10s Movie Review - Solace

Director: Afonso Poyart
Genre: Crime/ Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Abbie Cornish, Colin Farrell, Marley Shelton, Kenny Johnson

Description: Psychic John Clancy (Anthony Hopkins) works with the F.B.I. in order to hunt down a serial killer.

Review: John Clancy is a retired psychic crime analyst. When FBI agent Joe Merriweather and his partner Katherine Cowles are confronted with a series of bizarre murders, Clancy is called in to help solve the case and find a serial killer.
Director Afonso Poyart choose not ta make his thriller a lingering whodunnit and pocuses on the psychological side of events. The tension lies in slowly revealing the killer’s exact motivations. For why is he killing seemingly random people, including a child? And, more importantly for the tension, how do you catch someone who already sees everything coming?
Unfortunately, the director delivers the not-very-original story like a double episode od a mediocre crime series. Clancy’s prophetic vision looks like they were ripped together from music videos and 90s thrillers. Full of shots of angelic girls with hair blowing in the wins and snarling wolves. Not only does the film look dated aesthetically; the biggest annoyance is the very mediocre and old-fashioned action, with the low point being a messy and dully portrayed car chase. With that, the camera work is really bad and it really bugs you at times.
Anthony Hopkins is not to blame, he is strong and his chemistry with Colin Farrell is very nice. Unfortunately their acting skills are embedded in a collection of dull conventions and contrived situations. For example, Joe is called away for a phone call as many as three times in the film, so Clancy and the skeptical Cowles are scooped up with each other. In doing so, the makes probably hoped to recall the masterful scenes between Hopkins and Jody Foster in “The Silence of the Lambs”. Without success.

Rating: 2/ 5

Movie Review - The Postcard Killings

Director: Danis Tanovic
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen, Cush Jumbo

Description: New York detective Jacob Kanon (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) investigates the death of his daughter who was murdered while on her honeymoon in London, he recruits the help of a Scandinavian journalist (Cush Jumbo) when other couples throughout Europe suffer similar fate.

Review: “The Postcard Killings” is based on the crime thriller novel “The Postcard Killers” by Liza Marklund and James Patterson. Great source material, since it’s a very good and strong thriller novel. Sadly they didn’t use it well.
We meet Jakob Kanon, a New York detective, who has to identify his daughter and her newly-wed husband when they’re both laying in the autopsy table. Both were brutally mutilated before being murdered, while honeymooning in London. It has connections with another murder in Rome, that happened earlier. The murderer leaves a postcard in the city he will strike next. Since the authorities aren’t working with him, Jakob takes the matter in his own hands and recruits the help of a journalist.
The story is very interesting and the base of a, what could be, chilling thriller. But the script doesn’t really flow. That’s also a craft, to butcher such great source material. Director Danis Tanovic had all the elements for a great thriller, but managed to create a dull, predictable and very forgettable film with no tension whatsoever. Jeffrey Dean Morgen is okay, but does the best with what he has got.
I think authors Marklund and Patterson regret giving away the rights to adapt the film. This story would be in better hands with directors like Denis Villeneuve or David Fincher. A huge disappointment

Rating: 2 / 5

TV Show Review - The Walking Dead (Season 9)

Season: 9
Genre: Horror/ Drama/ Adventure
Number of episodes: 16
Year: 2018/ 2019
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohen, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquad, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Tom Payne

Description: Eighteen months after the defeat of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) under an alliance of communities spearheaded by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), the season focuses on the united communities as they face obstacles and dangers both outside and inside their alliance, with the threat of the mysterious Whisperers looming.

Review: After season 8, “The Walking Dead” had lost my interest a bit. The pacing was slow and the unexpected deaths of some character didn’t help either. Rick decision about Negan’s fate in the season 8 finale was very lame and I thought it was the end for the show. But then there was season 9, which brought the show back to life.
Andrew Lincoln was announced to leave the show. I was never a huge fan of Rick Grimes, so I wasn’t disappointed. But I was afraid that “The Walking Dead” would suffer from this. Because Rick was the main character of the show.
From the start of the season, “The Walking Dead” felt fresh. It had a new opening sequence, it made a time jump and the pacing was much faster. The walkers are more present and the way they wrote Rick out of the show has been handled well. Maggie’s departure not so much, because she was just gone all of a sudden. And within the season another time jump was added.
With The Hilltop, The Kingdom and Alexandria still working together, you can see that, after Rick’s death, a lot has happened between the three places and their leaders.
The most interesting and exciting part of season 9 is the new hostile group: the Whisperers. They skin walkers and used their faces as a mask, so they can blend in with the actual walkers. Negan was a great villain at the start, but eventually became softer. The Whisperers are a real threat, they are scary an merciless.
I also liked the connection between Rick’s daughter Judith and Negan. Unlikely to see them get along, but it’s very endearing to see them bond.
Since a long time, “The Walking Dead” has been interesting again and it managed to shock us towards the end of the season. Something that the show was lacking in season 8.

Movie Reviews - Rampage

Director: Brad Peyton
Genre: Adventure/ Action
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Naomi Harris, Malin Akerman, Joe Manganiello, Marley Shelton

Description: When three different animals become infected with a dangerous pathogen, a primatologist (Dwayne Johnson) and a geneticist team up to stop them from destroying Chicago.

Review: When albino gorilla George gets infected with a genetic substance, primatologist David Okoye has to try and protect his friend.
“Rampage” is based on an arcade game from 1986. In this game, you would go through a city as a giant gorilla, lizard or wolf and try to sabotage the army. A simple concept and perfect for an entertaining monster movie.
There is a little more context here. It’s explained why the animals grow to be so big. And we are introduced to human characters that we should sympathize with or hate.
“Rampage” is a destructive monster movie, with not enough of the monsters. It look good, the animals look great. Dwayne Johnson does what he does best. Being a damn charming action hero.
Fun and entertaining, that’s all.

Rating: 3 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 155: Taking Woodstock

Director: Ang Lee
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dan Fogler, Imelda Staunton, Eugene Levy, Henry Goodman, Jonathan Groff, Mamie Gummer, Kevin Sussman, Skylar Astin, Demetri Martin

Description: A man (Demetri Martin)) working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969.

Review: Director Ang Lee decided to work with a lighter theme this time, after movies like “Brokeback Mountain” and “Lust, Caution”. “Taking Woodstock” it the end result.
A film with the word Woodstock in the title, will give the audience certain expectations. The rock festival will always be legendary and is seen as a turning point in world history. Ang Lee focusses on the organization of the concert, more than the event itself. The film is based on the memoires of Elliot Tiber, a man that accidentally became important in that organization. Elliot works at his parent’s hotel, that is having trouble. No tourists and his parents don’t see the seriousness of the problem. Elliot sees an opportunity when a city nearby is organizing a concert, but its permit is declined. He arranges a permit himself and shows the terrain. But more people are interested in coming to the concert than Elliot would have ever imagined.
“Taking Woodstock” was criticized, because the movie didn’t show anything from the concert itself. And I kind of see where it’s coming from. I know it wasn’t Lee’s intention to reconstruct the concert, but in a movie about Woodstock they could have given us a little bit of the music. Lee focusses more on the feeling that the concert gave the many visitors and how lots of young people became adults during this festival. Elliot has a tough relationship with his parents and is clearly struggling with his sexuality. Woodstock is a turning point for him.
The movie could easily fall into cliché. Elliot’s development isn’t as present, because it’s alternated with eccentric supporting characters, like Vietnam veteran Billy, the transsexual Vilma, but also the chaos that Woodstock causes.
Like many others, I expected to see more of Woodstock itself. This makes it a little disappointing. But overall, “Taking Woodstock” is a pretty fun film.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 90: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 151 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot, Scoot McNairy, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kevin Costner

Description: Fearing that the actions of Superman (Henry Cavill) are left unchecked, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs.

Review: Let’s be honest: the DC comics is a little behind on Marvel when it comes to their movies. Marvel had their standalone films for Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor and Captain America and eventually teamed them up in “Avengers”. DC Comics is now bringing Superman and Batman together, two of the biggest superheroes ever.
Bruce Wayne saw his building for Wayne Enterprises fall and many people died because of it. This battle was fought by Superman and ever since then Bruce wants justice. Superman is still loved by people, but also hated by many others.
The character of Superman feels dynamic and human. Henry Cavill carries this role very well. Ben Affleck plays Batman for the first time. He is an excellent Bruce Wayne, but he didn’t completely convince me as Batman. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but his voice as Batman really annoyed me. We are introduced to Wonder Woman, who doesn’t really get a lot of screen time. But what we get is good. Jesse Eisenberg is a good villain.
“Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” is the spectacle that we were promised. And it’s visual very stylish. This film has hardly any humor in it, it’s a very dark and serious film. But the movie feels a little but messy at some points. And the emotional climax is overshadowed by the promise of a Justice League film.

Rating: 3/ 5

TV Review: "The Walking Dead"Season 6

Genre: Drama/ Horror/ Thriller
Year: 2015/ 2016
Number of Episodes: 16
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Michael Cudlitz, Daniah Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lenny James, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Description: Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by the walking dead. Fighting the dead, fearing the living.

Review: The season starts with Rick and his crew trying to assimilate into the Alexandria group. A lot of new faces, non as interesting as any of the old gang. Denise and Aaron are the only ones that were likeable and I could see them in Rick’s group.
There are a lot more introductions in season 6. Besides the Alexandria people, we also meet the Wolves, people from Hilltop and Negan’s associates. Especially the last had us on the edge of our seats, because who was this Negan character? More about him later. Some drama: Maggie being pregnant, Rick and Michonne hooking up, Abraham and Rosita breaking up, Carl losing an eye. You gotta love the drama.
The biggest shock was Glenn’s death (Episode 3: Thank You) , or what turned out not to be his death. They left us believing Glenn died a horrible death, for a couple of episodes. Everyone cried! Then to later find out it was someone else who died and Glenn was still alive (Episode 7: Heads Up). Don’t get me wrong, I like Glenn and I’m happy he’s still around. But what a twist it would have been if he had really died at such an unpredictable point in the season.
The Morgan episode (Episode 4: Here’s Not Here) I didn’t really like. I think most people did, but it was my least favorite episode of the season. I think Morgan is an interesting character and I wanted to know more about him, what he did after parting ways with Rick. But the episode was very slow.
The episode where Daryl, Sasha and Abraham first meet the Saviors (Episode 9: No Way Out) and where the people left in Alexandria are trying to find a way through all the walkers, was probably the best, bloodiest and most exciting episode of the season.
Later we meet the Hilltop Colony (Episode 11: Knots Untie) and they tell Rick and his people they have been working for Negan in order to stay alive. This made me even more intrigued, I wanted to find out who Negan was. But I knew I wasn’t going to see him anytime soon.
When Rick plans on a surprise attack on the Savior’s compound (Episode 12: Not Tomorrow Yet) we think we will see Negan, but off course we don’t. Carol and Maggie get captured and in the next episode (Episode 13: The Same Boat) we meet some of Negan’s people. Another pretty bloody episode, Maggie and Carol kick some ass in this one.
All these events lead us to the 90 minute season finale (Episode 16: Last Day on Earth) and our long awaited introduction to Negan. In this final episode Rick, Abraham, Eugene, Sasha and Carl are driving their RV to Hilltop, to get Maggie to a doctor. She is having pains and isn’t doing well. Everywhere they go, roads are blocked by Negan’s people. In the meantime Daryl, Rosita, Glenn and Michonne are captured and Morgan is looking for Carol. Did it need 90 minutes, I don’t think so, but it was a great episode. Especially the last 10 minutes. We finally meet Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Morgan kills it, he is fantastic as Negan, who might possibly be the best villain the show has had. Rick and his people are all lined up, sitting on their knees. One of them is going to meet Lucille, Negan’s barb wired baseball bat. When Negan starts hitting, we see it from the point of view of the victim. We don’t know who it is and that’s exactly where they leave us.
Many people are angry and didn’t like the finale. I loved it. I always like cliffhangers, because they leave me wanting more. This makes me even more excited for season 7. They want us to talk about “The Walking Dead” and that is exactly what we are going to do. Speculate about who Negan killed and why he choose this person. I think it’s either Eugene, Daryl or Abraham. In might be Glenn, because in the comics it’s Glenn. But we all know “The Walking Dead” loves twists and surprises.

Top 5 Thursday: "Supernatural" Characters

First I want to apologize for not frequently posting messages. My laptop crashed last week, so I have to share a computer. Which means I can't post messages as often as usual. In the weekends I can, so I will try to keep my blog up-to-date.

But for now, it's top 5 thursday and today I'm putting my second favorite TV show in the spotlights. Here are my favorite characters from that show.

5. Bobby Singer
Bobby is the closest thing Sam and Dean have to a father, since John died. Bobby knows a lot about the supernatural and is the Winchesters go to guy for information on how to slay a creature. He saved their asses more than once and cares a lot for Sam and Dean.

4. John Winchester
With two awesome sons, the dad had to be pretty cool too. And handsome. Although John wasn’t a picture perfect father, he did love his sons and did everything for them.

3. Jo Harvelle
My favorite female character on the show. She was introduced in season two and later made a surprise return in season 5. I really wished she hooked up with Dean, because he realized how much she meant to him right before Jo died. I hated to see her go.

2. Castiel
Although Castiel doesn’t display a lot of emotions and always exhibits an extremely somber disposition, he’s the only angel that later on does experience emotion. He helps the brothers and I like his bond with Dean.

1. Dean Winchester
Dean is a rebel and a ladies man, but deep inside there is this sweet and kind guy. He just happens to hunt the supernatural, kicks ass with a gun, drives an awesome car and has a killer smile. Seriously… what’s not to like.

They almost made the top 5: Sam Winchester, Ellen Harvelle, Lisa Braeden and Ruby