Extinctive Reviews

Louis C.K.: Sorry (2021 TV Special)

Fun-filled with self-pity and thoughtfully subtle and current jokes

[7/10 · 28 December 2021]

Louie running his mouth again, like he used to. A little bit wounded by the recent past, and seemingly angrier, but more careful than before it all, except where it comes to sexually deviant comedy.

Constantly having his personal watchdog critique his own material gets a little bit tedious at times, and his usual sh_t, anal and pen_s vag_na jokes get somewhat boring in a way, I lost my attention-span near the ending, but still an interesting very entertaining bit of standup mime and fascinating look into who he really is, if we didn't know that already.

I like seeing he had the entire theatre filled with paying visitors, and that he's selling the special on his own website, bypassing all the middle-men. I love that about Louie, he's smart enough to get that working, but still human, he can't help being who he is. I loved the part about Matt Damon and Goodwill Hunting. That's so true! It's like he came over his own writing.

It appears that my submission contained profanity or offensive words, this violates imdb policy. If you do not edit your submission it will likely be rejected. How crazy is that? How does one properly review a special like this not ever using profanity?

Twin Peaks (2017)

Wow, just wow.

[9/10 · 15 June 2017]

It's clear that Frost and Lynch have chips on their shoulders to get rid of after those 25 extra years on this planet, and they do it so much better than others. It's pretty much Lynch and Frost on steroids, their highly personal revenge on the TV/Movie industry. Visually stunning in all aspects; The first TV-series on my expensive computer-screen that really treats my eyes with superb cinematography and the camera-work of a lifetime. Not to mention the way it has been edited. I watch it in the dark, with headphones on, because audio has been so enjoyable as well, mixed perfectly, subtle sounds. The musical performances at the end of each episode are brilliant. Seriously, a treat if you can watch it in high resolution, with high end audio equipment. Then the cast and acting are simply flabbergasting. Yes, some would rate it 'slow', it's almost documentary-like in places, but like with David Lynch's Interview Project, you have to appreciate how he sees things. For me, it has never been boring anywhere. I can understand some would get bored, but that's probably more impatience and stress than anything else. If you have the time, and I gladly waste it for this, this is one of the best TV-series I have ever seen in my 51 years on this planet. I have never smoked or done drugs, and I'm not into alcohol much either, more of health-nut perhaps, but I do like the kinship with the dark side that comes across with Twin Peaks. I had to write this review after watching Part 6, which has numerous outstanding scenes in it. The rants of Naomi Watts' character about a payback for a loan is just TV-history in the making, to name one.

If you normally watch documentaries without any problems, go watch Twin Peaks and enjoy the ride of refreshing video art, beautiful views and portraits, outstanding shots and colors. If you're short on time, stressed out, burned out, late, procrastinating, impatient, hyper-tense or hyper-active, this is not for you.

Drone (I) (2017)

False moral and unrealistic premise

[3/10 · 31 May 2017]

The acting didn't seem all that special, to be perfectly honest. It was unclear why they were all so troubled and tired. Was it that grandpa died? The characters were not very rounded, not well formed. It was a messy script, more suited for an episode of a B-class TV-series. And above all stands; The core of the story seems entirely fabricated in order to discredit whistle-blowers worldwide. How much did they get paid extra by the US-gov to make this movie? It tries to make it look like leaking or whistle-blowing by definition is unredacted, unchecked, unedited before going public. In *all* war-related leak cases known to the world this was never the case. The leaks have always been checked for names of (like in this movie) drone-operators and the likes, in order to not have them become endangered by the leak, and to have the whistle-blower remain innocent of indirect murder and such.

Thus far there has not been 1 proved case of endangerment of people involved in the leaked information, making this movie rather unfairly assuming a lot of false info.

The strangest part of the story however is the fact that it blames Islamic hackers for the breach of NSA data, which has never happened for real. The leaks came from the inside, from within the NSA/CIA/FBI.

The Blacklist: Tom Keen (No. 7) (2015) Season 2, Episode 16

Legendary scenes!

[9/10 · 13 July 2015]

The scene where Tom Connoly and the judge have their conversation, now there's some smart writing! Then, after that, when the same judge in court tries to speak his mind about it, absolutely brilliant scene. This series keeps amazing me!

For these scenes alone, this episode gets a 10 from me. Their acting is superb too by the way.

In addition, the music and score of this series, whoever are behind that are very much deserving of awards if there ever were any.

Then the Red and Lizzie conversation at the end, contemplating the burden of guilt, responsibility and atonement. Wonderfully done. We (the audience) have speculated on this before, that Red helps Lizzie because he feels he owes her a debt: That doesn't mean he killed her father, but that he feels responsible for the loss she suffered - her father may still have been a friend of partner of Red's, or his asset or contact, not necessarily an enemy. And Lizzie - quick-to-judge, holier-than-thou Lizzie - sat there and saw the way her life mirrored the actions that she was so quick to condemn in Red. Great find.

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

What a mistake!

[4/10 · 14 June 2008]

How this movie got to be created is beyond me. The only remotely funny or interesting parts to watch are the scenes with Eddie Marsan as Scott, the driving instructor, but even that sub-story in this movie was ultimately leading nowhere and made no real sense other than trying to make it look like real life, yet pretentiously ruining this entirely with awkward comedy and over-written rants. If I were Eddie, I would not have accepted the part. He can do a lot better than to be a prostitute for idiots that clearly can't make good movies.

If you liked this film, you either have way too much time on your hands, or you don't know what other entertainment and comedy is out there. I'd rather re-watch any episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office or Seinfeld than to have to go through the horror of trying to find a plot-line (any story, really) in this huge waste of movie-making budget! Not to mention that disgustingly cliché score, which almost made me puke during the final scene. I don't think I've ever seen a movie where the added music was so astoundingly predictable, like standing in an elevator waiting for doors to open. This kind of music makes you realize again how good other scores actually are.

I'd avoid this movie if I were you. It's grossly boring, depressing and genuinely annoying, but not enough to become worthwhile because of it. Only reason I did not leave the cinema (after detecting how bad it actually was, after about 9 minutes) was because I was with my girl, because we both enjoyed the fact that the young lady in the seat next to her immediately fell asleep while watching, and because we had a bag of M&M's to finish.

King of California (2007)

Shiny diamond of a movie

[9/10 · 27 October 2007]

One of those extremely rare movies that makes you wish you could personally thank everyone involved for creating it. By writing this I hope to achieve that. Thank you Mike Cahill, thank you Evan Rachel Wood and thank you Michael Douglas for this amazingly touching piece of art. This is arguably the best promotion of human free will I've seen on screen! Brilliant performances by the entire cast, from the wild Latina with her hazel colored eyes to the fat crowd at the 'barbecue'. I felt blessed to see this piece of pure gold in movie-making. Transcending everyday-life, every second of it. Pulling you out of your reality, and into this beautiful made-up world from writers, actors, camera-people, engineers, producers, editors, set dressers and animation drawing magicians, in studios, working with their black trolleys and heavy batteries, on locations, shutting down streets, with their lighting equipment and recording mixers. Without for a moment being distracted by the thought of them having faked it all for you, the viewer.

This little treasure throws you in a natural high, floats you over the big cloud of a dream come true, in which nothing else matters. Written as though it is one huge poem. Beginning and ending with naked Chinese guys. Funny in such an honest way. Subtle yet efficient. Easy yet action packed. And what a sweet soundtrack and score!

Also, to those claiming there are plot holes: Check again. I can give you ways out of every little one of your sad excuses of a bad imagination. They aren't there. No plot holes. None.

I'm rating this a 9 only because I wanted to see a different ending. Maybe it will be there as an extra on the HD-DVD. Sure hope so, I'll be buying it.

Hatchet (2006)

You're kidding, right?

[2/10 · 21 October 2007]

Looked at IMDb's score, decided to give this movie a try, but I must conclude you 6+ voters have completely lost your minds. It now has a 6.3 rating with over 2100 votes? That's got to be from everybody involved in this 'movie' plus their relatives and partners, all rating it a 10!

I feel sorry for some of the actors that probably thought the end-result would be better than it turned out to be. Some of you actors can do a lot better than this. Next time, trust me, just say NO to this director, or when they offer you a lousy script like this try and at least think what it might do to the rest of your life. Sure, you're allowed to make some mistakes, as we all do, but this is such an obvious one it's not even funny if you fell for it. And whoever wrote the scenario; Please, next time ask someone with some level of intelligence to read it for you, and give you his/her honest opinion on the matter, and then take some time off to rewrite it before actually recording anything.

This is one of those products that makes others with great ideas and interesting scripts *angry* to not get any attention or investment money. I'd be ashamed if I would have been involved in this regretful abuse of production budget.

If you haven't seen it yet; Don't let the great reviews misguide you. This is sheer crap.

Honestly, I have classic art like Boxing Helena (3.8 ???) The Couch Trip (5.1 ???) First Born (2007, 4.4 ?!?) Holy Man (1998, 4.7 ?!?) Aeon Flux (5.5 ?????) The Chase (1994, 5.3 !?) and many others of WAY more value in my personal all-time favorite movies list, to prove how idiotic ratings on IMDb have become. I'd re-watch any of those ANYtime really, they are worth so much more than this total time-wasting foolishness.

First Born (2007)

Underrrated little diamond of a movie!

[8/10 · 5 September 2007]

Absolutely brilliant in every aspect. I have no other words to sum up this movie. The music is outstanding, the camera-work, lighting and cinematography are prize-worthy, the colors and sets are stunningly beautiful! The acting is top notch. Shue is cast so well for this part it's scary to even think she's acting. You'll forget that she is!

This is one of the most unsettling and grabbing mental trips I've seen in a long damn time. Every little detail is a layered work of art on the lead's reality. I really loved how it leaves solutions to what is shown all to the viewer's imagination. Makes you think, allows you to fill in the blanks, and oh how I've missed that in so many movies lately! I have no understanding of pregnant women's mental stages, but this movie does an amazing job at bringing across the thrilling parts of a pregnancy and having a baby to care for, the worries and desperate loneliness in being the only one who trusts..

If you consider yourself smart and intelligent, with a vivid imagination, this one's for you.

Zodiac (2007)

Neatly executed, but useless story for film

[6/10 · 13 July 2007]

I really have no idea what is so special about this one killer that it needs so many remakes and books about it? We get to see a lot of really fine actors and amazing actresses do what they're good at, but this is like watching a repeat of a story we all know too well (even if we don't, because we could make this one up ourselves!). You'll be watching this wondering how much it has cost, and why they wasted it on such a thin story.

I did not have a problem with the duration, it was all done very well; the scenery, the sets, the sixties, seventies, eighties were all portrayed like only these guys can, and it's nice to see these actors perform so well, but it doesn't extend from that. I had a similar feeling after The Departed. Something too artificial and forced about it all. It just doesn't get to you as much as it's supposed to.

Some movies I'd recommend instead, somewhat neglected, but actually more worth your time: "Wolf Creek", "The Matador", "Blood Diamond", heck, I'm sorry for those involved, but even "Vacancy" and "Hot Fuzz" were more exciting to watch than Zodiac. Or, if you can, please see the TV-series "Dexter". It blows away a movie like this in all aspects. Or even a series like "24". After seeing those, a cheap story-line like the one in Zodiac, completely pales in comparison.

It then comes as no surprise that the high rating on IMDb is not appropriate. This shall go down in time, no doubt, as it doesn't belong in the Top 250. It honestly isn't worth more than a 6.2 rating here; The story seems to have no moral to it, it comes across as useless, the scenario is often too difficult, slow and uninteresting, and I blame those who created it for pretending not to know or see this. I'm certain they knew what they were filming wasn't very interesting. People get killed everywhere, under fascinating circumstances, and this is what you come up with? I didn't pay to watch it (friend borrowed me her DVD), would have felt ripped off if I had.

Gone (VI) (2006)

Who paid whom to make this movie?

[4/10 · 1 July 2007]

Strangest lamer-movie I've seen in quite some time. I'm surprised it got through to world audiences and nobody was ashamed if it would. Looks like an average film-student's final exam project or something.

The first questions you ask, when looking at this movie, are: Why are they traveling in Australia, and why are they traveling together? I mean really, they don't seem to remotely like each other. Or the outback. And honestly, what's there to like about any of them? Two spoiled little idiot drug-using alcoholics somehow end up in the same car, and the viewer is supposed to care? The only remotely likable character is the girl. But she ruins that by behaving just as stupid as her whore boyfriend did and then accidentally saves herself being a hysterical idiot with a lot of dumb luck.

Douglas Coupland said it best, when he wrote: "I'm holding an 'I Don't Give A Sh*t'-o-meter and the needle's not moving."

Altered (2006)

Exceptional, brutal. You will remember this one!

[7/10 · 24 December 2006]

It's been a long time since a movie scared me, and this one succeeded at that straight from the beginning. I like it when movies do that. I really appreciate how the story leaves you guessing and wondering what is going on most of the time, you find yourself questioning what happened before with whom and why, and you don't get all the answers, which to me is a good thing. Makes one remember a movie. Even though it's a sci-fi story, and it has some funny details, for the dirt you get to see it holds a lot of facts often thought of as true, keeps you grounded in reality just enough to scare the living daylights out of you.

There wasn't one moment where I thought the budget must have been small, which probably is a huge compliment for the FX/make-up people involved. The casting and acting were superb. Good thing the screenplay ads just enough criticism to their characters to make you buy them as believable. Very well written dialog. Highly recommended for an interesting thrill.

*mild spoiler coming up*

I thought everything about the setting came across as stunningly honest, except for Wyatt's bunker-door. Should really have been thick concrete to survive a blast like that. But that's nit-picking.

The Outer Limits: Replica (2001) Season 7, Episode 7

Cult Status Inside

[8/10 · 28 September 2006]

This one is not only extremely well delivered by all the actors, it holds numerous mind-blowing messages. If you haven't seen The Outer Limits, at least make sure you see this episode. Not only that, if you're a Sheryl Ann Fenn fan, this shows her talents are award-worthy. In fact, it's ridiculous this episode was never given an Emmy or something similar.

I would like to give away the content, but that would be spoiling too much, and it's just too good to spoil this one. Go see it with an open mind and not knowing what it is about.

Sure, the ending might be a little predictable, but it's really scary to think this dates back to 2001. Just think about this concept being an actual possibility as we speak, would we know? ;-)

Lord of War (2005)

Makes you feel in awe for what you've just learned..

[8/10 · 3 March 2006]

Truly one of the most grabbing movies I've seen in a long time! From the stunningly perfect visual start to the in-your-face rant about the reality of things at the end. It is also very daring in that it comes from Hollywood. The movie is accusing itself a lot, without being too apologetic or dogmatic or moral. Very well crafted script, fast pacing, cynically harsh and evil, telling, revealing, shocking, yet done in a way that is almost laughable. All while realising one is not allowed to laugh about it, because you *know* the world is like this, or worse. And even when the Cage character tries to excuse why he does it, you feel how difficult it has been to stay in the clear when writing and directing this, and it only just barely stays on the good side of itself, warning us all: Chaos will prevail. On top of all that it's got an amazing choice of music illustrating the beautifully shot images. A definite must see. No doubt about it.

Waterborne (2005)

Rather cheap movie.

[5/10 · 19 February 2006]

The only positive thing about this movie is the sound-track. The music and audio-mixing was superb and saved some of the bad. The camera work wanted to bring us deep inside the characters, but failed at that completely. Bunch of wanna-be politically correct towel-head scenes without a clear purpose. The lighting and cinematography seemed to want to stress heat and unrest onto the viewer, but was mostly annoying and tried to do it all way too fast. The story's concept of linking danger to water-use promised much more than it ended up giving.

The movie also proves that smokers, power-eager males and stupid people (basically all the same anyway) will ruin everything for humanity in a crisis situation. It tells us that stupid men can't think before they act, and stupid people will behave like animals when it comes down to it. I really disliked what the voice-over was pushing to the viewer; that we would ALL just be animals again. Please, let him speak for himself, because really: No, we would not. He and especially his junkie 'friend' would, most of us wouldn't. Stupid idiots will go around raping, looting and fighting each other over nothing. Smart reasonable people will try and find ways out of it, save others from possible water shortages, look for ways to survive the crisis. And yes, they will still behave civilized under pressures like that. I found this movie was missing that. It is made from the assumption that men are ALL idiots and uncontrollable yelling fools again, while they're not. Not all men are like that. Probably the writer isn't that smart himself, he can't imagine intelligent and sensible people exist out there.

This movie should have lasted at least an hour longer, the ending suddenly bumped in as if the writer didn't know how to make something out of it. Basically, this is a movie by and for stupid people. There was nobody to really identify with.

King Kong (2005)

Slapstick Cult Accident

[8/10 · 22 December 2005]

Never seen any of Peter Jackson's LoTR movies, so I watched this one with a clean slate. I think now I know what he wants from us. The concept of the King Kong story is very hard to execute; How can one mix classic-movie style comedy with scary creatures and very real emotions? I was truly stunned by the psychologically complicated mind-blowing emotional power of the many male-female relationships in this movie. It's almost as if the hidden feelings and impossible love-relationship(s) added a subliminal strength I've never seen in a movie before. What could ever become from Ann and Kong when they would live together forever on the Island? Would he feed her, would she survive without humans? Could Ann ever control the heavy feelings her beastly guy had for her? Could she save him from getting killed by humans, even if she'd gotten help and government support? How would her relationship with Jack possibly ever be any good? Would she ever find any man able to protect her like Kong could? Seriously, these are, in my opinion, the things that make this movie so interesting. Their feelings are so believable (and understandable) it's painful. Naomi to me looks like the only one able to pull this off so well, she is absolutely amazing (inside and out), one can imagine being obsessively in love with her.

Of course most of us will see it as pure entertaining fun and fantasy, but I can't help thinking of this movie as a cult-classic with qualities even Peter Jackson didn't expect it to contain; Crushed by the uselessness that are love, humanity and our society, stung by the unanswered questions of our insignificant lives on this planet. I liked it, not at all what I expected to see from such a limitless budget main-stream project. I was unable to hold back some tears in several scenes, this is VERY rare for me in a movie-theater with many strangers present. For all this I give it a 9, for me this one's history in the making. I wouldn't be surprised if Peter creates something really dark, evil and deep for us soon, something bigger than life, if not universal!

Oh and yeah, the fight-scene with the Tyrant Lizards might very well be the most impressive special effects action I've ever seen. I would have loved it if it lasted 4 hours, by the way. The ending could be extended, in my opinion, where Ann would make sure Kong would not be shot down, would be brought back to Skull Island. Ann leaves Kong behind, and we then see a lovesick depressed Kong watching the "beautiful" sundown in solitude, and Ann (even though jealous Jack asks her if she's OK) is doing the same on the ship back to New York. Deep thought shots of both. Carl would be taken to court for messing with an endangered species or something. We switch back to Kong, and back to Ann, see her doubting with sorrow, then Ann runs off to the captain of the ship begging him to return. Ann cries she's sorry to Jack, says she prefers a life in the jungle with Kong (her ultimate savior and protector), says goodbye and runs off to Kong where she teaches him how to make fire in the dark and they slowly learn how to communicate. We end with a shot of her sleeping in his hand near a dimming campfire. The End.

This then would also make room for a great sequel, in which they (Ann and Kong) go annoy the hell out of stupid movie makers and businesses run by the MPAA and slap around a lot of materialistic people, and laugh their asses off about it. This would also give Jackson a reason to show us Naomi in some cool sexy self-made jungle outfit! ;-)

Of Mice and Men (1992)

Pity they killed the best actress so early on.

[6/10 · 19 December 2005]

I would have written her in the story some more, it would have gotten a higher rating. I will always remember this as the first movie I walked out on before it was over. That idiot freak kills the one girl (Sherilyn Fenn) that doesn't deserve it, and that was it for me. Turned me down so much that I couldn't bring myself to be interested in the rest of the story. The two are not the actors (or characters) one can sympathize with. So drunken men cause a lot of mischief, accidents happen, retards are stupid, and brother has problems dealing with his difficult relative. Hope does not make it better. Oh, and: yeah, reality pretty much stinks. Tell us something we don't already know.

It was years later when I finally saw the rest of the movie on TV, out of boredom mostly, only to discover I was right about my predictions on how the rest of the story would be. Nothing surprising, nothing exciting, just wasted minutes I should have spent sleeping.

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Popcorn!

[9/10 · 30 November 2005]

Perfect comedy for and about my generation. Not to say I know any professional killers, but it's about the many exaggerated hints here. The pacing and storyline of this movie are stunningly exceptional, and the acting is top notch. The story is full of great metaphors relating to real life's issues, and they seem so carefully thought out, it's almost as if each word has gotten an approval seal from all 4 writers.

John Cusack plays a hit-man stalking his therapist with doubts about his profession and his love for a high school girlfriend. He happens to get hired to do a wax-job in his old hometown, where his high school's ten-year reunion is about to happen and 'hits' from his past come back to him. John Cusack, Jeremy Piven and Minnie Driver are about my age, so that added to making it one of the most likable films I've ever seen.

Highly recommended if you're from the mid to late sixties. You just have to like the lines in this movie! Many parts will stick with you for life, and some scenes will make you laugh out loud.

Off Screen (2005)

Confusing, unsettling and strange

[6/10 · 22 October 2005]

During this hostage-taking I worked at a News Broadcast station here in Amsterdam, and I remember how this was not a cut-and-dry very angry (or worried) customer thing, it was all pretty weird, and almost seemed like a setup or joke. Many things were left unclear in this hostage-case. This made me curious about what this movie would tell us that could have lead to this.

Basically it seems the story is warning us about PHILIPS (or companies with similar powers), which makes it all the more strange; Would a company this huge let a movie like this hit the theaters and stores worldwide? Presuming that PHILIPS knew about the movie beforehand, does this mean at least some of the facts are actually true? Was this just a bus-driver regretting the fact that he never was anything more than a bus-driver? We are to think this is not the case, because he really loved his job. Did he or did he not know more than he should have known? The facts show that he must have been very intelligent. Would a guy like that do a thing like this for something as insignificant as widescreen TV or was there more? Are we to understand that this PHILIPS CEO was not his friend, and was not with him when he shot himself? Or did the police find out that the gun he was using was a gift from this PHILIPS man, and that he handed his (ex-)wife that other present because they had really met the way we see in this story? I can't really say how you could do this movie or tell this story any better, but the matrix-like views of flashing through time are a bit over the top, and don't do much good for the switches to and from the hostage-taking scene. The casting for the story is really outstanding though. Perfect actors for the jobs at hand.

The movie leaves you with lots of unanswered questions and it is a bit unsettling because nothing is going in a satisfactory direction. There's no hope or dream to be found here. It doesn't have a happy ending in any way, shape or form, and it is almost too much like real life; Harsh, without purpose, unfair and full of coincidences that remain unexplained. Not a fun movie to watch, but one that you will remember due to all the vague references to reality.

Sin City (2005)

Dreamy display of revenge and violent power

[8/10 · 23 April 2005]

This movie is quite the project, visually. Everone will notice that. And even though I really don't like violence all that much, this time it seems a means to a goal, to deliver it to the viewer in its purest darkest form. It will touch your instincts because it's just so strong and in your face. The main characters are living for tough and hard action, and they all have comic-book strength. Frank Miller's writing for the narration is uniquely macho, honest and primal, which made it very funny at times, and I very much liked his message; Men who hurt (or kill) women should not be left unpunished, they deserve the worst revenge we men can possibly think of.

It is almost as if Miller used his writing to get even with every wish for (and dream about) revenge he might have collected during his lifetime. Sin City is the realization of vengeance. In fact, the entire film reminded me a lot of Payback (with Mel Gibson), which is highly underrated (seeing the appreciation Sin City gets).

The only reason this movie didn't get my maximum rating is because I thought 2 of the actors (Clive Owen and Michael Clarke Duncan) were badly cast for their parts. They ruined the power this movie could have had. They softened it up, changed it from gaining cult-status to being just another attempt at replicating stuff like Payback and Spider Man. Either way, it's a movie everyone should see, also those who will hate it after-wards. It could be seen as educational, even. Everybody should know there are people around who can write 'sick' stories like these, and that there are so many people on this planet who will like them.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

very honest, powerful and confronting

[8/10 · 22 January 2005]

This was a surprisingly refreshing film, I would have loved it if it lasted another two hours! The movie is so full of little things, I really don't understand how anyone could ever call this movie "slow". I re-winded parts of it during first watch. Those who don't get it are probably too lazy to see it, or too selfish to try things outside of their little box perhaps? I was age 37 when I first saw this movie, and there is no reason why people my age should not like it. The music is very eighties, the entire scenery is eighties-based. The use of colors is so 'off' it looks like Barbie camping in a candy store.

It's not even that much of a comedy, it's just very confronting and out there. Many aspects of the story are more real than anything I've seen done before in movies like this; "Welcome to the Dolhouse", "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Bottle Rocket" come to mind, but are average compared to the originality of this film. Most of the story is rather sad, because it is so true how all of our lives are never as simple as they often seem, so true we all have weird habits. Living in a spoiled rich society, Napoleon is showing us just how far gone it actually is. Glad to finally see a movie where we see people consume some of the crappy food we know! The references to the meat-industry, and the milk-tasting test, all this is absolutely fabulous stuff.

If you haven't consciously seen this movie, you have missed something in your life. The music score is fascinating, and who would have thought to ever hear When In Rome's "The Promise" being used at such a wonderful moment in the film? The actors do their parts extremely well, and if they haven't been already, they should be awarded for it.

May 6th (2004)

Entertaining dutch thriller

[7/10 · 21 January 2005]

Well, I actually really liked it. Next to the tension this movie builds on, it has a very warm, very dutch, comforting seventies-based and natural feel to it. Despite of the actual storyline and the grim ideas behind it, I could understand where Theo was coming from when he wanted this to be made. Having lived the day when Pim Fortuyn got killed, and knowing the many unexplained details surrounding it, I think parts of the movie are terrifying in that they might very well be more true than most of us would like to believe. Just waving away the entire story as fiction somehow doesn't cut it for me. Knowing Theo Van Gogh quite well from local TV etcetera, I expected some hidden messages, telling us things beneath the surface of it all; They're not getting through to every viewer, but they're all over the place.

Theo shot this movie using the very fast 3-camera technique, giving it a documentary-like speed, which fits the writing. Some of the action scenes could have been done better (with a bigger budget perhaps), but aside from a few lesser moments (which didn't really bother me) the movie had me hooked, and the only thing I didn't like was that it ended. You know good guys can't always win, but you really want them to this time around. Even today, you'd like Pim and Theo to just re-appear on-screen like nothing had happened in our 'innocent' little country. It's hard to view the film not knowing the sickening story behind his killing, and it's even harder to notice how wrongfully he and Pim have been accused of being racist and right-wing extremists (or similar accusations). If anything, this movie is telling it like it is, and shows us how the exact opposite was true for both Pim and Theo.

The movie would have looked quite promising for Van Gogh, and still does for most of the actors in it. Theo was clearly getting better by the year, so it truly saddens me to see what could have been if he would still be alive. It's all been so silly, so stupid, so useless, and when you see this movie you want to snap out of reality, but you know you can't, because it is all so real...

Runaway Jury (2003)

Top notch fairy tale with good intentions

[9/10 · 1 December 2004]

As unrealistic a fairy tale as this is, the acting, cinematography, action-scenes and tasteful score are flat-out superb! The message it beams out is a very warm one; Love and truth will conquer over gun-fights and lies, and money should not be the goal, but a tool to achieve good things at most. I found it sad and predictable to see those NRA people trying to put this movie down on weak far fetched arguments, even out here on IMDb they seem to get paid for it. Of course this story is opposing all war-mongering we know from real life, but that's not why this movie was made. It is meant to give us hope, entertain us, let us escape, and it does that extremely well. The last few minutes of the movie are the best icing on a cake I've seen in a long time. Hats off to everybody who worked on this movie.

Mystic River (2003)

Remarkably true and therefore frightening and maybe disappointing

[8/10 · 1 December 2004]

Clint created some type of a monster with this movie. I've read many of the other comments on it, and they're all true to some extent, but what a lot of them seem to be missing is the fact that humans *do* behave like that in real life, they *are* as unpredictable as some seem to be in this movie, they *are* as annoying and rotten inside, or as stupid and disappointing as they are. This is, in my opinion, what makes this a remarkable movie; You will not like all of it, because there's a lot of stuff in life we won't like, and some of that is shown to us by these actors and delivered to us by means of this story. The portrait of real-life events is so direct and good, that it's actually scary. I've seen it both on the big screen as well as at home (just yesterday), and I must say it got to me a lot more when I saw it alone, with less distracting influences. It works better that way. I would sum it up as an exciting thrilling well-documented behavioral study of an average American city neighborhood's murder, but I don't mean that in a bad way. It can't really be described by anything, it's a must-see movie though.

Donnie Darko (2001)

Words cannot express...

[8/10 · 25 October 2004]

I did not know there was a cult-following for this movie, but I can see why. It reminded me of Butterfly Effect, Grosse Pointe Blank, Dogma and American Beauty. It's a very intriguing movie, deals with similar issues as those in Butterfly Effect; Leaves you thinking about it for months after having seen it, which is a compliment of absurd proportions to those who contributed to this movie. Some scenes are a little over the top, some are even predictably overdone, but never in a way that it makes you not like it. I very much enjoyed a lot of the dialogue, it's done so well by all actors. His sister's role is extremely powerful, although we see very little of her. So are those of his mother and father in the film, they've done some amazing scenes. His dad is truly awesome when he tries to stop his wanting to laugh about what his son said at school, for example.

The music and setting are so eighties that it makes me wonder what the creators are trying to tell us by doing that. Did they like the era more than the current state of things (like probably many of us do)? Still, some events in the story are quite unlikely to be possible in that time, which makes it even more strange.

I'm lost for words, one should not write about it, one should see it at least two times, and enjoy the fact that it transcends life and religion. Very few movies succeed in attempting to do that, some accidentally have that effect, and I think the latter is the case here. It takes you where you don't naturally want to go, but it takes you there in a way that you never want to leave.

From what I've read I would not recommend to see/buy the director's cut, maybe after they've created a remake out of that version it would be more interesting.

EuroTrip (2004)

funny stuff, very entertaining

[8/10 · 25 September 2004]

As a guy living in Amsterdam I very much liked this movie. The jokes in this film are often really good finds, and I like the way it is both mocking as well as overrating European countries and their inhabitants, but all with tongue firmly planted in cheek. They have pretty much summarized a lot of clichés we hate about these people ourselves as Europeans, and they haven't done that in a bad way. The characters and situations are caricatures and sublimations of the real thing, and they succeeded in not annoying the viewer with it. I know many similar movies where they failed to do this.

Of course, one shouldn't expect this to be Oscar material, even though the acting is exactly what it should be for a movie like this, it's a fun flick, they have done with it what they could and more, and the casting is very appropriate and suitable for the jobs at hand. It had me laughing out loud many a time throughout the movie, and I could identify with parts of the characters and situations in the film, which is always cool.

What is noteworthy is that for a youngsters film it is remarkably sweet, soft and sensitive, but not in a Spielberg/Disney kinda' way, it has a carefully rude and honest polite feel to it. This is directly opposing the "how to shock the young spoiled audience as much as we can" 'comedies' I've seen in recent years, and for this everyone involved gets applauded by me! Well done!