Amsterdam Film Show | May 2018

Are you ready for a scary hospital, daring dog do or Arizona firefighters (David is!)? Our Amsterdam Film Show tips for May are here!

• David Swatling & @CathyCentral review Unsane, David is pleasantly surprised by Isle of Dogs
• our highlights (low brow and high brow) from the rest of the new cinema releases hitting Amsterdam this month
• special screenings and film festivals
• links via Pinterest

 

THE AMSTERDAM FILM SHOW, IN FULL …

 

FILM REVIEW 

Unsane | THRILLER | Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah | from 3 May  

A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution, where she is confronted by her greatest fear – but is it real or a product of her delusion? 

@CathyCentral says:

• Unsane was an excellent thriller, and kept me on the edge of my seat until the end, and I mean right until the end.  
• There was excellent ensemble acting from the cast, and lead actor Claire Foy, but you have limited sympathy for the characters.
• Prepare for some annoying red herrings and and very weird cameo appearance.
• It’s all shot on iphones and you can kind of tell. I get the feeling the director wasn’t really trying to emulate a filmic quality, so he didn’t try too hard to gloss up the look.
• 7/10 for sheer dramatic tension.
• Screening n Amsterdam @ Eyefilmmuseum, Filmhallen, The Movies, and some Pathé screens.

 

NEW CINEMA RELEASES, OUR PICKS 

“Here’s the Amsterdam Film Show’s highlights from the film releases in the Netherlands, this month.”

FROM 10 MAY Isle of Dogs | ANIMATION | Dir-Scr: Wes Anderson

Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his lost dog. 

[Listen to David’s review c/o the links above.]

Tully | COMEDY DRAMA | Director: Jason Reitman | Writer: Diablo Cody | Stars: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass

A struggling mother of three, including a newborn, is gifted a night nanny by her brother.

@CathyCentral: “Diablo Cody’s excellent Young Adult and Juno make me think this will be extremely watchable but bleak.” As Amy Nicholson of the Guardian says “Theron looked happier driving across a post-apocalyptic desert with a car of frightened slave girls.”  

FROM 23 MAY

Solo: A Star Wars Story | ACTION FANTASY | Director: Ron Howard | Writers: Jonathan Kasdan, Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: Emilia Clarke, Alden Ehrenreich, Thandie Newton

The story of how Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian, years before joining the Rebellion.

@CathyCentral: “The Kasdans are back on the writing team so surely it must be good? I’m inclined not to buy into the negativity surrounding the production. It was the same gossip for Rogue One and that film was brilliant in the end.”  

FROM 31 MAY

Only the Brave | TRUE LIFE DRAMA |  Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges

“Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from a historic wildfire.” IMDB

@DavidSwatling says: “You had me at “firefighters”.”

 

FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS THIS MONTH

“Film festivals and our picks of the special screenings this month”

29 May – 3 June Amsterdam Spanish Film Festival (4th ed) @ various cinemas

The opening film is crime drama, Escobar (also known as Loving Pablo), in the presence of it’s Spanish director, Fernando León de Aranoa. The English-spoken film tells the true story of the romantic relationship between journalist Virginia Vallejode and drug boss Pablo Escobarwith Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem playing the leads. (It’s also on release in NL from 31 May). In total there are 25 Spanish films during the festival, plus Spanish food, music and more.

 

Saturday 26 May Chasing Reels doubleheader or  “Sam Elliott night”as  CL calls it @ Ketelhuis

After events in Utrecht and Rotterdam, Chasing Reels comes to Amsterdam with … 

The Hero (2017, Dir: Brett Haley): An American feelgood indie that screened Sundance and SXSW but no cinema release in NL. So this is the Dutch premiere. A veteran film star is looking for work, while trying to reconcile with his daughter and meeting someone new.

@CathyCentral: “It looks charming! An alternative coming of age movie.”

Road House (1989, Rowdy Herrington): An over-the-top Patrick Swayze film on a big screen and on 35mm.

Tickets on sale, but with Cineville it’s free!