Rewatching my 100 Favorite Movies - Update 17

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

58/ 100: A Beautiful Mind (2001)
The true story of mathematician John Nash, who developed amazing mathematical insights early in his career. However, his career was stalled for years due to his battle with schizophrenia. It’s a well-crafter drama directed by Ron Howard. The best role Russell Crowe ever played. Check out my full review HERE.
 

59/ 100: Jagten (2012)
Toddler Klara feels rejected by kindergarten teacher Lucas, her father’s best friend, and claims he abused her. After which the world of Lucas collapses. Director Thomas Vinterberg stays close to Lucas, showing in completely believable steps how his friends slowly but surely push him away. Everyone just takes Klaras word and no one seems to want to hear Lucas’ side. The story starts to live its own life, followed by a witch hunt. Mads Mikkelsen plays Lucas and impresses with his gripping performance. A movie that left me breathless the first time I saw it and it really gets under your skin. HERE you can read my full review.
 

60/ 100: Avatar (2009)
Private Jake is in a wheelchair. Bit then he gets an offer: he can serve as the host of an avatar on the planet Pandora, his brain in his sleeping body then in control of a body grown from genetically engineered cells that looks, walks and runs just like the Na’vi, the inhabitants of the planet. James Cameron’s groundbreaking use of 3D turned this average adventure film into an eye-opening and exhilarating spectacle. But it’s more than that: it has a clear message which is still topical today. Please read my full review HERE.
 
Still to watch: 40

Top 5 Thursday: Non-English speaking movies

For most of you they are called foreign movies, but I’m Dutch, so any Hollywood film is a foreign movie for me. So I decided to rank some of my favorite movies that are not in English. Here are my picks.

5. Intouchables

Such a heartwarming film, a movie I immediately loved.

 

4. Goodbye Lenin

I just love the idea behind this film. Daniel Brühl in his younger years, before he became a Hollywood actor. Such a great movie.

 

 

3. The Motorcycle Diaries

Here we meet Che Guevara before he became the powerful man. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen this film in quite a while. Gale Garcia Bernal is fantastic in “The Motorcycle Diaries”.

 

 

2. Jagten

A movie that totally took me by surprise. I heard a lot about “Jagten”, but didn’t know much about the movie. When I first saw it, it literally took my breath away and got under my skin. I thought about this film for days after and it really had an impact on me. “Jagten” is one of the best movies ever made.

 

 

1. Amélie

When you need a feel good movie, but not the guilty pleasure kind, watch “Amélie”. It’s one of the sweetest films ever. And the leading character Amélie takes random acts of kindness very seriously. I love this movie, it’s in my top 10 of all-time favorites.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Pan’s Labyrinth, Let the Right One In, Deux Jours Une Nuit, De Rouille et D’os, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro

DVD Collection Update (13)

I got some great films recently. Four new movies and one classic that everyone just has to have. I could've bought more DVD's, but I restrained myself, haha! But you can expect more newer films soon, because I have a big wishlist!

First I got "Jagten", which I saw earlier this year. I was so surprised and this film took my breath away. It left my speechless. I had to have it and I bumped in to it by accident. And it was really cheap. The people selling it didn't realize how amazing this film was I think.

I was so excited when this DVD finally came out. "The World's End" never played in our theatre, only in the big cities like Amsterdam. So me and my brother just had to be patient for it to come out in March. And it was worth the wait. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost didn't disappoint! It was fantastic!

"The Butler" didn't turn out to be as good as I expected. I always buy movies that I know I will like (if I haven't seen them before), but this movie didn't quite make that brief. I didn't dislike "The Butler" but I expected more. Forest Whitaker is great though!

This is a classic every movie buff just needs in his collection. "Jaws" still scares the shit out of me after watching it over 20 times. Still one of the best movies Spielberg ever directed.

This movie I haven't watched yet, but I just know I'm going to love this. I read so many great thing about "Captain Phillips" and Tom Hanks hardly ever disappoints me. I love that guy!

Top 5 Thursay: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (January 2014)

The start of my 100 Movie Challenge went well. Out of the 22 movies I saw this month, all films I haven’t watched before 2014, I had to pick five as favourites. Here they are.

5. People Like Us
I thought this was going to be a very unoriginal movie, that was a lot like other movies in its genres and it was going to be forgettable. It wasn’t because it made my top 5. It’s a beautiful movie, with surprisingly good acting.

4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Not a lot of action here, but a very strong spy thriller. It kept my attention at all times and it was a real intriguing story. James Bond eat your heart out, George Smiley is in town!

3. Moonrise Kingdom
I’m becoming more and more of a Wes Anderson fan and this is yet another diamond. I love Andersons style, just beautiful.

2. Don Jon
The last movie I watched in January and I loved it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt did a great job writing and directing, but also starring in this film. A good mix a drama and comedy. And the Swiffer-discussion was hilarious!

1. Jagten
The best movie experience is when you watch a film going in blank and coming out completely amazed. That’s what happened when I watched “Jagten”. It really got under my skin and haunted my mind for a couple of days.

They Almost Made the Top 5: The Place Beyond the Pines, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Magic of Belle Isle

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 21: Jagten

Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larson, Annika Wedderkop, Lasse Fogelstrøm

Description: Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) is a teacher who lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.

Review: Thomas Vinterberg comes, with his film “Jagten”, awfully close to reality. Nothing seems wrong: Lucas is recently divorced and tries to make the best of it. That he doesn’t see his son enough bothers him, but Lucas is surrounded by a bunch of friends who support him. Life starts getting better when he finds love, but then something completely unexpected happens. Lucas, who is very loved by the kids he works with, is accused of child abuse by Klara, his best friends daughter.
His carefully rebuild life starts falling apart again. The lie that Klara told has a big impact on Lucas’ life. And it gets a little worse every day. You can off course understand the concern, but the story is starting to live its own life and a witch hunts starts. Lucas can’t even shop at his local supermarket anymore and his sweet dog isn’t safe either. Everyone believes Klara and no one seems to be interested in Lucas’ side of the story but his friend Bruun and his son Marcus.
In “Jagten” we don’t have to ask ourselves the question if Lucas is innocent or not, because we see exactly what happens. The remark of one little girl starts to lead its own life. Vinterberg puts the accent on the happenings after the accusation. This makes “Jagten” an interesting psychological study. Even when Klara tells her parents Lucas didn’t do anything, they twist her words so that Lucas is guilty. The strongest scene is set in a church, on Christmas eve, where Lucas confronts his fellow citizens.
I didn’t know what to expect from “Jagten”, but it left a great impression on me and it gets under your skin. This movie was haunting my mind after I watched it. Mikkelsen shines as the anti-hero, what a great performance. But young Annika Wedderkop impresses as well. “Jagten” has some strong themes like injustice, condemnation and paranoia. I was speechless, what a fantastic movie. The shocking climax shows us that Lucas will always have that stigma, the scars will never go away.

Rating: 5/ 5