Reviews

I saw a review about "battle realism in movies" and this movie was mentioned for the high level of historical accuracy.

As I grew up with stories of war in Belgium through grandparents, we were never really told about what happened in Poland. So it peaked my interest.

Once the characters are established, and you get to "bound with the innocent yought", you are sucked into the brutality and reality of war. The movie puts you right in the middle of it. Some of the more brutal scenes remind me of things my grandparents had told me, but sounded too surreal at the time to properly imagine.

Once the boxing gloves are off, it's fast paced and very craftfully put into picture. With a production value that you could compare to inglorious bastards, without the humor and the "Hollywood treatment". Very artful. Very realistic.

At the same time, a strong lovestory is told.

This was the only thing I could not understand very well; how one of the girls went beyond heaven and hell in dedicated love that was not affirmed before. Her journey shows the perspective outside of the resistance and how citizens are experiecing everything.

I could understand that he had nothing more as giving everything he could to resist the Germans. But in that sentiment, abandons his girl completely ? It just broke my heart after seeing a woman with such love and dedication for a man, being left alone.

Interestingly, my grandparents told also stories of "losing people" in the chaos and finding them back in the most random places. People being displaced or traveling around in lumps of people (for example, there was a call to mobilize to Normandy. My grandfather, as a teenager, jumped on his bike and rode 500km. To find the allied forces, and drove back with the convoy, abandonning his bike. When he got back home, he was scolded for not taking his bike with him - as they earlier in the war traded a bike for bread to be able to eat.) - so parts of this might be realistic, but I couldn't say.

I watched this movie in 3D, which should be an immersive experience.

The animations are done very well, the direction or writing is *very* bad. The movie doesn't flow and feels like it pulled apart another animation movie, made their observations into "rules and laws" and recomposed it in fragments. So it turns out to be a mozaïque of something else trying to be something new. It didn't work.

The entire movie felt as if they have made a storyboard and had sent these boards slide by slide to the animation department to render the scenes without any transition. And then over-manage the scenes while there isn't any transition. Like a slideshow.

Added to this, when two characters interact, the atmosphere is gone. It's usually an empty room, slightly faded in the background. The only moment there is much going on is on the party, but then there is too much chaos to take it all in. While other scene's were rushed in and felt empty. While music felt artificially placed instead of blending away.

For example, you have a dialogue character one says something. Expression. second character does a motion and expression in a different scene it seems. Zip back to the first character, says another thing. Slight pauze. Then the other character frowns, in another setting it seems. Back closeup to the first character. It's too, fragmented. And doesn't flow. This movie doesn't flow at all. It's like sitting in an amusementpark ride, and a sensor trips to display a scene of animatronics. The door closes, the animatronics die out. Another opens. Another animatronic.

Not even to mention the attempt to put in some stereotypes through voicing. The voicing is so without emotion and so dry. Say line. Stop. Say next line. Stop. The animators on this movie were very wonderful, the others not so much. It was a waste of my time and probably you too.

Recently I dared to watch this movie, "brother", as I wanted to be wrong about Flemish cinema. As it always seems to be a bit blazé and more hype and sustenance.

This movie, as all Flemish movies, caused a huge buzz and they build up suspense and every Flemish will dutiful watch it after the celebrity train has came through one of the few towns. Rushing all from the villages to be "part of the buzz" and talk about this "great movie such and such socialite has made" on the workfloor. It's nearly a cultural event.

It soon became crystal clear what was attempted but then the dialogues are lame AT BEST. The acting is bland and feels amateurish. The atmospheres are well put in scene, but then the cinemagraphic filters fail so it looks like your next-door teenager did a film project without the material. Which is a shame. You see the car driving but the shots are so limited you really can see "they rented this car, drove it over this road from a fixed point for 10 meters". With todays' accessible technology this is unforgivable.

The decors, the few they have were well dressed but are few and short. It makes the universe seem very claustrophobic or filmed in a very small space. I think this is again because of the way it has been filmed making it feel claustrophobic.

Then the dialogues: the timing is off. The "dramatic pauses" feel more like the actors don't know what is going on and cannot envision the scene. Or they are so into their mindspace "proving they can do drama" but then overact (or underact). Which breaks any credible flow between the characters and feels like a communion boy reading the paragraph in church. So it looks like they wait for someone to say "ok, say your line WITH AS LITTLE EMOTION POSSIBLE". It's bland, and took away any potential to get sucked into the movie and feel for the characters.

As soon the plot became clear I've been long checked out and reasoned the FLemish movie scene is for the Clouseau fans of this world. And that's that. A hugely gravely wasted potential with an inflated hype and selfimportant figures that cannot deliver. Maybe netflix will gladly broadcast this film.

It's the movie you'd wished when you watched the new Aliens flop. For me, it's better as the last Aliens.

The movie is quite thrilling, but then also choatic. It's a thrill, entertaining and you're quite fast at the end with a looming conslusion.

it wont be thé movie of the summer, it's good thrilling entertainment.

You can summerize this movie in one sentence: "the highly trained space crew had the discipline as the writers of this movie had. None."

There was so much potential for this movie and there are interesting scenes and settings (although, you sometimes only get an uncleaer overview shot where the details would've been interesting too).

Many actions of this "crew that had trained for 10 years for a designated task" didn't behave or have the decision processes you'd expect of such specialized teams. So it ended up feeling clownesque and stupid all the way through.

Shame, such potential wasted.

I love Tim Burton. His universes stood always out and nothing was there to compare.

In a world where you have Harry potter, Lord of the Rings and Wes Anderson universes and the last years "superhero" movie-galore... makes a Tim Burton movie seem like "me too" with a Burton twist. In light of a world with plenty of familiar and similar universes it doesn't com across as this special. It could've been a very captivating intersection between Beetlejuice and Big Fish. But then, it's not either of those.

You'll find back all aspects of Tim Burton with attention to detail, the story is good. It's captivating, although the story is a bit slow. I probably will have missed a lot of details that might only become apparent after a second watching.

As the mystery is unraveled, the action and excitement heightens, and then it is over. With hunger for more as you're invested in the characters. You can't but feel "there will be 1000 sequels like those other superhero movies but all after more half-assed as the first".

This series centers around Dirk Porrez who manages a "small self employed" security firm. You could describe him as the picked on kid that grew up and does everything in his effort to do good from a certain naive view on the world. While "kicking back" and following through to realize this fantasy like ideal image of success. It allows very clever writing about interactions, feeling, causality, social status, setting priorities and situational humor.

His employees are a loyal following that look up to him which gives value to Dirk and a sense of responsibility to take care of his "crew". While they, often incompetently, try to reach out to Dirk for his leadership and the anchor-role he embodies.

While they are all a bit clumsy in different regards, they also have strengths they excel in just the right moments. The humor of the show lies in the way each individual aces or fails a new setting and a new situation (which their "security consultancy job" brings them). The way they are non- pretentious (in success and failure) and the variety of incidents makes it easy to identify at least a few times... As the characters, even a bit stereotypical, respond situational and can "win big" or "fail very badly" makes them very humane and recognizable.

As the group revolves a lot around the subject of friendship, family and sticking together and up for each other, it gives a very down to earth chuckle with very solid values. It is one of the better lighthearted Flemish productions where you kind of feel "part of the losers" and feeling good and cool about it.

The movie that has followed tried to push too much on stereotypes and a moralizing story by "sending a message", making it almost backfire - but people seemed very attached to the characters by the time they went to see the movie it passed. While it came across as a bit forced, it has irreversibly opened a new dimension for Dirk Porrez. By making the story about his "gay outing" it rendered him from a neutral, pseudo-workaholic wannabe authoritative figure with a soft heart into a personality that opens narrative for a gay love story (or channel to address gay issues) while it might steer the series more into a couples and relationships based story/moral compass for season 3 compared to a work related friendship based narrative for season 1 and 2.

This movie is so boring the most exciting thing that happened during this time was when the two attractive girls stood up next to me, almost 30mins in, and never returned.

The movie is a long winded emo dialogue with a few weak action scene's and bad attempts towards humor. While all other movies seem to sort of get back to a higher standard... This one must be one of the bottom movies. I honestly could've without wasting my time sitting through this garbage.

There is truthfully nothing interesting going on all the time. The dialogues, the "inner struggles", the tension between the comradery and loyalty. It's a hollow shell that has been a huge missed opportunity.

The movie is a thrill. Very high intensity. There is gore, as advertized, yet the gore isn't pornographic as in Saw and others. It isn't as disorienting and annoying as Blair witch project, nor claustrophobic. In some ways you might even see "Lola rennt" into it.

The pace stays very high and your intelligence isn't insulted with long monologues explaining all the things. As you go along, things become clear which takes you more into the skin of the antagonist with memory loss who is discovering everything at the same time.

There are moments the camera-work could be a bit improved; In high action sequences you sometimes get a blurry and shaky movie, without being provided with a reference point. The sequences where he runs this works, but where he flies around you'd "feel the motion" or have a sense of orientation but as a viewer you see just a blur. Filming it this way leaves you out for a second, or two. It's refreshing to see a movie that throws it all upside down, though.

It was very funny to see how every Russian in the street were very helpful and kind. While every Russian inside any place was just very angry and violent. There are sequences with nudity, yet for me the biker girls were more sexy and could have gotten more attention.

Overall it's a very fun ride. Think Duke Nukem, Doom or of the like. Just badass action. Unlike anything we've seen for years. It's a whole new model.

I went to see this movie without expecting much. But it caught me off-guard. It's not your run of the mill drama, comedy, feel-good nor action flick. Just a honest portrait depicting someone waking up to his own life after an unexpected event in his life. And suddenly questioning or experiencing his life, which seemed to have been sort of empty for quite some time.

If you're trying to decide what movie to go to tonight, this one is a good pick. The movie never bored or felt off beat. It has a nice pace, before you know it the credits roll of the screen and you wonder where the time has gone.

Today, it's tempting to read reviews in order to avoid watching one of the many bad films that they put out these days. Rehash, reboot, overkill on effects, empty dialogs, clichés or what have you.

I did give into my curiosity after a while, fearing this would be a "blairwitch project"-like movie. But while the movie progresses, you alternate between perspectives and try to understand what is going on together with the antagonist, around whom the story revolves.. You do get some nice unexpected turns. There wasn't a moment of boredom.

What I especially liked was, that while the conclusion unfolds, the director DIDN't let himself be tempted to explore and put focus on that aspect. The movie is really about and around the discoveries the antagonist makes, together with the viewer together.

I could mention many "plotholes", but I couldn't anticipate the bends and turns the movies makes I didn't care much and was taken aboard until the end of the movie.

This movie is cinematographic very very beautiful. But then, it has this English feel and it's about drugs and girls laying around naked high.

The plot of the movie is really on the background and the finale is sortof a dud.

The visualizations of the trips were really well done, and brought me back to some "space traveling" I have done back in the day. Naked girls and the decors and everything is just very fine.

Yet, when I walked back from it, I only remember the two main characters as if I stood in a room with them. Some moments it felt very genuite and realistic others not so much. (why is big mr CIA guy so influencable by little meek English loser ? And why is an army of grunts able to just knock on the door and execute a fully armed CIA delegation ? Why was mr artsy so shallowly represented? All the project he didn't do anything it seemed, while he could be more flamboyant and funny.)

Get high, watch this movie. Then watch some youtube conspiracies and you'll love this movie. Watch this movie for the cinematics, which are perfect (mood, decor, visualizations, angles, sets,...). When you are in it for the plot, you'll grind teeth.

First of, the good. The universe is very true to what we've appreciated in the mention-worthy movies of the series. It's convincing and authentic. The atmosphere is spot on.

But the entire movie feels underwhelming: all the focus around a girl and a black dude. While other cameo appearances come into view, of people die where we should care about and feel outraged about. But we know them so briefly, we don't care yet enough or aren't invested enough to be outraged.

Planet blown up ? Yes. Outraged? No, who were these people? Oh flash. It's over. Emotional tormented guy, who is he? For a moment I hoped the girl would be brought in front of the "huge evil force". Look at this strange looking rebel. Look at him again. He's at it. He's gone. Who was he? We don't care. Half the rebel fighters are gone! oh no! I mean, whatever. The girl is still hanging on a wall ? How did Han solo get up there when there was just 30 seconds left ?

And what about the "these aren't the droids you're looking for" scene? That was... beyond silly and lame.

The best thing in the movie is to see Harrison Ford again play and get back into the Star Wars universe. It's very well done.

But, before you know it, you realize you are revisiting old scenes and even the same scenario's. Add to this visiting old characters and you feel sortof dragged around this disoriented girl and black dude being confused and not understanding what is going on. But becoming the "superhero antagonist" without even doing effort for it ? Guess this is 2016. It lacks the sérieux and sense of dedication of the persona's. Even sense of urgency or danger. Maybe it was the script? The actors ?

You know you go to a Tarantino movie for cinematographic delight and something with a very specific edge.

To my disappointment, this movie failed to deliver. While the whole "it's filmed Ultra Panavision 70"-buzz thrown around - it hasn't been necessary for the few scenes that stand out more.

The movie is slow and dreadful. And is divided in chapters, which makes it come off as a book that is half-assed put into film.

Nothing worthwhile happens until the before-last chapter where the entire movie is compressed into this 1/6th segment of the film. While 4/6th you see Samuel Jackson as this "withdrawn and righteous man", 2/6th you get to hear him babble on and on so much and in such a cocky know-it-all way, you long lost interest in this character and really want him to get shot in the balls. The character and Samuel Jackson.

The acting performances are very good. I'm not that much of a Samuel Jackson fan, so the camera orbiting him most of the movie just is... Boring.

The movie is watchable, the scenes are pretty and the set looks authentic. Some details in the movie are well done and cross referencing. Although, sometimes they're too obvious and "restated" it loses subtlety.

The characters are interesting, but everything gravitates around one character. While the story is stretched out with "impression shots" and dialogue to come to a short, high paced conclusion. As if it could go on and on and on and then everything rushed to a hasty finale. Where most characters jump out of character, really. And all dimension in the buildup is completely lost. Leaving you with the feeling it's really a political view rammed down your throat - instead of "a story around the civil war". The fact the movie seems to be a lecture that "white to black racism is BAD and only stupid people do this" but "black to white racism is justified. And black to Mexican racism is a-OK!" just wtf?

tl;dr: The concept, "locked in a hut with strangers, what will happen" has also been done. And arguably a bit more exciting.

This movie isn't much more as an American caricature of good European movies and literature or culture. That's why it is so bad..

You have the Wes Anderson universe and story-telling but it didn't really work. The Harry Potter universe (but with a certain feel of unauthentic-ness. Like made in China gucci.) and a sense of Tim Burton without the effort. Or a bit of Baz Luhrmann. But it doesn't feel honest or authentic. Which is a shame because of the great potential.

Is it because of bad propping (manifacturing a scene instead of using existing locations ?) ? Is it because of the distance from English (Harry Potter) culture and literature ? Or trying to make a certain movie without a identity? I cannot say. I just can say that halfway in I see fragments of style of different directors, don't feel anything in relation to the children, don't feel like I know the children (other as narration you don't know them or get to know much about them. They seem without personality), and the cliché characters seem a caricature and unauthentic.

The movie is well made but the target audience shouldn't be over 12.

It's the Marvel universe about winning and deserving your daughters love. A bit between "Honey I shrunk the kids" (maybe because of the ants?) with the action-theme blended in. Innocent guards being "man handed" are for example explicitly saved before explosions. And are just "knocked out" instead of being gunned down.

This also means the characters have a lower level of dialogue and motivations. It also makes the movie less dark and "intense" as the other superhero movies tend to do.

The graphics are well done, there is a cadence in the movie that is fluid. Some humor is thrown in while the main idea of the movie is about "fathers loving their daughters". It does seem there has been an effort to display the "stephfather" as a caring supportive role.

What a difficult task to make Terminator relevant today and not upset the fans of the classic movies.

With the current trend to make a "remake of everything", having incompetent and soulless directors getting their greedy hands on and horrendously failing - it was refreshing to see the effort that went to steer away from making the same mistakes. And not get seduced to "overdo" the whole thing with GUI and over the top-ness. It stayed quite true to the universe and cinemagraphic style.

While it hasn't the same punch or impact as the two original films have and there are many references to the previous movies younger movie- goërs might not really get, it has been a pleasure to submerge again in the Terminator universe which craftfully stands on it own.