10s Movie Review - Dracula Untold

Director: Gary Shore
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Fantasy
Runtime: 92 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Art Parkinson, Charles Dance

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 36: A PREQUEL
 
Description: As his kingdom is being threatened by the Turks, young prince Vlad Tepes (Luke Evans) must become a monster feared by his own people in order to obtain the power needed to protect his own family, and the families of his kingdom.

Review: “Dracula Untold” is an origin-story about the most famous vampire: Dracula. Set in fifteenth-century Transylvania, Vlad the Impaler keeps the Turkies armies at bay by adopting the superhuman powers of a primordial vampire, but naturally pays a price.

I expected the origin story of Dracula would be way bloodier. This was not even a horror film. It was just fine. I didn’t think it was terrible, but it wasn’t good either. I liked Charles Dance in it, I like him in everything to be honest. But a vampire movie with barely a drop of blood, isn’t really a successful vampire movie.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 95: The 9th Life of Louis Drax

Director: Alexandre Aja
Genre: Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Jamie Dornan, Sarah Gadon, Aaron Paul, Oliver Platt

Description: A psychologist (Jamie Dornan) who begins working with a young boy who has suffered a near-fatal fall finds himself drawn into a mystery that tests the boundaries of fantasy and reality.

Review: “The 9th Life of Louis Drax” starts as a light and somewhat funny boy’s adventure, but it goes onto a more dark path about bad parenting, trauma and a cry for attention. The fantasy elements in the film feel very misplaced because of this. Louis Drax is a nine year old boy who got into a coma after a fall off a cliff. It sounds like bad luck, but it’s not the first time that Louis had an accident. Ever since his birth, there have been several accidents that other children probably wouldn’t have survived. Doctor Alan Pascal studies him and his grieving mother draws his attention. There is more to Louise and his parents than meet the eye.
It’s a mysterious crime story with paranormal elements. For a film targeted at a younger audience, it would have worked. But it gets darker and the fantasy elements feel a bit ridiculous.
When you’re invested in the characters, a movie can be a bit more bearable. But Louis Drax is a really annoying kid and very unlikeable. Jamie Dornan, who plays the doctor, is not good. I think he has the charisma of a doorknob and he is very unbelievable in this film. Sarah Gadon and Aaron Paul do their best, but can’t save the film either.
“The 9th Life of Louis Drax” is unbalanced, somewhat silly and not very well executed. A movie you should probably pass.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

TV Review: 11.22.63

Genre: Drama/ Mystery
Year: 2016
Number of Episodes: 8
Starring: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Chris Cooper, Cherry Jones, Daniel Webber, Lucy Fry. T.R. Knight, Josh Duhamel, Gil Bellows

Description: High school teacher Jake Epping (James Franco) travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy - but his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald (Daniel Webber), falling in love, and the past itself, which doesn't want to be changed and shouldn't be changed.

Review: In “11.22.63” James Franco plays Jake Epping. He travels back in time to prevent the murder of John F. Kennedy.
When it comes to book adaptations, most actors decide not the read the book before starring in the movie or TV show based on it. Or they say it’s ‘a dream come true’. James Franco, a big Stephen King fan, asked author King himself for the film rights of “11.22.63”.
Franco eventually got the lead role. He plays teacher Jake Epping, recently divorced and no clear future plans. His friend Al Templeton, who owns a diner, shows Jake a mysterious closet. When you walk into it, you end up in Lisbon, Maine. In the year 1960. Always the same place, always the same time. When you return, only two minutes have past. And when you step into the closet again, everything that happened before is undone. Al tried to prevent the murder on John F. Kennedy (11.22.63), but hasn’t succeeded. Because he is very sick, Al asks Jake to try and do it for him.
“11.22.63” dives into the murder. Most conspiracies are left behind and there is a more close study of Lee Harvey Oswald. But the show is mostly about the sixtees. According to Franco it was Stephen King’s chance to enhance everything he loved about that time, but also everything he hated.
Stephen King’s books have been made into movies and series so often. Some were flops and some were a success. I’m glad to say that “11.22.63” is a good one. A great metaphore for reality. And James Franco, who is a favorite of mine, did a wonderful job. Even Stephen King was enthusiastic about his performance.
“11.22.63” is a good mini-series, that stays exciting. You really get lost in the sixtees, just like King’s books always get you lost in his worlds.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 90: Maps to the Stars

Director: David Cronenberg

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 111 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, Carrie Fisher

Description: A tour into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts.

Review: They may be loved by the audience, but the life of a movie star isn’t all that glamourous as you might think. Classics like “All About Eve” and “Sunset Boulevard” showed us this and also “Mulholland Drive”. Director David Cronenberg gives us an insight on the life of film stars, in his very own way. Dark with a little satire.

Croneneberg’s movie, which was selected in Cannes, looks like a dark comedy. It’s a movie that shows us the ideal Hollywood life, which is not that perfect at all. The base is a serious drama, but it’s filled with irony.

The characters that are introduced in the first half hour of “Maps of the Stars” seem to have nothing to do with each other in the first place. Along the way the characters intertwine and we see that they all try to use or take advantage of the other. They all want to keep their status and their glory days are already behind them.

Julianne Moore plays a great role as Havana Segrand, a maniacal actress who still thinks she is one of the best in Hollywood. Moore has a strong opponent in Mia Wasikowska, who plays a film fan with a dark past. John Cusack, who is one of my favorites, doesn’t get enough to do. He has great moments, but his role is simply too small. The role of child star Benji is a bit too much of a caricature instead of an actual person. Robert Pattinson’s role is practically useless.

The Hollywood in “Maps to the Stars” is a nasty, rotten place filled with shameless and egocentric people. I didn’t like the movie very much and it’s really hard to explain why. It was a strange film, unpleasant to watch. Not bad, but not a movie I will ever rewatch either.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 39: Enemy

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Genre: Thriller

Runtime: 90 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini

Description: A man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.

Review: That there is a person on this planet that looks exactly like you, is an intriguing idea. Director Denis Villeneuve used it as a theme for the movie “Enemy”. It’s loosely based on the novel “The Double” by José Saramago. In the lead Villeneuve choose Jake Gyllenhaal.

The university of Toronto is the work place for professor Adam Bell. His days are dull and filled with giving lectures and pleasing his girlfriend Mary. When a colleague recommends him a movie, Adam decides to rent it. In that movie he spots a man that looks just like him. He can’t get him out of his head and wants to find the man.

If you’re a fan of Villeneuve’s movie “Prisoners”, be prepared for “Enemy”. It’s not as mainstream and probably not as known. Be ready for an abstract movie, with images that will haunt you for a long time.

The unexpected process makes it interesting and your attention never fades. The sinister music gives it a worrying and disturbing atmosphere.

Jake Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job by playing both Adam and Anthony. His great performance makes it easy to separate the two character, although looking identical. It’s in the little details. You hardly notice the transition between the two characters in the first half hour, but it’s clear you’re dealing with two different men.

The movie might make you feel uncomfortable and especially that ending is something you won’t forget very easily. It’s one of the scariest endings I have seen in a long time, because it’s so unexpectedly and it messes with your mind. This movie will stay with you for a long time, you want to unravel every little detail of it. It’s complex, so not a movie for just any viewer, but for us movie fans it’s a cinematic masterpiece.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 16: A Dangerous Method

Director: David Cronenberg

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 99 minutes

Year: 2011

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon

Description: A look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) gives birth to psychoanalysis.

Review: Psychoanalysis, is that a theme for a movie. As long as you don’t approach it to theoretically. Director David Cronenberg has been fascinated by psyche and the effect of the physic. Never has the human mind played such an important part in one of his movies. Two prominent psychoanalysts go head to head in “A Dangerous Method”, being Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. . But the confrontations between the two are limited.

Instead Cronenberg focuses on Sabina Spielrein, a Russian-Jewish patient of Jung, who eventually became a famous psychologist herself. Jung uses Spielrein as his Guinea pig to test psychoanalysis. The young woman , with masochistic tendencies, shows Jung a side of himself he never knew. Spielrein becomes Jung’s mistress and his experiences lead to a break between with Freud.

In “A Dangerous Method” there is a lot of conversation. The scenes between Mortenen and Fassbender, though minimally present, are the highlights of the film. Knightley does her very best, but somehow her weird Russian accent doesn’t really convince us. It is very brave of her to take this role, which is physically challenging for her. It would have been better to focus on Jung and Freud and especially Mortensen doesn’t get that much screen time.

With the wonderful cast and a top director, you can expect quality, but “A Dangerous Methode” disappoints. It’s not as vivacious as it could have been and because of the long dialogues it drags a bit. The moments that capture us, the scenes between Mortensen and Fassbender, aren’t present enough. A missed shot.

Rating: 2,5/ 5