Movie Reviews - A Star is Born

Director: Bradley Cooper
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, Greg Grunberg

Description: Musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) helps young singer Ally (Lady Gaga) find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

Review: Originality is hard to find in Hollywood these days. With “A Star is Born” director and actor Bradley Cooper does the third remake of the film from 1937. And surprisingly enough he gives it his own twist. His directorial debut is beautiful, well-balanced and modern. And many of that is thanks to Lady Gaga, who really shines in her first leading role.
“A Star is Born” follows two musicians: Jackson Maine and Ally. Jackson, Jack for short, is a successful country singer struggling with an alcohol and drug addiction. After each show, all he wants is a bottle of booze. When one night he makes a stop at a bar, he sees Ally perform. Jack is impressed by her immediately and wants to meet her. Jack sees more in her and after a night together, he invites her to one of his shows. Ally says no at first, because she is working as a waitress, but eventually goes. And Jack takes advantage of the opportunity and invites her onto his stage to sing with him. With success, because Jack wants Ally to tour with him. The start of a career and a sweet romance.
Cooper and Gaga have great chemistry, that is present the entire film and it feel authentic and real. The intense bond between the two is believable from the start. And the fact that Ally supports Jack no matter what, can only be credible if the two really connect. And they do. It’s also visible when the two sing together.
Cooper has the difficult task to play a convincing drunk and it’s a role that can easily get comical or cartoonish. Cooper does a fantastic job, one of his best performances to date.
“A Star is Born” basically tells the story of the rise and fall of musicians. When Ally is rising and gets her big break as a pop star, Jack is getting worse and his career suffers. The question is if Jack really awards Ally’s success and that’s what makes this film more than just a story about a musician experiencing success. And even halfway through the film, when you think the message should be clear and your questioning the length of the film, the story hasn’t completely been told.
The music is really good and the moments between Jack and Ally are the best. Even though it’s a remake, the film stands out because of the strong performances, relevant story and great music.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Reviews - Hotel Artemis

Director: Drew Pearce
Genre: Action/ Crime
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum, Zachary Quinto, Charlie Day, Dave Bautista, Jenny Slate, Brian Tyree Henry

Description: Set in riot-torn, near-future Los Angeles, 'Hotel Artemis' follows the Nurse (Jodie Foster), who runs a secret, members-only emergency room for criminals.

Review: In future Los Angeles, a civil war is happening. Water is a luxury and when the watersupplies are shut off, riots start. People fighting in the streets, helicopters crashing into buildings and police shooting everything that seems suspicious. For The Nurse, owner of Hotel Artemis, it’s the most normal thing in the world. It’s a place for wounded criminals and according to her the world is in constant war. A place you will never be safe. For her, Hotel Artemis is the only place.
Jodie Foster plays The Nurse, a grumpy and stubborn woman that works with strict rules. Clients get codenames, weapons are forbidden and the most important rule: don’t kill other patients. Off course, all kinds of characters enter her hotel: hitmen, asshole criminals, wounded robbers and frantic sons of mob bosses. Charlie Day plays a fun role and Dave Baustista adds some humor to the film. Foster really does a good job as the charismatic and bossy nurse.
All the flamboyant characters make sure that the well organized life of The Nurse fall apart, bit by bit. And she gets closer to the outside world. The film has a good storyline and manages to add some depth too.
“Hotel Artemis” has a strong cast and it’s a pretty good film.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

90s Movie Review - Lost Highway

Director: David Lynch
Genre: Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 1997
Starring: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Richard Pryor, Henry Rollins, Giovanni Ribisi, Gary Busey, Robert Loggia

Description: After a bizarre encounter at a party, a jazz saxophonist (Bill Pullman) is framed for the murder of his wife (Patricia Arquette) and sent to prison, where he inexplicably morphs into a young mechanic and begins leading a new life.

Review: Fred Madison is leading a happy life with his wife Renee. One day they find a videotape on their doorstep, with shots of their house on it. A day later, they find another tape, but this time with shots from inside the house and even with Fred and David sleeping. They call the police, but they can’t do anything since there is no proof of a break-in. the tapes keep coming. On the last tape, Fred sees how his wife is being killed and later he is arrested for the murder of his wife. When he is rotting away in his cell, Fred turns into Peter Dayton. Since he isn’t the man who killed Renee, he is released.
“Lost Highway” is a post-modern film noir. And it’s a film with so much imagination, bizarre imagery, it’s vague cinema. And David Lynch is the man for it. It’s a little easier to follow then “Mulholland Dr.”, but I still wonder what goes on inside Lynch’s head.
There a people that call his work pretentious crap, but I do not agree at all. It’s cinematographic art. the atmosphere is dark and absurd and very violent. The acting is strong and the soundtrack is chilling.
“Lost Highway” is one of those films that gets you thinking and it starts conversations, like almost all of David Lynch’s movies. Everyone has a different theory and you never know what is really going on.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Kick-Ass 2

Director: Jeff Wadlow
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Crime
Runtime: 113 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Iain Glen, Donald Faison, Morris Chestnut, John Leguizamo, Lindy Booth, Yancy Butler, Daniel Kaluuya

Description: Following Kick-Ass' (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) heroics, other citizens are inspired to become masked crusaders. But Red Mist (Christoph Mintz-Plasse) leads his own group of evil supervillains to get revenge, kill Kick-Ass and destroy everything he stands for

Review: The superhero film has made big developments over the past years. In the early days, it was cool enough to put on a flashy costume and impress the viewers with muscles. But nowadays it has to be more realistic, more emotional and deeper. Marvel and DC still crack out films each year, not all just as successful. So when in 2010 Kick-Ass came to theaters, it was a breath of fresh air. Antiheroes, everyday heroes becoming superheroes. It was such a huge success, that a sequel was something you could expect. It never lives up to its original, but it’s still a good film.
Matthew Vaughn directed the first and I think it’s a good thing that he didn’t make a sequel right after the first film. “Kick-Ass 2” is directed by Jeff Wadlow and the characters had time to grow and find their way. Mindy Macready, alias Hit-Girl and the scene steals of the first film, tries to live a normal life after her superhero dad Big Daddy died. Her guardian Marcus thinks she is leaving a normal teenage life, but secretly she is fighting crime with her partner Kick-Ass, for his friends know as Dave Lizewski. Dave also still manages to stay under the radar and no one knows he is Kick-Ass. In the meantime, rich kid Chris D’Amico wants revenge for his father’s death. And he tries a new alter-ego: The Mother Fucker. This way he wants to teach Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl a lesson.
Kick-Ass and The Mother Fucker each get a group of fellow superhero-wanabees together. Kick-Ass’ team is led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (a fun and unrecognizable role by Jim Carrey).
Where “Kick-Ass” scores the most points: Action and verbal. The action is fantastic, with one scene in (and on) a van as the highlight. And the dialogues are great! Like the firs film, Chloë Grace Moretz steals the show as Hit-Girl. I know everyone loves this character more than the actual title character.
There are some poop and vomit jokes that I didn’t really appreciate here, but thank goodness that’s just a few minutes of the film.
“Kick-Ass” is a bit of the same here and there, but it’s very entertaining and Hit-Girl still has it.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movie Reviews - Venom

Director: Rubern Fleischer
Genre: Action
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Riz Ahmed, Melora Walters

Description: When Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) acquires the powers of a symbiote, he will have to release his alter-ego "Venom" to save his life.

Review: Venom is a fascinating anti-hero and (almost) villain in the superhero universe of Marvel and deserves his own film. Is refreshing to give the stage to a villain.
Eddie Brock is a journalist, with unorthodox methods and he will go far to get his story. While trying to unveil the secrets of a big company, he acquires the powers of a symbiote and an alter-ego comes to life: Venom.
Eddie is fighting his inner demon, he hears Venom’s voice in his head. He tries to fight it, but he can’t and he eventually has to find a way to live with it and use it for his benefits. A bit of Jekyll and Hyde.
When it comes to looks, Venom is perfect. “Spider-Man 3” tried it in 2007, but with no success. Here Venom looks exactly like he was created, like he just walked out of the comics. Tom Hardy is a good choice, he has played the anti-hero before in movies like “Warrior” and “Mad Max: Fury Road”. And the film is at its best when Eddie tries to fight Venom, for the outside world it’s like he is talking to himself.
The villain in this film is played by Riz Ahmed (star of “The Night Of"). He plays an Elon Musk type of opponent, the master brain behind the symbiote tests. I somehow never find him very believable as a villain.
I think “Venom” would have worked better if it got an R-rating, like “Deadpool” or “Logan”. It’s too righteous and colors within the lines too much. Heads are bitten off, but it’s never really seen. It feels more family friendly, when a character like Venom should go all out
The action is a bit messy and edited way too much. Too much digitalization was added.
“Venom” flirts with the dark side, but eventually turns to the safe zone. I was so excited for this film and it disappointed me. This is such a cool character and it deserved a better movie. It wasn’t as bad as “Spider-Man 3”, but I expected more.

Rating: 2,5 / 5

00s Movie Review - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Director: David Yates
Genre: Adventure/ Family/ Fantasy/ Drama
Runtime: 138 minutes
Year: 2007
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Helene Bonham-Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Imelda Staunton, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, David Thewlis, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Warwick Davis, Bonnie Wright, Julie Walters, Mark Williams, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Chris Rankin, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch

Description: With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.

Review: The fifth movie in the series is a bit more grim then the previous films. The innocent face of the then 12 year old Daniel Radcliffe is now a full grown teenager.
In the opening scene we see Harry sitting on a swing. After his cousin Dudley is teasing him again, Harry breaks. He gets his wand out and threatens Dudley. It shows that Harry isn’t someone to mess with anymore. Voldemort is after Harry and sends dementors his way. When a dementor wants to attack Dudley, Harry uses a Patronus spell on him. This gets him in trouble.
Harry is traumatized since he saw Cedric die in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. For the first time we feel Harry’s burden. Although Hermione and Ron support him, Harry feels alone. But he has no choice, he has to get ready to face Voldemort.
There are some new characters introduced. Evanna Lynch plays Luna Lovegood. A quirky witch who makes sure there are also some lighter moments in the film. She teaches Harry to cope with the trauma. Then there is Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge, who is probably the most annoying character in the entire franchise. She steals the show.
What I liked most about “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is how the students are forming their own alliance and try to get ready for the big battle, without any help of the teachers. Characters like Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasly get a more important role in the story.
It wasn’t one of my favorite books, because it was so long. But director David Yates has done a fantastic job in turning it into a movie. It is one of my favorite Harry Potter movies.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Final Girls

Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Genre: Comedy/ Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 88 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Taisa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev, Adam Devine, Alia Shawkat

Description: A young woman (Taisa Farmiga) grieving the loss of her mother (Malin Akerman), a famous scream queen from the 1980s, finds herself pulled into the world of her mom's most famous movie. Reunited, the women must fight off the film's maniacal killer.

Review: “The Final Girls” is a horror comedy that mocks slasher films, but not in the ridiculous way “Scary Movie” did. And it’s not as predictable as most slashers. The story movie within the movie isn’t original, but the story of this film is. And it’s very entertaining.
The term ‘final girl’ stands fort he girl that makes it to the end of a horror movie and manages to kill the person hunting her. Max is a teenage girl still mourning the dead of her mother Amanda, who was a 1980s actress who got her fame due to a bad slasher flick. Max and her friends go to a showing of Amanda’s most known film “Camp Blood”. When a fire breaks out in the theater, they are somehow sucked into the movie, having to live it themselves.
The killer, Billy, is a bad copy of Jason Voorhees. The premise is a bit like “Last Action Hero” and “Groundhog Day”. And it all somehow works, because it’s a super fun watch. With excellent leads Taisa Farmiga (Vera Farmiga’s younger sister) and Malin Akerman, it does even a bit better in the acting department then a lot of slasher films.
I really enjoyed this slasher, it’s really funny and it mocks the genre in a very original way. Without ever becoming over-the-top.

Rating: 3,5/ 5