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Before Midnight (2013) I adore the other two films, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, but this third and presumably last film completely went wrong in the second half. The character of Celine would not be capable of doing what they let her do in the second half. A short outburst of emotions and rage like in Before Sunset (scene in the car), that's understandable, it fits. However, this witch that she suddenly turned into in Before Midnight is unacceptable, unbelievable, just plain stupid. I understand what they wanted to point out: you know, the difficulties of the realities of life. Obligations, occasional fights with your lover, stuff like that. But never would Celine turn into an average run of the mill bitch. It also completely contradicts some of the conversations they have. How the core of people's personalities never really changes. Well, apparently that doesn't go for Celine, as she became a completely different person. The start was slow but decent, it became better at the dinner table conversations with the Greek folks and went on to relive good old times in that long walk to an old chapel. After that it just turned into a nightmare of a film. I'll just pretend the story ends at the end of Before Sunset. They should've probably left it that way. First half of Before Midnight: 7/10 Second half: big mistake. Captain Phillips (2013) Nice suspense, dramatized but entertaining story, good acting. Bad and lazy camerawork. That about sums this one up. I hate it when nobody even bothers to lay out some plans on how to film the events. In this it's mostly close-ups of people's faces, lots of shaking (or rather, a drunk person handled the camera) and overall some very notable laziness. When a character moves from one end of the room to the other end and pushes a button, all they do is track the person, zoom in on the button and then switch to a close-up of a face. Repeat. Bleh. Could be a 7/10 or possibly even 8/10 film, but now it's just a 5/10. Another Earth (2011) Just for a change it's nice to see a sci-fi film that doesn't give the sci-fi elements a leading role. Another Earth does just that. It's a dramatic human story and the concept of a second earth nearby merely adds to the human story, rather than swallow it whole. The ending made my eyebrows turn into some odd angles because it doesn't really make sense. You'd have to resort to a rather far-fetched explanation for it to make sense. But I guess that's okay. Anyway, the film contains some weak scenes, some strong scenes, some good acting, some mediocre acting. I liked it, but it's not perfect. There are some key moments in the course of the film that manage to grab the attention of the viewer. 7/10

Rio (2011) By-the-book animation picture like so many others. Nice for children, but not so much for anyone over the age of... I don't know, 12? There are many better animations out there. The concept was promising, but nothing was done with it that felt special or in any way remarkable. 5/10 Passion (2012) This has been getting many bad reviews, but I'm not sure why. Within the first few scenes the fantasy setting has been established. Characters are caricatures, dialogue is straight to the point and often quite silly, the acting is exaggerated... but it all feels perfectly fine, because it's intended to be that way. Never does the film hint at realism. The audience is allowed to make up their mind about it, because the film draws quite a distance between the events and the viewers. Never does the director (de Palma) try to trick his audience into believing what they're seeing is a really good film. It's enjoyable. A b-picture feel but different and with more stylized sets and lighting. There's one thing I didn't like at all though: the splitscreen sequence. If someone ever wrote a book titled 'The Seven Deadly Sins of Cinema' then this is sure to be included. You can't look at two entirely different happenings at once. A ballet performance on the left and a murder being commited on the right. If you want the viewer to experience these at roughly the same time... then just switch back and forth between the two events. Don't display it at once! There's a reason why you rarely ever see this in films... simply because it doesn't work! Rest of the film is fine. A guilty pleasure, perhaps. 7/10 Despicable Me 2 (2013) I liked the first one, even if the ending was bad, but this one is bad from start to finish. Obligatory sequel for the money. I liked the introduction of villain El Macho. He is macho. Most of the other jokes fell flat. Very weak. 3/10

Netherlands

I only ever caught three shiny Pokémon. They were all Unowns. Nobody on the school grounds wanted to trade for them. While others got cool shiny Pokémon like Wooper and Pidgey. Always wondered if there was some special trick to getting the shiny Pokémon but people always said "no, there isn't." Starting to believe it's a conspiracy.

Wholeheartedly agreeing with DEAD END! That's a great song. Sylvie Vartan - C'est fatal SHERBETS - Mr. President Mazzy Star - I'm Sailin' The Cardigans - Higher Margo Guryan - Don't Go Away Black Sabbath - Live Forever MERRY - Monochrome Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Tossin' & Turnin' The Cardigans - Starter Kate Bush - Egypt

I want to see Gravity too, but unfortunately it's 3D only over here. Have to wait... Rush (2013) Apparantly some people think it's very cool to see a hand reaching for a shifter, a foot reaching for the clutch pedal, a tire barely touching the grass and the engine working like mad all in the time frame of... just one second. The editting in the high speed race scenes is NOT something I like to see. There is so much evidence here that director Ron Howard tried very hard to make a film about a 1976 F1 rivalry appeal to the masses... at all costs. If it weren't for Daniel Brühls brilliant performance as Niki Lauda, this film can also be named 'Fast & Furious: F1 1976 Edition'. There's a lot of unnecessary sequences in thisfor the purpose of manipulating the audience into gaining sympathy for a character. There's too much explanation, too few experiences. And lastly, there's too much lazily written dialogue. I appreciate the effort, but this should've been handled by another director with more finesse. 5/10 Island of Lost Souls (1932) Hit and miss in this picture based on a story by H.G. Wells. Charles Laughton is great in this as the mad scientist and Richard Arlen has a very believable role as the poor lad who got trapped on his island. Some of the other actors... well, they're not always as good. Enjoyable cheesy early horror b-movie running at barely 70 minutes. 6/10 The New World (2005) There are few films as magical and wonderful as this one. It's an exploration of peace, war, discovery, humanity, the human mind, science, societies, change, love, nature and poetry and more. The extended version is nearly 3 hours in length but not a moment has gone to waste. It's rare for a film to contain so many shots of rivers, trees and grass to never get boring. Q'orianka Kilcher, who was only about 15 years old at the time, gives us a masterclass in acting with her very impressive role as Pocahontas. The New World is an epic, and yet it's so modest. You can really feel the admiration the filmmakers must've had for history and nature while shooting this. And when they added the fantasy element of Pocahontas' unwritten love story, they did so in a fantastic way that feels so natural, as if there never was any doubt about it. Lovely film, instant favorite. 10/10

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Fun for children, but this wasn't much more than that. Everything about this is really 'by-the-book'... no surprises anywhere. I disliked the ending which was predictable and completely unsatisfying. Among the more positive points are the imaginative character and creature designs, the introduction to the world (first 15 or 20 minutes) and some of the funnier jokes. 6/10 The Lady Eve (1941) This romantic comedy is a little uneven but still a lot of fun. The scene in which the three main figures, Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda and James Coburn, play cards for the first time is outstanding. It's very funny and clever and at the same time plays a key role in the plot. Stunning scene, I loved it! 7/10 A Beautiful Mind (2001) A bit too dramatic at times, including (without going into details) that very manipulative monologue at the end of the film. I guess that's Ron Howard's style. Delibirately playing into the hand of the audience while sacrificing a scene or two to do so. Anyway, good acting, nice build-up, great costumes, set design, etc. Many good and enjoyable things. But not perfect. 7/10 Frankenstein (1931) As 'classic' as this may be, this adaption wasn't very good. Felt wooden and lifeless... and rushed? On all levels this film didn't meet the expectations. This may be an early talkie-era film, but that's still no excuse for such an average one. 4/10 Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Surprisingly this was a lot more enjoyable. Much richer in atmosphere and while still lacking in several departments, most notably dialogue and acting, this felt a lot more like a horror story... and much more like a good movie. 6/10 Senso (1954) Visually stunning with beautiful colors, pretty costumes and impressive sets. Great story of an impossible love affair interrupted by war that takes an unexpected turn at the end and suddenly changes into another kind of picture with another theme. There's about 20 to 30 minutes in the middle of the film that felt too long, but overall this was very good. 8/10

Safe House (2012) Painful to watch and terrible all around. Shaky camera, lightning was bad beyond belief: overexposure all throughout the film resulting in awful colors and a horrible use of contrast, awful editting, unimaginative plot, illogical actions performed by almost every character, riddled with cliches... etc. In many ways it's identical to tons of other action movies... except it's worse. 1/10 Men in Black 3 (2012) Bad. Has some good ideas but many weak attempts at comedy and a dull execution for most of those ideas bring it way down. B-movie on a big budget. 3/10 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Jane Russell is much better here than that other lead actress we all know... Marilyn Monroe. She isn't bad either, but let's be honest, portraying a materialistic and not very bright girl isn't the hardest job in the world! It's a musical except with long stretches of 'normal' filmmaking inbetween. The choreography of the dance numbers is top notch and the dialogue is quite entertaining, even if the plot is weak. The characters are one-dimensional... but often portrayed with a lot of fun. Not quite the classic must-see, but entertaining enough with a handful of quoteworthy lines. 6/10 Platoon (1986) Harsh reality yet a bit too dramatic at times. I felt as if they tried to put too much characters in one movie. There's a whole bunch of soldiers we get to know, but most of them don't get enough screentime for us to familiarize ourselves with them. Their inevitable deaths (at least for many of them) therefore aren't as shocking as they could've been. Would've worked better with less characters. Still good though, despite some minor issues. 7/10

The Great Gatsby (2013) Everything is SHINY! This entire film is full of shiny things, perfect things. I'm surprised to say I found it enjoyable. It has its flaws and it's a bit too long, but most of it is so wrong that it just pushes the whole thing into a different world with a different atmosphere where everything always has to be shiny and loud and above all: kitschy. The film doesn't take itself too seriously and neither do the actors and actresses. They act as if they're part of some fairytale that took an overdose of glamour and they're alright with it. I never expect much from director Baz Luhrmann, especially after the dreadful Australia, but this film is good fun and I predict that in some years many will call this a 'guilty pleasure'. It's silly, bombastic and often doesn't make much sense stylistically but that seems to be exactly what this film needed. 7/10

Funny Face (1957) This musical romantic comedy is uneven but entertaining. Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn are both talented but these two falling for eachother romantically? Doubtful, to say the least. Some scenes were silly but great, others were silly but stupid. The ending is a bit weak and stupid, but those joyful, charming and very much gay (in the older meaning of the word) songs and dances make up for the lesser parts. I guess Funny Face can be classified as a very 'girly' film and if you're not into that at all, then don't bother. But if you don't care about that, this could be fun. 6/10 Le quai des brumes (or Port of Shadows) (1938) Its storyline is fairly simple and it may be struggling a bit to really get going in the beginning, but it's very rewarding in the end. A film that feels very human. The foggy locations add to the mood, which is a bit gloomy, and the dialogue is almost like poetry at times, but never out of character. Great acting, some brilliant lines and characters, atmospheric, neither too simple or too complex. This is a really good one! 9/10

Supernova, the only way one can 'steal' music is when they either steal a physical copy of a cd or vinyl record OR when they claim a certain composition as their own creation when it's in fact someone else's. The first could be discribed as plain old theft of physical goods and the second as plagiarism. Downloading (thus only copying) music is NEITHER of those. An artist should be glad that people are enjoying his creations. The internet is the greatest medium in the history of mankind that allows the sharing of art and knowledge. Let's just use it to the fullest and stop worrying about money so much. When art is liked, the artist is bound to get money anyway. It's a natural process. People are willing to give money to those who make things they enjoy. Even if we assume that an artist loses out on money due to free downloads (this will always remain impossible to measure, because the free publicity might be worth a lot more to them), then it's still no use for that artist to start complaining about that because that'll not only mean the loss of money, but also the loss of their artistic value (which could in turn backfire and lead to the loss of even more money!). Also, try to use paragraphs to prevent a so-called "wall of text".

The Lone Ranger (2013) I liked the music, the villain played by William Fichtner and the silly but funny jokes. The action sequences were impressive visually and contained a few original stunts, but often were way too long and uninteresting for the most part. The storyline was... well, nothing but a pity excuse for a storyline. This film would've worked better if they either cut the dramatic scenes or drowned them with comedy. 5/10 Scarface (1932) It's definitely good, but it isn't better than other gangster pictures of those years like Little Caesar or The Public Enemy. The actions of the characters in this one didn't feel convincing at all times. One minute person A hates person B and the next minute they fall into eachother's arms. That sort of thing. Many impulsive decisions are made in this film. Sometimes they add to the personalities of the characters, but other times they were just too stupid to be believable. It's an old trick: if you need your story to quickly develop then suddenly inject some stupidity into a character and ta-da, the story unfolds! When you can keep the viewer's attention with real tension and a couple of great set pieces, like Scarface has, then it can be forgiven, but it still hurts the film a little. 7/10

Naturally it is very immature to search on Youtube for Justin Bieber videos and add comments such as "THE DISLIEK BAR IS THE SIZE OF JUSTIN BIEBERS DICK!!!11" as Disposable so subtly pointed out. That's just pathetic, to waste your time on something you believe is worthless. I don't think that's acceptable behaviour, even for kids being kids. However, when you're asked what you think about the music or when someone recommends you Justin Bieber's music or similar music, it's not wrong to say how terrible you think it is. It's called honesty and your opinion is very understandable. That song just goes on and on and on... very agitating indeed.

Niagara (1953) Predictable but surprisingly enjoyable and colorful noir-ish drama with Marilyn Monroe as a cheating, disgraceful woman who plans to murder her husband (played by Joseph Cotton!). The third leading role is for Jean Peters who unwillingly gets involved in all this. There are several visually pleasing and tense scenes in this film. Marilyn definitely wasn't the best actress of her time but it would be far too easy to dismiss Niagara for just that reason. Nice film, better than I anticipated. 7/10 Spellbound (1945) Somewhat far-fetched but still convincing Hitchcock thriller that deals with the use of psychoanalysis on a murder suspect with memory loss. There's nothing about this film that really stands out apart from the mesmerizing dream sequence that came to be from the creative mind of Salvador Dali. Good entertainment with good acting, a decent script and good directing, but not outstanding. 7/10

All of the hate towards that kind of music is completely justified. An artist loses all of his/her integrity when they create fastfood that is disposable after a short period of time.

This is likely to be unpopular among Nightwish listeners: their latest album was bad and by far the worst they've made so far. I assume you mean HIM's 2010 album Screamworks? Anyway, I don't think those opinions are unpopular because both albums were generally well received.

The Fly (1958) Sometimes I wasn't sure if this was intentionally funny or accidentally funny. Either way, it's a very cheesy and not very scary horror picture from times long gone. I liked how the film got on its way with some great mysterious atmosphere but about halfway into the film everything just got worse. The magic eventually disappeared and the ending left me unsatisfied. Unfortunately, even if this film is charming... in a macabre sort of way... it wasn't very good. 4/10 Life of Pi (2012) Surprisingly good. The acting was top-notch, the visuals were top-notch, the storytelling was top-notch for the most part, but the attempts at humor were hit-and-miss and the ending was an unnecessary handout towards the audience in case they couldn't quite figure it out themselves. This is very good, but not perfect. 8/10

Sherlock Jr. (1924) With its length of 45 minutes this Buster Keaton action-comedy balances on the edge of 'feature film' and 'short'. Apparently it was a bit longer originally but they cut bits out of it after filming. It's great fun and plenty of the stunts in here are far more exciting than what you see in superhero movies nowadays. Simply because some of them are very real... almost too real! While the plot and the characters aren't mindblowing, Keaton is a daredevil with an excellent sense of humor and a great feeling for timing. Incredible! 8/10 The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) This western felt a bit too manipulative. The stubborn, evil, wooden characters didn't really come to life at any point and while it's a very 'adult' movie with a 'heavy' plot, I felt as if I was being spoon fed some lessons on morality and logic... as if the writers of this film thought the audience must be easily impressed. Some small parts of the film are excellent but towards the ending I kept thinking "is this all there is to it?". 5/10 It has a good reputation worldwide but I don't think 'hype' is the right word. I agree with you that it's not super impressive but I was entertained anyhow. Cute little movie in my opinion. Totoro is a bit of a silly fool indeed but I believe it worked and that's what made him a likable character.

Bohemian Rhapsody is anything but great. If I had to guess why it's so popular I would guess it's because the song's a bit unconventional compared to radio-friendly songs and many folks who haven't heard much else besides radio-friendly songs are easily impressed with the few 'different' music they HAVE heard. Something similar goes on with fans of André Rieu, a shallow Dutch classical composer whose popularity can (even more easily) be explained: his fans are unfamiliar with other classical music. They have no references at all. Rieu already sounds and looks great to them, even if he does nothing special and tries to impress with silly bombastic performances to try and hide his lack of artistic talent. I might just add another one: Susan Boyle. Popular among those whose frame of reference is very narrow.

I'm not impressed. Very forgettable melody.

Screaming and grunting about satan, other devils and how we'll all burn in hell at the age of 30 merely proves you're just about equal to a 15-year old One Direction fan in terms of intellect. The Beatles did not revolutionize music. They took an existing concept and popularized it by milking it like one milks a cow. The evolution of pop music like they played has been going on for decades prior to Beatles-mania. A world famous boyband was just another natural step. It was bound to happen. Popularity does not equal quality or value. 'Indie' and 'singer-singwriter' are terms that get on my nerves. The irony lies in the hate that the 'commercial' artists receive from the hipster public because they're 'artificial' and 'a limited time product' while they essentially treat their beloved singer-songwriters the same: "Hey, it's another carbon copy of some sad love song played by some confused kid with an acoustic guitar using three chords. Let's all adore him for being so different and standing up against society until we just as easily exchange him for the next fella about one year later and pretend that he's our new revelation."

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Seen this before, but not in Blu quality. It's a children's picture above everything else and it's quite charming at that but I don't believe this belongs in all the 'all time classics' lists it keeps appearing in. I still dislike the character the cowardly lion and the ending. 6/10 Fargo (1996) Often funny and sometimes clever. Madness throughout! Tragic coincidences and characters so insane they should be kept in a psychiatric institution. Good. 7/10 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Ouch. 2/10 Hiroshima, mon amour (1959) The story of an impossible romance set in an anti-war film. Captures the difficulty for 'outsiders' to comprehend tragedies in far-away lands. Trying to connect and share their sorrow, but eventually they're clueless on what to do, what to think. Mesmerizing throughout. From the beautiful black and white photography to the almost poetic dialogue. There's a lot more to this film than I can describe. 10/10

Wo hu cang long (or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) (2000) I can sense the fairytale/fantasy like style and most of the action sequences are fairly well done. They're way over the top, but entertaining nonetheless. However, I felt the plot was really stale and did not offer much. Some of the dialogue is simply laughably bad. I realise I only read English translations of this Chinese spoken film, but still, stupid dialogue is still stupid in every language. Visually it is very nice with some exceptional moments. Overall it is decent, but I would not watch it again. 6/10 The Lady Vanishes (1938) Slow starter with a fantastic middle part and a decent ending. When the plot/mystery begins to take shape I felt myself cheering for the main protagonist (stunning performance by Margaret Lockwood) more than I've felt myself cheering for other protagonists in other films I've recently seen. This combined with a good dose of humor and many nicely crafted scenes makes a great film. The by-the-book ending isn't entirely satisfying, but it's very much acceptable. 8/10

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) Rich man (Steve McQueen) plans bank robberies. Attractive lady (Faye Dunaway) who works as an investigator for an insurance company gets on his tail. Slick and stylish and better than the remake from 1999 with Pierce Brosnan as the lead actor... but that film is also pretty good. It includes a couple of embarrasing and amateurish scenes, but they're in the minority and in the end the film is rewarding and worth watching. 7/10 To The Wonder (2012) There is definitely a connection with The Tree of Life, Malick's previous film, but it's not a sequel in the general meaning of the term. It contains breathtaking visuals of various scenery and very little dialogue while still providing a comprehensive plot. It may be considered Malick's 'worst' film to date, but even then it's a refreshing and rewarding experience. I was surprised at how great Olga Kurylenko's acting talent actually is. There is no question she is a beautiful woman but her acting in this film was equally beautiful. That makes it a bit of a shame that there were some very revealing scenes in this... as if we weren't already convinced of her good looks! Aside from some unnecessary nudity I have no other criticism on this. It's well balanced, easy to follow and pleasing to both the eye and the mind. It's very good. 8/10 Touch of Evil (1958) THAT OPENING SEQUENCE! Is stunning! I had watched this before but that wasn't the 'reconstructed' version. This one is slightly longer clocking at 111 minutes and supposedly editted to undo the changes made by the studio that Orson Welles' wished had never taken place. This film is so much fun. It tackles serious matters with humor and razorsharp scenes so incredibly well... I recommend Touch of Evil to everyone because it's impossible not to enjoy this film. 9/10

They Drive by Night (1940) This is a great film until the end when things get a bit odd. The cast is great (George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan) as well as their acting. The plot, the atmosphere and the dialogue with bits of comedy thrown in are all top notch... all up until the end. It's like they didn't know how to end this. Could've been an 8/10 but now it's just a 6/10. Toy Story 3 (2010) Finally saw this one and now I don't quite understand the praise it got. It borrows a lot from Toy Story 2 and leans too much on nostalgia of the viewer. It's just a rollercoaster ride with references to the previous installments of the series. It's not bad, but not that great either. 6/10.