xj220-2

IMDb member since January 2000
    Lifetime Total
    5+
    IMDb Member
    24 years

Reviews

Fall Time
(1995)

Rourke and Baldwin in a 'nouvelle violence' film
This is the kind of movie which makes you wondering all the time how the madness created by coincidences will end, which is also the strength of the movie; it doesn't get bored. Fall time fits in the new type of genre that is introduced in the 90's: 'nouvelle violence'. The character of these movies are formed by the excessive use of hard violence, mostly in the crime circuit. As you'll probably know, the leading man in this genre is Quentin Tarantino, with movies like reservoir dogs and true romance (movies who look a bit like fall time).

The role of Mickey Rourke is almost made for him, and also Baldwin gives honor to his name.

It surprised me a bit that so few people voted for this movie, hence I would suggest that if you don't mind hard violence and you like a surprising end, go rent this movie, it won't let you down.

Reservoir Dogs
(1992)

Bravo Tarantino!!
This movie simply deals with the question who betrayed the robbery. The first hour the viewer doesn't have a slightest clue as well as the players. By showing flashbacks we get to see an objective view of the person's character. Then suddenly the snatcher betrays him, and the story develops to the tragical anti-climax.

By making this low-budget movie, Tarantino shows he is superb. The structure is outstanding (great use of flash-backs and flash-forwards), the music is outstanding (this movie is responsible for the come-back of the George Baker Selection), the players perform high skill acting (Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen), the dialogues are stunning (very bad language, but isn't that realistic in these 'cultures'?).

Bottomline: if you haven't seen it yet, see it; it's a must-see.

Een vlucht regenwulpen
(1981)

The story about Maarten 't Hart
Jeroen Krabbe plays an uncertain person ('t Hart) in this biographical story. This uncertainty is particularly formed by his religion, and the impact of the religion reflected on his parents (read: father). His mother is his only support in his life, and because he has no other essential friends, he starts to worship his mother (the so-called Oedipus-phenomenon).

All these things that occurred to him, can be seen in the several flashbacks. He gets embittered by the fact that his father dies in the easy way, and his mother dies a painful death, what happens in present time. 't Hart has now reached the age of 35, and still is a virgin. The actual story is about a compelling dream he has, in which he has to share his bed with a girl in this next week, or else he would die. As the week passes, he tries to conquer his feelings of uncertainty by talking to his other (outgoing) side, and his surroundings.

Next to the good story, this movie gives a good picture about how people lived and thought in the west of the Netherlands (in the flashbacks), during the years after worldwar II ('50s-'60s).

While you see the movie a certain sympathy is created with the main character. The film is for a great part biographical, and hence if you are familiar with the works of Maarten 't Hart, I would recommend this movie.

Glengarry Glen Ross
(1992)

Pacino and Baldwin shine
Very few movies can be seen over and over again even though it has a low budget, like reservoir dogs. Why? Because of the great dialogues. There are a lot of lines in this movie which are most memorable, most of them in a patronizing way (eg: 'Put that coffee down!! Coffee is for closers only.... your name is Levene?? And you call yourself a salesman you S.o.B.??'). This makes the movie more of a comedy than drama.

In the opening scene Alec Baldwin makes clear that 'only one thing counts in this life: get them to sign their name on the line which is dotted!'. That is where this movie is about: closing (in a time of recession). Glengary glen ross makes you wonder whether a life as a salesman is a privilege or a disaster. Next to Alec Baldwin there are many famous actors playing an important role: Kevin Spacey, as an ass-kissing manager, Al Pacino as the salesman with the smooth-talk, Alec Baldwin as the harsh-super-salesman, and many more.

The language which is used is very bad, therefore I would recommend this movie only to people who aren't offended easily.

Karakter
(1997)

best dutch movie ever made
This movie really deserved the oscar it received in '98. The movie is based upon a famous book (Karakter) written by Bordewijk, sometime in the early 20's. The book was already so good, and yet Mike van Diem makes it worthwhile to see the film even if you already read the book. That is not a surprise if you look at the skills of the actors. The role of the father is practically made for Jan Decleir, and also other roles are filled in perfectly. The good thing of this movie is the relation between father (Dreverhaven) and son (Katadreuffe), a relation which is the cause of the ambitious character formed of Katadreuffe. While you see the movie, you know it all leads to the end when it becomes clear what exactly happened on that night (did he kill his father yes or no?). And then it all makes sense, and yet it comes as a surprise.

The structure of the movie reminded me of Forrest Gump, it is told through the eyes of the main character, and in the end the story becomes present time. That is also a plus; the structure is good.

Finally, this movie is so good because it gives a realistic picture of how the people lived in the Netherlands approximately 80 year ago, it is clearly visible what the norms and values were. (for instance, as Dreverhaven left his wife (Joba) and son, Katadreuffe was considered a bastard, and therefore they were scum of the society)

Bottomline: See this movie -no matter where you live- and vote for it so it gets a firm place in the imdb top 250!

The Devil's Advocate
(1997)

best movie ever made
Finally, my search to the quest for the best movie has ended, for I am sure I won't ever see a movie better than this one. Especially for religious people I would recommend this movie, because it shows the dangers of this world, in particularly the dangers of vanity.

When this movie was in the cinema, I didn't go see it, because it looked to scary, and i don't like movies with demons etcetera. As i saw the movie i could imagine why I (and I know a lot of other people together with me) didn't want to see it at first, but in the end it all becomes clear, and hence i can say that all the violence and sex isn't put in the movie to make it more attractive, but it is merely used to disgust it, and therefore it is pure functional .

The moral struck me (this is the first movie i saw in which the 'forces of evil' aren't pictured as visible monsters which have to be fought) and the last scene leaves everybody I know who saw it wondering what really happened: wake-up call or second attempt? For those who haven't seen the movie yet, I don't want to say too much, because the power of the movie would fade. But even if you know how the movie ends, you still be overwhelmed; this is what happened to me.

In conclusion I recommend this movie to everyone, see it till the end if you want to get the message of it.

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