Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) – Review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 review
There are characters on the silver screen you love to spend time with and which you look forward to returning. Of course baby Groot is one of them, but so is the rest of the crew in Guardians. A group which was forced together through circumstances and which managed to win the hearts of movie audiences. With its humour, nostalgia for the eighties, strong soundtrack and lots of action that wasn’t a surprise. All those ingredients are present as well for this sequel. So if you have seen the original you probably won’t even hesitate going to the cinema to find out what adventures await the guardians this time. Continue reading

Passengers (2016) – Review

Recensie Passengers

Before this movie came out the hype train was running at top speed. Everyone I knew couldn’t wait to see it, probably because both Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have been in some great movies the last couple of years. Add a little bit of science fiction to it and show a nice trailer and most people were sold on the concept. I let that train pass me by, so it took a while before I decided to give it a chance. I should have waited longer as this movie really was disappointing. Continue reading

The OA – Review

Review The OA

Brit Marling is an actress who might not be well-known to a big audience, but I have been watching her movies with great pleasure. Whether that’s Another Earth, where a second earth appears next to ours, Sound of My Voice which deals with a cult of the rebellious The East. The special thing about her is that she wasn’t only in front of the camera, but also wrote and produced these titles. They stand out by their science fiction/mysterious elements which usually it doesn’t focus on. What makes all these movies great is the personal stories that are told. Netflix only announced the show a few days before it was released and surprised everyone. Is this show just as surprising? Continue reading

iBoy (2017) – Review

Recensie iBoy
Mobile phones have become our most loyal partners in life. There is hardly no one or anything else which you interact with as much as with this device. People can’t wait to check out the latest innovations in the field and can’t wait until they are able to order the latest iPhone or the newest flagship of a different brand. It wouldn’t surprise me that if Samsung or Apple would present a phone which you had to connect directly to your body that a lot of people wouldn’t even hesitate to do so. The thriller iBoy shows what such a symbiotic connection could look like. Continue reading

Black Mirror – Season 3: San Junipero

Recensie San Junipero

*This review contains spoilers*
The bodies in which we live are temporary and through the influence of time, they are slowly getting worse. We might be young in spirit, but eventually we’ll succumb to the failure of the cells from which we are made. For centuries, there has been a search for a source of eternal youth, but to no avail. However, a new mindset seems to be getting more momentum, one that also has been depicted in several films, which is leaving our body behind and uploading our personality to a computer. The Matrix showed a simulated world and you could see in the last Terminator movie or Transcendence wat kind of powers such an environment could add. This episode of Black Mirror looks at how our consciousness and computers could work together.

Review San Junipero

San Junipero is initially confusing, because as a viewer you aren’t shown yet how the world works (on purpose). You see how a young woman in the eighties is feeling uncomfortable visiting a club. She starts talking with another girl and after spending the night together with her she disappears. She wants to meet her again, but can’t seem to find her. Someone else tells her that she can find her in the nineties and that’s when you start wondering what is going on. Slowly you discover what’s happening and this is one of the few expisodes of Black Mirror which doesn’t end on a low. It’s all about a possible answer what are lives could look like if we would no longer be contained by our physcial bodies and could live forever. One of the best episodes of season 3, with great roles by Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis.

Black Mirror – Season 3: Playtest

Review Black Mirror Playtest seizoen 3

As someone who has been playing games for years and who has experienced this form of entertainment developing from three simple blocks on the screen (Pong) to extremely realistic worlds like those in for example Grand Theft Auto, I sometimes wonder where we’ll eventually end up. At the moment virtual reality and augmented reality are hot, because they are able to offer a new experience where “presence” is the magic word. As a player you must have the feeling that you are really in a different place. The headsets follow the movements of your head and the world you experience matches that perfectly. It is a field that is still young in its current form, but how will it evolve? Playtest tries to give an answer to that question in a typical Black Mirror way, directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) Continue reading

Doctor Strange (2016) – Review

Review Doctor Strange

Although Marvel releases several new superhero movies each year with famous characters who are part of the Avengers, it also takes a risk (to a certain degree, as they follow a formula) by bringing a relatively unknown character and bringing them to the big screen. That previously worked well with Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man. Now it’s Doctor Strange’s turn. Continue reading

Arrival (2016) – Review

Review Arrival

Getting thoughts and ideas across can happen in various ways and as humans we have a constant urge to communicate. Not only about the present, but also for people in the future. This review is an example of that, because as I’m writing this I know others will read it days, weeks or even months later.

Communication appears to be easy, but it comes as no surprise that misinterpretation can happy quickly depending on the way it is communicated and the state of the person receiving that information. It sometimes might be hard to translate a feeling into words, as much as it is impossible to really describe a scent.In Arrival, de latest movie by one of my favorite directors, Denis Villeneuve, it’s all about communication. How can you get messages across to someone who speaks a completely foreign language to yours, in this case aliens?This review contains spoilers Continue reading

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) – Review

Review Rogue One A Star Wars Story

‘Ignorance is bliss’ is a phrase I love and one which I try to use as much as possible when it comes to movies. Of course I’m not talking about not knowing history, but about that wonderful feeling when a movie manages to surprise you, wow you and make you enthusiastic. Stepping into a cinema without any knowledge about what you are about to experience for the next two hours is a feeling I cherish, even if the movie ends up being disappointing and doesn’t meet expectations. Before seeing Rogue One I knew very little: it’s a Star Wars prequel about the rebels and has something to do with the Death Star. As this is a Star Wars movie though it came with certain expectations. When I got to the cinema early in the morning to see the film it was still closed and you could sense the feeling of anticipation in the air. Would this movie be able to surprise me as much as The Force Awakens did last year? You can find out in my Rogue One review.. Continue reading

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) – Review

review teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-out-of-the-shadows

The past movie summer wat disappointing for a lot of people and many films didn’t manage to make as much impact as the studio hoped. Some even didn’t manage to really show up on people’s radar and for me it was this sequel to the movie from 2014. I thought the original movie was very disappointing, so I didn’t feel any need to head to the cinema to watch it. But as it is available on DVD I decided to give it a chance as I suspected it would probably have some enjoyable action sequences.