90s Movie Review - Sleepers

Director: Barry Levinson
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 147 minutes
Year: 1996
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Robert De Niro, Minnie Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Renfro, Bruno Kirby, Joseph Perrino, Geoffrey Wigdor

Description: After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.  

Review: With the director of “Rain Man”, an all-star cast and a heavy subject, “Sleepers” looks like a successful film on paper. I don’t think it was successful, but it’s definitely a film that should get more credit.
We meet four kids from ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, a neighborhood in New York. One day the four boys decide to pull a prank, but it goes horribly wrong and they end up in a youth prison. And life isn’t easy for them, because they are abused, sexually, physically and mentally. After they are released, the lose touch. Until two of the friends, John and Tommy, run into one of the guards and kill him. It’s up to the two other friends, Michael and Shakes, to keep them out of prison.
Even though the ending is a bit flat and the characters don’t all get the depth they need, the overall film is pretty strong and I believe it’s very much overlooked and underrated.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Super 8

Director: J.J. Abrams
Genre: Science Fiction/ Thriller/ Adventure
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2011
Starring: Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Amanda Michalka, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, Zach Mills, Katie Lowes, Marco Sanchez, Joel Courtney, Thomas F. Duffy, Ryan Lee, James Hébert, Teri Clark, Riley Griffiths

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 37: A MOVIE ABOUT MOVIES

Description: During the summer 0f 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.

Review: Nowadays science fiction almost seems to be synonymous with action and spectacle. From destructive robots to heroes with superpowers; as long as it looks impressive and is loud. That used to be different. Look at films like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T.”. The characters and the atmosphere were much more important. Director J.J. Abrams grew up with it and brings with “Super 8” a nostalgic ode to these type of films. And Steven Spielberg produced it.
The film is set in the late 70s and we follow a group of children. they are enthusiastic filmmakers. The young director Charles is all about the production value of his new zombie film, so everyone has to be ready immediately when a train races past their nocturnal filmset. The super-8 camera record more than they hoped for, as the train derails and explodes.
The crash with al its consequences form the main plot, but actually that’s not what the film is all about. It’s centered around Joe, a boy who has had a difficult relationship with his father since his mother died in a work accident. During the filming of Charles’ zombie movie, he meets Alice, who has an even worse bond with her dad. It’s the small and tender scenes between them that make “Super 8” more than just and exciting story. Elle Fanning is clearly a natural talent, she steals the show.
The highlight of “Super 8” is not the visual effects or the mystery and intrigue, which are both topnotch, but it’s the wonderfully nostalgic, warm-hearted atmosphere and fantastic cast.

Rating: 4/ 5