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Witch

A woman in a medieval town is accused of being a witch, and with the help of a mysterious man tries to survive the hunt for her

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
20-10-2024
3

Poor quality drab

Sometimes you are reminded how hard it must be to properly shoot a movie, because, as this movie shows, even people simply walking from A to B can look awful and fake. And that's before we come to the tedious dragged out screenplay and conversation, bad dialogue and complete lack of tension.
3

Exists Within

For her study project, a girls decides to investigate the mysterious sounds coming from the appartment above her

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
14-10-2024
6

Too tame, missed oportunities

I guess the charm of this movie would be an everyday urban girl unraveling horror and drama way bigger than she bargained for. The problem is the execution though: it is al quite slow and flat, potential nail biting moments fail to raise the temperature, worsened by mismatched upbeat music.
6

Wandering Earth II, The

A prequel showing the extraordinary hardships en technological global challenges to get earth moving

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
13-10-2024
6.5

Feels like a three hour trailer

The space tech in here is bold and looks stunning, and the movie feels more mature than part I. But the script and storytelling is exhaustive, consisting out of endless shots of people doing and saying techno stuff instead of really following a character.
6.5

Escape Pod

Two people escape a destroyed space ship in a pod, in which extraterrestial danger and hidden motives await

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-10-2024
5.5

Cheap, but they had some ideas that work

Most people probably won't be able to see through the no-budget quality, silly pod decor, and so-so actors. But something in the story managed to keep my interest, and even unfolds some layers that were quite amusing. An example of ideas being able to overcome limited resources. Barely.
5.5

Uncharted

A guy gets a change to find hidden treasure, and his mysteriously disappeared brother

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
08-10-2024
6

A half decent adventure, but without soul

I guess this will satisfy the basics of treasure hunting adventure movies, but that's about it for me. I found none of the characters particularly likable or able to carry this, the treasure finding was so convenient and lazy and the finale is a bit much.
6

Inland Empire

An actress starts to drift in alternate (sur)realities as she performs a role

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
08-10-2024
7

Divisive, not for everyone, but I am glad I experienced it

I am still not sure about this understandably divisive movie. Did I watch agonizing, slow and pretentious nonsense, or a harrowing, smart and artistic descend into madness? The first two hours felt like the former. The last hour I began to see the latter.
7

Subservience

With his wife in the hospital, a man takes in a robot nanny. Gee I wonder will all be okay.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
06-10-2024
5

A pretty tired take on a familiar story

It finds very little to add to the familiar story of androids becoming hostile, being predictable and plain. Perhaps the erotic tension earns it some credits, even though that could have been miles better too. Fox was cold, even for a robot. Madeline Zima was the warm highlight of this movie.
5

Kalki

Good versus evil epic scifi kind of thing

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-10-2024
5

Abort

I don't want to review movies I did not watch in it's entirety, but I am not sure I would have survived this exhaustive mix of epic but fake looking stuff, a dissonant slapstick hero amidst serious themes and a cardboard feel to everything and everyone, with nothing to care about.
5

Frontera Verde

A detective investgates bodies in the jungle, leading her deeper into the jungle, it's native tribes and jungle magic

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
01-10-2024
6.5

A strong concept shaped with a lack of energy

On paper this was amazing. A crime story set against the background of beautiful jungle footage, mysterious forces and tribal rituals. What's not to like? Well, the pacing for one, as it constantly looses momentum and wanders aimlessly through the story as she does through the jungle.
6.5

Andromeda

A man is called by Nasa to travel (?) into outer space to find a new home for mankind

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
29-09-2024
4.5

A poor movie about big ideas

Well there definitely are some wild ideas about space travel, even if they feel made up as they go. The problem is the presentation; guys needlessly standing in the dark, problematic dialogues and a lack of flow and good story telling. Hard to stay awake with.
4.5

Broken, The

One day, a woman sees herself. And discovers a terrible truth about mirrors.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
26-09-2024
7

A modest but pleasing sciencefiction thriller

While this movie may not be spectacular in terms of quality or script, it nevertheless has an intriguing story to tell, and does so with care and a gentle touch. There is something mature about it, not relying on trickery or spectacle, but on it's story.
7

Substance, The

When a star is dumped because she's too old, she tries a substance that promises to grow a younger version of herself. Out of herself.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
25-09-2024
8.5

A blast

An truly awesome movie, thanks to it´s nasty body horror, snappy imagery, great actors and crazy (but not so subtle) story. But what´s best is how loud and proud it delivers the insanity, making it just so damn enjoyable. I can't remember being this much entertained by a movie lately.
8.5

Parallax

A couple struggles with the depression and apathy of the woman, which turns out to have a mind bending cause

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-09-2024
4.5

Weak potentials denied

There might be some interesting layers and scifi conundrums at the end, but you'll have to make it through the terribly slow, gutless and stale first hour to get there, after which I was too exhausted to notice or care.
4.5

Before Dawn

A young Australian boy decides to leave the farm and fight in the trenches of the first world war

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-09-2024
5

A very average WW1 flick

I found the confrontations lacking tension, the drama felt forced (especially with the cheesy music), there was no sense of scale of the battles or battlefield, and the script felt a bit random. I am sorry mates: it's a no for me.
5

Oddity

A woman dies under mysterious circumstances. Her blind sister, and her creepy wooden man, investigates.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-09-2024
7.5

An interesting horror/crime story with plenty of horror shenanigans

A creepy combination of crime and horror, that scores points for being unique and weird, and doing it's own thing. It can be ridiculously dark (who lives like this?) and perhaps a bit nonsensical, but it's one of the more interesting horrors of the year.
7.5

Watchers, The

A girl gets lost in an unmapped forest and finds shelter with other stranded people, who hide from something lurking in the dark

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-09-2024
5

Unconvincing and not scary

Some story elements are somewhat interesting, but most of them are rather far-fetched and childish. But the bigger problem is that it's not scary at all, and feels almost like scary movie for kids. Too scripted, too little room to breathe.
5

Devil's Bath, The

Somewhere in the 17th century, in a secluded village, a depressed woman finds a way to commit suicide without going to hell for it

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
05-09-2024
7.5

A slow burner, perhaps not even horror, but engaging nonetheless

This movie is very slow, with pacing aligned to the lifestyle and rituals of the village, adding to a suffocating and bleak yet authentic atmosphere, whilst slowly building an ominous atmosphere. Would a tad more horror events have improved this? Perhaps.
7.5

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

The backstory of that one girl from that other Mad Max movie

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
05-09-2024
6.5

More motor mayhem that doesn't rattle

I am not am really into this franchise, but it always provides entertaining and raw gasoline action. The same can be said for this one, but somehow it didn't really grab or excite me. Perhaps because I didn't find this character was in need of a backstory, so there's nothing to do but shrug.
6.5

In a Violent Nature

A serial killer/monster is accidently awoken from his grave

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-08-2024
7.5

A different slasher with a lot going for it

The perspective from the point of the killer really made this rather interesting. Even the very long walks through the woods worked for me, adding to a hypnotic and ominous atmosphere. Add some painful and gory kills with relentless camera focus and this becomes rather successful.
7.5

Twisters

After a trauma caused by a Hurricane accident, a scientist reluctantly returns to do more dangerous hurricane research

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
21-08-2024
4

Annoying

My God these self content tornado junky's, screaming yihaa as they drive into a hurricane, are annoying as hell! I didn't buy anything that happens in this movie, was constantly annoyed and just didn't feel any thrill at all. Sometimes, a movie presses all the wrong buttons.
4

Alien:romulus

A group if miners fly to an abandoned spacestation, hoping it is their way out ot there

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
20-08-2024
7

Entertaining, but great alien props and sights are not enough

While I adored the future retro space tech design, I cannot help but feeling mostly disappointed. Firstly there's the cast of teenagers (who somehow know to operate a goddamn spacestation) but mostly it failed to be much more than another cat and mouse game in dark steamy hallways.
7

Thin Red Line, The

In worldwar 2, an American platoon tries to conquor a Japanese mountain

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
16-08-2024
7

A decent war pic with some tricks up it's sleeve that only partly work

This movie sets out reasonably intensive combat, with emphasis on the decisions in the command structure. What sets the movie apart is frequent footage of nature, and voiceovers reading poetic contemplations. It sets the movie apart, but was quite vague and hard to follow.
7

Longlegs

FBI agent with psychic tendecies tries to solve a case of a serial killer who never seems to be at the scene of the crime

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-08-2024
7.5

Almost great

While I did not find it lived up to the hype, I did find that is as quite a unique combination of crime/thriller and supernatural horror, with a remarkable atmosphere and some good moments. But I can't shake the feeling that with only some minor changes, it would have been a classic.
7.5

Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The

About a daring ww2 sabotage mission, apparently exectued by the first ever special forces?

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
11-08-2024
7

Entertaining but hardly realistic or thrilling

The laidback assaults, accompanied by jazz music and british humor, make for an original and entertaining war movie, but also mean it never gets really thrilling. These guys don't even duck as they raid an enemy base; they just walk in, shoot from the hip, hit everything, never get hit. Hmmmm.
7

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

They need Godzilla to help Kong in middle earth or something

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
11-08-2024
4

Awful movie. How did my hero Rebecca end up here?

A convoluted mess, stuffed with all kinds of monsters in a hysteric script that is allover the place and introduces something new in every scene. It's so bad that they needed a character who is there solely for exposition, constantly explaining what the hell is going on.
4

Napoleon

The rise and fall of his battles and relationship

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
08-08-2024
7.5

This epic was right for me

I read that there are all sorts of historical errors and problems with this movie, which may very well be the case. For me though, it checked the right boxes for an impressive epic: great actors, outstanding visuals, beautiful costumes and a slowish but gripping script.
7.5

Thor: Love and Thunder

In confronting a new menace to all of the gods, Thor gets help from an old love

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
08-08-2024
6

Appearantly Thor is not to be taken seriously

A curious product where noon seemed to care anymore, and they just cooked up a ridiculous, corny and over the top comedy where every idea and fart was greenlighted. It's either painful and preposterous, or it will slowly get to you and make you chuckle uncontrollably.
6

Nobody

A man, caught in the daily family grind, snaps after a burgary and gets into war with the Russian mob

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
23-07-2024
6.5

First part good, second part amusing but unconvincing

Initially was quite excited, as this felt like an interesting variation of Falling Down, with a normal man snapping and no longer caring. But then it turns into John Wick mode, where he endlessly escapes bullets from mindless goons - if they shoot at all. This was the lesser part.
6.5

Lost Highway

A saxophone player gets sucked into an ever stranger murder case, involving a femme fatal

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-07-2024
7

Filmnoir with a some absurdity - which I wanted to like more.

Maybe these film-noir type of movies are just not be cup of tea, but I had trouble getting into this, and Pullman, with his single-expression stonerface, wasn't helping. The weird twists and turns were nice though, as was the lovely Arquette. But I felt I was missing something.
7

Verliefd op Bali

A mother and her two daughters go to Bali to process grandma's death, and their cursed proceedings in love

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-07-2024
6

Slightly amusing but deserved to be great

This is not a movie I would normally watch, so I'll try to be fair. The story provides fruitful soil for comical situations, a stab at Bali tourism and has room for some deeper explorations. It's all there, it kinda works, but it's also lukewarm, lacking a sharp script to make it pop.
6

Appleseed Alpha

A soldier and her cyborg compagnion assist a mysterious girl in a post war world

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
21-07-2024
6.5

Some cool graphics served rather plainly

Unfamiliar with the anime backstory, I had to take it as it was. I really liked some of the visuals, and the story was descent enough. But it failed to make a real impact, it all felt kind of flat and 1-dimensional. Some good supporting music was suspiciously absent - or mixed in way too soft.
6.5

Starfish (2018)

While grieving for her friend, a girl unlicks a mysterious code and.. the end of the world?

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
21-07-2024
6.5

A balancing act

At times I found this mysterious, arty and dreamy slow burner, nicely flavored with a dash of horror and science fiction, intriguing and pretty. At other times I found it pretentious, sleep-inducing and pointless. I suspect most will only find it one of these ends.
6.5

Acolyte, The

A Starwars crime detective story involving twins with a mysterious origins and a hunger for revenge against the jedi

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
19-07-2024
4.5

An unnecessary, unremarkable and average starwars show

I did not think it was AS bad as the internet thought it was, but I did think it was extremely average on all counts. Most noticeably, you can only shrug when it's over because it doesn't feel like a starwars story, it didn't need to be, and it doesn't seem to affect it any way.
4.5

'71

Amidst the religous wars in Belfast, a soldier gets left behind on the wrong side of town

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
18-07-2024
7

A solid manhunt

Tension runs high as both the people who hunt him down, as those that try to rescue him, are involved in shady groups and alliances. It's a well made, tense movie with some hefty moments. Ultimately is more a manhunt than a political commentary, which is probably for the better.
7

Begotten

Extremely grainy footage of vague but disturbing stuff happening

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
17-07-2024
7.5

A curious and unstelling project that intrigues

The disturbing and intriguing images, presented on extremely deteriorated film with nausea inducing sounds, make this almost unbearable (had to turn down the brightness), which I guess was the idea. One of those movies that will live with you. I think that's good.
7.5

I.S.S.

Russians and American inhabitants of ISS can no longer trust each other when a war breaks out on between their countries

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
16-07-2024
6.5

A nice idea done nicely

The movie mostly plays out as you'd expect and is reasonably exciting, but nerve wrecking it is not. Similarly, effects and acting are also decent enough, but nothing truly impressive. So yeh, an entertaining, original yet average scifi flick it is.
6.5

247°F

Three kids get locked in a sauna.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
07-07-2024
6.5

Execution a bit lacklustre, but what an idea

As a horror, it is kind of so-so. The script lacks finesse to really make us feel the heat, and the characters are not likable enough to care and share the anguish. The idea of it though, is quite sensational, and had me pondering what I what do, so it does give something.
6.5

Godzilla Minus One

A disillusioned kamikaze pilot gets a change to redeem himself when Godzilla comes

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
06-07-2024
6.5

Not everyone thinks it is a masterpiece

Frankly, I was quite surprised at all the praise this movie got. Yes, it looks okay and is probably true to the real Godzilla lore, but I found the terribly enacted drama in between a slog to get through, the tactics to defeat Godzilla ridiculous and it just wasn't terrifying to me.
6.5

I Saw the TV Glow

A boy befriends a girl with a common fascination for a TV show, that slowly seems to interfere with their sense of reality

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
04-07-2024
7.5

A beautiful but unclear trip

A rather unique movie, both in terms of the story and the presentation of it. The characters are sympathetic, the happenings are pleasantly weird and the music is beautiful. But I don't think I really understood the movie, and wonder if it could have been more touching if I did.
7.5

Light

Two woman crashland seperately on a moon and try to find a son and stay away from danger lurking in the dark/myst

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
03-07-2024
2.5

This might be the most boring movie I know

If you have no money for sets, it's worth a try to situate everything on a dark cloudy planet and do only closeups. But for that to work, you need great actors and an even better script. Alas, this movie has neither, and turned out to be a torturous boredom fest of people in big helmets talking.
2.5

Avgrunden

An earthquake hits a small town in Sweden

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-07-2024
6.5

A fair smalltown disaster movie lacking tension

The small town vibes and small group of focus people are quite refreshing, making this disaster movie more relatable and personal than bombastic Hollywood destruction. But I did not find the script particularly inspired, and some of the scenes go on way too long without being tense.
6.5

Three Thousand Years of Longing

A woman releases a genie, and together they ponder their lives in trying to find out what wishes to make

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
28-06-2024
7

Conversations done right

The movie mixes some philosophy, history and fantasy, but above all is quite a chatty intellectual movie about longing and purpose. But is remains accessible, and never gets heavy handed due to it's lighthearted atmosphere.
7

Mars Express

A detective and her (robot?) partner go to Mars to solve a crime

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
28-06-2024
6.5

Interesting but a little too tame for me

While there is a lot to like, such as the mature atmosphere and the razor sharp visuals, I ultimately was slightly underwhelmed. I thought it could have been bigger and bolder, and needed more badass music, action and standout moments.
6.5

Civil War

Journalists on a roadtrip to try and reach their destination in the midst of an American civil war

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
24-06-2024
7.5

High tension war drama but finding the message may be difficult

The neutral viewpoint of the journalists, and no explanation who is fighting who and why, is a smart move to make this about fear and war, not choosing sides. There is constant tension in the air. The downside of it that I am not really sure what the movie is trying to say.
7.5

Sous La Seine (Under Paris)

There's a shark in the Seine, a scientist being ignored, an ignorant major and some tiktok kids making things worse

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
16-06-2024
5

Why so serious

The main problem is that it takes it's premise rather seriously, which makes all illogical, nonsensical and sometimes preposterous events stick out like a sore thumb. So now it's neither tense shark horror nor a fun spoof.
5

John Wick Chapter 4

To really break free from his curse of violence, John must challenge a higher up member of the table

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-06-2024
7

An even bigger dose of the same. I am slowly checking out.

With the familiar stylistics, even longer John Wick style fighting, and some memorable scenes, this should satisfy the fans. For me personally, I am not sure I was really excited by it, because it is so excessive, and the way the bad guys wait with shooting, or miss, or both, is getting conspicuous.
7

Girl House

A woman decides to work in a house loaded with camera's for online viewers, but one viewer is evil and knows where the house is....

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-06-2024
6.5

Decent idea worthy of better execution.

After some snappy titles, a surprisingly strong backstory of the killer, the quality kind of plummets. The main character seems miscasted (I didn't buy her taking up this job), the tension is half baked and the slashing is all a bit so-so. Everything being broadcasted is a nice idea though.
6.5

Prospect

Two space people go to a planet to collect some precious goods, end up having to cooperate with enemies in order to leave the planet again

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
12-06-2024
6.5

Almost a gem showing budget is secundary. Almost.

While the movie clearly shows a limited budget, some cool space graphics, a well directed landing scene, the future retro space suits and the overall dreamy vibe all generate an interesting atmosphere. A slightly more exciting and tight script could have made it a hidden gem indeed.
6.5

Constellation

An astronaut survives an accident in the ISS, but once back on earth things don't seem to be the same. Not exactly.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-06-2024
7.5

Great scifi puzzler

I quite liked these series, as they successfully mix time/dimensional trickery, science fiction, quantum oddities, a dash of horror and some interesting characters played by great actors. It's looking good and the weirdness is pleasing while never becoming convoluted.
7.5

Masters of the Air

About the '100th' bombardment group during the ww2

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
07-06-2024
6.5

Ultimately a disappointment

I found it hard to connect with the characters, who come across over-scripted, over-directed and over-concerned with being handsome. I got tired of the bar scenes where everyone's clever and witty, and it all comes across as a bit thin, uninspired and done better elsewhere. Even the flight scenes.
6.5

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