Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (November 2016)

I watched some really good films this month, but many mediocre ones as well. Mostly some newer films, not a lot of classics Here is my list of November.

5. The Girl On the Train
Despite all the negative reviews, I still think it’s a very strong thriller. Because of the story and the solid acting, “The Girl On the Train” isn’t your average thriller. The fact that people went into this movie thinking it was the next “Gone Girl” was this films downfall. It is a good film.

4. The Walk
I didn’t really expect it to be this good. Especially that last half hour kept me on the edge of my seat. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fab!

3. Hell or High Water
A 2016 film that pretty much flew under the radar. I wish more people would see it, because it’s so beautiful. And well performed by Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster.

2. Beasts of No Nation
An intense drama, touching and grabbing. Idris Elba, whom I’m a fan of, is fantastic in “Beasts of No Nation”. Great film.

1. Arrival
This movie met my expectations and was absolutely phenomenal. I love how they focused on the language aspect and Villeneuve went so in depth. Amy Adams was brilliant and “Arrival” is one of the best of 2016.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Goosebumps, Patriot Games, Schone Handen, Citizen Kane, Cache, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Doctor Strange

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 149: The Walk

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Guillaume Baillargeon, Émilie Leclerc, Mark Trafford, Inka Malovic, Lucas Ramaciere, Martin Lefebvre, Philippe Bertrand, Laurence Deschenes, Patricia Tulasne, Jean-Robert Bourdage, Sylvie Lemay, Sasha Dominique, Soleyman Pierini, Jade Kindar-Martin

Description: In 1974, high-wire artist Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) recruits a team of people to help him realize his dream: to walk the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.

Review: A good 3D camera is all you need. When high-wire artist Philippe Petit walks on a rope between the Twin Towers and you look over the edge of the building, the images give you vertigo. This movie is definitely a movie experience while watching it on the big screen, but you can still feel it when you’re watching it at home.
The movie builds up to the climax at the end: the actual walk. We meet Philippe and his big dream of making the impossible possible. We see how he shows his acrobatic tricks in Paris, but how he wants to go to New York to do something much bigger.
If you saw the documentary “Man on Wire”, you know the story. What Petit did and what his drive was. He is an interesting man and it’s great to get to know him in “The Walk”. The film is good, but the final act is sublime. I was on the edge of my seat at all times and loved it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt performed wonderfully. It’s easy for an American to mess up a fake French accents, but he pulled it off. Levitt made Petit a likeable and intriguing figure. It shows he was very dedicated to this role.
“The Walk” is a very good film, I highly enjoyed it. Just for that final act alone.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (169)

Here are this weeks trailers.

The Walk

Description: Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit *Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan.

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Schwartz, Charlotte Le Bon, Clément Sibony, César Domboy

Trailer: Trailer "The Walk"

Comment: Amazing story, hopefully a fantastic movie!

Get Hard

Description: When millionaire hedge fund manager James (Will Ferrell) is nailed for fraud and bound for a stretch in San Quentin, the judge gives him 30 days to get his affairs in order. Desperate, he turns to Darnell (Kevin Hart) to prep him for a life behind bars. But despite James’ one-percenter assumptions, Darnell is a hard-working small business owner who has never received a parking ticket, let alone been to prison. Together, the two men do whatever it takes for James to “get hard” and, in the process, discover how wrong they were about a lot of things – including each other.

Director: Etan Cohen

Starring: Will Ferrell, Craig T. Nelson, Kevin Hart, Tip "T.I." Harris, Alison Brie

Trailer: Trailer "Get Hard"

Comment: Will Ferrell is enough to make my day!

The Babadook

Description: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, Ben Winspear

Director: Jennifer Kent

Starring: Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her 'out of control' 6-year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel's dreams are plagued by a sinister monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called 'The Babadook' turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he's been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control and as he becomes more unpredictable and violent, Amelia is genuinely frightened by her son's behavior. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.

Trailer: Trailer "The Babadook"

Comment: According to Chris Stuckmann this is one of the scariest horror movies and the best of the year. I'm probably not going to watch this alone...

True Story

Description: When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) meets accused killer Christian Longo (James Franco) – who has taken on Finkel’s identity – his investigation morphs into an unforgettable game of cat-and-mouse. Based on actual events, Finkel’s relentless pursuit of Longo’s true story encompasses murder, love, deceit and redemption.

Director: Rupert Goold

Starring: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Felicity Jones

Trailer: Trailer "True Story"

Comment: I'm not a Jonah Hill fan, but he actually surprised me already in this trailer. And James Franco is off course a favorite of mine.

It Follows

Description: After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself plagued by disturbing visions and the inescapable sense that something is following her. For 19-year-old Jay (Monroe), the fall should be about school, boys and weekends at the lake. Yet, after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter she suddenly finds herself plagued by nightmarish visions; she can't shake the sensation that someone, or something, is following her. As the threat closes in, Jay and her friends must somehow escape the horrors that are only a few steps behind.

Director: David Robert Mitchell

Starring: Keir Gilchrist, Maika Monroe, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe

Trailer: Trailer "It Follows"

Comment: It actually looks very good, because I don't really know what it's about.