Netflix Friday - Volume 106

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Mandy (2018)
The enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.
 

Drama: Ben is Back (2018)
A drug addicted teenage boy (Lucas Hedges) shows up unexpectedly at his family’s home on Christmas Eve.
 

Comedy: This is the End (2013)
Six Los Angeles celebrities are stuck in James Franco’s house after a series of devastating events just destroyed the city. Inside, the group not only have to face the apocalypse, but themselves.
 

Animation: Arriety (2010)
The Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family’s residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter, Arriety, is discovered.
 

Romance: Austenland (2013)
Obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, a woman (Keri Russell) travels to a Jane Austen theme park in search for her perfect gentleman.
 

Horror: Halloween (2018)
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) confronts her long-life foe, Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
 

Science Fiction: The 5^th Wave (2016)
Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth in ruin. Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother.
 

Crime: I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
When a depressed woman (Melanie Lynskey) is burgled, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbor (Elijah Wood). But they soon find themselves dangerously out of the depth against a pack of degenerate criminals.
 

Thriller: I See You (2019)
Strange occurrences plague a small town detective (Jon Tenney) and his family as he investigates the disappearance of a young boy.
 

Documentary: Jackass Forever (2022)
After 11 years, the Jackass crew is back for another crusade.
 

Family: Mr. Bean’s Holliday (2007)
Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson_ wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two reunite. On the way he discovers France, bicycling and true love.

Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 7

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

21/ 100: Amélie (2001)
Truly overflowing with awards and nominations was this sugar sweet romantic comedy. Waitress Amélie decides one day to give other people a hand with happiness. Like a contemporary fairy tale character, she triumphs into the lives of someone who list a box of personal things as a child, of bar customers looking for love, and many others. Then she falls in love herself. With his film, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet paints a friendly, colorful, spotless imaginary Paris where anything is possible. A movie guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Check out my full review HERE
 

22/ 100: Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont re undisputed box office magnets in the heyday of the silent film. But then Hollywood moves to sound film, and Lina turns out to have a voice like a crow. Perhaps, suggests friendly pianist and Don’t friend Cosmo, it would be an idea to have the sweet-voiced Kathy speak and sing her lines? Quite possibly the best MGM musical of all-time. In addition to the iconic title track, “Singin’ in the Rain” includes catchy songs like “Make ‘em Laugh” and “Good Morning”, which is of course combined with fantastic choreographed scenes. Another movie to always make me happy. Ready the full review HERE
 

23/ 100: Back to the Future (1985)
Seventeen-year-old Mary McFly travels to the past with the help of the time machine of his friend, Doctor Emmett Brown. There he meets his bumbling father and his charming mother. He will have to pair them up, or he will never be born. Director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale’s brillian, witty script of this, now classic, time-tracel film was approved by the Universal studios only after long hesitation. It turned out to be a perfect film in the genre, a favorite for many, including myself! HERE is the full review.
 

24/ 100: Groundhog Day (1993)
Bill Murray is perfect as the cynical weatherman Phil Connors, who keeps waking up on the same day in a North American town. Slowly, Phul becomes imbued with the philosophical sides of his fate and although he doesn’t lose his sarcastic edge, he begins each day, by necessity, with a new and gradually somewhat better life. One of the best comedies from the 1990s, with an otherwise standard story executed brilliantly. Check out the full review HERE
 

25/ 100: Halloween (1978)
Classic horror about an escaped psychopath who terrorizes his hometown. The film confirmed director John Carpenter’s talent for the genre and earned Jamie Lee Curtis the honorary title of Scream Queen. “Halloween” is successful because of the craftmanship of the acting, the effective lighting and use of the subjective camera, the excellent tension building and editing, and the ingenious music composed by John Carpenter himself. There were many sequels, but none of them matched the atmospheric original. You can read the full review HERE
 
Still to watch: 75

Oldies Movie Review - Halloween

Director: John Carpenter
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 1978
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards, Brian Andrews, John Michael Graham, Nancy Stephens, Arthur Malet, Mickey Yablans, Brent Le Page, Adam Hollander, Robert Phalen, Tony Moran

Description: On Halloween night of 1963, 6-year old Michael Myers stabbed his sister to death. After sitting in a mental hospital for 15 years, Myers escapes and returns to Haddonfield to kill.

Review: With “Halloween”, Jamie Lee Curtis followed in her mother’s footsteps. Mom Janet Leigh is known for the Hitchcock film “Psycho” and that famous shower scene. After “Halloween” Curtis got the nickname ‘scream queen’. It was her first movie role and her big break in Hollywood.
Many sequels were made after “Halloween”. But the first will always be the best and is an absolute horror classic. “Halloween” didn’t have a big budget and was filmed in only three weeks. “Halloween” had a big influence on the horror genre.
Off course the effects aren’t of today’s quality, but the suspense and scares are much bigger than today’s horror films. Partly because of the music, which is composed by director John Carpenter. The creepy melody is very well known now. With that the camera shows us the perspective of the killer sometimes, which has been copied many times after this. The movie doesn’t have a lot of blood and gore, but is still very scary. That’s what’s so good about “Halloween”.
Killer Michael Myers has become a famous horror character. He is pure evil, with the dead eyes and his stoic attitude.
“Halloween” is a masterpiece and one of my all-time favorite horror movies.

Rating: 5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Halloween

Director: David Gordon Green
Genre: Thriller/ Horror
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Will Patton

Description: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) confronts her long-time foe Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

Review: The term retcon means retroactive continuity. Which means that events in sequels and prequels never happened. With that in mind, “Halloween” is the direct sequel to the 1978 version by John Carpenter. Forgetting that character Laurie Strode had a son in “Halloween H20” and died in “Halloween: Resurrection”.
Laurie Strode is alive and well and completely prepared on another confrontation with the boogey man. Forty years after Michael Myers murdered his sister and four other teenagers with a kitchen knife, the psychopath was send to prison. In the highly secured institute he is staying, he hasn’t said a word since.
Laurie has been traumatized by the events that happened forty Halloweens ago. She saw two marriages fail and her relationship with her daughter and granddaughter is anything but good. Her house is a fort filled with booby traps and Laurie is a well trained sniper. When Michael Myers manages to escape during transportation, Laurie is ready for him.
Director David Gordon Green is obviously a fan of the original, because he has tried to capture the same atmosphere and style. Some scenes reminded me of the other film. And he also manages to minimalize the fake jump scares and he builds up the tension. The highlight of the film is without a doubt Jamie Lee Curtis, who reprises her role s Laurie Strode. But there isn’t enough Laurie in it, what I didn’t expect. The focus is more on the granddaughter, which is something I didn’t really like.
The film has some unnecessary scenes. Like a Halloween party scene, that really belongs in a teen drama film, and a scene with two cops talking about a sandwich.
The final scene is really strong, that was the best moment of the film. I hope they leave it with this, because the “Halloween” ended well this way.

Rating: 3 / 5

Movies to Look Forward to - November 2018

November has two movies I'm super excited for, two movies I've been dying to see since I heard about them. But it has more in store for us. Here is a list of films to look forward to in November.

November 1st – Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Brian Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Joseph Mazzello, Mike Myers, Aiden Gillen, Tom Hollander
Description: A chronicle of the years leading up to Queen's legendary appearance at the Live Aid (1985) concert.

November 1st – Halloween
Director: David Gordon Green
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer
Description: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

November 1st – The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Director: Lasse Hallström, Joe Johnston
Starring: Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Jake Whitehall, Richard E. Grant, Matthew Mcfadyen, Miranda Hart
Description: A young girl (Mackenzie Foy) is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.

November 15th – Destination Wedding
Director: Victor Levin
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder
Description: The story of two miserable and unpleasant wedding guests, Lindsay (Winona Ruder) and Frank (Keanu Reeves), who develop a mutual affection despite themselves.

November 22nd – Widows
Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Colin Farrell, Robert DuVall
Description: Set in contemporary Chicago, amidst a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands, and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Villains

This week I picked the best movie villains. Characters that are just nasty, evil, sick and twisted. Here they are.

5. Hannibal Lecter (“The Silence of the Lambs”)
Hannibal Lecter is a charming and smart man and I think some people respect him somehow. But let's face it, he eats people, that's not very nice.

4. John Doe (“Seven”)
He kills people according to the seven deadly sins. Original and brilliant, but also pretty disturbing.

3. Hans Gruber (“Die Hard”)
Hans is a sophisticated villain with a sense of style. He is very polite for a bad guy, but maybe that’s why some people might underestimate him. You don’t want to mess with Hans Gruber.

2. Michael Myers (“Halloween”)
Always very coolly, slow walk, dark eyes and silent. He never says a word and that silent act makes him very scary.

1. Mr. Blonde (“Reservoir Dogs”)
The scene where he cuts that guys ear of and that poors it with gasoline. That's sick! Mr. Blonde, aka Vic Vega, wants to see his victims suffer before they actually die.

They almost made the top 5: Darth Vader (“Star Wars”), Freddy Krueger (“A Nightmare on Elmstreet”), Anton Chigurg (“No Country for Old Men”), Alex Forrest (“Fatal Attraction”), Tommy De Vito (“Goodfellas”), Jack Torrance (“The Shining”) and Elle Driver (“Kill Bill”)