Amores Perros

8/10

Daybreakers

7/10

Kingdom of Heaven

During the crusades in the 12th century, a blacksmith travels to Jerusalem to take over his fathers land. But when he arrives he finds himself in the middle a power struggle between the powerful people living there who all want to rule Jerusalem. Before he knows it he is the defender of the city from the people that doesn't want to solve the problem the peaceful way.

I watched Kingdom of Heaven the first time it came out, but almost forgot about it until a friend of mine wanted to watch it again and invited me to join him. This time I watched the Director's Cut, which is both longer and divided into two halves unlike the original (as far as I remember). The story starts off easy and follows Balian de Ibelin, a blacksmith on his way to the holy land to take over his fathers land. But as soon as our main hero arrives in Jerusalem the story becomes much harder to follow. This is one of my main concerns with the movie. In the end of the movie I was very unsure exactly who was on Balian de Ibelin side and who was working for Saladin. In fact most of the story is very hard to follow and confusing. Maybe it would have helped if I knew the history of the 12th century crusades, but this should not be a prerequisite for understanding a movie in my opinion.

It could be the directing that's confusing and that the editing is making the story hard to follow, but no matter what the reason is the movie is a huge mess. That being said, the battle scenes are well done and the last siege on Jerusalem is wonderfully portrayed. I got the feeling that at least some research had been done as to what weapons were available in the 12th century and what ways wars were fought. In my opinion all the actors do a great job and suit their roles except Orando Bloom as Balian de Ibelin. Why Ridley Scott choose him I am not sure because he does not fit into his role at all. I have a feeling an actor like Viggo Mortensen could have done a way better job. Normally I am a fan of Ridley Scott movies, but Kingdom of Heaven was a big disappointment. Don't get me wrong, its not horrible and I know this review has a more negative than positive tone, but I think overall the movie only deserves a 6/10

28 Weeks Later

28 weeks after the rage virus destroyed and nearly killed every person in Great Britain, the US military helps protect the only safe zone in the country. Everyone with the rage virus have died from salvation and the few survivors left are trying to rebuild. The problem is just that nobody ever checked if everyone infected actually were dead...

Where to begin... 28 Weeks Later is the sequel to 28 days later, a refreshing horror movie in the pile of crap that is produced every day. As always with sequels I was worried that it would only try and rob the viewer of more money. I guess I was partly right. The story starts off promising but quickly turns into a pile of rubbish. Here is one of many examples: In a safe zone guarded as heavily as shown in the movie, two kids would never be able to sneak out. The movie is filled with these unrealistic scenes and having child actors that are acting like adults does not work very well. The ending is also a prime example of how the film makers put in a totally unrealistic way of leaving the door open for yet another sequel.

You might now think that this movie is a pile of shit that is not worth watching but surprisingly I will tell you otherwise. While the story is rubbish the rest of the movie is not. For instance it has some great scary scenes that are really well made and deserves to be recognized. The subway scene near the end is one example. Another great thing about 28 Weeks Later is the special effects and zombie gore. It has it all. Zombies eating people, soldiers killing zombies killing soldiers again, tons of blood and gore and a great level of detail. The music further adds to the atmosphere and these elements really save the movie. I already mentioned that the two main child characters suck at acting, well the grown ups don't! I loved Rose Byrne as Scarlet and Robert Carlyle is a fantastic father/zombie. 28 Weeks Later is not the greatest horror movie, not even close. But it is also far from being the worst. Just watch it with low expectations and you will be positively surprised. 6/10

Homegrown

When three marijuana plantation workers see their boss die they decide to pretend he is still alive in order to sell the dope and take the money for themselves. However things don't turn out as planned when the boss's contacts start calling and demanding where the weed is.

As the title suggests Homegrown is about weed and it is the main theme throughout the movie. But this movie can be liked by any viewer not only dope heads or freethinkers. The movie centers around three workers on a illegal marijuana plantation. They are not the smartest people and when they see their boss die they come up with a plan to pretend he is still alive. From here the main characters are stuck in one funny situation after another and the story slowly becomes weirder and weirder. By the end I was confused as to who knew what and who did what. I liked the story and it was the random scenes and stupidity of the main characters that I enjoyed the most. Sadly they were also a big reason why I didn't love this movie as much as I could. Jack (Billy Bob Thornton), Carter (Hank Azaria) and Harlan (Ryan Phillippe) are hilarious at times, but they are also really annoying other times. Especially Harlan annoyed me. It could be that I didn't understand the comedy fully but he was always doing stupid shit that irritated me.

It's not often I watch a comedy/thriller combo and I have to say I was wondering how that would work. Homegrown is a fine example of this mix and there certainly are thrilling moments in the movie. I have been trying to decide what to rate this movie and it's not a easy choice. Yes it has humor, action and thrills. But it also has those weird moments when you are unsure if you are supposed to laugh or not. Technically the movie is not bad, but not brilliant either. It all comes down to my overall feeling. I was entertained, but not blown away. I laughed, but also questioned certain scenes. And I both liked and disliked the acting for different reasons. Homegrown is one of those movies you either watch and forget about or is stuck in your head forever. 6/10

Black Book

We follow the life of Jewish Rachel Stein/Ellis de Vries during WW2 occupied Netherlands as she joins the underground movement and infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters. But things don't go according to plan and the question arises. Is there a mole in the underground movement?

It's not often I watch Dutch movies and it was purely from word to mouth that I came over this title. But some research showed that Black Book (original title: Zwartboek) was a big hit in Netherlands and that it received positive critics worldwide. Intrigued I decided to watch it and make up my own mind. I have always been interested in history and this movie gave me a look into a part of WW2 I knew little about. Although the movie proclaims to be a true story, I have a feeling its more of a interpreted version from the Director. Still, the scenes are all well made and give a good look into the life of the Dutch during the occupation. The movie also manages to show that not all Nazi officers are assholes and that people can have emotions and conscience no matter what side they are on. Likewise we see that the evil people are on both sides as well.

The acting is for the most part top notch, especially from Carice van Houten who plays the former singer who infiltrates the Gestapo headquarters. She hasn't picked an easy role with both nudity and a lot of emotions to portray. The movie has several explicit scenes of nudity which we only find in European movies, but they are always used in the right context and are essential to the story and to understand Ellis de Vries actions. The rest of the movie is quality as expected. The music, clipping and editing is all great. Paul Verhoeven and his team have done a great job in capturing WW2 Netherlands. The only complaint I have is that in the end of the movie the story has to many plot twists and it is hard to follow what exactly is happening. Especially when it comes to who knew what and who did what. Apart from this minor thing (which I am sure I would understand if I watched the movie another time) the movie is a solid piece of film making. 9/10

Raising Arizona

After several times in prison H.I. McDunnough finally decides to change and marries a police officer. But when they realize that she can't have kids they decide to steal one of the five babies of a local furniture magnet. However taking care of a baby turns out to be harder than first anticipated.

I stumbled upon this Ethan/Joel Coen movie on my harddrive and being a fan I decided to watch it. Raising Arizona is an enjoyable mix of comedy and action. As often with Coen movies the story is far from believable, but this is not the point of the movie. It's a crazy tale from start to finish with interesting twists and turns. I found the film both funny and entertaining although there are a few story pieces I thought the movie could do without. It's strongest points are the dialog (including the most brilliant American dialect) and the chases. Especially the escape from the gas station is hilarious and a joy to watch.

As always the Coen brothers pay close attention to detail and this is one of their trademarks. The directing is in true Coen style and fans will notice this from the beginning. My most negative comment has to be about the biker hunter from hell. I didn't really understand why he was included in the film. It felt like the movie tried to be supernatural although there was no other links to this theme and the movie could easily been the same without this angle. My other negative comment is about some of the characters. Especially H.I. McDunnough's two prison friends are more annoying than funny. That said, Nicolas Cage does a great job in the role as H.I. and Holly Hunter playing Ed is great as well. All in all an enjoyable funny movie with humor and heart. 7/10

The Counterfeiters

A professional Jewish counterfeiter is caught during the second world war and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp to participate in the biggest counterfeiter operation in history. Here he has to choose between following orders to personally survive or to retaliate against the Nazis for the greater good.

I found this German movie (known as Die Fälscher or The Counterfeiter in English) on my harddrive and decided to give it a go. I am always interested in new stories from WW2 and this was one I had not heard about before. As far as I have understood the movie follows the real story of the counterfeiter operation pretty close with just some minor cinematic alterations to make the movie "flow" better. The story is both interesting and deep with terrific acting and directing. Karl Markovics playing Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch does a fantastic job as the man in charge of deciding between his own life or the life of his fellow inmates. The rest of the cast are also great and the acting really makes this movie shine.

Of course a great movie has to have more than just great acting and this movie delivers on all levels. The life in Sachsenhausen is authentically portrayed especially during the last scenes. Although the images in the end are shocking I am sure this is how it was. The music accompanies the movie well and sets the tone of the film. Marius Ruhland has really done a great job with the score. The only thing the movie lacks is that little extra that would make it perfect, my rating is 9/10

The Karate Kid

A mother and her young son move to China from America. Her son has problems fitting into the new culture until he gets a chance to learn his favorite sport, Kung Fu.

I have to admit I was skeptical when I heard that they were making a new karate kid movie. I remember loving the old ones and had a hard time believing that a new movie was necessary. But luckily I was positively surprised. Starring Jaden Smith (Will Smith's son) and Jackie Chan, this family oriented martial arts film was a joy to watch. Director Harald Zwart has outdone himself this time. I haven't been to pleased with his previous work, but now he has really stepped up and made a great movie. The directing is great from the action packed chases and fight scenes to the drama filled moments. And surprisingly the movie has a lot of drama which really makes the movie multi layered. Jackie Chan is great as young Dre Parker's mentor and really shows a different side of himself from the usual humorous roles he plays. His role is filled with drama and sad moments and Chan handles them with ease! Jaden Smith also pulls of a decent role although I think he will get better with the few years.

The movie shows the viewer the different and exciting culture of China in a realistic way without overdoing anything. Even the Kung Fu scenes are done in moderation and not overdone. The final tournament is just as I would expect it being in real life. That said, I am no martial arts or cultural bible, so if I am way off my assumptions I apologize. Wenwen Han plays Dre's friend/love interest. It's her first role and she performs with charm and warmth, I look forward to see her in more movies. The Karate Kid is more of a remake than anything else and it does it's jobs well. There is no dull moments and the movie both entertains and tugs at your heart strings. 8/10

Soul Plane

After winning 100 million in a court case against a big airline company, Nashawn Wade starts his own airline. What makes his airline special is the sexy stewardesses, the disco on the second level and that everyone is encouradged to hook up.

Staring among others Snoop Dogg and Method Man this "black" comedy tries a new twist on the airplane theme. The movie is very funny with lots of one liners and "black" humor, but it becomes to much at times. Every stereotype about black people is included and for good measure some white stereotypes as well. The story is of course not very believable, and the plane has way more space than a real aircraft, but the movie never tries to be realistic so I can forgive that. My problem was mostly the overacting by many of the actors and that some characters were just plain annoying.

The soundtrack is one of the movies better aspects with lots of familiar hip hop and rap. It is RZA, one of the members of the Wu-Tang Clan, that has done the original music score. The funnies part of the movie is how the film shows the different classes, first class, buisness class and economy class. They are very humoristically shown with typical stereotypes for each class. Especially the coin operated overhead compartments in economy class made me laught. There is nothing to say about the rest of the movie crew. They have done what they could with a mediacore script and spoof movies are very rarely that good. 5/10

The Ghost Writer

8/10

From Paris with Love

7/10

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

6/10

Clash of the Titans

6/10

Cop Out

4/10

The Wolfman

5/10

Green Zone

8/10

Bad Company

6/10