Netflix Friday - Volume 45

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

Action: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization’s name.
 

Drama: Seven Pounds (2008)
A man (Will Smith) with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
 

Comedy: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
In the deep south during the 1030s, three escaped convicts (George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson) search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.
 

Animation: White Fang (2018)
Based on the timeless novel by Jack London. A loyal wolfdog’s curiosity leads him on the adventure of a lifetime while serving a series of three distinctly different masters.
 

Romance: Save the Last Dance (2001)
A white midwestern girl (Julia Stiles_ moves to Chicago, where her new boyfriend is a black teen (Sean Patrick Thomas) from the South Side with a rough, semi-criminal past.
 

Horror: The Exorcist (1973)
When a 12-year-old girl (Linda Blair) is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother (Ellen Burtstyn) seeks the help of two priests (Max von Sydow, William O’Malley0 to save her.
 

Science Fiction: Jurassic Park III (2001)
A decidedly odd couple (William H. Macy, Téa Leoni) with ulterior motives convince Dr. Grant (Sam Neill) to go to Isla Sorna for a holiday, but their unexpected landing startles the island’s new inhabitants.
 

Crime: No Country for Old Men (2007)
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter (Josh Brolin) stumbled upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
 

Thriller: The Next Three Days (2010)
A married couple’s (Russel Crowe, Elizabeth Banks) life is turned upside down when the wife is accused of a murder.
 

Documentary: Strong Island (2017)
When filmmaker Yance Ford investigates the 1992 murder of a young black man, it becomes an achingly personal journey since the victim, 24-year-old William Ford Jr., was the filmmaker’s brother.
 

Family: Mowgli: King of the Jungle (2018)
A human child raised by wolves must face off against a menacing tiger named Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch), as well as his own origins.

Netflix Friday - Volume 25

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

Action: King Kong (2005)
A greedy film producer (Jack Black) assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives.
 

Drama: The Godfather (1972)
The aging patriarch (Marlon Brando) of an organized crime dynasty tranfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son (Al Pacino).
 

Comedy: Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
Born on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth (Graham Chapman) spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
 

Animation: Madagascar 2 (2008)
The Madagascar animals fly back to New York City, but crash-land on an African nature reserve, where they meet others of their own kind. And Alex (Ben Stiller) especially discovers his royal heritage as prince of a lion pride.
 

Romance: She’s the Man (2006)
When her brother dedides to ditch for a couple of weeks, Viola (Amanda Bynes) heads over to his elite boarding school, disguised as him, and proceeds to fall for his school’s star soccer player (Channing Tatum), and soon learns she’s not the only one with romantic troubles.
 

Horror: The Exorcist (1973)
When a 12-year-old girl (Linda Blair) is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother (Ellen Burstyn) seeks the help of two priests (Max von Sydow, Jason Miller) to save her.
 

Science Fiction: Spider-Man Far From Home (2019)
Following the evens of “Avengers: Endgame”, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.
 

Crime: Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.
 

Thriller: The Girl on the Train (2016)
A divorcee (Emily Blunt) becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life.
 

Documentary: American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
In 2018, 38-year-old Shanann Watts and her two young daughters disappeared in Colorado. With the heartbreaking details emerging, the family’s story made headlines around the world.

Family: Dudley Do-Right (1999)
Inept Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right (Brendan Fraser) chases after villain Snidley Whiplash (Alfred Molina) and woos girlfriend Nell Fenwick (Sarah Jessica Parker). (Okay, this is actually a really bad movie, but fun for the family)

Best Jump Scares in Movies

I love horror movies. Not that it makes me sleep any better, because I don’t. And I’m a person that scares easily. It’s often the silent moments that you don’t really see what’s scaring you, that make a film scary. And then there is those jump scares. Some movies overuse them and that I don’t like. But there are many movies, horror and non-horror films, that used them so well. Often at moments you’d least expect them to happen. And that’s when a jump scare is most effective. I created this list of great jump scares in movies.

Shark attack – Deep Blue Sea (1999)
In a movie about killer sharks, there will most obviously be some shark attacks. But I think we all know which shark attack I mean here. While giving a somewhat epic speech to his fellow survivors, and being warned about standing to close to the water hole, Samuel L. Jackson is being attacked and eaten alive. The most surprising kill, since he was the biggest name in the cast, but also a pretty hilarious and over-the-top kill.

The tongue click – Hereditary (2018)
When you watch a film with the sound of, you know exactly how a jump scare works. It’s a key component. Most often very loud noises. And if you watch “Hereditary” ’s big scare with the sound off, it’ll seem like nothing is happening. The scenes shows Annie in her car, when she suddenly here’s tongue clucking coming from the backseat. And still it seems like nothing, just wait when you see the actual scene. One of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen.

Face of fire - Insidious (2011)
A fine example of misdirection. The scene begins with Barbara Hershey’s character describing a nightmare. Snapping back to the real world, Patrick Wilson’s Josh sits unaware as the red-faced demon appears behind him. Did not see that coming.

Night vision – The Descent (2006)
Who thought spelunking was a good idea? It seems exciting, but not if you’re claustrophobic. If you’re not that, this trip still wasn’t a good idea, since there are strange, creepy, night creatures living there. And we see one earlier in the movie, from afar. But that’s not as scary as the scene where one of the girls turns on night vison mode on her camera. As a viewer you are emotionally invested in the arguments going on and trying to follow the camera, with already obscures by night vision. It swings from person to person. When it swings back to find a creature standing behind Rebecca and we were completely unprepared.

Hand claps – The Conjuring (2013)
Like “Hereditary”, this is a movie that doesn’t overuse jump scares or loud noises when it comes to them. And it’s also one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. And this scene in particular scared the bejesus out of me. In this scene, the scariest moment in the film plays us brilliantly. There is the slow lure down the staircase, the bouncing basketball, the exploding lightbulb, and then a moment of silence before the out-of-nowhere hands reach in for a quick clap-clap. Ugh, even writing about gives me the chills.

Need a bigger boat – Jaws (1975)
The movie’s biggest strength is hardly ever showing the shark we all know there is. I think we’re about 45 minutes into the movie when we catch a glimpse of the shark. But it’s the moment when the three men are on the Orca and Chief Brody is throwing chum into the ocean. His face is away from the water and all of a sudden the shark pops out from it. We feel what’s Brody’s feeling: fear!

Bilbo’s scary face – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Where did this come from? It’s Frodo and his uncle Bilbo having a nice heart to heart. But when Bilbo sees the One Ring around Frodo’s neck, he loses it for a second and tries to grab it. Super scary and a non-expecting scare.

The man behind the wall – Mulholland Drive (2001)
Two men are sitting in a diner, when one of them, Dan, shares this terrifying dream he’s been having. About a man behind a wall, just outside the diner. He decides to go and see it for himself and we all think, it’s just a dream. But suddenly, that man appears from behind that wall. Our hearts stopped!

Home video – Signs (2002)
When Joaquin Phoenix’ Merril is watching a news feed on the TV, I didn’t expect to have one of the biggest jumps scares ever. Merril is sitting inside a small closet while watching a news report, about a home video that was send to them. We see a group of kids at what seems to be a birthday party, they’re screaming, but we don’t know what for. Then the camera, a bit blurry, goes to a little alley and we see an alien walk by. Merril’s reaction is exactly ours: shocked!

The coughing man - Se7en (1995)
After already being exposed to gross crime scenes, we haven’t seen the worst yet. Detectives David Mills and William Somerset approach the set for the sin ‘sloth’. A scene covered with air fresheners you would normally hang in your car, presents us to a corpse that was seemingly chained to the bed and starved to death. When one of the agents approaches the body, it all of a sudden starts coughing. He isn’t dead after all.

The ‘mother’ - Psycho (1960)
It’s old school but it has stuck with me for so many years. It is so creepy when it’s found out that the actual mother died and is sitting as a skeleton in her chair and Norman Bates’ ‘mother’ appears and starts screaming. I still think about it sometimes when I’m in my basement.

Jason in the lake - Friday the 13th (1980)
People are mistaken when they think Jason Voorhees was the killer in “Friday the 13th”. It was his mother Pamela Voorhees. But at the end of “Friday the 13th” we catch a glimpse of Jason, when final girl Alice is sitting in a boat on the lake, when suddenly Jason jumps out of the water and grabs her.

Kitchen cabinets – Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
The first film already scared the sh** out of me, this sequel had one scene that I just can’t get over. When Kristi is sitting in her kitchen, just out of nowhere all the kitchen cabinet’s open. I think, if I ever watch it again, I will fast forward this scene.

The clown – Poltergeist (1982)
Clowns freak me out anyway, so whenever it’s in a horror movie it adds up to the anxiety I’m already feeling. And just when you think the clown is under the bed, the son’s gets back up only to find out it’s right behind him. Gets me every single time.

The demon – The Exorcist (1973)
While “The Exorcist” is overall a super scary and unsettling movie, it doesn’t contain many jump scares. But there is one brief moment, that made me jump up from my seat. In a blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment, Regan briefly sees the true face of the demon and it scared the hell out of me.

The white figure – The Exorcist III (1990)
When the original film didn’t have many jump scares, the third installment in the franchise had the biggest of them all. One of those unexpected moments, where the situation seems not so special. Out of nowhere, with no lead or build-up in tension or sound, a white figures chases a nurse with an ice pick. We don’t see the nurse actually being killed, but this moment really gave me the chills.