Joejoesan

Die Alone (2024)

Well made and finally an original story

I love zombie movies and therefor was very interested in this one.

I saw Die Alone yesterday and I think it's difficult to rate it. I didn't know what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised (which doesn't happen a lot watching zombie movies). I'd give it an 8/10. But if I tell people about my high rating they'd probably expect a lot more from this movie. So maybe a 7/10 would make more sense.

No real review, just some remarks here:

• the film is about a young man, Ethan, who wakes up after a car accident, trying to flee from the zombie apocalypse. He has amnesia. His girlfriend Emma is missing so he wants to find her
• he gets rescued by an older woman, Mae (great part Carrie-Ann Moss), who has been living on her own in the middle of nowhere for a lot of years. He stays with her
• Ethan gets a lot of black outs
• it's a beautifully shot but slow movie. Don't expect loads of zombies
• the zombies are plant based like in The Last of Us
• Frank Grillo only has a small part
• I loved the end of this film

World Ends at Camp Z (2021)

Beautiful drone shots, charming leads, low-budget-good

When I judge the "quality" of a zombie movie I usually take into account the budget. "Okay, it's not that good, but it was made for just 500.000 dollar so what could you expect?" This weekend I checked out World Ends at Camp Z that only costed 300.000 dollar. Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, there is bad acting. Yes, there is bad dialogue. And the zombies look very bad too. But I thought a lot of things were done okay.

The story takes place in Canada. Young Dean has lived and worked all his young life on this camping La Tuque. He's not happy to learn that his "home" will be sold to some rich guys. His uncle just couldn't pay the bills anymore. To make matters worse the new owner Aaron, a spoilt kid in his twenties, wants to check out the camping with his friends before purchasing. They start a big party. Now Dean must be their butler before the deal is done. He does have a connection with Vanessa, a young lawyer who must check the paperwork. However, she turns out to be the girlfriend of the owner. Damn! When a friend of the owner gets injured, they must go to town to take him to the hospital. And then the zombies turn up...

What I liked about World Ends at Camp Z was the beautiful locations. The makers used drones to film the camping (which is located near Quebec?) surrounded by trees and water and it looks great.

Also a good point was the fact that one of the heroes is a Native Canadian named Clay. Clay is a father figure to Dean and knows how to deal with the threat when the zombies take over the camp. I think we should see more Native Americans or Canadians in movies, also in "normal" roles.

Lastly, I enjoyed the two leads. Of course Dean and Vanessa don't really get along at the start of the film. But the way they get closer to each other wasn't bad. Overall Vanessa (played by Anne-Carolyne Binette) gives us the best performance.

When the first zombie appears in the movie (after 55 minutes!) the film goes downhill. The action scenes with the undead aren't the best part of the movie but it does have a satisfying ending.

Not brilliant, maybe not even good, but I did like World ends at camp Z.

7/10.

Endzeit (2018)

Well made and beautifully shot

The story of Endzeit is kinda similar to The Walking Dead World Beyond's. It has been two years since a zombie virus epidemic infected all but two German cities. Vivi and Eva want to flee the struggling community in Weimar for the one other safe-haven: Jena. They board an unmanned train between the two cities and hope to safely arrive. But of course the train breaks down and in the middle of nowhere they have to navigate themselves safely to Jena.

What I like about Endzeit is its atmosphere. It's filmed at some beautiful spots in Germany and that makes it look very different from, let's say, American zombie films. The two leads perform well. On their way to Jena they encounter strange abandoned places (a castle) and even a strange woman who calls herself 'the gardener'. Is she real? We don't know. In the end there's a nice scene with a blind zombie.

Of course there are some things that don't make sense. In the trailer you see the girls escape from a zombie herd. Where the hell did the zombies come from? In the woods they hardly encounter anyone and here the whole street is filled with them.

Also, the way our lead comes to terms with her past is... too convenient. But it's a nice scene anyway.

Not your cliché zombie flick, but I really enjoyed Endzeit.

Ku bei (2021)

Refreshing, but disturbing as well

You can say a lot about The Sadness. Fact remains that it's one of the most refreshing and at the same time most disturbing zombie films of the last years.

First things first: maybe the creatures in this film don't really qualify as zombies. Sure, they do bite people, but they can still think and are just plain crazy. The mysterious virus not only makes them extremely violent, but it increases their appetite for sex as well. No, this is not just a cheap trick, especially in this #metoo era it's extra disturbing. My wife thought it was sick, but hey, she likes to watch Virgin River, Grey's Anatomy and This is us, so zombies aren't really her cup of tea.

For the rest the story is pretty standard. Amidst this zombie invasion a man wants to find his girl in order to protect her and see that she's alright. She ends up in a hospital trying to keep the bad creatures away from her. He must travel through the city and country side to reach her. Not really original.

But what makes this movie stand out are the really violent scenes. Boy, there's a lot of blood here and people die in extreme ways. The most disturbing moment is a rape scene. You don't see anything graphic, but still... This is stuff that nightmares are made of.

The Sadness is a horror movie that really blows up in your face. Its extreme violence and disturbed ideas make it a film that's not for everyone. It looks great though and keeps you hooked till the end. It only lasts about 92 minutes.

Not a film you should see on your first date 🙂

Infected: The Darkest Day (2021)

28 Weeks on a budget, but still entertaining

Not every film can have a budget like World War Z did. The makers of Infected: The Darknest Day certainly didn't but they show a big love for the genre and especially for the 28 Days Later movies. It was almost shot the same way, has the same scenery and even uses the same kind of music. As a lover of zombie films I liked it.

Infected: The Darkest Day is a rather ambitious title for a well made low budget zombie film. The movie opens with our protagonist Dan (played by actor Dan Rickard, who also co-wrote and directed the film) waking up on a beach. He doesn't know anything about his past. When he enters the city he sees that the place is abandoned. What the hell happened? By chance he meets a boy and a girl and tries to talk to them. Instead, he draws a crowd of zombies and they have to flee. He follows the girl into a house where other survivors live. Here he learns about this disease that affects people and at least he remembers he's on the run for the militairy. The reasons why are still unknown. Together with this group of people he tries to survive not only the zombies but the soldiers as well. As time passes he lears that he is in fact the very reason why everybody's in danger.

Infected looks great for a low budget film. There are a lot of scenes with abandoned streets and a lot of shots with actual helicopters. The zombies are of the 28 Day Later kind: they run and scream and appear when you don't expect them. There's even a scene in a big abandoned supermarket, which gives you a Dawn of the Dead feel.

Unfortunately there are also a lot of things that don't work.

Dan joins this group of survivors who don't seem to understand that the world has ended. They spend their time drinking beer and reading books and greet the two people who were out looking for something to eat and drink with a "Yes, the food has arrived". They don't seem to realize how dangerous it is in the streets and that the chances of actually finding something useable are really slim. Have they survived the apocalypse? How? They should be working on a big survival plan or be reinforcing the house they're living in, not boringly do things that don't matter.

Another thing that bothered me.

Dan is - for some reason - on the run for the militairy. But the survivors weren't. Why did they immediately see the soldiers as an enemy instead of their rescuers? What has happened in the past to make them think this way?

But enough with the nitpicking. On the IMDB this film gets a poor 2,5 rating and that's a pity. It does offer entertainment and I think zombie fans who don't expect much will have a good time.

Too bad the ending is rushed. Looks like the makers didn't know how to finish this story and choose for this option. Well, you can't have everything.

7/10.

Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky IV - the director's cut is one big disappointment

I've always been a big Rocky fan and I've always felt that Rocky IV could have been a lot better. It doesn't have the best story, but IMO of all the Rocky films it certainly has the best fight. His match against Drago is incredible. Unrealistic, but incredible.

But the main story could have always used more character development, so I was looking forward to seeing the new Director's cut, Rocky vs Drago. I thought 40 minutes of new footage would also result in a 2 hour film with more drama. Sadly, it's not the case here. The new Rocky IV only runs about 93 minutes and I thought it was a big let-down.

The movie starts with un unnecessary long flashback to the moment when Apollo Creed decided to help Rocky in his rematch with Clubber Lang. Man, we all know this! We then hastily work towards the fight between Creed and Drago. Is the James Brown singing and dance scene extended? Why? It doesn't seem to end. And why is the dialogue missing where Rocky decides to help Creed but he knows he'll do another crazy thing after the Drago fight anyway. His response, "You know me, Stallion: I always think of something else" is a typical Creed moment.

Being a Muhammad Ali fan, I always loved the character of Apollo Creed. I still think his death in Rocky IV is difficult to watch (and kinda unrealistic). I understand that Drago had to be established as an invincible and deadly adversary, but why kill off fan favourite Creed? Couldn't he have gone into a coma and being awoken at the end of the film? That would have reduced the extreme (and almost laughable) patriotic ending of the movie.

Now this film was made at the highlight of the Cold War and I guess all Americans had a real hatred against the Soviet Union. With Ronald Reagan at the helm the USA was pretty right-wing at the time. So perhaps Stallone had to give his audience a good reason to hate Drago and what he stood for. Subtle it was not, though.

So are there any improvements?

Yes, there are. We have more moments with Adrian. She's very concerned about Creed fighting Drago and shows more doubts about Rocky going to Moscow. The scene where she says: "You cannot win!" remains heart-breaking to me. Rocky is a real ass of course for informing the press first about him fighting Drago in Russia. A decent man would have talked this over with his wife first. Adrian didn't deserve that.

Ivan Drago gets a little more screentime. In some moments in the first part of the film we see hints of what's to come. Drago isn't happy with what's going on and doesn't want to be the puppet of the communist regime. I still love his robotic boxing style. Dolph Lundgren did an excellent job in Rocky IV.

Okay, Paulie's robot is gone. Too bad a lot of Paulie is gone in this film. Luckily a lot of his complaining is still there when they arrive in Russia to prepare for the fight ("You requested this dumb location? No sparring, no tv, nothing?"). Love that.

Brigitte Nielsen has almost completely vanished from this cut. I actually liked her performance. When Drago is knocked down in the fight and she screams for him to get up is also deleted. I always liked that moment. And because she has a small part in Creed II I think it's strange why her role has become this small in the director's cut.

The one big approvement in Rocky IV comes at the end. Rocky has just won the match and makes a stupid speech about change. The audience yells: "Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!" and after a long pause the Russian Politburo with the Mikhail Gorbachev lookalike starts to applause as well. In this stupid scene they seem to admit that the brave American is right. In the new version they angrily walk away. I thought that was more realistic.

I think Rocky IV would have been much better if it took the time to include more drama. Personally, I would have loved to see a scene where they all hear that Apollo has died. The cut from the Drago fight to his funeral was much too abrupt for my taste. Stallone crying at his funeral isn't convincing either.

Adrian doesn't support Rocky's fight against Drago but after some weeks travels to Russia anyway. What kind of impact did that have on Rocky? We have a first training montage in Russia, Adrian arrives, and then the training montage continues. I would have loved to have a quiet scene where we could see what impact Adrian's support has on Rocky. It must have done him a lot of good.

I hope one day a fan makes a hybrid cut of both Rocky IV versions. Because somewhere in all the material that has been shot, there is a great film, perhaps equal to the first three.

Kimi to sekai ga owaru hi ni (2021)

I love it! (mild spoilers)

South Korea produces great zombie movies and tv-series (Train to Busan, Alive, Kingdom), but the Japanese aren't doing bad either. Take for instance Love You As The World Ends (Kimi to Sekai ga Owaru Hi ni). In a time when we are bombarded with zombie productions this tv-series does a great job at being different and being able to surprise. I've just watched seasons 1 and 2 and I am mighty impressed. Looking forward to season 3!

The story focuses on young Hibiki Mamiya. He is a car mechanic who gets stuck in a tunnel after an earthquake. When he manages to dig himself out after four days he discovers the world has changed. There are zombies everywhere! Desperately he goes on a search to find his fiancee, Kurumi. But like in so many zombie stories it looks like the living are more dangerous than the dead.

I loved the Japanese zombiefilm I am hero. One cut of the dead was also amazing, but that (spoiler!) wasn't a zombie movie at all, more a hommage to filmmaking.

Love you as the world ends is basically a love story. It's about a young man trying to find his love in a post-apocalyptic world, finding her, losing her and everything in between. It's great to see him evolve from a happy, naive and sympathetic young man into a realistic person who does everything to survive - even killing. As a western viewer you do have to get used to Japanese drama. It sometimes is really over the top (and unrealistic to us), but that may just be a cultural thing. I love how this series looks (the abandoned cities) and the effective way the makers seem to kill off (popular) characters. No, in this story nobody is safe.

However, a lot of illogical things also happen. In season 2 for instance there is this "safe place". One day some zombies manage to get in. The first thing you would do is to check for openings in the fence. How would these zombies get in? That does not happen, though.

I also didn't like the song that they used every time at the end of an episode, when something dramatic happens. And I realize that now you know this, you will pay extra attention to it as well. I wished they used different music instead.

Still, Love you as the world ends is highly recommended!

Dune: Part One (2021)

Dune is good, but perhaps not good enough

I just saw Dune this morning in 3D in a Dolby Cinema theatre in Amsterdam. I had some time to think about it and process what I saw and decided to share my thoughts with you. Be aware: I guess I have some good news and some bad news for you. Check out my review with minor spoilers.

To keep my story in perspective let me first tell you where I stand.

I love the first Dune trilogy by Frank Herbert. I thought book 4, God Emperor of Dune, was okay but pretty much disliked all the ones that came after that one. I love the David Lynch film. I know it's flawed and the longer (Alain Smithee) versions are a real mess, but there is a lot to enjoy. I even dare to say that his scenes with "The Voice" were better than in this film. I also think Denis Villeneuve is overrated (sorry!). Haven't seen Prisoners yet, but Arrival and Sicario were good but not great and Blade Runner 2049 is visually stunning, but storywise... Replicants getting pregnant by humans: I didn't buy it. Still, I thought Denis Villeneuve would be a good choice to direct Dune. He actually is... and isn't.

Okay, let's start with the good things first.

Dune has an incredible cast. And because Villeneuve only filmed ½ of book 1 the characters get a lot of screentime to show us who they are. Especially Duncan Idaho profits from this. In the Lynch movie he was not only miscast (actor Richard Jordan), but he didn't have much to do except xxxxx. In the new version Jason Momoa gets all the space and time to excel in this role. There are some nice scenes with Oscar Isaac (as Duke Leto) that establish his love for Paul Atreides. Although I missed a certain mystery in the casting of Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, I think she fit her role well. Timothy Chalamet is a more realistic Paul Atreides than Kyle Maclachlan. He is more vulnerable and presents himself more as a leader as the story evolves. He's a good choice to play Paul Atreides. To me the actors that really stood out were Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin (although his Gurney Halleck could have used more screentime) and Javier Bardem (as Stilgar). Haven't seen enough of Zendaya as Chani though. Apart from the opening there are no voice overs used in this film. I liked that too.

Unfortunately the list of bad things is longer.

Dune is a long movie (2 ½ hours) and it doesn't really end with a climax or a cliffhanger. Actually there aren't that many real climatic scenes that stand out. Maybe we are already used to films like Godzilla vs Kong, but the sandworms look nice but don't really make a big impression. I did think the ornithopters were kinda cool, though. Villeneuve's Dune is faithful to the book and doesn't have many surprises. He does explain the political situation much better than David Lynch, but because you can't do much with the (digital) scenery of sand and dunes his film isn't as visually stunning as for instance Blade Runner 2049. Even the 3D doesn't work. The film looks great of course, but stunning... no. The trailer promised us that there would be (some) humour in this film. The truth is: there isn't. The only funny scenes were already seen in the trailer. Dune is a very serious film. Some fans will love that and say there wasn't much humour in the books in the first place, but I think it's a good tool to bring the characters to life. It works very well ti establish the friendship between Duncan Idaho and Paul. I wish there were more scenes like that.

Although I've listed my bad things about Dune here above, those have nothing to do with the real "bad news" about Dune. I'm going to walk on thin ice here, but this is truly what I think. Fact is, I don't believe Dune will be a commercial hit. I think it's a good movie that deserves a sequel, but I guess the timing of the release is all wrong. I really doubt if we ever get to see how this tale of Paul Atreides ends. Let me explain.

Frank Herbert's world of Dune drew inspiration from the Arabic language (Shai-Hulud, Lisan al-Gaib, Gom Jabbar) and Islamic themes. In the book they call it a Jihad, in the movie they talk about Holy War. With the Taliban taking control in Afghanistan, I really don't know if a movie that glorifies Middle Eastern or Central Asian culture can be a great commercial success in the USA, where still almost 50 percent of the people voted for Trump. Maybe it can be in Europe or other parts of the world, but in America... I don't know. Some people can even claim that the native people from Dune, the Freeman, resemble the Taliban. I don't say that's the case, but people may think that way. There is also an offscreen beheading in the film and with I. S. having done the same thing that really is delicate. Again: maybe I don't have enough credit to Ameruca film audiences so I truly hope I'm wrong.

The fans know what will happen to Paul and his fight against the Emperor and the House Harkonnen. But most of the audience doesn't. The moment the story ends may be a logical one, but probably doesn't make an audience curious about what happens next. With a running time of 2 ½ hours I really don't know if non-fans are really interested in the fate of Paul Atreides without a real cliffhanger.

I truly hope they will be, because I'd love to see Paul's fight against Feyd Rautha on part 2 of Villeneuve's Dune saga.

8/10.

De Oost (2020)

Far better than expected and historically not bad at all

In the Netherlands the movie The East was met with a lot of controversy before it was released on Amazon Prime. The story is about Indonesia's claim for independence from the Netherlands straight after World War 2, when the country was still called the Dutch East Indies. It follows a young Dutch soldier who travels with the army to the East to restore order and to stop the rebellion. Later in the film he discovers that "this was not what he signed for".

This historical event in itself of course was controversial. The Dutch have done terrible things in Indonesia during this time (in the film led by Raymond Westerling aka The Turk), but the rebels, the Indonesian Nationalists, were even more cruel. In fact, my (Indonesian) mother (who was a teenager on Java at the time) told me that the rebels were even more feared than the Dutch. The Nationalists did terrible things to their own people to the point that she and her family were even moved to special camps where former Japanese soldiers (!) protected them.

The first trailer of The East immediately raised a lot of questions.

How would the movie portray the Dutch KNIL soldiers? Were they the bad guys and the rebels the good guys? Would the film even mention that the KNIL-soldiers - like the American Vietnam veterans - were victims too? Would the Rebels be shown as heroes or as foes? And what about the controversial Raymond Westerling? Would he be shown as a hero or a cruel mad man?

Okay, let's first concentrate on The East as a fictional movie.

Man, the film really is the Dutch "Platoon". The East looks stunning (for Dutch standards) and can compete with any American big budget production. The performances are very good too. The way our protagonist, Johan de Vries, not only struggles with the way his mission is developing but also with the things from his past is well done. Intertwined with the scenes in Indonesia are flash forwards from Johan's life back in the Netherlands, struggling to pick up his old life and in the end completely losing it.

At first Johan feels bored by the lack of action in Indonesia. One day he meets the strong captain Westerling and things change. Westerling becomes his hero and he doesn't hesitate to join his Special Troops Corps to destroy the rebellion. But when they travel to South Sulawesi Johan is shocked by Westerling's methods and wants to get out. This results in an unrealistic, but exciting finale.

One of the controversies of The East was about the look of Westerling (the real one didn't have a "Hitler" moustache) and the almost Nazi look of the uniforms of his Special Troops Corps. Comparing the Dutch to Nazis is almost sacrilege, because the (Jewish) people suffered a lot during their regime during WW2. But in this case I understand the filmmaker's decision to do so. Westerling does have a moustache, but to say that it resembles Hitler's that's a far stretch. I think it was done to show the audience that this character is based on a true historical figure, but it doesn't follow his true life. In fact, the ultimate fate of Westerling in this film can't be further from the truth and is completely fictional.

And about the "Nazi" uniforms: well, I don't see them as particular Nazi clothing. They are much darker than the normal ones (which makes no sense in the heat) but I think they were there to show that this was a particular group and to protect the "normal" KNIL soldiers. Most KNIL soldiers were normal boys who had nothing to do with the atrocities that were done. And even the ones that have done bad things: you can understand that it was hard to say no to a charismatic leader like Westerling. Especially under those circumstances it's difficult to distinguish wrong from right.

The fear that the Nationalists would be shown as heroes or victims is also not grounded. There's one scene in the movie that shows their incredible cruelty and that works very well. No, the rebels are not shown as good people. Maybe their cruelty should have been more prominent in the film (like the Dutch ones) but as a filmmaker you have to make choices. In the end it's the story about an innocent and idealistic boy who goes to a (possibly unjust) war and about the impact it has in his remaining life.

Although I am no expert on this era of history I think I can say that The East is an incredible movie. It totally delivers as a fictional film that was made for entertainment. It has great storytelling although I must say that the end was a little bit too much.

From a historical point of view I'm happy that a lot of important things were mentioned. You can understand why former KNIL soldiers had a hard time to even talk about their experiences in Indonesia. The Dutch have done bad things, but the Nationalists were just as bad or even worse. Westerling has done good things, but the methods he used when he was commanding his Special Troops Corps were just plain wrong. In that way he's much like Kurtz in Apocalypse Now: he thinks he's right and maybe started out as a good guy, but in the end he lost his way.

Historically a lot of things may not be correct in The East. But maybe the film will cause a healthy discussion on this subject, or at least way more understanding for the KNIL soldiers who went to the East to fight for their land because they believed in what they were fighting for.

I just hope that viewers realize that The East is a movie and not a documentary. Even the makers don't claim that they show the whole truth, but I think it's a great attempt to do so.

8/10.

Wasteland (2013)

Pretty good for a low budget zombie movie

Of course this ain't World War Z when it comes to special effects, locations and highly paid movie stars, but this low budget film actually ain't bad. It's at least convincing in making us believe in a post-apocalyptic world. I liked the atmosphere of the abandoned streets and houses. The acting isn't that great, but the main lead is charming enough to get us through the story. And you can see that the film was made with lots of love of the zombie genre. I think some people are too hard on productions like these. You can't compare them to The Walking Dead, Army of the Dead or even Shaun of the Dead. It was a good attempt at making an entertaining movie and I think the makers succeeded 6/10

Coming 2 America (2021)

I wish I had never seen it

Just saw Coming 2 America and I'm sad to say: I deeply regret doing so. It's always a risk seeing a sequel to one of your favourite comedies or films, so perhaps it's my own fault.

In my opinion the film lacks the charm and especially the humour of the first movie. This tale just ain't funny and the story is so messy that you don't know where it wants to go. Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall hardly have scenes together and you can even say that Murphy isn't "the hero" of this tale. This story is about his illegitimate son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) and Murphy must help him prepare for the throne of Zumunda. Only the scenes and shots that refer to events of part 1 made me smirk a little. Okay, and some cameos are funny. If you know part 1 very well the cameo during the endcredits is pretty hilarious. But Lavelle's mother, played by Leslie Jones, is actually very annoying.

I wonder what would have happened if there was no Covid and this film had a normal release in the cinema. Would it be a commercial victory or would it bomb? We will never know.

You are warned. If you're a big fan of the original avoid this film at all cost 😊

5/10

Hostile (2017)

Not bad except for that stupid ending

In a post apocalyptic world a girl is roaming her surroundings searching for food and gets a car accident when she returns to her "base". Hiding in her car, that's been turned over, she must fight "I am legend" kinda monsters at night in order to be saved in the morning. In the meantime she thinks back at her life before the apocalypse and especially at her relationship with a guy named Jack.

Hostile begins promising with our protagonist driving through a Mad Max like world and visiting an abandoned gas station. But when she gets trapped in her car after the accident it all goes down. We see images of her past that don't seem connected to the story at all. They look like fillers. In the end it all comes together though and that's the moment when you say: no, that's too convenient. What a coincidence. It spoils the whole film.

I liked the suspence in Hostile and I thought that the "monsters", who walked around like Gollem of the Lord of the Rings, were very cool. The girl wasn't bad either but her flashbacks at better times seemed forced. It also seemed like a cheap trick to let a big part of the story play out in the car at night.

Hostile is entertaining and has some interesting ideas. But the ending spoils it all. Nice attempt, though.

6/10

Love and Monsters (2020)

Percy Jackson, love and monsters

Love and Monsters is a movie that I enjoyed very much. It's similar to - I guess - Percy Jackson (young adult with monsters) and I liked the characters and the story.

This post-apocalypse film takes place 7 years after the world ended and radiation created these giant bugs. Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner) plays Joël, a young man who has to travel 85 miles through savage land to visit his girlfriend who might be in trouble. Not being a hero (but he can cook and draw!) he's lucky to meet a guy named Clyde (Michael Rooker as a non-villain) and a young girl named Minnow. They both teach him how to survive this nasty world. He also finds a dog named Boy that will accompany him on his journey. Just in time he reaches the colony of his girlfriend...

Of course, Love and Monsters is no Oscar material but the acting is good (Dylan is charming and I love Michael Rooker), the deserted world looks cool and the monsters are not scary, but fun. The dog looks fake sometimes, though. Storywise there are also some nice little surprises (the robot!). The movie even ends with a possibility for a sequel and I wouldn't mind that.

A charming tale! 8/10

The Doorman (2020)

Ruby Rose does her best, but...

I think Ruby Rose is a beautiful lady and I really want her to succeed in the world of movies and tv. Okay, she is no Meryl Streep but she at least has great presence. Her first project after her leaving Batwoman is this Die Hard-like action movie The Doorman. Ruby can do action flicks - that's clear. Her fighting skills are convincing. But for the rest The Doorman is a film that runs out of fresh ideas fast and suffers from a bad script.

The problem with The Doorman is that it starts out rather well. Ali (Rose) is a soldier who has to protect an important ambassador's family in a foreign country and can get along fine with the young daughter. But tragedy strikes: during a routine trip the convoy with the family is attacked and everybody dies except Ali. Desillusioned and bitter she quits the army and goes back to New York where she accepts an easy job as a doorman. Too bad she picked the wrong weekend to start, because a group of thugs take control of the almost empty building. She's the only one that can take them down. That's where it all goes downhill, though. When the film is over you realize that you again were tricked into watching a bad and forgettable movie.

Having seen many Die Hard inspired action films it's a good thing that we finally see a woman battling against the bad guys. Too bad the story is filled with so many illogical behaviours that as a viewer you can't take the film seriously. For instance there is a scene where Ali manages to stunn her opponents by using a fire extinguisher. She even succeeds in grabbing one of their rifles. But what happens next? Instead of taking this opportunity to shoot them to bits she just runs away.

Most of the fight scenes look like Streetfighter or Tekken-like videogames: although you punch the hell out of your opponent they won't go down. That's pretty irritating. The end result of The Doorman is never in doubt. The Doorman also hasn't got the best dialogues either. There's a strange subplot as well where it is explained that Ali once had an affair with the husband of her deceased sister. Ruby Rose is so openly gay though, that for us viewers that dramatic element is hard to believe.

The Doorman proves that Ruby Rose can handle action movies and can certainly handle being the lead in a film. But for her and her many fans I hope her next project will have a much better script and a much better director. Because if she's given a good script and a great director Ruby Rose can turn into a big moviestar.

5/10

Bando (2020)

Not as good or original as Busan, but still an entertaining zombie action film!

The rumours are true: Peninsula can not be compared to its brilliant predecessor, Train to Busan. Subtleties make way for non-stop action and the movie also has a big Fast & Furious vibe. But especially on the big screen it's also a very exciting and entertaining film. I'd give it an 8 out of 10. . The story is similar to the upcoming Army of the Dead by Zack Snyder: a group of people must go back to zombieland to retrieve some bags containing lots of money. It looks like an easy mission at first (those zombies are harmless in the dark!), but of course it all goes wrong very soon. Welcome to hell! . Some things that struck me while watching the film: .

• Peninsula looks amazing on the big screen (the destroyed city). However there is a lot of CGI and because of that it sometimes feels like watching a videogame
• The story begins during Train to Busan and makes a timejump of four years.
• There are some English spoken scenes in the movie and frankly they're terrible. I can accept that Asians speak English with an accent, but there are also "English" or "American" characters in it and they act very badly. The interview scene in the beginning - telling us what happened in the last four years - is embarrassing
• Some emotional scenes are really over the top, but I guess that's the Korean way of drama
• There are no actors of Train to Busan in the sequel
• The film only costed about 16 million dollars to make. That's low budget in the States. World War Z had a budget of 190 million

The Clearing (2020)

A 50 minute story turned into a 100 minute movie

After seeing the trailer I had high hopes for The Clearing. Too bad it's just an okay zombiefilm, certainly not a classic.

The movie is about a father and daughter who go camping in the middle of nowhere. One morning the father wakes up and discovers that his daughter is gone. Just when he goes out to look for her, he meets several crazy (running) zombies who want to bite him and tear him apart (there's no eating in this film). He does see his daughter outside and tells her to run away. He himself goes back to the caravan - and stays there almost the whole film. That's it actually. The father tries to get rid of the zombies in front of his door to go after his daughter, but every time he fails and must get back in. At one point that becomes boring.

Of course this movie was made on a low budget and at first that doesn't show. The performances are okay, the zombies look great and the action is satisfying. But.almost 70% of the movie takes place on one location and that feels... cheap? Some unlikely and illogical things also happen. In the beginning of the zombie invasion his cellphone still works. So why not call for help? And how can his daughter survive in the woods for so long while he is safely in the caravan? How did the father learn to fight so well and how is he able to survive his latest trick on the undead?

The Clearing could have been a great first part of a movie. With a second big location, let's say a mall, airport, holiday resort or even a big ship, the story would have been much more exciting and interesting. Now it looks like they turned a 50 minute story into a 100 minute movie. It's not bad and The Clearing certainly has some nice scenes. It's a good effort with the budget they had, but if they spent a few millions more it could have been great.

7/10

Blood Quantum (2019)

Interesting, but still a disappointment

Man, I was so looking forward to seeing this movie. I hoped it would be great, combining the life (and problems) in a Native American reserve with a zombie invasion. Too bad I was so let down. Here's why (and beware of SPOILERS). . . . . In any story - drama, science fiction or horror - the way people behave at least has to be logical. In Blood Quantum a little part of the reserve has become a safe haven protected by walls. I get that. Safety is number 1, so when new people arrive they must be checked for bite marks before they are allowed to enter. But why not really check if someone only says that she's really clean? Everyone would lie to get in, wouldn't they? Why not let them strip to be sure?

Then the moment the film really lost me. There's a scene at the end when one of the female protagonists is able to shoot the bad guy before he kills her pregnant friend. But although the bad guy has just stabbed another man (which makes you think he's really lost it) the woman hesitates and even tries to reason. Of course this has no effect. She decides to shoot after all, but of course she's too late and the damage is done.

Blood Quantum could have been good or even great. The opening scene in which dead fish come to life is brilliant. It's a nice sign of what is to come. The 6 months timejump is also interesting, but it doesn't give us an answer to how the protagonists survived. I would have liked to see scenes with people raiding the city (on the other side of the bridge) looking for supplies. I think that was a missed chance. Or maybe there wasn't enough budget (left)?

Blood Quantum is an interesting take on the zombie genre because of its setting (the reserve) and its leads. I loved the performances of all actors and the story did entertain. Too bad it could have been much better. I wish Native Americans were more featured in (Hollywood) films. Afro Americans have Black Panther. Where is their superhero?

I give the film a 6.5 out of 10

Two of Us (2020)

Atmospheric and interesting until the zombies arrive

Two beautiful young girls hide in a now abandoned holiday resort somewhere in Asia (Thailand?) after a zombie outbreak. They spend the days eating, swimming, painting, sleeping and watching movies. "It's another day in paradise", one of them says, and as a viewer you know that can't last very long. Let the zombies enter! Unfortunately that doesn't happen for a long time.

The moment they leave the resort in search of gas the film gets interesting. In a small village they meet two male survivors and for the first time you wonder what would happen. Will the men take advantage of the girls? Or will they secretly follow them to their safe haven? The scene ends in a surprising way. Nice, we are still interested in the story. After 50 or so minutes the first zombie arrives and that's too bad, because it's all downhill from there. The living dead look so fake and the fight scenes with them are so laughable that you can't take the film seriously anymore. Frankly, as a viewer you don't really care whether they will make it out alive or not.

Dead Earth (or Two of us) starts out as an interesting and atmospheric take on the zombie genre. The cinematography is at times nice and the Asian holiday resort is a great location. I also liked the music. The girls are very pretty and you're hoping the film will be at least similar to movies like The Dead. What the main characters really lack is a purpose. What were the girls doing? Were they waiting to be rescued? Were they gathering information about the surroundings in order to escape? Just biding their time was illogical given the fact that someday their food and drinks would run out. So what were their plans?

I think Dead Earth is an interesting mistake. It could have been good, but maybe the budget got away. The atmosphere and locations at least are not bad. I'm told Dead Earth is part 1 of a trilogy, but although the story can be continued I wonder how many are really interested in seeing the sequel. You can count me out.

6/10

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

A satisfying conclusion to the 42 year old saga

In 2015 JJ Abrams had the daunting but almost impossible task to come up with a new Star Wars movie that would not only entertain the critical old fans but also satisfy the new ones. His trick? He introduced new characters and made a remake of A New Hope. For me that worked fine.

He actually does the same with The Rise of Skywalker.

To conclude both the new trilogy as well as the whole Skywalker saga he revisited famous old Star Wars locations and "copied" some of the most famous scenes from A New Hope, The Empire strikes back and Return of the Jedi. And of course he made a comeback possible of the biggest Star Wars villain around, emperor Palpatine.

Cheap? Maybe. But all of Abram's decisions work out very well. With The Rise of Skywalker he made an entertaining and epic conclusion of the Skywalker saga. He wasn't able to please all fans of course, but that's what you get when you tackle a project like this. Too bad a lot of people wanted him to fail and never gave him a chance. Some people even suggests that this episode is even worse than The Phantom Menace - and that's absurd.

The Rise of Skywalker is not a perfect film.

There's a lot going on and especially C3PO's storyline in the beginning takes a lot of screentime. The "MacGuffin" in the story seems far fetched, but the film really delivers at the moments when it has to.

Because it's best to see the movie without knowing anything here are some things that I think are worth mentioning.

• The opening crawl of the movie starts with "The Dead speak", referring to the return of Palpatine who has given the entire universe a terrorist-like message that he's back

• Rey, Finn and Poe are together almost the whole film

• The scenes with Carrie Fisher are well done. If you didn't know that she died you'd think that she filmed all new scenes. Only one shot of Leia seems fake

• The confrontations between Ren and Rey are highlights

• Kylo Ren's character is the most interesting

• There one big WTF moment in the movie that no doubt will be spoilered by trolls on the internet

• JJ Abrams does a lot of fan service (nothing wrong with that)

• Who or what is Rey? I could live with the answer

• In the last scene the thing that you hope would happen actually does

Klaus (2019)

Wow, we finally have a new Christmas classic

Okay, when it comes to Christmas movies to me there was only one: It's a wonderful life by Frank Capra. The Bishop's Wife and Love Actually are also very good but they don't have the same magic. This year I can finally add a new classic: Klaus. It's a funny and surprising tale of how the real Santa Claus was born. I love the story and especially the look of this movie is amazing. Klaus is hand drawn animation but thanks to computers it has astonishing lit scenes. That makes the journey extra special.

The story is about this lazy and clumpsy guy, Jesper, who is the only son of the director of a Mail School. His father wants to teach him a lesson and sends him to this little snowy place called Smeerensburg. Only if he succeeds in delivering 6000 letters in a year he's allowed to come back and continue his luxery life. Of course Jesper obeys: he doesn't have a choice. But when he arrives at Smeerensburg he discovers that his mission is an almost imposible one. Two rival families are at constant war with each other and will never send each other letters. But when Jesper visits his last hope, this hermit called Klaus, something magical happens. By accident this mourning figure receives a letter from a child and wants to return this nice gesture by giving the boy a present. Suddenly all the childeren of the village want to send letters...

Why does Santa always say "Ho! Ho! Ho!?". How did he get his reindeers? Does he really have a naughty book? Why does he travel on a sleigh? All those questions will be answered in this great tale of one man, Jesper, changing the fate of a town that once only knew anger and never friendship. The end of Klaus is actually quite moving.

Forget The Polar Express or all the Christmas Carols. Klaus is the real deal! Go see it on Netflix!

9/10

Captain Marvel (2019)

Why so much hate? I loved it!

When you go watch Captain Marvel it's best to go in without knowing anything. So if you're smart you'll skip this review, although I promise to keep the spoilers down and tell you only the vital stuff.

The story begins on the planet of the Kree, a noble warrior hero race. Vers (Brie Larson) - who doesn't know anything about her past - wakes up early and asks her mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) to go into the gym with her to practice some fighting techniques. Here we discover that Vers has special powers even the Kree don't understand. The same day the two go on a mission to rescue another Kree who has fallen into the hands of their archenemy, the Skrulls. Unfortunately it turns out to be a trap and Vers is captured. When the Skrulls search her brain they find important information that leads them to earth. Luckily, after her escape from the prison Carol also lands over there. She gets flashes from her past and learns that earth is actually her home planet and her real name is Carol Danvers. So what happened? How did she (as a human) end up with the Kree? And what about all her special powers? Carol meets a young Nick Fury and he helps her to find all the answers. Too bad the Skrulls can morph into different people. Who can you trust?

There is some much to like in Captain Marvel. It starts as Terminator 2 meets Top Gun and it's mainly a buddy movie because Nick Fury gets a lot of screentime. His de-aging is so well done that I think Captain Marvel will set off a trend. Maybe next we will see Michael Douglas in a new sequel to Romancing the Stone? Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies 2?

Brie Larson is excellent as the main lead. I mean, she really kicks arse! The fight scenes are much more realistic than for instance in Wonder Woman. The 90s setting is also well done. When you know that era well then be prepared for a lot of laughs and nostalgia.

Captain Marvel is more than the birth of a hero. The movie has a true heart because of the human connection that Carol Danvers discovers and it has some great surprises. Most important: there are two aftercredits scenes and the first one is the most important one because it connects the story to what's coming next. Can't wait to see this movie again!

8,5 out of 10

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

No fan of Jurassic World 1, but this one's pretty good

In 1993 Jurassic Park made a big impression on me. I even thought its two sequels weren't that bad. Jurassic World was the movie I didn't like. To me it was a mildly entertaining mess and its global success was a total mystery to me. I really wasn't looking forward to seeing Fallen Kingdom, but luckily I did. Surprisingly it's very good!

The story picks up four years after Jurassic World. The dinosaurs of the island Isla Nublar are in danger because a volcano is about to erupt (!). Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) wants to save them and gets an offer from Benjamin Lockwood, former partner of park founder Hammond, to relocate all the animals to a new island where they can live undisturbed. She agrees and even convinces her (now) former boyfriend Owen (Chris Pratt) to join her. Back on the island they discover that they have been lied to and that their own actions have led to this...

Fallen Kingdom isn't the big Chris Pratt show and that's a good thing. Don't get me wrong: I love Pratt, but in terms of characters the film has a lot more to offer. Bryce Dallas Howard gets most screentime and even the kid in the movie, old Lockwood's niece Maisy, isn't annoying like the ones in the previous films. She's a real heroine. The role is played by first timer Isabella Sermon, of whom we without any doubt will hear much more from in the future. Well done!

The first half of Fallen Kingdom, when the gang gets back together and discover what happened on the island, is the best part. The hommage to Raiders of the Lost Ark ("Jock! Start the engine!"), when Owen and Claire must run for their lives because of the eruption and dive into the ocean (as seen in the trailer) is the best sequence. But there's also a lot of fun in smaller scenes. I won't spoil it for you, but there's a moment when Owen gets drugged and something very dangerous is approaching him. In typical Pratt fashion he escapes. In another scene he has to draw blood from a dinosaur in a truck. Very funny.

I also like the fact that Fallen Kingdom does a lot with suggestion. In Spielberg fashion we see a lot of silhouettes of dinosaurs which adds to the suspence. It also makes the film look very good. The ending of the movie is a bit strange, though. It's okay to have a heart for the dinosaurs, but to do something like that... well.. that's pretty extreme. It does make way for an interesting part 3.

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom will be the big summer movie of 2018 and without any doubt rule the global box office. It deserves that success because it's a well crafted and very entertaining action movie. The special effects are excellent and the characters are more interesting than in most action flicks. Go see it!

4/5

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

One big turd - 5/10

Let me first say that I'm a very big Star Wars fan. I saw the first one as a teenager back in 1978, had to wait a very long time for the new ones and thought that both Rogue One and The Last Jedi were brilliant. This one however isn't. I even think that Solo: A Star Wars Story is the worst entry in the series.

Disney has bought the rights to Star Wars and in order to get their investment back they must earn money: I get that. So they made a sequel trilogy to Return of the Jedi and are planning a brand new one in the future too. I get that as well. At the same time they produce stand-alone movies so they can have a Star Wars movie every year. Logical. But why choose Han Solo as a subject, a project that can only fail?

Making a Han Solo movie without Harrison Ford is a big risk. Who can follow in his iconic footsteps? Actor Alden Ehrenreich does a decent job, but he can't make us forget the original actor. It's not even close. Trying to see the movie as a non-Han Solo movie isn't possible either, because you're constantly reminded that Alden is supposed to be the real deal. I don't know how many times the famous dice (Solo's lucky charm) is shown to proof this or when Alden tries to smile like the famous scoundrel.

Then the story... Well, somebody must have asked the question: "Okay, we'll do Han Solo. Which elements of his past can we use? How he met Chewbacca, how he won the Falcon, the Kessel run... well, they all appear in the story. Wow, that's some lazy writing! And remember that famous scene in the Godfather part 2 when Vito arrives in America and somebody asks him his name? Well, there is a similar scene in this movie explaining Han's surname. What, has he lived his life all the time without one? No, it doesn't look like a tribute. Again, it's just some lazy writing.

Visually the movie is also disappointing. The first part, when we meet Han and his girlfriend Qi'ra for the first time, even looks like a middle-of-the-road Direct-to-DVD film. There is a nice scene however when Han and his crew must rob a train (as shown in the trailer). To me that was the (visual) highlight of the movie.

In the end there's an effort to make this stand-alone film fit more into the Star Wars movie canon by showing a famous character that will probably play a big part in the sequel. This surprise comes out of nowhere and it just doesn't work. And yes: sequel. Depending on the success two sequels will follow. At the end of part 3 Han will probably walk into the cantina on Tattooine to meet Obi-Wan and Luke for the first time. So yes: that doesn't happen in this movie.

It's incredible that the great Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the lost arc) co-wrote this story. There are absolutely no surprises in there and the character build up (of Solo and Emilia Clarke's Kira, pardon: Qi'ra) is very poor at times. The scene in which Han speaks Wookie (!) is an all time low in Star Wars history (only to be outlowed by the "Yippie" from Episode 1 and "Nooooo!" from Episode 3). And a robot with an attitude? Come on! Been there, done that.

I think Disney - like so many Stormtroopers - pretty much misfired with this movie. Who the hell okayed this script? Donald Glover is charming as Lando, but could have had more screentime. Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany always perform well and Emilia Clarke... well, the movie stops just when her character becomes interesting. Her character could be fascinating in the sequel (that hopefully will not be made).

Ever since I heard of Solo: A Star Wars Story I had a bad feeling about it. I wasn't wrong. Solo is a movie made for all the wrong reasons (money) and should have never been green lit. It's just Star Wars overkill. Let me end with something positive: in the movie theatre there were also fans who did like the movie, so there's a slight chance that I'm too harsh for the film. So if you really want to see it: go ahead!

Oh yeah: there's no aftercredits scene in this film!

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Wait a minute, replicants can do... WHAT?

In science fiction the viewer must believe in a certain fantasy in order to enjoy the story that will be presented. In Back to the Future you must accept the fantasy that it is possible to travel through time. In E.T. you must accept the fact that aliens from other planets do exist.

In Blade Runner 2049 the main story is all about a certain ability the replicants seem to have - and it's a totally absurd and unbelievable one. That and a few plot holes almost wreck the whole movie.

In the end Blade Runner 2049 is saved by the incredible visuals and the love director Denis Villeneuve has for the original. There are many big and small scenes that refer to characters and situations in Blade Runner 1. The film brings back two characters from the original (beside Deckard) and the second one is actually very well done. The now famous Vangelis soundtrack also plays a major part at the end. The first encounter between Gosling and Harrison Ford is an absolute delight, just like the performance of newcomer Sylvia Hoeks (who makes us Dutchies very proud). The film is long - almost three hours - and could have used a shorter cut.

Blade Runner 2049 certainly does not surpass the original, but it's a courageous effort that's worth seeing in the cinema, especially in 3D IMAX. Only time will tell if it will also become a classic.

7,5 / 10

Screamers: The Hunting (2009)

An entertaining Aliens rip-off

The original Screamers movie was an entertaining scifi film that could best be described as a serious science fiction variation on Tremors. Years later the sequel is clearly inspired by James Cameron's Aliens and if you don't expect much it's pretty entertaining.

In this highly predictable tale a team of soldiers are traveling to the Screamers planet because of a distress call they received. They only have six days to rescue the one who sent out the signal before a big meteor storm will destroy the whole planet. Okay, let's do this!

The story will then give you all the clichés that you want, from the lead who has a personal score to settle to the one who wants to steal the Screamers technology to sell it on earth (yes, that's Burke!). In classic The Thing fashion anybody could be a Screamer so if our protagonist meets this handsome survivor (a young Stephen Ammell) you'll probably know how this will end.

Despite all its flaws Screamers: The Hunting is a nice low-budget action movie. There is a lot of blood and although actress Gina Holden is no Ripley she does a decent job (and isn't hard on the eyes either). Go see it!