Oldies Movie Review - Singin' in the Rain

Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Genre: Musical/ Romance/ Comedy
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 1952
Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Cyd Charisse, Millard Mitchell, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno

Description: A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

Review: Fans of musicals will feel like a kid in a candy store while watching “Singin’ in the Rain”. The many songs and dance numbers are unforgettable with all the romance, sensuality, comedy, enthusiasm and craftsmanship.
You also get to see a peace of movie history, when you see the transition from the silent film to the “talkie”, a movie where there is actual talking. We see how hard it was and how at first people were against it. The movie world of the 1920s is shown to us in a very entertaining way. In one of the most hilarious scenes you can see how actress Lina Lamont struggles with the microphone.
The comedy is a strong point. Besides the smart and ironic screenplay, the performances are also good. Jean Hagen is hilarious as the simple, materialistic and bitchy Lina, but also Debbie Reynolds as Kathy Selden is great. Gene Kelly is the focal point and I love him in his role as Don Lockwood. My favorite is Donald O’Connor as Don’s sidekick Cosmo. They work great together and his musical number “Make ‘em Laugh” is one of my favorite moments of the film.
The romantic storyline is not big, but I think it’s better that way. The songs are all fantastic, with Gene Kelly performing “Singin’ in the Rain” as the absolute highlight. This scene always puts a smile on my face.
For the musical fan an absolute must-see. For me, the ultimate movie that just makes me happy every time I watch it.

Rating: 5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Amélie

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 2001
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Serge Merlin, Urbain Cancelier, Lorella Cravotta, Rufus, Jamel Debbouze, Clotilde Mollet, Claire Maurier, Isabelle Nanty, Dominique Pinon, Artus de Penguern, Yolande Moreau, Michel Robin, Maurice Bénichou

Description: Amelie (Audrey Tautou) is an innocent and naive girl in Paris with her own sense of justice. She decides to help those around her and, along the way, discovers love.

Review: “Amélie” is THE movie for optimistic, happy dreamers. And this film is a threat for us all. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet paints with his camera, juggles with the story and does an amazing job with the montage. The lively enthusiasm takes Amélie into a world filled with funny, quirky and sweet people and happenings.
Amélie Poulain is a girl who takes the term “random acts of kindness” very seriously. She still sincerely believes in the goodness of people, happiness and love. Actress Audrey Tautou plays her with a playful innocence. The perfect fairytale girl.
The way Audrey Tautou is a typical French girl, “Amélie” is a archetypical French film. The movie represents everything the French love and the rest of the world sees as typical for France. A sunny Paris, tiny alleys of Montmartre, the young and sparkly Amélie and her quest for happiness and love. It all sounds cheesy and bitter sweet, but it all looks so good.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet pictured Paris as the personal, ideal fairytale we want it to be. “Amélie” is a happy, positive film that will put a smile on anybody’s face. And that’s the strength of the film. It’s certainly a movie I always turn to, to make me feel better. One of my favorites.

Rating: 5/ 5

20s Movie Review - The Way Back

Director: Gavin O’Connor
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Janina Gavankar, Michaela Watkins, Brandon Wilson, Will Ropp, Fernando Luis Vega, Charles Lott Jr., Melvin Gregg, Ben Irving, Jeremy Radin, Matthew Glave

Description: Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) was a high school basketball phenom who walked away from the game, forfeiting his future. Years later, when he reluctantly accepts a coaching job at his old school, he may get one last shot at redemption.

Review: When a film gives an actor such a good chance to excel and the story also works successfully towards a beautiful release, but nobody is really talking about this movie, I naturally will look for a reason. I think that people were looking for a good basketball drama. A good drama it is, the film only doesn’t focus on the basketball part. It focuses on the coach and his life now and then.
Jack Cunningham was once a star basketball player. Everyone expected him to get a scholarship to play college basketball, but we meet him in the opening scene as a construction worker who lingers in the pub a little too long after work. So long, in fact, that one of the other guests quite routinely walks him to his home, to make sure he gets in safely.
Slowly it becomes clear that Jack can’t cope with something that happened in the past, which is also the reason that his wife Angela has left him. When the principal of his former high school asks him to coach the basketball time, Jack seizes the opportunity with slight resistance. Together with assistant coach and math teacher Dan he takes on the task, turning a pretty bad team into something the school can be proud of.
The film has a raw look and feel to it, you recognize director Gavin O’Connor’s style in that (he also directed “Warrior” and “Pride & Glory”). This adds to the realism of the film and makes it more relatable and real. And like I stated before, this is not a sports movie, because it doesn’t focus on that element. And I actually kind of liked it because of that, because it separates itself from all the other movies about coaches that come in to change an otherwise bad team. It focuses on the coach instead on the game and its players. Did it have to be basketball? No, it might as well be another sport. But that’s okay.
If you are a frequent reader of my reviews, you might know I’m not the world’s biggest Ben Affleck fan. I either like him or don’t in a movie. And only few movies I really loved him in. Movie liked “The Accountant” (also by Gavin O’Connor), “Argo” and “Gone Girl” made me change my mind about him and I really enjoyed his performances in those films. I can now add “The Way Back” to this list, because Affleck really does excel here. His performance is strong and it’s one of his best roles. Just sad that not a lot of people have witnessed it, because I think a lot of people didn’t see this movie when it came out.
I could recommend “The Way Back” if you want a strong, raw drama, not if you are expecting a sports drama, because that it isn’t.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 77

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Baby Driver (2017)
After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
 

Drama: Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Barely 21 yet, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl (Tom Hanks) becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.
 

Comedy: Scary Movie (2000)
A year after disposing of the body of a man they accidentally killed, a group of dumb teenagers are stalked by a bumbling serial killer.
 

Animation: The Road to El Dorado (2000)
Two swindlers get their hands on a map to the fabled city of gold, El Dorado.
 

Romance: Legally Blonde (2001)
Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon), a fashionable sorority queen, is dumped by her boyfriend. She decides to follow him to law school. While she is there, she figures out that there is more to her than just looks.
 

Horror: Christine (1983)
A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.
 

Science Fiction: Deep Impact (1998)
A comet is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. As doomsday is near, the human race prepares for the worse.
 

Crime: Heat (1995)
A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a clue at their latest heist.
 

Thriller: Disturbia (2007)
Kale (Shia LaBeouf), a teen living under house arrest becomes convinced his neighbor (David Morse) is a serial killer.
 

Documentary: John Lennon: Love is All You Need (2021)
This incredible documentary features in-depth contributions from wives Yoko Ono and Cynthia Lennon, son Julian Lennon and many previously unseen interviews with John himself. Through rare footage, we learn of his rise to fame with The Beatles, his divorce from Cynthia, his first meeting with Yoko, split-up of the band, and his decision to become a solo artist and advocate for world peace. Lennon: Love is All You Need captures one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century with some truly unique interviews and unseen footage from those closest to him.
 

Family: Nanny PcPhee (2005)
A governess (Emma Thompson) ises magic to rein in the behavior of seven ne’er-do-well children in her charge.

Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 6

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

16/ 100: Heat (1995)
Policeman Vincent Hanna hunts down bank robber Neil McCauley. Two professionals, with sad private lives. Extremely stylish portrayed crime drama, tightly edited and very well directed. Yet this is primarily the film of two acting masters: Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. An absolute highlight of the genre. You can read my full review HERE.
 

17/ 100: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Rookie FBI-agent Clarice Starling is tasked with unblocking a stalled investigation into a serial killer. To do so, she must interrogate another brilliant serial killer in prison, Hannibal “the cannibal” Lecter. That character promptly became an iconic villain, in part because of Anthony Hopkins’ inspired (and Oscar-winning) performance). Jodie Foster is also really strong. Several sequels and prequels followed, but not one of them reached the level of this classic. Read my full review HERE. 
 

18/ 100: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
A movie I loved as a child and still love today. “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” is a fairy tale as comical as it is compelling. A young boy takes in a lost alien, but must hide it from uncomprehending adults. Spielberg’s ode to childlike innocence and thirst for adventure puts a smile on everyone’s face and a made us all tear up as well. You can read my full review HERE. 
 

19/ 100: Monsters Inc. (2001)
The monster employees of Monsters Inc. emerge from closet doors at night to collect the screams of scared children, for the purpose of powering Monstropolis. At the top are Sully and his partner Mike. They accidentally bring in a human girl, Boo, who in Monstropolis is believed to be toxic and dangerous. Still my favorite Pixar movie. The sequel, or prequel actually, was also very funny and entertaining, but never lives up to the original. Read my full review HERE. 
 

20/ 100: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This macabre stop-motion animated film follows the adventures of Pumpin King Jack Skellington, who has had enough of his dark Halloweentown and its monstrous inhabitants. By chance, he discovers blissful Christmastown, and he and his creepy friends decide to kidnap Santa. Nearly three years of fiddling with the characters resulted in a fairy-tale like viewing film that is still a worthy alternative to “The Grinch”. HERE you can read my full review. 
 
Still to watch: 80

Oldies Review - The Man Who Knew Too Much

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Crime/ Adventure
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 1956
Starring: James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Miles, Ralph Truman, Danel Gélin, Mogens Wieth, Alan Mowbray, Hillary Brooke, Christopher Olsen, Reggie Nalder, Richard Wattis, Noel Willman, Alix Talton, Yves Brainville

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 42: A MOVIE FROM THE YEAR YOUR MOTHER WAS BORN
 
Description: A tale of innocent American tourists (James Stewart, Doris Day) in Morocco whose son’s kidnapping sets off a twisting plot of international intrigue.

Review: American surgeon Benjamin McKenna is on vacation in Morocco with his wife Josephine and their young son Hank. On the bus, on their way to Marrakech, they meet Frenchman Louis Bernard. He tells the family about traditions of Morocco and inquires about what McKenna is up to. The next day they meet Bernard again, at the market, but he has a knife in his back. Just before he dies, Bernard whisper some words to McKenna. He is called to account by the police, but McKenna doesn’t trust it and keeps his mouth shut. When son Hank is kidnapped it is clear that there is much more going on and McKenna and his wife find themselves in a world of intrigue and conspiracy, which brings them to London.
Master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, made two versions of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” in his career. In 1934 a version starring Leslie Banks and again in 1956 with James Stewart. Both films tell the same story, but in Hitchcock’s own works they were the work of a talented amateur and, the second,  of a professional. Neither rank among Hitchcock’s best, but neither are they bad.
“The Man Who Knew Too Much” is a suspenseful thriller, the genre he does best. He works from the point of view of ordinary people, who find themselves in situations they didn’t want to be in at all, yet are determined to get to the bottom of things.
Hitchcock didn’t get along with every actor he worked with, but had no problem with James Stewart, who frequently appeared in his films. And Stewart again gives an excellent performance.
I did enjoy this thriller, again not one of Hitchcock’s best, but definitely worth watching.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Book Review - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Series: -
Author: Gail Honeyman

Description: Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka and phone chats with her mom. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, and elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. 
Review: Things are going well for Eleanor Oliphant. She has her life perfectly under control: she goes to work every day, knows exactly what clothes to wear and her meals are fixed from day to day as well. She relieves her structural weekly schedule on the weekends with vodka and sleep – the perfect balance. When her routine is thrown into disarray when and old man becomes unwell on the street and she and a colleague help him, Eleanor realizes that her life may not be as flawless as she thought. 
The first few chapter of “Eleanor Elephant is Completely Fine” seem predictable. They create expectations and assumptions that can quickly cause boredom. But slowly but surely revealing that the story could just take a completely different turn. 
“Eleanor Oliphant” is the debut novel of Scottish writer Gail Honeyman. In it, she has incorporated characters who are unique and special, and by no means perfect. As a result, this novel feels authentic and relatable, but at the same time the story gives insight into people who see life differently than you do. What makes Eleanor quite unique from the very first encounter is her way of talking. Which makes the writing style unique as well and I loved that about the book. 
Besides the interesting characters, the plot is also wonderful. The themes are relevant and important, without being pedantic. The most prominent themes, loneliness and trauma, are subtly but clearly laid out. Allowing the reader to understand exactly what the character is going though and to sympathize with them. 
“Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” will make you laugh, shed a tear and philosophize about your life. Highly recommended novel.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5