Monday, April 27, 2015

Grave Encounters 2, 2012 - ★★½ (contains spoilers)

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

This review reportedly contains spoilers.

I don't know how I feel about this movie.
It starts off with a number of youtube reviews of Grave Encounters. Then we start following film student Alex Wright (Richard Harmon) who is one of the reviewers. He gets messages by a youtube user called "Death Awaits" who shows him more about Grave Encounters, first a scene that wasn't in the movie, then more and more info.
Alex finds out that Grave Encounters really was real and not a fake.
So he get's the idea to make a documentary about what happened, and he decides to go into the asylum, with a group of friends, to see what really happens. Then, Grave Encounters happens.
Let me start by saying that I did not hate it.
Well, I hated the beginning. It was the typical "partying college students". Yay. Actually most of the beginning wasn't really that good, I started to like it when they set up the cameras and did the documentary. I really thought this was a good idea with just too much backstory. Before that happens we get lots of posting youtube videos, just being filmed because his friends are assholes and so on. We also have some scenes from the "movie" he is shooting, which are pretty funny, very bad dialogue, effects that you usually see in student films and so on. But we have steady shots, which is probably the main reason they made these scenes.
When they finally get into the hospital, we get pretty much the same scenes as in the first movie, trying to talk to the ghosts without success, setting up cameras and so on.
But while the first movie slowly build the tension by slowly increasing the stuff that happens, this movie has big jumps.
First nothing. Then, they use an ouija board and it works. Then the chinese guy gets thrown out the window. And then it's full on shocking.
They had some good ideas along the way though. For example when they leave the asylum in the middle of the movie. They drive back to the hotel, go to their room and then they get into the elevator which brings them back to the asylum. That was a neat idea.
The second good thing was when the ghosts start using the cameras. Sounds weird, and it is a little, but it makes for some cool shots. Because, as you know, ghosts work like camera cranes, they don't shake all the time. So towards the end of the film, we get cinematic shots, done with 3 floating cameras at the same time.
Also, when Seaon Rogerson (playing himself now after having played Lance Preston in the first one) comes back, the movie gets weird, but his acting is really good, I gotta hand that to him. He really feels crazy.
And I have to talk about the ending. At the end of the movie, the producer who was also in the first movie, Jerry Hartfield (Ben WIlkinson) talking to the camera about how this movie is not real at all, it is all just a movie.
So, in the first movie we have him telling us that everything is real.
In the second movie we have him telling us that everything is fake but with this face that makes you think it is real.
So I guess in the third movie we'll have him explain to us that it is fake but in reality, it really is real....
All in all, I didn't enjoy this movie all that much, it had some good ideas but was nowhere near the first movie. I rate it 2.5 out of 5 stars, it is watchable, but it's not a must see.

The Devil's Rejects, 2005 - ★★★★

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

I am the devil, and I am here to do the devil's work.
That is probably one of my favorite movie quotes.
Even though this is a movie I cannot recommend to anyone. It is just so brutal. At parts I didn't enjoy watching this movie at all. There are scenes that I wish I had skipped, that's how brutal this movie is.
But that's what makes it so good to me. The characters are despicable.
But also in some scenes likeable.
This is a sequel to house of the 1000 corpses, which I haven't seen. The movie starts with the Firefly family's house being raided, there is a big shootout. Some are killed, the mother is being captured, Otis (Bill Mosely) and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) can get out of it and are on the run. They call their dad, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) to help them. And then they all are on the run from the cops. That's the movie for the most parts.
And what they do while running is cruel.
What's also special about this movie is the horror-all-star cast. SId Haig, Ken Forree, Bill Mosely, Danny Trejo, Michael Berryman (the guy from the Hills have eyes) and many more. And they all do a good job, the acting is really good, even Sheri Moon Zombie is good in her part.
The shots are picked good, and there are film references throughout this movie.
Also the music is greatly picked. I love "Free Bird" at the end of the movie, it is an awesome song to end this movie.
The actions of the "Devil's Rejects" are cruel, they torture people, and not in a way hostel does, they torture physically and mostly psychically. And those are the parts that are hard to watch, the cruelty.
But this cruelty is what makes this movie so good, the bad guys are really the bad guys (even though there are no good guys in this movie).
All in all I liked this movie even though I can't say I enjoyed all of it.
But I still give it 4 out of 5 stars because it is a movie that really had an impact on me.
Check it out if you are strong enough.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Big Eyes, 2014 - ★★★★

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

First off, I gotta say I'm a big Tim Burton fanboy and he made my favorite movie of all time, Ed Wood. So maybe this review is biased.
Second, even though this movie has some burtonisms (the intro scene, the title giving big eyes), most of it doesn't feel like a Tim Burton movie, probably because this is a movie about real life and about a true story and not a weird fantasy world.
But that doesn't make it a bad movie. Not at all.
This movie is set in the 1950s and is about the true story of the painter Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), who paints these pictures of little kids with big eyes. She runs away from her husband (we never get to know why) and soon after meets Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz), a painter himself. They marry and he ends up selling her paintings under his name because womens paintings don't sell as good. From there on, conflicts occur.
The acting is great, both Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz do a great job. Waltz especially is really good because his character changes completely and he pulls it off believable.
The shots are beautiful, in the beginning we get lots of scenery shots while Margaret is fleeing her former life in a car, and those shots are beautiful, nice to look at.
The story is interesting, but at parts it gets a little boring, it felt longer than 104 minutes. I still enjoyed it in the end, and that's what matters.
The music is great too, we have some music from the time it is set (the Beach Boys "In my room"), but also music by composer Danny Elfman and songs by Lana del Rey. All the music is very good.
All in all an enjoyable watch, it is a drama with some comedic elements, so maybe not everyones taste and something different for Tim Burton (at least I don't think he ever did something quite like this).
I liked it and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Grave Encounters, 2011 - ★★★½

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

Welcome to another episode of Grave Encounters
A found footage horror movie from 2011. 12 years after the Blair WItch Project, 4 years after the first Paranormal Activity.
Does it do anything new? No.
Is it boring? No.
It is actually really fun.
It starts with a producer telling us that what we are about to see is not a movie, it is the material of the filming of the sixth episode of the ghost-hunting show Grave Encounters, only cut for time reasons.
They wanted to go to an abandoned Asylum to check if there are any ghosts there.
We get to see early on that the host and crew do kind of believe in ghosts, but never saw any, so they have no problem with making something up.
But this time, there is something.
It feels pretty much like a Paranormal Activity movie. But with more happening I guess.
The beginning was annoying because whoever held the camera in the first interviewing scene was shitty and, to be honest, I wouldn't watch that show. In a simple, standing interview, he shaked the cam and zoomed close to the peoples faces.
Weirdly, later the camera got better, kinda because there where some steady shots (they put cameras at the best spots) and from then on I really enjoyed it.
They were good at making the right ambience, I wouldn't wanna be there.
The acting was good, they really felt scared.
All in all an enjoyable horror flick that doesn't bring anything new to the table but isn't bad at all. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Shrek 2, 2004 - ★★★★

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

Shrek and I drank this potion and well, now... we're sexy!
This movie was really fun. I prefer it to the first one. So many references to other movies, fables and fairytales.
I had so much fun watching this. So many great jokes.
The characters are all great, also great acted. Donkey is probably one of my favorite movie characters ever, he has the best lines ever.
Eddie Murphy did an awesome job. I don't know if he ad libbed much, but I'm still giving him credit for the jokes and delivery.
Mike Myers also is great, as is Cameron Diaz. Antonio Banderas as "Puss in Boots" came in new and did a great job, he is so funny.
All the characters are very great.
The music is awesome, they used some really great songs and also had some written especially for this movie.
The animation looks good and I feel it looks much better than in the first one but maybe I just got more used to it after having watched the first one a few days ago.
It's a childrens movie at first, but like the first one, also very enjoyable for adults and it has some jokes that probably go over the childrens heads.
All in all I enjoyed it quite a bit and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Friday, April 24, 2015

The Wizard of Oz, 1939 - ★★★★★

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

There is no place like home
Yes it took me 21 years to get to watch this movie. But I finally did. And I loved it.
It was made in 1939 (or probable even earlier because it came out in 1939 but whatever), but you can watch it today without problems.
People complain that old films are boring, not in the same tempo as todays movies, the effects suck and so on.
But I don't think you can say any of that about this movie. It isn't boring for one second, even though its 98 minute running time is long for a flick from that time.
The costume is awesome. I know that the lion costume was very hot and that the first tin man actor almost died, but the costumes are just awesome. The costume that got me the most was the scarecrow, you can't even see where the mask ends and the facepaint starts. Also in one scene he is shredded to pieces and it just looks awesome (wow that sounds weird out of context).
The acting is really good too, the movements of the scarecrow for example. But also at all, they are all very good.
The story is cute, nice and funny and exciting. I won't spoil the ending (for those other 3 guys in the world that are like me and haven't watched it), but wow I did not expect that.
The music is great, it has got lots of singing, but catchy songs that just make you feel good, and of course Somewhere over the rainbow. Great song.
Great movie. It is from 1939 but doesn't look like it. It starts in sepia, not because it's old but because it was a stylistic choice to show the change from Kansas to Oz.
Last but not least I loved the humor, so many great lines, some that you have to think about, others that are just funny.
"He said Oilcan" - "Oil can what?"
I really don't think there is anything I didn't like about this movie.
That's why I have to give it 5 out of 5 stars and a like. If you haven't watched it, watch it, if you have, watch it again.

Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015 - ★★★★

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

This was a fun time.
I went into this movie really hyped, knew a little about the backstory, didn't watch all the trailers though.
And I loved it. It reached all my expectations. The acting was good, but with this all star cast I expected no less.
It is with almost 2 and a half hours a new record time for the MCU, but it didn't feel long, I enjoyed every minute.
Hawkeye finally got some cool moments and ended up being a main character.
Of course not everything makes sense, but I can forgive that.
All in all I had a fun time and will probably watch it again.
4 out of 5 stars.

Cabin Fever, 2002 - ★★★★

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

This is the tenth review in my Alphabetical April.
I wanted to see this movie for a long time. As a horror fan it's a must watch, even though there are as much people hating it as there are loving it.
I'm in the latter group.
A group of 5 college graduates rent a cabin in the woods to celebrate their final exams. On the first day, one of them meets a man that doesn't look healthy at all but instead of helping him, he just leaves him. Later in the night, that guy comes to their cabin and asks for help. Since they don't have any phone service and since they are afraid to get sick they end up setting him on fire.
After some time, the first of them gets sick, too...
I think it is a fun movie, even though it's a little more on the dark/scary side, it has lots of jokes in it. The characters are the typical group of friends that get lost in the woods and die, but I think that isn't a bad thing.
This movie doesn't have any big twists or reveals, we see the first guy right at the beginning getting sprayed by the blood of a dead dog, and we see exactly why Karen (Jordan Ladd), the first girl, gets sick.
It is a very gory movie though. Even though it isn't like Hostel, one of Eli Roths later films, but there is lots of blood and we see some pretty bad wounds.
Eli Roth of course makes an appearance in the movie as the stoner Grim, but it isn't a bad scene, it is just in there for one shocking scene later on (and of course so that Eli Roth could put his face in it).
The beginning scenes are very well shot, I think the whole movie is well shot to be honest.
It's one of many "Cabin in the woods" films, but I liked it and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Dead Snow, 2009 - ★★★★½

You can also find this review on Letterboxd

I have seen this movie before and loved it.
Today I watched it again and still love it. It doesn't get worse with more watching, it just gets better.
7 Friends are going to a cabin in some snowy place and wait for their last friend, who wanted to get there on her own.
After some time, Nazi Zombies attack.
Yes, that escalated quickly.
This movie is so much fun I can't even describe it.
It is a horror comedy and referential to other horror films from the get go.
What I like most about this movie are the practical effects. Wherever they could they used good old practical effects and not as much CGI, because, as we all know, most of the time CGI sucks. And when they used it you saw it. But I forgive them because they had an estimated budget of 800.000 and filmed in Norway. So they had nothing and made this gorgeous, fun movie, with lots of heart.
As weird as Nazi Zombies sounds, the idea isn't that bad. They even have a background as to why they are there and we even get to know why they attack. Because these Zombies aren't the usual, shambling Romero Zombies. They are more intelligent (my favorite Zombie wears a white coat so he can hide in the snow). IMDB tells me they aren't even just Zombies, they are a mix of Zombies and Draugs, a norse mythical being.
I think you could compare it to Brain Dead (or Dead Alive) by Peter Jackson, it is similar over the top.
All in all, if you love zombie movies and horror comedies, this is the right movie for you. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Panic Room, 2002 - ★★★½

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


I like most of the David Fincher movies and have fun with them.

And i heard lots of people say this movie is his worst, and that it wouldn't be good. So of course I had to check it out.

Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) divorced from her husband and moved into a new house with her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart). This house has a special "Panic Room" because the last owner was very anxious about people attacking him. Right in the first night they sleep there, 3 robbers (Jared Leto, Forest Whitaker and Dwight Yoakam) break into the house to find some very worthy papers. Meg and Sarah of course hide in the panic room, which also hides the papers they are looking for.

So the bad guys want the family out, while the family just want them to leave them in peace.

The movie isn't shitty. It has some (many) shots that immediately show you that David Fincher is directing. I think they are a little too much cause we have these shots where the camera moves into something or moves through the ceiling/floor etc way too often.

But we have good acting. Jodie Foster is a good actress. Jared Leto and Forst Whitaker are good actors, too. Dwight Yoakam was a country musician and this was one of his first, if not the first, dramatic, dark role. He is really good, he wears a mask for the most time of the movie, but that only makes him more mysterious. He was really good in this.

And, what I didn't expect at all, Kristen Steward was neither bad nor annoying in this one. She was really good, did a good job.

I think what most people don't like about this (I always read reviews after I wrote my own review so I'm not biased) is that there are some logic holes, like when the cops arrive and she doesn't tell that what's wrong even though the bad guys can't hear her.

All in all it was an enjoyable movie though, it was fun watching and was way better than I expected. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.



The Town that Dreaded Sundown, 2014 - ★★★★

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This is the ninth review in my Alphabetical April.

I didn't know anything about that movie before I went in, I thought it will be like the usual horror movies these days and probably be boring cause it's Rated 16 in Germany, so usually that means it can't be that bloody.

But wow was I wrong.

It is kind of a remake of the movie with the same title from 1976, but also more like a sequel. Let me explain the plot:

In 1946 Texarkana (which is right on the borders of Texas and Arkansas) a guy in a mask killed some people. Then, in 1976 they made a movie about it. This movie is watched every year in the town, with a screening at a drive in theatre.

And they still do up to 2013, where this movie starts. Because the killings start while the movie is still running on the big screen.

Jamies (Alison Timlin) boyfriend gets killed by a guy wearing a sackhead.

And then he starts killing even more people.

This movie is really an homage to the original. I haven't seen the original movie, but we get to see lots of scenes in the movie.

The people all drive cars that look old and sometimes they wear clothes that could be straight out of the 70s.

The kills are fun and gory and not too over the top, and there are scenes that are recreated out of the old movie (sometimes interspliced with those scenes).

Alison Timlin is a good actress. I haven't seen any movies she is in, but in this flick she is quite good. We have a long shot just showing Jamies face as she starts crying and it looked real to me. All in all I liked her acting.

She lives with her grandmother, who is played by Nancy Cartwright who is a well known horror icon from movies like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", "The Birds" and "Alien", so she could have been in the original movie, which was made in the height of her career.

The movie was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, most known because of the series "American Horror Story", in which he directed several episodes. He did some pretty good, long one shot scenes, the first scene of the movie (after the intro with narration) goes on for several minutes without a cut, while the camera movies far over a drive in theatre with lots of people.

Probably one of my favorite scenes is when Nick (Travis Tope), the "sidekick" of Jamie goes along some houses in the night and every time the lights of the houses turn on when the motion sensor detects him, then turn off again and it's dark for a few seconds before the next light turns on. It builds a great atmosphere while still looking realistic.

All in all this was a real fun horror movie, very enjoyable, but I wish I had seen the original because I'm sure it has even more references than the ones they rub your nose into by showing you the exact scene from the old movie.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars, if you are a horror and slasher fan, check this out.



Thursday, April 16, 2015

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, 2012 - ★★★★

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This was my first animated Batman movie.

Sadly I've only seen the first Part (this one) so far, so I can't really give a great review and of course not rate it perfectly.

But I can try it.

First of all, I needed to get into the whole animated thing, I haven't watched anything like this in years, so at first I didn't like the animation, but after around 10 or maybe 20 minutes I was into it and enjoyed it.

It is the first part of the story of how a much older Batman comes back after 10 years of inactivity. Of course he struggles because of his age and because he has to get a feeling for it again.

The story is intriguing, and it happens so much, but all in the perfect tempo so you don't feel overrun with stuff.

I knew about TwoFace and Batman, also about the Joker, but I don't think it was necessary to know anything, because they explained it (without feeling weird).

The voice actors were good, no problems there.

Now I need to get my hands on Part 2 I guess.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.



Monsters University, 2013 - ★★★½

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This is the eighth review in my Alphabetical April.

I loved Monsters Inc when I was a kid.

And the idea for Monsters University was good. All the kids that watched and loved this movie (me) are now in the age to go to university. So they sent the Monsters to university, too.

And I liked the idea.

I also like the animations. And the jokes. To be honest, it was just an enjoyable Pixar movie, not more not less. It was fun and it looked good.

So that's all I have to say about it.

If you like the Pixar movies and are not too grown up to watch a childrens movie you'll have a fun time for sure.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Monday, April 13, 2015

Lord of War, 2005 - ★★★★

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This is the seventh review in my Alphabetical April.

Many friends told me I need to watch this because it's very good.

So I put it on this list and watched it. And yes, it is good. Not sure if it's very good but an enjoyable watch, even though it has a powerfull message.

Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) is a russian gun merchant. He sells guns to everyone and makes lots of money. We learn about his start, how he first started of with the help of his brother Vitaly (Jaret Leto) with the goal to get together with the Top Model Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), who was born in the same city he was.

We see his rise and also the lowest points in his life.

What's special about him is that his gun sales aren't legal all the time (most of the time).

This movie reminded me a lot of the Wolf of Wallstreet, where we also see the rise and fall of a guy who makes lots of money illegally.

It's also an anti war film I would say, but from another perspective. While anti war films usually show the bad side of wars from the perspective of people in the war (soldiers or peasents), this movie shows it to us from the perspective of the guy who sells the weapons.

And I think it is effective. Yuri brings some good arguments why he isn't the bad guy, why what he does is the same as someone who sells cigarrettes or cars. But you clearly see there is a difference.

The acting is very good, all actors are very believable.

What stood out to me in particular was the usage of music. I don't know why exactly but I liked how they used the music.

All in all it was a good movie with a strong message, I give it 4 out of 5 stars and you should watch this.



Sunday, April 12, 2015

Big Trouble in Little China, 1986 - ★★★★

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


It's all in the reflexes

Jack Burton (Kurt Russel), a trucker, brings his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) to the airport of little China to pick up his soon to be wife. But then she gets kidnapped by some chinese gang and Burton and Wang Chi follow them and try to save her.

That's the plot. Looks simple, something we've seen a million times. But what happens after makes this movie awesome. Because when they arrive at some place, they end up right between two feuding chinese clans who start slaughtering themselves and then 3 chinese ghostpeople arrive and fight them and a last chinese guy in weird makeup arrives at the end too and then they end up kidnapping the soon to be wife and then it's all about rescuing them.

Yes, it is crazy. But it works. I had lots of fun watching this movie, so much is happening and even though it is weird and crazy, you get what's going on.

The acting is good, Kurt Russel is so funny, he is really a great actor.

The only bad thing in my opinion are the lightning effects, which are of their time so really, it's overseeable.

All in all a fun movie, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.



Saturday, April 11, 2015

Hostel, 2005 - ★★★½ (contains spoilers)

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This review reportedly contains spoilers.


This is the sixth review in my Alphabetical April.

Finally got to revisit this movie.

I watched it years ago with a group of friends and didn't get a chance to revisit it again. Today I found it on the flea market and decided to buy and watch it.

It is a good movie, especially when you think about the budget of only 4 million dollars.

It's about a group of friends who go backpacking through Europe and eventually end up in a slovanian Hostel, where they get kidnapped, tortured and killed ... as you do.

I saw a lot of "deeper meanings" in this movie. Like, how they go to a brothel in the beginning where they pay for pleasure and later the businessmen pay for ... their pleasure.

Or how we see the main guy, Paxton (Jay Hernandez) kill more people than anyone else... now that I think about it we even see the "Bubble Gum Gang" kill more people than anyone else other than Paxton ... but whatever.

I don't know exactly if or what Eli Roth wants to say about this but I think he had something on his mind other than torture porn.

This movie gets a lot of hate because it's so voyeuristic, but I think it's still a pretty decent movie.

The actors are pretty good as far as I see it. And I love RIck Hoffman, he is one of my favorite characters in Suits.

The torture is realistically done.

And even though they don't usually speak german in Amsterdam, but I can ignore that.

All in all a good movie if you are a horror fan.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Wednesday, April 8, 2015

xXx, 2002 - ★★½

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This is the fifth review in my Alphabetical April.

So many explosions.

If I had to describe this movie ... which I guess I have to since this is a review ... anyway... this is a mix between the later fast and the furious movies and James Bond I guess.

Vin Diesel. Big Cars. Stunts. Action. Explosions. Gadgets. Sleeping with Random Chicks.

Xander (Vin Diesel) is sort of a stunt man, but he does illegal stunts where he wrecks cars of people he doesn't like.

And then the NSA (lead by Samuel L Jackson) "recruits" him for secret missions. And by recruit I mean "kidnaps him and sais he can either help or go to prison".

After a few tests he shows to be the right guy for the dangerous missions.

So, the movie was fun to watch but kind of like in Furious 7 you have to leave your brain at the door because if you think, you are going to be like "what?".

Also, what you can't say about Furious 7, the acting wasn't really that good. Yes they did good accents. But that's about it.

Of course, Vin Diesel gives a good performance (at least compared to the rest). But I'm not sure if it's only me but wow, Asia Argento really can't act. Or the character was planned like that and it just totally wen't over my head.

So all in all, if you leave your brain at the door it's still acceptable and wow, everything just explodes.

I give it 2,5 out of 5 stars.



Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Chef, 2014 - ★★★½

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


I've never seen a movie this tasty.

Just saw it in cinema today, it was a random movie and I didn't know what it would be until I saw it (which is okay if you only pay 5 bucks).

I knew nothing going into this except the trailer I saw once.

And well, it just is a tasty movie. There is lots of food in this, better not watch it hungry.

To be honest, I didn't like the beginning, I don't really know why but I didn't enjoy it, but after the first hour it was lots of fun and I really enjoyed it. It's so much fun. And a real "feel good" movie. It just leaves you happy, really happy.

Jon Favreau is good, he plays the chef really believable and I think he really has some cooking skills. John Leguizamo is usually a smaller part in a movie but here he is the sidekick and I like him, he is fun to watch. All in all, the actors are good and the cast has really some big names. Robert Downey Jr has a small role, almost a cameo, but when he is on screen he is really fun, has some of the best lines and after his scenes the movie becomes more fun than it was before.

I don't think I have much more to say about it, nothing world changing but also not a bad movie.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Monday, April 6, 2015

Jumanji, 1995 - ★★★½

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This is the fourth review in my Alphabetical April.

I wanted to see this film for very long. First saw it when I was a little kid and I still remember it to this day. So I thought the Alphabetical April Challenge is the right time to watch it again.

It starts sometime in the 1800s where two boys bury some chest. "What if someone digs it up?" - "May God have mercy on his soul."

What a start for a kids movie.

Then after being beat up from some bad kids, a young boy named Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) finds the game, plays it once and gets sucked into the game.

26 years later Judy and Peter Shepherd (a young Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) move into the Parrish House and find the board game and bring him (Robin Williams) back out. Then starts the craziest board game ever.

The movie was lots of fun. It was a kids movie but I (not a kid anymore) liked it too.

The special effects were good for the time, of course, 20 years later, you can tell that those aren't real apes. But it still looks good, better than some stuff we get to see today.

The acting was quite good. You can never go wrong with Robin Williams, but the child actors were good too. The funniest character wasn't Robin Williams' though, for me it was Carl Bentley, played by David Alan Grier. He had the funniest moments in the movie.

All in all it was very funny, but also scary because this game put the kids into mortal danger more than just once. We have deadly bees, deadly plants, a stompede and much much more.

It's probably much darker than the kids movies from today, but not too dark, it really is fun for the whole family.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.



Saturday, April 4, 2015

Furious 7, 2015 (contains spoilers)

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This review reportedly contains spoilers.


This is the third review in my Alphabetical April.

I can't rate this movie.

I know it was complete garbage storywise and just didn't make any sense.

But it was so much fun. It's now full on action comedy. It's like the Expendables but without making a big deal out of it.

You get Vin Diesel vs Jason Statham.

You get Paul Walker vs Tony Jaa

You get Michelle Rodriguez vs Ronda Rousey (of Wrestlemania XXXI and Expendables fame).

You get (SPOILER WARNING) the Rock vs a DRONE. (SPOILER END)

It's set right after Tokyo Drift, which is set shortly after Fast 6. Jason Stathams Character wants to kill all the members of Vin Diesels Crew.

And Vin Diesel wants to kill Jason Statham. To do so he needs to do a side mission that is started by Kurt Russels character.

That's the plot I guess.

But that's not what this movie is about. It's the action.

Some things that are in the trailer:

-A car jumping through the air between two SKYSCRAPERS.

-The Rock curing his broken arm by willpower.

-Probably some more car crashes I don't remember.

That's what this movie is about. We have cars jumping out of a plane with a parachute. Oh and by the way what's repeated a few times through the movie: "Cars don't fly"

This movie is so much fun, but if you think for one second it's so bad.

At the end we get a good send off for Paul Walker, who tragically died while they were still shooting. He was the main Character in the first two movies. They didn't want to kill him off in the movie, which I think is the right idea. The ending they had for him was good, a bit cliche but good.

All in all I cannot give this movie a star rating because I don't know what I had to give to it. But if you like what I wrote, check it out.



Thursday, April 2, 2015

Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber, 2015

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


Watched on Thursday April 2, 2015.



The Princess Bride, 1987 - ★★★★★

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This is the second review in my Alphabetical April.

Initially I had the Planet of the Apes on the P-spot on my list but when I saw that the Princess Bride is on Netflix I had to change that. I had never seen it before but heard it referenced many times. Now I've finally seen it. And I loved it.

I went into it relatively blind. I knew Andre the Giant was in it (I'm a wrestling fan) and I knew the line My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die". And that's about it.

And now I gotta add it to my favorite movies.

The princess Butterfly (Robin Wright) is engaged with Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) when she gets kidnapped by Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Fezzik (André the Giant) and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). They are followed by a mysterious Man in Black and by the Prince and his troups himself. That's all I'm gonna tell because I don't wanna spoil it.

It was such a fun time, I really enjoyed every second in this world. The jokes are funny, the characters are interesting, the story keeps you hooked. And it's only around 98 minutes long.

The acting is really good and all in all the movie still holds up even though it's almost 30 years old (well except maybe for the video game in the beginning).

I just loved every second of this movie and I already wanna watch it again, so 5 out of 5 stars from me.

If you haven't watched it, watch it now. If you have watched it, watch it again.



Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, 2000 - ★★★

I postet a new movie review on Letterboxd


This is the first review in my Alphabetical April.

So I decided to start my Alphabetical April with the probably worst rated movie on my list, I added it because I own it and needed to watch it some time anyway.

I saw the Blair Witch Project a few years ago and I liked it. It was a movie that changed all following movies and started the "Found footage" hype that is still going strong (even though most of the movies suck recently).

I went into this expecting the worst. And i was positively surprised. This movie didn't suck.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for bad movies but I really didn't hate it. It had not really anything to do with the original movie.

It is about a group of people who go to the woods in which the Blair Witch Project was shot to visit its locations.

Soo it's more of a movie about the movie at first. It has few scenes that are found footage but most of the movie was normally shot.

The characters are pretty ... stereotypical. There is the Goth girl who of course is just misunderstood, the movie nerd who started the tour and a "witch". Yes, a witch following the blair witch ... but whatever.

But like I said before, it didn't suck. It has some good, scary imagery.

For a 90 minute running time the story is good, it doesn't have to be longer and I didn't wish it was over earlier.

And it has a twist ending .... but I'm not sure if I got it. But I don't wanna spoil it so I will stop here.

All in all it was a fun ride, even though it was nothing like the Blair Witch Project.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.