Movie Review - Amsterdamned 2

Director: Dick Maas
Genre: Thriller/ Action/ Horror/ Crime
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Huub Stapel, Holly Mae Brood, Ruben Brinkman, Tatum Dagelet, Pierre Bokma, Pieter van der Sman, Patrick Stoof
 
Description: A killer is terrorizing the canals of Amsterdam, with young detective Tara Lee on the case. They call in the help of former detective Eric Visser, now retired, who dealt with a similar case over thirty years ago.
 
Review: In “Amsterdamned 2” there is yet another killer on the loose, taking his victims in the canals of Amsterdam. Detective Tara Lee is lead on the case. Retiree Eric Visser returns to Amsterdam to help out, since he dealt with a similar case in the 1980s.

This film didn’t need a sequel. This was made purely for nostalgic reasons. And although very entertaining and enjoyable, “Amsterdamned 2” is doing much of the same as the first film. The plot is weak and the conclusion is very unsatisfying.

Thr return of Huub Stapel is the highlight though, and he has great chemistry with Holly Mae Brood. Both performances are solid. Many nods to the original, with the humor and another canal chase scene.

“Amsterdamned 2” was not necessary, but still fun. You do need to have seen the first, to understand some plot points and some nods, but overall an enjoyable film if you liked the original.

Rating: 3/ 5

00s Movie Review - Minoes

Director: Vincent Ball
Genre: Family
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2001
Starring: Carice van Houten, Theo Maassen, Sarah Bannier, Olga Zuiderhoek, Jack Wouterse, Loes Luca, Pierre Bokma, Annet Malherbe, Wim T. Schippers, Paul Haenen, Hans Teeuwen, Katja Schuurman, Hans Kesting

Description: A cat who turns into a young woman (Carice van Houten) helps a journalist (Theo Maassen) protect their town from a factory boss with an evil plan.

Review: Tibbe is a starting journalist at the Killendoornse Courant, but due to his shy nature he can’t find any scoops. The editor in chief of the newspaper gives Tibbe another chance to come up with a good story. While Tibbe has a good story to write about, he meets the remarkable Miss Minoes who sits at the top of a tree. She used to be a cat, she says. She behaves rather cat-like indeed: she purs, she prefers to sleeps in a box and she can talk to other cats. Tibbe has his doubts about Minoes, but when she helps him with exclusive news by talking to all the cats, he hires her as his assistant. In return, she can live with him. One day the cats tell Minoes that Mr. Ellemeet, factory manager and very beloved local benedactor, turns out to be a culprit. When Minoes sees to it that Tibbe publishes the dark secrets of Mr. Ellemeet, all the citizens of Killendoorn turn agains Tibbe. However, Tibbe refuses to rectify his story, and is immediately dismissed.
Minoes is based on the famous children’s book by beloved Dutch children’s book author Annie M.G. Schmidt. She has conquered the hearts of young and old for generations with her heartwarming and humorous stories. This story was skillfully adapted to film.
Theo Maassen plays the role of Tibbe, who is mostly known as a stand-up comedian and this was his first role in a feature film. And since his comedy act is often very harsh, it’s a lot of fun to see him in such a timid, sweet role. Carice van Houten, who we now know as Melisandre from “Game of Thrones”, plays the titular character. She had already played various roles in Dutch films and even won a Golden Calf in 1999 for her role in “Suzy Q”. In “Minoes” is clear why she is one of The Netherland’s nationals treasures in the acting business.
“Minoes” is a wonderful family film, such a kindhearted movie that will put a smile on your face.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Terug Naar de Kust

Director: Will Koopman
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Linda de Mol, Huub Stapel, Pierre Bokma, Daan Schuurmans, Ariane Schluter, Jaap Spijkers, Stefan de Walle, Koen de Bouw

Description: Maria (Linda de Mol) tries to escape a stalker by moving with her children to her sister’s isolated beach house.

Review: “Terug Naar de Kust” is a movie based on the novel written by the Dutch bestselling author Saskia Noort. She decided director Will Koopman would be the best choice to adapt it to the big screen, together with her husband Lex Wertwijn, who is a screenwriter and cameraman. And where the book has a lot of tension, the movie lacks it and somehow the story lost its edge too.
Maria Vos is the mother of two and has a relationship with the impetuous Geert, with whom she plays in a band. However, the relationship between the two is very tense and she ends it. When Maria discovers she is pregnant, she decides to have an abortion. Shortly afterwards she receives a number of bizarre anonymous messages, in which she is called a murderer and gets death threats. The police advise her to ‘disappear’ for a while, when they investigate the case. Maria leaves to stay with her older sister Ans, who owns a villa by the sea. There too, however, she finds no rest; she is confronted with traumatic childhood memories, and her mental health seems to deteriorate further and further.
Director Koopman has been given a considerable cast for her feature debut. Of course there is Linda de Mol, very loved in The Netherlands and a gifted actress. In addition, she managed to stand tall against Huub Stapel (with a relatively small role) who is probably one of the best actors in The Netherlands. And there is also Ariane Schluter, Pierre Bokman and Daan Schuurmans to accompany them. With such a great star cast, little can go wrong when it comes to acting. You might say. Nevertheless, Koopman hardly manages to let any of them come to full bloom. De Mol for example, acts way below her level and Stapel has little to work with to make an impact. Schuurmans does his best and is good, the relationship between his character Geert and Maria comes off as forced and is unbelievable.
The plot lacks tension, there a too long uninteresting segments and a climax that you could see coming from a mile away. The entire film is just not captivating enough. With such source material, which did have tension and was interesting and surprising, it’s really a mystery why this movie didn’t work.

Rating: 2 / 5