is never really surprising, up until the end. But there is always a threat, which makes it the thriller that it is. The glass house the couple lives in is used perfectly for this and the camerawork is also great. It all lifts the tension. Edgerton manages to create tension and build it, both physically and between the characters.
The characters are the strongest part of “The Gift”. Simon looks like a trustworthy man, but there is so much more to him. And it’s good to see Jason Bateman in something other than a comedy. Gordo is mysterious, he creates confusion, fear, awkwardness. Robyn looks like a strong, independent woman, but deep inside she is fragile and struggles with the past.
Joel Edgerton isn’t only a chameleon as an actor, but also did a great job as a director. “The Gift” is a true gift.

Rating: 4/ 5

TV Review: "Fargo" Season 1

Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime

Year: 2014

Number of episodes: 10

Starring: Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Keith Carradine, Bob Odenkirk, Oliver Platt, Adam Goldman, Joey King, Gary Valentine, Kate Walsh, Rachel Blanchard, Joshua Close

Description: Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. Yet all of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota

Review: Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) lives together with his wife in Minnesota. He works as an insurance salesman in a little town called Bemidji. Lester never achieved anything big. His brother Lester on the other hand, is married to a beautiful woman, has a son and a good job. And Sam Hess, the guy who used to bully Lester in high school, is also doing well. When Lester’s wife is threatening to leave him, he meets a mysterious man. His name is Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) and he tells Lester to stand up for himself. But what Lester doesn’t know is, that when he follows his advice, his life will change forever. While Lester’s life is drastically changing, deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is working on the case of a possible car accident. In that accident one person has died, but he wasn’t the driver. Molly connects Lester to Lorne and no one takes her seriously.

“Fargo” is based on the movie with the same name, from 1996, which was directed by the Coen brothers. The movie was nominated for seven Oscars and won two of them. The film is one of my favorites. If the TV show could keep the same atmosphere and feel as the film, I was going to love it. The Coen brothers were executive producers on this project. The TV show is amazing!

Billy Bob Thornton is brilliant! His humor is just genius, so dark yet hard not to laugh. His role doesn’t make “Fargo” just a crime drama, he adds comedy as well. And so does Martin Freeman. His character kind of reminds me of William H. Macy’s performance in the movie version. Freeman does such a fantastic job as someone who never did anything noteworthy and now is living in a nest full of lies. Created by himself. And he gets more and more creative with it. I also loved Allison Tolman, who played my favorite character on the show. It’s hard to dislike her, just like Marge Gunderson in “Fargo” the film. Molly is so determined to find the right person, even when no one believes her. And then there is Colin Hanks, who plays Gus. A cop that actually always dreamed of being a mailman. He is not very good at his cop job, but he is so loveable and sweet.

The setting of the show is beautiful, all the snowy landscapes. This also adds to the mystery of the entire show.

Some people complained about the ending of the show. I think it was good, especially Lester’s part of the story.

“Fargo” was even better than I initially expected. I’m ready to watch season 2 as well, even though it has a complete different cast.

Top 5 Thursday: Fargo Season 1 Characters

I just binge watched the first season of the Netflix show “Fargo” and I loved it. The perfect time to make a top 5 dedicated to this show. So, I made a top 5 of my favorite characters from the first season of “Fargo”.

5. Lou Solverson

Lou is Molly’s father and owns a diner. He was once a cop too, just like his daughter. He seems pretty happy with his job now and always looks out for Molly. He is afraid that something might happen to her, because it’s such a dangerous job.

 

 

4. Gus Grimly

Gus is a cop, but it’s not his dream job. He actually always wanted to be a mailman. Gus is somewhat clumsy and not very persuasive as a police officer. He is such a sweet man, perfect for Molly.

 

 

3. Lester Nygaard

Lester looks like you’re average neighbor. But he is nothing more than a liar. And he makes up lie after lie after lie. You have to hand it to him, he is pretty creative with his cover up. But we all know that the truth will be revealed somehow.

 

 

2. Lorne Malvo

Okay, he’s not a nice character. He is a killer, a cold blooded and relentless killer. But he is such an interesting character and he is portrayed perfectly by Billy Bob Thornton.

 

 

1. Molly Solverson

Don’t send a woman to do a man’s job? Well, this female deputy is the only one doing her job well. The murder case is keeping her awake at night and she doesn’t rest until the right man is behind bars.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Bill Oswalt

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 166: Krampus

Director: Michael Dougherty

Genre: Horror/ Comedy

Runtime: 98 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell

Description: A boy who has a bad Christmas ends up accidentally summoning a Christmas demon to his family home.

Review: ‘Tis the season. Getting ready for the holidays, spending time with your family, Christmas gifts. But in this film Santa isn’t coming to town. There is a myth that tells us about a creature named Krampus. He comes to punish you. Krampus is a beast with big horns and hooves. He’s not alone, because he has some little helpers. And they are no cute elves.

The film starts with the theme solidarity, or actually the lack of it. Aggressive shoppers, unthankful children and an anti-social family. There is a big contrast between the family whose house we’re visiting, and the family that is coming over for Christmas. One is very sympathetic, the other really unlikeable.

The film introduces us to the characters and then Krampus arrives and all hell breaks loose. The visual effects are very good. Only impossible shots are made with the help of a computer. There aren’t a lot of digital touches.

Director Michael Dougherty made the small Halloween film “Trick ‘r Treat”, a horror comedy. “Krampus” is in that same genre. The film has a strong fundament, is original and sometimes a bit gory. It doesn’t shy away from controversy, because even kids aren’t safe in this horror film. The movie is never scary though. I can best describe the film as “Christmas Vacation” meets “Gremlins”.

The movie is called “Krampus”, but Krampus himself isn’t in the film that much. His helpers are more present and cause more damage than Krampus. There is also one point in the movie where I thought the movie ended. That was actually the perfect ending. Sadly that’s not the issue here, because there were two more scenes. One of them was not necessary.

Overall “Krampus” was a fun horror comedy that I highly enjoyed. Maybe this will be the go to movie for the next Christmases.

Rating: 3,5/ 5