00s Movie Review - Scream 3

Director: Wes Craven
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2000
Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Liev Schreiber, Patrick Dempsey, Kelly Rutherford, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Jenny McCarthy, Emily Mortimer, Parker Posey, Patrick Warburton

Description: While Sidney (Neve Campbell) and her friends visit the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the third film based on the Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer rises to terrorize them.

Review: After the success of “Scream” and the sequel “Scream 2” Kevin Williamson was one of the most requested scriptwriters. He was so busy, he couldn’t be there for the third installment and Ehren Kruger replaced him.
The third movie is set in Hollywood, where they are shooting “Stab 3”, based on the Woodsboro murders. Sidney, the woman that lived this nightmare, leads a quiet life in the middle of nowhere. That life is brutally disturbed when people are murdered on the set of the movie in making. At the scene of every crime, a picture of Sidney’s mother is left behind.
“Scream 3” isn’t different from the first two films, but it’s less entertaining. I think the tricks don’t work that well anymore. The script isn’t inventive or surprising and the new characters add nothing extra. Even Neve Campbell doesn’t sparkle like she did before.
Even though the movie cannot live up to the first, “Scream 3” does have some good moments. The self-mockery is present again and there are some fun cameos.
“Scream 3” was clearly made to earn some more money, without giving the audience a good quality horror flick. And the climax is so far-fetched, that even the most creative minds wouldn’t come up with it.
“Scream 3” is entertaining, but it can never live up to “Scream” or “Scream 2”.

Rating: 2/ 5

90s Movie Review - Scream 2

Director: Wes Craven
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 1997
Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalfe, Jerry O’Connell, Timothy Olyphant, Liev Schreiber, Jada Pinkett Smith, Rebecca Gayheart, Portia de Rossi, Omar Epps

Description: Two years after the first series of murders, a new psychopath dons the Ghostface costume and a new string of killings begins.

Review: Halfway through the nineties a successful scriptwriter stands out. Kevin Williamson brought in the big bucks after “Scream”, the movie that brought the horror genre back to life. Off course a sequel had to be made, something the characters in the first movie referred to. Williamson wrote it in only three weeks and Wes Craven directed it again.
“Scream 2” starts on the premiere night of “Stab”, the movie based on the Woodsboro murders. A couple gets murdered and soon it’s clear that a killer is on the loose. Sidney is in danger again and the past still haunts her.
Craven and Williamson form a good team again and like “Scream”, this flick shouldn’t be taken too seriously. This script is also filled with references to the genre, this time focused on sequels. It follows the same path as its prequel, but sadly the ending isn’t as strong. “Scream 2” isn’t surprising and then ending is a bit improbable.
If you don’t take this sequel too serious, you are in for a good horror movie night.

Rating: 3/ 5

90s Movie Review - Ransom

Director: Ron Howard
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 1996
Starring: Mel Gibson, Renee Russo, Gary Sinise, Lili Taylor, Liev Schreiber, Evan Handler, Donnie Wahlberg, Delroy Lindo, Brawley Nolte, José Zuniga, Paul Guilfoyle

Description: When a multimillionaire man's (mel Gibson) son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then turns the tables on the kidnappers when he uses the ransom money as a reward for the capture of the kidnappers.

Review: Two million dollars, in unmarked bills. That’s the kidnapper’s demand when they take Tom and Kate Mullen’s son Sean. Else, Sean won’t return alive. Mullen decides to make the trade, but when it goes wrong he no longer trusts them. And he takes matters in his own hands.
Instead of giving them the two million, he puts a price on the kidnapper’s head and will give the money to the one delivering Mullen the person responsible.
Because the identity if the kidnappers and its leader is revealed within the first hour, you think it will loose tension. It doesn’t. There is a cat and mouse game going on and Mullen not settling for a simple trade is adding to that tension.
Mel Gibson and Gary Sinise are the stars here, they are really strong in their roles. “Ransom” is a real solid thriller, with a great 90s vibe.

Rating: 3, 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 155: Taking Woodstock

Director: Ang Lee
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dan Fogler, Imelda Staunton, Eugene Levy, Henry Goodman, Jonathan Groff, Mamie Gummer, Kevin Sussman, Skylar Astin, Demetri Martin

Description: A man (Demetri Martin)) working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969.

Review: Director Ang Lee decided to work with a lighter theme this time, after movies like “Brokeback Mountain” and “Lust, Caution”. “Taking Woodstock” it the end result.
A film with the word Woodstock in the title, will give the audience certain expectations. The rock festival will always be legendary and is seen as a turning point in world history. Ang Lee focusses on the organization of the concert, more than the event itself. The film is based on the memoires of Elliot Tiber, a man that accidentally became important in that organization. Elliot works at his parent’s hotel, that is having trouble. No tourists and his parents don’t see the seriousness of the problem. Elliot sees an opportunity when a city nearby is organizing a concert, but its permit is declined. He arranges a permit himself and shows the terrain. But more people are interested in coming to the concert than Elliot would have ever imagined.
“Taking Woodstock” was criticized, because the movie didn’t show anything from the concert itself. And I kind of see where it’s coming from. I know it wasn’t Lee’s intention to reconstruct the concert, but in a movie about Woodstock they could have given us a little bit of the music. Lee focusses more on the feeling that the concert gave the many visitors and how lots of young people became adults during this festival. Elliot has a tough relationship with his parents and is clearly struggling with his sexuality. Woodstock is a turning point for him.
The movie could easily fall into cliché. Elliot’s development isn’t as present, because it’s alternated with eccentric supporting characters, like Vietnam veteran Billy, the transsexual Vilma, but also the chaos that Woodstock causes.
Like many others, I expected to see more of Woodstock itself. This makes it a little disappointing. But overall, “Taking Woodstock” is a pretty fun film.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 24: Spotlight

Director: Tom McCarthy

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 128 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Live Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian D’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup

Description: The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

Review: Marty Baron, the new boss at The Boston Globe, is very honest on his first day: he wants to write a story about the sexual abuse by Catholic priests and he wants the whole world to know about it. That’s easy to say for Baron, because not only is he Jewish, he also has no connection to the conservative and close community that is Boston.

The journalist team Spotlight notices that people have looked the other way for many years, when local priest John Geoghan structurally molested children in various parishes. And when they dig deeper, they stumble upon more priests. The church settled with many victims and their parents, but some priest just joined another parish. It’s clear that the church has power.

Director Tom McCarthy isn’t so much attacking the Catholic church with “Spotlight”, but he is raising questions to why no one did anything, when lots of people clearly knew about it. We also learn that many of the victims didn’t want any publicity or were afraid.

“Spotlight” is very detailed, just look at the hundreds of cubicles at The Boston Globe. And the actors had an eye for detail while preparing for their roles. This film is made with a lot of dedication.

Michael Keaton, who already played a convincing editor in “The Paper”, succeeds again in his role as Walter Robinson in “Spotlight”. His most fanatic journalist is Michael Rezendes who focuses on the legal side of everything. He is played by Mark Ruffalo. This is the best performance in the film. Rachel McAdams plays Sacha Pfeiffer. She gets the tough task to interview the victims. Also a very strong performance.

“Spotlight” is a strong biographical drama about investigative journalism, with strong performances and a disturbing story.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 45: The Butler

Director: Lee Daniels
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, James Marsden, Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Howard, Cuba Goodingg Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Jane Fonda

Description: As Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Review: The story of “The Butler” is inspired by real-life butler Eugene Allen, who worked at the White House for 34 years. Here the main character is called Cecil Gaines. We see how he goes from working the cotton fields with his parents to being a butler in the White House.
Director Lee Daniels wanted to make a film about the position of Afro Americans in their battle for equality. It looks promising, but Daniels bit off more than he could chew. He is known for his heavy themes, like the film “Precious”. There it works a bit better, because he focused on the life of one girl. “The Butler” is set in a timespan of almost 90 years. He simply doesn’t have enough time for that, so his story is a bit lost.
Forest Whitaker does his task. His performance is solid and convincing and it’s better than the movie itself. Oprah Winfrey probably gave her all, but she doesn’t bring it. David Oyelowo, who played Cecil’s son, did a fantastic job. The rest of the cast is hard to judge, because they simply don’t get the room to exploit.
I understand where Lee Daniels was going with this film and the result is definitely not bad, because I enjoyed watching “The Butler”, but I think this project was too ambitious.

Rating: 3/ 5