Gettysburg (1993)

Gettysburg (1993)

Epic historical film to watch again (9*)

If there's only one word to describe this movie, it's epic. In all of its meanings: length, dialogues, significance, music, scenery, massive battlefields and so on.

The length (over 4 hours) probably scares potential viewers, as well as the locations: most of the footage was shot in the surroundings of Gettysburg.

However, the film is nothing less than a tour de force. It brings a balanced mix of personal stories, military strategy and battle scenes. Both the Union and Confederal sides are portrayed in a neutral manner.

The film captures the viewers' attention from beginning to end. The incredible eye for detail, the relentless tension, the battle's background story and many other aspects make it a film to watch again. Martin Sheen's interpretation of Confederate General Lee is also one of those reasons.

Both the horror and the glory take their place in the movie. Even if the film was produced over 20 years ago, the political aspects are still relevant today in the United States of America.

For history lovers, this is nothing less than a must-see.

Grease (1978)

Grease (1978)

Busy and simple musical (5*)

Inspired by and inspiring film successes like Pulp Fiction and many persons to sing songs at karaoke bars early in the night, expectations were high. Too high.

First, the plot is razor-thin. Boy falls in love with girl, by chance they end up in the same school and try to get back together. Some other subplots develop, but they're not much more complicated than the main story.

Second, the film is almost two hours of noise. There are no silent moments, and it's irritating. Dialogues follow each other up, and in between there's music. Even when the music plays, you are left wondering why and which background noises, like footsteps, are mixed in the audio.

Third, the visual noise is giving headaches. The screen is always filled, often with colours that pain the eyes, and often with too many actors and extras.

Fourth, acting is as thin as the plot. Almost no character development. Too many caricatures with no meaning. Humor that resembles too much to slapstick.

So why give it five stars? Despite the excess of actors, choreography is very good. It must have taken a lot of time to put all those actors and extras in the right order. Also, a look at greaser culture was interesting, as well as the car scene in the sewers.

If you're into busy, superficial musicals: give it a try. If not, just leave it.

1000+ free movies online

Movie fan? Here's a list of over 1100 free movies that you can watch. Best part of it all - they're legally available. So no streaming problems, no annoying ads, no download time.

Many of these movies are from the 1950s and earlier. However, they include movies of Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, movies with John Wayne,...

Enjoy to watch these movies online!

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Enjoyable cold war drama (7*)

(Spoiler in the last paragraph) Inspired by true events, the film turns the events in a nice story. An insurance lawyer first defends a caught Soviet spy, and then helps to arrange an exchange with an US spy in the middle of the cold war.

The main achievement of the movie is that it turned the events into a credible, substantial and enjoyable story. It's easy to feel involved into the different players. The subplots all have a decent ending. Screenplay is good, light and sound convincing. Tension is always playing in the background, until the very end.

Another strong point is the depiction of the beginning of the cold war. For example, the scenes at the wall dividing Berlin show well a part of history that is easily forgotten. Also, how society was organised in the early 1960s. In certain scenes, you wonder: was it really like that? The research team made a really good effort there.

The actors act at different levels: Mark Rylance plays the soviet spy, with an outstanding performance rewarded with an Oscar. Tom Hanks has his strong moments, but the CIA agent was a little disappointing, just like some other supporting actors.

The good, easy-to-understand story sometimes reveals its weaknesses: a lack of depth, a focus on story instead of history, and occasional corniness.

However, it's still a good movie to watch and to be entertained with. 

Spoiler alert: One questions still remains. At the end, when they're waiting for the signal that the economics student is released, the CIA agent on the phone might have faked that the student was released. So the lawyer would agree to swap only the Soviet spy for the American, since the student wasn't important for the CIA.

Don't Breathe (2016)

Don't Breathe (2016)

Nail-biting thriller (8*)

Few horror movies can keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. This one does.

Thanks to the well-written story, the never-stopping pace and the very credible acting, the thriller will take you within the house of a blind man, defending himself against three ordinary burglars.

The characters have excellent depth. Stephen Lang (Avatar) does a terrific job as the blind ex-military, his lesser-known fellow actors are very authentic and have stories going of their own.

Clichés are avoided. Expect to be surprised many times. The typical silence before the surprise or action is very misleading, adding up to the tension as well as the creative story development.

If there's one remark to be made, it's the color in the movie. In some parts appropriate, in some parts a bit annoying.

Every few years, there's a really good thriller/horror movie made. Don't Breathe is one of them, even good for non-fans of the genre.

Suicide Squad (2016)

Suicide Squad (2016)

Cliché hero movie (6*)

The story is rather simple: gather a crew of bad guys and fight an evil wanting to end the world. Only few story lines are added to the main story.

Simple stories can still be good. However, the stories in Suicide Squad are too transparent, too predictable, and sometimes even boring.

Despite the thin plot, it is still a decent hero action film. Good special effects. Good CGI. Good action scenes. Decent acting. Nice action scenes. Good for an evening of entertainment, and certainly a good one for teenagers.

But it misses subtlety. It's too obvious. A perfect example is the music, where popular classic songs are used to 'beef up' the film. Little character development - a common trap for hero movies. It's like an average Bond movie: good action, but don't expect much more.

Some classic action movie mistakes were made: the sound goes minus 10 when in the battle scenes an actor has to say a line. Additionally, numerous inconsistencies: where does Harley Quinn get her smartphone from? And cliché dialogues all along the film.

A few positive points though: Jared Leto's Joker made a good appearance, even though it's not comparable to Heath Ledger's legendary performance in The Dark Knight (2008). The use of colours is experimental, maybe a little over the top but still inventive.

All in all a decent action movie, but the plot had more potential than the result.

Badlands (1973)

Badlands (1973)

Intriguing thriller 8*

The movie invites the viewer on a road trip by following a serial killer and the impressionable girl accompanying him.

Main actor Martin Sheen delivers an excellent performance. His portrayal of a typical psychopath leaves viewers with many questions, and adds intrigue to the sometimes surrealistic movie.

The music, going from classic music to jazz, helps to turn the movie into a thriller. With Sheen's female counterpart Sissy Spacek's voice-overs, the movie mixes different genres and points of view.

An additional reason to watch the film is the beautiful scenery, from which the film's title is derived. Filming occurred in Colorado, and nature lovers might enjoy the movie.

An interesting watch with thoughtful character developments.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Classic 70s horror (7*)

In this remake of the 50s horror movie, a health inspector witnesses the invasion of alien 'body snatchers', who capture human beings.

Despite being a remake, the film is well-adapted to a 70s public. The scenery, the dialogues and especially the music turn this movie into a rather enjoyable thriller with a good portion of suspense.

Often, it has the same feel as the 70s zombie movies. Longer shots, time for showing the environment, and the music that nowadays sounds very offbeat to a horror movie. Also, the camera movements are sometimes experimental for that time.

The production managed to get talented actors, who add depth that is usually lacking to nowadays' horror movies.

Already seen the 50s movie? It's still enjoyable. The story was rewritten so that there are still plenty of surprising scenes.

All in all, it is good entertainment and a must for 70s horror movie fans.