Tag Archives: 2012

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End of Watch (2012)

Review End of Watch

You only have to take one look at the writing and director credits on IMDB to see that David Ayer knows Los Angeles, the police department and the crime scene. He wrote screenplays for Dark Blue, Harsh Times and Training Day. He also has written this movie, following two LAPD officers (played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña) during their every day activities. This includes routine activities like chasing cars and investigating 911 calls. When they run into someone who is connected to a Mexican cartel their work becomes a lot more dangerous. Continue reading →

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The Imposter (2012)

Review of the documentary The Imposter

When you are a parent, one of the most frigtening experiences is when you can’t find your child. With three kids in the house it’s one we haved experienced twice, with one of the kids not being home at the time we agreed upon. You wait a bit longer, but when they don’t show up a sense of panic starts to develop and you go out of the house to try and locate them. When you can’t you really start to freak out and even if you try to stay positive you can’t help thinking of the worst. The family of Nicholas Barclay has experienced that situation and weren’t able to find him anymore. To their surprise the got a call a couple of years later out of Spain where they heard that Nicholas was found. They must have been overjoyed by it and went to pick him up, but as the title of this documentary already suggests, they didn’t meet the person who they thought they were meeting. Continue reading →

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Lords of the Rings The Hobbit film review

After the succes of the Lord of the Rings movies, everyone couldn’t wait for Peter Jackson to also bring Tolkien’s The Hobbit to the big screen. Because of several lawsuits it was uncertain if that would ever happen but finally in 2011 the production could start. When the first trailer for the film appeared online, the fans couldn’t wait to see it. Personally I have really enjoyed the three Lord of the Rings movies Jackson did, so I was interested in also seeing this movie. Not only for its story, but also for experiencing High Frame Rate (HFR) 3D. 20 Minutes of the 48 frames-per-second version were previewed at CinemaCon at the beginning of the year and not everyone was convinced by it, saying it made everything look too real. I couldn’t wait to experience it myself and see if it is the “next big thing” which we’ll see more of in the future. Continue reading →

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The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)

If you are a fan of hip hop (and probably also if you haven’t) you must have heard of the Wu Tang Clan, who burst onto the scene at the beginning of the nineties. Their name, just like their music, was heavily inspired by old kung fu movies and Hong Kong cinema (think movies like “The Killer”). They used a lot of samples out of those movies and one of the musical masterminds behind the beats was RZA. In the past he has been involved in creating the music for various movies, like Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai, Afro Samurai and Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol.1. and with the love he has for the kung fu genre it’s only natural that he would make a movie eventually.

He has written the screenplay together with Eli Roth, composed the music and directs The Man with the Iron Fists. Does the movie make as much impact as the Wu Tang Clan did? Continue reading →

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Savages (2012)

When it comes to Oliver Stone’s movies there is one thing you usually expect and that’s controversy. It happened during JFK when he showed his theory as truth and during Alexander with the sexual preferences of the character. Wil Savages be controversial? It does have some shocking scenes, but as this is an adaptation of a book I don’t expect there will be a lot of controversy about its story. The only thing which will cause a lot of conversation is the ending of the movie. Continue reading →

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Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)

review

I still remember seeing the original Universal Soldier in 1992. It starred Jean Claude van Damme as Luc Deveraux, who became Universal Soldier GR44 and Dolph Lundgren as Andrew Scott/GR13 who was the bad guy. It liked the movie so much that I remember seeing it twice in the cinema. I loved the cheesy oneliners and the action. After this several sequels were made in the nineties: Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms, Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business, Universal Soldier: The Return. I skipped all of them knowing they wouldn’t be any good. It wouldn’t be the last in the series though as 2009 brought Universal Soldier: Regeneration, with both van Damme and Lundgren returning. I wasn’t expecting much from it, but thought it was quite entertaining and gave it a 7. So when I saw there was another one I was looking forward to checking it out as well as both the actors also were part of this one. Continue reading →

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Gandhi (1982)

Watching these historical movies time and time again show me that I’m seriously lacking in knowledge about world history as also was the case with this film. I knew that India was ruled by the English and that Gandhi was very important in the process of the country becoming independent, but that was about as far as my knowledge went. This biopic shows the process which took place to make that independence happen and the difference one man can make in changing the future. Continue reading →

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Argo (2012)

review

When I was in school I was always interested in the history lessons as the teacher I had was very good at telling the stories, making it fun to listen to. I must admit that I really can’t remember much of what I learned during those classes and only remember him saying that everything which happens in America will happen over here as well, just five years later. It was very interesting and for a while seemed to be a valid theory. Anyway I’m sure you are reading this to find out my thoughts about Ben Affleck’s third movie in the director’s chair, Argo about historic events which took place in Iran. Now I am pretty sure this was never discussed in the history lessons I took, so going into this movie (just like any other) I had no idea what had happened and was ready to be surprised. Continue reading →

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Killing Them Softly (2012)

From the moment Killing Them Softly starts, you know this is a movie that’s different. The sound is disorienting, the cuts sudden and as I heard soundbites from the previous presidential election I started to wonder if the movie had already started or that I was watching a trailer for something else. Set against the streets of New Orleans, which seem to be almost devoid of life, this movie tells a story about crime and possibly about the state of America. A movie which immediately stands out and takes you into the dark world of gambling and hitmen. Continue reading →