10s Movie Review - 1922

Director: Zak Hilditch
Genre: Drama/ Horror/ Crime
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmidt, Brian D’Arcy James

Description: A simple yet proud farmer (Thomas Jane) in the year 1922 conspires to murder his wife (Molly Parker) for financial gain, convincing his teenage son (Dylan Schmidt) to assist. But their actions have unintended consequences.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 42: A MOVIE BASED ON A STEPHEN KING NOVEL
 
Review: Stephen King is probably the author with the most book to movie adaptations on his name. “1922” is based on a novella King wrote in 2010, where we follow Wilfred James, an American farmer. His wife no longer wants to live in the country and is determined to sell her share of their land and move to the city. Wilfred sees no other way out bu to murder his wife and convince his son to help him. Soon after the murder, his life slowly falls apart.

A slow burn, which King is known for. The film looks stylish and has some really creepy moments. It’s not a very surprising movie, but grabs you enough to stay tuned.

Rating: 3/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Predator

Director: Shane Black
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Thriller
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Jake Busey, Yvonne Strahovski

Description: When a young boy (Jacob Tremblay) accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled scientist can prevent the end of the human race.

Review: With “The Predator”, director Shane Black tries to bring the nostalgia back to life, from the 1987 original (Fun fact: Black was actually in that film). The film is iconic, especially because of its one-liners coming from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And they use these one-liners, but change them. Auch…. Not very clever. Then only clever choice is to copy the level of ‘macho’ from the original.
The film never gets scary or exciting. It’s a very messy film with no memorable characters, besides the Predator himself off course.
This movie wasn’t really necessary, I’ll stick with the Arnold Schwarzenegger film.

Rating: 2 / 5

90s Movie Review - Deep Blue Sea

Director: Renny Harlin
Genre: Action/ Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgård, Jacqueline McKenzie, Aida Turturro
Description: Searching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the bait as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.

Review: When it comes to shark movies, “Jaws” is the only masterpiece out there. “Deep Blue Sea” is one of the better shark films, but don’t pay any attention to the logics. Turn off your brain and just watch it, it’s a lot of fun.
While trying to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, a group of scientist is working on a laboratory in the middle of the ocean and testing on sharks. This makes the sharks smarter. And more unpredictable and dangerous. Soon the people in the lab are the hunted ones.
The makers did find some inspiration with “Jaws”, but also “Jurassic Park”. The film is fast paced and entertaining from beginning till end. And it’s not as predictable as you would think, because it’s quite surprising who will die and who won’t.
Not all the actors are that good, it’s mostly the men who shine. Thomas Jane is the hero of the story, as Carter Blake, a diver with a dark past. Samuel L. Jackson hardly ever disappoints and he even has an unforgettable speech in this film. Unforgettable for so many reasons. LL Cool J has a fun supporting role, as the cook. Both Saffron Burrows and Michael Rapaport only show us how annoying their characters are.
The special effects are pretty good, sometimes it’s too obvious it’s a computer animated shark. But all in all “Deep Blue Sea” is not one of those terrible shark movies. It’s fun and entertaining, with some surprise elements here and there and enough excitement for a fun movie night.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 55: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Genre: Action/ Fantasy/ Comedy/ Horror
Runtime: 82 minutes
Year: 1992
Starring: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Hilary Swank, David Arquette, Stephen Root, Thomas Jane, Ben Affleck, Seth Green

Description: A flighty teenage girl (Kristy Swanson) learns that she is her generation's destined battler of vampires.

Review: I think more people saw the TV show than the film, but this is definitely a fun watch. It’s not as spectacular and dark as the series, because it focuses more on the comedy than the horror. But still very watchable and entertaining.
Kristy Swanson plays Buffy and Luke Perry is her love interest. Donald Sutherland plays Merrick, not very spectacular though. Rutger Hauer is the villain but doesn’t get a lot of screen time. Paul Ruebes, aka Pee Wee Herman, plays the villains sidekick. His death scene is hilarious by the way.
For horror fans this might not be satisfactory, but if you like the comedic kind with a low budget and no special effects, you will be happy. This story sounded ridiculous when it first came out, but eventually it got millions of fans because of the TV show.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 143: White Bird in a Blizzard

Director: Greg Araki

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 90 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez, Angela Bassett, Thomas Jane, Gabourey Sidibe

Description: In 1988, a teenage girl's (Shailene Woodley) life is thrown into chaos when her mother (Eva Green) disappears.

Review: “White Bird in a Blizzard” is a genre mix of thriller and drama, with an okay result. It’s the fall of 1988 when Eve, mother of the rebelling teenager Kat, disappears. Nothing leads to a crime and soon father and daughter have to adapt to the new situation. Although Kat doesn’t really get any support from her sexy yet dull boyfriend Phil, she starts to see the much older macho cop Scieziesciez (I always hate it when a character has a name I can’t pronounce). The investigation gets a new impulse when Kat returns from college in 1991.

The story is brought to us in flashbacks. Here we see how Kat’s mother changed in the last months before her disappearance. Did she have an affair? Was she planning on running away? The search for the truth and the performances by Eva Green and Shailene Woodley are the best part of the film.

Less successful is the character development. There is a lack of depth in characters. In “White Bird in a Blizzard” we don’t see a lot of character development, we are stuck on the surface. There are hints and you feel that there is longing and frustration, but it never becomes really clear. This makes it hard to relate to the characters.

Even without this element, it’s an easy to watch thriller/ drama. The story and climax are interesting enough and even though the characters are a bit superficial, they are believable. An okay film.

Rating: 3/ 5