Stranger Things will always have a special place in my heart. I'm 50 now. I actually lived through the time frame that encompasses the Stranger Things story line. And yes, I was a nerd who played D&D in my friend's basement. So it is no understatement that the first season of Stranger Things ticked a plethora of boxes for me.
Now, some 10 years later we have reached the end and this rating reflects not so much my feelings on…
In Dutch we have this word that doesn't really translate well to English. Kneuterig. It's like a mix of cosy, cheap, bourgeois, provincial and familiar all wrapped into one word. It's connotation can be positive and negative. And that sums up Amsterdamned 2 pretty well.
It's so very very Dutch in its attempts to not try to be Dutch at all, basically what Dick Maas has done his entire career and for which the Dutch film industry should be very…
Satire only works when it's uncompromising and hilarious. One Battle After Another is all that and then some.
PTA throws us into a reality that feels off, yet very recognisable. We encounter characters that seem larger than life that interact with a world that feels so very much our own. That friction creates the satire, the hilarious moments, the feeling of 'damnit these people might actually exist' and in the end the scathing observation of the sometimes ludicrously fucked up…
I was 23 in 1998. To say Caught Stealing captures what that time felt like and what the vibe in many action movies was, is the grandest of understatements.
I was very intrigued how straightforward and uncomplicated Aronofsky would click with me, but I'm happy to say it did so really well. He manages to show restraint while at some points still finding visual flourishes that give the film something extra.
Apart from that there isn't that much more to say here. It's fun, funny, violent and engaging. Don't need much more, do we?
Yep, it's pretty clear that Cregger makes my type of horror.
I loved Barbarian with my entire, gory heart and apart from some minor pacing issues Weapons is on par with that one.
What I love about Cregger's films so far is that they truly feel his. Does that make sense? It's just that when Weapons started something in the style was very recognizable even though it's a completely different film. It's clear that he's there to do something he's…
It's a relief to see a Marvel film get many things right, 'cause it's been a while hasn't it.
I'm still not quite sure whether I'm willing to overlook this film's flaws (there are a couple) because most recent outings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the excellent Thunderbolts excluded of course) have been average at best and utter crap at worst and this isn't, or because I deeply love the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer comics and Shaman's film does…
Love him or hate him, Gunn knows, at least where comics are concerned, how to capture the essence of the stories he's adapting.
I started reading comics when I was about ten years old ( yep, that's 40 years ago) and started off with Dutch translated X-Men comics. This automatically steered me to the Marvel Universe. I only encountered the DC universe through its TV and movie adaptations, one of the first being Christopher Reeves as Superman.
I loved those…
Well this was just some outstandingly good Predator shit.
So, before I start yapping about the excellent Thunderbolts* I need to talk about Andor first.
Why? Well, it's from the same company and I think they represent the same thing. A welcome change. See, Andor was perhaps the first Disney Original that did something to break away from the Star Wars cookie cutter production line. It embraced the Universe it was created in, but tried to be its own thing without obsessively trying to please fans by harkening to…
Final Destination: Monkey Business
(But seriously, I like not so serious Osgood Perkins quite a bit)
This movie is a bit like your appendix. It used to have a function, but in the course of evolution it has become less useful, because it has basically stayed the same while the world around it has changed. So you just kind of forget it's there.
Until there's inflammation. Then there's pain and this basically useless thing becomes dangerous and annoying after which you get appendicitis and it needs to be surgically removed.
Ok, so let me rephrase. This movie is like appendicitis. It's painful and bad for you. Please, remove it. Thanks.
So as I'm getting old and my body basically rejects most forms of cardio as everything seems to hurt afterwards, I discovered that rowing actually provides a welcome intense exercise so I bought a rowing machine and placed it in front of my TV so I can watch films and series to take my mind off the pain and suffering that comes with exercise which actually worked brilliantly until I watched this piece of shite which made me both suffer through the workout and the complete and utter piece of cinematic navel lint that is this film.