90s Movie Review - Double Jeopardy

Director: Bruce Beresford
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood, Annabeth Gish, Bruce Campbell

Description: Libby (Ashley Judd) is framed for her husband’s murder, but suspects he (Bruce Greenwood) is still alive. As she has already been tried for the crime, she can’t be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.

Review: Libby Parsons is crazy about sailing and gets a sailboat from her husband Nick, which they go out on together. One day on the boat, Libby wakes up in the middle of the night covered in blood and Nick is nowhere to be found. Libby is accused of murdering her husband and she is sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Before she is locked up in jail, she asks her best friend Angela to adopt her young son Matty. Angela agrees and she promises to visit Libby regularly. However, Angela only shows up once and Libby never hears from her again. From prison, Libby finds out that Angela has moved to San Francisco and she manages to reach her on the phone. Libby also manages to talk to Matty and during that conversation she finds out that Nick is still alive. She can’t do anything because of being locked up. Her friends in prison encourage her and she learns that once she is released, she can kill her husband without mercy because she cannot be convicted of the same crime a second time. It's called a double jeopardy.
After six years, Libby is released and must behave impeccably for the next three years, without breaking her parole, or else she can be sent back to prison. She reports to her probation officer Travis Lehman, who warns her once again to behave properly. But Libby has just one goal in mind: to find her son at all costs.
“Double Jeopardy” has many similarities to such films as “The Fugitive” and “US Marshalls” in which Tommy Lee Jones likewise takes up the pursuit of a criminal who later turns out to be innocent. Although Jones’ role is not as weighty as in the aforementioned films, he plays the role of Travis convincingly. The same can be said by Ashley Judd. I have always liked her as an actress.
“Double Jeopardy” is an all-round enjoyable crime thriller. The fact is that the story itself is not new. The film is very similar to other films in the genre. But despite this fact, the film remains captivating from beginning to end, partly due to good acting. I enjoyed it.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Genre: Animation/ Family
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Mr. T, Bruce Campbell, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, Lauren Graham, Will Forte, Andy Samberg

Description: Local scientist Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) is often regarded ad a failure until he invents a machine that can make food fall from the sky. But little does he know, that things are about to take a turn for the worst.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 16: A MOVIE BASED ON A CHILDREN’S BOOK

Review: “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is the debut film of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Flint Lockwood still lives with his father in a town that is known for sardines. In his room, he works on his inventions and every single one of them has turned into a disaster. Until he creates a machine that turns water into food and it actually works. By accident, the machine gets up in the air and all of a sudden it starts raining food.
The set-up is pretty standard. Flint has a struggling relationship with his father, he meets journalist Sam Sparks that also likes ‘nerdy stuff’ and both relationships and Flint’s journey to success are going to develop towards the end. In between there is enough to enjoy both visually and comedically.
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is definitely a fun animation, with an enjoyable story based on the children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett. A great family film.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 126: Evil Dead 2

Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: Horror/ Comedy/ Action
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 1987
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie DePaiva, Ted Raimi, Denise Bixler, Richard Domeier, John Peakes, Lou Hancock, Snowy Winters, Sid Abrams, Josh Becker, Scott Spiegel, Thomas Kidd, Mitch Cantor, Jenny Griffith, William Preston Robertson, Sam Raimi

Description: The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holds up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.

Review: Ash, The only survivor of a demonic slaughter returns, with his girlfriend, to the same cabin where once the blood was flowing. By playing a tape, the demonic powers are again released and take possession of his girlfriend. Ash has to fight the demons himself.
“Evil Dead 2” is the sequel to the film “The Evil Dead”, that was released six years earlier. But it also parodies the first. The stories of both films are very similar. The difference is in the amount of blood splatter and the running gags.
For fans of the genre, this is pure entertainment. People who don’t like horror or horror combined with comedy, they will not change their minds after seeing “Evil Dead 2”. For me, it was a fun watch. I liked it just as much as the first.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 137: The Evil Dead

Director: Sam Raimi

Genre: Horror

Runtime: 85 minutes

Year: 1981

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker, Sarah York, Bob Dorian, Sam Raimi, Robert G. Tapert

Description: Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.

Review: “The Evil Dead” is the directorial debut of Sam Raimi and may be called one of the scariest horror films of all time. The movie, that together with its two sequels reached a cult status, is filled with great camera shots, a nail biting soundtrack and effective effects. The movie introduced people like Joel Coen as assistant editor, actor Bruce Campbell and off course Sam Raimi himself. “The Evil Dead” only cost 90 000 dollars, but was the best sold video in 1983.

It’s obvious “The Evil Dead” was made with a lot of enthusiasm. The movie is very bloody and has a great tension buildup and atmosphere. The fact that the budget was low, is visible in the makeup and special effects. It’s sometimes not credible, but it never bothers you. The same goes for the slapstick moments in the film.

Besides the fact that “The Evil Dead” is exciting and very scary, which many people tried to copy, it’s also a very violent movie. Chopped off heads and limbs, lots of blood and the zombies look kind of disgusting. The best scene is probably where Ash is alone in the house and his fear is visualized by surrealistic images and sounds. The camera shoots him from the ground, from a high angle, extreme close-ups. The clock goes back fast, to show us the night is endless. Also great is the moment where the camera moves through the woods, very low on the ground towards the house.

“The Evil Dead” is a great horror film, that didn’t cost a lot of money but gave us so much. A must for every horror fan. Nail biting and hard on the stomach.

Rating: 4,5/ 5