One of the apps I use on almost a day to day basis is Just Watch. It shows which movies have been added to Netflix (and other services) each day. It keeps me up to date and makes me aware of titles I wouldn’t normally notice. Recently this movie was in the list and I had never heard of it, even though it has an Oscar nomination for best female supporting role. With Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in the leading roles, I was interested in seeing it. Continue reading
West Side Story is a title that was not part of my Blindspot films this year, but I still was very curious about it. A musical from the sixties that won no less than ten Oscars and that I never came around to watching. When I saw this film was available on the inflight entertainment system this past summer I thought it was a good choice to kill some time. Continue reading
Although most celebrities die of natural causes, it remains shocking to see how many big artists and actors meet their and in part to drinking, drugs and medication. Michael Jackson, Prince, Amy Winehouse, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger all had problems with them and Whitney Houston unfortunately also belongs to that list. She drowned in the bathtub of her hotel room in 2012 and cocaine was found in her body. The documentary Can I Be Me, which has been availble through Netflix, looks at the career and private life of Houston and tries to form a picture of the problems that ultimately resulted in her death. Continue reading
When you hear information about a new movie from someone, it’s a good idea to listen carefully. When someone mentioned Atomic Blonde and told that it was directed by David Leitch I thought he said David Lynch. Now you have to understand that I am not someone who loves the work of Lynch, so I didn’t want to see the film anymore. Fortunately, I later heard that there was a connection with one of my favorite action films of the last couple of years, John Wick, and when I read more about the film, my mistake became clear. I’m glad that I saw the movie in the cinema, because for fans of action it is an unmissable title. Continue reading
The number of Korean films released annually in the cinema over here is minimal. Of course it is a matter of supply and demand, but it is unfortunate to see because so many good titles are made that can not be viewed here and are often not even released on DVD. Fortunately, Netflix is offering more and more Korean films, including this Netflix original. Continue reading
Although it’s not even December yet, Christmas decorations already have started to show up in shopping malls and department stores. You can already order your ugly Christmas sweaters and people are already sharing their recommendations for gifts and most people will be getting a Christmas tree soon. Of course when it comes to movies there is a lot of choice when it comes to this time of year. A quick view at IMDb shows there are 1149 movies in which Santa appears, which means there isn’t even time to watch them all. So the question this week is:
When do you start watching Christmas movies?
How good are your dance skills? Whatever the answer, after seeing this documentary you might start to doubt them. This documentary is about the world of swing dancing. A way of dancing that is extremely energetic, fun to watch and sometimes acrobatic. A dance that seemed to have died a silent death and wasn’t performed for many decades, but which suddenly became enormously popular again in the late 80s and early 90s. The reason? The fact that a large film studio decided to release old films with the dance on video. People who saw the Lindy Hop being performed in old films wanted to know more about it and the popular dancers of that time were suddenly asked to teach again, even though they were already elderly. Swing dancing made a huge comeback and never disappeared. Alive and Kicking tries to make it clear why. Continue reading
Although I have been listening to hip hop for more than 25 years now, if you asked me to name some American rappers with an Asian background, I would not get very far. The only one I could name is Jin, who became known years ago by his performance on Freestyle Friday at 106 and Park, where he beat other rappers for several weeks. The others tried to use the stereotypical images of kung fu, chinese food, and so on, but Jin went so hard that they didn’t stand a chance. Of course there are many more and this documentary looks at four other rappers, who all try to make a name for themselves. Continue reading
When Straight Outta Compton came out in 2015, it was a huge success. And as things go with successful films, others see a “formula” that can be repeated in order to achieve the same result. It meant at the time that various hip-hop related films were announced that would also thought of becoming “unexpected hits”. One of them is All Eyez on Me, which looks at the life of rapper Tupac Shakur, who was shot in Las Vegas at the age of 25, at a time when there was a lot of tension between artists on the west and east coast Continue reading
Although director Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovic, the Ocean’s Eleven films, Che, The Informant) announced in 2013 that he would stop making films that sad news. Yet saying something and sticking to it turned out to be difficult for him. He directed the The Knick series for HBO, helped Spike Jonze to edit Her and made his own “cuts” of well-known films available online. He had never really been away and now he “officially” is back with Logan Lucky, which to quote the film itself is an Ocean’s 7-11. In other words, a “heist” film, but in a setting that is a lot less glamorous. Continue reading