Category Archives: war

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Ageless Friends (2016) – Review

Ageless Friends review

Although our bodies eventually will give up on us, we are only truly gone from this earth if no one remembers us anymore. The number of soldiers who died during the second world war is huge. You only have to look at all the crosses on the American military cemetery Margraten in the Netherlands to get an idea as 8301 men and women have been buried there. Although the crosses do have names on them, most of these people have been forgotten, simply because they don’t have any family left. This also was the case for Private First Class James E. Wickline.

That all changed because of Maarten Vossen, who, after seeing Saving Private Ryan, became interested in the second world war and decided to adopt a grave. At age 13 he was assigned Wickline’s. It would be the start of a long search of the story behind the name and the grave. In Ageless Friends he is followed during his final steps in this journey. Continue reading →

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Warcraft (2016) – Review

Review Warcraft

Before watching Warcraft my expectations of this film weren’t very high. The couple of pictures I saw of it didn’t really make it look appealing and as it is also based on a game chances were big that it wasn’t good. Gamemovies in general aren´t known for quality and the genre hasn´t delivered a film which managed to surprise (in a positive way). Still, looking at the director, I had some hope. Duncan Jones has been responsible for the impressive Moon, so he might be able to deliver a quality film. Continue reading →

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Son of Saul (2015) – Review

Review Son of Saul

The way in which a movie is shot can do a lot to set the tone. Wes Anderson played with the formatting in Grand Budapest Hotel, which all represented different eras. Director Xavier Dolan wanted to show the emotional state of the main character in Mommy by using a 4:3 format and only once using widescreen in order to show the feeling of liberation. Son of Saul, which is set during the second world war inside a concentration camp, immediately chooses its tone from the start. With a claustrophobic 4:3 format and only having the focus close to the camera, making everything far away blurry, you are glued to the main character, Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig). Continue reading →

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Beast of No Nation (2015) – Review

Review Beasts of No Nation

Although I have a broad taste in movies, the horror genre is one that I really avoid. I simply don’t enjoy making myself voluntarily uncomfortable, I don’t have that need. Give me a good action film or a wonderful documentary and I’m sure to have a great time. Netflix has a wide range for those tastes and in recent years the company has become a provider of many films and series that are worth watching. To ensure that they stay ahead of HBO they started making their own series, with great success (think Orange is the New Black or House of Cards).

Beasts of No Nation is their first “feature” film, which wasn’t only released on their own service, but was also shown in a limited number of cinemas on the same day. Although Netflix normally doesn’t release any numbers, they were proud to announce it had been watched three million times. But because huge numbers are no guarantee of a good movie (think Transformers), the question is whether Beasts of No Nation is a successful first step into their own movies. Continue reading →

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Good Kill (2014) – Review

Review Good Kill

At first glance it seem easy to describe what we experience as reality. But if you think some more about it, you may wonder whether it’s really that simple. Of course when you are outside or walking around your home everything you see is real, what you see is actually there.

But what if you’re reading a book? That book is real, but when you read the text your brains is forming images. If you immerse yourself in a book everything around you disappears. The same is true if you are watching a movie or playing a game. The moment you’re engaged by it then that’s your reality, even if you are able to distinguished it as something that is created afterwards. Yet that line is becoming less clear, with the advent of ever more realistic graphics and of course the various VR systems. I myself already notice that with some games I have issues executing specific actions because some of it looks or at least feels so real. So it isn’t a big step to be able to empathize with the job of a drone pilot, as in Good Kill. Continue reading →

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A Perfect Day (2015) – Review

Review A Perfect Day

Although we all would prefer to see an end to the wars in the world, it seems like an unfeasible dream. Even if a ware ends somewhere, there is another place where another one begins. A Perfect Day takes place in the Balkans during the nineties, when the war is almost over and the UN is doing everything possible to make the area safe again. A Doctors Without Borders team works in the area and has the task to ensure that all wells contain clean drinking water. This may mean that there are bodies to be removed from those wells, to guarantee the water remains usable. Mambru (Benicio Del Toro) is trying to get the dead, swollen body of an obese man out of a well with his car, but because his equipment is in bad shape he fails. He contacts his colleague B (Tim Robbins), who along with newcomer Sophie (Mélanie Thierry) come over to help. It is the beginning of a long day .. Continue reading →

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) – Review

Review Star Wars The Force Awakens
When a new Star Wars movie is released, this of course means a lot of hype (and marketing). It meant that the last few months it was next to impossible to stay aways from news about the film (something which I did manage, mostly). A new part in this beloved series also means impossible expectations from the fans. Does director J.J.Abrams succeed to meet them with this seventh movie in the Star Wars saga…or is this the new Phantom Menace? Continue reading →

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)

Review Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1

The number of movie franchises which are focussed on the “young adults” market keeps steadily growing. The Hunger Games movies always felt like they had a little bit of an edge over the competition. The were more raw, which isn’t a surprise with its strong resemblance to Battle Royale. Each movie manage to raise the tension. When this movie played in theaters I didn’t manage to go out and see it, but was looking forward to what this franchise would bring next. Continue reading →

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Dracula Untold (2014)

Review Dracula Untold

Both the world of books as the world of movies are filled with characters which are widely loved. There is something about these characters that people feel a connection with, making them care for them and their adventures. As one of these characters starts appearing in more books/movies you come into them with specific expectations of what that character would do. You wouldn’t expect Rambo to suddenly start giving ballet classes. Bram Stoker wrote the story of Dracula in 1897 and the character became popular, a vampire looking for blood in order to spread his curse. It resulted in many plays and movies, which made him a legend. According to Dracula Untold a part of his life was never shown. Maybe there was a reason for that? Continue reading →

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Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Review Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowskis don’t seem to want to make “safe” movies. The want to think big, bring different concepts and spectacle to the screen. That sometimes leads to movies which are widely loved like The Matrix (where reality wasn’t what it seemed to be), but also movies which divide audiences, like Cloud Atlas (a story told across centuries).

With Jupiter Ascending they show that daring attitude again. By taking a story which would also work as a costume drama, spectacular action as you’d expect from them, costumes which wouldn’t look bad in a Tarsem Singh movie and a sauce of science fiction, they have created a movie which is meant to be seen on the big screen. Continue reading →