Category Archives: Suspense

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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 →

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Cell 211 (2009)

Sometimes I wish that non-US movies would get more attention. World cinema produces so many movies that are worth watching but there is a big chance that you won’t hear about them. Luckily my friend Scott at Frontroom Cinema reviewed this movie a while ago. As he has about the same taste in movies I couldn’t wait to see this movie about a prison riot in Spain. Continue reading →

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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 →

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The African Queen (1951)

Catherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart star in The African Queen. Set in Africa during the first world war Rose Sayer (Hepburn) runs a missionary post together with her brother. The Germans invade the country and leave Rose with no other option to leave the place by getting on board the African Queen, a little steamboat that’s run by Charlie Allnut (Bogart). The two don’t want to get captured and decide to see if they can do some damage to the Germans. The only problem is that the part of the river they have to go through is said to be impenetrable, with fast rapids and overgrown parts. To make matters worse the two can’t get along very well either. Continue reading →

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Blitz (2011)

When you watch a movie with Jason Statham, whatever your opinion is about him, you know exactly what to expect. Blitz is no exception to this. As detective sergeant Tom Brant he immediately (at the start of the movie) he beats a couple of criminals to pulp. He’s a cop with a short fuse and this results in regular arguments with his superiors. His knowledge and techniques are needed however when a crazy man starts killing cops. It’s up to him to find the guy. Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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Source Code (2011)

Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), a helicopter pilot for the army, wakes up disoriented on a passenger train. He doesn’t recognise his girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) and jumps when he sees his own reflection as he doesn’t look the way he remembers. Moments later he wakes up again, but now finds himself in a capsule in front of a monitor with a woman telling him what he should do and warps back to the train. Slowly he finds out that there is a bomb on the train and it is his assignment to find it and the person who planted it. Continue reading →

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Hanna (2011)

If you look at the number of action movies that have a female protagonist and compare it to the number of action movies starring men you will notice that there are not that many female action heroes. With Alien James Cameron showed that women can be vulnerable, but at the same time are able to handle guns and fight evil. This meant more females in these type of roles, but if you´d ask me to name female action stars I´d probably be done pretty quickly. The only woman I would be able to mention is Angelina Jolie who has shown she can kick ass with the Tomb Raider movies, Salt and Wanted.

Hanna (played by Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones)) the next action hero. She´s only 16, but has been raised in solitude in the north of Finland by her father (Eric Bana). They live in a desolated area where no other people are around and they survive by hunting. Her father is constantly testing Hanna to see if she´s able to defend herself. All her knowledge comes from her father and an encyclopedia. She has never heard any music and has had no contact with anyone except her father. It´s no surprise that there is a moment where she starts to get curious about the world and wants to discover it. Her father helps her to get in contact with the outside world. Her first experience isn´t a positive one and it´s the start of a journey through Europe filled with suspense and action. Continue reading →