Tag Archives: score: 8

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Ellis (2015) – Review

Review Ellis

Ellis Island, New York. A deserted, slowly decaying building in which the paint is peeling away from the surface seems to be way past its former glory. But this place, on this island is important, because its the spot from which most of America was populated. It’s the place where millions of Europeans, from various countries, arrived after a long journey by boat, hoping to start a new life and making the American dream a reality. These were people who left everything they cared about behind and faced an uncertain future. Ellis is the story of one of these people and tries to make this place on Ellis Island come alive again. Continue reading →

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Zootopia (2016) – Review

Recensie Zootopia

It’s always exciting when a studio releases a new movie which isn’t a sequel. Releasing such a movie can be a risk (Gods of Egypt is a good example), because making films is not cheap, especially when they are completely computer generated. Disney has been on a roll lately with Wreck-it-Ralph, Frozen and Big Hero 6 (and of course the Pixar movies), so it was exciting to see what they would bring with Zootopia. Continue reading →

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A Trip to the Moon (1902) – Review

Review A Trip to the Moon

I should hang my head in shame, but as long as I’ve been watching movies I had never seen A Trip to the Moon. Not because I wasn’t interested in seeing it, but simply because I didn’t free up time to look for it. It should have been on my Blindspot series, because it’s easily accessible through Youtube and with a length of only 16 minutes (for the restored color version) quickly watched. I’m happy to have finally seen it. Continue reading →

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Land of Mine (2015) – Review

Review Land of Mine

Over here in the Netherlands you still hear, more than 60 years after the second world war, news about unexploded bombs being found while digging. When I was young (end of the eighties probably) I remember we had to stay at my grandmothers place during one weekend as a bomb was found quite near to our house and it needed to be defused. I can still remember seeing a drawing of the blast radius of that bomb and had it gone off it would have had a huge impact on the area. It is hard to imagine how many bombs were used during that war. The beaches in Denmark were carpeted with two million landmines, protecting the German army from an invasion from sea. After the war though these mines needed to be removed and what the Danish did, was use German soldiers to do so. Land of Mine tells the story of a group of young soldiers who are forced to do this extremely dangerous job. Continue reading →

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Room (2015) – Review

review room

Room introduces Joy (Brie Larson) and her five-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) as a one parent family. They live in a small house, do their morning rituals and spend a lot of time with each other. But not everything is as it seems. Jack’s hair is extremely long, Joy doesn’t seem to take very good care of herself and the space they are living in seems awfully small. You start to wonder why they don’t go outside. When you then find out that these two people are being held in a small room, Joy was kidnapped as a teen and has been abused resulting in Jack, then you know that you are watching something which won’t be easy to sit through. Continue reading →

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Demolition (2015) – Review

Demolition recensie

If we are really honest with ourselves, would there be parts of our lives we would change if we wouldn´t think about the consequences? Would you still work for the same employer? Stay in your relationship? Change your daily routine? We all have sometimes wonder about these questions, but we rarely make big choices which change our lives drastically. Sometimes we won´t face facts and have the feeling we have invested too much energy into something to get out of it. But what would happen if we did not hide our interests and desires and follow them completely? That is exactly what Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) does in Demolition. Continue reading →

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99 Homes (2014) – Review

Review 99 Homes

There are times when movies are released (or you just happen to watch them) which have a lot of similarities when it comes to their subject matter. Sometimes that’s annoying because one of them is usually better, which can impact your appreciation of the other one. But there are also times when two films complement each other. Over here both The Big Short and 99 Homes are playing in cinemas, both having something to do with the financial crisis that emerged because of the housing crisis and “adjustable rate mortgages”. The Big Short shows how a group of businessmen saw the crisis coming, made some investments and eventually become rich of of it. 99 Homes shows the other side of the story, the implications for families who suddenly no longer are able to pay their mortgages and are suddenly homeless. Continue reading →

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An (2015) – Review

Review An

Japan is a country which has always fascinated me. Not only because of technology, but also the culture and nature. A couple of years ago (partly inspired by seeing Lost in Translation) I decided to go on a holiday there and it still is the best one I’ve ever had and one I fondly remember. During three weeks I travelled the country and enjoyed the busy cities, the wonderful architecture of the old buildings and gardens, the beautiful landscapes and of course the great food. And because I didn’t know the language I didn’t always know what I exactly bought for lunch. One of them was a bun filled with beans, which I really didn’t like. But after seeing An I was curious to know if maybe I didn’t buy one which was made with as much passion as the ones in this film. Continue reading →

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Natural Disorder (2015) – Review

Natural Disorder review

When we hit puberty we usually start trying to find our own identity. Your body and brains are starting to change and it might take a while before you’ll feel comfortable with that and have found your place in society. This is also the case for 24-year old Jacob Nossell from Denmark. In his head he is like any other person, but he stands out in the way he moves and talks, because he is spastic. He is searching for the answer what it means to be “normal”, whether he should be a live and how society will deal with people like him in the future. All those questions he wants to answer in a stage play at the Royal Danish theater. Director Christian Sønderby Jepsen follows Jacob during his search and preparations. Continue reading →

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The Terror Live (2013) – Review

Review The Terror Live

The Terror Live is a movie I had planned to write about a while ago, but the week I was going to publish it, the attacks in Paris happened and that made me think. A lot of the movies I’ve written about this week have something to do with bombs. For the moviegoer they are a source of entertainment, excitement and spectacle. But sometimes we see the real damage they can do in real life. I made me wonder why we’d still choose to see those type of movies? In my opinion it is partly to be able to experience something we normally wouldn’t be able to. We can escape our everyday life for a moment and face our biggest fears, but then in a safe environment. Sometimes though (like after the attacks) fiction and reality come too close together and it will feel wrong to enjoy such films.

In the past various shocking events have had their effect on movies. A scene was removed from Gangster Squad after the cinema shooting in Aurora, Colorado and the director of Die Hard with a Vengeance thought about removing the opening explosion because of the events in Oklahoma. At those moments scenes like could be considered insensitive/in bad taste. Continue reading →