Some directors have made a name for themselves and as viewer you have specific expectations when you go see their films. Whether it is the violence, dialogue and references to other movies in Tarantino films, the weirdness of David Lynch’s work or the practical way Christopher Nolan shoots everything on film, you have an idea of what to expect. It is something you look forward to when checking their work out. Alfred Hitchcock is also one of those names. I’ve seen a lot of his work and love the look of them (of course because of the era they were shot in), the character interactions and of course (usually) the suspense. To Catch a Thief was a movie of his I hadn’t seen yet and added to my blindspot list for this year. It turned out to be slightly disappointing. Continue reading
Category Archives: Romance
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) – Review
Up till now most people I talked to about upcoming Star Wars movies, responded that they were looking forward to them. That changed when it came to Solo: A Star Wars Story. Personally I never had a huge connection with Star Wars (only watching them for the first time on VHS in my late teens) but I have been enjoying most of them (forgetting about the first three prequels), so to me this would just be something along the same lines as Rogue One only this time with a character we already know.
Of course Han Solo is one of the most iconic characters in history and maybe that’s the reason people were hesitant about a film looking at his backstory. As we’ve seen with for example Alien: Covenant, sometimes you don’t want answers to some questions. I personally didn’t need an explanation how the Xenomorphs came into being. They should remain a mystery as that just adds to the legend of a character. Some people had the same idea about Solo. But the film is now here so we can find out if this is a film that should have been made and if it indeed demystifies the legend that is the man who did shoot first. Continue reading
The Big Sick (2017) – Review
In general, romantic comedies have a huge issue. They are very predictable and often too “sugary”. That is also the main reason that they often don’t appeal to me. Nevertheless, The Big Sick got a lot of positive reactions last year and the title also appeared on many top 10 lists. If that happens, that is enough reason to give a film a chance. And it delivered an entertaining and surprising two hours. Continue reading
Black Mirror – Season 4 review: Hang the DJ
Meeting other people who are looking for love has become a lot easier during the last few years thanks to dating sites and apps like Tinder. You fill in your profiles, send out messages, go out on a dat and find out if there is a sprak. The system which is used in Hang the DJ is based on that, but works completely different. Continue reading
mother! (2017) – Review
One of the most controversial titles last year (if you don’t include The Last Jedi) was mother! This film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, caused quite a stir. CinemaScore, a company that measures what a moviegoing audience thinks of a film, scored an F, the lowest possible score. During the premiere of the title in Venice people booed the film. Yet Aronofsky understood these reactions, because it is not an easy film to watch, one that makes you feel uncomfortable and there are a lot of people who are not looking for that when they head to the cinema. It made me (partly because Aronofsky’s Black Swan is my all-time favorite movie, even more curious. And without prior knowledge, the impact on me was even bigger. Continue reading
The Sound of Music (1965) – Review
I’m a bit behind when it comes to translating my Dutch reviews to this blog (although I’m slowly catching up) and this is a blindspot movie of last year. I knew the music of it, but had never seen the actual film. Which is weird as the rest of my family had seen it several times. Had to change that…on to the hills which apparently are alive with the sound of music… Continue reading
The Hire (2001/2002/2016) – Review
How many movie franchises can you name on which the best directors like Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo, Joe Carnahan, Tony Scott and Neill Blomkamp have worked on, which have also been produced by David Fincher and Ridley Scott? You will probably respond that such a film series does not exist. That is until you hear of The Hire. BMW Films has managed to bring all these names, plus many more famous actors, together to create a series of short films in which a BMW is shown prominently and is driven by “The Driver” (Clive Owen). Continue reading
The Mermaid (2016) – Review
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
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – Review
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
Baby Driver (2017) – Review
Edgar Wright, who was previously responsible for the Cornetto trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, walked around for years with the idea of making a film where everything revolved around music as much as possible. He has previously done something like that in Shaun of the Dead, in which all actions were performed to the rhythm of a Queen song, but did not yet do so on a larger scale.
The idea of a getaway driver who did everything to music is something he had for ages, which he already realized as a video for “Blue Song” by Mint Royale. When you compare the opening of Baby Driver (which is also in this review) to that video, the similarities are clear. Continue reading