Netflix Friday - Volume 61

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

Action: The Italian Job (2003)
After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.
 

Drama: Victoria & Adbul (2017)
Queen Victoria (Judy Dench) strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal).
 

Comedy: Barney’s Version (2010)
The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti).
 

Animation: The Lego Movie (2014)
An ordinary LEGO construction worker (Chris Pratt), thought to be the prophesied as “special”, is recruited to join a quest to sop an evil tyrant (Will Ferrell) from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis.
 

Romance: Shall We Dance (2004)
A bored, overworked estate lawyer (Richard Gere) signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.
 

Horror: Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021)
A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued their town for over 300 years. Welcome to Shadyside.
 

Science Fiction: In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)
A Philadelphia police officer (Boyd Holbrook) struggles with a lifelong obsession to track down a mysterious serial killer whose crimes defy explanation.
 

Crime: Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Two Boston area detectives (Casey Affleck, Michelle Monoghan) investigate a little girl’s kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally.
 

Thriller: Red Dragon (2002)
A retired FBI agent (Edward Norton) with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down “The Tooth Fairy” (Ralph Fiennes), a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter.
 

Documentary: Pelé (2016)
Pelé’s meteoric rise from the slums of Sao Paulo to leading Brazil to its first World Cup victory at the age of 17 is chronicled in this biographical drama.
 

Family: Matilda (1996)
Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father and mother.

Netflix Friday - Volume 15

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

Action: Bumblebee (2018)
On the run in the year 1987, Bublee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small California beach town. On the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.

Drama: The Squid and the Whale (2005)
We follow two young boys (Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline) dealing with their parents divorce (Laura Linney, Jeff Daniels) in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

Comedy: The Naked Gun (1988)
Incompetent polive Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Animation: When Marnie Was There (2014)
Due to 12-year-old Anna’s (Hailee Steinfeld) asthma, she’s sent to stay with relatives of her guardian in the Japanese countryside. She likes to be along, sketching. She befriends Marnie, but who is this mysterious girl?

Romance: Stardust (2007)
In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man (Charlie Cox) makes a promise to his beloved (Claire Danes) that he’ll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.

Horror: Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people, with the culprit being the legendary apparition, The Headless Horseman.

Science Fiction: Interstellar (2014)
A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival.

Crime: American History X (1998)
A former neo-nazi skinhead (Edward Norton) tries to prevent his younger brother (Edward Furlong) from going the same wrong path that he did.

Thriller: Basic Instinct (1992)
A violent police detective (Michael Douglas) investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist (Sharon Stone).

Documentary: Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020)
Actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in search of healthy, sustainable ways to live.

Family: The Lego Movie (2014)
An ordinary LEGO construction worker (Chris Pratt), thought to be the prophesied as ‘special’, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis.

Movies You Expected to Hate, but Loved

I think everyone can make a list like this. You see a trailer for a movie or read about an upcoming flick and you just roll your eyes. Because you will most definitely hate it. But when you eventually see it, you really really really love it. Here is a list of my misjudgments, the movies I expected to hate, but actually loved.

John Wick (2014)
I thought it was going to be one of those terrible revenge movies, kind of like how Steven Seagal makes them. But it eventually turned out to be such a great film with awesome fight scenes. And the sequels get better and better, I love those even more. It still is an old-fashioned revenge movie, about a former hitman who is becomes vengeful after a bunch of Russian mobsters kill his dog.

The Lego Movie (2014)
Who really needed this movie? Well, apparently I did. Nobody expected a movie about the most popular bricks would be such a huge hit. I was fascinated with how it was made and “The Lego Movie” was extremely funny. And that song.....

Avatar (2009)
I avoided this film, for as long as I could. I didn’t want to see it, thought it was just another cash-grab and found the blue creatures super weird. But I eventually caved and saw it, at home. And now I’m sad that I never saw it on the big screen. I never expected this film to have such a strong message and it looks amazing. The film still has a lot of haters, but now I don’t understand why. Because “Avatar” is such a beautiful film.

Game Night (2018)
It seemed kind of boring and goofy, and Jason Bateman starring didn’t really look inviting, since most of his comedy work is silly. Yet, I was very wrong and think this is one of the best comedies of the 2010s. I loved the starting point of this film, enjoyed Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman together. Such a funny comedy.

Spy (2015)
A spy comedy, ugh. With Melissa McCarthy, who will probably do what she always does. But “Spy” is hilarious. And Jason Statham, whom I’m not a big fan of, is the best part of this film (never thought I would EVER say that). “Spy” is one great comedy!

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
I like spy movies, but I expected “Kingsman: The Secret Service” to be another James Bond clone. I was so surprised with how good this film was. It has humor and does mock the genre at times. Great action and that scene in the church with “Free Bird” playing is one of the best scenes I had seen that year. A fantastic action flick.

Happy Death Day (2017)
Just another teen slasher I thought. It actually turned out to be a very funny and clever horror film. Much better than I expected it to be.

Ant-Man (2015)
I really thought ”Ant-Man” was going to suck, because I wasn’t really sure if Paul Rudd could pull off the superhero vibe. And director Peyton Reed was mainly known for some comedies he made. Little did I know that “Ant-Man” would eventually become one of my favorite MCU films. Now I can’t think about anyone else playing Scott Lang. I enjoyed the comedic tone the film has and Rudd really is perfect for it. I also really loved the fact that it brought back Evangeline Lilly, I have loved her since I was introduced to her in “Lost”.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
I mainly hated the idea of it being rebooted, since I really love the original “Jumanji”, even though time hasn’t been kind to it at all. The CGI is very outdated, but still. When I did see “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” it really pleasantly surprised me. I loved the cast and how they told the same story, but adapted it to the modern world.

Top 10: Favorite Movies of 2014

I got to see a lot of 2014 movies, so this year I will make a favorites list of the year. Off course I didn’t get to all the movies of this year, because that’s impossible.  I didn’t see “Boyhood”, for no apparent reason. Some 2014 movies are coming out next year in The Netherlands, like “Birdman” or “The Imitation Game” and there are also some movies on this list that officially came out in 2013, but in my country it was 2014. Let’s get started, here are my favorite movies of 2014.

 

10. Edge of Tomorrow

The most recent view of this list. I wasn’t stoked about this at first, I didn’t see it in theaters. Now I regret that, because it was AWESOME! Finally the Tom Cruise action movie we were waiting for.

 

 

9. The Guest

It sounded so standard, but it was anything but standard. What I got was a solid thriller that had elements of “Drive” and 80s horror/ thriller in it. John Carpenter didn’t help making this movie, but it was like watching one of his creations. “The Guest” was amazing and thank God for Dan Stevens.

 

 

8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Ceasar made it to my list. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” was just as good as “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. It’s something about apes, I’m captivated every time. And I know it’s probably never going to happen, but give Andy Serkis an Oscar! This man is a genious.

 

 

7. Begin Again

This was such a sweet film, I was literally smiling the entire runtime. The soundtrack is great and I just loved this film. When I read the synopsis I thought it was going to be mediocre, but it was so much better.

 

 

 

6. Nightcrawler

I was curious, I wanted to know what this was about. “Nightcrawler” was a surprisingly good movie, I didn’t see that coming. And Jake Gyllenhaal gave away such a mind blowing performance. He really got lost in his role.

 

 

5. The Lego Movie

I your title song is called “Everything is Awesome”, you better be awesome. And that’s exactly what “The Lego Movie” is. I never thought I would love it as much as I do. I’m didn’t even play with LEGO that much as a kid. I enjoyed this so much, I have watched the movie three times already this year.

 

 

4. 12 Years a Slave

If this movie doesn’t touch you, you’re a robot. Ever inch in my body felt the pain and the suffering of Solomon. Such an amazing movie, goose bumps.

 

 

3. Whiplash

Oh how I loved this movie! I heard so many great things about it and I totally agreed with all of those people. Seriously, J.K. Simmons in this film, if his character was real he would scare the sh** out of me.

 

 

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

This year I discovered that Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors. His movies are a piece of art, they look amazing. I wish I had his creative mind. I enjoyed “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Ralph Fiennes’ performance is one of the best of the year. I’m actually missing this movie on a lot of 2014 movie lists. Maybe they aren’t Wes Anderson fans.

 

 

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

I didn’t know anything about the heroes in this film before seeing it. Each one of them stole my heart and I’m a fan of “Guardians of the Galaxy”. It’s understatement if I say I adored this movie. I even think it’s the best Marvel movie so far!

 

 

Honorable Mentions: Her, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part, Neighbors, Locke

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Playlist of the Year 2014

I decided to do something new, I’ve never done this before. I wanted to make a list of the five coolest, most awesome songs in movies of 2014. And it took me a while to go through all of them, because movies this year brought us some great songs. They might not be the most popular songs, you won’t find all of them in the charts, but that doesn’t take away any of their awesomeness. Here is the playlist.

5. Mr. Mustafa by Alexandre Desplat (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

Alexandre Desplat is an amazing composer and he made some wonderful music for “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, one of the best movies of 2014 and also one of my faovrites of the year. Fun fact: he also wrote music for this year’s “Godzilla”, “The Monuments Men”, “Unbroken” and “The Imitation Game”. Does this man ever sleep?

 

 

4. Lost Stars by Adam Levine (“Begin Again”)

I loved this movie and its soundtrack. This song I just can’t get out of my head, it’s so good! Not a Maroon 5 fan, but Adam Levine nails this song!

 

 

3. Anthonio (Berlin Breakdown Version) by Annie (“The Guest”)

This synthy, John Carpenter-esque cut was part of one of the nicest surprises of the year. From a distance, “The Guest” looked like a fairly standard genre piece, but it was so much more. And Dan Stevens also is one of the biggest breakthrough stars of the year.

 

 

2. Everything is Awesome by Tegan and Sara ft. The Lonely Island (“The Lego Movie”)

There are earworms and then there is “Everything is Awesome”. So catchy that the mere mention of its name can instigate mass chanting, it’s hard to believe that it was created by people.

 

 

1. Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde (“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2”)

It may be overshadowed by “The Hanging Tree”, but this is the best song of the soundtrack. And my favourite song of this year’s movie playlist.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Solomon by Hans Zimmer (“12 Years a Slave”), Love me Tomorrow by John Newman (“Edge of Tommorow”), Old Man by Neil Young (“The Expendables 3”), Come and Get Your Love by Redbon (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Hero by Family of the Year (“Boyhood”), American Interior by Gruff Rhys (“American Interior”), We Build This City by Starship (“The Skeleton Twins”), The Hanging Tree by Jennifer Lawrence (“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1”)

Quotables: "The Lego Movie"

This movie really surprised me, I didn’t expect to like it this much. And it’s very well made and really funny. Here are some of the best quotes from “The Lego Movie”.

Emmet: You don't have to be the bad guy. You are the most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe. And you are capable of amazing things. Because you are the Special. And so am I. And so is everyone. The prophecy is made up, but it's also true. It's about all of us. Right now, it's about you. And you... still... can change everything.

Emmet: Uh, guys? We're about to crash into the sun.

Batman: Yeah, but it's gonna look really cool.

Emmet: [while driving] I wanna go home!

[a house lands in the middle of the roadway and Emmet crashes into it]

Emmet: That's not what I meant!

Emmet: Hey, I can be dark and brooding too - Guys, look, a rainbow!

Lucy: [to Emmet] Come with me if you want to not die.

Lucy: Today will not be known as Taco Tuesday. It will be known as freedom Friday, but still on a Tuesday!

Bad Cop: You were found at the construction site convulsing with a strange piece.

Emmet: That's disgusting!

Benny: [suddenly appears] Hey, I'm Ben! But you can call me Benny! And I can build a spaceship. Watch this. [starts building a spaceship]

Benny: Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship!

Lucy: No! You can't. The skies are surrounded.

Benny: That's okay, I didn't really wanna build a spaceship. Anyway, that's

[kicks his half built spaceship and it falls apart]

 

Emmet: Isn't there a good cop?

Bad Cop: [Changes to good cop] Hi buddy! Want a cup of water?

Emmet: Yeah, actually.

Bad Cop: [Changes back to bad cop]

[Smacks water away]

Bad Cop: Too bad!

Unikitty: You need to be more friendly!

In the Picture: The Characters from "The Lego Movie"

I wasn't too sure about "The Lego Movie", but when I heard so many great things about it, I became curious. So I saw it and I loved it! And now I feel like watching it again... But first, I'm going to share all the awesome characters from "The Lego Movie" with you. It's filled with them, because 'Everything is awesome... lalalala'!

Emmet

Voiced by: Chris Pratt

Emmet is an average Lego minifigure, who is mistakenly identiefied as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is ordinary and follows all the rules. He’s sucked into the eventful life of Wyldstyle, who catches Emmet’s attention.

Wyldstyle

Voiced by: Elizabeth Banks

Wyldstyle is a free spirit who loves pushing boundaries and being creative. She is strong and independent. She believes Emmet is the “Special” and sparks fly between them, but she has a boyfriend.

Vitruvius

Voiced by: Morgan Freeman

Vitruvius is an ancient and heroic wizard, who prophesizes that a “Special” wil defeat Lord Business and become the greatest Master Builder. When it’s believed to be Emmet, Vitruvius tries to teach him that the key to true building is to believe in yourself.

President Business/ Lord Business

Voiced by: Will Ferrell

President Business is an uptight CEO who has a hard time balancing world domination with micro-managing his own life. His successful business contains creating music, TV, surveillance systems, history books and voting machines, dairy and overprized coffee. His secret identity is Lord Business, an evil tyrant who want to take over the entire Lego universe.

Good Cop/ Bad Cop

Voiced by: Liam Neeson

He is Lord Business’s number 1 guy, whom he can always rely on. He has both a good and a bad side, but Lord Business takes away the good side. But deep down there is still a good cop.

Metalbeard

Voiced by: Nick Offerman

Metalbeard is a fierce Master Builder. He has the head of a pirate and the body of a multi-purpose utility knife. All he wants is to beat Lord Business, because the last time he badly failed.

Unikitty

Voiced by:

Alison Brie Unikitty is from Cloud Cuckoo Land, the capitol of rainbows and puppies. She is half unicorn, half kitten. She loves dancing and is very positive. Unikitty is happy to follow her Master Builders in the quest to defeat Lord Business. And you really don’t want to make her angry.

Benny

Voiced by: Charlie Day

Benny is a ‘70s era spaceman, who suffers from a cracked helmet and lack of oxygen. He loves spaceships and he is always finding a moment to build one. And when he finally can….

Batman

Voiced by: Will Arnett

Batman makes it no secret he prefers working alone, since he could probably get the job done better and faster. He is Wyldstyles’ boyfriend, is very confident and likes to show off his skills and coolness.

 

 

Favorite: Emmet