I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though ‘David Copperfield’ is a super famous book written by Charles Dickens, I was surprised to discover that it was probably the very first adaptation I have ever seen. I guess it was pretty faithful (once again, I’m not familiar with it as I have not read the book either and since it is more than 600 pages, they probably left out tons of material) so, at least, it was interesting to finally get acquainted with this story. The only major deviation they took was to have a multicultural cast which is not something I’m against but, to be honest, I do have some doubts about the merits of this gimmick, even if I’m myself actually super woke. Concerning the story itself, to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Dickens’s work and the damned thing never really blew me away. Basically, it was a mix of a whimsical vibe with the very harsh grim reality of living in England at the time and, well, it was not really my thing, I’m afraid. Concerning the cast, Dev Patel was certainly a surprise to play the lead (at least, that’s one added value of such diverse casting) and I have to admit that he was fine. The rest of the cast was also solid (anything starring Tilda Swinton is always worth a look in my book) but their characters were all barely developed. Anyway, to conclude, even if I had a rather hard time to really care about the whole thing, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. On top of that, earlier in 2025, Jef Baena actually took his life so it was really time to finally watch one of his directorial efforts. Well, it was definitely an intriguing movie and I wonder how Baena came up with this idea. Still, I’m afraid it didn’t really work out though. Basically, it was pretty weird and random but its randomness was probably their biggest asset as it did make the whole thing quite unpredictable which was neat. However, I’m not sure I really cared about anything that happened during the whole duration (watching some young nuns having some hot sex will always get you some extra points from me though). Even more problematic was the fact that none of the characters involved was really developed at all so they all felt rather uninteresting and I had actually a rather hard time to care about what any of them was going through. Aubrey Plaza always has a sarcastic intoxicating screen presence though and she didn’t disappoint here. Alison Brie is also quite pretty but, like her husband Dave Franco who was also involved in this movie, I think she is actually rather bland. It’s also a pity they didn’t manage to give John C. Reilly more to do. Finally, it was also supposed to be a comedy (I guess?) but the humor was basically limited to seeing these nuns swearing all the time in modern English which was fun for maybe 5 mins. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and I think it is worth a look.  

I came across this short movie on YouTube and, since it was directed by Ari Aster, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, it was nothing really great but it was still pretty neat to see Aster’s work before he got his break with ‘Hereditary’. I understand the choice of shooting a short with no dialogues, that’s also how I shot my first (and only) short movie. This way, you don’t have to bother about the sound and you can focus instead on other stuff. As a result, the directing was actually pretty solid, with some nice transitions between the scenes. Concerning the acting, it was not bad, even though Bonnie Bedelia and Liam Aiken went for some completely different approaches which was rather jarring. Indeed, Aiken played it like a vintage silent actor with some exaggerated body language whereas Bedelia went for a more modern natural style and while both styles were fine, the mix didn’t work well together. Concerning the story, it was decent enough but it was pretty obvious that the whole thing was more a technical exercise than really anything else. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ari Aster’s work. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I always enjoyed some (good) heist movies and I was actually rather positively surprised by this one. First of all, the heists were quite entertaining but, above all, for once not too far-fetched. On top of that, there was indeed a solid cast involved (Kurt Russell, Jay Baruchel, Katheryn Winnick, Terence Stamp, Matt Dillon) and some of the dialogues were pretty sharp and funny. Once again, Katheryn Winnick (who was barely recognizable) didn’t really impress me at all but, at least, it was mostly because of the way her part was written and she wasn’t helped by the fact that she also ended up with the most half-baked character. Some bits didn’t really work either like when Paddy went to see some old flame or when they tried to cross the Canadian border inside a car truck but most of it was actually pretty solid. Eventually, the only real issue was that, even though the story was fine and the cast was even better, the directing was quite forgettable and the whole thing still feel pretty cheap as a result. You can only imagine what someone like Steven Soderbergh could have done with this material. By the way, I wonder if the whole thing about the Mona Lisa was true (I know she was stolen at some point, that’s what actually made the painting so famous but I’m not so sure about all these copies). Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that I had a weak spot for the whole thing and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but that’s the fun thing about going to a film club, you let someone else pick up a film for you. Well, in this case, it turned out to be a decent watch but, to be honest, not really much more than that though. Basically, the bottom line was that, if you are lucky and open for it, you might actually meet some really decent out there which was a fine concept. Unfortunately, the approach was just too slight and simplistic to make it really remarkable. First of all, you had the ‘bad’ Bob who was just really awful but really during every single scene he was involved in and the ‘good’ Bob who was just pure gold and basically flawless and you wish that these 2 characters were not such extremes. Then, there was the idea that someone heavily traumatized and mentally rather messed up could be healed simply by the kindness of someone with a good heart. It does sound really peachy but I’m afraid that, not always but very often, it’s more complicated than that in real life. Finally, I thought the ending was actually rather insulting. Indeed, it was such a cheap move to kill off the ‘good’ Bob just to have some emotional climax at the end. Still, there was something really sweet and genuine about this relationship. At the end of the day, you can’t choose your family but you can choose with who you want to spend your time on this Earth and they don’t have to be blood relatives. Concerning John Leguizamo, the guy has been seemingly here forever and he was solid as usual but I was above all impressed by Barbie Ferreira who was pretty much pitch-perfect. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still not bad though and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Russell Crowe and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though it was nothing really original, I must admit that it turned out to be a decent watch. The beginning was rather ominous and I forgot almost right away that the action was taking place in the Philippines (is the situation really so bad in this country right now?). Anyway, the approach was, at least at first, fairly realistic and grim which was much appreciated and, above all, Milo Ventimiglia was surprisingly convincing as a seasoned Master Sergeant. In fact, Liam Hemsworth who is usually a rather cheap clone of his brother Chris wasn’t bad at all here either. However, at some point, they pretty much discarded any realism (seriously, the character played by Liam Hemsworth was captured not once but twice and managed to escape both times in the most far-fetched ways possible) and they went full in some bombastic action scenes but, surprisingly, the damned thing still worked. The switch in tones and approaches was still slightly jarring though. Hell, they even added some comical scenes with Russell Crowe going to a supermarket in Las Vegas while the soldiers overseas were still struggling to survive. Coming back on Crowe, the guy is still quite charismatic and, back in the days, he would have played one of these bad*ss soldiers but they still managed to involved him somehow. Coming back on how realistic it was, I wonder if they would really involve in real life some much firepower and effort, actually from both sides, just for one single soldier. Anyway, to conclude, it was still a solid action flick though and 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 Michael Caine and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect it to be so emotional. Sure, it was a rather silly little story and it won’t be remembered as one of Caine’s masterpieces but, still, it was amazing to see him in his last role which was surprisingly a leading part. At some point, you couldn’t tell anymore if he was actually acting since he was around 90 years old himself which was quite surreal. It was such a fine farewell from him, a masterful actor who gave us so much through a whopping 8 decades. Obviously, he was praised for his work here but we shouldn’t forget Glenda Jackson (who passed away before the movie was released) as she was also quite pitch perfect. You can only wish that, at the end of your life, you have achieved such a meaningful relationship with your better half. Of course, the whole point was that such an old guy just went away on this own to France but it was hardly the interesting thing about this movie and I’m glad they spent only the bare minimum on the media circus on his adventure which was after all rather dreadful. It was also a potent tale about PTSD and how young men are basically f*cked up for life after going through such horrors. Even the flashbacks did work, which I didn’t expect, and even though Bernie was obviously not responsible for what happened to this poor fellow, I could completely understand why he would feel so guilty about it. Anyway, to conclude, I really liked the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Michael Caine’s work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it had been fairly well received, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, even if it was never really super scary, the Philippou brothers did deliver a very nice creepy mood (I’m really eager now to see their previous directorial effort, ‘Talk to Me’) and some scenes were actually really nasty to watch. Seriously, I really had to look away a couple of times but, fortunately, it wasn’t the main goal here. It was also neat that they managed to have such a fine actress like Sally Hawkins and she certainly did deliver the goods. Furthermore, horror movies focusing on deaf, dumb or blind people are very often interesting because the characters with such disabilities can’t experience the same thing that you do while you’re watching the movie making for an unsettling but effective end-result. Concerning the story, even though it was always entertaining, to be honest, it turned out to be a mixed bag though. First of all, you might think it’s odd that nobody would check on these kids while they are being taken care of by some new foster parents but, unfortunately, such things do happen. Only a couple of years ago, in the Netherlands, a foster couple was arrested after mistreating badly their foster child for months, even maybe for years, while the Dutch child services failed to properly inspect them. However, most of the rest of the movie didn’t really add up though. For starters, the timing just didn’t work at all. Apparently, Laura did kidnap Connor only a few weeks before but, in the meantime, she already managed to do some kind of ritual on him. And then, completely out of the blue, the foster agency gave her exactly the right child to resurrect her dead daughter? It was all mighty convenient. However, the biggest issue was how on Earth did Laura end up in such a position? How did she learn all this stuff? How did she get these mysterious video tapes? I was waiting the whole duration for some kind of explanation but it never became because the makers basically couldn’t figure this out themselves which was rather frustrating to me. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a solid horror flick though and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, it wasn’t a really strong story. However, there is no denying that it is a real blast to see Michael Caine still getting such lead roles at almost 90 years old. Sure, his character’s arc was basically a shameless rip-off of ‘Up’ but he still really nailed it which was really cool. I wasn’t surprised though as the guy has been for decades in this business for a good reason and that’s because he has always been so damned good. Concerning Aubrey Plaza, to be honest, I wasn’t so sure though. I mean, she seemed to be a fine choice to play this character and, during the first half, she went for a satirical approach which wasn’t a bad idea. However, during the 2nd half, her character suddenly completely changed, becoming so emotional and really sensitive, even kind. Compared to the seemingly talentless ambitious editor she played at the start, the tonal shift was seriously jarring though, probably too much for my taste. The ending was also rather lame. Indeed, even though it didn’t add up at all with who she was at the beginning, it was refreshing that she dropped her whole career because there might be actually more important things in life than having a banging successful job. However, they turned this around, again, by having her finding some kind of lost treasure, meaning that selfless sacrifices apparently don’t mean jack-sh*t if you don’t get rewarded at the end which is a message I obviously won’t endorse. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, if only to see the great Michael Caine shine one more time, I still think it is worth a look though. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was available on Netflix and since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, unfortunately, it turned out to be yet another rather half-baked Netflix production, I’m afraid. I actually did like the intro, with this seemingly cool music agent getting dumped, but unfortunately, it was used only to be able to coerce the main character to get into a rather generic and predictable road-trip. It’s too bad because these 3 characters had some potential and the actors playing them were even better (Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis and Elizabeth Olsen). I was especially impressed by Sudeikis who probably gave here his best performance. Unfortunately, the story itself was okay but really not much more than that though. I mean, sure, the whole point was the closing of the last shop that still developed Kodachrome film (a real life event) but I wish either that they completely dropped this angle and focused only on these interesting characters or include this in a more interesting story than a road-trip, probably the laziest gimmick in the book. There were also many details that didn’t really work. For example, they implied that Ben was apparently really rich but it seemed rather unlikely that even the most famous photographer in the world would be so wealthy at the end of his life. It was also rather predictable and disappointing that Matt and Zooey still ended up together. Finally, even though the characters were interesting, you only get to see the very end of their relationship, at least, for Matt and his father, but you never get to see how they ended up in this position in the first place which was rather frustrating. Anyway, to conclude,  in spite of its flaws, thanks to a strong cast, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look.