The Incredible Jessica James is a Netflix movie which premiered in January at the Sundance festival, when Netflix bought the rights for distribution (one of several titles for which this happened). Only a few months later, the film was already available on the popular VOD platform. How good is this “indie” film? Continue reading
Category Archives: Comedy
Naked (2017) – Review
The Wayans brothers made their career with comedy and although some films were too bland for words, there were occasional entertaining films (White Chicks, Scary Movie, Mo’Money). Whatever your opinion of them, at least you know what kind of humor you can expect from their films and occasionally that works. Naked is the latest film in which Marlon Wayans plays the leading role (he also co-wrote the script) and it can best be summarized as Groundhog Day where one hour is repeated and in which Rob Anderson (Wayans) always wake up naked in an elevator. Continue reading
A Mighty Wind (2003) – Review
When you do something often enough, a certain routine arises and you start to do more and more without thinking about it. It happens with the work you do, but I also notice that as a blogger. However, this routine can be dangerous if you do not do enough to keep yourself sharp and set goals and to come up with challenges for yourself. Director Christopher Guest has already made several films in his career (including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, For Your Consideration and Mascots) in which he works with an (almost) permanent group of actors, chooses a certain subculture and films mainly by means of improvisation. Last year I really enjoyed myself with Best in Show, but I found his Netflix film Mascots disappointing. Still, I wanted to see more of his work and I decided to watch A Mighty Wind, mainly because reviewer Leonard Maltin recommended it during several of his podcasts. And even though A Mighty Wind has its funny moments, I’m kind of done with the concept after having watched this. Continue reading
Thelma & Louise (1991) – Review
It is actually bizarre that it has taken me this long to see this 1991 film. It is a very famous title, which until recently I had never taken the time to see it. Something I should have done much earlier. This film, directed by Ridley Scott, not only works well, but also made me think of a different time when films could only be shot on film. A time when projection in the cinema was still analogue and you could see if a movie had already been screened before. Not that I would want that in the cinemas again, but it evoked a bit of nostalgia. Continue reading
Power Rangers (2017) – Review
Although many of us grew up with watching the Power Rangers, it never was something I found appealing. I thought it was a bit weird and hardly watched it. Still I was curious of a movie based on the show, because what would this be turned into with a much bigger budget. Would it make it all more convincing? Continue reading
Tour de Pharmacy (2017) – Review
There are quite a few movies about cycling and the sport is still very popular. But it is a sport with a lot of controversy surrounding it and many sponsors have decided to stop investing in it because of the scandals. Things seem to have improved, but cycling does have an image of substance abuse, which is exactly what this HBO comedy makes fun of. Continue reading
Okja (2017) – Recensie
Okja, by South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, can be compared to a baby chimpanzee which grows up in two hours. At the start it is cute and you feel at ease letting it play with your children. But if you allow it to stay with them in those two hours it will cause some very shocking moments. In this case the movie itself isn’t about a primate, but about a specially bred superpig which could mean a lot of profit for a big multinational company. Continue reading
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – Review
When you take a look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe there are some characters who are used more often for comedy than others. The Hulk is often comic relief, usually physical stuff (just think of him slamming Loki back and forth), but if you take a look at the other super heroes it’s Thor who is also the source for a lot of jokes. In the first movie he was a fish out of water who stood out because he talked differently and didn’t know how everything on earth worked. But also in the other Marvel movies a lot of comedy came from him. So it was great news to hear that Taika Waititi would be directing Ragnarok. Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows were extremely funny and Boy was also a very good movie. But as we’ve seen in the past with Edgar Wright and Antman, there is always a risk that the comedy a director wants to bring doesn’t align with the ideas the studio has. Fortunately Waititi has been able to finish the movie and keep his brand of humour intact. Continue reading
Tom and Jerry: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2017) – Review
When you do a quick Google search on this movie you quickly realize how many people think this is one of the worst ideas ever, which is also realized badly. Why would you add Tom and Jerry to a movie classic? Before watching it I was completely unaware of the controversy. The 1971 original has been a personal favorite of mine which I still enjoy watching. I watched a lot of Tom and Jerry as a child and as my daughter is also a fan of them (and hadn’t seen Willy Wonka yet), I decided to check it out, on a DVD which also contains 60 minutes of other Tom and Jerry shorts. Continue reading
To Be or Not to Be (1942) – Review
For the past couple of years I’ve been making a selection of twelve movies for my Blindspot list at the start of the year. Movies which for example have been on my “to watch” list for ages or ones for which I’ve got the feeling I should have seen them at least once as a movie lover. I’ve also made a list for this year and as we’re already in october I noticed that I almost hadn’t watched any of them. So it was necessary to change that so I decided to check out this 1942 movie, by director Ernst Lubitsch. I hadn’t seen any of his previous work, but this one often is named as one of his best. Continue reading