00s Movie Review - The Village

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2004
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Sherry Jones, Adrien Brody, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Pitt, Judy Greer

Description: A series of evens tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.

Review: If you think of director M. Nigh Shyamalan’s best movies, you think of “The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable” and “Signs”. “Split” and “The Visit” will also come to mind. Usually “The Village” is not on that list. And I will not say it’s my favorite, but I certainly believe it’s much better than most people claim it is and feel it’s a bit underrated.

The film is set in an isolated village, with a close community of people that live a sober yet happy life. When dark things start happening, the villagers are made to believe it’s the inhabitants of the forest that are warning them to keep out. But the truth is hidden.

The film is never scary, but there is a lot of suspense that you constantly feel. You know something is wrong, just not yet what that is.

The film has a star-studded cast and Bryce Dallas Howard plays the main female character. She is really good and I loved her in this film. The ending/ twist is something most people don’t really like, but I personally always liked the twist of the film.

I think this movie deserves a little mote love then it’s getting. It’s absolutely not a bad movie. It’s slow and doesn’t rely on scares, but has a lot of atmosphere and a very good premise. With a surprising twist, that I just happened to like.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

 

 

 

Movie Review - Reptile

Director: Grant Singer
Genre: Crime/ Mystery/ Drama
Runtime: 134 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Alicia Silverstone, Justin Timberlake, Eric Bogosian, Michael Pitt
 
Description: Tom Nicols (Benicio Del Toro) is a hardened New England detective, unflinching in his pursuit of a case where nothing is as it seems and it begins to dismantle the illusions of his own life.

Review: In every scene of “Reptile”, a subcutaneous tension brews between the characters, all linked in one mystery: the question of who killed the victim Summer with thirty-three stab wounds. Seasoned detective Tom Nichols shuffles between the various suspects for more than two hours, making only slow progress.

Summer’s gruesome death gives Tom, played excellently by Benicio Del Toro, a second chance to prove himself as a detective. After being accused of corruption in Philadelphia, he has secured a spot in the Maine police ranks through his wife’s connections, where he is warmly welcomed by the local community of cops. It is now up to him and his partner Dan Cleary to work down the short but tricky list of suspects. Is it Will Grady, Summer’s partner in business and life? The ex-husband? Or the ‘village idiot’ Eli Philips?

With “Reptile”, director Grant Singer makes the transition from music videos to feature films, with his technical ingenuity in style and atmosphere evident. Like a monotonous hum a threat always lingers in the background of the film. The editing binds all the scenes together tightly and manage to steer the viewer into weighing the suspects. Singer’s  style is very reminiscent of that of David Fincher.

“Reptile” is a slow burn, so if that’s not your thing, you can pass on this. There ate many storyline woven into this film and few developments. The investigation continues to languish and the film shifts its attention to other matters. The depiction of friendship and grief within the U.S. police force give the characters a human edge that is missing from many similar films. But with too many side paths and too little development in the plit, Singer’s signature brooding  atmosphere quickly loses its allure.

It is Benicio Del Toro in the lead role that manages to keep “Reptile” afloat throughout its long runtime. He plays the role of hardened cop subtly with little barking and hard biting. When towards the end of the film the investigation hits closer and closer to home, he hardly needs verbal play to show his inner conflict to the viewer. it is due to him that “Reptile” is more than an occasionally uninteresting puzzle to crack for the viewer, but rather a harrowing dilemma to endure for a human being.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Finding Forrester

Director: Gus van Sant
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 2000
Starring: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin, Michael Pitt, Busta Rhymes, Richard Easton Michael Nouri, April Grace, Glenn Fitzgerald

Description: A young writing prodigy (Rob Brown) finds a mentor in a reclusive author (Sean Connery)

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 35: A MOVIE WITH YELLOW POSTER ART
 
Review: Gus van Sant is know for his movie “Good Will Hunting”, a film that turned out to be a huge success in 1997. “Finding Forrester is perhaps less well known that “Good Will Hunting”, but definitely at least as good.
Jamal Wallace is black teenager who lives in the Bronx. Although he’s just getting by in school his test scores tell differently. Because he is much smarter and talented then he shows everyone. Jamal gets the opportunity to go to a private school, with a scholarship, since he is also a good basketball player. The professors think that Jamal only got in to the prestigious school because he plays basketball. In the meantime, Jamal befriends an elderly man, author William Forrester who has been living in isolation for years. William helps Jamal with his writing and discovers that he is a very gifted writer.
Sean Connery and Rob Brown really work well together. They are each other’s opposites and therefore learn a lot from each other. Jamal is an optimist, he is curious and opinionated, while William is stern and pessimistic. Not to mention the difference in age.
The story is very inspiring and I love the friendship that grows between the two, who you would never pair up together if you see them passing by on the street. It’s a touching story and it’s sad that “Finding Forrester” is such an overlooked film.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 114: Ghost in the Shell

Director: Rupert Sanders
Genre: Action/ Crime/ Science Fiction/ Thriller
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Michael Pitt, Juliette Binoche

Description: In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.

Review: In 1995 director Mamoru Oshii released the anime classic “Ghost in the Shell”. It’s set in a future where body parts can easily be replaced by cybernetic parts. Director Rupert Sanders got the task to turn it into an American live action film.
We meet Major, a young woman who was in a terrible accident. She has been given new life thanks to robotic factory Hanka Robotics. Because she is the first of her kind, Major is used as a super weapon, specialized in tracking and killing hackers and terrorists. When you look at the story, it’s been simplified. Existential problems are a bit watered down, but the question ‘what makes us human’ isn’t completely ignored.
Visually “Ghost in the Shell” looks amazing. It was clearly inspired by “Blade Runner”. And the soundtrack is also really cool. Scarlett Johansson is supposed to carry this film and she is clearly perfect for this role. Johansson is a great action heroin. “Ghost in the Shell” has its flaws, but it’s visually stunning and Scarlett Johansson is really strong.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 110: Funny Games

Director: Michael Haneke

Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller

Runtime: 111 minutes

Year: 2007

Starring: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, Devon Gearhart

Description: Two psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.

Review: “Funny Games” is a remake of the thriller from 1997 by director Michael Haneke. This German version of “Funny Games” gained Haneke international fame and was pretty controversial. Ten years later Haneke remakes his own film.

The movie is pretty much the same as the original. What would have been shocking back in 1997, is probably not that shocking anymore today. The actual confronting effects aren’t explicitly visible by the way.

The story starts pretty standard. Ann, George and their son Georgie are on their way to their cabin, to enjoy some sailing and golf. Their neighbors are acting a bit strange when they arrive and they are accompanied by two young men. Ann and George don’t really pay any attention to it, until those two young men visit them at their cabin. They ask for some eggs, for their neighbor, but Ann’s starts feeling uncomfortable. When George comes home, he tries to send the boys home. That’s when the situation escalates and the boys are starting to terrorize the family. They are going to play a game of life and death.

Especially the performances of Naomi Watts and Michael Pitt are strong and convincing. Tim Roth is solid, but his role is not as present. Also the young David Gearheart, as son Georgie, manages to act scared.

Like stated before, the violence is mostly off screen, but it gives you the chills anyway. You know what’s happening. Haneke also choose to let Michael Pitt’s character break the fourth wall. He talks to the audience, to start a discussion. This takes the tension out of the movie a bit and for me it didn’t fit in with the rest of the film.

For fans of slasher films, this is a pretty tame movie. Although the happenings in the movie are brutal, you hardly see anything of it. But fans of suspense movies will love it. The strong acting and the setting created by Haneke are reason enough to go see this film. A confronting film with a sinister atmosphere.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 118: Seven Psychopaths

Director: Martin McDonagh

Genre: Crime/ Comedy

Runtime: 110 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, Gabourey Sidibe, Michael Pitt, Harry Dean Stanton

Description: Struggling screenwriter Marty (Colin Farrell) inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends (Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken) kidnap a gangster's (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu.

Review: Marty is an Irish scriptwriter who works in Hollywood. For his next script he only has a title: “Seven Psychopaths”. Trying to fight his writer’s block, he’s constantly drinking alcohol. His friends Billy and Hans have another occupation: they kidnap dogs and then return them to their owners in order to collect the reward. Everything goes wrong when Billy kidnaps the Shi’Tzu of criminal Charlie and Marty gets involved.

“Seven Psychopaths” is best described as a dark crime comedy. Filled with good actors who get away with all the horrible violence because of their funny dialogues and the bizarre scenario. Director Martin McDonagh broke through with “In Bruges”, which is a favorite of mine. Colin Farrell also had the lead role in that movie. Here, as Marty, he is more neutral and the people around him steal the show. Sam Rockwell does what he does best. He’s totally crazy, but wins over your sympathy somehow. Christopher Walken has the most emotional role, but his humor is great.

McDonagh filled “Seven Psychopaths” with fun moments. It’s sometimes on the edge of overdoing it, but thanks to the humor of the actors it’s a highly enjoyable movie. Definitely worth your time.

Rating: 4/ 5