Tagarchief: The Verdict

The Verdict: The Last Duel

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

A movie set in the middle ages directed by Ridley Scott? That could work. Although the movie did poorly at the box office, it is actually quite masterful. The screenplay, adapted from a novel by Eric Jager, was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who are, don’t forget, Oscar winning screenwriters for Good Will Hunting. I think they – together with Nicole Holofcener – did an outstanding job. The Rashomon-like approach to the true story of a knight and a squire who battle over the love for a woman runs like clockwork. I am going to challenge Variety and say that the screenplay will be nominated for an Academy Award. It goes without saying that Scott is the right man to direct this type of film. He gets excellent performances out of his cast: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck are all superb. So are the sets, costumes and cinematography. This movie deserves to do a lot better on Disney than it did in cinemas. I agree with critics who said it’s Scott’s finest film since Gladiator. If Gladiator 2 doesn’t happen, this would be a great end for the career of the 84 year old maestro.

The Last Duel is now available on Disney Plus

The verdict: to stream or not to stream? To stream

The Verdict: Fear Street Trilogy

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

The Fear Street Trilogy (consisting of Fear Street: 1994, Fear Street: 1978 and Fear Street: 1666) is Netflix’s most surprising release so far this summer. It revives a genre that has been dead for a while now: the slasher. The first scene, in which a girl is stalked in a shopping mall by a skull-face masked killer, reminds of Scream. But soon it diverges from this genre classic by going supernatural. You see, the town of Shadyside is cursed by the witch Sarah Frier, who was hanged in 1666, and is therefore now plagued by possessed killers who go on murder sprees. The bordering town of Sunnyside, on the other hand, is perfectly peaceful.

In the first part, teenage girls Deena and Sam, who are having a sexual affair to please the male audience, have to survive the next rampage and find a way to end the curse. In the second movie, a killing spree occurs during a summer camp in 1978 (yes, very much like the first Friday the 13th). In the third and final film, we first learn the history of Shadyside and Sunnyside through a transcendent experience by Deena. And then, after a major plot twist, it is up to her and her friends to end the terror once and for all. While the first part gets the lowest rating on IMDb, I liked it best, because it has the most old fashioned horror moments. But the whole trilogy, successfully directed by relative newcomer Leigh Janiak, is entertaining throughout. With genuine scares, excellent casting and plenty of brutal kills. This is how you do a slasher.

The Fear Street Trilogy is now available on Netflix

The verdict: to stream or not to stream? To stream.

The Verdict: Army of the Dead

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

When the great zombie revival began with Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002), director Zack Snyder (300, Man of Steel) was one of the first to capitalize on it with a remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004). His innovation: running zombies. While it took some getting used to, it added to the suspense. In Army of the Dead, another breed of zombies is introduced: the Alphas. They’re some type of intelligent zombies. While the master of the genre George A. Romero experimented with this idea in Day of the Dead (1985) and Land of the Dead (2005), the Alphas are definitely the most advanced flesh eaters yet. They can communicate, they can hunt every effectively, and I’ll admit: they’re pretty creepy. There are also ‘normal’ zombies present in this apocalypse by the way.

The pandemic occurred in Las Vegas this time, and the US government managed to maintain it within the city borders. As they are about to nuke Vegas, a group of mercenaries go in to steal 200 million dollars from a casino safe before the city is destroyed. These bad asses have to deal with normal zombies, Alphas and double crossers amongst their own ranks. As can be expected, Snyder throws in his usual visual eye candy, and admittedly, Army of the Dead looks pretty stunning. Unfortunately, it appears as though they’ve fired their continuity officer before the shoot began. There are a bunch of really major errors, even for a film of this kind. However, a campy story like this is too delicious to resist and the largely unknown cast definitely do a great job. There is also no lack of gory zombie extermination action and funny side gags along the way (this is Vegas, so an Elvis zombie and tiger zombie – from Siegfried & Roy – are present). Snyder is having a good time again and it shows.

Army of the Dead is now available on Netflix

The verdict: to stream or not to stream? To stream.