Sixty Minutes (2024)

 

 

Streaming Service: Netflix

Movie Name/Year: Sixty Minutes (2024) 

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama 

Length:  1h 28min 

Rating: TV-MA

Director: Oliver Kienle 

Writers: Philip Koch, Oliver Kienle 

Actors: Emilio Sakraya, Dennis Mojen, Marie Mouroum, Paul Wollin, Florian Schmidtke, Aristo Luis, José Barros, Vassilis Koukalani, Janna Striebeck, Morik Heydo, Livia Matthes, Mehmet Atesci, Eniko Fulop, Bruno Salgueiro, Tatjana Sojic, Georg Blumreiter 

 

IMDb Blurb: Desperate not to lose custody, a mixed martial arts fighter makes dangerous enemies when he ditches a matchup to race to his daughter's birthday party. 

 

 

Selina’s Point of View: 

Sixty Minutes was so much better than it had any right to be.

 

The trailer for the film was fine. It looked like Sixty Minutes would be a solid action flick. Something along the lines of Run Lola Run (1998). Not bad footsteps to follow in, but usually those movies tend to be basic. They’re a dime a dozen and rarely have anything setting them apart from the others.

 

For that reason, I stuck Sixty Minutes in the 15th position of my Top 20. Not high, but respectable. 

 

In the interest of transparency, my ADHD was acting up, so I had to default to a dubbed version. Due to that, I won’t be talking about the script acting. I will say that there was nothing in the dubbing that interrupted my immersion. I was zoned into my screen the whole time, without fail.

 

 

Despite my personal issues, I found myself feeling everything I was meant to during the runtime. Instead of the cookie cutter, semi-solid action flick I was expecting – I got a pulse-pounding, character-driven, well-choreographed film.

 

When I say ‘well-choreographed’ I’m not talking about the John Wick (2014) style. Weapons, and creative use of the setting, is not really a factor. Nor am I talking about the Extraction (2020) method, where the cinematography becomes a character of its own in the battle. Instead, Sixty Minutes utilized a more realistic choreography. Everything that any character does is something a well-trained fighter could do. There was a touch of acrobatics, but it was mostly boxing/MMA. Fans of watching real fights would get a kick out of it.

 

I think realism is something that sets Sixty Minutes apart from its contemporaries. It allows for deeper immersion because nothing really comes out of left field. It’s all perfectly reasonable. The main character never seems invulnerable.

 

Sixty Minutes was amazing. It smashed through every single expectation I had for it and then some.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View: 

I remember being intrigued by Sixty Minutes when I saw its trailer last month. I am a big fan of action thrillers and this movie seemed to tick all those boxes on paper. I was initially a little concerned whether or not I would become invested in it enough that keeping up with subtitles and the action at the same time would mesh well, as the production was filmed in German. I was thrilled to discover this was one of the foreign films coming to Netflix that they had an English dub for, so that became a non-issue.

 

While I don’t generally follow MMA fighting, such as UFC, I do have a love of watching martial arts combat on the screen and a deep respect for the sport. That being said, the entire story of Sixty Minutes stems from the fact that the main character doesn’t make it into the ring for the scheduled fight. The structure of MMA matches and the octagon they take part in aren’t even a factor as the action flows organically through the whole city of Berlin. 

 

The stunt work here was crazy good and the fight choreography was on point. Sixty Minutes was an excellent vehicle for lead Emilio Sakraya (Warrior Nun, Tribes of Europa, One Night Off) to lean into his background of martial arts and parkour and really shine. Even the supporting cast in his proverbial corner were kicking serious ass. A stand-out for me was one Octa’s head trainers, Cosima, played by Marie Mouroum (Berlin Station, Black Panther, Tribes of Europa). She has an extensive background in cinema stunts and has worked on many heavy-hitting action pieces from Marvel Cinematic Universe to Bond films. She had a meatier role here where she got to show off her fighting chops and had a meaningful part to play as well.

 

The premise of this story didn’t have a lot of bells and whistles to it, but it didn’t need to. I was emotionally invested from the get-go and I could feel Octa’s pain and frustration as he embarked on this roller-coaster of MMA madness. I was right there with him feeling his emotional exhaustion as it seemed the whole world just wanted to get in the way of him achieving his all-important goal of saving his relationship with his daughter. I also appreciated that Sixty Minutes leaned into the realistic toll that the journey’s events took on his body and mental state -- keeping him human rather than the seemingly invincible hero trope that Hollywood often banks on.

 

If you’re looking for a fast-paced adrenaline ride with a lot of heart behind it, Sixty Minutes wouldn’t be a bad choice and I would encourage fans of the genre to check it out.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 60% 

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 78% 

Metascore – None 

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 5.7/10 

 

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4.5/5 

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5 

 

Movie Trailer:

Above the Shadows (2019)

Streaming Service: Hulu
Movie Name/Year: Above the Shadows (2019)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Length: 1h 51min
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: HIPZEE, BondIt Media Capital, Boundary Stone Films, Myriad Pictures, ACE Entertainment, Elite Filmes, Vie Vision Pictures, Özen Film, Gravitas Ventures, Pacific Northwest Pictures, Studio Hamburg Enterprises
Director: Claudia Myers
Writer: Claudia Myers
Actors: Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson, Jim Gaffigan, Megan Fox, Tito Ortiz, David Johansen, Owen Campbell, Pawel Szajda, Fina Strazza, Alex Gemeinhardt, Lauren Hartman
 
Blurb from IMDb: A young woman who has faded to the point of becoming invisible must find her way back with the help of the one man who can see her.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
Above the Shadows was put on our schedule after I came across it on Tik Tok. Scrolling through my FYP, a scene from the movie popped up. I get those kinds of videos a lot, but it’s usually stuff I’ve seen. This one didn’t look at all familiar, so I stopped to check it out.
 
I figured it was some hallmark crap, but I looked it up on IMDb anyway. When I saw it had a relatively positive rating, I thought: ‘Why not?’
 
I don’t know how Tik Tok designed their algorithm, but it’s better than any other social media’s. I usually don’t even go for romantic dramas. I have no idea how Tik Tok knew this would be the exception. The way I related to the main character in this flick was frightening.
 
That feeling of invisibility is something known by too many people. I’d guess the number who relate has only gone up since the pandemic. Too much trauma in too little time with too little support will do that.
 
Despite going into Above the Shadows knowing the response of critics was generally positive, I still didn’t expect it to be all that phenomenal. I expected cheesier acting and a script to match. Instead, I got something that may have opened me up to a whole new genre (for me). Sure, I don’t see rom-drama as a non-starter (the way I see westerns), but it would never be my go-to. Now, I see it as more of an option.
 

I’m not ashamed to say that I ugly cried a bit. The last scene in Above the Shadows stabbed me right in the heart.
 
Jim Gaffigan (Troop Zero, Bob's Burgers, Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania) and Megan Fox (Night Teeth, Till Death, Jennifer’s Body) were the only actors I was overly familiar with. Both were, predictably, very good in their parts. It was Olivia Thirlby (Dredd, The Wedding Ringer, Goliath) that really stood out. She embodied the very nature of this invisible girl trying to heal herself from old traumas. If she hadn’t been such a good choice for her part, that last scene wouldn’t have hit me so hard.
 
There was also one scene with Justine Cotsonas (Sneaky Pete, The Code, Tell Me a Story) that brought the ugly tears. It was the final scene she was in, and her character was talking about generational trauma, and that’s where the waterworks started.
 
Above the Shadows was my first introduction to a Claudia Myers (Fort Bliss, Kettle of Fish, Below the Beltway) film and it speaks volumes to the quality of her writing and directing. I’ll be looking up the rest of her filmography.
 
Above the Shadows is streaming on Hulu, and it’s a must-see.
 

Cat’s Point of View:
Above the Shadows hit my screen with just the right timing. It brought with it a refreshing change of pace from all the emotion and thrills of the more recent fare that I’d watched. It offered a chance for me to sit back and just enjoy. Well, for the most part – Above the Shadows wasn’t without its own emotional moments, but I’ll get to that.
 
I’ve mentioned before that sports movies generally aren’t my thing – and yet, I’ll end up watching and enjoying them anyway. In the case of Above the Shadows, it has a heavy concentration of UFC and/or MMA content; however, it’s ultimately a bit of a tale of fantasy. This is the way I appreciate sport-related productions: a genre-fusion that incorporates my preferred genres.
 
While on the topic of sports, let’s get that out of the way, shall we? I don’t really follow UFC, but I’m not entirely unfamiliar with it or some of its more well-known competitors. The fact that Tito Ortiz (Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, Silencer, Robot Apocalypse) was involved in this movie offered a bit more grounding to the story. Ortiz was, after all, a multi-time light heavyweight champion in the UFC octagon. His involvement with the film offered some realism and believability with the action.
 
I had to remind myself that Alan Ritchson (Dark Web: Cicada 3301, Titans, Reacher) wasn’t an actor that had come from a sports competition background such as Ortiz. He just nailed the part that well. I appreciated that his character was presented as a multi-faceted person rather than plot-driving eye candy. I’ve had a few of his other projects on my watch list. I feel like I need to bump a couple of those a little closer to the top after watching this performance.
 

I appreciated the chemistry among the cast members. It wasn’t just the leads. Everyone fit in the story as they should, for the most part. While I didn’t recognize everyone, that didn’t matter. I was just along for the ride. I do know I want to see more of Olivia Thirlby in the future. Also, this found Jim Gaffigan playing a “serious” role rather than the comedy he’s generally known best for.
 
Ultimately, Above the Shadows wasn’t as much of a popcorn-flick as it initially seemed. There were some deep themes explored that had me a bit misty at points. I can relate to feeling invisible at various times in my life. It hit a bit harder than I thought it would.
 
Grief can sometimes become a tar pit that sucks you in and mires you down, locks you within your own head. I thought this particular approach to the topic was an interesting new take on visualizing the process.
 
OK, yes, there was a bit of romance involved, too. It wasn’t over-the-top, or cheesy, so I appreciated that, as well.
 
I guess you could say that I really enjoyed the time I spent in the proverbial ring with Above the Shadows. I wouldn’t mind watching it again or striking up a conversation about it with friends that are more UFC-inclined.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 70%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 65%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score –6.0/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4.5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5
 
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: PG-13
 
Movie Trailer: