June 30, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Dads (2019) – Review

It was Father’s Day recently and Apple took the opportunity to release the documentary Dads on their Apple TV+ service. A documentary that, as the title makes clear, is about fatherhood. Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, this film features many fathers talking about their experiences with fatherhood. Besides well-known directors and actors, such as Judd Apatow, her own father Ron Howard, Neil Patrick Harris, Jimmy Fallon, Will Smith, Ken Jeong and Hasan Minhaj, there are also fathers from different countries and in different situations. Continue reading →

May 15, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Netflix vs. the World (2019) – Review

Netflix is a service that most of us can no longer imagine we didn’t have. With its wide range of films and a lot of original series, this VOD service has become a regular destination in the daily lives of many. The company was founded in 1997. This documentary looks at this video on demand giant and in particular how it has succeeded in becoming so successful. Continue reading →

May 6, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Les Misérables (2019) – Review

During the opening moments of the French film Les Misérables, in which you see large crowds of people during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, you get a strange feeling looking at it with the reality of today. In a society where you ensure that you keep enough distance from each other, it makes you feel uncomfortable. Obviously this was not the vision for the makers of the film, but it is almost alienating to see. The title might suggest that this is a new version of the famous book by Victor Hugo. There is no direct link however, but the events do take place in Montfermeil. It is the place where Hugo wrote his book and director Ladj Ly tells his own story. Continue reading →

April 7, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Not for Resale (2019) – Review

The rise of the internet and digitization has had a huge impact on the high streets. I can remember a time when I was in a record store every week to buy the latest CDs and the amount of money I spent on them. With the arrival of MP3s and the streaming services, these stores could no longer stay profitable and mostly disappeared. The same was also the case for the video rental stores. It was great to spend a lot of time there looking for movies that would surprise you. The only entertainment stores that still exist are the stores where you can buy video games. But this last dodo also seems to be slowly pushed off a cliff with the increasing popularity of digital purchases on both PC and game consoles. Not for Resale dives into this world to see why the owners of gamestores have not yet closed the doors and what their expectations are for the future. Continue reading →

April 6, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

The Gentlemen (2019) – Review

Although director Guy Ritchie has been working for more than 20 years now and is responsible for titles such as Aladdin, The Man from UNCLE, and the Sherlock Holmes movies, it’s his first two movies that are still my favorite. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch were delightful British gangster films that stood out for their pacing and humor. With The Gentlemen, Ritchie returns to his roots. Continue reading →

March 22, 2020 by Nostra - 1 Comment

6 Underground (2019) – Review

You can interpret the above spectacular photo of the Netflix movie 6 Underground in a number of ways. Visually your eyes are immediately drawn to it. Why is an Audi flying through the air? Are those explosions or did someone just play with fireworks? What is actually going on here? Especially the latter is a question that I regularly ask myself when I see a Michael Bay movie. A director who is able to create visually attractive images, but then pastes so many in a row that you as a viewer sometimes lose the overview. When it comes to depth storywise it’s often lacking and because of that the action often feels empty. Does Bay manage to restrain himself a bit here? Continue reading →

February 1, 2020 by Nostra - 2 Comments

Uncut Gems (2019) – Review

“Never say never”. That was the saying that came to mind immediately after seeing Uncut Gems. A few years ago, after seeing Pixels, I took the decision not to see a single film with Adam Sandler. His comedies are unfortunately bad and I didn’t want to expose myself to those horrors anymore. However, when I heard that he was playing the lead role in a new film by the Safdie brothers, I had to put my decision aside. Their film Good Time was one of those titles which grabbed the viewer and never let go. It showed how good Robert Pattinson is as an actor. When the brothers wrote Uncut Gems, they had Sandler in mind for the lead role. Continue reading →

January 31, 2020 by Nostra - 2 Comments

Dark Waters (2019) – Review

The difficulty in implementing change, such as with the climate, is that most individuals understand the problem and are probably willing to take action. However, the problem is when these individuals are part of a large organization, that personal willingness may be different. The culture of a company, personal interests (keeping a job to take care of your family) and various other factors can lead to decisions being made that can make a huge amount of money for the company, but with a negative effect on society. The past has proven this time and time again, from economic crisis to wars. However, is it possible to change that or at least to make people think? Greta Thunberg was able to show that last year. In Dark Waters it becomes clear how difficult this can be. Continue reading →

January 31, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

1917 (2019) – Review

That war is hell is of course nothing new. We see it almost daily on the news and war movies and series also show the horrors. Whether that is Vietnam or the second world war. In recent years, the first world war has again become the subject or part of films. For example, Wonder Woman partially took place in this setting and last year Peter Jackson impressively succeeded in transforming the existing jerky black-and-white images into a smooth, colored and narrated document about how the soldiers’ lives in the trench war looked like. And with 1917, director Sam Mendes brings the First World War to the big screen in a way that has never been done before. Continue reading →

January 31, 2020 by Nostra - 2 Comments

Parasite (2019) – Review

I have always had a weakness for Alfred Hitchcock’s films. A director who was able to place ordinary people in special situations and defined what suspense is. It is a feeling that I also got while watching Parasite. The latest film from director Bong Joon-Ho (who previously made Okja, Snowpiercer, Mother, Memories of Murder and The Host, who just like Hitchcock, is a master at making films and offers the viewer a wonderfully unpredictable film in which the tension is constantly increased until it is almost unbearable. Continue reading →