100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 73: Horns

Director: Alexander Aja
Genre: Thriller/ Horror/ Fantasy/ Drama
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Max Minghella, Juno Temple, Kelli Garner, James Remar, Kathleen Quinlan, Heather Graham, David Morse

Description: In the aftermath of his girlfriend's (Juno Temple) mysterious death, a young man (Daniel Radcliffe) awakens to find strange horns sprouting from his temples.

Review: He’s come a long way since Harry Potter. Daniel Radcliffe has done some more controversial stuff after his iconic role. He appeard naked on West End, portrayed a homosexual poet and now this devilish film called “Horns”.
After his girlfriend Merrin is murdered, Iggy’s life turns into a nightmare. He is suspect number one, but there are also two horns growing on his forehead. Not only is it very unpractical, but it brings something else. People decide to share their deepest and darkest secrest with him. This gives some dark humoristic moments. But also secrets from his family he didn’t want to know about. But Iggy’s new ‘gift’ is also the perfect tool to find Merrin’s killer.
The film is very original and offers lots of opportunities to be interesting. And it is. But director Alexander Aja didn’t choose, whether “Horns” is a dark comedy or a drama. There are many examples where both genres worked perfectly together, but for “Horns” it’s an obvious two way street. It’s hard to define it.
“Horns” is still interesting enough to finish and very original. And it’s great to see Radcliffe in a role like this too.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 72: Sneekweek

Director: Martijn Heijne
Genre: Thriller/ Horror
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Carolien Spoor, Jelle de Jong, Jord Knotter, Holly Brood, Yootha Won-Loi-Sing, Sanne Langelaar, Marly van der Velden, Frank Lammers, David Lucieer, Diederik Ebbinge, Ferry Doedens, Kimberly Klaver, Marie-Louise Stheins

Description: Six friends go to party for a week during the "Sneekweek". But they are haunted by a secret from their past. Review: When horny teens end up on a remote location, you know that it will not end well. Especially not when the group carries a dark secret.
A group of students is in the middle of a hazing ritual. One of the boys dies and the group decides to cover it up. Two years later the group is going on a vacation, where they are celebrating Sneekweek, which is the Dutch answer to Spring Break. But their dark secret is about to be revealed when someone is out for revenge.
You know the plot? It’s basically “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, but then in Dutch. Is it as bad as the American film? No, it’s worse! The characters are all terrible, you don’t really care what happens to them. And you even find sympathy with the killer, because they are so awful and the killer has all the reason to be angry with them. Okay, murdering them is a bit harsh, but you know wat I mean.
“Sneekweek” is filled with horny, irrational and dumb teens. There is literally not one sensible teen among them. Maybe Merel a bit, but even she is stupid. For having all those idiots for friends for instance.
It’s obvious the makers of “Sneekweek” got inspiration from “Scream”, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and Friday the 13th”, but I hope this isn’t a tribute. “Sneekweek” is definitely not a classic.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 71: Short Cuts

Director: Robert Altman
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 187 minutes
Year: 1993
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Jack Lemon, Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Penn, Tim Robbins, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Lily Tomlin, Frances McDormand, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Lori Singer, Anne Archer

Description: The day-to-day lives of a number of suburban Los Angeles residents.

Review: I always like films with multiple storylines. So I was excited to finally see ‘Short Cuts”, where we follow a bunch of Los Angeles suburban residents.
Suburban life in “Short Cuts” is anything but ordinary and perfect: adultery, suicide, loveless marriages, alcoholism. Long live the nineties.
The storylines are all basically about relationships stuck in their day to day life. The storylines wouldn’t be interesting on their own, together they work a bit better. But still not so much to keep me interested for the entire runtime. Because that for me is the biggest problem. The film is 187 minutes long, way too long for a film like this.
I get why people might like this film, but I’m not a big fan of the film. I found it pretty mediocre, not compelling, it just didn’t interest me. Later movies with themes like this, like “American Beauty” and “Magnolia” are much better.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (295)

Here are this week's trailers.

Paddington 2
Director: Paul King
Description: Paddington, now happily settled with the Brown family and a popular member of the local community, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, only for the gift to be stolen.
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Ben Wishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Julie Walters, Imelda Staunton, Ben Miller, Peter Capaldi
Trailer: Trailer "Paddington 2"
Comment: Cutest bear ever!

Victoria and Abdul
Director: Stephen Frears
Description: Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.
Starring: Judi Dench, Olivia Williams, Eddie Izzard, Michael Gambon, Ali Fazal
Trailer: Trailer "Victoria and Abdul"
Comment: What a great story!

The Mountain Between Us
Director: Hany Abu-Asad
Description: Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers (Idris Elba, Kate Winslet) must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.
Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney
Trailer: Trailer "The Mountain Between Us"
Comment: I love Idris Elba, can't wait to see this.

The Hitman's Bodyguard
Director: Patrick Hughes
Description: The world's top bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) gets a new client (Samuel L. Jackson), a hit man who must testify at the International Court of Justice. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson
Trailer: Trailer "The Hitman's Boduguard"
Comment: I hope it's as hilarious as it looks!

Murder On the Oriënt Express
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Description: A lavish train ride unfolds into a stylish & suspenseful mystery. From the novel by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells of thirteen stranded strangers & one man's race to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeifer, Josh Gad, Daisy Ridley, Willem Dafoe, Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Olivia Colman
Trailer: Trailer "Murder On the Oriënt Express"
Comment: Can't wait to see this. I love Agatha Christie murder mysteries!!!

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 70: Split

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Betty Buckley, Neal Huff, Jessica Sula

Description: Three girls are kidnapped by a man (James McAvoy) with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.

Review: The story of “Split” is simple: Kevin suffers from dissociative identity disorder, or split personality. One of these personalities finds darks reason to kidnap three teenage girls.
M. Night Shyamalan will never make a movie that won’t be compared with his biggest success “The Sixth Sense”. He made really good films after that, being “Unbreakable” and “Signs” and I even appreciate “The Village”. And when he gets it right, you can see what a great director Shyamalan really is. With some mishaps, he didn’t give up and now he’s here with “Split”. Is this a film that we can put on his ‘good’ list? Yes!
James McAvoy is a great actor, one of my favorites. And man does he show that here. It’s amazing how he can go from one character and emotion to another in a heartbeat, with a seamless transition. He changes his way of speaking, facial expression, posture. Fascinating!
M. Night Shyamalan always assumes that people will go along for the ride, when he decides to all of a sudden add supernatural elements to the film. And for the first time in a long time, he manages to succeed again. It’s not only to thank the great script, but also his leading actor.
I’m glad M. Night Shyamalan is back with a good film, I’m also glad for him. I think he got a lot of negative response after some of his films, but he doesn’t deserve that. Because I believe he is an amazing storyteller and director. “Split” is a really good film, with that twist right before the credits start rolling. Very clever!

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 69: El Faro de las Orcas

Director: Gerardo Olivaris
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Maribel Verdú, Joaquín Furriel, Joaquín Rapalini
Description: A mother with an autistic child travel from Spain to Argentina looking to help her son to connect with his emotions.

Review: Beto lives in Argentina, alone in a remote house nearby the lighthouse. He lives for the ocean and especially for the orcas that live in it. He swims with them and meets them at the shore. He is closely watched, because he isn’t allowed to do this. He is approached by Lola, who wants Beto’s help. Her son Tristan is autistic and she thinks that contact with the whales will help him.
This movie is on Netflix and I accidentally stumbled upon this gem. Killer whales are my favorite animals, they fascinate me because of their beauty and their incredible intelligence. Although they can be very cruel animals, these whales take my breath away. I understand Beto, I wouldn’t mind living his life.
The story is touching and emotional. The moments with Beto and the whales or Beto and Tristan are the most beautiful. All the in between scenes don’t mesmerize, I wished there were more moments with the orcas.
If you have Netflix, please check “El Faro de las Orcas”, it’s really beautiful.

Rating: 4/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched For My Challenge (May 2017)

It wasn’t a very good month for new films. So I had to take some mediocre film for my top 5 as well. Here is my top 5 for the month of May.

5. Loft
Better than the Dutch version, but still not amazing. It’s a solid thriller and it has a somewhat surprising ending.

4. Bright Star
Sometimes it drags, but the theme is interesting and it looks really beautiful.

3. Cold in July
The start of the film is amazing. Promising. It eventually turned into a more average crime film, but still a really good movie.

2. The Zookeeper’s Wife
A touching story, it grabs you. Jessics Chastain is amazing in “The Zookeeper’s Wife”. Really beautifully made with Chastain as the big star carrying the film.

1. Alien: Covenant
A very good sci-fi film, better than “Prometheus” and a great build up to the original franchise.

They Almost Made the Top 5: -