Netflix Friday - Volume 41

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

Action: John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life.
 

Drama: The Dig (2021)
An archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.
 

Comedy: Vacation (2015)
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.
 

Animation: The Lorax (2012)
A 12-year-old boy (Zac Efron) searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams (Taylor Swift). To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax (Danny DeVito), the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.
 

Romance: Eat Pray Love (2010)
A married woman (Julia Roberts) realizes how unhappy her marriage really is, and that her life needs to go in a different direction. After a painful divorce, she takes off on a round0the-world journey to ‘find herself’.
 

Horror: Bone Tomahawk (2015)
In the dying days of the old west, an elderly sheriff (Kurt Russell) and his posse set out to rescue their town’s doctor from cannibalistic cave dwellers.
 

Science Fiction: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
A prince of the mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, and Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his team must fight to stop him from locating the all-powerful Golden Army.
 

Crime: Den of Thieves (2018)
An elite unit of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. and the state’s most successful bank robbery crew clash as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.
 

Thriller: The Glass House (2001)
An orphaned teeneager (Leelee Sobieski) s taken in by a Malibu couple (Diane Lane, Stellan Skarsgård) but discovers they aren’t the caring friends they seemed to be.
 

Documentary: Creating the Queen’s Gambit (2021)
It’s not about a game, it’s about the cost of genius. Take a deeper look into how Scott Frank, Anya Taylor-Joy, and the team behind “The Queen’s Gambit” brought this acclaimed series to life.
 

Family: Penguin Bloom (2021)
A family takes in an injured Magpie that makes a profound difference in their lives.

10s Movie Review - Overlord

Director: Julius Avery
Genre: Horror/Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Pilou Asbæk, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, Dominic Applewhite, Joseph Quinn, Bokeem Woodbine, Erich Redman, Mark McKenna, Hayley Carmichael

Description: A group of American soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day.

Review: That “Overlord” is not a conventional war movie, is no secret. ‘Horror pulp during D-Day’ is too good of a selling point for marketeers not to exploit. That the film is thus stripped of its surprise is unfortunate. But still this wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be.
“Overlord” starts as a traditional war film, with a setup that bears plenty of similarities to the series “Band of Brothers”. Here, too, we follow a handful of American soldoers who are dropped behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day for a mission to expedite the infantry landing on the beaches of Normandy. As usual, all sorts of things go wrong in the process and there are some clashing personalities in the company. There is even a sniper who boasts that he will end the war by shooting Adolf Hitler in the head so that everyone can go home. Almost exactly as the sniper in “Saving Private Ryan” expressed his intensions.
Gradually, to their horror, the soldiers find out what genre they have been parachuted into. Because the film takes a turn for the supernatural. And when this starts, the film is unstoppable and very strong and exciting. It’s at times a gruesome film with creepy images that will give you the chills. And overall I really enjoyed “Overlord”.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Den of Thieves

Director: Christian Gudegast
Genre: Action/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O’Shea Jackson, 50 Cent, Meadow Williams, Maurice Compte, Brian van Holt, Evan Jones, Mo McRae, Kaiwi Lyman, Dawn Olivieri, Eric Braeden, Jordan Bridges, Lewis Tan, Cooper Andrews

Description: An elite unit of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. and the state’s most successful bank robbery crew clash as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.

Review: “Den of Thieves” looks in everything like a simple interlude, but with its running time of almost two and a half hours and ambitious tendencies, it hardly first as an average and standard film. The question thus arises as to why director Christian Gudagast was appointed to this film, with being a debutant.
The aforementioned length of the film is the main problem for “Den of Thieves”. You could say the same about a similar type movie like “Heat”, which is another half hour longer. But “Heat” is a classic an lives up to its pretensions. And while the “Den of Thieves” succeeds, it only does this on a basic level. “Heat” is not just about muggers and the cops who hunt them down, but focuses on the similar lifestyles of protagonist and antagonist. “Den of Thieves” attempts to follow up “Heat” with virtually the same plot elements, structure and theme, but fumbles in the first hour with numerous scenes that are far too thickly plotted and lead nowhere.
For example, protagonist Nick is shown smoking, boozing, cursing and hanging out in strip clubs whenever possible; preferably all at one. It is clear soon enough that we should see him as a type of antihero: a self-destructive type who likes to antagonize people, but who still has his heart in the right place and is particularly good at his job. Gerard Butler goes way over the top e few times. Gudagast seems to want to emphasize how rugged this character is, but is also trying to keep his family together. But Nick’s troubled private life is completely ignored in the second half of the film
The first half of the film is very different from the second half. All of a sudden it turns into a straightforward action thriller with a cleverly thought out heist and a tough confrontation between criminals and cops. And Gudagast does a good job here. The action is well portrayed. And the actual heist is really exciting, with a strong twist towards the end of the film.
The second half of the film saved “Den of Thieves” and does make it worth checking out.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Review - Penguin Bloom

Director: Glendyn Ivin
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver, Griffin Murray-Johnston, Essi Murray Johnston, Abe Clifford Barr, Felix Cameron, Rachel House

Description: A family takes in an injured Magpie that makes a profound difference in their lives.

Review: A happy family with three sons is in danger of falling apart when mom Sam falls off a balcony while traveling in Thailand. She is confined to her wheelchair for the rest of ther life and that weighs heavily on Sam and her family. When oldest son Noah suddenly comes home with a baby Magpie, a bond grows between Sam and bird Penguin and it proves to be a bright spot for her and her family.
Naomi Watts is one of my favorites and she carries this film effortlessly. She is very well supported by Andrew Lincoln, who plays her husband Cam.
The story is a bit predictable, but here it doesn’t bother me. Mostly because it’s based on true story. And it has a very satisfying ending, which you already know when you start the film.
It’s a perfect family film actually. A beautiful looking movie, with a touching story and great acting.

Rating: 4 / 5

10s Movie Review - The Lego Movie 2

Director: Mike Mitchell
Genre: Action/ Animation/ Famiy
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell, Jadon Sand, Brooklynn Prince, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Ben Schwartz, Noel Fielding, Jason Momoa, Cobie Smulders, Ike Barinholtz, Ralph Fiennes, Will Forte, Jimmy O. Yang, Jorma Taccone, Bruce Willis

Description: It’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 5: AN ANIMATED MOVIE

Review: The makers of “The Lego Movie” proved that it is not necessarily a bad idea to base a film on famous toys. The animated film by directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller combined the Danish construction toys that we all grew up with, with a charming story about the good-natured builder Emmet who took on Lord Business.
This was accompanied by wonderfully wooden animations and a world built almost entirely from Lego bricks. You could, so to speak, rebuild and recreate it with your own Legos. After many mediocre animated series, the successful approach of “The Lego Movie” provided the foundation for a number of Lego movies, including “The Lego Batman Movie” and “The Lego Ninjago Movie”.
A sequel to the movie that started it all was inevitable. It is to the credit of the makers that they did not continue in the same vein and even left out some of the characters from the first film. However, you are immediately and hastily thrown into the story. Apparently Brickburg has not fared very well. The Lego world has been attacked by the cute looking but aggressive Duplos.
Five years later, the building world isn’t exactly looking good. Brickburg is a dilapidated, run-down town where Emmet may still score his favorite coffee, but it still looks most like a location from “Mad Max”. The sight of a collapsed Statue of Liberty in what is now called Apocalypseburg brings back memories of “The Planet of the Apes”. When Emmet’s friends including Unikitty and Lcuy are kidnapped by the evil shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi, the orange-clad good guy has to spring into action.
But is Emmet really a hero or is he mostly goot at being loyal and being the best friend, according to the reading of the once Wylstyle known Lucy. In his mission to save his friends from the slimy but seemingly evil alien queen, Emmet comes face to face and side by side with the megalomaniac and tough Rex who is the antitheses in everything. Emmet wants nothing more than to also be as tough and heroic as his new friend.
Where the first film adventure around the popular toy still revolved around different Lego worlds and the jokes around their use, “The Lego Movie 2” is more universal in scope and theme. The question of who is a hero or a loser could have been inserted into practically any family film. On top of that, the story is messier and less straightforward. Emmet had the simple task of rescuing his friends, which at best results in some reflections on right and wrong.
The result is a series of artifacts and a new catchy song. In short, more of the same. In terms of color and tone, this second film is a lot more gloomy and does explore new territory, but the humor doesn’t hit as hard as its predecessor. In terms of plot, it all could have been a lot more original, but the characters and animations are again of high quality. The result is a wild roller coaster ride that occasionally comes to a halt and is more than a vehicle to sell merchandise.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

TV Show Review - Bridgerton (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2020
Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Regé-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey, Harriet Cains, Bessie Carter, Nicola Coughlan, Ruth Gemmell, Florence Hunt, Claudia Jessie, Luke Newton, Luke Thompson, Ruby Baker, Ben Miller, Polly Walker, Adjoa Andoh, Julie Andrews, Golda Rosheuvel

Description: Wealth, lust, and betrayal set against the backdrop of Regency-era England, seen through the eyes of the powerful Bridgerton family.

Review: Rarely have we seen such a colorful television series. Even if it is a costume drama. Netflix is packing up with the adaptation of Julia Quinn’s castle novels. The clothing, especially of the women, is stunning not only in its design, but especially in the colors chosen. Furthermore, everything seems to be in bloom in this season. The flowers are beautiful and the buildings, just look at the Bridgerton family’s house for example, are brighter in color than ever as a result. The sharper imagery and shot images help to make this a fantastic viewing spectacle.
Not only the costumes and environment is colorful, the cast is stunning as well. The cast is very diverse and this was good to see.
It is clear that the original story is American. The sexual liberties portrayed are hardly seen in a British production, is at all. But it also felt out of place in a costume drama like this. Although very refreshing, it didn’t really seem right.
The story is told in a high pace, mostly because of the many characters it has. The Bridgerton family alone has eight children. And there are many more characters to explore. And sadly enough, they don’t always focus on the most interesting ones. I loved Eloise, but she is overshadowed by other storylines that I didn’t like as much.
I really liked the series at the beginning, but eventually it became to much of a soap opera type of formula. And that I really hated. I prefer typical British costume dramas like “Downton Abbey” for example. “Bridgerton” is fresh and contemporary, but overall it wasn’t as great as everyone says it is.

20s Movie Review - The Nest

Director: Sean Durkin
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Jude Law, Carrie Coon

Description: Life for an entrepreneur (Jude Law) and his American family begins to take a twisted turn after moving into an English country manor.

Review: It is 1987 and a couple, consisting of Rory and Allison, seem to be living a happy life in the US with their son Charlie and Allison’s daughter Samantha. When Rory announces that the money is about to run out, but that he has a chance to make a hit in London, the first cracks in their happy life become visible. Allison is not all keen on moving again. Reluctantly she finally agrees and the family moves to a large, but not very well maintained mansion in Surrey.
It soon becomes clear nobody likes it there and between the various marital quarrels the family members separately wallow in self-pity.
It’s a slow burn and the story never really leads to anything. Although the acting by Jude Law and especially Carrie Coon is superb, the film was very disappointing and had a superficial plot and development.

Rating: 2/ 5