Netflix Friday - Volume 70

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

Action: Taken (2008)
A retired CIA agent (Liam Neeson) travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter (Maggie Grace), who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
 

Drama: Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
In 1985, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.
 

Comedy: Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
Born on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth (Graham Chapman) spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
 

Animation: The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
The quiet life of a terrier named Max (Louis C.K.) is upended when his owner takes in Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a stray whom Max instantly dislikes.
 

Romance: Blinded By the Light (2019)
In England in 1987, a teenager from an Asian family learns to live his life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen.
 

Horror: Case 39 (2009)
A social worker (Renee Zellweger) finds to save a girl from her abusive parents, only to discover that the situation is more dangerous than she ever expected.
 

Science Fiction: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
After Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is bitten by a genetically altered spider, he gains newfound, spider-like powers and ventures out to save the city from the machinations of a mysterious reptilian foe.
 

Crime: Focus (2015)
In the midst of veteran con man Nicky’s (Will Smith) latest scheme, a woman from his past (Margot Robbie) shows up and throws his plans for a loop.
 

Thriller: The Debt (2010)
In 1965, Three Mossad Agents (Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Martin Csokas) cross into East Berlin to apprehend a notorious Nazi war criminal. Thirty years later, the secrets the Agents (Helen Mirren, Ciarán Hinds, Tom Wilkinson) share come back to haunt them.
 

Documentary: Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes (2021)
Serial killer Dennis Nilsen narrates his life and horrific crimes via a series of chilling audiotapes recorded from his jail cell.
 

Family: Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007)
Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two reunite. On the way he discovers France, bicycling and true love. 

Netflix Friday - Volume 52

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

Action: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
In 1938, after his father Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Professor Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford) finds himself up against Adolf Hitler’s Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
 

Drama: Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people, and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
 

Comedy: Just Go with It (2011)
On a weekend trip to Hawaii, a plastic surgeon (Adam Sandler) convinces his loyal assistant (Jennifer Aniston) to pose as his soon-to-be-divorced wife in order to cover up a careless lie he told to his much-younger girlfriend (Brooklyn Decker).
 

Animation: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
When Hiccup (Jay Baruchel_ and his dragon Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.
 

Romance: Blinded by the Light (2019)
In England in 1987, a teenager (Viveik Kalra) from an Asian family learns to live his life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen.
 

Horror: The Witch (2015)
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic, and possession.
 

Science Fiction: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
The crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.
 

Crime: American History X (1998)
A former neo-nazi skinhead (Edward Norton) tries to prevent his younger brother (Edward Furlong) from going down the same wrong path that he did.
 

Thriller: Hush (2016)
A deaf and mute writer (Kate Siegel) who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.
 

Documentary: The Sons of Sam (2021)
The Son of Sam case grew into a lifelong obsession for journalist Maura Terry, who became convinced that the murders were linked to a satanic cult.
 

Family: Love and Monsters (2020)
Seven years after he survived the monster apocalypse, lovably hapless Joel (Dylan O’Brien) leaves his cozy underground bunker behind on a quest to reunite with his ex.

10s Movie Review - Blinded by the Light

Director: Gurinder Chadha
Genre: Music/ Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Viveik Kalra, Dean-Charles Chapman, Kit Reeve, David Hayman, Kulvinder Ghir, Nikita Mehta, Rob Brydon, Meera Ganatra, Hayley Atwell, Aaron Phagura

Description: In England in 1987, teenager Javed (Viveik Kalra) from an Asian family learns to live his life, understands his family and finds his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen.

Review: Don’t let resistance, adversity and misfortune in life stop you. Don’t give up your dreams and hope, even if they seem so far away. we all have the right to our own lives and feelings. There are just some of the messages Bruce Springsteen has put into his music over the years. It has earned him many dedicated fans worldwide. For the British-Pakistani Sarfraz Manzoor, Bruce became a lifelong inspiration and obsession. “Blinded by the Light” is based on his life, written by him and an ode to both Bruce Springsteen and how we can be connected anywhere in the world through empathy.
Safraz Manzoor, in the flm called Javed, moves to England when he is two-years old. He grows up in Luton, a town in South-East England. He doesn’t have a happy childhood and doesn’t British or Pakistani. Javed doesn’t have any connection with his birth country, but also with the countru he currently lives in. He wants to, but on the one hand there is his strict father, with whom he has a bad relationship and of whom he doesn’t like much. On the other hand there is the racism of white Britons, who call him ‘paki’, piss through the mailbox and once put a pig head on the local mosque.
But then Javed discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen, thanks to a friend. Not a Pakistani Muslim, but a Sikh of Indian descent who had the same identity struggle in the eighties. Bruce Springsteen’s music and especially his lyrics appeal to them so much that they almost feel that he wrote the songs for them. because even though Springsteen is a lot older and comes from America, he writes about universal feelings and themes from his own perspective, in such a way that Javed recognizes himself in it that he becomes an obsessed fan for life. Against the will of his family, Javed want to be a writer and journalist.
Besides a look at the cultural identity of second-generation immigrants and racism in England, “Blinded by the Light” is also mainly an ode to Springsteen and the strong points of his music and poetry. There are as relevant today as they were to Javed in the eighties, while the images of demonstration by the right-wing extremists are strongly reminiscent of similar (neo-) fascist movements today.
Nevertheless, “Blinded by the Light” is a cheerful, even sentimental feel-good film about finding an identity and daring to follow your dreams. Precisely the clichéd feel-good moments at the end of the film, and some of the early quarrels with his father, are fascinating and moving. With “Blinded by the Light” the real-life Javed gives the same hope and joy of life that Bruce Springsteen’s music once gave him.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Movies to Look Forward to - August 2019

Summertime is definitely here and going to the movies is for me the perfect way to cool down. Here are some of the movies in August to look forward to.

August 1st – Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw
Director: David Leitch
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Helen Mirren, Eddie Marsan, Cliff Curtis
Description: Lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and outcast Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity.

August 8th – Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Director: André Øvredal
Starring: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rish, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Larraine Toussaint, Austin Zajur, Natalie Ganzhorn, Austin Abrams, Kathleen Pollard
Description: A group of teens face their fears in order to save their lives.

August 15th – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Tmothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Luke Perry, Al Pacino, Damian Lewis, Kurt Russel, Emile Hirsch
Description: A faded television actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.

August 22nd – Blinded by the Light
Director: Gurinda Chadha
Starring: Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Chir, Meera Ganatra, Aaron Phagura, Dean-Charles Chapman, Nikita Mehta, Nell Williams, Tara Divina, Rob Brydon, Hayley Atwell, Frankie Fox, Sally Phillips
Description: In 1987 during the austere days of Thatcher’s Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family and finds his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.

August 22nd – Good Boys
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Molly Gordon, Retta, Will Forte, Midori Francis, Lil Rel Howry, Millie Davis, Vanessa Przada, Brady Noon, Keith L. Williams, Enid-Raye Adams, Josh Caras, Chance Hurstfield, Lina Renna, Benita ha
Description: Three sixth grade boys ditch school and embark on an epic journey while carrying accidentally stolen drugs, being hunted by teenage girls, and trying to make their way home in time for a long-awaited party.