100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 79: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Director: Steve Box, Nick Park
Genre: Comedy/ Animation/ Adventure
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 2005
Starring: Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Kay, Liz Smith, Nicholas Smith, John Thomson

Description: Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.

Review: In this film the duo Wallace and Gromit go through a new adventure. Wallace is an inventor, who acts before he thinks. His dog Gromit is intelligent and always saves his friend in dangerous situations. Wallace still thinks he is the smart one of the two.
Wallace and Gromit have a new company: Anti-Pesto. Their neighbors, friends and acquaintences have all been terrorized by hungry rabbits. And that right before the big vegetable contest. The villagers are hopeless, so that’s where Wallace and Gromit come in. But when Wallace tests one of his new machines on the rabbits, a very dangerous creature is born. Which makes everything even worse.
The Aardman movie always amaze me. All the work that is put in to this stop-motion film, all the love and care. It looks beautiful and perfect. I can appreciate the dedication. I love the fact that there are so many movie references. It’s a clever film.
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” is funny, original and fantastic.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challene 2016 - 78: Triple 9

Director: John Hillcoat
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Anthony Mackie, Norman Reedus, Gal Gadot, Teresa Palmet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Clifton Collins Jr.

Description: A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town.

Review: Just like in other big American cities, the police in Atlanta works with codes. The 999 code means that a cop has been shot. A group of bankrobbers is about to cause a triple 9.
Michael Atwood has to return a favour to some Russian mobsters. In his group there are the two Welch brothers and two corrupt cops. Irina Vlaslov, leader of that Russian mob, calls the shot. On the other side of town detective Jeffrey Allen is dealing with this gang and tries to get his cousin Chris to get ready for it.
“Triple 9” doesn’t have many surprises. Not in the plot, motives or backgrounds. And there are too many characters to actually make them interesting or deep enough. The atmosphere is perfect, but the screenplay is the problem. The movie doesn’t interest you from beginning till end.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (241)

Here are this week's trailers.

Monster Trucks
Director: CHris Wedge
Description: Looking for any way to get away from the life and town he was born into, Tripp (Lucas Till), a high school senior, builds a Monster Truck from bits and pieces of scrapped cars. After an accident at a nearby oil-drilling site displaces a strange and subterranean creature with a taste and a talent for speed, Tripp may have just found the key to getting out of town and a most unlikely friend.
Starring: Lucas Til, Jane Levy, Amy Ryan, Rob Lowe, Barry Pepper, Danny Glover
Trailer: Trailer "Monster Trucks"
Comment: I only see one monster truck, so why is the movie called "Monster Trucks".

Sing
Director: Garth Jennings
Description: A koala named Buster (Matthew McConaughey) recruits his best friend to help him drum up business for his theater by hosting a singing competition.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Edgerton, John C. Reilly, Nick Offerman, Leslie Jones, Seth MacFarlane, Jay Pharoah
Trailer: Trailer "Sing"
Comment: A second trailer. I just can't get enough of that singing snail!

Star Trek Beyond
Director: Justin Lin
Description: The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho, Idris Elba, SOfia Boutella, Anton Yelchin, Deep Roy
Trailer: Trailer "Star Trek Beyond"
Comment: This second trailer excites a little bit more.

Marauders
Director: Steven C. Miller
Description: An untraceable group of elite bank robbers is chased by a suicidal FBI Agent who uncovers a deeper purpose behind the robbery-homicides.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni, Adrian Grenier, Dave Bautista
Trailer: Trailer "Marauders"
Comment: I Always enjoy a good heist movie.

Before I Wake
Director: Mike Flanagan
Description: A young couple adopt an orphaned child whose dreams - and nightmares - manifest physically as he sleeps.
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Annabeth Gish
Trailer: Trailer "Before I Wake"
Comment:

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 77: Ant-Man

Director: Peyton Reed
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Michael Peña, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell

Description: Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Review: In “Ant-Man” we follow Scott Lang. Scott is a burglar who was just released from prison and is trying to straighten his life. He wants to do good for his daughter. Scott realizes that this isn’t easy: he is fired and his ex only lets him see his daughter when he has a steady income. Scott decides to do one last burglar job: break into a safe of a rich man. In that safe isn’t any money though, but a suit. This suit belongs to Hank Pym, a genius inventor. Pym set up the burglary and wanted Scott to steal the suit. The suit gives you the ability to shrink to ant size. Scott has been chosen to wear it and becomes Ant-Man, to stop Prym’s protégé Darren Cross.
Originally Edgar Wright was going to direct “Ant-Man”. Peyton Reed took over that job and he did it well. This time the hero isn’t a millionaire, God or scientist. He is an average man, even with a criminial past. And it’s not the end of the world that’s at stake, or the universe. It’s a lot smaller, but still important. This makes it all fresh and new.
It takes some time for something to really happen, but once we are there “Ant-Man” is great. There is a lot to enjoy: great action sequences, interesting characters, humor. The scenes where Ant-Man shrinks and enhances himself again are fantastic.
A lot of questions were raised when Paul Rudd was cast as Scott Lang, but I think he showed everyone he is capable of carrying a big movie like this. He did a great job, he is charismatic, funny and really perfect for the role.
“Ant-Man” is a highly enjoyable Marvel film. I loved it!

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (May 2016)

This month I saw some really amazing film and it was kinda hard to put together a top 5, because there were so many good choices. Well, here they are, the five best movies I watched for the month of May.

5. The Kid with a Bike
A smaller film probably no one has seen. But such a good film. Movies like this should get more attention, because it’s a shame that they go by unnoticed.

4. The Signal
I didn’t know anything before watching “The Signal” and it totally took me by surprise. It was a really good film, unexpectedly good.

3. Lars and the Real Girl
Such a sweet, touching story and what a great performance by Ryan Gosling. I just love quirky stories like this.

2. The Jungle Book
This movie really blew my mind. I was excited about it, but never expected “The Jungle Book” to be so good. I loved everything about it.

1. The Princess Bride
This movie had everything: adventure, comedy, action, romance, drama. It was such a fun film and just can’t believe I never watched it before. “The Princess Bride” is one of those movies I will rewatch multiple times.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Bone Tomahawk, Captain America: Civil War, American Graffiti, Bridge of Spies, The Magnificent Seven

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 76: The Magnificent Seven

Director: John Sturges
Genre: Western
Runtime: 125 minutes
Year: 1960
Starring: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn, Jorge Martínez de Hoyos, Vladimir Sokoloff, Rosenda Monteros, Rico Alaniz, Pepe Hern, Natividad Vacío, Mario Navarro, Danny Bravo, John A. Alonzo, Enrique Lucero, Alex Montoya, Robert J. Wilke, Val Avery, Whit Bissell, Bing Russell, Horst Buchholz

Description: An oppressed Mexican peasant village assembles seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.

Review: A gang of Mexicans always raids the same little town. The citizens are simple farmers, who don’t know what to do about it. One of the farmers asks for help and meets Chris, one of the bravest men. The farmer doesn’t pay much, but Chris wants to help him. He assembles six other men who are just as noble, to help him protect the town.
In “The Magnificent Seven” we aren’t dealing with just one American hero, but seven. The characters don’t have the depth that you would hope for. The movie is missing some pace, but because there is also a lot of humor you don’t care about that tempo. The acting is okay. Especially Eli Wallach as villain Cavalera and Steve McQueen as Vin.
The music is amazing, by Elmer Bernstein. It helps the atmosphere.
“The Magnificent Seven” is a good western, I highly enjoyed it.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 75: Tangerine

Director: Sean Baker
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 88 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Kitana-Kiki Rodiguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O’Hagan, James Ransone

Description: A working girl (Kitana-Kiki Rodriguez) tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.

Review: We follow the story of Sin-Dee, a transgender prostiture in Hollywood. Hours after her release from jail, she learns that her pimp and boyfriend Chester has been unfaithful. She goes on a search for the other woman. Her friend Alexandra decides to go her own path. Alexandra has some things to do before her nightclub performance. A third character in the story is the Armenian-American can driver Razmik, who flees his family life and picks up transgender prostitues.
“Tangerine” is not an easy film to watch and definitely not a movie for everyone. And it’s not a flashy or spectacular film either. The movie is simply leaning on the acting and the characters. And that’s very solid.
“Tangerine” is a strong film, with an unusual theme yet interesting.

Rating: 3,5/ 5