Sebastian-20 Reviews

Dark Blood (2012)

Glad To Have Been Able To See It

[8/10 · 22 February 2013]

I was really excited when in late 2011 George Sluizer announced that he was going to try to finish 'Dark Blood', some years after Sluizer had an aneurysm and learned that his remaining time was limited. I've heard of the difficulties surrounding the film, the legal complications and so on. So when it was announced that Mr Sluizer was going to raise money in order to be able to pay for the finishing of the film (the post-production: sound editing, editing, musical score, etc.) through Crowdfunding, I almost instantly donated some money through the CineCrowd website. In gratitude I received a very rare limited edition DVD, and some positive lit negatives inside the DVD-box. I was a bit surprised by the high quality of the footage, since it has not been used for 19 years or so. I know about the difficulties off set between River Phoenix and Judy Davis, and between Davis and the director. But it definitely doesn't show in the actual film. The acting is quite natural, and in my opinion the performances by River, Judy and Jonathan Pryce are pretty good. As I said before, the images are very clear, and the added sound effects and musical score are also in place here. The music at some points reminded me a bit of Pieter Bourke ans Lisa Gerrard's score for 'The Insider'. I'm not going to spoil anything or tell how it ends, but for me it was a rare chance to finally see this interesting project, and also River Phoenix' last film.

Brief Crossing (2001)

Pornographic?

[9/10 · 6 April 2003]

I've never seen a Catherine Breillat movie until this one was broadcasted. People tend to say that what she makes is pornographic, but it is so much more than that. Even during the sex-scene's there's a lot of talking going on. Sarah Pratt as Alice reminds me of Isabelle Huppert, a bit cold and distant, but she and Gilles Guillain did a great job in acting. Overall a very good movie shot on a low budget!

Liian paksu perhoseksi (1998 TV Movie)

Nice and funny

[7/10 · 6 April 2003]

I saw this film a couple of years ago, and recently found the title through IMDB. Just a nice Finnish movie in my opinion, and funny too. This film proves that not all the great Finnish movies are from the hand of the Kaurismäki brothers.

Sally (2000)

Oke

[6/10 · 7 December 2002]

Pretty good low-budget road-movie about three twisted minds. Jack, with his imaginary friend Sally, is on the road. He picks up Beth and later picks up Bugs, who also has an imaginary friend called Sally. This leads to tentions between Jack and bugs, who both claim 'Sally'... Nice to see that a well-known girl like Rachael Leigh Cook is in this movie. I thought this film is oke.

Amélie (2001)

Fabulous!

[10/10 · 7 October 2002]

Right, just a couple of words for this film. This movie will probably stay with me forever (at least, I hope), and one of the main reasons is that Amélie probably is the real best movie of 2001! Just about everything in this movie fits, and perhaps the only negative aspect is that it may be a little unrealistic.

The acting by especially Audrey Tautou as Amélie and Mathieu Kassovitz as Nino is fantastic, but frankly the whole cast is great.

Rating: 10/10

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Amazing

[10/10 · 7 August 2002]

For those of you who are still reading all the comments of Fellowship, I can tell you I was pretty astonished by the beautiful pictures of the landscapes and special effects. The actors and actresses are good and the music too! That's all I have to say, because everything has been mentioned at least a thousand times before.

Dream with the Fishes (1997)

Beautiful!

[10/10 · 15 July 2002]

Off course this movie hasn't got the most original story. It has similarities with films like Harold and Maude, Freeway or Mad love. But despite of the fact that it isn't original, it still remains (in my opinion) a beautiful little gem. The music was great and David Arquette, Brad Hunt and Kathryn Erbe (and the others) showed some nice acting. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see this film!

Familie (2001)

Great!

[8/10 · 24 June 2002]

At first I thought this was some sort of Dutch version of Festen, the story has major similarities with that movie, but when I saw this film that didn't bother me, because I was almost immediately drawn into the story. Granddad plans a reunion for the divided family in the Austrian Alps, because his wife hasn't got very long to live, and off course things go wrong between the family members... Pay attention to the sons under influence, very good acting.

And with some very memorable lines, like "Mother, please do us all a very big favor and please die as soon as possible".

Show Me Love (1998)

Good example...

[10/10 · 23 May 2002]

Really great film about two teenage girls who discover love. Good acting by Alexandra Dahlström and Rebecka Liljeberg, especially considering their age! This is not a gay-movie, it's more a story about growing up, despair, hope and love. Yet another good example of great Scandinavian cinema! Rating: 9/10

David and Lisa (1998 TV Movie)

Nice film, great acting!

[8/10 · 1 May 2002]

This is a very nice movie about two teens in a mental institution. David (played by Lucas Haas) is afraid to be touched by other people, and Lisa (brilliantly played by Brittany Murphy) says everything in rhymes, and seems to have a split personality. The two become friends, and unconsciously help each others overcome their fears... Also with Sidney Poitier as the head of the mental institution.

If you like this film, maybe you also like "Her last chance" with Kellie Martin! Rating: 9/10

More Than Yesterday (1998)

Beautiful little film

[7/10 · 9 April 2002]

*Note: May contain spoilers*

This is a beautiful film by Laurent Achard, and it got an award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

It is mainly about a family in the countryside of France. There are two sisters, Francoise and Sonia, who both have (had) an incestuous relationship; Sonia with her uncle Maurice, and Francoise with Bernard, son of Maurice. They also have a little brother, Julien. Sonia, who is the oldest of the two, visits her parents with her present boyfriend Patrick. The factory where Bernard works, and is the property of uncle Maurice, holds a swimming contest, which is won by Karim, who is an Arab immigrant, who is illegally in France, and is a friend of the family. Off course, things go wrong between some of them because of the past...

Overall this was a very nice French drama, I rated it 9/10!

Magnolia (1999)

Enjoyed it!

[10/10 · 8 April 2002]

This is yet another movie with several story-lines in it. And just like all other films like this, I really enjoyed it. I especially liked John C. Reilly, Tom Cruise and Melinda Dillon, but the others were also good! I'm not going to write about the story, because I've nothing more to add, but if you like movies like "Go", "Pulp Fiction", "2 Days in the Valley", "Lola Rennt" and the Mexican movie "Amores Perros", I'm sure you'll enjoy this one too!

The only part I didn't really like was with the frogs!

My rating: 8/10

A Midnight Clear (1992)

Not an ordinary war-movie

[9/10 · 20 February 2002]

***May contain spoilers***

I saw this film last Christmas, and I shall watch it again next Saturday. It is not your common war-flick, it's nothing like "Platoon" or "Saving Private Ryan". It's more like "the Deer Hunter", but I found this film way better. It's about a couple of really intelligent soldiers in the end of WW2, who meet some German soldiers who want to surrender to the Americans. They make plans to "capture" the Germans, but it doesn't work out the way they planned it.

I liked this film very much, it has some beautiful moments, for example when they have a snowball fight, and the part where the Germans have decorated a (Christmas) tree, and sing "O Tannenbaum".

Nice acting by among others Ethan Hawke, Kevin Dillon, Gary Sinise and Curt Lowens as the oldest German soldier. My rating: 9/10

The Player (1992)

Good!

[8/10 · 28 January 2002]

I'm not going to write much about this film, other people have said it all. But what I particularly liked, was that some of the racing cyclists you see when Tim Robbins and Burt Reynolds meet, have shorts of the PDM team, a former Dutch cycling team...

Especially I liked Dean Stockwell and Richard E. Grant as producer and writer. Greta Scacchi was nice as the girl with the Icelandic surname, so was Whoopi Goldberg!

The Celebration (1998)

Excellent!

[10/10 · 2 January 2002]

A birthday party held for Helge, who has become 60 years of age, is being disturbed by Christian, his oldest son, who tells all those present that father used to sexually abuse and rape the oldest son and another daughter. He also blames the father for the suicide of the daughter...

Excellent camera-work, good acting by among others Ulrich Thomsen (Christian), Thomas Bo Larsen (Michael) and Paprika Steen (Helene). Directing by Thomas Vinterberg was also very nice. Festen is really a fine Danish film! My rating: 9/10

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Feel-good movie of the year

[8/10 · 25 December 2001]

I really enjoyed this movie. Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, a single mom with three kids who becomes a lawyer's assistant, and brings down a huge company almost on her own. The fact that someone without a degree or higher education can pull off a stunt like this, only looks a little incredible, but aren't many films like that?

Steven Soderbergh (King of the Hill,Traffic) did a fine job, Albert Finney (Miller's Crossing,Traffic) was excellent, and so was Julia Roberts. If you like this movie, you may also like The Truman Show! My rating: 8/10

Bait (2000)

Worth a look

[6/10 · 8 December 2001]

Actually this movie was not so bad. It contains action, comedy and excitement. There are good actors in this film, for instance Doug Hutchison (Percy from "The Green Mile"), who plays Bristol. Another well known actor is Jamie Kennedy, from "Scream" and "Three Kings". The main characters are played by Jamie Foxx as Alvin, who was pretty good and also funny, but the one who most surprised me, was David Morse as Edgar Clenteen. He plays a different character than he usually does, because in other films like "The Green Mile", "Indian Runner", "The Negotiator" or "The Langoliers" he plays a very sympathetic person, and in "Bait" the plays almost the opposite, a man without any emotions, which was nice to see. The only really negative thing about this film, are the several pictures of the World Trade Center, which makes this film perhaps look a little dated. Overall I thought this was a pretty good little film!

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Almost forgot how good it was

[9/10 · 4 December 2001]

A while ago I commented a dutch film called "Spoorloos", and in that review I said something like "Forget movies like Silence of the lambs or Seven, this film (Spoorloos) is much better". I still agree with the point that "Spoorloos" is a really good film, but you have to realize that was only what I thought at that particular time, when it was a long time ago since I last saw "Silence of the lambs". Last week I saw this film again and immediately remembered why I used to like it so much. This film is still one of the greatest thrillers of all time, and especially Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster did a tremendously good job!

But if you want to see something different and also very scary, I still think you ought to to check out "Spoorloos":)

It (1990)

They all float!

[8/10 · 28 November 2001]

Not the most scary film written by Stephen King, but like many other SK-(TV)movies very enjoyable, even with a runtime of three hours. It is also a pretty moving film for me, because "It" was one of the first movies with a SK-script I saw. Some ten years ago it looked much scarier to me then it looks now, but it is still a very good film. The acting and the cast were good, and together with the nice script they've managed to make a movie really worth watching, and if you like other SK-movies you may also enjoy this one!

They Nest (2000 TV Movie)

Not that bad

[6/10 · 16 November 2001]

Despite the low rating, I found this TV-film actually not that bad at all. It's about a stressed doctor, who has to take an unvoluntary vacation, so he goes to an island in Maine, where the locals are not very friendly towards strangers. Soon he discovers that some dead people have strange marks on their bodies, and after that he finds out that some insects, looking like cockroaches, have caused these marks. The insects are very deadly, but how is DR. Ben Cahill going to convince the locals of the serious problems....

I almost thought that the story for "They Nest" was written by Stephen King, because of the location, on a small island off the coast of Maine. Also 'cause I saw two actors who played in SK-films before: Dean Stockwell (The Langoliers), and Jeffrey DeMunn (Storm of the century, Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile), who only has a small part, on the ferry to the island. The fact that the movie takes place in Maine, creates a certain feeling, like in a Stephen King movie. Therefore I thought that this film was not bad at all!

Go (1999)

Entertaining

[8/10 · 11 November 2001]

This was truly a nice movie. It is told from the different perspectives of six youngsters, and that makes this movie quite fun. It's like "Pulp Fiction",well, concerning the story-line. The story is about a drugdeal, where the six people all have something to do with. The climax was a little predictable, but still very nice! But if you want to see an even better movie like this, you should definitively see "Lola Rennt", 'cause I think this film is even better! Rating: 8 out of 10!

Without Warning (1994 TV Movie)

Entertaining

[9/10 · 13 August 2001]

Although this movie didn't have the same budget as movies like Deep Impact or Armageddon, I thought is was pretty amusing. It's not the special-effects or the beautiful pictures that makes this little film interesting, but the fact that the story is told in the format of a live TV-news broadcast. One of the big American TV-stations follows every minute that the asteroids come closer to earth live, and they used a real newsreader which makes it pretty realistic. These asteroids will hit the earth in 3 places all on the same latitude (43th, I believe), the USA (Midwest), southern France and Northern China. The countries which have access to nuclear missiles combine forces in order to save the world, before thousands of asteroids will hit the earth....

Thesis (1996)

Surprisingly good thriller

[8/10 · 16 July 2001]

One of the first Spanish movies I've seen, and a pretty good one also! Angela, a student at film-school, is writing a thesis about violence on TV and in movies. She finds several snuff movies, and the persons who make movies like this will not stay strangers for long....

Especially Ana Torrent as Angela was really good. Also Fele Martinez as Chema and Eduardo Noriega (Bosco) did very well. A pretty good Spanish thriller, I rate this one a 9/10!

Escape Clause (1996 TV Movie)

Decent little film

[6/10 · 16 July 2001]

Note: May contain possible spoilers!

Richard Ramsey gets a phone-call from a man who claims that Richard's wife hired him to kill him for $10,000. When he meets him one evening, the hitman is shot to death himself. Not much later his wife Sarah Ramsey is also murdered, and Richard is the main suspect. After that the story gets more complicated, and there are several people who could have murdered both. For example Abe Shinoda, a Japanese partner of Richard's. Also Richard's stepfather Owen Jessop could have had his reasons to do it. And then you have Leslie Bullard, a friend of Sarah and Richard. As I said, complicated.

Overall a decent little film, with nice acting by (for example) Paul Sorvino (Lt. Farrand), Connie Britton (Leslie Bullard), Kate McNeil (Sarah) and Andrew McCarthy (Richard), one of the less fortunate Bratpackers. I rate this film a 7/10!

The Vanishing (1993)

Inferior to the original

[6/10 · 8 July 2001]

I don't want to spend to much time on this review, because this movie doesn't really deserve it. This must be one of the worst remakes of a European film, although made by the same director, and the actors in it have tried their best, but even Bridges, Sutherland and Bullock did not make this movie fun to watch. The abductor in the original movie (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu as Raymond Lemorne) was creepy, but Barney (Jeff Bridges) was far from that! Also Kiefer Sutherland as Jeff wasn't as credible as Gene Bervoets (Rex Hofman) in the original. The original "Spoorloos" is absolutely superior to this one!