TV Show Review - Daisy Jones & the Six

Season: Mini Series
Genre: Drama/ Music/ Romance
Number of episodes: 10
Year: 2023
Starring: Riley Keogh, Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone, Suki Waterhouse, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse, Sebastian Chacon, Nabiyah Be, Tom Wright, Timothy Olyphant

Description: Following the rise of rock band Daisy Jones and the Six through the 1970s Los Angeles music on their quest for worldwide icon status.

Review: Based on the book of the same name by Taylor Jenkins Reid, “Daisy Jones & the Six” focuses on the rise and fall of a rock band in 1970s Los Angeles. The book is an absolute favorite of mine and I was so happy to see it come to life. The book is still better, but I highly enjoyed the TV series.  

The book is in interview form, the series is set up as a retrospective documentary. While being interviewed, the band looks back at how they started. The setting is amazing, the sound, the wardrobe, the hair, the vibes, it’s aals present. The band is somewhat modeled after Fleetwood Mac, around the time they made their album “Rumours”. The serie’s “Rumours” is called “Aurora”.

Riley Keough and Sam Claflin play the two lead singers of the band, Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne. They both portray their respective roles wonderfully. Claflin is charismatic, the cool rock star with a sensitive edge. But Daisy Jones is really the magnetic centerpiece here. Keigh, who is Elvis Presley’s eldest granddaughter and daughter of Lisa Marie Presley. She is a joy the watch. Daisy Jones is confident, independent, strong, but also fragile and a little broken. And both of them have a great voice.
As many book to movie/ TV series adaptations, there are a lot of differences. I really liked how Camila, Billy’s wife, got a more prominent role and she was actually one of my favorite characters. In the book she wasn’t. I also enjoyed Simone’s story, how they added that in the show. She played an important role in Daisy’s life in the book as well, but they give her more to do in the TV series.

What I didn’t like was the role of Karen. Pianist Karen was my favorite character in the book. A woman who knows what she wants, trying to keep her head above water in a man’s world, constantly having to prove her worth and fighting for her place in the music world. I love how confident she was I the book, how Karen said it like she saw it and she was never inferior to the men. Karen disappeared a bit into the background, her as a band member and woman. The show does focus on her relationship with fellow band member Graham, Billy’s brother. And that’s fine. But I wanted more of the person Karen. We hardly get to know her here.

The thing that bothered me the most was the “The Six” didn’t have six band members. Pete, a character in the book, is not in the series. They simply count Camila as their sixth band member. But I really hated that. Pete didn’t have a huge role in the book, he was barely in it. But calling a band with five band members “The Six” is pretty lame.

Because it’s a story about a band, there needs to be music. And Taylor Jenkins Reid did a great job describing all the songs on the album “Aurora”, what their vibe is, their meaning, what you’re supposed to feel, what they represent. We were finally going to hear the songs. And “Aurora” is an actual album which you can listen to on Spotify. “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb)” is definitely the song with the biggest impact.

Despite the series having two changes I hated, I did really love this show. And listening to the album, makes the book even better.

TV Show Review - The Book of Boba Fett (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Science Fiction/ Adventure/ Action
Number of episodes: 7
Year: 2021
Starring: Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen, Pedro Pascal, Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Sophie Thatcher, Jordan Bulger, Jennifer Beals, Amy Sedaris, Stephen Root, Danny Trejo

Description: Bounty hunter Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and mercenary Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) navigate the underworld when they return to Tatooine to claim Jabba the Hutt’s old turf.

Review: “The Book of Boba Fett” may seem like an interlude while we wait for the third season of “The Mandalorian”, but this series about the tough bounty hunter is a worthy successor to the Disney+ original. But you first have to get through the first four episodes. Because at the point, you might have the feeling you want to give up on the series. It feels a bit directionless. But when we get to episode 5, the series becomes more interesting and worth your time. Just sad that a number of old acquaintances are needed to bring this about.
Boba Fett is one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe. We get to know more about his background in this series and we get so see his face more often.
The show has a fragmented narrative style. Fett moves into the former palace of the late Jabba the Hutt to run the city of Mos Espa on the desert planet Tatooine. The moments when the fearless Fett takes things in his stride and takes on a corrupt cowardly mayor are interspersed with his backstory. We see how Fett wakes up more alive than dead and seeks refuge with a Tusken tribe, retaliates their brutal slaughter, and recruits Fennec Shand, whom we remember from “The Mandalorian”.
The many flashbacks take place s Fett recharges himself in his bactatank. It results in unfortunate and endless alternations of snippets of his memoirs from the past and macho behavior and competitions to squash the present. Where it’s all supposed to lead becomes clear only when a concrete goal and enemy loom.
Like “The Mandalorian”, “The Book of Boba Fett” comes from the min of Jon Favreau, who has apparently received approval from Disney to work on several Star Wars spin-off series. Understandably so, as “The Mandalorian” was a hit despite its completed missions that always spanned an episode.
This time around, Favreau has a longer story arc in mind, but it will take event the true fan of the Star Wars universe to hold their attention. This all changes when the fifth episodes comes along. Then we get the level we wanted to experience all along. It’s then that Favreau’s larger plan becomes clear.  
The last three of the total seven episodes are not only a feast for the eyes, but also a mix of new angles and a feast of recognition. It’s just sad for “The Book of Boba Fett” that the main character hardly had anything to do with the success of these final episodes, because he’s barely in episode 6 and not at all present in episode 5. I think Boba Fett is such a popular character because he is so mysterious and we didn’t know much about him. He is probably not interesting enough to devote an entire TV-show to.
All in all, “The Book of Boba Fett” has a slow start, but eventually redeems itself due to some familiar faces and a great build-up to “The Mandalorian” season 3.

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

Movie Reviews - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 161 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradd Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, Luke Perry, Kurt Russell, Scoot McNairy, Clifton Collins Jr. Rumer Willis, Zoë Bell, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern

Description: A faded television star (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.

Review: It’s the end of the 60s and we meet television actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth. Dalton sees his career fade and has to deal with the villain roles in cheap TV pilots.
Dalton’s next door neighbors are director Roman Polanski and his beautiful wife Sharon Tate. And when you think of Hollywood in 1969, you think of Charles Manson and his cult, who left a trail of blood in L.A. at the time.
When Tarantino’s ninth film was announced, and it became clear that the ‘Manson family’ was a part of it, people were afraid that he was going to exploit the murder of Sharon Tate. But Tarantino wouldn’t be Tarantino, if he didn’t use his revisionary spin on it and mix fiction with reality.
If you would ask anyone what “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is about, I don’t think many people could give you an exact answer. Because it’s mostly people talking and it’s more ‘a day in the life’ kind of story. We follow Cliff who is on his way to feed his dog, we see how Sharon Tate visits who visit a theater to watch her own movie. It’s a hangout-film, who can mostly be compared to Tarantino’s “Jacki Brown”. But even better.
Most of Tarantino’s movies are very violent. And overall, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” isn’t a very violent film. But when you get to the final twenty minutes, the violence gets really violent! And this scene is simply brilliant.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is definitely Tarantino’s funniest film, it can in fact be called a comedy. Even Leonardo DiCaprio is funny here. He shows great and awkward moments, where he feels an insecurity inside thinking his hay days are over. But the best part of the film is definitely Brad Pitt, as Cliff Booth, who I will say is one of Tarantino’s best characters. At first he seems like just a stunt double to DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton, but digging deeper he is a more complex character. And Pitt is hilarious in his role. Margot Robbie, who plays Sharon Tate, doesn’t get that much to do. And I would say that some of her scene could have been cut, without it having any effect on the story.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” definitely didn’t disappoint and it’s up there on my favorites list of best Tarantino movies. A great portrait of the golden days in Hollywood and in my eyes the most beautifully shot Tarantino movie.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 33: Mother's Day

Director: Garry Marshall
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Roberts, Britt Robertson, Timothy Olyphant, Shay Mitchell, Sarah Chalke, Jon Lovitz, Hector Elizondo, Larry Miller, Jack Whitehall

Description: Three generations come together in the week leading up to Mother's Day.

Review: Mother’s Day is the day that we celebrate all the great mothers on the planet. They deserved their own film, but this is not really the tribute I was hoping for.
We follow several stories revolving around mothers a week before Mother’s Day. Jesse has to solve a fight with her mother, but also kept it a secret that she married an Indian man and together they have a son. Her sister also hides something, the fact that she is gay. Kristen is adopted and wants to meet her biological mom: career lady Miranda. Sandy has to share mother’s day with her ex-husband’s new wife, who is much younger than her. And Bradley and his daughters are still struggling after their wife/ mother’s death.
We had “New Year’s Eve” and “Valentine’s Day”, which weren’t all that great to begin with. “Mother’s Day” isn’t either. I liked Jennifer Aniston, but I always like her. But the rest of the cast is a bit bland. And that story of Jess was just oo ridiculous. She and her sister kept such a big secret, because their parents are pretty racist and not very open minded. And everything is forgiven and forgotten in literally one second. Not believable at all.
I don’t think “Mother’s Day” is film that would make a lot of mothers happy. It’s hardly funny, super cliché and predictable. Out of all the assemble films with multiple storylines, that eventually cross paths, there is only one film in this genre that wins. And it’s not by Garry Marshall (it’s “Love Actually”, in case you were wondering). So if you want to watch a film with your mom on mother’s day, don’t watch this.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 31: This is Where I Leave You

Director: Shawn Levy

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 103 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Corey Stoll, Dax Shepard, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Rose Byrne, Katherine Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Debra Monk

Description: When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.

Review: In “This is Where I Leave You” we follow a family that comes together after the father of the family died. There are a lot of unsolved issues, frictions and relationship problems and this doesn’t make the mourning process any easier.

After Judd finds his wife in bed with his boss, he gets a call from his sister Wendy, that their father passed away. His father wants to be buried within the Jewish tradition and this means they have a ‘sitting Shiva’. Here people will visit them for an entire week, to give them their condolences. Which also means that the family has to be together the entire time.

The family is a party of five: Judd, sister Wendy, oldest brother Paul, youngest brother Philip and mother Hilary. Judd is trying to deal with his upcoming divorce and he also bumps into a woman he used to like. Wendy is married with two children, but her husband is a work-aholic and she is secretly still in love with her first love Horry, who she was in an accident with. Paul and his wife Annie are desperately trying to have a child, but nothing has worked so far. Philip, who just brought home his new girlfriend Tracey who is much older, never really grew up. Mother Hilary has to deal with all her children, while also saying her final goodbyes to her husband.

The movie is a mix of drama and comedy, but the focus is more on the drama. Although that’s very light. There are subtle jokes and especially the dysfunctionality of the family is funny. All the characters are really interesting to get to know.

The cast is really good. Jason Bateman plays a role he has played before, but he is likeable and proofs he can carry a movie. Tina Fey is also strong in a more serious role then we are used to from her. Adam Driver is solid and Jane Fonda is delightful as the mother, who sometimes overshares information that as a kid you wouldn’t be very happy with.

“This is Where I Leave You” is an excellent film about a family with problems. Dysfunctional families somehow always interest me, it reminds me of how great mine is.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 138: The Crazies

Director: Breck Eisner

Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Drama/ Action

Runtime: 101 minutes

Year: 2010

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, Christie Lynn Smith, Brett Rickaby, Preston Bailey, John Aylward, Joe Reegan, Glenn Morshower, Larry Cedar, Gregory Sporleder, Mike Hickman, Lisa K. Wyatt, Justin Welborn

Description: About the inhabitants of a small Iowa town suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply.

Review: “The Crazies” is a remake of the 1973 movie directed by George A. Romero. Breck Eisner directs this remake about a little town in the American Midwest. We follow sheriff Dutton, his wife Judy and deputy Russell. From the start of the movie we learn something is wrong in the town, where a seemingly drunk citizen walks on to a baseball field with a loaded gun. Sheriff Dutton feels obligated to shoot the man. After autopsy it appears the man didn’t drink any alcohol at all. Next, more people start acting strange and violent.

The movie is free from any social commentary or any intelligent message. It does have many horror clichés and total chaos. people can't be trusted, deadly ‘zombies’ walking around everywhere were we can see them but the protagonists can’t, dark rooms and jump scares where you actually expect them. It’s something we have seen one too many times and you stop caring for the characters. The movie doesn’t have a solid base.

“The Crazies” is easily forgettable, fun for one time.

Rating: 2/ 5