10s Movie Review - The Lego Batman Movie

Director: Chris McKay
Genre: Animation/ Action/ Adventure/ Comedy/ Family
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Jenny Slate, Conan O’Brien, Billy Dee Williams, Zoë Kravitz, Eddie Izzard, Seth Green, Ellie Kemper, Channing Tatum, Adam Devine, Hector Elizondo, Jonah Hill

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 25: A SUPERHERO MOVIE

Description: A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett) must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan (Michael Cera) who wishes to become his sidekick.

Review: The fun we can have with these little plastic bricks and puppets. And not only kids. “The Lego Movie” already showed us how much fun and how creative you can be with Legos. And one of their characters, Batman, has his own Lego movie now.
Be sure you are ready from the opening titles, since that’s where the first jokes start. Batman’s deep tones narrate everything. What comes next is a fast paces animation, filled with sharp and clever jokes and a lot of nods to pop-culture.
The opening scene is a funny spoof of an attack by the Joker, only to end in a crazy rock song where Batman beats everyone. For the Joker everything gets worse when Batman tells him he’s not his special enemy. Because Batman needs no one, he thinks. Next we see him, sitting all alone in his Batcave.
While Joker and all the super villains from movie history are creating their masterplan, Batman finds a boy in his cave. An orphan, whom he accidentally adopted. This boy, Dick, wants nothing more then to be Batman’s sidekick.
The film has a moral, that together is better then alone, but it’s not one of the morals that they force on you. “The Lego Movie” was an ode to creativity, “The Lego Batman Movie” does it too but with a less creative story. But it’s one fun party for the whole family. The comedy is original and it looks stunning.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 119: Tulip Fever

Director: Justin Chadwick
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz, Dane DeHaan, Holiday Grainger, Tom Hollander, Jack O’Connell, Judi Dench, Zach Galifianakis, Matthew Morrison, Kevin McKidd, Cara Delevingne

Description: An artist (Dane DeHaan) falls for a young married woman (Alicia Vikander) while he's commissioned to paint her portrait during the Tulip mania of 17th century Amsterdam.

Review: In the Golden Age, tulip fever drove everyone crazy in The Netherlands. Anyone with enough florins joined the trade. In shady bars the most exotic tulips were auctioned, sometimes even before seeing them. In “Tulip Fever” this sets the background of he story of a forbidden romance between a married woman and an artist. Together they scheme a plan to flee the life they are living now.
Cornelis Sandvoort marries the much younger Sophia. He want a beautiful portrait of them and he hires painter Jan van Loos. A decision he will later regret. Because Jan falls madly in love with Sophia and they start a passionate affair.
Cornelis is a old man, who someone you can never sympathize with. He is a cold man who only married Sophia for one reason: to get a son. His personal losses from a previous marriage make him not any more human. It’s not that strange that Sophia seeks the love of another man. But she doesn’t seem this unhappy with Cornelis either. The motives of the characters are so shallow and bland. Sad, because director Justin Chadwick managed to get so many fantastic actors.
Somehow Sophia feels the love for Jan right after the first portrait session and immediately wants to flee from her husband. The chemistry between Alicia Vikander and Dane DeHaan never really convinces. And they hardly pay any attention to Sophia’s conscience, only in the last couple of minutes of the film.
The film rushes, the ‘master plan’ feels a bit improbable and sometimes comes off as ridiculous. “Tulip Fever” lacks of subtlety and the characters are somewhat soulless.
I was so excited for this film, but man did this disappoint me! I hate when that happens.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 12: Birdman

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan

Description: Washed up actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), who once played an iconic superhero, battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of a Broadway play.

Review: Movies by Alejandro González Iñárritu were characterized by the way the story was told. A puzzle of unlucky, life changing decisions and what consequences they had on life. The characters put the pieces of the puzzle together. When Iñárritu made “Biutiful”, he focused on only one character. With “Birdman” the director decided to go further with that more intimate approach.
Riggan Thomson is loved by the audience for his role of Birdman. That character still lives in his head. As the actor of the fictional Birdman trilogy, he got the fame. But he wants to be adored by the whole world, so he wants to break through on Broadway as well. But before the play ‘What We Talk About, When We Talk About Love’ premieres, there are a lot of obstacle to overthrow. “Birdman” is self-conscious and has a lot of double layers. Choosing Michael Keaton to play an actor who used to play a superhero, was off course a deliberate choice, he got fame for playing “Batman”. There is a thin line between fiction and reality.
The cinematography is excellent. Iñárritu hardly used any montages, the movie looks like it was filmed in only one take. It seems like one long continuous shot.
Michael Keaton is sublime in his role as Riggan Thomson. It looks like Keaton will finally get the recognition he deserves, because he’s always been a fantastic actor. And Keaton is surrounded by an amazing supporting cast: Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis are all at the top of their game. Especially the last two should get more credit for their roles, Stone and Norton already did by receiving an Academy Award nomination as well as Keaton.
Alejandro González Iñárritu manages to keep “Birdman” light, with the dark humor. The cast performs incredibly well and visually this movie is an actual movie experience. “Birdman” is a fantastic film.

Rating: 5/ 5