00s Movie Review - Dawn of the Dead

Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2004
Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Jake Weber, Ty Burrell, Michael Kelly, Kevin Zegers, Michael Barry, Lindy Booth, Jayne Eastwood, Boyd Banks, Inna Korobkina, R.D. Reid, Kim Poirier, Matt Frewer, Tom Savini, Ken Foree

Description: A group of survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

Review: In 1978, George A. Romero created a classic in the horror genre with “Dawn of the Dead”. While American society is collapsing due to the large-scale appearance and multiplication of zombies, four people get stuck in a large shopping mall, surrounded by a large number of living dead. For a while they manage to survive there by using the facilities there, while the building is surrounded by an increasing number of zombies. “Dawn of the Dead” distinguished itself from the bulk of the horror genre by its unique blend of suspense, action, humor, horror, satire and humanity. In that sense, the film remains unsurpassed to this day, and absolutely does not need a remake. The remake, then, is not really a remake, but rather a revision of the original that goes its own way. The question then, of course, is: does it remain a good film?
The film begins with a mini-portrait of the life of nurse Ana, which can be called somewhat monotone and routine. Soon, however, her quiet little life is disrupted by the fact that Ana’s blood-stained neighbor girl sinks her teeth into Ana’s husband, causing him to turn into a zombie as well and then attack Ana. She just barely manages to escape. When she’s outside, she sees that the entire city is in chaos. Buildings are on fire, people are fleeing or being eaten by zombies. The entire country and possible the entire world is in turmoil and dead creatures are roaming everywhere.
The opening titles underscore the chaos in which humans find themselves. Ana meets other survivors and together they decided to hide in a huge shopping mall, trying to survive there.
The zombies in “Dawn of the Dead” are fast and strong and have developed a slight hunting instinct. Partly because of this, the pace of the film is fast too. Other features include the obligatory, clichéd scare moments, which fortunately do no dominate the film and are limited to a modest number. Debuting director Zack Snyder does a great job with the suspense and scare and even added footage during the credits, which give a different spin to the story.
“Dawn of the Dead” manages to keep the tension, which is not hindered by the humor and action that also appears in the film. What is most preserved from the original film, is the humanity. While the zombies surround the mall, all sorts of things are happening inside the mall that barely have anything to do with the threat outside: power games, betrayal, selfishness, cynicism, bravery, compassion, love, you name it. The credibility of the characters allows the viewers to identify with them and experience their fears.
Fear and suspense is therefore what “Dawn of the Dead” delivers, the film is very effective and in that sense a successful horror film. It’s actually one of the best horror film of its decade.

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - Rough Night

Director: Lucia Aniello
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Zoë Kravitz, Kate McKinnon, Ilana Glazer, Ty Burrell, Demi Moore

Description: Things go terribly wrong for a group of girlfriends who hire a male stripper for a bachelorette party in Miami.

Review: The comedy stars on of the funniest women of today: Kate McKinnon. Then how is it possible this film is genuinely unfunny? The screenplay is the problem and shows u lack of intelligence.
A group of friends get together in Miami for a bacholerette party, to celebrate their friend’s Jess upcoming wedding. Jess is running for senator, very ambitious and she left her party days behind her. Her best friend Alice on the other hand, has other plans and wants to give Jess the best night of her life. Then there is Blair, who is in the middle of a custody battle. And Frankie, who is living on the streets nowadays. The four are accompanied by an Australian friend of Jess, Pippa, who Alice sees as a threat.
After a fun night out partying, the friends decide to hire a stripper for Jess. And that’s when it goes wrong, when they accidentally kill him. Next is endless panic about what to do with the body, cleaning up the blood, bickering. Nothing new. And it’s a chain of illogical and impulsive decisions, followed by cliché moments and unimportant supporting characters.
Like Jess’ husband to be, who is having a pretty dull wine tasting party with his friends. Or the girl’s next door neighbors, hoping for a threesome with one of the girls.
It’s only McKinnon that makes this film a little funny, even with that debatable Australian accent. Scarlett Johansson, who is supposed to be the star of the film, comes off as a little dull and uninspired. She is on auto pilot.
“Rough Night” is a pretty lame comedy, which shouldn’t even get the title comedy. Because it’s hardly ever funny.

Rating: 2/ 5

10s Movie Review - Muppets Most Wanted

Director: James Bobin
Genre: Comedy/ Adventure/ Family/ Musical/ Crime
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Zack Galifianakis, Tom Hiddleston, Ray Liotta, Danny Trejo, Christoph Waltz, Josh Groban, Céline Dion, Peter Serafinowicz, Usher Raymond, Salma Hayek, Stanley Tucci, Lady Gaga, Chloë Grace Moretz, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hollander

Description: While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick.

Review: In 2010 The Muppets made their comeback with an amazing film that was filled with humor, emotion and great music. Off course there had to be another sequel, hoping for that same success.
In “Muppets Most Wanted” the Muppets go on a world tour, led by Dominic. They don’t know that Dominic actually has some evil plans, he is the right hand of Constantine, the most dangerous frog in the world and Kermit’s doubleganger. During the tour, Dominic makes sure Kermit and Constantine switch places. Constantine will tour with the Muppets and Kermit will be send to the Goelag. This way Constantine and Dominic can plan big heists in each city the visit.
The movie starts with a fun song about sequels, mocking Hollywood and themselves. Sequels are never as good, but bring in the money. This is also the fact for “Muppets Most Wanted”. It’s never the same level as “ The Muppets” from 2011. It’s still a fun movie, with lots of humorous moments and fun cameos. And the songs are fun too.
I likes Ricky Gervais as villain Dominic and I especially loved Ty Burrell as the French Interpol agent. And I have to admit, The Muppets always make me smile. No matter what.

Rating: 3 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 92: Finding Dory

Director: Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane
Genre: Animation/ Adventure/ Comedy
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberg

Description: The friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish begins a search for her long-lost parents, and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way.

Review: A year after the happenings in “Finding Nemo”, Marlin, Nemo and Dory live a fun fish live in the ocean. One day forgetful Dory is reminded of family and that she must have a family too. Dory decides to find her family and Marlin and Nemo are worried that she might not be safe.
It’s been thirteen years since “Finding Nemo” and it was one of Pixar’s most beloved tales. Ellen DeGeneres, who voices Dory, has campaign for a sequel for years. And here it is.
All the ingredients to make “Finding Dory” a success too are present. And the new characters make it a fresh film. Especially octopus Hank is a fun new addition. But there is also near sighted whale shark Destiny and beluga Bailey. The voice peformances are great, the right actors were choosen.
Besides a lot of humor, there is also action. And the film looks so beautiful, with a gorgeous color palet. What I lovede most about the story is that there is no villain, which makes it really original. A loveable fish is trying to find her family and meets new friends, no enemies.
Is it as good as “Finding Nemo”? No. Is it a great Pixar animation? Hell yeah!

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 149: The Skeleton Twins

Director: Craig Johnson

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 93 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell, Boyd Holbrook

Description: Having both coincidentally cheated death on the same day, estranged twins reunite with the possibility of mending their relationship.

Review: Milo Dean is unhappy with his life and decides to step out of it. Right at the time that his estranged twin sister Maggie wants to take a pill overdose, she gets a call that Milo is in the hospital. It brings the two back together after ten years of not speaking to each other.

That Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig work well together, we have already seen on “Saturday Night Live”. They were part of the cast for many years. The two of them team up again in “The Skeleton Twins” and it works like a charm. It’s clear that the duo had a lot of fun making it and they are well attuned. Especially the scene were Milo is trying to make Maggie feel better by lip syncing to an eighties song, you can see how well Wiig and Hader function on screen as a duo.

What I found fascinating was to see all these comedic actors in more serious roles. Kristen Wiig has already proven a couple of times that she can also do light drama. Bill Hader also finds his way around the genre. Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell, who have supporting roles, are both convincing as well. When you put drama and comedy on a scale, it wouldn’t be balanced, because the drama has the upper hand. Although the movie deals with some heavy themes, the drama is kept light by the touch of comedy that sometimes has a dark edge.

“The Skeleton Twins” is a strong drama, that especially succeeds because of the great chemistry between the two lead actors. It’s their power that made us care for them and their story.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 14: Goats

Director: Christopher Neil
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips, Keri Russell, Justin Kirk, Anthony Anderson, Ty Burrell, Alan Ruck, Dakota Johnson

Description: As Ellis (Graham Phillips) prepares to leave Tucson for his freshman year at an East Coast prep school, he also faces separating from his flaky, new age mother (Vera Farmiga) and the only real father he has ever known: Goat Man (David Duchovny).

Review: In this strange coming-of-age-comedy the young Ellis has to deal with a lot of things: a new school, his new age mom, his estranged dad and the Goat Man. The man who has been like a dad to him, more than his actual father. All these freaky and quirky characters make this a fresh and light dramedy.
Graham Phillips is touching as the young adult struggling with all the people in his life. David Duchovny makes you laugh with his vague character. Vera Farmiga is the weirdest one of the bunch, but she never overdoes it. The other characters don’t have enough depth to even care about them.The story is interesting, but it never seems to go towards an actual ending, which leaves you with an unsatisfied feeling.
“Goats” has heart, it’s a fun film when you’re in the mood for something that’s a bit strange. But a good kind of strange.

Rating: 3,5/ 5