Netflix Friday - Volume 89

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

Action: 47 Ronin (2013)
A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.
 

Drama: Changeling (2008)
Grief-stricken mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) takes on the L.A.P.D. to her own detriment when it tries to pass off an obvious imposter as her child.
 

Comedy: Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
After a humiliating performance at The Kennedy Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has ever won in order to regain their status and right to perform.
 

Animation: The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
The quiet life of a terrier named Max (Louis C.K.) is upended when his owner takes in Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a stray whom Max instantly dislikes.  
 

Romance: The Prince & Me (2004)
At college Paige (Julia Stiles) meets Eddie (Luke Mably), a fellow student from Denmark, whom she first dislikes but later accepts, likes, and loves; he proves to be Crown Prince Edward. Paige follows him to Copenhagen, and he follows her back to school with a plan.
 

Horror: Mama (2013)
After a young couple (Jessica Chastain, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau) take in their two nieces, they suspect that a supernatural spirit named Mama has latched onto their family.
 

Science Fiction: 2012 (2009)
A frustrated writer (John Cusack) struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
 

Crime: The Accountant (2016)
As a math savant (Ben Affleck) uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities, and the body count starts to rise.
 

Thriller: First Reformed (2017)
A minister (Ethan Hawke) of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past.
 

Documentary: Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017)
Tis documentary goes behind the scenes with pop provocateur Lady gaga as she releases a bold new album and prepares for her Super Bowl halftime show.
 

Family: Charlie and the Chocolate  Factory (2005)
A young boy (Freddie Highmore) wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world’s most unusual candy maker (Johnny Depp)

Five to Watch - Movies Starring "Game of Thrones" stars

We’ve been living without “Game of Thrones” for more then a year now. Since the last season wasn’t that great, we don’t miss that part. But I do miss looking forward to ne episodes and developments. And we can rewatch the entire series whenever we want. I decided to do something different for this item and I picked five of my favorite films that star actors from “Game of Thrones”. Movies you might not know, are overlooked or underrated, but you should definitely watch someday. Here are my picks:

Brimstone (2016, stars Kit Harrington and Carice van Houten)
Young Liz lives in a small, strictly religious Dutch settlement in the wild west. She can’t talk, because her tongue was cut out. Yet Liz is quite happy. Until a dark vicar visits the village and seems to keep an eye out for her. This is Martin Koolhoven’s first English-language film and it’s an epic, bloody revenge western with a feminist slant. Carice van Houten plays Liz’ mother and Kit Harrington arrives as a gunslinger.
 

The Wind that Shakes the Barley  (2006, stars Liam Cunningham)
Ireland, the 1920s. Damien just graduated as a doctor and wants to go to London to work in a prestigious hospital. But something intervenes: when he witnesses some misdeeds of the British army he joins the IRA, just like his brother Teddy. When the film was released, there was a lot of criticism about the way the British were portrayed, like stupid brutes. This is indeed not very subtle. But “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” is a very beautiful and strong film. 
 

Me Before You (2016, stars Emilia Clarke)
26-year-old Louisa constantly changes jobs, until she is hired to take care of Will, a wealthy young banker whose life has completely changed after and accident. This film touches some heavy themes and deals with it in a sometimes light-fashion, but also feels a bit heavy at times. Definitely keep your tissues near for this one.
 

Cinderella (2015, stars Richard Madden)
In Kenneth Branagh’s live action version of Cinderella, the classic and still very enjoyable Disney fairy tale from 1950, Cinderella is simply called Ella. Furthermore, most of it stayed the same in a film characterized by flamboyant camera work, funny computer animations and enchanting computers. Ella is played by Lily James and Richard Madden plays the prince. “Cinderella” is a surprisingly good film, that looks beautiful.
 

Mama (2013, stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)
This fairytale horror about two sisters and their guardian begins promising with beautiful images and suspense. Directed by Andy Muschietti (“It”), Guillermo del Toro as executive producer and starring Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It’s an exciting and creepy horror film.
 

Movie Trailer Sunday (52)

This weeks trailers are about three old buddies teaming up again, a couple taking care of two troubled children, Abraham Lincoln, a man taking the identity of his twin brother and a musical quartet.

Stand Up Guys
Description: Val (Al Pacino) is released from prison after serving twenty-eight years for refusing to give up one of his close criminal associates. His best friend Doc (Christopher Walken) is there to pick him up, and the two soon re-team with another old pal, Hirsch (Alan Arkin). Their bond is as strong as ever, and the three reflect on freedom lost and gained, loyalties ebbed and flowed, and days of glory gone by. And despite their age, their capacity for mayhem is still very much alive and well - bullets fly as they make a hilariously valiant effort to compensate for the decades of crime, drugs and sex they've missed. But one of the friends is keeping a dangerous secret- he's been put in an impossible quandary by a former mob boss, and his time to find an acceptable alternative is running out. As the sun rises on the guys' legendary reunion, their position becomes more and more desperate and they finally confront their past once and for all.
Director: Jon Amiel
Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin
Trailer: Trailer "Stand Up Guys"

Mama
Description: Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighborhood without a trace. Since then, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home. As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all alone? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.
Director: Andres Muschietti
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nellsse
Trailer: Trailer "Mama"
Comment: This looks freaky and scary.

Lincoln
Description: In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones
Trailer: Trailer "Lincoln"
Comment: Very excited about this film. The trailer gave me the chills, in a good way I mean.

Everybody Has a Plan
Description: Agustin (Mortensen) is, a man desperate to abandon what for him has become, after years of living in Buenos Aires, a very frustrating existence. After the death of his twin brother, Pedro, Agustin decides to start a new life, adopting the identity of his brother and returning to the mysterious region of the Delta, in the Tigre, where they lived when they were boys. However, shortly after his return, Agust�n will find himself unwillingly involved in the dangerous criminal world that was a part of his brother's life.
Director: Ana Piterbarg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Soledad Villamil, Daniel Fanego, Javier Godino, Sofia Gala Castaglione
Trailer: Trailer "Everybody Has a Plan"
Comment: Looks fascinating

A Late Quartet
Description: We follow a beloved cellist (Christopher Walken) of a world-renowned string quartet who receives a life changing diagnosis, the group's future suddenly hangs in the balance: suppressed emotions, competing egos, and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they are about to play their 25th anniversary concert, quite possibly their last, only their intimate bond and the power of music can preserve their legacy
Director: Yaron Zilberman
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Jeremy Northam, Christopher Walken, Imogen Poots
Trailer: Trailer "A Late Quartet"
Comment: A good cast.