Netflix Friday - Volume 4

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

Action: Ready Player One (2018)
When the creator of a virtual reality called the OASIS dies, he makes a posthumous challenge to all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder hos fortune and control of his world.

Drama: Birdman (2014)
A washed-up superhero actor (Michael Keaton) attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.

Comedy: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
A high school wise guy (Matthew Broderick) is determined to have a day off from school, despite what the Principal (Jeffrey Jones) thinks of that.

Animation: Bee Movie (2007)
Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld), a bee just graduated from college, is disillusioned at his lone career choice: making honey. On a special trip outside the hive, Barry’s live is saved by Vanessa (Renee Zellweger), a florist in New York City. As their relationship blossoms, he discovers humans actually eat honey, and subsequently decides to sue them.

Romance: Destination Wedding (2018)
The story of two miserable and unpleasant wedding guests, Lindsay (Winona Ryder) and Frank (Keanu Reeves), who develop a mutual affection despite themselves.

Horror: The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin in the woods.

Science Fiction: Gravity (2013)
Two astronauts (Sandra Bullock, George Clooney) work together to survive after an accident leaves them stranded in space.

Crime: Molly’s Game
The true story of Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain), an Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became and FBI target.

Thriller: The Prestige (2006)
After a tragic accident, two stage magicians (Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale) engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.

Documentary: Becoming (2020)
Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others during her 2019 book tour ‘Becoming’.

Family: Babe (1995)
Babe, a pig raised by sheepdogs, learns to her sheep with a little help from Farmer Hodgett (James Cromwell)

Movie Reviews - Ready Player One

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Adventure/ Action
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Lena Waithe

Description: When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune.

Review: Author Ernest Cline, who wrote “Ready Player One”, images a grim 2045: the world is a big garbage pile, stacked campers are used as homes and all the worldly problems are ignored. Mankind rather gets lost in ‘The Oasis’, an amazing computer simulation designed by James Halliday. With X-Wings, King Kond, T-Rex and Deloreans, this film is filled with nostalgia. And the book seemed unfilmable. Until Steven Spielberg reported for duty.
In its core, “Ready Player One” feels a bit like the story of Willy Wonka. When James Halliday dies, he scatters three keys through the Oasis. De first player to find all three, becomes the owner of the Oasis. Like Roald Dahl’s classis, the protagonist Wade Watts is a poor kid that has to fight ambitious competition.
The charm of “Ready Player One” isn’t in the fairytale-like tale or even the nostalgia bomb that’s being dropped. It’s the way people communicate through movie quotes and pop-culture. And everyone lives in the past.
I never read the book, so I can’t compare. But friends told me, that the essence of the book and the characters stay intact. Wade is a bit awkward and Samantha is charming. You might even say that the characters have a bit more depth in the film.
“Ready Player One” is an awesome film adventure. Although very busy, Spielberg manages to find a balance. The film has some moments that are a bit too sweet and it’s not one of Spielberg’s new masterpieces. But it’s a joy for every genre fan and people that love nostalgia and pop culture.

Rating: 4 / 5

Movies to Look Forward to - March 2018

February is almost to an end, so it's time to look forward to the March movies.

March 1st – Red Sparrow
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Marie-Louise Parker, Ciarán Hinds, Joely Richardson, Bill Camp, Jeremy Irons, Thekla Reuten
Description: Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to 'Sparrow School' a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. But her first mission, targeting a CIA agent, threatens to unravel the security of both nations.

March 2nd – Battle of the Sexes
Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Starring: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Eric Christian Olsen, Fred Armisen, Sarah Silverman, Andrea Riseborough
Description: The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.

March 6th – Lady Bird
Director: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Lucas Hedges
Description: In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California

March 14th – Stronger
Director: David Gordon Green
Starring: Jake Gyllengaal, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown
Description: Stronger is the inspiring real life story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope after surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

March 15th – Tomb Raider
Director: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dominic West, Nick Frost, Daniel Wu
Description: Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.

March 22nd – Gringo
Director: Nash Edgerton
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron, David Oyelowo, Thandie Newton, Amanda Seyfried
Description: Gringo, a dark comedy mixed with white-knuckle action and dramatic intrigue, explores the battle of survival for businessman Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo) when he finds himself crossing the line from law-abiding citizen to wanted criminal.

March 29th – Ready Player One
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Simon Pegg, T.J. Miller, Tye Sheridan, Mckenna Grace, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Description: When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.

Movie Trailer Sunday (301)

Here are this week's trailer.

Ready Player One
Director: Steven Spielberg
Description: When the creator of an MMO called the Oasis dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all Oasis users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg.
Starring: Mark Rylance, TJ Miller, Ben mendelsohn, Simon Pegg, Olivia Cooke, Tye Sheridan
Trailer: Trailer "Ready Player One"
Comment: Always in for some Spielberg magic

Marjorie Prime
Director: Michael Almereyda
Description: A service that provides holographic recreations of deceased loved ones allows a man to come face-to-face with the younger version of his late father-in-law.
Starring: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Tim Robbins, Lois SMith
Trailer: Trailer "Marjorie Prime"
Comment: It looks stunning

The Vault
Director: Dan Bush
Description: Two estranged sisters are forced to rob a bank in order to save their brother. But this is no ordinary bank.
Starring: James Franco, Taryn Manning, Clifton Collins Jr., Franscesca Eastwood, Q'orianka Kilcher
Trailer: Trailer "The Vault"
Comment: Am I the only one that found this trailer a bit weird?

Suburbicon
Director: George Clooney
Description: A home invasion rattles a quiet family town.
Starring: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Oscar Isaac
Trailer: Trailer "Suburbicon"
Comment: Hell yes, want to see this immediately

LBJ
Director: Rob Reiner
Description: The story of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson from his young days in West Texas to the White House.
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey Donovan, Richard Jenkins, Bill Pullman
Trailer: Trailer "LBJ"
Comment: Harrelson looks so much like LBJ.