Netflix Friday - Volume 111

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

Action: Interceptor (2022)
One Army Captain (Elsa Pataky) must use her years of tactical training and military expertise when a simultaneous coordinated attach threatens the remote missile interceptor station she is in command of.
 

Drama: Moneyball (2011)
Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s (Brad Pitt) successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.
 

Comedy: Long Shot (2019)
Journalist Fled Flarsky (Seth Rogen) reunites with his childhood crush, Charlotte Fields (Charlize Theron), now one of the most influential women in the world. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly.
 

Animation: A Whisker Away (2020)
Miyo Sasaki is in love with her classmate Kento Hinode and tries repeatedly to get Kento’s attention by transforming into a cat, but at some point, the boundary between herself and the cat becomes ambiguous.
 

Romance: What Happens in Vegas (2008)
A man (Ashton Kutcher) and a woman (Cameron Diaz) are compelled, for legal reasons, to live life as a couple for a limited period of time. At stake is a large amount of money.
 

Horror: The Prodigy (2019)
A mother (Taylor Schilling) concerned about her young son’s disturbing behavior thinks something supernatural may be affecting him.
 

Science Fiction: The Core (2013)
The only way to save Earth from catastrophe is to drill down to the core and set it spinning again.

Crime: Spiderhead (2022)
In the near future, convicts are offered the chance to volunteer as medical subjects to shorten their sentence. One such subject for a new drug capable of generating feelings of love beings questioning the reality of his emotions.
 

Thriller: Fear (1996)
When Nicole (Reese Witherspoon) met David (Mark Wahlberg); handsome, charming, affectionate, he was everything. It seemed perfect, but soon she sees that David has a darker side. And his adoration turns to obsession, their dream into a nightmare, and her love into fear.
 

Documentary: Misha and the Wolves (2022)
“Misha and the Wolves” is the dramatic tale of a woman whose holocaust memoir took the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher, who turned detective, revealed an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.
 

Family: The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of fairies and other creatures.

10s Movie Review - Long Shot

Director: Jonathan Levine
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O’Shea Jackson Jr., June Diane Raphael, Ravi Patel, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Serkis, Randall Park, Lisa Kudrow, Alexander Skarsgård

Description: Journalist Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) reunites with his childhood crush, Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), now one of the most influential women in the world. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 38: A POLITICAL MOVIE

Review: Opposites attract. A given for many romantic comedies. But when the chemistry is bad, it doesn’t work. Luckily for us, the very different Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen work super well together. A very unlikely duo in a very different kind of romcom.
First, the contrast: Rogen plays the cheeky investigative journalist Fred Flarsky. He refuses to work for a money-hungry media tycoon and quits his job. Theron is Secretary of State Charlotte, very ambitious and wants to run for President. The two know each other from their childhood. When their paths cross at a party, Fred manages to make an unforgettable impression on Charlotte. Because she has to work on her sense of humor, she hires Fred to write her speeches.
Although there is a high degree of predictability present, it doesn’t bother here. Because director Jonathan Levine invests in his characters, their attraction, journeys and setbacks. Which makes “Long Shot” not one of those disposable romcoms, but one with actual depth and dimensional characters. With that, the predictability is easy to forgive.
“Long Shot” also constantly keeps balance. Fred and Charlotte go through palpable emotions and doubts. The supporting characters are simply their for support, they never try to outshine the main characters, they aren’t annoying and are above all functional for the story.
The ending might be a tad to sweet, but overall “Long Shot” is a great romcom set with a political background and two leads that work better together then you might expect. I also love the fact that there is a strong moral compass here: fight for what you love, no matter what the majority thinks. A good, strong comedy.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movies to Look Forward to - June 2019

Another month is almost over, so time to look forward to June.

June 6th – Tolkien
Director: Dome Karukoski
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins
Description: Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school.

June 6th – Dark Phoenix
Director: Simon Kinberg
Starring: Sophie Turner, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender, Tye Sheridan, Evan Peters, Kodi Smith-PcPhee
Description: Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to decide if the life of a team member is worth more than all the people living in the world.

June 13th – Long Shot
Director: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Serkis, Alexander Skarsgård
Description: When Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) reunites with his first crush, one of the most influential women in the world, Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), he charms her. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly.

June 20th – Child’s Play
Director: Lars Klevberg
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Hamill, Brian Tyree Henry
Description: A mother (Aubrey Plaza) gives her son a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature.

June 20th – Men in Black: International
Director: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Rafe Spall
Description: The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.

June 26th – Toy Story 4
Director: Josh Cooley
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Keanu Reeves, Patricia Arquette, Christina Hendricks, Jordan Peele, Joan Cusack, Laurie Metcalfe, Timothy Dalton, Annie Potts, Bonnie Hunt, Keegan-Michael Key, Wallace Shaw, Kristen Schaal, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Jeff Carlin
Description: When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy.

June 27th – Yesterday
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Ana de Armas, Himesh Patel
Description: A struggling musician realizes he's the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles.