All reviews - Movies (2167)

A bad movie

Posted : 14 hours, 9 minutes ago on 16 May 2012 02:18 (A review of Into the Blue)

Of course, before watching this flick, I wasn't expecting much but what a worthless movie! I mean, beforehand, you know the whole thing is just about the eye candy, possibly Paul Walker for the girls and obviously Jessica Alba for the boys and there is nothing wrong with that provided that there is some kind of more or less decent plot. But, unfortunately, expect for the eye candy element, there is absolutely nothing interesting or remotely entertaining in this borefest. You have Josh Brolin before his breakthrough performance in 'No Country for Old Men' who does what he can as the bad guy but even him couldn't save this. On the positive side, Jessica Alba does look good and there are some nice shots of the undersea world but that's not really enough to make a movie, in my opinion. To conclude, even though Alba is far from being a great actress, this must be the worst movie she has made so far not because it is really bad but because it is completely shallow, empty and deadly boring. It is not worth a look whatsoever and if you are looking for some eye candy, you should pick up something else with at least a plot.

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An average movie

Posted : 1 day ago on 15 May 2012 03:30 (A review of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)

After 2 movies directed by Leonard Nimoy, it was William Shatner's turn to direct a Star Trek flick. I had been warned by my fellow listal members that this installment was pretty bad and, indeed, it turned out to be the worst Star Trek flick I have seen so far. I mean, it wasn't completely awfull as it was pretty neat to see again all those familiar characters again and there were here and there a few good ideas but, a part from that, the whole thing was just really average. The pacing was quite terrible with some scenes which were stretched for much too long, the whole thing never looked so cheesy before and, above all, it was just really boring to watch. I did enjoy the first minutes taking place in the desert but then, as soon as the plot started, I lost interest right away. To conclude, it does deserve its poor reputation, as it is really average and it is worth a look only if you are a die hard fan of Star Trek.

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An average movie

Posted : 1 day, 5 hours ago on 15 May 2012 10:41 (A review of Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde)

Since the first movie was really successful, it was pretty obvious they would make a sequel. However, it was a flop, at least, compared to its successor. Honestly, I wasn't expect much from the 1st movie but it was not bad at all. Unfortunately, this sequel was really average. I mean, Reese Witherspoon tries really hard and is, again, very charismatic but the story was way too far-fetched this time and, worse, it wasn't much entertaining. I mean, it was possible somehow that Elle Woods would manage to become a lawyer but a politician ? It was utterly unbelievable, even more than the lawyer thing. The other thing which made it difficult for me to enjoy this flick is that I actually love movies dealing with politics but I hate them when they don't take the subject seriously, like many other moronic comedies. I know, I shouldn't take it seriously but it doesn't mean that the whole thing should be completely stupid... To conclude, it is not really bad but it is still pretty damned average and the whole thing is not really worth a look, even if you are a fan of Reese Witherspoon.

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An average movie

Posted : 1 day, 6 hours ago on 15 May 2012 10:27 (A review of Legally Blonde)

I find it really difficult to judge this flick... Beforehand, I thought it would be really terrible. I mean, look at the title, look at the poster! It doesn't look or sound really impressive. However, it wasn't bad at all. Of course, the plot is rather idiotic but Reese Witherspoon managed to make this totally obnoxious character rather compelling to watch which is, you have to admit it, quite an achievement. Furthermore, I must admit that the whole thing was rather entertaining to watch. It starts like a train wreck and you first think that the whole thing won't go anywhere but they managed to make the whole thing quite compelling. Of course, it is not Kubrick , you won't learn anything and the day after, you will probably forget the whole thing but Reese Witherspoon is just really charismatic to behold. For her, it was her big breakthrough and her ticket for the A list which still owns 10 years later. To conclude, it is not really smart at all but it is still entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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An average movie

Posted : 1 day, 6 hours ago on 15 May 2012 09:59 (A review of Hollywoodland)

It has been a while since I wanted to check this flick and I was really glad when I finally had the opportunity. Unfortunately, I thought the whole thing was rather disappointing. However, it doesn't mean the movie wasn't any good. Indeed, you have here a pretty good cast (Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Robin Tunney, Kathleen Robertson, Molly Parker), I really liked the directing, the set-dressing and the costums and I thought they managed very well to give a good feeling of this time period. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the flashback involving George Reeves and they feature one of the best performances by Ben Affleck. However, the detective story didn't work very well and the sub-plot involving his son and ex-wife was even worse. It is pretty obvious that the whole thing was reminiscent of 'Chinatown' but it unfortunately never reaches the level of this classic. Simply, the story is never really fascinating as it is simply the story of an actor who got famous but didn't enjoy what he did, nothing less but nothing more than that either. Still, it is a very well made neo-noir flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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An average movie

Posted : 2 days, 9 hours ago on 14 May 2012 07:18 (A review of The River)

Before breaking through in Hollywood with 'Lethal Weapon', Mel Gibson made this rather unseen and forgotten drama. Since I have weak spot for his movies, I was rather eager to check it out. In spite of his lately rather tumultuous and controversial private life, I always thought that Mel Gibson was an intriguing actor especially when he is not working on an action flick. However, he never got much more recognition and that's too bad. This movie is a good example. It is a rather generic and predictable drama but Gibson, like Sissy Spacek and Scott Glenn, was actually pretty good and delivered a decent performance. Furthermore, I did enjoy the directing and the whole thing was definitely watchable. It's just too bad they didn't add much to the subject. I mean, I have seen my share of movies dealing with poor farmers fighting against a ruthless corporation by now and the whole thing was just too predictable. Still, it is very well made drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Mel Gibson's movies.

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An average movie

Posted : 2 days, 11 hours ago on 14 May 2012 05:04 (A review of The Darwin Awards)

I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Winona Ryder, I thought I should check it out. By the way, what happeend to her actually?!? During the 90's, she was one of the most sought after actresses but, suddenly, her career went down and it still hasn't recovered. With such flicks, I can't say I'm surprised... It is basically one of those quirky comedy with some rather excentric characters but I thought the whole thing didn't work very well. I mean, there was an interesting cast (David Arquette, Josh Charles, Joseph Fiennes, Lukas Haas, Tom Hollander, Juliette Lewis, Julianna Margulies, Tim Blake Nelson, Alessandro Nivola, Chris Penn, Winona Ryder, Robin Tunney, Wilmer Valderrama) and the concept definitely had some potential. However, even though some scenes were absolutely funny, they tried too much to be quirky and it ends up being more annoying and stupid than anything else. It is like the main character whowas just a whining obnoxious guy and he got on my nerves throughout the whole thing. To conclude, it is a disappointing indie comedy and it is not really worth a look.

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A good movie

Posted : 3 days, 12 hours ago on 13 May 2012 03:53 (A review of The Road to Guantanamo)

Since I'm a huge fan of Michael Winterbottom, I was really eager to check this flick. First of all, I want to make something clear. This is not a documentary! It is based on actual events and they tried to portray those events as faithfully as possible but those men were actors with a script, not real people in real life situation. To call this movie a documentary, would be like saying that 'The Schindler's list', 'Not without my daughter' or '127 hours' were documentaries as well. I mean, the directing and acting style are highly reminiscent of a documentary and make the whole thing quite spellbinding to watch. Furthermore, even though nothing really surprising is displayed, it is still rather shocking and heartbreaking to behold. Another thing that bothered me a little was that the whole thing is highly biased and I think it would have been even more powerful if the makers didn't take side. Even better, imagine if the movie was dealing with actual terrorists, would they still deserve such a horrible treatment? Wouldn't we loose our humanity then if we let that happen? That would have made the movie even more interesting in my opinion. Still, it is a very strong and courageous statement to release such a movie amidst such an ugly war where Western countries are hiding behind fear and false excuses to basically torture people, guilty or not. It is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested by this subject.

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A good movie

Posted : 3 days, 13 hours ago on 13 May 2012 02:49 (A review of Departures)

According to Roger Ebert, this was one of the best movies coming out in 2009 and it won the Academy Award fot the best foreign movie so I was definitely curious about it. It had been a while since I watched a Japanese movie and within the first 10 minutes, I understood why I was always so found of those. The directing and acting was so understated and quite fascinating to behold. It is such a big difference with Western movies, especially American movies, which tends to explain every single thing happening on the screen, something I always find rather boring. Furthermore, this movie deals with a very interesting ceremony dealing with the cleansing of dead bodies before they're cremated. It is something we obviously don't have in the Western culture and those proceedings were rather emotional and mesmerizing to watch. Still, even though I really liked it, I was still missing something to make it really awesome. Maybe it is because they were some humorous bits during the first half which were rather superfluous or maybe it was because the characters were not really fascinating. Still, it is a very well made drama, it gives a very interesting view on Japanese culture and traditions and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Japanese movies.

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A good movie

Posted : 4 days, 4 hours ago on 12 May 2012 11:36 (A review of Dark Shadows)

I didn't really what to expect from this flick before watching it. I mean, I have never seen the TV show it is based on and, frankly, even though I have seen every single movie directed by Tim Burton, it has been a while that he did really blow me away. Furthermore, the (terribly misleading) trailer gave me the feeling that it would be a straight comedy reminiscent of 'The Addams Familly' which wasn't really promising either. Fortunately, it turned out to be pretty good. Indeed, it was visually truelly impressive, especially the introduction which some kind of Gothic extravangaza and the tone was just perfect and the campy comedy was gone. Furthermore, I really enjoyed Johnny Depp who was just hilarious and it has been a while since he gave such a good performance. The rest of the cast was also pretty good but they didn't stand a chance against Mr Depp, expect maybe for Eva Green who had a few moments in the spotlight. Still, even though it was pretty good, I was still missing something. There are few misfires like the sex scene or the concert with Alice Cooper where the tone is gone and they go for the cheap jokes. Furthermore, the ending was rather disappointing which was a rather boring and uninteresting final fight between the two major protagonists. Still, to conclude, even though it wasn't entirely satisfying, it was still a really enjoyable flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like Tim Burton's work.

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