100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 38: The Ice Harvest

Director: Harold Ramis

Genre: Comedy/ Crime/ Thriller

Runtime: 92 minutes

Year: 2005

Starring: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Nielsen, Ned Bellamy, Mike Starr, Oliver Platt

Description: A shady lawyer (John Cusack) attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner (Billy Bob Thornton), a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.

Review: Christmas Eve is a traditional, cozy night where you spend time with your family and loved ones. In “The Ice Harvest” it’s not that idyllic. Because like they say in the movie: “Only morons are nice on Christmas”.

Lawyer Charlie and partner Vic stole money from Charlie’s boss. Before they can run away, they have a few hours to kill. They want to act as normal as possible, but off course that doesn’t happen. A man called Roy, a hitman working for Charlie’s boss, is looking for the two men. When it comes to money, you can’t trust anyone. Vic isn’t planning on sharing the money with Charlie.

One of the first things you notice in “The Ice Harvest”, is the film-noir style. Especially in the character of Renata, Charlie’s love interest. Renata is an old school femme fatale. The dialogues in the movie are very good, only a shame that the story develops slowly.

“The Ice Harvest” is a dark comedy. John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton are perfect for this genre. Cusack is the one you sympathize with and Thornton is, as always, a little bit weird. Their collaboration is surprising and fun.

“The Ice Harvest” is an anti-Christmas movie, with great humor and a good cast. Great for the fans of film-noir movies and dark humor.

Rating: 4/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: YouTube Movie Critics

YouTube is an addiction, I love watching videos on YouTube. I most of all love watching movie related videos. I listed my five favorite movie critics on YouTube.

5. The Flick Pick

It’s basically John talking about movies. He is very enthusiastic, which is why I like his videos. He gives us reviews, lists, shares his new additions to his movie collection and takes us on trips while buying new movie stuff. And I like his Mark Wahlberg impression by the way.

 

 

4. Screen Junkies

They do discussion videos and I really like their show ‘Movie Fights’. But they are most known for their awesome honest trailers and they are especially fun to watch when you’ve already seen the film. They state the obvious and show us the movie’s shortcomings.

 

 

3. Jeremy Jahns

He speaks very fast and he might make you nervous, but his movie reviews always crack me up. And his vision on film is really good. He’s very much ‘in your face’. Short, to-the-point reviews.

 

 

2. Schmoes Know

More traditional reviews with ratings out of five and they never reveal spoilers in their reviews. So that makes it okay to watch reviews of movies I haven’t seen yet. I like their ‘Best & Worst’ item and their weekly show.

 

 

1. Chris Stuckmann

I really take his reviews seriously and I almost always agree with his opinions. His love for film and filmmaking is clearly present. Chris Stuckmann can convince me to see a certain movie. Thanks to him I saw “The Guest” and “Jagten” (“The Hunt”). I also like his hilariocity reviews (movies that are so bad, they are hilarious) and the videos where he explains complicated movies.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Cinema Sins, Movie Feuds

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 37: Parkland

Director: Peter Landesman

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 93 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Marcia Gay Harden, Matt Barr, Zac Efron, Mallory Moye, Paul Giamatti, Bitsie Tulloch, Ron Livingston, Jason Douglas, David Harbour, James Badge Dale, Larry Jack Dotson, Austin Nichols, Billy Bob Thornton, Jonathan Breck, Eugene Lee, Nico Evers-Swindell, Irene White, Luci Christian, Kate Steffens, Tom Welling, Mark Duplass, Gil Bellows, Sean McGraw, Brett Stimely, Paul Sparks, Samuel Davis, Colin Hanks, Gary Grubbs, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeremy Strong, Jackie Weaver

Description: A recounting of the chaotic events that occurred at Dallas' Parkland Hospital on the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Review: A lot of people remember where they were on November 22nd 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was killed. Now fifty years and many books, movies and documentaries later, director Peter Landesman manages to give us a new perspective on the assassination. “Parkland” isn’t a reconstruction of the murder itself, but it tells the story of the people that have witnessed the event and were close to the president at that time. The impact this shooting had on the doctors that treated him, the FBI and the cameraman who filmed it. In “Parkland” three days are depicted from the point of view of different characters.

There is an important role for the medical staff of the Parkland hospital in Dallas. They tried to save the life of JFK. Then there is Abraham Zapruder, the man that captured the shooting on camera. The movie adds another layer by showing us the point of view of shooter Lee Harvey Oswald and how his family deals with this event.

Because “Parkland” has many characters and perspectives, it’s sometimes very chaotic. This chaos makes the movie hard to follow sometimes and also doesn’t give any characters any depth. The whole thing looks unrealistic. Even though “Parkland” doesn’t convince completely, it’s a good try on telling the story from a different vision.

Peter Landesman shoots a movie from unknown and interesting perspective, but doesn’t manage to convince the audience.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (180)

Here are this weeks trailers.

The Face of an Angel

Description: Both a journalist and a documentary filmmaker chase the story of a murder and its prime suspect.

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Daniel Brühl, Cara Delevingne

Trailer: Trailer "The Face of an Angel"

Comment: I think Daniel Brühl should be in more movies!

Mr. Holmes

Description: An aged, retired Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) looks back on his life, and grapples with an unsolved case involving a beautiful woman.

Director: Bill Condon

Starring: Frances de la Tour, Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Hiroyuki Sanada, Roger Allam, Hattie Morahan, Patrick Kennedy, Philip Davis, Milo Parker

Trailer: Trailer "Mr. Holmes"

Comment: I always like a good Sherlock Holmes story.

Dark Places

Description:

Director: Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Starring: Charlize Theron, Drea de Matteo, Nicholas Hoult, Christina Hendricks, Chloe Grace Moretz, Corey Stoll, Sterling Jerins, Tye Sheridan, Shannon Kook

Trailer: Trailer "Dark Places"

Comment: If it's any good as "Gone Girl", we're in for a treat!

Faults

Description: Claire (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is under the grip of a mysterious new cult called Faults. Desperate to be reunited with their daughter, Claire's parents recruit one of the world's foremost experts on mind control, Ansel Roth (Leland Orser).

Director: Riley Stearns

Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lance Reddick, Beth Grant, Leland Orser, Chris Ellis, John Gries

Trailer: Trailer "Faults"

Comment: It got my attention!

Selfless

Description: An extremely wealthy man (Ben Kingsley) dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man (Ryan Reynolds). But all is not as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body’s origin and the organization that will kill to protect its cause.

Director: Tarsem Singh

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Derek Luke, Victor Garber, Matthew Goode, Natalie Martinez, Michelle Dockery

Trailer: Trailer "Selfless"

Comment: I so hope this is good.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 36: St. Vincent

Director: Theodore Melfi

Genre: Comedy/ Drama

Runtime: 102 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Chris O’Dowd, Terrence Howard, Jaeden Lieberher

Description: The young Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran Vincent (Bill Murray) who lives next door.

Review: “St. Vincent” is the directorial debut of Theodore Melfi and is about saints that are closer than you think. It can be your mom, a teacher or a friend. Or someone who doesn’t act like one at first sight. Vincent likes his booze and gambles away his savings. He isn’t very fond of people. This grumpy man has gambling debts and doesn’t have empathic feelings. The only person he has any affection for is Daka, a so called ‘lady of the night’.

When single mom Maggie and her son Oliver move into next door, Vincent’s life takes a different turn. He starts babysitting Oliver, when Maggie has to work long hours at the hospital. Vincent teaches Oliver lessons in a very unconventional way, by taking him to the race track, the local strip club and a bar. And also to ‘Sunny Side’, the home where his demented wife Sandy lives. The two develop an unlikely friendship.

The story may not be that original: a grumpy man befriending a kid. Bill Murray makes it into something special. His role is remarkable and unique, this is why I like Bill Murray. Naomi Watts portrays Daka with a big heart, also a very good performance by her. And it’s good to see Melissa McCarthy in a more modest role. Also a very funny small role for Chris O’Dowd, as Brother Geraghty. And the young Oliver is played by Jaeden Lieberher, the one with probably the most sense. Good role by him too.

“St. Vincent” has a good combination of comedy and drama, great performance and it’s easy to watch. Seriously, not watching it is a sin.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 35: Take Shelter

Director: Jeff Nichols

Genre: Thriller/ Drama

Runtime: 120 minutes

Year: 2011

Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea Whigham, Katy Nixon, Natasha Randall, Ron Kennard, Scott Knisley, Robert Longstreet, Heather Caldwell, Sheila Hullihen, Kathy Baker

Description: Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, young husband and father Curtis (Michael Shannon) questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.

Review: Schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness are often a theme in movies. Many movie classics came from this theme, like “Fight Club”, “ A Beautiful Mind” and “Shutter Island”. In “Take Shelter” it’s actor Michael Shannon with that problem. But the movie is not a copy or similar to any of the three previously named movies. It has its own identity.

Curtis is a hard working husband to Sam and a loving father to their deaf daughter Hannah. When Curtis starts having dreams, that always start with a storm, he thinks it’s a premonition to something bad. To be prepared, he starts building a shelter. Everyone thinks Curtis is losing his mind.

There are many aspects that make “Take Shelter” an above average movie, but the biggest plus is the atmosphere. Especially in the first half of the film, when Curtis’ nightmares become more intense. You really feel that tension. Danger is continually present. With that, the acting is also great. Michael Shannon manages to convince us as Curtis. As a viewer you don’t know what to think of him, just like the people in the movie. Is he crazy or not? But also Sam, played by Jessica Chastain, does a wonderful job. Her frank kindness and het concern make her the most sympathetic character of the movie. The addition of the deaf daughter makes it all even more dramatic and the interaction between the parents and Hannah is beautiful.

For some people “Take Shelter” is a bit slow, the pace is very low. But it never bothered me. Even the second half of the film, where Curtis stars losing it, keeps compelling you. Maybe the climax isn’t fantastic, but the end scene is. Jeff Nichols, who is relatively new in Hollywood, delivers a very good film. “Take Shelter” is a beautiful movie.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (February 2015)

Another month has passed and I watched a bunch of movies. Some new ones, some I really regret watching (“Fifty Shades of Grey”) and some classics I really needed to finally see. Here are my five favourites of this month.

5. A Most Violent Year

A story very well told and great performances by Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain.

 

 

4. Into the Woods

I’m a sucker for a good musical. And I also love fairy tales. Here those two are combined and it looks amazing.

 

 

3. Grosse Pointe Blank

John Cusack is my weakness and I’m a bit ashamed that I never saw this movie before. But when I did, I absolutely loved it. John Cusack at his best!

 

 

2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

A classic and also a remake. One of the better remakes by the way. It might be a bit dated, but that twist ending really freaked me out. That shriek still haunts me…

 

 

1. Big Hero 6

I’m still waiting for a major flop from Disney. It’s simply not possible. “Big Hero 6” is an amazing animation and is filled with characters to love. Especially Baymax. Fist bumps were never this funny.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Cool Hand Luke, In a World, Lawless, Foxcatcher