Posts tonen met het label Brimstone. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label Brimstone. Alle posts tonen

zaterdag 9 januari 2021

Five to Watch - Movies Starring "Game of Thrones" stars

We’ve been living without “Game of Thrones” for more then a year now. Since the last season wasn’t that great, we don’t miss that part. But I do miss looking forward to ne episodes and developments. And we can rewatch the entire series whenever we want. I decided to do something different for this item and I picked five of my favorite films that star actors from “Game of Thrones”. Movies you might not know, are overlooked or underrated, but you should definitely watch someday. Here are my picks:

Brimstone (2016, stars Kit Harrington and Carice van Houten)
Young Liz lives in a small, strictly religious Dutch settlement in the wild west. She can’t talk, because her tongue was cut out. Yet Liz is quite happy. Until a dark vicar visits the village and seems to keep an eye out for her. This is Martin Koolhoven’s first English-language film and it’s an epic, bloody revenge western with a feminist slant. Carice van Houten plays Liz’ mother and Kit Harrington arrives as a gunslinger.
 
The Wind that Shakes the Barley  (2006, stars Liam Cunningham)
Ireland, the 1920s. Damien just graduated as a doctor and wants to go to London to work in a prestigious hospital. But something intervenes: when he witnesses some misdeeds of the British army he joins the IRA, just like his brother Teddy. When the film was released, there was a lot of criticism about the way the British were portrayed, like stupid brutes. This is indeed not very subtle. But “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” is a very beautiful and strong film. 
 
Me Before You (2016, stars Emilia Clarke)
26-year-old Louisa constantly changes jobs, until she is hired to take care of Will, a wealthy young banker whose life has completely changed after and accident. This film touches some heavy themes and deals with it in a sometimes light-fashion, but also feels a bit heavy at times. Definitely keep your tissues near for this one.
 
Cinderella (2015, stars Richard Madden)
In Kenneth Branagh’s live action version of Cinderella, the classic and still very enjoyable Disney fairy tale from 1950, Cinderella is simply called Ella. Furthermore, most of it stayed the same in a film characterized by flamboyant camera work, funny computer animations and enchanting computers. Ella is played by Lily James and Richard Madden plays the prince. “Cinderella” is a surprisingly good film, that looks beautiful.
 
Mama (2013, stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)
This fairytale horror about two sisters and their guardian begins promising with beautiful images and suspense. Directed by Andy Muschietti (“It”), Guillermo del Toro as executive producer and starring Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It’s an exciting and creepy horror film.
 

donderdag 5 oktober 2017

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched For My Challenge (September 2017)

This was a good month, because I saw a bunch of fantastic films. Here are my five favorites.

5. The Hitman’s Bodyguard
A super funny and harsh action comedy. I loved Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, apart and together. They make a great duo. And that scene with the nuns alone is reason enought to see it again.


4. Hidden Figures
A very inspiring story, about three black women making a change while working at Nasa. Based on a true story, rooting for women!!


3. It
Since I hate clowns, this was a big deal for me. The old "It" movie doesn't scare me anymore, but this is one of the scariest films I've seen. And also one of the best horror movies of the past years.


2. Brimstone
I'm a little proud to be Dutch now, because it was made by a Dutch director and has Dutch roots. It took him about 8 years to finish it and it was worth the wait.


1. Sing Street
I loved, loved, loved "Sing Street". The 80s time period, the 80s music, the characters, the story. It's so good. And I didn't even know about this film. One of the best films of 2016.


They Almost Made the Top 5: Life

zondag 1 oktober 2017

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 104: Brimstone

Director: Martin Koolhoven
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Western
Runtime: 148 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Carice van Houten, Kit Harington

Description: From the moment the new reverend (Guy Pearce) climbs the pulpit, Liz (Dakota Fanning) knows she and her family are in great danger.

Review: It took him seven years, but director Martin Koolhoven finally got his passion project “Brimstone” done. And I think all that work was worth it, because “Brimstone” is an impressive film. An American genre film, made by the Dutch.
We meet Liz, who has no tongue and can’t speak. When a new reverend arrives in her town, her peaceful life is history. Koolhoven tells the story between Liz and the reverend in four chapters. And this is fascinating.
Is “Brimstone” a typical western? You will definitely find some elements: dessert landscapes, prostitutes in saloons and gun duels. But they have been put to the background. Koolhoven knows his westerns, but he isn’t here to pay an homage to the genre. He gave it his own twist and focused more on the American religion in that time period. Koolhoven went against the grain, something that we need more of in Hollywood.
Dakota Fanning plays Liz and shakes off her teen image with this role. She is really good. Kit Harington, who is always a joy to watch for so many reasons, is the shady outlaw. I really liked seeing him in this role. Carice van Houten is one of our country’s biggest actresses and her role, although small, is really strong. But it is Guy Pearce that leaves the biggest impression. His portrayal of the reverend is terrifying in a way.
I’m not the biggest fan of Dutch cinema, even though I’m Dutch myself. But “Brimstone” is definitely a movie us Dutch people can be proud of. One of the best films from our country.

Rating: 5/ 5

zondag 15 januari 2017

Movie Trailer Sunday (275)

Here are this week's trailers.

Brimstone
Director: Martin Koolhoven
Description: From the moment the new reverend (Guy Pearce) climbs the pulpit, Liz (Dakota Fanning) knows she and her family are in great danger.
Starring: Guy Pearce, Dakota Fanning, Kit Harrington, Carice van Houten
Trailer: Trailer "Brimstone"
Comment: Dutch director, let's go see this!

I Am Michael
Director: Justin Kelly
Description: A gay activist and magazine founder (James Franco) is saved from his homosexuality after turning to God.
Starring: James Franco, Zachary Quinto, Emma Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Ahna O'Reilly
Trailer: Trailer "I Am Michael"
Comment: It says 2015, but it has yet to come out.

XX
Director: Roxanne Benjamin, Sofia Carillo, Karyn Kusama, St. Vincent, Jovanka Vuckovic
Description: An all female horror anthology.
Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Natalie Brown, Mike Doyle, Sheila Vand, Angela Trumbur, Peyton Kennedy, Kyle Allen
Trailer: Trailer "XX"
Comment: Oeh, creepy stuff.

The History of Love
Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Description: The story of a long-lost book that mysteriously reappears and connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness.
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, Elliott Gould, Sophie Nélisse,
Trailer: Trailer "History of Love"
Comment: Romance galore!

Chips
Director: Dax Shepard
Description: The adventures of two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers (Dax Shepard, Michael Peña) as they make their rounds on the freeways of Los Angeles.
Starring: Dax Shepard, Michael Peña, Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ben Falcone, Richard T. Jones, Adam Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph
Trailer: Trailer "Chips"
Comment: Lots of dick jokes, don't remember that from the show.