Login
Home
588 Lists
7858 Reviews
Collections
“Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. On top of that, I have enjoyed all the movies directed by Denis Villeneuve that I have seen so far, so I had some rather high expectations concerning this movie. Well, eventually, even though I thought” read more
Notes: Well, eventually, even though I thought it was really good, I have to admit that it didn't completely blow me away though. I mean, it was definitely a strong production, no doubt it, with a great cast, a very solid directing and one of the best stories about the war on drugs I have seen for a very long time. So, it was definitely some strong and dark material and, yet, something bothered me about the damned thing though. Basically, you are pretty much like Emily Blunt's character, they keep you in the dark during the whole thing and, as a result, the plot was sometimes rather murky and I'm not sure I was really able to follow everything and now that I have seen the damned thing, I'm not sure that everything really made sense.
“To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely check it out again at some point. If I recall it correctly, I even saw the damned thing when it was released in the movie theater at the time. Anyway, ever since the ‘Batman & Robin’ debacle, Joel Schumach” read more
“In 2016, Paul Verhoeven will finally make a come-back with the only 2nd movie he managed to make during the last 16 years and it will be a French steamy thriller which sounds quite promising. Anyway, I have been following the Dutch master for many years and since I always had a weak spot for his wor” read more
Cast : Peter Blok
What was it about?
During his 50th birthday party thrown by his wife, Remco's life takes a turn for the worse: His business partners are scheming behind his back to sell him out, and his former mistress shows up pregnant.
My two cents:
Back then, even though Verhoeven made a triumphant come-back in the Netherlands with ‘Zwartboek’, it seems that he struggled afterwards to get another project started in the Netherlands. As a result, he got involved in some kind of experimental project during which the audience was somehow involved in the writing of the script. Even though they provided a making-off before the movie itself and even though I read some stuff about this project on the internet, it is still rather obscure how it was supposed to work. Coming back on the making-off, even if it was neat to see Verhoeven at work, it didn’t have much value though. Indeed, you get to see the Dutch master claiming that it was a great creative experience and, even though he did admit that it turned out to be more challenging than it expected, he never went further than this. On top of that, I have read here and there that he more or less completely changed the whole concept along the way because it didn’t work at all and, even so, I really doubt he was satisfied by the end-result. Concerning the movie itself, even though Verhoeven praised his crew and the actors during the making-off, I thought it was not much better than a really cheap Dutch made-for-TV movie. Indeed, it was visually nothing really thrilling or fancy and the acting was rather weak as well. In fact, the script was the only thing that did have some potential but, still, I didn’t care much about the choices made either by the audience or by Paul Verhoeven. Anyway, it is the proof that writing a movie is a really difficult task and we should probably let the professionals taking care of this in the future.
My rating: 05/10
Check the full review
Notes: To be honest, it has been quite a while since I have seen this flick. Anyway, even though it seems to be rather forgotten nowadays, I remember quite well when it was released. Indeed, back in those days, it was quite a cult classic following the new interest in drag-queens at the time. Eventually, even though it was a decent watch, I think the road-trip formula was too generic for my taste. Still, those 3 character were quite entertaining thanks to a top cast. Indeed, at the time, I think I already knew who was Terence Stamp (or maybe I was too young) but it was definitely the first time that I ever saw either Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce and it took them many more years to finally breakthrough towards the mainstream audience. Anyway, all of them gave some really strong performances in this movie. 
Cannes Film Festival Movies 2016 (47 movies items)
“First of all, it's rather amazing that, after 70 years, they don't have exhausted yet the subject and they still can make such movies about WWII. Indeed, even though it wasn’t really original, it was really solid, it wasn't missing much to be really amazing and, in my opinion, it might be actually” read more
“I remember very well when this movie was released, it was a huge critical success and, therefore, I was really eager to check it out. I even saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released if I recall it correctly. Well, eventually, even though it was a decent watch, to be honest, I” read more
Notes: The whole thing was just spellbinding to watch and it is definitely one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Basically, it is a really amazing movie describing the harsh realities in America involving the life in the ghetto and what is at stake for the boys who get a shot at becoming a professional sportsman. At first, it seemed to be pretty straightforward and predictable but, then, what makes this movie really work is that the director followed these boys for 5 years and, as a result, you get really close to them and it became some kind of social drama of epic proportions. Somehow, this movie reminded me of ‘Boyhood’ which was a fictional feature directed by Richard Linklater which was also shot over 12 years following a boy from age 6 until he reached 18 years old. 
“Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Bracha van Doesburgh, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing and the only redeeming feature in fact was that the running time was really short” read more
Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (26 music items)"To think that people vote just for the quality of the music is in fact rather naive. Of course, the ECS is not just about the music, there can be also a political/social message or some other agenda"
