06th Jun2015

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken (Film)

by timbaros

FH-0638In 1983, beer magnate Freddy Heineken was kidnapped right in front of his Amsterdam home. Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is about this event, and the six men who committed the crime.

Cor (Jim Sturgess) and his fellow pals are down on their luck, with a failed business, no money, with wives and girlfriends, and children on the way. They need money, so they hatch a plan; kidnap one of the wealthiest men in their city – Freddy Heineken. But before they do this, they need to get their hands on some real money in order to successfully (and professionally) kidnap Heineken, so they rob a bank, and pull it off.

Now with their newly found resources, they minutely plan the kidnapping, renting a warehouse on the edge of town, buying equipment and vehicles, and spending weeks training for the actual kidnapping. Then the day comes – and they snatch Heineken (played by Anthony Hopkins) and his driver Ab (David Dencik) right in front of Heneiken’s luxurious brownstone. Heineken and Ab are held in the warehouse for days and days on end, and a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders (about $20 million) is asked for their safe return. Cor and co-ringleader (and Cor’s brother-in-law) Willem (Sam Worthington) are confident they will pull this off. Jan (Ryan Kwanten), meanwhile, is less so and has second thoughts on their dirty scheme. Weeks and weeks go by and the ransom is not paid, and tension among the group gets worse, but eventually the men get their money, and the hostages are found by the police. Weeks later, all men involved are arrested.

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is based on the 1987 book of the same name by Peter R. de Vries. It’s a compelling, dramatically told story, directed by Daniel Alfredson, that’s fast-paced and quickly edited. And all the performances are very good, especially Sturgess as the ringleader, and Thomas Cocquerel as Martin ‘Brakes’ Erkamps, the youngest of the gang. Hopkins, always good, doesn’t have much to do, he’s a prisoner in a small room, taunting his captors, waiting and waiting. At a short 95 minutes, Kidnapping Freddy Heineken provides a lot of action in the short period of time.

Off
02nd Nov2013

Thor: The Dark World – Press Conference – Film

by timbaros

Disney is going all out to promote it’s new film Thor: The Dark World – a sequel to the highly successful 2011 film Thor, both of which star Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins and Kat Dennings.In a very unusual and almost unheard of promotion, Disney invited fans and members of the press on Saturday night to attend a screening of the film, as the press release states  “to mark the turning back of the clocks with an exclusive UK fan screening of Thor: The Dark World.” What was unusual about this event was that the film screening started at 1:00 a.m. (the exact moment the clocks go back an hour). The turning back of the clocks, as the press release goes on to say, is to “mark the return to darkness to the UK.” The event took place in Greenwich, which was a key filming location for the film. Disney has also been heavily promoting this film at sci-fi events around the world, including Comic Con. A new Thor attraction has been built at Disneyland to be called Treasures of Asgard (in reference to a fictional realm within the Marvel Comics universe), which is scheduled to open this week.In case you don’t know who or what Thor (Hemsworth) is, he is the Mighty Avenger who battles to save Earth. Evil forces, which include his brother Loki (Hiddleston), attempt to keep him away from his gal Jane Foster (Portman), who is being followed by her gal pal Darcy (Dennings).  In The Dark World, Thor attempts to save the universes from enemies, including monsters and soldiers from other universes.

Here is a snippet of what was said at the Thor press conference held at The Dorchester Hotel on October 20th:

Hiddleston: It has been an amazing adventure. The two characters define each other, need each other.

Hemsworth: We are competitive as siblings are. We are actual brothers, one is adopted.

Portman: Jane is in the middle. It was exciting to come back and work with everyone.

Hemsworth: It was good that Natalie was there to break up the testosterone.

Hiddleston: Why do people love Loki over Thor? It is a mixture of playfulness and charm and mischief. He is a broken character. As an actor, it is an interesting thing to inhabit.

Dennings: There is a little bit of improv in the movie.

Producer Kevin Fiege: Humor is the key.

Hemsworth: I am surprised by the amount of humor in the film. However, our wake up call was at 3:00 a.m., I was not a happy elf.

Hiddleston: What is grounding is the family relationship. Father, two sons, 2 brothers.

Portman mentioned at the press conference that her mom keeps a scrapbook of old photos of her from previous movies.

Chris Eccleston (who plays Malekith): What is the point of my story? Vengeance. He is a maniac for vengeance. Dark elves are seeking to turn light into darkness.

Hemsworth: It is to have Thor someone to fight with. Malekith is the main enemy.

Hiddleston: Is Loki really evil? It is something I asked my self three times. Every hero is a villian. To what extent is he redeemable.

Thor is released in the UK on October 30th.

See This Week’s Film Trailer tab for the Thor film trailer

01st Aug2013

Red 2 – Film

by timbaros

red_2_34156

If you liked Red, then you will love Red 2, which picks up where Red left off.

Former CIA covert operations agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) Retired, Extremely Dangerous (RED), happy in his retirement and peaceful life with his girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), is dragged back into work to search for a new biological weapon called Nightshade.

It went missing from the Cold War during Frank and his partner Marvin’s (John Malkovich) watch, and has since resurfaced, and everyone, the good guys and the bad guys, believes that they know it’s whereabouts. To complicate matters, a hit has been put on them from M16, and agent Victoria (none other than (Helen Mirren) informs them that she has been contracted to shoot and kill them. She even dons a Queen’s crown as one of her disguises.

Meanwhile, a corrupt government official (Neal McDonough) is sending another contract killer, Han (Byung Hun Lee), who has an old score to settle with Frank, to kill them. Then, Frank’s old flame Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones) shows up to further complicate matters. It is up to certified crazy scientist Edward Bailey (a Hannibal Lechter-like Anthony Hopkins), who knows a thing or two about Nightshade, and possibly knows it whereabouts, to help save the gang, as well as the rest of the world from annihilation.

Red 2 is an action/adventure/thriller as much as a James Bond film is, however, Red 2 (just like Red) has an added element – comedy – seen a few times when Sarah is not able to fire a pistol or drive a car, or the banter between her and Frank when they are caught in sticky situations. Marvin and Frank have their funny moments as well, one of them being when Marvin pretends to die and Frank is tempted to pinch his skin in the coffin to make sure he was really dead. (He wasn’t.)

Much better than the last James Bond film, Skyfall, Red 2 pulls out all the stops and provides the viewer with one hell of a 116-minute ride. Not once does the action, adventure and comedy stop. And with this all star cast of heavyweights – Willis, Mirren, Zeta-Jones, Hopkins, Malkovich, and even Parker, makes Red 2 the perfect summer film.

 

Review originally appeared on Hereisthecity.com – click this link to view it