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)

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (November 2016)

I watched some really good films this month, but many mediocre ones as well. Mostly some newer films, not a lot of classics Here is my list of November.

5. The Girl On the Train
Despite all the negative reviews, I still think it’s a very strong thriller. Because of the story and the solid acting, “The Girl On the Train” isn’t your average thriller. The fact that people went into this movie thinking it was the next “Gone Girl” was this films downfall. It is a good film.

4. The Walk
I didn’t really expect it to be this good. Especially that last half hour kept me on the edge of my seat. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fab!

3. Hell or High Water
A 2016 film that pretty much flew under the radar. I wish more people would see it, because it’s so beautiful. And well performed by Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster.

2. Beasts of No Nation
An intense drama, touching and grabbing. Idris Elba, whom I’m a fan of, is fantastic in “Beasts of No Nation”. Great film.

1. Arrival
This movie met my expectations and was absolutely phenomenal. I love how they focused on the language aspect and Villeneuve went so in depth. Amy Adams was brilliant and “Arrival” is one of the best of 2016.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Goosebumps, Patriot Games, Schone Handen, Citizen Kane, Cache, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Doctor Strange

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 140: The Girl on the Train

Director: Tate Taylor
Genre: Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Rebecca Ferguson, Luke Evans, Laura Prepon, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez, Lisa Kudrow

Description: A divorcee (Emily Blunt) becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life.

Review: “The Girl on the Train” has been compared to David Fincher’s “Gone Girl”. Both movie are adapted from books and are psychological thrillers, where the disappearance of a young woman is the focus. A comparison like this is dangerous, because you go in with very high expectations. For this reason alone, the movie will disappoint.
Rachel Watson is a divorcee that drinks away her tears. A happy couple that she passes every day on the train, is the only comfort in Rachel’s life. She fantasizes about their life. One day, Rachel wakes up coverend in scratches, bruises and blood. She has no idea what happened. And then the police show up, telling Rachel that Megan Hipweel went missing. The woman she has been watching on the train.
“The Girl on the Train” is a thriller that works best when you have no clue what’s it about. I read the book, so I knew what was going to happen. And director Tate Taylor stayed very close to the novel. The only difference is the location, he changed out London for New York. The movie is told from different perspectives, chapters and jumps in time. Thre is really no other way to tell this story, without giving away the twists the story has. So for the people who read the book, there are no surprises.
“The Girl on the Train” is more a plot drive film than a character drive film. The characters sometimes feel like pieces in a chess game, that are moving from one place to another until we get to the climax. The credibility of those characters is a bit lost sometimes.
Luke Evans, Edgar Ramirez and Rebecca Ferguson have strong supporting roles, but it’s without a doubt Emily Blunt that steals the show.
I read and saw so many bad reviews of “The Girl on the Train”. I liked the movie a lot, I just didn’t love it. Like I said before, it’s always dangerous to have such high expectations of a film.

Rating: 4/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: 2016 Fall/ Winter Movies to Look Forward to

Summer was okay, not very spectacular when it comes to movies. But fall (my favorite season) and winter has a lot in store for us. Here are the movies I’m most looking forward to.

5. Arrival
I’ve seen two trailers now and it looks fantastic. It’s directed by Denis Villeneuve, who also directed “Prisoners”, “Enemy” and “Sicario”, all movies I LOVED! The film follows a linguist, played by Amy Adams, who is recruited by the military to assist in transliting alien communications.

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
All set in the Harry Potter universe, so for me that’s reason enough to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. The movie is about Newt Scamander, a writer who delves into the world of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his books in school.

3. Passengers
The movie doesn’t have a trailer yet, just a couple of movie stills. But Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt got me excited enough. A spacecraft traveltng to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two of the passengers are awakened 60 years early.

2. La La Land
This trailer got me jumping for joy! It looks so beautiful. The cast is stunning, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. And its director, Damein Chazelle, already showed us he is amazing with “Whiplash”. The film follows a jazz pianist who falls in love with a aspiring actress. And…. It’s also a musical!

1. The Girl on the Train
I read the book and it was one of those stories I couldn’t put away. And the trailer looks so amazing, I just can’t wait to see it. Emily Blunt plays the lead and there are also roles for Justine Theroux, Luke Evans, Haley Bennett, Allison Janney, Lisa Kudrow and Rebecca Ferguson. The story is about Rachel Watson’s post-divorce life. Every day, she takes the train to work in New York, and evert day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple who live a few houses down, Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are the perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Sully, The Magnificent Seven, A Monster Calls, Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Inferno, Sing, The Light Between Oceans

Movie Trailer Sunday (250)

Here are this week's trailers.

Rules Don't Apply
Director: Warren Beatty
Description: An unconventional love story of an aspiring actress (Lily Collins), her determined driver (Alden Ehrenreich), and the eccentric billionaire (Warren Beatty) who they work for.
Starring: Lily Collins, Haley Bennett, Alden Ehrenreich, Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, Chace Crawford, Paul Sorvino, Annette Benning, Ed Harris, Candice Bergen, Warren Beatty, Steve Coogan, Martin Sheen
Trailer: Trailer "Rules Don't Apply"
Comment: Another Howard Hughes story.

The Girl on the Train
Director: Tate Taylor
Description: Rachel (Emily Blunt) takes the train every day to her imaginary job every morning and night at a specific time because she got fired when she drank way to much on a lunch and yelled at a client and lost the company their business...
Starring: EMly Blunt, Haley Bennett, Luke Evans, Justine Theroux, Rebecca Hall, Alisson Janney, Laura Prepon, Lisa Kudrow
Trailer: Trailer "The Girl on the Train"
Comment: A new trailer, it got me even more excited for this film. Can't wait!

The Magnificent Seven
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Description: Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Haley Bennett, Vincent D'Onofrio, Peter Sarsgaard, Matt Bomer, Cam Gigandet
Trailer: Trailer "The Magnificent Seven"
Comment: A remake that I'm actually looking forward to seeing.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage
Director: D.J. Caruso
Description: Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is left for dead after an incident, though he secretly returns to action for a new, tough assignment with his handler Augustus Gibbons.
Starring: Vin Diesel, Ruby Rose, Samuel L. Jackson, Nina Dobrev, Toni Collette, Rory McCann
Trailer: Trailer "xXx: Return of Xander Cage"
Comment: Do we really need him to return???

Dunkirk
Director: Christopher Nolan
Description: Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France are surrounded by the German army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Starring: Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Styles, James D'Arcy
Trailer: Trailer "Dunkirk"
Comment: Just a little glimpse, can't wait to see a full trailer.

Movie Trailer Sunday (235)

Here are this week's trailers.

The Magnificent Seven
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Description: Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio, Haley Bennett, Matt Bomer, Ethan Hawke, Cam Gigandet, Peter Sarsgaard, Vinnie Jones
Trailer: Trailer "The Magnificent Seven"
Comment: A remake I'm actually excited for.

The Girl On the Train
Director: Tate taylor
Description: The Girl on the Train is the story of Rachel Watson's (Emily Blulnt) life post-divorce. Every day, she takes the train in to work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband (Justin Theroux), who still lives there, with his new wife (Rebecca Ferguson) and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple a few houses down -- Megan and Scott Hipwell (Haley Bennett, Luke Evans). She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking, filling her with rage. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan, where she is, and what exactly she herself was up to that same night Megan went missing.
Starring: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Rebecca Ferguson, Laura Prepon, Edgar Ramirez, Lisa Kudrow
Trailer: Trailer "The Girl On the Train"
Comment: I'm reading the book right now, super excited for the film.

The Infiltrator
Director: Brad Furman
Description: A U.S. Customs official (Bryan Cranston) uncovers a money laundering scheme involving Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Diane Kruger, Amy Ryan
Trailer: Trailer "The Infiltrator"
Comment: COuld be interesting.

Jason Bourne
Director: Paul Greengrass
Description: Jason Bourne, now remembering who he truly is, tries to uncover hidden truths about his past.
Starring: Matt Damon, Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Albert Finney, Julia Stiles, Vincent Cassel
Trailer: Trailer "Jason Bourne"
Comment: Hell yeah. What I love most about this trailer is that I dn't know much about the plot yet. That makes it even more exciting.

The Do-Over
Director: Steven Brill
Description: Two down-on-their-luck guys decide to fake their own deaths and start over with new identities, only to find the people they're pretending to be are in even deeper trouble.
Starring: Adam Sandler, David Spade, Paula Patton, Kathryn Hahn, Luiz Guzmán, Sean Astin, Nick Swardson, Renée Taylor
Trailer: Trailer "The Do-Over"
Comment: Ugh...