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Paranormal Activity 2

(mostly) securitycamera footage of a family being haunted

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-01-2016
7

Novel en successful idea approach to a horror flick

Probably a rehash of part 1, but since I have not yet seen that, I will honor this one for the brave, effective and chilling way of telling a horror story. The actual events and pacing are a bit under powered for it to become truly terrifying, though.
7

The Hateful Eight

Bounty hunter, his prisoner, and a bunch of cowboys get stranded in an inn, in a Agatha Christie kind of setting

RockmeNow
RockmeNow
15-01-2016
8

Who can be trusted? Damn those cowboys, just shoot them all...

Typical Tarantino twists, blood, gore, and humour in a successfull blend of western and detective elements. The story slowly unfolds in this somewhat lenghty movie, but manages to grasp your attention until the last second....
8

Time Lapse

Three friends discover a device that takes a photo of their house everyday at eight o clock.... tomorrow

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
17-01-2016
8.5

Hats off to the minds that can cook up a story like this

A mind boggling story that continuously left me balancing on whether I was aboard or not, and had me drawing diagrams the next morning. And as if the story weren't complex enough, their is still room for an additional twist at the end too. Very clever.
8.5

White Tiger

During WW2, in trying to deal with a mysterious Nazi tank, the Russian army turns to an equally mysterious tank driver

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
24-01-2016
7.5

Good WW2 movie with a dash of mystery

An intense and sometimes gruesome looking WW2 flick that can be a bit slow at times, but compensates with a nice mixture of mystery, war, interesting characters and a diverging but well done ending.
7.5

Self/less

Terminally ill man signs up for his inner self to be transfared to younger body... they got from... where exactly?

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
24-01-2016
7.5

A very decent in between scifi with good ideas

Original science fiction mystery that gradually evolves into an action thriller. It is quite nice indeed, but could have hit harder by exploring this profound premise and what it might do to people mentally.
7.5

Seventh Son

In medieval times, a ghost hunter requires the help of a seventh son (of a seventh son) in order to defeat an escaped witch with evil plans.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
24-01-2016
6

It's missing factor X

It's all here; bold adventure, dazzling fantasy, witches, dragons, romance, fine effects and music, and amusing performances. But somehow it is all a bit flat, fails to excite or take you along for the ride. Maybe it's exactly this mandatory fantasy mixture that makes it feel formulaic.
6

The Hangover III

The wolfpack gets involved in crazy mafia adventures yet again, but this time they're sober

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
07-02-2016
6

I felt cheated

The 'what the hell happened last night' joke may have been running out of fuel. But as I watched the half-baked comedy that remained without it, I couldn't help but feel cheated.
6

It Follows

Girl has unknown people walking slowly but straight at her

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
07-02-2016
8

Scores in many fields

The seemingly simple story in this little marvel is told with style and confidence, supported by a nice cast, good music and great camera work, and manages to be scary without over-relying on the same old cliches. Unique and refreshing.
8

Couples Retreat

Couples agree to go to a discounted paradise vacation, not realizing relationship therapy is part of the package

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
14-02-2016
6

Predictably average

Besides a colorful tropical scenery and a couple of laughs, this one has only average and mostly predictable jokes and the inevitable moral ending to offer.
6

Insurgent

In a future where people are living in factions based to their personalities, a group of rebels aim to break these boundaries

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
14-02-2016
4.5

Can you make it till the end

I am afraid I loathe these 'young adult' future novels as of late. I can't stand these plastic, one dimensional people living in these ridiculous worlds doing unlikely stuff, always looking oh so pretty as they go along. The only savior are the imaginative and classy 'sim' scenes near the end.
4.5

I Spit on Your Grave

Girl survives a brutal redneck gang rape and comes back to torture them to death

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
20-02-2016
7

A heavy, deeply uncomfortable, depressing affair.

If you manage to finally make it through the rape scenes, the next endurance test is full frontal torture, slightly more bearable because of the payback. I thought the complicated torture setups deployed seemed overly elaborate, prone to errors. But how can we rate movies like this? A 7 perhaps?
7

Blue is the Warmest Color (La Vie d'Adèle)

Girl becomes lesbian

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
21-02-2016
6.5

Beautiful but too long and too slow

You have to admire how the gorgeous lead actrices carry this story with beautifully authentic acting. But everything takes so freaking long in this movie, everything is so spread out that in the end even the intimate love scenes started to bore me.
6.5

San Andreas

Dad needs to search and rescue his ex-wife and then his daughter in the aftermath of huge earthquake

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
28-02-2016
6.5

Too Hollywood

A technically sound, mostly good looking disaster flick, served with the typical cardboard characters, an omnipotent superhero, drenched in a sauce of Hollywood cliches. It ends with them staring across the sunset with an American flag waving nearby. yay!
6.5

Sinister

Writer and his family move into a house where horrible attrocities have taken place, so he can research these and write a book about it. To start him of, he finds a box with old 8mm films...

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
29-02-2016
8

Eerie

Didn't crawl under the skin as I thought it would (for some reason), but a very eerie, umcomfortable and stylish horror nevertheless. 8mm graininess is used to great effect together with really unsettling music.
8

Camp X-Ray

Newbie MP soldier get stationed at Guantanamo, where she bonds with one of the detainees

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
05-03-2016
8

Honest little gem

A sober yet rewarding experience, with an awesome looking and playing Stewart and very good music backing it up. I sort of missed a beat in the transition of Lector turning into a genuine nice guy, but that's ok.
8

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

The chipmunks fear that their dad's love interest might lead him to abandon them, so they set out to sabotage the engagement.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
06-03-2016
6

Ok for kids. An endurancetest for adults.

Sure, it's an uncomplicated fun adventure, kids will get some fun out of it, and let's not forget the effects blending so seamlessly we don't even notice them anymore. But a kids movie equally suitable for adults, this is not.
6

Ant-Man

This superhero can shrink to the size of ants and defeat evil

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
13-03-2016
7.5

A small but sympathetic hero movie

A bit slowish, silly and I am not even sure it looked that great. But there's a kind of uncomplicated, honest and straight-up fun entertainment in here, making it more enjoyable than certain other hysteric and megalomanic hero movies.
7.5

The Revenant

After being left for dead and betrayed after a bear attack, a man must defeat nature and other dangers to make it home and take revenge

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-03-2016
8

Big

A majestic and profound experience that is beautifully shot. Personally I wasn't able to connect fully with the main character, as he is mostly a puffing and groaning wild man, but that's a minor quibble.
8

The Lazarus Effect

After succesfully bringing a dog back to live, an accident brings the science team to try the trick on one of their own

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
31-03-2016
6.5

Unremarkable horror despite some good ideas

A promising idea and start can't help this movie from soon ending up with rather cliche and predictable scares and a lack of focus. The science 'team' is also an unconvincing bunch of Hollywood stereotypes.
6.5

Jurassic World

In order to keep the customers coming, the parc scientists built a new kind of dinosaur. Of course it stays happily in it's cage!

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
31-03-2016
7.5

Worthy addition, great adventure

The awe and excitement of seeing realistic lifesize dino's on the screen may never be what is once was, but this movies still manages to capture the highly entertaining and plain fun adventure vibe of the franchise. Good 3D too.
7.5

Into the Heart of the Sea

The 'true' story of Moby Dick, of whale hunters becoming hunted by a whale

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-04-2016
7

Well made but not engaging enough

It has a nice look and feel to it, and it was clearly made with much love and dedication. But these grumpy and dirty men harpooning whales were hardly sympathetic, so their misfortune was hardly engaging. The thick arty layers of unnatural colors take away a sense or realism too.
7

Nude Nuns with Big Guns

After being sold an abused as a sex slave, a nun sets out to take revenge.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-04-2016
6.5

Nice and campy

Much like Tarantino movies, it shamelessly celebrates campy, violent, badly acted, poorly edited movies taking please in sweaty Mexican style landscapes. It does so quite well, but it also doesn't do much more than that. And the guns weren't that big either.
6.5

Crimson Peak

Woman marries a man who brings her to his spooky mansion, where she finds out what a ghost in her childhood tried to warn her for

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-04-2016
7

The good bits are mostly a side dish

With almost every scene a piece of art, this is quiet a looker. The ghost scenes were great too. But the story holding it together is mostly a costume drama of love, crime and passion, which I found quite slow and pale by comparison. I really liked Jessica Chastain's performance, though
7

Exists

Them kids in a cabin in the woods are terrorized my Bigfoot. All caught with found footage.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
16-04-2016
6

Average, quite unoriginal stuff

The more we get to see this creature, the less scary it becomes. And for Christs sake, does it always have to be teenage stoners who experience this stuff? And they brought how many camera's? Sit with the other average found footage horror movies please.
6

Kung Fu Panda 3

In order to repell a new threat to peace, Panda must resort to his Panda family to learn the power of chi

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
18-04-2016
8

A very mature and excellent episode

Some fatigue may kick in, as we can sort of predict how everything it going to turn out. But the humor, atmosphere, unique blend of 3d animation and traditional artwork, the loyalty to the characters and the depth of the story remain of a very high standard.
8

Ghost in the Shell

Cyborg police officer is threatened by an entity from within her hardware

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
08-05-2016
7.5

Dialogues not overly succesful, but the rest is

The dialogue can by long, stiff and unnatural. But the wonderful imagery, music, mysterious atmosphere and mesmerizing scenes of future Japan still make it an intriguing experience.
7.5

Captain Harlock: Space Pirate

In a spacewar for access to earth, a man inflatres a space pirate's ship to bring him down. Gradually, he starts to doubt where the real evil lies

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
13-05-2016
6.5

Just enjoy the pretty graphics

Some stunning and quite unique 3d designs can't make up for the usual overacted, over dramatic way everyone behaves. And a pirate ship that is literally indestructible isn't really helping to make the otherwise vivid combat scenes exciting.
6.5

Spectre

Just when the 00 team is cancelled, Bond faces the architect of all his pain

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
16-05-2016
8

Tight

With a sense of perfection in each scene, the the movie is confident enough to never rush or over-do things, instead rolling along nice and tight. I found Bond himself is a little too 1-dimensional with his grumpiness and fearlessness. The man seems utterly bored with his job.
8

Piranha 3D

Prehistoric piranhas attack horny party teens on boats and beaches

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-05-2016
7

Quite good for what it is

Overall, this mixture of bad movie making, bloody horror, crap fx and boobs (and other genitalia) make for some for remarkably satisfying brainless popcorn entertainment.
7

Pressure

Divers get stuck in a diving bell on the bottom of the ocean during a maintenance gig

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-05-2016
7

Shame about the crew

Perfectly adequate in it's display of deep water fear and claustrophobia, but making all members chagrined assholes probably wasn't the best way to make me care.
7

Poltergeist (2015)

Family moves into a house in which a ghost goes after the little girl

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
29-05-2016
6.5

A but uninspired

Right from the start it quite mundanely runs by -=scary scenes=-. Then the science team moves in, after which the scares are pretty much gone. The boy's trick of constantly turning his head toward a scary event VERY SLOWLY was also getting on my nerves. DeWitt rose above it all.
6.5

Everest

True story about a terrible day on the Everest on which several lives were lost

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
29-05-2016
8

Engrossing and impressive

A thrilling and chilling story with powerful footage and acting, shot in very smooth 3D. It didn't completely knock me down, but I am not yet sure why.
8

The Visit

Brother and sister document their first a visit to their grandparents. Including what happens with them after 21:30.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
29-05-2016
7.5

Evolves into something good

What starts of somewhat doubtfully as yet more mockumentary by cute rapping teenagers, gradually evolves into a rather dark, vile, nasty and scary movie indeed. It's slow pacing and lack of gore/fx only make it stronger.
7.5

The Fountain

While trying to find a cure for his terminally ill wive, a man gets entangled in her manuscript for a story. Also, he is flying through space in a bubble with a tree.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
05-06-2016
7

Over aware of it's uniqueness

A courageous and unique movie that dares to be different and strange. Beautiful and meaningful on the one hand, but hardly subtle as the symbolism is sort of rammed damned your throat and feels slightly too pleased with itself.
7

Insidious

Family moves into a home, soonafter which paranormal things happen and the boy falls into a chronic sleep (but it's not a coma!)

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
12-06-2016
7

Half great, half ok

Starts of terrifying indeed. But then the inevitable ghost expert team moves in and sort of break the tension with misguided humor, along with the cliched medium and a tacky explanation for it all, and it sort of drifts into a slightly messy Poltergeist clone.
7

Beyond the Black Rainbow

I THINK it's about a woman in therapy in a secluded hypermodern (in the eighties at least) facility, trying to get out

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
13-06-2016
7.5

If you see it you might need therapy also

A weird ass trip of the first kind, in which you mostly have to figure out for yourself what to make of it as you are being sedated by the psychedelic colors and imagery. Its crawling pace is both a strength and weakness. Not for everyone, but I was quite hooked indeed.
7.5

Zootropolis

Rabbit tries to make it as a police officer in the big city inhabited by all kinds of animals

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
19-06-2016
8

A matured quality animation

A wonderful tale that is brought to live with colorful charterers, a good sense of humor and a detective crime story that has an mature quality to it.
8

10 Cloverfield Lane

After a carcrash, a girl finds herself hijacked in an underground shelter, appearantly because there's global catastrophy outside?

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
23-06-2016
7

Decent scifi mystery that fails short of being great

A very decent flick with some nice ideas and a good script. The mystery of what's going on, as well as the performances and darkness were a bit mellow for my taste.
7

Maggie

Father gets to take care at home of his daugther, in her last few days before turning into a zombie

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
26-06-2016
6.5

Sympathetic but hollow

I liked the idea of focusing on just one case amidst a global zombie mayhem, and Schwarzenegger is probably at his best ever. Ultimately though, I thought there was a lack of substance and depth, and the pretty shots starting feeling as a coverup for a slightly empty shell.
6.5

Eye in the Sky

Covert-op to in Kenya, seen from within the situation room as well as airborne droids, constantly balances taking out most wanted terrorists at the cost of civilian lives

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
01-07-2016
7.5

Exciting fly on the wall

A nail-biting experience that had me hooked and managed to make the legal ramifications of firing a missile quite exciting indeed. I just thought the crying, insubordinate drone pilots were ridiculous.
7.5

The Other Side of the Door

Devastated by the tragic loss of her son, the woman resorts to an indian supernatural ritual to speak to him one last time - and exectutes it wrongly

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-07-2016
6.5

Fair horror

I loved the Indian setting and the story had potential, but ultimately it keeps relying on familiar tricks and I thought everyone was overacting a bit.
6.5

13 Hours

On the 2012 attacks on USA compounds in Benghazi

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
10-07-2016
7.5

Chest pounding action with suprisingly restrained Bayism

The beginning was restless for the wrong reasons, everyone was chatting and doing stuff I could not follow. There's also a fair dose of Bay kitsch en patriotism, albeit less than I expected. But it's still an intense adrenaline rush - so much so that I had trouble falling asleep afterwards.
7.5

Independence Day: Resurgence

Mankind has had a major tech and weapons upgrade, but will it be enough to counter a second alien invasion?

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
11-07-2016
6.5

Leave brain at home

I guess it rightfully is the brainless over-the-top popcorn scifi movie it needs to be, so that it doesn't need to make excuses for being shallow, stupid and hardly exiting. Fun, but ultimately I find these movies less and less satisfying. Couple of days later, I have already forgotten most of it.
6.5

Fifty Shades of Grey

Woman falls in love with mysterious and wealthy man, but he has sadomasochistic desires

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
17-07-2016
4.5

What a turnoff

Mostly a boring soap opera where they speak in Hollywood cliches. Their relationship is ice cold and unconvincing. The woman is confusingly flip flop towards the SM, and the corresponding scenes are bullshit as they kept it 'romantic' and pretty to look at. A feather? Really!?
4.5

The Finest Hours

Against all odds, courageous men on a small coastguard boat sail into a storm to help the crew of a wrecked oiltanker

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
17-07-2016
5

Sunk

Not withstanding the good looks and production values, I thought this was a mess. The 50's atmosphere felt cliched, all characters are either obnoxious, one-dimensional or off, the love story was getting on my nerves and I was sort of glad it was over.
5

Blackhat

In order to combat cyber assaults on a powerplant and the stockmarket, the FBI calls in the help of an incarcerated superhacker

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-08-2016
6

Nicely shot nonsense

It looks and sounds slick, but it is ruined by a lazy, romanticized and dumped-down Hollywood view of 'hacking' and a miscasted pretty boy as a hacker. Also, the hacker apparently was allowed to engage in FBI activities like shooting, fighting and pursuit. Preposterous.
6

Hitman: Agent 47

Evil coorporation plans to revive a program for superhuman killers, but they have to deal with an earlier 'model' of superagent trying to stop them.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-08-2016
6

Some cool action served in a tired Hollywood sauce

I sort of get the cool and stylish action scenes in here, but it is hard to enjoy them given the the over the top coincidental story and one-dimensional people speaking Hollywood gibberish, like "Sometimes when I can't sleep, I like to take things apart"
6

The Witch (The VVitch)

Exiled to live at the edge of a forest, a deeply religeous family is terrorized by a witch which causes them to turn on each other as well

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-08-2016
8.5

Effective through authenticity

It's not necessarily scary like jump scare horror, but the outstanding depiction of the Puritan life and language, together with restrained but terrifying witchcraft make for one of the better horrors of recent times.
8.5

Spy

Condemned to work in a basement supporting agents doing all the action, a CIA agent finally gets a change to do some fieldwork of her own

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
14-08-2016
8

Dare I say hillarious?

In a time where 'comedies' merely evoke a vague smile at best, I was delighted to find this genuinely funny movie that had me laughing out loud several times. Deliciously nasty and hysterical.
8

God's Not Dead

Christian student is forced to prove the existence of God by one of those malicious atheist philosophy teachers. There's also substories of other idiots (like cancer patients and muslims) finding God

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
14-08-2016
3.5

but this movie is

I was sort of hoping for some passionate debate with interesting arguments from both sides, but that came out underdeveloped and sloppy, smothered in the cringe worthy side stories, performances and bizarre depiction of atheists. Thank God all heretics died.
3.5

The BFG

Girl befriends a giant and helps him to get his live back on track

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
19-08-2016
6.5

Lovingly made but not immersing

I hate to be negative about this lovingly-put-together and fine looking movie with plenty of good moments, but ultimately it failed to grab my full attention and made me sleepy-eyed because of a lack of tension and the long dialogues.
6.5

Lazer Team

A spacesuit that was sent to earth to protect us from bad aliens, falls in the hands nobodies. Now it's up to them to save earth.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
19-08-2016
6

Fun concept exectued unremarkably

Sort of cozy and sympathetic, but most jokes fall flat and it has a very generic feeling about, like you have already seen it.
6

The 5th Wave

Girl tries to rescue her little brother amidst an alien invasion in 5 waves

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
21-08-2016
5

Derailed

After a reasonable start, it derails in cheesy teenage love stories, unexciting screenplay, annoying army-squads comprising of teenagers and emo's, and sloppy movie making with aliens that conveniently look just like humans.
5

The Secret Life of Pets

When humans leave their pets at home during work, the pets start their second live and embark on an adventure

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
21-08-2016
7.5

Fun and heartwarming

Another original, joyful, colorful and funny animation that is hard to fault. Pet owners will get some extra laughs out of the recognizable pet quirks shown. These animation movies are constantly of such a high quality that they will have to come up with something new to stand out.
7.5

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman hates Superman for the havoc he inflicted battling Zod, and Lex adds to the misery by creating another supevillain. And also...

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
04-09-2016
6.5

Tiresome spectacle

A very well made, mostly good looking superhero epic that nevertheless failed to fully make an impression. It was exhaustively messy and cramped, incoherent and sort of depressing. I found Batman totally unlikable and his hatred towards Superman felt forced.
6.5

Kill Command

Future space marines go train against robots in the woods, but then the robots start to become agressive beyond the program.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
11-09-2016
5.5

Nice robots though

Some guys were quite adept at making some good scifi designs and robotics, but not at making a movie around it. The combat lacks tension, performances are underwhelming, there's a lot or repetition and I fell asleep twice.
5.5

400 Days

4 people spent 400 days in a mockup spaceship to test the effects of long term space travel. Will they keep their sanity... and what's going on outside?

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
24-09-2016
3.5

Annoying

Right from the beginning I was incredibly annoyed by this. Everything and everyone is so phony, cheesy, unrealistic and slow. There's a pale spark of excitement in the whole 'what's happening' mystery, but I wonder if even the writers really knew.
3.5

The Forest

Woman heads off to japan to find her twin sister, who was last seen wandering into suicide forest Aokigahara

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
25-09-2016
6.5

A missed opportunity

Considering the terrifying setting of the movie, I was quite disappointed that it only had rather mundane, predictable and mostly pointless jump scares to offer. It's not too bad, but hopefully not the final word in movies situated here.
6.5

Mega Shark vs. Kolossus

Megalodon strikes yet again, and an awoken giant robot adds to the misery

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-10-2016
3

It lives up to it's title

So yeh, everything is bad about this movie. But it's not snugly enough to reach the elusive so-bad-it's-good status, even though it was off to a good start with the deep cleavage power babes piloting the subs.
3

Deliver Us From Evil

Heavy handed cop finds himself involved in a paranormal case leading up to exorcism

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-10-2016
7.5

Nicely done crime/horror movie

A rather solid movie with good acting, great badass characters, and a gloomy en dark atmosphere reminiscent of Seven.
7.5

Gods of Egypt

Exhiled Horus gets a change to reclaim his crown with the aid of a mortal thief

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
04-10-2016
4.5

Nice demo

Looks and feels like a computergame. Come to think of it, games nowadays have more interesting en deep characters than this painfully boring, flat and hollow production. It's always an embarrassing experience when so much is going on and you don't care about any of it.
4.5

Warcraft

A fantasyworld at peace is suddenly invaded by violent beasts coming through a portal

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
11-10-2016
6.5

Surprisingly mature, but still a slightly distant game world

Pleasantly surprised by the quality of the characters, looks and various memorable scenes, and the way that things have a mature quality to them.. But you still may feel like you're thrown in a world you do not know, making it hard to connect with it, or be immersed by it.
6.5

The 9th Company

Russian soldiers get trained for a mission in Afghanistan

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
30-10-2016
6

I think I was supposed to hate the other guys

I'm sorry, was I supposed to care about these obnoxious, loud, misbehaven, ugly, drinking, gang raping soldiers? Once the stage moves to Afghanistan the movie gets better, but not enough to make up for it.
6

Good Kill

Pilot of unmaned drones is not happy with it's job

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
30-10-2016
6.5

unfocused and over-edited

I was getting tired quickly of the whining that killing terrorists with a drone apparently isn't exciting enough for these people, and confused because then they start crying because the suddenly have moral conflict with it. Then there's the stiff dialogue and suspiciously insubordinate procedures.
6.5

Approaching the Unknown

A skilled engineer and solo astronaut must handle numerous challenges during his the voyage to Mars

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
03-11-2016
6.5

Sober scifi with a few letdowns.

It has a lot going for it, like a nice techy (but not necessarily realistic) theme and a pleasant, sober approach that doesn't do cheap thrills. On the downside, the main actor is not really sympathetic, and the single 'capcom' guy plainly sitting behind a desk was just silly and cheap.
6.5

Capsule

Astronaut depens heavily on radiohelp from earth to get his faulty capsule to return home

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
06-11-2016
4.5

A lot more was required to make it this bold idea work

A bold mov(i)e which almost exclusively shows the astronaut strapped in his seat. But the amateuristic, jumpy astronaut, the repetitious dialogues and unconvincing procedures are way insufficient to make it work. There's a twist at the end, but if you made it that far you'll probably no longer care.
4.5

Captain America: Civil War

All superhero's turn on each other for some reason

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
11-11-2016
5

More boring and emotionless over the top stuff

In endless talking scenes, which made my son decide to watch something else, all sorts of story-lines from other movies are desperately and uninterestingly brought together. The battles are frantic but boring because noone ever gets hurt. And I still don't care about anyone.
5

Arrival

Linguist is asked to crack the language of the aliens who landed and ask them: why are you here?

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
17-11-2016
8

Elegant, deep and sober scifi, just the way I like it.

My favorite movie themes combined: science fiction and deep mystery/mind benders that will have you pondering days after. Excellent and refreshing.
8

Dead Pool

Dead Pool is off to avenge his creator (sure the superhero skills are cool but what it did to his skin, not so much)

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
20-11-2016
7.5

Refreshingly nasty

With his bad mouth, self awareness, humor and ultra cool action scenes, Dead Pool is a breath of fresh air amidst his unbearably boring Marvel colleagues. Story wise, it could step up a bit though as that felt shallow and plain.
7.5

Hacksaw Ridge

About the WW2 soldier who refused to touch a weapon, but worked mircales as a medic in the battelfield

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
20-11-2016
7.5

A truly impressive war story, fogged by Hollywood smudge

Considering the incredible heroism and war footage on offer, there was no need to add the rather cheesy and corny love interest and, more importantly, absolutely SMOTHER everything in patriotic, choir-blazing, slow-motion Hollywood kitsch.
7.5

American Ultra

Nerdy intorverted guy suddenly gets amazing fighting skills when a mysterious woman contacts him

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
07-12-2016
7

Sassy and snappy

A sassy and snappy little movie that successfully mixes humor, action and some mystery. It just never reaches soaring highs in any of those fields.
7

The Neon Demon

Unbearably beautiful girl tries a career at modelling, but her beauty leads to a dark place

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
07-12-2016
7.5

Beautiful contrasts

The beauty of the girl amidst the cold neon lights and people, which I guess symbolizes the harsh nature of the modelling world, works out great. It then builts up to an even greater contrast with death and gore, without ever becoming cheap or revolting. Wow.
7.5

The Brothers Grimsby

Lowlife british scumbag finds his long lost brother, and gets involved in his MI6 spy job along the way

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
11-12-2016
5

Unprecentented vulgarities are not enough

Some of the scenes are so unbearably low and vulgar that in itself they could have given this movie some sort of cult status. Unfortunately, the lame action and humorless story surrounding is gets rid of that option.
5

Sing

In an animal world, a koala arranges a singing contest talent show

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-12-2016
7

Delightful

A delightful movie with great music tracks and characters that will steal your heart. I did feel that the story could have used some more details, and they could have had some more fun with using odd animal species rather than the obvious choices seen here (monkeys, pigs, elephant).
7

Rogue One

How the rebels stole the plans for the Death Star

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
18-12-2016
7.5

Staying loyal to the franchise has it's drawbacks

Despite exquisite action scenes and many memorable Starwars moments, something felt tired. How many dramatic Vader entrances must I care for? How many nameless (and still incompetent) stormtroopers killed? How many shields disabled just in time? How much dangling in high shafts?
7.5

Big Hero 6

Talented young inventor must befriend (and upgrade) a clumpsy medical robot in order to save the world from his own invention

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
26-12-2016
8

Excellent

A fantastic animation that is spot on with exiting action, great visuals, humor and it is not afraid to reach some deeper emotions as well.
8

Zoolander 2

Derek has retreated and gone out of fashion, but must come back into action to save his son

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
26-12-2016
6

Not up to their potential

I dig the whacky Zoolander world and humor, but unfortunately this story was too formulaic and good jokes too scarce.
6

Triple 9

Corrupt agents doing one more gig get caught up in a swamp of distrust

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
27-12-2016
7

Gloomy and effective but not very involving

It's good to see some dark, well-acted, sweaty, and straight up bad cop action again, with effective action/violence because it doesn't want to over dramatize or orchestrate anything. It would have helped though, if we knew a little bit more about these guys so we can sympathize a little better.
7

Land of Mine

After WWII, young german POW's are brougt to Denmark to clear the beaches of mines

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
29-12-2016
7.5

A good movie about something bad

Needless to say a rather depressing affair, but it isn't dwelling in it's misery. There's a (intentional?) contrast with the sunny beach, mellow light and ordeal that is taking place. The developing relationship with the ruthless captain and the boys worked for me.
7.5

Hardcore Henry

Awoken in half cyborg body, a man must constantly fight for his live, shown entirely from his vision viewpoint like in FPS POV games

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
04-01-2017
7.5

A fun ride if you can handle it

I should probably be complaining about the violence, lack of character development (yawn) and that how you'll get dizzy and exhausted from the restless camera. But I actually had a blast watching this. It is different, cool and highly entertaining.
7.5

The Last Witch Hunter

Cursed to live forever, a witch hunter is faced with his old nemesis again in the present times

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
08-01-2017
4

Boring and superficial

The miscasted Diesel lacks the character and cannot show the burden of centuries of witch slaying. Also, the stories, conversations and even the action scenes are yawn-inducing. None if it flows well.
4

Predestination

In order to stop a serial bomber, a time traveling agent needs to recruit woman in the past

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
08-01-2017
7.5

Didn't see that one coming

A very satisfying time travel movie that manages to stack twist upon twist and does so with class, fine performances and without becoming gimmicky.
7.5

Moana (aka Vaiana)

Against the orders of the tribe, a native pacific island girl sets sails to sea to bring back the liveforce that got lost in a divine quarrel

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-01-2017
8.5

Wished I was there

Another fantastic and original animation with gorgeous tropical scenery and oceans, excellent characters, laughs and it also manages to reach inside. Even the moral lessons and songs were fine by me.
8.5

The Great Raid

In WW2 soldiers undertake a daring missing to rescue prisonors from the Japanese Abanatuan camp

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
15-01-2017
5.5

Felt like a movie, not a war rescue mission

I don't mean to sound disrespectful about this amazing operation, but I wasn't to keen on this movie. I constantly felt I was watching actors playing soldiers and prisoners, with unrealistic over rehearsed lines ruining the mood. The cliched and disconnected 'war movie music' didn't help either.
5.5

The Huntsman: Winter's War

An alternative, side-story story situated around the area and events of the snow white fairy tale

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
28-01-2017
5.5

Nothing to stand out or excite

I think the good intentions are there, but I found it rather flat and uninvolving, appearing rather insignificant next to giants like The Lord of the Ring.
5.5

The Conjuring 2

A haunted house, based on a true story

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
30-01-2017
7.5

Very fine horror that is just a bit too long

A good horror that impress with plenty of scares accentuated by great camerawork, and refrains from too much cheap jump scares. Like it's predecessor though, I thought it went on for too long so my 'get scared' supply ran out and I was just taking it in. Too bad.
7.5

Parallels

A mysterious phonecall from a missing father leads people into a strange building that opens up to alternate earths

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
12-02-2017
4.5

Nice idea poorly executed

Love the basic idea, but it's executed poorly with rather annoying young adults delivering really bad lines and making everything seem hopelessly amateuristic.
4.5

The LEGO Batman Movie

Batman must not only face the usual enemies (all at once), but also his inner self

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
19-02-2017
7

Too fast and furious

A colorful blast of action and endless jokes. Maybe I am getting old, but I found everything too fast and insanely frantic, making it impossible to follow and keep up. The few moments of silence (mostly also intended as a joke) felt like I could breathe again.
7

Infini

Rescue squad gets transported to a distant space base to save the last survivor

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
26-02-2017
4.5

Looong everyting

Occasionally it strikes a chord, but EVERYTHING - be it people talking, staring, chasing, monologuing, contemplating, fighting, briefing or debriefing - takes so freaking long it starts to mess with your mind.
4.5

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

This ship went on a secret mission to deliver the atomatic bomb, but was sunk on the way back, leaving the few survivors in hellish waters

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
26-02-2017
5

Overreached

This movie's overblown ambitions of doing war, drama, survival, courtroom and romance contrast sharply with bad fx, uninspired screenplay, half-baked actors and dodgy editing. I was bored watching those men get eaten by sharks, which can't be right!
5

Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie

I think it's about cyborg major leading a team to resolve the assassination of the prime minister

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
12-03-2017
5

Too complicated, not enough magic

It kept some of the magic of the original, but what it kept mostly is endless incomprehensible techno/politics that I could not stay focused on. It's not bad looking, but most of the art of the first movie is no longer here.
5

Don't Breathe

Three young burglars think the gig at a blind man's house is going to be easy

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
18-03-2017
7.5

Fresh

A fresh horror suspense flick with fine performances. I was quite impressed with how they made a a blind man terrifying and how they managed to keep the story running based on a small premise.
7.5

The Monster

Mother and daughter get stranded on a desolate forest road, where something lurks in the dark

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-03-2017
7.5

Mostly a simple idea done well

This move has a nice, confident focus on a single plot: two women facing a monster. The performances are really good and the movie is effective most of the time. After a while though, I was kind of done with their screaming and sobbing, and the initially charming simplicity began to work against it.
7.5

Life

The crew of spacestation ISS manages to acquire a sample from mars soil... with life in it.

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
01-04-2017
8

Very good space horror

It is not perfect, but overall I found this to be very solid, exciting, great looking film that reconfirmed just how much and why I love space horror. The spacestation and camerawork floating through it are first class.
8

Lights Out

Family terrorized by an entity that only appears in the dark

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-04-2017
7

Nice gimmick in an ok horror

I love the thing they do with dark and light, but it's not enough to compensate for the over familiar story, characters and performances - which prevent it from becoming truly scary. A fine horror though.
7

ISRA 88

Two astonauts passing time on their way to the end of the universe

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
07-04-2017
3

Unbearingly boring

Possibly it was trying to say something deep. But this barrage of long, pointless, repetitious scenes, goofy acting and plywood set pieces was just god-awful and made sure I didn't care what it was. A shame, because a journey to the end of the universe sounds so freaking amazing.
3

Passengers

On a hightech spaceship carrying 5000 cryosleeping persons to a new earth, one of them wakes up 90 years too early

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
22-04-2017
6.5

A flawed love story

If found the idea more interesting than execution, which suffers from rather flat, over-directed characters trying to deliver what is eventually a love story in space. The tech/thrills near the end felt rushed and lazy.
6.5

Star Trek Beyond

A brute force enemy causes the Enterprise to crashland. The survivors must find away to release the hostages and prevent further mayhem

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
24-04-2017
6

Awkward and off

The scenes of destruction are mighty, but overall this really felt off. They totally overdid the constant humor which started to feel like slapstick. The story and events also felt awkward and cheesy like the original series, with embarrassing scenes like driving around a motorbike to divert aliens
6

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Live action Manga remake of the android fighting crime, her past and herself

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
27-04-2017
8

It gets it right

So people were complaining this had no depth, but were fine with Avengers? Screw that. This is an awesome looking movie that is exciting throughout and has plenty of depth and bucketloads of atmosphere. It also strikes a good balance between a 'western take' and the core Japanese original.
8

Assasins Creed

Some guy from a line of medieval assissins takes trips back in time with some machine to find some magic apple

Wittenberg
Wittenberg
02-05-2017
4

Stupid and liveless

I guess the effort is there, but what a bummer. The whole time travel thing was unnecessary, incomprehensible and preposterous. Why didn't they just cook up a story situated in the past? Also, icecold characters throughout, cheesy and dumb lines and too much footage of people gazing in the distance.
4

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