Netflix Friday - Volume 35

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 Equalizer (2014)
A man (Denzel Washington) believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and has dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life, before he meets a young girl (Chlöe Grace Moretz) under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters and can’t stand idly by.
 

Drama: Revolutionary Road (2008)
A young couple (Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet) living in a Connecticut suburb suring the mid- 1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
 

Comedy: Office Christmas Party (2016)
When Clay’s (T.J. Miller) uptight CEO sister (Jennifer Aniston) threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager (Jason Bateman) throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand…
 

Animation: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
When the evil spirit Pitch (Jude Law) launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world.
 

Romance: The Holiday (2006)
Two women (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet) troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other’s countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
 

Horror: Dawn of the Dead (2006)
Survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
 

Science Fiction: Inception (2010)
A thief (Leonardo DiCaprio) who steals corporate secrets through the use of dram-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.
 

Crime: Black Mass (2015)
The true story of Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), the brother of a state senator (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.
 

Thriller: Zodiac (2007)
In the late 1960s/ early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
 

Documentary: Evil Genius (2018)
The extraordinary story of the “pizza bomber heist” and the FBI’s investigation into a bizarre collection of suspects.
 

Family: The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plans to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about.

What's in a Movie Year - 2007

Taking a look at the year 2007, picking my 10 favorite movies from that year in random order.

Zodiac
In the late 1960s/ early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac killer, an unidentified individual who terrorized Northern California with a killing spree. With this special film about a serial killer, director David Fincher proves his class. In a semi-documentary style, he has made a haunting and exciting film about three men obsessively chasing a serial killer.

Ratatouille
It is Pixar’s eight feature-length animated film and it is about a young rat Rémy who dreams of becoming a chef in a top restaurant in Paris. The extremely cuddly Rémy gets a little help and ends up in the former 5-star restaurant of his idol, the late chef Gusteau. He makes an unusual alliance with young kitchen worker Linguini, who is talentless but very ambitious. “Ratatouille” is one of my favorite Pixar movies of all-time. Not only the technical mastery impresses, the film superbly combines serious matter and comical moments. The story is layered and offers top entertainment for all ages.

Juno
Juno is a sixteen year old girl who unexpectedly gets pregnant by a boy from the running team. She has to decide what to do with the yet unborn child. “Juno” writes witty and clever dialogue for this comic drama, that gets stronger and stronger towards the end.

Into the Wild
Chris McCandles is highly educated, the son of wealthy parents, but absolutely uninterested in social success. He decides to give his money away to survive in the wilderness and ends up in Alaska after a long journey. Is he brave, naïve or both? Director Sean Penn turns the true story into a somewhat bombastic epic about the search of a misguided soul for himself. Beautiful images, great performances, clever editing and an unforgettable soundtrack by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.

Atonement
The young worker Robbie is falsely accused of rape by the thirteen year old sister of his girlfriend Cecilia, in a film adaptation of Ian McEwan’s book. Excellent performances by James McAvoy, Keira Knightley and Saoirse Ronan and fabulous camerawork. Just look at that take on the battlefield around Dunkirk.

Hot Fuzz
In Sanford, ominous things happen. The gardens are too neat, the façades too clean. Not village can become ‘Village of the Year’ three times in a row without a bad practice behind it. Policeman Danny Butterman and his over-ambitious colleague Nichols Angel are investigating. After their success with the zombie film parody “Shaun of the Dead”, director Edgar Wright teamed up with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost again. And they gave us the best comedy ever made. It’s a comedy with masterly jokes and uncomfortable melancholy, that will make my day any time.

Lars and the Real Girl
This sweet, witty drama about a particularly shy young man who experiences great love with a sex doll was widely praised. His brother and sister-in-law are very worried about his unconventional romance, but gradually the village community decides to accept the inflatable Bianca. It’s a totally crazy story with a big, warm beating heart and it remains perfectly balanced. Largely thanks to the restrained, touching performance by Ryan Gosling in one of his best roles.

There Will Be Blood
Early twentieth century miner Daniel Plainview finds oil. By plodding day and night he manages to build on his initially modest success the only one who doesn’t fall for his smooth talks about the wealth he can bring to farmers is the charismatic preacher Eli Sunday. It’s a surprising epic about the rise of a misanthropic oil baron with excellent performances, especially by Daniel Day-Lewis, who once again immersed himself completely in his role.

Eastern Promises
With “A History of Violence” director David Cronenberg made a compelling portrait of the beast in an everyday man. Two years later he teams up with Viggo Mortensen again. This time Mortensen plays the omniscient Russian driver for a highly criminal Russian family in London. A very overlooked crime drama, with excellent performances by Viggo Mortenson, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Vincent Cassel.

No Country for Old Men
Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead Mexicans in the Texas desert, a car full of drugs and a suitcase with money. He takes the money with him and is soon chased by Anton Chigurh, an assassin who prefers to kill with a slaughter pistol. the disillusioned sheriff Bell can only watch from a distance. In this brilliant modern western, the action takes place out of the frame in the crucial scenes. That doesn’t mean the Coen Brothers are sparing with blood, bullets and corpses. An excellent script and especially well-performed by Javier Bardem who won an Oscar for his role as Chigurh.

Netflix Friday - Volume 3

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

Action: Bad Boys (1995)
Two hip detectives (Will Smith, Martin Lawrence) protect a witness to a murder (Téa Leoni) while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.

Drama: De Rouille et D’os (2012)
Put in charge of his young son, Alain (Matthias Schoenaerts) leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain’s bond with Stephanie (Marion Cotillard), a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

Comedy: Pineapple Express (2008)
A process server (Seth Rogen) and his marijuana dealer (James Franco) wind up on the run from hitmen and a corrupt police officer after he witnesses his dealer’s boss murder a competitor while trying to serve papers on him.

Animation: Over the Hedge (2006)
A scheming raccoon (Bruce Willis) fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating… and learns a lesson about family himself.

Romance: Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
The son of a recently widowed man (Tom Hanks) calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a new partner.

Horror: Midsommar (2019)
A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown’s fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

Science Fiction: Elysium (2013)
In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man (Matt Damon) takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.

Crime: Collateral (2004)
A cab driver (Jamie Foxx) finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer (Tom Cruise) as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Thriller: Zodiac (2007)
In the late 1960s/ early 1970, a San Francisco cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.

Documentary: Oceans (2009)
An ecological documentary, filmed throughout the globe. Part thriller, part meditation on the vanishing wonders of the sub-aquatic world.

Family: Jumanji (1995)
When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped in it for decades, and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game.

00s Movie Review - Zodiac

Director: David Fincher
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 158 minutes
Year: 2007
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Clea DuVall, Adam Goldberg, Elias Koteas, Dermot Mulroney, Chloë Sevigny, Ione Skye, John Carroll Lynch, Lee Norris, Jimmi Simpson

Description: A San Francisco cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac killer.

Review: With “Zodiac”, director David Fincher brings us yet another engrossing film. It’s the story of a mysterious serial killer in San Francisco. It illustrates one of the most intriguing unsolved homicide cases of the US.
With his harassing letters, riddles, puzzles and codes, the San Francisco serial killer kept cops, journalists and civilians on the edge of their seats for years. “Zodiac” starts with some gruesome murders, which are very well shot. The killer demands that his messages are put on the front of some newspapers and threatens to kill more people if they don’t obey him. Fincher chose to tell the story from the perspective of the people who were involved in the case and what impact it had on their lives.
The cast of “Zodiac” has been carefully selected and they chose the right actors. The immense popular Jake Gyllenhaal plays a good role as the young unexperienced cartoonist Robert Graysmith. Robert Downey Jr. is Paul Avery, a journalist at ‘The Chronicle’ and is characterized by his self-destructive and irreverent character. With dry humor, arrogance and willfulness Downey Jr. is an enjoyable asshole. Mark Ruffalo is the best actor in the film, as infamous inspector David Toschi. Together with his colleague he is working on the Zodiac case, day and night.
The acting is strong, but the atmosphere is even stronger. He combines dark, grim and violent scenes with scenes in the streets of San Francisco and the meeting room at ‘The Chronicle’. With that, Fincher handles the way of the suspects and suspicion very well. The only problem I had was the length of the film. Towards the end, you start to feel it.
David Fincher succeeds to create an intriguing and intelligent thriller, about a very interesting case. “Zodiac” is an amazing film.

Rating: 4/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: David Fincher Movies

David Fincher is one of the best directors in Hollywood and he has also made some awesome movies that I can count as favorites. Here are my five favorites ranked.

5. The Game
I think most people count “The Game” as one of their least favorites. For some reason I always loved this film. Just the originality of it and how you get dragged into this film so easily.

4. Zodiac
I don’t think it’s a masterpiece, but I do like crime/ detective stories like this. Good acting and an interesting story. Somehow I always watch it when it’s on TV, that must mean it’s good right?

3. Gone Girl
It was high on my to watch list before it came out and it didn’t disappoint. This movie changed my mind about Ben Affleck as an actor, because I’m not a fan. But it was in fact Rosamund Pike that stole the show as Amy. A very good movie.

2. Fight Club
This is a genius story, with some of the best characters in cinema. That twist in the end still gets me and it’s definitely a masterpiece.

1. Seven “Seven” is one of the best thrillers ever made. Frankly, it’s just one of the best movies ever! This movie grabs me ever time, it’s so disturbing, yet interesting and compelling.

They Almost Made the Top 5: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Panic Room