Movie Review - Alles is Zoals het Zou Moeten Zijn

Director: Ruus Schuurman
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Barbara Sloesen, Jan Kooijman, Sanne Langelaar, Jelle de Jong, Julia Akkermans, Tom van Landuyt, Bram van der Heiden, Patrick Stoof, Allard Geerlings, Holly Mae Brood, Victoria Koblenko, Meral Polat, Emma Deckers, Anne van der Burg, Kharim Amier

Description: Immediately after the birth of their first child, Iris’ (Barbara Sloesen) boyfriend Pieter (Jelle de Jong) confesses that he never wanted this child and has been having an affair for a year. And he will be leaving soon for Africa with his new love.

Review: The Dutch film industry is doing well, but that doesn’t mean we love everything that comes from it. Currently we are having an overkill of romcoms and however they aren’t all bad, “Alles is Zoals het Zou Moeten Zijn” belongs on the bad pile.
In this romcom, Iris has just delivered her first child. Her boyfriend Pieter tells her that he never wanted the baby and is leaving for Africa with his new love, who he has been having an affair with ever since Iris turned out to be pregnant. Pieter abandons her, where television producer Iris drowns in her own sorrow and grief in her far too big house. The tide seems to turn when a handsome man enters her life. Iris tries to get her life back on track, as a new mom, with her disobedient dog and a high demanding job.
Iris is so obsessed with her own problems in her luxury world, that it’s somehow really hard to sympathize with her. This film is clearly taking inspiration from “Soof” (a successful Dutch film and a lot of fun) and “Bridget Jones”, but the lack of successful humor is obvious. The film is filled with privileged, successful, rich people, who nag a lot. And it gets on your nerves. With that, the story is super messy and there are too many subplots.
When it comes to romcom clichés, “Alles is Zoals het Zou Moeten Zijn” ticks a lot of boxes. A handsome yet caring love interest, a career driven woman with whom suddenly everything goes wrong, a group of friends that are supposed to be the funny note. And I have no problems with clichés, but they have to be done well. And here they just aren’t.  
A romcom with a bad script, a messy story, characters that you simply can’t relate too or empathize with. “Alles is Zoals het Zou Moeten Zijn”, is not a success and a complete waste of my time.

Rating: 1,5 / 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 34

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

Action: The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)
The world’s top bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) gets a new client, a hitman (Samuel L. Jackson) who must testify at the International Criminal Court. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time.
 

Drama: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
A struggling salesman (Will Smith) takes custody of his son (Jaden Smith) as he’s poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
 

Comedy: Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
When an affluent couple (Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni) lose all their money following a series of blunders, they turn to a life of crime to make ends meet.
 

Animation: Arthur Christmas (2011)
Santa’s (Jim Broadbent) clumsy son Arthur (James McAvoy) sets out on a mission with Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) to give out a present they misplaced to a young girl in less than two hours.
 

Romance: Letters to Juliet (2010)
Sophie )Amanda Seyfried) dreams of becoming a writer and travels to Verona, Italy where she meets the secretaries of Juliet.
 

Horror: The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
A lawyer (Laura Linney) takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young girl (Jennifer Carpenter).
 

Science Fiction: Underworld (2003)
Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a vampire warrior, is entrenched in a conflict between vampires and werewolves, while falling in love with Michael (Scott Speedman), a human who is sought by werewolves for unknown reasons.
 

Crime: Layer Cake (2004)
A successful cocaine dealer (Daniel Craig) gets two tough assignments on the eve of his planned early retirement.
 

Thriller: The Mule (2018)
A ninety-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran (Clint Eastwood) turns drug mule for a Mexican cartel.
 

Documentary: Dark Tourist (2018)
From a nuclear lake to a haunted forest, New Zealand filmmaker and journalist David Farrier visits unusual and often macabre tourism spots around the world.

Family: Matilda (1996)
Story of a wonderful little girl (Mara Wilson), who happens to be a genius, and her wonderful teacher (Embeth Davidtz) vs. the worst parents ever (Rhea Perlman, Danny DeVito) and the worst school principal (Pam Ferris) imaginable

TV Show Review - Outlander (Season 3)

Season: 3
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Mystery/ Crime
Number of episodes: 13
Year: 2017
Starring: Catriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias Menzies, Laura Donnelly, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin, John Bell, Lauren Lyle, César Domboy

Description: An English combat nurse (Catriona Balfe) from 1945 is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743.  

Review: Voyager: the title of the third book the series written by Diana Gabaldon and the basis for the third season of “Outlander”.
Let’s take a look back. The last episode of season two showed that Claire is now a lot older, and her daughter Brianna is already twenty years old. They met Roger and it can be seen that Jamie sends Claire back to her own time through the stones, and after an emotional farewell. And so the first and last episodes come together and the circle is complete. Jamie wants to die on the battlefield of Culloden, because he knows that Claire, together with his child, will continue to live.
Season three continues where season two ended, with both main characters, each in their own world. Jamie stands alone with the stones and Claire, who arrives in Boston pregnant and together with Frank. Jamie fights his way to his death, where fortunately he is saved in time and more dead than alive. Only Jamie doesn’t want to live without Claire. He is a man who is hunted, because on the head of ‘red Jamie’ is still a price. As luck would have it an accident, he meets someone from his past who helps him survive.
In Boston in the 1940s, Claire gave birth the her and Jamie’s child: Brianna. As good as she can, she tries to build a life with Frank and Brianna. She makes her way through life and decides to study medicine in the fifties. But, in the fifties, it wasn’t easy for a woman to study and build a career.
Yet she manages to make a name for herself in the hospital in which she works. When fate strikes her and Brianna, she decides to go back to Scotland where, as we saw in season two, she tells Brianna all about Jamie Fraser. Brianna makes a big decision. Once her mother gave up Jamie for Brianna, now its time to give her mother back to him. A search for Jamie begins.
The first part of season three consists mainly of the lives of Jamie and Claire, each in their own time and in their own lives. How do they survive losing the love of your life, and how do you build a life without each other, without ever being able to forget each other. “Outlander” wouldn’t be “Outlander” is it didn’t work out. How, when and where, you really have to see for yourself.
A part of “Outlander” was recorded in South Africa, where the cast and crew were allowed to use the set and ships of the series “Black Sails”. This can be seen in the second part of the season. The season starts calmly and quietly, with some ripples here and there. But the second half of the season is really a rollercoaster ride, with an end that demands a lot more. Fortunately, there will be a lot more.
Season three was again a beautiful season with a good story. The emotions fly around, especially the moments of loss and the famous scene in the print shop bring tears and goosebumps. Still, I found a flaw in the series. In my opinion, there is too much emphasis on the fact that Claire is a doctor. I’m not someone who has to see everything so often. The focus could be more on Jamie and Claire.
Season three adds a number of new faces to the series. For example, César Domboy played the role of the adult Fergus, Young Ian will eb played by Joh  Bell and we meet Marsali, who will pay a big role in season three and four. All in all, season three of “Outlander” was beautiful, exciting, loving and has guts.

10s Movie Review - The Infiltrator

Director: Brad Furman
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 127 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, Jason Isaacs, Amy Ryan, Olympia Dukakis

Description: A U.S. Customs official (Bryan Cranston) uncovers a money laundering scheme involving Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Review: In the late autumn 0f 1993, Pablo Escobar, the biggest drug lord of all time, was shot dead when he was arrested. At the height of his power, the Escobar cartel was running sixty million dollars a day. To control El Patron’s trade, a meshed network of intimidation, bribery, corruption and infiltrators was set up. The efforts of U.S. customs detective Bob Mazur eventually led to the taking down the network. Mazur, who wrote down his experiences as an infiltrator in a bestseller, focuses on the money laundering system Escobar was using to cover up his practices. The attack seemed to be the best defense in this case. Together with his partner Emir Abreu, Mazur wanders the cemeteries of Florida in search of suitable alter egos for their undercover operation. T eventually became the late Italian Roberto Musella who formed the cover-up for Mazur.  
In Brad Furman’s film adaptation of Mazur’s book, Escobar walks by in a hotel lobby at the very end. In this crime-thriller based on true facts, he’s mainly interested in uncovering the network that facilitated the services of Escobar and other drug lords. Escobar is the boss who stays out of the picture. Mazur is a family man whose job is difficult to reconcile with his home situation. When Mazur is about to plunge into the life of the fictional aviation magnate Bob Musella, his wife sighs that this really should be the last job. In reality, Mazur continued his secret operations for a few more years. His alter ego Musella is a pathetic Italian who does jobs for the mafia and thus easily wins the trust of the Colombians. However, Mazur is constantly on his guard and the practices with which he hopes to unmask the cartel are inventive but at times also messy. Tactics is not only to win the trust of the drug lords, but also to admit them to his carefully constructed private life. Quick thinking and flexibility are highly necessary. As soon as Mazur, during an intimate treat from a stripper, reveals that he engaged, and inexperienced fellow agent has to show us as his fiancée.
Furman gives us an unparalleled insight into an environment that revolves around false trust, good suits, overpriced jewelry, shady deals and striking people with hidden agendas. The environment of the mid-eighties forms a strange mixture of nostalgia and brutal crime. Furman succeeds in portraying this quite boldly, but it is precisely the seriousness of the crimes with which the cartel is involved that is not really apparent. Mazur plays a slick guy who dos play a role, but also likes it all. He jeeps a constant eye on the purpose of his mission, but we get disappointingly little so see, for example, how dangerous work affects his private life. The policeman knows how to separate the two worlds well and without wanting to violate reality now: it would have been better for dramatic effect if the realities had come together and created an impossible conflict.
The filmmaker also loses himself in a messy scenario, that seems like a sequence of strong stories and doesn’t always excel in subtlety. Mazur experiences few setbacks in his mission and if there are any, they are very easily put aside. Yet there are moments when Furman excels in his acting directing. Precisely because there are so many opposing interests and everyone has to constantly look over his shoulder, fascinating dilemmas arise that are dealt with intelligently and in an exciting way by leading actor Bryan Cranston. He is assisted by experienced actors like John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt and Diane Kruger. “The Infiltrator” is an entertaining and artisanal ‘true crime’.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movie Review - Happiest Season

Director: Clea DuVall
Genre: Romance/ Comedy
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Dan Levy, Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, Mary Holland, Aubrey Plaza

Description: A holiday romantic comedy that captures the range of emotions tied to wanting your family’s acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 51: A CHRISTMAS MOVIE

Review: There is only a handful of Christmas movies that I actually love. I really need to be in the mood for a movie that is themed with this holiday. And to be honest, most Christmas movies aren’t really that good. I was really excited for “Happiest Season” and it didn’t disappoint.
Harper and Abby are two women in love. Abby isn’t a fan of Christmas, since she lost her parents and never really felt like celebrating the holiday. Harper loves it and wants Abby to join her and her family for Christmas. When they are on their way, Harper confesses to Abby that she never told her family that she’s gay. Abby is introduced as Harper’s roommate. Soon Abby learns that Harper’s family is one that strives perfection and that Harper isn’t the only one that is keeping a secret.
Clea DuVall directs the movie. And she does it really well. Yes, the movie has clichés and is predictable here and there, but when done well it never bothers me. I love the family dynamic, Harper and Abby’s characters and their struggles. My favorite characters are two supporting ones: Mary Holland as the youngest sister Jane who never seems to be getting any credit at all and is overlooked. And John, Abby’s gay friend, played by Dan Levy. Every word coming out of his mouth is hilarious and I think he is my new favorite person!
“Happiest Season” is a movie that gave me exactly what I wanted and met my expectations. The cast is good, the story isn’t very special, but the execution is really solid. I highly enjoyed this movie, every minute of it. It’s a perfect Christmas movie.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Ranking the Franchise - Ocean's

To be honest, I had never seen any of the films in this franchise. Strange, since the cast of all the movies has such star power and is filled with actors and actresses I enjoy watching. I wanted to watch all four films in the franchise and rank them.
 

4. Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
Danny Ocean and his gang leave Las Vegas and decided to travel to three European countries to perform some heists: The Netherlands, Italy and France. This film was really boring at times, all though they add a completely different setting and some new cast members. I did like the scene where Julia Roberts’ character Tess has to pretend to be Julia Roberts, this was really funny. But overall, I didn’t like this film.
 

3. Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
I’m glad that for this third movie, Danny Ocean and his team are back in Las Vegas and that casinos are the setting. After one of their own was double-crossed by casino owner Willy Banks, Danny plans to have Banks bankrupt before the grand-opening of his new casino. Like “Ocean’s Twelve” is had its dull moments, but the actually heist execution is really cool. That’s why I prefer it over the second film.
 

2. Ocean’s Eight (2018)
I think most people wouldn’t put it in second place, but this movie was highly enjoyable. Charming crook Danny Ocean turns out to have a sister: Debbie Ocean. She is just as cool, clever and criminal. With seven henchmen, all female, she plans a jewel heist at the famous Met Gala in New York. Although the formula and many scenes are exactly the same as “Ocean’s Eleven”, this film was highly entertaining and I loved the cast.  
 

1. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Crook Danny Ocean wants to rob three big casinos in Las Vegas and put together a team of eleven experts, each with their own specialty. It’s a stylish remake of the 1960s film of the same name and it’s filled with A-listers. The film is really good and both the build-up to and the actually execution of the heist are a joy to watch. A very entertaining heist film.
 

 

10s Movie review - Zwaar Verliefd

Director: Jamel Aattache
Genre: Romance/ Comedy
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Barbara Sloesen, Jim Bakkum, Liza Sips, Abbey Hoes, Jamie Grant, Sarah Chronis, Kay Greidanus, Davy Eduard King, Christopher Parren, Pim Wessels, Diana Dobbelman, Rienus Krul, Mouna Goeman Borgesius, Ernst ter Linden, Steef Cuijpers, Christine van Stralen, Ilse Kollenburg, Kiefer Zwart

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 50: A MOVIE SET IN YOUR COUNTRY

Description: A young overweight veterinarian (Barbara Sloesen) falls for the owner (Jim Bakkum) of the dog she saves. The feelings might be mutual, but her insecurity gets in her way.

Review: “Zwaar Verliefd” is based on a book by Dutch author Chantal van Gastel, about  successful veterinarian Isa, who thinks she is too fat. Besides that, she actually feels fine, working out isn’t her thing, she has great friends and loves her job. But when she meets the handsome Ruben, she becomes insecure.
“Zwaar Verliefd” does a lot of things right. First, Isa wants to do something about her body even before she gets head over heels with Ruben. And her friends aren’t bothered by Isa’s weights either, or are constantly telling her what is best for her. On the contrary, they are full of praise of Isa’s appearance and also everything she has achieved in her life. And although Ruben’s annoying ex-girlfriend is a skinny bitch, the creators never give you the idea that being thin and fit means automatically you are attractive.
The films is very light-hearted and predictable. The central conflict is a bit weak and inconclusive. But I do love the two leads, together and apart. I also liked the location it was set. Most Dutch films are set in Amsterdam or in a city nearby. This was set in Den Bosch. Only negative here is that the accent spoken in this part of The Netherlands is not heard at all.
“Zwaar Verliefd” is a fun film for a girls night, but nothing special.

Rating: 2,5 / 5