100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 118: Vacation

Director: John Francis Daley
Genre: Adventure/ Comedy
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie mann, Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Charlie Day, Ron Livingston, Norman Reedus, Keegan-Michael Key, Regina Hall, Kaitlin Olson, Michael Peña

Description: Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) takes his own family on a road trip to "Walley World" in order to spice things up with his wife (Christina Applegate) and reconnect with his sons.

Review: We live in a time of reboots and remakes. Superhero franchises, foreign films get an American version and classics are remade. Within the comedy genre there are also some popular films that need a modern touch. “Vacation” is one of them. It’s technically not a remake, but “Vacation” is feeding of its original version from 1983.
Rusty sees that his wife is unhappy and he is worried about the continued bickering between his two sons. The solution: a family road trip to an amusement park.
In the original film the characters where family people, with whom you could identify and you would sympathize with. This doesn’t go for this film. The characters lack depth and it’s hard to feel for them. The humor is at times fun, but it’s mostly juvenile jokes. The movie does have humor, some situation are really funny. The Seal song “Kiss from a Rose” is a funny recurring joke for example. And the guide they meet on the way, that is played by Charlie Day was hilarious. And some thumbs up for the cameos, Chris Hemsworth and Chevy Chase. But they just take it too far sometimes, which makes it unbelievable.
Overall, this comedy does make you laugh but isn’t of a high level. The original 1983 film is far superior, but “Vacation” is fun for one night.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 117: The Shallows

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Genre: Action/ Thriller
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Blake Lively

Description: A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.

Review: When it comes to shark movie, there is only one masterpiece: “Jaws”. Hollywood has made many terrible films featuring this animal, some even more ridiculous than others. It looks like “The Shallows” is a more serious try again, and it does succeed for most of the runtime.
Medical student Nancy traveled a long way to visit a secret beach in Mexico, the place her mother once visited and told her about. Because her friend is in bed with a hangover, Nancy decides to go surfing by herself. When she is knocked off of her surfboard and is wounded, she discovers she intruded the territory of a great white shark. She manages to climb upon a rock formation, but high tide is kicking in soon and Nancy has to find a way to survive.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra realizes it’s scarier to not show the shark. This works and makes the movie thrilling and a real nail biter. Later in the movie, the shark gets shown more often and it looks pretty good. “The Shallows” is a pretty scary film and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Towards the end, the film loses its credibility.
We get to know Nancy a little bit, we know her backstory and I really sympathized her. And that’s where “The Shallows” doesn’t fit into the B-movie category. Although the story may not be the most genius, the character is interesting and the film looks really good. Collet-Serra’s directorial style is beautiful, he uses a bright color palette and slow motions. The images under water are stunning. And the director managed to make Blake Lively look at her absolute best. Lively does a very good job by the way. Solid performance.
“The Shallows” is pure summer entertainment. And it’s an actual good shark movie, Hollywood needed that. Although the credibility is lost towards the end, the film is overall better than I expected it to be. And who didn’t love the sidekick Steven Seagull?

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (256)

Here are this week's trailers.

Kidnap
Director: Luis Prieto
Description: A mother (Halle Berry) stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.
Starring: Halle Berry
Trailer: Trailer "Kidnap"
Comment: Looks like no-brainer fun.

La La Land
Director: Damien Chazelle
Description: A jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling) falls for an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) in Los Angeles.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, J.K. Simmons, Rosemarie DeWitt, John Legend
Trailer: Trailer "La La Land"
Comment: I'm jumping for joy!!!

Manchester By the Sea
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Description: An uncle (Casey Affleck) is forced to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.
Starring: Casey Affleck, Kyle Chandler, Michelle Williams, Matthew Broderick, Gretchen Mol, Tate Donovan
Trailer: Trailer "Manchester By the Sea"
Comment: It looks absolutely stunning!

A Dog's Purpose
Director: Lasse Halström
Description: A dog looks to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and owners.
Starring: Josh Gad, Britt Robertson, Dennis Quaid, Logan Miller
Trailer: Trailer "A Dog's Purpose"
Comment: DOGS!!!!

A United Kingdom
Director: Amma Asante
Description: Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana (David Oyelowo) causes an international stir when he marries a white woman from London (Rosamund Pike) in the late 1940s.
Starring: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Jack Davenport
Trailer: Trailer "A United Kingdom"
Comment: It looks absolutely beautiful!

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Logics That Make No Sense

Sometimes things happen in movies, that make seem logical in the movie world, but don’t make sense in real life. I assembled a list with the five movie logics that make no sense.

5. The keyboard works magic
Nowadays you can achieve a lot with just one click of the mouse. But in movies everything has to be done by frantic typing on the keyboard. And they don’t even look at their fingers. Even the best typist make errors by typing that fast.

4. Destroy the screen, destroy the computer
The computer is the brain, but somehow people in movies always think that if they break the screen, it also destroys the computer. Well, no. The data will still be there.

3. Landing in water will save you
It’s seen so many times. People who jump into water from a great height. It looks like their landing on a cloud, but in real life it’s like landing on concrete. It’s super dangerous and it will not save you. At least not without breaking anything.

2. Just a concussion
No matter how hard or how many times someone is hit in the head, they only pass out for a while and then just walk it off. Normally it would cause some sort of brain damage or it might even result in death.

1. Fight one at a time
Whenever a hero a heroin has to fight a group of enemies, they always seem to attack one at a time. It would be more effective if they just attacked him all at once, but chivalry apparently still exist in fight scenes.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Last second bomb disarmament, Bullets can throw people, No goodbyes when ending a phone call

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 116: The Hitcher

Director: Robert Harmon
Genre: Action/ Thriller
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: C. Thomas Howell, Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn

Description: A young man (C. Thomas Howell) who escaped the clutches of a murderous hitchhike (Rutger Hauer)r is subsequently stalked, framed for the hitcher's crimes, and has his life made into hell by the same man he escaped.

Review: He should have listened to his mother. Jim says it: “My mother told me never to do this”, when he picks up a hitchhiker. The hitcher acts weird and eventually Jim gets him out of his car. But the nightmare is just about to start for him.
The action and tension in the film are its strongest features. The pace is high and you’re constantly on the edge of your seat. Kills, collisions, shoot outs, explosions. But the constant threat is there as well and you feel it.
The identity of the hitcher stays mysterious and you don’t now his motive either. This adds to the tension and suspense of the film. My fellow Dutchman Rutger Hauer plays one of his best roles in “The Hitcher”.
Although the film is so action packed and thrilling, the believability of the film is questionable. And some developments raise questions as well. But this doesn’t bother you that much, because it’s a very strong thriller.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 115: Little Shop of Horrors

Director: Frank Oz
Genre: Musical/ Comedy/ Horror
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 1986
Starring: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, John Candy, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest

Description: A nerdy florist (Rick Moranis) finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.

Review: The story was first told in 1960, in the movie “The Little Shop of Horrors”. This movie is known for a few things: the short time it was filmed in (two days), the first appearance of Jack Nicholson and the doubtful quality. The last one didn’t stop producer David Geffen to turn it into a stage musical in the 80s. First he described it as the worst idea ever, but “Little Shop of Horrors” grew to be a huge hit. Eventually they made a movie version of this stage musical, directed by Frank Oz. And again a success.
And I understand why this is (still) a great and un musical. The songs are catchy and good, the cast is fun, the humor is dark and funny, the set looks great and the camera work is stylish. And Audrey II, the talking plant, looks amazing. For a movie from 1986, it looks stunning. Real craftsmanship.
“Little Shop of Horrors” is a great adaptation of a stage musical, a funny and comedic musical. Don’t take the film too seriously and you will definitely enjoy it. I love “Little Shop of Horrors”.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 114: Runner Runner

Director: Brad Furman
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 88 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Ben Affleck, Anthony Mackie, John Heard, Bob Gunton

Description: When a poor college student (Justin Timberlake) who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man (Ben Affleck) he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur.

Review: In 2011 director Brad Furman scored unexpectedly with “The Lincoln Lawyer”, a strong thriller that boosted Matthew McConaughey’s career. The follow up movie “Runner Runner” is ambitious, but misses inspiration and feels mediocre.
Richie Furst is an ambitious young student and is introduced to quick money, beautiful women and luxury. But off course he is not made for a world like that and it gets him into trouble. Richie is played by Justin Timberlake and the boss he has to face is Ben Affleck. To pay for his college Richie gets his money by gambling online. But one day, he gambles it all away and he feels like he was cheated. Richie decides to find the man behind the website, Ivan Block, who lives in Costa Rica.
The way the story goes is very farfetched and feels illogical. The movie does have a good pace at the beginning. But the movie collapses pretty quickly. The movie is filled with clichés. And the acting isn’t all that great either. Justin Timberlake is not a good actor, especially not for a leading role like this.Ben Affleck I was never a fan of and in “Runner Runner” he didn’t win me over. Gemma Arterton has the thankless job to play the woman between the two men, when she has so much more to offer as an actress. And Anthony Mackie is also underused.
With all that, “Runner Runner” is extremely predictable. You just know what’s going to happen and you don’t really care either. “Runner Runner” is a mediocre thriller, that I will forget in an instant. Forgotten!

Rating: 2/ 5