TV Show Review - The White Lotus (Season 2)

Season: 2
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Number of episodes: 7
Year: 2022
Starring: Jennifer Coolidge, Aubrey Plaza, Theo James, Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Megan Fahy, Will Sharpe, Haley Lu Richardson, Tom Hollander

Description: Set in a resort in Sicily, it follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.
 
Review: The first season of this mini-series was a huge success, so they decided to create a second season. Set in Sicily this time. Jennifer Coolidge is the only returning actress. Het character Tanya has ended up in Sicily with her new husband, and once again the tragicomic character seems to attract misfortune and calamity. Her husband does not appreciate her as the diva she is; she ends up needing a group of flamboyant gay men for that. Tanya’s assistant Portia, meanwhile, may be available on call, but must also make herself invisible.

We also mee three generations of American-Sicilian men who have a special relationship with female beauty. Another storyline revolves around Cameron and Ethan, two former college mates, who have found each other again and are constantly testing both each other and each other’s relationships. There are more characters involved, but these are the three main storylines.

“The White Lotus” again proves sublime at portraying interpersonal interactions, awkwardness, misunderstandings, suspicions and the volatility that almost all of his character harbor. The season begins with a corpse, but we have to wait until the final episode to see who ends up floating lifeless in the ocean.

Meanwhile, “The White Lotus” mercilessly fillets human nature, where, as in the first season, you have no idea where it’s all going or will end up. I only missed Murray Bartlett’s character from season one, but overall, I liked this season just as much as the first. And I’m totally in for another series of events at a different White Lotus hotel.

10s Movie Review - How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World

Director: Dean DeBlois
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Adventure/ Fantasy
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, America Ferrara, F. Murray Abraham, Jonah Hill, Kit Harrington, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 6: THIRD MOVIE IN A TRILOGY

Description: When Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) discovers Toothless isn’t the only Night Fury, he must seek ‘The Hidden World’, a secret Dragon Utopia before a hired tyrant named Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham) finds it first.
 
Review: Hiccup and his great friend, the dragon Toothless, have a day job freeing captured dragons. A new world is created so that dragons and humans can live together in harmony. When their mode of existence is jeopardized y a new villain named Grimmel, Hiccup brings the all the dragons together to stop Grimmel. 
The “How to Train Your Dragon” series is one of Dreamworks’ more successful series and one of my favorites for sure. The stories of Hiccup with his dragon Toothless capture the imagination of many young viewers. The makers also keep the films light in terms of story and theme. And so does part three, which offers plenty of action and entertainment as well as a light, positive message. In this third part they face a new enemy. 
I love the visuals and the story, the character of Hiccup especially is one that many kids could identify with. And Toothless is of course amazing. I’m a fan of this series and the third installment didn’t disappoint.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

00s Movie Review - Finding Forrester

Director: Gus van Sant
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 2000
Starring: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin, Michael Pitt, Busta Rhymes, Richard Easton Michael Nouri, April Grace, Glenn Fitzgerald

Description: A young writing prodigy (Rob Brown) finds a mentor in a reclusive author (Sean Connery)

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 35: A MOVIE WITH YELLOW POSTER ART
 
Review: Gus van Sant is know for his movie “Good Will Hunting”, a film that turned out to be a huge success in 1997. “Finding Forrester is perhaps less well known that “Good Will Hunting”, but definitely at least as good.
Jamal Wallace is black teenager who lives in the Bronx. Although he’s just getting by in school his test scores tell differently. Because he is much smarter and talented then he shows everyone. Jamal gets the opportunity to go to a private school, with a scholarship, since he is also a good basketball player. The professors think that Jamal only got in to the prestigious school because he plays basketball. In the meantime, Jamal befriends an elderly man, author William Forrester who has been living in isolation for years. William helps Jamal with his writing and discovers that he is a very gifted writer.
Sean Connery and Rob Brown really work well together. They are each other’s opposites and therefore learn a lot from each other. Jamal is an optimist, he is curious and opinionated, while William is stern and pessimistic. Not to mention the difference in age.
The story is very inspiring and I love the friendship that grows between the two, who you would never pair up together if you see them passing by on the street. It’s a touching story and it’s sad that “Finding Forrester” is such an overlooked film.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 111: All the President's Men

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 138 minutes

Year: 1976

Starring: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Warden, Jason Robards, Hal Holbrook, Martin Balsam, Jane Alexander, Meredith Baxter, Stephen Collins, Penny Fuller, John McMartin, Robert Walden, Frank Wills, F. Murray Abraham

Description: Reporters Woodward (Robert Redford) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon's resignation.

Review: This movie is probably the base for many journalists and their ambitions, but any upcoming reporter is obligated to see this. “All the President’s Men” is about some fine journalism. Protecting your sources, creative games to get information from people. And this all to reveal one of the biggest scandals in American history.

The movie is based on the book written by the two journalist Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. They wrote about the Watergate-affair. The fact that this scandal is real maeks the movie legendary, but Alan J. Pakula made good thriller. You have to pay attention though, because you get a lot of information from various people in different organizations. Although most people know what happened during the Watergate-affair, many will still be shocked by it and what it did to people.

The camera work isn’t extraordinary and sometimes it feels a bit repetitive. The setting is cold and sober, not much has been done to make it look better. But the acting by Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford makes up for it. Sometimes a bit too much, sometimes very thoughtless, it feels natural.

“All the President’s Men” is a pretty slow film that should be viewed for its contents. It’s an interesting film about an interesting topic.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 153: Inside Llewyn Davis

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 105 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Adam Driver, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham, Alex Karpovsky, Max Casella, Ricardo Cordero, Ethan Phillips, Stark Sands, Jake Ryan

Description: A week in the life of the young singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.

Review: Llewyn Davis is a homeless singer songwriter fighting for his life as a musician. In a journey from one bar to another, he meets various people that all don’t know how to deal with the desolate songwriter. The film comes to life when John Goodman, as jazz musician Roland Turner, enters the story. With his sharp observations and arrogance he manages to illustrate the clash between folk and jazz in a hilarious way.

To make this movie not a standard film about music, the Coen Brothers added some typical Coen elements. Genius dialogues, intimate songs and perfects shots. Especially an absurd studio session where Llewyn joins a satirical evocation to president Kennedy, it has a definite Coen signature on it.

Oscar Isaac us very good as Llewyn Davis and he has a surprisingly good singing voice. The movie is not perfect, but The Coen Brothers made a great film. They can make a great story with the simplest material.

Rating: 4/ 5