Are we blessed? Or are we just the edges?

After seeing ‘The Sixth Sense” we all could see that Haley Joel Osment was a great kid actor. The emotions that he can display being just a kid was really amazing. To have him out played by another kid would hardly be possible. Indeed hardly, but it happened in the Hollocaust movie “Edges of the Lord” by Polish director Yurek Bogayevicz. Osment plays a Jewish boy that has to learn about Catholicism so he can stay with catholic peasant farmers to escape the Nazis. But the real star of this movie is the nine year old Liam Hess who plays the catholic son of the family. He slowly takes the part of Jesus in a play and takes all the kids in the neighbourhood in his game the get more serious during the film. All the kids actors put amazing performances in this story wise a bit bleak movie. But solely for Liam Hess his performance this is a movie worth to watch.

I Can't Lie...

After working together in Ace Venture, Director Tom Shadyac ( Bruce Almighty ) and Jim Carrey ( The Mask, Yes man ) joined forces for another comedy movie ‘Liar Liar’. Carrey plays Fletcher Reede, one of the best liars, or lawyers there is. His kid makes a wish on his birthday that his father can not tell any more lies for 1 day and this happens to be the day of one of a very big case. It looks like this role was specifically written for Carrey, because the physical ness of his performance is outstanding. Great cheap laughs, a lot of funny faces and Carrey throwing his body literally on the line and against the wall. At the end of the movie we get a great blooper real with more of Carrey his shenanigans.

Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to come full circle

After her first full length movie ‘the virgin suicides’ director Sofia Coppola came with another treat with ‘lost in translation’, although not for all movie fans. I have read a lot of reviews where the people found the movie boring and that there was nothing happening in it. I strongly disagree as there was never a moment that I felt bored during this movie. It tells a story about two people, a movie star, fast past his prime, with a big sense of emptiness and a neglected newlywed that meet as strangers in Japan. Bill Murray ( ghostbusters groundhog day ) more known for his comedy roles plays the has been actor with such a feeling and depth, that will amazing his fans. Scarlett Johansson ( Match Point, Iron man 2 )  is perfect as a radiant and mature at only 18 with the need to not be neglected. This unlikely match is the backbone of the movie and shows the bold choices that Coppola makes when she only brings them together after 1 third of the movie. A great slice of life, terrific acting and wonderful views of Tokyo.  

It's All About Love... Actually.

Richard Curtis, writer of series like Black adder and Mr Bean an movies like Notting Hill and Four weddings and a funeral took a second chair as a director with Love Actually. Mainly due to the cast and his great script, his debut directing job is a confincing one. The story follows the lives of some very different people in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set in the month before Christmas. A great cast including Bill Nighy, Coling Firth, Keira Knightley, Martin Freeman and Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister bring a heart warming movie about opportunities in love and it really show that love really is all around

Prepare to be blown out of the water

A movie genre which was near to death what very successfully brought back to life by director Gore Verbinski ( Rango, The Ring ). Of course this had much to do with the portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp who made a rock star out of a pirate. Based on the Disney park ride, The Pirates of the Caribbean, this adventure grows to a big scale and is made to a movie that everybody will love. Humour, great effects and visuals combined with a nice story and great acting by main cast ( Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush ) and support cast ( Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenburg and Mackenzie Crook ) make this a great movie for young and old.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist

In 1995 director Bryan Singer ( X-men, Valkyrie ) directed his second fulllenght feature and blew everybody away with The Usual Suspects. It is a movie about five criminals that are put together in a police line-up for a crime they did not do. The five guys, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollak and Kevin Spacey, are now set for revenge against to police. The cool thing about this movie is that you have to see it two times, and you will see a complete different movie the second time around. The first time you have a lot of questions that are answered in the last few minutes of the movie and the second time when you know the answers you can ( by watching carefully ) see all the pieces come together while watching the movie.  

The Fastest Hands In The East Meet The Biggest Mouth In The West

Director Brett Ratner ( X-men: The last stand, Red Dragon ) started with Rush hour in 1998 a comedy action trilogy about an American detective that needs to work together with a Hong Kong Detective. Stand up comedian Chris Tucker ( Jackie Brown ) is joined by film legend Jackie Chan ( Shanghai Noon, The Karate Kid ) and it a great body cop movie is born. The fast mouth of Tucker and the incredible fight scenes of Chan make this a nice action and comedy movie. A great set up of the characters that sets the base of the next two movies. Enjoy the ride and enjoy the entertainment.

Red, white, whatever. Guys are all the same.

From Director Guillermo del Torro (Cronos, El laberinto del fauna ) comes a great comic book brought to live, Hellboy. The comics of Mike Mignola about a baby boy that is brought from hell for evil but ends up fighting it have found their way to the silver screen with the imagination of del Torro and the help of Mike Mignola himself. Ron Perlman ( Blade II, Cronos ) is buried once again under a lot of latex to give a great performance as the big red avenger. Del Torro has proven again that he has a great eye for visuals and the fact that he brought Mike Mignola onboard to set the whole reality of the Hellboy world on the next level.  

Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz!

Star wars is one of the most copied and parodied movies of all time. Both in movies as in TV series like Family Guy, Robot Chicken and Spaced the makers are given stabs, compliments and homage’s to the Star Wars movies. One of the first parody movies that was totally devoted to Star Wars was Spaceballs by Mel Brooks ( Young Frankenstein, Life Stinks ). Starring great comedians from the 80’s like John Candy ( Cool Runnings ) and Rick Moranis ( Ghostbusters ) and a young Bill Pullman ( Independence Day ) in one of his first major Film roles. The movie takes great care of nice details that even the hard core Star Wars fans will appreciate. A comedy with a lot of laughs and great lines so just relax and prepare to be amused.

Big spies in small packages.

After making movies for grown-ups, director Robert Rodriguez ( Desperado, Sin City ) focused is multiple talents on kids movies. Spy kids was the first in the now quadrilogy. Antonia Banderas ( Desperado ) and Carla Gugino ( Sin City ) are a married couple with two kids. What they did not tell the kids was that they where spies. Set on a new mission since years, they get caught and now it is up to the kids Carmen and Juni to become the new spies in the family and get their parents back. The movie is fun for both kids and parents and has a lot of nice winks to the James Bond and other spy movies. The kids work great off each other and the way they tease and annoy each other you would almost say they are real brother and sister. Enjoyment for the whole family and be careful your kids will want to see them over and over again.

Do not seek the treasure!

There are two main genres in the works of the Coen brothers ( The big Lebowski, True Grit ) Comedy and Drama. Usually the genres follow one after another. And in both these genres they excel. O brother, where art thou? is mainly a comedy with the drama build in. It is loosly based on Homer’s epic poem “The Odessey” but then moved to the deep south in the 1930’s. George Clooney ( Oceans eleven ), Tim Blake Nelson ( Chaos ) and a favourite of the Coen brothers, John Turturro ( Transformers ) spring free from a chain gang and are trying to reach home to recover the buried loot of a bank heist. On the way they meet like Ulysses the strangest characters like sirens and a Cyclops. Accompanied by a great soundtrack, this is a movie to watch more than once.

Good dags. D'ya like dags

What director Guy Ritchie ( Sherlock Holmes ) started in ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ he perfected in the movie Snatch. This fast paced London movie about a boxing promoter, violent bookmakers, amateur robbers, a Russian gangster, gypsies and one priceless stolen diamond set a new style in movie making which is afterwards copied a couple of times without much success. A great cast with wonderful characters and a smooth storyline make this a great ride to get on. To bad that Ritchie met Madonna which made his moviemaking suffer a lot, but since the relation is over his unique style is back and going strong with the 2 new Sherlock Holmes movies. If you liked ‘Lock stock..’, you will love Snatch. And if you haven’t seen ‘Lock stock...’ , shame on you.
And one last tip; don’t try to understand what Brad Pitt is saying in the movie.

Survival rule#4: Don't be a hero.

A shy student, a gun loving tough guy and 2 sisters join hands against the zombie-filled USA in the movie Zombieland. Director Ruben Fleischer ( 30 minutes or less ) brings a horror comedy in the style of Shaun of the dead. Jesse Eisenberg ( The social network ) and Woody Harrelson ( Cheers ) star in this movie as two people searching. One for his parents and the other for the last twinkie. Zombieland is a more that just another zombiemovie, but it is more a movie about personal relationship which by the way also has zombies in it. A nice extra treat is the guest appearance of Bill Murray as himself.

What would you do if you could go back in time?

Of course it is always nice to debate about things that can not happen like time travel, but back in 1985 we could all believe that it was possible after seeing Back to the future from Director Robert Zemeckis ( Forrest Gump, Cast Away ). Everybody started to wonder, what if…
In the movie Marty McFly ( Michael J. Fox ) is accidentally send back in the past in a time machine that was build by Doc. Brown ( Christopher Lloyd) as he stumbles on his parents as they where in high school. Both roles where cast perfectly and what sets it apart from other movies. A great cast with top performances, a daring and interesting script, great directing and to top it all off a fantastic soundtrack with both 80’s and 50’s music. No wonder that it was quickly decided to make 2 follow up movies to make a great trilogy where the second part is probably even better than the first, but more about that another time.

Touch, see, hear, smell and taste…

The five senses is a beautifully crafted movie which revolves around the lives of  different people that are linked by one of the five senses. Just watching the opening scene and you know you are not watching to a big blockbuster movie. The movie shows a slice of the lives of these people and for some people that can be a boring movie, but not to me. Director Jeremy Podeswa ( now more know for directing on major TV series like Dexter, The Tudors, and Boardwalk empire ) was also the writer of this movie and he has done a great job on both fields in bringing this human story in an intelligent way to the screen. If you are looking for a change from big Hollywood movies, give this independent movie that feels more like a poem in visuals a try.

Don’t lose your head.

The movies of director Tim Burton ( Alice in Wonderland, Big Fish ) all have one thing in common. They are very different from any movie you have seen. Coming from a background of animation and being awarded a fellowship from Disney as a student, Burton has a different view on movies than many of his colleagues. His movies often look like story book or painting that have come alive. This is certainly the case of Sleepy Hollow, a dark tale about the headless horseman where Johnny Depp ( Pirates of the Caribbean, Secret Window ) as Ichabod Crane has to investigate the strange and bizarre deaths in a small town. The minds of Depp and Burton seem to connect and work on a same level, as shown in the fact that they have made already 7 movies with each other. The portrayal if Ichabod Crane is a performance that is fantastic to look at as is the detail and lighting in this movie. A true Tim Burton movie and a must for the fans.

"If you do not let them go, I will send a plague of frogs."

There are movies that are a real divider among friends. Either you love the movie or you hate the movie and nothing in between. Magnolia is one such film. I have advised this movie about a mosaic of interrelated people who deal with their lives, hopes, grief, happiness and sadness in their lives to many of my friends, and we have debated about it many a time. This movie brings an extreme reaction of love or hate among the people who watch it. For me, this movie, directed and written by Paul Thomas Anderson ( Boogie nights, There will be blood ) is a real beauty, although you feel like shit after watching it. It brings great emotions with it and with an all star cast and a perfect soundtrack this is what you want a movie to do with you, bring out emotion and feeling.

I see dead people...

Every person has the first 5 senses, but very few have the sixth sense. The sixth sense is the Extrasensory perception ( ESP ) that Cole Sear ( Haley Joel Osment ) has, he can see and communicate with dead people. He seeks the help of a child psychologist Dr Malcolm Crowe ( Bruce Willis ) to help him deal with these visions. Director M. Night Shyamalan ( Unbreakable, Signs ) wrote and directed this supernatural thriller that keeps you invested in the characters throughout the movie. The story is well written and if you see it a second time you see that everything fits perfectly. For Bruce Willis this movie was a key point in his career as it distinguished him from just being a action hero, to a great actor.

One tip, if you have not seen this movie yet, read as little about it before seeing it. If you have seen this movie, watch it again and again.

Phil is having the worst day of his life... over, and over...

What would you do if you could relive one day again and again. Okay, but what if you could not decide which day to relive. This is the premise of the 1993 movie Groundhog Day. Phil ( Bill Murray ) is a weatherman that is stuck in a small town covering a boring story about a groundhog. Caught in a blizzard, he has to stay the night, just to discover that the day begins as the previous one, and all is the same, except Phil. The same thinks happen over and over again. And this creates a lot of opportunities for a great comic like Murray. The fantastic script of writer/director Harold Ramis ( Ghostbusters, Analyze this ) and the wonderful performances of co stars Andie MacDowell ( Rita ) and Chris Elliot ( Larry ) make this movie complete and it never felt so good to watch the same thing over and over and over again.

Nettogrof tseb era seiromem emos

When you watch Memento for the first time, it will probably invite you to see it again to fully understand what you where watching the first time. Due to the strange storytelling ( the movie consist of 2 story lines, 1 in black and white moves forward in time while the other tells the story backwards revealing more each time. The movie is about Leonard ( Guy Pierce ) a man that has a form of amnesia where he can not make new memories so he doesn’t know what he has done before. As a viewer of the movie you feel the same way. You see what happened, but not what lead up to that point which sets you directly in the mind of Leonard. Director Christopher Nolan ( Batman begins, Inception ) is a great addition to the movie world, bringing unique stories and great visions to the screen. Watch the movie from front to back and from back front.

ET meets War of the Worlds

Starting in TV as the creator of Felicity, Alias  and Lost, Director J.J Abrams went on to direct movies like Mission: Impossible III and Star Trek. His latest movie is Super 8 a mystery, sci-fi thriller about a group of kids that are making a movie as the stumble on a strange creature. Story wise this movie may not bring a lot of new stuff, but cinematically it is a great movie. It truly is an homage to the Steven Spielberg ( also a producer on the film ) movies of the 80’s like the Goonies, E.T and close encounters of the third kind. It captures the vibe those movies had and brings it to a new era. We see a lot of new faces in this movie, and for sure some of the kids will become nice actors, but one actress is above and beyond. Elle Fanning ( the younger sister of Dakota ( War of the worlds )) shows that the talent is spread well around the Dakota family. The emotions that she brings on her face make your jaw drop in amazement when you find out that she is just 13 years old. She will for sure become one of the great actresses of the coming years. Super 8 is not much new, but a great homage and a nice ride.

Life is like a box of Chocolates…

His name was Gump, Forrest Gump. He was a simple man but a witness to many historic events but only looking for the love of his life Jenny. In 1994 director Robert Zemeckis ( Back to the future, Cast Away ) brought a story to the screen of a simple man named Forrest Gump ( Tom Hanks ) and the world fell in love with him. Hanks who had just won his first Oscar for ‘Philadelphia’ the year before and swept audiences away with his heartfelt and true portrait of Gump and reeled in his second Oscar. The movie has a great story, shows some of America’s ups and downs in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and is accompanied by the fantastic music of that period. With songs from Bob Dylan, Wilson Picket, the Doors and Willie Nelson this movie is a true epic and after watching it, you will close Forrest Gump in your heart.

Everyone in here is innocent, you know that?

The Shawshank redemption came out in 1994, but still holds its ground today. The movie based upon a short story of Stephen King ( Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank redemption ) and adapted and directed by Frank Darabont who later made 2 more King adaptations ( The green mile and The mist ).
It tells the story about Andy Dufresne ( Tim Robbins ) who is send to the Shawshank jail for murdering his wife. He makes a close friendship with Red ( Morgan Freeman ), the guy who can get everything, even Rita Hayworth. The movie adaptations of Stephen King ‘s books are much debated. Most of them have become mediocre films and some have become classics, but there is only one the exceeds the book and that is with this movie. What began as a short story became a full and rich story with multi layer characters. For the true movie buff, the Shawshank redemption cannot be unseen.   

"Blessed are the forgetful: for they shall have done with their stupidities too."

“How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.y. A quote from Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard," which is the basis of the second feature film by Director Michel Gondry ( Human Nature, Be kind Rewind ) and writer Charlie Kaufman ( Being John Malkovich, Adaptation ). What would you do if you heard that your girlfriend literally had you erased from her memory? Joel Barish ( Jim Carrey ) decides that he will erase his girlfriend Clementine ( Kate Winslet ) also from his own memory, but while this is happening he comes to the conclusion he doesn’t want to erase her at all. Eternal sunshine is a marvel in every way. The acting is at a very high level. Jim Carrey is still very much underestimated as a serious actor, but hold very strong in this movie. The visual creation of a memory being erased, is something we normally see only in dreams and the story is so well written and adapted to visuals it is a lust for the eye and the brain in one.



Big Cops, Small Town, Moderate Violence

From the team that brought you the TV series ‘Spaced’ and the romantic comedy with zombies, ‘Shaun of the dead’ comes a new fully action packed buddy cop movie called ‘Hot Fuzz’. Director Edgar Wright brings a true homage to movies like ‘Bad boys’ and ‘Point Break’ with a British sense of humour. Joined again by Simon Pegg ( Nicholas Angel ) and Nick Frost ( PC Danny Butterman ) and an all British cast of the Crème de la Crème of English stage and movie actors and even former James Bond, Timothy Dalton. This is English movie making nobody has ever seen before. Why go and see big Hollywood blockbuster that are more and more just a copy of each other if you can find all and much much more in this British flick. For the real movie lovers I would advice to spend a bit more on getting the 2 DVD or even 3 DVD version of this movie, as the extra’s on it a worth it. 4 to 5 audio commentaries, deleted and alternate scenes, and movie diaries are just a small part of the fully loaded DVD sets that are out there. This is a movie you can watch over and over and over again. Gunfights, car chases, explosions...all in a days work.

Cars 2, James bond on wheels

Like always after watching a Pixar animation movie you feel like you want to see more. In the case of Toy Story, we could see a lot more with 2 extra parts. And now there is also a second part of the successful Cars Movie which can almost be seen as a complete new movie as it has besides the familiar characters not much to do with the original movie. Is this a bad thing ? No, I would not say that as this movie is much more grown-up as the kids who watched it for the first time are now also more grown-up. The Cars 2 movie is a real espionage movie in the style of James bond but with a big wink. It has the classical “spy movie” theme and a lot of the action can also be taken out of the Bourne Identity movies. Besides the known names as Lightning McQueen ( Owen Wilson ), Mater ( Larry the Cable Guy ) and Sally ( Bonny Hunt ) the cast is filled with a great number of fantastic roles. Finn McMissile ( Michael Caine ), Francesco Bernoulli ( John Turturro ) and the typical Bond name Holly Shiftwell ( Emily Mortimer ) are great additions to the story and make the world of cars a lot bigger.
If you liked the first movie then there is a good chance that you will love the second one. If you have kids in the age that where last time to young to see the first movie, then better to watch just that one, because the story is much denser, and for young kids it can be much.