9/11

Drama

Available on VOD: 5 september 2019

Director: Martin Guigui

Cast: Charlie Sheen (Anger Management, Two and a Half Men, Due Date), Gina Gershon (Killer Joe, P.S. I Love You, Showgirls, Inconceivable), Luis Guzmán (The Last Stand, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Anger Management ), Whoopi Goldberg ( The Color Purple, Sister Act, Glee), Wood Harris (Dredd, Ant-Man, Creed), Jacqueline Bisset (Miss You Already, Bullit)

Five individuals – a billionaire businessman; his estranged wife; a bike messenger; a young executive; and a building maintenance worker – find themselves trapped in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. After an unknown event jolts their elevator car to a stop, the story unfolds as the group slowly learns what is happening in the outside world. Their lone contact is with the building’s elevator systems operator, who works to guide them, via intercom, as they attempt to escape to safety. This gripping story of hope, faith, and perseverance showcases the light of the human spirit in the darkest of hours.

• Thewrap.com: It's Gershon who really shines here. Her telephone scene with Jacqueline Bisset, as her mother, carries the power and the tragedy of those real-life calls we heard that day from the World Trade Center; that moment, and a later exchange between Bisset and Prestyn Bates as Jeffrey and Eve’s son, go a long way toward giving “9/11” the dramatic impact it needs.
• Marcfusion.com: Retains that small scale, personal scope, even within the massive, world changing scope of events of 9/11.
• Stevethemovieman: highlighting a lot of recognizable actors giving above-average performances.

Aftermath

Drama, Thriller

Available on VOD: 11 januari 2018

Director: Elliott Lester

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator, Expendables, Maggie), Scoot McNairy (12 Years A Slave, War Machine, Gone Girl), Maggie Grace (Taken, Lost, Twilight Saga), Judah Nelson (Anchorman 2)

Based on real-life events, Viktor's life is rocked when his wife and daughter are killed in a tragic mid-air collision. Heartbroken, Viktor's life take a complete new turn when he decides to take revenge on the person responsible for the death of his family.

• Empire.com: This is a film full of scenes that would be easy to overplay, but which Schwarzenegger tackles with understated perfection. Truly, this is quite unlike anything else he's ever done, and brilliantly so.
• Blu-ray.com: Strong stuff, but it's meditative enough to welcome a viewing, inspiring interest in the characters and their ultimate destination. The picture also has valuable ideas to share on the cycle of violence and its futility, concluding intelligently, leaving the audience with a concept of revenge that's upsetting, not rousing. It's subversive work with Schwarzenegger and his legacy of brawn around, allowing "Aftermath" to pack quite an unexpected punch.
• Heyuguys.com: Probably his best role as an actor to date.
• Joblo.com: Deserves to be discovered. As long as they know what they're in for (and they should) Arnold fans will be delighted to see how good he can still be if given the chance, while everyone else will be amazed by the way he seems to have reinvented himself as a character actor. That he's done such a good job of it is a wonderful surprise, and here's hoping he gets more opportunities to explore this new flair for drama.
• Wegotthiscovered.com: Arnold Schwarzenegger's reserved performance is a somber turn that keeps drama surprisingly in-tune.
• TheIndependentCritic.com: A film that is truly one of Schwarzenegger's most thought-provoking and emotionally resonant to date. While Schwarzenegger has struggled to regain his Hollywood foothold since setting his political career aside, Aftermath is a sure sign that, at least critically, his best days may very well be ahead of him.

The Angriest Man In Brooklyn

Comedy, Drama

Available on VOD: 16 september 2014

Director: Phil Alden Robinson

Cast: Melissa Leo (Flight, Oblivion, The Fighter), James Earl Jones (Clear and Present Danger, Cry, the Beloved Country), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Station Agent), Mila Kunis (Ted, Jupiter Ascending, Friends with Benefits, Black Swan), Robin Williams (Jumanji, One Hour Photo, Night at the Museum)

Some people have bad days. Henry Altmann (Williams) has one every day. Always unhappy and angry at the world including everyone in it, Henry sits impatiently at the doctor's office when he is finally seen by Dr. Sharon Gill (Kunis). Sharon, who is enduring her own bad day, reveals that Henry has a brain aneurysm. This news makes Henry even angrier, yelling at Sharon he demands to know how much time he has left. Faced with Henry's anger and insults, Sharon abruptly tells him he has only 90 minutes. Shocked and reeling by this news, Henry storms out of the office leaving Sharon stunned by what she has just done in a lapse of judgment. As Sharon goes on a city-wide search, Henry struggles with his diagnosis, determined to make amends with everyone he has hurt in his life.

• Moviemeter.nl: Zelfs in een periode dat depressies hem verscheurden wist hij de rol van een man die op het punt staat dood te gaan met kolder te vervullen.
• MoviesMoveMe.com: This film has an incredibly talented cast that transformed this film into a huge success.
• Newsblaze.com: The Angriest Man In Brooklyn has a whole lot more on its mind than hysterical end of life antics simply for laughs. Williams impresses mightily with a turbulent tide of conflicting emotions, as a man with deep seated resentment against the world and everybody around him.
• Screenspotlight.com: The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is the kind of movie that can easily delight audiences if they give it their full attention.

The Bachelors

Comedy, Drama

Available on VOD: 11 oktober 2018

Director: Kurt Voelker

Cast: J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Juno), Julie Delpy (2 Days In Paris, Before Midnight), Josh Wiggins (Greyhound), Odeya Rush (Goosebumps, The Giver)

fter the loss of his wife, BILL PONDER (Simmons) and his 17-year-old son WES move out of their small town into the big city in an attempt to have a fresh start. As they each begin to adjust to their new life and seek ways to heal their wounds, they both find comfort in newfound romance. Wes meets LACY, an introverted but fierce girl whose enigmatic personality captivates Wes' attention, and Bill meets CARINE, a compassionate and elegant teacher whose own past heartaches resonate with his. As relationships are tested, Bill and Wes grow apart and back together again while discovering their true selves in the process.

• NRC:  Een liefdevol verslag van menselijke veerkracht. Een portret van personages die allemaal op hun eigen manier pijn lijden. Maar daar eigenlijk veel eerlijker, kwetsbaarder en opener over zijn dan veel mensen in het echte leven. Dat zou de moed moeten zijn die deze film je wil inspreken.
• Movie Machine: Ontroerende, maar vaak ook onweerstaanbaar grappige film over verlies en verwerking, liefde en verzoening, met schitterende vertolkingen van Simmons en Delpy, maar ook van jong talent Josh Wiggins.
• The Guardian.com: Kurt Voelker’s father-son tale boasts strong performances from JK Simmons and Julie Delpy. An affecting, jagged take on grief, depression and self-sabotage.
• TheHollyWoodReporter.com: Voelker excels at guiding the cast through some complicated emotional territory and maintains strong arcs for each of the principal characters.
• Latimes.com: Deftly balancing humor and grief, "The Bachelors" is fueled by wonderfully human performances and fully realized characters. We can also hope that The Bachelors serves another function as well: to further the careers of its two exceptional young performers: Wiggins and Rush.
• Filminquiry.com: A thoughtful, timely gem that normalizes mental health treatment. The Bachelors is a scarcity of a film, one that transcends several genres to create an affecting orotundity through its singular voice.
• Blu-ray.com: Voelker doesn't pour on the syrup, creating an approachable but deeply felt picture that's curious about behavior and therapy.
• EyeForFilm.co.uk: The Bachelors is just a snapshot of a moment in life, but it's the sort of picture you'd want to keep.
• Filmjournal.com: The story is simple, how a father and teenage son cope with the sudden loss of their wife and mother, and the acting is brilliant.

• Heartland Film Festival 2017 - Audience Choice Award
• San Diego International Film Festival 2017 - Festival Award

The Benefactor

Drama

Available on VOD: 1 september 2016

Director: Andrew Renzi

Cast: Richard Gere (An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, Arbitrage, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ), Dakota Fanning (Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, The Twilight Saga, Voor ik doodga), Theo James (The Inbetweeners Movie, Insurgent, Divergent, Underworld: Awakening)

After a hedonistic philanthropist survives a car accident that kills his married best friends, he ingratiates himself into their daughter’s life in order to relieve his guilt and recreate the friendship he lost.

• WeArePublic.nl: Richard Gere is aan een renaissance bezig met een aantal bejubelde rollen op rij. In deze complexe rol gaat hij zich helemaal uitleven!
• Variety: flamboyant turn by Richard Gere is the heart and soul of The Benefactor, an off-kilter character study of a Philadelphia philanthropist whose eccentricities both mask and manifest a dark side. The movie ends in a more conventional place than the one where it begins, yet it still marks a surprising and graceful first fiction feature for writer-director Andrew Renzi. There are moments of indulgence that make you wish someone would walk in from off camera and hand the actor an Oscar, just to get it over with.
• Hollywoodreporter.com: Renzi's conception of the man's oncoming collapse is sharp in some ways: for instance, how both of his crutches, drugs and the assumption that generosity buys love, fail him simultaneously. (While one doubts such a rich man would have much trouble finding narcotics when his doctor cuts him off, the smarmy desperation of his attempts is one of the film's most compelling elements.) Similarly, Franny's ability to be genuinely empathetic with a frightened child despite his trouble connecting with adults rings true.
• Eyeforfilm.co.uk: Richard Gere is exceptional, pulling off the flamboyant style and exuberant nature of Franny, but also managing to make him feel three dimensional. There would have been a real danger here that The Benefactor could have been written too much like a Willy Wonka style figure, friend to children and stuck in childhood intimacies, but Gere effortlessly grounds him by making him exactly the kind of larger than life character that is actually comfortably believable. His performance is stellar.
• Filmfracture.com: Gere is fantastic as Franny, and he manages to steal the show time and again with his eccentricities and overzealousness. When his addiction overtakes him the anger and pain that comes through demonstrate the talent Gere possesses.
• Iheardthatmoviewas.com: Richard Gere brings a performance that is wonderful yet excruciating to watch, especially for the final act of the film.
• Roboapocalypse.blogspot.nl: The Benefactor is an entertaining and unusual piece of work that played extremely well on this past Friday evening at its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. For fans of Gere, this is a must-see, and for people looking to "find" a director before they're big, this is also a must-see. Renzi should have a very successful career ahead of him.
• Thefilmstage.com: As a fast-talking, boisterous individual with the right quip for every exchange, Gere embodies this entertaining side, but also excels in dealing with the character's darker vices. With a loneliness behind his eyes even when he's around his closest acquaintances, it's a tender performance that helps keep one invested.

Child of God

Drama, Thriller

Available on VOD: 15 juni 2015

Director: James Franco

Cast: Fallon Goodson (L!fe Happens), Scott Haze (Venom, Jurassic World Dominion, Sound of Freedom), Tim Blake Nelson (Lincoln, The Incredible Hulk, The Astronaut Farmer, O Brother, Where Art Thou?), James Franco (127 Hours, This Is the End, Veronica Mars)

Based on a book by Cormac McCarthy. Set in mountainous Sevier County, Tennessee, Child of God tells the story of Lester Ballard, a dispossessed, violent man whom the narrator describes as "a child of God much like yourself perhaps." Ballard's life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Successively deprived of parents and homes and with few other ties, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller as he falls deeper into crime and degradation.

• Variety.com: A galvanizing portrait of social and sexual deviance.
• FilmThreat.com: Profoundly intense .. [an] incredible and fierce performance.
• TheGuardian.com: Multi-hyphenate renaissance man James Franco has finally delivered the goods with this great, grisly Cormac McCarthy adaptation. Child of God is a shocking tale of backwoods lunacy and one man's descent into hell.
• HollywoodReporter.com: A pitch-dark hillbilly fever dream... A character study of a figure said to be partly inspired by Wisconsin murderer and body snatcher Ed Gein (also an influence on the killers in Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), the film succeeds on its own terms. That is in large part down to Haze's unstinting commitment to the role.
• Film-forward.com: In a character actor/star making performance, Scott Haze leads a ferocious cast. Macabre but memorable.
• Filmleaf.net: A well-made film, dominated by a once-in-a-lifetime, balls-out performance by Scott Haze as Lester Ballard, the crazed outcast, the titular, protagonist "child of God" (testing the range of that concept) who in the course of the story becomes a cave-dweller, murderer, and necrophiliac.
• Cine-vue.com: Franco (through the excellent Haze) has created a dark portrait of an outcast, lacing it with his own bleak poetry and black humour. 4 out of 5 stars.
• Rollingstone.com: The film's protagonist is Lester Ballard, played by Scott Haze in a performance that can be described for starters as phenomenal. This is ambitious, challenging filmmaking, elevated by Franco's compassion and Haze's revelatory acting. OK, the film trips up on its attempt to lace tragedy with gallows humor. But Franco is out there trying something, balancing literature and cinema in a tightrope act that is never less than exciting to watch.

• Hamptons International Film Festival 2013: Breakthrough Performer - Scott Haze
• Venice Film Festival 2013: Nominated for Golden Lion.

The Devil has a Name

Comedy, Drama, Thriller

Available on VOD: 13 mei 2021

Director: Edward James Olmos

Cast: Kate Bosworth (Still Alice, Superman Returns), Edward James Olmos (Blade Runner 2049, 2 Guns, Battlestar Galactica), Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense, The Boys), David Strathairn (Lincoln, Godzilla, The Expanse), Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code, Prince of Persia), Pablo Schreiber (American Gods, First Man, Den of Thieves), Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now, The Departed, Anger Management)

Widowed, broke and adrift, farmer Fred Stern finds a new purpose in life when he learns that a multi-national oil company has been polluting his water. But as his crusade against the powers that be spills out of the courtroom and into his personal life, Fred must find a way to avoid the ruin of his farm, his family and his dreams. Inspired by bizarre, true events, The Devil Has a Name pulls back the curtain on the culture of greed that poisons Corporate America, from sea to polluted sea.

• Chicago.suntimes.com: What a crackling and often darkly funny script this is, "The Devil Has a Name" is a master class in casting.
• RogerEbert.com: A scenery-chewing feast. And the familiarity of some of it - Martin Sheen as a righteous lawyer doing his righteous Martin Sheen thing, the easy chemistry of Strathairn and right-hand-man Olmos as they speak unsubtitled Spanish at each other - lends a Social-Justice-Movie Comfort Vibe to the proceedings.
• Blu-ray.com: A noble endeavor with something to share about corruption.
• Thefilmstage.com: Audiences have a good time while also learning about the lengths such corruption will go.
• The Guardian.com: A fire-breathing thriller about a farmer taking on Big Oil. Kate Bosworth shines in a juicy role as a cigar-smoking oil matriarch in this drama directed by veteran actor Edward James Olmos.
• Hollywoodreporter.com: The Devil Has a Name is a whistleblower drama a la Erin Brockovich that also wants to be a classic noir whodunit. Olmos balances a grim tale of corporate exploitation, environmental degradation and the plight of the American farmer with delightful buddy-comedy pairings.

Dreamin' Wild

Drama

Available on VOD: 4 juli 2024

Director: Bill Pohlad

Cast: Casey Affleck (Oppenheimer, Manchester by the Sea), Beau Bridges (Max Payne, Fabulous Baker Boys), Zoey Deschanel (New Girl, 500 Days of Summer), Chris Messina (Argo, Birds of Prey), Walton Goggins (Fallout, Cowboys & Aliens)

What if a childhood dream suddenly came true - but thirty years later? That’s what happened to singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson. His dream of success suddenly – and unexpectedly – came true but only as he approached 50 years old. And while it brought hopes of second chances, it also brought ghosts of the past and long-buried emotions as Donnie, his brother Joe and their entire family came to terms with their newly found fame.

• 90% Fresh op Rotten Tomatoes!
• Time.com: What Pohlad and his actors—all of them wonderful, among the best ensemble of performers we’re likely to see all year—pull off is a rich and often deeply moving meditation on what music can mean in a life.
• Chicago.suntimes.com: This is a true story, and it’s now getting the feature film treatment in Bill Pohlad’s warm and elegiac and lovely Dreamin’ Wild, with Casey Affleck doing his disheveled-restless-socially awkward thing in a searingly strong performance as the brilliantly talented Donnie.
• Rogerebert.com: A rich and evocative portrait of the weight of broken dreams and the strength one can find in a family as unwaveringly supportive as the Emersons.
• Wall Street Journal: Affleck easily holds the film together with another captivating performance.

Experimenter

Drama

Available on VOD: 22 augustus 2016

Director: Michael Almereyda

Cast: Peter Sarsgaard (Black Mass, The Killing, Blue Jasmine, Jarhead), Winona Ryder (Black Swan, Homefront, The Iceman, Edward Scissorhands), John Leguizamo (The Lincoln Lawyer, John Wick, Kick-Ass 2, Ride Along), Kellan Lutz (Twilight Saga, The Expendables 3, Immortals), Anthony Edwards (ER, Top Gun, Zodiac)

Based on the real events…

Yale University, 1961. Dr. Stanley Milgram PhD, designs a psychology experiment in which people think they’re delivering electric shocks to an affable stranger strapped into a chair in another room. Subjects are told it’s about memory, but the experiment is really about conformity, conscience, and free will.

Dr. Milgram is trying to come to terms with the Holocaust and to test people’s tendency to comply with authority. The experiment yields disturbing results: 65 per cent of Dr. Milgram’s subjects deliver voltage that may be fatal, obeying polite commands from a lab-coated authority figure .

When working at Harvard, his obedience findings are announced in the New York Times. He is accused of being a deceptive, manipulative monster. Dr. Milgram re-ignites debate with his 1974 book, OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY. With the support of his wife he continues to fight distortions of his work, which includes a made-for-TV movie starring William Shatner.

EXPERIMENTER’S tone is celebratory, and the film’s style will be as playful and provocative as a Dr. Milgram experiment, with our protagonist often talking directly to the camera.

What would you do? is the underlying theme of major Dr. Milgram research. He spent his life exploring how to adjust and transcend pre-programed behavior. EXPERIMENTER will show how Dr. Milgram’s conscience and his creative spirit continue to be resonant, and inspire us.

• De Volkskrant (vier sterren): Het is knap dat de film ondanks de opzettelijke kunstgrepen evenwichtig blijft en nooit in pretenties ontspoort. Prikkelend eerbetoon. Milgram-biopic is ongewoon en intrigerend. Lees het hier.
• Trouw (vier sterren): Experimenter is het fascinerende portret van Stanley Milgram, sterk gespeeld door Peter Sarsgaard.
• Vier sterren in de NRC: Originele biopic. Lees de review hier.
• Biosagenda: Intelligente en speelse film, vier sterren! Lees de hele review hier.
• De Filmkrant heeft Michael Almereyda geinterviewd, lees het hier. En geeft de film maar liefst 4.5 sterren!
• De Filmkrant: Films over wetenschappers drukken de wetenschap meestal naar de zijlijn, en zoeken het drama in het persoonlijke. Michael Almereyda bewijst met Experimenter, een eigenzinnige biografie van socioloog Stanley Milgram, hoe zonde dat is.
  Lees de hele recensie hier.
• Filmkijker.com: Sarsgaard is goed in zijn rol, maar ook Winona Ryder die zijn vrouw Sasha speelt is een plezier om naar te kijken. De manier waarop Experimenter het verhaal uit de doeken doet is opvallend en dan met name de vorm waarin. Milgram praat regelmatig direct tegen het publiek en achtergronden zijn soms simpele zwart wit foto's in plaats van echte sets, waardoor de film een kunstmatige uitstraling krijgt die goed bij het onderwerp past. Als kijker ben je daardoor meer betrokken en vraag je jezelf ook af wat jij bij zo'n experiment zou doen. Ben je sterk genoeg om nee te zeggen of ga je gehoorzaam verder? Welke factoren spelen bij die keuze een rol? Verlies je jezelf in zo'n situatie of kan je het relativeren? Experimenter weet een belangrijk onderzoek op fascinerende wijze tot leven te brengen. Lees de hele recensie hier.
• Variety.com: Experimenter offers a heady brew of theories about the essence of human nature, and a Peter Sarsgaard performance that catches Milgram in all his seductive, megalomaniacal brilliance.
• TheHollywoodReporter.com: Technically puckish where appropriate but grounded by strong performances from Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder, the film is not awards bait but makes some Big Thinker biographies that are look staid. It seems certain to be the deliberately fringe-dwelling auteur's most commercially successful film, and may be his most aesthetically satisfying one as well.
• New York Times: Among the most original selections (Sundance) this year are Michael Almereyda's "Experimenter," a conceptually exciting, intellectually searching portrait of the social psychologist Stanley Milgram (a superb Peter Sarsgaard), whose famous 1960s obedience experiments. Mr. Sarsgaard, occasionally addressing the camera and sometimes accompanied by an elephant that materializes in the room, delivers a forceful yet intimate performance that expresses his character's sincerity and the sinister undertow of his methods. Sundance could use more movies, like "Experimenter," that are adventurous in form and thought, not just in subject.
• New York Magazine: Experimenter is uncannily beautiful. Milgram talks to us, shows us things. He puts his work in historical context. He expounds on the role of obedience in turning individuals into instruments of the state — as in Nazi Germany. The word reflective suggests a slowdown or cessation of action proper, but Experimenter is busily, thrillingly reflective. Its artificiality makes it seem even more alive, more in the present tense.
• TheGuardian.com: Sarsgaard stars in this smart and unsettling exploration of Stanley Milgram's questionable experiment testing people's allegiance to malevolent authority, and potentially exposing the dark heart of mankind.
• Villagevoice.com: The movie is itself a rat-maze of one-sided mirrors, windows upon windows, anonymous hallways, compartmentalized instances of watching, being watched, seeing and not-seeing.
• Screendaily.com: Almereyda has created an experiment of his own: a kind of cinematic Rorschach test, prodding viewers to consider what they would do if sitting in the same seat as Milgram's subjects. Ultimately, Almereyda's smartly written script attempts to make up for its lack of traditional dramatic elements with continuous questions about Milgram's - and everyone's - ability to make a choice in society. These queries, about choice, will and morality, form the backbone of Experimenter, a film that, like the best of science, asks questions it can't always answer.
• Sean Axmaker, Parallax View: The committed work of Anthony Edwards, John Leguizamo, Anton Yelchin, Taryn Manning and others as the test subjects provides some of the most gripping and discomforting profiles in human anxiety and willing resignation to authority. And the contrast with the odd, almost forced joviality of Milgram's team (Jim Gaffigan, Edoardo Ballerini, Winona Ryder) makes it all the more lacerating. And that doesn't even begin to address the Twilight Zone debate over test morality with Dennis Haysbert and Kellan Lutz as alternate universe versions of Ossie Davis and William Shatner. I put this ensemble up against all that have been awarded by critics groups or nominated by the Screen Actors Guild.

A Family Man

Drama

Available on VOD: 21 september 2017

Director: Mark Williams

Cast: Gerard Butler (London Has Fallen, 300, The Bounty Hunter), Gretchen Mol (Manchester By The Sea, Boardwalk Empire), Willem Dafoe (The Great Wall, The Grand Budapest Hotel, A Most Wanted Man), Alison Brie (How to Be Single, Mad Men), Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code, Prince of Persia)

Dane Jensen (Gerard Butler) is a driven Chicago-based headhunter, working at a cut-throat job placement firm. When Dane's boss (Willem Dafoe) announces his retirement, he pits Dane against Lynn Wilson (Alison Brie), Dane's equally driven but polar-opposite rival at the firm, in a battle for control over the company. As Dane gears up for the professional battle of his life, he learns his 10-year-old son Ryan (Max Jenkins) is diagnosed with an illness. Suddenly, Dane is pulled between achieving his professional dream and his family, who need him now more than ever.

• TheHollywoodNews.com: A really rather enjoyable morality tale from debut director Mark Williams, with some brilliant performances and some wonderfully touching moments.
• Variety.com: slickly executed.
• TIFF.net: The film pulses with the thrill of big money and cutthroat career maneuvering, but its heart is in a very different realm. The film is ultimately concerned with domestic stability in crisis, and with the complex question of what really matters in life. The Headhunter's Calling beautifully illustrates how nearly losing everything can redefine what it means to have it all.

The Last Five Years

Drama, Musical, Romantic Comedy

Available on VOD: 2 november 2015

Director: Richard LaGravenese

Cast: Anna Kendrick (Twilight Saga, Pitch Perfect 1 & 2, Up in the Air, Into the Woods, 50/50), Jeremy Jordan (Smash, Joyful Noise), Bettina Bresnan (Vamps), Charly Bivona (Cymbeline)

Cathy and Jamie’s five-year relationship is full of passion and heartache. As novelist Jamie is propelled to the top of the New York literary scene, Cathy struggles in low paid acting jobs, and their diverging careers prove too much for their young love to handle.

• Variety.com: It's easy to fall in love with Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan in this heart-breaking musical two-hander, as they retrace a love affair from opposite ends. It's he sang/she sang as a Gotham couple moving in opposite directions lead us through half a decade of ups and downs in "The Last 5 Years," Jason Robert Brown's beautifully written Off Broadway tuner. Two terrific lead performers — and what a pair they make!
• Cinemagazine.nl: Kendrick en de liedjes houden ‘The Last Five Years’ met gemak overeind.
• Redeyechicago.com: Instantly enjoyable and eventually crushing, "The Last Five Years" is a musical for people (like me) who can't stand musicals but are open to ones that are intimate, smart and surprising rather than loud, overdone and obvious. It's remarkably perceptive about love and commitment, anchored by two stars who only make the excellent songs better. Shockingly good.
• New York Magazine: The camera moves with heightened sensitivity, as if on currents of emotion, and Kendrick is infinitely winning. She's that rare thing, a movie star with a trained soprano.
• NYPost.com: A great showcase for Kendrick. So utterly wonderful that this adaptation of an off-Broadway musical deserves better than a token theatrical release to support its distribution via video-on-demand.
• Avclub.com: The Last Five Years provides Anna Kendrick the musical showcase she deserves.
• VillageVoice.com: The words are sharp, the melodies memorable, and the performances a beauty. This Last Five Years might not have the penetrating clarity of Brown's original show, but it offers miles and piles of compensation.
• Filmfracture.com: As far as Hollywood musicals go, they don't get much better than The Last Five Years. Those who don't mind most of the story being told through song will enjoy it thoroughly. The Last Five Years is a unique romance movie for the jaded and heartbroken as well as the hopelessly in love.
• Slantmagazine.com: Whether wryly funny, annotating Jamie's rendition of "The Schmuel Song" with snide remarks, or stirring, as in the lovely "Still Hurting," Kendrick manages to convey both the nostalgic and the regretful notes.
• TheIndepoendentCritic.com: While Kendrick nails the vocals, she's also got a strong cinematic sensibility about her and understands how to make it all work on the big screen. Kendrick infuses Cathy with all the heart and soul and remorse and regret that we'd hope for.
• Reelfilm.com: Kendrick delivering a knockout performance that's made all-the-more-impressive by the realization that she sings almost all of her dialogue.
• Blu-ray.com: Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan share a closely-knit chemistry in the film. She's particularly strong, capable of displaying a broad range of emotion not only through her lyrical vocalizations but in the eyes that, scene to scene and moment to moment, convey her feelings as strongly as, if not more deeply than, the lyrics. Whether deep, loving affection; unbridled passion; growing unease and discomfort; anger and resentment; or unhinged sorrow; she delivers a fully capable, emotive, and nuanced effort as a person who, in the span of five years, journeys through a familiar arc of high spirits brought by love but slowly pushed down to the lowest feelings of despair.
• Examiner.com: At its heart, the film is a pure and true love story, all involved give everything to make it a success.

The Last Right

Comedy, Drama

Available on VOD: 25 februari 2021

Director: Aoife Crehan

Cast: Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones, The Age of Adaline), Samuel Bottomley (Ackley Bridge), Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves), Colm Meaney (Law Abiding Citizen, Seberg), Brian Cox (Churchill, Succession)

New York-based DANIEL MURPHY wakes on a flight home to Ireland for his Mum’s funeral to find elderly passenger PADRAIG MURPHY has died in the next seat. To his surprise the lonely Padraig had just listed him as his next of kin.

In a bid to persuade his autistic brother LOUIS to return to New York with him, Daniel agrees to drive Padraig’s remains across the length of Ireland, from Cork to Rathlin Island, to be buried with his brother. Hitching a ride in the passenger seat is the funeral home temp MARY, who is on a mission to correct a drunken mistake. Meanwhile, the police realise Daniel has no business driving off with Padraig’s body, and Daniel, Mary and Louis find themselves the focus of a nationwide manhunt. 

• Indebioscoop.com: de kijker valt vanaf minuut één in de film. Gecombineerd met het lichte en vaak humoristische verhaal kunnen we The Last Right typeren als de lightversie van Rain Man. 4 sterren.
• Telegraaf.nl: een prachtig groen land met 'good craic, het Ierse equivalent van gezelligheid.
• Cinemagazine.nl: The Last Right biedt een fijne, warme ontsnapping aan het dagelijks leven.
• Filmtotaal.nl: Crehan levert een vermakelijk speelfilmdebuut met een hoog feelgoodgehalte.
• Volkskrant.nl: Michiel Huisman doet het uitstekend als Amerikaanse Ier in de gemoedelijke roadmovie The Last Right.
• Trouw.nl: Een warme film met een simpele boodschap: wees vriendelijk, ook voor vreemden. Prima acteurs en liefdevolle blikken op Ierland.
• AD.nl: De film weet een fijne sfeer neer te zetten, met behulp van droogkomische, typische humor en aaibare Ieren in minirolletjes.
• NRC.nl: kruist het genre van de roadmovie met elementen uit de romantische komedie. Het resultaat is plezierig.
• Parool.nl: Een verademing, zo zou je het sympathieke The Last Right kunnen omschrijven in deze barre tijden.
• Filmireland.net: A thoughtful approach to grief and isolation with sadness and humour that will ultimately offer hope for its characters. It's an unexpected road trip full of heartbreak, humour and human kindness.
• TheGuardian.com: Gently heartwarming, this homecoming story about a lawyer and his autistic brother fits like a well-worn onesie.
• Irishtimes.com: A likeable salute to a Magic Ireland we don't see much anymore. Lovely performances.
• TheTimes.co.uk: Writer-director Aoife Crehan makes a fine — and madcap — debut.
• Entertainment.ie: Sweet and earnest in all the right places.
• Filmireland.net: Dutch actor Michiel Huisman has a fresh and alluring onscreen presence.
• Totallydublin.ie: Hilarious

Marjorie Prime

Drama

Available on VOD: 13 september 2018

Director: Michael Almereyda

Cast: Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Baby Driver, Keeping Up with the Joneses), Geena Davis (Grey's Anatomy, Stuart Little, Thelma & Louise), Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption, Thanks for Sharing, War of the Worlds), Lois Smith (Dead Man Walking, The Nice Guys, Falling Down)

In the near future, a time of artificial intelligence: 86-year-old Marjorie, a jumble of disparate, fading memories, has a handsome new companion who looks like her deceased husband and is programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance?  Marjorie Prime is based on Jordan Harrison’s Pulitzer-nominated play, exploring memory and identity, love and loss.

Download the Press Notes here.

• VPROCinema.nl: Lois Smith, die ooit in 1955 debuteerde naast James Dean in East of Eden, speelt in Marjorie Prime één van de mooiste rollen uit haar roemrijke carrière. En regisseur Almereyda schetst, zonder op het sentiment te spelen, een prachtig en ontroerend verhaal over de dood, en hoe technologie ons kan helpen met het verlies van een dierbare om te gaan.
• NRC/nrc.nxt: Een van de interessantere onafhankelijke filmmakers uit Amerika - Hypnotiserend - Nietsontziende bijdrage aan het filosofische debat over hoe we anno nu met de waarheid omgaan.
• Het Parool: Een vernuftig modern spookverhaal zonder schrikeffecten.
• Trouw: Intelligent, warmbloedig drama (over rouw en de schoonheid én chaos van herinneringen) - Gracieus Kammerspiel - Slim geschreven dialogen - Mooi mijmerende film over liefde, leven en sterfelijkheid.
• De Volkskrant: In al zijn kalmte is het intrigerende Marjorie Prime een film die niet alleen tot nadenkenstemt, maar ook ontroert. De film valt vooral op door zijn intimiteit en heeft een concentratie en focus die je in het sfgenre zelden aantreft - Stemt tot nadenken.
• RogerEbert.com: "Marjorie Prime" is so beautifully and consistently focused on the human. Chief among the film’s pleasures is watching the exemplary work of the actors who embody those people. Almereyda's script is very sharp, belongs to a category that also includes "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Her," "Ex Machina" and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence".
• Vulture.com: The sci-fi chamber drama Marjorie Prime is exquisite — beautiful, intense, shivering with empathy.
• Variety.com: Davis, in particular, is stoically heartbreaking as a woman who feels increasingly alone in processing and preserving the least pleasant chapters of her past, as well as her mother’s, while Smith captures dementia’s rapidly alternating moods of panic, placidity, and fleeting, absolute presence with a wry precision that should resonate with viewers who have had to live beside it.
• Empireonline.com: Michael Almereyda’s film shares some of the brainy, out-there qualities of his earlier work (Nadja, Hamlet) but finds a warmth rare in his filmography. It's a restrained, artful look at memory, loss (and memory loss) and the way we use machines to feel more human. It’s a bit like Spike Jonze's Her, or an episode of Black Mirror if Charlie Brooker traded in empathy, but Marjorie Prime occupies a unique space all of its own. A high-concept idea with a low concept approach, Marjorie Prime is cerebral, talk-driven sci-fi lit up by a compelling exploration of big ideas and across-the-board strong performances from the small cast (especially Smith). A treat for the brain and soul.
• Efilmcitic.com: There are clear act breaks that in some ways reset the story when they occur, and the multiple iterations without clear progress could make it a drag, but in this case it pushes the audience to ponder rather than guiding them in a particular direction. It leads to a pair of final scenes that are mesmerizing in contrast, one thoroughly human and sad but emotionally loaded, the other featuring AI and, though it revisits references and themes from throughout the film, it is utterly alien and seeming to push in opposite directions, at least from human perspective.
• Slantmagazine.com: Mapping the intersection between history and emotion, Michael Almereyda finds himself in Alain Resnais terrain.
• TheHollywoodReporter.com: Even at its most sorrowful, Marjorie Prime is suffused with warmth, the core of it emanating from Smith in two complementary iterations of the same character.
• TheVerge.com: Marjorie Prime is superbly acted, and it’s certainly interesting. Hamm strikes a wonderful balance as a talking re-creation that feels almost human, and the rest of the cast is equally nuanced.
• TheGuardian.com: Programming a prime begins to resemble the heartrending business that many carers of dementia sufferers have to go through: having to teach their elderly loved ones who they were and are – having to reconstruct their identities. A potent, and well-developed feat of imagination.
• NYTimes.com: Mr. Almereyda (whose 2015 film, “Experimenter,” was an underseen beauty) is a seasoned cinematic spellbinder. He doesn’t do much to open up Mr. Harrison’s theatrical work, confining it for the most part to an elegant, mysterious beach house, one that, paradoxically enough, contains no visible high-tech devices. When you try to break down how he achieves his seductive magic with respect to this narrative, it all looks, initially, like nothing more than good cinematic common sense. The key is what he does on the sly: the way his subtle shifts of focus within a shot don’t just change the emphasis of the scene, but mirror quirks of consciousness. There’s more going on in this movie’s 90-plus minutes than in many summer blockbusters nearly twice its length.
• RottenTomatoes.com: Critics Consensus: Intimate in setting yet ambitious in scope, the beautifully acted Marjorie Prime poses thought-provoking questions about memory, humanity, and love.

• Sundance Film Festival 2017 - Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize

De Openbaring

Drama, Thriller

Available on VOD: 5 mei 2022

Director: Chris W. Mitchell

Cast: Victor Löw (Prooi, Michiel de Ruyter, Flikken Rotterdam), Monic Hendrickx (Penoza, Ferry), Leny Breederveld (De Luizenmoeder, Vliegende Hollanders)

ANGST EN LIEFDE IN TIJDEN VAN COVID-19

Nadat hij zijn baan is kwijtgeraakt trekt Jacob tijdens de eerste corona-lockdown in bij zijn moeder, waarna hij onder invloed raakt van een complottheoreticus en langzaam maar zeker doordraait.

• Horrorfuel.com: Terrific performance by star Victor Löw. [His] gripping lead performance is reason enough to seek out this character study of a psychologically and emotionally troubled man on his descent into full-blown madness, but viewers will find plenty of other reasons to be fascinated with it, as well.  
• De Volkskrant: "Een smakelijk vervormde uitvergroting van de huiselijke lockdownhel. Victor Löw is indrukwekkend krankjorum als de man die met de beste intenties tot doodenge mondkapjesmaniak transformeert." ****. Lees de hele review hier.
• De Filmkrant: Löw, die de film met verve draagt, ziet er op een gegeven moment uit als een soort kolonel Kurtz die de jungle probeert te bedwingen die de buitenwereld in coronatijd is geworden. Jacob oogt ook als een pakkende metafoor voor al die mensen die aan het begin van de pandemie in fake news tuinden. Opnieuw blijkt dat de genrefilm zich uitstekend leent voor wonderlijke en kritische blikken op de samenleving. Lees de hele review hier.
• Film Vandaag: De openbaring is een thriller die in staat is je de hele tijd ongemakkelijk te laten voelen. Maar De openbaring is bovenal een masterclass filmmaken. ****. Lees de hele review hier.
• Nachtvlinders: Een Nederlandse productie die zó sterk is heb ik niet vaak gezien en we mogen hier als Nederlanders trots op zijn. Hulde aan de makers en ga deze film zeker kijken. Vif sterren! Lees de hele review hier.

Resistance: 1942

Drama, War

Available on VOD: 28 april 2021

Director: Matthew Hill, Landon Johnson

Cast: Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw), Jason Patric (In the Valley of Elah, Narc, The Prince), Mira Furlan (Space Command), Judd Hirsch (Uncut Gems, A Beautiful Mind)

It's 1942, and France is under Nazi control. The Allies have been pushed off the continent, and their defeat in North Africa seems likely. The nazi's victory is nearly absolute. Deep within this heinous shadow, a man names Jacques uses a radio to broadcast a message of hope. Unbeknownst to him, the formidable Gestapo Hauptmann, Klaus Jager, has been dispatched to catch the illegal broadcast. As Klaus closes in, Jacques, his daughter Juliet, a small group of other dissidents, must learn to trust the kindness of a stranger if they are to stay ahead of their pursuer. And in the end, that trust may turn out to be the very thing that leads the hunter to his prey.

• TheGuardian.com: As written here, the ambiguous Andre – who channels Nazi money – is a much more interesting character; a kind of Oskar Schindler lite. Patric’s inscrutable performance recedes intriguingly.
• Intoscreens.com: Directors Matthew Hill & Landon Johnson, along with writer Jonah Hirsch weave an inspirational story of how the kindness of a perfect stranger can save two families from a cruel world filled with ignorance. With solid performances from the entire cast, this film works as a reminder on how you should never give in to tyranny and always go down swinging.

What We Did On Our Holiday

Comedy, Drama

Available on VOD: 22 oktober 2015

Director: Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin

Cast: Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Jack Reacher, The World's End), David Tennant (Broadchurch, Doctor Who, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire), Billy Connolly (The Hobbit, Quartet, Gulliver's Travels), Annette Crosbie (One Foot in the Grave, Into the Woods), Emilia Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Utopia), Bobby Smalldridge (Foster), Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason , Love Punch), Ben Miller (Johnny English, The Prince & Me)

A hilarious journey through an unforgettable family holiday as a couple attempts to keep their impending divorce secret from their extended family.

Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike) and their three children travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug's father Gordie's (Billy Connolly) birthday party, where it's soon clear that when it comes to keeping their secret under wraps their children are their biggest liability.

From nine year old Lottie's notebook to keep track of the lies so she remembers which ones to tell, to four year old Jess's perverse attachment to a brick named Norman, for their parents a week has never seemed such a long time.

But it's middle child Mickey and his granddad's shared passion for Vikings which gives rise to the most far-reaching and unexpected consequences. When a day at the beach turns to tragedy, the children take matters into their own hands.

From the creators of hit BBC comedy series Outnumbered – What We Did On Our Holiday is funny, honest and ultimately uplifting....

• Mooie recensie van FilmVandaag!
  Hartverwarmende komedie
  Tegen de achtergrond van de prachtige Schotse natuur is de uitkomst vooral dat na de onverwachte wending aan het strand de kinderen het meest volwassenen zijn en dat hun ouders uiteindelijk inzien dat ze zich de hele tijd als kleuters gedragen hebben. What We Did on Our Holiday is een echt Britse komedie geworden met soms heerlijke zwarte humor, maar waarin ook plaats is voor een hartverwarmend verhaal.
  Lees de hele recensie op http://www.filmvandaag.nl/recensies/182-what-we-did-on-our-holiday
• Filmdomein.nl: What We Did on Our Holiday is een sterk familiedrama, dat doordrenkt is met zwarte humor. Het acteerwerk is van hoog niveau, waarbij het vooral opvalt dat de kinderen de acteurs van naam weten te overtreffen en de film eigenhandig naar een hoger niveau brengen. Leuk is hoe dat onbedoeld letterlijk in de film terugkomt als de ouders luisteren naar hoe de kinderen hun en de wereld zien. Lees de hele review op Filmdomein!
• Cinemagazine.nl: Konden we deze zomer maar één mainstreamfilm bezoeken, dan maakte deze grappige, lieve en slimme komedie een grote kans! What We Did on Our Holiday is een komedie met een opvallend hoge grapdichtheid. Die grappen zijn meestal nog geslaagd ook. Dat het duistere onderwerp niet vloekt met de grappen, komt door het perspectief. We kijken voornamelijk door de ogen van de kinderen, en dan zijn zo'n stervende opa en zo'n echtscheiding – behalve een beetje droevig – toch ook wel erg interessant. Bovendien neemt opa, een ouwe hippie met een grijze paardenstaart, dat sterven niet al te zwaar op. Hij is voor 84% Viking, misschien dat dat iets verklaart.
  Wat sterk in het voordeel spreekt van deze komedie is zijn totale Britsheid. De afgelopen decennia keken de meeste mainstreamkomedies uit het Verenigd Koninkrijk met een schuin oog naar de overkant van de oceaan. Steeds weer moest er een Amerikaanse acteur opduiken en steeds weer werd de typisch Britse humor overgoten met een flinke Hollywoodsaus, inclusief dikke Hollywoodmoraal. In 'What We Did on Our Holiday' niets van dat alles. De moraal is nonchalant Brits en de humor is (meestal) scherp en oneerbiedig.
  Ook in zijn uitwerking scoren de makers een dikke voldoende. Het acteren is van hoog niveau, met onze favoriete Schotten David Tennant en Billy Connolly en de geweldige Rosamund Pike ('Gone Girl') voorop. Maar ook de kinderrollen zijn prima bezet, met de 13-jarige veterane Emilia Jones als grootste attractie. De beelden van het ruige Schotland wekken vakantiegevoelens en de heerlijke folkdeuntjes van The Waterboys geven de film iets feestelijk nostalgisch.
  Lees de hele recensie op Cinemagazine!
• Filmtotaal.nl: Luchtige en amusante familiekomedie over het ophouden van de schijn. Met een glansrol voor Billy Connolly als vrijgevochten grootvader die met één been in het graf staat, maar desondanks nog alles uit het leven wil halen.
  Lees de hele recensie op Filmtotaal. 
• Mark Kermode (BBC) reviews What We Did on Our Holiday: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p027bks4
• TheGuardian.com: It's impossible not to enjoy this big-hearted and sweet-natured British family movie from Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin – effectively a feature-format development of their smash-hit BBC TV comedy, Outnumbered, which pioneered semi-improvised dialogue from the children. It creates a terrifically ambitious (and unexpected) narrative with a tonne of sharp gags. Very impressive and likable stuff.
• wegotthiscovered.com: I'm happy to say that I stepped out of the cinema stunned that What We Did On Our Holiday worked so well. This is an important lesson in not prejudging films and proof that worthwhile movies can come from some pretty unlikely places. Very Good.
• Radiotimes.com: David Tennant and Rosamund Pike, as an unhappily married couple, are the headline names in this disarming comedy drama, but it's the kids who are the real stars. The tonal shifts can be a touch jarring, but there is a thin line between comedy and tragedy that is all the more poignant seen through innocent eyes.
• Popcornaddiction.com: Even the sentiment works rather well, with everything and everyone settling into place in time for a really quite touching finale. What We Did On Our Holiday doesn't just concern itself with the daily hassles of raising a family, but towards the end it dares to deal with the big stuff too — divorce, depression and death. Before long audiences will be able to enjoy What We Did On Our Holiday at home, where it belongs — for there really is quite a bit to enjoy.
• Empireonline.com: This is a cute, gently arch comedy about a splintering couple (Rosamund Pike and David Tennant) taking their three children to their grandad's (Billy Connolly) birthday party and trying not to let on that they're divorcing. Mostly it's hugely likable, with particularly good scenes between the kids and Connolly. A cute and charming comedy.
• Dailystar.co.uk: A terrific feat of sparkling comedy and sentiment. Hilarious and touching, this is one of the best British comedies in years. 5* review.
• Dailymail.co.uk: Little terrors and big laughs. 4* review.
• Cine-vue.com: Connolly, Tennant and, especially, Rosamund Pike are terrific, the latter a masterful still point amongst the chaos, playing it just straight enough to keep us believing. As with Outnumbered, of course, the true stars are the children - and Emelia Jones, Bobby Smalldridge and Harriet Turnbull do a good job, with the majority of the best lines. What We Did on Our Holiday emerges as a hugely likeable, original and even daring example of British family film-making.
• RogerEbert.com: “Holiday” does a good job of making the young characters look terrifically spontaneous, and the adult cast is rife with expertise: Pike is both frazzled and dry, while Tennant proves that his wide-eyed intensity works as well as a comic tic as it does when he’s playing an existentially tortured bloke in more serious fare.
• Filmreview.com: Written and directed by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who are legends of British television, the screenplay sneaks in its most impressive efforts wonderfully, leaving them on the level of things we aren’t pretentious enough to think we need to explain. Mostly a film about what we do and don’t say to people, and why, it is perhaps only one young girl’s struggle to figure out that “honest,” and, “honest with someone,” are different things, and one of them is kind of crap.
• Villagevoice.com: Jones and Connolly have terrific chemistry, particularly as Lottie works through the fact that adults encourage dishonesty and lying when it suits their own needs, and that secrets are more pervasive than openness.
• AVClub.com: At times, What We Did On Our Holiday even resembles a peacetime version of John Boorman’s 1987 child’s-eye World War II memoir Hope And Glory, with its disarming mix of death and euphoria. That’s high praise indeed.
• GamesRadar.com: Bright, lively and funny.