Category Archives: Suspense

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Cold Comes the Night (2013)

Review Cold Comes the Night

Lots of people are probably not aware that Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston already has had a long career. Looking at his IMDB profile he already has 132 TV show and movie titles to his name. Thanks to his role as the meth making scientist in Breaking Bad he became well-known and he appeared in some high-profile movies like Drive, John Carter, Total Recall, Argo and Godzilla. In most of these movies he had supporting roles, but in this movie the 58-year-old actor is starring, together with Alice Eve. Continue reading →

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The Best Offer (2013)

Review The Best Offer

Can you make a fascinating movie about an auctioneer? As you can imagine the auction itself could be exciting, with people in the room and on the phone trying to outbid each other to get their hands on some specific art. But what if the auction has ended? As The Best Offer proves you can do a whole lot to make sure the viewer is on the edge of his seat. 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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Enemy (2013)

Review Enemy

Control, it is all about control. Every dictatorship has one obsession and that’s it. [..] Strategies to limit information, ideas, knowledge. How do they do that? Lower education, they limit culture, censor information. [..] This is a pattern that repeats itself throughout history – Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal)

Directors could be compared with dictators. For the length that the audience is watching a movie they decide which information they get to see. By limiting it or showing it slightly different a director is able to build up the tension or control expectations. With their “suspension of disbelief” the movie watcher happily gives the movie maker that control. Enemy is the newest movie by Denis Villeneuve (who was also responsible for the fantasticPrisoners) with Jake Gyllenhaal in a double role. 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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Gattaca (1997)

Review Gattaca

In the world of Gattaca who you are is defined by your genes. Designer babies whose DNA has been altered have become a reality and genetic imperfections have been removed as much as possible. Still there are some parents who decide that they won’t let science alter their child and have nature take its course. Unfortunately in the society of Gattaca that immediately means a disadvantage. After they have been born a test is done to see how old a child will be and which diseases it will have in its life. Although it is forbidden by law to deny someone a job based on their genes this type of discrimination has become commonplace. A hair, some saliva or a glass someone touched are all that is needed to extract DNA and check the records of an applicant. It means that “natural babies” don’t get hired for the best jobs.

Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) has experienced this and can only work as a janitor at Gattaca. The company is not unlike the NASA, but here thousand of people are at work to make sure their can be a launch each day. Vincent has been dreaming of going into space since he was a child and he is prepared to do anything to get there. To get the job he really wants he has to make some big changes in his life in order to make that a reality. Continue reading →

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The Counselor (2013)

Review The Counselor (2013)

“What have I just been watching!?” That was the first question that popped into my mind after watching The Counselor. My expectations in advance was that this would be a movie which would be both visually beautiful and also engage on an intellectual level and I had enough reason to do so: directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) and starring an amazing cast, including Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt. With so much experience and raw acting talent it was not strange to have those expectations. The first blow came before seeing the movie as a lot of bad reviews entered my mailbox. It made me decide not to see the movie at the cinema, but wait until it was available on DVD. It could be that I would like this movie a whole lot more than others did and in the end it is all about forming your own opinion about something. After watching it though that question went through my mind about what I had just seen. Was this an amazing misunderstood Ridley Scott movie or was it as bad as all the reviews had made me believe? Continue reading →

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Need for Speed (2014)

Review Need for Speed

Besides being a huge fan of movies, I have been playing games ever since the original Pong home machines. One of my favorite genres has always been racing games. Ever since the Indy game on the Atari 2600 I have been playing them and it is a genre which has developed a lot through the various hardware generations. The first Gran Turismo game took it to a place which was new, where you could race a normal every day car. Besides the very realistic racing games there are the so-called arcade racers. These games are less about realism and more about thrills. I played a lot of these games (Burnout and Split Second come to mind).

The Need for Speed games have been fixed part of arcade racing games, with new installments released yearly. I must admit that I never was a fan of the games. Reason for that is that they are games where you hardly use the brakes and where corners only seem to exist that you can take at high-speed. I never felt they were very challenging or exciting and therefore rarely bought them. The Need for Speed Shift games changed as they moved away from arcade racing and were more simulation based games, more realistic. I did play those games quite a bit.
Movies based on games usually aren’t very good and when I heard this franchise was making the step to film I was not really looking forward to it. Still, there was a chance that it would be interesting. The Fast and Furious movies have proven in the past that movies with a focus on cars can be very enjoyable. 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 →