One of the newest additions to the Fast & Furious family was Scott Eastwood, son of Clint Eastwood. He played a character who, to me, was only an annoying addition and he did not convince me of his acting talent. Fortunately, it was a supporting role, but in Overdrive (which happens to also be about a group that has a strong passion for cars), he plays one of the main roles. Does he show another side here? Continue reading
When Star Wars: The Force Awakens was announced, the fans were tense. The second trilogy (Episode I to III) disappointed many and people wondered if it was necessary to make new films. Was it possible to make movies which reached the same level as the original films? J.J.Abrams also must have felt that pressure, as he decided not to take too much risk by using many elements of A New Hope and fan favorites like Han Solo/Leia plus introducing new characters like Rey, Finn and Poe.
It was this mix that ensured that fans embraced the film and were curious about answers to the questions that The Force Awakens asked. Who are Rey’s parents, what is the story behind Kylo Ren and what can Luke do to help the rebels? These are all questions that The Last Jedi tries to answer. Continue reading
Although everyone will not know director/actor Stephen Chow, his films Shoalin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle were quite popular a couple of years ago. After these he directed a number of films, with most of them not reaching the same level of popularity. One of them is The Mermaid, in which he presents the viewer with another bizarre story. Continue reading
The history of Stephen King books that have been brought to the big (and small) screen is huge. Usually the result are films that are worth watching and the expectations for the movie based one of his most famous books, The Dark Tower, were high. This series of books has a large number of fans, which means that a screenwriter and director have a challenge on their hands. When this movie finally came out, the first reactions by those who’ve read the books were pretty negative and perhaps that is understandable, because it’s impossible to include as many details in a film as in a book. But what if, like me, you don’t know anything about the books at all? Will you be able to enjoy it more? Continue reading
The quality of the newer Netflix films is slowly starting to reach the level of the series they make. For a long time their own films (with a few exceptions) were often disappointing, but it turns out that more and more of their titles are movies you’ll want to see. Does that also apply to one of their latest films, Wheelman? Continue reading
Thanks to Netflix and its drug series, Narcos, stories about the South American drugtrade have become popular. The history of Pablo Escobar and related documentaries were a great success for the service. So it is a good moment to use this popularity is what the people behing American Made probably thought, in which Tom Cruise plays the leading role. Continue reading
Sometimes there are movies, that when you see something about them for the first time, alarm bells start ringing. They are sometimes titles that might look good on paper, but probably won’t work once executed. That is exactly the feeling I had when I first read about Table 19. The cast looks good: Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson, Stephen Merchant, Tony Revolori and June Squibb. A combination of actors who could provide an entertaining film. But the fact that I had never heard of the film before and it was immediately available on DVD made me cautious. Of course, not all new titles can be released in the cinema, but you will still hear something about them. But because of that cast, it was one that I decided to give a chance. Was that a wise decision? Continue reading
The influence of 1982’s Blade Runner on the look of science fiction films has been enormous. In addition, it is a film that is widely praised by film lovers who can have a lot of discussion about what is the best version to watch and whether the character played by Harrison Ford, Deckard, is a replica or not. It is a classic and the announcement of a sequel was received with mixed reactions. Understandable, since too many sequels have been made that did not meet expectations. Yet there was a lot of hope that this might be a movie that would be worthwhile. The reason? The film would be directed by Denis Villeneuve who really hasn’t made bad films (Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners, Enemy and Incendies). In addition he would work together with cinematographer Roger Deakins and maybe that cooperation could lead to something that reached the same level of the original. Is that the case? Continue reading
When Unlocked played in the cinemas earlier this year, I was curious about this action film with Noomi Rapace in the lead, but not enough to make the trip. Now that the title is available through VOD it was a nice moment to see it. Should I have watched it on the big screen? Continue reading
Sometimes the path that a film travels before it eventually ends up in the cinema is strange. Sometimes there are movies that are completely finished, but end up on the shelf to ultimately never reach the cinema and only become available via VOD (and DVD / BluRay). Sometimes there is a very good reason, for example because they are terribly bad (think of Get a Job with Miles Teller, Anna Kendrick, Allison Brie and Bryan Cranston which was filmed in 2012 and released last year) but sometimes it is because studios don’t expect them to attract a large audience.
That was initially the case with 47 Meters Down. A film that would be available to buy in stores/online last year and for which the physical copies were already ready and shipped to stores. The film distributor decided to sell the rights and the new owner stopped the plans and decided to release the film in the cinema this year. That turned out to be a smart move, because this film, with a mere budget of 5.5 million dollars, eventually ended up making just over 53 million, which shows that there are still enough people who enjoy shark movies and would like to go to the cinema for them. I do not belong to this group, but the title has been available through Netflix (over in The Netherlands). Continue reading