Roger's Watchlist - Movies by the day
A chronological agenda of my movie experiences.
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- DirectorEric LartigauÉric LartigauStarsAlain ChabatBae DoonaBlanche GardinStéphane lives a quiet life as an eminent French Chef but when he decides to visit Soo, a mysterious Korean lady he fell in love with on Instagram, he'll embark on an adventurous journey full of discoveries.May 27 2024
Whoever might expect a romantic comedy here, just don’t get up your hopes. Even though the trailer, the poster and the synopsis published online or in magazines are clearly misleading, it might however be worth your while to sit down and watch this. It starts as a prelude to romance. Alain Chabat plays a recently divorced restaurant chef who has a friendly online relation with a Korean woman and he feels that the attraction is mutual. On a whim he flies to Seoul, South Korea, and here all the romance and the misdirections the first part of this story seem to give just disappear. What follows next is an unexpected turn of events which just blew me away. This movie morphs into a wonderful character study of this guy, who spends days at the Korean airport in the false hope that his online friend might pick him up. When he finally ventures out, he is a changed man, and his further days in the Korean capital provide him with a new regard on live, having reconnected with his two adult sons and having finally accepted that online encounters might not be what they seem to be. Chabat is perfect as this chef, who in the beginning seems to live his life not with his family but only next to it, being oblivious to what happens around him. It is a movie that makes you think that also as a mid-aged human being it is possible to give your life a new direction and that is why i did indeed like this little gem.
Story : 7,71
Cast : 6,63
Entertainment : 6,97
Note : 7,10 - DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsWarren BeattyAnnette BeningHarvey KeitelThe story of how Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel started Las Vegas.May 26 2024
Is a biopic with many inaccuracies about the subject’s life still a biopic? Bugsy is a 1991 movie directed by Barry Levinson, Academy Award winner for Rain Man, starring Warren Beatty in the titular role and Annette Bening in the female lead as Siegel’s partner. Sir Ben Kingsley, Harvey Keitel, Bebe Neuwirth, Joe Montegna and Elliott Gould complete a great cast for a movie which was certainly a grand endeavor, which was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning only 2 minor ones. The final years of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the gangster who apparently ‘invented’ the Las Vegas Strip, leading up from his arrival in Los Angeles to his murder by his own Mafia mob in 1947 was thought to be a monumental biopic crime drama about Siegel, the man, his tumultuous relationship with Virginia Hill and his dream to build a legitimate business, a casino/hotel in the Nevada desert. However, in order to accommodate the backstory of this man into a 2 hour movie, the writers accepted inadequacies galore mixing up events, changing the timeline and suggesting wrongly that Siegel invented the Strip with the construction of Flamingo. The biggest error was the setting of Siegel’s murder on the same day the Flamingo was opened, Christmas 1946, as Siegel was assassinated only months later. Still, Bugsy gives insight into the 1940’s, a great look into history and unites two actors with great chemistry, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. They both thought so as well and have been married for over 30 years.
Story : 6,52
Cast : 8,24
Entertainment : 7,00
Note : 7,25 - DirectorMark WatersStarsBrooke ShieldsMiranda CosgroveBenjamin BrattLana's daughter Emma returns from London and announces that she's getting married next month. Things become more complicated when Lana learns that the man who stole Emma's heart is the son of the man who broke hers years ago.May 25 2024
It has been a tradition recently that all the movies produced and released by Netflix have been critically lambasted. Many reviews mentioned the fact that most scripts and projects green lighted by the internet giant would never even be approved by major studios. From my point of view not every movie deserves such harsh treatment, but Mother of the Bride is definitely one of those that shouldn’t have made the way from script to film. I am a fan of romcom, but here I was almost slayed with an absolutely insane numbers of clichés which could have been used in just about every other romantic comedy. Add to this a quite inadequate cast. Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt might fit the bill in a way but the whole supporting cast led by singer Miranda Cosgrove is badly chosen. The story might have a fun aspect when the mother of the bride realizes that the father of the groom is actually her ex. But the setting in Thailand basically translates the fact that Netflix has too much money to spend, this story would be better if it was told in a more urban environment. I have seen so many romcoms, but this one just couldn’t tickle my senses.
Story : 6,29
Cast : 5,77
Entertainment : 4,01
Note : 5,36 - DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsKurt RussellJason Scott LeeJason IsaacsA soldier trained from birth is deemed obsolete and dumped on a waste planet where he is reluctantly taken in by a community of defenseless, stranded wayfarers.May 25 2024
Before Paul W.S Anderson came onto action movie aficionados radar with the Resident Evil franchise, he had already directed three movies that did not really perform at the box office but that have reached a certain cult status today: Event Horizon, Mortal Kombat and Soldier. Soldier is a sci-fi action movie that stars Kurt Russell as an aging war combatant who is declared obsolete, apparently killed and dumped on a barren wasteland planet. The genetically created soldiers that are supposed to replace him do however choose just this planet for their war games, not knowing that Kurt has survived and is now protecting the small colony of inhabitants. It must assuredly be Kurt Russell’s favorite role because he speaks barely more than 10 sentences throughout the story which just gathers steam in the last 45 minutes. Then of course the action is first rate and nonstop. Unfortunately these 45 minutes do not compensate for a first half that seems moving too slow and nourishes too many clichés. Co-starring Russell, Gary Busey and Connie Nielsen are joined by a deliciously evil main villain, played by Jason Isaacs. Soldier seems to have had a very good premise but it was maybe not a good idea to show off Russell’s character as just another bloodthirsty killer showing no real feelings until the very end. It maybe fit the history of the persona but it did not differentiate him from the other soldiers.
Story : 6,61
Cast : 7,03
Entertainment : 6,02
Note : 6,55 - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsWilliam PowellMary AstorEugene PallettePhilo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue.May 24 2024
Sometimes the most obscure, unknown little movies which were made during the 1930’s and 1940’s can be real treasure troves. Take this Philo Vance adventure made in 1933. The murder mystery here must have been in my opinion one of the very best constructed crime story ever written, rivaling without a doubt with the greatest stories invented by Agatha Christie. Then, this little gem was indeed directed by Michael Curtiz, legendary director of Casablanca and Philo Vance was played by none other than William Powell, who would just a year later star in another detective movie called The Thin Man. This was Powell’s fourth appearance as Philo Vance, unfortunately I have not yet seen the prior movies, but will endeavor to find them as soon as possible. Another movie star I recognized here was Mary Astor, best remembered from Bogart’s The Maltese Falcon. The Kennel Murder Case is a great little gem, holding its own with every detective movie of that time and is worth rewatching for sure.
Story : 9,43
Cast : 8,21
Entertainment : 8,89
Note : 8,84 - DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyVirginia GreyAn explosives manufacturer suspects a young man is out to kill him. He calls in new parents Nick and Nora to sort things out.May 23 2024
This is the third out of 6 movies of the beloved series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Actually this was the 8th movie the two stars appeared in together, but who’s counting. This entry picks up some 18 months after the second movie ended with Nora Charles announcing her pregnancy to hubby Nick. The tipsy couple reappears in New York only to be dragged to Long Island where murder and mayhem await the intrepid duo. Even though it is already the third movie, the Thin Man adventures are still lively and full of wit, double entendres and spirited dialogues. Here, there is a slight problem with a rather complicated crime story that affords the viewer’s attention more than he’d like , instead of laughing at the situational comedy Powell and Loy excel in. The presence of a child amidst their life is not yet an issue, of course a small baby was not ideal to be integrated in a crime story. So they came up with a baby anniversary party to which many of Nick’s former convicts have brought their (?) own babies. In the end it is yet another highly entertaining entry in the series, on to the fourth.
Story : 7,11
Cast : 8,44
Entertainment : 7,74
Note : 7,76 - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAlfred AbelOlga TschechowaPaul GraetzA juror in a murder trial, after voting to convict, has second thoughts and begins to investigate on his own before the execution.May 22 2024
In the early days of sound, dubbing movies into other languages was not yet on the horizon of film studios, it was actually cheaper to shoot the same movie with foreign actors in their language at the same time the original film was shot. This happened for example with Laurel & Hardy features in which the two icons performed the foreign dialogue phonetically, with Universal’s Dracula, Charlie Chan features and various other releases including Mary. Alfred Hitchcock had spent time in Germany during the 1920’s and thought he would be able to take on the German version of his movie Murder!. Mary tells almost the same story as its English counterpart though the version which has survived until today is considerably shorter. The biggest difference however is the fluency. The german version cannot emulate the spirited dialogue of the British movie, the actors seem very wooden and Alfred Abel, though he was in Metropolis and other big productions, was simply not up to the task, unable to own a character which was so marvelously played by Herbert Marshall. What was celebrated as Hitchcock touch when he overlapped dialogues multiple times just becomes a nuisance here because the actors did not understand what Hitchcock wanted. Nevertheless, this was an interesting experience seeing a second version of an Alfred Hitchcock movie made by the master himself.
Story : 6.96
Cast : 4,35
Entertainment : 5,54
Note : 5,62 - DirectorBilly WilderStarsGinger RogersRay MillandRita JohnsonA frustrated city girl disguises herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with a handsome Major.May 21 2024
So much to say about this movie. After a career as screenwriter and having received acclaim for Ninotchka, the Ernst Lubitsch classic with Greta Garbo, Billy Wilder got his first directorial assignment. Paramount Pictures apparently gave him the job to film his screenplay The Major and the Minor because he fought every little change other directors wanted to apply to his script, voicing his deepest unhappiness to everyone around. Of course, since this was Billy Wilder, the movie became a phenomenal success starting a unique career culminating in all time great movies like Some Like It Hot, The Apartment or The Lost Weekend just to name a few. Now, The Major and the Minor is a quite peculiar movie. A woman, after trying to succeed professionally in New York, decides to go back to her native Iowa to marry her high school sweetheart. When she finds out that she has not enough money to pay for the train ticket, she disguises herself as a 12 year old girl to get a half price ticket. When hiding from train controllers onboard she meets a handsome Army major and complications begin in earnest. I do not know how cinema audiences accepted 30 year old Ginger Rogers as a 12 year old child, there is no way she would have passed any scrutiny. Then again, it was maybe Wilder’s clear intention to not even try to make any other attempt to disguise Rogers, the situational comedy to have the other actors accept her as what she claims to be is funny enough. Of course having Milland’s character fall for the charade until the very end doesn’t speak for the way his persona is meant to be presented. Then the question arises, how would this movie be made today? Is it still acceptable? Do we need to put warnings before the main titles? In the end I found The Major and the Minor an ideal introduction to Billy Wilder’s career, a funny comedy carrying great dialogue and spirited situations .
Story : 8,04
Cast : 7,57
Entertainment : 7,45
Note : 7,69 - DirectorJohn WooStarsJohn TravoltaNicolas CageJoan AllenTo foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.May 20 2024
It is quite amazing to know that Nicolas Cage shot Con Air and Face/Off almost back to back and it is quite befuddling that both movies premiered within a month in cinemas. I won’t certainly start to compare because both movies are action icons of the 1990’s, but I have to say again that Cage’s performances during that period were all just top notch. If you accept the premise of face swapping that is at the base of John Woo’s Face/Off then you are clearly on the winning side. The result here is an action avalanche, an almost perfect juxtaposition of ridiculous sequences culminating in a never ending staccato of high octane explosions. In between all of this mayhem we find Cage and John Travolta, having the difficult task to play each other with their mannerisms and character traits. Truth be told, about every supporting player is just a decorative accessory and without having to sentence Joan Allen, Gina Gershon, Nick Cassavetes or Alessandro Nivola as decoration, their parts are for the most part rather unimportant in the all consuming duel between Cage and Travolta. In Cage’s trilogy of action masterpieces, I would range Face/Off just a little bit behind Con Air, because of character development and the quite cheesy face swap plot. The Rock of course remains untouchable.
Story : 8,44
Cast : 8,99
Entertainment : 9,19
Note : 8,87 - DirectorTerence YoungStarsChristopher PlummerRomy SchneiderTrevor HowardDuring WW2, convicted bank robber Eddie Chapman becomes a triple agent working for both the British and the Germans.May 19 2024
Among the long list of World War II movies that came out in the 1960’s were some true icons like The Great Escape or Guns of Navarone. Triple Cross though is never listed together with these classics. The true story of British spy Eddie Chapman as presented by veteran director Terence Young would never reach excitement levels or action peaks as would other war movies, as Young basically preferred to put his many well known actors into sequences with lots of dialogue instead of adequate action. Even Christopher Plummer as Chapman is incredibly passive and moves around as if he is not too concerned. True enough the World War II spy business was maybe not that action prone but a little bit more excitement would have been a welcome added element. Just think about the cast Young assembled. The director of 3 James Bond movies actually managed to convince three Bond stars, Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger), Claudine Auger (Thunderball) and Anthony Dawson (Dr.No), to join the cast to which he also added Yul Brynner, Romy Schneider and Trevor Howard. So it was obvious that everyone of these actors required screen time, but somehow Young still managed to neglect the female characters giving Schneider and especially Auger not very much to do. On the brighter side, Chapman’s story is a quite remarkable adventure and even the fact that as usual enough creative license was used, the whole odyssey of this double agent was thoroughly remarkable. The movie though needed a bit of the excitement that Chapman assuredly had in real life.
Story : 7,61
Cast : 7,46
Entertainment : 6,61
Note : 7,23 - DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMatt DamonCamille CottinAbigail BreslinA father travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter, who is in prison for a murder she claims she didn't commit.May 18 2024
Matt Damon’s versatility has been proven several times over his career and considering his breathtaking range that made him master roles like Liberace’s gay lover or his unforgettable cameo in Euro Trip, you should not be too surprised encountering the actor playing an Oklahoma redneck in Stillwater. Bulked up Damon sporting a military haircut and a goatee beard plays Bill, the father of an American student, incarcerated in France for the murder of her lesbian lover. During one of his visits, Bill learns of a possibility that may uncover the truth behind the crime and prove his daughter’s innocence. When his daughter’s lawyer does not want to pick up the investigation, he takes matters in his own hands. Together with Virginie, an actress and single mum, taking over as his translator, Bill tries to find the proof that would free his daughter. Damon is joined by Abigail Breslin as the daughter while French actress Camille Cottin plays Virginie. Many people have alluded that this movie is loosely based on the case of Amanda Knox, an American student who was convicted of murder in Italy and later freed, but this movie does not really concentrate on the crime that convicted Breslin’s character, it is a very well built character study of this guy, finding himself in Marseille trying to get around without speaking French. The whole plot is quite interesting up until the last 30 minutes when the plot takes a rather unpleasant turn, basically destroying the storyline around Bill’s relation with Virginie. It is still a very worthy movie and quite interesting but the finale ruined my whole experience quite a bit.
Story : 6,41
Cast : 7,46
Entertainment : 6,28
Note : 6,72 - DirectorRobert AldrichStarsRalph MeekerAlbert DekkerPaul StewartA doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".May 17 2024
Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer has been played by a number of actors, most notably by Stacy Keach in a 1980’s TV series and a few TV movies. Another TV series based on the author’s most well known character was produced in 1958, a few years prior 2 movies were made with diverging success. I, the Jury from 1953 was made in 3D and became a critical and financial doozy. Kiss Me Deadly however stands out. The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich, big name director from the 1950’s and 1960’s whom I remember foremost as the guy at the helm of The Dirty Dozen. Made in 1955, Kiss Me Deadly was notorious in the sense that it was condemned by the Kefauver commission as being ‘designed to ruin young viewers’. In an era when McCarthyism was still quite present in people’s minds, this nihilistic film noir alludes very much to the paranoia lived through the early 1950’s when everybody was suspected to be a communist, and to the fear of nuclear attacks and global destruction as highlighted by the frantic chase for the object of desire in the movie which will culminate in an apocalyptic science-fiction ending. Aldrich also directed Ralph Meeker to play Hammer as brutal, women consuming, sadistic, cynical guy, reinforcing the gloomy tone of the movie. Kiss Me Deadly is today seen as one of the most influential film noir productions even though the end seems very much out of touch with the general direction of the movie. Interesting footnote: Christina, the young woman murdered right at the beginning of the movie is actually Cloris Leachman in her very first movie. I will forever hold her in my heart as Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein.
Story : 7,27
Cast : 6,26
Entertainment : 7,39
Note : 6,97 - DirectorJean GiraultStarsLouis de FunèsYvonne ClechJean-Pierre MarielleA grouchy shopkeeper made an unsuccessful financial investment, and now he is on the verge of bankruptcy. In order to avenge oneself he engages his own family into a plan to rob a next door bank.May 16 2024
Louis de Funès, France’s most cherished comedian actor, actually made more than 130 movies, appeared in shorts and TV movies and had further uncredited appearances in another 30+ productions during the 1940’s up to 1964. Amazingly, he shot to real fame only with Le Gendarme de St.Tropez, at age 50. Only about 30 more movies would follow, making the actor a very late bloomer, but almost every one of these films was a box office smash. Faites sauter la banque! came out in early 1964, and even though it is not among the de Funès ‘cult’ movies, it is clearly demonstrating why he achieved his incredible career push. During the whole 85 minutes we see an unstoppable tornado owning about every second. He plays Garnier, a shop owner who plans to take revenge on a bank manager, who made him lose his whole fortune, by tunneling his way to the vault of the bank across the street. His accomplices are his own wife, daughters and son. Of course the endeavor hits a lot of problems, the bigger one being one of the bank’s employees who falls for his daughter. If you are game to follow Louis de Funès’ frantic exploits throughout the length of the movie, you are in for fireworks. Then again, all the other actors are automatically pushed into the background which does not help the content as everything focuses on de Funès. This would just get more intense with his later, bigger movies.
Syory : 6,12
Cast : 6,88
Entertainment : 6,40
Note : 6,47 - DirectorHarry L. FraserStarsJohn WayneSheila TerryShirley Jean RickertA cowboy escorts a little girl, whose mother made her the heir of a cash-able oil company, and must protect her from an outlaw as they search for the girl's father.May 15 2024
So many people actually do not know that John Wayne struggled for almost a decade after his big debut in The Big Trail for which he got universally trashed by audiences and critics alike. It would take 9 years until Stagecoach, during which Duke appeared in almost 60 productions of lesser quality, B-movies mostly, a few serials, but most assuredly no bigger feature that would have helped him building up a career for the bigger studios. ‘Neath the Arizona Skies made in 1934 is exactly such a movie. Barely 52 minutes long, the movie stars Duke as the protector of a young girl set to inherit a fortune from oil. Of course sinister figures try to kidnap the girl involving many heroics by Wayne. This production was made by Monogram, specialized in those ‘poverty row’ movies costing no money but with a short playing time being ideal fodder for double features in the theaters across the US. Without John Wayne, this movie would have disappeared into oblivion a long time ago.
Story : 5,51
Cast : 5,77
Entertainment : 5,52
Note : 5,60 - DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsBela LugosiPolly Ann YoungJohn McGuireThe town's leading citizen becomes a homicidal maniac after his wife deserts him.May 14 2024
First things first: There is no ghost in this movie, neither a visible one nor an invisible one. No idea how they found this title but this is basically the quite nonsensical chase for a murderer, strangling his victims, whom the public quite early knows to be Bela Lugosi. Apparently, rattled by the disappearance of his wife, Lugosi’s character falls into a murderous trance every time he thinks seeing her (which he actually does as she lives in a garden shed… don’t ask). Not only is the premise nonsensical, the search for the culprit is farcical as well, as all the murders actually happen in Lugosi’s house. Invisible Ghost was the first movie that Lugosi did for Monogram Pictures in a 9 movie deal. His time as Dracula was over and even a very impressive appearance in Son of Frankenstein or playing a supporting part in Lubitsch’s Ninotchka didn’t help. So he signed for second tier Monogram with disastrous results. One could say that this was apparently the best of the Monogram Pictures. Thankfully he still had a few opportunities to return to Universal’s monster series, even playing the monster in a later Frankenstein. Invisible Ghost though is just worth to watch because of Bela Lugosi’s presence.
Story : 5,32
Cast : 6,02
Entertainment : 5,42
Note : 5,59 - DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsBen AffleckAlice BragaJD PardoA detective investigates a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program.May 13 2024
Well if it weren’t for the title of the movie, you’d think it would start like a normal crime thriller when we learn that Ben Affleck’s detective character is a grieving parent whose daughter was abducted a few years ago. Once you are introduced into the deeper ideas of writer/director Robert Rodriguez, it will morph into a kind of mashup between Inception and Paycheck when the story delves into hypnosis as the means to control people, it deals with erasing memories and it all reeks of déjà-vu. We should be used to better things coming from Rodriguez but it seems that there won’t be any more Machete movies, so besides another Spy Kids we will have to content with productions like Hypnotic. I don’t mind Ben Affleck deviating from his past endeavors to star in this, I loved Alice Braga’s part and I was quite happy to see William Fichtner again. He is so often typecast as the villain, but it is really the type of role he is best in. It is just a shame that all the actors here just did not get the best material to work with.
Story : 5,99
Cast : 6,44
Entertainment : 6,22
Note : 6,22 - DirectorLarry YangStarsJackie ChanHaocun LiuKevin GuoA washed-up stuntman and his stunt horse become an overnight social media sensation when their real-life fight with debt collectors goes viral.May 12 2024
Pushing 70, Jackie Chan has actually not really slowed down, though he has appeared more often in Chinese productions lately, making himself scarce in Hollywood. I saw Hidden Strike some time ago which I did quite like, but Long ma jing shen must be a quintessential movie for Chan, as he basically plays himself when giving life to Lao Luo, an aging stuntman who basically forgot private life and family through his devotion to his job. Now pennyless, all what he has left is his deformed at birth horse Red Hare, whom he saved from euthanasia and formed into a stunt horse. When greedy businessmen threaten to take away the horse he has to reconnect with his estranged daughter. During the whole movie Chan’s career is shown in excerpts attributed to his fictional character but it is obvious that the whole movie is a tribute foremost to Chan and then to the job of stuntman in the Chinese movie industry. It is not really an action feast but most importantly a very touching story about the man and his connection to the horse and later on his daughter. Touching, funny and engaging.
Story : 7,41
Cast : 7,02
Entertainment : 7,41
Note : 7,28 - DirectorNick FabianoRichard Alan ReidStarsLucy HaleGrant GustinNore DavisAfter a disastrous first date, Nicole and Max vow to lose each other's numbers until their dogs find a love match. Hilariously mismatched Nicole and Max are forced to become responsible co-parents, but end up finding love themselves.May 11 2024
I’m always on the lookout for new variations on the romantic comedy theme. I actually do think that the dog motive has been used but Puppy Love does introduce something new here. The two lead characters played by Lucy Hale, whom I only know through horror movies, and Grant Gustin whom I know through The Flash TV series, do actually only get better acquainted once it appears that their respective dogs had a more immediate connection and puppies are on the way. While the story may not really be the most innovative, there are some really funny sequences, especially the disastrous first date between Hale and Gustin and the pretty interesting dog-lamaze session. Quick appearance by Jane Seymour in a rather unthankful part as Hale’s mother,
Story : 6,43
Cast : 6,16
Entertainment : 6,55
Note : 6,38 - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsAl PacinoRobin WilliamsHilary SwankTwo Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.May 11 2024
While everybody is marveling about the cinematic genius that is Christopher Nolan, as demonstrated with his Batman movies, Inception or Oppenheimer, I decided to have a look at Insomnia, made in 2002, a movie produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. Interestingly enough, this is the only movie Nolan directed that has not been written by him. It is the remake of a 1997 Norwegian movie starring Stellan Skarsgard. Al Pacino plays a detective from L.A. who is sent to Alaska to help solve a crime but he mostly has to fight insomnia as he finds himself in the part of the world where the sun does not set in summer. Pacino is joined by Hilary Swank as the Alaska detective, Martin Donovan as his partner, Maura Tierney and Robin Williams in an unusual part for the comedian. Christopher Nolan has directed 12 movies as of May 2024. 8 of these films are part of the top 250 Imdb movies. Insomnia along with Following (Nolan’s first feature), Tenet and Dunkirk is not included in the list. Yet, it is a solid thriller highlighting Pacino’s acting prowess. I have not had the opportunity to compare it to the original movie, but I do intend to do this, since the story featuring the perpetual daylight is attractive and suspenseful.
Story : 7,06
Cast : 7,59
Entertainment : 7,02
Note : 7,22 - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsCillian MurphyEmily BluntMatt DamonThe story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.May 10 2024
I am pretty sure that since its release up until the Academy Awards in February 2024 and beyond that date, Oppenheimer must have been the most hyped, talked, reviewed movie production of all time. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan the biopic about the man behind the atomic bomb, Robert J.Oppenheimer is not only a visual and auditory feast, it also succeeds in bringing back one of the most important chapters in recent history to the mind of those people who might not necessarily be interested in historic events. The result of all the hype and ecstasy was of course a flurry of awards including Best movie, Best Director, Best Leading Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. Truth be told, Nolan, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. did deserve their awards, unfortunately Emily Blunt’s role might have been too small for her to get the recognition she deserved. Same goes for Matt Damon whose interpretation of General Groves is also quite stunning. One could add to that list as there is a big list of supporting parts being played by big names like Academy Award winners Gary Oldman, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh. In my opinion Oppenheimer, despite its 3 hour running time, is for sure the most engrossing and entertaining history lesson of all time. I just was a bit struck by the fact that the multiple jumps through time and the lesser known facts about how Oppenheimer got discredited during the 1950’s are requiring the viewer to stay tuned to the action at all times in order not to lose the plot. Then again I am surprised that so many people seem to have enjoyed the movie despite it being intellectually quite challenging.
Story : 9,31
Cast : 9,49
Entertainment : 8,78
Note : 9,19 - DirectorChantal AkermanStarsDelphine SeyrigJan DecorteHenri StorckA lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores, takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet. However, something happens that changes her safe routine.May 9 2024
I have a function on my Bluray player to watch at 1.5 times speed, I normally use it for end titles to check for post-credits scenes. Today I could not help myself and I used it while watching Jeanne Dielman. Sight and Sound magazine, published by the British Film Institute, conducts a survey every decade to ask for the Best movie of all times and in 2022, during the most recent survey, this movie has actually been voted Number One taking over from Hitchcock’s Vertigo, which was top in 2012. Of course this event prompted me to watch this 1975 Belgian movie and my disappointment could not have been bigger. Director Chantal Akerman depicts a slice of life of a widowed housewife spanning three days. While I do not mind the procedure by the director to use fixed camera standpoints with no movements, I just have to complain about the restrained pace and the long takes. I understand the idea to show this woman caught in the monotony of her life, spending the days in basically the same way, including bettering her income through a little bit of prostitution, yet do we need to watch her do the dishes for minutes, prepare minced meat for the better part of 10 minutes? I do think that there were maybe better ways to show her unraveling than making minuscule changes to her daily chores. The actress Delphine Seyrig had certainly some work to do as the housewife, I noticed her some time ago in The Day of the Jackal. Unfortunately I won’t concur with all those people having put this movie at the top of the survey, I will even have to admit that I won’t watch it ever again, it is just too boring.
Story : 4,77
Cast : 6,02
Entertainment : 3,32
Note : 4,70 - DirectorGeorges LautnerStarsLino VenturaBernard BlierFrancis BlancheA dying mob boss hands over his business to an old friend, Fernand. The boss' assistants want to get rid of the latter. But are the Volfoni brothers and Théo real threats? Ensuing fights and shootouts are more comical than deadly.May 8 2024
The cast would point clearly to a crime thriller, because Lino Ventura, Bertrand Blier, Robert Dalban were not really known for comedy. However this 1963 production is a delightful comedy set up as a gangster movie with great dialogues and deliciously directed sequences. Director Georges Lautner included a few scenes as a homage to film noir Key Largo, especially a 10 minute sequence during which the lead characters get drunk with moonshine whisky, ultimately leading to nothing but hilarious laughter. When Les tontons flingueurs came out in cinemas, audiences were expecting serious action and crime and critics lambasted the movie until television reruns made it into the cult event it is today. It is often said that it is almost impossible to dub a movie like this since all the original dialogue, a masterclass of authenticity and quick-wittedness, would get lost and I tend to agree. Lino Ventura is in top form here, but I adored the appearance of Horst Frank, a German character actor, often underestimated, with a great personality playing one of the villains. This is a great movie to savor, shot in crispy black and white, with monumental actors of French cinema and a perennial lighter mood to enjoy.
Story: 8,44
Cast : 8,21
Entertainment : 8,32
Note: 8,32 - DirectorLéonard KeigelStarsRomy SchneiderMaurice RonetGabriele TintiMarina and her boyfriend have an argument while on a trip in France. While driving with the car among the cliffs, he starts speeding and the car falls into the sea. Marina can jump out of the car, but her boyfriend seems to be drowned. She gets to know his brother and he falls in love with her. But why does she always feel watched? What reasons are behind her strange behaviour anyway? Did she really murder her boyfriend? But is he dead anyway?May 7 2024
Interestingly both lead actors in Qui? died only a few months apart at a young age in 1982 and 1983. Romy Schneider was 44 when she was found dead in her home in May 1982 while Maurice Ronet died of lung cancer aged 55 in early 1983. The movie in which they shared the leads is a 1970 production, quite short on runtime. Qui? is barely 80 minutes long and is a psychological thriller about an apparently deadly car accident, the surviving girlfriend and the brother of the victim. All throughout the movie Ronet’s character is convinced that Schneider did murder his brother, whose body has not been recovered when the car crashed into the sea, but he falls in love with her anyway. Predictably the twist happens towards the end, let’s just say that everyone knows that it will happen, because tne script just points into that direction constantly. Among Schneider’s movies she did at the beginning of the 1970’s Qui? might be one of the weakest but it demonstrates the actress’ willingness for more daring scenes which she continued throughout her career.
Story : 6,14
Cast : 6,56
Entertainment : 5,54
Note: 6,08 - DirectorMichael Patrick JannStarsKirsten DunstDenise RichardsEllen BarkinA small-town beauty pageant turns deadly as it becomes clear that someone will go to any lengths to win.May 6 2024
Full of black humor, Drop Dead Gorgeous is a satire targeting the world of beauty pageants in quite a naughty way. The 1999 movie starring Kirstie Alley and Kirsten Dunst is presented to the viewer as a mockumentary when a film team is covering a teen girl beauty pageant in a devoutly christian town in deepest Minnesota. It appears however that someone is trying actively to sabotage the pageant targeting contestants, friends and family not shying away from murder and bomb making. The movie convinces through its very savvy characterization of the town’s people, especially the members of the jury are hilarious portraits of perverted voyeurs and dumb hicks, in short exactly the people you would maybe meet when visiting. Drop Dead Gorgeous is also a treasure chest for actors spotting. This was Amy Adams’ movie debut as a sex crazed participant of the pageant. There is young Brittany Murphy, we meet Allison Janney pre West Wing fame, Denise Richards is playing a 17 years old at age 28 just before playing Dr. Christmas Jones in the Bond movie The World is Not Enough, Ellen Barkin appears as Kirsten Dunst’s mother and finally Batman Adam West makes a short appearance. Did the movie convince me entirely? No, black humor can sometimes go too far and there are a few scenes which are not really black humor but actually bad taste.
Story : 5,87
Cast : 6,49
Entertainment : 6,55
Note: 6,30 - DirectorMichael ShowalterStarsAnne HathawayNicholas GalitzineElla RubinSolène, a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.May 5 2024
Having only recently watched Anne Hathaway’s debut movies The Other Side of Heaven and The Princess Diaries, the experience watching The Idea of You is a particular one. Here is Hathaway, aged 42, playing the mother of a daughter in college embarking on the affair of a lifetime with a twenty something singer of a boy band. The movie is not really Notting Hill revisited as emphasis is clearly put upon the two lead characters’ age difference, but the general feeling is the same. It is the ever recurring dream of meeting and falling in love with a world famous person that is the driving force for this romance and the chemistry between Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine is very present, palpable and very funny as their banter is infectious and engaging. I won’t characterize the movie as a romantic comedy as it addresses the real problems this couple and her immediate family have to confront but it is quite a happening to watch Hathaway play this sensitive, funny woman exploring a new chapter of her life.
Story : 7,72
Cast : 8,27
Entertainment : 7,63
Note : 7,87 - DirectorMitch DavisStarsChristopher GorhamAnne HathawayJoe FolauJohn Groberg, a farm kid from Idaho Falls, crosses an ocean to become a missionary in the remote and exotic Tongan islands during the 1950s.May 5 2024
I just picked this up because of Anne Hathaway. This movie was shot before Hathaway got her breakout role in The Princess Diaries but they waited for the apparent success of the Disney movie to capitalize on the actress’ fame to launch this movie. Let’s not mince words, this is another effort to hammer religious values into the viewer’s head. During the 1950’s a young man is sent as a christian missionary to the island of Tonga while his fiancee (Hathaway) is waiting for him at home. His stay in the South Sea is the main plot here, it is actually a true story, and we witness his difficulties to be accepted by the inhabitants, the challenging conditions which include hurricanes and ship wrecks but through all these situations the religious message is pushed through regularly and most annoyingly. Hathaway’s role is limited to a few sequences in the beginning and the end, her presence is a trivia item at best and there is nothing to retain about this movie at all.
Story : 3,64
Cast : 4,16
Entertainment. 3,84
Note: 3,88 - DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.May 4 2024
During the 1960’s epic war movies were released almost every year and in 1963 a masterpieces came to screen which is considered an absolute classic up to today. The Great Escape, directed by John Sturges, features a long list of movie stars, led by Steve McQueen, Sir Richard Attenborough in what would be his first American movie and James Garner with James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton, and Angus Lennie. The movie depicts a heavily fictionalized version of the mass escape by British Commonwealth prisoners of war from German POW camp Stalag Luft III during the Second World War. For commercial purposes Americans were incorporated into the story while other personas were either omitted entirely or composited into one fictional character. For 2 hours the viewer gets the insight into life in the prison camp and the preparations for the eventual escape. The last hour then he is witness to the mostly unsuccessful attempts to escape the chasing Germans during their flight which of course include the famous motorcycle stunt which Steve McQueen attempted himself. During the entire 3 hour runtime one iconic sequence follows the other and we can safely assume that for generations to come The Great Escape will be a staple among war movies. By the way, not one female character features in this story, what a shame. If they had used so much artistic license they could have worked a woman into the story
Story : 9,11
Cast : 9,44
Entertainment : 9,21
Note : 9,25 - DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMichael CaineAngie DickinsonNancy AllenA mysterious blonde woman kills one of a psychiatrist's patients, and then goes after the high-class call girl who witnessed the murder.May 3 2024
Back to back in 1980 and 1981 Brian de Palma made two movies which I consider among the director’s best. Blow Out with John Travolta came out in 1981 just after another stylish thriller called Dressed to Kill. Most reviewers see a certain resemblance to Hitchcock’s Psycho as the perceived female protagonist, played by Angie Dickinson, is brutally murdered not even 30 minutes into the movie. Other sequences reference the master’s most well known movie, let me just mention one of the final scenes which has a psychiatrist explain the culprit’s state of mind which is the carbon copy of the scene when Norman Bates’ schizophrenia is explained at the end of Psycho. Dressed to Kill is a very stylish movie, it does not really excel in storytelling since it does not leave any place at all for many suspects and the killer’s identity becomes obvious quite early.Yet the erotic sequences, combined with mystery and gore make the movie very watchable. Alongside Dickinson, Sir Michael Caine gets the male lead, Nancy Allen, then de Palma’s wife is the female lead (she would get the principal role in Blow Out as well) with supporting roles for Keith Gordon and Dennis Franz. Controversy arose with the transgender community when the movie came out. Spokespersons criticized de Palma as disconcertingly retrograde about transgender issues and they definitely had a point. Today, such a portrayal of a transgender person as a homicidal maniac would not be tolerated for sure but the year was 1980 and historical context needs to be considered.
Story : 7,57
Cast : 8,44
Entertainment: 8,44
Note : 8,15 - DirectorNeil LaButeStarsMaggie QIto AghayerePhilip BurkeFollows Iraqi war veteran Tess, as she prepares to strike back after a group of home invaders attack during her sister's bachelorette party, and she discovers that they are hellbent on not leaving any witnesses behind.May 2 2024
I feel a little bit for Maggie Q after seeing Fear the Night because the actress is assuredly better than the material she was given here. I do think this movie would have been much better, had the story concentrated on action instead of highlighting the stupidity of some of the female characters. I was reminded of those cheap horror movies when you knew exactly when the next character would be murdered because he/she would be doing exactly the most idiotic thing. Unfortunately the women making up the group of friends celebrating a bachelorette party at a farm in the wilderness are for most part exactly the hysterical characters you just don’t want to see in an action movie. So seeing Maggie Q dispensing her lethal strokes happens not often enough, although her scenes are very well done. I hope she will get better stories to display her skills because she is a very good actress.
Story: 5,90
Cast : 6,21
Entertainment : 6,02
Note : 6,04 - DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsTom CruiseHayley AtwellVing RhamesEthan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.May 1 2024
Pandemic times prevented a 7th Mission Impossible adventure for 5 years and when it finally came out, the gross of 560 million dollars worldwide made people think of it as a failure because of its almost 300 million dollar budget. Dead Reckoning Part One received good reviews, Cruise’s motorcycle stunt was hailed as one of the best the actor ever achieved (it is truly breathtaking) but I cannot really fully appreciate the rather abstruse plot of a rogue AI programming code getting sentient. While the story develops nicely into a stunt heavy world hopping adventure, sometimes the man vs. machine part is rather tiresome to follow. But the action compensates clearly for any inadequacy. The consequence here is a 165+ running time. It could easily have been shorter, but when the main titles only appear after 28 minutes you’ll know you’ll be in for the long haul. Familiar faces in the cast, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson complete Cruise’s team, Henry Czerny returns as Kittridge for the first time since the original 1996 movie and Vanessa Kirby returns as weapons dealer Alanna. Taking over as female lead is Hayley Atwell, playing Grace, a thief and Ethan Hunt’s new ally. The eighth movie, necessarily the sequel for this movie will be released in 2025, let’s not hope for another 3 hour marathon.
Story: 7,42
Cast : 8,45
Entertainment: 8,55
Note: 8,14 - DirectorJames ParrottStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyJune MarloweTwo guys end up in prison after attempting to sell beer to a policeman during Prohibition.April 30 2024
This is maybe not the best known Laurel & Hardy feature but it is quite noteworthy for the career of these legends of cinema. Pardon Us is their first feature length movie and it actually shows a number of inadequacies which would be corrected in later features. When you watch Pardon Us you won’t be able to shake the feeling that the story, even though it is built as a continuous tale with our two heroes sent to prison, does present as a series of sketches put together. This is especially obvious when mid-movie, after their breakout, we become witness to a rather uncomfortable sequence when Laurel & Hardy hide among a group of black cotton pickers, blackfaced to evade the authorities. Even though the sequence does not seem offensive in any way, it does certainly prevent the movie to be shown publicly these days. So, let us enjoy Pardon Us for what it indeed is, a first hour long feature that is more or less an experiment for much more famous and well-liked movies with the duo.
Story: 6,34
Cast : 7,43
Entertainment : 6,01
Note : 6,59 - DirectorHoward BrethertonStarsBuck JonesTim McCoyRaymond HattonWhen two of their Marshal friends are killed, the Rough Riders are sent to investigate. They have to find the killers in a ghost town where the houses and an old mine are interconnected by secret passages and tunnels.April 29 2024
The Rough Riders were a group of undercover ex-lawmen taking on various groups of bandits during an 8 movie series made for Monogram Pictures in 1941-1942. Each movie was clear second rate material, never going longer than 65 minutes using lots of stock sequences to be used over and over again. Ghost Town Law is the 5th movie, and truth be told I couldn’t make out the plot even trying very hard. There was mention of a derelict building, a gold mine and bandits hiding in the labyrinth of subterranean passages. No action until about 5 minutes before the end, lots of unintelligible conversations and worse, most actors wore the same outfits, basically only recognizable from the color of their hats. I have seen better B-movies most assuredly, this was not one of them.
Story : 4,04
Cast : 2,82
Entertainment : 2,60
Note : 3,15 - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAsa ButterfieldChloë Grace MoretzChristopher LeeIn 1931 Paris, an orphan living in the walls of a train station gets wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.April 28 2024
This is truly a standout in Martin Scorsese’s filmography. Let’s first say that it is rather unusual for the filmmaker not to cast either Robert De Niro nor Leonardo Di Caprio in one of his recent movies and what is even more unusual is his decision to make this movie. Hugo is a great homage to the history of cinema as one of the main themes in this fantasy is the magic that pioneer Georges Meliès brought to the medium. Asa Butterfield plays Hugo, a young orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station in the early 1930’s. Besides winding up the clocks of the station, Hugo is trying to fix an automaton, a little robot, which his late father was repairing before he was killed in a fire. The secret of the automaton is revealed pointing towards an elder gentleman running a little toy store in the station who is known as uncle Georges. Chloë Grace Moretz plays Isabelle, Georges’ goddaughter while the old man is none other than Sir Ben Kingsley. Some other big names grace the screen: Sacha Baron Cohen, Helen McCrory, Emily Mortimer, Jude Law, Sir Christopher Lee and Ray Winstone appear in more or less smaller parts. The whole movie creates a breathtaking ambiance, you will truly be mesmerized by the storytelling and how it manages to plunge you in this truly unique world. Scorsese doesn’t need to make brutal R-rated pictures, he is also a master at producing marvels.
Story : 9,25
Cast : 8,89
Entertainment : 9,09
Note : 9,08 - DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerF. Murray AbrahamArt CarneyWith the help of a magic ticket, a young movie fan is transported into the fictional world of his favorite action movie character.April 27 2024
I remember quite clearly that I was genuinely shocked when Last Action Hero was revealed as a mega flop at the US box office. I just could not understand this because I had a great time in the theater and now, more than 30 years later I found myself having a blast watching the movie again, laughing at the funny premise, marveling about all the great cameos (Tina Turner, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick or Sir Ian McKellen for example), the Easter Eggs all over the movie (Stallone as Terminator…) and the satirical look at the movie industry. Of course the origin of this disaster were my friends the idiot critics who did not understand any satire element. Schwarzenegger was executive producer here, he admitted being very hurt by the reception of the movie. However the financial bad response in the US was more than compensated by a great success in Europe and the rest of the World. Today the movie has somewhat of a cult status, it had a great cast alongside Arnold featuring Charles Dance as the villain, with Anthony Quinn, F.Murray Abraham (“The guy who killed Moe Zart”), Tom Noonan, Bridgette Wilson and Mercedes Ruehl. Last Action Hero remains a great action movie, it has a tongue in cheek humor that is rarely equalled and just can’t really age.
Story : 9,27
Cast : 9,14
Entertainment : 9,42
Note : 9,28 - DirectorWolfgang SchleifStarsFreddy QuinnCorny CollinsSabine SesselmannSea-bum Freddy entertains guests with his guitar at the inn Bei Onkel Max. The waitress Susi and journalist Katya both have the hots for Freddy. What they don't know is that he is wanted by the police in St. Pauli.April 26 2024
Did post war Germany start the tradition to put chart-topping singers as leads into movies even though they couldn’t act? Well, many German comedies during the 1950’s, mostly lightweight musical fodder, used about every popular singing talent and even Hollywood jumped on that wagon when they started casting Elvis Presley or Ricky Nelson in movies. This particular movie, Freddy, die Gitarre und das Meer featured Freddy Quinn, an Austrian singer having gained popularity in Germany with songs about abroad adventures, life on the world seas and the never ending yearning for home soil. Quinn was not an actor, he basically played himself, but his 8 movies which he did until 1964 were all box office hits because the movies reflected Quinn’s own life and the life every average German longed for. This particular movie had Quinn play a seaman stranded in Hamburg trying to reach Canada but falling in love with a feisty waitress and meeting a young orphan on the lam. It surely isn’t a masterpiece but it has a more realistic tones than the kitschy musicals that were dumped on German audiences and it surely is watchable.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 5,87
Entertainment : 6,22
Note : 6,18 - DirectorWoody AllenStarsScarlett JohanssonHugh JackmanJim DunkAn American journalism student in London scoops a big story, and begins an affair with an aristocrat as the incident unfurls.April 25 2024
In 2005, tired and annoyed by what he perceived as greediness of American movie studios who were only interested in big budget productions with great benefit potential, Woody Allen, who had made movies only in and around New York city for all of his career, decided to go to London to find financial backers and direct movies in the UK. After Match Point which proved to be one of his greatest successes in the new century, Allen decided to direct and return to acting alongside Scarlett Johannsson and Hugh Jackman in a light hearted crime comedy called Scoop in which a supernatural encounter leads journalist wannabe Johannsson on an investigation involving rich guy Jackman who might be a serial killer. Allen chose to portray Sid Waterman a small time magician who assists the young journalist in her endeavors. The idea for the movie and the execution are rather cute, so is the chemistry between Jackman and Johannsson. Now whenever Allen chose to step in front of the camera, his character was that of the nervous guy full of complexes, basically playing himself, which is the case in Scoop as well. That is sometimes very funny but it can be very tiresome as well. Here it is unfortunately the latter. I do think that Allen in front of the camera makes director Allen’s movie worse. Some call it one of his worst movies but despite Allen’s acting antics, I rather liked the goofiness of the plot, I adored Scarlett Johannsson and I’d take this Allen movie anytime over his dreary dramas.
Story : 7,31
Cast : 6,31
Entertainment : 6,55
Note : 6,72 - DirectorArnold LavenStarsDean MartinJean SimmonsGeorge PeppardA former deputy and a strong-willed widow are determined to stop a ruthless town boss.April 24 2024
In the late sixties the Western genre in the US was clearly on the decline, while Sergio Leone vowed audiences with his movies. Yet Hollywood had some more aces up their sleeve and in 1967 Rough Night in Jericho was such an exception. It features Dean Martin in the rather unusual role here as the baddie, while the lead hero part was taken by George Peppard with Jean Simmons and John McIntire co-starring. The theme of the movie was indeed rather stereotypical, the outsider taking on the town tyrant, but the whole movie is extremely well acted, doesn’t let up at all and keeps the viewer on edge. Martin is a deliciously menacing villain and throughout the first half of the movie when the two leads seem to be cozying up to each other you would seemingly root more for Dean than for George. This is assuredly one of the better Western productions at that particular time period, it surely is not responsible for the further downfall of the genre in the US.
Story : 7,24
Cast : 7,73
Entertainment : 7,79
Note : 7,59 - DirectorOlivier BarouxStarsJean-Paul RouveIsabelle NantyClaire NadeauThe Tuches' youngest son, Donald, goes to the United States to study. The rest of the family decides to pay him a surprise visit for his birthday but things do not go the way they planned...April 23 2024
In 2025 we will have the pleasure to see the 5th installment of the Tuche movie series, a series which started very innocently with a rather unnoticed theater run back in 2011. It would take 5 years for a sequel to see the light of day only because the original gained a fan fellowship due to TV transmissions and DVD rentals. So, in 2016 it was time. The American Dream hit the ‘white trash’ French family who had hit a 100 million lotto jackpot and subsequent to events in the first movie had sent their prodigal youngest son to tne US. On a whim, our proletarian family departs for the States with the expected chaos and mayhem following them. Let’s say that the first movie had grown on me during its runtime because I did not know what to expect. Here, I knew full well what would happen and I liked the sequel quite a bit more than the original. The filmmakers had been lucky to reunite the actors from the original movie around lead actor Jean Paul Rouve. If you like this kind of humor paired with a great dose of satirical winks to today’s society, especially the typical American greed, then you will have a good time.
Story : 6,27
Cast : 5,43
Entertainment : 7,11
Note : 6,27 - DirectorMary HarronStarsBen KingsleyBarbara SukowaEzra MillerIn 1973, a young gallery assistant goes on a wild adventure behind the scenes as he helps the aging genius Salvador Dali prepare for a big show in New York.April 22 2024
I was hoping for a movie like One Week with Marilyn when opting for Daliland, where a specific time in a celebrity’s life would be retold in an interesting portrait. Obviously, this feature took on a period in the life of one of the most well known painting artists of all time, Salvador Dali, interpreted by Sir Ben Kingsley. The story of Daliland concentrates on the 1970’s, when the artist lived in a NY hotel, strapped for cash to sustain his extravagant lifestyle and numerous parties. The story is told through the eyes of a young assistant, yet except for Kingsley’s portrayal of the painter, there is absolutely nothing to take from this picture except a seemingly endless party sequences, a few jealousy fights between Dali and his wife Gala, played by Barbara Sukowa, and the everlasting search for cash. I’d have hoped to get a more insightful look into Dali, but this movie just can’t deliver. So let us hope for a real biopic and forget this one quickly.
Story : 4,25
Cast : 5,87
Entertainment : 3,87
Note : 4,66 - DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsRachel WardJeff BridgesJames WoodsA gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and the twists start to appear.April 21 2024
After watching Taylor Hackford’s Against All Odds I did understand how Phil Collins’ song that concludes the movie went on to become a worldwide chartbreaker while the movie couldn’t really ignite any fireworks. Let’s face it, it is too long, the plot is too difficult to follow during the latter half, stylish boredom all around. It is quite telling that a 5 minute car race between James Woods and Jeff Bridges characters is about the best sequence of the whole movie and if Rachel Ward had not been the female lead, I am pretty sure that the movie would have fared worse than finishing the 39th highest grossing movie of 1984. Bridges and Woods don’t really do much for the story, only Richard Widmark and Jane Greer (an actress who played Rachel Ward’s part in the 1947 noir Out of the Past of which Against All Odds is a remake) make welcome appearances. In essence, Against All Odds is quite a disappointment, I will have a look at the original 1947 despite my dissatisfaction with this remake.
Story: 6,03
Cast : 6,11
Entertainment : 6,01
Note : 6,05 - DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsHenry CavillBryce Dallas HowardSam RockwellA reclusive author who writes espionage novels about a secret agent and a global spy syndicate realizes the plot of the new book she's writing starts to mirror real-world events, in real time.April 20 2024
How is it possible that every big critical and box office bomb does not really deserve harsh treatment in my view? For me, Argylle is fun through and through. Sure, sometimes it comes over as a bit silly, but once again I tell myself that I watch movies to have fun and not to write page long essays trying to convince myself that a movie is bad. Bryce Dallas Howard plays a successful spy novel author who gets suddenly drawn into the real world of espionage when the stories in her books seem to become awfully close to real events. A flurry of action ensues in a story carrying quite a lot of twists and turns in a movie featuring an eclectic cast. Henry Cavill and John Cena play Howard’s incarnations of her literary heroes while Sam Rockwell is the real life spy trying to protect the writer. Add to these actors Catherine O’Hara, Bryan Cranston, Ariana DeBose, Sofia Boutella and Samuel L. Jackson and you can understand that director Matthew Vaughn had big plans for this feature with another movie teased in a mid-credits sequence. With disastrous box office results, I doubt that any sequel will happen which is a real shame. By the way, the blonde villain LaGrange in the opening sequence is singer Dua Lipa. What an appearance.
Story : 7,63
Cast : 8,84
Entertainment : 8,22
Note : 8,23 - DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael DouglasAndy GarciaKen TakakuraTwo NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.April 20 2024
It’s Michael Douglas against the Japanese. Ridley Scott’s 1989 movie clearly targets the cultural, social and historical differences between the Western countries, especially the US and Japan. Douglas’ NY cop is full of prejudices against any foreign culture and a few scenes do feel awkward today in this new social climate, yet seemed an acceptable story ingredient back in 1989. Besides this Black Rain is a tight crime movie whose plot does necessitate some attention from the viewer. It does not live on its action scenes alone, it is also a study on both Michael Douglas’ and Andy Garcia’s characters when confronted with their Japanese counterparts. Ken Takakura who plays detective Masahiro does an excellent job opposite the whirlwind that is Michael Douglas here. Black Rain became a box office success and another hit for Ridley Scott after Alien and Blade Runner, his next movie would be called Thelma & Louise. Great entertainment but no popcorn movie.
Story : 6,84
Cast : 7,29
Entertainment : 7,47
Note: 7,20 - DirectorTodd RobinsonStarsJohn TravoltaSalma HayekJared LetoBased on the true story, two homicide detectives track Martha Beck and Raymond Martinez Fernandez, a murderous pair known as the "Lonely Hearts Killers" who lured their victims through the personals.April 19 2024
True Crime these days is one of the hottest topics in media. Podcasts, TV series, documentaries, streaming platforms, True Crime is everywhere. This movie refers to yet another dark chapter in the history of US serial killers. At the end of the 1940’s, Raymond Martinez Fernandez and Martha Beck would become known as the Lonely Hearts Killers for meeting their unsuspecting victims through personal ads, posted in newspaper lonely hearts columns. Lonely Hearts spends a big part of its runtime following the detectives on the case, how they came onto the murderous couple and how they finally managed to arrest them. John Travolta, James Gandolfini and Scott Caan play these cops while Jared Leto and Selma Hayek star as the murderous couple. The movie recounts the criminal facts for which the couple was ultimately convicted yet does not delve into speculation about any other murders (the number of suspected victims was close to 20) even though for artistic license it shows Leto commit some murders which in truth never happened. In the end, Lonely Hearts is an interesting look back at another sad episode of madness and crime. I just wondered how they came to cast Hayek as Martha Beck. Beck was an obese, not very good looking woman and the fact that Selma Hayek was chosen to portray her is quite bizarre. I venture to say that filmmakers were intent to make Beck a good looking character to attract viewers, they should have stuck to the historic truth.
Story : 7,04
Cast : 6,31
Entertainment : 6,06
Note : 6,47 - DirectorWilliam EubankStarsKristen StewartVincent CasselMamoudou AthieA crew of oceanic researchers working for a deep sea drilling company try to get to safety after a mysterious earthquake devastates their deepwater research and drilling facility located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.April 18 2024
When I first heard of Underwater, I thought it would be a bit like Sylvester Stallone’s Daylight (Tunnel catastrophe) and this is also how the movie starts when an apparent earthquake devastates a deep sea drilling station deep down in the Mariana Trench. The whole frantic scramble for rescue by the surviving crew which includes Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel and T.J. Miller soon morphs into an Alien homage though when unidentified species, not the nicest animals, attack the human and start decimating the survivors. Finally we cross over into clear Guillermo del Toro territory for the final act when the cause of the ‘earthquake’ becomes obvious. At the end I wished that the filmmakers had kept the rescue storyline because the undersea monsters just didn’t really tick my senses and the end does indeed seem quite ridiculous. The parallels to Alien meanwhile become obvious as the story goes on, acting is quite good, especially Stewart and Cassel are doing their bit to keep the story flowing. Interesting fact though. This was the last movie being released as a 20th Century Fox movie in 2020 before Disney’s takeover. Even more interesting: The movie was actually shot in 2017 and lay dormant for the better part of 2 years.
Story : 6,02
Cast : 6,58
Entertainment : 5,72
Note : 6,11 - DirectorClaude ZidiStarsPhilippe NoiretThierry LhermitteLorànt DeutschIt has been ten years since the paths of René and François separated. From the glorious days when as cops they roamed the Montmartre district, they only have a handful of memories.April 17 2024
Les ripoux was a huge public success in France back in the 80’s, its sequel Ripoux contre ripoux released in 1990 suffered a bit from the fact that the original movie’s plot was basically thrown out to arrange a sequel which was never really planned. Astonishingly, it took then 13 years for a third part to see the light of day. Director Claude Zidi managed to come up with a story that enticed actors Thierry Lhermitte and Philippe Noiret (in one of his last movies before his death in 2006) to come back.Ripoux 3 is a great homage to these two characters, manages to tell a great funny story and looks fresh even though Noiret does show his age, which makes him even more sympathetic. This is a fitting end to the history of the two cops with golden hearts. Unfortunately Ripoux 3 was not a big success in theaters, it lost money and even without the death of Philippe Noiret the saga would have ended there. Ripoux 3 is a movie I liked a lot and does not deserved a harsh treatment by critics and public alike.
Story: 7,27
Cast : 7,42
Entertainment : 8,27
Note: 7,65 - DirectorJonathan MilottCary MurnionStarsLulu WilsonKevin JamesJoel McHaleA teenager's weekend at a lake house with her father takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives.April 16 2024
I did not really know what struck me more with Becky. The audacity of screenwriters to let a 13 year old girl dispense so much bloody violence or seeing Kevin James made up as a Nazi extremist with swastika tattoos. Actually, the comedian is quite good in the villain’s part, it might just go against him that his increasing dialogue throughout the runtime makes the Doug Heffernan shine through. It’s any actor’s curse who has been successful for so many years in the same part. Kevin James’ appearance aside, Becky is just the style of gory revenge thriller that I do really appreciate. The fact that the main character doing the gory stuff is Becky a 13 year old teenager with serious issues adds even more zest to an otherwise a bit sterotypical structure which has been used in so many movies of the same genre. Lulu Wilson the actress had her fair share of appearances in horror movies prior to playing Becky: Deliver Us From Evil, Ouija, Origin of Evil, Annabelle: Creation are just a few features she has starred in. However, it seems that the Becky character has had the most impact on her career as the success of this movie triggered a sequel: The Wrath of Becky.
Story : 7,38
Cast : 7,42
Entertainment : 8,24
Note : 7,68 - DirectorFrançois DescraquesStarsArnaud DucretFlorent DorinEnya BarouxAlice, a young girl, protest against the construction of a nuclear plant created by her father, a deputy. It is then that a strange visitor take them in 2555, a future devastated by the explosion of the central.April 15 2024
I did not know anything about this movie when I picked up the Blu-Ray, the title hinted at time travel and I really did not expect a lot but it just was an absolute joy to watch. Made during pandemic times Le visiteur du futur is based on a Web series, later a TV series that ran for 50 episodes. The movie is basically a follow-up to the episodes but any prior knowledge is not necessary. I was laughing hard just after the first 3 minutes and honestly, I kept smiling or laughing throughout the 100 minute runtime. I guess that filmmakers did not really have the biggest budget but the multilayered and colorful sets are extremely well done. The humorous plot makes you forget quite quickly that most actors were unknown to me, and you’ll enjoy the movie as it is, a great, well paced ride.
Story : 8,49
Cast : 6,24
Entertainment : 8,79
Note : 7,84 - DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsHanna SchygullaKlaus LöwitschIvan DesnyMaria marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s.April 14 2024
Together with Lola (1981) and Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss (1982), Die Ehe der Maria Braun makes up what is known as the BRD trilogy by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, movies in which the congenial director took on stories set in the late 1940’s and 1950’s those years which saw the genesis of the new Bundesrepublik Deutschland. In this one, the first trilogy movie, Fassbinder sets his eyes on Maria Braun, a young woman played by Hanna Schygulla learning to adapt to the harsh realities of postwar Germany, becoming the mistress of a wealthy industrialist while staying true to the love of her husband. Hanna Schygulla, one of Fassbinder’s muses stars as Maria, even though Fassbinder had been trying to cast Romy Schneider for a long time. The movie is a great look at post war Germany, the first Fassbinder movie gaining critical and commercial success. The director had cast a lot of the actors belonging to his inner circle and whom we would always come back to for his movies. Besides Schygulla, we see Hark Böhm, Gottfried John, Klaus Löwitsch and Günter Lamprecht. Interesting fact: Fassbinder and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus collaborated during 15 of the director’s movies. This would be the last. Ballhaus would go to the US and get 3 Academy Award nominations for his work.
Story : 7,04
Cast : 7,41
Entertainment : 7,07
Note : 7,17 - DirectorSimon WestStarsNicolas CageJohn CusackJohn MalkovichNewly-paroled ex-con and former U.S. Ranger Cameron Poe finds himself trapped in a prisoner-transport plane when the passengers seize control.April 13 2024
There is a reason why Nicolas Cage was considered one of the biggest movie stars during the 1990’s. Aside from his Academy Award win for Leaving Las Vegas, Cage starred in what many still see as the holy trinity of action movies: The Rock, Face Off and Con Air, all being released in 1996 and 1997. Con Air, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Simon West, has in my opinion the best cast and most assuredly the best villain of the three movies. John Malkovich delivers an acting masterclass as Cyrus, the Virus Grissom but the whole ensemble cast including Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Colm Meaney, John Cusack, Mykelti Williamson, Dave Chappelle, Danny Trejo and Monica Potter is first rate. Con Air has to be the action movie featuring the most noise, the loudest explosions I have experienced in a long time and the Las Vegas finale is absolutely breathtaking. Cage delivers the part as ex- convict, ex US Ranger, Cameron Poe flawlessly showing a decent Southern accent and forgetting his sometimes over the top acting conveniently. Con Air is a fantasy for action aficionados and I enjoyed it thoroughly throughout.
Story : 8,95
Cast : 9,21
Entertainment : 9,39
Note : 9,18 - DirectorMargarethe von TrottaStarsKatja RiemannBarbara SukowaMatthias HabichBy pure coincidence, a photograph found on the internet by chance of a renowned American opera singer, Caterina Fabiani, throws the lives of Paul Kromberger and his daughter Sophie into complete chaos. Paul, well advanced in his years, appears to recognize the image as that of his deceased wife Evelyn, Sophie's mother. Unable to convince her controlling-and-stubborn-to-a-fault father otherwise, Sophie sets off for New York to seek out this mysterious stranger...April 12 2024
Margarethe von Trotta is a German director whose movies are often critically applauded yet do not necessarily draw people to the cinema theaters. Her favorite subject in her movies is the relationship of sisters, yet this feature does not necessarily imply at first that it carries yet another sibling story. Sophie, played by Katja Riemann, is sent by her father to the US because he has seen a photograph of a woman, an opera singer (Barbara Sukova),who is the doppelgänger of his deceased wife. The story develops into a search for family secrets, revealing some quite interesting twists in the history of these people and of course revealing that Sophie and Caterina, the singer, are in fact …… (shocking spoiler coming up : S….s). I had not seen von Trotta’s movies beforehand and I was a bit apprehensive that I would be exposed to some slow moving, very melodramatic tearjerker. It was quite the contrary, this was an engaging, very interesting view, seeing good actors tell a really fine story.
Story : 7,44
Cast : 7,38
Entertainment : 7,99
Note : 7,60 - DirectorHamilton MacFaddenStarsWarner OlandSally EilersBela LugosiThe unsolved murder of a Hollywood actor several years earlier and an enigmatic psychic are the keys to help Charlie solve the Honolulu stabbing death of a beautiful actress.April 11 2024
One of the earliest Charlie Chan movies to survive, The Black Camel is a very interesting part of the long running series. Here, Charlie is not accompanied by one of his son but by an overzealous, absolutely annoying assistant called Kashimo. The movie was shot almost entirely on location in Honolulu and gained a lot of press coverage as one of the hottest movie stars at that moment, Bela Lugosi, was part of the cast. The star of Dracula, which had just come out a few months earlier was also the reason for the box office success of the movie which dealt with the murder of a big movie star and her dark connections to another killing a few years earlier. Even though The Black Camel did not feature ingredients which made the series such a long running fan favorite for years, it does carry many elements that became a staple of Charlie Chan features for years like the Chinese proverbs used by the detective, his large family or the final reunion of all suspects leading to the unmasking of the culprit. Lugosi was a very big name to appear in a Charlie Chan, his horror counterpart Boris Karloff would also join this club, when he starred in Charlie Chan at the Opera a few years later.
Story : 6,41
Cast : 7,29
Entertainment: 6,26
Note : 6,65 - DirectorEdward SedgwickBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMarceline DayHarold GoodwinHopelessly in love with a woman working at MGM Studios, a clumsy man attempts to become a motion-picture cameraman to be close to the object of his desire.April 10 2024
The Cameraman is widely believed to be the last ‘real’ Buster Keaton movie. Having signed with MGM after winding down his own production company, Keaton falsely believed that he could continue to work like before. Unfortunately he was very wrong. His idea for The Cameraman was still picked up by the studio and most of his ideas were worked into the movie, but Keaton lost his directing job (even though he co-worked with the official director) and was fortunate that he could insert some of his improvised acts into the script. The shared dressing room sequence with Edward Brophy is one of the greatest comedy scenes imagined by Keaton. The Cameraman has to rank among Buster Keaton’s best and certainly funniest movies. He also has a great female partner in Marceline Day and an even better partner late in the movie when he picks up a small monkey. Now I do not know how they managed to teach the monkey, but this primate did better acting than a lot of the human actors. With The Cameraman, MGM falsely believed that they had integrated Keaton’s genius into the studio machinery. They were awfully wrong. In hindsight Keaton said that signing with the big studio was the worst mistake of his life. None of his subsequent movies were successes.
Story : 8,74
Cast : 8,44
Entertainment : 9,03
Note : 8,74 - DirectorLouis KingStarsJohn BarrymoreJohn HowardLouise CampbellCaptain Drummond travels to Switzerland in order to marry his girlfriend but the disappearance of a dangerous cargo of explosives makes him delay his plans.April 9 2024
Every B-movie that resembles a Charlie Chan mystery, featuring a hero sleuth is another discovery for me to enjoy. Bulldog Drummond might not be the most well known screen detective, but the movies are short, well made, can generate excitement and despite a small budget are endlessly interesting. This is the third Bulldog Drummond movie I had the pleasure to watch and once again John Barrymore, a major star during the 30’s gets first billing above the lead actor John Howard. The barely 60 minutes long plot revolves around the chase for a suitcase with a dangerous explosive inside. 8 movies were made by Paramount between 1937 and 1939, so 5 more to watch.
Story : 6,49
Cast : 6,07
Entertainment: 6,93
Note: 6,50 - DirectorJorge MontesiDominique Othenin-GirardStarsFaye GrantMichael WoodsMichael LernerTwo attorneys adopt a mysterious orphan girl as their daughter, unaware she is the new Antichrist, next in line to Damien Thorn.April 8 2024
Despite Omen III : The Final Conflict getting demolished by critics and audiences in 1981, optimistic producers wanted to continue the saga in the early nineties and turned to TV to release Omen IV: The Awakening with the intention to make a series of TV movies. In some countries it even got a theatrical release but this was basically only a rehash of the original story with a young girl taking over as the devilish child. The cast was virtually unknown to me with the exception of Michael Lerner playing a private detective. The fact that it was made for TV prevented more graphic violence so the deaths provoked by the young girl happen off screen which was another negative aspect and did not help the movie at all. It did spell the end for The Omen franchise until an attempt at revival in 2006 and another one in 2024. This iteration of The Omen had run its course by 1991 and it was a good thing that it did, truly.
Story : 5,18
Cast : 3,77
Entertainment : 4,44
Note : 4,46 - DirectorJohn PasquinStarsSandra BullockRegina KingWilliam ShatnerGracie Hart abandons the life of a field agent to become the public face of the FBI. Yet, when Cheryl Frasier and Stan Fields are kidnapped, she is determined to rescue them, along with her reluctant partner.April 7 2024
Sandra Bullock starred twice in sequels of her own movies : Speed 2 was a global stinker and Miss Congeniality 2 did not really get away much better in critical and audience reviews. The actress herself today is rather dismissive of those movies saying that she won’t appear in any sequels anymore. In my opinion Miss Congeniality 2 is treated rather harshly as I found it quite funny and entertaining. Granted, the fact that it was filmed and set in Las Vegas certainly helped. The story sees FBI agent Gracie Hart (Bullock) spring back into action when her friend Cheryl, Miss United States (Heather Burns) and Stan, the pageant boss (William Shatner) get kidnapped. Hart, now the public face of the FBI, partners with Sam Fuller (Regina King), a grumpy female agent and her new stylist Joel (Diedrich Bader) and takes matters in her own hands when she is rejected by the local FBI agent in charge. I missed Michael Caine dearly, he was the genial counterpart in the original. Neither Candice Bergen nor Benjamin Brett came back but filmmakers were able to get celebrities like Dolly Parton, Octavia Spencer and Regis Philbin make cameos. One of the villains is played by Nick Offerman before gaining fame through TV series like Parks and Recreations. If you take into account Octavia Spencer’s brief cameo, three Academy Award winning actresses (Bullock, King and Spencer) star in this movie and it did not hurt their careers. I had a good time watching it.
Story : 6,45
Cast : 8,22
Entertainment : 7,31
Note : 7,33 - DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsFernandelGino CerviArturo BragagliaEnergetic priest Don Camillo returns to the town of Brescello for more political and personal duels with Communist mayor Peppone.April 6 2024
Only a year after the original Don Camillo movie and its enormous success, a sequel was produced reuniting the belligerent priest with the communist and not less belligerent mayor of the small Italian village. Both Fernandel and Gino Cervi came back for this movie picking up the story right after the original’s end which sees Don Camillo being exiled to a godforsaken mountain village while Peppone goes to battle with a rich owner about a piece of land on which the community wants to build a dam to prevent floodings. The situation pleases neither one as Don Camillo misses his conversations with Jesus on the cross while Peppone can’t get along with the new younger priest who is too peaceful. There are a lot of the same successful sequences which pleased audiences so much in the original, however the story is more disorganized than the plot of the original film. Nevertheless, the movie is fun from start to end and the more dramatic finale integrating devastating floods that really happened in 1951 in Northern Italy into the storyline is an enhancing element. 3 sequels were still to come, on to the next.
Story : 7,44
Cast : 8,52
Entertainment : 8,24
Note : 8,07 - DirectorMiguel ArtetaStarsMichael CeraPortia DoubledayJean SmartWhile his trailer trash parents teeter on the edge of divorce, Nick Twisp sets his sights on dream girl Sheeni Saunders, hoping that she'll be the one to take away his virginity.April 5 2024
On several occasions after watching movies that featured Michael Cera, I noted that I found the actor quite exasperating, full of mannerisms (Paper Heart is a telling example). Maybe it is the actor’s choice for quirky parts paired with his preference to play awkward characters that puts me off. Youth in Revolt is yet another movie where Cera affirms his predilection for said parts by appearing as the awkward teenage boy yearning to lose his virginity. The movie has the advantage to be quite funny and it benefits from a few great names which appear throughout the story in albeit sometimes very small parts. Let’s mention Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Rooney Mara, M.Emmet Walsh, Justin Long and Ray Liotta. This quite wonderful cast saves the day and also my opinion of the movie as neither Cera nor his female partner Portia Doubleday are really ticking my senses with their performances. The movie is certainly not to rank among my favorite romantic comedies, yet it has good moments throughout, but overall I must say that there are better movies around.
Story : 6,41
Cast : 6,44
Entertainment : 5,84
Note : 6,23 - DirectorSylvain WhiteStarsIdris ElbaZoe SaldanaJeffrey Dean MorganA CIA special forces team is betrayed and left for dead by their superiors, galvanizing them to mount an offensive on the CIA.April 4 2024
Based on a short lived comic series (2003-2006) that was published under the DC banner, The Losers was another attempt by Warner Brothers on establishing an action franchise at around the same time when the Marvel Universe began picking up steam. The story around a team of disgraced US military guys going after a megalomaniac CIA agent called Max is eerily similar to the basic structure of The A-Team and it didn’t help that The A-Team movie was also being released at the same time. The Losers was, despite an interesting cast a box office failure. Led by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Jason Patric and Chris Evans completed the cast. In hindsight the failure of this movie was a blessing for Evans who shortly after completing this shoot, was chosen to portray Steve Rogers/Captain America. Now, The Losers is an action extravaganza with its fair share of explosions, a rather complicated story and a quite childish performance for the character of Max the villain(Patric). It may not have merited the failure at the box office but the critical rather negative reviews are somewhat fitting. Another aspect I did not really appreciate were obvious signs that film makers were expecting a quick green light for a sequel since the movie’s finale points toward another adventure. A bit presumptuous.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 6,44
Entertainment : 6,21
Note : 6,36 - DirectorWalter HillStarsMichelle RodriguezTony ShalhoubAnthony LaPagliaAfter waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible.April 3 2024
I really thought that The Assignment was based on a comic or a Manga and was quite surprised when I read that it is an original screenplay Walter Hill collaborated on from 1978 that would be made into this movie almost 40 years later. Anyway, I was interested what the director of movies like 48 Hours, Streets of Fire or Red Heat was doing some 30 years after his career pinnacles and while I personally did like this rather peculiar story, I could understand why the movie got lambasted the way it was. It is easy to understand why transgender communities were disappointed by the ‘forced gender reassignment surgery’ plot even though Michelle Rodriguez managed to portray the character very realistically, especially her scenes as the male version are impressive. Unfortunately the scenes between Sigourney Weaver and Tony Shalhoub, reunited after both appearing in Galaxy Quest were slowing down the story enormously. The whole background motivation reasons could have been explained better than through endless back and forth sequences. In general it was something different, not necessarily a subject most people are comfortable with, but it was another look at an action movie scenario, and in my view it was kind of refreshing.
Story : 6,47
Cast : 6,74
Entertainment : 6,05
Note : 6,41 - DirectorLeigh JasonStarsJames CraigLynn BariJohnny JohnstonTobias is torn between his criminal career as the masked bandit named ‚El Paso Kid', and the life of a law-abiding citizen with his long-suffering wife Zoe. When he is caught he accepts his sentence only to prove himself a hero in chains.April 2 2024
Movies from ‘poverty row’ were generally very cheap productions made between 1930 and the start of the 1950’s by lower-tier companies working in an analogue way to major studios but on a significantly reduced budget. So major movie stars were not present in The Man From Texas. It is a formulaic Western about a bandit wanted across many states who seeks to shed his gangster image for his long suffering wife. While keeping up his raids on banks and stage coaches, he helps a poor widow keep her house to demonstrate his sincerity. There is nothing much to say about this movie except that I found it quite entertaining for such a b-movie. It was astonishingly tame with no real gunfights nor fistfights but it had some originality which I appreciated.
Story : 6,02
Cast : 5,21
Entertainment : 6,11
Note : 5,78 - DirectorRand RavichStarsCharlize TheronJohnny DeppJoe MortonAfter an explosion in space and subsequent two-minute radio-out period, two astronauts return home to their wives. Slightly it's revealed that they're not the same as they were.April 1 2024
Even big name pairings can produce horrible duds. Granted, neither Charlize Theron nor Johnny Depp were at the pinnacle of their careers yet, but I figured that a common sense that this script was basically going nowhere would keep them from committing to this project. The Astronaut’s Wife is basically a sad rehash of Rosemary’s Baby when Depp’s astronaut husband gets replaced by an alien entity who impregnates wife Theron. Apart from this short synopsis the movie has nothing more to offer, no suspense, no thrills, no jump scares and a very unfitting finale basically destroys the whole plot that unfolded for 100 minutes prior. Let’s say that this is not really the movie I was expecting, sometimes I will be surprised but this time I was utterly disappointed.
Story : 5,41
Cast : 5,77
Entertainment : 4,26
Note : 5,15 - DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsEric PortmanSheila SimDennis PriceThree modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.March 31 2024
Linking the 1944 movie to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the monumental opus written in the 14th-15th century in Middle English, might not be entirely accurate even though the story is set in rural Kent and the three lead character are on their way (pilgrimage) to the town of Canterbury. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger proceeded to shoot the movie in this part of England just after German air raids had partially destroyed the historic sites and heavily damaged the cathedral. It is an homage to the rural countryside, to the resilience of its population during wartime and as a sign that everyday people were the true heroes, they proceeded to cast unknowns in the lead in their picture. Three people, a US soldier, a British Army officer and a young woman who has joined the Woman’s Land Army, join forces to identify a prankster who approaches women at night and smears glue in their hair. While all 3 of them have ulterior motives to go to Canterbury, they proceed to identify the culprit before getting on with their lives and go separate ways. Out of the three leads, Sheila Sim stands out. Later, Lady Attenborough, she would appear in the premiere of a West End play by Agatha Christie, called The Mousetrap alongside her husband, Sir Richard Attenborough before ending her career. A Canterbury Tale is a peculiar, slow moving story, that impresses much more through its cinematography of the English landscape than through its plot. Nevertheless I was surprised that I found the movie quite engaging.
Story : 6,35
Cast : 6,32
Entertainment : 6,08
Note : 6,25 - DirectorJohn CromwellEdward F. ClineTay GarnettStarsClaudette ColbertJennifer JonesJoseph CottenWith her husband away to fight in World War II, a housewife must care for their two daughters alone.March 30 2024
During the World War II years Hollywood film studios contributed to the war effort by making patriotic movies highlighting the American soldier heroes and vilifying the Nazi enemy. Throughout these years audiences were encouraged to purchase war bonds. David O.Selznick decided to go another way. Instead of making another war movie, he chose to produce an epic about the American Home Front, telling the story about a Captain’s wife and the teenage daughters left to fend for themselves when the husband gets enlisted. The movie became a box office success, featured Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotten and Robert Walker. It would be nominated for a number of Academy Awards yet only winning one statue for Best Music Score. More interestingly however was the fact that the script asked for romantic scenes for the married couple Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker. This would become noteworthy, since Jones was by then involved with Selznick himself with Walker aware of the relationship, making the screen kisses and embraces very awkward for both actors. Divorce would follow soon enough and Selznick would marry Jones a few years later. Since You Went Away was branded as overlong and inconsequential by movie critics since the movie was geared to a happy ending anyway and despite a tragic loss it would become clear to the viewer that righteous and courageous families would prevail against any tragedies thriwn at them.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 6,84
Entertainment : 6,72
Note : 6,67 - DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.March 29 2024
I am pretty sure that without King Kong, the whole fantasy and science-fiction genre would look pretty different today. King Kong is the leading reference for any fantasy movie because of its breathtaking special effects. You have to remember that this movie was made 90 years ago and its special effects do look better than those of many other movies made much much later. Interestingly enough, King Kong is based on a story written by crime author Edgar Wallace. King Kong became such a success that many stories involving animal monsters, prehistoric worlds saw the light of day, and remakes were made in 1976 and by none other than Peter Jackson in 2005. Kong: Skull Island even introduced a new franchise around the big ape in 2017. Noone however will be sble to rival with the original movie, Fay Wray’s screaming or the epic ending on top of the then new Empire State Building. I noted however a few interesting facts while watching : Kong is only introduced about 47 minutes into the story. The first three quarters of an hour are what you would call today a buildup, it is however littered with dialogue that would not be acceptable any more today. The iconic jungle scenes with Kong battling various monsters only took about 35 minutes, but without a doubt they are the most exquisite sequences in a 1930’s movie for sure. A watchable and endlessly rewatchable piece of cinematic history.
Story : 8,21
Cast : 7,27
Entertainment : 9,54
Note : 8,34 - DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsZac EfronJohn CenaAndrew SantinoWhen three childhood best friends pull a prank that goes wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, they still use the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior.March 27 2024
If you ever doubted that John Cena was a good actor, please doubt no more. Personally I do think that Cena outdoes his wrestling colleague Dwayne Johnson in the acting prowess. Granted, Johnson has also done comedy, but Cena has the more natural talent of making fun of himself and seeing him in a Britney Spears outfit in Ricky Stanicky proved my appreciation towards Cena absolutely correct. Ricky Stanicky features Zac Ephron and William H.Macy alongside Cena but for sure this movie profits from the up for anything performance of the former wrestler. Three lifelong friends have invented a non existent friend called Ricky Stanicky to get away from their relatives on guys’ fun trips citing the imaginary Stanicky as the cause for their frequent absences. This edifice of lies risks to come crashing down when the families come to doubt Stanicky’s existence and so they hire a discarded actor to impersonate their friend. Chaos ensues naturally and it gets even worse when the actor starts to like his new persona deciding to stick around. This comedy is directed by Peter Farrelly, one of the brothers responsible for great comedies like There’s Something About Mary or Dumb and Dumber. Ricky Stanicky has a 114 minutes runtime, quite a long time for a comedy, and truth be told, the scenes that din’t feature Cena are a bit tedious. Cena saves the day and the movie for sure.
Story : 6,72
Cast : 7,46
Entertainment : 7,22
Note : 7,13 - DirectorRose GlassStarsAnna BaryshnikovKristen StewartDave FrancoGym manager Lou falls for Jackie, a bodybuilder who is passing through town en route to a competition in Las Vegas.March 26 2024
These are the independent movies I am mostly looking for. They don’t necessarily find their way to theaters in Europe and it could happen that you’ll discover them first rather on Blu Ray or streaming. This one might have the chance to find a little bit more attention since it features Kristen Stewart and Ed Harris in leading parts. The story might be what is called neo noir today. It plays in 1989 somewhere in the south of the US where Lou (Stewart) meets Jackie, a drifter from Oklahoma dreaming of entering a body building contest in Las Vegas. The two females fall in love but their romance is cut short when Jackie murders Lou’s brother-in-law, a notorious women beater. Enter Lou’s father (Harris), the local crime lord, who holds a grudge against Lou and is now intent on delivering deadly justice to the murderer of his son-in-law. The movie is a gritty vision of life in the desolate south thirty odd years ago and apparently the violence depicted is so grisly that sensitive people were disgusted and left cinema screenings. I actually liked the story until the very muddled finale which was very allegorical and just didn’t fit the gruesome realism the viewer had to deal with throughout the story. I wished for another ending for this movie since it had certainly earned it.
Story : 6,38
Cast : 6,97
Entertainment : 5,39
Note : 6,25 - DirectorSimon Cellan JonesStarsMark WahlbergSimu LiuJuliet RylanceAn adventure racer adopts a stray dog named Arthur to join him in an epic endurance race.March 25 2024
Actually the true story that is related in this movie happened to a Swedish athlete, Mikael Lindnord, competing with his team at an endurance race in Ecuador. For logistical purposes the movie starring Mark Wahlberg was shot in the Dominican Republic, angering people in Ecuador. Particularly Ukai, the dog incarnating Arthur, deserves credit here. He outshines the human companions including Wahlberg or Simu Liu and Nathalie Emmanuel. Of course as most true story movies, this production is meant to touch the viewer and let’s be honest, it does indeed just that. Artistic license seems to be used generously but the gist of the incredible journey does indeed go to audiences’ hearts and it won’t let you indifferent, especially if you are a dog person. But also other people should form a bond with the scruffy dog that accompanies the athletes on their grueling trek through the wilderness. It is a typical Wahlberg movie, showing the actor’s predilection for the more physical challenges but also non Wahlberg aficionados should find reasons to watch Arthur the King.
Story : 8,21
Cast : 7,94
Entertainment : 7,99
Note : 8,04 - DirectorGil KenanStarsPaul RuddCarrie CoonFinn WolfhardWhen the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.March 22 2024
At least this is no part of any Marvel or DC franchise, so the general fatigue of superhero stories and the obvious cluelessness from studio bosses did not really touch the Ghostbusters saga. As a continuation from Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the Spengler family now are the new Ghostbusters having taken possession of the old New York headquarters of grandfather Spengler and, to the dismay of NY mayor Walter Peck (yes, the arrogant city official from the original) are chasing ghosts throughout the city. A new evil force is unleashed and it takes all of Phoebe’s wits to confront the malicious entity. McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon all return for this one as well as Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, and despite a build-up that seems quite long and fastidious the movie provides good entertainment for old and young. There are a lot of easter eggs referring to the old movies, especially a paranormal encounter that Aykroyd has in the NY library was particularly funny. The whole movie relies for the best part on McKenna Grace’s Phoebe, her character development is quite remarkable, it will be quite interesting to see how a further sequel will deal with her progression to adulthood and filmmakers would be best advised to expand the character even more adding more action for the versatile actress.
Story : 7,48
Cast : 8,31
Entertainment : 8,40
Note : 8,06 - DirectorS.J. ClarksonStarsDakota JohnsonSydney SweeneyIsabela MercedCassandra Webb is a New York metropolis paramedic who begins to demonstrate signs of clairvoyance. Forced to challenge revelations about her past, she needs to safeguard three young women from a deadly adversary who wants them destroyed.March 20 2024
Right. With all the brouhaha about Madame Web, the globally bad reviews, the fact that the lead actress, Dakota Johnson herself, is apparently dissing her own movie, of course I needed to watch it. Now, it is me who just cannot concur with the rest of the world? Actually, I didn’t even find it that bad. I found that I had a good time watching it. For sure it is far from perfect, but totally hate it? No. Madame Web has the disadvantage that it apparently should fit in the Spiderman universe and of course there is no mention of it. It is an origins story about how the group of Spider-Women came to form, led by the mysterious Madame Web. Unfortunately people expect a superhero movie to be about superheroes and except for a few scenes in a dream sequence and some quick shots of the actresses in uniform at the end, the viewer is left without any glimpse of the group when they will have their powers, it is not even shown how the girls get their powers and I found that to be the wrong approach. Instead we must deal with Johnson’s character exploring her past, we have to look at a weak villain’s endeavor to kill the girls before they become their alter egos and that’s not enough. All these things set aside, in my view it does not merit all the bashing from critics and reviewers. We will certainly not see any sequel, there is no post-credits scene so I guess Sony has closed the door on this project. It’s a shame, really.
Story : 6,21
Cast : 6,22
Entertainment : 6,17
Note : 6,20 - DirectorMichael KeatonStarsMichael KeatonRay McKinnonCassie MoronezWhen a contract killer has a rapidly evolving form of dementia, he is offered an opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son.March 19 2024
Over 15 years after his directorial debut, Michael Keaton comes back with his second movie which he also stars in. Keaton tackles a very sensitive subject here as the character he portrays has been diagnosed with a fast moving dementia disease which will consume him in a matter of weeks. Unfortunately his line of work does not permit mental slip ups. John Knox is a professional assassin. He realizes that it is the end of the road when his latest job goes awry. In addition, his estranged son has got himself in a very big pickle and time runs out for the father to solve the problem as the disease makes unstoppable progress. I was pretty much blown away by Keaton’s performance, he excels in making the ongoing affliction utterly believable yet the story left me wanting, it is very uneven. James Marsden plays his estranged son and we get the pleasure to see Al Pacino, playing Keaton’s friend. It is a bit disappointing that Keaton’s performance stands alone, he should have benefitted from a better screenplay. Yet he is also the director, so he should have had ample possibilities to correct.
Story : 6,49
Cast : 9,02
Entertainment : 7,52
Note : 7,68 - DirectorDavid AyerStarsJason StathamEmmy Raver-LampmanBobby NaderiOne man's brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as "Beekeepers."March 18 2024
I did mention that Jason Statham is my favorite action movie star, didn’t I? So it should come as no surprise that I adored his latest one. In The Beekeeper, Statham stars as a retired special operative. When his landlady commits suicide because she got scammed of her life savings by an unscrupulous IT outfit, he springs back into action going ruthlessly after the responsible criminals in charge. Little does he know how ‘high up’ he has to go. Statham transforms into a man execution battalion excelling in eliminating every threat, every bad guy in the most exciting way possible. A feast of great action, breathtaking man to man fights highlight the movie, whose story does not really matter as Statham delivers mightily. Some well know names appear as well here : Jeremy Irons, Josh Hutcherson on the villain’s side while Minnie Driver and Phylicia Rashad are woefully underused. This is this year’s holy grail of action entertainment and one of Statham’s very best, but aren’t all of his movies among the very best?
Story : 7,94
Cast : 9,29
Entertainment : 9,77
Note : 9,00 - DirectorGreg MottolaStarsJon HammCaitlin Zerra RoseRoy Wood Jr.After becoming the prime suspect in a murder, Fletch strives to prove his innocence while simultaneously searching for his girlfriend's stolen art collection.March 18 2024
One of the movies in my ‘cult 80’s’ list is 1985’s Fletch starring Chevy Chase. Chase appeared twice as Gregory McDonald’s character, an investigative journalist with a quick wit and numerous disguises, yet unfortunately the sequel movie Fletch Lives tanked at the box office and that was that. Fast forward over 30 years and Fletch is resurrected. Jon Hamm takes over from Chase, however the flamboyancy and comedy is gone. Confess, Fletch is based much nearer next to the literary figure. Hamm’s Fletch is very quick witted, great with one liners and you will enjoy his performance. Around him a cast of supporting actors including Kyle MacLachlan, Marcia Gay Harden, Robert Picardo and Roy Wood jr, complete an amusing take on Fletch as he tries to solve the mystery of stolen paintings but is suspected of murder at the same time. I cannot say that I found it as good as 85’s Fletch but I enjoyed Hamm’s take on the character.
Story : 7,24
Cast : 7,03
Entertainment : 6,63
Note : 6,97 - DirectorBenny ChanStarsNicholas TseJaycee ChanShawn YueThree cops team up to bring down a criminal gang of seven, who have their own hidden agenda.March 16 2024
I tend to repeat myself but good action movies sometimes pop up where you least expect them. This is one of those happenstances. The international title is Invisible Target making no sense at all as the story hete is about three policeman on the hunt for a murderous gang. Action is nonstop, violence all over, fantastic choreographed fight scenes, no need to worry about any big film stars, i did not know any beforehand. Interestingly enough I noticed that one of the leads was played by Jaycee Chan and he actually is Jackie Chan’s son. This is assuredly one of the best Hong Kong action flicks (not starring Jackie Chan) ever made. A fantastic two hour action extravaganza with a convincing story and a bunch of actors that actually did all stunts themselves in the true style of Jackie.
Story : 8,34
Cast : 6,64
Entertainment : 8,41
Note : 7,80 - DirectorGene StupnitskyStarsJennifer LawrenceAndrew Barth FeldmanLaura BenantiOn the brink of losing her home, Maddie finds an intriguing job listing: helicopter parents looking for someone to bring their introverted 19-year-old son out of his shell before college. She has one summer to make him a man or die trying.March 15 2024
After quite a long hiatus and after giving birth to her son, Jennifer Lawrence returned to acting in 2021 appearing in Don’t Look Up, Causeway and in her so far latest movie No Hard Feelings. I do not want to start comparisons with her earlier roles that I really found better, I just am quite surprised that she would opt for the main lead in a quite raunchy comedy, directed by her friend Gene Stupnitsky. In No Hard Feelings Lawrence plays Maddie, a woman who is hired by a wealthy couple to romance their romantically and sexually inexperienced son. Aside from an age difference of 12 years with her co-star Andrew Barth Feldman which didn’t really please some more puritanical people, Lawrence also earned some mixed reviews about a full nudity sequence which was shot at night at a beach where Lawrence confronts some teens who were about to steal their clothes. No body double here, Lawrence did it all herself and some people of course questioned why an Academy Award winning actress needed to do such a type of movie. I would put aside the question if her nude scenes were really warranted but I need to concur with the doubt on choosing her parts and I would venture that this is not really a movie made for Jennifer Lawrence. She doesn’t disappoint in it, on the contrary, she looks beautiful but was it really necessary? Pretty sure there are enough interesting projects around for her to shine. Great to see Matthew Broderick back in action as Feldman’s father.
Story : 6,32
Cast : 6,42
Entertainment : 6,02
Note : 6,25 - DirectorLaurent TuelStarsFabrice LuchiniJohnny HallydayGuilaine LondezFabrice is a big - perhaps the biggest - fan of Jean-Philippe Smet, better known as Johnny Hallyday, the greatest rocker France has ever produced.March 14 2024
In 2021 the British movie Yesterday put the viewer into a world which didn’t know The Beatles providing a young artist with the opportunity of a lifetime. I found this idea quite original yet I had to acknowledge the fact that the basis for Yesterday maybe originated a decade earlier in a French movie called Jean-Philippe. As the UK dealt with the Beatles, in France singer Johnny Hallyday started a similar career at the beginning of the 1960’s making him an icon of French music until his death in 2017. Jean-Philippe tells the story of a fan, Fabrice, who wakes up to a world in which his idol is not known at all. Here however, Halliday exists, he just wasn’t discovered back in 1959, never made a singing career and he is now, under his real name, Jean-Philippe Smet, the proud owner of a bowling hall. The story continues as Fabrice tries to convince Jean-Philippe that he still might have a musical career in him pushing him to seek the limelight. The highlight here of course is Johnny Halliday, who plays basically a version of himself, quite subdued only to reveal his show persona towards the end, while Fabrice Luchini camps the irreverent fan who just can’t deal with a world that doesn’t know his idol. The whole film is funny at times but it veers too often into making me cringe. Luchini overdoes what Halliday underplays and the movie just doesn’t take off, except for the scenes featuring Halliday’s great successes.
Story : 6,49
Cast : 6,22
Entertainment : 5,38
Note : 6,03 - DirectorMike BurnsStarsJaime KingBruce WillisLala KentA corrupt Sheriff's department in a rural mountain town comes undone when an unintended witness throws a wrench into their shady operation.March 13 2024
Since about every movie fan knows about Bruce Willis’ condition, the final years of his career during which he accumulated b-movie after b-movie seem to make a lot more sense now as the actor was seeking to provide his family with enough of a financial cushion to deal with his beginning dementia. One of his final movies was Out of Death, made during the pandemic and shot in astonishing nine days. Willis appears as a retired cop who comes to the help of a woman who has witnessed a corrupt cop execute an informant while on a hiking trip. Due to COVID restrictions and the deteriorating condition of Willis could just spend one day on set, but considering his somewhat expanded part, you can only imagine how the director proceeded to shoot this movie in its entirety. It is a B-movie allright, Jaime King is the female lead, don’t expect Academy Award style performances, yet once again I cannot understand all these negative reviews. It clearly is not blockbuster material, it is direct to DVD fodder and certainly not geared towards the sensible noses of those who just have to leave bad stink on about every movie they watch. Action fans might like this one, just know what you are getting for your time.
Story : 5,98
Cast : 5,96
Entertainment : 5,96
Note : 5.97 - DirectorGianfranco ParoliniStarsTony KendallBrad HarrisCorny CollinsTwo rivals are out to recover a cache of stolen jewels. The thief who originally stole them has just gotten out of prison, however, and he is looking for his twin brother, who knows where the jewels are hidden. Complications ensue.March 12 2024
The 60’s were coming to an end and the series around private detective Jo Walker aka Kommissar X sent its 5th entry to German theaters. Two more would follow, viewers could again rely on US actor Brad Harris as Police Captain Rowland and Tony Kendall (Luciano Stella)as Jo Walker. The previous movies had taken their audiences to exotic locales like Sri Lanka, Singapore or Turkey, this entry was set in Canada at the Montreal World Expo 1967 to be precise which served as a rather cheap background for the film crew. Here is also the big difference to the previous movie. It seems that filmmakers had decided to veer into more comedy and unfortunately gave up substance and action in favor of rather silly liners and a few slapstick fist fights. This is certainly one of the weaker of the bunch and I look onto the two remaining features with a bit of apprehension. I think it will only get worse.
Story : 6,22
Cast : 5,98
Entertainment : 5,26
Note : 5,82 - DirectorDiane KurysStarsMiou-MiouIsabelle HuppertGuy MarchandA Jewish refugee marries a soldier to escape deportation to Germany. Meanwhile a wealthy art student loses her first husband to a stray Resistance bullet; at the Liberation she meets an actor, gets pregnant, and marries him.March 11 2024
I did not know much about Coup de Foudre except that it was nominated for an Academy Award in the Foreign Language category back in 1984. As it seems, writer/director Diane Kurys wanted to make a movie about her parents, their first encounter during WWII and their life and marriage which fell apart in the early 1950’s when Kurys’ mother met and became enamored with Madeleine, another woman, which of course was a risky relationship back then. For the lead roles of Lena and Madeleine, Kurys cast Isabelle Huppert and Miou Miou, two of the most famous French actresses, while the father is played by Guy Marchand. Apparently the two ladies did not get along very well, yet their performances did not suffer one bit in a sometimes melodramatic but always interesting tale mirroring 1950’s society.
Story : 6,94
Cast : 7,27
Entertainment : 6,69
Note : 6,97 - DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsOskar WernerJulie ChristieCyril CusackIn an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.March 10 2024
This is a movie which carries some interesting trivia. It was François Truffaut’s only English movie, and the director who did not speak English actually was more happy with the French dub than the original dialogue which he found very stilted. Adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451 is the story of a dystopian society which has forbidden the use of books and whose firemen actually don’t extinguish fires but are tasked to find and burn books. One of these firemen, Montag, played by Oskar Werner discovers the power of the printed word and realizes how the governments prohibits free thoughts and subjugates the people through the ban of books. Interestingly Truffaut and his lead actor just had different opinions how this role was to be interpreted and didn’t speak to each other during a big part of shooting. I could not understand Julie Christie’s double role though. The British actress plays Linda, Montag’s wife as well as Clarisse, the young woman who guides the fireman towards his discovery of books. No real reason here, except a budget problem maybe? In the end, Fahrenheit 451 is an interesting look into a world which hopefully will never come but which might be appealing to some dictators that unfortunately still roam this planet.
Story : 7,08
Cast : 6,07
Entertainment : 6,22
Note : 6,46 - DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsEzra MillerMichael KeatonSasha CalleBarry Allen uses his super speed to change the past, but his attempt to save his family creates a world without super heroes, forcing him to race for his life in order to save the future.March 9 2024
Isn’t it telling that just about every superhero movie that came out since Spiderman: No Way Home was a box office disappointment? Some of them truly were below par but there were a few who clearly did not deserve harsh treatment because they were very good movies released at a time of general publice fatigue for the genre. Now, DC has been battered even more than Marvel. Their productions have been in an even longer slump. Yet pre-release buzz and news like Michael Keaton donning the batman cape again, 30 years later, gave me some hope that this would be the movie to get DC and Warner out of their downfall. Once again, no luck. The Flash tanked at the box office despite being a hell of a good movie. All the ideas packed into the script should have enthused every movie fan, multiple universes, time travel, great cameos, actors appearing in parts which they had not played for years, and one appearance that had me stunned at the very end and I don’t even mean Nicolas Cage here. Now I am confused because I thought that The Flash would reinvigorate the superhero movie and these days it seems it was just another nail in a big coffin. There might be another reason for a lesser performance in lead actor Ezra Miller’s legal woes in the months preceding the movie’s release. Nevertheless, I adored seeing Keaton, Ben Affleck, Michael Shannon, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot or Jason Momoa. It must have been a great effort reuniting these actor for a shoot just post pandemic and the effort is indeed visible on the screen during 144 action packed minutes.
Story : 7,45
Cadt : 8,87
Entertainment : 8,01
Note : 8,11 - DirectorClaude ZidiStarsColucheGérard DepardieuDominique LavanantThe clumsy son of a deceased police hero joins the police and his task is to protect a reporter from the most famous gangster of Paris.March 8 2024
To see what France lost when Coluche died in 1986 in a freak motorcycle accident, you basically need to watch two movies. Tchao Pantin which earned him a Best Actor César for his dramatic part as a gaz station employee and Inspecteur la Bavure a 1980 comedy which demonstrated his comedic prowess even when acting opposite a big name like Gérard Depardieu. In Inspecteur la Bavure the comedian plays an inept police detective, clearly not fit to do the job whose mistakes and blunders enable a notorious bandit to kidnap a journalist. Hilarious throughout, the movie was a box office hit, especially the scenes between Coluche and Depardieu were well received, however as the police force was displayed throughout the movie as a group of imbeciles, the actor was targeted by an extreme right group and received death threats. Director Claude Zidi who had previously worked with most famous French actors like Belmondo, Pierre Richard or Louis de Funès managed here to make Gérard Depardieu a comedy asset. After appearing here as the villain, the actor got his greatest successes through 3 comedies he did with Pierre Richard during the 1980’s. However watching Coluche in this movie makes you remember what comedic genius this guy was.
Story : 8,45
Cast : 8,61
Entertainment : 8,20
Note : 8,42 - DirectorLambert HillyerStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiFrances DrakeA scientist becomes murderous after discovering, and being exposed to the radiation of, a powerful new element called Radium X.March 7 2024
Among the 8 onscreen collaborations between Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi the most well known was of course Son of Frankenstein (1939) yet among the remaining 7, The Invisible Ray, released in 1936, though it wasn’t a real box office success, is thought to be one of the best of the pair. Here Karloff plays the villain, a scientist whose discovery of a new element brought to Earth by a meteorite, has devastating effects on his body, his brain and the lives of his entourage. Here the villain is indeed the mad scientist and he even glows in the dark. Lugosi has the more ungrateful part of playing Karloff’s scientist colleague. The movie has an original story, a consistent script but cannot really develop any horror vibe to be honest. All of Karloff’s murders except one are off screen making the movie lose atmosphere as a few cuts of newspaper headlines inform the viewer of the latest crime. Was it really so difficult back then to show a little bit more violence?
Story : 6,88
Cast : 7,44
Entertainment : 5,32
Note : 6,55 - DirectorGreg SwinsonRyan ThiessenStarsNatalie TerrazzinoJC Oakley IIITrevor TuckerA janitor in a furniture factory finds herself in a fight for her life when she becomes the target of sinister masked intruders.March 6 2024
The production company is fittingly called TraumaOne Entertainment, so you pretty much know what is waiting for you. HUNT HER, KILL HER showcases a young woman who starts her job as the lone janitor on night shift in a big factory. For an unknown reason, she finds herself in an unexpected fight for survival when masked men enter the factory. When she realizes that their only goal is to kill her, she must use her instincts and barbaric violence to make it through the night alive. Let’s not too much dwell on celebrity names or trivia around this flick, because there aren’t any around. The actors were all unknown to me, the lead actress Natalie Terrazino does an acceptable job playing the resourceful janitor even though her methods of killing the intruders are veering into McGyver territory at some point. Strictly low budget, the movie was made at night and on weekends with a real factory setting. That enterprise took more than half a year. Hunt Her, Kill Her is a movie for the horror movie fan, although I did like the action quite a bit. Not too much gore here, but sensitive audiences should abstain as the violence is pretty graphic.
Story : 6,32
Cast : 4,21
Entertainment : 6,25
Note : 5,59 - DirectorWolfgang BüldStarsTil SchweigerTina RulandStefan GebelhoffProud German owners of Opel Manta's race the streets against VW's and Mercedes. They decide to set up a real race with lots of money involved.March 5 2024
The year was 1991, in unified Germany the demand for domestic movies was at a peak, especially the population from the ex-GDR was aching to go to the movies. Manta, Manta was a product of that time, a story that took its premise from the then notoriously funny image of the Opel Manta car and its predominantly slow-witted drivers. Except for the fact that there were some great driving and racing scenes in this production, this movie is mostly known for the revelation of one of Germany’s most iconic actors, Til Schweiger. This was Schweiger’s first feature movie and despite not being a clear box office hit, Manta, Manta became a cult movie triggering a sequel in 2023, over 30 years after the original. Unfortunately time was not very kind to the film, many sequences are clearly outdated, yet they give you a particular 90’s feeling that you might seek to cherish by watching this movie. It is a very interesting insight into recent German history paired with some good stunts and some funny scenes.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 5,91
Entertainment : 6,21
Note : 6,19 - DirectorDean DevlinStarsDavid TennantRobert SheehanKerry CondonA pair of burglars stumble upon a woman being held captive in a home they intended to rob.March 4 2024
Never have I admired the versatility of an actor more than seeing David Tennant perform in Bad Samaritan. Having known the Scottish actor through countless episodes of Dr.Who, the Good Omens episodes and the Around the World in Eighty Days event series, I was flabbergasted how he could turn to play such a nasty character here. Bad Samaritan is a very interesting psychothriller centered around Sean, a young delinquent who specializes breaking into houses until another visit to the house of a rich guy makes him realize that he is in a serial killer’s lair. Sean is played by Irish actor Robert Sheehan while the female lead is taken by Kerry Condon who was Oscar-nominated for the Banshees of Inisherin in 2022. But the center of attention clearly is David Tennant who’s just brilliant in his sinister part. Bad Samaritan is not for the faint of heart, the structure of the film just warrants a great deal of nail biting and edge of the seat fidgeting, but despite being largely ignored by the public at the box office it is a movie that should be definitely be savored.
Story : 7,32
Cast : 8,09
Entertainment : 7,23
Note : 7,55 - DirectorGarry MarshallStarsJulie AndrewsAnne HathawayHector ElizondoMia Thermopolis has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. With her friends Lilly and Michael Moscovitz in tow, she tries to navigate through the rest of her sixteenth year.March 3 2024
18 year old Anne Hathaway had the opportunity of a lifetime when she was chosen to play a clumsy 15 year old teenager just about to become the royal princess of a small European country. The movie was The Princess Diaries, she would act opposite Hollywood royalty in Dame Julie Andrews and the Disney comedy would become a box office hit that appealed not only to the teenage girl audience it targeted but to a wider public grossing over 100 million dollars at the box office. The movie was helmed by Pretty Woman director Gerry Marshall who managed to give all audiences a funny and endearing family entertainment. In her first feature movie Hathaway masters the mix between comedy and sensitivity like a seasoned professional and Julie Andrews proves that even without performing musical songs, she is a great comedian. I loved this movie.
Story : 8,98
Cast : 9,27
Entertainment : 9,62
Note : 9,29 - DirectorTom AntonStarsT.J. ThyneJaime KingJohn HawkesWith all the picturesque glamour of the 1940s, "The Pardon" recounts the unlikely true story of Toni Jo Henry. A grisly murder leads to a series of sensational trials in which she pleads her innocence; she was executed in Louisiana, 1942.March 2 2024
I wonder if True Crime aficonados are tolerant enough to accept re-creations of famous murders or biopics of notorious criminals in movies. Today they seem to be more interested in podcasts and books or documentaries than in great features like The Black Dahlia or Zodiac. The Pardon is a biopic about the first woman to be sentenced to death in the state of Louisiana back in the early 1940’s. Toni Jo Henry was accused of murdering a car salesman and her trials got nationwide attention but all three ended in the same verdict. This movie tells the unfortunate woman’s life story from abused childhood to prostitution and drug abuse. Just when she thought she had found an anchor in her life, her new husband was jailed for deadly assault. In her desperate attempt to free him from jail, Toni Jo banded together with an accomplice until the unfortunate encounter with her later victim. The movie leaves it ambiguous who finally pulled the trigger, concentrating on Toni Jo’s life in jail, her unfair trials and her ultimate electrocution. Henry is played by Jaime King, another more well known nane is T.J. Thyne alumnus from the TV series Bones. While The Pardon was a complete box office failure, I do think that a better cast and a better publicity campaign might have helped.
Story : 6,61
Cast : 4,89
Entertainment : 5,66
Note : 5,72 - DirectorDavid RaymondStarsHenry CavillBen KingsleyAlexandra DaddarioA weathered Lieutenant, his police force, and a local vigilante are all caught up in a dangerous scheme involving a troubled, recently-arrested man who's linked to years of female abductions and murders.March 1 2024
A very solid cast couldn’t save this movie from savage criticism, poor box office receipts and general indifference. Considering that neither Henry Cavill, nor Sir Ben Kingsley, Alexandra Daddario and Stanley Tucci couldn’t have been that wrong about a crime story set in cold Minnesota about the hunt for a serial killer and its even bloodier aftermath, I decided to give it a go. I have to say that I didn’t agree with my friends, the critics yet again. Even though I did not like the editing of the movie which made it difficult to follow the plot and a rather unexciting finale, I have to say that I did not lose my bearing nor my interest. Henry Cavill, in a non Superhero part as the lead detective is in my view a good choice here, the same goes for Sir Ben Kingsley and I just cannot criticize Stanley Tucci for any movie he does. Daddario is clearly miscast as the police psychologist, though. Night Hunter may not be faultless, but it is certainly better than its bad reputation.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 6,62
Entertainment : 6,07
Note : 6,38 - DirectorRainer KaufmannStarsGisela SchneebergerRosalie ThomassBettina MittendorferMarienzell has a problem: people are moving away, tourists are not coming anymore, there is no work and no children. No one is more interested in the village, because without High Speed Internet you are now depreciated, almost a nobody.February 29 2024
In 2011 a little movie made headlines in Germany because with minimal budget it managed to become a public favorite. Eine ganz heisse Nummer told the story of a group of women in a small Bavarian town who set up a sex hotline in order to save their local supermarket. It took about 7 years until a sequel story was ripe enough to be filmed. The three main actresses came back, but while most of the ingredients that made the original a success were reunited, the story was not. In order to get highspeed internet to their small Bavarian village the three ladies are at it again deciding to participate in a local talent dance competition despite none of them being a talented dancer. Truth be told, all funny sequences here seem awfully trying to emulate the prior movie without having the originality which made the first movie so successful. They even banked on the cameo appearance of Jorge Gonzalez, a celebrity judge for tne German version of Dancing with the Stars. Someone made the remark that tne little piglet called Paul was the actual star of the movie. I think he was right.
Story : 6,02
Cast : 5,26
Entertainment : 5,77
Note : 5,68 - DirectorMark HermanStarsBrenda BlethynJane HorrocksMichael CaineA shy reclusive lady is convinced by an invisible entity to sing. Subsequently, she finds herself noticed by a sleazy talent agent and her talent being showcased on-stage. She also meets a kind but nervous man who becomes her best friend.February 28 2024
It is quite easy to determine the highlight of Little Voice : a 10 minute masterclass in celebrity voice imitations by Jane Horrocks who flawlessly jumps from Marilyn Monroe to Judy Garland via Shirley Bassey and Marlene Dietrich singing the most famous songs of these icons. The movie is an adaptation of a 1992 theater piece which was written especially to highlight Horrocks’ talents.
The singer/actress is the only remaining performer making the transition from the play to the movie. Other main parts were taken over by Sir Michael Caine, Ewan McGregor, Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn to lend the production some glamour. Blethyn even got an Academy Award nomination for her role as Jane Horrocks’ mother, a promiscuous, selfish woman. Unfortunately the movie set around the musical performance does not really keep up to its promises. Blethyn and Caine come over as quite obnoxious, maybe that was intended but it ruined my movie experience to a certain extent. During the whole runtime I was hoping for more of Jane Horrocks but it did not really materialize, whst a pity.
Story : 5,77
Cast : 6,98
Entertainment : 6,52
Note: 6,42 - DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsSean PennElizabeth McGovernNicolas CageIn 1942 California, two young men await induction into the U.S. Marines and say goodbye to their girlfriends.February 27 2024
Richard Benjamin’s movie Racing with the moon premiering in 1984 was the second and so far the last collaboration of two of Hollywood’s greatest actors. Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage. They had starred previously in the cult classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High and two years later reunited on the screen for this movie. Racing with the Moon is a coming of age story about two 17 year old guys, weeks away from being enrolled in the armed forces and shipped overseas to fight for their country in World War II. In the weeks preceding this major change in their lives, events in their small California town will shape their lives in quite a different way. Henry Nash (Penn) will meet Caddie played by Elizabeth McGovern and fall in love with her, while his best friend Nickie (Cage) gets his girlfriend pregnant and fouls up Henry’s life through his irresponsible, reckless and carefree behavior. Racing with the Moon takes its strength through the mature, impressive performance by Sean Penn and Elizabeth McGovern while Cage cannot make a lot out of his character. The pace of the movie is very deliberate almost too slow and even the pieces of drama intended to bring some movement into the story cannot help. Cage’s girlfriend’s pregnancy is practically a non-event while Penn’s wrong assumption that McGovern is a girl from a rich family brings some minor suspense to the plot. Two cast notes: Leg amputated guy in the hospital is young Michael Madsen and the snobbish youth getting clobbered by Penn in the beginning is actually, yes, Crispin Glover.(everytime I read or hear his name, George McFly appears before my eye, I did not recognize him at first)
Story : 6,14
Cast : 6,61
Entertainment : 5,76
Note : 6,17 - DirectorChristopher MorrisStarsWill AdamsdaleRiz AhmedAdeel AkhtarFour incompetent British terrorists set out to train for and commit an act of terror.February 26 2024
Difficult, very difficult to form an opinion about this movie. At times, I laughed out loud just to then ask myself repeatedly if I was supposed to laugh at such scenes. You see, Four Lions follows 4 homegrown UK terrorists in the preparations for their ultimate sacrifice, becoming a suicide bomber. Of course the movie being deeply satirical, the men are depicted as imbeciles leading the plot into scenes of pitch black , sometimes very tasteless humor. In my view, director/writer Chris Morris walks in a minefield when he presents the viewer with a comedy on terror, as the finale implies that the terrorist attacks which they caused, albeit not as they had planned, still have cost innocent people’s lives. Here then neither comedy nor satire are justified. Let’s nevertheless pick out Riz Ahmed playing group leader Omar and just let us not forget to mention the cameo appearance of Benedict Cumberbatch who plays a hostage negotiator in a few scenes towards the end.
Story : 5,48
Cast : 6,31
Entertainment : 5,79
Note : 5,86 - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsNicolas CagePatricia ArquetteJohn GoodmanHaunted by the patients he failed to save, a monumentally burned-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic fights to maintain his sanity over three increasingly turbulent nights.February 25 2024
I had completely forgotten that Bringing Out the Dead was directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie does not feature his privileged actors Robert de Niro nor Leonardo di Caprio nor Joe Pesci but stars Nicolas Cage as a depressed, insomniac NY paramedic alongside Cage’s then wife Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames and Tom Sizemore. Scorsese has apparently no good memories of his movie mentioning that he exorcised his youth in New York through shooting nights between ambulances, emergency rooms and dark streets. At the same time Bringing Out the Dead is a dedication to the job of paramedic, those unnamed heroes saving the lives of the lost souls inside an unforgiving city. I was quite surprised that Nicolas Cage was delivering such a subdued performance, only once going over the top when he wakes up from one of his hallucinations. The movie doesn’t feel like Scorsese yet it is a quite interesting entry in his filmography. By the way, the director himself is the voice of the dispatcher sending the paramedics to their assignments.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 7,22
Entertainment : 6,39
Note : 6,68 - DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsLiam NeesonJessica LangeJohn HurtIn 1713 Scotland, Rob Roy MacGregor is wronged by a nobleman and his nephew, becomes an outlaw in search of revenge while fleeing the Redcoats, and faces charges of being a Jacobite.February 24 2024
Rob Roy MacGregor is a Scottish folk hero who lived in the 18th century. Originally branded an outlaw, Rob Roy’s image changed when fictionalized accounts of his life and the blood feud he waged against the Earl of Montrose made him a hero among his people. This 1995 movie could have been a Western for all that matters. The basic fundaments of Rob Roy’s feud have been kept in the story, but the plot has been embellished, most notably through the addition of an antagonist that did not exist back then. Tim Roth as Harold Cunningham steals Liam Neeson’s thunder with a brilliant performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination. Rob Roy’s wife was played by Jessica Lange while another US actor, Eric Stoltz had a supporting cast as Rob Roy’s friend, but oddly enough, even though this was a movie shot in its entirety in the Scottish Highlands, about a Scottish folk hero, just a few of the main cast are indeed Scottish like Brian Cox and Andrew Keir. Like said before, if this story had been set in a Western landscape and if the main protagonist’s name had been John T. Chance , it would have had the same effect on audiences. It is an interesting story, a good reminder that Liam Neeson did other parts than he does today when he basically plays the same character in endless variations. It is well made adventure cinema in a setting which does not appear too often any more.
Story : 7,08
Cast : 7,27
Entertainment: 6,58
Note : 6,98 - DirectorJohn BadhamStarsRoy ScheiderWarren OatesCandy ClarkThe cop test pilot for an experimental police helicopter learns the sinister implications of the new vehicle.February 23 2024
Does Blue Thunder fit into my list of 1980’s cult movies? It certainly has the fame to belong among those films, it spawned two TV series (Blue Thunder and Airwolf), the black helicopter looked awesome, Malcolm McDowall is a slimy villain and the story is littered with action and astonishingly well choreographed fight scenes in the air. However, watching it again after many years I found myself quite critical of the way things developed through the runtime. First, it takes about 30 minutes until the viewer gets a first look at Blue Thunder which is way too late, then Daniel Stern disappears far too quickly from the story, basically just at the moment when Roy Scheider and Stern began to develop chemistry and in the finale the climax to the helicopter fight between McDowall and Scheider is basically spoilered earlier in the story when a 360 degree loop is mentioned in the dialogue. It was rumored that Roy Scheider did this one just to escape another participation in a Jaws movie, but he is playing Frank Murphy absolutely spot on. They should have been more decisive in choosing the actress for the girlfriend. A bigger name as that of Candy Clark (who is she?) would have done a whole lot of good to the movie. In the end Blue Thunder is a good crime movie but it has not got the pedigree to be added to the cult movie section.
Story: 7,14
Cast : 6,37
Entertainment : 6,77
Note : 6,76 - DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsJohn HurtJoanne WhalleyBridget FondaBased on the Profumo Scandal of 1963, an affair between an exotic dancer and the Minister of War shakes up the British government.February 22 2024
As scandals go, The Profumo Affair would become the biggest political scandal of the 20th century in the United Kingdom leading ultimately to the demise of the Conservative government in 1964. The clandestine affair that Secretary for War John Profumo had with then 19-year old Christine Keeler was made into a feature film in 1989 by director Michael Caton Jones starring Sir Ian McKellen as Profumo, Joanne Whalley as Keeler and John Hurt as Stephen Ward, Keeler’s alleged ‘pimp’. Now, you first have to get used to the 1960’s setting and its very traditionalist views of prostitution, sex and adultery. These were almost taboo themes back then, but the movie takes an extreme position here showing what really went on behind closed doors in every little detail. The orgy scene at about mid-point even was censored by TV stations as the sequence depicted two extras having real intercourse in the background. Furthermore, this is the narrative of a piece of British political history, uninformed non-British viewers might have the problem not receiving enough insight into the complete story as filmmakers were attempting to get all the scandal’s details crammed into two hours runtime. In the end Scandal is a very mixed bag. It certainly is interesting for the politically involved viewer, however for the remainder of audiences this may be a challenge to sit through and fully appreciate the movie.
Story ‘; 6,14
Cast : 6,97
Entertainment : 6,08
Note : 6,40 - DirectorKevin CarrawayStarsMichael Jai WhiteMax RyanSteve AustinAfter finding his brother murdered after returning from duty, Webster searches for the perpetrators, but discovers a conspiracy that cuts deep inside the U.S. government.February 21 2024
During the golden age of Hollywood, B-movies were made on the cheap by the big studios to fill movie theaters with double features or to employ younger, unknown actors on their salary list. Today of course, this business has turned around significantly. B-movies are a business in itself. Made on the cheap, within a limited time for shooting these predominantly action or horror flicks normally are boosted and heavily advertised with the name of a former big name. Many actors have gone down that road, film freaks have taken notice of Bruce Willis’ spree of B-movies the actor made before his retirement accumulating almost 30 credits since appearing in Glass, his last big feature in 2019, until 2022. Echo Effect is exactly such a type of movie. It is headlined by Michael Jay White, features wrestler Steve Austin and is loaded with action, shootouts and of course a lot of bad acting. Most critics and reviews are scathing, maybe they are right. However you may think what you like, I love to watch action, I adore martial arts fights, I don’t care about plot holes and there are many in Echo Effect yet all this is secondary to me. Those features are made for the fans, not for the critics and I am a fan.
Story : 5,41
Cast : 5,11
Entertainment : 6,24
Note : 5,59 - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsPeter FalkPeter BoyleAllen GarfieldA fictional retelling of the infamous Boston Brink's Company robbery on January 17th, 1950, of $2.7M, and cost the American taxpayers $29M to apprehend the culprits with only $58,000 recovered.February 20 2024
True Crime is one of the most popular subjects in any entertainment media. Movies, TV series, documentaries, books, podcasts, all media dealing with True Crime pique people’s interests and curiosity. While most True Crime subjects are murders and serial killers, the 1950’s Boston robbery at Brink’s, once labelled the Crime of the Century has actually been made into a movie 4 times, most notably in this 1978 production. The main character is played by Peter Falk, then at the height of his fame playing Lt. Columbo in the TV series, as robbery mastermind Tony Pino. Next to him you can meet some additional big names : Peter Boyle, Warren Oates, Paul Sorvino and Gena Rowlands complete the cast. Now what you wouldn’t expect with a True Crime story is the humor that director William Friedkin put into his movie, The Brink’s Job does come over as a crime comedy with a lighter touch and with a bunch of characters that you would indeed identify as potential crooks. With a delay of some 28 years between the original robbery and the production you could argue that making a comedy out of a famous crime is acceptable and the end result is an entertaining romp.
Story : 6,44
Cast : 7,07
Entertainment : 6,11
Note : 6,54 - DirectorMichaël R. RoskamStarsTom HardyNoomi RapaceJames GandolfiniBob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deeply into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living--no matter the cost.February 19 2024
Apart from being James Gandolfini’s last movie before his untimely death in 2013, The Drop is worth to have a closer look. Starring Tom Hardy, Matthias Schonaerts and Noomi Rapace alongside Gandolfini, this is a particularly well made crime thriller set in Brooklyn. Hardy plays Bob a rather soft spoken bartender in an establishment that once belonged to his cousin Marv (Gandolfini) but is now owned by a Tchetchen gang and used on occasion as the drop box for dirty money. When the bar is robbed one night, things get dicey and events spiral out affecting their personal lives. The gritty dark setting of wintertime Brooklyn adds to the realism of this story, its bleak rendering of the NY borough acts as a further element for the script’s potential. Acting is top notch, you would not believe seeing Hardy play this rather passive character once you have seen him in roles like Bane in The Dark Knight Rise or Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road. The female lead is played by Noomi Rapace, whom you’d also would be used to see in tough roles kicking a** in many action movies but here she plays also a very restrained character. The Drop is a remarkable movie with a great cast and a great storytelling that should keep you on your toes throughout.
Story : 8,17
Cast : 8,69
Entertainment: 8,02
Note : 8,29 - DirectorScott DerricksonStarsEthan HawkeJuliet RylanceJames RansoneA controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.February 18 2024
Scientific studies revealed that Sinister was the scariest movie ever made based on heart rates of audiences being measured while watching a list of 35 horror thrillers. Jump scares galore alernate with disturbing scenes of families being killed. Even though this movie is not gory and most murders aren’t directly shown on screen, the insinuated horror is perfectly designed to give every viewer goosebumps. Ethan Hawke plays a true crime writer who moves into a house formerly inhabited by a family that got viciously killed, to write a book about the crime. When he discovers a box of Super 8 movies in the attic, he realizes that the crime spree started much earlier than he ever thought when simultaneously strange things start happen in the house. I cannot really judge if Sinister is truly the scariest movie ever, I must admit though that it was a pretty harrowing experience especially since children are an important part of the plot and every movie that harms or kills children characters is never a favorite of mine.
Story : 6,31
Cast : 6,05
Entertainment : 6,99
Note : 6,45