90s Movie Review - The First Wives Club

Director: Hugh Wilson
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 1996
Starring: Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Dan Hedaya, Victor Garber, Stephen Collins, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stockard Channing, Elizabeth Berkley, Marcia Gay Harden, Maggie Smith, Bronson Pinchot

Description: Reunited by the death of a college friend, three divorced women seek revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women.

Review: “The First Wives Club” is a revenge comedy, that is mostly fun because of their three leads Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler. They play three women who reunite after a college friend suddenly passed away. All three are recently divorced and their husbands left them for a younger woman. Together they seek justice.

The film has many funny moments Not very realistic, but enjoyable. Especially Hawn and Midler are really funny. The film does lack depth and the characters are all a bit superficial because of it.

A fun no-nonsense comedy, about gender struggles and independent women. Nothing spectacular.

Rating: 3/ 5

90s Movie Review - Miller's Crossing

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 1990
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Albert Finney, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi

Description: Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss (Albert Finney), tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 34: A FILM FROM 1990
 
Review: This is the third film by the Coen brother, Joel and Ethan. In “Miller’s Crossing” they firmly established their signature visual flair, which they would continue in films such as “Fargo” and “The Big Lebowski”.

In this film noir, gangster Leo is asked to eliminate Bernie, but he is the brother of the woman he is in love with. Meanwhile, she is already involved with Leo’s right-hand man Tom.

The theme is good and evil: even the gangsters want to do good, act “ethically”, and be friends with everyone. But their selfishness, distrust, and corruption inevitably gets them killed.

The film feels somewhere between “The Godfather” and “Sin City”, with the gangster and film noir elements, and it’s an intelligent and witty film. Really good, overlooked filmd b the Coen Brothers.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

00s Movie Review - Mona Lisa Smile

Director: Mike Newell
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2003
Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Stiles, Dominic West, Ginnifer Goodwin, Marcia Gay Harden, John Slattery, Topher Grace

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 46: A MOVIE ABOUT A CLUB
 
Description: A free-thinking art professor (Julia Roberts) teaches conservative 1950s Wellesly girls to question their traditional social roles.

Review: A progressive teacher encourages female students to get more out of life than just getting married. Set in the 1950s, where at the very conservative Wellesley college for women, art teacher Katherine Ann Watson starts her job. Katherine deviates from all the strict rules.

“Mona Lisa Smile” has a lot to it. Besides the attempts you see Katherine making to make her students think, you see their lives of these students, as well as Katherine’s.

The central issue of choosing a career is not presented in a one-sided wat. Although Katherine’s opinion prevails positively throughout the film, “Mona Lisa Smile” also gives space to other ideas on relationships, work and ambitions as a woman.

The cast is great. Julia Roberts, as Katherine, is really good. Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ginnifer Goodwin are among the students and all these women have a different idea about life, love and ambition. This movie is carried by women.

“Mona Lisa Smile” is a beautiful film about that was a women’s life goal and what was expected of women in the 1950s. A film about thinking differently, about life choices and about love.

Rating: 5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Magic in the Moonlight

Director: Woody Allen
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Marcia Gay Harden, Simon McBurney, Hamish Linklater

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 40: A MOVIE WITH YOUR FAVORITE ACTRESS/ ACTOR
 
Description: A romantic comedy about an Englishman (Colin Firth) brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue.

Review: Woody Allen is most often either a hit or miss for me. “Magic in the Moonlight” falls somewhere in between.

This movie follows Stanley, a British illusionist, who is given the task to unmask the medium Sophie. Stanley himself is a master of deceit, since in his act he performs as an Asian man. He seems the perfect man to pierce through Sophie’s scheme. Sophie knows from the start Stanely is skeptic about her job, but he can also not resist her charm.  

Nothing really happens in this movie. It is for Emma Stone and Colin Firth that it works. Although they don’t always seem to be believable as love interests. It’s a tale of opposites attract that has been done some many times and so much better.

“Magic in the Moonlight” is not a movie I would remember for long.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Mystic River

Director: Clint Eastwood
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2003
Starring: Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Emmy Rossum

Description: With a childhood tragedy that overshadowed their lives, three men (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon) are reunited by circumstance when one has a family tragedy.

Review: How do you recognize a good movie? A tough question if you ask me. But the people who watched “Mystic River” know that this is an example of a very good movie. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, managed to win several Academy Awards. It might surprise you, because the story isn’t new and the cast isn’t filled with the biggest Hollywood names. “Mystic River” is a very strong movie that deserves every credit it gets.
The movie starts with three kids, Jimmy, Dave and Sean. They are inseparable and like to hang out together on the streets of Boston. Their bond changes when Dave is taken by a strange man, who pretends he’s a cop. When Dave returns he is traumatized. Years later the three friends reunite, when Jimmy’s daughter is found dead. Jimmy wants revenge and wants to find the person responsible.
Like I stated before, the story doesn’t sound that special. And the main characters don’t seem impressive at first either. Kevin Bacon, as Sean, is a cop trying to have a neutral view on the murder case. And Sean Penn, as Jimmy, plays a man with a temper and a criminal past who has bettered his life. Tim Robbins plays the mysterious looking Dave, who is still trying to deal with his childhood trauma. The way it was all executed is true craftsmanship. Clint Eastwood made this movie with lots of precision, love, intensity and integrity, which center the characters and not the story. The plot is done well, but aren’t the center of our attention. Eastwood focuses especially on the  irreparable friendship and what it once was. And with a cast of talented actors it gives us an anguishing movie experience. 
Eastwood gives his actor room to exploit and bring their characters to life. Sean Penn proofs why he is one of the best, what a great performance. Tim Robbins plays a remarkable role as well. His body language and facial expression sometimes tell us more than the actual words that come out of his mouth. His performance is very believable and even thinking about it gives me goose bumps.  Laura Linney and especially Marcia Gay Harden show us that they can stand tall in a movie filled with strong male actors.
“Mystic River” is a beautiful, sensitive character profile about friendship, pain and human shortcomings. Clint Eastwood deliverd one of his best movies and one of my all-time favorites.

Rating: 5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Fifty Shades Freed

WARNING: IF YOU'RE A FAN, YOU MIGHT GET HURT!

Director: James Foley
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Rita Ora, Marcia Gay Harden, Luke Grimes, Jennifer Ehle, Eric Johnson

Description: Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) and Christian (Jamie Dornan) get married, but Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson) continues to threaten their relationship.

Review: The opening scene of “Fifty Shades Freed”, the third film based on the bestselling trilogy by author E.L. James, sets the tone for the film. Anastasia and Christian get married and fly to Paris together for their honeymoon. It’s not your erotic thriller, it’s a sugar sweet romance film with absolutely no plot. Because the sex is pretty standard, they do things many couples in love do and IT SUCKS!!!!
Anastasia has to get used to her new life. And the possessive, controlling and jealous Christian has to get used to the married life. And I seriously don’t understand why anyone wants to be with Christian Grey, because he is POSSESSIVE, CONTROLLING AND JEALOUS! When Anastasia does so much as just talk to a semi-attractive man, he is raged with jealousy. And if she doesn’t go home straight from work, she gets punished. And it’s weird that Anastasia still gets shocked about the fact that Christian has handcuffs or that she doesn’t know he has an airplane is beyond me. Plus the fact that they never talked about having children before they got married. WHY ARE THEY TOGETHER (a lot of frustration as you can read).
To spice up the non-existent plot, they bring back Jack Hyde, for some thriller elements. Which brings no tension whatsoever. Oh, and did I mention those horrible scenes that are practically commercials for Audi. Or that every word spoken is cringeworthy. And they are straight from the ‘best-selling’ novels. The fact that they are best-selling kind of worries me. Or to be more specific, people actually like this. How?
The acting is awful. Even Dakota Johnson isn’t even trying anymore. And Jamie Dornan has the charisma of a doorknob (because that’s what his last name sounds like).
These films are all atrocious and I never want to see them ever again!

Rating: 0,5 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 24: Fifty Shades Darker

Director: James Foley
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson, Bella Heathcote, Rita Ora, Bruce Altman, Kim Basinger, Marcia Gay Harden

Description: While Christian (Jamie Dornan) wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her.

Review: I was warned, but I saw it anyway. If you thought “Fifty Shades of Grey” was bad, you haven’t seen the worst. Because “Fifty Shades Darker” is horrendous.
Everyone who had the need to, and many who didn’t, know the books by E.L. James. That the story is based on “Twilight” fanfiction says enough about the quality of the writing.
In “Fifty Shades Darker” we follow Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele once again. Anastasia left Christian at the end of the first film, but within the first five minutes of “Fifty Shades Darker”, the two meet again and hook up.
What director James Foley, who also directed “Glengarry Glen Ross” (great movie), was thinking, nobody knows. This film’s story is ridiculous. Wait, there is none. There is no story! The characters are stupid and dumb and very unbelievable. “Fifty Shades Darker” is just two people, that have sex. The rest that happens is unimportant. The trailer led you to believe that there was going to be tension. The girl for instance, that shows up in Anastasia’s room. That is indeed all she does. She appears a couple of times and she is gone just as fast. It does nothing for the story (that is not there). And there is a scene where Christian crashes with his helicopter. He is literally missing for five minutes and then returns asking: “What did I miss?”
The bedroom scenes aren’t sexy, just like in the first film. It’s very mild and not as controversial as people might think it will be. I at least expected to see some more of Jamie Dornan’s butt.
They added Kim Basinger (an Oscar winning actress) to the party, as Christian’s former lover. He was her submissive. But she is in three or four scenes. And Anastasia’s new boss is introduced, who transfers from just being Anastasia’s boss to full on psycho creep in no time. Talking about lack of character development.
The fact that Christian went from the “I don’t do romance” guy, to the “all I need is you” guy, is also very unbelievable. Anastasia is a pretty and kind girl, but given Christian’s personal trades, interests and ‘extraordinary hobbies’, I just don’t get why it’s her he wants so bad.
Gosh, I’m looking forward to “Fifty Shades Freed”. NOT!

Rating: 0,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 37: Parkland

Director: Peter Landesman

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 93 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Marcia Gay Harden, Matt Barr, Zac Efron, Mallory Moye, Paul Giamatti, Bitsie Tulloch, Ron Livingston, Jason Douglas, David Harbour, James Badge Dale, Larry Jack Dotson, Austin Nichols, Billy Bob Thornton, Jonathan Breck, Eugene Lee, Nico Evers-Swindell, Irene White, Luci Christian, Kate Steffens, Tom Welling, Mark Duplass, Gil Bellows, Sean McGraw, Brett Stimely, Paul Sparks, Samuel Davis, Colin Hanks, Gary Grubbs, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeremy Strong, Jackie Weaver

Description: A recounting of the chaotic events that occurred at Dallas' Parkland Hospital on the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Review: A lot of people remember where they were on November 22nd 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was killed. Now fifty years and many books, movies and documentaries later, director Peter Landesman manages to give us a new perspective on the assassination. “Parkland” isn’t a reconstruction of the murder itself, but it tells the story of the people that have witnessed the event and were close to the president at that time. The impact this shooting had on the doctors that treated him, the FBI and the cameraman who filmed it. In “Parkland” three days are depicted from the point of view of different characters.

There is an important role for the medical staff of the Parkland hospital in Dallas. They tried to save the life of JFK. Then there is Abraham Zapruder, the man that captured the shooting on camera. The movie adds another layer by showing us the point of view of shooter Lee Harvey Oswald and how his family deals with this event.

Because “Parkland” has many characters and perspectives, it’s sometimes very chaotic. This chaos makes the movie hard to follow sometimes and also doesn’t give any characters any depth. The whole thing looks unrealistic. Even though “Parkland” doesn’t convince completely, it’s a good try on telling the story from a different vision.

Peter Landesman shoots a movie from unknown and interesting perspective, but doesn’t manage to convince the audience.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 28: Fifty Shades of Grey

Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Genre: Drama/ Romance

Runtime: 125 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden, Eloise Mumford, Max Martini, Rachel Skarsten, Victor Rasuk, Callum Keith Rennie, Emily Fonda, Dylan Neal, Anne Marie DeLuise, Anthony Konechny

Description: Literature student Anastasia Steele's (Dakota Johnson) life changes forever when she meets handsome, yet tormented, billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

Review: Anastasia Steele meets handsome and rich business man Christian Grey, during an interview. The two feel attraction, but the intimidating Christian has a sexual preference that scares Anastasia at first. The two keep seeing each other and Anastasia discovers a side of herself she didn’t know and it will change her life forever.

The “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy was a worldwide phenomenon. Over 90 million copies were sold. Off course there had to be a movie. And the big question was: who will play Mr. Grey? It was announced that Charlie Hunnam would take on the role, but due to his show “Sons of Anarchy” the role eventually went to Jamie Dornan. For Anastasia they choose unknown actress Dakota Johnson, who is the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. That people were looking forward to the movie was obvious. The trailer alone was viewed over 100 million times.

The book isn’t very subtle and neither is the movie. Where the book deals with the clichés seriously, in the movie they add a bit more (cheesy) humor. Anastasia’s character is very naïve and she doesn’t seem to have a spine, but in the movie Dakota Johnson made her more human. Jamie Dornan has bigger shoes to fill. He has the looks, I’ll give him that, but Christian Grey is such an underdeveloped character, that there’s hardly anything he can do with it. No more than giving Anastasia some sultry looks. The emotional moments between the two don’t go anywhere either. Every time Anastasia asks Christian why he can’t show more of himself, he sits melodramatically behind a piano. The lighter scenes work better between them, but they don’t fit the movie.

The most important thing about the book is the sex. BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism – yes, I looked it up) for a mainstream audience. The question was: how will they put this in the movie? First off, the movie is brought to us by a big American studio, so we don’t have to expect anything shocking. To be quite frank, the sex scenes are not that kinky. Christian keeps his pants on way to many times and we get a lot of close ups of Anatasia’s face. With that “Fifty Shades of Grey” has bad dialogues and is very unsexy for a movie that is supposed to be sexy.

The book is bad, but the movie isn’t any better. And there are two more of them. Dakota Johnson made it a bit more bearable and I don’t mind looking at Jamie Dornan, but trust me people, you can better skip “Fifty Shades of grey” and watch “Basic Instinct” instead.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "Whip It"

I saw "Whip It" yesterday for the first time and just like Bliss fell in love with the game, I fell in love with this movie. I loved it! Great directorial debut for Drew Barrymore and the film has some interesting characters. I only choose the one you really get to know. Here we go.

Bliss Cavender
Played by: Ellen Page
Bliss is tired of doing whatever her mom wants. She is figuring out a way to express herself and when she finds out about the roller derby, she decided to try out. Bliss is a fighter and proves to others that she can be tough. In this sport, Bliss finds her passion and she can finally do what she wants.

Maggie Mayhem
Played by: Kristen Wiig
Maggie is the captain of the Hurl Scouts and a real team player and leader. She is the one person everyone turns to and people trust. Maggie is the one telling Bliss she could be her own hero.

Smashley Simpson
Played by: Drew Barrymore
Smashley doesn’t have it all together. She’s a bit chaotic and never on time. Smashley wouldn’t be named Smashley if she didn’t take the punch once in a while. But she also knows how to deliver them. She is kick ass, but not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Iron Maven
Played by: Juliette Lewis
Maven is a very strong woman who got succesful in the roller derby on a later age. She’s the captain of a competitive team and she feels a bit threatened by Bliss. Maven doesn’t like the fact that Bliss is being so succesful this soon, when it took her five years to get to the point she is now. Although there’s a lot of rivalry between the two, they also have mutual respect for each other.

Pash
Played by: Alia Shawkat
Pash is Bliss’ best friend and someone who you can always rely on. Pash doesn’t believe that Bliss can be tough enough for the roller derby, but with making that statement she actually pushed Bliss in the right direction. She does everything to help Bliss, but to certain limits. Pash hates to be dissappointed in her friendship.

Razor
Played by: Andrew Wilson
Razor is the Hurls Scouts’ coach. The girls don’t really listen the him, but when Bliss enters he thinks of some new strategies. Razor takes the roller derby very seriously, as of his role as coach. More than his players.

Brooke Cavender
Played by: Marcia Gay Harden
Brooke is Bliss’ mother and has it all planned out for her. She wants Bliss to enter pageants, because she would learn a lot from that and it will eventually get her a husband. Entering the roller derby is not what she had in mind for her daughter, but eventually Brooke also realizes that pageants were never Bliss’ dream, just hers.

Johnny "Hot Tub" Rocket
Played by: Jimmy Fallon
Johnny is the announcer and a bit sleazy. Basically the only thing he does is commentate on the game and then go home and throw a party for the contestants. He has a hot tub, therefore the nickname, but when the girls are in, he can’t.

Earl Cavender
Played by: Daniel Stern
Earl is Bliss’ father and understands his wife. But he chooses Bliss’side. He thinks that his daughter should be able to make her own decisions in live, whatever makes her happy. Earl actually comes to love the roller derby and becomes Bliss’ number on fan.

Favorite Character: Maggie Mayhem

In the Picture: The Characters from "Mystic River"

Clint Eastwood is a fine actor, but in my opinion he's an even better director. "Mystic River" is such a great piece of work and an actual character study of the people involved in the story. Here are the most important characters in the film.

Jimmy Markum
Played by: Sean Penn
Jimmy is the beloved father of three daughters. Two of them he had with current wife Annabeth and he had his oldest daughter with his now deceased wife Marita. Jimmy does have a criminal history. He spend two years of his life in prison for a robbery. After they found Jimmy's daughter Katie dead, that old Jimmy turns up again. For him it doesn't matter how, but he's going to find the man who did this to her. And he will pay.

Dave Boyle
Played by: Tim Robbins
Dave is a loving father and a loyal husband to his wife Celeste. As a kid he experienced something horrible and now, twenty years later, he's still traumatized. Dave is very troubled and the image of that incident so many years ago is still haunting him every day. This is also a burden in his relationship with Celeste, his son Michael and his friend Jimmy.

Sean Devine
Played by: Kevin Bacon
Sean used to be friends with both Jimmy and Dave. Nowadays he doesn't have contact with them, although they run into each other from time to time. He is a cop and the one who has to solve the murder of Katie Markum. He tries to handle it as professional as possible. Sean's wife left him six months ago, while she was pregnant. She calls him, but never says anything when he picks up the phone. It looks like it doesn't affect him, but his future with her isn't secure and he just wants her back in his life.

Celeste Boyle
Played by: Marcia Gay Harden
Celeste is Dave's wife. She loves him more then anything, but she doesn't know what to do with her troubled husband. Celeste doesn't know about Dave's traumatic experience as a child. When Dave comes home covered in blood, she doesn't believe his story. After she finds out about Katie Markum's death, Celeste starts doubting her husband and feels really insecure about her life with him.

Annabeth Markum
Played by: Laura Linney
Annabeth is Jimmy's second wife. She accepted Jimmy's oldest daughter, but it's clear that they don't always get along. Unlike Celeste, Annabeth will always stand by her husband and she would never doubt his actions. Even if it's not the right thing to do, according to the law.

Favorite Character: Dave Boyle