DVD Collection Update (13)

I got some great films recently. Four new movies and one classic that everyone just has to have. I could've bought more DVD's, but I restrained myself, haha! But you can expect more newer films soon, because I have a big wishlist!

First I got "Jagten", which I saw earlier this year. I was so surprised and this film took my breath away. It left my speechless. I had to have it and I bumped in to it by accident. And it was really cheap. The people selling it didn't realize how amazing this film was I think.

I was so excited when this DVD finally came out. "The World's End" never played in our theatre, only in the big cities like Amsterdam. So me and my brother just had to be patient for it to come out in March. And it was worth the wait. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost didn't disappoint! It was fantastic!

"The Butler" didn't turn out to be as good as I expected. I always buy movies that I know I will like (if I haven't seen them before), but this movie didn't quite make that brief. I didn't dislike "The Butler" but I expected more. Forest Whitaker is great though!

This is a classic every movie buff just needs in his collection. "Jaws" still scares the shit out of me after watching it over 20 times. Still one of the best movies Spielberg ever directed.

This movie I haven't watched yet, but I just know I'm going to love this. I read so many great thing about "Captain Phillips" and Tom Hanks hardly ever disappoints me. I love that guy!

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 45: The Butler

Director: Lee Daniels
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, James Marsden, Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Howard, Cuba Goodingg Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Jane Fonda

Description: As Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Review: The story of “The Butler” is inspired by real-life butler Eugene Allen, who worked at the White House for 34 years. Here the main character is called Cecil Gaines. We see how he goes from working the cotton fields with his parents to being a butler in the White House.
Director Lee Daniels wanted to make a film about the position of Afro Americans in their battle for equality. It looks promising, but Daniels bit off more than he could chew. He is known for his heavy themes, like the film “Precious”. There it works a bit better, because he focused on the life of one girl. “The Butler” is set in a timespan of almost 90 years. He simply doesn’t have enough time for that, so his story is a bit lost.
Forest Whitaker does his task. His performance is solid and convincing and it’s better than the movie itself. Oprah Winfrey probably gave her all, but she doesn’t bring it. David Oyelowo, who played Cecil’s son, did a fantastic job. The rest of the cast is hard to judge, because they simply don’t get the room to exploit.
I understand where Lee Daniels was going with this film and the result is definitely not bad, because I enjoyed watching “The Butler”, but I think this project was too ambitious.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (87)

Here are this weeks trailers.

The Butler
Description: We follow the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades.
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Robin Williams
Trailer: Trailer "The Butler"
Comment: This movie reminded me of "The Help". The trailer already made me tear up a bit and the cast is amazing. Looking forward to seeing this.

Ender's Game
Description: In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military�s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he�s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis
Trailer: Trailer "Ender's Game"

The World's End
Description: Five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by Gary King (Simon Pegg), a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their hometown and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub: The World's End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind's. Reaching The World's End is the least of their worries.
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike, Paddy Considine
Trailer: Trailer "The World's End"
Comment: I loved "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead" so I'm super excited about this movie. Can't wait.

Captain Phillips
Description: This is the true story of Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years
Director: Paul Greengras
Starring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Max Martini, Yul Vazquez, Michael Chernus, Chris Mulkey, Corey Johnson, David Warshofsky, John Magaro, Angus MacInnes
Trailer: Trailer "Captain Phillips"
Comment: Finally another Tom Hanks movie. He's my man and this looks like something he's never done before.

Gravity
Description: Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone, tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth... and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Trailer: Trailer "Gravity"
Comment: I've always been fascinated by space somehow. This movie looks good and it has a good couple of leading actors in it.