Tag Archives: 2015

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Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives (2015) – Review

Stretch and Bobbito Radio that changed lives review

The music which we discover during our teenage years often forms our further musical taste. Although I listened to all kinds of music that changed considerably when I got my first job working at a supermarket. Although I was listening to some top 40 rap songs (like Fight for Your Right by the Beastie Boys or I Need Love from LL Cool J), it was a colleague the same age as me who gave me names of artists I’ve never heard of, such as Cypress Hill and Das Efx. In my hometown of Rotterdam we had a place called the Central Discotheque, where you could rent CDs for a few guilders for week and I could find these artists. It was a place where you would be able to find me a few times a week to find the latest releases and to hire older CDs if I found an artists I liked. Once I got home, I copied all the CDs onto cassettes, so it didn´t take long before I had a nice collection of music and it was me who was giving others tips about which artists they should check out. This was all in the early nineties, the golden age of hip hop. Continue reading →

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Aloha (2015) – Review

Review Aloha

I love to cook and especially during the weekends when I have time to search for a new dish, do my shopping and spend some time in the kitchen. Of course I occasionally pick out dishes which I’ll only make once because I don’t like them, but in general they taste good and the combination of various ingredients turn into a delicious meal.

Making a movie can be easily compared to cooking. There are a lot of elements that come together to deliver a beautiful end product, under the guidance of a master chef. In this case the name of that master chef is Cameron Crowe, who was previously responsible for such films as Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky. For Aloha he has managed to pick some very good ingredients in the form of Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Bill Murray , Rachel McAdams , Alec Baldwin and Danny McBride. Together with them he went into the kitchen, but does that result in a flavourful dish? Continue reading →

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Making A Murderer (2015) – Review

Review Making A Murderer

The subgenre of documentaries that deal with crimes in which the wrong person is on trial and convicted (unfortunately) keeps growing. It means that too often police work is not done properly, evidence is insufficiently researched and too much significance is given to statements by witnesses. The Thin Blue Line revealed that already, but others did so too, documentaries like Murder on a Sunday Morning, A Murder in the Park, The Central Park Five, The Staircase, Give Up Tomorrow or films about “The Memphis Three” ( Paradise Lost and West of Memphis ). Last month, Netflix released the ten-part documentary series Making A Murderer which revolves around the case of Steven Avery. Continue reading →

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Beast of No Nation (2015) – Review

Review Beasts of No Nation

Although I have a broad taste in movies, the horror genre is one that I really avoid. I simply don’t enjoy making myself voluntarily uncomfortable, I don’t have that need. Give me a good action film or a wonderful documentary and I’m sure to have a great time. Netflix has a wide range for those tastes and in recent years the company has become a provider of many films and series that are worth watching. To ensure that they stay ahead of HBO they started making their own series, with great success (think Orange is the New Black or House of Cards).

Beasts of No Nation is their first “feature” film, which wasn’t only released on their own service, but was also shown in a limited number of cinemas on the same day. Although Netflix normally doesn’t release any numbers, they were proud to announce it had been watched three million times. But because huge numbers are no guarantee of a good movie (think Transformers), the question is whether Beasts of No Nation is a successful first step into their own movies. Continue reading →

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Advantageous (2015) – Review

review Advantageous

Technology is rapidly changing our society making some jobs which still existed in the previous century obsolete. So it’s not that hard to imagine that with the development of artificial intelligence, but also by introducing simple technical systems, people won’t be very relevant anymore in various areas. Advantageous is set in such a future, having made it harder to find jobs, especially for women. Continue reading →

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Joy (2015) – Review

Review Joy

Whatever your opinion is about director David O. Russell, you can’t deny that in recent years he has worked with an impressive number of actors and actresses and has made some interesting films like Silver Linings Playbook, Three Kings, American Hustle and The Fighter. In Joy he works together with several people from of his previous films including Jennifer Lawrence, Robert de Niro and Bradley Cooper. Continue reading →

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The Hateful Eight (2015) – Review

Recensie The Hateful Eight

The number of directors of which I need to see their latest movie can be counted on one hand. Quentin Tarantino is certainly one of them, because since seeing his first two films I’ve been a big fan of his style. A director with his own voice, his own kind of movies where not only the images are fantastic, but the choice of music is always original and dialogues is always recognizable as his own (whether in Reservoir Dogs or in a special episode CSI). A new Tarantino film is always an event for me and I could hardly wait to The Hateful Eight, his eighth film. Continue reading →

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Dope (2015) – Review

Review Dope

Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is a high school student who gets good grades, but in the neighborhood where he lives, Inglewood, that doesn’t automatically mean that he will be successful in his life. His route home is a like a minefield, where he must try to avoid several gangs. Together with his friends Diggy and Jib (Kiersey Clemons) and Tony Revolori (Grand Budapest Hotel), they stand out.

They call themselves geeks and are big fans of nineties hip hop. They not only listen to that music but also dress themselves in the fashion of that time. Malcolm is approached by a local dealer, who asks him to pass on some messages to a girl he likes and because of that is invited to a party. Something occurs there which will change his life: He is more or less forced to sell a bag full of drugs and because of that ends up in various hazardous and unique situations Continue reading →

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Sicario (2015) – Review

Review Sicario

As children, we learn that we have to color inside the lines, that in fairy tales there is only right and wrong, and that the world consists of contradictions: Black / White. As you get older you start to realise life is not so simple, that nuance exists and there is always another side to a story. Not everyone always takes the time to look into the nuance because it makes it easier to form an opinion about something or to make a judgment.

This also applies to the law. Of course a judge looks at the facts of a case and decides if something is right or wrong. But what do you as a police unit against an enemy who is able to do anything and has more money, people and weapons available than you? Should you still have to follow the rules when you see that you won’t be able to win that way? Continue reading →