Within the film industry there are certain combinations of directors and actors who seem to be almost inseparable. Martin Scorcese and Robert de Niro or Leonardo Di Caprio, Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon or Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. These are collaborations in which the two seem to reinforce each other. Director Peter Berg has that with Mark Wahlberg. The two previously made Lone Survivor,Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day. All films that are based on real events. However, this is not the case for Mile 22, which is entirely fictitious Continue reading
Tag Archives: films
The Breaker Upperers (2018) – Review
It’s sometimes difficult to keep track of what new content has appeared on Netflix. The streaming service itself does not have a clear overview in its interface and it is a pity that the suggestions are based more on popularity and your own taste instead of a simple list of new titles from which you make your own choice. Fortunately, I keep track of what comes out by reading other film blogs and listening to podcasts, so that way I’ll hear about titles which are worth watching. One of them is The Breaker Upperers, a comedy made in New Zealand. Continue reading
The Favourite (2018) – Review
Yorgos Lanthimos is a director who I always like to keep an eye on as a film lover. The reason for this is that he creates worlds and tells stories that are anything but standard or predictable. In The Lobster single people had to find a partner within 45 days or else they would change in animals and in The Killing of a Sacred Deer he plays with extortion and possibly supernatural powers, resulting in a number of very memorable moments. As a result, these films may be strange and not easily watched by everyone, but I really enjoy them myself. The Favourite is perhaps his most accessible film and has received a lot of Oscar nominations and Olivia Colman won the statuette for best actress (and had an amazing Oscar speech). What makes this film so special? Continue reading
The Thing From Another World (1951) – Review
One of my favorite sci-fi/horror films is John Carpenter’s The Thing, in which the tension is high and you, like the characters, have no idea what is going on and who may not be the person you think they are. Yet The Thing was a remake and according to some, one of the best ever made. I had never seen the original version before, but I was curious about the similarities/differences. Continue reading
The Price of Everything (2018) – Review
The only thing I truly like about art in the form of paintings / statues etcetera is that I am fascinated by the world around it. Although I sometimes visit a museum, artworks that I see there do rarely really move me. But to see how the art world works, how artists make their work and the craziness of it is often fascinating. The number of documentaries/films that I have seen about the subject is enormous (
Bodied (2017) – Review
I can still remember a moment, what could have been 20 years ago, when I went to a club in Rotterdam called Nighttown (which was once the place where a cinema was located) where a hiphop festival took place. It was a mix of all kinds of disciplines. In one room there were b-boys breakdancing, music was playing and artists were performing. But the thing everyone wanted to go to were the battles, which were on the program towards the end of the evening. A gladiatorial battle between different MCs, who try to basically kill each other verbally. A spectacle in which the direct feedback from the audience is the indicator of success. A mix of well thought-out pre-written texts, but also proof that you can respond to your environment and what the other person says to you. In one of the rounds it was local artist Tim Beumers battling and the referee dropped the coin by mistake at the toin coss, he saw an opportunity. He started and made an instant statement that the other guy was so poor that he saw him wanting to pick up that dropped coin. The audience went wild and Tim immediately used that in his lyrics as well. He went home as the winner that evening.
It is a subculture of hip hop that occasionally shows up in TV shows and films, with 8 Mile probably being the best known example. Eminem, who made a name for himself as a battle MC before he broke through, brought the battling to a wider audience and in Bodied, which he produced, also is about this scene. Is this a copy of that movie or does Bodied bring something new to the table? Continue reading
Memoir of a Murderer (2017) – Review
As we get older, the chance that our body starts to show defects is increasing. If you injure yourself, you will recover less quickly, you may need a new hip and a cold can have more serious consequences. Yet slowly losing your brain, your thoughts and who you are may be the most frightening thing that can happen. That you can no longer rely on the thing which makes you who you are and could no longer recognize the world around you. Forgetting what you did yesterday. If you are a serial killer who has decided years ago to no longer murder and suddenly find out that bodies are found, how do you know if you did not when you can’t remember? Continue reading
Alita: Battle Angel (2019) – Review
When I think of director Robert Rodriguez, I do not immediately feel that I should see every project he does. His first film El Mariachi was good, I have been able to enjoy the Spy Kids films for what they are and Sin City is perhaps his best, but the feeling of Grindhouse-like films that he has done a lot (eg. the Machete titles) prevails. I did not really have any expectations about Alita: Battle Angel, but the fact that this is a project that James Cameron wanted to make for nearly twenty years, besides Avatar, and he was also involved in developing this Rodriguez version, could result in something interesting. I decided to watch the film the best way possible, in a Dolby Cinema. Is Alita: Battle Angel worth it? Continue reading
Vice (2018) – Review
The medium of film is a true chameleon. It can be used to entertain, share information, raise awareness or provoke discussion. The film screen is a blank canvas on which a filmmaker can paint whatever he wants, and it is up to the viewer to decide whether what is shown is moving you or whether it is good / bad. Director Adam McKay, who previously made The Big Short (but also Step Brothers, Ant-Man and The Other Guys) uses that canvas here for something that is anything but standard. Continue reading
Arctic (2018) – Review
Writing a story for a film is a challenge in which the person who thinks of what happens to the main character can make a huge number of choices. As a writer, you want to be unique and not get into clichés. If you make the right choices and then it is also filmed by a competent director, that can result in a great movie. But if you make one wrong choice it can have a lot of impact on a story, sometimes so much that the viewer is no longer prepared to believe in the world that you have built up with great difficulty. Fortunately that was not the case for Arctic … until the last five seconds. Continue reading