Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Review Kingsman

As I consume quite a big number of movies each year, you’d expect that I would also keep up with the latest news and watch the latest trailers. However, this is not the case. If I haven’t seen a new movie yet I usually won’t be able to tell you a thing about it. The reason is that I enjoy that feeling of surprise and shock when watching a movie. The only thing I’ve seen of Kingsman was its poster which had a wardrobe on it filled with nice seats and some guns. I knew that Samuel L. Jackson was in it. Nothing would have been able to prepare me for the spectacle this movie offers.

Had I looked at the writer/director, Matthew Vaughn, I could have known that this movie would have something special. He was responsible for the screenplays of Kick-Ass, The Debt and X-Men: First Class. With Kingsman: The Secret Service he serves up his ode to the spy movies, made popular by James Bond. Continue reading

Still Alice (2014)

Review Still Alice

What makes you you? The experiences you have during your life form you, memories help you to not make the same mistake twice, but also help you function. Everyone knows the experience of forgetting specific details about something, feeling like its just on the tip of your tongue, without you being able to recollect it. It is a frustrating feeling, but it is unimaginable having that experience a lot.

That’s exactly what Alice (Julianne Moore) experiences. She is a successful linguist who besides teaching regularly is invited to give speeches during conferences. Language is her passion, but she notices that she’s starting to forget words. That feeling becomes worse and she decides to see a doctor, who makes a shocking conclusion: she’s got the first signs of early Alzheimer. Continue reading

21 Years: Richard Linklater (2014)

review 21 Years Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater might be one of those directors who stands out most among his peers. If you look at the movies he has made there really doesn’t seem to be a strong connection between them. He made his debut with Slacker, a movie which had a structure unlike any other movie at the time and was new to audiences. It didn’t have a real plot and Linklater showed life within a specific community. Looking at his career he has made experimental films (Waking Life/A Scanner Darkly), films the play with time (Before trilogy/Boyhood), comedies (School of Rock, Bad News Bears) and dramas (The Newton Boys, Bernie). Linklater is a director who has managed to inspire many others (for example Kevin Smith/Duplass brothers), but who was also at the start of some very successful careers (including Matthew McConaughey). 21 Years: Richard Linklater is a documentary which tries to give an overview of Linklaters impressive body of work Continue reading

Top Five (2014)

Review Top Five
Chris Rock has been one of my favourite standup comedians for years. He’s always sharp, has valid criticism about things in society and always has some quoatable moments that will stay with you. Besides his work on the podium he has worked in the world of movies as well as writer, producer, actor and directory. He has written, directed and stars in Top Five. A title which reference his top five of best rappers ever. Continue reading

The Maze Runner (2014)

Review The Maze Runner

Before you read anything about The Maze Runner or before you start watching it, it’s important to know one thing: This movie is based on a series of books and this is only the first one (the next one will be released in September). With that knowledge in the back of your mind you are mentally prepared that this film doesn’t have a real ending. Not knowing this could result in a frustrating experience. With that out of the way, what is this movie about? Continue reading

Børning (2014)

Review Borning

One of the reasons I always enjoy Top Gear (well, until all the stuff with Clarkson happened) is the fantastic way in which the cars are shot. Just when you think you’ve seen everything the team behind the show thinks up a new innovative way to film. The program itself really isn’t about cars, but about entertainment. The same thing is true for the Norwegian comedy Børning. Continue reading

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been very popular since the eighties. When growing up I watched the cartoons as well and even though I liked them I never bought the action figures. My pocket money went to the He-Man action figures and BraveStarr and after I stopped watching the cartoon I never checked out the turtles again. The characters were kept alive though in various new cartoon series and movies, but the image I have of them is still from the very first cartoons, where “Cowabunga!” was heard a lot. Continue reading

Art and Craft (2014)

review Art and craft

That the art world is a special subculture won’t surprise anyone. For outsiders it is sometimes hard to understand why a specific painting or object is so loved or why the story about who made it is just as important (for example see the documentary My Kid Could Paint That) as what you are seeing. Various documentaries have been made who look critically at the art world, like F for Fake and Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Recently The Art of the Steal showed that art is, just like any other business, all about money. Getting a highly valued piece of art in your collection is important, because it will be the reason for people to visit your museum. The subject of this documentary, Mark Landis, uses that knowledge. What this forger did was copying famous paintings and then, after telling a story about a deceased loved one leaving it to him or pretending to be a priest, donate it to a museum. It is something he had been doing for decades and without knowing, over 60 museums were displaying his work. He seemed to be able to keep doing this, until he met Matthew Leininger, who worked for a museum in Cincinatti. Continue reading

Selma (2014)

Review Selma

A title like Selma doesn’t ring much bells over here. Is it the name of a person or a ship? In the Netherlands we don’t have much knowledge of American history. That isn’t to say that we don’t know Martin Luther King, his famous “I have a dream” speech and his shocking end. He’s the subject of this movie and Selma is the town where most of the story is set. Continue reading

The Boxtrolls (2014)

review The Boxtrolls

Most big animated movies you watch now are computer generated. There aren’t a lot of studios anymore who still animate by hand, simply because computer animation gives more possibilities and the market has proved that those type of movies are more successful. Fortunately there are still some studios who prove differently. Of course when it comes to animation Studio Ghibli is still showing the heights this format can rise to.

When it comes to stop animation than most people will probably first think of the studio who is responsible for Wallace & Grommit and Shaun the Sheep, Aardman Animations, who definitely make enjoyable films. But to me it is Laika studios who is the current emperor in this arena. The Boxtrolls is just their third movie, but with Coraline and ParaNorman they have already proven themselves worthy. With this movie they raise the bar again. Continue reading