20s Movie Review - The Life of Chuck

Director: Mike Flanagan
Genre: Drama/ Fantasy
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mark Hamill, Jacob Tremblay, Matthew Lillard, Annalise Basso, Kate Siegel, Samanta Sloyan

Description: A life-affirming, genre-bending story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man names Charles Krantz.

Review: With “The Life of Chuck”, director Mike Flanagan proves that he can do more than horror. He is an absolute master of portraying the human soul. Based on the short story by Stephen King, that I just finished reading, this is a deeply moving celebration of life, told in reverse chronological order.

The film begins at the end of the world and works backward to the childhood of Chuck. It’s a darling structure that works perfectly; as the world around the characters literally falls apart, we discover the small, seemingly insignificant moments that give a life meaning. The iconic dance scene on the street is already a classic. It was my favorite scene in the book and is the best part of the movie as well. It’s pure, infectious, and a symbol of indestructible joie de vivre.

Flanagan embraces the sentiment without ever becoming sentimental. He is very faithful to Stephen King’s story, which I can only applaud. He reminds us that every human being carries a whole universe withing them. “The Life of Chuck” is a visually stunning and emotionally overwhelming tribute to the fact that we exist. Tom Hiddleston is absolutely brilliant in it. The film is an absolute triumph and a new favorite film.

Rating: 5/ 5

20s Movie Review - The Pod Generation

Director: Sophie Barthes
Genre: Science Fiction/ Dystopian
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Chiwetel Ejiofor

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 17: A FILM WITH EMILIA CLARKE
 
Description: In a not-so-distant future, tech giant Pegazus offers couples the opportunity to share their pregnancies via detachable artificial wombs or pods. And so begins Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) wild ride to parenthood in this brave new world.

Review: Emilia Clarke shines in this subtle and layered sci-fi satire about a near future where women no longer have to carry their pregnancies themselves but can outsource them to a technologically advanced egg-like pod.

The ambitious Rachel can’t resist the temptation when her promotion includes being offered and immediate discount to the company “Pegasus: The Womb Centre”. After all, if she does not have to carry her pregnancy herself, she can continue to perform well. She embraces the idea. What follows is a scarily realistic and totally alienating, but above all tragicomic.

Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor both have a lot of nuance. Rachel is the one who is overly excited about the idea and she has to convince her husband Alvy. He doesn’t know what to do, when they eventually “get pregnant” and see the pod. But soon they switch Alvy feels more connected to their unborn child and Rachel feels like she is out of her depth.

The world created in “The Pod Generation” is really interesting. Everyone has cognitive assistants, everything is digital, nothing works manually. Technology has taken over. It’s not a grim or dark futuristic world, as in many “Black Mirror” episodes. But this movie could fit in though. Everything is aesthetically pleasing, but nobody seems to have their own voice anymore.

The clever thing about “The Pod Generation” is that it remains lighthearted. But it does raise numerous questions. Especially now, with AI being up and coming. I love the world that was created for this film, enjoyed Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor together and apart and just overall really enjoyed this film. It’s a hidden gem, an underrated and very overlooked movie.

Rating: 4/ 5

00s Movie Review - Love Actually

Director: Richard Curtis
Genre: Comedy/ Romance/ Drama
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 2003
Starring: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Laura Linney, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Rowan Atkinson, Martine McCutheon, Martin Freeman, Joanna Page, Andrew Lincoln, Chiwetel, Ejiofor, Thomas Sangster, Rodrigo Santoro

Description: Follows the lives of several different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

Review: With “Love Actually”, the directorial debut by Richard Curtis shows that life is full of small moments of love and affection. Me not being a romance girlie, this is one of the few exceptions in the genre that I’m absolutely in love with.

Richard Curtis is mostly know for his screenwriting, having been apart of “Blackadder”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill”, among others. “Love Actually” is as smoothly put together as the romcoms for which he alone wrote the screenplay.

The fact that Curtis managed to have the best of the best actors at his disposal also work in his favor. It’s not hard to take them to heart. We follow several storylines in this film, some of them intertwine at some. We meet David, as he arrives on his first day as the Prime Minister, falling in love with Nathalie who is in his staff. Karen is painfully confronted with her husband’s potential adultery. Daniel has just lost his wife and has to deal with his young stepson’s first time being in love. Jamie leaves for France after he finds out his girlfriend is cheating on him with his brother. Here he meets Aurelia, but there is a language barrier. Sarah has been in love Karl for over two years, but because of her sick brother she never lets herself act on it. Jack and Judy meet each other while being movie stand-ins for nude scenes. Old rocker Billy Mack is trying to reach the number one spot with his Christmas song. Mark’s best friend Peter marries Juliet. Juliet feels like Mark doesn’t really like her, finding out that that’s not the reason he never talks to her. And finally Colin, who is sick of British girls and travels to America to find a woman.

Even though not all storylines are equally successful or enjoyable, the complete package is so lovely. This film has high rewatchability and I simply can’t get enough of it. I want to watch it every Christmas. And the ending is very satisfactory as well. Sugar sweet and overly romantic, but for some reason I am totally fine with it here.  

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 127 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bruce Campbell, Patrick Stewart, Hayley Atwell, John Krasinski
 
Description: Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) teams up with a mysterious teenage girl (Xochitl Gomez) from his dreams who can travel across multiverses, to battle multiple threats, including other-universe versions of himself, which threaten to wipe out millions across the multiverse. They seek help from Wanda the Scarlet Witch, Wong and others.

Review: With “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, a new era for the MCU has begin. The multiverse is open and that brings with it a whole host of expectations for the film. But does it live up to those expectations?

After the evens of “Spider-Man No Way Home”, it’s time to dive further into the multiverse with Doctor Strange. As the title reveals, the film is a little crazy, but that’s not a negative. For example, one of the bigger surprises is that this film is a lot darker and more focused on horror than previous Marvel films.

The shift in tone is largely due to director Sam Raimi, who we of course already know from the original Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire, a collection of solid horror films and true classics like the “Evil Dead” series (some might even recognize “Evil Dead”’s Bruce Campbell in a funny cameo). At first glance, the coice of Raimi seems very good, as a horror aspect lends itself very well to the characters of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, but there are a few problems.

Let’s start with what is rock solid in the film: the acting. In particular Elizabeth Olsen, who once again pays the role of Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch. She deserves a lot of credit for her performance and she even overshadows who is supposed to be the star in the film, Benedict Cumberbatch.

 Cumberbatch is strong as well, but where he is supposed to be the star, Olsen clearly takes the spotlight.
The fact that every actor and actress gives a fantastic performance is also due to the excellent writing of the film. It is clear that a lot of thought has gone into this film. And even though it’s over 2 hours long, you hardly notice it.  

With a grim tone and the new horror aspect, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” not only manages to surprise, but also manages to set a new standard for Marvel films. While the film is very good and takes two steps forward for Marvel, it unfortunately also takes a step backwards.
The horror genre has been plagued by terribly chewed out clichés and cheap jump scares for decades. Dramatic sound effects are added to those jump scares and various characters make stupid decisions. There is nothing worse for a film than overused clichés, and this is the biggest weakness for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.

With a rock-solid story, exceptional acting and surprising new elements, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” manages to live up to most expectations. In fact, the film manages to exceed many of them. Besides all the spectacle, there are also more than enough easter eggs to be found and for Marvel fans it will again be an absolute delight to see Doctor Strange in action.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Inside Man

Director: Spike Lee
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 2006
Starring: Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer

Description: A police detective (Denzel Washington), a bank robber (Clive Owen), and a high-power broker (Jodie Foster) enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal’s brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.  

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 12: A CRIME THRILLER

Review: A poetic talk by the bank robber, followed by simple yet atmospheric images of New York and a wonderful opening song, make for a good first impression. And director Spike Lee managed to maintain that, leaving the audience with a satisfied feeling at the end. and the plot is not entirely unoriginal, although it deals with a much used subject in Hollywood: a bank robbery.
These bank robbers dress all the hostages in the same clothes they have on: a painter’s overall with hood and a white cloth over the mouth. As a result, detective Keith Frazier has difficulty distinguishing friend from foe. But this is not the only thig. He also has to deal with Madeleine White, who has been hired by the owner of the bank to retrieve something sensitive out of the building. But the reason why the robbers are doing this are not as obvious as they think.
With a great and strong cast like this, it’s easier to make a good movie. Especially Denzel Washington and Clive Owen are really good. Willem Dafoe sadly only has a small role, but makes the best of it.
“Inside Man” is a well-executed film and there is really nothing to complain about.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Reviews - The Lion King

Director: Jon Favreau
Genre: Adventure/ Musical
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, John  Oliver, James Earl Jones, Donal Glover, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Alfre Woodard, Seth Rogen, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric André, Billy Eichner

Description: After the murder of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery.

Review: Oh how excited I was for the live-action version of one of my favorite Disney animations. I remember vividly when I saw “The Lion King” (1994) in theaters. I was so impressed and completely in aw that I couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks. And when I received it on VHS for my birthday, I watched it every day. I wasn’t afraid that director Jon Favreau was going to butcher the story, because he did a wonderful job for “The Jungle Book”. But was the film going to do the same to me as the animation did in 1994?
The film looks so realistic, like real-life animals. Yes, they talk and sing, but it’s like watching a BBC documentary.
When it comes to the story, nothing has changed. For most of the film, it’s a shot for shot remake of the animation. The film has been criticized for this, because they wanted Favreau to take more risk. I bet if he did and changed more, that would be the problem. We all love the original the way it is, so why not bring it to life like this. Because it’s a classic story, with wonderful songs we all love.
The one thing I didn’t really like, was them cutting the song “Be Prepared” short. It is my favorite song of the film and it was really rushed and it didn’t have the same impact that it had in the animation. It’s the main villain song and it’s so powerful. Here you don’t feel that.
The movie also lacks emotion according to many critics. Because they can’t see emotions or expressions on the animal’s faces. To make it look realistic as it is, you have to create the animals as they are. Giving them to much facial expression, would probably make them cartoonish and less realistic. And I’m not missing emotion at all, because I think I cried like 7 times in the first 5 minutes alone, haha.
As a huge fan of the animation, I am very happy with the live-action version of “The Lion King”. It didn’t leave me in aw like in 1994, but it’s such a beautifully made film with a lot of heart. People who think it lacked emotion, are probably dead inside.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 154: Doctor Strange

Director: Scott Derrickson
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McADams, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins

Description: A former neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) embarks on a journey of healing only to be drawn into the world of the mystic arts.

Review: We all know Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor and the X-Men. They are all famous Marvel heroes. But there are also superheroes that are a bit more mysterious and unknown. Movies like “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Deadpool” and “Ant-Man” proved to be a success by telling the tale behind the lesser known Marvel heroes. “Doctor Strange” is also one of the films, about apparently one of the oldest heroes Marvel has created. Stephen Strange is a neurosurgeon who gets into a terrible car accidents. He is not able to use his hands properly anymore, so he takes on a journey into the world of the mystic arts.
“Doctor Strange” features a lot of dark magic and parallel realities. For the movie there needed to be a lot of action to express the powers of the character. We meet a somewhat arrogant Stephen Strange, a cynical doctor that is the best in his profession. He has a big, luxury appartement and the ladies like him. But Strange is also a distant man, almost irritatingly stubborn. When Strange wakes up after a car accident, his hands are completely fractured and he knows he will never hold a scalpel. Strange does want to find a way to heal and goes to the Kathmandu. There he meets ‘The Ancient One’. She teaches him to use his mind in many different ways.
Benedict Cumberbatch is really good in his role. He adds some scepsism and sarcasm to his role. The interaction between Cumberbatch and Rachel McAdams is fun to see.
The décor of the film is fantastic, which sometimes remind you of “Inception”. The action is good as well. It can get a little busy at some points, but it looks stunning.
Doctor Strange is a tough character. He is physically not as strong as some other superheroes, so it will not speak to everyone. What he can do with his powers, needs to be explained.
“Doctor Strange” is a good Marvel film, but probably won’t make my favorites list.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 150"Secret in Their Eyes

Director: Billy Ray
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Ju;ia Roberts, Dean Norris, Alfred Molina, Joe Cole, Michael Kelly, Zoe Graham, Patrick Davis, Eileen Fogarty, Niko Nicotera

Description: A tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.

Review: “El secreto de sus ojos” was overwhelmed with praise. The American remake, “Secret in Their Eyes”, managed to get an impressive cast. But that’s about all the praise I can give this film.
“Secret in Their Eyes” takes place from 2002 to 2015. It’s a roaring time politically. In 2002, FBI agent Ray Kasten, Jess Cobb and Claire Slaon form an anti terrorist unit. Short after 9/ 11, Los Angeles is feared to be the next target. The team is closely watching a mosque and during a routine check up, a dead body is found. It’s the body of Carolyn Cobb, Jess daughter. Carolyn has been brutally raped and murdered. They can’t find the person who did it, but thirteen years later, Kasten is still looking for him. Many scenes from the movie are an exact copy from the original. Director Billy Ray show ambition by translating this much praised film with an American background. But it also looks a bit lazy, because just placing this story in another time and place isn’t enough. The base material is good, but Ray turned it into an unnecessary film.
The three main actors in the film play solid roles, but they have no chemistry whatsoever. For instance Kidman and Ejiofor’s characters seem to have this desire for each other, but besides some talk about it, you never seem to notice that they do. There is no mystery or tension present in this film and it never keeps me interested the entire runtime. And the jumping in time is not clear. I sometimes don’t know wether a scene is set in the past or present.
In Hollywood they feel the need to copy great foreign films. Almost always it’s the original that wins. With “Secret in Their Eyes” there is no difference. You can skip this film.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challene 2016 - 78: Triple 9

Director: John Hillcoat
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Anthony Mackie, Norman Reedus, Gal Gadot, Teresa Palmet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Clifton Collins Jr.

Description: A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town.

Review: Just like in other big American cities, the police in Atlanta works with codes. The 999 code means that a cop has been shot. A group of bankrobbers is about to cause a triple 9.
Michael Atwood has to return a favour to some Russian mobsters. In his group there are the two Welch brothers and two corrupt cops. Irina Vlaslov, leader of that Russian mob, calls the shot. On the other side of town detective Jeffrey Allen is dealing with this gang and tries to get his cousin Chris to get ready for it.
“Triple 9” doesn’t have many surprises. Not in the plot, motives or backgrounds. And there are too many characters to actually make them interesting or deep enough. The atmosphere is perfect, but the screenplay is the problem. The movie doesn’t interest you from beginning till end.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 140: The Martian

Director: Ridley Scott

Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction

Runtime: 142 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, Nick Mohammed, Chen Shu, Eddy Ko, Enzo Cilenti, Jonathan Aris, Gruffudd Glyn, Naomi Scott, Geoffrey Thomas

Description: A limo driver's blind date sparks a tale of love, betrayal, friendship, and grace centered around two working-class New York City couples.

Review: Director Ridley Scott, known for his movies “Alien” and “Blade Runner”, is no stranger to science fiction. “The Martian”, based on the book by Andy Weir, is the perfect story for Scott. It’s a heroic story, has a great cast with big names and a big budget.

With a science fiction movie, there is always a scientific side to it. Hence the word science. At first it looks like it’s going to be a drama, when astronaut Mark Watney is left for dead on Mars after a big storm. When Watney wakes up he has to stay alive with the supplies that are left. It could have gone to fear, sadness and complaining. The fact that it might be the end for him on Mars, makes sure that Watney does everything to avoid that fate. With science. With his botanic background he manages to grow potatoes on a planet where nothing grows. And he is very inventive in ways to stay alive. This strength makes sure Watney doesn’t lose hope and becomes a real hero.

The scientific element can also be less accesable, but “The Martian” manages to use a clever way to explain it to us. Watney keeps a videolog, where he explains what he does and why. He never seems lonely and this makes this film anything but boring. On earth, where they eventually find our Watney is still alive, they discuss the issue in a way the viewer can understand and without any extreme sentiment. Towards the end it does get a bit more dramatic, but that’s understandable.

One thing I didn’t expect to get was humor. “The Martian” is very funny at times and makes this movie a lot lighter than I eventually thought. And Matt Damon is amazing in his role. I really loved his performance, it can easily be called one of his best. I also loved Jessica Chastain, as always.

“The Martian” is a fresh take on science fiction, a movie that was even better than I thought it would be. One of the best of 2015.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 116: Serenity

Director: Joss Whedon

Genre: Science Fiction/ Action/ Adventure/ Thriller

Runtime: 119 minutes

Year: 2005

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Krumholtz, Michael Hitchcock, Sarah Paulson, Yan Feldman, Raphael Feldman

Description: The crew of the ship Serenity tries to evade an assassin sent to recapture one of their number who is telepathic.

Review: The movie went the same direction as the TV show “Firefly”, what this film is based on. The show was hard to characterize and with that hard to promote. Ater half a season Fox cancelled “Firefly”, but when the DVD came out it sold out. That’s why Universal thought a movie would be a good idea. And it was, because the film was a success. Both fans and newcomers to it got excited fort his new world.

The characters are introduced, short and brief, and you can easily follow this film without any knowledge of the show. The storytelling is good, as for the script and the movie is easy to watch.

A spectacular chase in the beginning of the, where our heroes are chased by so called Reavers, is fresh and exciting. And the fight scenes including actress Summer Glau are also very good.

The cast is well known to the fans. Nathan Fillion is a pleasant leading man, he proofs he can carry a movie. Chiwetel Ejiofor is the most interesting in the film. The rest of the characters all add something, but they lack depth.

The film has a somewhat improbable ending, that is not consistent with the tone of the rest of the movie. It’s all been done a bit to perfect, to lead everything into a satisfying ending.

“Serenity” is not a masterpiece, but it’s definitely a movie you should watch. Especially as a sci-fi fan. I highly enjoyed it.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movies Challenge 2014 - # 35: 12 Years a Slave

Director: Steve McQueen
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 133 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Lupito Nyongo’o, Benedict Cumberbacth, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson

Description: In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity.

Review: “12 Years a Slave” is already the third movie by director Steve McQueen. The novel with the same title is the true story of Solomon Northup and is one of the most prevailing stories about slavery.
In 1841, Solomon Northup lives with his wife and children in Saragota Springs, New York and makes his money as a violinist. When two men approach him to play for a travelling circus, Solomon accepts. After a couple of successful shows, he wakes up in a dark room, chained. From here the suffering starts for Solomon.
McQueen is a true artist when it comes to filmmaking. He uses some very long and extended shots, which contribute to feeling more empathy as a viewer. The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer also fits this film perfectly.
The title role is played by the relatively unknown Chiwetel Ejiofor. He plays the role of his life, very rarely do you feel so much for a character. He loses every single bit of hope and rebellion. The rest of the cast is also solid. A lot of the big names only have little roles, but they fulfill their job well. Michael Fassbender, who plays slave owner Edwin Epps, is relentless. And newcomer Lupito Nyongo’o is also a name worth mentioning. The tragic role of Patsey is one of the most difficult roles of the film. A certain whip scene is the hardest scene the watch.
“12 Years a Slave” is an emotional film and a definite must-see.

Rating: 5/ 5