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I was pleasantly surprised. The overall plot from beginning to end makes sense, and that is the hardest thing to do. Usually movies fall apart either in the middle or in the end.

Usually the little green men from alien invasion movies are against humanity, but in this case although the aliens show their superiority, in the world of our protagonist they use their control to change the course of things for the better. Obviously we do not know what has happened globally but here the alien's mission seems to nicely intertwine with the life events of our protagonist.

The special effects are good and it evokes the classic Twilight Zone/Alien invasion atmopsphere from 1950s movies. Even though the movie did not have a big budget, it must have helped here to do the most with the least; we see just enough about the ufo's and the aliens for what we need. There is no excess in visuality as in War Of The Worlds (2005) or Independence Day (1996).

The acting is good and also fits in this minimalistic style, so you do not miss the fact that there is almost no dialogue whatsoever.

All in all, a very clever and underrated alien movie with a satisfying ending.

Empire of Light is a wonderful movie about the power of cinema.

Even though some viewers experienced this movie as incoherent and missing focus; I loved it.

There was something about how the storylines were knitted together that kept me confused but intrigued at the same time. Everytime I thought I was watching the final scene of the plot being wrapped up, another story thread came up. Still, looking back, the whole script seemed inevitable with a fitting ending.

Empire of Light has beautiful cinematography, it offers a blast from the past, wonderful acting, serene music, nice poetry, and a bit of Cinema Paradiso with a positive note that makes you dream. What more can you wish for?

Halloween 1978 was a ground breaking movie that did everything right. Nothing is going to beat that. It is like, in a different genre, trying to top Singing In The Rain with a remake. So when you accept that, lowered expectations become different expectations.

1978 has the cast with an enormous energy, beautiful cinematography, the soundtrack, and Michael creeping around in a subtle way, just like the thing did in The Thing in 1982. This kind of horror is not repeated though. Otherwise it would be a simple copy. One should expect a new story line, with some respectful hints to the past as this movie has done. And that is what this movie has done: it was not as creepy as the first but it could never be again. It was a true slasher, and true, Halloween 1978 was really more than that. Still, this is probably as good as a remake of this genre can get. I look forward to the third one.

Loved this show. Apart from the rest of the cast, great to see Michael Douglas in action. To me he remains a true European actor, ahead of his time, the same true artist with guts from Basic Instinct who now shows us what being old is all about, what life is all about.

The Kominsky Method is a tragycomedy with relevant stuff for the world we live in today, sprinkled with some very inspiring moments. Do see it!

No spoilers here beyond the basic IMDB plot details. Bottomline is: go see it! This is a funny but bitter revenge story beautifully told, with of course a twist and catharsis in the end. I cannot remember a movie that had all the ingredients sprinkled so well in it to make this movie not just about revenge but also as being about at least an attempt to come to terms with the past, the past that keeps on coming up with surprises, to start the revenge all over again. Kill Bill or the older equivalent The Bride Wore Black also had women in it that fought back to those who wronged them in the past. But no matter how great these movies were (Kill Bill especially on dialogue that got us into the twisted minds of violent people), the protagonist played by Carey Mulligan stands out. Carey has delighted us before showing she is more than a pretty innocent appearance, from the incredibly sweet angel opposite Ryan Gosling in what I think is the best movie of this millennium: Drive, to a tough DI in Collateral, and more. Not only is she bitter or potentially violent at times (like Jeanne Moreau and Ulma Thulman were in their plots), in A Promising Young Woman she is constantly visibly damaged, vulnerable, sad, tender and lovely at the same time, and what's more: in every scene she is convincing in being all those parts at once. Her perfomance deserves an Oscar win.

The best movies do everything right, and that can only be when the best ingredients come together in exactly the right mix. I will try to sum up what I mean. The cast is great and well picked for the characters they need to flesh out. The actors themselves do not need any introduction. The story of this movie is simple yet powerful and profound and what's more, more relevant today than ever. The ending is true to the plot, timeless, bittersweet and as such a real catharsis that will reverberate long after the credits have faded. The lines themselves that weave the story are also very well written. Combine all this with good camerawork and a soundtrack by the same guy who did the music for The Misfits and you are experiencing a classic that you won't forget.

Some reviews summed up eloquently that this movie about the destructive power of a lie. This 1961 pioneering and daring movie, addresses societal injustice and the power of public perception long before Jagten (2012) came along. Go see that too, by the way. .The Children's Hour's theme goes even deeper than the public lie that was explored in Jagten: it also reflects on the truth in some lies, or better said, lies we sometimes tell ourselves.

Compelling from beginning to end, possibly also because sadly, we still aren't in paradise where all of us can love who they want and be whatever and whoever they want to be. A must-see.

I loved the definition of quantum-computers: binary on steroids. Too bad for the credibility of the movie plot is, though, that in reality quantum computers are a hardware challenge today, not a software one. A major challenge it is to build these suckers, since the more q-bits (calculating power) you want, the more unstable it still is. But Google makes progress and we will get there in the year 2525. Anyway a bit far-fetched that Bruce's Paris Hilton-daughter could change computer science on her own by programming q-bit style on a normal non-quantum-computer, as the story suggested. I think the back-to-the-stone-age theme was better written in the underrated Escape From LA from 1996. Go see that after this one. Having said all this: I agree with all the other reviews of 5 stars and below. Hard Kill is a very bad movie for sure but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

I was a kid when the 70s series came out first, and the wonderful warm cast, the bucolic scenery and dreamy atmosphere of times long past, have stuck with me (and probably countless others around the globe) all my life. I even dreamt to become a vet after that, and even though life took me in a different direction, this series remains the symbol to me of innocent dreams lost, but not forgotten. This reboot quite moved me since it took me straight back to 1978 (when it came out in Holland), I was a kid again, in a time when life seems so uncomplicated full of illusions, and everything was open still. This episode is done with a lot of love for what made the original tick; cinematography, the music, cast, costumes etc are so good that we are taken back in a time machine to a world long lost in time as if we are there, wishing we could stay, if we could. I am sure young people watching it now could carry this reboot in their hearts as many of us have done with the original. I am sure the original cast will consider this as a proper tribute to them, and I would love to see a series 2 if time allows.. And hey, even Mrs Hall is back in a younger incarnation, this time hopefully for more than 3 seasons!

This one of a kind flick must have been an inspiration for the set-up of Halloween 1978: take the car scene in the end, the house, giggly teenagers, the girl protagonist, baby sitting in the dark, an evil loony on the loose etc. So worth a watch, if only for the (I would call it cameo) presence of the great Joan Crawford who does her glamorous thing as always, even though the overarching script and atmosphere does not fit her character at all. The cheery hip sixties music makes you feel you are watching the Flintstones or Scooby Doo, but at other times it does become the classic slasher flick for a while. Somehow this movie cannot decide what genre it is, but it is as silly as entertaining and unique so go for it!

Entertaining enough, this is worth a watch. The Spielberg car chase classic Duel has probably been the inspiration of this 2020 version. Duel worked as a classic since the driver was never seen and we cared for the normal guy who happened to be at the wrong place in the wrong time, but went from strength to strength against the anonymous evil. There was also a lot of suspense, since the movie was not all action, in scenes like in the road canteens where McCloud tried to pinpoint the bad guy among the customers.

In this fast-cutting never ending car case, the rage comes from Russell Crowe, who does an excellent and very convincing job as the evil hillbilly. But since he is right in the open, it would have worked if there was also redemption for him written in the script. In Duel, I felt for the protagonist who was chased, in this movie I did not. As a matter of fact, had we seen in flashbacks why Russell Crowe's character had gone berserk, we might have rooted for him instead. But this still leaves the final confrontation that left me unsatisfied. Somehow in Duel I always felt the protagonist (McCloud) would never make it, and whatever would have happened in that classic, it would have been a surprise somehow. This 2020 version shows it is hard to live up to a story promise, which proofs why real classics are hard to find. I hope Russell will be back more though in good scripts, since he is worth the watch alone.

I do not agree with all the bad reviews. This movie basically was a redo of the 1991 classic: same story, a follow up actually, but this time with a more female cast as would be expected in the me-too era. And it was not that bad, actually. Acting could have been better, though, especially by the protagonist Natalia Reyes who was terrible. What can I say? I liked the smooth mercury look of the 1991 terminator better than this black rather wooden version, too.

Apart from all that, what all the producers since Judgement Day have forgotten over and over again, is that we would rather see a perspective, a movie, from the future: that is where the plot should be played out! Not the same stuff in the present: a terminator from the future wreaks havoc in the present day etc. etc. Just a Genysis did not add anything, this flick does not take the franchise to bigger heights, either, not even with Linda Hamilton who did a good job, though. Probably a movie about a future war would cost too much, but it would be spectacular!

This episode has one of my favorite scenes, showing how Charles Durning, king of character actors, got better in acting with age. His role in this series is the best in his career and this episode shows why.

I love old movies, whether it is Citizen Kane, Gone With The Wind or They Shoot Horses. Don't They? Who doesn't? In time however, it becomes increasingly difficult to find something that we can truly add on our list as unforgettable, even life-changing, somehow. Much to my big surprise, even movie-buffs like me can occasionally stumble upon an instant heretofore unknown favorite that has been waiting for the exact right moment to be discovered. The Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom is my all-time favorite at this time in my life. Some of the scenes of this movie were so magic that I had to capture them with VLC player so I would be able to play them again in the future, in case there would be a time when I would believe that seeing this masterpiece for the first time, I was dreaming as if the Queen of The Stardust Ballroom was never made.

Some say when we watch ghosts on the silver screen, long gone in real life, we experience fleeting emotions. This felt especially true to me as I saw it just in 2019, years after both heroes in this movie have passed away. But it was just the right time. Two decades before and I would have dismissed it as sentimental. Good movies are all about story, acting and chemistry. These all come magically together in The Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom. World War II hero Charles Durning shows his wonderful talent as the charismatic archetypal friendly uncle type that made him the king of character actors in the decades to come. His dancing and singing is outstanding and more importantly, very surprising to see of a guy of his build somehow. He truly sweeps the dance-hall as if he doesn't touch the floor and when Maureen Stapleton is flying with him, so are we with them. This is how reviewer redryan64 described it much better than I can: "Few if any knew that the rather stout physique of his concealed the grace and skills that he had honed up in previous years while working as a dance instructor."

To me, this role gives him a shot at eternity - he might not have had the amazing range of the likes of Robert de Niro and so on, but here he shines unsurpassed as himself: mister old fashioned charming. Maureen Stapleton also does a wonderful job playing the widow who is mourning and lost at first, playing hard to get, but how she (and we with her!) discovers how life always has something worthwhile to offer!

The ballroom scenes that blend their lives together in the Stardust Ballroom transport you to a time long gone, with red velvet, wonderful big band music and romance, graced by a knock-out cameo by vocalist Martha Tilton.

I wished this movie would have lasted 10 hours but I had to say goodbye to these characters after around 90 minutes. The ending, well it is best not give it away, but it was fitting and beautiful to know once more that it is never too late for romance. All I can say it is just a knock-out underrated movie that I hope will become a famous classic one day.

Just a wonderful experience watching another road movie bij Wenders. This is a movie you can also enjoy without going into references and metaphors like existentialism, post-war Germany etc. Greet texts, deep insights and a colourful characters just make it wonderful to experience, like someone is reading a great story to you. The film itself seems like one big take. Just like any travel story, it is full of surprises and twists and turns, with an no-easy-answer-end that is unpredictable and yet inevitable. A relief in these days of uninspired block buster sequels!

Nice to see the whole cast (original behind the mask Michael, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Carpenter) team up again for a strong sequel to the original from 1978. Good to see too the makers of this sequel are as much a fan of the original as all of us, considering the many nods to classical scenes that made the 1978 movie the classic that defined a genre, and simply, made it to one of the best movies of all time. It is always difficult to make a perfect sequel - one has to stay loyal to the original and yet show plenty of new stuff without making the sequel unrecognizable. Halloween (2018) was, as we can see on the trailer, a solid chase movie, as the original was (madman escapes, goes on a killing spree, while his doctor and police hunt him, and this time Jamie Lee Curtis too), but I missed the real scary stuff. Somehow the 1978 Halloween used up all the scary tricks that any director can cram into one movie, it seems, which is why the original remains, well, a perfect movie. An example of the H20 movie from 1998 I really liked was how Jamie Lee Curtis (portrayed as a psychological wreck, while being a strong woman of 2018 in this recent one) saw Michael's reflection everywhere in e.g. shopping windows, or in persons walking up to her from a distance. That was an inventive way to create new creepiness. I missed that inventiveness in this movie. What they did right though was that there was plenty of action, and it was a good choice to keep Michael's character as mysterious and blank as possible. And well, I liked the remake of the soundtrack. All in all, nice to see again and it was a movie worth the watch!

I always try to put myself in the shoes of actors and directors as: if I would have a script like this movie, how would I make it come to life on the screen? Atmosphere is one of those things that arises when a movie does everything right, but it is hard to put your finger on which parts actually were done so well since they all work seamlessly together as in an organism.

In this movie, of course the surroundings are lush, most of the people are good lucking and well educated and cultured, so no wonder you have atmosphere, but it would not be enough to make this movie as good as it has turned out to be.

The music is an excellent mix between classical music, dreamy contemporary melodies and pure 1980s tracks that were popular in France, Italy and other European countries back in the days.

Of course the acting and the chemistry between the protagonists made it all come true. I loved the subtle play that built up tension, attraction and affection between these two young men. And the verbal punch of the father in the end, who I wrongly thought was just a professor not paying attention to his surroundings, that made this the movie of the year for me - while a week ago I would have given that to The Hero. Listen to the father's speech and you re-wind the movie for yourself, and see it make sense. I have only seen this done in one other movie that was almost perfect and that was As Good As It Gets when Jack Nicholson summed up what Helen Hunt meant to him. Wonderful to see how living through grief can also mean realizing the joy you have had, and still have in a memory for the rest of your life. This movie will stay with you for days which means forever, since something will have have changed in you. Timothée Chalamet will be big, hopefully! Superb!

Much to my pleasant surprise, this was indeed what a reviewer on the image called a cinematic Zen experience, in which Sam Elliot is in fact perfect. I have not seen a better 2017 movie and would rank the excellent Blade Runner 2049 second now. Watching this movie and Elliot was a wonderful experience. I loved the music, the slow tempo, the silence, atmosphere and above all, the meaning. Thanks to the chemistry between the main characters, combined with their wonderful acting (especially n difficult and demanding scenes Elliot excelled), their unlikely bond was really there with enough verisimilitude to keep the distance between the observer and the screen at bay. What more can one ask from a movie experience? I hope Elliot gets an Oscar nomination.

Wonderful movie; good acting, meaningful plot, and film noir ending, but still storywise a missed opportunity of greatness.

Spoilers ahead:

Why did the scriptwriters not opt for the following: letting the main character get it all: the ultimate wrestling match, only to witness the death of the old master wrestler Gergorius (Stanislaus Zbyszko) afterwards? The character Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) would really have had it all: fame, fortune but also the ultimate bad luck. Gregorius' son would want to revenge him, as in the movie but only later. In this scenario Fabian could have offered something in his sacrifice, namely his fortune to his girlfriend before dying at the hands of gangsters hired by the son of Gergorius (Herbert Lom). That would have been a powerful ending, also showing how fickle fame and fortune is, how the tide can change even after you think all is settled. It could still have given the subplot to make Fabian fight for the money with Philip Nosseross to get the match, but it could have been a smaller part of the movie. Instead, the movie chose to let Gergorius die early in a fistfight without public, making clear there would never be a fight, and putting too much emphasis on a manhunt of Harry Fabian. It basically prematurely killed the movie and the ending, since the girl got nothing in the end. Or maybe it just was not my taste, since after all this was the ultimate noir ending, with no happy endings for anyone.

Any movie sequel has the impossible task to expand on what was done well in the original one, without getting too repetitive - and at the same time showing new stuff, but also not too much change in order to stay true to the mood of the original. After reading all the bad reviews I actually was worried I would be in for a big disappointment after seeing the first one in 1996 which I remember like it was yesterday. I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised - except for character development, Emmerich did everything that was great in the first one better and even more spectacular this time. True, I missed the unlikely but great chemistry between Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum in this sequel, so I can see why some reviewers feel Independence Day Resurgence lacks a bit of soul, but I guess this feeling is mostly due to the fact that people do not like change. Many of the great characters of the first one (Bill Pullman as ex President, Brent Spiner as the 'mad professor', Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch) were back with some new interesting actors, too (Sela Ward, Charlotte Gainsbourg, William Fichtner). And besides insane special effects, Emmerich also always makes sure there are some humorous and light moments, too, and this sequel was no exception.

Many reviewers complained about too much stuff being crammed in this movie. Well, I was entertained for two hours and the movie did not feel rushed to me. Still, I do agree that the first movie made you care more about the characters and what was at stake for the universe if mankind and love would not see the light of day, shown by e.g. the romance of Jeff Goldblum and his ex wife intertwining with the marriage of the characters played by Will Smith's and Vivica Fox. That, with the moment of deepest despair, followed by hope (the virus idea) and sacrifice by a drunk flying his ship into a laser beam followed by one of the most spectacular explosions in any movie, gave a cheering feeling that this sequel did not manage to equal, let alone surpass. I hope 20th Century Fox will give Emmerich more time for character development in the third installment, though, which I hope we will see before an other 20 years pass by!

Still, this was a sequel that also gave us a lot of new interesting stuff to see (I won't go into spoilers) and the movie is well worth the admission ticket. Furthermore, the story line has a lot of similarities to the first one, but also offers interesting opportunities for a third installment, which will probably a sort of Independence Day Goes Interstellar thing - I can't wait! Go and see it in 3D!

This is aptly called the Citizen Kane of bad movies, so it is one you cannot afford to miss. It has been said that even in the event of the best movie makers in the world coming together to try to make the worst movie of all time, they could still not make this - so, this is an exquisite work of art. To give examples, the acting is horrible, the lightning and the stage look like you are watching a soap opera, the story line is inconsistent, and so on. This movie cost almost a million dollar to make and the director still believes it is a great flick up to this day. The cult following is grateful to him, calling themselves Roomies. I believe it still shows in theaters in the US on a regular basis where these followers flock together, imitating their favorite characters, so eventually the movie will make a profit. I am glad it was made, since such good entertainment is extremely rare, albeit entertainment on the other end of the Gauss curve so to speak.

I gave this movie an 8 for how it showed simply a good cold war thriller. It had the cold war tension between the US and USSR, played out in the divided Berlin, both East and West. Beautifully filmed as a British costume drama, I also liked how Tom Hanks's character provided some inner tension in how his look on justice for all, even for spies, had consequences for both himself as his family. What is surprising though is that Spielberg confirmed in a BBC interview he had no political message in this one. That is curious to say the least, with all the abundant contemporary parallels like Snowden for Abel in the story, or drones for the U2 back then. His reply was 'it is just a bloody good story'. Sure, but a story that makes America look good, in 2015, a time when he could have made a political thriller that could have given us a much more balanced view of reality we see today, with the US spying on everyone. The result would then have been much more powerful and less preachy. His choice is all the more peculiar, since he did not shy away showing us uncompromising battle scenes in Saving Private Ryan, but perhaps it was also helping us realize that was indeed a deserved accolade for what America has done for the world. Spielberg is, as IMDb says, indeed one of the most influential figures of cinema, and he deserves this for his many film making qualities as also this movie shows us again. I just wish with aging he would also have the guts to be like Shakespeare, to allow the arguable greatness of the US to shine through all the flaws it surely has like any country. But, to stick with Spielberg, if you just go for the story alone, and you don't mind the propaganda of the US being the ultimate example of the Good of the Free World, then this beautifully adapted film is entertaining enough.

This is one of those movies you can or have to watch a few times to let it all in and I am not only talking about the knock-out ending. Without giving away spoilers (I am not 100% sure what IMDb defines as spoiler, therefore I tagged it as might contains such), the story is about a couple who is about to have their 45th anniversary in a week - Geoff Mercer, played by Tom Courtenay and Kate Mercer, played by Charlotte Rampling. Suddenly, Geoff receives a letter that the body of his first to be wife has been found in the Alps, perfectly preserved, so we are told. He met Kate not long after this accident, but never really talked about her, if at all. While we watch the days count down to their wedding party, we see Geoff becoming more and more withdrawn. A normal reaction perhaps to cope with his flame of the past, or is he also becoming more distanced from his wife? Kate gets more and more frightened of the thought she might have lived 45 years being second best, but is she right really? After all, it was such a long time ago and such a large part of their lives they have been husband and wife, so what could a flame of the distant past really mean today? The play is so subtle and well done, it might become overlooked as flat or too mundane or 'natural'. But watch it with your full attention, especially the clever dialogue, and you will see an ending in the last seconds that is both a surprise and inevitable, as great endings should be!

Nice to see this again. As was said with the 1980s version with Francesca Annis and James Warwick, Tommy and Tuppence do not show up a lot in Agatha Christie stories, but whenever they do, they are fun! And how these two were back then, around 1983 and 1984. It still ranks as one of my all time favorite series. But time moves on and it is a nice change to see these stories told again, this time from the perspective of the 1950s. With the Cold War going on there is indeed plenty of room for suspense, or, for these 'romantic detectives'. But I miss the aristocracy in knicker-boxers, and the evil butlers or housemaids, just to just give one cliché example. I just loved the 1980s version from the 1920s, so I could not help comparing this episode with the 'original version'. I know, the prudish kissing that was the norm back then, we no longer see, so Tommy & Tuppence have come of age. The same goes, it seems, for the Oxford English of the upper class, which is no longer stressed so much. And I know too, no one can beat the class of the Goldfinger Bond Girl in the 1983 version playing the opera singer for instance, so I should move on and give this 2015 version a change. Well, I loved it, but in general I would like to see more wit and more fun, I mean Francesca Annis' enthusiasm was just contagious back then, and her Tommy also laughed a lot more - this combined with the crimes to be solved in the background, it made a fun and sometimes even hilarious combination of a true amateur sleuth duo. The tone of this episode so far is a bit too serious. But, it is as always well acted and the BBC/ITV costume drama genre is something no other country can beat and it is always perfect entertainment. I guess I will have to watch Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries to satisfy my melancholy and get in the mood for Tommy & Tuppence going 'Foyle's War' style. I will watch all these episodes though.

This is a serious drama by Woody Allen, not the usual neurotic romantic comedy genre that he is known of. I loved this movie, although after wards I felt it was familiar to another film I had seen recently. And that is My Dinner With Andre, where the music (Satie) and brown greenish colors create the same atmosphere. But both movies are great and make you think and evaluate life in a different way. This one is about a woman who has recently turned 50. She has rented a room to write a book, but when working, she suddenly overhears patients talking to a psychologist next door through an air vent. After listening to a particular patient played by Mia Farrow, she realizes she has alienated many people from here life because of her coldness. Many chances have passed by, e.g. a child, or real love. After meeting this woman in a restaurant, she overhears the character played by Mia Farrow talking to the psychologist about their meeting, later on. I loved this wonderfully voyeuristic and insightful twist,and this is just another winner of Woody Allen, not in the least since the story is clever, and the drama is acted wonderfully - he always knows how to pick first rate actors. A must see!

This wonderful show is on a par with, or better than Carl Sagan's Cosmos and I never thought that could happen. I love Through The Wormhole for both the wonderful scope, the neutral way the information and theories etc are given from all kinds of angles and perspectives, and of course for the authoritative and best storytelling voice of our time: Morgan Freeman's. So it is a pleasure to look at, to learn from and to listen to. All possible subjects you might think of in this kind of documentaries are dealt with; God, the beginning of the universe, life, consciousness, Black Holes, String Theory, time, space, And of course extraterrestrial life and wormholes! I highly recommend this series for it is so educational and highly entertaining! Super quality TV, thank you especially Morgan Freeman!