00s Movie Review - The Village

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2004
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Sherry Jones, Adrien Brody, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Pitt, Judy Greer

Description: A series of evens tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.

Review: If you think of director M. Nigh Shyamalan’s best movies, you think of “The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable” and “Signs”. “Split” and “The Visit” will also come to mind. Usually “The Village” is not on that list. And I will not say it’s my favorite, but I certainly believe it’s much better than most people claim it is and feel it’s a bit underrated.

The film is set in an isolated village, with a close community of people that live a sober yet happy life. When dark things start happening, the villagers are made to believe it’s the inhabitants of the forest that are warning them to keep out. But the truth is hidden.

The film is never scary, but there is a lot of suspense that you constantly feel. You know something is wrong, just not yet what that is.

The film has a star-studded cast and Bryce Dallas Howard plays the main female character. She is really good and I loved her in this film. The ending/ twist is something most people don’t really like, but I personally always liked the twist of the film.

I think this movie deserves a little mote love then it’s getting. It’s absolutely not a bad movie. It’s slow and doesn’t rely on scares, but has a lot of atmosphere and a very good premise. With a surprising twist, that I just happened to like.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

 

 

 

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

 

 

90s Movie Review - 8 MM

Director: Joel Schumacher
Genre: Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 123 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Catherine Keener, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, Anthony Heald, Norman Reedus

Description: A private investigator (Nicolas Cage) is hired to discover if a “snuff film” is authentic or not.

Review: A snuff film is a real-murder film within the porn industry. It’s a persistent myth. This thriller by director Joel Schumacher cleverly plays on the hint of mystery surrounding the phenomenon.

Nicholas Cage plays private detective Tom Welles who gets his hands on a sniff film via the widow of a recently deceased prominent business. She want Tom wo find out the source of this misery. While investigating, Tom sinks deeper and deeper into the dark world of the porn industry, searching for the maker of the film and if it’s real.

I always believed “8 MM” was an underrated thriller, I think I like it more then most people. It’s a pretty disturbing topic, a gritty film. Maybe not the best acting, but the mystery is really interesting and compelling.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movie Reviews - Joker

Director: Todd Phillips
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 121 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Shea Whigham, Bill Camp

Description: In Gotham City, mentally-troubled comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: “The Joker”.

Review: One of the movies I was most looking forward to this year. A film that should save DC, when it’s Marvel and Disney that rule Hollywood. Looking forward on how they are going to treat this origin story of one of the most iconic DC villains. But also how Joaquin Phoenix, just as eccentric as he his talented, was going to portray the Joker.
You can say many things about this crazy clown, but not that he is a superhero. To mark “Joker” as a superhero film, is wrong. Even though the film is set within the superhero universe. Gotham may look like you average American city, it does have its own laws an rules. With some social criticism here and there, “Joker” is mostly a mix of action and sharp dialogue in a totally crazy environment.
And crazy it is indeed. From the first moment, Arthur’s hysterical laughter and awkward dancing grabs you by the throat. Where Heath Ledger surprised us all with his portrayal of the Joker in 2008, he showed us a character in a further state. Because the only thing we were missing there, was his backstory. It was the mystery that made Ledger’s Joker so great. Joaquin Phoenix gets the task to show us how he has become the Joker and why he is the way he is. He is a loner, lives with his ill mother in a crappy apartment and transforms into one of the most legendary movie characters of the past decade. The question is why, and we get an answer.
The hard thing for an origin story to do is, to create an interesting and grabbing story, even though you know how it ends. We all know, that in the end he takes on his persona of The Joker to the fullest, but the story of how he got there has to be strong to keep an audience interested the entire runtime. And what we get is a series of unpredictable incidents, which make the outcome even more crazy.
Everything that isn’t Joaquin Phoenix, is a sideshow. The beautiful shots, nods to previous films, the subtle use of music or the strong performances by Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz. “Joker” is in many ways a masterpiece, but it doesn’t count when Phoenix isn’t in the center of all this. He is the reason why many people were so excited for this film. Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto all played this role before him and they all had a different take. So whoever wants to follow this line of performers, is a brave man. Phoenix never imitates or copies anyone, he gives the character his own spin with its own quirks and manners. Every frame with Phoenix in it, he makes it his own. You have to watch him, you only see him. He probably is closest to Ledger’s version of the Joker, but in no means we need to compare the two. If Phoenix doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for this, I have no faith in humanity anymore.
“Joker” is definitely one of the best movies of 2019 and it will most certainly end up on my list of best films at the end of the year.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Reviews - You Were Never Really Here

Director: Lynne Ramsay
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Alessandro Nivola, Judith Roberts, Ekaterine Samonov, Alex Manette, John Doman, Jason Babinsky, Vinicius Damasceno, Kate Easton, Jonathan Wilde, Dante Pereira-Olson, Leigh Dunham

Description: A traumatized veteran (Joaquin Phoenix), unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

Review: Scottish director Lynne Ramsay doesn’t scare away from controversy. In her films she often takes on themes like poverty, suicide and grief.
In “You Were Never Really Here”, she uses another heavy theme: the illegal sex industry and the exploitation of children within that world. And there is also a strange fight for power going own, if that’s not enough.
We follow lead character Joe, a war veteran whose mission is to rescue the girls from the hands of the perverse people working in the industry.
Joe is played by Joaquin Phoenix, who gives away an intense performance. He has his own demons to deal with, but he goes a long way to save the children from this nasty world. His inner rage make him reach his goals.
Ramsay doesn’t scare away from violence either. Joe’s rescues are brutal and graphic. But the violence is not just there for the violence. This film is not for the faint of heart and the overall film isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
“You Were Never Really Here” leaves a lot of questions unanswered and at the end, I didn’t really know what I just saw. It’s a strange film, that somehow reminded me of “Drive” or Scorsese’s and DePalma’s oeuvre.
The film is heavy on the eyes, there is a lot you need to take in. And even with the film being only 90 minutes long, it feels like three hours. “You Were Never Really Here” is a film that I probably need to watch again sometime, because I found it pretty weird and hard to digest.

Rating: 3 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 55: The Immigrant

Director: James Gray

Genre: Drama/ Romance

Runtime: 120 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner, Dagmara Dominczyk, Angela Sarafyan, Glenn Fleshler, Gabriel Rush, Ilia Volok, Antoni Corone, Dylan Hartigan, DeeDee Luxe, Julian Murdoch, Francine Daveta, Anna Kuchma, John Mitchell, Gil O’Brien, Kevin Cannon, Francesca Murdoch

Description: The innocent immigrant Ewa (Marion Cotillard) is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician (Jeremy Renner) tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.

Review: A ship full of immigrants arrives in New York. The promise land. After the war in their homeland, all those people want is a bright future. Two Polish sisters, Ewa and Magda, dream about a new beginning. But when they arrive, Magda is put into quarantine because she looks sick. And Ewa is about to be send back to Poland.

A shady theater director, Bruno Weiss, saves her. He gives Ewa a job, in an American version of Moulin Rouge. And Bruno also gets her to sleep with men for money. A part of that money she uses to get her sick sister out. Her beauty attracts lots of men, but none of those feelings are sincere. But then she meets magician Emil, Bruno’s cousin and rival. He wants to genuinely help Ewa.

The décor and costumes are fantastic, it shows us America in the beginning of the 20th century. A yellow glow, a world ready to be discovered. This gives the movie a believable and credible feel. Sadly the rest is a bit more monotone. All men seem like barbarians and women have no say.

The cinematography is effective and conventional and the tone of the movie is very serious. The story is good, but towards the end, they wanted to wrap it up quickly. It leaves you a bit unsatisfied.

“The Immigrant” is an above average movie, because the acting is so good and I liked the story. But the wrap up of the film is not satisfying at all.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 22: Inherent Vice

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Genre: Crime/ Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 148 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Eric Roberts, Benicio Del Toro, Jena Malone, Reese Witherspoon, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short

Description: In 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles detective Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.

Review: When you see the name of director Paul Thomas Anderson on a movie poster, you have certain expectations. He has movies like “Magnolia”, “Boogie Nights” and “There Will Be Blood” on his resume.

With “Inherent Vice” Anderson chose a book to movie adaptation. Books by author Thomas Pynchon are known for its complexity, so it’s not that strange this is the first adaptation.

The seventies have just begun and we join private detective Larry Sportello, better known as Doc. His ex-girlfriend Shasta walks in and starts telling him about a collusion to get her wealthy, married lover into a psychiatric facility. Doc decides to investigate. Before he knows it, he is surrounded by strippers, neo-Nazis, hostile cops and eccentric cults.

“Inherent Vice” makes you feel like that one sober person at a party. The more you try to hold on to a logic story development, the more frustrated you’ll get. And the long duration will also add to that confusion. You really need a ‘go with the flow’ mentality.

When it comes to style and setting, “Inherent Vice” doesn’t disappoint. Like he did in “Boogie Nights”, again he shows us how masterful he can take the audience to a certain time period. And the soundtrack is also worth mentioning.

“Inherent Vice” is not a movie for just everyone, it’s for a selective audience. It’s not one of my favorite Anderson movies, but definitely not bad.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 157: Her

Director: Spike Jonze

Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Romance/ Science Fiction

Runtime: 120 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde

Description: Lonely writer Theordore (Joaquin Phoenix) develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system (Scarlett Johansson) that's designed to meet his every need.

Review: Digital love, it seems like something impossible even in the far away future. Especially because it seems impossible for a computer to develop real feelings and thoughts. Director Spike Jonze manages to make it believable and realistic in the fantastic movie “Her”. In the futuristic Los Angeles, an endearing Joaquin Phoenix and the sexy voice of Scarlet Johansson tell a confronting and distressing love story.

Theodore is a writer of love letters, that are send by him in someone else’s name. His life is structured by an operating system, that he places in his ear, that he’s only disconnected from when he’s asleep. Theodore buys a new intelligent operating system. Her name is Samantha, but she doesn’t just feel like an operating system.

Because Scarlett Johansson lend her voice to Samantha, it feels familiar. You believe the connection between her and Theodore, even though it sounds so strange and disturbing. There is not a moment you think of Samantha as just an operating system.

The complete atmosphere in “Her” feels so real. The décor, costumes and everything around them looks perfect. This in combination with the great acting performance by Joaquin Phoenix make “Her” an absolute joy to watch.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 2: The Master

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymout Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern

Description: Returning from Navy service in World War II, Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) drifts through a series of breakdowns. Finally he stumbles upon a cult which engages in exercises to clear emotions and he becomes deeply involved with them.

Review: Freddie Quell is a former marine who has to return to society. He’s an alcoholic, has a temper and is sexually frustrated. He can’t keep a job and it’s all going downhill for him. Then he meets the leader of ‘The Cause’, Lancaster Dodd, who they call ‘The Master’. Dodd takes Freddie under his wing and tries to get him on the right path again.
It’s a very heavy theme, but director Paul Thomas Anderson knows his way around such themes. “The Master” is mostly about the bond between Freddie and Dodd, which give us a lot of confronting conversations between them. That’s the goal of ‘The Cause’, a psychological movement that uses unconventional methods to make people give traumatic experiences a place.
This movie is pretty intense, mostly because of the performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. Both take each other to another level of acting, each with his own style. The Academy Award nomination for both actors is fully deserved. With that I think that the actors were better than the movie itself. We don’t get to know ‘The Cause’ enough to understand them completely and towards the end of the film it’s very repetitive. And because of the slow pace this isn’t a movie for just anyone. But the camerawork and the supporting music is beautiful.
“The Master” has, besides the two phenomenal performances, enough to offer.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Battle: Hotel Rwanda Vs. Shooting Dogs

The movies who will go head to head are both set in Rwanda and deal with the genocide. They’re both favorites of mine, but who will I choose as the winner.

CAST

Hotel Rwanda: Don Cheadle plays the leading character and he is the only memorable actor in this movie. His performance is so realistic and heartbreaking. Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix are also part of the cast, they’re just solid.

Shooting Dogs: John Hurt plays the role of Christopher, a man of faith who’s life is dedicated to the school and church he has set up in Rwanda. Hugh Dancy is the likeable Joe, a teacher who tries to make a difference. Both actor are very realistic and strong.

STORY

Hotel Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina is a hotel manager who housed a thousand tutsi refugees and it’s an amazing true story. It got a lot of attention at the Academy Awards.

Shooting Dogs: This movie has been based on actual events, the characters are fictional, but it's a bit more confronting then “Hotel Rwanda”. It’s really heart wrenching to see that the United Nations left all those people there and only the ‘white people’ could be evacuated. I think this movie was a bit overlooked.

EFFECTS

Hotel Rwanda: Nicely filmed, don’t really have any negative points here.

Shooting Dogs: It all looks very realistic. I’ve been to Uganda, the neighbour country and parts of it look similar to Rwanda. The color scheme that was used to film “Shooting Dogs” is perfect.

WINNER

A close call, but I will go with “Shooting Dogs”. Most people would choose the other one, but I think “Shooting Dogs” is just a little bit more confronting and touched me slightly more then “Hotel Rwanda”.

Movie Tip #1 - Hotel Rwanda

Director: Terry George

Starring: Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix

Description: Tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi lead to a civil war, in a country where corruption and bribes are routine. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), the manager of Sabena Hôtel des Mille Collines, is Hutu but his wife is Tutsi. Paul and his family observe neighbors being dragged from their homes and openly beaten in the streets. He decides to help de Tutsi people and offers them chelter in his hotel, but the Rwandan Army General is not happy about it.

Review: This movie made me think and I was deeply moved by it. Paul is a man who is willing to do the right thing, when everything around him is going wrong. He stands strong and Don Cheadle did a great job portraying this man. Go see this movie and let it inspire you, like it inspired me.