tillaard Reviews

Midnight Run (1988)

Best all round movie ever

[10/10 · 18 July 2008]

I have seen this film many times and every time I see (part of) it on TV it still makes me laugh. The dialogue is crisp, sharp and hilarious. Combined with a great script, matching soundtrack and a top cast this makes for an absolute must see movie.

What makes this film really stand out is the way De Niro and Grodin team up. Should the film have been shot with Bruce Willis or Cher (please help me) it wouldn't have worked. Thank God Martin Brest held his foot down on this one. De Niro and Grodin are so good together that it really baffles me that Grodin didn't star in more movies.

Although it has some violence and plenty plenty of harsh language, this doesn't cloud the fact that the movie is about human emotions such as friendship, humor and fairness.

Strongly recommended!

300 (2006)

Shallow and predictable

[2/10 · 28 August 2007]

I saw this movie but was utterly disappointed. It is a very two dimensional plot and the film doesn't seem to have any resemblance to a possible historical event.

The movie doesn't contain ANY on-scene scenes. It's all studio based stuff and A LOT of computer animation. This is where you might want to be for a video game, but not if you want to make an appealing and believable movie.

The dialog doesn't have any depth, is predictable and does little to help the story.

The only things this movie has going for it are strong visuals, all be it mostly animated, and nice costumes.

Give this one a pass by all means.

The New World (2005)

Be prepared to be bored rigid

[2/10 · 22 January 2007]

I haven't been bored by a motion picture this much in a long, long, long time. If you want to spend your free time with any sense then please let this one go by.

The story is slow going, lacks direction, is not very believable and the conversation is uninteresting to say the very, very least. Sometimes the cinematography can raise the level of a movie with a historic setting a little, but even in this department the movie fails to score.

I can only recommend this movie if there is absolutely nothing in the house that can make you go to sleep. This production will surely do the job in that case.

Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (2004)

Puerto Vallarta Squeeze

[2/10 · 3 August 2005]

Saw this movie recently and had higher hopes. Not so much based upon the director, who hadn't made a cinematographic release before, but more based upon its cast. Harvey Keitel, Scott Glenn and Craig Wasson (lead role in Body double, a Brian De Palma masterpiece) have all starred in great movies. Not together though, and this fact hasn't exactly changed because of this one.

The film is unbelievable, very predictable and cliché. The only thing that might make it slightly appealing is the selection of locations on which it's been shot. In my humble opinion: don't waste your time on this one.

Collateral (2004)

Very gripping and terrifying story. The build of tension is very good and reaches very high levels. Recommended

[8/10 · 24 November 2004]

Collateral is a very powerful movie. You feel very connected to the main character Max, and you can really feel for the horror and disgust he is experiencing throughout the story.

The story starts one late L.A.-afternoon and ends early next morning. Therefor almost the entire photography consists of night- and inhouse shots with very little light. Photography is very good with well worked out viewpoints, out-of-focus-shots and camera movement which increase tension and involvement. There are no dull moments in this movie.

Max' character is very real. He is a nice guy but has his own flaws and shortcomings which make him very believable. One of the great things about the movie is to witness how Max's initial fear and being-completely-out-of-control gradually changes into anger and initiative. At the end of the movie I feel that Mann made Max a bigger man then he need have done, but still you can identify yourself with him.

The dialogue between Max and Vincent (Cruise) is also not middle-of-the-road. Although Vincent's attitude is very two-dimensional: he is hit-man with little or no compassion or remorse, the conversations in the cab with Max still have some depth in them. Vincent develops some respect for Max as a result of their conversations.

When you go see this movie you will feel yourself imersed very quickly and really feel the tension Max feels. The movie also shows a very violent, dark and sinister side of big-city life which can become very alienating.