ik_ben_de_man Reviews

Prince (2015)

Great visuals, nice soundtrack, missed opportunity

[7/10 · 1 April 2020]

The story starts of interesting. A boy living in the challenging part of Amsterdam is getting in touch with the crime scene.

Maybe too many themes are touched in the movie; the broken home situation, a dad who is a junk, earning respect on the street as a young "gangster", protecting your family, the divorced mom looking for love, coping with death and of course falling love.

None of these themes make a real impact. The surface is only scratched. I do not feel engaged, the story fails to make an impact in the end. Perhaps the focus should be on a few events, better motivated and explained. I think for this movie the "Less is more" adagium should have been followed.

On the positive side, the cinematography is nice at times, very colorful, many great shots. The purple Diablo really stands out. The music fits the movie, it is not period correct but adds to the atmosphere. The main character does a good acting job. But overall I feel the story had more potential.

Single Street (2019)

Not that bad, easy to watch and funny

[7/10 · 8 December 2019]

This movie is an easy to watch romcom with some Dutch influences. Set in Amsterdam, we get to meet Mo, who hasn't found real love as she pursues a medical career. We get to know her family and her new neighbor, Max. She likes his boyish, laid back lifestyle and the two get along very well. There is clearly some chemistry between Mo and Max. I liked the movie for the clumpsy humor and the pacing, it stayed a bit away from cliches. I wonder if it is as funny for those not Dutch. Some dialogue and scenes felt rushed or could need some improvement, overall it is a suitable movie to watch with your girl.

The Ruthless (2019)

Starts promising, does not deliver

[7/10 · 25 April 2019]

The story starts interesting, great shots and has a nice Italian feeling. Especially all the typical Italian cars look great! But the movie seems way longer than 90 minutes, the second half kind of drags. The storytelling does not really explain the choices that are made by the main characters. Stuff happens, but the reasons behind it are not so well explored. The story lost my attention to some degree. Cinematography is great, the 80's vibe is present, but overall I was not completely satisfied. I hoped for more...

Theo Maassen: Tegen beter weten in (2006 TV Special)

Theo Maassen's fifth one-man show about self reflection

[9/10 · 24 June 2007]

One of his most serious shows, in which he reflects on himself and humanity, and concludes that there is a lack of compassion, love and self-consciousness. Unlike previous shows, this one does not show the beloved type-casting which gave him lots of credit, but involves more racial jokes and also includes (the introduction) of songs in his program. A more serious view on what could be improved in modern society, but combined with heaps of great jokes on himself, women and less intelligent people. The loss of his parents is an important item in this performance, it serves as a background (figurely and literately), but he combines the serious parts with his typical, funny view on women. A show which involves self reflection, but also sets the viewer to thinking. I like to describe his type of humor as intelligent and thought provoking, but I'm not sure to which degree this is true. *****