You can also find this review on Letterboxd
Watched for Letterboxd Movie Night.
Best Paul Walker Movie.
Also I'm like 99% sure this is a prequel to Rollergator!
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Now You See Me 2, 2016 - ★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I actually liked Now You See Me. Yes, I'm one of those 3 people.
But this movie was just too stupid. That being said, it was entertaining, I was having a bit of fun.
The actors were all fun, I especially enjoyed Daniel Radcliffe.
But I just couldn't suspend my disbelieve THAT much. Also, some of the action was cut really bad, even I couldn't follow along what was going on.
I'm rating this 2.5 stars.
Filmhaus Podcast Episode 2: Splatterday Night Fever
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
This time the Filmhaus Podcast is being spooky as Michael and Josh talk about quite a few horror movies.
First we talk about what we've been watching.
The movie of the Bi-Week is Phantasm RaVager (but we'll also be talking about Phantasm to Phantasm 4). (Starting at 12:30)
In the main segment we'll be talking about an event we took a part in: Splatterday Night Fever, where we got to see four horror movies in one night, in the cinema. We talk about these movies and about the whole feeling of that long night. (Starting at 30:19)
At the end we try our hands at the game Last Man Standing, trying to rattle of as many movies as we know. (Starting at 78:48)
We recorded at two different places, so bear with us through changing audio quality!
Thanks for listening, leave your thoughts in the comments or write us an Email at filmhauspodcast@gmail.com
Once again, the Link:
http://ift.tt/2qier7Q
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Casting JonBenet, 2017 - ★★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
What a unique concept for a documentary, just casting actors to reenact it and then show us the casting. And it was really well done.
I didn't know anything about this case and it was really interesting to learn about it in this form.
And the ending gave me goosebumps, so well done. 4 out of 5 stars.
Trance, 1982 - ★★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I only watched this because hey, a German horror movie. Didn't know much else about it. And it's really weidd throughout, with a great ending.
It's really very 80sish though, very of its time. Still I liked it more than I thought? 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 2006 - ★★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
An interesting watch for horror fans and maybe even non-horror fans, going through the history of slasher movies from the late 70s up to the early 2000s in only 90 minutes.
They got many of the most important people for those times, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean S. Cunningham and Tom Savini, but also many more and interviewed them.
We also get to see many iconic scenes that made me wanna watch and rewatch all those movies.
The only thing I didn't like was that sometimes they used this typical early 2000s stock music that I'm pretty sure they stole from my PS2 Cheat disc.
Else it's a well done but still pretty standard documentary, I'm rating it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 2017 - ★★★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I went into this movie with high expectations ... and they were met.
I had a lot of fun with this movie, and I think it's made in a way that you could watch it without even having seen the original (which is great because we're getting to a point where you won't even fully grasp marvel movies without having seen other, independent marvel movies).
I think it is as good as the first one, maybe even better, but only time can tell that.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Ranking Directors: Paul Thomas Anderson
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For every director I've seen at least 5 of their movies (or all their movies), I will rank the movies I've seen and update whenever I've seen a new one.
PTA is one of the best directors currently working, one of those guys whose movies I will see, no matter what it's gonna be about.
Punch-Drunk Love, 2002 - ★★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For most of this movie I didn't really know where it was going, so much random stuff happening. But slowly it all got together to actually tell a story.
Adam Sandler is great in this, and comedy actors doing serious roles is something I really enjoy. Okay, here he is only partly serious, but still serious enough.
This seems to be by far the shortest PTA movie and I was pleasently surprised when I saw it's only 90 minutes.
It was a fun movie, I'm rating it 4 out of 5 stars.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Filmhaus Podcast Episode 1: Busting Blocks
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
It's time. Michael and me started our own Podcast. In English. I'll be doing a list for each episode.
In the first episode of the Filmhaus Podcast Michael and Josh talk about the biggest movies of all time.
As our tradition dictates, we're going to let you know what we've been watching last.
We then switch over to one of the biggest Blockbusters of last year: Deadpool. (Starting at 16:45)
The main segment of the Podcast discusses what a Blockbuster is. We give a few examples and definitions and list some of the most famous movies of this kind. We also discuss the recent trailer-culture, franchises and horror movies. (Starting at 33:22)
To finish it off, we jump into a small game called Jacobs Ladder. Who will win? Let us find out. (Starting at 85:19)
Thanks for listening.
Don't Kill It, 2016 - ★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
This was actually better than I expected it to be. Of course it was super cheesy at times, but the story was fun. The special effects were over the top, but that just fit the movie.
If they were going for this feeling of cheesy B-movie, they succeeded. If not, then I guess they got lucky it worked out that way. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Phantasm IV: Oblivion, 1998
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I was reminded of Boyhood when we suddenly got flashbacks to 1979 that were not in the original movie. I guess good things can come from a 3 hour movie in 1979 being cut into 1 1/2 hours: we got lots of spare footage to put into newer movies. It really added something to the movie, if it was just nostalgia (for a movie I watched the day before).
Phantasm II, 1988
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I wonder how much different this would be if there wasn't studio interference. Loved the road trip aspect. Since Mike was recast I feel that this movie is the start of Reggie as the main character. Also the start of Reggie as a horny basterd.
Phantasm, 1979
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
Not perfect, but you can see it was made with heart. The story is very complex and crazy, it's all like a long nightmare.
Friday, April 21, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
The Game, 1997 - ★★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
The last feature length movie of David Finchers filmography I had not seen yet.
The Game is a fun movie, with so many twists and turns you won't know what is happening.
It's all about this "Game" that will change your life. And by game they mean life-threatening things happening, that make you never trust anyone ever again.
And while not everything makes 100% sense in reality, you got to suspend your disbelieve a little.
Michael Douglas basically plays Gordon Gekko again, thrown into an action thriller. It's fun and full of suspense, great action sequences and you'll be wondering what's happening throughout. What is real? What is fake? That's to find out.
4 out of 5 stars.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Big Fish, 2003 - ★★★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I just love Tim Burton. I even like his newer films. And I own most of his movies on DVD. But I never got around to Big Fish. From the posters and what i knew it felt kind of out of the norm.
As we all know Burton has a very specific style to him and this movie, from what I've heart, felt ...normal. Let me assure you, it is not.
It is one of the most normal of his movies, but it's still full of Tim Burtonisms. And I loved it.
Most of all it's a heart warming story about family, about telling stories, about life. And it made me just feel happy in the end. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Ip Man, 2008 - ★★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I didn't know anything about this movie, only that it was a martial arts franchise. Went in blind, expected an okay fighting movie. Maybe as good as drunken master, but not as funny, who knows.
What I got was one of the best martial arts movie I've seen.
I have to say I love movies with this kind of character. He is good, on the inside, to the outside. And he is the greatest fighter there is. And it doesn't take away the suspense. You know he'll win every fight he enters. But it's interesting what the repercussions of the fight are. And also the fights look fucking awesome.
Donnie Yen is just great. I first really saw him in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and he was the best part of that movie. And here he shows his charme again. You just can't hate his character or him. He has a winning personality, even a winning smile.
I enjoyed this movie a lot, and I will watch the sequels. Also this Ip-Man seems to have been a very interesting human being. I'm rating Ip Man 4 out of 5 stars and a like.
Final Girl, 2015 - ★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
The idea sounded great, and I heard or a movie this name that's good. Guess this was the wrong one.
It didn't suck. Some stuff was really good. But for the fun idea I have this say this movie was less than average. The whole movie felt weird, I'm not sure what it was, but I never felt like I was in a normal world. The way everything looked. The way all the characters behaved. Also the acting. It all felt weird and a little off.
To its advantage I have to say it is really short and doesn't get boring. Also I kinda liked the over the top weirdness of the 4 boys.
Still it's not that great a movie, I'm rating it 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Friday, April 14, 2017
Drunken Master, 1978 - ★★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
First of all, the Netflix dub of this movie constantly switched from the Cantonese version to a bad English dub, no idea why.
I didn't know what to expect, I knew Jackie Chan is in it so I expected some cool choreography, but of course it was 78, so maybe a bit old?
No it didn't feel old. Let's be honest, you don't watch most Kung Fu movies for the plot. You watch for a simple story and fun fights. And that's exactly what we get here, except the fights are super fun. Jackie Chan is just super funny and strong at the same time.
The plot is that Jackie Chan is an asshole who is kinda good at Kung-Fu but not good enough really. So after some bad things that happen he is sent out to learn discipline and fighting. And he is taught by the DRUNKEN MASTER.
The teachings felt a bit like Karate Kid, where the main character wants to learn cool stuff but is instead learning annoying, boring and painful things, but in the end learns that this was all part of making him stronger.
And of course, you best use this fighting stile while drunk. Not just act drunk. Actually get drunk and fight. Yay.
What I found a little weird was that the Drunken Master was an alcoholic. Not just drinking a lot. After too long without alcohol, he actually started shaking and couldn't function as well. Which of course leads to ... Jackie getting more alcohol, them getting drunk together and Jackie Chan learning that you best get drunk to train and fight.
All in all I still enjoyed this movie quite a bit, the humor was great and the fight scenes were superb. There was actually a good mix between characters talking and fighting or something other awesome going on, so you were never bored by either one of the two.
I'm rating Drunken Master 4 out of 5 stars and a like.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Ranking Directors: Wes Craven
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For every director I've seen at least 5 of their movies (or all their movies), I will rank the movies I've seen and update whenever I've seen a new one.
Wes Craven was one of the most influential horror directors there was, even though he is often played off as a minor director. A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream were both Genre-changing movies. He is one of the greats. And I actually enjoyed all Scream movies!
Ranking Directors: Steven Spielberg
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For every director I've seen at least 5 of their movies (or all their movies), I will rank the movies I've seen and update whenever I've seen a new one.
Spielberg made some of the greatest and most important movies of the last 30 years. He also made some stinkers. But so far I really enjoyed most of his movies and on any other directors list, Duel would be even further up, but that's just not possible with the greatness that are Steven Spielberg movies.
Ranking Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For every director I've seen at least 5 of their movies (or all their movies), I will rank the movies I've seen and update whenever I've seen a new one.
I've only recently started watching Hitchcock movies (mostly since I got a collection with 18 of his movies), and so far I've enjoyed them all.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
The Fate of the Furious, 2017 - ★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
Since I've seen Furious 7 in cinema I've learned a lot about movies. I've watched around 600movies since then, read about movies, wrote about movies.
Back then I said that I liked the movie, even though it was stupid.
Now it just didn't feel as fun to me. I still laughed a lot, I had a fun time. But by now it felt more like a bad movie than a good one. During the movie I actually started to wonder "will we watch a movie like this on the 500th Letterboxd Movie Night in lots of years from now? Is it mindless fun now but a few decades removed it will be a "how did this even get made?" Movie?
This time it felt much more stupid. So many dumb plotholes. But what's worse, all the fun from Furious 7 was gone. Reading back on my review I enjoyed the star-studded cast, enjoyed the ridiculous fights and the even more ridiculous stunts.
This time there were only 2 new big stars added: Scott Eastwood (I guess because the crew always needs at least one normal looking white boy) and Charlize Theron as the hacker Cypher.
And there weren't as many fight scenes. They turned the great bad guy that was Statham into a still great good guy, but it kinda went too fast. Also they teased this big fight between The Rock and Jason Statham that we never got.
In the end I was just disappointed by the stupidity and step down from the last movie. I'm rating this movie 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Ranking Directors: Masterlist
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For every director I've seen at least 5 of their movies (or all their movies), I will rank the movies I've seen and update whenever I've seen a new one.
In this masterlist I will collect all the directors Rankings with my favorite of mine of their movies and a link to the full list.
Ranking Directors: Quentin Tarantino
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For every director I've seen at least 5 of their movies (or all their movies), I will rank the movies I've seen and update whenever I've seen a new one.
I've seen all major Quentin Tarantino movies, even his worst movie is still very good. For Grindhouse and Four Rooms I'm ranking just his segment of the movie.
Ranking Directors: Tim Burton
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
For every director I've seen at least 5 of their movies (or all their movies), I will rank the movies I've seen and update whenever I've seen a new one.
I'm a big Tim Burton apologist and so far I've liked every movie I've seen of his, even the bad ones.
- Ed Wood
- Vincent
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- Frankenweenie
- Edward Scissorhands
- Big Eyes
- Mars Attacks!
- Batman
- Frankenweenie
- Corpse Bride
...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
Ranking Decades: Masterlist
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I'm ranking every decade I've seen at least 10 movies in in a Top 10.
In this Masterlist I will compile the Best Movie of each decade and add a link to the list.
Top 10 of the 1970s
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I'm trying to do a Top 10 for every decade I've seen enough movies in.
The 70s were a crazy good year for Horror films, and I even had to leave off JAWS and ALIEN. It's getting harder and harder to choose a Top 10.
I've seen 72 movies released in the 1970s.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Smashing Time, 1967 - ★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
Watched for the Letterboxd Movie Night
I'm still not sure which fight was more dangerous, the cake fight or the lead-paint-to-the-face-fight...
I'm guessing the cake fight though.
All Movies Set in Oz I've Seen Ranked
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I kinda realized that I quite enjoy the movies in and around of Oz. It's such a great story and I've found that there are a lot of ways to interpret this land that are all fun. The Wiz is similar to The Wizard of Oz (1939), but different enough that you could watch them in succession and get something out of both.
I hope to find even more versions of this movie and watch them all.
The Wiz, 1978 - ★★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I expected this movie to be fun like a Letterboxd Movie Night movie. Watching it, making a little fun of it, and writing a joking review afterwards.
Instead I actually enjoyed it. Maybe it's because I just like the world of Oz and enjoy the different versions there are.
The costumes were great. Michael Jackson's Scarecrow looked a bit like he had a double chin, but I think he was perfectly cast just because of the scene where he tries to walk and fails. If there is one thing he was for sure then that's the master of dance.
I loved the Tin Man costume and the lion too, of course.
I just love the interpretation they did. They had very urban sets for a movie set in a wonderful land. My favorite location was the subway. It looked like a normal subway station, but somehow still felt special. It was just a little off, but that fit perfectly.
This movie has its flaws, but it was way better than I expected. The songs aren't that memorable, but they are still enjoyable.
I'm rating this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars (which is probably too high but it gets a buff because I expected something really bad I think). And a like for sure.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Rammbock: Berlin Undead, 2010 - ★★★½
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
Low budget Zombie movie from Germany? Sign me up.
Michael is a normal guy, trying to win back his ex-girlfriend by visiting her in her new apartment building. She is not there, but suddenly a Zombie apocalypse breaks loose.
So this is set in one big apartment complex, no way out, but also no food or real connection to the outside world. The people from the other apartments start talking to each other, making plans. And Michael is our hero.
Which is crazy because Michael looks nothing like a "hero". He is slightly overweight, balding and talks with an Austrian accent. Still he manages to be inventive and becomes a hero through his actions instead of his looks or charme.
I really adore this movie, it manages to be funny at appropriate times, but still scary and real. I enjoyed that a lot.
They didn't have much money and you can see that. We barely get to see close-up zombies. It's mostly wide shots, seeing Zombies attack from far away. But they made the best of what they have. And the gore they had was great.
All in all, Rammbock: Berlin Undead is a good movie, and with a runtime of only 63 minutes it's a great watch for on the side. Give it a chance, I'm sure you'll like it.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Midnight Cowboy, 1969 - ★★★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
This movie was not what I expected it to be. It felt kind of raw, much like the 70s exploitation movies. But this was a big budget Oscar-winner.
Also there are just some actors that I always knew as old guys, like Billy Crystal, Mickey Rourke and Jon Voight, who I don't even recognise in these much younger roles.
Jon Voight did a great job though as the very naive Texan hustler, trying to make money in New York by selling his body, and not succeeding.
But the star of the movie is Dustin Hoffman. Every scene he is in he just steals the show. His character, Rizzo, a bum with no money, tricking everyone he can, is just so crazy. When we first meet him we do not expect him to turn out the way he does.
The scene at the party was very surreal, I really enjoyed it.
All in all a great movie, a deep movie, a special movie. I'm rating Midnight Cowboy 5 out of 5 stars and a like.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground, 1997 - ★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
I was going to watch this and then make some stupid joke about how the best part is Sam Rockwell's two lines in this movie.
But I actually found myself enjoying the whole thing. It's not a masterpiece, not even a great movie. But it is a quick 85 minutes of rapidfire stories flying your way. If you don't like one, it is over soon enough.
The stories are intriguing with quite a few actors from the time. And Sam Rockwell of course. And most stories have some sort of twist that makes them interesting.
My favorite performance was by Bill Irwin, he is just so much fun.
So I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would, I'm rating it 3 out of 5 stars.
Monday, April 3, 2017
Rushmore, 1998 - ★★★★
You can also find this review on Letterboxd
My second Wes Anderson movie after Grand Budapest Hotel. It's not as quirky, but you can already see where he is headed.
Such a fun comedy, an odd love story that is not quite like the others.
I enjoyed it for sure.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Saturday, April 1, 2017
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