20s Movie Review - Zootopia 2

Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Adventure
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Shakira, Patrick Warburton, Danny Trejo, Bonnie Hunt

Description: Brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), team up again to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers.

Review: “Zootopia 2” is a fantastic, fast-paced, and socially relevant sequel that lives up to the high expectations set by the first film.

The detective duo Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are back. This time, they dive into a mystery that takes them to a whole new part of their city where the reptiles used to live.

Like its predecessor, the film dares to tackle bold social themes. Topics such as gentrification, abuse of power, and historical segregation are cleverly woven into the plot. Despite the heavy themes, the story remains manageable and understandable for the whole family thanks to its humor.

Adults will revel in the countless pop culture reference and clever puns and there are some new characters like Gary De’Snake and Nibbles Maplestick, bringing a fresh, dynamic energy to the film.

The film is an absolute must-see for Disney fans and people who loved the first “Zootopia” film. Rock-solid humor, stunning animations and a layered message.

Rating: 4/ 5

90s Movie Review - A League of Their Own

Director: Penny Marshall
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 128 minutes
Year: 1992
Starring: Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Anne Ramsay, Anne Cusack, Megan Cavanagh, Bitty Schram, David Strathairn, Jon Lovitz, Bill Pullman

Description: Two sisters (Geena Davis, Lori Petty) join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amid their own growing rivalry.

Review: “A League of Their Own” is a movie I grew up watching with my family. 

When World War II threatens to shut down Major League Baseball, a candy manufacturing magnate decides to create a women’s league to make money. Dottie Hinson is a terrific hitter and gets an offer to tryout, but she is content where she is. He younger sister, pitcher Kit, loves the game so passionately but is not as much of a talent. Kit gets to tryout, but only if Dottie comes too. Both women eventually go and get into the team, that is led by drunkard and former baseball player Jimmy Dugan. More and more people start showing up to the games and it becomes a huge success. 

I always found “A League of Their Own” so much fun to watch. It reaches a broad audience, because it mixes up things many people love: comedy, drama and sports. 

Tom Hanks is my favorite actor and he can’t do anything wrong in my eyes, but even non-fans have to admit that his portrayal of coach Jimmy Dugan is hilarious and very memorable. ‘There’s no crying in baseball!’ I also loved Geena Davis in her role. The rest of the acting is maybe not that fantastic, but the cast works really well together and they make it work. 

“A League of Their Own” is a fun film, a film that never bores. A definite favorite.

Rating: 5 / 5

00s Movie Review - The Spiderwick Chronicles

Director: Mark Waters
Genre: Adventure/ Fantasy/ Family/ Drama/ Action
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2008
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn, Nick Nolte, Seth Rogen, Martin Short, Sarah Bolger, Andrew McCarthy, Ron Perlman

Description: Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother (Mary-Louise Parker), twin brothers Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore), along with their sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

Review: There are countless magical beings living in our world, of which we know nothing because we cannot see them. We humans only see them, if they want us to. Arthur Spiderwick discovered that and started writing a book about all the secrets these creatures. He indexes his findings in a scientific way, until he found out that with all this knowledge, evil forces could wipe out all other fantastic creatures and then be powerful enough to take on humans. He hid the book in his house and put a protective magic circle around it so that the evil creatures could not reach it.

Of course, such a secret does not stay hidden forever. Eighty years later, distant reltives of Arthur Spiderwick movie into his old house. Helen and her three children Mallory, Jared and Simon have decided to move there after the divorce. Jared is the one that finds the book and he releases the evil creatures.

The story of “The Spiderwick Chronicles” might not be the most original family fantasy films, but it sure as hell is one hell of a great time. The idea of children suddenly discovering a fantastical world full of magic has been done so many times, but you can do it in so many ways. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” has enough concept of its own to stand out.

The excellent acting of young Freddie Highmore in a dual role contributes to that. The two kids he plays are clearly two different boys with their own body language and personalities. Great voice performances also by Seth Rogen, Martin Short and Nick Nolte.

“The Spiderwick Chronicles” is not an earth-shattering or innovative film, but it is an entertaining family film with suspense, humor and fun design (some parts might be a little too scary for the littlest viewers).The film has a nice pace and fortunately follows its own internal logic.  

Rating: 3,5/ 5

80s Movie Review - At Close Range

Director: James Foley
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kiefer Sutherland, Millie Perkins, Eileen Ryan, Tracey Walter, David Strathairn, Crispin Glover

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 37: A MOVIE RECOMMENDED BY YOUR BROTHER
 
Description: Reunited with his career criminal father (Christopher Walken), tough teen Brad (Sean Penn) thinks he’s found his ticker to an exciting life of crime, only to find out he’s wrong.

Review: Brad Whitewood is a boy from a simple background whose life is going nowhere. Occasionally he has a job but he never really keeps it up for long. Then suddenly his father returns. Brad Sr. turns out to be the leader of a local gang. Soon Brad Jr. starts working for his father. He experiences success with some simple jobs and Brad’s friends join. They too have an appetite for making quick money. However, Brad’s friends are not the most efficient thieves and soon things go wrong. The police are after them and Brad Sr. has no problem getting some witnesses out of the way. Brad wonders how far his father will go to stay out of jail and even begins to fear for his own life.

Sean Penn and Christopher Walken in one movie, that’s going to be great. This is what any movie lover would think when they see who is starring in this film. I can say it is true. Penn and Walken both have rock solid performances and carry the film. Walken in particular is stellar as the criminal and psychotic Brad Whitewood Sr. One moment you think you are dealing with a caring father while a moment later he turns into a cold-blooded killer who does everything in his power not to get caught.

Director James Foley manages to keep the tension well throughout the film, the story is loosely based on a true story. Highly recommended for people who like dramas with a touch of thriller.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Nomadland

Director: Chloé Zhao
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Gay DeForest, Patricia Grier, Linda May, Angela Reyes, Carl R. Hughes, Douglas G. Soul, Ryan Aquino, Teresa Buchanan, Karie Lynn McDermott Wilder, Brandy Wilber, Makenzie Etcheverry, Bob Wells, Annette Webb, Rachel Bannon, Charlene Swankie, David Strathairn, Bryce Bedsworth, Sherita Deni Coker
 
Description: A woman in her sixties (Frances McDormand) who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.

Review: Director Chloé Zhao has made a picture-perfect film about the tragedy of contemporary America. With six nominations of which three turned into wins, this melancholy road movie along a new economic frontier was the big winner at the 93^rd Academy Awards.
The film has a special sense of immersion. The most beautiful light, just after sunrise or before sunset. It streaks across the past glories of the American landscape. Zhao won an Academy Award for director and also took home the best motion picture award. Lead actress Frances McDormand won for her role as Fern, which makes it her third Academy Award win (previously for “Fargo” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”). Fern is a sixty-something from the small industrial town of Empire, Nevada, which is wiped off the map after the economic crash in 2008. Quite literally: the entire zip code area no longer exists several years later. When Fern’s husband subsequently dies, there is nothing that binds Fern to her decaying surroundings. She exchanges her house for a converted van and chooses a nomadic existence in search of work.  
“Nomadland” is an adaptation of Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction book of the same name. McDormand pitched the book to hao and briefly measured herself against the nomadic lifestyle as well. She spent six months in her own van, traveling through seven American states during the filming of “Nomandland”. It provides a particularly authentic picture of life on the road, in part because the other nomads she encounters are played by non-professional actors  who are interpreting versions of themselves.
Zhao is ultimately looking for the sense of dignity that these homeless Americans try to carry with them as they ride out into the horizon. The images are beautiful, but they do not disguise the unbounded melancholy that accompanies them. The heartbreaking encounters between Fern and the nomads are diligently searching for a sense of belonging. This film also emphasizes that it’s about living with loss and grief. Despite everything, the nomads try to find a sense of pride in the life they now lead, which is perhaps the greatest tragedy of contemporary America: that you have to resign yourself to the fact that poverty will be a part of your identity. Zhao and McDormand try to address a deeper layer by showing that there is much more going on beneath the surface of this new economic frontier. What “Nomadland” does a wonderful job of showing is that this layer only reveals itself if you look for it long and thoroughly enough.
“Nomadland” is a beautiful film, which understandably won big at the Oscars.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Movie Reviews - Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Director: Michael Dougherty
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Charles Dance, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, David Strathairn, O’Shea Jackson Jr.

Description: 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.

Review: In 2014 Mark and Emma’s son was killed in the disastrous fight between Godzilla and two MUTO’s. in flashbacks we see how their daughter Madison did survive and how Mark left the family to try and cope with the death of his son. Emma on the other hand, works for the Monarch, a zoological agency that shows high interest in Titans. A groups a creatures that Godzilla is a part of. When she is in the middle of awakening Mothra, eco-terrorist Jonah Allen enters the room.
“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is one giant spectacle. There is hardly any room to breathe, because it’s constant action. And it all looks amazing. It’s a visual treat.
Even though this film is mostly about the monsters, there is a moral to the story: restoring the natural balance. And although Emma and Jonah are portrayed to be the ‘bad guys’ of some sort, I really think they have a point. Emma’s drive and motivation for what she is doing makes sense strangely enough.
The audience’s biggest complaint about “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”, is the characters. They have no depth and are disposable. Well people, they are not what’s important in this film. The focus is supposed to be on Godzilla and the monsters. Off course the people should be somewhat interesting as well. And I find Emma and Jonah both a very interesting characters. The rest is indeed not that special. But if you’re a Godzilla fan, you don’t care about the characters and you get exactly what you want: Godzilla!!!
The cast is very talented. Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe and Charles Dance. All very solid. Nothing really noteworthy.
“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is a good sequel to 2014s “Godzilla”.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

90s Movie Review - Dolores Claiborne

Director: Taylor Hackford
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 1995
Starring: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, Bob Gunton, John C. Reilly

Description: A big-city reporter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) travels to the small town where her mother (Kathy Bates) has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman that she works for as a maid.

Review: On stage she won prize after prize, but Hollywood found her too fat. But there was help. Master of horror Stephen King offered Kathy Bates the role of a lifetime in “Misery”. An Oscar for that role and several memorable roles later, Bates gives away another great performance in yet another Stephen King adapted film.
Dolores Claiborne worked for a demanding rich lady for years. When this woman, Vera, is found dead at the bottom of the stairs, Dolores is the main suspect. This accusation brings home her estranged daughter Selena, who works as a journalist now. And the past they usually won’t speak off, comes out.
It’s a strong mystery thriller, with a good focus on the bond between Dolores and her daughter Selena. Kathy Bates is again very solid in her performance. She overshadows all the other actors. Jennifer Jason Leigh is also very strong.
“Dolores Claiborne” is one of King’s better adaptations.

Rating: 4 / 5