The Get Down: Season 1 – Series review

ReviewThe Get Down season 1

When I first heard about The Get Down earlier this year I was really looking forward to it. The first images looked good and also the description of the show sounded interesting:

“The Get Down” is a mythic saga of how New York at the brink of bankruptcy gave birth to a new art form. Set in New York in 1977, this music-driven drama series chronicles the rise of hip-hop and the last days of disco -_ told through the lives, music, art and dance of the South Bronx kids who would change the world forever.

As a fan of hip hop this was a setting that immediately was something I wanted to know more about. Through the years I’ve learned a lot about the music, how it developed and seeing that in the form of a show on Netflix seemed awesome. The show has been written and produced by Baz Luhrmann, who has done things like Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby in the past. Someone who is very capable to show music in an exciting way which is visually pleasing. Besides that, New York in the seventies is a fascinating setting. Gangs were still very active (the documentary Rubble Kings is a good one to learn more about that). There was a lot of crime and buildings were set ablaze in order to collect insurance money. With a budget of 10 million per episode my expectations were high when I started watching this six part first season. Continue reading

Time Renegades (2016) – Review

Review Time Renegades

One of the movies I had in my top 100 favorite movies was Frequency. The concept, in which two people living in different time periods have a connection and use that to communicate is fascinating. It’s not the only movie which does this, just think of the South Korean film Il Mare (or the American remake The Lake House), but also the romantic Somewhere in Time. Time Renegades (also from South Korea) is the latest addition to the genre and I loved it. The fact that this has also been directed by Kwak Jae-yong, who was also responsible for My Sassy Girl which also was in my top 100. Continue reading

Criminal (2016) – Review

Review Criminal

At the start of the nineties Kevin Costner was one of the biggest stars in the movie world, but because the number of visitors slowly started dropping after the success with Dances with Wolves he slowly disappeared from the spotlight. This doesn’t mean he didn’t keep working and during the last couple of years you slowly see him appearing again doing small roles in big movies (like Man of Steel or Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit). And although he was starring in 3 Days to Kill, the movie itself wasn’t that good. Two years later and now he stars in Criminal. Is this the comeback Costner’s been waiting for? Continue reading

Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) – Review

Review Hitman 47

There are exactly two things I remember about the Hitman movie from 2007:
1. Timothy Olyphant played the hitman
2. That that’s the only thing I can remember about the film
And after seeing this movie, which I assume is a reboot, I am certain that I will be saying the same thing about this movie in a couple of months as I will probably have forgotten everything about it. Continue reading

One Way Trip (2016) – Review

Review One Way Trip

Four friends have come up with a fantastic plan. Sang-Woo (Suho) is about to go into the army, but before that happens, they want to take him to the port town of Pohan to have fun. They borrow a van and all sneak away from either their parents or the place they are staying. What should be a great weekend however, turns into a nightmare when the four of them are chased by the police. Why this is the case and what has happened is slowly revealed throughout the film. Continue reading

Eega (2012) – Review

Eega Review

Through the years I’ve seen many revenge films, from Death Wish to Oldboy and John Wick. They all have lots of violence, but as you are watching them you understand why the protagonists want to have their revenge for the injustice they’ve been through and take justice in their own hands. Because sometimes emotions can be so strong that that’s the only way to find peace. Of course it is something you can say is right, but despite that you understand why in those type of films. Eega is also a revenge film, but its story is so bizarre that you start wondering if you should take it seriously. Continue reading

Jason Bourne (2016) – Review

Review Jason Bourne

When the original three Jason Bourne movies came out they had a lot of impact on how others made movies. Director Paul Greengrass became well-known for his way of shooting, quickly labeled shaky cam. Because of that action looked more dynamic and raw. But also the character of Bourne in this spy thriller has had a lot of influence. You can see that realistic approach of Bourne during fights and using the situation in the first Bond movie starring Daniel Craig. After the third Bourne movie both Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon decided they had told Bourne’s story and stepped away from the franchise. The studio decided to make The Bourne Legacy starring Jeremy Renner, but it was disappointing. Both Greengrass and Damon probably felt an itch to return as they are now here for the fourth movie starring the titular character. Continue reading

La resistance de L’air (2015) – Review

Review La resistance de L'air

We all search for a certain type of stability in our life. For some that might be a steady job and others are looking for it emotionally. Once you’ve reached it you sometimes take it for granted. You don’t always think of unexpected situations which might change everything. There are a lot of people who face financial issues when their partner unexpectedly dies or leaves them and find out they have a mortgage they aren’t able to pay. Of course you make your choices thinking of possible risks and deciding if it’s worth it. It depends on the person how they deal with setbacks. Do you give up or will you start searching for ways to solve it? Continue reading

Eye in the Sky (2016) – Review

Recensie Eye in the Sky

Wars are as old as mankind and preservation and/or expansion of territory and ideals often forms the basis for them. Since the second world war the way they are fought has changed dramatically. It used to mean that when a country would be in a war you would lose soldiers, but this isn’t always the case anymore. The introduction of drones is a good example. The pilots are safely on the ground on the other side of the world (something Good Kill showed) and the only loss you can experience is of your equipment and possibly some damage to your public image if a mission does not go as planned. Unfortunately the news shows that it sometimes does go wrong. Although there are rules to war, it is a situation in which emotions run high, parties want to achieve their goals and that sometimes might lead to an attempt to stretch the rules. That is also the case in Eye in the Sky. Lees verder