Movie Trailer Sunday (262)

Here are this week's trailers.

Queen of Katwe
Director: Myra Nair
Description: A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
Starring: Luipta Nyong'o, David Oyelowo
Trailer: Trailer "Queen of Katwe"
Comment: It looks like a very inspiring story.

Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Description: A young African American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend's cursed family estate.
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Bradley Whitford, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener
Trailer: Trailer "Get Out"
Comment: It looks really scary.

Jackie
Director:Pablo Larrain
Description: Following the assassination of her husband, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy.
Starring: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, Beth Grant, Richard E. Grant
Trailer: Trailer "Jackie"
Comment: I smell an Oscar nomination!

Sleepless
Director: Baran bo Odar
Description: A cop with a connection to the criminal underworld scours a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son.
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monoghan, Dermot Mulroney, Gabrielle Union, Scoot McNairy
Trailer: Trailer "Sleepless"
Comment: Could be standard, could be really good....

Power Rangers
Director: Dean Israelite
Description: A group of high-school kids, who are infused with unique superpowers, harness their abilities in order to save the world.
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks, Bill Hader, Naomi Scott, Becky G, Ludi Lin, RJ Cyler, Dacre Montgomery, David Denman
Trailer: Trailer "Power Rangers"
Comment: Go go Power Rangers!!!

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 133: Pathology

Director: March Schoelermann
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Horror/ Crime
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2008
Starring: Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Weston, Alyssa Milano, Lauren Lee Smith

Description: A group of medical students devise a deadly game: to see which one of them can commit the perfect murder.

Review: A group of intelligent pathologists decides to play a sick game: who can commit the perfect murder. Each one of them commits a murder and then they are trying to find the cause of death.
“Pathology” is a bit gruesome, because of the dead and mutilation that is also mixed with sexuality. Not every viewer can handle this, but it is original and provoking. And “Pathology” is definitely a thriller you will not easily forget.
But it’s mostly the shock effect that will stay in your memory. I never got intrigued by the film and it didn’t hold my attention the entire runtime. And it’s not very convincing that Ted, who is a good and smart doctor who loves his fiancée, all of a sudden turns into a relentless killer and adulterer. With that, there are no characters that you feel for or want to identify with.
“Pathology” is original and shocking, but overall it’s not very special.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Supporting Females in Drama Films

We always focus on the main man or woman in a film, but today I’m putting the supporting characters in the spotlight. Females in drama films to be exact.

5. Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”)
A very smart woman standing strong doing a man’s job. Joan Clarke believes in Alan Turing and his ideas, she holds the team together.

4. Pam (Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”)
Pam is the highlight in Randy Robinson’s day. A mother by day, a stripper by night. But there is more to her than meets the eye.

3. Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams in “Spotlight”)
Sacha Pfeiffer was one of the people that revealed shocking news about the catholic church. She is working with men, faces people who share with her very disturbing stories. But Sacha stays strong and only wants one thing: to let people know what really happened.

2. Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”)
Patsey is a brave woman. She has to go through so much and still manages to keep smiling. And she keeps doing her job as no other, better than the men doing the same job.

1. Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain in “The Help”)
Celia Foote is an outcast, but her enthusiasm, good heart, naïve look at the world and kind intentions should brighten everyone’s day. She is the only woman (besides Skeeter) that really appreciates the help she gets.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander in “The Danish Girl”), Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams in “The Fighter”), Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer in “The Help”), Iris (Jodie Foster in “Taxi Driver”), Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”), Lynn Margareth Bracken (Kim Basinger in “L.A. Confidential”)

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 132: The Monster Squad

Director: Fred Dekker
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Family/ Horror
Runtime: 82 minutes
Year: 1987
Starring: André Gower, Robert Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan, Brent Chalem, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Mary Ellen Trainor, Michael Faustino

Description: A young group of monster fanatics attempt to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.

Review: “The Monster Squad” is a mix of a lot of things. It’s “The Goonies” meets “The Lost Boys” meets “Ghostbusters” meets “The Little Rascals”. Especially eighties kids will love this movie, because it’s full of nostalgia.
Count Dracula and his groups of monster sidekicks is ready to take over the world. But they didn’t know about “The Monster Squad”, a groups of school kids that love monster stories.
“The Monster Squad” is for us geeks, it’s a fun eighties flick that will entertain you during the entire runtime. I think this film gained a cult status over the years. It’s also obvious that the ‘80s were more tolerable, because there is a lot of swearing and there are sexual references in this family movie.
For anyone that is from the eighties, this will be a treat.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 131: The Danish Girl

Director: Tom Hooper
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Eddie Redmayne, Amber Heard, Ben Wishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sebastian Koch

Description: A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander). Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

Review: “The Danish Girl” starts in 1926, where we meet Einar and Gerda Wegener. Einar is a very successful painter, Gerda’s work isn’t as popular. When Gerda asks Einar to dress up as a woman, because her model is absent, it’s the beginning of a big change in their lives. Einar feels surprisingly comfortable in woman’s clothing. When the two plan on a joke, where Einar dresses up as a woman and pretending to be Lili, the long way from man to woman starts for Einar. He isn’t Einar anymore, he is Lili.
What I find conspicious is that the radical transformation hardly gets any social resistance. The film is set in the twenties/ thirties and this is a pretty shocking and groundbreaking action. It’s not very realistic. What we see is a melodramatic story where Lili struggles with her identity an Gerda stays by her side.
The actors make this movie good. Eddie Redmayne is really strong, but it’s Alicia Vikander that steals the show. She is sublime and manages to lift the film to a higher level. The chemistry between the two is very good.
The film looks fantastic, the ydillic shots of Denmark, the costumes, paintings and décor. But the movie is simply a melodramatic story with great actors.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 130: Trick 'r Treat

Director: Michael Dougherty
Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 82 minutes
Year: 2007
Starring: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Lauren Lee Smith, Quinn Lord, Moneca Delain, Tahmoh Penikett, Brett Kelly, Britt McKillip, Leslie Bibb, Isabelle Deluce, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Alberto Chisi, Samm Todd

Description: Five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.

Review: Halloween is the perfect setting for a horror movie. And when it comes to horror movies with this theme, there are way too many. “Trick r Treat” is surprisingly fresh, eventhough the movie never played in theaters and went direct to DVD. For real horror fans, “Trick ‘r Treat” is a favorite.
The movie follows severals stories, set during the night of Halloween: A group of young pretty girls are on their way to a party, where one of them will probably experience their ‘first time’. A chubby boy steals candy from the porch of his teacher, with major consequences. This teacher’s neighbor gets an unwanted visitor. And a group of teens wants to reveal the truth about a story they once heard about a massacre. Between all these stories we see a kid wearing a bag on his head.
The way the stories intertwine, is done very well. The movie is not predictable and is sometimes very surprising. “Trick ‘r Treat” also has humor and manages to create a scary atmosphere. The film shows the essence of Halloween: legends that are told and passed on and traditions that no one knows where they came from and why we do them. Filled with a lot of elements that horror movies need: killers, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, creepy kids and a lot fo pumpkins.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (261)

Here are this week's trailer's.

Fences
Director: Denzel Washington
Description: An African-American father (Denzel Washington) struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Mykelti Williamson
Trailer: Trailer "Fences"
Comment: Directed by and starring with Denzel Washington, I hope it's good.

20th Century Women
Director: Mike Mills
Description: The story of three women who explore love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s.
Starring: Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Alia Shawkat, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup
Trailer: Trailer "20th Century Women"
Comment: I Always like a good movie with a strong female cast.

Paterson
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Description: Set in the present in Paterson, New Jersey, this is a tale about a bus driver and poet (Adam Driver).
Starring: Adam Driver
Trailer: Trailer "Paterson"
Comment: Can't wait to see this. Alicia Malone was very enthusiastic about it and I take her very seriously.

Rupture
Director: Steven Shainberg
Description: A single mom (Noomi Rapace)tries to break free from a mysterious organization that has abducted her.
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Peter Stormare, Michael Chiklis
Trailer: Trailer "Rupture"
Comment: Creepy and disturbing...

Space Between Us
Director: Peter Chelsom
Description: The first human born on Mars travels to Earth for the first time, experiencing the wonders of the planet through fresh eyes. He embarks on an adventure with a street smart girl to discover how he came to be.
Starring: Asa Buterfield, Britt Robertson, Carla Cugino, Gary Oldman, BD Wong,
Trailer: Trailer "Space Between Us"
Comment: Looks good, yet a little over sentimental probably.