rubensky Reviews

The Resurrection of a Bastard (2013)

Raw.

[8/10 · 11 March 2019]

This is one of these movies you won't easily forget. I didn't know it was adapted from a novel, but it felt like that. They really got the gritty, graphic novel-like feel right.

The interwoven stories feel natural yet abstract: it is highly unlikely to happen but yet it feels believable. These are the hardest stories to tell.

The acting is great, by all actors. Mr. Van Wageningen plays his part superbly, you really dislike him but yet are intrigued. His looks kinda make him prefctly for this role. Overall a great watch, a gem not so well known. Unfortunatly.

The Thin Red Line (1998)

How one can capture an ugly war beautifully.

[10/10 · 11 April 2017]

This movie is just as old as i am: I was born in 1998. I only saw it now tho, and i completely forgot i was watching an old film... The film doesn't age badly as a lot of movies do (CGI looks crappy, camera- work is typically for the time, etc,etc...) and i love it. It is such an masterpiece in my opinion. The story is very well told, and it shows perfectly how the life of a soldier was in ww2, in my opinion even better than Saving Private Ryan. (What is a good movie btw, just a bit to patriotic now and then.)The soldiers wait a lot in the movie and that is realistic, most of the time soldiers wait for the moment they have to fight, for their turn "To go over the top". And it's the waiting that gets you: in battle the adrenaline does an awesome job at keeping most men "functional" but when that adrenaline rush ends... I also like the small touches in this movie, like the yellow hand grenades. The American army quickly discovered that it wasn't all that smart to have explosives in bright colors strapped on soldiers but they still had them in the time period of the film. The acting is very good to, and feels relatable. As a guy who knows most of the stars featured in the movie as older men it's funny to see them "young again". George Clooney kinda surprised me when his part came up. Overall: Great movie, certainly recommended. Not much to laugh about but it happened and we shouldn't forget.

Pandora (2016)

An explosion of emotions, but the reactor steals the show.

[8/10 · 19 March 2017]

I was skeptical about this movie, Asian movies and especially South- Korean movies tend to be so full of emotions the term "Drama" isn't enough. Yes, this movie is emotional. But it doesn't go over the top if you ask me,or at least not to much. I am no expert on nuclear disasters but this movie seemed quite logical and realistic, the make up and special effects was very well done and the attention for detail superb. Sound track is very nice to. Altrhough the last scene is pretty South- Korean i do recommend this film. My English is probably horrible, but i hope i didn't melt your brains to badly with my spelling mistakes. I leave the melting to the reactor...

Tell Spring Not to Come This Year (2015)

Breathtaking

[9/10 · 14 February 2017]

What makes this documentary so good is the human factor and the amount of guts of the film crew. The fighting scenes are filmed in the best way i have ever seen, this is how it goes. This may seem odd to say this, but as the son of a veteran this means a lot. People still have that "Hollywood idea" about a firefight, and about war as a whole.

The camera work is very good, the quality is very high and the close ups of the faces tell the whole story. The scene near the end when they escape encirclement the relief can be seen all over their faces. The kids waving and smiling are so in contrast with what these men have seen, that really showed war in his true nature: Chaos and extremes.