The last couple of years I’ve read a lot of complaints about there not being enough originality in Hollywood and that too much sequels and prequels are being made. Personally I never had an issue with them, at least not if the quality of them are good (which I admit isn’t always the case). Oz the Great and Powerful is a prequel to the classic The Wizard of Oz and tells the story of how that wizard ended up in Oz and how he turned into the wizard. Continue reading
Every movie blogger has a list of classic movies they have not seen yet. You carry them on your back like Atlas did the globe, hoping to one day be able to throw it off and make the load less. Even though that might happen, we keep discovering other movies we should also see, so the reality is that the weight remains the same. The Shining was the one movie out of the top 100 movies on IMDB I had not seen yet and kept delaying on seeing. The reason for it was a simple one, it is classified as a horror movie and I’m not a fan of them. In my mind I had built up the movie as something I would not be enjoying, but eventually I knew I had to watch it. I’m happy that I finally did so as it turns out to be my favorite Kubrick movie. Continue reading
Although I have not seen each and every movie Danny Boyle has directed I can say that I’m a fan of his work. I’ve seen movies like 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, The Beach, A Life Less Ordinary and now this one. Shallow Grave could have easily been directed by someone like Hitchcock, because it’s a movie full of suspense and unexpected twists. Continue reading
If there is one director where I never want to miss one of his movies at the cinema, it is Quentin Tarantino. Although I did not see Reservoir Dogs at the cinema, I have been to each and every following release. The movie was released here a while ago, but through various circumstance I was not able to go yet and was afraid I’d miss it, until this past weekend that was. Although it didn’t play on any big screens any more, I was very happy to be able to see it in the cinema. Continue reading
If it wasn’t for the its reputation, I would have never known about Delgo. Chances are you have never heard of it either, but it’s a movie known as one of the biggest wide-screen release flops of all time. This 40 million dollar animated movie opened in over 2000 screens and only made around 500,000 dollars in its first weekend. Now I’m not someone who cares much for numbers, because they don’t say a thing about quality, but for this movie I was intrigued. Why were they so bad, was it badly marketed, a movie released at the wrong time or just a really bad movie? Continue reading
Within the Netherlands several movies are produced each year, called telefilms, which will be shown on TV, maybe also in the cinema and which will then be released on DVD. Because they are made this way they are partly funded by the government, which of course makes it easier to make a movie if you can secure money. During the last couple of months I watched several of them and was nicely surprised by them. See I’m not the biggest fan of Dutch cinema, but with some of the movies I’ve seen thay is slowly changing a bit. I’ve especially enjoyed the ones dealing with crime, so I couldn’t wait to see this one. Continue reading
The Thieves could easily be compared to a movie like Ocean’s Eleven. With a star-studded cast of well-known Asian actors from Korea, Japan and Malaysia, including Yun-seok Kim (The Chaser, Nameless Gangster, The Yellow Sea), Simon Yam and Gianna Jun (My Sassy Girl), the movie tells the story of several crews working together to pull off a big heist in a casino in Macau. The movie was a smash hit and was seen by almost 13 million people when it was playing in the cinema. Unfortunately it seems that in the west it hasn’t received the attention it deserves. Continue reading
When growing up I developed a passion for videogames. Fuelled by my father, who would always buy the latest computers/consoles, I started playing them when I was very young and I never really stopped (although I don’t play as much as I used to, mainly because of time constraints). If there is one thing videogames generally are not very good at it’s telling stories which manage to involve you emotionally. Sure games can frustrate you sometimes, but it’s not often they will make you care much for the main character or sweep you away in the story. It’s basically all about experiencing action. Gangster Squad to me is like the videogame version of The Untouchables. The story is about the same, but it lacks the emotional impact and cranks up the action. Is that a bad thing though? Continue reading
From the moment Zero Dark Thirty starts you know you will be subjected to tough material to watch. With nothing on the screen you hear the panicked calls made from the WTC on 9/11. It is still unsettling to hear and it sets the mood, your mind preparing itself for anything, knowing the movie is based on first hand accounts of actual events. As a viewer you see the circumstances in which suspected terrorists are questioned, all to find the most wanted man in the world, Osama Bin Laden. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who previously was responsible for the Hurt Locker again deals with a realistic depiction of war, the war on terror. Continue reading
It’s been ages since I’ve last seen Richard Gere in anything (from the top of my head it was 2002’s The Mothman Prophecies, but a fact check at IMDB shows it was 2009’s Brooklyn’s Finest) and since I do think he’s a good actor I was interested in seeing him in a starring role again. He plays Robert Miller, a very succesful businessman who is about to sell his company for hundreds of millions and will be set for life. At first glance his life seems perfect. He can spend time with his wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and children (who both work at his company) and lives in luxury. Behind that facade though there are a lot of dark secrets which he has kept from the ones closest to him and as events happen it seems he can no longer keep those a secret very long. Continue reading