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Reviews
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Nope, nope and nope
Just watched it here in Belgium. How much I like Keanu and how big a fan I was of the first movies, this one just felt so unnecessary. It's not a bad movie, but it has really zero purpose except to tap into some nostalgic feelings and it doesn't do it all that well. Even the special effects aren"t ground breaking at all. I even had a feeling Keanu felt the same, almost looked like he was wondering what the hell he signed up for. Big pass for me.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
A pleasant surprise!
Just saw the movie in avant-premiere here in Belgium. Had a blast, and my daughters (11 and 17) really loved it. Sure, there's quite a bit of fan-service but I was very happy to see they kept the style of the previous movies, it has a dash of The Goonies combined with the charm of the 80's movies and the ending is just great. Really did not expect it to be this good, but man am I happy they did what they did. Great movie, just plain good fun like in the good old days. Go see it!
Libertad (2021)
Nothing special
Saw it at the Film Fest Ghent. Nothing wrong with the movie, it's nicely put together, acting is good and you kinda relate to the main characters but it's just way too slow. I have a feeling deliberately so to give it more 'credibility' which works against it. Story is pretty mediocre, the little story there is, is very mainstream and you can see where the whole thing is going from miles away. It's a nice sunday-afternoon movie but for me surely not something worthy of competing in any competition.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Just a great addition to the series (spoiler-ish)
Saw this movie last night in Belgium, part of a movie marathon with The Force Awakens. I found The Last Jedi to be just what a Star Wars movie should be. There's epic battles, great emotion, well done humour and some nice twists and turns. Acting was really top notch and it really did not go the way we were all thinking.
That being said, of course there are things that could be better or that definitely will raise some criticism. My main negative is that the subplot with Finn is a bit of an odd part and while I understand why they added this, it felt a bit out of place. There seemed little to no time to expand on all the new characters, they seem to come and go a bit quickly.
There will be a lot of criticism about Snoke and Leia and the way Luke handles certain things, but thinking about it some more, I really don't think it's bad. Snoke may come off as a little underwhelming, but that's more to underline how impressively powerful Kylo Ren is and at the same time explains why Luke, being the greatest Jedi of his time, reacted as he did when he saw the darkness taking over Ben Solo. The part with Leia and space still feels a bit odd, but I suppose they handled it this way to emphasize how strong the force is in Leia too, again explaining how powerful Kylo Ren is.
Looking forward to seeing it again.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Fantastic sequel
I was lucky enough to see this first day playing in Belgium so I could avoid any spoiler I might read online. So I won't say anything about the story or the plot, just know it's good. A lot better than I expected really. You have to know I absolutely adore the first Blade Runner and know the movie in and out. So scepticism came kinda natural to me.
But boy was I wrong. Not only did Villeneuve manage to make this a sequel which can easily stand next to the original, but he avoided the trap of making this movie a fan-service and to put as much reference to the original into his movie to please the hardcore Blade Runner crows. No, he made this movie his own, while expanding the universe created by Ridley without simply copying it. It just works...like the iPhone 33 will in 2049 ;)
The visuals are striking, the soundtrack pays great homage to the original while having a more bombastic and frankly dark tone to it, the acting it superb, the way they introduce Deckard is simply fantastic and the way the story unfolds just adss to the whole mythology of Blade Runner.
I'm so very pleased to have viewed this movie without spoiling anything for myself concerning either the visuals and story and urge you to do the same. One of the best movie experiences I've witnessed the past few years and already counting down the days to go see it again.
Absolute love it.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Fantastic, lost for words!!!
Well, what can I say. First, let me state I'm 42yrs old and a massive Star Wars fan. A hard thing since my wife just cannot understand why. Well, if there's ONE reason why this movie is so fantastic, it's that I saw the same wonder and magic in my daughter's eyes than I had when I was a young boy.
They did it! They finally managed to bring the SW universe to life. All the bad things from the prequels are gone, all the good things from the originals is back. It's exciting, funny, spectacular, emotional and everything a Star Wars movie has to be.
The last 30secs show more acting genius than the whole 3 prequels together. What an achievement from both director, producers, cast and designers. So many things to love about this, it's just impossible to say. Been waiting for this for SO long, and god I'm so happy to have been one of the first to see this movie (movie releases in Belgium on Dec 16th at 10am :))
Can't wait to see what's coming!