To watch or not to watch? We will tour around Amsterdam’s cinemas and answer this crucial question every Friday. Without mercy, of course. Sucky movies will be slaughtered, cinematographic pearls will be appreciated as such. Or the other way around. After all, good taste is in the eye of the beholder.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Fincher gave us Paltrow’s head in a box, a vigorous Brad Pitt and the best ‘who dunnit’ of the 21st century (for the water heads among us this is incontestably Zodiac). The man knows how to portray a cool and edgy atmosphere and he is one of few directors that still manages to knock my socks off. So when I heard Mr. Fincher was directing the English version of book-based Girl with a Dragon Tattoo‘ I was blown off me clogs. A Girl with a dragon tattoo is the first film of the Millennium film trilogy and is based on the renowned books of Stieg Larsson. After the Swedish remake of the book one could only expect the English version to follow soon after.
We follow journalist Blomkvist on his journey to uncover a missing girl mystery from the 1960’s. He is aided by Lisbeth Salander, a female young hacker who is dubious, but adequate and has a slight ‘fuck the system attitude’. Rooney Mara (one to keep an eye on!) enacts the role of the rebellious hacker and Mr. Daniel Craig was called out of his Bond suit to do some in-depth journalistic research. Both actors manage to bring the characters from paper to screen and have a credible chemistry. The Dutch are represented by Yorick van Wageningen, who portrays the cringing role of the very, very naughty social worker. This is a thriller delight, which will ensure your blood-pressure to rise and your stomach to turn. A definite must see!
Watch this film in Cineville’s Kriterion. Also in Pathe (City, Munt, Tuschinski).
War Horse
After anxiously awaiting Super 8 and being rather disappointed with the outcome I was a bit sceptical of Mr. Spielbergs latest motion picture. This sounds fairly snobbish, after all this man is responsible for E.T., The Gremlins (they exist!), Jurassic Park and many more of my childhood memoires. Yet, lately, there have been some inconsistencies in his cinema track record (Indiana Jones, 2008, LMFAO!).
War Horse takes us back to the beautiful British countryside and horrific WWI trenches. It tells the story of a friendship between a young man (Albert) and his horse (Joey). This may initiate your way too gay-dar, but don’t let this stop you from watching this film. War Horse has all the classic Spielberg elements and provides plenty of nostalgia. I loved this one! And Yes, sometimes Albert did take the ‘I love you gawk’ overboard, but this horse genuinely moved me.
Watch this film in Pathe (City, Munt, Tuschinski).
17 filles
The directing debut of the Coulin sisters tells us an intriguing and true story of seventeen students who decide to get pregnant together. The story is set in a village along the coast of Bretagne. In 2008 eighteen high school girls from Gloucester, Massachusetts allegedly made a pregnancy pact, which this film is based on. I am quite fascinated by the story on its own, I mean why on earth would you want to get pregnant at the age of seventeen? This sounds like a food for thought kinda film. Take a peek for yourself at the trailer below.
Watch this film in Cineville’s Het Ketelhuis
Sharing is caring!
Tweet