The Boys from Brazil (1978)

It’s April 5th, which means it is exactly 96 years ago since actor Gregory Peck was born. Ruth over at Flixchatter, who recently added him in the Top 10 Actors of all time relay race list, asked me if I could review a movie he was in. Now looking at his filmography I was surprised that I had hardly seen anything he had been in. Surely I have seen To Kill a Mockingbird (although it’s been way too long ago to remember much about it), but that was it. Something I have to admit is that I thought I had seen him in various Hitchcock movies, but I had mixed him up with James Stewart (sorry Ruth!).

So enough movies to pick from and I finally settled on Boys From Brasil. It’s a title which I had heard mentioned several times and knew it had something to do with experiments by nazis, but that was about it. It sounded like a weird movie, so I was prepared for anything. Continue reading

Another Earth (2011)

Humanity has always wondered if we are alone in the universe. Is life on this tiny grain of sand on the vast beach called the universe unique? With UFO sightings and projects like SETI we are looking for answers, but have still not found an answer. In this movie another earth appears and people want to find out more about it. One of them is Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a young student who looks up at the sky when she hears about it and in doing so causes a horrible accident which changes her own life and that of others. Continue reading

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

If you have seen the movie Ed Wood you probably already now a little about this movie. If you haven’t heard about Ed Wood, he was a director who through his career created several movies which were notorious for their strange plots, technical errors and bad special effects. I was very curious myself to find out if his movies really were that bad and decided to check this one out as it was called the worst movie ever made. Continue reading

I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006)

If you are even remotely familiar with Korean cinema, then I’m sure you have heard or have seen movies directed by Chan-wook Park. Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Lady Vengeance and Oldboy are all very good movies which all dealt with pretty dark subject matter. Looking at the title of this movie you might already guess that this movie is a whole different beast and you are right. It feels like a movie which could have been made by Michael Gondry as it has some of the same unique qualities. Continue reading

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Yes, it is the movie with the title I’ve made most fun of this year. Of course there wouldn’t be any other way to make it clear to the movie going audience that this is a prequel to the classic Planet of the Apes. It has been a couple of years since I last saw that, but that ending is one of those twists that deserves a spot in a list of unexpected endings. After that a couple of sequels were made (which I didn’t watch) and even Tim Burton tried his hand at a remake (which the critics really didn’t like). With that history lesson out of the way the question is whether this prequel is worth checking out. How did those “damn dirty apes” manage to take control of the planet? Continue reading

Super 8 (2011)

When growing up I didn’t watch as many movies as I do now. I did watch E.T. and I remember it one of the few movies that made me cry the moment E.T. was dying. It’s that movie magic which Spielberg is a master of and as a kid you were connecting to the kids in the movie. I missed out on a lot of the other movies starring groups of kids, so I only saw movies like The Goonies and Stand By Me fairly recently. They all have this feeling of adventure and keeping something secret from the adults.

J.J. Abrams obviously has been inspired by these type of movies and wrote and directed Super 8, which tells the story of a couple of kids, living in a small American town in the eighties, that sneak out at night to shoot their own zombie movie. They witness a big train crash and after this everything changes around their town. The movie was produced by Spielberg (who also helped with the story), but can J.J.Abrams work his magic on a coming of age story the same way Spielberg can? Continue reading

Timecrimes (2007)

Héctor (Karra Elejalde) is renovating a new house which he has just bought with his wife. After some hard work it’s time to relax a bit in the garden. He sits down, takes out his binoculars and sees something strange happening in the bushes. He decides to investigate and with it start a journey which will surprise you. It’s an experience which you will remember for a long time. Continue reading

Mars Needs Moms (2011)

With a budget of 150 million dollar, Mars Needs Moms isn’t a cheap movie. It has been produced by Robert Zemeckis’ Imagemovers, who was also responsible for The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol. Mars Needs Moms was a big flop and it didn’t manage to recoup its costs. Is Mars Needs Moms really such a bad movie or did it just need a good marketing push? Continue reading