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sylvain_johan
Reviews
Soros (2019)
Saving face
It's a good example of how an ultra rich individual, totally disconnected with the vast majority of the world's population releases a 'documentary' on himself in a vain effort to create a more positive outlook on his character.
Watching this I get the impression Soros not only trying to save his own legacy in some way, or at least the public outlook on his practices, so his son will face less opposition to continue his father's vision.
In any case, in some ways it's interesting, in a psychological way, to get a small peek in how someone like him thinks he has to portray himself to get the positive image he wants but this 'documentary' will do the opposite I think.
It's almost intersting to watch in the way how would you find it interesting to watch a mental patient in an asylum. There is such a distance in behaviour that it almost seems too foreign to actually connect with.
Sisu (2022)
The white death
I'm not sure but i believe this film is loosely based on the Finnish sniper Simo Hayha, "the white death". Or at least the protagonists back story.
I'll keep it short and sweet. If you like rough action and satisfying villain deaths, watch it. It's grimm and hard. There is not a whole lot of dialogue in the movie. I think it's not until the very end of the movie that the hero speaks. It's well filmed with beautiful shots at times and the score fits well.
That being said, it's at the end where it all goes off the rails for me. There is some stuff that happens with an airplane which is just ridiculous. It's a bit of a shame because it was not necessary for me for the movie to have such a fast and furious style end sequence.
I enjoyed it but yeah... that end bit just didn't do it for me.
Black Lotus (2023)
Low expecations did not make it better.
I went in knowing or at least suspecting this was not going to a blockbuster. Being Dutch I of course wanted to see Rico's first feature performance.
What I find most off putting is the accents of the actors. If one has to protray an American or other native Englsh speaking national, they should at least have the ability to speak the languange in the correct accent. Or just let them speak their own languange in certain scenes and not pretend to let them be American.
The action editing here and there was incoherant. In the fist action scene it was hard to follow who was who. The cinematography was ok though but I don't understand the blue darkening filter in the end scene. It was clearly day time.. Pacing was slow and in the slow moments I was checking my instagram feed more than the movie. I didn't mind the score too much.
The plot is failrly standard, nothing special. Rico's acting was actually not as bad as I feared but obviously not A-list level yet. The dialogues were pretty crappy however.
Not sure what Frank Grillo was doing in this movie but he has had his hits and misses to be honest. His acting is fine and what you would expect from him. The rest of the acting on point for... B-movies.
All in all it's one of these straight to DVD movies.
The Grand Tour: The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick (2022)
Stupid fun.
I really enjoyed this episode of The Grand Tour. Yes, it's ridiculous. But it's ridiculous fun. And they really go all out. Without giving away too much of the drama, I had 2 quite big moments in the episode involving captain slow. But all was good in the end and they managed to get another epic roadtrip done.
As usual, the scenes are beautiful, the carnage is great and the lunacy is on point. I really wonder where or what they will do next but i'm sure they will think of something.
I really hope they will continue making episodes and not die doing it. And if they do, they will die doing the best job in the world. But seriously, don't die ;)
Ted Lasso (2020)
Why did it take so long to create a gem like this?
This show is absolutely marvellous!
I'm deep into season 2 and there is nothing bad or off i've been able to detect. It's fun for men and women. It has great comedy, massive amounts of feel good moments, some drama and just a smidge of football which in itself is funny because it's about an America football coach coaching a premiere league soccer team.
I do not want to spoil anything further. All I can say is watch it if you have not already. If you had a bad day, this will make you forgat all about it.
I hope they will be able to make many many seasons in the future. I love this show like I have not loved any other!
Kate (2021)
Boom boom lemon! (minor spoilers)
I was pleasantly surprised by this flick.
Sure it has been done before. The movie is like a combination of Crank, Hardcore Henry and Red Sparrow but there is a decent plot twist and I like the relationship between Ani-Chan and Kate. The acting is good and the fight sequences more so. Lighting, color grading and sound track are on point aswell.
It can be a little predictable but well worth the watch!
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021)
Wasted Potential.
What a dissapointment this was ay... so much wasted potential.
The lead character was just not likeble, not even in the end. The story massively predictable but also weak, childish almost. The fight scenes are ok i guess but no more then ok.
There is lot's of shaky cam, even when people are not fighting. I did not have massive troubles with the acting but for a movie with this budget it's questionable maybe.
To be honest, it almost feels like high budget B-movie.
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
If you wachted the 2 previous ones, you will like this one.
I was nicely surprised when I saw this movie.
My fear was that it would be too serious like a lot of comedy movies these days but this does not take itself too seriously and the movie is precisely what a Bill and Ted movie should be. There is a disposable sub plot and some acting by the 2 kids can be somewhat overdone but all in all I really enjoyed this. I was a kid when the original, so nostalgic to see this. But if you have never seen the previous movies, you will not understand or probably be able to enjoy this one. So go and see the first two first!.
T2 Trainspotting (2017)
All beginnings have an end
There is not much to say
All ends have a beginning.. and this end is fitting to that beginning. I mostly love the undertone of the Born slippy soundtrack by Underwolrd which is seeping in some scenes. But mos of all it's a worthy continuation of what started. Although it might be less shocking then the first part. It seems mature, it's like closure to an unfinished drama. I loved it..
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
It kind of grabs you by the throat
I Loved this movie. It's a fairly realistic take on an escalation of events and crossing paths of two families. The writing is more then good and the acting of all characters was well executed. If you would like a change of pace from less serious and less realistic movies and you can handle a good amount of drama, I would say this a a 2 hour and 20 minutes very well spent. A close 8 out of 10 for me.