To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Andrew Garfield, I was still eager to check it out. At some point, I made a list about The Coppola Dinasty and, if you count only the directors, there are already 9 of them. Well, it is the first movie I saw directed by Gia Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola’s granddaughter. It wasn’t really well received when it was released and, well, I would have to agree that the damned thing was not really good. It’s too bad because focusing on the phenomenon of YouTubers and influencers definitely had some potential though. I mean, I don’t use social media so I have basically zero knowledge about influencers but I did follow Enzo Knol, the most famous Dutch YouTuber for years with my daughter. Nowadays, kids are actually more interested in this type of entertainment than watching movies or series (at least, that’s definitely the case with my daughter) and it was intriguing to see how something like this might start and how it would work behind the curtains. Unfortunately, the whole thing was above all rather poorly written. In the beginning, the meet-cute with Frankie and Link was too quirky but they both had an intriguing personality so it still worked. Unfortunately, pretty much everything else afterwards was either unconvincing or not interesting or a combination of both. Basically, they uploaded some rather random video of Link doing some random stuff and he became viral overnight? I’m pretty sure that most YouTubers would tell you that it doesn’t work like that. However, the whole thing became even more underwhelming afterwards. Indeed, suddenly, after this success, Link’s behavior completely changed and he became a major douchebag consumed by his success which was the least interesting trajectory that they could have followed for this character. For Frankie, it was even worse though. Indeed, even though she seemed to be the main character at first, she became so passive and maybe even more pathetic than when the movie started. At least, Andrew Garfield once again didn’t disappoint, playing a completely different character this time around and the guy was so charismatic and quite spellbinding as usual. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look, if only for Garfield’s solid performance but, so far, it is clear that Gia still needs to learn a bit more if she wants to become a worthy member of the Coppola Directors Dynasty.

Since we already saw ‘28 Years Later’ when it was released, Nick, my step-son, was quite eager to see this sequel as well. At least, it was neat that, for once, they didn’t make us wait for years before coming up with a follow-up. Well, eventually, I pretty much ended up with the same feeling I had with its predecessor. Sure, it was a decent watch but did I really need a whole trilogy to Danny Boyle’s classic zombie flick? Probably not. I think the most disappointing thing for me was how they handled the Jimmy’s this time around. I mean, I don’t blame Jack O'Connell, he did deliver a solid performance but what happened to the wild kung fu stuff that came out of nowhere at the end of ‘28 Years Later’? It was such a surprising curve ball at the time at the end of this film and, since I knew this sequel would focus on them, I was wondering what they would do with these seemingly wild characters. Unfortunately, Jimmy and his followers turned out to be your generic psychotic sadistic killers after all but, after watching 11 seasons of ‘The Walking Dead’ and countless other zombie flicks, I have seen such characters too many times to really care. Concerning Spike, sure, he did return but he barely had anything to do this time around. Eventually, the real wild card turned out to be Ralph Fiennes. He was already pretty good in ‘28 Years Later’ but they focused more on this character and he was so entertaining and always spellbinding to behold. It shows that, if you get some great actors to play in your horror flick, it does elevate almost automatically the general quality of the end-product. Towards the end, Fiennes went for broke with such a wild scene involving ‘The Number of the Beast’ by Iron Maiden and it was just awesome to behold. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Jesse Eisenberg and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, the tone was really dreary and rather depressing. There was such an oppressive and claustrophobic mood. On top of that, the protagonist was rather unlikeable so this movie was definitely a rather hard sell. I was also rather annoyed by the fact that the guy would choose to neglect his cute pregnant girlfriend to hang out with a bunch of dudes he barely knew and who after all had very little to offer him. At the end of the day, he was probably one of the most confused characters I have seen but, unfortunately, I never thought that he and his journey were really interesting. I think it did reflect the confusing times that we live in though. Indeed, if you are white, male, hetero (okay, in his case maybe not) and were born in a Western country, you have pretty much some endless opportunities. However, you are also bombarded, even assaulted, by a constant flow of information about beauty, sex, power, money, possessions… If you are lucky, you will be surrounded with love and kindness in your youth and you will be then able to filter most of it. However, it was probably not the case with the main character who struggled so much with his self-esteem and his identity. Eventually, it was still an intriguing watch for a couple of reasons. The main reason was that Jesse Eisenberg was pretty good, playing a character really different than what he did in the past, and his performance was so intense, it was actually borderline nauseating. What also worked was how completely unpredictable it was, especially during the last act. It did reflect the chaotic state of mind of the character and there were a couple of times when I was gasping at the screen. For example, to end up with Gheorghe Muresan as some wise retirement home worker was one hell of a curveball. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent watch but it was so dark, I’m not sure if I really recommend it though.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was included in the list ‘They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it was quite an experimental feature and, yet, it was still a huge hit when it was released in Germany back in 1930. It’s difficult to imagine that something like this could attract the attention of the mainstream audience nowadays. As far as I was concerned, it was definitely intriguing but, to be honest, it was still too slight and above all too random for me. Indeed, at first glance, it seemed to be about 2 couples spending the Sunday together and, yet, it was constantly intercut with some random footages of other Berliners enjoying their Sunday as well. I mean, both approaches had some merit but I wish the makers would choose which direction they would go as mixing them didn’t really work, at least, not for me. Still, for a seemingly simple and cheap movie, it looked visually pretty neat and it did help that the 2 young girls involved (Christl Ehlers and Brigitte Borchert) were really lovely. It was also quite striking to see all the shops in Berlin closed during this Sunday and it reminded me of when I was a kid growing up in the 80’s in France when, on Sunday, everything was closed as well. Nowadays, most shops are still opened on Sunday, at least, where I live in the Netherlands, and while it’s quite convenient, it’s definitely a different vibe. Another striking thing with this movie was to see all these average seemingly innocent Germans enjoying their time off during the weekend when you know that, only 3 years later, Adolf Hitler will take over the power and they will then all be involved in his reign of terror, one way or another. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really mind-blowing, it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in experimental features. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since I have always been a huge Reggae fan (it’s easily my favorite music genre) and since this movie was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Of course, it was obvious that, at some point, they would make such a biopic for Bob Marley, one of the most iconic music stars and, in this case, they decided to focus on a very specific time period, from 1976 to 1978, when the guy was at the top of his career. Unfortunately, even though it might have seemed like a milestone in his career, I don’t think it was a great idea though and I wish they went for a more classic approach displaying his whole career. Indeed, by focusing on such a rather short time period, I think it clearly diminished how great his impact was on Jamaica but also on the whole world. It also seemed that the makers couldn’t make up their mind about the approach they chose as they still gave us some glimpses of Marley’s past but these bits kept showing up randomly and eventually vampirized the main story. Still, during the first 10 mins, when they started to play this mighty Reggae beats, I have to admit that I was getting some major goosebumps. Furthermore, Kingsley Ben-Adir was a really solid choice to play this music icon (even if he was much taller) and he did deliver a solid performance. Lashana Lynch who keeps impressing me each time I saw her was also fine and you almost wish that the movie would be more about their relationship. Anyway, to conclude, even though it turned out to be a rather generic and forgettable biopic, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, at least, if you are interested in Bob Marley. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it had been nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Picture and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though it does have the same title as Baz Luhrmann’s supercharged movie, the two movies have actually very little in common after all. In fact, it was already the first issue with this movie. Indeed, even though Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the Moulin Rouge were linked together, this movie was about Toulouse-Lautrec, not about the famous French cabaret, so it seemed to be a rather cheap way to give this biopic a catchy title. Well, I always had a weak spot for biopics dealing with artists and it was pretty neat to get acquainted with Toulouse-Lautrec, an artist I wasn’t really familiar with. Unfortunately, the whole thing was still too straightforward though. Seriously, during the 1st hour, I have to admit that I was actually rather bored. There was also the tricky thing of having José Ferrer playing a cripple but Lautrec’s affliction was quite rare, maybe even unique, so there was probably no other way than having a regular looking guy playing him. At the time, there was obviously no CGI involved so they had to use all kinds of visual tricks but the end-result was never really convincing. And, yet, I have to admit that it slowly grabbed me though. Indeed, even though Ferrer didn’t look anything like Toulouse-Lautrec, he was actually pretty good and I just loved the way this aristocrat who was considered by his peers and even himself as a failure became so fascinated by the street life and gutters of Paris. There was such an intriguing mix of acceptance and despair in this man, it was actually quite fascinating to behold after all. I also loved the fact that they kept displaying his Art and, even though he was never a favorite of mine, his work was actually really good. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Last year, David Lynch sadly passed away and this documentary showed up on TV so I thought I might as well check it out. I’m actually quite familiar with his work since I have seen all his feature films, a bunch of his shorts and, of course, ‘Twin Peaks’ the original series and the Return. The funny thing is that, even though I have explored his work for about 30 years, even though I always admired his work and considered him a real artist, I’m actually not a huge fan though. In fact, I became obsessed with him when I saw somehow ‘Eraserhead’ at my local movie theater, it was one of the most mind-blowing movie experiences I ever had. But then, a few years later, I went to see ‘Lost Highway’ but, as far as I was concerned, it was just as much fascinating as it was frustrating and, from then on, I always had some kind of love-hate relationship with him.  Concerning this documentary, it was a decent chronological retelling of his career but, if you are familiar with his work, you won’t learn anything really new. Eventually, you wish it would have been longer so they could have developed a little bit more the analysis of his movies and, even more important, you wish they let him talk more about his work, his movies, about anything really because the guy was so fascinating. It reminded me that I have really to re-watch ‘Wild at Heart’ since I have seen it only once and it was such a long time ago. It was also weird that they didn’t mention at all ‘The Straight Story’ which was definitely the most generic and therefore for him his least typical directorial effort but it was still a critical success when it was released. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in David Lynch’s work. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Thekla Reuten, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, unfortunately, it turned out to be another really cheap looking Dutch thriller. Seriously, the intro with this medium was just so cringe-inducing and one of the most pathetic starting scenes I have seen in a very long time. The funny thing was that Menno Meyjes actually started his career in the 80’s in the US writing for such big movies like ‘The Color Purple’ or ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’. It’s rather sad that, later on his career, the guy would return to his home country to direct such lame flicks. As a matter of fact, not only was it poorly made but the writing (also from Meyjes) was also rather weak as well. Indeed, you keep going back and forth between the present time and the past but it was all so clumsy and the damned thing really never worked. Even if the story was probably too generic, I do think that it actually had some potential and I actually liked the fact that the ending was rather ambiguous. Another thing that bothered me was that they took so much time in the flashbacks to establish the strong relationship between Sabine and Isabel when they were young but, for some reason, they never explained or displayed how they relationship fizzled. At least, in spite of the rather abysmal material, Thekla Reuten still managed to deliver a decent performance. Marie-Mae van Zuilen was also not a bad choice to play the younger version of Reuten but, to be honest, I have rarely seen a teenage actress with so many pimples (I guess this Dutch production didn’t have enough budget to even buy some make-up). Concerning Daan Schuurmans, he is usually not bad but I think he was completely miscast here and, in contrary to Reuten, his performance was pretty weak and never convincing whatsoever. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was really lame and you should probably avoid it. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I have to admit that I’m not familiar with Julien Duvivier’s work, it was the first movie he directed that I watched but the guy really had some skills, that’s for sure. Indeed, even though it might not be really groundbreaking, it was still a really solid film noir, even before the genre actually existed. The most striking thing was the location as it was taking place in the Casbah in Algiers when Algeria was still a French colony. It was so convincing but, at the time in France up until the New Wave, all movies were completely shot in studio sets in Paris and this movie was no different. Even though I did go to Algiers a couple of times when I was a kid back in the 90’s , of course, I can’t say I know how this place must have been back in the 30’s but they did manage to create such a vivid place, it was quite spellbinding to behold. What was so intriguing was that there was at the same time a sense of freedom as Pépé could wander there without being arrested or being threaten by anyone but also a sense of dread as he was pretty much stuck there. Basically, this seemingly nice and friendly place was pretty much a prison after all. All these conflicting feelings were perfectly reflected by Jean Gabin, the best French actor at the time, and the guy gave here another really strong performance. Eventually, his fascination with Gaby had more to do with the fact that she reminded him so much of Paris, the place he actually belonged to, more than the Casbah in Algiers. In her case, she was also pretty much a hustler and therefore she felt more connection with him than with the rich guy she was travelling with. Anyway, to conclude, it really deserves its strong reputation and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

When I was a kid growing up in France, I used to love Bourvil and Louis de Funès, especially de Funès. It had been years since I saw a movie with either of them but, from the first scene involving de Funès, I was reminded how hilarious the guy was. Bourvil, de Funès and Oury made this movie together just a year before ‘La grande vadrouille’ and, since it had been a huge box-office success in France when it was released, I had some rather high expectations, especially since ‘La grande vadrouille’ is definitely a childhood favorite of mine. Well, to be honest, I thought it was actually rather disappointing after all. I mean, Bourvil and Louis de Funès were as usual quite funny. However, in contrary to ‘La grande vadrouille’, they were mostly separated through most of the duration which was a big mistake in my opinion. However, a bigger issue was that the story was just so lame though. Indeed, the concept was just idiotic, some kind of mix of ‘Le diner de cons’ with ‘The French Connection’ and a road-trip. Since it was a road-trip, which is in my opinion the laziest of genres ever, it was all completely random and usually only mildly entertaining. On top of that, I have never been a fan of comedies focusing on someone supposedly really stupid (For example, I always thought that ‘Dumb and Dumber’ was actually rather abysmal). To make things worse, the fact that Bourvil’s character kept having a predatory behavior with some much younger girls didn’t grow old well and it was even rather cringe-inducing to behold. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, these two guys were just too funny so I still think it is worth a look if you like the genre but it’s definitely not one of my French comedies, that’s for sure.