00s Movie Review - Signs

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Mystery
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones

Description: A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

Review: When director M. Night Shyamalan found a book about crop circles, he also found the theme for his next film. The fact that there have been crop circles for so long and no one can explain them, it a mysterious, fascinating yet scary phenomenon. Off course there have been plenty of alien films, with them attacking our planet. But “Signs” is different. More than a leg in the crops, shadows, sounds and a video shot with a shaky cam we don’t get to see of the aliens. But that’s exactly what makes “Signs” so scary. Shyamalan manages to give you goosebumps, on the moments you don’t see anything but know something is there.

The cast is great, all of them. “Signs” is one of my favorite films and it always scares me. No matter how many times I see it. It’s movies like this that make Shyamalan a great director. Which he is!

Rating: 5/ 5

 

 

20s Movie Review - Stillwater

Director: Tom McCarthy
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 139 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Matt Damon, Abigail Breslin, Camille Cottin, Lilou Siauvaud

Description: A father (Matt Damon) travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin), who is in prison for a murder she claims she didn’t commit.

Review: “Stillwater” is loosely inspired by the story of murder accused Amanda Knox, a guilt-ridden father tries to free his daughter in an environment he does not understand. Knox herself critiques the film.

Bill leaves the town of Stillwater for Marseilles, to clear his daughter of murder charges. The infamous true crime story of Amanda Knox started in Italy and  according to Knox, director Tom McCarthy abuses her story and regurgitates unproven rumors.

In the film, Bill is a God-trusting, gun-toting and straight talking American. In Marseilles he befriends single mother Virginie. She helps him in trying to free his daughter Allison.

“Stillwater” contains many improbable plot twists; for example, Bill takes actions that seem reckless even to an ignorant American. Nevertheless, the film remains captivating because McCarthy dares to take a lot of time for creating a certain mood and atmosphere. This makes the bond Bill develops with both Virginie and her young daughter Maya believable. , But above all, it allows Marseilles to be portrayed as a beautiful, but at the same time stark and complex contemporary European city, making it an ideal location for a dark story.

The film is a tad to long and there was one thing in the story that didn’t make any sense to me, which has to do with a basement. Not going to spoil it. And the ending felt rushed, when they had such a long runtime. They could have put more attention into that part, because it’s a crucial part of the story.
Even though it was an engaging film, it had some flaws that were hard to forgive.

Rating: 3/ 5

00s Movie Review - Little Miss Sunshine

Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2006
Starring: Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Bryan Cranston, Wallace Langham

Description: A family determined to get their young daughter (Abigail Breslin) into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.

Review: In the American tragi-comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” we meet the Hoover family. A family with eccentric and quirky members. It’s a road movie and the members of the family get to know each other and themselves better and everything changes after this trip. 

“Little Miss Sunshine” has quality. The script is executed very well and the humor is fantastic. If it’s a VW van that malfunctions, the extreme positivism of father Richard or the comments that the coke sniffing grandpa gives his family, it’s great humor.

Up against those hilarious moments, there are also some surprising emotional scenes. This gives it all a perfect balance between comedy and light drama. The Hoovers are real people, although not ordinary, you come to love all of them.

The cast is amazing. Young Abigail Breslin is the shining star of the bunch, with a bright future ahead. Alan Arkin is very funny as grandpa and Steve Carell really impresses as depressed suicidal uncle Frank. Toni Colette, Greg Kinnear and Paul Dano also perform very well.

“Little Miss Sunshine” is one of those movies that puts a smile on your face. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. 

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - Zombieland: Double Tap

Director: Ruben Fleischer
Genre: Comedy/ Action/ Horror
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Zoey Deutch, Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray, Thomas Middleditch

Description: Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.

Review: The subgenre, horror comedy, is one of my personal favorites. Especially when it has to do with zombies. When “Zombieland” came out in 2009, it was a surprising, fresh and hilarious film that really impressed. It mocks itself and is creative. Ten years later, director Ruben Fleisher comes with the sequel. Maybe a little late, but better late than never. Because, did we need it? Not really. Did I enjoy it? Hell yeah!
In 2009, besides Woody Harrelson, all actors were fairly new to Hollywood. Now, it stars Oscar nominees and even one winner, being Emma Stone. Besides this difference, the cast hasn’t changed a bit and the chemistry is still a strong element in the film. The bickering between Columbus and Tallahassee, the creative ways to kill a zombie, sharp dialogue. Off course it doesn’t reach the same level as “Zombieland”, but “Zombieland: Double Tap” comes awfully close.
“Zombieland: Double Tap” is more of the same, but we loved the first so why change the formula? It’s not as original as the first, but it’s a great sequel. And if you’re a fan of the original film, you will enjoy this one as well.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Performances by Children

Sometimes it’s the kid that steals the show in a movie, so here is a list of the best movie performances by children.

5. River Phoenix (“Stand By Me”)

His performance as Chris Chambers in “Stand By Me” left an indelible impression on his generation. So sad he died at the age of 23, because Phoenix had a bright future as an actor.

 

 

4. Christian Bale (“Empire of the Sun”)

You could already see that he was an intense and dedicated actor, he holds up amongst all the adults, for instance John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson.

 

 

3. Natalie Portman (“Léon”)

Just 13-years old, Natalie Portman did a fantastic job as Matilda, a girl who lost her entire family and seeks help from hitman Léon.

 

 

2. Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”)

It’s impossible not to love Olive Hoover, and it’s all thanks to the endearing performance by Abigail Breslin. She wasn’t ignored, because she got nominated for an Academy Award.

 

 

1. Haley Joel Osment (“The Sixth Sense”)

In my opinion the best performance. Haley Joel Osment captured us all in this amazing thriller and made us feel for him. He will always be remember as troubled Cole Sear, but there are worse things right?

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Henry Thomas (“E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial”), Daniel Radcliffe (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”), Macauley Culkin (“Home Alone”), Kirsten Dunst (“Interview with the Vampire”), Jodie Foster (“Taxi Driver”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”), Chloë Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass”), Linda Blair (“The Exorcist”), Mara Wilson (“Matilda”), Ivana Baquero “(Pan’s Labyrinth”), Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot”), Tom Holland (“The Impossible”)

Top 5 Thursday: Amazing Kids in Adult Movies

I work with kids and I know how awesome they can be sometimes. They are always very honest. I came up with this list and here are some great kids in adult movies.

5. Chloë Grace Moretz in “Kick-Ass”
Lets face it, she is the star of the film. I know it’s supposed to be about the wannabe hero Kick-Ass, but Moretz steals the show as Hit Girl.

4. Natalie Portman in “Léon”
Although she was only 12 or 13 years old while shooting “Léon”, she acted very mature. Normally it sounds funny when a kid uses the f-word, but she’s serious!

3. Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense”
Unfortunately Osment never really did anything memorable after this movie, everyone was mesmerized by his performance. He even got an Academy Award nomination.

2. Christian Bale in “Empire of the Sun”
I’m so glad Bale wasn’t just another child star. He is the leading actor and he carries this movie, just like he does now as an adult. Fantastic performance.

1. Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunhsine”
Don’t you just love Olive? Well, I do and no one other than Abigail Breslin could have done it. She is adorable and loveable.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Elliot in “E.T.”

Movie Battle: Shaun of the Dead Vs. Zombieland

Another new item. In Movie Battle I will compare two movies which have certain similarities, like a theme, director or actors. I will judge both movies on their cast, story and effects. Eventually I will announce one winner.

First it's zombies. My two favorite zombie movies go head to head, who will win this battle? Lets find out.

CAST

Shaun of the Dead: At the time this movie came out, the actors weren’t all that well known. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are now one of the funniest comedy duo on the planet, but the only person that we knew well in this film was Bill Nighy. This movie put Pegg and Frost on the map for me and would soon be unforgettable.

Zombieland: With this movie my light obsessions for Emma Stone. She is great. Jesse Eisenberg is a bit typecast as this nerdy, losery guy. He does that well. Abigail Breslin is no longer a kid and Woody Harrelson play my favourite part in “Zombieland”. He kicks some zombie ass! So all four actors in this movie did a good job.

STORY

Shaun of the Dead: England has already been taken over by zombies, but Shaun doesn’t realize it yet until there is a strange girl standing in his yard. When she is speared and still gets up, Shaun and Ed know something’s wrong. It’s hilarious how they try to fight them.

Zombieland: In this movie the world only has a few living people. Besides the four I mentioned earlier, Bill Murray is also one of them. Columbus has made a list of rules for survival, which he mentions throughout the movie.

EFFECTS

Shaun of the Dead: Not a lot of effects needed, but the zombies look very real. And so does the blood (you got red on you).The movie is well filmed, with these earthy tones.

Zombieland: There were more effect needed here, as for the zombies are a bit faster in this movie. Especially the scene where we get to see the zombie kill of the week, needed some extra touches. Everything looks a bit more flashy.

WINNER

I love both movies a lot. I always like zombie movies, funny or just scary (ok, I prefer funny). But I have to go with “Shaun of the Dead” because British humor is just a little bit better.

Quotables: "Little Miss Sunshine"

I stated my love for this movie so many times already, that it’s almost embarrassing. For the people who haven’t seen it yet: what’s wrong with you? The movie is so filled with great moments. Full of joy, happiness, sadness and hilarity. And the characters are fantastic, all of them. Here are my favourite quotes from “Little Miss Sunshine”.

Frank: Good night Dwayne.
Dwayne: [scribbles on notepad] Don't kill yourself tonight.
Frank: Not on your watch Dwayne. I wouldn't do that to you.
Dwayne: [on notepad] Welcome to hell.
Frank: Thanks Dwayne. Coming from you that means a lot.

Dwayne: You know what? Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work... Fuck that. And fuck the Air Force Academy. If I want to fly, I'll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest.

Pageant Assistant Pam: [Dwayne walks swiftly by] Are you authorized to be backstage?
Dwayne: [emotionless; without stopping] No.

Richard: Sarcasm is the refuge of losers.
Frank: [sarcastically] It is? Really?
Richard: Sarcasm is losers trying to bring winners down to their level.
Frank: [sarcastically] Wow, Richard, you've really opened my eyes to what a loser I am. How much do I owe you for those pearls of wisdom?
Richard: Oh, that ones on the house.

Grandpa: Listen to me, I got no reason to lie to you, don't make the same mistakes I made when I was young. Fuck a lotta women kid, not just one woman, a lotta women.

Olive: [takes off her head phones and grandpa suddenly puts a pauses to his ongoing swearing] What are you guys talking about?
Grandpa: Politics.

In the Picture: The Characters from "Zombieland"

Zombie movies are always fun to watch, especially with a big dose of humor. And some cool characters. Here are the characters from “Zombieland”.

Columbus
Played by: Jesse Eisenberg
Columbus is a very kind and loyal guy, who might seem a bit whimpy but he isn’t. He has a list of rules to follow in order to survive zombieland. He is trying to get to his parents and to find out if they’re still alive.

Tallahassee
Played by: Woody Harrelson
Tallahassee is a tough guy and he decides to travel together with Columbus. Deep inside he isn’t all that tough, because he lost someone important. And Tallahassee has a week spot for Twinkies.

Wichita
Played by: Emma Stone
Wichita is a girl you don’t want to mess with. All she wants is to protect her sister and she will stop at nothing. Wichita isn’t your average girl, she knows her way around a gun and she can be quite manipulative. She was a con artist before the catastrophe.

Little Rock
Played by: Abigail Breslin
Little Rock is Wichita’s sister and she leans on her. She wants to go to “Pacific Playland” with her big sister, because it’s supposed to be zombie free. Little Rock is a nice girl, but she did learn some tricks from her sister.

Favorite Character: Tallahassee

Top 5 Thursday: Female Movie Characters

It’s all about the ladies this week. There are so many great, strong, bitchin’, cool, awesome, kick-ass, perfect and funny female movie characters. Here are my five favorites.

5. Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine”)
Olive is the sweetest little girl you can imagine. She's always happy, enthusiastic and kind. She wants nothing more then to attend the Little Miss Sunshine competition. And she really doesn't care about what other people think of her. All the other children in the contest are supposed to look perfect, but Olive is the only true beauty in the pageant.

4. Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone in “Easy A”)
Olive is witty, intelligent, she has a great sense of humor and she is very kind. Olive is one of the best characters ever written for film and I adore her. Everything about her.

3. Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tatou in “Amélie”)
Amelie is a whimsical do-gooder whose benign interference helps out friends and neighbours, but who then has to help herself when she falls in love with a stranger. I love Amelie’s nice gestures.

2. Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley in “Pride & Prejudice”)
Elizabeth is an intelligent young woman, with a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous. Her mother wants only one thing: for her to get married, preferably to a rich man. Elizabeth can only marry a man because of love.

1. The Bride (Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1+2”)
The Bride, aka Beatrix Kiddo, is a formidable, ruthless warrior who used to serve at the right hand of Bill. She is a strong willed woman and literally kick-ass.

They almost made the top 5: Shosanna Dreyfuss (Mélanie Laurent in “Inglourious Bastards”), Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormans in “Fargo”), Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson in “Lost in Translation”), Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts in “King Kong”)

Movie Moments: "Little Miss Sunshine"

As being one of my favorite movies of all-time, I just had to spotlight it in this item. It's not a very long movie, but it has so many memorable scenes in it. Here they are, my favorite moments from "Little Miss Sunshine".

Moment # 1: Opening
We see Olive while she is watching a Miss America Pageant. She’s practicing her winners face. Than Richard while he’s presenting his 9 steps programm. Dwayne is lifting weights and doing pull-ups, while grandpa is coking up. Sheryl is on her way to her brother Frank, who tried to kill himself. We see the movie title and hear “The Winner Is” by DeVotchKa .

Moment # 2: Aaaaaah!
Olive gets a phonecall from her aunt Cindy. She can compete in a beauty pageant called Little Miss Sunshine, in Redondo Beach, California. Olive is very excited about it and starts screaming, runs around the house and starts packing for their trip.

Moment # 3: Waffles a la mode
Olive orders waffles a la mode, which means it comes with icecream. Richard starts talking about how fat you can get by eating icecream and that all the miss America contestants are skinny. Olive starts doubting wether or not to eat the icecream, because she loves it so much. Grandpa, Frank, Dwayne and Sheryl persua her into eating it. And she does.

Moment # 4: Pushing the van
Because the van broke, they can’t just start the car and drive of. They have to push the van, run and than get in the van one at a time. This is also the first time we see Frank in a joyfull mood.

Moment # 5: Where’s Olive?
After a stop at a gasstation the quirky bunch gets on the road again. Than all of a sudden Dwayne realizes Olive isn’t in the van. They turn around and pick up Olive, while the van is still driving.

Moment # 6: “Grandpa, am I pretty”?
Olive and grandpa are rehearsing and practicing her routine. She tells him she’s a bit scared about the competition and ask grandpa is she’s pretty. He tells her she’s the most beautiful girl in the world and that he’s madly in love with her. Olive is scared to be a loser, but grandpa tells her she can’t be a loser because she’s trying so hard to win.

Moment # 7: “Go hug mom”
After they took grandpa to the hospital, Sheryl tells Olive and Dwayne how much grandpa loved them both. Sheryl gets emotional and Dwight tells Olive to go hug mom,

Moment # 8: Stealing grandpa’s body
Grandpa died. Because they can’t leave or take his body, they decide to steal it by carrying it out of the window and into the van. And it doesn’t exactly go smoothly,

Moment # 9: Dwayne speaks
Dwayne hasn’t spoken for 9 months. When he finds out he’s colorblind, he starts freaking out and actually speaks. The first word he says is fuck. Because he’s colorblind, he can’t fly jets, which is his big dream. Olive is the one who manages to comfort him.

Moment # 10: Super freak
It’s time for Olive’s talent, dancing to the song “Super freak”. The presenters want to stop her, because some of her moves are considered obscene. They ask Richard to get her of the stage, but instead he starts dancing with her. And later Frank, Dwayne and Sheryl join them. That's when we can see that even they aren't a standard family, they love each other very much.

Favorite Moment: Moment # 10: Super freak

Best of... Abigail Breslin

Since Haley Joel Osment, there wasn't a single child star that impressed me more then this one: Abigail Breslin. She is so good at what she does and I only hope that she has an even more succesful career as an adult. Here are her best films.

"Signs"
Her first movie and a very exciting one. Stories about aliëns coming to earth have been overdone, but this one was different. It had more suspence to it and it wasn't clear what they wanted in the first place.

"Raising Helen"
I liked this movie the most because of Joan Cusack and Abigail Breslin. It's not a very memorable film, but sure worth watching and just a nice feel-good movie for when you're feeling down.

"Little Miss Sunshine"
I can go on and on about this one. There are so many reasons I love this movie and especially Olive, played by Abigail. She created one of my all-time favorite movie characters. She is above adorable!

"Definitely, Maybe"
Abigail plays this curious girl who wants to know how her mom and dad met. Ryan Reynolds plays the dad and they are a fantastic duo. I love the scene where Maya, that's Abigail, asks her father what a threesome is. With him responding: 'That's a game grown-ups play'. Very funny.

"Nim's Island"
I recently saw this movie and liked, liked, liked it. I love those childrens stories with a bunch of imagination. And I love a strong child character. Jodie Foster is in it too, as well as Gerard Butler. Foster plays this writer who has agoraphobia, which is kind of hilarious. Butler plays Breslin's dad (again a hot dad).

"My Sister's Keeper"
A read the book and it's such a touching and heartbreaking story. Very well done, with Breslin again being the star of the movie.

"Zombieland"
One word: AWESOME! Oh no, FREAKIN' AWESOME. Great humour, perfect casting and then Bill Murray as a zombie, brilliant.

She also did a voice in "Rango" which I haven't seen yet. And I also didn't see "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl". Even if her career stops as a child, I will not forget about these great films she made. But I think Abigail has bright future ahead of her.

In the Picture: The Characters from "Little Miss Sunshine"

"Little Miss Sunshine" is, just like the last movie in this item, one of my favorite movies off all time. Basically because of the great though quirky characters.

Richard Hoover
Played by: Greg Kinnear
He's the dad of the family and a motivational speaker. He doesn't like losers and failures, but his own life isn't going that well either. He is trying to get a book deal but that's not working out. His relationship with Olive is pretty good, but he does have some strange views on how to raise her and which values to teach her.

Cheryl Hoover
Played by: Toni Colette
The loving mother. Her family drives her crazy sometimes, but she loves 'em all to death. Although she starts to question her love for husband Richard. She's struggling to deal with both her children, especially Dwayne who she can't make contact with. At least not the way she wants to.

Olive Hoover
Played by: Abigail Breslin
Olive is the sweetest little girl you can imagine. She's always happy, enthusiastic and kind. She wants nothing more then to attend the Little Miss Sunshine competition. And she really doesn't care about what other people think of her. All the other children in the contest are supposed to look perfect, but Olive is the only true beauty in the pageant.

Dwayne
Played by: Paul Dano
Dwayne hates everything and everyone. He has one goal and that's to become a fighter pilot. He tends not to speak until he finally reached his goal. Dwayne is a very ambitious young man and deep inside he does care much for his family. Especially Olive. She was the only one to get through to him after he found out he couldn't reach his goal.

Frank Ginsberg
Played by: Steve Carell
Frank is a suicidal homosexual, so nothing is working in his favor. The man he loved decided to start a relationship with Frank's rival. He's trying to deal with it and he moves in with his sister Cheryl. Due this competition he's attending with the Hoover family, he finds the joy back in his life and he has a good bond with Dwayne.

Grandpa Edwin Hoover
Played by: Alan Arkin
Grandpa Hoover is a cursing drug addict and Richard's father. He's a great grandfather to Olive, telling her she's the most beautiful girl in the world and helping her with the pageant. He doesn't think much of his son and his ideas about winners and losers. He's a very cynical man and he is a real faul mouth.

Favorite Character: Olive Hoover

Movie Tip #10 - Little Miss Sunshine

Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Toni Colette, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano

Description: The Hoover family is the dictionary definition for the word "dysfunctional". The dad Richard (Kinnear) is a man who gives lectures on winners and losers, the wife is Sheryl (Colette), a chain-smoking, frazzled wife and working mother whose idea of a home cooked meal frequently consists of a bucket of chicken. Her gay brother Frank (Carrel) recently attempted suicide. The grandpa is Edwin (Arkin), a drug addict. The son is Dwayne (Dano) a rebel who has vowed not to talk until he gets into the Air Force. And then there is Olive (Breslin), a seven-year old girl who dreams of going to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. So what happens when they do?

Review: It's a quirky family, but every single character is great. Extreme maybe, but great. They don't care what other people think and family comes first. Olive and Frank are my favourites, followed by Dwayne and grandpa. And then the yellow van. They have to push it so it will start and halfway trough the film the horn doesn't stop. It's hilarious. I can watch this film over and over again, without being bored. If you wathc it, I'm sure you'll agree with me!