Camp Death III in 2D! (2018)

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Camp Death III in 2D!
Director: Matt Frame
Writer: Matt Frame
Cast: Dave Peniuk, Angela Galanopoulos, Darren Andrichuk, Emma Docker, Chris Allen,
Starlise Waschuk, Terry mullett, Cynthia Chalmers, Gerald Gerald Geraldson, Hans Potter, Katherine Alpen, Jason Asuncion, Andrea Bang
Seen on: 6.1.2019
[Screener review.]

Plot:
Camp Crystal Meph was the scene of a horrific bloodbath by the killer Johann Van Damme (Terry mullett). But a few years later, Todd (Dave Peniuk) is ready to give it another try. His uncle Mel (Darren Andrichuk) owns the camp ground and Todd has set up a new camp concept. Together with his camp counselors Rachel (Angela Galanopoulos) and Barry (Chris Allen), they are ready to welcome their group. But soon after their arrival, people start dying – again -, murderous squirrels run wild and nobody has any clue what is actually happening

Camp Death III in 2D! is a parody of Friday the 13th Part III in 3D that has some nicely silly ideas, but unfortunately overdoes it a lot of the times. Plus, it is just so ableist that I really wanted to scream.

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Euphoria (2017)

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Euphoria
Director: Lisa Langseth
Writer: Lisa Langseth
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Eva Green, Charles Dance, Charlotte Rampling, Mark Stanley, Adrian Lester, August Zirner
Seen on: 4.7.2018

Content Note: (assisted) suicide

Plot:
Emilie (Eva Green) and Ines (Alicia Vikander) are sisters who haven’t seen each other in a long time. Emilie has organized a holiday for the both of them, promising that they’ll visit the most beautiful place on earth. Ines is suspicious, but the two start their journey. Slowly both Emilie’s plans and the frail relationship between the two sisters come to light.

Euphoria is a touching film with great actresses that is a success when it comes to portraying the relationship of the two sisters and less successful regarding the big topic it tackles: assisted suicide.

Film poster showing Alicia Vikander and Eva Green in profile, looking in different directions.

[Slight SPOILERS]

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Sharp Ends (Joe Abercrombie)

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Sharp Ends is a short story collection by Joe Abercrombie, all set in the World of the First Law Trilogy.
[Here are my reviews of the other books set in that world.]
Finished on: 4.7.2018

It’s been a while that I read the First Law Trilogy or any of the novels set in that world, and Sharp Ends made it clear to me how much I have forgotten. Damn. You’d think that books I liked would stay in my brain better than this. In any case, the stories in Sharp Ends did make me want to re-visit the novels to sharpen the connections between them. And maybe draw up my own timeline of events, since the book unfortunately, doesn’t provide one that includes the other books. It is a very nice collection for fans of the world, though I probably wouldn’t recommend it for newcomers.

The book cover showing a map of the First Law world, playing cards, dice and coins strewn across it.

[Read more about each of the stories after the jump.]

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Ocean’s Eight (2018)

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Ocean’s Eight
Director: Gary Ross
Writer: Gary Ross, Olivia Milch
Spin-off from: Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Awkwafina, Sarah Paulson, Dakota Fanning, Elliott Gould, Richard Armitage, James Corden
Seen on: 2.7.2018

Plot:
Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) was just released from prison and has already plans for a new, daring heist at the Met Gala. She just needs to convince her friend Lou (Cate Blanchett) to go along with it and then they can assemble a team to pull it off. And Debby already knows the women they need to do it.

Ocean’s Eight may not be the film of the century, but it never set out to be. What it is, is a perfectly entertaining heist film with a great cast that is a wonderful addition to the Ocean films that have come before it. I hope there will be a sequel or five.

Film poster showing the eight main women in front of a red background.
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Der Himmel über Berlin [Wings of Desire] (1987)

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Der Himmel über Berlin
Director: Wim Wenders
Writer: Wim Wenders, Peter Handke
Cast: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk
Seen on: 28.6.2018

Plot:
Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are two angels, tasked with watching over the people of West Berlin. They walk through the city and try their best to bring comfort, relief and general goodness, but aren’t always successful. Damiel increasingly feels that he doesn’t want to do it anymore in any case and when he sees Marion (Solveig Dommartin), the trapeze artist of a struggling circus, his attraction to her is the final push he needs to make it official: he wants to live as a human with all the emotion that brings with it and that are not accessible to him now.

Der Himmel über Berlin was recently restaurated and got to tour cinemas again. Given that the best thing about it is the spectacular cinematography, it was very nice to be able to see it on the big screen. Other than that, it didn’t entirely work for me, but it’s definitely interesting.

Film poster showing Bruno Ganz with wings looking of a the edge of a skyscraper.
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Visages villages [Faces Places] (2017)

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Visages villages
Director: JR, Agnès Varda
Writer: JR, Agnès Varda
Seen on: 22.6.2018

“Plot”:
JR is a street artist, specializing in large scale black-and-white prints of photographies that he plasters over any available surfaces. Agnès Varda is a filmmaker, especially known for her New Wave films. The two of them are an unlikely pair, but have decided to go on a road trip through rural France together, meeting people, taking their photos and installing the photos on walls and more. And, of course, they are filming the entire journey of discovery.

Visages villages as a beautiful, simple concept that allows us to discover not only JR and Varda and the places and people they travel to, but gives us insight in much grander themes, despite (or maybe because) not limiting itself to one in particular.

Film poster showing JR and Agnès Varda walking in front of a tank truck with an eye printed on it.
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Every Day (2018)

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Every Day
Director: Michael Sucsy
Writer: Jesse Andrews
Based on: David Levithan’s novel
Cast: Angourie Rice, Justice Smith, Jeni Ross, Lucas Jade Zumann, Rory McDonald, Katie Douglas, Jacob Batalon, Ian Alexander, Sean Jones, Colin Ford, Jake Sim, Nicole Law, Karena Evans, Owen Teague, Hannah Alissa Richardson, Debby Ryan, Maria Bello
Seen on: 20.6.2018

Plot:
Every day, A wakes up in a different body. It’s always the body of somebody as old as them, but it’s never the same body twice. Ever since they can remember, this has been their existence, and A is pretty much resigned to it by now, never telling anybody about it in the 17 years they have existed this way. That is, until they wake up in Justin’s (Justice Smith) body and meet Justin’s girlfriend Rhiannon (Angourie Rice). The two spend a magical day together and A realizes that they might just have found a life they are not willing to let go all that easily.

Every Day was nice and it did manage to get rid of some of the things that I criticized about the novel, but it still wasn’t as radical as I would have liked it to be – or as the story or the main character would have demanded it to be.

Film poster for Every Day, showing a couple kissing on a beach.
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Hereditary (2018)

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Hereditary
Director: Ari Aster
Writer: Ari Aster
Cast: Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Toni Collette, Ann Dowd
Seen on: 19.6.2018

Plot:
After the death of her mother, Annie (Toni Collette) is grieving, as is the rest of her family – her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), her son Peter (Alex Wolff) and her daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro). They try to get back to normal, but strange and stranger things start to happen with them and around them.

Not everything about Hereditary worked for me, but a lot of it did. It is definitely above average, even if it left me undecided about a couple of things.

Film poster showign Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro in front of a black background.
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Tully (2018)

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Tully
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Diablo Cody
Cast: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston, Asher Miles Fallica, Lia Frankland, Mark Duplass, Elaine Tan, Gameela Wright, Tattiawna Jones
Seen on: 19.6.2018

Plot:
Marlo (Charlize Theron) just had her third baby, her husband Drew (Ron Livingston) works a lot and is only of moderate help. Marlo is struggling with lack of sleep and the general demands of having three children. Her brother Craig (Mark Duplass) offers to hire a night nanny for her, but Marly initially declines. But after becoming more and more exhausted, Marlo gives in and Tully (Mackenzie Davis) comes around, helping her with the baby during the night. Quickly, Marlo and Tully become closer.

Tully is not a great film, but it isn’t bad. Therer were a couple of things that made me grimace at it, but mostly I enjoyed myself.

Film poster showing a close-up of Charlize Theron's face covered in stickers, looking exhausted.
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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Director: J.A. Bayona
Writer: Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow
Based on: Michael Crichton‘s book (plus sequel)
Sequel to: Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, Jeff Goldblum, BD Wong, Geraldine Chaplin, Isabella Sermon
Seen on: 13.6.2018

Plot:
After Jurassic World was closed down, the remaining dinosaurs are roaming Isla Nubar and things should be calming down. But then the volcano on the island becomes active and threatens the last remaining living dinosaurs. Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), by now head of the Dinosaur Protection Group, can’t let that happen. She contacts Owen (Chris Pratt) despite their differences because she knows she needs his help to save the dinos. But they are not the only ones interested in them.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was about as messy as Jurssic World. If it wasn’t for the dinosaurs, I’d say that it isn’t worth watching at all. But dammit, if the dinosaurs aren’t pretty.

Poster for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, showing a T-Rex roaring over a human.
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