Tag Archives: 2012

by - 20 Comments

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

Review of the movie The Place Beyond the Pines with Ryan Gosling

When you are going to see a movie, even if you don’t know anything about it, you go in with certain expectations. Of course you hope the movie you payed for is going to be good, but that is not what I’m talking about. You expect that you will join a character in his or her journey, getting to know them and care for them (even if they are bad). You might also expect a three-part setup, one introducing the character, the second something happening to them and the third act resolving their issues. Not many movies stray away from that formula and if they do they can divide opinions. I personally love those type of movies, 21 Grams and Pulp Fiction are prime examples. The Place Beyond the Pines maybe does not cut up its story in the same way as those movies, but it will not meet expectations people will have about it. The trailer of the movie does not prepare you for what the movie is providing and in this case this is a good thing. Continue reading →

by - 15 Comments

Spring Breakers (2012)

Review of the movie Spring Breakers

Life is what you make it. It is one of those phrases which seems to have lost its power and doesn’t mean much anymore, but as Springbreakers shows, it still holds true. When a couple of teenage girls decide that they all want to head to Florida to party during spring break, they are willing to do anything to make sure that they have the money to go there. They want to escape their everyday existence, which has become boring to them. They rob a restaurant and head over to Florida to party and live out their dream, which eventually involves gangsters, guns and drugs. Continue reading →

by - 6 Comments

The Company You Keep (2012)

Review of the Company You Keep

Surprises are the cherries on top of the cake of life (or something else if you don’t like cherries). They can brighten up your day because they show that the one giving them has taken the time to think about you and therefore are so cherished. They are the little moments you would like to have all the time and as a movie watcher I enjoy it when a movie is able to surprise me. I make sure movies are able to do that to read as little about them as possible and not watching trailers and for this movie, The Company You Keep I knew nothing. I knew Robert Redford and Shia LeBeouf were in it because they were on the cover, but as I was watching I was treated to one nice surprise after the other.

Robert Redford not only stars, but also has directed this movie (which is his 9th one) and has been able to get an amazing list of actors and actresses together to appear in this movie. Scene after scene I was thrilled to see another well-known actor play a role (some smaller than others) and this kept happening all through the movie. Susan Sarandon, Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci and Richard Jenkins are just a few examples, but there are many more. It’s a funny thing, but seeing familiar faces can really add to your enjoyment of a movie. Of course it is the reason why some actors get payed so much, because the general audience likes to see them and buys tickets. If you walk into a party and you don’t know anyone you won’t be as comfortable as when people you have seen before are present. As you know I watch all type of movies, also ones not starring well-known actors, but with this movie it was a joy to be surprised by the appearance of those actors/actresses. Continue reading →

by - 8 Comments

Django Unchained (2012)

Review of the Quentin Tarantino movie Django Unchained

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 →

by - 2 Comments

De Marathon (2012)

Review

My whole life I’ve lived in or around Rotterdam, a city I love with a passion. For those that don’t know the city, it has been one of the biggest ports of the world for years, which always gave it a working class feel (although that has changed a bit through the years). People from Rotterdam have their own way of speaking and their own type of humor and this movie is set in “my city”. The Rotterdam marathon is something I’ve never participated in, but I have stood at the sidelines since my father ran it two times (if I remember it correctly). Suffice to say I was interested to see if this movie would embrace its locale to the fullest. Continue reading →

by - 1 Comment

Cop vs. Killer (2012)

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 →

by - 26 Comments

The Master (2012)

Review of the Master

Straight from the opening shot, a lingering view of Joaquin Phoenix’s character Freddie Quell, you have the feeling this film is going to be special. It might be because it was the first movie shot on 65mm film since 1996, but at the start of the film I was blown away by what I was seeing. Beautifully framed shots and a perfect recreation of a time period around the second world war. There is a moment in a photo studio where you’d swear you are seeing archival footage or pictures of that times brought to life through some digital trickery. Those first couple of minutes had me hooked and I was prepared to join Freddie Quell, a struggling alcoholic, on his journey. It’s a shame then that at the end of the 144 minute running time I was lost. Continue reading →

by - 8 Comments

Stand Up Guys (2012)

Sometimes there are these movies where you see just one still and you are excited to watch it. A couple of months ago a set photo of Christopher Walken and Al Pacino appeared which was on my desktop for a while. It showed Pacino walking weirdly and Walken with his pants higher than they should be and i thought it was hilarious. I didn’t read anything else about the movie as that single image sold the movie for me. My expectation was that i was going to be entertained. It’s a shame I wasn’t. Continue reading →

by - 8 Comments

Promised Land (2012)

Review of Promised Land starring Matt Damon

Everyone has got actors and actresses they will watch in almost any movie they are in. I have several of them and one of them is Matt Damon. Looking at his career there were some movies that weren’t as good as others, but I do always enjoy his performances. Promised Land is a movie about fracking. If it wasn’t for the documentary GasLand, which I watched last year, I wouldn’t have an idea about what it was. It is a way to extract natural gas from the ground using a combination of chemicals. As that documentary showed, the effects of it can be devestating. It showed that people effected were able to put a flame next to their tapwater and it would catch fire. In Promised Land Matt Damon, together with Francis McDormand, play two gascompany representatives. Their job is to have people sell the rights to their land for a nice bag of money so gas can be extracted. Continue reading →

by - 12 Comments

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Review of the documentary Searching for Sugar Man

Some stories are almost too strange to be real, but this documentary tells one that will have you captivated. This movie is about Rodriguez, a musician I had never heard of before. He’s an American artist who never made it there, but who played a big part in the history of South Africa. He had a big following there and any serious South African record collector has to have his records besides those of greats like the Beatles. Unlike the Beatles though no one seemed to know anything about him. Not where he lived or even if he was still alive. There were crazy stories about how he had died, but nothing could be confirmed. Until two people decided to find the truth about him. Continue reading →