A lot has been written about 2020. It is obvious it will go into the history books as a year that has been memorable (in a negative way). Writer Charlie Brooker, who many will know as the creative mind behind Black Mirror, decided to make a Netflix movie. The end result? A satirical look back at the past surreal 12 months, mixing real imagery with interviews with “experts”. These are played by Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow and Kumail Nanjiani among others. Continue reading
Creativity and the creation of a work is sometimes elusive. It is sometimes unclear where the urge to make something comes from, how you come up with a certain idea and why you make choices to achieve the final result. That is something that is part of every creative expression, be it movies, paintings, music or anything else. Song Exploder is a podcast that has been interviewing musicians about a song they’ve created for years. The music itself is separated using the original files, sometimes per instrument. You will hear why certain choices have been made, what feeling is behind it or what message is being conveyed. They are relatively short episodes, often less than half an hour, in which you hear the final song in its entirety after the story and the music. With the Song Exploder series, podcaster Hrishikesh Hirway makes the step towards a visual medium with the same concept. Continue reading
The amount of data that we create as humanity is enormous. To put that in perspective: the amount of data we have created over the past two years is more than all the data that we have made in the entire history of humanity. And with such an overload of data, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get attention for a certain topic. When something is in the news, the period in which that subject is forgotten seems to be getting shorter and shorter. When the Pentagon Papers were published in the early 1970s, their impact was great and they kept the public busy for a long time. And although the impact of the Panama Papers in 2015 was there, with a number of senior officials in various countries resigning, it is not easy to conclude that there has been a fundamental change in regulations to make tax havens disappear. Director Steven Soderbergh seems to have the same feeling and tries to draw attention to this subject again with The Laundromat. Continue reading
Occasionally there are new developments within film that may have far-reaching consequences for the medium. Consider, for example, the introduction of sound, color and CGI. Still, filmmakers continue to look for new technical improvements to push the experience even further. As a film viewer, I am always curious whether something could possibly mean a next step. James Cameron previously announced that the following Avatar films would use a higher frame rate. Current films are shown in 24 images per second (24fps) and many consider this the look of film.
That speed dates back to the time that a cameraman had to crank the film through the camera by hand and that was a speed that was manageable. The result is a moving image that is actually jerky and does not feel like what your eyes see in real life. A higher frame rate approximates reality more, but what is the impact of this on the film experience? Cinema visitors could experience that a few years ago with The Hobbit trilogy. The films were shown in 48fps and it divided viewers. Some thought it felt like you were watching a soap opera, where costumes didn’t really look real. Others (including myself) saw the benefits. You are able to follow action much better because it is fluid.
Director Ang Lee previously made Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and shot it in 3D and 120fps. That film was not shown in the cinema over where I am. His latest film Gemini Man is however, if you do proper research to see it close to the way Ang Lee intended. Although the IMAX cinemas show the film in a higher frame rate, they are only limited in 60fps. If you want to see it in 120fps, the Dolby Cinema rooms are the only option (they show it in 2K instead of 4K though). Yesterday morning I visited the film in a Dolby Cinema to experience this new format with my own eyes. Continue reading
After Wonder Woman and Aquaman, DC slowly starts to move away from the extremely dark settings that Zack Snyder, among others, created. A positive development and this movie continues that line with perhaps the most colorful film (at least in terms of marketing), Shazam!. The character was once more popular than Superman (and was originally called Captain Marvel). DC started a lawsuit against the publisher in the 1940s (because Captain Marvel looked too much like Superman) and eventually bought the rights. Despite that eventful history, it is the first time that Shazam! appears on the large screen. Does director David F. Sandberg succeed in making it memorable? Continue reading
When I found the music that appealed to me as a teenager, I wanted as many people as possible to hear the songs I loved as well. When you feel a connection with something, you want to share it, because you think that others will have the same connection. So I opened the window of my room and blasted my music loud, when I was in the tram I actually turned up the volume of my walkman way too high and when I had my first car I usually drove with the windows open (ok, the latter also had to do with the fact that I had no air conditioning). The influence of music on someone can be huge, especially as a teenager. I also see that with my daughters when they share a song and you see how much it means to them and they want you to experience the same thing. It is that feeling that Blinded by the Light is all about. Continue reading
At the age of 66, Liam Neeson still manages to come across as an action hero. Although he did say in the past that he would no longer do those roles, he eventually said he changed his mind. He wants to keep doing them until he is no longer there (or of course the audience watching these films). Since Taken he has starred in one or more action films each year. The quality is generally quite the same: entertaining films to satisfy the hunger for action, but often nothing more than that. Is Cold Pursuit the same? Continue reading
Bonnie and Clyde from 1967 is seen by many as a classic film. The film with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway is seen as a revolutionary film that changed the direction of Hollywood. I saw the film a few years ago for the first time and I have to admit that I didn’t think it was that special. Maybe I should give it a second chance, but I didn’t connect with it and gave it a 6. Criminal Clyde Barrow and former waitress Bonnie Parker commit bank robberies together, were seen as celebrities at the time and over the years various films have been made about them. The story about a man and a woman who go into crime together apparently appeals. But every story has multiple sides and the new Netflix movie The Highwaymen shows how two police officers are chasing the duo with the aim of eliminating them. Continue reading
Bill Murray is an actor who, thanks to various iconic roles (eg. Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day or Lost in Translation) has succeeded in conquering a place in the hearts of many film fans. But even outside his filmography he has managed to create kind of a legend around him. How? By simply appearing suddenly at everyday moments and being himself. Thanks to the internet this is shared with the world and you can read how he suddenly appeared on the wedding photos of a wedding couple, did the dishes at a party or sang Happy Birthday for a grandmother. But why do we like to read about it? That is the question that director Tommy Avallone tries to answer. Continue reading
Twice a year one of the biggest cinema chains in the Netherlands organizes the PAC-festival (Pathé Alternative Cinema). A day during which five (usually) arthouse movies are shown. It’s something I always look forward to. Not only because they are movies that still have to be released, but also because in general the quality is high and the atmosphere in the cinema is great (you meet people from previous vistis and you share this room from 10 in the morning to almost midnight). This year the festival started with Loro, directed by Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, Youth). Was it a good start? Continue reading