Filmrecensies van Eric Hillis

James Dean's films haven't aged well, and Dean even comments here on how he feels East of Eden is too over the top. That's not a criticism you can level at Life, a movie so subtle many may find it alienating, but through DeHaan we get to see Dean as the melodramatic cinema of the '50s never allowed us to - an Ordinary Joe. Recensie

July Jung makes an impressive writing and directing debut, displaying maturity in her avoidance of any showy camerawork, allowing the faces of her characters to communicate story and mood. We eagerly await her next work. Recensie

If you plan to go see Everest, it may be best to leave at the point where its protagonists reach the summit of the titular mountain, as it's all downhill after that. It's a movie of two halves - one an involving and inspiring tale of human triumph, the other a dull, by the numbers disaster flick. Recensie

The movie manages to juggle several moods without ever feeling tonally confused. It's funny, it's scary, and in its exploration and exploitation of senility, it's at times deeply upsetting. Shyamalan reminds us he never lost confidence in his abilities, even if we did. Shame on us. Recensie

While his previous recent non-comedic dabblings, Matchpoint and Cassandra's Dream, have been misfires, Allen finally gets it right with Irrational Man, his darkest film to date. Recensie

The initially intriguing setup gives way to a crude 'bad behaviour' comedy, trading on the gimmick that we don't see women indulge in such filthy antics too often in American cinema. Greer will have to wait a little longer for that breakout role. Recensie

The sight of Tom Hardy attempting to out-act himself is just about enough to hold your attention for a good portion of the film, but after a while the lack of substance begins to weigh heavy and the strings become all too visible. East End? More like dead end! Recensie

Dope attempts to open a narrative on racial politics, but in unconvincing fashion, with Fumiyawa preaching tolerance while populating his story with the crudest of racial stereotypes. Recensie

If you thought his showy but soulless direction of last year's remake of The Town That Dreaded Sundown was irritating, then strap yourself in as Gomez-Rejon takes you for another ride on his ever wandering camera dolly. Just don't expect the ride to take you anywhere. Recensie

The movie's second half plays out in mundane fashion. It's far from entertaining, but it certainly hammers home the cultural castration imposed on the filmmaker by those who insist on living in the dark ages. Recensie

Abel Ferrara may not be the greatest Italian-American filmmaker, but he's arguably the most Italian-American filmmaker. His latest work, a tribute to Italy's most controversial filmmaker, is film as funeral mass. Recensie

Ken Kwapis's film is more of a casual stroll than an exhausting hike, and he struggles to visually convey the wonder of the geographical setting (the heavy use of green-screen backdrops doesn't help), but the real landscape of this film isn't that of the Appalachians; rather, it's the leathered faces of two screen greats. Recensie

Filmmakers and viewers may disagree on whether Ricki should be celebrated as a free spirit or frowned upon as a sociopath, but if one person fully understands the character, it's Streep, who turns Cody's rough toilet tissue script into graded parchment. Recensie

What saves the movie is the performance of Efron, who just may be the natural heir to Tom Cruise. Like all great movie stars, he has a knack of papering over the film's many cracks, forcing us to invest in his character in a way both his director and the script fail to. Recensie

The dialogue is simply atrocious, so bad it probably wouldn't make it into the cut scenes of the video game. The lack of effort on the page however isn't mirrored in the visuals; this is a simply stunning movie to behold. Recensie

Relentlessly grim, and delivered at a cracking pace, No Escape's spiritual home is the drive-in, but it's worth catching at the multiplex too. Recensie

Sinister 2 opts for horror's lowest common denominators - jump scares and gore - but the genre has moved on. No more cattle-prod cinema! Snuff's enough! Recensie

Ullmann shoots her cast like the director of a football match during an extended timeout for injury. At 130 minutes, this will test the patience of all but the most enthusiastic theatre buffs. Recensie

Like a nap in a Normandy field on an August afternoon, Gemma Bovery is a serene but ultimately empty experience. It will, however, be interesting to see how Arterton's burgeoning sideline in Gallic cinema develops. Recensie

Chen gives a committed performance, and certainly generates sympathy, but the hysterical, menopausal heroine is becoming something of an arthouse cliché. Recensie

At one point Mistress America morphs into an almost self-contained one-act play. It's in this sequence that Gerwig takes over the movie, prowling around like the love-child of Carole Lombard and Katherine Hepburn, and it's all the better for it. Recensie

Whatever intentions Schumer and Apatow had for Trainwreck, they've delivered a numbingly mainstream comedy. The woman may be on top, but the position hasn't changed. Recensie

If you're a fan of the original show, there's much to infuriate about this new interpretation. I understand the movie has to appeal to as large an audience as possible, and rightly so, but the film seems to go out of its way to distance itself from its source. Recensie

Cub is clearly made by a horror fan, for horror fans, who I think will appreciate the many tropes in the film that are associated with the genre. Unfortunately, the film as a whole just doesn’t seem to fit together. Recensie