April 26, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

Beastie Boys Story (2020) – Review

It is a huge challenge to remain relevant as a music artist. You only have to look at the number of one hit wonders (Big Shaq, PSY etc) who enjoyed very short and extreme success, but did not manage to turn that into a lasting career. Even big artists are only as good as their last album and have to keep trying to stay relevant. If you look at hip hop, the number of real stars is very small. Well-known groups and artists from the 80s and 90s have disappeared or have been mostly forgotten. One of the exceptions to this were the Beastie Boys. A group that started as a punk group in the 80s, made the switch to hip hop and evolved into proper musicians who made what they wanted, even if they were all instrumental songs. After Adam Yauch (MCA) died of cancer in 2012, the other members decided to stop making music. They previously released a book and now there is this documentary, directed by Spike Jonze. Continue reading →

April 20, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

LA Originals (2020) – Review

The music world has a lot of artists who are famous for their music and personality. Artists who managed to create something special in their genres and thereby left their mark. Think of Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Eminem, 50 Cent, Cypress Hill and House of Pain. However, what all these artists have in common is that they all have tattoos from Mister Cartoon. This Los Angeles artist was involved in drawing and graffiti from an early age. He designed T-shirts for the owners of low-riders. It was only years later that he also put his drawings on the skin of others. And since these people were world famous, he quickly made a name for himself. He partly owed that success to Estevan Oriol, a tour manager for Cypress Hill, House of Pain and Funkdoobiest, who was the only one to start recording gigs on video and taking photos. The two became close friends and together they managed to conquer the world. Oriol wants to show what this journey looked like with this documentary. Continue reading →

April 8, 2020 by Nostra - 0 comments

One Cut of the Dead (2017) – Review

A huge number of films are released every year. Many will never receive much attention and no one will remember them. And even if they get attention, it doesn’t have to mean they’re actually memorable. I myself occasionally see in my statistics on this site titles of films that no longer ring a bell, even though I have written a review about it. Only when viewing the stills do I only remember which one it was. However, the reverse also happens. Films that also came out in a specific year, which received little or no attention, but have managed to build a name over the years. That’s the case for the Japanese zombie movie One Cut of the Dead. I kept reading positive messages about it. After watching the film, those are quite justified, this is a movie made for film lovers to enjoy. Continue reading →

April 7, 2020 by Nostra - 3 Comments

Spenser Confidential (2020) – Review

The Netflix exclusive Spenser Confidential is already the fifth film in a row that director Peter Berg has made with Mark Wahlberg. After the terrible Mile 22 and with the thought in mind that generally Netflix movies (with a few exceptions) are disappointing, I decided to give this new title a try. I shouldn’t have. 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 - 0 comments

Suriname (2020) – Review

A movie title can create great expectations. Suppose you are asked to write a movie with the title America or the United Kingdom, which subject(s) would you choose to show that cover everything. And what message do you want to convey to your viewers? Surinam is a country with a turbulent history and that according to the opening title has a lot of natural resources (in the top 15 of the world), but that it nevertheless has problems. A fact that makes you think and that you can do a lot with. Unfortunately, it soon becomes painfully clear that a possible message is hard to find. 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 6, 2020 by Nostra - 1 Comment

Birds of Prey (2020) – Review

In Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie managed to stand out with her rendition of Harley Quinn. Therefore it isn’t surprising that DC decided to give the character her own film. Because despite the title, which refers to a group of female superheroes who fight crime (and also appear in the film), the focus is primarily on her. Does that result in an enjoyable film? 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 →