Contemporary, violent and exciting were the three qualities that I attributed to the original Kingsman film. A title that surprised me in a positive way and I looked forward to the sequel. Of course you know in advance that the initial surprise will not be there anymore (the same was the case for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for example), but that does not have to be bad if that sequel knows how to entertain. Does Kingsman: The Golden Circle succeed in that? Continue reading
For a long time Pixar was the animation studio that was the best in the field of computer animation and was known for its originality. The only film that initially got (two very good) sequels was Toy Story, but after the release of the very disappointing Cars it was no longer a given that every Pixar film was a must see. Although Inside Out reminded me of the “old” Pixar, other sequels like Monsters University, Finding Dory and Cars 3 did entertain, but didn’t manage to wow as much. The Good Dinosaur was a bit disappointing. In comparison, Disney has been able to score hit after hit in recent years with Big Hero 6, Frozen, Moana and Zootopia. So Pixar has something to prove and show that they still got it. Do they prove that with their latest film, Coco? Continue reading
From the first moment you see Nocturnal Animals, where obese women are dancing naked and in slow motion, it is clear that you are going to watch a movie that is different. Tom Ford (fashion designer, but also director) immediately opts for a stylized look at the life of Susan Morrow, the owner of an art gallery. She struggles with her emotions and her marriage with her husband also seems to fall apart. Then she receives a manuscript for a book by her ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) dedicated to her. She becomes obsessed with the book and the film shows the viewer both her world and the story of the book. Continue reading
The number of Korean films released annually in the cinema over here is minimal. Of course it is a matter of supply and demand, but it is unfortunate to see because so many good titles are made that can not be viewed here and are often not even released on DVD. Fortunately, Netflix is offering more and more Korean films, including this Netflix original. Continue reading
After seeing the horror classic Nosferatu last year, I was curious about watching another classic that was often mentioned, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. A film from 1920 that stands out because the sets look very contrived, with sharp corners and spaces that look strange. A film that is therefore less realistic than other films of the time. The story itself is just as strange. It is about Caligari, who wants to show his “Somnabulist” at the local fair. A man, Cesare, who has been sleeping for 23 years. With his long body and sunken eyes, he has a striking appearance. Two friends, Francis and Alan, visit his presentation and when Caligari tells them that Cesare can answer any question, Alan asks when he will die. Cesare says that that will be the next morning, which ultimately turns out to be correct. Francis suspects Caligari or his Cesare of his death and tries to find out the truth. Continue reading
“A picture is worth a thousand words”, which also is the case with movie posters. When this movie was playing in the cinemas over here I regularly saw the one made for this movie and it’s a bad one. It’s a poster which really doesn’t seel the movie. Firstly the design looks like something made by a fan who cut out the heads of the main characters and after that didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about a font and applying inner and outer shadows in Photoshop. It’s also a very dark poster, which isn’t pleasing to the eyes. The clock shows the same time as the title of the film, but what that means isn’t clear. Basically a poster which doesn’t make you want to see the film, which at least looks a lot better than its promotional material. Continue reading
When you watch as many movies as I do, there are sometimes titles which you really don’t want a review about. Movies which are nice to watch and can be good, but of which you really don’t want to be too critical (or simply don’t have much to say about). And it sometimes happens that I decide not to write about such a film, despite it deserving some attention. A Kind of Murder is a movie which does a lot of things right, but which at the same time isn’t one everyone should see. Continue reading
Maybe I’m slowly starting to sound like a broken record, but South Korean cinema has been offering the most interesting and unpredictable movies in years. An action movie can contain humour or the hero turns out not to be exactly who he seems to be. The director of The Wailing, Na Hong-jin, previously made the tense and dark The Chaser and The Yellow Sea, in which a cab driver with a debt gets an opportunity to get rid of it by committing a murder. It managed to get the adrenaline pumping. The Wailing is no exception and is a true rollercoaster ride of emotions (and genres). Continue reading
After seeing Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters Per Second, I was really looking forward to seeing his latest film, which received a lot of glowing reviews. I was already impressed by his style, but wanted to find out if the story in this movie would be stronger and how much he had grown as a storyteller in then ten years between the films. Continue reading
Games allow you as a gamer to take control of another character who can perform actions which sometimes would be impossible in the real world. That’s also the case for the Assasin’s Creed games, in which you are a member of secret group travelling through old cities, running with parcours skills across rooftops to fight the Templars. As not all games are set at the same time it introduced the element of the “present”, where a machine (the Animus) is used to allow the main character to jump into the past in order to find artefacts who have a link to the creation story which can influence humanity. With popular game series it seem inevitable that they are turned into movies and unfortunately history has shown it almost always ends up being disappointing (just think of the Warcraft movie last year). Is this one different? Continue reading