What Ingrid Watches

November has finally come and the Oscar fever is rising! Soon the first nominations and awards will be announced and you will be able to follow it all here. But let's have a look at some of the recent news. I will also give you my opinion of some movies that I have seen in the meantime. A couple of weeks ago the Academy announced its longlist of countries submitting their movie for the International Feature Film Oscar. The list was 93 titles long, which was a record. Unfortunately, the Academy had to disqualify one movie; the Nigerian film contained English dialogue, which is a big nono. Really too bad, since it was the first time that Nigeria participated. Ford vs. Ferrari has been released in the meantime and the reviews are mainly (very) positive. Quite extraordinary is the fact that the two main actors - Matt Damon and Christian Bale - will be competing against each other in the Best Actor category. What happens when you have 2 very strong actors in one movie, is that u

One of the reasons why we like to spend some time on YouTube is just to have some plain good old fun! Hence, from today on, there is a new category on this website called Fun Stuff. So, if you want to know what exactly on YouTube puts a smile on my face, follow this category. Today, we kick off with Lip Sync Battle. Yes, I know, not very original... Anyway, what started as a segment on Jimmy Fallon's Late Night show has in the meantime become a separate - and very successful - TV show. The concept is very simple: 2 celebrities battle each other in a lip-sync competition. Let me share with you some of my favourites. If you have been following this website for some time, you must be aware that I have a bit of a crush - not a big one, because that is reserved for somebody else - on Timothée Chalamet. But another actor who makes my heart beat a little bit faster nowadays is Tom Holland; he is cute, talented and sweet. But I had no idea that this man could dance so well!

Today I present you another trailer of an upcoming movie that is linked to the Oscars: Weathering with You, Japan's submission for the International Feature Film Oscar. As you can see, Japan has chosen an animated movie this year, which is not a coincidence because Weathering with You is one of the most successful movies in that country this year. The movie also appears in the Academy's long list of Animated Feature Film, where 32 movies have been submitted (which is a record by the way). The plot centres around 2 main characters. Hodaka Morishima is a 16-year old schoolboy who runs away from home and ends up in a very rainy Tokyo, where he wants to become a writer. Soon he meets an orphan girl, Hina Amano, who has a really special gift: she can change the weather with her mind. A friendship emerges quite quickly, but will they become more than friends? I found the trailer to be really beautiful, moving and magical. The most magnificent scenes feature an almost submerge

Where does our fascination with serial killers come from? Let's face it, these people have committed heinous crimes, yet we devour documentaries about their lives and deeds. We look at news reports and movies about them and their victims. We might even look at Wikipedia to read all the gory details of their crimes (or am I the only one who does that?). So, when the crew of Ghost Adventures announced earlier this year that they were going to investigate locations linked to 4 notorious (American) serial killers, I was excited, to say the least. So, this whole month of October I have spent a lot of time on YouTube. I cannot watch Travel Channel - where the episodes of Ghost Adventures are aired in America - here in Spain, so I had to wait until a kind soul on YouTube uploaded the latest episode of Ghost Adventures: Serial Killer Spirits. As you can imagine, YouTube deletes these episodes quite quickly - although they don't seem to be bothered about older ones - so I had to h

The trailer that I present to you today is also linked to the Oscars; Our Mothers is actually the Belgian submission for the International Feature Film Oscar. To be honest, the choice of this movie came as a total surprise, not only for Belgian movie viewers but also for critics everywhere in general. Many had expected that my country would have chosen Young Ahmed by the Dardenne brothers (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne), which won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival of this year. The movies by this duo - usually social dramas - are quite successful, especially with the critics and at film festivals. But critical success does not automatically guarantee an Oscar nomination. In the past, Belgium did submit movies by the two brothers (for the International Feature Film Oscar) and none of them actually got nominated, let alone shortlisted. Is this the reason why this year we chose another movie by another director? Mind you, Our Mothers by Guatemalan director Cesar D

If you are into short horror movies, then YouTube is a paradise! Don't know where to start or feeling overwhelmed? Then let me recommend these three channels: Omeleto Alter Screamfast (by far the best one) These are some of the gems that I found during my explorations of the last month. We Summoned A Demon \ By far my big favourite of the moment! Two young men try to summon a demon in order to look cool for the girls. But when something goes wrong during the ritual, the two men get a lot more than they had bargained for... This is not a typical horror movie; the movie relies less on jump scares, but more on a creepy atmosphere and a healthy dose of humour. It's all in the details: the small record player that is part of the ritual, the way they try to exert their power over the demon by guessing its name and so on. Chris McInroy is the award-winning director of this gem. I am still exploring his channel and when I find anything else interestin

About 2 weeks ago, I had never heard about these 2 movies. But when I did research about Shark Night , one of the movies that Google recommended was 3 Headed Shark Attack. Since I had never heard about this movie, I did some research. According to Wikipedia, this is the sequel - as you might have guessed - of 2 Headed Shar Attack. And there are by the way more movies in this series: 5 Headed Shark Attack and 6 Headed Shark Attack. In case you wonder what happened to the one with 4 heads, there is already a movie called Four - Headed Shark - apparently, this one doesn't attack! Anyway, probably to avoid confusion, there is no movie called 4 Headed Shark Attack... The production company behind all these movies is called The Asylum. Maybe the name rings a bell, especially if you are into B - movies or have spent some time on Netflix lately. They are actually the ones responsible for the Sharknado movies, which by now have reached cult status amongst horror fans. The Asylum produ

The Oscars are still some months away, but one thing is for sure: this is not going to be a year when one movie will sweep away all the big prizes. It is, of course, a lot more interesting when the Oscars are neatly divided amongst a handful - or more - of favourites. Let's face it: it is always a lot more fun when we have to keep on guessing for a long time which movie is going to win which award! When we look at the movies, in general, this year, we can safely say that at the moment there are two big favourites: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino) and Martin Scorcese's The Irishman. As soon as the first one came out it was already rumoured to be an Oscar contender and things are still going strong for Tarantino. But The Irishman has had some raving reviews too and will probably feature in the major categories as well. It would be nice of course to see these two directors in a neck to neck race, but lately, things have become even more exciting! JoJo Rabbi

After Nick Groff left Ghost Adventures , he launched Paranormal Lockdown and also served as an executive producer for another paranormal television series, Ghost Stalkers. This series only lasted for one season (end of 2914) and has six episodes, each devoted to one (supposedly) haunted location. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes. Ghost Stalkers features two hosts, actor Chad Lindberg and author John E. L. Tenney. Both have a lot in common: not only do they believe in the paranormal, but they both also experienced an NDE (Near Death Experience). Because of this, they believe that haunted locations contain a portal (to hell), where the dead can cross over from one world to another. And it's their mission to find this portal in the locations they investigate in each of the six episodes. For this, they use a device, called a wormhole detector, built to discover gateways that connect different realities with each other. The two men have different personalities though and thi

About a week ago, I discovered that director Tom Six had made a new movie, called The Onania Club. Since I am familiar with some of his former movies, I became very intrigued. So, I went to my good friend YouTube to look for the trailer. And I did find it! It all looks mysterious and unsettling again! But then we are dealing with the director who made one of the most controversial trilogies in movie history. Dutch writer, director, producer and actor Tom Six started making movies in the Netherlands in 2004. His international breakthrough came 5 years later when he made the first part of The Human Centipede, a trilogy that belongs to the subgenre of body horror. Critics were divided, but the movie quickly gained cult status. The second part came in 2011; Tom Six had to recut it because the movie was deemed to be too violent. The final part was released in 2015. Little is known about his latest production, The Onania Club. The movie was slated for 2017 and then got delayed for

We all have guilty pleasures like watching a movie that is so bad that it actually becomes hilarious. Showgirls is a perfect example: the screenplay is ludicrous and the acting is over the top, but we all enjoy the nudity (both female and male) and the dancing and the stripping. Shark Night is another example: the plot of this horror movie is silly and predictable, to say the least, and the acting is wooden, but we can't wait to see how most of the cast is killed off. A group of young people spends a long weekend in a gorgeous house located on a beautiful saltwater lake. They all represent a certain prototype: the innocent virgin, the jock, the nerd and so on. They quickly have a run-in with some bad guys, but very conveniently there is a sheriff nearby. It doesn't take long though for our group to figure out that there is something "fishy" in the water. And the viewer quickly knows who will survive the shark attacks and who won't. Of course, you might ask y

Hideo Nakata is a Japanese filmmaker with hits such as Ring, Ring 2, Dark Water and The Ring Two. Some of his movies were remade in America, where they were highly successful as well. Imagine my surprise when out of the blue, I stumbled upon this trailer on YouTube: At a first look, the trailer looks incoherent. It seems like they are rechewing the story about the origins of Sadako, but now in in the 21st century with all its new technology. Somehow this didn't look appealing to me... Have we grown tired of all these Japanese girls with long black hair in front of their face climbing our of a well? I soon discovered why I hadn't heard of this movie before. It bombed... The incoherent storytelling, which you can already notice in the trailer, is one of the reasons. But the main reason is that it is not scary enough; there are only a handful of scare jumps and the body count is very low. And after all, we do watch a horror movie in order to be scared and to see

The title refers to the main character, a young boy who is a Hitler Youth. One day he discovers that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic and his worldviews are turned upside down. The film stars Rebel Wilson, Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson and is directed by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok). The trailer appeals a lot to me. If I can't see the movie here in Spain in its original version, I will probably buy the DVD. I like the historical subject - I have always been interested in World War II, but what I really appreciate is the fact that the director opted for a black comedy. The movie has had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and will be released in the USA in the 2nd part of Octobre. So far the movie has received mixed reviews. Praise so far has gone to the principal actors, but critics are divided by the depiction of the Nazis in the movie. Right now it is hard to judge whether this movie is going to be successful at the Oscars or not. Remembe

Last week, I talked about one of my favourite paranormal shows on American television, Ghost Adventures . As I explained to you, in the 10th season, paranormal researcher Nick Groff was replaced by 2 other collaborators. Luckily for us, Groff returned with other shows, one of them being Paranormal Lockdown. In this series, Groff teams up with another paranormal researcher, Katrina Weidman - who was featured on yet another American paranormal program - and a cameraman called Rob. The show follows more or less the same format as Ghost Adventures: the first 20 minutes feature an introduction with some historic details and eyewitness accounts of the haunted location, followed by the investigation itself. But instead of exploring the building during one night, both the researchers and at some intervals also the cameraman, are locked down for 72 hours, thus allowing enough time to gather substantial evidence. Paranormal Lockdown takes you to haunted buildings all over America and the

About a week ago, the trailer for Bad Boys III was released. I am a big fan of Will Smith, mainly because he is an actor who you can see in different genres such as drama, comedy and action movies. I cannot say the same of Martin Lawrence though who leaves me quite indifferent. Yet I might give this sequel a chance since it was directed by 2 Belgian men. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are known in Belgium for Black (2015) and Patser (2018). Patser actually means show-off. The two men studied together and have been directing movies since 2010. Looks like the Belgians are doing well in Hollywood. With a bit of luck, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah will be directing Beverly Hills Cop 4 in the near future as well. Matthias Schoenaerts, one of our finest actors, has worked in a lot of international productions and recently received praise for his role in The Mustang, produced by Robert Redford. And Felix Van Groeningen directed last year's magnificent Beautiful Boy for which Timoth

I actually have no idea how I discovered Ghost Adventures on YouTube. Probably I looked for videos with ghosts or something paranormal in them and that is how I found them. And I have been a big fan since then ever since... It all started in 2004 with an independent film with the same title, shot like a documentary. In it a team of 3 men, Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, research 3 places that are supposed to be haunted. And it all looked creepy, fascinating and adventurous at the same time. The three men seemed to know what they were doing and exuded passion. Fast forward to 2008 when Ghost Adventures resurfaced as a series on the Travel Channel. It quickly became one of the most popular paranormal series on American tv. Each program follows the same procedure: arrival at the supposedly haunted location, accounts by eye-witnesses and historical information. This takes about 20 minutes after which the investigation itself starts; the three men are locked up at the loca

In May of this year, Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the Festival of Cannes. Ever since that moment, the last movie by director Bong Joon-ho (The Host, Okja) has received one raving review after another and it is now even considered to be one of the best movies of 2019. But how well will this South-Korean movie do at the Oscars? Let's face it: Asian movies usually don't do so well at the Oscars. Granted, regularly an Asian movie will receive a nomination in the category of foreign film, but that's about it. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was one of the very few to receive other nominations, including Best Movie but that's about it... Will Parasite prove to be the exception to the rule? Is the audience ready for another foreign movie with subtitles? The critics at least are! Neon, who will launch Parasite in America, has got some big plans. With its campaign, it will try to achieve the mere impossible: nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Movie, Bes

Ever since the trailer of The King was released on the Internet, people have been talking about 2 things; the long blonde hair of Robert Pattinson and the incredibly talented Timothée Chalamet. I have to admit that even when I saw the trailer for the first time online I had to gasp. To be honest, I have never been a fan of the Twilight series or Robert Pattinson. But some years ago I saw Bel Ami and he really impressed me in that gem. And apparently, he is receiving praise for his role as the Dauphin in The King. But most of the praise goes to Timothée Chalamet, who sports an ugly haircut in The King and speaks with a convincing British accent. He is only 23 years old, but what a talented young man! If you love movies, you must have seen Call Me By Your Name (for which he received an Oscar nomination) and Beautiful Boy (for which the Academy ignored him). This is a great actor in the making. The King will know a limited release and will stream on Netflix from November. The ti

Some days ago, the trailer of the highly anticipated Joker was released on the Internet. And everybody immediately started talking about one thing: the performance by Joaquin Phoenix who plays the title role. In the meantime, the film has had its first screening at the Festival of Venice, one of the festivals that dictates which movies will perform well in the Oscar race. Anyway, after the screening, Joker received a standing ovation of 8 minutes. The first reviews have come in and all the critics agree on one thing: Joaquin Phoenix is a contender for the Oscar of Best Actor. Some of them even claim that his performance surpasses that of the late Heath Ledger. Anyway, if he does receive a nomination, it would be his fourth. Will Phoenix take the Oscar home or will he be like Amy Adams, always a nominee, never a winner? In case you missed the buzz, Joker tells the story of how a failed standup comedian turns into a criminal and Batman's nemesis. Todd Phillips directed an

It's the end of August and slowly but surely, Oscar season is heating up. Right now, a lot of countries are selecting the movie that will represent them for the Oscar of foreign language film. 16 countries - and counting - have done this so far. Flashback to 1993, when Cuba chose its most successful movie ever... In an ice salon, somewhere in Cuba, two men meet. One is David, a student in political science, in favour of the Cuban revolution, who has just been dumped. The other is a flamboyant gay photographer, Diego, who opposes the revolution and is clearly smitten with the student. From the beginning, it is clear that these two men are each others' opposites and not just on a political level. The movie follows the budding of the unlikely close friendship between the two men through a series of conversations. Diego can not help but fall with the gorgeous student and David gradually comes to a better understanding of Diego's political choice. Enter Diego's lovel

Somewhere in France, a Georgian immigrant called Sébastien works as a handyman for Godon, a criminal who is addicted to drugs. Quite unexpectedly the latter dies of an overdose without having paid the former for all his work. As an act of revenge, Sébastien steals an envelope containing a train ticket and a hotel voucher in the hope it will lead to him to a job. The young man follows a series of mysterious instructions which eventually lead him to a mansion in the middle of nowhere. There a terrible fate awaits him, but there is no way back... Director Géla Babluani takes his time for the introduction of his first long feature and that is a bit of a shame. The first 30 minutes are slow and quite frankly, a bit boring. But then suddenly, the pace changes. As soon as Sébastien finds himself in a brutal game where old men bet large sums of money on men playing a variety of Russian roulette, the viewer is quickly led from one horrific scene to another. And somehow this mix of thrill