Ranking the Franchise - Cloverfield

The Cloverfield franchise is a series of science-fiction/ monster movies that contains of three movies each with a different take and style. Today I will rank the three movies.
 

3. The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
The third installment in the franchise was rather disappointing. This time, the action takes place not in New York or a mysterious bunker, but on a space station, where an international group of astronauts is conducting an important test on a particle accelerator. The film starts out as exciting, entertaining quality pulp, but gradually becomes less inventive and credible, while borrowing rom genre movies like “Alien”, “The Thing” and “Event Horizon”. “The Cloverfield Paradox” went straight to Netflix, which is understandable once you see it.
 

2. Cloverfield (2008)
During a party in New York, one of the guests decides to film everything. With his camera rolling, he captures guest, ordinary young men and women, in order to offer the party guests memories for later. Then the city is rocked by a series of explosions, and no one knows what’s going on. High expectations after a sophisticated publicity campaign were largely meet. “Cloverfield” is especially strong because the film looks like an amateur video shot in one take, creating a certain realism. The found-footage style is what makes this film unique and it stands out from other monster/ disaster movies.
 

1. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
After a serious car accident, a young woman wakes up in a bomb shelter chained to the wall. Her “captor” tells her that a devastating chemical/ nuclear weapons attack has occurred and she has been locked away for her own safety. Asking for help is pointless, because outside the four walls of their bunker, everyone is probably long dead. This movie came out of nowhere, no one knew this film was in the making. “10 Cloverfield Lane” is a suspenseful and tightly written thriller, and with that the best in the franchise.
 

80s Movie Review - Top Gun

Director: Tony Scott
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Kelly McGillis, Tom Skerritt, Val Kilmer, Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan,

Description: As students at the united States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot (Tom Cruise) learns a few things from a civilian instructor (Kelly McGillis) that are not taught in the classroom.

Review: Lt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and his wingman and friend Lt. Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw are among the best fighter pilots in the Navy. Despite their reckless, dangerous behavior and failure to follow orders, they are sent to Top Gun: an elite school for the Navy’s best fighter pilot, who receive extra-heavy training here.

Maverick is also a great charmer, throwing all his charms into the fray the first night to get attention of an attractive lady. The next day she turns out to be the instructor Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Blackwood. Charlie is particularly interested in Maverick because he and Goose are the only ones who have been in contact with a Mig-28 in the air. But gradually, Charlie and Maverick fall in love with each other.

“Top Gun” is the epitome of a delightfully macho, cheesy eighties popcorn flick. A film that, many years later, isn’t as great as in the 80s. The film is impressive though because of two elements: the stunning flight scenes and the soundtrack.

When I first saw this movie, in the 90s probably, I was madly in love with Tom Cruise’s Maverick. Now, I realize that he is kind of a dick and that Val Kilmer’s character Iceman, who is portrayed as the antagonist, is absolutely right about Maverick. And the fact that Charlie is very clear with her statement of not dating students, she falls in love with Maverick fairly quick. They’ve only had like three conversations.

But that’s just me nitpicking. I still enjoy watching this film and this is pure 80s fun.

Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Title: Where the Crawdads Sing
Series: -
Author: Delia Owens
 
Description: For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit fot polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.
But Kya is not what they say. A bon naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life’s lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn into two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world, until the unthinkable happens.  
 
Review: The story revolves around Kya. Her mother leaves her family one day and never returns. Her brothers also run away and Kya, six at the time, is left behind in the hut with her father, who is an alcoholic and also can’t keep his hands to himself and regularly beats up his children. Her father fought in the army and then became disabled and now lives on welfare. Every now and then he goes off and young Kya is left behind in their hut, all alone. At a young age, Kya manages to get by on the food she makes.
 
“Where the Crawdads Sing” is a very sad story about a young girl who is left alone and has no one to take care of her. She doesn’t go to school, but befriends a man and his wife who own a local store. They keep an eye on her.
 
Gradually Kya grows up. She becomes a woman who manages to do everything on her own. She is very smart and independent. Kya learns from her surroundings. One day, she meets Tate, a boy who visits her with his boat. And is introduced to a lot of new things, emotions, and manages to open up to him. Another boy, named Chase, also seems to be interested in Kya. But later in life, Chase is found dead and Kya is the main suspect. People judge Kya immediately, without actually knowing her.
 
“Where the Crawdads Sing” is a beautiful story, there is a reason this is such a popular book. I mostly don’t tag along that easy, but I do agree on the hype around it. I enjoyed Delia Owens’ writing and how she described the surroundings. It’s very obvious she is a wildlife writer. The story keeps your attention at all times and the suspense is kept until the end of the book. The eventual reveal of who killed Chase wasn’t very surprising to me, but didn’t ruin the experience for me.
 
There is now a movie out as well, which I will watch. I can really recommend this book, it’s very beautiful and well-written.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Review - Everything Everytwhere All at Once

Director: Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Genre: Fantasy/ Action/ Comedy/ Adventure
Runtime: 139 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 36: A FANTASY MOVIE
 
Description: An aging Chinese immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) is swept up in an insane adventure, in which she alone can save the world by exploring other universes connecting with the lives she could have led.

Review: What do you do when you are suddenly confronted with a multiverse and the fact that there are hundreds or thousand of other versions of yourself? And in one of those universes and evil person is trying to destroy everything. It happens to Evelyn Wang and while trying to fight the evil she also learns a lot about herself and her daughter Joy.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a lot. It is a comedy, a family story, fantasy and has great action scenes that are highly choreographed and edited. It also contains a whole host of references to other films. Think of “2001: A Space Odyssey’.

It’s one of the strangest films I have seen recent years, but with that also the most original, unique and mind-blowing film from the last years. And because of it, it is a movie that will not be to everyone’s liking. I happen to love it, but the more average and mainstream moviegoer would probably not love it as much.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Review - The Northman

Director: Robert Eggers
Genre: Drama/ Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Claes Bang, Willem Dafoe
 
Description: Young Viking prince Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) is on a quest to avenge his father’s (Ethan Hawke) murder)

Review: At an early age, the Viking prince Amleth witnesses a dramatic event: his father, King Aurvandil, is brutally murdered by Uncle Fjölnir. Crying and enraged at the same time, Amleth flees across the sea in a rowboat. And he has one goal: avenge his father by killing Fjölnir.

So begins “The Northman”, an unprecedentedly brutal revenge epic by director Robert Eggers. The American director and screenwriter previously made the arthouse gems “The Withc” and “The Lighthouse”, both movies I loved. And what was true for those film, is also true for “The Northman”: it’s not a movie for everyone and it’s not for the faint of heart.

“The Northman” has become, in every fiver, a faithful Eggers film, in which folklore, occultism, bloodshed, and other unmitigated horror merge like iron in a furnace of fire. The story is fairly straightforward and has its origins in exactly the same source as William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: the Scandinavian legend “Amleth of Jutland”. But there are also echoes of movies like “Gladiator” and “Conan: The Barbarian”.

Alexander Skarsgård plays the main character Amleth and is clearly in his element here. Amleth’s quest for revenge begins at one point to take on such grotesque proportions that you gradually begin to wonder whether his mission is still justified. This is a very clever achievement, because judging from the king’s murder scene you would say: yes, of course. But it’s not quite as simple as that in the end in “The Northman”, as perspectives can be blurred. Nicole Kidman is the other actor to watch in this film. She plays Amleth’s mother and she is wicked! There is especially one scene that she was so good in, I was watching it with my jaw dropping to the floor. Such a strong performance.

So far, 2022 isn’t the best movie year. And I will be giving “The Northman” the first perfect rating of the year. This will definitely be on my favorites list at the end of the year. And even if it’s not your cup of tea, “The Northman” will be seen as one of the best films of 2022 by critics, and I totally agree.

Rating: 5/ 5

TV Show Review - Only Murders in the Buiding (Season 2)

Season: 2
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Crime/ Mystery
Number of episodes: 10
Year: 2021
Starring: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Tina Fey, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane, Amy Schumer, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jackie Hoffman, Jane Houdyshell, Cara Delevigne, Ryan Broussard, Adina Version, James Caverly, Jane Lynch

Description: Three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime suddenly find themselves caught up in one.
 
Review: At the beginning of the second season of “Only Murders in the Building”, things are not looking good for Charles, Oliver and Mabel. A new mystery presents itself when neighbor Bunny Folger is found dead in Mabel’s apartment and it seems this murder is meant to frame the latter. Where most people would choose to wait for it all to blow over, the three amateur detectives choose to take matter into their own hands to clear their names and find justice for Bunny.

It took some waiting to see if a second season of “Only Murders in the Building” would be able to live up to high expectations created by the successful first season. Bunny Folger’s death, at first glance, seems less interesting than the murder of Tim Kono. The motive seems obvious, as the victim was not well-liked, so the question is where this story could go from here. But with the introduction of new characters, secret passages through the Arconia building and once again a connection to one of the main characters, the formula manages to prove itself once again.

“Only Murders in the Building” is still the perfect combination of murder mystery and humor: a cozy mystery. The main characters are well fleshed out and their strong dynamics bring things to life. In the main plot of season 2, the focus shifts from Mabel to Charles, allowing us to learn more about his background. In addition, we are introduced to three important characters: Charles’ almost-daughter, a new date for Mabel and the assistant to podcast queen Cinda Canning. While they all contribute at some point in the investigation, they could have been better integrated into the story.

Everything comes together in the end. The solutions is clever and surprising. And we are also treated to a glimpse of another new season, where Oliver will be the main focus I assume. And Paul Rudd is going to be in season 3 as well, which makes me even more excited.

“Only Murders in the Building” is the perfect comfort watch, I love cozy mysteries. The dynamic between the three main characters is so unique and wholesome. I could watch this series all day.

00s Movie Review - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Director: Sidney Lumet
Genre: Crime/ Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2007
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Michael Shannon, Amy Ryan

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 35: A CRIME THRILLER
 
Description: When two brothers (Philip Seymour Hofman, Ethan Hawke) organize the robbery of their parents’ jewelry store the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that sends them, their father (Albert Finney) and one brother’s wife (Marisa Tomei) barreling towards a shattering climax.

Review: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke play two brothers in need of money. Hoffman’s Andy seems successful, but is struggling financially due to his drug addiction, among other things, while Hawke’s Hank can’t afford the alimony for his ex-wife and daughter. They decided to rob a small jewelry store. Not to mention that this store is owned by their own parents. Andy is the brains behind the operations and Hanks has to carry out the plan. Of course, this plan goes horribly wrong and only gets worse later.

It's a simple story and the details aren’t complicated either. But director Sidney Lumet decided to change the structure of the story. We are only following one character at a time, and go back in time to see the perspective of the other brother. I think this is what makes this movie better. There is no reason for using this structure, but I think it really adds to the story of the film. Otherwise, it would be pretty standard.

The performances are very good. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke both do a great job in their respective roles. The same goes for Albert Finney, who has a smaller role as their father. Marisa Tomei is a fantastic actress, but is demoted to a side character that seems to only be there as the beautiful wife that shows her boobs a bit too often. Tomei is underused and misused in this film, that was a big problem for me. Because she is so much more than this.

“Before the Devils Knows You’re Dead” is a strong crime thriller, with a cool storytelling structure.

Rating: 3,5/ 5