matyagriffioen Reviews

Shōgun (2024–2026)

It is not for the faint hearted

[10/10 · 10 April 2024]

Feudal Japan is brutal. And in the eyes of our main character, life is unreasonably worthless.

There are rituals and customs that are hard to understand, and even your most loved characters will not be spared the intense hatred you not only have for them, but also for yourself, having loved those characters in the first place.

This show is a must watch if you want to work your brain a little with secret alliances that are actually pretty well hidden.

This show is a must watch if you go hard on historic accuracy (I personally have no idea but the experts seem to agree).

This show is a must watch if you believe the above is just but background to character development, editing, sound design and score, operating, lighting, production design, and directing.

This gives me the goosebumps of excitement.

This show is more like West World (S1 only) than it is like Game of Thrones. (I really do NOT understand that comparison)

The Wonder (I) (2022)

6.6? People are crazy!

[9/10 · 2 January 2023]

Rarely IMDB ratings are lower than Metacritic's score, but when they do, you are in for a treat. This film is visually beautiful, amazingly acted, and well written.

This film is not for everyone, obvious by the IMDB score but it needs to be said that this film is timeless.

It could have been made in the 20s, 50s, in the 70s, it could have been made 20 years ago, and watching it today I felt that is was relevant, well paced, subtle yet sublime.

The directing, operating and sound team did a great job capturing the rural Irish surrounding, family ties and community. This film is not about religion or faith, it is about living people and after watching a bunch of entertaining rubbish, this felt like a fresh breath of air.

Also props to the colorist, it needs to be said. Tomatometer is at 87% and that is a score I can live with!

Andor: Daughter of Ferrix (2022) Season 1, Episode 11

This show is getting better towards the end

[9/10 · 16 November 2022]

With a bit of a rough start, Andor is proving to become a must watch show.

This episode specifically focusses more on character development and gives the actors the needed screentime to actually act. Long close-ups engage the watchers and we can see the change in our characters unfolding in a way the old films use to do it.

As the previous episode, it's of a high quality, and after the rush of the previous episode, this one is a well paced, visually stunning and emotionally engaging 40 min.

The camera work, acting and editing is on the spot and Benjamin Caron's directing is superb!

I cannot wait for the season's final!

Westworld: Zhuangzi (2022) Season 4, Episode 5

I am not a bot!

[10/10 · 25 July 2022]

Last two episodes were great. Actually this whole season brings me the same experience I had when watching season 1.

It is almost as good.

Season 2 I really had trouble with, but I never got the hate season 3 got even though it was very different.

A show like this is extremely hard to make, having to constantly reinvent itself and the filmmakers efforts to emerge us back into a world we sorely missed are not only successful, it is masterfully done.

This season in like Aliens. Sure it is not Ridley Scott (read: Anthony Hopkins) but god, it's the best Cameron we have ever seen!

Holy Spider (2022)

It is really good!

[8/10 · 16 July 2022]

I watched this film yesterday on the Golden Apricot film festival and its rating of 6.6 makes little sense to me.

It is a crafty film that takes you on a suspenseful trip with moments of well-placed humor.

The Iranian setting is somewhat overdramatized, but I believe that works for the film, rather than against it.

The important note here is that the true Spider Killer received very little to no support from the Iranian society.

The overall setting is somber, it is relatively violent, there is a lot of room given for the personal development of our characters, there is social criticism, great acting, and powerful sound design.

My only criticism is that secondary characters could have given more screen-time to act out their emotional curve, as there performances were really strong.

I strongly recommend this to anyone that loves European film and/or true crime pieces.

Easily an eight!

Archive 81 (2022)

Rate it as a series, not a film.

[9/10 · 23 January 2022]

The rating of 7.6 is an honest one, if it was a movie.

I cannot bare watching any series with a rating below 8.4 and this should be rated with an 8.6-8.8.

I hear people complain about the terrible acting but the acting is quite good. The directing is very good.

Some complaint about the show being empty, but I guess some should read more to understand what this is about - and Im not referring to Dante's Inferno.

Watch it and rate it as a series, not a film and rate is above 8 please.

Wolfwalkers (2020)

An Animation on another level

[9/10 · 7 February 2021]

For me, WolfWalkers makes it to the list of one of the best animations ever made. Grave of the Fireflies, the Nightmare before Christmas, Toy Story, the Incredibles 2 (that list, yeah!)

It might not be in the top of my list (of 40 titles) but the movie does everything right. From score and soundtrack, to voice acting, editing, great script, personal development of almost all characters (the protagonist is a little flat but to be expected from a kids movie), and last, yet most prominent:

What a beautiful animation. It is one of the most breathtaking, full-hand drawn movie I have ever seen. My kid of 6 loves it, my wife loves it, and I am simply amazed how they pulled this one off.

We are both film critics/makers, and we are not easily impressed.

This movie easily impressed us.

Proxima (2019)

It's European cinema. Americans, be( a-)ware!

[9/10 · 1 December 2020]

As European cinema is not about special effects and love stories with explosions on the background, but rather about things that are real, common and confronting, this movie is anything but a disappointment if you are familiar with the style.

If you like a good book, this is a film you should watch. It's about the little things of personal interaction. About sharing precious moments, or breaking promises. ("love vs struggle")

This movie makes you reflect on yourself, as you will not always understand why your main character does what she does. How she is capable of leaving Earth being a mother.

I have read reviews about the movie being full with stereotypes and cliché's. I think the truth is quite the opposite. Russians seem to be the friendliest and most supportive people in the world. An ex-husband who is (on a distance) emotionally involved in her life. An American ex-soldier actually reciting poetry, and children acting like children.

If you rate this low, you are simply not on their level!

Locke & Key (2020–2022)

I dont know the story, I just know moviemaking...

[4/10 · 8 February 2020]

Not everything is bad in this series, what is just horrible is the operating, the directing, the acting, the sound and the colours (we are back in 2000s amateur clips)

The overall atmosphere of the movie falls as flat as the above, the music is not well timed and sometimes even cringeworthy. Sound effect are nothing special, just like the use of CGI.

It seems to want to do the same as the Haunting of Hill House but fails on every single take, and definitely on every single camera angle.

Watch the first episode and render me right!

The Babadook (2014)

It goes under your skin!

[7/10 · 12 January 2015]

For me, there're three sorts of horrors. 1. The gruesome ones: Movies like the exorcist, Rosemarry's baby, the exorcism of Emily Rose etc. 2. The awesome ones: the evil dead (2013), planet terror, final destination... we all know a couple! 3. The ones that creep under your skin: it, the shining, el orfanato, the blair witch project...

This movie is a number three. It's not as good as any of the movies mentioned above... but it does bring something new to the genre. The movie doesn't hang on creepy sounds, shock moments and gore. Actually the movie is quiet theatrical. It builds up suspense in this dreamy feel. Mostly created by the editing and cinematography, which are both brilliant.

The cast is pretty good. Many people mentioned they hated the boy (his character, not the actor), as I did to. But it's absolutely necessary for the story, so bare with it. Though it has to be said: his acting skills do collapse near the end.

Though overall it's a good horror movie. And a good 'step in horror'. If you want to see some horror with your scaredy-cat friends... This is the one!

There's more stuff to tell but I don't want to use any spoilers so I leave it. Any horror which has a 6.5 or above, is worth watching. So watch it!

Prisoners (2013)

The movie raises an answers a lot of questions... Not All!

[8/10 · 10 December 2013]

*For everybody that disliked the movie: Watch the movie again, and closely, you probably won't, but seriously, say every plot hole I read about in the negative reviews, are explained in the movie. And NO the movie doesn't automatically stir you in the right direction. It shows things that look important, but aren't. The police mainly looks at unimportant stuff and it makes it so frustrating!

To start: normally a movie explains the story, this movie doesn't, the camera is 'just' an eye, watching a story developing in front of it. In combination with the brilliant acting, a master class Stanislavski, it gets a tremendous realistic feel. Just this will bother you later on in the movie, because maybe you don't like what you see. It places you in amoral situations, but the movie doesn't judge what you see (the camera is just an eye, watching). The movie plays with the audience, so if you are the average movie watcher and you like movies straight forward, maybe this isn't the one for you.

It doesn't want to explain everything, and I believe that's good. PLZ!!! Stop with the movies that go and explain minor plots, like we don't have any brain that understand and figure out. Start with: USE YOUR IMAGINATION! (sorry). There are some movies that do a very good job in leaving the audience with a 'what the f?'

example: Inception. Does the whirl fall???? they don't show, so maybe instead of talking about the little twitch it made in the end, the movie suggests that you have to search somewhere else. CGI everywhere just to keep your eyes from seeing that small detail that explains EVERYTHING, just for the close watcher. LOVELY.

This movie overloads you with false clues, raises so many questions, that you miss the important details. And if you follow closely, you'll figure it out before the big: SO THAT'S THE ONE!

8.6, so a 9 stars

Ps. the movie breaks many cliché's. While (real)life is filled with cliché's. So how people say that this movies (with it's scary realistic vibe) was filled with the same old, I can't understand. If it wasn't it would be a more fantastic movie, which wouldn't make it much better, definitely not as realistic. A Master Piece, and luckily most people where able to keep their attention, to notice it.

Pss. for the people that found Loki story unrealistic... talk to a cob. *MINOR SPOILER*: Would you move the fridge? I will tell you, any decent detective would've!