20s Movie Review - Thanksgiving

Director: Eli Roth
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Nell Verlaque, Jalen Thomas Books, Gabriel Davenport, Milo Manheim, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon

Description: After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts, the birthplace of the infamous holiday.

Review: “Grindhouse” consisted of two B-movies, but Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. It had a fake trailer for a movie called “Thanksgiving”, a slasher film with 1980s appeal made by Eli Roth. And now, the movie is real.

A department store decides to start their Black Friday as early as midnight and promises free products for the first hundred customers. The result is bloody mayhem. A year later, a group of survivors are tagged in a bizarre message on social media. One by one, they begin to die.

Director Eli Roth turns a fake trailer into a real movie. And I got exactly what I was hoping for. I love slasher films, they are fun. A bunch of awful people being brutally murdered and we are trying to find out who the killer is. That’s what this is. Roth doesn’t do anything groundbreaking. What Roth does do is making this film bloody as hell. And it’s not even his goriest film. Roth manages to pull off some real original kills. And it has some good humor as well.

Even though I did predict the eventual killer, “Thanksgiving” is an entertaining slasher. What you except from it, you get.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Inglorious Basterds

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Action/ Thriller
Runtime: 152 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, B.J. Novak, Eli Roth, Til Schweiger, Mike Myers, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Fassbender, Cloris Leachman, Gedeon Burkhard

Description: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.

Review: When the name Quentin Tarantino os on a movie poster, I’m in! He is probably my favorite director of all time and he has a fantastic resume (all but one film). His style is unique, his dialogues are memorable and quotable and the characters are unforgettable. “Inglourious Basterds” is definitely one of my favorites.

“Inglourious Basterds” shows an alternative history of World War II. In this version there is a group of infiltrating soldiers called the Basterds. It’s their task to scare the occupants by killing Nazis in the most brutal ways. They are led by Aldo Raine and all of the men are Jewish Americans. During their quest, the get together with the German actress Bridget von Hammersmark, who also works as a spy.

This film is again filled with amazing characters. It’s a bizarre potpourri of people, that are hard to believe to be real, but are convincing anyway. Brad Pitt portrays Aldo Raine in the most fantastic way. Hilarious even. Mélanie Laurent is a great newcomer, as Shoshanna Dreyfuss, who wants revenge for the death of her family. But Christoph Waltz is probably the greatest discovery of the ‘00s. As Hans Landa is manages to scare you, charm you and disgust you at the same time. What a fantastic performance and also one of Tarantino’s best characters ever.

Like I stated before, Tarantino knows how to write great dialogue. And that’s no different here. The dialogues are long, but never dull. The conversations stay interesting and the situations original.
“Inglourious Basterds” is a film that I can enjoy every single time, even due to the length of the film. It’s a must for every Tarantino fan. No, for every movie fan. Last correction: it’s a must for everyone!

Rating: 5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Hostel

Director: Eli Roth
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2005
Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Barbara Nedeljakova, Jan Vlasák, Jana Kaderabkova, Jennifer Lim, Lubomir Bukovy, Jana Havlickova, Rick Hoffman
 
Description: Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.

Review: Two American students, Paxton and Josh, are on vacation in Europe where they travel by train to different countries. They are looking for sex, drugs and booze, culture they have never heard of. They meet Oli, from Iceland, who will tag along with the,. While they are partying in Amsterdam, they aren’t able to get back in their hostel. A stranger offers them to stay with him. He tells the friends about a hostel in Bratislava, Slovakia. According to him, the hostel is full of the most beautiful women who are only interested in tourists. Paxton, Josh and Oli decide to go to Slovakia and see it for themselves. And it is true. But it’s all a bit too good to be true, because hell awaits them.
Eli Roth made his directorial debut with “Cabin Fever” in 2002. A story about a group a young people who fall prey to a flesh-eating virus. It was a gory film, with lots of blood. “Hostel” falls in the same category. It’s not a very scary horror movie, it’s mainly about the gore and gruesome images. And for people with a weak stomach, it’s probably hard to watch.
The acting isn’t spectacular, although Jay Hernandez (the only more well-known name) does a solid job. “Hostel” is a film that horror films will enjoy. And because it’s not a very long movie, it’s perfect for a horror movie night.

Rating: 3/ 5

00s Movie Review - Inglourious Basterds

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Action/ Thriller
Runtime: 152 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, B.J. Novak, Eli Roth, Til Schweiger, Mike Myers, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Fassbender, Gedeon Burkhard

Description: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Review: When the name Quentin Tarantino is on a movie poster, I’m in! He is probably my favorite director of all time and he has a fantastic resume (all but one film). His style is unique, his dialogues are memorable and quotable and the characters are unforgettable. “Inglourious Basterds” is definitely one of my favorites.
“Inglourious Basterds” shows an alternative history of World War II. In this version there is a group of infiltrating soldiers called the Basterds. It’s their task to scare the occupants by killing Nazis in the most brutal ways. They are led by Aldo Raine and all of the men are Jewish Americans. During their quest, the get together with the German actress Bridget von Hammersmark, who also works as a spy.
This film is again filled with amazing characters. It’s a bizarre potpourri of people, that are hard to believe to be real, but are convincing anyway. Brad Pitt portrays Aldo Raine in the most fantastic way. Hilarious even. Mélanie Laurent is a great newcomer, as Shoshanna Dreyfuss, who wants revenge for the death of her family. But Christoph Waltz is probably the greatest discovery of the ‘00s. As Hans Landa is manages to scare you, charm you and disgust you at the same time. What a fantastic performance and also one of Tarantino’s best characters ever.
Like I stated before, Tarantino knows how to write great dialogue. And that’s no different here. The dialogues are long, but never dull. The conversations stay interesting and the situations original.
“Inglourious Basterds” is a film that I can enjoy every single time, even due to the length of the film. It’s a must for every Tarantino fan. No, for every movie fan. Last correction: it’s a must for everyone!

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 110: Knock Knock

Director: Eli Roth
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas

Description: When a devoted husband and father (Keanu Reeves) is left home alone for the weekend, two stranded young women unexpectedly knock on his door for help. What starts out as a kind gesture results in a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Review: Eli Roth likes to provoke. In 2002 he debuted with the bloody “Cabin Fever”, but it was “Hostel” that put him on the map. Roth also writes and produces, but in his directed films there are always three elements present: sex, blood and sadism. The blood shedding in “Knock Knock” is only minimal, but the other two ingredients are very present. It’s a home invasion thriller, like “Funny Games” was, but adds a dose of sex to it.
Devoted husband and father Evan stays home alone for the weekend, to work, when his wife and kids are leaving for trip. When Evan is working late, two beautiful young girls knock on his door. Standing in the pouring rain and lost, Evan plays the good Samaritan and lets them in to use his computer. They eventually take advantage of his hospitality and Evan wished he never let those two girls inside his house.
The movie never really gets scary or exciting. The movie is basically a chain of bad dialogues and really bad acting. I’ve always defended Kenau Reeves, because I think he is not as bad as people say he is. In “Knock Knock” his acting is terrible, I’ve never seen him this bad. And there is even a Nicolas Cage moment, a serious over the top scene that is very laughable.
I normally like Eli Roth films, but “Knock Knock” is not one of them. What a bad film.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "Inglourious Basterds"

Quentin Tarantino is probably my favorite director and I already dedicated this item to one of his movies. This time I'm going to look closer at the characters from "Inglourious Basterds", which is an awesome movie.

Lt. Aldo Raine
Played by: Brad Pitt
Aldo is 2nd lieutenant in the US Army First Special Service Force and now the leader of “The Basterds”. Aldo's nickname, "The Apache", comes from his penchant for scalping Nazis. He’s determined to kill all the nazis he can get his hands on.

Col. Hans Landa
Played by: Christoph Waltz
Hans Landa is called “The Jew Hunter” and he carries that name with success. He is well known for finding Jews in hiding and eventually killing them. He’s a very smart man who can speak at least four different languages fluently. Landa is the main target for “The Basterds”.

Shosanna Dreyfuss
Played by: Melanie Laurent
Shosanna is a French-Jewish girl who’s entire family was murdered by nazi’s. She was the only one who could escape and now hides in Paris as a movie theatre owner that goes by the name of Emmanuelle Mimieux. Shosanna is strong, smart and out for revenge.

Sgt. Donny Donowitz
Played by: Eli Roth
Donny is Aldo’s right hand. His nickname is “The Bearjew” and he is ruthless. Donny is known for killing his victims with a baseball bat because he wants to feel the violence and the sensation of beating nazis to death.

Bridget von Hammersmark
Played by: Diane Kruger
Bridget is a popular filmstar in Nazi Germany and a spy for the Allies. Because of her beauty and charm, she often gets her way and she can easily win you over. But Bridget can be outsmarted though.

Fredrick Zoller
Played by: Daniel Brühl
Fredrick is a German officer and a war hero. He is pretty full of himself and is not shy to brag about his actions as a soldier. His affection for Shosanna, although she doesn’t really return it, is genuine. Everything he’s doing for her, he’s doing with the best intentions.

Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz
Played by: Til Schweiger
Stiglitz is an ex-Nazi and now recruted into “The Basterds” unit. He is knows as a maniac to both German and US forces, because of his cruel ways of killing people. Many people fear him.

Favorite Character: Shosanna Dreyfuss

Movie Tip #40 - Inglourious Basterds

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Brad Pitt, Eli roth, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Til Schweiger, Daniel Brühl

Description: In Nazi occupied France, young Jewish refugee Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) witnesses the slaughter of her family by Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Narrowly escaping with her life, she plots her revenge several years later when German war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) takes a rapid interest in her and arranges an illustrious movie premiere at the theater she now runs. With the promise of every major Nazi officer in attendance, the event catches the attention of the "Basterds", a group of Jewish-American guerilla soldiers led by the ruthless Lt. Aldo Raine (brad Pitt). As the relentless executioners advance and the conspiring young girl's plans are set in motion, their paths will cross for a fateful evening that will shake the very annals of history.

Review: Quentin Tarantino is one of the best directors in film history. He hasn't directed much, but when he does, it results in movies that we can (almost) call masterpieces. "Inglourious Basterds" is one of those films. He tells the story in a original way, like only he can. But this is the first time that the movie is fully chronological. There are some catchy flashbacks, like the one were Hugo Stiglitz is introduced. Great roles by Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Til Schweiger and Diane Kruger. The ones that impressed me the most were off course Christoph Waltz, who won an oscar for his performance. And well deserved, because he steals every scene he's in. The other actor that caught my eye was Melanie Laurent, another name that we didn't know. She plays Shoshanna and her role is very strong and convincing. I hope to see more of her in the future. This film is great, but the ending is a little bit over the top and to 'American'. And the way the basterds caught Landa, no way that would happen. Landa is way to vicious and smart for that. But even then, this movie is a great experience for the eye.