Netflix Friday - Volume 40

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 Expendables 2 (2012)
Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.
 

Drama: Demain Tout Commence (2016)
A bacherlor (Omar Sy) enjoys his sweet life on the French Riviera until a one-night (Clémence Poésy) stand tells him, he’s dad to Gloria and leaves her with him. He moves to London with Gloria. Mom turns up 8 years later.
 

Comedy: Naked Gun 33 1/3 (1994)
Frank Drebing (Leslie Nielsen) comes out of retirement to help Police Squad infiltrate a gang of terrorists planning to detonate a bomb at the Academy Awards.
 

Animation: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)
It’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are facing a huge new threat Lego Duplo invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild.
 

Romance: Grease (1978)
Good girl Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) and greaser Danny Zuko (John Travolta) fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
 

Horror: Gerald’s Game (2017)
A couple (Carla Cugino) tries to spice up their marriage in a remote lake house. After the husband dies unexpectedly, the wife is left handcuffed to their bed frame and must fight to survive and break free.
 

Science Fiction: War of the Worlds (2005)
An updated version of H.G. Wells’ seminal sci-fi classic about an alien invasion threatening the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.
 

Crime: The Mule (2018)
A ninety-year old horticulturist and Korean War veteran (Clint Eastwood) turns drug mule for a Mexican cartel.
 

Thriller: Hush (2016)
A deaf and mute writer (Kate Siegel) who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.
 

Documentary: Out of Thin Air (2017)
Iceland, 1976. Six suspects confess to two violent crimes. This is the strangest criminal investigation you’ve never heard of.
 

Family: Hachi (2009)
A college professor (Richard Gere) bonds with an abandoned dog he takes into his home.

Netflix Friday - Volume 34

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 Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)
The world’s top bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) gets a new client, a hitman (Samuel L. Jackson) who must testify at the International Criminal Court. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.
 

Drama: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
A struggling salesman (Will Smith) takes custody of his son (Jaden Smith) as he’s poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
 

Comedy: Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
When an affluent couple (Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni) lose all their money following a series of blunders, they turn to a life of crime to make ends meet.
 

Animation: Arthur Christmas (2011)
Santa’s (Jim Broadbent) clumsy son Arthur (James McAvoy) sets out on a mission with Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) to give out a present they misplaced to a young girl in less than two hours.
 

Romance: Letters to Juliet (2010)
Sophie )Amanda Seyfried) dreams of becoming a writer and travels to Verona, Italy where she meets the secretaries of Juliet.
 

Horror: The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
A lawyer (Laura Linney) takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young girl (Jennifer Carpenter).
 

Science Fiction: Underworld (2003)
Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire warrior, is entrenched in a conflict between vampires and werewolves, while falling in love with Michael (Scott Speedman), a human who is sought by werewolves for unknown reasons.
 

Crime: Layer Cake (2004)
A successful cocaine dealer (Daniel Craig) gets two tough assignments on the eve of his planned early retirement.
 

Thriller: The Mule (2018)
A ninety-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran (Clint Eastwood) turns drug mule for a Mexican cartel.
 

Documentary: Dark Tourist (2018)
From a nuclear lake to a haunted forest, New Zealand filmmaker and journalist David Farrier visits unusual and often macabre tourism spots around the world.

Family: Matilda (1996)
Story of a wonderful little girl (Mara Wilson), who happens to be a genius, and her wonderful teacher (Embeth Davidtz) vs. the worst parents ever (Rhea Perlman, Danny DeVito) and the worst school principal (Pam Ferris) imaginable

Movie Reviews - The Mule

Director: Clint Eastwood
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Alison Eastwood, Dianne Wiest, Taissa Farmiga, Bradley Cooper, Michael Peña, Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia, Clifton Collins Jr.

Description: A 90-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran (Clint Eastwood) turns drug mule for a Mexican cartel.

Review: Clint Eastwood is almost 90 years old. In “The Mule” he looks vulnerable, but looking at him and listening to him never gets old. It’s like that characteristic look (pursed eyes, raised mouth corner, pained look on his face) has become more intense because of his age. Mumbling, cursing, snarling at the people that cross him, but he never explodes. Eastwood stays cool, even though it’s not like in his Dirty Harry days.
It’s the first time since “Gran Torino”, which marks my favorite Eastwood film, that he signs up for both directing and starring in the film. Walt Kowalski, who he played in “Gran Torino”, and his character in “The Mule”, Earl Stone, have a lot in common. Both conservative, grumpy Korean War veterans who look down at the foreigners in their neighborhoods.
“The Mule” is based on an article in The New York Times. People could read about a 90-year-old American man, that became a drug mule for a Mexican cartel. Eastwood and screenplay writer nick Schenk used this as their inspiration for this story about loyalty, neglect, regret and forgiveness. All these themes get attention and towards the end are finished off nicely. But midway they get lost a little bit and disappear into the background.
In this part of the film, the focus is on Earl Stone’s rides for the Mexican cartel. Because the happenings are repetitive – loading cocaine in the truck, drive it to the destination and deliver it – the makers try to add some variation. And for the most part it works well. But they also added some jokes here and there and they don’t really work. Often racist or sexist.
We have seen a character like Earl Stone very often, but it’s thanks to Eastwood that he becomes somewhat likeable and you get a connection with him anyway.
Eastwood does a lot with a little. Something he is very good at.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movies to Look Forward to - March 2019

March has a lot in store for us. Some of these movies, are on my must-see list, that I made at the start of 2019. Here is what you should look forward to in March.

March 6th – Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larsson, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Mckenna Grace, Lee Pace, Ben Mendelsohn, Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Clark Gregg
Description: Carol Danvers (Brie Larsson) becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

March 7th – On the Basis of Sex
Director: Mimi Leder
Starring: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer
Description: The true story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones), her struggles for equal rights, and the early cases of a historic career that lead to her nomination and confirmation as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice.

March 7th – The Mule
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Michael Peña, Taissa Farmiga, Andy Garcia, Laurence Fishburne, Alison Eastwood, Dianne Wiest, Clifton Collins Jr.
Description: A 90-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran (Clitn Eastwood) is caught transporting $3 million worth of cocaine through Illinois for a Mexican drug cartel.

March 14th – Arctic
Director: Joe Penna
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen
Description: A man (Mads Mikkelsen) stranded in the Arctic after an airplane crash must decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown.

March 21st – Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Elisbeth Moss, Winston Duke
Description: A mother and father (Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke) take their kids to their beach house, expecting to enjoy time with friends, but their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some visitors arrive uninvited.

March 27th – Dumbo
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Eva Green, Danny DeVito, Alan Arkin
Description: A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.

March 27th – The Aftermath
Director: James Kent
Starring: Keira Knightley, Jason Clarke, Alexander Skarsgård
Description: Post World War II, a British colonel (Jason Clarke) and his wife (Keira Knightley) are assigned to live in Hamburg during the post-war reconstruction, but tensions arise with the German (Alexander Skarsgård) who previously owned the house.