October 3, 2020 by Nostra - 2 Comments

Console Wars (2020) – Review

I can still remember it well. It was the early nineties and the second generation game consoles (from 8 to 16-bit) had just come out. One of the local department stores in the center of Rotterdam had a large electronics section on the second floor and the two systems were displayed behind glass: The Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis. It was a time without the Internet where you only heard stories of experiences from those you knew. But these systems were new and what this store had done was put in between the two systems a card with their specifications on it. How many colors the systems could show, what the processor was, etc. It is the first moment I can remember that you had the feeling that you had to make a choice between two systems. Which camp you belonged to. That rivalry in the games industry has never disappeared. You can still see that on almost any gaming forum. And although I now myself buy the systems on which the games I want to play are release (which have been several since), the original source of these wars was in the ‘battle’ between Nintendo and Sega, summarized for me at the time on that little note.

The documentary Console Wars shows how the employees at Nintendo and Sega experienced that time. Continue reading →

July 13, 2020 by Nostra - 1 Comment

Hamilton (2020) – Review

Hype for a certain piece of entertainment can be dangerous. There may come a time when your expectations are so high that something can only disappoint. The play Hamilton, which is about one of the “founding fathers” of America, is something I had heard a lot of praise for in several podcasts. The play was always sold out and ticket prices were astronomical. And considering the subject, I had reservations. When the soundtrack was released I may have played it, but didn’t give it my full attention and that was it. I couldn’t imagine that this play was really that special. When Hamilton appeared on Disney+ last week, I had to see it, however, to finally give this piece my full attention and to form an opinion for myself about this historic musical. And I’m glad I did. Continue reading →

June 30, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Da 5 Bloods (2020) – Review

The number of films (and with that, of course, the number of reviews) that I have watched in recent months continues to decrease. And that’s not because there is nothing to watch, on the contrary. My Netflix list is still huge and I keep adding titles and my IMDb list of movies I want to see consists of 379 titles. Still, I find my escape from reality a lot less in films the last couple of months. Partly because films don’t wow me as much anymore and I’d rather prefer to walk outside for one and a half to two hours in quiet areas, than to sit at home for an even bigger part of the day. Still, I was curious about the latest film by director Spike Lee. You can have different opinions about his films, but no matter what you think, you’ll have to agree that they are always unique. Da 5 Bloods is his latest and is available on Netflix. Continue reading →

May 26, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Bloodshot (2020) – Review

Ignoring a few exceptions (Boiler Room, Saving Private Ryan) Vin Diesel has mostly starred in action movies, which often can’t be taken very seriously.
Think of the XXX films (Diesel as “extreme sports” super spy), the Riddick films (in which he is an alien superhero) and the Fast and Furious franchise (in which he also plays a superhero who can survive the most impossible situations). Based on a series by Valiant Comics, Bloodshot also takes on the role of a superhero. Does that make for an entertaining movie? Continue reading →

May 6, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Les Misérables (2019) – Review

During the opening moments of the French film Les Misérables, in which you see large crowds of people during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, you get a strange feeling looking at it with the reality of today. In a society where you ensure that you keep enough distance from each other, it makes you feel uncomfortable. Obviously this was not the vision for the makers of the film, but it is almost alienating to see. The title might suggest that this is a new version of the famous book by Victor Hugo. There is no direct link however, but the events do take place in Montfermeil. It is the place where Hugo wrote his book and director Ladj Ly tells his own story. Continue reading →

April 30, 2020 by Nostra - 1 Comment

Onward (2020) – Review

The current corona crisis has not only changed daily life, the impact on the film industry is also enormous. Film companies can no longer make new films and titles that are about to be released are postponed, sometimes even by a year. Other titles, the films that are not blockbusters, will appear on VOD platforms without ever seeing the cinema (or only very shortly before the closure of cinemas). One of those titles was Pixar’s Onward, which was recently available for rent in America and is now available on Disney. Continue reading →

April 7, 2020 by Nostra - 3 Comments

Spenser Confidential (2020) – Review

The Netflix exclusive Spenser Confidential is already the fifth film in a row that director Peter Berg has made with Mark Wahlberg. After the terrible Mile 22 and with the thought in mind that generally Netflix movies (with a few exceptions) are disappointing, I decided to give this new title a try. I shouldn’t have. Continue reading →

April 6, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

The Gentlemen (2019) – Review

Although director Guy Ritchie has been working for more than 20 years now and is responsible for titles such as Aladdin, The Man from UNCLE, and the Sherlock Holmes movies, it’s his first two movies that are still my favorite. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch were delightful British gangster films that stood out for their pacing and humor. With The Gentlemen, Ritchie returns to his roots. Continue reading →

March 22, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Suriname (2020) – Review

A movie title can create great expectations. Suppose you are asked to write a movie with the title America or the United Kingdom, which subject(s) would you choose to show that cover everything. And what message do you want to convey to your viewers? Surinam is a country with a turbulent history and that according to the opening title has a lot of natural resources (in the top 15 of the world), but that it nevertheless has problems. A fact that makes you think and that you can do a lot with. Unfortunately, it soon becomes painfully clear that a possible message is hard to find. Continue reading →

March 22, 2020 by Nostra - 1 Comment

6 Underground (2019) – Review

You can interpret the above spectacular photo of the Netflix movie 6 Underground in a number of ways. Visually your eyes are immediately drawn to it. Why is an Audi flying through the air? Are those explosions or did someone just play with fireworks? What is actually going on here? Especially the latter is a question that I regularly ask myself when I see a Michael Bay movie. A director who is able to create visually attractive images, but then pastes so many in a row that you as a viewer sometimes lose the overview. When it comes to depth storywise it’s often lacking and because of that the action often feels empty. Does Bay manage to restrain himself a bit here? Continue reading →