How many movie franchises can you name on which the best directors like Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo, Joe Carnahan, Tony Scott and Neill Blomkamp have worked on, which have also been produced by David Fincher and Ridley Scott? You will probably respond that such a film series does not exist. That is until you hear of The Hire. BMW Films has managed to bring all these names, plus many more famous actors, together to create a series of short films in which a BMW is shown prominently and is driven by “The Driver” (Clive Owen). Continue reading
Tag Archives: 2001
Monsters Inc. (2001)
After recently watching Monsters University I just had to revisit the movie which made me fall in love with its world, Monsters Inc. Although I remembered most of the story it was good to see it again and at the same time see if the two movies are consistent (the quick answer: not entirely) Continue reading
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
I’m not big on musicals, maybe the reason for it is the amount of Disney movies I’ve seen where they burst out singing, but I always have the feeling they are not for me. Still I do watch them occasionally and there are some which I do like. Singing in the Rain is a good example and so is this one, Moulin Rouge!. It is a movie I’ve had in my collection for years and felt like watching it again. In anticipation to the Great Gatsby I just had to see another movie by director Baz Luhrmann. Continue reading
Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001)
I’m always fascinated by documentaries which show the justice system at work. Maybe it’s because I studied law, but the process always is interesting to watch (even though all my knowledge of the American system comes from movies) and Murder on a Sunday Morning shows a lot of that. The case is about an elderly couple who was on holiday in Florida. They were at their motel and a black man robbed them, killing the wife. The man gave out a description and only 90 minutes later 15-year-old Brenton Butler is arrested and positively ID’ed by the husband and the police have a signed confession. It seems like a closed case and is taken to trial. When that trial starts it becomes clear that it is all but a closed case and that the police might have not done everything they should have. Continue reading
My Sassy Girl (2001)
The romantic comedy. It’s a genre where a lot of people (especially men) will have mixed feelings about. The target audience are usually women and the stories are very predictable, although there are always exceptions to this rule who manage to do extra things to make them stand out (for example Forgetting Sarah Marshall or When Harry Met Sally). Is My Sassy Girl anything special? Continue reading
Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
At the age of 10 I really wanted to get a skateboard. I can’t remember having seen any skateboarding videos or pictures in magazines, but every time I went to the toy store I looked at it and knew I wanted to buy it. When I had finally saved enough money to be able to buy it I went to the toy store and got it. It was a wide, black board which had the head of an eagle in the middle. It had yellow wheels and I was happy to get it. As it turned out skateboarding wasn’t really my thing and I probably played with it for about a week and forgot about it. Turned out that roller skating was something I liked more and have done that for a long time (and still do occasionally). I never learned any tricks on that skateboard and the most skateboarding I’ve done was by playing Tony Hawk on the original Playstation. Dogtown and Z-Boys is a documentary about the evolution of skateboarding which has resulted in its current “extreme” state. This group of kids and teenagers didn’t stop practising and managed to start a revolution. Continue reading
Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (2001)
Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest boxers that ever lived. Not only in the ring, but also outside it he made an impression. Of course that impression wasn’t alway positive and he sometimes was the focus of controversy. Whether it was his choice to join the Nation of Islam and changing his name or his refusal to join the army to fight in Vietnam, which resulted in not being able to fight and almost ending up in jail.
He was one of the first rappers, even before rap existed. He had wit, charm and could be ferocious and was extremely popular. In this documentary a lot of people were interviewed to talk about this boxing legend. Continue reading
Scratch (2001)
I’ve been listening to hiphop for many years and when I heard about this documentary about scratching I was very curious to see it. I’ve seen hiphop change over the years, but it is the DJ who has been responsible for the creation and development of this music, even though MCs now define it. The documentary shows where it originated and how DJing developed itself through the years. Continue reading