Category Archives: Romance

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The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Review The Fault in Our Stars

It is funny to see how a poster and a hype around a movie can influence your expectations. With this movie, based on a popular book, it was immediately clear to me that the target group for this one was teenage girls. I have seen various other movies of this type appear (Twilight, City of Bones, Beautiful Creatures (skipped all of them)), so I was not really jumping for joy to watch this one. My expectation was a predictable movie filled with clichés. But after hearing a lot of very positive things about it I got curious about the quality of the film. Continue reading →

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Zero Theorem (2013)

Review The Zero Theorem

Through the years director Terry Gilliam has managed to make a number of widely loved movies. Films like Brazil, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Twelve Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are just a few examples. He has always been good in creating strange, but at the same time very believable, worlds in which you could lose yourself. With Zero Theorem he tries to do this again, but this time I felt he failed. After watching it I had the feeling I wasn’t watching a recent movie, but something made in the nineties with disappointing CGI and a world which doesn’t feel like it came into becoming a reality in an organic way. The story itself also did not manage to make my heart beat any faster. Continue reading →

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Transcendence (2014)

Review Transcendence

Movies always have been a product of their time, a reflection of what is going on in the world in which we are living. With programs like Siri and Cortana we can now talk to our phones and they will answer our questions. We are slowly moving to a situation in which computers are getting “smarter”. Of course that also brings the fear that they will eventually see us as a threat and terminate us or simply ignore us. This has been the basis for the Terminator movies, but also recent films like The Machine and even Her. Transcendence gives the concept its own spin and looks at artificial intelligence in the form of Johnny Depp. Continue reading →

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Review Breakfast at Tiffany's

During the last couple of years I’ve seen a lot of classic movies I had never seen before thanks to working through the IMDB top 250 list. Of course amongst those classics there were some which I simply didn’t like, but where I understood why they are so loved by many. Not everyone likes the same things. Breakfast at Tiffany’s was a movie which I hadn’t watched yet. Of course I knew the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn with the jewelery and the cigaret, but I had never seen anything else about the film. When Inspired Ground did a tribute to the movie I decide it was time to finally check it out and try to understand what all the fuss is about. Continue reading →

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The Price of Sugar (2013)

Review Hoe Duur Was de Suiker

Books have always been a rich source for movie adaptations. Often those who have read the book aren’t happy with the movie because part of the movie are different or have disappeared. Of course that’s something inherent to adaptations as it will never be possible to show all the details a book has. It is simply a different art form with its own rules. The Price of Sugar is based on the book with the same name and was written by Cynthia Mc Leod and is set during the time that the Dutch had conquered Surinam and were using slaves. The expectations amongst the fans of the book were high, especially because there aren’t many movie set in Surinam. When it became known that the movie wouldn’t be shot there, but in South Africa, many were shocked. The reason though was a practical one: Surinam simply didn’t have enough locations that could be used to bring the story to life. So is The Price of Sugar a successful adaptation? Continue reading →

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Robocop (2014)

Review Robocop

In the perfect world it would be amazing if you could watch a movie without prior knowledge of any movie that came before if. Only then it would be possible to let the movie lead you and not notice each and every cliché you have seen in other films. The problem a remake has is that everyone knows the original version and will obviously compare the two. Usually the original wins in that comparison. After Total Recall, Robocop is the second Paul Verhoeven movie that gets remade. Verhoeven said in an interview I had with him that he thought the remake of Total Recall wasn’t good because that light touch he put in it had been removed. He also saw that danger for this movie when it was still in production. The question is if this remake is worth checking out. Continue reading →

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Cypher (2002)

Review Cypher

After recently watching the amazing Gattaca I was searching for a similar technothriller. A quick search on IMDB suggested I should check out this 2002 movie in which Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) is leading a normal and boring life. He is looking for a challenge and a certain thrill. He gets to opportunity to apply for a job at one of the two biggest companies in the country. His work? Industrial espionage, which would allow him to travel a lot away from his nagging wife. He is hired and is sent to various conventions, having to sit through endless and boring presentations which he has to secretly record and send back. When he meets the mysterious and very attractive Rita Foster(Lucy Liu) she shows him that the work he is doing might not be what he thinks it is and that a whole other reality is hidden behind it. Continue reading →

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Review Amazing Spiderman 2

When the previous movie rebooted the Spiderman universe I actually was not too interested in seeing the film. I felt it was unnecessary to start it all again, this time with a different actor playing the title role. It was probably a year later that I finally checked out the movie and to my surprise I thought it was very good. I preferred Andrew Garfield over Tobey Maguire as he felt less awkward and more in control of the situation. The story was interesting as well (even though I already knew the story through the first three movies), so I was ready for the sequel. The webslinger is back, so this time I had to see the movie on the big screen. Continue reading →

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Rurouni Kenshin (2012)

Review Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin might not be known to everyone, but it is a Japanese manga series (also known as Samurai X). It tells the story of a samurai named Himura Kenshin (Takeru Satoh), who after the start of a new age in Japanese history decides to no longer kill and protect those in trouble. He even carries a sword where the sharp edge is on the inside, not being able to hurt others with it.

When a murder takes place the police find a letter, claiming the murder is performed by this samurai, also known as Battosai. Not everyone is convinced though as a cruel businessman (an enjoyable scene chewing role by Teruyuki Kagawa) is trying to expand his power and wealth selling opium. Himurau Kenshin meets a woman who tries to run the dojo her father left her, with little success. When a group of thugs tries to get their hands on the dojo it is Himurau who makes sure to stop them. Samurai X has to prove his innocence and protect the ones he cares for. Continue reading →

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Review The Hunger Games Catching Fire

When the first Hunger Games movie came out I read a lot about it being a very good movie. So I looked forward to checking it out. After having seen it though I did not get all the praise it received. Sure, the movie looked beautiful with impressive costumes, great special effects and detailed sets, but if you stripped all that away it told a story not unlike Battle Royale. Among my friends many of them felt the same wah, so when the sequel was released and again was getting a lot of positive reviews I was cautious. Maybe this would be one of those franchises which wasn’t for me. Still I felt I had to give it a chance. Continue reading →