100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 47: Pixels

Director: Chris Columbus
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Science Fictions
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Jane Krakowski, Dan Aykroyd, Ashley Benson

Description: When aliens misinterpret video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, they attack the Earth in the form of the video games.

Review: The promising future that Will Cooper predicted for his video game champion friend Sam Brenner didn’t really come true. The roles are actually reversed when they grow up. Sam has to wear an emberrasing orange outfit and installs audio and video equipement, while Will is the president of the United States (played by Kevin James, are you following me?). Being the president isn’t completely going smoothly either and you wonder how he ever got to be president. Their friendship started when they were still playing arcadegames like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Galaga. One day this love for video games comes in handy, when aliens attack earth with classic arcade games.
The first part of the film isn’t all that interesting. An introduction to the characters, that you never really care about. The fact that nerds are actually supercool isn’t that believable here, like for instance in “The Big Bang Theory”.
The second act of “Pixels” is a lot more entertaining. This is where all the videogames come to life and a group of videogame nerds fight them. The idea behind “Pixels” is as bizarre as it is interesting. That makes it extra sad that this film isn’t that great. “Pixels” is only fun the second half

Rating: 2/ 5

TV Review: "Pretty Little Liars" Season 2

Genre: Drama/ Mystery/ Thriller

Year: 2011

Number of episodes: 24

Starring: Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell, Ian Harding, Holly Marie Combs, Chad Lowe, Laura Leighton, Sasha Pieterse, Janel Parrish, Keegan Allen, Torrey DeVitto, Tyler Blackburn, Tammin Sursok, Bryce Johnson , Drew van Acker, Yani Gellman

Description: Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, while unraveling the mystery of the murder of their best friend.

Review: The second season of ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars" is even more exciting, complex and especially entertaining. Even more then the first season. One of the two big mysteries, Alison's murder and stalker 'A', is solved in this season.

The four friends Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily are still stalked by the mysterious 'A', who is Always one step ahead of them. Spencer was spared, byt her brother-in-law Ian wasn't. Ian disappeared and nobody believed Spencer and what she saw really happened to Ian. The four girls are seperated and send to a therapist. But their search for 'A' continues and the girls keep ending up in dangerous situations and they don't know who to trust.

It's really easy to call a show about pretty teenage girls a simple teen drama. Especially because most of time it's exactly that. Aria's relationship with teacher Ezra continues, Hanna is in war with her new stepsister Kate and deals with a on and off relationship with Caleb. But the show is surprising enough and has great twists. The final episode has several references to the Hitchcock movie "Psycho" and it's a very exciting episode. And there is also a special Halloween episode. It's an intriguing whodunit and the storylines are constantly trying to mislead you.

There are shows that drag their storylines endlessly, but "Pretty Little Liars" has a good pace. Season 2 gives us some answers, but also gives us a lot more new questions. The mystery continues. A good mix of mystery, thriller and teen drama.

TV Review: "Pretty Little Liars" Season 1

Genre: Drama/ Mystery/ Thriller

Year: 2010

Number of episodes: 22

Starring: Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell, Ian Harding, Holly Marie Combs, Chad Lowe, Laura Leighton, Sasha Pieterse, Janel Parrish, Keegan Allen, Torrey DeVitto, Tyler Blackburn, Tammin Sursok, Bryce Johnson

Description: Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, while unraveling the mystery of the murder of their best friend.

Review: I’m a pretty good girl, but everyone likes a little gossip and intrigue now and then. And the people who deny this are liars. Well, “Pretty Little Liars” is the perfect show for teen drama, mystery and lies.

Four friends, who are very different from each other, also have many things in common. One of those things is where this show starts with. The disappearance of their friend Alison. A fun thing about a mysterious show like “Pretty Little Liars” is that I constantly want to reveal the mysteries. But I also don’t, because then it all ends. The show does this well, lots of twists, some predictable some surprising. You really want to find out what happened to Alison.

The story revolves around five friends. Alison DiLaurentis is the one that goes missing in the first episode. A year later, the other four girls are brought together again. Hanna Marin is the friend that wants to be like Alison. When she met Alison, she was a little overweight and very insecure. Because of Alison, Hanna became more self-assured and she also acts more like Alison. Spencer Hastings is the most serious one of the group. She is good with computers, is serious about school and is very intelligent. Spencer’s parents have high expectations of her. Aria Montgomery is keeping a secret for her father, who she caught cheating on her mom. But she also has a secret of her own, when she starts dating her English teacher. Emily Fields (my favorite character this first season) is the caring one in the group, she is a good swimmer and she is also struggling with her sexuality when she meets a new neighbor.

Alison is the pretty girl, that everyone adored. She likes a challenge, but do her friends really know Alison all that well? When the four girls reunite, they start receiving messages from someone called A. Together they try to find out who A is and they also stumble upon many secrets and lies.

The fact that we don’t know who A is and the story keeps revealing new surprising information, makes “Pretty Little Liars” a joy to watch. It’s an exciting show, filled with lies, intrigue and mystery. I can’t wait to start season 2.

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 50: Spring Breakers

Director: Harmony Korine
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine

Description: Four college girls hold up a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation. While partying/drinking/taking drugs they are arrested only to be bailed out by a drug and arms dealer (James Franco).

Review: American teenagers look forward to Spring Break the entire year. A week full of alcohol and partying. Friends Faith, Candy, Brit and Cotty want to go as well. They don’t have enough money, so they rob a restaurant to get money for their trip. When they meet a guy named Alien, the week of innocent partying changes to a week of sins.
A movie that is titled “Spring Breakers” sounds like a fun teen flick. If you wanted that, this is not your movie. It has a dark atmosphere, it’s a bit vague. The further the girls a pulled into Alien’s world, the weirder the ambiance gets.
The film has flashbacks and flashforwards and you find out that the characters aren’t your typical students, but girls with deep and crazy thoughts. Off all the characters, Faith is the only one you can sympathize with. She eventually sees that what they are doing is wrong. I don’t really care for any of the other characters, you just want to slap them in the face and wake them up. James Franco, with his weirdest look ever, is sublime in his role as Alien. He is genuinely a creepy and intriguing man.
“Spring Breakers” is artistic, with great cinematography. It’s an unexpected and original film, which will leave the audience amazed.

Rating: 3,5/ 5