bartverberne16 Reviews

Under the Silver Lake (2018)

Refreshing dive into the absurd

[7/10 · 15 December 2018]

Under the silver lake is a film about a young man named Sam (Andrew Garfield) who becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystical disappearance of a young lady in the Hollywood hills. The movie is interesting in that it has an out-of-the-ordinary lead character and, above all, an out-of-the-ordinary plot. It is sometimes rather hard to follow what Sam is up to, and about what's meant to be real and what's not, however director David Mitchell manages to sustain a sufficiently intriguing atmosphere for most of the duration of the film. What I especially enjoyed were the original shot selection (camera angles) and numerous hints to classic movies and hall-of-fame directors.

A big minor of this film, I found, is that it is at least 15 mins too long. At a certain point you reach a level of saturation, resulting in confusion over what the movie is actually about. Because of some scenes simply got lost on me, and I am still wondering about the reason for including it in the film.

Nonetheless, this film is an original contribution, which is honorably venturous among the simple-minded, mega-budget action movies which fill up theaters nowadays.

Borgman (2013)

Metaphysical absurdism in a grippingly tense film

[8/10 · 14 November 2013]

'Borgman' tells the story of a drifter (Jan Bijvoet) that slowly but suddenly takes control of the lives of a young, wealthy family living in a beautiful mansion somewhere in the Netherlands. The movie begins with a scene in a forest, where Borgman, i.e. the drifter, and some of his associates are chased from their underground hiding places by a group of holy workers (lead by the-always-inspiring Pierre Bokma). Soon after their escape, Borgman alone seemingly randomly knocks on the doors of the houses of very wealthy people, asking if he can use bathing facilities in their house. In attempt to do good after a brutal beating by her husband (Jeroen Perceval), Marina (Hadewijch Minis) helps Borgman by giving him temporary shelter in the garden shed. That was all that the intimidating but darkly intriguing character of Borgman needed to unfold his diabolical plans...

Although Borgman is a layered surrealistic film, and probably therefore sometimes slow and hard to understand, its message is clear and the story is continuously compelling. Especially intriguing are the biblical aspects, which are always subtly present in the background, and which give the film a dark, tense character. Not being a religious person, the movie does trigger an interest in the spiritual, or better, meta-ethics, which won't leave you alone for several days afyer having watched it. The excellent performances of Jan Bijvoet and Hadewijch Minis are crucial in delivering the very strong script.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who seeks a tense thriller. Because, aside from the absurdist aspects, from start to the end the movie is very exciting.

8/10

The Grey (2011)

Underrated must-see gem

[9/10 · 24 May 2013]

A group of oil rig workers, stationed on a compound somewhere in Alaska, are set for recess on the mainland US. During the flight back, something goes horribly wrong and the plane crashes in the middle of nowhere, i.e. in remote Alaska. Most of the workers die in the crash, but about 7 of them are 'lucky' enough to survive. Lucky with a huge blot, because as of now they are the prey of a pack of wolves with a strong will to kill those who don't belong in their land. Not just eat, no, kill. With a natural intuition for survival Ottway (Neeson) takes charge, and he suggests trying walking back to civilization in lack of any other option but dying. The group's attempt to escape to civilization is quite a journey, to say the least.

'The Grey' is a fantastically unrelenting film that will leave you with a mixed emotion of melancholy and veneration of the wild. Carnahan depicted the wild very well, e.g. by using wide-angle shots showing the vast snowy landscapes, or by emphasizing the climate that the men have to deal with. This produces a sense of loneliness, and compassion for the poor men struggling for survival in the Alaskan snow. At the same time the wolves are continuously sensed lurking in the background, which gives the film a proper dose of tension. The movie slows down a bit by using philosophical debates between the men at quieter moment, discussing the meaning of life and religion in particular. However, this never halts the film sufficiently to be irritating.

A strongly underrated film that is a must-see for those who like films that depict epic journeys a la Apocalypse Now or even Into the Wild.

9/10

Friends with Benefits (2011)

a ho-hum collection of uninspired romance

[5/10 · 30 January 2013]

Dylan (Timberlake) and Jamie (Kunis) meet when the former is on a trip to New York for a job interview. The two become friends, and after a cozy night on the bench, they decide to experiment with having a sex-only affair, i.e. to be 'friends with benefits'. At first this doesn't end well for both of them....

Despite the good title, the contents of this film are disappointing. For a romantic comedy the bear essence of the plot has potential, especially for the younger crowd. However, this only holds up the first half hour, after which it falls into a highly predictable string of poorly written scenes with overly cliché dialog. The lead actors, Timberlake and Kunis, are presumably only cast for their appearance, because they don't fit their role very well in terms of acting. The spark just isn't there. The rare interesting and/or funny scenes mainly involved the supporting cast, i.e. Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson and Richard Jenkins, who make this film just slightly more memorable.

Kunis' mesmerizing eyes lured me to go watch this film. However, despite her stunning bodily appearance, it didn't stop me from feeling rather bored.

5/10

Bitch Slap (2009)

Very bad - Only for the true Voth/Cummings/Olivo aficionados

[1/10 · 12 February 2012]

This movie is about the most awful that I have seen in a while. The only worthwhile experience of watching this film are the sensual forms of Cummings, Voth and Olivo - Voth in particular if you ask me. These woman are really very pretty, but when it ends up carrying the weight of the film, the makers should've aimed for a porno instead. It's just not good enough to watch the same cheap tricks for the length that the movie has (e.g. over-obvious continuously present breasts, needless inklings on the female genitalia, and so on...). Once or twice is funny, thousands of times is just stupid. It appears to me Jacobson intended to make the film using a 'Planet terror-like' style, i.e. to present the film in a somewhat absurd way to allow for the storyline to be the complete nonsense that it is. Unfortunately this doesn't work at all, and the editing is annoyingly present at each instant in the movie. Adding to that the bad acting and the storyline which is ridiculous and confusing at the same time, this movie is a very long sit-through, of which I barely made it to the end.

Really horrible. Only for the true Voth/Cummings/Olivo aficionados - but even still it's a long sit-through.

Thursday (1998)

Thursday: entertainment & disappointment

[6/10 · 13 March 2009]

Casey (Jane) abandoned is old rogue life in LA and started a new suburban life somewhere in Houston, TX. Unsurprisingly, on a Thursday, his old partner-in-crime Nick (Eckhart) drops by to bring back some old memories. All is happy, but, as criminally active as Nick still is, he involves Casey in an icky situation that he was not waiting for. The rest of Casey's Thursday is one of multiple rendez-vous with his old life and doubts about his old friend's intentions.

'Thursday' surprised me, but couldn't convince me in terms of quality. The plot has interesting twists and keeps your focus to the film, much like Tarantino's movies often do. However I found the characters too shallow and the dialog's's too simple for the movie to ever become really good. A pity, because I think it had great potential. The fact that the film kept me focused on the story had the negative effect that I got a little annoyed by the simplicity of the characters. 'Thursday' to me is much like another 'Pulp Fiction' rip-off, but then original enough to be taken serious. If the dialogs were not so over-the-top as they are the movie would be a lot better then it is now.

The Collectors (1999 TV Movie)

collectors of extremely crappy dialogues

[1/10 · 10 January 2006]

This film is about two hit men that are assigned to do a number of jobs, but meanwhile realize that the lives they lead are not the lives they always wanted to have. They want to quit murdering and start a less complicated life.

The on itself not even extremely boring plot line is carried out horribly. The intention to create a dynamic duo a la Vincent Vega and Jules Winfield of Van Dien and Fox fails completely because of the worthless dialogues. This fact on itself dominates the unpleasant character of the film and thus makes the end result to a complete disaster. The acting performances are truly horrible, but it must be said, that is not so much because of Van Dien or Fox but more because of the emptiness of the characters they must enroll.

This film was total crap and I wonder what more I could've done in the 90 minutes of my life I spent watching it. My god...everything would be more satisfying then watching The Collectors. It is a miracle how this production raised the small amount of money that was needed for producing this film.

The Hitcher (1986)

simple, but not to be underestimated

[8/10 · 28 October 2005]

The Hitcher is a simple, low budget thriller that is unexpectedly good. In the middle of rainy night in the deserts of Texas a young man named Jim Halsey (Howell) picks up a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker (Hauer) in turn, appears to be a ruthless killer. This is how the story of this amusing film begins.

The story is simple en not particularly realistic, but with that given, director Harmon and his team managed to make a very good film. Somehow the film is very thrilling, in a 'psychological' kind of way. Much credit for that matter must be given to Rutger Hauer, who is very convincing as the ruthless maniac. In this film, he uses the same 'psycho' style of acting as used in the magnificent Blade Runner. As if he is in some kind of ecstasy, in trying to really be the killer. It is just great to see.

Therefore, The Hitcher is unexpectedly a very entertaining film. Especially if you no trouble with....well, let's say 'surrealism'.

8/10

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Apocalypse Now; This is the way the world ends

[10/10 · 15 October 2005]

Capt. Willard is sent on a mission in Vietnam to kill a man named Kurtz whose methods in the war became 'unsound'. Kurtz is a former officer who settled himself somewhere in Cambodia on the end of the Nung River, deep in the jungle. This film follows Capt. Willard on his seemingly endless journey on the Nung River that leads to the Colonel. On his journey Willard slowly becomes absorbed by Kurtz' life story and especially, his philosophy. Director Brian de Palma shows his true excellence in filming this trip; it is everything that film is supposed to be. It is full of tension and the dialogs are unforgettable. Not to mention the last 30 minutes of the film, which is to me the best ending to a film I have ever seen. When Kurtz (Brando) starts his monologue about the inoculated children, I sizzled. It was just great. The intriguing thing is that if you take your time to absorb the dialogs then you slowly start to comprehend what Kurtz had gone through. Apocalypse Now is definitely a work of art.

About the Redux version; many people are not pleased with the added scenes. Partly I agree, since why would we change something what is already perfect? On the other hand, the extra scenes are interesting when you concentrate on them; at least, that is what I think.

Man on Fire (2004)

Depressed macho saves the film

[7/10 · 13 March 2005]

Man on fire is an okay movie about the sweet revenge of a seriously angry bodyguard.

A positive point of the film is Tony Scotts obvious touch to the style. He managed to give the film more character by using a creepy, modern style. It is as if the viewer is brought closer to the scene of action. In this respect, Scott has done a good job. Also, a clear positive point is the great casting and performance of Denzel Washington. I am not a Denzel fan, but in silent, image driven characters I think he is one of the best. Training Day is a good example. In Man on Fire, Washington manages to attain a certain deprived attitude, as if he has gone through a history of violence. He is silent yet revealing. It are these elements of the movie that kept my attention to the somewhat simple story.

Negative points of the film are easily recognized also. For instance the length. 146 min is a long time, especially if you realize that in the first half hour one can make predictions about the coming two. The length also tends the viewer to become annoyed by Scotts style, which is totally unnecessary. I gave the film a good 7 out of 10 since it is just not special enough to report an 8.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

How to lose your faith in humanity in 116 min....

[2/10 · 15 December 2004]

This film is horrible and seriously boring for anybody with a conscious mind. The predictability of the light footed story is unseen and the jokes are not funny. How to lose a guy in 10 days is a typical example of cinema in which it is far too clear that it is adjusted to some target group.

The acting, for that matter, is not particularly bad. Everybody gets the job done. It is the story itself however that ruins it all. How can anybody write such a simple and predictable plot with the idea of actually realizing it into a movie?! I was shocked. Hudson and McConaughey should keep themselves busy with other projects, as they did successfully before. In my opinion, signing for this film was obviously a mistake.

Collateral (2004)

great Cruise Controlled taxi ride!!

[9/10 · 14 October 2004]

"Collateral" is about a taxi driver (Foxx) who is on the wrong place and the wrong time when a hit-man (Cruise) uses him to escort him to the targets of the night.

The way in which Mann has developed this plot is outstanding. The soundtrack, the scenario, the characters....it is all worked out very well. For example, the disco scene where Cruise attempts to kill a certain target. It is incredible how Mann combined chaos with a smooth and cool conclusion. You should really see this for yourself, because the subtlety of the cinema is hard to explain. The transition to the next scene is very impressive. Here Mann's qualities are seriously tested, since he alters from "action packed image telling tainted film" to "philosophically tainted dialogue controlled film", if you know what I mean. This conversion is done very smoothly; you hardly even notice the change of focus you have to apply. I picked out these scenes in particular because I think it represents the a-class style of this film at its best. It is a great work of cinema that you should check out yourself.

Furthermore, I'd like to say something about the actors performances. The casting is truly great, I believe the contribution of the actors to the "final package" is very important. They provide the finishing touch, so to speak. For example Tom Cruise. In this film, he manages to work with facial expressions that are very convincing. I dare even to compare it with Jack Nicholson who has done excellent performances using this style of acting. Maybe Tom cruise he has even done one of the best jobs so far in his career. Moreover, Foxx does a great job as well. Especially when you consider this to be his most complex character enrolled so far. His earlier roles where rather superficial compared to this one and, as it comes clear, he is able to ascend to a higher level.

9/10

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

They should have called it The Killing of Christ

[6/10 · 18 April 2004]

In my opinion, what this movie lacked, was the essence of Christ and christianity. And since the title is so promising, I was really disappointed when I walked out of the movie theater. The movie starts with the treason of Judas, which longs for about..., shall we say twenty minutes or so. The rest of the film, about a hundred minutes long, we see nothing but the horrible torture of this one man, happened to be called Jesus.

Now I am not religious, I do respect it, but I don't believe or know anything about the bible. I roughly know something about christianity, from what I learned on school, but that's it. The point is, that without any knowledge of the bible this movie represents nothing more than the awful killing of this man happened to be called Jesus. What I mean is, there is no passion in this movie. At least not as promising as the title suggests. The only passion I registered was passion they had in shooting Jesus' awful fate. For example, I actually saw Jesus' ribs, exposed by the extreme beatings he had to endure. I'm not really interested in that, especially when I don't know anything about who this guy actually was and what his intentions were. Without any knowledge of the bible, this is more like a good (but sick!!) horrorpic.

I simply don't understand why Gibson chose to make a movie like this. What I expected and even hoped for was a 3 hour movie in which the story of Jesus' life was told. A story that takes you into his life and along his eventual gruesome death. A story in which people can loose theirselves, something that tells you about the moving history of Jesus. That would've resulted in much more passion as I've seen now.

Concluding, I gave this film 6 out of 10 grading. That's because maybe this movie is probably interesting for religious people, since they are more concerned with Jesus' life and the things he did. In addition, in the end, it was a nice horrorpic....

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

If Harry & Sally were sleepless, they'd meet in Seattle

[5/10 · 16 April 2004]

This movie disappointed me a lot. It's like Ephron tried to make something as good as her earlier 'When Harry met Sally', but unfortunately this movie never reaches it to that level. Partly I believe, this is due to weak acting of Meg Ryan who just can't seem to build up the chemistry as there were between her and Billy Crystal in the above mentioned film. What I did like, was the character of Jonah. Tom Hanks is a great actor, and in this movie the interaction between him and the but small Ross Malinger (Jonah) is great. This definitely carries this movie to an acceptable standard.

I gave this movie a 5 out of 10. Maybe if I hadn't seen Ephron's When Harry met Sally, which was, I emphasize, much better, I would've given it some higher, but alas.

Shouf shouf habibi! (2004)

It is meant to be comic relief!!! fools who think otherwise....

[7/10 · 3 February 2004]

Shouf Shouf Habibi is a film about a Moroccan Family trying to find their way in the Dutch society. With that they regularly clash with the established Western culture, from generation to generation.

The cynical treatment of the collision between two cultures that has been applied earns respect. Ter Heerdt emphasizes both the Dutch and the Moroccan attitude, which results in a very funny story. Rightly, there is no side chosen or judgement cut down; it remains merely analysing and thereby funny. It functions as comic relief to a subject which has become considerably hot in the Netherlands; integration. As I've said before, therefore this movie earns his credits.

It gave a lot of noise when this film was released in Holland. In the cinemas where it was shown, Moroccan youngsters claimed that the movie was 'theirs'. They thought that the film didn't have the intention to enjoy native Dutch people also, and as a consequence little riots broke out. Unfortunately, the Moroccan youngsters who did this never got the spirit this movie actually tries to promote....

Girlfight (2000)

Surprisingly good...

[7/10 · 13 January 2004]

At first glance I expected this film to be crappy because I thought the plot would be so excessively feminist. But I was wrong. As you maybe have read in earlier published comments, I agree in that the feminist part in this film does not bother. I never had the idea that the main character was exaggerating her position as a woman. It's like Guzman is presented as somebody with a spine, this in contrast to her classmates. So I was surprised by the story, in fact, I thought it was quite good, except for the predictable end. Maybe it would've been a better idea to give the plot a radical twist, so that the viewer is somewhat more surprised.

In addition, I'd like to say that Rodriguez earned her respect by the way she put away her character. I can't really explain why, but especially in the love scenes she convinced me. It just looked real I think.

I gave it a 7 out of 10, merely because of the dull last half hour.

Godforsaken (2003)

Finally some good Dutch cinema

[8/10 · 23 December 2003]

Finally, since a long time, a convincingly Dutch product is made. What startled me the most was the good acting of Weeber and Gernandt. They convinced me with their characters. Especially Gernandt, who has a difficult role, gives good accent to the emotions he has to express.

What plays an essential role in this film is the dull ambience that governs the environment in which the story is set. I think we should give credit to the director who correctly emphasized how this ambience is essential to the main characters and the plot. With that, he gave this film the decisional key that makes it as a whole.

Because it is made with a relatively small budget, and it finally breached through the half-tone level of dutch cinema, I gave it a 9 out of 10.

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

Great acting, great dialogs

[8/10 · 8 June 2003]

When Harry met Sally is not just the average romantic comedy as it is often labeled. This movie is, I think, underrated. It has some great dialogs and the acting is very nice as well. Especcially these dialogs make it more then worthwhile, something which cannot be said of most romantic comedies. A very strong point is, that the dialogs make you start thinking. At least, that's what I did when I just saw it. With that, the interaction of love between Crystal and Ryan is worked out very well. The idea that destiny is very important in true love is well worked out, maybe even philosophical idea.

When Harry met Sally is simply a classic in its genre.

A nice 9 out of ten!