Movie Review - The Iron Claw

Director: Sean Durkin
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allan White, Harris Dickinson, Holt McCallany, Maura Tierney, Lily James, Stanley Simons
 
Description: The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 33: A FILM WITH A STRONG FAMILY THEME

Review: A lot of true stories have been greatly exaggerated. A lot was made up just for dramatic effect. But sometimes reality goes so far that is has to be restrained. Like in “The Iron Claw” in which the Von Erich family has four sons, whem in reality there were six. The fate of the unsung two is deeply sad, but simply too much for a film already overflowing with family grief.

Kevin, the oldest of the four sons, dedicated his life to a show-wrestling career following in his father’s footsteps. The latter is now their coach and also the owner of the local wrestling arena. But daddy dearest does not mince words when it comes to pronouncing which of his sons is his preference, and Kevin is not on top. Their father keeps applying pressure, and that has its consequences.

Those who grew up in the 1980s/ 1990s, know the WWF, the World Wrestling Federation. For some reason it was addictive to watch a bunch of butch men in tight suits go at each other in bizarre ways, especially when you learned it was all staged.

Holt McCallany is outstanding in the role of the domineering father. The man deals no blows or violent threats, yet it is extremely plausible that non one would dare stand up to him. The lead role belongs to Zac Efron, who transformed himself into a muscular pro wrestler. Yet that is not the most impressive about his portrayal. Efron delivers perhaps the best acting performance of his career to date. Kevin von Ehrig is an airhead with a full heart. He is probably the only brother that really wants to be a professional wrestler like his dad, but Kevin he is constantly overruled by him. Dad is favoring all his other sons over Kevin.

This is such a devastating film, because the Von Erich family had to deal with one tragedy after another. But boys aren’t supposed to cry, according to dad. So when Efron’s character does shed a tear, it hits extra hard.

“The Iron Claw” is an impressive, hard-hitting film. Even if you’re not into wrestling, you may be touched.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

TV Show Review - Down to Earth with Zac Efron

Season: Mini Series
Genre: Documentary
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2020
Starring: Zac Efron, Darin Olien

Description: In this travel show, actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in search of healthy, sustainable ways to live.

Review: In the documentary series “Down to Earth with Zac Efron”, actor Zac Efron travels around the world to learn more about sustainability.
A few years ago Zac Efron met health guru Darin Olien. This elderly surfer dude told Zac all about sustainability and health food. Netflix saw a travel show in that. In “Down to Earth with Zac Efron” it becomes especially clear how little both men know about the world around them.
The journey starts in Iceland, with a tourist route along some attractions. Together with his friend Darin, Zac learns how energy is generated in a sustainable way and the men eat in an exclusive restaurant. In France they do exactly the same. They hang out with tourists and get information about the sustainable water supply in Paris.
In both episodes Zac doesn’t seem to understand much of it. He looks a bit surprised and reacts to all the information with ‘oh wow, my mind is blown’. Darin also adds no more than a few clichés about how important sustainability is and that we have to take good care of planet earth. When the men aren’t tourists, they go to visit Darin’s friends. In Costa Rica they ignore the locals and go directly to an ecological village in the jungle. There a friend of Darin has founded his own community that lives from nature. No matter how cool this idea is, it is totally inapplicable outside this specific location.
“Down to Earth with Zac Efron’ has sincerely good intentions. Zac and Darin care about nature and want to promote a sustainable way of life. They only combine that with some cool trips paid for by Netflix and sponsors. That’s why this travel program stays very much on the surface and you don’t really learn much from it. They also rarely give tips that can really help you and most of it, I believe, was already common knowledge. Zac Efron provides a smart and funny voice-over and he’s a joy to watch. But overall it’s very clear he’s out of his comfort zone and he doesn’t really captivate. And Darin doesn’t add much either. And during the episode in France, where they are shortly accompanied by actress Anna Kendrick, both men are overshadowed by this witty woman.
I also found that the series was oddly edited. Some images from behind-the-scenes have been left in. like an argument with an insulted doctor and a ‘depressed’ Zac Efron complaining about Hollywood. They didn’t seem to fit in with the rest and they might as well leave them out altogether.
If someone like Zac Efron wasn’t attached to a travel program like this, no one would be interested. He is a nice guy with good intentions and you get to know him a bit better through this show. But overall “Down to Earth with Zac Efron” isn’t a memorable series and especially didn’t reach the goals it was aiming for.

10s Movie Review - Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Director: Joe Berlinger
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelaria, Haley Joel Osment, John Malkovich, James Hetfield, Jim Parsons, Jeffrey Donovan, Dylan Baker

Description: A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy (Zac Efron) from the perspective of Liz (Lily Collins), his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 30: A BIOPIC

Review: Ted Bundy has gone down in history as one of the most charming serial killers ever. He easily managed to wrap the ladies around his fingers, before he kidnapped, raped and killed them. His trial was broadcast live on TV and earned him many female admirers. When news got out that Zac Efron would play Bundy, there was a lot of protest. But Efron proves that he can handle it.
Efron finally gets a role he can really embrace. He draws attention to himself in all the scenes by underlining Bundy’s skill with his charm. In doing so, he makes exactly as much use of his strengths as the real serial killer did to control the media circus around his trials. Is Efron the perfect actor to play this role? No, I can think of a hand full of actors that go do it as well. But Efron is really good as Ted Bundy and especially at the beginning of the film, he even looks very much like Bundy.
It seems like Joe Berlinger had no idea what he exactly wanted to tell in “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile”. Berlinger is experienced as a documentary filmmaker and made the docu-series “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”. So he can very well create a story from historical facts, but his fiction debut is a more enumeration of events than a conclusive story with a tension curve and a climax.
At the start of the film , Bundy’s girlfriend (well portrayed by Lily Collins) seems to be central. The question seems to be: what is it like to find out you’ve fallen for a monster? However, he characters disappears completely into the background in the second half of the film, when the authorities try to bring Bundy to justice. Bundy is looking for loopholes, both legal and literal. But the most remarkable thing is that it’s hard to determine whether he’s guilty or not. We never see anything about the actual murders.
What Berlinger does show talent for in “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” is directing actors and building stand-alone scenes.
“Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” is a bit of a disappointment, but does have some strong performances. I expected something different from a Ted Bundy biopic.

Rating: 2,5 / 5

Movie Reviews - The Greatest Showman

Director: Michael Gracey
Genre: Drama/ Musical
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson

Description: Celebrates the birth of show business, and tells of a visionary (Hugh Jackman) who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

Review: Phineas Taylor Bartum works at an office. When he loses his job because the company goes bankrupt, he and his wife Charity don’t really worry. Because their two daughters and their happiness is all that matters. He eventually becomes the creator of show business and a worldwide sensation.
The film has some amazing showstoppers, but somehow the pop sound doesn’t really fit the 19th century setting. And besides Bartum himself, the characters are all a bit flat.
It now looks like I didn’t like “The Greatest Showman”, which isn’t true. I really did enjoy it, musicals are my guilty pleasure and they often give me a warm feeling. And so did “The Greatest Showman”, because I really loved the music. It just felt like they didn’t belong in this film, at least not the time it was set in.
I love Hugh Jackman, but I do prefer him with claws and a beard. Zac Efron did a good job, Michelle Williams didn’t have that much to do and Rebecca Ferguson was okay.
“The Greatest Showman” is ignored by many people, probably because of the genre. It’s a genre that Hollywood tries to bring new life to, but they only succeed ever so often. I think this is not one of their successes, even though I really liked it. Mixed feelings though.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 137: The Disaster Artist

Director: James Franco
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Seth Rogen, Megan Millally, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron

Description: When Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.

Review: “The Room”, from mysterious film maker and actor Tommy Wiseau, is knows is probably the worst movie ever made. It appears that it cost him about six million dollars, but the movie only made 1800 dollars in the first weekend.
“The Room” was known for its bad dialogues, even worse acting and strange story. But it has grown to be an absolute cult classic. But who was Wiseau? How did he get the money to finance this film? And where was he really from, claiming he was from New Orleans but he has a strange Easter European accent.
We don’t know the answer to those questions, but James Franco isn’t trying to answer them. He did speak to Wiseau on a daily basis, because Franco doesn’t only direct. He also portrays Wiseau. And with that he gives away one of the best performances of his career. Wiseau is quite the character and it’s really easy to fall into a cartoonish character that you are impersonating. When you look at Franco as Wiseau, you don’t see the actor Franco. You see Wiseau.
Greg, played by James Franco’s real life brother Dave Franco, is ambitious and wants to be an actor. During an acting class, he meets Wiseau. He looks up to him, because Wiseau gives his all without caring about what others think. Wiseau isn’t talented, but the two decide to move to Los Angeles and pursue an acting career. When they get no after no, they decided to make their own movie. Wiseau writes the script for “The Room”.
Most part of the film is spend on the filming of “The Room”. It’s clear that Wiseau is an unpredictable man. And people around him don’t really know what to think of him. Greg is the only one that still believes in him.
Franco didn’t turn Wiseau into a caricature, but actually gave his character a lot of heart. As for the whole movie, it has so much heart.
James Franco is so talented and he made an absolute fantastic film with “The Disaster Artist”. His directing is so good, but he excels as the actor here. For me the best movie of 2017.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 102: The Paperboy

Director: Lee Daniels
Genre: Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, Kohn Cusack, Nicole Kidman, David Oyelowo, Scott Glenn, Ned Bellamy, Macy Gray

Description: A reporter (Matthew McConaughey) returns to his Florida home-town to investigate a case involving a death row inmate (John Cusack).

Review: In 2009 director Lee Daniels gave us the strong drama “Precious”. And looking at the quality of that film, we know Daniels is an excellent director. That “The Paperboy” looks like a bad B-movie from the 70s is probably an artistic choice. Weird zooming, covering shots, strange flows. Especially the first half of the film looks a bit ugly. And there is a lot of shamelessness as well (that first prison visit was just too weird for me).
Bringing an ode to cinema can work well, just look at Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s “Grindhouse”. But for “The Paperboy” it doesn’t work as well. It’s not just an ode, Daniels adds some social themes to it. And because of that, you don’t know whether you have to go along with the pulp or focus on the deeper layers. The combo doesn’t work.
The atmosphere in the film is good, you feel that hot swampy summer. But Daniels didn’t manage to bring the characters to life. Because of the charged exploitation scenes, the characters stay a bit shallow. Most of them feel fake and you just don’t believe them, even though John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey deliver pretty good performances.
The mix of raw filth and psychological thriller and drama elements is interesting, but they stand in each other’s way. “The Paperboy” is a brave attempt, but not a very good film.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 88: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Director: Jake Szymanski
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Stephen Root, Jake Johnson

Description: Two hard-partying brothers (Adam Devine, Zac Efron) place an online ad to find the perfect dates for their sister's Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves out-hustled by an uncontrollable duo (Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza).

Review: Mike and Dave are two brothers that always manage to make a party more fun. But not according to their family, because to them they ruin every party. Now their little sister is about to get married and Mike and Dave’s parents want them to bring proper dates to the wedding. Nice girls. They decide to put an add online. Alice and Tatiana see this add and can’t wait to take a free trip to Hawaii and become their wedding dates. But they aren’t nice girls. They party just as hard as Mike and Dave. They manage to fool the boys and they tag along with them to the wedding in Hawaii.
The plot is simple and anything but original. And the humor is juvenile and distasteful. The leading characters, Mike, Dave, Alice and Tatiana, are all just characters. They are to ridiculous to be believable as actual people. Maybe Dave a little bit, but the other three aren’t.
Zac Efron and Adam Devine do see like they had tons of fun making this movie, and that somewhat rubs off on the audience. And I did laugh on occasion. But overall, “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” is an average silly and predictable comedy.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 81: Baywatch

Director: Seth Gordon
Genre: Comedy/ Action
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass, Priyanka Chopra, Ilfenesh Hadera

Description: Devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) butts heads with a brash new recruit (Zac Efron), as they uncover a criminal plot that threatens the future of the bay.

Review: The 80s television was dominated by “Miami Vice” and the next decade it was “Baywatch”, with a billion viewers. It wasn’t only iconic because of Pamela Anderson running in slow-motion in her red bathing suit, but also the restart of David Hasselhoff’s career. And since translation televisions shows into movies is a trend, “Baywatch” couldn’t be left behind.
Mitch isn’t played by The Hoff this time, but Dwayne Johnson. Zac Efron plays Matt Brody and Kelly Rorhbach is CJ Parker. It’s fun to see the same characters, but weird to see them being portrayed by different actors. Hasselhoff and Anderson both have a cameo, off course.
This film is nothing like the show. First, the comedy is pretty juvenile. A lot of ball/ boob/ sex related jokes. Second, there isn’t a lot of beach recuing going on. The characters are after a drug dealer that’s working their beach.
Off course, this is a film that doesn’t completely take itself seriously. And that’s exactly what you should do: don’t take it too seriously. It’s a joy to watch if you like beach bods and it is entertaining. But the film is way too cheesy and it doesn’t do the TV show justice (not that this was of such a high level, but it was my favorite show in the 90s).

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 37: Parkland

Director: Peter Landesman

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 93 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Marcia Gay Harden, Matt Barr, Zac Efron, Mallory Moye, Paul Giamatti, Bitsie Tulloch, Ron Livingston, Jason Douglas, David Harbour, James Badge Dale, Larry Jack Dotson, Austin Nichols, Billy Bob Thornton, Jonathan Breck, Eugene Lee, Nico Evers-Swindell, Irene White, Luci Christian, Kate Steffens, Tom Welling, Mark Duplass, Gil Bellows, Sean McGraw, Brett Stimely, Paul Sparks, Samuel Davis, Colin Hanks, Gary Grubbs, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeremy Strong, Jackie Weaver

Description: A recounting of the chaotic events that occurred at Dallas' Parkland Hospital on the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Review: A lot of people remember where they were on November 22nd 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was killed. Now fifty years and many books, movies and documentaries later, director Peter Landesman manages to give us a new perspective on the assassination. “Parkland” isn’t a reconstruction of the murder itself, but it tells the story of the people that have witnessed the event and were close to the president at that time. The impact this shooting had on the doctors that treated him, the FBI and the cameraman who filmed it. In “Parkland” three days are depicted from the point of view of different characters.

There is an important role for the medical staff of the Parkland hospital in Dallas. They tried to save the life of JFK. Then there is Abraham Zapruder, the man that captured the shooting on camera. The movie adds another layer by showing us the point of view of shooter Lee Harvey Oswald and how his family deals with this event.

Because “Parkland” has many characters and perspectives, it’s sometimes very chaotic. This chaos makes the movie hard to follow sometimes and also doesn’t give any characters any depth. The whole thing looks unrealistic. Even though “Parkland” doesn’t convince completely, it’s a good try on telling the story from a different vision.

Peter Landesman shoots a movie from unknown and interesting perspective, but doesn’t manage to convince the audience.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 122: That Awkward Moment

Director: Tom Gormican

Genre: Comedy/ Romance

Runtime: 95 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, Jessica Lucas

Description: Three best friends find themselves where we've all been - at that confusing moment in every dating relationship when you have to decide "So...where is this going?"

Review: Everyone knows it. That moment in a relationship where you have to decide where it’s going. Is it serious or is it better to end it? All in all a great opportunity to see which goals and ambitions you both have in life. Three friends, Jason, Daniel and Mikey are at that point.

When Mikey finds out his wife has been cheating on him and leaves him, his friends do anything to get him back on his feet again. They make a pact: to stay single as long as possible. Off course, not surprising at all, love is lurking around the corner. Will the threesome go for the romance or do they stay faithful to the pact?

The careless selfish manners of the guys don’t give you much sympathy for them. They say it themselves: “They call us the selfish generation”. They are actually very disrespectful towards women and they show no ambition what so ever. This problem makes the viewers not as involved as they should be.

The humor is okay, but not of a high standard. It’s what American’s are good at: poop and sex jokes. It’s the awkward situations the guys get into that make you laugh the most.

“That Awkward Moment” looks fine and the acting is pretty good, but the lack of relatable characters and really strong humor make this movie not to the comedy it could have been. It was fun for once, but it was a pretty disappointing romantic comedy and never gets above average.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "Neighbors"

I saw it on the first night in theatres, that doesn’t happen to me very often. It was a really funny film and the characters made that happen. Here are the characters from “Neighbors”. 

 

Mac Radner

Played by: Seth Rogen

Mac is happy that he’s a new dad and the fact that they bought their first house. He is still trying to adjust and to open that door to the next chapter of his life. Mac wants to party with the younger guys, but he also tries to be a more responsible man as well. Deep in his heart he is accepting the fact that he’s getting older and that his home life is very fulfilling. 

 

Kelly Radner

Played by: Rose Byrne

Kelly is from Australia and met Mac in high school. She is trying to adapt to her newest role as a mother. Although she feels like partying with her friends, Kelly also realizes that this part of her life is about taking care of her family. She is willing to accept that, as long as her husband Mac joins her.

 

 

Teddy Sanders

Played by: Zac Efron

Teddy moves in next door to the Radners as the president of a fraternity. He is very popular, has the looks and is liked by everyone. When he meets Mac and Kelly, they get along. Teddy even invites them over to a party. But as the couple starts complaining about the noise, Teddy goes to battle with them. Teddy is also on a point in his life where he has to realize he is growing up. Soon a life of partying, drinking and fun is over.

 

Pete Regazolli

Played by: Dave Franco

Pete is Teddy’s best friend and the vice president of the fraternity. He tags along with Teddy as they go head to head with the Radners. When he bangs Teddy’s girl, their friendship is out the door. Pete also sees that rebelling against their neighbors isn’t the right thing to do.

 

Favorite Character: Mac Radner

 

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 5: The Lorax

Director: Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Fantasy
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Betty White

Description: In the walled city of Thneed-Ville, where everything is artificial and even the air is a commodity, a boy named Ted (Zac Efron) hopes to win the heart of his dream girl, Audrey. When he learns of her wish to see a real tree, Ted seeks out the Once-ler (Ed Helms), a ruined old businessman outside of town in a stark wasteland. Upon hearing of how the hermit gave into his greed for profits and devastated the land over the protests of the Lorax (Danny DeVito), Ted is inspired to undo the disaster. However, the greedy Mayor of Thneed-Ville, Aloysius O'Hare (Rob Riggle), has made his fortune exploiting the environmental collapse and is determined to stop the boy from undermining his business.

Review: The movie is based on a story by the popular children’s book author Dr. Seuss, so a lot was expected. And one of the directors, Chris Renaud, also made “Despicable Me”.
In the futuristic town Thneed-ville all the green has disappeared, there is not a three left. The richest man in town earns his money to sell fresh air to the people. Young Ted wants to find out why and he goes outside the city walls. He meets the Once-ler and he can tell him everything about it, for instance who the Lorax is.
The original story leads to an unoriginal film. A lot of the material has been seen before. An animated hero with a light form of ADD, singing fishes, slapstick humor and clumbsy and cute animals. Although this isn’t all very original, the makers deliver an inspiring movie though. There are some great jokes, fantastic sing-a-long songs and it all looks very colorful and fanciful. With that “The Lorax” has a good message as well, which is the true essence.
“The Lorax” is easy to watch, but also just as forgettable. It doesn’t live up to the standards of “Despicable Me” and “Horton Hears a Who”.

Rating: 3/ 5