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The Bikeriders (2023)
Badass bikermovie, i loved it!
When director Jeff Nichols comes up with a film, you actually already know in advance that you are going to see a special film. Although The Bikeriders has been on the shelves since 2023 and Disney's 20th Century Fox was intended to give the film a release on December 1, 2023, it was the writer's strike that delayed the film. This is because actors could not otherwise promote the film and in the end Disney dropped the entire project. Now it is society Focus and Universal Studios that still release the film in the cinemas, because it would have been a mortal sin if the film had not finally been released or ended up directly on a streaming service. With names like Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer and the already sixth collaboration between Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon, an impressive list is delivered in terms of cast and you actually know in advance that this should be good.
If you like old-fashioned good motorcycle gang movies that used to be made, you've come to the right place with this movie. The atmosphere is fine and Nichols really knows how to represent the 60s well. The movie opens when Kathy walks into a motorcycle bar to give something to a friend. She feels uncomfortable and is harassed by the bar visitors. When she sees Benny she is immediately in love, but she actually wants to leave right away because the motorcyclist becomes hand-handed, but then Johnny jumps into the breach. This is the beginning of a difficult relationship, because Benny prefers the motorcycle club over Kathy and increasingly comes into contact with police and becomes more often involved in fights. The motorcycle club holds races more and more and more often has picnics, where they come into contact with rival motorcycle clubs. But then things go wrong and something bad happens to Benny that causes him to be seriously injured. This causes Kathy to want Benny to step out of the motorcycle club, but Benny doesn't want to know about anything and that's the moment Kathy begins to understand that he prefers The Vandals to her.
In the second act of the film, the atmosphere quickly changes when a young generation returned from Vietnam joins The Vandals. But not only that seems like a problem, because an even younger generation also wants to join, which Johnny doesn't want to know about. This part actually reminded me of the movie Carlito's Way, where Al Pacino gets involved with the young wannabe gangster Benny Blanco. The similarity is very bad there and it doesn't seem unthinkable that Nichols played a little loan neighbor there for the film. Fortunately, he does it in a good way, only those who know Carlito's Way will not be surprised how things continue in this film. For the rest, the film is exciting and the pace is fine. Maybe there are still a number of things here and there that are unbelievable, since it pretends that this is based on a true story, but good. It just remains a movie of course and this is just a very good movie.
The Bikeriders has become a very strong film with a fine acting cast. Tom Hardy in particular puts on a very strong side role as leader Johnny who sees his own founded motorcycle club turn into a criminal gang over the years. The only point I personally always have with Tom Hardy is that he has the appearance of a badass, but when he starts talking and you hear his voice, that doesn't match what you see at all. For the rest, the story works well together and it's also Austin Butler and Jodie Comer who make sure the film is really successful. At some points, the film is strongly reminiscent of the course of the 90s classier Carlito's Way with Al Pacino. Fortunately, it's not so thick on top that it gets disturbing, but that you start to think Jeff Nichols has borrowed a bit from this film. Either way, The Bikeriders is really a dike of a movie and if you get the chance it is recommended to watch it on the big screen, the movie is absolutely worth it.
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Fun movie
We already got to see the first part of Inside Out in 2015, so it really took 9 years for a sequel to come. This time the direction is in the hands of Kelsey Mann, who gets his first real directing job with Inside Out 2. He previously directed the unknown animated short film Party Central in 2013 and 8 episodes of the animated series Megas XRL, which ran between 2004 and 2005. The voice actors from the first part do not all return, there are a number of other voice actors such as Tony Hale who, for example, replaces Bill Hader for the voice of Fear and Liza Lapira who replaces Mindy Kaling for the voice of Disgust. It won't really stand out to the average viewer and for the younger audience it will be a beet. But the question is whether this second part of Inside Out could match the first part, because the first part was of course a fantastic movie.
Riley is becoming a teenager and that of course brings new emotions. When she ends up at a hockey camp so she can show her talent, it's Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui and Envy that are added to the company. But soon Joy and Anxiety get involved and Joy is banned with the old company so that Anxiety can change Riley. This does take the teenage emotions well and we see how Riley rejects her heart friends in order to be able to play herself in the picture with the popular girls and especially her idol. Yet it all turns out to be a bit of a repetition of moves. The best scene from the film is when Joy and the rest of the exiled emotions end up in a safe where the rest of Riley's suppressed emotions and secrets are also.
Because I'm not really into the animated films myself, I always find it difficult to review them. Inside Out 2 was fun, card or relevant and educational moments of a child's development, but yes, what else can be said about it. The animation itself is beautiful and colorful, but not of a special level. It's kind of the standard animation we're used to, with no crazy frils. The humor in the film is clearly aimed at a younger audience, but as adults it is also easy to watch and accept. It mainly makes it fun to watch with your offspring, maybe the English spoken version can appeal to the adult viewer a little more, but it is and remains a film for a young audience.
Inside Out 2 has become a fun movie about the transition for a child to puberty. The new emotions are a funny addition, but the first part was a lot more fun. The animation itself is beautiful and very colorful, but of a standard level. Whatever it is, the film is and remains the most suitable for a youthful audience. The humor is really adapted to that and you notice that. Of course there will be plenty of adults who still love this, but I fall under the category of 'meh'. That may also have to do with the fact that these kinds of animated films are not my thing, but my children, especially the youngest, have been able to enjoy to the fullest.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
Loads of fun, good action and Ackwell returns!
The first Beverly Hills Cop film marked Eddie Murphy's great breakthrough in 1984 and since then the comedy actor has been featured in numerous successful films. Yet it became a bit changeable around the millennium and one film was less enjoyable than the other. For example, films like The Nutty Professor were still fun, but certainly the sequel to Coming to America was not to peep at. With fear and tremble, we are already facing this fourth part of the Beverly Hills Cop- series. In addition to Eddie Murphy, old acquaintances like Judge Reinhold as Rosewood and John Ashton as Taggart return to the film. Additions are Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so in that respect it gives a bit of hope that this can become something. Director Mark Molloy is an unknown to me, but well, that doesn't have to be a problem, it's not that Netflix has proven more than once that they can make series well, but that the movies from the Netflix stable are often not to peek on.
Before this film was given the green light, the intention was to make a TV series by Beverly Hills Cop. In the pilot that was made, Eddie Murphy was the police boss and his son the detective. This film was launched exactly 30 years after part 3 and 40 years after part 1. Surprisingly, the atmosphere is immediately in it. In terms of music, the 80s style is completely adhered to and that looks away wonderfully. This is a worthy sequel, it is as fixed as a house. The film has everything on board, a lot of action, humor and the reunion of old acquaintances. The opening of the film immediately sets the tone as Axel Foley keeps home with a snow shovel through the streets of Detroit. It's actually immediately reminiscent of the first film and it's really cool that they kept the 80s style in the film. As you get further into the film you will notice that this part surpasses all sequels, it is actually just like the new Bad Boys films, the creators have remained true to the original films.
Eventually, Axel returns to Beverly Hills when an attack on his daughter's life is made by the Mexican cartel. Then her ex appears on the scene in the form of detective Bobby Abbott played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Abbott is actually becoming a bit of Axel's buddy and the chemistry between Murphy and Gordon-Levitt is fantastic and really works very well. Eddie Murphy in particular shows that he hasn't left it yet, something we haven't been used to from this actor for a while, just look at the dragons from movies like Candy Cane Lane or Coming to America 2, for example. Towards the end, the entertainment only increases and the scene with the helicopter that causes a lot of destruction is a very entertaining one. If one continues on this foot, the fifth confirmed part is certainly welcome, but as far as I'm concerned, they are even allowed to sing out a sixth part. Axel Foley still hasn't lost his strength in 2024 and luckily Netflix hasn't messed it up.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is perhaps the best sequel the series knows. Well, after Beverly Hills Cop III may not be that hard to do, but it's still handsome. The chemistry between Eddie Murphy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic and it is also a joy to see all the old acquaintances from the old series back in their roles. The film quickly found the right vibe and that is mainly due to the use of the music in the film that knows how to give you a completely 80s feeling. There's nothing lacking in action and humor and it's super nice that Netflix didn't mess up the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, but made it true to its predecessors. A fifth part has already been confirmed and if they continue on this foot, even a sixth part may come. It's actually just like in the Bad Boys- series that Beverly Hills Cop really fits into this time and Eddie Murphy shows that he can still play a really good role.
Boy Kills World (2023)
Absurd, fast and highly entertaining. I liked it.
German director Moritz Mohr comes with his first cinema film, after having made a number of shorts in the distant past. They managed to get Bill Skarsgård for the leading role, whom we all know from his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the diptych of It. In addition to Skarsgård, we see our own Famke Janssen, who of course gained world fame for her roles in the James Bond film Goldeneye and for her role as Jean Gray in The X-Men films. For the rest we see names like Sharlto Copley (District 9, Chappie), Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day, La La Land) and Brett Gelman, among others, who will recognize most from his role as Murray Bauman in Stranger Things. The papers are fine and although I really didn't know what to expect from this, I decided to sit down and enjoy it.
The film is most reminiscent of a mix of Kill Bill, The Hunger Games and The Running Man. That is a strange combination of course, but it seems that the director on duty has taken a good look at the Tarantino films, because the vibe is really there. The story is thin but well developed. A deaf and mute boy sees his family slaughtered before his eyes by tyrant Hilda Van Der Koy and manages to get away himself. He ends up with Shaman who gives him tough training and teaches him how to fight in order to take revenge on Hilda. We are shown the training and it is reminiscent of films such as Bloodsport or Kickboxer. The use of music in the film in particular is reminiscent of earlier martial arts films. In any case, it offers great entertainment and in the barely two hours that the film lasts you will not be bored for a second.
Still, the CGI gore used in the film is annoying. We often see computer animated blood appear in films and in this film it flows freely, but it looks like you are playing a Playstation game. It will certainly reduce costs and work for such a production, but it doesn't look nice and often prevents me from empathizing with the scenes. Actually, that is one of the few criticisms I can give, because there is little or nothing to criticize about the rest. The film doesn't take itself seriously for a second, it has quite a lot of humor and is also absurd, so you don't even have to mention the term 'credibility' or 'realism'. No, the film is about revenge, fighting, spilling gallons of blood and a lot of humor. The film even has a twist that I certainly didn't expect. That made the film more than satisfactory and I think they should be able to market a second part in this way.
Boy Kills World has become an absurd adrenaline ride that entertains for the entire duration. With a nice role for our own Famke Janssen and Bill Skarsgärd who, with his well-trained body, sheds a lot of blood and makes his limbs fly around. The music is excellent in the film and gives a Tarantino feel at some points. No, I don't mean that you should expect a Tarantino film, but the idea is there and reminiscent of it. The film even has a nice plot twist that I certainly did not expect and that meant that I left the theater completely amused. Is this film worth seeing in the cinema? As far as I'm concerned, yes, and you should just do that with a large bowl of popcorn and a nice drink.
One Life (2023)
Way to stulized and clean to impress
Director James Hawes comes up with this impressive work based on the true story of Nicolas Winton. Over the last ten years, Hawes has mainly directed episodes of series such as The Mist, Black Mirror and Snowpiercer. His last film dates back to 2013 and was also a TV film. With One Life, Hawes comes with a cinema film and that is his first. In the leading roles we see none other than Sir Anthony Hopkins, who of course needs no introduction, and Helena Bonham Carter. The younger generation may know Carter from her role as Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter films. In the past, she was nominated for an Oscar for her roles in the films The King's Speech (2011) and The Wings of the Dove (1998), which she unfortunately did not win. So there is no shortage of experience and quality in this film.
When Nicolas ends up in Czechoslovakia on business in 1938, he ends up with refugee families. When he sees the conditions in which the children live, he decides to do everything he can to offer the children a safe home in England, but everything seems more difficult than he expected. The first 45 minutes of the film shows in a fairly slow manner how Nicolas manages to achieve this with his mother. Of course, haste is required on the eve of the Second World War. Interwoven throughout this story is the story in which the traumatized Nicolas has become an old man who cannot let go of the past. When, 50 years later, he wants to come out with stories about the refugees, including all the material he has in his possession in terms of photos and papers, most people do not seem to be interested in this and the interest in Nicolas himself seems greater than in the real stories about the refugees.
When the Germans invade Czechoslovakia and replace the government in Prague, time really starts to run out and Nicolas must increase the groups he channels to England. The problem is that there is not enough donation money coming in and there are not enough foster parents available in England to take care of the children. Although the story is beautiful and the acting is strong from the entire cast, the decoration of the film is a bit too stylized. Everything seems to be neatly painted and spotless and even the clothes that are worn seem to have come straight from the dry cleaners. Now that's not so crazy for a banker, but refugee children in a relief camp with spotless clothes is a bit crazy of course. This is a part that is quite disturbing in the film and often means that certain emotions are removed from the scene. There really would have been a lot more to this if just a little more energy had been put into it. And then Germany invades Poland and total panic and chaos breaks out.
One Life tells the impressive story of Nicolas Winton, who managed to keep 669 children in Czechoslovakia out of the hands of the Germans. Unfortunately, the film's decoration is a bit too stylized and that is quite disturbing. But not only that, because although the story is interesting and the performances from the entire cast are very strong, the film is slow and boring at some points. When Nicolas wants to sell his collected scrapbook with all the information in his old age, there seems to be little interest in it. What is remarkable is that on the cover the film has an age limit of 16 years and older, while when you start the film a viewing guide for 12 years and older is issued. The latter seems more appropriate to me, because although the subject is intense, the film itself is told in a fairly mild manner. The film is definitely worth watching, because the story is special enough for it. A better script with a bit more momentum would have been desirable, but oh well. The point is made and achieved in the film.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Entertaining, but not great
In 2018 we were surprised by the extremely intense A Quiet Place, which completely turned the stomach in terms of tension at some points. The film tells the story of a family living in a world ravaged by aliens, who kill everything they hear. In 2020 we got to see the sequel A Quiet Place II, and this film may have been even better than its predecessor. In this movie we got a glimpse of how the invasion began on Earth, but this was just a glimpse. Now there is the prequel A Quiet Place: Day One, which takes place in the world of A Quiet Place on the day of the invasion. This time we do not follow the Abbott family, but we follow Samira, who goes to New York for a day with her nursing unit to visit a show and eat pizza, but soon the alien invasion begins. The question is of course whether the makers can still surprise us, because after two films the novelty has completely worn off and we now know what to expect. Of course, that doesn't have to be a problem at all, as long as you handle it properly.
Unfortunately, the film is quite disappointing and should not be in the shadow of A Quiet Place and its sequels. The big disruptor in the film is the cat Frodo. It's fine that the cat continues to follow its owner and is loyal to her. That is still credible. But the cat is completely silent. In no situation does the cat make any sound, no meow or anything. Not even when they are surrounded by the aliens who menacingly search for sound and then attack it. But apparently the cat doesn't care if it is taken under water, the animal remains calm and silent and that really starts to get on your nerves in the long run. Still, the film does have its moments and it does get exciting here and there, but the only shame is that everything is extremely predictable. The tricks from A Quiet Place 1 and 2 are used indiscriminately in this film and that means that everything is quite cliché and nothing really surprises. Where in A Quiet Place 1 and 2 your stomach sometimes turned from the tension, that does not happen here because you already know what is going to happen and that is quite a shame.
Lead actors Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn still make the film good. Both have good chemistry with each other and play their roles very well. This ensures that the film does not completely collapse like a plum pudding, but is certainly still worth seeing. Yet this Day One is completely different from the previous two films. Ok, it's a spin-off, but it borrows from its predecessors, so it just makes sense to compare. Towards the end you already know how this is going to end and you already expect that if you are familiar with the predecessors. For the rest, the film offers enough entertainment and fortunately the makers keep the running time at just over an hour and a half, which is exactly long for this film. Perhaps it would have been better to release this story in series form where the story would simply have been better developed.
A Quiet Place: Day One does not live up to its high expectations. Although the film is entertaining enough not to receive an unsatisfactory grade, there are major points of irritation in the film. The biggest disruptor is Sam's cat named Frodo. But the predictability of the story progression and things that will happen should also have been better developed. What you are left with is a nice film that doesn't excel anywhere. The two main actors are doing more than fine, so that wasn't the issue anyway. The film is well worth watching in the cinema, at least some scenes still seem a bit intense. The suspicion is that it will be even more disappointing on the home screen, but for now it is perhaps best to judge this for yourself. In any case, I was quite disappointed as a big fan of A Quiet Place 1 and 2.
The Watchers (2024)
Skillfully made, but extremly boring
The first thought that came to my mind was literally "like father, like daughter". Ishana Night Shyamalan, yes the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, makes her directorial debut with The Watchers. Proud dad Manoj has made the strangest films in the past and even managed to win 2 Oscars with them. He stayed on as producer of the film and his daughter Ishana adapted the book of the same name by A. M. Shine into a movie and it is now in theaters. In the leading role we see Dakota Fanning, who started acting at a very young age. You know her from films such as I Am Sam, War of the Worlds and later she also played the role of Jane in the Twilight films. The rest of the cast may be less known to the general public, but that often works best. When I saw the trailer I immediately got the feeling that this film could be good, because it had such a mystical setting and it all looked quite strange, something I can usually really appreciate.
Still, that was really disappointing, because the film is indeed strange, but I really got the feeling I also got with films like The Village and Lady in the Water. I should maybe watch The Village again, but I know that this film did not appeal to me at all. The use of color and especially the style in the film have been copied one on one from Dad's films and Ishana would have been a little more pleased if they created their own identity and did not blindly adopt Dad's style. The first part of the film is of course a bit of exploring and seeing where it will take you. Mina works at a pet store where she is not really happy in a very boring Irish village. She packs the car, takes a bird with her and heads off to a piece of woods where at one point her car breaks down in an X-Files-esque manner. Ok, you might think it's exciting. She then comes to a mysterious sign that marks a point of no return and then a boring part of the film begins and the interest slowly fades away. When she suddenly comes out of nowhere to a house, where she is let in, the whole thing only starts to become vaguer, especially when they are eventually watched by strange creatures in front of a large mirrored window. A kind of supernatural Big Brother, so to speak.
The creatures only come at night and during the day you have to run around through the woods looking for food and of course exploring the area. They can't go past the signs, because if you go past them you'll never be able to get in in time before dark and the creatures are quite murderous. You can immediately see that the film is cinematographically well put together and that Ishana delivers a professional job in terms of style and setting, but the concept of the film is simply ridiculous and goes nowhere. Perhaps the book will be better (or not of course), that's all possible, but I haven't read the book and didn't really plan to, especially after seeing this movie. The use of color, the camera angles, the environment, the cast, the film actually has everything except the story. Because at a certain point it becomes clear what the beings are and what the purpose of the beings is, but even then I was like "what the...", it just doesn't make any sense at all and the final denouement was in my look even more ridiculous.
The Watchers is a skillfully made film with beautiful camera work and beautiful use of color, but the story is just too ridiculous for words and just makes no sense at all. At the beginning you will still appreciate the mysticism, but the further you get into the film, the more boring and uninteresting the film becomes. The debut of M. Night Shyamalan's daughter is good in terms of craftsmanship, but it really deserved a better script. Despite this film, Ishana Night Shyamalan is a name I will look forward to, because everyone can start in a minor key and everyone makes a bad film sometimes, I mean, just look at her father who plays dragons in films like Lady in the Water delivered, but if he delivered a good film, then it was immediately really good and in that respect the same may well happen with this newcomer. As far as the film is concerned, it's better to skip this if you want a scary evening, because besides the fact that it's just not scary, the story is also just ridiculously bad.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)
You get what you come for
It's been four years since we were allowed to see the last Bad Boys film. To everyone's delay, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence returned as agents Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnet. Of course, the first mentioned was discredited at the 2022 Oscar ceremony, after he sold actor Chris Rock a bang for his head after making a joke by his wife. Because the whole world spoke of shame about this, it became a bit quiet around Smith and he has done little more. This fourth Bad Boys film should give his career a big boost again and time will tell if the world has already forgiven Will Smith. In my case, I never blamed him for anything and I thought it was all very exaggerated how everyone reacted. I have always found Smith a good and above all nice actor and nothing has changed at all to date. The third Bad Boys For Life from 2020 is nice, but didn't manage to hit the level of the first two films, I expect the same from this fourth part and that's fine, because this will be a lot of action and humor where entertainment is guaranteed.
And that's it, Bad Boys: Ride or Die gives exactly what you expect in advance and offers a tight two hours of pure popcorn entertainment. The film opens with a bickering Mike and Marcus. Marcus has to live healthier for his health, but when the two with screeching tires race across the highway, Marcus really wants to get something to drink. He gets 85 seconds, where Marcus seizes this moment to buy a hot dog and war Skittels within that time, but then the case is robbed. When Mike furiously walks into the case, a gun is immediately pointed at him, but Mike immediately starts whining at Marcus about his eating behavior. Bam! Opening film, something that immediately leaves its mark on the rest of the film. The gradient just fits perfectly with the predecessors and the directors on duty know how to make the course go as it should. Perhaps a point of criticism is the rather dynamic camera work. You may not really realize this at the beginning of the movie, but when the big action scenes come, it sometimes works disturbingly. Especially in the big end fight, where switching to a first person shooter mode, it looks rather cheap shooting. This was already shown in a making off, in which Smith controlled the image with his movements with a camera around his waist or on his arm.
The movie is really full of spectacular action and it's impossible for you to get bored. When Mike and Marcus try to purge the name of their deceased chief commissioner, they are forced to work with the captured Armando, son of Mike of course and bad guy in the previous film. Armando is the only one who can identify who is behind the plot. Unfortunately, the shoe is a bit pinching there, because although the writers may have tried to keep the story mysterious where the outcomes should amaze the viewer, the course and the outcome is very predictable and that is a shame. You will actually know quite quickly how or what in the 'trust no one' cat-en-mouse game where you eventually get stuck with a 'see' feeling. That's quite a shame, because this could perhaps have been prevented with some better writing, where you would still have a reasonable surprise to expect, but none of that. You actually see this very often in these kinds of films and of course you don't go there for a heavy plot twist where your mouth falls open, but here a very easy way is chosen to stay honest. Does that affect the film a lot for the rest? No, because as indicated earlier, you just get what you want and what you expect.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is already the fourth film in the series and gives you as a viewer exactly what you expect from it. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are the bickering police duo again and end up in an explosive situation again. Perhaps a little more attention should have been paid to the story itself, because that is very predictable, but well, because you are constantly entertained, a large part of the audience will be a concern. However, the camera work is sometimes just a little too dynamic, making some things difficult to follow. For the rest, this is just popcorn entertainment from the top shelf and as mentioned you just get what you come for, a lot of fun humor with action, action and more action. If the Belgian directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi continue to do this, they can still make a few films, because this is just wonderful set your mind on blanc and just watch and enjoy without fuss or other difficult hassle.
Gojira -1.0 (2023)
Best Godzilla movie ever made.
Godzilla, or also called Gojira, was born in 1954. Meanwhile, Godzilla has become a global household name and belongs to Japanese folk culture. Over the years, numerous movies, series, comics, computer games and so on have entered the market. In 1998 we got the terribly bad Godzilla thrown around the ears with Matthew Broderick. It never came from a sequel and it became a bit quiet around the radioactive lizard. In 2014 we got a nice film about the monster in theaters, only his sequels were a lot less and in America Godzilla was even collaborated with King Kong. This Japanese version listens to the name Godzilla Minus One. The 'Minus One' refers to the fact that Japan had already been destroyed by the Second World War (reduted to zero), but with the rise of Godzilla it puts Japan in the negative. In addition to that, the 2014 American version had a cost of no less than 160 million dollars. Then of course it is very clever that Godzilla Minus One with a meagre budget of 15 million dollars turns out to be just the best Godzilla movie we have seen so far.
The balance in the movie is very good. Maybe it will take some getting used to here and there for people that the film is spoken in Japanese, but the body language of Japanese actors and actresses is also different than we are normally used to. The opening of the film immediately sets the right tone when Godzilla attacks the base where Koichi is stationed. People are crushed and Godzilla destroys everything around him. Then there is a piece of depth of the story and that is well transferred at sea. When Koichi finally decides to clear mines at sea, he comes face to face with the monster again and this makes Godzilla pissier than ever. All this is supported by an extremely good soundtrack. Certainly the bombastic piece that comes straight from the old film is really enjoyable. This is Godzilla how you want to see it. Especially given that the Apple TV+ series called Monarch: Legacy of Monsters turns out to be very changeable and sometimes even really lousy.
The final fight is really epic and a set-up to a second part is also immediately made. The strength is also in the time setting, by the way, just after the Second World War, with Japan still licking its wounds after the heavy losses that the country of the rising sun has had to cope with. But the traditions that the country is rich in are also beautifully incorporated into the film. Director Takashi Yamazaki thought about the end of the film: "I think it's more cinematic if it doesn't end neatly and well. It is not only that a sequel can be made, it is also that the characters are kept alive in the hearts of the audience." On the opening day of the film, Yamazaki had hinted that he was interested in directing a second Godzilla film. Since this film turns out to be very successful not only in Japan, but also across the border, it has to be strange because it is not going to happen.
Godzilla Minus One is just the best Godzilla movie made so far. That is very clever of course given that the film with a budget is made of 15 million dollars. You really can't see it, because the effects look very good, the music is beautiful and the setting is great. The story is also very good and the film doesn't get bored for a second. The devastations that Godzilla is doing have been made epic and especially when Godzilla activates his nuclear heat shield, the tension rises well and you will sometimes be taken to the tip of your seat. Then why not a full score you will think, well, that is more in the fact that he is still a bit predictable here and there and that should not have been. Anyway, that's really a negligible little smear and it is really recommended to watch this adventure on Netflix as soon as possible, because this movie is absolutely worth it.
Tarot (2024)
Awefull movie, waste of time
Horror films about occult things often do well and often scare the audience. Of course, with those kinds of movies you should never start talking about predictability or how unoriginal a movie is, it just remains exciting popcorn entertainment. Tarot does have the right papers on board to become fun. In advance, we are not expected to get a surprising film that will offer us an innovation in the genre. Numerous films of this kind have already been made in the 90s, so hopefully the creators have paid close attention and bring a nice exciting film, where you may sometimes sit with your hands in front of the eyes because of the tension. Unfortunately, Tarot doesn't belong there and we really get to see a very bad movie, which takes way too long even with an hour and a half.
Where does that happen then? In any case, not to a slow course or that nothing happens. We can deny the film of a lot, but not that everything is slow or anything. It does take no less than 17 minutes before the name of the film appears in the opening credits, something that is quite disturbing by the way. A group of teenagers are chilling and drinking by the campfire and when the drink is up, they move in where they find an old set of tarot cards. Haley takes the cards makes a prediction for everyone in the future and of course there is always one in between who sees the danger and is going to be annoying. It is mainly Jacob Batalon who plays the role of Paxton in the film that seems most annoying in the film. Batalon played the role of Ned in Spider-Man: Homecoming and his sequel, and he did that in a fun way. It seems that tarot is just cashing just as fast and that he has made no effort to look good in this movie.
The kills in the movie are drowsy and you can see immediately coming. With the first two murders, it is therefore not difficult to unravel what those kills have to do with the tarot predictions. The creators do want it to happen that your mouth has to fall open with surprise, at least that's how it seems and if so, then it is pure underestimation of the audience that comes to this film. But the story behind the tarot cards is also really to cry about. I won't tell you how it works, but of course we have to go back in time hundreds of years and actually you can fill in the rest yourself. One by one, the teenagers fall prey to and the final denouement is really ridiculously bad. Complement this with dramatic acting and you will find out that Tarot has really just become a very bad horror movie and is a waste of your time.
Tarot may still seem like a nice movie based on the trailer, but appearances are deceiving. The film is really bad and then it takes an hour and a half really long. It is mainly Jacob Batalon who plays extremely annoying and badly. It's not that nothing happens in the movie, but the jumpscares are too standard for words and is again the old-fashioned trick to open the sound full, the kills are just not original and in addition, the origin where the cards come from is a case of 'just sigh'. The other cast doesn't act much better and at the end of the ride you have a heavily undersized horror movie where it seems as if the script was written by a toddler. If you still feel like a night of creeping at a little bit of a level, it is recommended to choose another movie.
Red Stone (2021)
Not annoying, but far from good.
The name of director Derek Presley didn't actually ring a single bell. After looking at what exactly he has done, it doesn't really seem at first that this is going to be a good movie. Anyway, sometimes appearances can be deceiving of course and then we give this film the chance. Starring, we see Neal McDonough, who previously starred in films like Minority Report and Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City. Incidentally, he also played in the series Band of Brothers together with Michael Cudlitz who also plays in this film. Cudlitz will be best known for his role as Abraham from The Walking Dead by the way, which he did very meritoriously at the time. The rest of the cast will probably be in some well-known films, but it doesn't immediately ring a bell and in the end that's not really important.
At the opening of the film you can immediately see from the camera work and the use of color that this is nothing more than a B- film. The story is very confused and often makes no sense at all. Jed is a locally dark figure who shoots a teenager named Danny Adams for something. We do see that there is some ruby in the game, but that's all we know about that. His young brother Motley sees the murder happen and Jed puts assassin Boon on the case that the young teenager has to find and get out of the way. Sounds exciting, but the action scenes are scarce and in my opinion the film bets too much on deepening a too simple story and too many extremely uninteresting dialogues. Boon also walks as if it were a gangster who ran out of the 30s and this does not fit into the picture of the Texan setting of the film.
Fortunately, it doesn't get really annoying. The acting is solid, but the whole setting just looks too cheap. This makes a lot of scenes feel very staged and it is difficult for you to move and empathize with the characters of the film. But also because there are hardly any bystanders to be found in the film, even if they are in the city center, it seems like a ghost town. As if the main characters from the film are the only ones living in that area. Really drowsy also characterize the film. Young Motley just steps into someone who is constantly after him who just says he is from the FBI. He doesn't show identity papers, nothing at all. But also that Boon's later criminal partner shoots someone in cool blood to death in a parking lot, takes off his mask and a grandmother is fooling him who looks full of his face. He puts on his mask when she goes in and continues his way.
Red Stone is not a annoying movie, but certainly not a good movie. You can see right at the beginning of the film that you are dealing with a B- movie and that doesn't have to be a problem, because there are plenty of B- films to list that are really good, but this film is not one of them. The setting is dull and the 30s gangster suit in which Boon does his job as a hitman through a ghost town in Texas does not fit the picture of the film at all. For the rest, the story is confused and there is almost no rope to tie. If you then think that the movie is bulge from the action, you will also be disappointed, because the action is quite scarce. As a viewer, you also have to be able to arouse sympathy for Boon, but this really doesn't work anywhere. Of course Boon gets remorse and turns against Jed in order to come to terms with himself.
Dead Shot (2023)
Great action/thriller with an awesome 70's vibe.
Charles and Thomas Guard make their second feature film with Dead Shot, but there is quite a nice time in between. Their first film The Uninvited dates back to 2009. So it actually took almost 15 years for the duo to come up with a movie again. This time a film about the IRA and there has been a time when those kinds of films shot out of the ground like mushrooms. For example, there were impressive films such as In the Name of the Father and Some Mothers Son that created rough and realistic images of the wry war between the Irish and the English. But The Devils Own and Blown Away also belonged to those films, but these were films that were a bit lighter and managed to offer more entertainment. Dead Shot actually floats a bit in between, because on the one hand it is a serious film with a fairly heavy subject, but on the other hand it is just an entertaining action movie.
The film is based on the screenplay by Irish writer and screenwriter Ronan Bennett and inspired by the book The Road to Balcombe Street by Steven P. Moysey. The siege of Balcombe Street was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the London Metropolitan Police and lasted from December 6 to 12, 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA members and the release of their two hostages. Loosely we see this topic in the story, but really a lot lighter. Henry Tempest is the soldier who shot Michael O'Hara's wife and Michael swears revenge. But Tempest joins the service of someone named Holland, who is steering a team to track down terrorists. Nowhere does the film go into depth on the political reasons of the IRA, this makes the film a simple entertaining thriller, without too much fuss.
It's certainly not the acting because that's just good. The setting is grim and dark and the film definitely has the 70s vibe. The states that are dotted with junk, the gray appearance and the cracked buildings where Jan and everyone lives give a correct picture. But the paranoid that prevails in the streets of London is also well reflected. Especially with the scene where Michael makes a bomb alert to the police, where his comrade is checked by the local police. The bomb goes out too early and a firefight breaks loose. This is really one of the better scenes from the film and also displays a rough picture. The denouement is very strongly done and at least I didn't really see the end coming, that's always a positive thing for me.
Dead Shot has become a great action/thriller, which really grips the 70s vibe. With just under an hour and a half, the pace stays fine in the film and the whole thing is not bored anywhere. In any case, films about the IRA are generally good and exciting, but unfortunately they are not made much anymore. The acting performances are very good and strong. The film does not go into the political motives of the IRA, but the paranoid that prevailed in the streets of London in the 70s is clearly shown. For the rest, it's just enjoying a good action/thriller and the film is highly recommended to set up once.
Play Dead (2022)
Good low budget horrorfilm.
After a whole sling of mediocre films like Dracula 2000, My Bloody Valentine and Drive Angry, people are probably not really queuing up for another new film by director Patrick Lussier. The story sounds very mediocre in advance and when we look at the cast, the name Jerry O'Connell is perhaps the only name that really rings a bell. Bailee Madison will also know someone here and there, but it actually seems that Play Dead is doomed to failure in advance. When the film opens it actually only confirms the feeling, because the first twenty minutes of the film are very messy and above all very drowsy. Such a story has already been done several times and is a bit reminiscent of films like Saw and Hostel, but with a very low budget. Why do I still want to watch these kinds of movies? Well, luckily it got a lot better after those twenty minutes and you have a pretty entertaining movie at the end of the ride.
Yes, the movie is extremely predictable. You may even think here and there that you will catch the film on gross mistakes, such as unlocking a cell phone from a corpse with a face scan with its eyes closed, but the director did pay a little attention luckily. When Chloe eventually ends up in the mortuary, the tension is soon raised by the director, but this will probably only work for newcomers to the genre. That's what I meant by extremely predictable, you can see the danger coming from miles away, but the jumpscares are also very predictable. Yet the film doesn't express very much and no, we don't come up with a large enough, the script was too dull for that, but the film is not worth an insufficient.
Jerry O'Connell plays the role of flipped corpse detagger fine. He almost does this in a Norman Bates meets Dexter-like way, which keeps the whole thing fun. In the end, it is easy to guess what the ultimate goal of The Coroner is. What may be a shame is that the twist they put in the movie, or that the one that has to go through for a twist that makes your mouth fall open, is killed by the bad acting of Chris Butler who plays Sheriff Duggan. If just a little more attention had been paid to this, the film might have been a little higher at the end of the ride. But anyway, the film was better than you would expect in advance and in the end you will be left amused, at least, I had that again.
Play Dead has become a very nice low budget horror movie. It doesn't surprise anywhere, the twist is just destroyed by bad acting, but the film still had something. It's most reminiscent of a soft mix between the Saw movies and Hostel. No, you should definitely not compare it with those films, because then you will really be disappointed, but it is reminiscent of it in the distance. The film is carried by Jerry O'Connell as The Coroner, but Bailee Madison doesn't do it very undeservedly as Chloe either. The film is worth watching anyway, but you may not have to watch the messy opening of the film for the first twenty minutes. Do it anyway, because Play Dead will be a very amusing movie afterwards.
The First Omen (2024)
Great prequel!
In 1976, director Richard Donner came up with The Omen. We also know Donner from films like Lethal Weapon and of course Superman from 1978. In the lead role, Gregory Peck played the role of Robert Thorn, an American ambassador to Rome who tragically loses his first child at birth, but has it exchanged for a baby where the mother died at birth. Unfortunately, Thorn adopts the antichrist and with that story Donner scared the viewers. The film then got two more sequels, with the epic about Damien ending in 1983, at least, it seemed. There was a fourth part where the antichrist returns in the form of a girl, but this was so hopelessly bad that we prefer to forget that part. It remained quiet until 2006, when suddenly a remake of the original The Omen came, although this was not a really bad movie, it was a strange decision because the original was good enough and didn't need a remake. In 2016 there was another very nicest series called Damien, which unfortunately only ran for one season. Now there is The First Omen a prequel to The Omen from 1976 directed by director Arkasha Stevenson, who makes her first cinema film. This is risky with such a film of course, but Stevenson debuts with a strong prequel, where it is to be hoped that more will follow.
What the film excels in is that it doesn't follow the standard route by using a jumpscare every few seconds to entertain the audience. No, The First Omen is more than that. It's a real slow burner, because the film takes a good time at the beginning to properly portray the situation. When Maggie arrives in Rome, Cardinal Lawrence explains to her that there are popular riots between Italian citizenship, including motivated by students who are dissatisfied with the state and the Holy Church. This ensures that the church people could sometimes make it difficult to go down the street. Just before Margaret is initiated by the church, she goes out for another evening on the advice and invitation of her roommate Luz. Margaret drinks and dances with a man and wakes up the next day with no memories of the evening in question. Of course you already feel the mood hanging and you realize that there is more going on than you would expect at first glance. As life moves on again, Margaret gains a strong bond with Carlita, an orphan plagued by the most heimous visions. And then she meets Father Brennan out of nowhere who warns her about Carlita and that bad things are going to happen around her. But Margaret doesn't believe him until a heilful incident takes place.
In any case, the film literally takes place before the prologue of The Omen (1976), which ensures that this film seamlessly connects to The Omen (1976) in terms of story. What the film also excels in is the cinematography, for that reason alone, The First Omen is worth watching. But the time picture from the 70s is also strongly represented, making the connection of this film feel quite natural to The Omen (1976). The film does have quite a few slums scenes that make the film rather controversial, because not everyone will be able to appreciate this. Especially the childbirth scene is one where you can ask your questions about whether it is necessary to portray this in this way. In my opinion, yes, because this gives an extra sinister view of the whole event, after all, we are dealing with the ultimate evil here and the devil will leave nothing behind to sow pure terror of course. In that regard, the creators were not guided by what others would think of it and they just went their business. The ending may not come as a surprise, because although an attempt is made to give it a surprising twist, it is actually clear after a little while in the film how or what, but luckily that doesn't bother.
The First Omen is the cinema debut of director Arkasha Stevenson on the classic The Omen (1976). That's quite dangerous, but Stevenson has done a fantastic job and The First Omen has really become a strong prequel. It fits seamlessly with The Omen (1976) and that is a nice side effect. The film is nowhere to become slugber and in addition, the film is sometimes really eye-catching cinematographically. Fortunately, the makers have not put themselves on a constant supply of jumpscares, as most makers do. No, The First Omen is a real slow burner, which gets more under your skin by the minute and eventually competes with a singing climax. Although this may be stingling, it's not surprising, but that doesn't matter at all, because if as a maker you can make a prequel to one of the most controversial horror films of all time, then you really have to come from good houses. Richard Donner will probably have been proud of how this film lives up to his 1976 classic.
Golda (2023)
Helen Mirren at her best
If a movie is released at the wrong time, it might be Golda. Yet this is a piece of history of great importance, if Egypt, Syria and Jordan want to take Israel over on October 6, 1973. Golda Meir is Prime Minister of Israel at the time, and she is perhaps one of the most special women in the modern history of Israel. The role of Golda is played by Helen Mirren, who had to sit in the make-up chair for 3 1/2 hours every day to be transformed into the chain-smoking prime minister. The role won't have been really good for Mirren's health either, because there is not a single scene in the film where she doesn't come into the picture smoking or with a cigarette in her hand. Golda was also known for this and even in medical procedures in the hospital, Golda was smoking, something that is also shown at the beginning of the film.
The film shows the Jom Kippor War from behind the scenes and shows many intense scenes, with only the sound that the home front is in contact with on the battlefield. We see how Golda does not show her fears when she performs her function, but only in bed is she haunted by her fears and demons. Still, the image of Golda should have come out a little stronger, because the thing that will remain most from the film is the constant smoking of what is happening. It may also be because most people no longer have any idea who this woman was and what exactly she actually did. Well, of course it's difficult to put a whole life in just over an hour and a half, let alone a person like Golda Meir. But also because everything takes place indoors, you have to have a dose of patience, because don't expect intense war scenes with a lot of violence and weapon shatter. At most you see the explosions on satellite images and a bombing from a helicopter, where the CGI effects are of a questionable level unfortunately.
For the rest, the film is quite detailed, because up to Golda's shoes are identical to those of the real Golda. At the end you get to see images of the real prime minister and only then you actually see how much Mirren with her impressive make-up looks like Golda Meir. But it's not just Mirren, because Liev Schreiber, who plays US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, is also very similar to the real Kissinger. Perhaps the conversations Golda has with Kissinger are also the best dialogues in the film. Yet this Yom Kippur War did become the downfall of the workers' party in Israel, because the attack is still seen as a loss for Israel, which could say hello to its unbeatable reputation due to the surprise of the attack, where it also became clear that Israel was indeed vulnerable. The total war took a total of 6 days, and this film shows it from Golda Meir's perspective of course, which can perhaps be seen as a bit of a one-sided image.
Golda has become a great film that is fully supported by Helen Mirren's phenomenal acting. Apart from what is happening in the world now, the film does show an important piece of history that was led by a special woman who lead this to a victory with an iron fist. But although the Yom Kippur War is officially awarded as a victory to Israel, this was certainly not seen as a victory in Israel, because it showed the weaknesses of the country. The film feels like a one-sided narration here and there, something that is of course logical, but it can also become tough because the film takes place claustrophobically within the walls of the political chambers. Here the shoe also pinches a bit, because not everywhere the dialogue is equally good and this could have been much stronger, especially with a heavyweight in the acting world like Helen Mirren. But the movie is absolutely worth watching.
The Beekeeper (2024)
Highly enjoyable entertainment with a great '90's vibe.
After the masterful End of Watch and the fine war film Fury, director David Ayer also has a number of misunderstandings to his name unfortunately. For example, Suicide Squad and especially Bright were not really good. Fortunately, Jason Statham's name is also on the poster and Statham usually really guarantees good action and a lot of entertainment. Opinions may differ about The Meg's films of course, but action films such as The Expendables (except for the latter), The Transporter and so on his first-class action films. In addition to Statham, names like Jeremy Irons and Minnie Driver also play in the film and when we watch the trailer, it promises to be an old-fashioned action movie, with lots of fights, shooting, running and tight one-liners.
And it has indeed become old-fashioned good. These are actually action movies that you don't see much today. It could have been such an action film from the 90s, in which a Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger or a Jean-Claude van Damme could just as well have played the lead role. Jason Statham is one of the last remaining action heroes for this particular genre in that regard. Of course you have a Keanu Reeves like John Wick, but that's different action than this. Of course the film is full of improbable things and everything is exaggerated over the top and that is exactly what makes the film so good. After a small introduction and run-up, we see that Statham is very angry and is going to get his gram from the company responsible for Eloise's death. He walks into the $30 million building with two jerry cans of gasoline, easily shuts down security and sets the building on fire. Yes, it's such a movie and it's just wonderful to enjoy, flying by for an hour and three minutes due to the high pace that the film is rich.
In the end, it brings Adam into higher circles, but he doesn't retreat. When the CIA deploys its deputy 'Beekeeper' to eliminate Adam, Adam notices which way to look and the scene at the gas station is very entertaining. The only thing you might be able to point out to the film is that Adam is actually never really in danger and he is out of the way for nothing or no one. Even if he just walks in through the front door at a heavily guarded building, with a whole SWAT team guarding things, that's a breeze for our ex-Beekeeper. Especially towards the end where even the security of the president of America is at stake and the government opens the whole box of tricks in terms of security, it is easy for Adam to penetrate and go towards his primary goal. Anyway, in these kinds of films this is allowed and actually has to be done and you shouldn't lift too much on that in this case.
The Beekeeper has become an old-fashioned cool action movie with Jason Statham on the go. The bullets fly around your ears, rock hard fights in which limbs are not spared and cool one-liners are the result. These are those action films that were made a lot in the 90s and are actually made far too little now, at least of this quality. As already indicated, you may only be able to say that Statham manages to bypass extreme protections in the most unlikely way and that nowhere do you get the feeling that Adam is getting into trouble by anyone or anything. Maybe that takes away part of the tension, but hey, you don't have to lift too much, especially in these kinds of movies. It's just a quick action movie that you just have to watch with your friends (or girlfriends) with a cup of popcorn and a beer in your hand.
The Great Escaper (2023)
Michael Caines finale
The Great Escaper tells a wonderful story of a World War II veteran escaping from the nursing home to attend the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, but it's a bit confusing. The same year The Last Rifleman also came out with Pierce Brosnan who tells the same story, but in an adapted form. In this film we get to see the real story of Bernard Jordan, where the story in The Last Rifleman was adapted. It has been deliberately chosen not to give The Last Rifleman a cinema release and The Great Escaper does. In this film, the main role is for none other than Michael Caine, who has already reached the age of 91. The two-time Oscar winner has now retired in his own words and has delivered his last work with this film. His wife is played by Glenda Jackson, who unfortunately passed away on June 15, 2023 at the age of 87. The direction is in the hands of Oliver Parker, who in the past also directed Johnny English Reborn, among others.
The film comes up rather slowly and tries to bind the viewer by displaying the routine of the nursing home. Bernard and his wife Irene live in this home and every day is the same. Irene struggles quite a bit with her health, which causes some worries, but Bernard is still quiek at an advanced age and regularly takes good walks. When the celebration of D-Day arrives, Bernard wants to go there at all costs, but this is not allowed by the care staff and wife Irene. But Bernard does not let himself be known and escapes from the nursing home and we are taken on the special journey he makes to Normandy. Where this film is quite different from his conspecific The Last Rifleman is that Bernard just gets on the boat and makes a fairly normal boat trip to France and that in The Last Rifleman Artie Crawford (his name has changed into this film) France is smuggled inside. It makes The Great Escaper a little less spectacular than The Last Rifleman. Is the film therefore less good? No, certainly not. Because The Great Escaper has become a great movie with the heart in the right place.
Bernard is a special man who really inspires people and has a goal, where the celebration of D-Day was not his main task. In the war, Bernard sent a young soldier to the beaches by telling him that everything would be fine, but with the young soldier and his very best friend being killed on the beach. Something that Bernard has been blaming himself for 70 years. Caine really knows how to portray the role in an excellent way and even at the age of 91 shows that he is really one of the greatest and best actors we know. With a smile and a tear, Caine manages to hit the viewer to the bone. Perhaps on a personal level I found The Last Rifleman just a little better than this film, but that has more to do with the events and the speed that are in the film, but The Great Escaper has become a fantastically beautiful film that you must have seen, because the story is special enough for that.
The Great Escaper is a special story about a World War II veteran who escapes from his nursing home at an old age to celebrate the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. It is almost impossible to understand that we are dealing with a true story here. Either way, The Great Escaper is a movie you must have seen, if only to see the last film by retired Michael Caine, where he closes a wonderful career with a beautiful film.
Dream Scenario (2023)
Nick Cage is back baby!
In the 90s, Nicolas Cage was a name that guaranteed a top film at the time. That disappeared like snow in the sun when the actor came towards 2005 and since then they were more bad movies than good movies he made. In fact, it seemed like Cage wanted to make as many movies as possible and randomly took on every dredger role he could. That has changed again lately. With movies like Pig, Renfield and Symphaty for the Devil recently, Cage seems to have found his way back a bit. Dream Scenario is directed by Kristoffer Borgli, a director who tells me little to nothing, but the producer does. That's Ari Aster, who delivered brilliant films such as Hereditary, Midsommar and Beau is Afraid. Yes, they are movies that you have to love and actually when we look at Dream Scenario we see that the Aster style of storytelling and filming completely comes back. It has really become one of those movies where you eventually wonder what exactly you have been watching.
Teacher Paul Matthews is a sult who actually doesn't really come to the fore and doesn't manage to stand anywhere above ground level. But then something strange happens, Paul suddenly appears in dreams of people who don't know him at all. At first, Paul appears as a kind of voyeur in the dream. He walks past a situation that happens to someone and does nothing else. When Paul eventually starts to become a hype, he likes the attention and also tackles it with both hands. Anyway, why do people dream about Paul and an even better question where exactly do these dreams come from. The film already opens with a vague scene, where Paul's daughter sits by a swimming pool and Paul is watching his daughter fly away like a kind of balloon and panics completely. Why the film opens with that is a good question and what it really adds in the end, because in the beginning it is mainly strangers who dream about Paul what makes the story so strange.
But then the atmosphere actually completely changes when Paul becomes extremely violent in dreams and even starts killing people in the dreams, or rather until the dreamer wakes up. As more and more people start to report with these violent dreams, this begins to have an effect on paul's daily life. But he can't help but people dream that. Because people are afraid of him, his environment begins to banish Paul, at some point he can't even normally eat more in a restaurant without being approached aggressively or people fleeing from Paul. But not only that is a problem, even his own wife and family are starting to abhor Paul, with the moral question of what you would do yourself. Because the dreams are like and Paul does the most terrible things in the dreams that millions of people have, but the fact remains: they are just dreams and not something that Paul does in normal real life.
Dream Scenario is a very strange film, but a very good strange film. If you have a warm heart for Ari Aster's films, it is recommended to watch Dream Scenario anyway. For Nicolas Cage, this is perhaps one of his best films he has made in recent years. That is perhaps a trivial cliché to say that 90% of the actor of recent years was pure dredger, but he has really made some great films there lately. Anyway, Dream Scenario is a nightmare scenario, where you can interpret the ending in multiple ways, although it still doesn't really explain everything and where as a viewer you still wonder what happened, but especially how it happened.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
A new chapter in the wasteland.
In 1979, the Australian B film Mad Max became a huge global hit and that also meant the big breakthrough for Mel Gibson. The trick was briefly repeated by writer and director George Miller in 1981, resulting in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, which is still considered the best film in the series by hardened Mad Max fans. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome became the third and final part in 1985 and was tackled in a big way at the time, even with a role for Tina Turner in the film. That's where the Mad Max- trilogy seemed to come to an end and it would be. Until in 2015, thirty years after the third and final film we were surprised with Mad Max: Fury Road. This time Max was not played by Mel Gibson, but by Tom Hardy and the film was a huge success. In addition to Tom Hardy, we were seen Charlize Theron as Furiosa, a hard-hard woman trying to survive in the desert ravaged by bizarre figures. Now Furiosa gets its own film within the Mad Max saga, only Theron does not return as Furiosa, but the baton has been handed over to Anya Taylor-Joy, who broke through with the Netflix series The Queens Gambit. Next to Taylor-Joy, we see Chris Hemsworth as the in and in bad Dementus. What we expect is actually just like in Fury Road, an adrenaline roller coaster ride with lots of action and circus stunts.
In that regard, Furiosa does not surprise for a moment, because as a viewer you indeed get exactly what you expect from the film. The film is a prequel on Fury Road and literally fits seamlessly with that film. The first about 45 minutes of an hour is spent on Furiosa's childhood and how she is captured by Dementus at a young age. Dementus wants to know at all costs where Furiosa comes from to be able to plunder that place, but Furiosa keeps its lips together. Eventually they end up with Immortan Joe, where Dementus eventually has to give up Furiosa and more or less has to make a deal with Immortan Joe in order not to be completely erased off the card. The whole childhood of Furiosa might have been told in a shorter time frame, because the film lasts a good two and a half hours and although the film is not really bored or anything, it could have been maybe twenty minutes to half an hour shorter. The young Furiosa is also played by Alyla Browne, who actually plays the role fine. After seeing the childhood of Furiosa, you finally know why she is the way she is and what her motivations are. Well, the entire Mad Max saga, including the old movies with Mel Gibson, does not excel in the story, because that is simple, straightforward and you would almost say of secondary importance, because what you come for is the freak show and the circus stunts that you are eventually presented with.
Actually, it's mainly Chris Hemsworth who really manages to excel in the film. Where Anya Talor-Joy plays a great role as Furiosa, Hemsworth really knows how to own the role as the in and in bad Dementus. Incidentally, the film reminds here and there that it has become a kind of mild reboot of The Road Warrior from 1981. Dementus is reminiscent of Humungus, but without a Hockey mask, Gastown looks a bit like the ford being defended in The Road Warrior and especially the attack on the truck with fuel is very reminiscent of The Road Warrior. The best scene of the film is when Furiosa goes along with Praetorian Jack and fights with The War Rig. The scene takes quite a long time and at that moment we see the action again as we got to see it in Fury Road along with the most bizarre and dizzying stunts that come with it. Although this is really a very cool scene and offers top entertainment, the feeling of 'been there, done that' was very much, because it really looks like a repeat of moves we got to see in Fury Road. That's not a bad thing, but it does ensure that the real wow effect stayed away from me, something I certainly had at Fury Road.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga offers entertainment from start to finish and won't be bored anywhere. Still, it does not justify the enormous playing time of two and a half hours and should have been cut in the first three quarters of the film. Here and there the film makes it feel strongly like The Road Warrior from 1981. Certainly the scene where Furiosa has to defend the War Rig together with Praetorian Jack is really top entertainment, but strangely enough, the real wow effect is gone and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga mainly offers repetition of Fury Road. Anya Taylor-Joy does fine as Furiosa, but it's Chris Hemsworth as far as I'm concerned who really steals the show as the in and in bad Dementus. For the rest, Furiosa is a nice addition that is just beautifully made and above all knows how to entertain. Still, it is to be hoped that the already announced Mad Max: The Wasteland as the title still reads for the time being, is better and will bring back the wow effect. Either way, Furiosa is definitely worth a trip to the cinema because it is and remains popcorn entertainment from the top shelf.
Alien (1979)
Claustophobic and briljant Sci-Fi Horror
After Ridley Scott made an impression with The Duellist in 1977, he came up with the film that ultimately gave him his real breakthrough. Alien is a Science Fiction film, but not in the way we were actually used to. Star Wars brought this genre out of the doldrums, and in 1979 Star Trek also released its first cinema film. As mentioned, Scott took a different approach with Alien, with an oppressive and suffocating work that largely takes place in the narrow corridors of the freighter Nostromo. The then relatively unknown actress Sigourney Weaver plays the leading role of Ripley and she did this three more times. With Tom Skerritt and John Hurt on board, Ridley also had a boatload of quality and experience on board. The film eventually got a sequel Aliens in 1986, which came from director James Cameron and this is still seen as one of the exceptional cases where the sequel is better than the original. Cameron also surpassed his own classic The Terminator with Terminator 2: Judgmentday, so you can leave sequels to Cameron in that regard.
In any case, with Alien Ridley kicked off a franchise that has now spawned a boatload of sequels and spin-offs with Prometheus, Alien Covenant and the soon-to-be-released Alien Romulus. The film is haunting and brilliantly put together. The story is relatively simple, the crew discovers a strange signal, investigates and finds a strange organism that starts killing on their ship. That just describes the story in a nutshell. But the film is so much more than that. It also features one of the first real power women with Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, who of course ends up being the only survivor. I'm not spoiling anything about that at all because that's a simple calculation considering Ripley returns in Aliens. The film opens quite mystical, but also slowly. Ridley builds up the tension by the minute and especially when we are first introduced to the Alien (who is described as Xenomorph in the second part), a search for the beast begins. Don't expect a movie with fast action or even a lot of action, because in that respect Alien and Aliens are very different from each other. While Alien focuses more on the psychological aspect, Aliens focuses fully on the action.
The funny thing is that the Alien (the The ending was also changed and was not how it was described in the first script. For those who have not seen the film, skip this paragraph to avoid spoilers. The original ending had Ripley escaping from the Nostromo and the Alien being left behind. Scott thought this was a bit too easy and managed to get half a million extra budget to create an alternative ending. This was a more dark ending, with the Alien unexpectedly hitching a ride in Ripley's escape pod and Ripley the monster eventually ripping off Ripley's head. In the end, Scott thought the ending would be better if Ripley survived and we got the final ending of the first film as we know it today. Fortunately, because if the dark ending had been chosen, we would not have had Cameron's Aliens in the form we know it today.
Alien is currently celebrating its 45th anniversary and remains one of the best SciFi horror films ever made, along with its 1986 sequel Aliens. With Alien 3 from 1992 they returned to the concept of the first film and although that film was not bad, it was nothing compared to its two predecessors, not to mention the terribly bad Alien Resurrection from 1997. Anyway This first Alien film is also a special one and is more of a psychological horror film. As mentioned before, the Alien itself only has 4 minutes of screen time in the entire film and you have to wait more than an hour before you can see the beast. But don't worry, because the first hour of the film is a perfect build-up to an ultimately thrilling climax. For now, I'm signing off, hopefully the network will pick me up.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Just WOW!
In 1968 we got to see the first film by Planet of the Apes, after the 1963 book by Pierre Boulle. The film got 4 sequels and in 1974 even a television series, which was discontinued after 1 season. It would take until 2001 for another new film about the ape planet to be made. The film was made by Tim Burton, starring Mark Wahlberg, but flopped gigantic after which the plug was pulled out of the project. In 2011 finally came Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which followed Caesar's story, after which Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was made with great success in 2014 and War For the Planet of the Apes in 2017, after which the series was closed with the death of Caesar. Now, seven years later, we can get ready for the sequel, although it has not become a direct sequel, but a film set generations after Caesar. Although the creators claim that this is not a remake of the 1968 original, the trailer really suggests something completely different. Unfortunately, Fox has been in the hands of Disney since 2019 and we all know that Disney likes to destroy franchises. Hopefully they will stay a bit loyal to The Planet of the Apes, so I went into the film with great confidence.
It is certainly not a remake, this film follows a completely own story that is smart and well written. Of course, the film is full of references to its predecessors and even to the old 1968 film. The first half hour comes up quite slowly. The film begins immediately after the events from War For the Planet of the Apes. But after a few minutes we skip generations and end up in a world where monkeys dominate and humans live in the wild and are almost wiped out of the planet. What immediately stands out is the eye-catching CGI, from time to time your mouth will almost fall open, because this is really of an extremely high level. Especially when Noa wakes up again after making a taste on the ground and there is all white ash in his coat. This is done with a lot of detail. After about 40 minutes you will get through where the story wants to go and then the momentum will fortunately come in. Noa is chased by a human after a group of monkeys destroyed his village, killed his father and captured the rest of his tribe. Eventually Noa meets the Urang Utang named Raka, who strictly follows Caesar's word and together with Noa brings the man they first call Nova, but eventually turns out to be called Mae, to her own tribe.
The environments where the film takes place are really fantastic. Half-decayed cities where the buildings have been overgrown with plants, grass and moss over the years look post-apocalyptic and eye-catching. Of course we have seen that more in movies, but the creators of this film have paid a lot of attention to detail. When Noa eventually ends up on the beach, where he joins the self-croowned Proximus Caesar, the film is completely in a gear. Noa and Mae have to forcibly open a large steel door that sits in the rocks, or rather, they have to help Proximus Caesar do that. What is ultimately behind that door may be a bit predictable, but good. The film is most reminiscent of a mix between Planet of the Apes from 1968 and its sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes from 1970, at least a little bit in terms of structure. The end is left completely open and hints directly at a sequel and I do have a suspicion where they want to go, but not.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has become a fantastic spectacle piece, where the CGI is really bizarrely beautiful. The details splash off the screen and every hair, dust particle or whatever has been paid a lot of attention. But the post-apocalyptic setting of the half-decayed cities that are overgrown with greenery is also really beautifully done. The story is smart and well written, although the film takes half an hour to get going. It is smart and well done that the film takes place generations after Caesar and that we are thrown into a completely new adventure on the ape planet. Because the end is left completely open, there is almost no other way than that a sequel will come to this and it can't come fast enough for me. In any case, this fourth film from the new reboot series of films is fantastic.
Land of Bad (2024)
Enjoyable, but without soul
In Land of Bad, the lead roles are played by Liam and Luke Hemsworth, yes Chris's brothers, and none other than Russell Crowe stars alongside the gentlemen as Captain Eddie Grimm 'Reaper'. The direction is in the hands of 43-year-old director William Eubank, who didn't really make a lot of soups for this film, but good. Land of Bad is only his sixth directing job and if you are allowed to work with such a cast, which is bursting with experience, it should basically be fine. Eubank also wrote the story for this film himself, so we have become quite curious. The story is not bursting with originality by the way, because it is purely such a behind enemy lines- film, which we have seen more often in the past, so it is a bit to be hoped that it does not get bogged down in a been there, done that concept. Fortunately, the film doesn't feel that way and it has become an exciting action movie with a lot of action and suspense. Especially if Kinney has to make his way through the jungle of the Philippines on his own with only Reaper as his navigation to get everything to a successful conclusion.
Crowe, incidentally, takes little part in the action and controls the drone and looks from the air to see if there are no enemies present. If in the beginning all the drone has to return due to a defect, the Delta-Force team is blind. If these achieve their goal and a horrific scene takes place, things go completely wrong. To make matters worse, if the enemy deploys RPG elites, Kinney is quickly left alone and is chased up by an army of bad guys. It goes with a lot of weapon rattle, explosions and especially many slow motion shots. This is pretty nicely done, but after doing it once or twice, the fun is a bit off. Fortunately, the director does limit himself to a number of action scenes and it has not become a Zack Snyder movie that has a slow motion scene in it every five minutes. Yet the film is bursting with clichés and the whole thing looks like a cross between Rambo and (for those who still know the film) Bat 21, because Kinney flees into hostile territory, eventually loses communication and runs out of weapons.
Then predictability strikes, especially how Kinney escapes from the predicament and eventually manages to get weapons back. Anyway, you just have to take these kinds of movies with a grain of salt and just watch it and not lift them too heavy at the implausibles or coincidences. The growling and humming Russell Crowe watches from the safe barracks with a look at Monster Energy in his hands. Still, Crowe does play one of his better roles since Unhinged from 2020. Is the movie really worth watching in a cinema? Well, that depends on which attitude you go with and especially with what kind of company you are going to visit the film. The best thing is to visit these kinds of movies with a bunch of friends with a nice drink and a huge container of popcorn.
Land of Bad has become a very entertaining action film, in which the film does little to depth or emotion. The story is quite simple and already done many times more. With a lot of shooting, raging, explosions and great camera work you will be entertained for a short two hours, although this will not be a film that will keep you with you for years. Crowe plays a fine role as a grumpy mob and Liam Hemsworth is shooting through the ferocious landscape of the Philippines. The gradient is standard and predictable, but despite that it manages to get quite exciting here and there. As mentioned, expect some kind of cross between Rambo and Bat 21, which will definitely get tough here and there. For an afternoon or evening of action entertainment, Land of Bad is absolutely suitable.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Easy to follow, even if you didn't see part 1
Frank Herberts' Dune dates back to 1965 and has already been filmed once. The film adaptation dates back to 1984, when director David Lynch made an attempt to make the epic film. The result was very mediocre, because although the film managed to excel in terms of landscapes and cinematography, it stopped there. In 2021, director Denis Villeneuve came up with his version of Dune and immediately managed to impress. Where the 1984 version tapped a total playing time of two hours and seventeen minutes, only the first part of Villeneuve's version had been tapping for two hours and thirty-five minutes and then you're only halfway. This second part even taps two hours and forty-six minutes, so it's a bit to be hoped that it's not going to be a repetition of moves, because although the first part was very strong, the film could have been a lot shorter. Anyone familiar with Dune's whole story knows what will ultimately await him and the film certainly does not disappoint in this. Whether the hype that currently reigns around Dune is right, you will have to see and judge for yourself. In any case, what is certain is that the film contains much more action than the first part.
The film runs seamlessly and we continue the story with Paul and the division among the Fremen where the northerners do not want to accept Paul as 'The One'. Meanwhile, Baron Harkonnen performs his atrocities on the planet and when his nephew Feyd-Rauta appears, Beast Rabban is soon expelled. Feyd-Rauta is portrayed in a very strong way by Austin Butler. So a lot is happening, so the pace is a lot higher than in the first part. What's more striking is the fact that this movie is even easy to follow if you wouldn't even have seen the first part. There is a great explanation about how and what and although the first film does show the beginning, it feels completely unnecessary after seeing this second part. Well, completely superfluous may be a bit exaggerated, but the fact remains that even without that film this second part is like a house and the story will be easy for everyone to follow. If in the end Paul indicates that he does not want to reach for power, Stilgar is convinced that Paul is 'The One', but there is still doubt within the Fremen group that Paul and Jessica are spies.
The film is grotesque, with a bombastic soundtrack and eye-catching locations and slick special effects. Although the soundtrack is really fine, it is not composer Hans Zimmer's most unforgettable work and this (for me then) is not a soundtrack that will stay with me for a very long time. Although the pace is really a lot higher than in the first part, certain pieces still feel too long and this is often a thing from director Villeneuve. As far as I'm concerned, he often knows how to put down films that are sublimely put together, such as Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival, but often goes into the matter too deep, making the films really feel much too long. Perhaps this does not have much to do with going too deep into the matter, but more with the slowness with which this happens. Especially Arrival suffered from that in my eyes, a rock-solid film with a well-thought-out plot, but it's almost great to make a film that is under two hours feel like four hours. Fortunately, that's not too bad in Dune: Part Two and we get to see a movie full of action and adventure. The setup to the third part is made, although I wonder if three parts won't be a bit of a good thing, but we're going to experience it.
Dune: Part Two has become a strong sequel, where the film is still easy to follow even if you haven't seen the first part. The film is grotesque, contains great camera work that manages to create a lot of atmosphere with many yellowish filters. The soundtrack is good and bombastic, but it's not a soundtrack that will stay with you for a long time. It is mainly Austin Butler who, as far as I'm concerned, manages to steal the show as Baron Harkonnen's cruel nephew, Feyd-Rauta. Although the film manages to tick for a good two hours and 45 minutes, whereby that sometimes really felt like a long-paced struggle in the first Dune- film, the pace in this second part is pleasant. Here and there the pace might have been a little higher, but honestly that didn't bother me for a meter. The hype created around the film may be a bit exaggerated, but the movie is definitely worth seeing in the cinema, if you have the chance do it in IMAX.
Dune: Part One (2021)
Slow, but a great opener.
Next Thursday, the second part of Dune will premiere in theaters, something many a fan has had to look forward to for almost 3 years. Although the film should actually have been released last year, it was significantly delayed by the writers' strike that was going on in Hollywood at the time. The film already got the green light 4 days after the premiere of this first part, but luckily the time has come and I thought it would be nice to look back at the first part before we get started with part 2. There is already a 1984 film directed by David Lynch. Although the film contained absolutely beautiful camera work, the overall picture was really far below par. Now Denis Villeneuve is at the helm and he has already proven with Blade Runner 2049 that he can definitely make a complex science fiction film. With a $165 million budget, Villeneuve doesn't let any grass grow over it and attracts a large arsenal of big stars and puts a lot of work into the eye-catching effects the film has.
The story is not the easiest story and it is also very careful to be able to follow the story. The film is also quite slow and that is now a feature of this director. For example, Blade Runner 2049 also had a long playing time and the whole thing went in a very slow way. This is no different in this first part of Dune, so you still don't get the whole thing after an hour, in my opinion you might as well stop it and just skip the second part. For those who can follow all this and do not suffer from the slow course, they will be immersed in a very cool world in which a war rages between three parties, in which it is up to the chosen Paul Atreides to save the native people the Fremen from the downfall and the dig to the coveted spice. What is well done is the nightmarish setting that Villeneuve manages to create in the film. Certainly the scene in which Paul and his associates fly to a miner with a plane that has wings like a Dragonfly. Once there, an sandworm arrives in the distance that wants to swallow the whole thing, after which a rescue operation follows and the miner's crew has to evacuate. With the yellow lens filter in the dune plain, it makes things look even more oppressive and especially heated.
The music is provided by none other than grandmaster Hans Zimmer and the whole thing swells well. Still, the soundtrack here and there is just a bit too melancholy and it doesn't always fit the film well, but that will also be a matter of personal taste. In any case, it doesn't make it contribute to getting a little bit of momentum in the film. This takes until deep in the second half that the momentum comes in when Paul and mother Jessica Atreides have to flee after the attack on Leto Atreides. At that moment the role of the Fremen also becomes a little clearer and we also see the malice of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen taking on more and more bizarre forms. It's all a set-up to Dune: Part 2 of course and especially for the people who have already seen the 1984 version, you know about what's coming and it's quite frustrating to have waited so long. What does outline the surprise is that a Dune: Part 3 is already in development, so with that in mind I am very curious what exactly will come and how Villeneuve will work out all this.
Dune: Part One is a great opener of the triptych about House Atreides, Harkonnen and the Fremen people fighting a mutual battle for the planet Caladan. This first part is very slow and your patience is tested for about 155 minutes. The camera work, decors and settings are really very well done, although I find the soundtrack of grandmaster Hans Zimmer sometimes too melancholy, but this can also have to do with taste of course. It also takes more than an hour and a half before the whole thing has got off to a good start, for which a lot of work is done on character development and deepening of the story. Where exactly Villeneuve ultimately wants to go regarding the developed third part is still a bit of the question. The third part is expected to tell The Children of Dune, but yes, at least I don't know for sure. For now, this first part of Dune has become a really cool movie, especially for the real science fiction lover, so let the second part come soon.
Fallout (2024)
This was awesome!
The game Fallout has been playing since 1997 and has an extremely large crowd of fans in the meantime. Since 2007, Fallout's rights have been sold to Bethesda, with 4 games added to the shelves and a number of additions to them. Anyone who knows the games will have labeled this a bit as fairly unfilmable. Still, Jonathan Nolan, yes Christopher Nolan's 6 years younger brother, wanted to burn his hands on the Fallout project. Jonathan is only more adept at the writers' part and whoever looks at his CV sees that he hardly has anything to his name as a director. The series takes place within the same continuity as the video game franchise, but has become an original story of its own. Executive producer Todd Howard said he wanted to prevent the video games from being tweaked.
Especially people who are not familiar with the Fallout franchise will really have to get used to the weird setting for the first two episodes. The atmosphere in the series is very strong and lives up to the game, but the luguber humor and the completely strange things that happen will make the eyebrows frown for a while. Precisely because the world of Fallout is so atmospheric and well portrayed, this series has perhaps become one of the best game adaptations ever, at least, that's what I think. From the third episode, the whole thing starts to get a bit more structure and you will also understand where the whole thing wants to go in the end. You actually skip between several lines in the story. For example, there is the story of Lucy, who goes through the desert together with Ghoul Cooper, Maximus who ends up in a bizarre situation as a turtle of Knight Titus and of course how Vault 33 wants to pick up the thread again, but does not know how to deal with their captured killers. But in order to fully understand the big picture, we have to go back to the beginning and that's exactly where Fallout works.
In episode 6, structure begins to come into the series and it becomes clear where the big picture wants to go. Every storyline remains equally interesting and the absurdism is only increasing. But exactly how everything is put together remains unclear until the last episode and we also have to go back to the whole beginning. Fortunately, for the rest, it doesn't matter whether you have played the games or not, the series may then connect with the world of Fallout and constantly hint to things from the games, yet the series follows its own path and prior knowledge is absolutely not required. Everything is just well worked out and it reminded me from time to time to time the books of The Dark Tower by Stephen King, which I would like to see filmed in this way and I'm not talking about that halfgare film from 2017. Fallout is just surprisingly good and brings this to the man with a lot of gore and weird humor. After the 8 episodes, you're still looking for a second season.
Fallout - Season 1 is perhaps the best movie of a game ever. Prior knowledge is absolutely not necessary, because although the story takes place in the world fan of the games, it completely follows its own path. As a neutral viewer, you will still have something about the first two episodes of what are you actually looking at, but after that the story starts to take shape. With 8 episodes ranging from playing time from 45 minutes to an hour, it looks away wonderfully and quickly. One must have a strong stomach, by the way, because some scenes are in no way inferior to a spicy horror film, so this is definitely not suitable for young viewers. Eventually when the end has come you will crave for more, but it will be a while for a second season and although nothing is known about that yet, it is quite a certainty that it will really come.