Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 27

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

89/ 100: A League of Their Own (1992)
We follow American women who stood their ground in the All American Girls Baseball League during World War II. This film will always hold a special place in my heart for some reason. Me and my family watched it a lot when I was younger and it makes me smile every single time. I think this is the movie that made me love Tom Hanks as much as I do now. Please check my full review HERE.
 

89/ 100: Signs (2002)
Former pastor Graham Hess has lost his faith after a tragedy. One day he encounters immense crop circles in his corn fields. On TV, he sees that these circles have also appeared elsewhere in the world. This thrillers always excited me and I believe director M. Night Shyamalan made his best film after “The Sixth Sense” with this one. And can we talk about the creepy soundtrack, it’s so good. Click HERE for my full review.
 

90/ 100: The World’s End (2013)
Five childhood friends decided to embark on a pub crawl, that they didn’t finish twenty years ago. But something’s up in their hometown. I knew it, even before seeing it for the first time, that this was going to be a favorite for life. An unconventional mix of nostalgia, tragicomedy and Sci-fi and I love every minute of it. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright are a trio that work perfectly together. HERE is my full review.

 
Still to watch: 10

00s Movie Review - Signs

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Mystery
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones

Description: A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

Review: When director M. Night Shyamalan found a book about crop circles, he also found the theme for his next film. The fact that there have been crop circles for so long and no one can explain them, it a mysterious, fascinating yet scary phenomenon. Off course there have been plenty of alien films, with them attacking our planet. But “Signs” is different. More than a leg in the crops, shadows, sounds and a video shot with a shaky cam we don’t get to see of the aliens. But that’s exactly what makes “Signs” so scary. Shyamalan manages to give you goosebumps, on the moments you don’t see anything but know something is there.

The cast is great, all of them. “Signs” is one of my favorite films and it always scares me. No matter how many times I see it. It’s movies like this that make Shyamalan a great director. Which he is!

Rating: 5/ 5

 

 

Book Review - Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

Title: Any Man
Author: Amber Tamblyn
Genre: Horror/ Fiction/ Thriller
Published: 2018
 
Description: A violent serial rapist is on the loose, who goes by the name Maude. She hunts for men at bars, online, a home – the place doesn’t matter, neither does the man. Her victims them must live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame alienation from their friends and family and the haunting of a horrible woman who becomes the phantom on which society projects its greatest fears, fascinations and even misogyny. All the while the police are without leads and the media hound the victims, publicly dissecting the details of their attack.
 
Review: In “Any Man”, a female rapist is at work. She’s hunting men like prey. Amber Tamblyn is known as an actor, but she had published books before she wrote “Any Man”.
 
Tamblyn choose to make the rapist in her book a woman and write from the point of view of the six male victims. This was unpalatable to some people. Tamblyn herself stated that this is because people think she had just reversed gender roles and she took away women’s experiences and giving it to men. But it’s not about gender roles, but about having more difficult conversations about what sexual violence looks like.
 
“Any Man” is nothing like any other book I have ever read. It’s original, brutal, has gorgeous writing, a literal gut punch. Be aware of trigger warnings for sexual assault and rape in the worse forms. This book grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until I finished it.
 
The book focuses on male victims, instead of women, and it will impact each reader differently. It’s very thought-provoking and extremely difficult to read because of the heavy subject matter. It’s brutal, poetic and raw. A book that I will most likely never forget, it really got under my skin. If you think you can stomach these themes, I think you should definitely pick it up. The audio book for this is highly recommended as well, the narration is amazing. If you are sensitive about the themes of rape and sexual assault, you should not read this. This book will stick with me for some time.
 
Rating: 5/ 5

20s Movie Review - Stillwater

Director: Tom McCarthy
Genre: Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 139 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Matt Damon, Abigail Breslin, Camille Cottin, Lilou Siauvaud

Description: A father (Matt Damon) travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin), who is in prison for a murder she claims she didn’t commit.

Review: “Stillwater” is loosely inspired by the story of murder accused Amanda Knox, a guilt-ridden father tries to free his daughter in an environment he does not understand. Knox herself critiques the film.

Bill leaves the town of Stillwater for Marseilles, to clear his daughter of murder charges. The infamous true crime story of Amanda Knox started in Italy and  according to Knox, director Tom McCarthy abuses her story and regurgitates unproven rumors.

In the film, Bill is a God-trusting, gun-toting and straight talking American. In Marseilles he befriends single mother Virginie. She helps him in trying to free his daughter Allison.

“Stillwater” contains many improbable plot twists; for example, Bill takes actions that seem reckless even to an ignorant American. Nevertheless, the film remains captivating because McCarthy dares to take a lot of time for creating a certain mood and atmosphere. This makes the bond Bill develops with both Virginie and her young daughter Maya believable. , But above all, it allows Marseilles to be portrayed as a beautiful, but at the same time stark and complex contemporary European city, making it an ideal location for a dark story.

The film is a tad to long and there was one thing in the story that didn’t make any sense to me, which has to do with a basement. Not going to spoil it. And the ending felt rushed, when they had such a long runtime. They could have put more attention into that part, because it’s a crucial part of the story.
Even though it was an engaging film, it had some flaws that were hard to forgive.

Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - Kill For Me, Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh

Title: Kill For Me, Kill For You
Author: Steve Cavanagh
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2024
 
Description: One dark evening on New York City’s Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, especially loneliness and an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed theur families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you.
 
In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the house she shares with her husband Scott, is invaded. She’s attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there?
 
Review: Jess, Amanda’s infant daughter, was kidnapped and found murdered. Her partner couldn’t deal with it, because she was taken on his watch. He commits suicide and Amanda is left traumatized and is now taking group therapy. During one of these sessions, she meets Wendy, who also had a difficult time. And they both have that one person they passionately hate: the one who destroyed their lives. Together they plot the ideal plan: Amanda will kill for Wendy and Wendy will fill for Amanda.
 
We also get to know Ruth, who lives with her husband Scott. When home alone, Ruth is attacked and stabbed multiple times. He gets away and Ruth has to live in fear for the rest of her life.
 
It’s best to read this book without knowing too much about it. The book has a well-thought-through plot, with several strong twist. Not necessarily shocking, it’s possible to predict them, but none of them are obvious.
 
The chapters are short, how I like them, and told from different perspectives. Not just Amanda or Ruth, but also detective Farrow and some others. Multiple POV’s is something that always intrigues me.
 
“Kill For Me, Kille For You” doesn’t have a ton of characters. They are strongly developed. Not per say likeable, but understandable. You can understand their rhyme and reason and their emotions. They are all interesting characters.
 
I really enjoyed “Kill For Me, Kill For You”, a very strong, solid thriller with interesting characters and some really good plot twists and reveals.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Review - The Beautiful Game

Director: Thea Sharrock
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 125 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Bill Nighy, Michael Ward, Kit Young, Sheyi Cole, Tom Vaughnan-Lawlor, Robin Nazari, Valeria Golino
 
Description: Advocates to end homelessness, organize an annual tournament for Homeless people to compete in a series of football matches known as The Homeless World Cup.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 17: A FILM BASED ON A TRUE STORY

Review: Mal is a football scout. He now leads a British football team. But not the team we know. He is the head coach for the English national team for the homeless. Every year, there is a football competition: The Homeless World Cup.

“The Beautiful Game” is a sympathetic feel-good film about the World Cup of soccer for the homeless: an annual event where homeless people are, for a very brief moment, the hero, and not condemned by society. The focus is on the British team, led by Mal, delightfully portrayed by Bill Nighy. In Rome, he must lead his tem to victory, including the help of former talent Vinny.

The film takes a few side paths and leans heavily on sports movie cliches, but is ultimately extremely satisfying, as a tale of infectious underdogs.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Book Review - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Title: Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 2022
 
Description: Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view on equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with – of all things -  her mind. True chemistry results
 
Review: A feminist in the 1960s? There were plenty of them. But none like Elizabeth Zott. This feminist debut novel by Bonnie Garmus paints a stunning portrait of a woman in the male-dominated world of science and chemistry.
 
Meet Elizabeth Zott, a chemist who is ahead of her time. She wants nothing more than a career in chemistry and above all, to be taken seriously by her male colleagues. Unfortunately, as a woman during this time, she is incredibly opposed. By everyone except for Calvin, a colleague who has a crush on her. Elizabeth therefore takes on the role of teacher, by presenting a cooking show that secretly teaches women the intricacies of chemistry.
 
Elizabeth is a powerful, confident woman who knows exactly what she wants. She has contemporary standards that contrast sharply with the ideas of the other characters. A large cast of characters passes by, but despite the many names, it remains easy to properly recognize everyone.
 
“Lessons in Chemistry” begins with a small section in present day, and then goes back several years, following both eh highs and lows of Elizabeth’s career. in doing so, Author Bonnie Garmus nicely highlights the struggles of women in the 1950s / 1960s. Women belonged at home, taking care of her family, something Elizabeth strongly disagrees with. She resists this by actively pursuing her career in chemistry.
 
The writing style is comfortable to read and immediately draws you into the story. The story is told mostly from Elizabeth’s perspectives, but also from other characters, like Calvin, her daughter Madeline and even her dog Six Thirty. I loved Garmus’ style.
 
Elizabeth eventually has her own cooking show, Supper at Six, after her daughter Madeline was born. This cooking show is meant to teach the average housewives new dishes. But Elizabeth actually gives the show something extra. She cooks real dishes, but explains everything in such a way that it might as well be a chemistry lesson. And she never talks down to her audience, telling every woman who’s watching, they are not just housewives or average women.
 
“Lessons in Chemistry” is a novel that gives you an insight into the life of a woman in the 1950s/ 1960s. It beautifully highlights the hardship women have to endure when they want something different from what society dictates. It grabbed me from the start, Elizabeth Zott is an inspiring character and I loved every minute of this book. “Lessons in Chemistry” is definitely a new all-time favorite.
 
Rating: 5/ 5