Going Dutch

When I saw the preview for the Dutch film behind this next review installment, I knew who I had to invite to write: my own boyfriend who is from the Netherlands. As an English second language speaker and non-writer, he jokingly threatened he would just take a Dutch review off the internet and translate it. He didn't. He struggled. He's great. Enjoy.

Hidde's Review of Oorlogswinter

Oorlogswinter by Hidde Sikkes

Back in the days, when I was an even littler man than I am now, I read everything I could get my hands on; at one point I started reading Oorlogswinter by Jan Terlouw.

Caitlin's Review of Oorlogswinter

Out of Breath a review by Caitlin Murphy

Perhaps my first comment to my Dutch viewing companion upon exiting the Dutch film Oorlogswinter – “Wow, you guys really like to ride bikes, eh?” – sums up how deeply the film’s characters, story and themes collectively affected me: not very. Though Winter in Wartime was short-listed for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2010 Academy Awards, it’s easy to see why it never made the final cut of nominations.

Another twist...

When I put out the word that I was looking for film-reviewing blog-buddies, I wasn't expecting retro-active submissions, but I got one! My good friend and frequent co-pilot on artistic projects, Kaila, clearly didn't agree with what I had to say a few weeks back about 127 Hours. Here's her take on the movie. Enjoy!

Kaila's Review of 127 Hours

When I first watched the trailer for 127 Hours, I asked myself: “Who on earth would want to sit through that?” I was sort of familiar with the story: an extreme sports enthusiast gets stuck in a cave, and 127 hours later, cuts his arm off to save his life. So what? And not helping matters was the fact that the largely one-man show was carried by James Franco, whom I find completely unlikable. However, after sitting through it, I’m glad that I did.

And Guest...

After losing my original blog buddy (to the demands of his thesis) and writing solo for a bit, I decided to recruit friends to be guest-bloggers and join me in writing a film review. 



This week, one-time roommate and all-time friend, Pauline, joined me to see Biutiful. Here are our reviews. Hope you enjoy them. (spoiler alert though)

Pauline's Review of Biutiful

How not to go gentle into that good night a review by Pauline Gregoire

I am quite certain that years from now, I will remember the experience of watching Biutiful more than I will remember the plotline itself; this is a story so heartrending, so tragic, that I went into self-preservation mode about three minutes in, refusing to let myself get too caught up in what was happening onscreen, and focused instead on how Javier Bardem was just acting in this movie, he was just doing his job, and what’s more, he goes home to Penelope Cruz, so really, how bad can it be, right? Right?

Caitlin's Review of Biutiful

Buried Life a review by Caitlin Murphy

In various versions of the same quotation, Ernest Hemingway explains his ‘principle of the iceberg’ – essentially advice to story-tellers about how little they actually need to show of what they know; the more you can bury, the better, Hemingway argues. He would have liked Biutiful.

Review of 127 Hours

93 Minutes by Caitlin Murphy

I remember watching the preview for 127 Hours, familiar with the harrowing ordeal on which it’s based, and asking myself: “How could that story possibly be turned into a feature-length film?” The answer, I now believe, is that it can’t.