Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) – Review

Review Nosferatu
Film has produced many iconic images, which sometimes becomes much bigger than the movie itself and become part of our collective memory. Images which everyone will know, but where not everyone will be able to tell the name of the movie. Just think of the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe holding down her dress above a subway vent. Everyone will know that picture, but from which movie is it? It is a bit of a trick question as the pose itself isn’t actually in the movie, but how many will know it is from The Seven Year Itch? The image of Nosferatu which is from this film can also be called iconic and it was a film I had never seen. Continue reading

La La Land (2016) – Review

Review La La Land

The invention of the movie camera meant a new way of telling stories. First everyday scenes were filmed, without a story because seeing moving images was enough to keep crowds entertained. But slowly stories started to get told and it was a natural step for plays to be translated into the movie format. As directors played more and more with movie techniques and film developed its own language, the theatrical way of showing things disappeared and the movies were something completely different from theater. Both in the way it looks and experience. Continue reading

Moana (2016) – Review

Review Moana

As a fan of animation 2016 was a pretty good year when it came to Disney movies. At the beginning of the year the excellent Zootopia was release, which introduced a new world you wanted to spend more time in and at the end of the year they released their second animated movie, Moana. Is it just as good as Zootopia? Continue reading

Spectral (2016) – Review

Review Spectral

The amount of new content Netflix puts out is sometimes hard to keep up with. Some weeks ago they released the Netflix Original movie Spectral. It is a science fiction/action movie with supernatural elements. When the army is fighting a war in Slovenia one of the soldiers is killed in a mysterious way by something which isn’t visible to the naked eye. Dr. Mark Clyne (James Badge Dale), a researcher at DARPA, is asked to analyze the event, which was recorded by a special system, and find a solution. Are the things they are seeing advanced camouflage suits or are they dealing with something completely different? Continue reading

The Red Turtle (2016) – Review

Review The Red Turtle

Silence in a film can be very powerful. It is an important tool in the filmmaker’s toolbox . Moments where not much happens can raise tension, but are also able to express emotion. Just think of Wall E, where the most powerful and emotional part was where there wasn’t any dialog. The same was the case for Up. Both movies were made by Pixar and together with Studio Ghibli (en Disney) belong to the best in animation. They are studios which not only manage to touch the hearts of children, but also have something deeper which appeal to older viewers. Unfortunately the future of Ghibli is uncertain. Both founding members have retired (although one temporarily returns) and there is no way of telling if the studio will release something in the future. So I was happy when I heard they would be releasing The Red Turtle. The fact that this movie wasn’t made in Japan, makes it a very special one. Continue reading

Trolls (2016) – Review

Review Trolls

The promotion of this movie last year started early when Justin Timberlake appeared during the Eurovision Songfestival and performed his song “Can’t stop the feeling” and mentioning the film during his introduction. His song turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the summer, but what about Trolls? Is it just as catchy? Continue reading

Sully (2016) – Review

Review Sully

I’m sometimes surprised how fast time flies by. I can still remember the news about a plane landing on the Hudson river and that the captain, Chesley Sullenberger was considered a hero. If you would have asked me how long ago that took place I would probably answer that it was two or three years ago. I guess I’m getting old as this event took place in 2009. Clint Eastwood decided to bring this story to the big screen in the form of Sully, in which Tom Hanks stars. Continue reading