At the end of my Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom I wrote that “the idea of the end might be interesting, but I hope that the writers of the (probably inevitable) sequel come up with better ideas”. The ending showed dinosaurs could now be found everywhere in the world, but what would happen? That is what this Jurassic World short, directed by Colin Trevorrow, tries to answer. Are good ideas shown here? Continue reading
Shazam! (2019) – Review
After Wonder Woman and Aquaman, DC slowly starts to move away from the extremely dark settings that Zack Snyder, among others, created. A positive development and this movie continues that line with perhaps the most colorful film (at least in terms of marketing), Shazam!. The character was once more popular than Superman (and was originally called Captain Marvel). DC started a lawsuit against the publisher in the 1940s (because Captain Marvel looked too much like Superman) and eventually bought the rights. Despite that eventful history, it is the first time that Shazam! appears on the large screen. Does director David F. Sandberg succeed in making it memorable? Continue reading
Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) – Review
The web series Between Two Ferns, in which Zach Galifianakis interviews famous people in a very special way, has always been entertaining to watch. By means of his questions he actually criticizes the other and makes them more or less embarrassed, but his guests like to play along. The short format resulted in a lot of funny moments and it now has made the transition to a full movie on Netflix. But does such a concept work if you have to fill 82 minutes? Continue reading
Frank and Ollie (1995) – Review
Frank and Ollie is a documentary that had been on my IMDB “to watch” list for a long time, but was actually not available. It was therefore a positive surprise when I saw it available through Disney+ and could finally see it. I am always fascinated by films that are about making films and I was curious to know what this film had in store. Continue reading
Free Solo (2018) – Review
When I was in Greece last summer, I visited a beautiful bay surrounded by rocks about 15 meters high. Of course I wanted to enjoy the view and decided to climb it. Atually the word climbing is perhaps a little much, because nowhere did I have to hang on a ledge or look carefully at how I could get up. There were many flat pieces and certain sections almost looked like stairs. Once I was on top, I already had the feeling of being quite high and I could imagine the consequences of a fall. It is therefore difficult to imagine that someone climbs a mountain range, El Capitan in Yosemite Park, of 2307 meters high. Without a single form of security. However, that is what Alex Honnold had in mind and that has resulted in the documentary Free Solo. Continue reading
Best Road Trip Films For Unlikely Partners
Nearly 40% of Americans use a road trip as a vacation itself, instead of simply traveling to a far-off destination. Thanks to the sheer vastness of the American landscape, it’s easy to drive through multiple different scenes in the span of a few days. The epic scenery and great stops along the way are sure to make the trips more memorable. But for some, the scenery is lost on them as they’re lumped with a partner they did not necessarily want along on their journey, and thanks to Hollywood, these unlikely pairs make it to our screens. Continue reading
Disney+ : My first experience with it
Altough the official worldwide rollout of Disney+ won’t be happening until the 12th of November (US and Canada) and the 19th (Australia and New Zealand), today the Netherlands got a nice surprise. Disney has chosen it to do a test run with the service and you could sign up for free for the coming two months. Of course I was interested in this and this morning I’ve been browsing through the service. Here are my first thoughts about it. Continue reading
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) – Review
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes there are those movies where, after seeing them, you get the feeling that the real world is boring and gray. And then I am not even talking about the extremes of a Speed Racer or Alice in Wonderland, but simply about the way in which a filmmaker has been able to capture “normal life” in a beautiful way, with each shot looking like a piece of art. A moment that you could frame and hang on your wall.
If a director is able to do that with his first feature film, then you know that it is one that you should keep an eye on. Director Joe Talbot does this together with cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra. He grew up in San Francisco and was good friends with Jimmie Fails. Jimmie told a lot about his youth and how he grew up. It inspired Talbot and they decided to make shorts, which eventually became a Kickstarter and got interest from Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B Enterntainment. Thanks to his help, Talbot was given access to a larger budget to film the story, which is partly based on the life of his friend, with Jimmie playing the leading role. Continue reading
Blinded by the Light (2019) – Review
When I found the music that appealed to me as a teenager, I wanted as many people as possible to hear the songs I loved as well. When you feel a connection with something, you want to share it, because you think that others will have the same connection. So I opened the window of my room and blasted my music loud, when I was in the tram I actually turned up the volume of my walkman way too high and when I had my first car I usually drove with the windows open (ok, the latter also had to do with the fact that I had no air conditioning). The influence of music on someone can be huge, especially as a teenager. I also see that with my daughters when they share a song and you see how much it means to them and they want you to experience the same thing. It is that feeling that Blinded by the Light is all about. Continue reading
Who Is Arthur Chu? (2017) – Review
Who Is Arthur Chu? That was the question I asked myself when I saw this title. Since Jeopardy! isn’t a show that’s available here I didn’t know anything about him. In this game show the answers are shown and the participants have to guess the question. Arthur Chu also participated and managed to win a lot of money. However, the way he played earned him a lot of criticism from the show’s fans, who felt that he was playing in an unfair way by not playing in a fixed order. Some people called him a “Jeaopardy! Villain”. This documentary spends little time on his participation, but focuses more on his life afterwards. Continue reading