Movie Reviews - Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Director: Marielle Heller
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Jane Curtin

Description: When writer Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) falls out of step with current taste, she turns her art form to deception.

Review: Author Lee Israel called it her best work: the letters that got her arrested. To get by, Israel sold letters from famous writers like Noël Coward, Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemmingway. She wrote them herself, on old typewriters, in the style of the sender. And she did it well, that even highly trained literary collectors didn’t see they were forged. She eventually managed to sell around 400 letters.
Israel had some success in the seventies and eighties, with two well received biographies. After her book about Estée Lauder didn’t become a bestselling novel, writer’s block hit her right in the face. And she lost total grace in the literary world. But this was also her character. Israel was a complex and difficult to deal with woman. A mundane job was not for her. When she hit rock bottom, forging letters was her way out.
It took her a year and a half to be discovered by the FBI. “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” is based on Israel’s memoires, and shows how she worked. But most of all how pigheaded, weary and witty she actually was. It’s an alluring portrait of an anything but alluring woman. And she isn’t your typical main character, definitely not as a woman. That the film makers decided not to make her more sympathetic, is a very bold move. But it works very well because of it.
Melissa McCarthy is mostly known for her comedy roles and she often is very over the top. But in “Can You Ever Forgive Me” she is admirably modest. And because they don’t put the focus on the laughs, the jokes work better and Israel’s harrowing loneliness is more perceptible. Richard E. Grant plays Jack Hock, a similar type of outcast who befriends Israel. And his performance is super strong as well. Both actors were nominated for an Academy Award for their roles.
Touching moments and harsh humor vary and the film is wonderfully crafted.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

All Quentin Tarantino Movies Ranked

With "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" now in theaters, I decided to evaluate my all-time favorite director: Quentin Tarantino. Known for his powerful dialogues, structure in narrative and storyline and memorable characters. I ranked all of his movies, from least favorite to most favorite. I counted the "Kill Bill" movies as two seperated movies, because they are different from each other. What's yor favorite Quentin Tarantino movie?

10. Death Proof (2007)
“Death Proof” is erratic and oversaturated, even by Tarantino standards. An extended opening introduces us to Kurt Russell’s Stuntman Mike and a handful of coeds who spit one-liners as they inch towards inevitable death. Russell was the best part of the film and “Death Proof” is, to the day, the only Quentin Tarantino movie I didn’t like. “Death Proof” is too busy to adhering to the “Grindhouse” blueprint that the final product feels like a black sheep in the Tarantino mold.

9. Jackie Brown (1997)
Tarantino already had his career in the bag by the time he got to “Jackie Brown”. With anticipation comes pressure and “Jackie Brown” stood every chance of repeating formulas. But thankfully that didn’t happen. Based on Elmore Leonard’s novel “Rum Punch”, “Jackie Brown” follows a flight attendant whose secondary source of income is strictly under the table: smuggling money between Mexico and the US. “Jackie Brown” doesn’t only take its time with its characters, it replaces all the colorful bells and whistles that tend to show up in Tarantino movies and trims all excess. This film is tight, clever and brutal. And it’s from its grounded lack of showiness that “Jackie Brown” ends up leaving such a resounding impression.

8. The Hateful Eight (2015)
Tarantino’s take on a Western meets whodunnit. “The Hateful Eight” follows eight strangers who get stranded in a stagecoach stop during a blizzard. With its nearly three hour runtime, it can at times be a drag. But some truly tense moments, it being set in one location and a soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, make this a solid movie in general terms.

7. Django Unchained (2012)
Tarantino has no problem rewriting the past. In fact, he’s happy to create a character whose sole purpose is to directly influence some of the darkest moments in history. In “Django Unchained” his target is African-American slavery in the United States. The film revolves around the titular Django, who embarks on a life bounty hunt with the lively Dr. King Shultz, in order to find and rescue his wife Broomhilda. The revenge tale is as satisfying as it is deserved. Movies are often an arena where justice is served at the end of a bullet, and while many offer cathartic satisfaction, “Django Unchained” unites rage with heroism. Tarantino didn’t just craft a simple revenge fantasy, but a quest.

6. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
“Kill Bill: Vol.1” marked a new era for Tarantino. With the biggest budget of his career, he had the money and freedom to make the action film he’d always wanted to see. Every frame is overloaded with references and the heart of a man who just loves movies. That joy of film making and obsession with pop culture is the heart of “Kill Bil:l Vol. 1”. It remains one of the greatest action movies of all time.

5. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
What began as a bloodbath, finishes in the sequel “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” as more restrained and beautiful. This film adds emotional depth to its characters while gracefully expanding the story and universe of Tarantino, built in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1”.

4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
It’s impossible to ignore that “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is Tarantino’s most emotionally honest, his most beautiful looking and his funniest film. Brad Pitt (especially) and Leonardo DiCaprio are an absolute delight. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” shows again the love Tarantino has for movies and even though it’s long, it never suffers from that.

3. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
It might not be as cohesive as other Tarantino films, “Inglourious Basterds” is probably the most entertaining of the bunch. With scenes of high-tension, verbal sparring and scalp-smashing mayhem. The film is also notable for introducing us to Christoph Waltz as silver-tongued sociopath Hans Landa, one of the most compelling film villains in forever. And the movie’s opening scene, which is a 15 minute long verbal chess match, is one of the best opening scenes I have ever seen.

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
My love for this movie is big and goes way back. It rewrote the formula for movie making and redefined the structure, language and rhythm of film making. Tarantino single-handedly redirected the future of independent cinema while creating a new standard of “cool” in movies. And “Pulp Fiction” has inspired multiple generations of film makers.

1. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Tarantino’s full-length debut remains a masterclass example of a film maker who arrived in this world fully formed as both a writer and director. He immediately defined himself as a masterful writer, able to craft mind-bending scripts that play with time and traditional narrative structure. Tense writing, smart scenes filled to the brim with fast-paced dialogue covered in wit. That Steve Buscemi monologue is a great exampled of how Tarantino can make even the most mundane of conversations completely unforgettable.

Movie Reviews - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 161 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradd Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, Luke Perry, Kurt Russell, Scoot McNairy, Clifton Collins Jr. Rumer Willis, Zoë Bell, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern

Description: A faded television star (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.

Review: It’s the end of the 60s and we meet television actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth. Dalton sees his career fade and has to deal with the villain roles in cheap TV pilots.
Dalton’s next door neighbors are director Roman Polanski and his beautiful wife Sharon Tate. And when you think of Hollywood in 1969, you think of Charles Manson and his cult, who left a trail of blood in L.A. at the time.
When Tarantino’s ninth film was announced, and it became clear that the ‘Manson family’ was a part of it, people were afraid that he was going to exploit the murder of Sharon Tate. But Tarantino wouldn’t be Tarantino, if he didn’t use his revisionary spin on it and mix fiction with reality.
If you would ask anyone what “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is about, I don’t think many people could give you an exact answer. Because it’s mostly people talking and it’s more ‘a day in the life’ kind of story. We follow Cliff who is on his way to feed his dog, we see how Sharon Tate visits who visit a theater to watch her own movie. It’s a hangout-film, who can mostly be compared to Tarantino’s “Jacki Brown”. But even better.
Most of Tarantino’s movies are very violent. And overall, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” isn’t a very violent film. But when you get to the final twenty minutes, the violence gets really violent! And this scene is simply brilliant.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is definitely Tarantino’s funniest film, it can in fact be called a comedy. Even Leonardo DiCaprio is funny here. He shows great and awkward moments, where he feels an insecurity inside thinking his hay days are over. But the best part of the film is definitely Brad Pitt, as Cliff Booth, who I will say is one of Tarantino’s best characters. At first he seems like just a stunt double to DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton, but digging deeper he is a more complex character. And Pitt is hilarious in his role. Margot Robbie, who plays Sharon Tate, doesn’t get that much to do. And I would say that some of her scene could have been cut, without it having any effect on the story.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” definitely didn’t disappoint and it’s up there on my favorites list of best Tarantino movies. A great portrait of the golden days in Hollywood and in my eyes the most beautifully shot Tarantino movie.

Rating: 5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

Director: David Slade
Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 40-150 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Craig Parkinson, Alice Lowe, Asim Chaudry, Will Poulter

Description: In 1984, a young programmer begins to question reality as he works to adapt a fantasy novel into a video game.

Review: Netflix approached Charlie Brooker, the writer of the dark dystopian anthology series “Black Mirror”, with the question if he could develop an interactive adventure and make it a part of “Black Mirror” season 5. At first, he declined. It would be too complex and probably not interesting. Until Brooker started writing season 5 and he realized it would work. And since December 2018 you can stream the first interactive film on Netflix.
In “Bandersnatch”, that is set in the 80s, we follow Stefan Butler. He works from home, where he lives with his father. He is trying to create a video game based on the book Bandersnatch. And this is a book where you can choose your own story, just like the concept of this film. Its writer completely lost it and eventually murdered his wife and ended up in jail. For Stefan the content of the book is perfecet for a video game and he sells it to a gaming company, where his hero Colin Ritman works. Filled with excitement Stefan starts with the development, but it’s not easy. Especially if you, the viewer, make the wrong choices. Making choices is a big part of the film. The film revolves around free will, if we have it or not. As a viewer, you get to make some choices for Stefan. It starts with minor choices, like what cereal to eat for breakfast and what music to listen to on the bus. But as the film progresses, the choices become more difficult.
Each choice has impact on the story and leads the film to different endings. There are five. And because of all those different choices you can make, there are many ways to get to these endings. And this also makes for the fact that not everyone gets the same runtime. The shortest route takes 40 minutes, but overall it’s about 90 minutes long. There is even a 150 minute option. Everything depends on your decisions and the question you ask yourself is if these choices really had an impact. Sometimes you make a wrong choice and you go back. And sometimes it feels like both options aren’t the right one.
“Bandersnatch” is a very interesting and a unique concept. Because of the interactive aspect, this film feels like no other. But at the end, you kind of lose interest, because you have to go back again, because you made one minor choice that wasn’t the best option.
I hope Netflix brings us another film like this, because it was a lot of fun and a great modern movie experience.

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Hollars

Director: John Krasinski
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: John Krasinski, Anna Kendrick, Margo Martindale, Sharlto Copley, Richard Jenkins, Randall Park, Josh Groban, Charlie Day, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Description: John (John Krasinski) returns to his small hometown after learning that his mother has fallen ill and is about to undergo surgery.

Review: In “The Hollars” we meet John Hollar, who returns to his family home after his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. His pregnant girlfriend stays ack in New York. When he comes home, he walks into his ex-girlfriend and has to face the trouble he has with his brother and father.
The film shows the life of an everyday family, each member with their own problems. Because the family isn’t extremely rich and maybe even closer to being poor, people can easily identify with them. The problems the Hollar family is dealing with, are ones that we can have and it makes the film realistic.
Although the film touches a very heavy theme, the humor is still there. Very dry humor, just how I like it. In the 80 minute runtime, we see a lot of different emotions. It’s not a lame comedy, it is in balance with the drama. But never gets to sobby (even though I cried).
The acting is great. John Krasinksi, who also directs this film, takes on the lead and does a wonderful job. I’ve always loved Krasinski and roles like this are perfect for him. The same goes for Anna Kendrick. Richard Jenkins and Sharlto Copley are fantastic as well, ad John father and brother. But it’s Margo Martindale that steals the show. She is so amazing. And with all this star power, I don’t understand why this film was so overlooked.
The story doesn’t follow the standard paths and it has some surprising moments. The storyline of John’s ex-girlfriend is added, but it could have been left out. At least the moments between John and her. The ones between John and Gwen’s new husband are fun.
This is the genre I love the most, a good mix of drama and comedy. And it was very well executed. I really loved “The Hollars”.

Rating: 4 / 5

Movie Reviews - Three Identical Strangers

Director: Tim Wardle
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Robert Shafran, David Kellman, Michael Domnitz, Howard Schneider, Ellen Cervone, Alan Luchs, Hedy Page, Alice Shafran, Elliott Galland, Eddy Galland, Richard Kellman, Justine Wise Polier, Mort Shafran, Ilene Shafran, Janet Kellman, Brenda Galland, Lawrence Wright, Natasha Josefowitz, Elyse Schein, Peter Neubauer, Lawrence Perlman

Description: In 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they’re triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out who turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.

Review: What’s the most important thing that forms you and makes you into who you are? Our nature, our upbringing, our education? Is it set in stone from the beginning how we develop to the person we are now? Or is it formed by our environment? This is the theme in “Three identical Strangers”, a documentary that at first seems to be pointless. But it’s a true story that eventually turns into a thriller filled with surprises, that can be compelling and manipulative.
It seems too good to be true: in 1980 a young man discovers he has a twin brother. They make it to the papers and a third man recognizes himself and is identified as the third brother: they are triplets! In 1961, Eddy Galland, David Kellman and Bobby Shafran are separated at birth and eventually all three were adopted by different families.
Their reunion is a happy one: they move in together in New York and become a media sensation. They appear on television where their unbelievable story is told. Not only the way they look, but also the way they talk, move and act are things that stand out.
When the boy’s parents, and later themselves, start investigating, there is a sinister truth behind their separation. After the happy first act of the documentary, a series of revelations unfold and surprises that become darker and darker.
The documentary is following the ‘talking heads’ format, where it’s the people involved in the story talking directly to the camera. Nothing sensational there, but the content of the story and all the revelations are what make this film strong. Questions that you start asking yourself about genetics and upbringing, but also the ethics around the scientific research that the boys were a part of.
“Three Identical Strangers” stays a bit on the surface and a lot of open doors are kicked in. But the content of the story is so compelling that it keeps your attention.

Rating: 3/ 5

TV Show Review - Peaky Blinders (Season 2)

Season: 2
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Crime
Number of episodes: 6
Year: 2014
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Annabelle Wallis, Sophie Rundle, Joe Cole, Tom Hardy

Description: A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England; centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy)

Review: “Peaky Blinders” has a strong first season, that made me jump into season 2 immediately. And it’s even better! More locations are used and new characters are added, with the most important ones being Alfie Solomons (played by Tom Hardy) and Darby Sabini (played by Noah Taylor). Real personalities.
Tommy Shelby could use some opponents that are a serious threat. Where in the first season Tommy tries to own Birmingham, he now tries to take over London. But London just happens to be the terrain for Solomons and Sabini. Tommy is even more ambitious in season 2. He buys a race horse and meets some elites, which he manages to win for him. And even Winston Churchill wants to work with him. Tommy has to deal with Chester Campbell again as well, but this season focusses on the expansion of the Shelby family.
Arthur and John get more responsibilities. Paul Anderson, who portrays Arthur, gets more interesting things to do with his character. And the same goes for Helen McCrory, as Aunt Polly, who starts a search for her long lost children that were taken from her. But her storyline is the least interesting. I also found the romance story of Tommy and his old love a bit rushed this time.
Cillian Murphy is again the man that carries the series, as Tommy. But he is very well assisted by Tom Hardy this time. He’s only in a few scenes, but he steels them all. He has such charisma, it almost makes Murphy fade away.
The most epic moments of this season are definitely the ambush by Sabini in the first episode and the big fight scene in Sabini’s London club.
The second season did it again and was very strong. Let season 3 begin!