djrw Reviews

CatVideoFest 2020 (2020)

Internet content in the cinema

[5/10 · 8 August 2020]

Cats are certainly funny, cute, mean, vicious, and that makes them popular subjects for filming. Having had cats most of my life, I feel entertained almost daily. Browse on Youtube, Tiktok or any of the social media platforms, and there is huge variety and quantity of home cat content. Some of professional level, others more basic. To produce a collection of that footage for the big screen, one should deliver a substantial better quality rather than just amateur work. The makers of Cat Video Fest 2020 did not succeed. Surely, there are funny clips, but also many agonizing poor quality parts. The editing of them doesn't get any better than a 50's slapstick. Overall dull, with a few smiles. There's no line, no story in it all, just separated in a few chapters. The price of 11 euros (alternative cinema) is not justified by delivery. Might as well spent it on internet subscription to watch the same. Still 5 points.. but only for the cats.

Gretel & Hansel (2020)

A classic dark-, and modern quest for survival and development.

[7/10 · 30 January 2020]

Once upon a time (1970), I went to the Dutch fairytale park the Efteling for the first time, and I felt so scared, seeing the witch at the Hansel & Gretel's house 😨👦. That's how fairytales used to be, and -to my opinion- should be told. Intensely funny, touching, and sometimes creepy. Oz Perkins' (direction and co-writing) Gretel and Hansel Movie is free from the moral and peaceful Disney layers, and goes as dark as needed. And that's good because, as the outdated leader logo of producer Orion symbolizes, this must be a low(er) budget production. Only a handful of actors and a compact filming location... it comes down to acting and visuals. The colouring and photography is well chosen and visually attractive, supportive. The dialogues are not quite exciting, the narration is sometimes even tacky, but acting is performed well by the talented and bright Samuel Leakey (Hansel), cheeky/evil smiling Sophia Lillis (IT Movie) as Gretel and especially by Alice Krige (Silent Hill and the Borg queen in Star Trek) as witch Holda. This fairytale is a good take on the classic Brothers Grimm story, but Perkins & Hayes wrote it also as pilgrimage, a self development portrait of the adolescent Gretel, dealing with talents and her sweet little brother, in her way.

Knock (I) (2017)

Monsieur docteur knows best, saves the town (and the movie)

[7/10 · 21 November 2017]

Witty story, adapted from the book by Jules Romains, about a small French town that meets its new doctor. Monsieur docteur knows best and most citizens love him for whatever he does. A bit of action, a little tear, and plenty of safe humor. The tempo is low, the story is not too exciting but Omar Sy (The Intouchables, Monsieur Chocolat) is holding the movie together with his signature mimics and fast body motion. The scenery is sweet, the music score (Cyrille Aufort) reminded me, with the bittersweet melody, of both Danny Elfman and Yann Tiersen.

Look Who's Back (2015)

Dark-funny and confronting, but the last 5 minutes spoil the potential by pointing finger to only 1 direction.

[6/10 · 17 January 2016]

Mixed feelings about this. Oliver Masucci is a dark-funny, clownish Hitler that could have suffered more from jet-lag than presented but the voice, mimics come across convincing. The story is original but dries up earlier than the end of the movie. With any other historic character, it would have been awkward but with magnitude of evil as Hitler, there is enough to make it last a little longer. Satire (Christoph Herbst acts sublime in reference to a scene in Der Untergang), confronting, warning.. sure. Until the last 5 minutes of the movie where director David Wnendt suddenly wants to underline a certain lesson by showing actual examples of extreme right political leaders, movements. He subjectivizes and limits the value of the movie. As Masucci says just before the end that any chosen dictator/extremist is only the reflection of (silent) feelings of the masses, the essence of the story is applicable to most of the mono-theological religions, or ANY movement that wants to dictate its ideas. That awareness should be much more stimulated, else we may just swap 1 fundamentalist for another, regardless left / right / religious. Pity Mr Whendt, you could have ended this movie much stronger..