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Showing posts from September, 2019

Trailer - Sadako

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

Trailer - Jojo Rabbit

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

YouTube - Paranormal Lockdown

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

Trailer - Bad Boys III

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

YouTube - Ghost Adventures

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

Oscar Ramblings - Parasite

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

Trailer: The King

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

Trailer: Joker

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