300: Rise of an Empire (2014) - Cool visuals, lots of blood, great guy movie when enjoyed with copious amounts of alcohol. If not, it kinda sucks.
Robocop (2014) - Terrible.
La Grande Belleza (2013) - Amazing film, highly recommend this. A new Italian classic, and true to its Italian nature it takes the time to show beautiful shots, scenes and tell a simple story.
12 years a slave (2013) - Fun for the whole family!
Bottle Rocket (1996) - Very cool to see Wes Anderson exploring his style, this movie shows him still being careful. But it lives and breathes Wes Anderson.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - Second time I watched this, still amazing. Great visuals, original characters. Just awesome.
Thor: The Dark World (2013) - I was looking for a bad movie to watch under the pleasure of a few cold ones, Thor: The Dark World delivered.
Ride Along (2014) - Terrible, but they know it. And because they make fun of themselves, it's also terribly entertaining.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) - Definitely one of the weirder movies I've seen, but lots of fun. This was the last Wes Anderson film I still had to see.
Veronica Mars (2014) - Entertaining, the story behind this movie is more interesting than the movie itself tho. The majority of the funding was achieved through a 'kickstarter' project with fans of the TV-show demanding a film.
American Hustle (2014) - Pretty cool, it was all orchestrated very well, and thoroughly entertaining. But for me I doubt I'll ever consider this movie very noteworthy.
Some bad movies, some great. If you're gonna watch only one of these films, I'd grab a coin and let fate decide between The Grand Budapest Hotel and La Grande Belleza.
maandag 31 maart 2014
vrijdag 28 februari 2014
Nebraska
Went to see Nebraska yesterday, didn't know much about it, had seen some posters around town. Knew it was in black and white, that's about it. And I tried to keep it that way, because it looked like one of those movies that'd be best approached as a tabula rasa, blank slate.
That being said I hesitate to divulge too much about this film, in fear of spoiling your blank slate. It's about a man who is beginning to lose his grip on reality, things are just kind of slipping him by. And we as the viewer follow him and the people closest to him deal with that in their own ways.
What I thought was beautiful about this film is how everybody around the aging man seemed to speak about him as if he wasn't even there. Like he was just some piece of furniture they were considering moving up to the attic. This is just one of many examples how this movie manages to depict very characteristic scenes and human interactions. While somehow managing to maintain some lightness to it all through witty humor.
I doubt this will become a very popular movie, black and white films seem to attract a very specific audience. It's only been out since yesterday but it's only showing 3 times a day in Amsterdam, compare that to a film like Non-Stop (2014), which is being shown a grand total of 15 times a day. Make of that as you will.
By no ways or means is this a very shocking film, or groundbreaking, but in its simplicity and charming humor it has struck a chord with me that will make it very memorable for me personally at least.
Anyways, if you feel like going to the cinemas sometime soon, I'd highly recommend seeing this. Because it might not have that many explosions or catch phrases, but it has a lot to offer.
That being said I hesitate to divulge too much about this film, in fear of spoiling your blank slate. It's about a man who is beginning to lose his grip on reality, things are just kind of slipping him by. And we as the viewer follow him and the people closest to him deal with that in their own ways.
What I thought was beautiful about this film is how everybody around the aging man seemed to speak about him as if he wasn't even there. Like he was just some piece of furniture they were considering moving up to the attic. This is just one of many examples how this movie manages to depict very characteristic scenes and human interactions. While somehow managing to maintain some lightness to it all through witty humor.
I doubt this will become a very popular movie, black and white films seem to attract a very specific audience. It's only been out since yesterday but it's only showing 3 times a day in Amsterdam, compare that to a film like Non-Stop (2014), which is being shown a grand total of 15 times a day. Make of that as you will.
By no ways or means is this a very shocking film, or groundbreaking, but in its simplicity and charming humor it has struck a chord with me that will make it very memorable for me personally at least.
Anyways, if you feel like going to the cinemas sometime soon, I'd highly recommend seeing this. Because it might not have that many explosions or catch phrases, but it has a lot to offer.
maandag 24 februari 2014
Pac Film Festival (10) - Her (2013), Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013), August: Osage County (2013), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013)
Yesterday, the 23rd of February, was a good day. Me and 4 other friends had tickets for a film festival, Pac Film Festival (the 10th edition), to be precise. These festivals are always one of my favorite days of the year. This is the fourth edition I have attended, consecutively. So I had some idea as to what to expect.
We even had a gameplan, meet at 10 am, get our tickets, then go to the nearest supermarket for breakfast and to sneak our beer into their fridge. By 10:30 we were in our seats, we had our own booth, complete with loveseats. Ready to go.
We even had a gameplan, meet at 10 am, get our tickets, then go to the nearest supermarket for breakfast and to sneak our beer into their fridge. By 10:30 we were in our seats, we had our own booth, complete with loveseats. Ready to go.
The first movie was Her (2013), a movie about a man falling in love with his Operating system. Which sounds incredibly weird at first, but also presents us with some interesting thought experiments.
It felt like a constant back and forth, of him falling for this operating system, Samantha, and then being brutally confronted by the fact that she is a freaking computer.
As a viewer you begin contemplating what you would do, if it is real. And if it matters or not. This theme is strengthened by the occupation of our leading man. He writes personal letters in the name of other people. And though they are truly beautiful, they are still his. Not reflecting the thoughts of the people who he writes them for. But does that matter? Or can they still be beautiful in their own right?
We then moved on to Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013), after restocking our beer and snack supply. Our lunch break doubled as a beer run and us reflecting on what we just saw.
This move didn't necessarily feel slow, but it felt like they took their time. There were some essences to the movie that I really liked. For instance you were shown a lot of inner conflict in most of the characters passing through on the screen. But nothing was really addressed, it just kind of slowly dragged on and moved along. Which I really liked, it felt like we were experiencing it with them.
But besides that, it wasn't that special.
Next on the list came August: Osage County (2013), with some impressive acting by Meryl Streep. In ways it felt like an over dramatic version of Festen (1998). But there was a number of moments which were truly beautiful. I guess we can all identify in some ways with family dramas. But this one seemed to have struck an essential core. Although I'm not sure if all the screaming and fighting was really necessary to convey that essence.
After we went out for dinner, a pit stop at the Burger King, and stocking up for one final time on booze. We were once again seated and ready for our next adventure. By now we had spent over 10 hours at that cinema. Which sounds like torture to some, but defines one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday.
I had been looking forward to this one, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), the latest film by Wes Anderson. One of my favorite directors. As soon as the title of the movie filled the screen I was sold. And we went on a 99 minute thrill ride through dreamscapes and adventure. I was entertained and filled with joy from start to finish. Would at times have the barely controllable urge to give a standing ovation. I wasn't sure to whom, but it somehow felt necessary.
If, of all these films, you can only choose one. Then please let it be The Grand Budapest Hotel, I will surely watch it at least once more. The way Wes Anderson manages to set a mood for his films amazes me. The cinematography and the style of it all is so specifically his, and it is truly magical.
I guess I had ran out of fumes after that thrill ride, because I slept through the entirety of the final movie. The constant drinking may have had something to do with that as well. So I'm afraid I do not yet have an opinion on The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013).
All in all, a great day for film, and a great day for me.
zondag 16 februari 2014
Ernest et Célestine
Last night I watched a movie that managed to slip past my watchful eyes. Ernest et Célestine was released in 2012. But recently made its way back in to my radar when I saw it was nominated for an Oscar, since it doesn't release in the States until the 28th of february (2014).
The movie takes us into a beautifully drawn world where mice live underground and above ground there is a society of bears. And every mouse knows that the bears are evil, huge, famish and ruthless. Every mouse, except for Célestine, she has difficulty accepting that all bears are fundamentally evil. She runs into a bear called Ernest, and after convincing him not to eat her, we follow them on their adventures. As they test centuries of tradition.
The animations and sound of this movie were marvelous, from the adorable patter of mouse feet whenever they walk, to houses rocking on its foundations to the back and forth breathing of our bear Ernest.
So, in short, this is a movie that impressed me visually and charmed the heck out of me.
The movie takes us into a beautifully drawn world where mice live underground and above ground there is a society of bears. And every mouse knows that the bears are evil, huge, famish and ruthless. Every mouse, except for Célestine, she has difficulty accepting that all bears are fundamentally evil. She runs into a bear called Ernest, and after convincing him not to eat her, we follow them on their adventures. As they test centuries of tradition.
The animations and sound of this movie were marvelous, from the adorable patter of mouse feet whenever they walk, to houses rocking on its foundations to the back and forth breathing of our bear Ernest.
So, in short, this is a movie that impressed me visually and charmed the heck out of me.
woensdag 12 februari 2014
2013, a year of movies.
Hey,
I've been away for a while. Figured I'd try to do something to catch up. The following is a list of all the movies I've seen in the cinema over the past year. With some small commentary. Sadly I can't find everything I've watched at home. I'll start adding those in from 2014 and onward.
January 2013
Playing For Keeps (2012) - Pretty much crap, I enjoyed myself but that was mostly because of the beer we brought.
Gangster Squad (2013) - Quite nice, but I expected more of it. Felt like Sean Penn was channeling 20 clichés at once.
Django Unchained (2012) - This was everything I could ever want from a movie. Definitely my new favorite Quentin Tarantino movie, and that's saying quite a bit.
Chimpanzee (2012) - Meh, not great. Had some nice images but I felt like the story aspect of it was forced.
The Master (2012) - Very interesting movie, definitely worth the watch. Think I'm gonna review it some time soon to get a second feeling for it.
Flight (2012) - Was better than I expected, the scene where the plane is plummeting from the sky was beautifully done.
Django Unchained (2012) - Saw this a second time in about a week's time. That should tell you something about how much I liked it.
Lincoln (2012) - It kept me interested, but that's about it. I felt like the only reason it was so succesful was because of America's incredible patriotism.
February 2013
Zero Dark Thirty (2012) - Nicely done movie, it was interesting in a way that it provided insight in this grand manhunt. But at the same time it was not necessarily patriotic, and at times even quite critical.
Io e Te (2012) - Quite cool, nothing that really blew me away. But definitely nicely done and had some parts that made it stand out.
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) - Terrible, but at the same time terribly entertaining. I went to see this with a group of friends and a copious amount of alcohol. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
A Haunted House (2013) - This might've actually been worse than 'A Good Day to Die Hard' but at the same time even more entertaining. Again, alcohol is kind of a necessity.
March
Promised Land (2012) - Kind of average, it had a plot twist. But the plot twist was so random I felt it took more away from the movie than it added. Wouldn't recommend this one.
Beautiful Creatures (2013) - Well, I think teen girls will love this. Me and my very male and no longer in his teens friend watched this and we soon discovered why we were the only guys in the cinema.
Hitchcock (2012) - In preparation for this movie I watched some of Hitchcock's films. Such as Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), Rear Window (1954), and one or two others. All those movies amazed me, especially some scenes in Rear Window blew me away. The semi biographical movie Hitchcock was not as amazing. But still entertaining in its own right.
Side Effects (2013) - This was actually a lot better than I expected, this movie was not afraid to take drastic steps. Which I appreciated.
Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013) - Very entertaining at times, but generally just not what it could have been.
The Saphires (2013) - Bad. Slightly charming at times, but in the end, just bad.
A late Quartet (2012) - Beautiful film, was thoroughly impressed by this one. Some scenes will stick with me forever.
The place beyond the pines (2012) - Very cool, I loved a lot of it, but felt like it was slightly dragged out at certain times.
Kon-Tiki (2012) - Interesting, entertaining, that's about it.
Stoker (2013) - I loved this film, it was a cinematographic masterpiece. The directer, Chan-wook Park, is a genius. I highly recommend anyone who can stand some intense movies to watch Oldboy (2003), not the terrible American remake.. And if that matches your taste, you can continue with Sympathy for Mister Vengeance (2002) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
April
21 and Over (2013) - This movie kind of feels like a mix between Project X and the Hangover. It left me with some laughs and I might watch this again when I'm either very hung over or in the progress of getting very drunk.
Mama (2013) - I wasn't scared, wasn't entertained, wasn't really interested. The best part of this movie was watching my friends squirm in their seats.
Spring Breakers (2013) - This felt like a movie made for the sole purpose of shedding some new light on a couple of Disney girls. It was quite terrible, the one thing I recall was a bunch of kids sitting around in bible group. When one of them stands up and claims to be "Jacked up on Jesus!".
Oblivion (2013) - I'm glad I didn't watch the trailer for this. Because that way I actually quite surprised by the plot twist. And managed to enjoy this movie. Nothing I'd particularly recommend to others to watch though.
Iron Man 3 (2013) - I'm a sucker for superhero movies, but I think that if I weren't, I would not have been able to enjoy this movie.
Warm Bodies (2013) - Pretty cool, it had some aspects that made it stick out to me, but at times it felt a little off. Kind of like it was almost brilliant, but was held back by some faults.
May
Stoker (2013) - Watched this again.
Stand up Guys (2012) - I quite liked this, nothing special but it was charming in its own way. And had a core of truth that was kind of beautiful. Whilst not getting too dramatic.
The Croods (2013) - Enjoyable, that's it.
Hannah Arendt (2012) - Impressive movie, left me with some ethical and moral things to think about.
The Grandmaster (2013) - I'm not sure if it was because this was our 4th movie of the day, but this is one of the only movies I have ever walked out on.
Night Train to Lisbon (2013) - It was alright, but now there are some thoughts that have stuck with me, but nothing strong enough to keep the movie up.
The Great Gatsby (2013) - Great cinematography, just a visual joy to look at. I liked this a lot, but felt off at times. With some small changes I think this could've been amazing.
Olympus has Fallen (2013) - Terrible. Bring beer, and lots of it.
The Iceman (2013) - I enjoyed this at the time, but now that I think back to it, I can't figure out why. Would not recommend this to anyone, but at the same time would not discourage anyone from watching it.
June
Only God Forgives (2013) - The concept behind this movie was brilliant, but the executed was poor at best.
Trance (2013) - I hated the plot twist.
Star Trek (2013) - In preparation for this movie I watched Star Trek (2009). Both very enjoyable, I love Nick Frost's character in this movie. I like how they managed to make this very approachable for people who haven't watched all the old Star Trek. Without pissing off all the die-hard Trekkies.
Now you see me (2013) - We had a cool little stunt when we watched this, as a promotional event they blew money into the cinema during the movie. It got me 5 euros, that was the only noteworthy part of this film.
Despicable Me 2 (2013) - Watched Despicable Me (2010) Before going to this, both incredibly funny, charming and at times touching films. Recommend these to anyone, anywhere.
Disconnect (2013) - This offered more than I was expecting, left me with some food for thought. Worth the watch, but nothing spectacular.
Frances Ha (2013) - I loved this film, it was so incredibly charming in its own way. This should've gotten so much more love and attention. But I barely know anyone who has actually seen it. It's a movie about the average day to day troubles in life. But the way it's presented to us makes it beautiful.
July
Monsters University (2013) - Watched Monsters, Inc. (2001) before going to see this. They've gone a long way in terms of animation since then. But that didn't necessarily make it a better movie. Just prettier, but very funny at times.
Man of Steel (2013) - Pretty cool, but slightly disappointing. Although I may be a bit biased since I hate Superman.
The Wolverine (2013) - Wolverine, fuck yeah!
The Frozen Ground (2013) - I hate Nicholas Cage with a burning passion of a thousand volcanoes. But as far as Nicholas Cage movies go, this wasn't terrible.
Kapringen (2013) - Impressive and intense film, felt real and raw.
Le Passé (2013) - Very impressive, deserves more recognition.
August
We're the Millers (2013) - Terrible.
Red 2 (2013) - Watched Red (2010) to provide some backstory, both quite bad, but in a charming kind of way.
Behind the Candelabra (2013) - Wasn't much of anything.
Pacific Rim (2013) - My friend and I had no idea what the hell was going on in this movie, that may have had something to do with the copious amounts of consumed alcohol.
Elysium (2013) - Was kinda cool, but was lacking in many aspects.
The Heat (2013) - Bad.
The Lone Ranger (2013) - I enjoyed myself, but felt like a weak reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean in the Wild Wild West.
Blue Jasmine (2013) - The first great Woody Allen film in a while. And I'm a big Woody Allen film, so that was a good day for me.
September
White House Down (2013) - Terrible, luckily I barely remember anything about it since I was drunk out of my mind.
Jeune et Jolie (2013) - Visually definitely not shy, surprised me at times and overall decently impressive. Worth the watch.
Prisoners (2013) - Overall just a good, solid, movie. Not much noteworthy about it tho.
Rush (2013) - Better than I expected, in the end it wasn't so much about racing as it was about the concept of competition. Which I thought they visualized very well.
What Maisie Knew (2013) - Great film, shows us a look at divorce through the innocent eyes of a child. Amazing.
All is Lost (2013) - Daring concept, was not captivated by the execution.
The Butler (2013) - Had some impressive moments in it, and generally a strong theme. But it lost me at times by how 'American' it was.
The Way, Way Back (2013) - I loved this, Sam Rockwell's performance kept this movie from becoming gloomy. This allowed us to view a quite emotional topic without making it a necessarily emotional movie.
Fruitvale Station (2013) - Strong, was surprised it turned out to be a true story. Not sure if I feel that makes it a better or a worse movie. I liked the concept.
October
Gravity (2013) - Just beautiful. Amazing visuals, it really felt like I was drifting around in space. I felt like the ending was a bit too much of a standard movie ending, but as a whole I thought it was great.
Don Jon (2013) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Director's debut, I loved it. It showed great promise for future projects by showing he was not afraid to go for odd subjects while at the same time knowing exactly what he was doing.
Short Term 12 (2013) - Very moving.
About Time (2013) - I liked this, charming, witty, moving. And just well done. Nothing spectacular in the ways of cinema history. But definitely better than the average romantic comedy.
Escape Plan (2013) - Terrible, absolutely terrible. But at the same time absolutely hilarious because of how bad it was.
The Art of getting by (2011) - Kind of a standard coming-of-age story. Some parts made it worth for me to watch, but wouldn't urge people to go and see it.
November
Thor: The Dark World (2013) - Don't recall much of this, was very drunk. Guess I'll have to watch it again some day. Although if Thor (2011) was any indication, I probably didn't miss much.
The Counselor (2013) - As a film, it was quite disappointing. But the concepts that it conveyed and touched on were very interesting and made me think about things I hadn't thought of before. Would not recommend watching this for the movie itself, but just as a general experience. I liked it.
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013) - I loved this, it's by the same director as Amelie and it has the same way of showing us a different way to look at the world. I was charmed, intrigued and moved.
Captain Phillips (2013) - A solid movie.
Up in the Air (2009) - Slightly better than average because of the message it carries. Not particularly special though.
December
Hunger Games, Catching Fire (2013) - Against popular opinion, I thought this movie was absolutely terrible. Just terrible. Even worse than part one.
Raging Bull (1980) - Right after I watched this I was impressed, but wasn't sure what else to think. The days following this movie I kept thinking about it, and the more I thought about it the more I liked it. There are so many layers to this film. Very impressive.
Drinking Buddies (2013) - Not good, but enjoyable. Made me want to drink beer.
Juno (2007) - Charming, witty, funny.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - This is the movie I've been recommending to anybody and everybody. It's the newest film by the Coen Brothers, whom I love, and it's amazing in its own way. I'm planning on watching it again.
The Blind Side (2009) - Quite overdramatic, but all in all not a bad movie.
Frozen (2013) - Watched this with two of my roommates, it was a lot of fun. The Olaf character was hilarious, but a bit too close to a musical for my personal taste.
Ted (2012) - I had seen this before, still very amusing.
The Spectacular Now (2013) - Nice movie, for some reasons it didn't have the feel of a standard coming-of-age film. And it kind of tricks you into being deeper than you initially think.
January 2014
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - Great movie, another Scorsese success. Just a three hour long thrill ride, what struck me most was that it all flowed so fluently. It was impossible for me to determine what the halfway-mark of this movie was. It was just one continuous story.
Clerks (1994) - Great dialogue, clever jokes, in general an underrated film. I feel a lot of people get hung up on the dick and fart jokes and lose sight of the fact that this is actually a strong movie.
Clerks 2 (2006) - The jokes aren't as smart as in Clerks I, but it's still a very funny movie.
The to do list (2013) - I thought that Aubrey Plaza might be able to lift this movie up somehow, but it was as terrible as the trailer and the summary suggest.
Philomena (2013) - A moving tale, that was surprisingly funny at times, which helped keep the mood from getting too gloomy.
Enough Said (2013) - Slightly more interesting than your average romantic comedy because of the underlying message.
Nymphomaniac Part 1 (2013) - I was impressed, slightly shocked and unsure of what to think. I'm glad I saw this movie, but not sure if I'll watch part 2.
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - Good story, great acting, which makes this movie very strong.
Parkland (2013) - Terrible.
Ender's Game (2013) - Not as good as the book, since it focuses more on the sci-fi and less on the psychological and the ethical aspects. But better than I expected.
Our Idiot Brother (2011) - Quite bad, but charmingly so.
February 2014
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) - I had been putting off watching this movie because every had been saying it very much felt incomplete. After watching this I knew exactly what they meant. Great movie, lots of fun, and adventurous. But it felt like half the movie was missing.
That Awkward Moment (2014) - Absolutely terrible, but I enjoyed myself because I had a lot of beer.
Only Lovers Left Alive(2013) - Not sure what I think of this one quite yet. Definitely interesting.
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) - Pretty cool movie, not much noteworthiness to it tho.
Well, that was quite the list. Hopefully I'll keep a slightly more steady stream of updates from now on.
Finally, as a sort of closing summary, per request, a top 5 of recommended watches. Not necessarily in order of preference. I decided to list movies that haven't really reached the spotlight.
Frances Ha (2013) - This movie rekindled some of my hope that movie makers will realize that big explosions on Times Square can be fun, and it certainly attracts a certain audience. But it really isn't needed to make a beautiful film. Day to day life in New York is beautiful enough in itself.
Le Passé (2013) - I saw this at a 'Sneak Preview' and then never really heard anything from it ever again. Although I believe it has won an award or two. To me it shows the great tension that is inevitable in any relationship.
What Maisie Knew (2013) - This is just so well done, we get a look at divorce through the eyes of a child. The way she proudly presents her 'new daddy' to her class at school. It showed me that there are a million ways to look at the world. And we tend to assume everybody shares our vision.
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013) - I loved the feel of this film. At times it felt like a fairy tale, whilst it managed to deal with a quite serious theme. The underlying message it conveyed really struck me and stuck with me.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - I have not yet managed to explore every aspect of this film. There is one thing I am certain of tho; the Coen brothers have once again managed to achieve brilliance.
Teun
I've been away for a while. Figured I'd try to do something to catch up. The following is a list of all the movies I've seen in the cinema over the past year. With some small commentary. Sadly I can't find everything I've watched at home. I'll start adding those in from 2014 and onward.
January 2013
Playing For Keeps (2012) - Pretty much crap, I enjoyed myself but that was mostly because of the beer we brought.
Gangster Squad (2013) - Quite nice, but I expected more of it. Felt like Sean Penn was channeling 20 clichés at once.
Django Unchained (2012) - This was everything I could ever want from a movie. Definitely my new favorite Quentin Tarantino movie, and that's saying quite a bit.
Chimpanzee (2012) - Meh, not great. Had some nice images but I felt like the story aspect of it was forced.
The Master (2012) - Very interesting movie, definitely worth the watch. Think I'm gonna review it some time soon to get a second feeling for it.
Flight (2012) - Was better than I expected, the scene where the plane is plummeting from the sky was beautifully done.
Django Unchained (2012) - Saw this a second time in about a week's time. That should tell you something about how much I liked it.
Lincoln (2012) - It kept me interested, but that's about it. I felt like the only reason it was so succesful was because of America's incredible patriotism.
February 2013
Zero Dark Thirty (2012) - Nicely done movie, it was interesting in a way that it provided insight in this grand manhunt. But at the same time it was not necessarily patriotic, and at times even quite critical.
Io e Te (2012) - Quite cool, nothing that really blew me away. But definitely nicely done and had some parts that made it stand out.
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) - Terrible, but at the same time terribly entertaining. I went to see this with a group of friends and a copious amount of alcohol. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
A Haunted House (2013) - This might've actually been worse than 'A Good Day to Die Hard' but at the same time even more entertaining. Again, alcohol is kind of a necessity.
March
Promised Land (2012) - Kind of average, it had a plot twist. But the plot twist was so random I felt it took more away from the movie than it added. Wouldn't recommend this one.
Beautiful Creatures (2013) - Well, I think teen girls will love this. Me and my very male and no longer in his teens friend watched this and we soon discovered why we were the only guys in the cinema.
Hitchcock (2012) - In preparation for this movie I watched some of Hitchcock's films. Such as Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), Rear Window (1954), and one or two others. All those movies amazed me, especially some scenes in Rear Window blew me away. The semi biographical movie Hitchcock was not as amazing. But still entertaining in its own right.
Side Effects (2013) - This was actually a lot better than I expected, this movie was not afraid to take drastic steps. Which I appreciated.
Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013) - Very entertaining at times, but generally just not what it could have been.
The Saphires (2013) - Bad. Slightly charming at times, but in the end, just bad.
A late Quartet (2012) - Beautiful film, was thoroughly impressed by this one. Some scenes will stick with me forever.
The place beyond the pines (2012) - Very cool, I loved a lot of it, but felt like it was slightly dragged out at certain times.
Kon-Tiki (2012) - Interesting, entertaining, that's about it.
Stoker (2013) - I loved this film, it was a cinematographic masterpiece. The directer, Chan-wook Park, is a genius. I highly recommend anyone who can stand some intense movies to watch Oldboy (2003), not the terrible American remake.. And if that matches your taste, you can continue with Sympathy for Mister Vengeance (2002) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
April
21 and Over (2013) - This movie kind of feels like a mix between Project X and the Hangover. It left me with some laughs and I might watch this again when I'm either very hung over or in the progress of getting very drunk.
Mama (2013) - I wasn't scared, wasn't entertained, wasn't really interested. The best part of this movie was watching my friends squirm in their seats.
Spring Breakers (2013) - This felt like a movie made for the sole purpose of shedding some new light on a couple of Disney girls. It was quite terrible, the one thing I recall was a bunch of kids sitting around in bible group. When one of them stands up and claims to be "Jacked up on Jesus!".
Oblivion (2013) - I'm glad I didn't watch the trailer for this. Because that way I actually quite surprised by the plot twist. And managed to enjoy this movie. Nothing I'd particularly recommend to others to watch though.
Iron Man 3 (2013) - I'm a sucker for superhero movies, but I think that if I weren't, I would not have been able to enjoy this movie.
Warm Bodies (2013) - Pretty cool, it had some aspects that made it stick out to me, but at times it felt a little off. Kind of like it was almost brilliant, but was held back by some faults.
May
Stoker (2013) - Watched this again.
Stand up Guys (2012) - I quite liked this, nothing special but it was charming in its own way. And had a core of truth that was kind of beautiful. Whilst not getting too dramatic.
The Croods (2013) - Enjoyable, that's it.
Hannah Arendt (2012) - Impressive movie, left me with some ethical and moral things to think about.
The Grandmaster (2013) - I'm not sure if it was because this was our 4th movie of the day, but this is one of the only movies I have ever walked out on.
Night Train to Lisbon (2013) - It was alright, but now there are some thoughts that have stuck with me, but nothing strong enough to keep the movie up.
The Great Gatsby (2013) - Great cinematography, just a visual joy to look at. I liked this a lot, but felt off at times. With some small changes I think this could've been amazing.
Olympus has Fallen (2013) - Terrible. Bring beer, and lots of it.
The Iceman (2013) - I enjoyed this at the time, but now that I think back to it, I can't figure out why. Would not recommend this to anyone, but at the same time would not discourage anyone from watching it.
June
Only God Forgives (2013) - The concept behind this movie was brilliant, but the executed was poor at best.
Trance (2013) - I hated the plot twist.
Star Trek (2013) - In preparation for this movie I watched Star Trek (2009). Both very enjoyable, I love Nick Frost's character in this movie. I like how they managed to make this very approachable for people who haven't watched all the old Star Trek. Without pissing off all the die-hard Trekkies.
Now you see me (2013) - We had a cool little stunt when we watched this, as a promotional event they blew money into the cinema during the movie. It got me 5 euros, that was the only noteworthy part of this film.
Despicable Me 2 (2013) - Watched Despicable Me (2010) Before going to this, both incredibly funny, charming and at times touching films. Recommend these to anyone, anywhere.
Disconnect (2013) - This offered more than I was expecting, left me with some food for thought. Worth the watch, but nothing spectacular.
Frances Ha (2013) - I loved this film, it was so incredibly charming in its own way. This should've gotten so much more love and attention. But I barely know anyone who has actually seen it. It's a movie about the average day to day troubles in life. But the way it's presented to us makes it beautiful.
July
Monsters University (2013) - Watched Monsters, Inc. (2001) before going to see this. They've gone a long way in terms of animation since then. But that didn't necessarily make it a better movie. Just prettier, but very funny at times.
Man of Steel (2013) - Pretty cool, but slightly disappointing. Although I may be a bit biased since I hate Superman.
The Wolverine (2013) - Wolverine, fuck yeah!
The Frozen Ground (2013) - I hate Nicholas Cage with a burning passion of a thousand volcanoes. But as far as Nicholas Cage movies go, this wasn't terrible.
Kapringen (2013) - Impressive and intense film, felt real and raw.
Le Passé (2013) - Very impressive, deserves more recognition.
August
We're the Millers (2013) - Terrible.
Red 2 (2013) - Watched Red (2010) to provide some backstory, both quite bad, but in a charming kind of way.
Behind the Candelabra (2013) - Wasn't much of anything.
Pacific Rim (2013) - My friend and I had no idea what the hell was going on in this movie, that may have had something to do with the copious amounts of consumed alcohol.
Elysium (2013) - Was kinda cool, but was lacking in many aspects.
The Heat (2013) - Bad.
The Lone Ranger (2013) - I enjoyed myself, but felt like a weak reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean in the Wild Wild West.
Blue Jasmine (2013) - The first great Woody Allen film in a while. And I'm a big Woody Allen film, so that was a good day for me.
September
White House Down (2013) - Terrible, luckily I barely remember anything about it since I was drunk out of my mind.
Jeune et Jolie (2013) - Visually definitely not shy, surprised me at times and overall decently impressive. Worth the watch.
Prisoners (2013) - Overall just a good, solid, movie. Not much noteworthy about it tho.
Rush (2013) - Better than I expected, in the end it wasn't so much about racing as it was about the concept of competition. Which I thought they visualized very well.
What Maisie Knew (2013) - Great film, shows us a look at divorce through the innocent eyes of a child. Amazing.
All is Lost (2013) - Daring concept, was not captivated by the execution.
The Butler (2013) - Had some impressive moments in it, and generally a strong theme. But it lost me at times by how 'American' it was.
The Way, Way Back (2013) - I loved this, Sam Rockwell's performance kept this movie from becoming gloomy. This allowed us to view a quite emotional topic without making it a necessarily emotional movie.
Fruitvale Station (2013) - Strong, was surprised it turned out to be a true story. Not sure if I feel that makes it a better or a worse movie. I liked the concept.
October
Gravity (2013) - Just beautiful. Amazing visuals, it really felt like I was drifting around in space. I felt like the ending was a bit too much of a standard movie ending, but as a whole I thought it was great.
Don Jon (2013) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Director's debut, I loved it. It showed great promise for future projects by showing he was not afraid to go for odd subjects while at the same time knowing exactly what he was doing.
Short Term 12 (2013) - Very moving.
About Time (2013) - I liked this, charming, witty, moving. And just well done. Nothing spectacular in the ways of cinema history. But definitely better than the average romantic comedy.
Escape Plan (2013) - Terrible, absolutely terrible. But at the same time absolutely hilarious because of how bad it was.
The Art of getting by (2011) - Kind of a standard coming-of-age story. Some parts made it worth for me to watch, but wouldn't urge people to go and see it.
November
Thor: The Dark World (2013) - Don't recall much of this, was very drunk. Guess I'll have to watch it again some day. Although if Thor (2011) was any indication, I probably didn't miss much.
The Counselor (2013) - As a film, it was quite disappointing. But the concepts that it conveyed and touched on were very interesting and made me think about things I hadn't thought of before. Would not recommend watching this for the movie itself, but just as a general experience. I liked it.
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013) - I loved this, it's by the same director as Amelie and it has the same way of showing us a different way to look at the world. I was charmed, intrigued and moved.
Captain Phillips (2013) - A solid movie.
Up in the Air (2009) - Slightly better than average because of the message it carries. Not particularly special though.
December
Hunger Games, Catching Fire (2013) - Against popular opinion, I thought this movie was absolutely terrible. Just terrible. Even worse than part one.
Raging Bull (1980) - Right after I watched this I was impressed, but wasn't sure what else to think. The days following this movie I kept thinking about it, and the more I thought about it the more I liked it. There are so many layers to this film. Very impressive.
Drinking Buddies (2013) - Not good, but enjoyable. Made me want to drink beer.
Juno (2007) - Charming, witty, funny.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - This is the movie I've been recommending to anybody and everybody. It's the newest film by the Coen Brothers, whom I love, and it's amazing in its own way. I'm planning on watching it again.
The Blind Side (2009) - Quite overdramatic, but all in all not a bad movie.
Frozen (2013) - Watched this with two of my roommates, it was a lot of fun. The Olaf character was hilarious, but a bit too close to a musical for my personal taste.
Ted (2012) - I had seen this before, still very amusing.
The Spectacular Now (2013) - Nice movie, for some reasons it didn't have the feel of a standard coming-of-age film. And it kind of tricks you into being deeper than you initially think.
January 2014
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - Great movie, another Scorsese success. Just a three hour long thrill ride, what struck me most was that it all flowed so fluently. It was impossible for me to determine what the halfway-mark of this movie was. It was just one continuous story.
Clerks (1994) - Great dialogue, clever jokes, in general an underrated film. I feel a lot of people get hung up on the dick and fart jokes and lose sight of the fact that this is actually a strong movie.
Clerks 2 (2006) - The jokes aren't as smart as in Clerks I, but it's still a very funny movie.
The to do list (2013) - I thought that Aubrey Plaza might be able to lift this movie up somehow, but it was as terrible as the trailer and the summary suggest.
Philomena (2013) - A moving tale, that was surprisingly funny at times, which helped keep the mood from getting too gloomy.
Enough Said (2013) - Slightly more interesting than your average romantic comedy because of the underlying message.
Nymphomaniac Part 1 (2013) - I was impressed, slightly shocked and unsure of what to think. I'm glad I saw this movie, but not sure if I'll watch part 2.
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - Good story, great acting, which makes this movie very strong.
Parkland (2013) - Terrible.
Ender's Game (2013) - Not as good as the book, since it focuses more on the sci-fi and less on the psychological and the ethical aspects. But better than I expected.
Our Idiot Brother (2011) - Quite bad, but charmingly so.
February 2014
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) - I had been putting off watching this movie because every had been saying it very much felt incomplete. After watching this I knew exactly what they meant. Great movie, lots of fun, and adventurous. But it felt like half the movie was missing.
That Awkward Moment (2014) - Absolutely terrible, but I enjoyed myself because I had a lot of beer.
Only Lovers Left Alive(2013) - Not sure what I think of this one quite yet. Definitely interesting.
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) - Pretty cool movie, not much noteworthiness to it tho.
Well, that was quite the list. Hopefully I'll keep a slightly more steady stream of updates from now on.
Finally, as a sort of closing summary, per request, a top 5 of recommended watches. Not necessarily in order of preference. I decided to list movies that haven't really reached the spotlight.
Frances Ha (2013) - This movie rekindled some of my hope that movie makers will realize that big explosions on Times Square can be fun, and it certainly attracts a certain audience. But it really isn't needed to make a beautiful film. Day to day life in New York is beautiful enough in itself.
Le Passé (2013) - I saw this at a 'Sneak Preview' and then never really heard anything from it ever again. Although I believe it has won an award or two. To me it shows the great tension that is inevitable in any relationship.
What Maisie Knew (2013) - This is just so well done, we get a look at divorce through the eyes of a child. The way she proudly presents her 'new daddy' to her class at school. It showed me that there are a million ways to look at the world. And we tend to assume everybody shares our vision.
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013) - I loved the feel of this film. At times it felt like a fairy tale, whilst it managed to deal with a quite serious theme. The underlying message it conveyed really struck me and stuck with me.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - I have not yet managed to explore every aspect of this film. There is one thing I am certain of tho; the Coen brothers have once again managed to achieve brilliance.
Teun
zaterdag 22 december 2012
Life of Pi
Last wednesday my roommate came to me expressing his desire to go see a movie, he mentioned Jack Reacher was coming out on thursday and if I would be up for that. My first reaction was filled with a decent amount of hesitation, I had seen the trailer for the movie and well.. it didn't look great.
So I responded: "sure, but let's bring some beer", when looking at the showtimes however we stumbled upon a greater treasure. Life of Pi was having its first showings in the Netherlands, and this was a movie I was actually looking forward to. So after spreading the word around, we gathered a group of 4 willing participants.
Thursday evening came around the corner and the weather outside was frightful, and inside the heating was oh so delightful. So it took some serious dedication to drag ourselves out into the rain, as we were riding through the downpour, feeling like drowning cats. I said to myself: "This better be worth it." Anyways, after the struggle and the cold we managed to settle in our seats and mentally prepared ourselves for the upcoming two hour feature.
The movie itself felt nice to me at first, it was visually brilliant. The use of 3D in this movie is beyond anything I have seen so far. For me, without a doubt, the best 3D movie made to date. And that coming from a guy who hates 3D with a burning fury of a thousand suns. The story was a little silly at first and felt like children's tales at times. But I accepted it for what it was, and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
What I was not prepared for however was a mind blowing shift, that added incredible dimensions to this film that still occupy my mind. You could feel the entire audience holding their breath because of what was unfolding in front of their eyes. It was an experience in itself and for me it lifted this movie to extreme heights.
Of course I am trying to stay somewhat cryptic in an attempt not to spoil anything. Basically what I want to share is that for me this movie is about truth in life, and experience and perspective. And probably most of all, which is something that also interests me because of my affection for art, the message versus the way of conveying that message.
In short: "Go see this breathtaking masterpiece."
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
So I responded: "sure, but let's bring some beer", when looking at the showtimes however we stumbled upon a greater treasure. Life of Pi was having its first showings in the Netherlands, and this was a movie I was actually looking forward to. So after spreading the word around, we gathered a group of 4 willing participants.
Thursday evening came around the corner and the weather outside was frightful, and inside the heating was oh so delightful. So it took some serious dedication to drag ourselves out into the rain, as we were riding through the downpour, feeling like drowning cats. I said to myself: "This better be worth it." Anyways, after the struggle and the cold we managed to settle in our seats and mentally prepared ourselves for the upcoming two hour feature.
The movie itself felt nice to me at first, it was visually brilliant. The use of 3D in this movie is beyond anything I have seen so far. For me, without a doubt, the best 3D movie made to date. And that coming from a guy who hates 3D with a burning fury of a thousand suns. The story was a little silly at first and felt like children's tales at times. But I accepted it for what it was, and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
What I was not prepared for however was a mind blowing shift, that added incredible dimensions to this film that still occupy my mind. You could feel the entire audience holding their breath because of what was unfolding in front of their eyes. It was an experience in itself and for me it lifted this movie to extreme heights.
Of course I am trying to stay somewhat cryptic in an attempt not to spoil anything. Basically what I want to share is that for me this movie is about truth in life, and experience and perspective. And probably most of all, which is something that also interests me because of my affection for art, the message versus the way of conveying that message.
In short: "Go see this breathtaking masterpiece."
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
zondag 2 december 2012
Movies of november
November was slow, but december should be better.
Wristcutters, a love story (2006) - Quite interesting, I liked it.
Paranorman (2012) - Was more of a children's movie than I expected.
Milo (2012) - Not great, not bad.
Johnny English Reborn (2011) - Was fun.
Barfi! (2012) - Actually watched this twice, one of my new favorites. Just great.
Cloud Atlas (2012) - Incredibly interesting movie, need to watch this again.
Looper (2012) - Awesome.
The Sweeney (2012) - Simply terrible.
50/50 (2011) - Great movie, even got my quite emotional at times. Third time I watch it.
Chasing Amy (1997) - Just rewatching a Kevin Smith movie, was a good watch.
Looking forward to the Hobbit and Wreck it Ralph.
As always,
Live long and prosper.
Wristcutters, a love story (2006) - Quite interesting, I liked it.
Paranorman (2012) - Was more of a children's movie than I expected.
Milo (2012) - Not great, not bad.
Johnny English Reborn (2011) - Was fun.
Barfi! (2012) - Actually watched this twice, one of my new favorites. Just great.
Cloud Atlas (2012) - Incredibly interesting movie, need to watch this again.
Looper (2012) - Awesome.
The Sweeney (2012) - Simply terrible.
50/50 (2011) - Great movie, even got my quite emotional at times. Third time I watch it.
Chasing Amy (1997) - Just rewatching a Kevin Smith movie, was a good watch.
Looking forward to the Hobbit and Wreck it Ralph.
As always,
Live long and prosper.
donderdag 1 november 2012
Movies of october
Let's review yet another month of moviewatching, not quite the score I had last month.
Safety not guaranteed (2012) - I liked this a lot, had a nice feel to it.
Bachelorette (2012) - Had a few laughs, but that's about it.
Hope Springs (2012) - Very cute movie, Tommy Lee Jones is great.
Amour (2012) - Very impressive.
The perks of being a wallflower (2012) - The best coming of age film I've ever seen.
Jagten (2012) - It's scary how credible this was.
Trouble with the curve (2012) - Terribly standard.
Lawless (2012) - It was alright.
Robot & Frank (2012) - I quite liked this one.
Dredd (2012) - It was actually quite cool, didn't expect that.
Alleen maar nette mensen (2012) - Terrible, just terrible, dutch cinema disappointing me yet again.
Killing them softly (2012) - This was a lot better than I expected, it had a great storytelling feel to it.
Beasts of the southern wild (2012) - Great movie, very impressive.
End of watch (2012) - So much better than I expected.
The awakening (2012) - Not what I would call a bad movie, just kinda 'meh'.
Skyfall (2012) - It was a cool movie, but with Javier Bardem as the bad guy I feel like it could've (maybe even should've) been so much more.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
Safety not guaranteed (2012) - I liked this a lot, had a nice feel to it.
Bachelorette (2012) - Had a few laughs, but that's about it.
Hope Springs (2012) - Very cute movie, Tommy Lee Jones is great.
Amour (2012) - Very impressive.
The perks of being a wallflower (2012) - The best coming of age film I've ever seen.
Jagten (2012) - It's scary how credible this was.
Trouble with the curve (2012) - Terribly standard.
Lawless (2012) - It was alright.
Robot & Frank (2012) - I quite liked this one.
Dredd (2012) - It was actually quite cool, didn't expect that.
Alleen maar nette mensen (2012) - Terrible, just terrible, dutch cinema disappointing me yet again.
Killing them softly (2012) - This was a lot better than I expected, it had a great storytelling feel to it.
Beasts of the southern wild (2012) - Great movie, very impressive.
End of watch (2012) - So much better than I expected.
The awakening (2012) - Not what I would call a bad movie, just kinda 'meh'.
Skyfall (2012) - It was a cool movie, but with Javier Bardem as the bad guy I feel like it could've (maybe even should've) been so much more.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
zondag 7 oktober 2012
Moviemania
Good evening,
Today has been a long day filled with movies and.. well, just movies actually. It all started last thursday, after a night of copious drinking we had managed to reel in another sucker to join our Pathe Unlimited crew. Which naturally meant that we had to see at least one movie on friday.
The only movie showing at a practical time that I hadn't already seen already was The Bachelorette, so me, a veteran Pathe Unlimited member and the rookie, set out to sit through the bachelorette trying to rid our bodies of yesterday's poison. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed the movie quite a bit. Sure it was a cinematic piece of crap, but it was funny. And one of the girls was very sexy.
Anyways, after that little box of sunshine I still felt a longing for more. Which resulted in me and my new found moviepartner setting sail for Hope Springs. A movie that was very cute, oh so very cute. I'm going to stop myself here before I start rambling on and on again, because the point was. That after all of that, as we were about to call it a day. I stumbled upon a magazine advertising a film festival on Sunday (today), featuring 5 prerelease viewings. That was an offer too good to pass up, it was a bit of a struggle at first, trying to find someone crazy enough to go sit through five movies in a row with yours truly. But I succeeded, and this morning at 9:45am, I was waiting in front of the movie theater planning on not leaving until after the last movie of the day, which would be at 23:15.
The day started off strong with Amour, a french film that took Cannes by storm, it was an impressive piece of cinema. We were taken on a journey witnessing an elderly woman slowly losing her mind after suffering from a stroke. I felt like the movie was a tad drawn out, it was not necessarily boring, but it felt like it could've been edited down a bit. Apart from that, quite amazing. What I also loved was people applauding at the end of the movie. It made me feel... at home, surrounded by movie lovers I guess. A giant theater filled with people crazy enough to sit through 10 hours of cinema in a single day.
Then we moved on to The perks of being a wallflower. A movie that I was actually looking forward to. And also the movie that surprised me the most. (And that's including the surprise mystery movie) It features Logan Lerman, an actor I had not seen before. And he was joined by two people I was very happy to see being able to break their mold. Emma Watson and Ezra Miller traded their generic molds for something new. And did it quite well. Although afterwards people still referred to Emma as "Hermione", ah well, that's what you get for doing Harry Potter. Anyways, the movie started off feeling like quite the generic High School movie, but as it went along it felt like a snowball rolling down the hill. Taking on more and more topics and depth, finally leaving me choked up for the last 40 minutes of the movie.
The third movie, Jagten, was very impressive. Mads Mikkelsen seems to be growing in popularity and I can see why. I don't have that much to say about this movie other than that it felt incredibly credible to me. (See what I did there?) A lot of quite heavy stuff happened in the movie but it managed to remain very convincing.
On to the mystery movie, I don't know what to say about this. It felt like they wanted to give us a break from all the heavy movies and felt like throwing yet another generic movie at us. So they blessed us with Trouble with the curve, the latest Clint Eastwood movie. It had predictability, it had a struggling father daughter relationship, it had a bad guy, it had a misunderstood good guy and last but not least, it had Justin Timberlake. What can I say? It had it all.
Okay, and finally they sent us away with Lawless, a movie that was slightly above entertaining. It had certain elements that made it incredibly generic. But they seemed well aware of that, and decided to make fun of themselves for that fact. This reminded me of a Grindhouse kind of approach, make your movies so ridiculously over the top, it's awesome again. Sadly, they didn't manage to pull it off. Which leaves me at my original verdict: "slightly above entertaining."
Well, all in all, a great day for a movieloving s-o-b like myself. Can't wait to do it all again next year. Now I'm off to explore rainbows, unicorns and greener pastures in Neverland.
Teun
Today has been a long day filled with movies and.. well, just movies actually. It all started last thursday, after a night of copious drinking we had managed to reel in another sucker to join our Pathe Unlimited crew. Which naturally meant that we had to see at least one movie on friday.
The only movie showing at a practical time that I hadn't already seen already was The Bachelorette, so me, a veteran Pathe Unlimited member and the rookie, set out to sit through the bachelorette trying to rid our bodies of yesterday's poison. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed the movie quite a bit. Sure it was a cinematic piece of crap, but it was funny. And one of the girls was very sexy.
Anyways, after that little box of sunshine I still felt a longing for more. Which resulted in me and my new found moviepartner setting sail for Hope Springs. A movie that was very cute, oh so very cute. I'm going to stop myself here before I start rambling on and on again, because the point was. That after all of that, as we were about to call it a day. I stumbled upon a magazine advertising a film festival on Sunday (today), featuring 5 prerelease viewings. That was an offer too good to pass up, it was a bit of a struggle at first, trying to find someone crazy enough to go sit through five movies in a row with yours truly. But I succeeded, and this morning at 9:45am, I was waiting in front of the movie theater planning on not leaving until after the last movie of the day, which would be at 23:15.
The day started off strong with Amour, a french film that took Cannes by storm, it was an impressive piece of cinema. We were taken on a journey witnessing an elderly woman slowly losing her mind after suffering from a stroke. I felt like the movie was a tad drawn out, it was not necessarily boring, but it felt like it could've been edited down a bit. Apart from that, quite amazing. What I also loved was people applauding at the end of the movie. It made me feel... at home, surrounded by movie lovers I guess. A giant theater filled with people crazy enough to sit through 10 hours of cinema in a single day.
Then we moved on to The perks of being a wallflower. A movie that I was actually looking forward to. And also the movie that surprised me the most. (And that's including the surprise mystery movie) It features Logan Lerman, an actor I had not seen before. And he was joined by two people I was very happy to see being able to break their mold. Emma Watson and Ezra Miller traded their generic molds for something new. And did it quite well. Although afterwards people still referred to Emma as "Hermione", ah well, that's what you get for doing Harry Potter. Anyways, the movie started off feeling like quite the generic High School movie, but as it went along it felt like a snowball rolling down the hill. Taking on more and more topics and depth, finally leaving me choked up for the last 40 minutes of the movie.
The third movie, Jagten, was very impressive. Mads Mikkelsen seems to be growing in popularity and I can see why. I don't have that much to say about this movie other than that it felt incredibly credible to me. (See what I did there?) A lot of quite heavy stuff happened in the movie but it managed to remain very convincing.
On to the mystery movie, I don't know what to say about this. It felt like they wanted to give us a break from all the heavy movies and felt like throwing yet another generic movie at us. So they blessed us with Trouble with the curve, the latest Clint Eastwood movie. It had predictability, it had a struggling father daughter relationship, it had a bad guy, it had a misunderstood good guy and last but not least, it had Justin Timberlake. What can I say? It had it all.
Okay, and finally they sent us away with Lawless, a movie that was slightly above entertaining. It had certain elements that made it incredibly generic. But they seemed well aware of that, and decided to make fun of themselves for that fact. This reminded me of a Grindhouse kind of approach, make your movies so ridiculously over the top, it's awesome again. Sadly, they didn't manage to pull it off. Which leaves me at my original verdict: "slightly above entertaining."
Well, all in all, a great day for a movieloving s-o-b like myself. Can't wait to do it all again next year. Now I'm off to explore rainbows, unicorns and greener pastures in Neverland.
Teun
zondag 30 september 2012
Movies of september
And another month has passed, got a good score this month.
Ill Manors (2012) - Not a great movie, but it had a narration that was done in the form of spoken word, (as in the music genre) it really appealed to me.
The Bourne Legacy (2012) - I wish they would've stuck to the original 3 movies.
The Angel's Share (2012) - Quite enjoyable.
Your sister's sister (2011) - A fun watch.
Black Dynamite (2009) - Loved it.
Savages (2012) - Feel free to skip this movie.
Ip man (2008) - Epic Kung-Fu movie.
Good Dick (2008) - Uh... well, kinda weird movie. But enjoyable.
Wild Bill (2011) - Better than I expected, love their accents.
The Squid and the Whale (2005) - An interesting look at kids taking sides during a divorce.
C.R.A.Z.Y (2005) - Quite strong movie about a boy struggling with his homosexuality.
The Science of sleep (2006) - I very much liked this movie, it's kind of odd, but very strong.
Tyrannousaur (2011) - I recommend this one, worth watching for their accents alone.Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) - Awesome. Woody Allen as I like him.
Wanderlust (2012) - Uh... it's funny at times, but that's about it.
The Kid (1921) - Awesome!
Back to the future (1985) - Was a fun watch, but I think the beer had something to do with that.
Spartacus (1960) - Epic.
As good as it gets (1997) - Very nice.
Mallrats (1995) - I have a thing for Kevin Smith's movies.
Clerks 2 (2006) - Again, Kevin Smith is awesome.
Being Flynn (2012) - Not great, but decent.
Detachment (2012) - Watched this again, I was not as impressed as the first time, but still strong.
Ruby Sparks (2012) - I quite liked this, wrote a longer story somewhere.
Love is all you need (2012) - A cute movie, romcom, nothing more, nothing less.
Magic Mike (2012) - This was an awesome watch, laughed my balls off.
Shadow Dancer (2012) - Meh, kind of interesting, but not at all captivating.
The Campaign (2012) - Very funny.
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
Ill Manors (2012) - Not a great movie, but it had a narration that was done in the form of spoken word, (as in the music genre) it really appealed to me.
The Bourne Legacy (2012) - I wish they would've stuck to the original 3 movies.
The Angel's Share (2012) - Quite enjoyable.
Your sister's sister (2011) - A fun watch.
Black Dynamite (2009) - Loved it.
Savages (2012) - Feel free to skip this movie.
Ip man (2008) - Epic Kung-Fu movie.
Good Dick (2008) - Uh... well, kinda weird movie. But enjoyable.
Wild Bill (2011) - Better than I expected, love their accents.
The Squid and the Whale (2005) - An interesting look at kids taking sides during a divorce.
C.R.A.Z.Y (2005) - Quite strong movie about a boy struggling with his homosexuality.
The Science of sleep (2006) - I very much liked this movie, it's kind of odd, but very strong.
Tyrannousaur (2011) - I recommend this one, worth watching for their accents alone.Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) - Awesome. Woody Allen as I like him.
Wanderlust (2012) - Uh... it's funny at times, but that's about it.
The Kid (1921) - Awesome!
Back to the future (1985) - Was a fun watch, but I think the beer had something to do with that.
Spartacus (1960) - Epic.
As good as it gets (1997) - Very nice.
Mallrats (1995) - I have a thing for Kevin Smith's movies.
Clerks 2 (2006) - Again, Kevin Smith is awesome.
Being Flynn (2012) - Not great, but decent.
Detachment (2012) - Watched this again, I was not as impressed as the first time, but still strong.
Ruby Sparks (2012) - I quite liked this, wrote a longer story somewhere.
Love is all you need (2012) - A cute movie, romcom, nothing more, nothing less.
Magic Mike (2012) - This was an awesome watch, laughed my balls off.
Shadow Dancer (2012) - Meh, kind of interesting, but not at all captivating.
The Campaign (2012) - Very funny.
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
woensdag 19 september 2012
Ruby
Good evening,
As I am writing this the clock has already struck past midnight well over 35 minutes ago. So my magical pumpkin has left me, and the guards have turned back in to mice. I am however glad to share that I did not attend a ball tonight, but instead I had yet another night of magic and slight mischief at our local theater.
The day took a turn towards fun and adventure at 18:36 pm today. When one of my lifelong friends gave me a call, asking me if I was up for some drinks at one of our favorite bars in Amsterdam (a bar called "de Prael", we have grown quite fond of this place because of a certain area within the bar which has a setting that is designed to give out a 'living room' kind of vibe. This is just the kind of vibe in which we feel incredibly comfortable wetting our whistles.) The proposal went on to suggest that we go see a movie afterwards. Originally starting off with The Bourne Legacy, moving on to The Dark Knight Rises, but me having seen both of these, we finally settled upon a newly released movie called Ruby Sparks. My friend informed me that he was already settled at our favorite 'living room' in Amsterdam, together with another friend I know from my hometown.
So, after I obviously agree to see them later on (I still had to eat dinner), I find myself a backpack and fill it with beer. Because I had a feeling it was going to be one of those nights where getting drunk in the cinema was appropriate. About an hour and a half later I am sitting next to my two friends in our make believe living room, beer in our hands, and music in the air. This goes on for a while, until the fourth and final friend joins us. We finish our delightful beverage and jump on our steeds. The journey from the bar to the cinema was swift, uneventful, yet adventurous. A description that only fits a bike ride made in Amsterdam.
Anyways, this was the prelude. I'm half a page further and the movie hasn't even started yet. As some, or many, have observed, I get more chatty after a beer or two, or three.
This particular movie was about a writer who starts writing about a girl he first envisions in a dream. Although he has never met her, he becomes incredibly intrigued by her and can't stop writing. Until one day, she appears in his life, just as she had been described by him in ink.
To me, I don't really care if this is meant as just a casual case of "the magic of love" or one of those cases of, don't take things too literally. For me, what I found very interesting, was the internal moral debate that the writer is facing. Do I influence (control) her, or should I accept her the way she is?
To me this can be loosely translated to, if I find someone I love do I take her the way she is, or should I try to "fix" her flaws in order to fit her inside my mold. At what point does she lose what makes her the person I fell in love with. And how do I make sure she isn't just a copy of what I feel the perfect woman would be like.
I am a painter myself, what would happen if one day, one of my female nude paintings would separate themselves from the page and materialize into a woman made of flesh and blood. Would this be a mere representation of my fantasy, or would this be a self-aware person, capable of decisions and free will?
Personally, I don't know the answer to these questions just yet. But I'm very glad that I found a movie tonight that was capable of making me ask myself these questions. Although the alcohol may have played a part in this.
This is probably one big incoherent mess, but if this in some way has interested you, go see Ruby Sparks.
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
As I am writing this the clock has already struck past midnight well over 35 minutes ago. So my magical pumpkin has left me, and the guards have turned back in to mice. I am however glad to share that I did not attend a ball tonight, but instead I had yet another night of magic and slight mischief at our local theater.
The day took a turn towards fun and adventure at 18:36 pm today. When one of my lifelong friends gave me a call, asking me if I was up for some drinks at one of our favorite bars in Amsterdam (a bar called "de Prael", we have grown quite fond of this place because of a certain area within the bar which has a setting that is designed to give out a 'living room' kind of vibe. This is just the kind of vibe in which we feel incredibly comfortable wetting our whistles.) The proposal went on to suggest that we go see a movie afterwards. Originally starting off with The Bourne Legacy, moving on to The Dark Knight Rises, but me having seen both of these, we finally settled upon a newly released movie called Ruby Sparks. My friend informed me that he was already settled at our favorite 'living room' in Amsterdam, together with another friend I know from my hometown.
So, after I obviously agree to see them later on (I still had to eat dinner), I find myself a backpack and fill it with beer. Because I had a feeling it was going to be one of those nights where getting drunk in the cinema was appropriate. About an hour and a half later I am sitting next to my two friends in our make believe living room, beer in our hands, and music in the air. This goes on for a while, until the fourth and final friend joins us. We finish our delightful beverage and jump on our steeds. The journey from the bar to the cinema was swift, uneventful, yet adventurous. A description that only fits a bike ride made in Amsterdam.
Anyways, this was the prelude. I'm half a page further and the movie hasn't even started yet. As some, or many, have observed, I get more chatty after a beer or two, or three.
This particular movie was about a writer who starts writing about a girl he first envisions in a dream. Although he has never met her, he becomes incredibly intrigued by her and can't stop writing. Until one day, she appears in his life, just as she had been described by him in ink.
To me, I don't really care if this is meant as just a casual case of "the magic of love" or one of those cases of, don't take things too literally. For me, what I found very interesting, was the internal moral debate that the writer is facing. Do I influence (control) her, or should I accept her the way she is?
To me this can be loosely translated to, if I find someone I love do I take her the way she is, or should I try to "fix" her flaws in order to fit her inside my mold. At what point does she lose what makes her the person I fell in love with. And how do I make sure she isn't just a copy of what I feel the perfect woman would be like.
I am a painter myself, what would happen if one day, one of my female nude paintings would separate themselves from the page and materialize into a woman made of flesh and blood. Would this be a mere representation of my fantasy, or would this be a self-aware person, capable of decisions and free will?
Personally, I don't know the answer to these questions just yet. But I'm very glad that I found a movie tonight that was capable of making me ask myself these questions. Although the alcohol may have played a part in this.
This is probably one big incoherent mess, but if this in some way has interested you, go see Ruby Sparks.
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
vrijdag 31 augustus 2012
Movies of august
Hi,
Another month further, another month of movie-watching. This month has been relatively slow.
Seeking a friend for the end of the world (2012) - Very enjoyable, thought the end was slightly over dramatic, but it worked well.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) - This was so terrible it was great.
Lockout (2012) - Exactly what you'd expect, terrible, but lots of explosions.
American History X (1998) - Still an incredibly impressive movie.
La meglio gioventu (2003) - Third time I've seen this six-hour-epic now, and it still blows my mind.
A royal affair (2012) - Darker than I expected, but quite good.
God bless America (2011) - Awesome, feel good movie of the year.
A simple life (2012) - A very nice look into the everyday life of eastern culture.
The expendables 2 (2012) - It was terrible, and they knew it themselves, which is what made it awesome.
The watch (2012) - I had a great laugh.
To Rome with love (2012) - Better than I expected, a lot weirder than other Woody Allen movies, but in a good way I think.
Ted (2012) - I laughed the whole way through.
Gone with the wind (1939) - Truly one of america's masterpieces.
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
Another month further, another month of movie-watching. This month has been relatively slow.
Seeking a friend for the end of the world (2012) - Very enjoyable, thought the end was slightly over dramatic, but it worked well.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) - This was so terrible it was great.
Lockout (2012) - Exactly what you'd expect, terrible, but lots of explosions.
American History X (1998) - Still an incredibly impressive movie.
La meglio gioventu (2003) - Third time I've seen this six-hour-epic now, and it still blows my mind.
A royal affair (2012) - Darker than I expected, but quite good.
God bless America (2011) - Awesome, feel good movie of the year.
A simple life (2012) - A very nice look into the everyday life of eastern culture.
The expendables 2 (2012) - It was terrible, and they knew it themselves, which is what made it awesome.
The watch (2012) - I had a great laugh.
To Rome with love (2012) - Better than I expected, a lot weirder than other Woody Allen movies, but in a good way I think.
Ted (2012) - I laughed the whole way through.
Gone with the wind (1939) - Truly one of america's masterpieces.
As always,
Live long and prosper,
Teun
zaterdag 25 augustus 2012
Bonnie and Clyde
Good evening,
As I'm writing this my computer clock reads 2:15 am, and I just returned from a late night cinema visit. This night's lucky movie was God Bless America it was a pre-screening kinda thing, the movie won't be released for another week on a national level in the Netherlands.
This movie was one of the few films I have actually been looking forward to. In short, it's about a guy who gets knocked down by life and as he's about to put an end to said life, he gets distracted by an overwhelmingly obnoxious girl on one of MTV's more popular shows called Sweet Sixteen. At that moment he decides to postpone his suicide and instead, put an early end to the life of the girl who so clearly has not earned the right to keep living.
So, at this point, I was already in love with the movie. It reminded me of Super (2010) a film about a guy who decides to become a superhero, which basically means he goes around hurting and killing people he decides are not being nice.
God Bless America however goes a lot deeper into its hatred of particular groups of society. As you watch the movie you can feel the hatred oozing off the screen. I really felt the writer's conviction, and his deep and pure dislike towards certain behavior and cultural developments. And goddamn it, I could not agree more.
Basically, this movie is a dark comedy, and laugh I did. But it was more than that, at some parts the lines and conversation actually make strong arguments and are quite witty and well thought out.
If you are anything like me, and you have a deepfound hatred for the kind of people who are idolized on popular MTV shows, you will love this movie. And if you can't possibly wait until you get to see it in cinemas, may I suggest watching Super in the meantime.
As always,
Teun
As I'm writing this my computer clock reads 2:15 am, and I just returned from a late night cinema visit. This night's lucky movie was God Bless America it was a pre-screening kinda thing, the movie won't be released for another week on a national level in the Netherlands.
This movie was one of the few films I have actually been looking forward to. In short, it's about a guy who gets knocked down by life and as he's about to put an end to said life, he gets distracted by an overwhelmingly obnoxious girl on one of MTV's more popular shows called Sweet Sixteen. At that moment he decides to postpone his suicide and instead, put an early end to the life of the girl who so clearly has not earned the right to keep living.
So, at this point, I was already in love with the movie. It reminded me of Super (2010) a film about a guy who decides to become a superhero, which basically means he goes around hurting and killing people he decides are not being nice.
God Bless America however goes a lot deeper into its hatred of particular groups of society. As you watch the movie you can feel the hatred oozing off the screen. I really felt the writer's conviction, and his deep and pure dislike towards certain behavior and cultural developments. And goddamn it, I could not agree more.
Basically, this movie is a dark comedy, and laugh I did. But it was more than that, at some parts the lines and conversation actually make strong arguments and are quite witty and well thought out.
If you are anything like me, and you have a deepfound hatred for the kind of people who are idolized on popular MTV shows, you will love this movie. And if you can't possibly wait until you get to see it in cinemas, may I suggest watching Super in the meantime.
As always,
Teun
woensdag 1 augustus 2012
Movies of july
Another month of moviewatching has passed, time to evaluate.
La Haine (1995) - Very strong movie.
How I spent my summer vacation (2012) - This was the first sneak preview of the month, and it was a great watch.
Cell 211 (2009) - Very strong story development.
Win Win (2011) - Slightly more than enjoyable.
The Raid (2012) - Lots of fighting, felt like a more gruesome version of Ip Man.
Mar adentro (2004) - Impressive and depressing.
Le Prenom (2012) - Better than expected, kind of like a lighter version of Festen.
Habla con Ella (2002) - Quite intriguing, kinda weird tho.
Entre les Murs (2008) - It was interesting and insightful, but not necessarily enjoyable.
Garden State (2004) - Bad.
A few best men (2012) - Terrible movie quality wise, I still had a good laugh.
La delicatesse (2011) - Quite enjoyable, nothing special, but worth watching.
Detachment (2011) - Very impressive movie, Adrien Brody is a strong actor.
The Wrestler (2008) - A movie I consider to be great for reasons explained in last month's post.
Brave (2012) - A lot more aimed at children than I expected, still fun tho.
Comme un Chef (2012) - A lot more fun than I expected.
Madagascar 3 (2012) - I laughed my ass off.
Batman Begins (2005) - Freaking great, this movie gets a surprising lack of affection from the masses.
The Dark Knight (2008) - Amazing. Heath Ledger achieves a mesmerizing performance.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Not quite the cinematic masterpiece that the Dark Knight was, but still a great ending to the trilogy.
Jeux d'enfants (2003) - I'm not yet sure what my definite opinion on this movie is, for now I'll claim to have liked it.
Big Fish (2003) - Enjoyable, but I don't see why this movie gets so much love. It's a fine movie, but not amazing.
Project X (2012) - Ah well, you gotta watch one of these every once in a while.
Megamind (2010) - A fun watch.
A history of violence (2005) - I remembered it being better than it was.
The Boondock Saints (1999) - I love anything with an irish accent.
Red Lights (2012) - If I could've watched this again and taken away the last few minutes, I would've called it an enjoyable movie. But with this ending it made me want to puke my guts out.
A good score this month.
As always,
Live long as prosper,
Teun
La Haine (1995) - Very strong movie.
How I spent my summer vacation (2012) - This was the first sneak preview of the month, and it was a great watch.
Cell 211 (2009) - Very strong story development.
Win Win (2011) - Slightly more than enjoyable.
The Raid (2012) - Lots of fighting, felt like a more gruesome version of Ip Man.
Mar adentro (2004) - Impressive and depressing.
Le Prenom (2012) - Better than expected, kind of like a lighter version of Festen.
Habla con Ella (2002) - Quite intriguing, kinda weird tho.
Entre les Murs (2008) - It was interesting and insightful, but not necessarily enjoyable.
Garden State (2004) - Bad.
A few best men (2012) - Terrible movie quality wise, I still had a good laugh.
La delicatesse (2011) - Quite enjoyable, nothing special, but worth watching.
Detachment (2011) - Very impressive movie, Adrien Brody is a strong actor.
The Wrestler (2008) - A movie I consider to be great for reasons explained in last month's post.
Brave (2012) - A lot more aimed at children than I expected, still fun tho.
Comme un Chef (2012) - A lot more fun than I expected.
Madagascar 3 (2012) - I laughed my ass off.
Batman Begins (2005) - Freaking great, this movie gets a surprising lack of affection from the masses.
The Dark Knight (2008) - Amazing. Heath Ledger achieves a mesmerizing performance.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Not quite the cinematic masterpiece that the Dark Knight was, but still a great ending to the trilogy.
Jeux d'enfants (2003) - I'm not yet sure what my definite opinion on this movie is, for now I'll claim to have liked it.
Big Fish (2003) - Enjoyable, but I don't see why this movie gets so much love. It's a fine movie, but not amazing.
Project X (2012) - Ah well, you gotta watch one of these every once in a while.
Megamind (2010) - A fun watch.
A history of violence (2005) - I remembered it being better than it was.
The Boondock Saints (1999) - I love anything with an irish accent.
Red Lights (2012) - If I could've watched this again and taken away the last few minutes, I would've called it an enjoyable movie. But with this ending it made me want to puke my guts out.
A good score this month.
As always,
Live long as prosper,
Teun
maandag 23 juli 2012
Wrestling
Good evening,
Last week I was trying very hard to keep myself occupied in an attempt to soothe the voice in my head that was screaming "badabadabadabada-BATMAN!" over and over again. One of those close to futile attempts started quite late. I believe it was last wednesday, around half past midnight, I asked my roommate if he would be up for a movie. I had set my sights on "The Wrestler", a movie I've found quite hard to convince people to watch because of the name alone. As soon as I mention the title people seem to scatter and run for the hills. Because who would want to watch a wrestling movie?
Usually I would try to explain to these people that The Wrestler is no more about wrestling than let's say.. Black Swan is about ballet or House M.D. is about medicine. It is just some kind of base that is required to convey a message. And almost always, I'd get the response: "yeah, yeah, what other movies you got?"
But on this night, my roommate caved, and we watched The Wrestler. A movie I had seen once before, when it first came out, I had watched it on one of my flights across the pond separating my homeland from my sister's. Also known as the Atlantic ocean. I had liked it back then, it had made a certain impression on me that made it somewhat memorable.
Last wednesday however, it struck me in a whole new way. I really sat down for it, and let it do it's work on me. A movie that is strayed away from by quite a few because of the wrestling aspect, showed me a very different underlying message.
To me this movie shows us an incredibly interesting triangle in the life of a wrestler nearing retirement. At one end of this triangle we have our Wrestling superhero "Randy the Ram", and you see him doing his thing. The crowd goes wild, and he gives them a great show. This is truly what he likes to do, and he does it well. The public sees him as a living legend.
Then there's his colleagues, his fellow wrestlers, we get a view at the professional aspect of wrestling. The interaction between the wrestlers, he is treated with respect but also a certain level of carefulness. People realize he's nearing his limit, and he can't do the things he used to be able to do.
And then there's the handful of people who actually know him when he's not putting on a show. The few people who interact with him during day to day life. In this film we see him reaching out to these people. Attempting to break free of all his roles, his shows, his characters.
The overlap between these three worlds, and the direct interaction between them, is what makes this is a great film for me.
If this verbal diarrhea manages to get even one person closer to ignoring their inner voice telling them they don't want to see a movie about the ballet, or wrestling or two gay cowboys, I have done my good deed for the day.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
Last week I was trying very hard to keep myself occupied in an attempt to soothe the voice in my head that was screaming "badabadabadabada-BATMAN!" over and over again. One of those close to futile attempts started quite late. I believe it was last wednesday, around half past midnight, I asked my roommate if he would be up for a movie. I had set my sights on "The Wrestler", a movie I've found quite hard to convince people to watch because of the name alone. As soon as I mention the title people seem to scatter and run for the hills. Because who would want to watch a wrestling movie?
Usually I would try to explain to these people that The Wrestler is no more about wrestling than let's say.. Black Swan is about ballet or House M.D. is about medicine. It is just some kind of base that is required to convey a message. And almost always, I'd get the response: "yeah, yeah, what other movies you got?"
But on this night, my roommate caved, and we watched The Wrestler. A movie I had seen once before, when it first came out, I had watched it on one of my flights across the pond separating my homeland from my sister's. Also known as the Atlantic ocean. I had liked it back then, it had made a certain impression on me that made it somewhat memorable.
Last wednesday however, it struck me in a whole new way. I really sat down for it, and let it do it's work on me. A movie that is strayed away from by quite a few because of the wrestling aspect, showed me a very different underlying message.
To me this movie shows us an incredibly interesting triangle in the life of a wrestler nearing retirement. At one end of this triangle we have our Wrestling superhero "Randy the Ram", and you see him doing his thing. The crowd goes wild, and he gives them a great show. This is truly what he likes to do, and he does it well. The public sees him as a living legend.
Then there's his colleagues, his fellow wrestlers, we get a view at the professional aspect of wrestling. The interaction between the wrestlers, he is treated with respect but also a certain level of carefulness. People realize he's nearing his limit, and he can't do the things he used to be able to do.
And then there's the handful of people who actually know him when he's not putting on a show. The few people who interact with him during day to day life. In this film we see him reaching out to these people. Attempting to break free of all his roles, his shows, his characters.
The overlap between these three worlds, and the direct interaction between them, is what makes this is a great film for me.
If this verbal diarrhea manages to get even one person closer to ignoring their inner voice telling them they don't want to see a movie about the ballet, or wrestling or two gay cowboys, I have done my good deed for the day.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
zondag 1 juli 2012
Movies of june
Time for another monthly report.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - Awesome movie, great feel to it.
Prometheus (2012) - Cool movie, left me with a lot of questions tho.
Almost Famous (2000) - Was a nice watch, I liked the music.
Cosmopolis (2012) - I've heard mixed reactions to this movie, I thought it was badly executed.
Donnie Darko (2001) - I've watched this movie a couple of times now, I hope to one day truly understand it.
De rouille et D'os (2012) - Very strong movie, I liked this a lot. Seen it twice already now.
Drive (2011) - Man I love this movie.
Shame (2011) - I needed to rewatch this, so I did. Intense movie.
I am Sam (2001) - Sean Penn can play anything.
21 Jump street (2012) - Saw this with a filled movie theater, the crowd was going wild.
Starbuck (2012) - Very enjoyable, was better than I expected.
Blue Valentine (2011) - Ryan Gosling is great.
Paris, Texas (1984) - This movie had a great pace to it.
The Raven (2021) - Okay to see, nothing special. But not bad.
The lucky one (2012) - Truly terrible, but we had an afternoon to fill.
The Five-year engagement (2012) - Had me laughing out loud for a good portion of the 2 hour movie.
Cashback (2006) - I quite liked this, had a nice feel to it.
Lilya-4-Ever (2002) - Quite impressive and depressing at the same time.
The amazing Spiderman (2012) - If you're a superhero fan like me, go watch this. If not, it's not that much different from the original spiderman.
Full Metal Jacket (1987) - Awesome.
Ice Age 4 (2012) - Lots of fun.
All in all, june has been a good movie month, but July is going to unleash The Dark Knight Rises. That's gonna be tough to beat.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - Awesome movie, great feel to it.
Prometheus (2012) - Cool movie, left me with a lot of questions tho.
Almost Famous (2000) - Was a nice watch, I liked the music.
Cosmopolis (2012) - I've heard mixed reactions to this movie, I thought it was badly executed.
Donnie Darko (2001) - I've watched this movie a couple of times now, I hope to one day truly understand it.
De rouille et D'os (2012) - Very strong movie, I liked this a lot. Seen it twice already now.
Drive (2011) - Man I love this movie.
Shame (2011) - I needed to rewatch this, so I did. Intense movie.
I am Sam (2001) - Sean Penn can play anything.
21 Jump street (2012) - Saw this with a filled movie theater, the crowd was going wild.
Starbuck (2012) - Very enjoyable, was better than I expected.
Blue Valentine (2011) - Ryan Gosling is great.
Paris, Texas (1984) - This movie had a great pace to it.
The Raven (2021) - Okay to see, nothing special. But not bad.
The lucky one (2012) - Truly terrible, but we had an afternoon to fill.
The Five-year engagement (2012) - Had me laughing out loud for a good portion of the 2 hour movie.
Cashback (2006) - I quite liked this, had a nice feel to it.
Lilya-4-Ever (2002) - Quite impressive and depressing at the same time.
The amazing Spiderman (2012) - If you're a superhero fan like me, go watch this. If not, it's not that much different from the original spiderman.
Full Metal Jacket (1987) - Awesome.
Ice Age 4 (2012) - Lots of fun.
All in all, june has been a good movie month, but July is going to unleash The Dark Knight Rises. That's gonna be tough to beat.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
donderdag 14 juni 2012
De rouille et d'os
I think this deserves some kind of preface. My frequency of visiting the movie theaters has resulted in me seeing the trailer for this movie somewhere between 10-20 times. I thought it was a good trailer, so I was excited to see the movie. So much so, that I actually wanted to see the premiere revealing last friday, but due to lack of enthusiasm, I stayed home and chilled.
My friend however, did go to see it, thinking I would be there to accompany him. He reported back to me the next day, referring to this movie as an "okay movie to watch, nothing special".
I however, was still quite excited to go see this. So fast-fowarding a little less than a week, here I am thursday afternoon, asking my roommates if anybody would be up for watching a french movie I had been excited to see for quite a while.
This request resulted in me spending a lovely evening with one of the before mentioned roommates. She did however have one condition. We would have to bring some beer.
A couple of hours later, here we were. Sitting the theaters, a backpack filled with beer and snacks. Ready for action.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I didn't care much. I was certain I would at least be entertained, and I had brought beer, so who cared?
Nothing however could've prepared me for what coming my way. People who know me even a little bit should know that I have watched hundreds of movies the last couple of years. But what I experienced this night, only a couple of hours ago, is something completely new to me. Something in years and years of moviewatching has never happened to me before.
I sat there, in my seat, holding a beer, and as the plot was thickening on the screen before my eyes. I actually found myself feeling and thinking; "Oh God, I really hope this ends well."
This might not sound that impressive to most of you, but coming from a guy who watches movies from a 99.9% analytic point of view. This was revolutionary emotional empathy.
Another thing I really loved about this movie was how misleading the trailer was. The one thing that drove me to want to see this movie, was a complete lie. And regardless of that fact I still loved every moment of this film.
As I am writing this, I feel like I'm skipping steps, or maybe not making complete sense. This is mostly due to the copious amounts of alcohol I have consumed during this movie, and partly due to the emotional excitement I have racing through my veins after experiencing this work of art.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun.
My friend however, did go to see it, thinking I would be there to accompany him. He reported back to me the next day, referring to this movie as an "okay movie to watch, nothing special".
I however, was still quite excited to go see this. So fast-fowarding a little less than a week, here I am thursday afternoon, asking my roommates if anybody would be up for watching a french movie I had been excited to see for quite a while.
This request resulted in me spending a lovely evening with one of the before mentioned roommates. She did however have one condition. We would have to bring some beer.
A couple of hours later, here we were. Sitting the theaters, a backpack filled with beer and snacks. Ready for action.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I didn't care much. I was certain I would at least be entertained, and I had brought beer, so who cared?
Nothing however could've prepared me for what coming my way. People who know me even a little bit should know that I have watched hundreds of movies the last couple of years. But what I experienced this night, only a couple of hours ago, is something completely new to me. Something in years and years of moviewatching has never happened to me before.
I sat there, in my seat, holding a beer, and as the plot was thickening on the screen before my eyes. I actually found myself feeling and thinking; "Oh God, I really hope this ends well."
This might not sound that impressive to most of you, but coming from a guy who watches movies from a 99.9% analytic point of view. This was revolutionary emotional empathy.
Another thing I really loved about this movie was how misleading the trailer was. The one thing that drove me to want to see this movie, was a complete lie. And regardless of that fact I still loved every moment of this film.
As I am writing this, I feel like I'm skipping steps, or maybe not making complete sense. This is mostly due to the copious amounts of alcohol I have consumed during this movie, and partly due to the emotional excitement I have racing through my veins after experiencing this work of art.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun.
woensdag 6 juni 2012
Moons and pregnancies
Good morning,
This time I thought I would cover my cinematic adventures of multiple days.
Let us rewind to last sunday, after awakening from a drunken slumber my plans were to return to Amsterdam, take a look at my new school building, and move on to the room I have the privilege of calling home. Those plans were slightly altered when more people decided to join me for my journey. Which ultimately resulted in me and two friends sitting with a backpack filled with snacks and beer in the dinnertime showing of "What to expect when you're expecting" a movie probably frowned upon by many. Granted, this movie will not end up in the books of cinematic history, but I still enjoyed myself. Although at one point all the women around us were not-so-silently weeping over the intense emotions oozing off the screen. But luckily, us men have had years and years of thorough training on how to get through tough emotional moments. So we decided to crack open another beer and laugh it off.
For me, the real plan of that night was the 21:20 showing of "Moonrise Kingdom", a movie I had been looking forward to for weeks, ever since they decided to show the trailer before every freaking movie I went to see. Resulting in me seeing it about 10 times in the past month. So after stuffing ourselves full of unhealthy burgers for the 3rd time that day, I entered the Pathe City with a slight feeling of excitement. So far I had not heard that much of the movie, but everything had been positive. What I was not prepared for was that I would absolutely love this movie. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, you'll know it. The combination of oddness and humor reminded me in a way of Amelie, some may take this as an offense, as if I'm calling it unoriginal, but I find calling a movie reminiscent of Amelie a grand compliment. Anways, this movie has a certain oddness to it, that works up to a point where it makes everything more amusing and enjoyable and somehow does not come off as overly weird. That is an amazingly fine balance that they managed to hit spot on.
This is a movie I am certain will be re watched by me and many others. If I know myself even a little, I'll probably go see it in theaters again soon enough.
So, after closing off sunday with such success and enjoyment. I took a day off, no movies for me on monday.
But, tuesday, of course meant time to get back in action. Somewhere in the afternoon I approached my friend if we were planning on raping any cinemas that evening. And after going through what was showing, cross-matching the play times, and even contemplating going to see multiple movies, we decided it was time to go see "Prometheus". A movie I insisted we go see in the Grand Hall of Pathé Tuschinski, a beautiful hall in a most beautiful theater. Definitely my favorite cinema to go to.
It had been maybe 10 years since I saw Alien, it was at a slumber party during one of my visits to the states. We were a group of young boys watching a movie we probably shouldn't be watching. And it made quite the impression.
So I knew who Ridley Scott was when the name appeared to me on the giant movie screen. But I had no real expectations of what Prometheus would bring me. I figured just going to see it and letting it wash over me was a good approach. What I must confess is that I'm actually not that big of a fan of this genre. I think this comes from my very analytical approach to movies, this helps me appreciate a lot of movies a whole lot more. But when it comes to movies that are supposed to have you trembling in your seat, I can never quite get that same thrill that others are getting. Because I'm not looking at the movie in the same way, I can never quite get sucked in to the point of shared fear.
I don't think too much should be said about Prometheus, it looked amazing, although at some points I thought certain design choices made a couple of objects look outright funny, but as a whole, it was incredibly impressive.
My personal judgement of this movie is this: It made me want to go back and re watch Alien.
So, for those of you who have been paying attention, there is a shared theme between these three movies one I realized as I was riding my bike back home last night. Moons and pregnancies. For the Alien fans out there, that should be good news.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
This time I thought I would cover my cinematic adventures of multiple days.
Let us rewind to last sunday, after awakening from a drunken slumber my plans were to return to Amsterdam, take a look at my new school building, and move on to the room I have the privilege of calling home. Those plans were slightly altered when more people decided to join me for my journey. Which ultimately resulted in me and two friends sitting with a backpack filled with snacks and beer in the dinnertime showing of "What to expect when you're expecting" a movie probably frowned upon by many. Granted, this movie will not end up in the books of cinematic history, but I still enjoyed myself. Although at one point all the women around us were not-so-silently weeping over the intense emotions oozing off the screen. But luckily, us men have had years and years of thorough training on how to get through tough emotional moments. So we decided to crack open another beer and laugh it off.
For me, the real plan of that night was the 21:20 showing of "Moonrise Kingdom", a movie I had been looking forward to for weeks, ever since they decided to show the trailer before every freaking movie I went to see. Resulting in me seeing it about 10 times in the past month. So after stuffing ourselves full of unhealthy burgers for the 3rd time that day, I entered the Pathe City with a slight feeling of excitement. So far I had not heard that much of the movie, but everything had been positive. What I was not prepared for was that I would absolutely love this movie. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, you'll know it. The combination of oddness and humor reminded me in a way of Amelie, some may take this as an offense, as if I'm calling it unoriginal, but I find calling a movie reminiscent of Amelie a grand compliment. Anways, this movie has a certain oddness to it, that works up to a point where it makes everything more amusing and enjoyable and somehow does not come off as overly weird. That is an amazingly fine balance that they managed to hit spot on.
This is a movie I am certain will be re watched by me and many others. If I know myself even a little, I'll probably go see it in theaters again soon enough.
So, after closing off sunday with such success and enjoyment. I took a day off, no movies for me on monday.
But, tuesday, of course meant time to get back in action. Somewhere in the afternoon I approached my friend if we were planning on raping any cinemas that evening. And after going through what was showing, cross-matching the play times, and even contemplating going to see multiple movies, we decided it was time to go see "Prometheus". A movie I insisted we go see in the Grand Hall of Pathé Tuschinski, a beautiful hall in a most beautiful theater. Definitely my favorite cinema to go to.
It had been maybe 10 years since I saw Alien, it was at a slumber party during one of my visits to the states. We were a group of young boys watching a movie we probably shouldn't be watching. And it made quite the impression.
So I knew who Ridley Scott was when the name appeared to me on the giant movie screen. But I had no real expectations of what Prometheus would bring me. I figured just going to see it and letting it wash over me was a good approach. What I must confess is that I'm actually not that big of a fan of this genre. I think this comes from my very analytical approach to movies, this helps me appreciate a lot of movies a whole lot more. But when it comes to movies that are supposed to have you trembling in your seat, I can never quite get that same thrill that others are getting. Because I'm not looking at the movie in the same way, I can never quite get sucked in to the point of shared fear.
I don't think too much should be said about Prometheus, it looked amazing, although at some points I thought certain design choices made a couple of objects look outright funny, but as a whole, it was incredibly impressive.
My personal judgement of this movie is this: It made me want to go back and re watch Alien.
So, for those of you who have been paying attention, there is a shared theme between these three movies one I realized as I was riding my bike back home last night. Moons and pregnancies. For the Alien fans out there, that should be good news.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
zaterdag 2 juni 2012
Movies of may
Good morning,
I think I'd like to do a monthly summary of what I've watched the past month and a very quick word of judgement. Hopefully I can do this somewhat chronologically.
Shame (2011) - Very impressive movie, need to rewatch this.
The Avengers (2012) - Superhero-movies are my weakness, and this is an awesome one.
Un Prophète (2009) - Quite nice, and felt different somehow from what you usually see.
Safe (2012) - Bad movie, watch this if you're bored and you need some action.
The Artist (2011) - Great film, go watch this.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012) - It's alright.
This must be the place (2012) - I like Sean Penn, it's a nice movie, kind of odd tho.
The Diving bell and the Butterfly (2007) - Great movie, second time I watch this. Definitely recommend it.
Zack and Miri make a porno (2008) - Incredibly funny.
The Dictator (2012) - Quite enjoyable
Dark Shadows (2012) - Different from what I expected, but I liked it.
Cabin in the Woods (2012) - I've read great things about this, but I disliked it. Definitely not my thing.
Finding Neverland (2004) - One of Johnny Depp's better performances in my opinion.
Men in Black III (2012) - Very enjoyable, and two stars from No Country for old Men, what more could you wish for?
On the Road (2012) - Around 8-10 people left the theater during this movie, unlike them, I quite liked it.
The Hunger Games (2012) - Have a long version of my opinion on this movie, basically: bad rip-off.
Fetih 1453 (2012) - I've read a lot of praise on this movie, I thought it was terrible.
Iron Sky (2012) - I already knew I'd like this just because of the plot summary on IMDB.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Read below, I thought it had more potential.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
I think I'd like to do a monthly summary of what I've watched the past month and a very quick word of judgement. Hopefully I can do this somewhat chronologically.
Shame (2011) - Very impressive movie, need to rewatch this.
The Avengers (2012) - Superhero-movies are my weakness, and this is an awesome one.
Un Prophète (2009) - Quite nice, and felt different somehow from what you usually see.
Safe (2012) - Bad movie, watch this if you're bored and you need some action.
The Artist (2011) - Great film, go watch this.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012) - It's alright.
This must be the place (2012) - I like Sean Penn, it's a nice movie, kind of odd tho.
The Diving bell and the Butterfly (2007) - Great movie, second time I watch this. Definitely recommend it.
Zack and Miri make a porno (2008) - Incredibly funny.
The Dictator (2012) - Quite enjoyable
Dark Shadows (2012) - Different from what I expected, but I liked it.
Cabin in the Woods (2012) - I've read great things about this, but I disliked it. Definitely not my thing.
Finding Neverland (2004) - One of Johnny Depp's better performances in my opinion.
Men in Black III (2012) - Very enjoyable, and two stars from No Country for old Men, what more could you wish for?
On the Road (2012) - Around 8-10 people left the theater during this movie, unlike them, I quite liked it.
The Hunger Games (2012) - Have a long version of my opinion on this movie, basically: bad rip-off.
Fetih 1453 (2012) - I've read a lot of praise on this movie, I thought it was terrible.
Iron Sky (2012) - I already knew I'd like this just because of the plot summary on IMDB.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Read below, I thought it had more potential.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
vrijdag 1 juni 2012
Snow White
Good evening,
As I am writing this it is 2:16 am on a friday night, and I have had a few drinks.
My night started out expecting to go to Moonrise Kingdom, a movie I had been quite excited to go see since its trailer has been shown with incredible frequency in all the movies I've gone to see lately. The downside of this movie was its showtime, it was showing at 19:20 pm, which for me meant I had to rush dinner, which resulted in me eating a bowl of cereal.
I showed up at the theater on time, but due to a 52 hour roller coaster ride of sleep deprivation my friends did not manage to achieve the same result. So, instead of going to see Moonrise Kingdom, we went out and had the before mentioned drinks. Me and my friend were however still longing for our cinema fix, we were craving a friday night movie and darn it, we would have one!
So, we decided to go see Snow White and the Huntsman which was showing at 23:00pm at a local theater. A movie I had not been as excited about, but expected it to be at least somewhat worth watching. The magnitude of me claiming a Kristen Stewart movie to be "worth watching" is greater than you might realize.
For I may have not mentioned this before but within me there is a righteous fury that burns with incredible hatred for a girl called Kristen Stewart and a man called Nicolas Cage (I know I'm not alone on the second one). My hatred for Kristen started when I watched the first twilight movie and I started to realize that she had a very specific way of looking whenever she wanted to appear longing or in love.
She would slightly close her eyes and open her mouth, and if she really wanted to drive her point home, she would lightly bite her lower lip.
At that moment I had a startling realization. I had seen this look before. I knew this look from a movie that is one of my favorites and that bear some fond memories. The movie I am speaking of is Into the Wild, and upon realizing that this look is some generic acting trick, I can never look at a major part of Into the Wild with the same loving eyes.
And for this injustice, I hate Kristen Stewart with a righteous fury.
So, ignoring this hatred for the sake of cinematic history, I went to see Snow White and the Huntsman, which turned out to be a pre-theatrical release. Close to sold out even, luckily me and my friend had free entrance and just strolled in. The movie kind of disappointed me.
Where I think they went terribly wrong is their general decision making. A great majority of the film feels like some world that reminds me of Lord of the Rings, and if they had went all the way with it I think they could've made a great fantasy re-imagining of Snow White.
But they didn't, from time to time they would pay some small, let's call them... homages. To the original Disney Snow White, and they would break out of their fantasy feeling and throw in some very unfitting cheesy moments. This took the movie for me from a point of "this could be great" down to just "worth watching". In my opinion, they should've either gone for a realistic remake of the Disney Snow White, or they should've gone for a fantasy re-imagining, either way they could've made it into a great movie. But turning this movie into a blend of two contradicting ways of portraying a story doomed this movie from the start.
Ah well, at least Kristen Stewart didn't show us her generic lovey-dovey-look-at-me-I'm-in-love-look.
Believe it or not, but this mediocre film actually improved my view of Kristen as an actress, almost as much as seeing her boobies in On the Road did.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
As I am writing this it is 2:16 am on a friday night, and I have had a few drinks.
My night started out expecting to go to Moonrise Kingdom, a movie I had been quite excited to go see since its trailer has been shown with incredible frequency in all the movies I've gone to see lately. The downside of this movie was its showtime, it was showing at 19:20 pm, which for me meant I had to rush dinner, which resulted in me eating a bowl of cereal.
I showed up at the theater on time, but due to a 52 hour roller coaster ride of sleep deprivation my friends did not manage to achieve the same result. So, instead of going to see Moonrise Kingdom, we went out and had the before mentioned drinks. Me and my friend were however still longing for our cinema fix, we were craving a friday night movie and darn it, we would have one!
So, we decided to go see Snow White and the Huntsman which was showing at 23:00pm at a local theater. A movie I had not been as excited about, but expected it to be at least somewhat worth watching. The magnitude of me claiming a Kristen Stewart movie to be "worth watching" is greater than you might realize.
For I may have not mentioned this before but within me there is a righteous fury that burns with incredible hatred for a girl called Kristen Stewart and a man called Nicolas Cage (I know I'm not alone on the second one). My hatred for Kristen started when I watched the first twilight movie and I started to realize that she had a very specific way of looking whenever she wanted to appear longing or in love.
She would slightly close her eyes and open her mouth, and if she really wanted to drive her point home, she would lightly bite her lower lip.
At that moment I had a startling realization. I had seen this look before. I knew this look from a movie that is one of my favorites and that bear some fond memories. The movie I am speaking of is Into the Wild, and upon realizing that this look is some generic acting trick, I can never look at a major part of Into the Wild with the same loving eyes.
And for this injustice, I hate Kristen Stewart with a righteous fury.
So, ignoring this hatred for the sake of cinematic history, I went to see Snow White and the Huntsman, which turned out to be a pre-theatrical release. Close to sold out even, luckily me and my friend had free entrance and just strolled in. The movie kind of disappointed me.
Where I think they went terribly wrong is their general decision making. A great majority of the film feels like some world that reminds me of Lord of the Rings, and if they had went all the way with it I think they could've made a great fantasy re-imagining of Snow White.
But they didn't, from time to time they would pay some small, let's call them... homages. To the original Disney Snow White, and they would break out of their fantasy feeling and throw in some very unfitting cheesy moments. This took the movie for me from a point of "this could be great" down to just "worth watching". In my opinion, they should've either gone for a realistic remake of the Disney Snow White, or they should've gone for a fantasy re-imagining, either way they could've made it into a great movie. But turning this movie into a blend of two contradicting ways of portraying a story doomed this movie from the start.
Ah well, at least Kristen Stewart didn't show us her generic lovey-dovey-look-at-me-I'm-in-love-look.
Believe it or not, but this mediocre film actually improved my view of Kristen as an actress, almost as much as seeing her boobies in On the Road did.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
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