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Posted : 4 hours, 48 minutes ago on 2 July 2025 07:34
(A review of MĂ©nage)I already saw this movie but, since it was ages ago and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out again. It was also years ago since I saw a movie directed by Bertrand Blier, I used to be a fan of his work when I was still living in France and, within the first 5 mins of this movie, I remembered why. Indeed, after a rather clunky introduction, when the 3 characters started to wander in the night together, I was surprised by how good the damned thing actually was. As usual with this director, it was quite chaotic but, underneath this chaos, it was actually so subtle and the way Blier managed to reach this seemingly impossible balance between chaos and subtlety was actually impressive. On top of that, the 3 actors involved (GĂ©rard Depardieu, Michel Blanc, Miou-Miou) were all really good, especially Depardieu who was quite spellbinding to behold. Unfortunately, it didnât last though and, as soon as Antoine finally caved in to Bobâs flirtation, the whole thing pretty much fell apart, Iâm afraid. Maybe it should have happened towards the end or maybe it shouldnât have happened at all, the point is that, after that, it seemed that Blier didnât know what to do with these characters anymore. In fact, suddenly, they all completely changed and the whole thing then became some kind of burlesque comedy about a gay couple moonlighting as transvestites which was not as funny as Blier probably thought it was. Indeed, before that, there was such an intense and interesting dynamic in this mĂ©nage-Ă -trois but it all vanished and what remained was the same chaotic narrative structure but these interesting characters were then replaced by some rather pathetic caricatures of themselves. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still enjoyed this wild comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Bertrand Blier.Â
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A good movie
Posted : 1 day, 5 hours ago on 1 July 2025 07:03
(A review of Copshop)To be honest, with its title and since Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo were involved, I wasnât really expecting much from this flick and I was assuming that it would be another forgettable cheap action flick. However, since it was directed by Joe Carnahan, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, I must admit that I was actually positively surprised by the damned thing after all. Indeed, the set-up was pretty straightforward but I always had a weak spot for minimalistic features and I thought it was well developed by Carnahan. Furthermore, Butler and Grillo were both really on point and nailed their respective characters. I was also really impressed by Alexis Louder. Indeed, I had never seen her before but she was so charismatic here and I really believe she gave a star-making performance here. Concerning the dialogues, I have noticed that some people complained that they tried too much to emulate Tarantinoâs style but, even though I understand the comparison, I actually donât agree. Indeed, the dialogues were quite entertaining but they never reached the level of complexity heard in a Tarantino feature. Sure, at some point, everything did end up in some massive shoot-out but that could be said about 80% of all the action flicks out there. Anyway, another thing that I enjoyed by this movie was the fact that, sure, from the outside, it might look like another dumb action flick (it was still nothing really deep though), the characters actually always made sense. For example, at some point, Valerie made the choice to trust Teddy instead of Bob and, even though the outcome might have been predictable, the action and reactions of the 3 characters were all actually logical and not solely plot-driven which I did appreciate. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was not an actual masterpiece, it still turned out to be a solid action flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Â
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An average movie
Posted : 1 day, 20 hours ago on 30 June 2025 03:50
(A review of Infinity Pool)To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but, since I have a weak spot for Mia Goth and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. It was also interesting to see a movie directed by Brandon Cronenberg, David Cronenbergâs son, easily one of the most interesting directors from the last 40 years. Well, with his sophomore directorial effort (by now, I havenât watched his debut âPossessorâ), Brandon definitely displayed some potential but I wonder if his fatherâs influence was actually a blessing or a curse for him. I mean, it was definitely a âCronenbergâ feature but wouldnât it be better if he would try to develop his own thing instead of obviously emulating his fatherâs style? At least, he went for a really cool title, even if Iâm not sure if it really fit the rest of the movie. In fact, it was basically the main issue with this movie, there were many interesting ideas but Iâm not really sure if they all worked together. By the way, while I was watching this movie, it reminded me of my first holiday with my ex-wife, it was more than 20 years ago and it was also in an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic like this one. There is nothing really wrong with such resorts but, as displayed in this movie, in such places, you have no sense of the actual location so Iâm not a huge fan. I was actually really surprised to learn that Brandon Cronenberg was inspired to make this movie also after going to an all-inclusive resort also in the Dominican Republic and also 20 years ago. However, it was probably not the same place, at least, I hope not. Concerning the cast, I have nothing against Alexander Skarsgard, he has worked on some interesting projects with some really cool directors but, to be honest, against all his efforts, I always find him rather boring and this movie was no different, Iâm afraid. On the other hand, Mia Goth was once again so charismatic and so unhinged, there is always something quite spellbinding about her and, here, she once again didnât disappoint me. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like such mindf*ck features.Â
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A good movie
Posted : 3 days, 5 hours ago on 29 June 2025 06:50
(A review of 28 Years Later)Since I have always been a fan of Danny Boyleâs work, of course, I was really eager to check his latest directorial effort and since Nick, my step-son, was quite eager to see it as well, we went to the movie theater together. The funny thing is that, just when the movie started, I suddenly remembered that I actually also saw â28 Days Laterâ when it was released (I was actually younger then my step-son at the time) which was really cool. However, after âT2 Trainspottingâ, Boyle was again revisiting one of his classics but, to be honest, I think I would rather see him tackle something new. Anyway, the end-result was certainly intriguing though. Indeed, he went here for a very loose narrative structure so it clearly stood out from its predecessor(s). For starters, Aaron Taylor-Johnson was one of the main focus but he then disappeared in the 2nd act (by the way, Iâm not sure if it really made sense that he didnât chase his son and his wife as soon as the tide was low, especially since he knew exactly where they were going). The next part was then something completely different with a Ralf Fiennes at the top of his game. To me, it felt as if they mixed the zombie genre with a cancer drama which was, obviously, rather unexpected. And, then, coming from f*cking nowhere, they ended up with some kind of exploitation kung-fu flick which was just so wild and, to be honest, actually pretty fun to behold. However, even though I do appreciate Boyleâs efforts to deliver something original, it was still missing something though. In my opinion, the main issue was with the characters. I mean, the cast was really solid but the characters were not just developed enough. The fact that, even though I understood Spikeâs dramatic situation, frankly, I didnât care much for his goose-chase to find a cure for his mother, above all, because it was bound to fail. He was already lucky enough to find a super competent doctor at walking distance. Anyway, to conclude, even though I actually didnât care much for this sequel after all, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Danny Boyleâs work.
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A good movie
Posted : 4 days, 5 hours ago on 28 June 2025 06:53
(A review of A Private War)Since this movie did sound interesting and since it was starring Rosamund Pike, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I have to admit that I had never heard of Marie Colvin before watching this movie but she turned out to be such a fascinating woman. Itâs too bad that, while Colvin was indeed fascinating, it wasnât really the case with the movie itself, Iâm afraid. Sure, it was a decent watch but, with this material, it could have been so much better though. I mean, visually, it was actually pretty good and the damned thing was technically very well made but I think the issue was with the format. Indeed, Colvinâs life was so dense, so complex, without mentioning all the conflicts she reported which were never developed whatsoever, it was actually almost insulting to reduce all this to not even 2hrs of running time. Eventually, it seems that a mini-series or even a whole TV-show would have been better suited to tell her life. For example, what was the point of Greg Wiseâs and Stanley Tucciâs characters since they both showed up for only a few scenes? Still, even though the approach eventually didnât work, it was always quite engrossing though. I was actually rather surprised that they displayed that Colvin had so much empathy while doing her job, that she wasnât just some adrenaline-junkie looking for her next hot story. I was also really impressed by Rosamund Pike who delivered here pretty much the best performance of her career so far. You only wish they gave her more time to go even deeper into this character. In fact, Jamie Dornan, who I always have a hard time to take seriously ever since the âFifty Shades of Greyâ debacle, was also surprisingly good here as well. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to learn more about Marie Colvin and her legacy.Â
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An average movie
Posted : 5 days, 4 hours ago on 27 June 2025 07:40
(A review of F1: The Movie)I just managed to find a new job so I decided to treat myself with a trip to the movie theater and I chose to watch this movie in 4DX. This format has usually some rather limited added-value but this movie, like âTwistersâ, was a rare exception. Indeed, the driving scenes were a real blast and it was probably the most optimal way to watch this movie. What about the rest of the movie though? Well, Brad Pitt was so charismatic and his character was just really cool and entertaining. Seriously, he really nailed it. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie was fairly entertaining but, to be honest, not really much more than that, Iâm afraid. I mean, the whole plot of the old veteran making an unexpected come-back to save a seemingly hopeless team was super generic but it was efficient and it wasnât the issue here. What was more problematic was that his character and his rookie teammate headed-butted for just too long. Seriously, the movie was about 150 mins long and they finally reconciled just before the final race which was too late. In my opinion, this conflict should have been resolved within the first 30 mins. This way, they could have speed things up because the running time was actually too long. The way the owner (I guess Tobias Menzies was playing one of the owners, right? There were just too many people involved and Iâm not sure who was doing what and, frankly, I donât think I really cared) tried to torpedo his own team to sell it was also rather tedious. Anyway, to conclude, if I would have seen this movie later on Netflix or any streaming service, it would have probably bored me but, in 4DX, it was actually quite entertaining and I think it is worth a look if you have the opportunity to watch this movie in this format.Â
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A good movie
Posted : 1 week ago on 25 June 2025 07:32
(A review of RafaĂ«l)To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by Ben Sombogaart and since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, you probably have never heard of Sombogaart but he actually has a pretty solid reputation in the Netherlands. However, except for âDe tweelingâ, everything he made was actually rather underwhelming, at least, to me. Fortunately, even though this movie was rather obscure, it turned out to be actually one of his best directorial efforts. It probably had to do with the fact that the story reminded me of several experiences I had. Indeed, recently, I spent 5 months trying to get a young woman from Africa to visit me and, if everything would have worked out, the plan was to have her come live me in the Netherlands. Naively, pretty much like the couple displayed in this movie, I thought that, if you are in a couple, meaning that you vouch for your partner, it shouldnât be so difficult to get your partner in Europe. Well, I was wrong as the whole system is actually built up to make it borderline impossible. After this relationship didnât work out, I actually got back with my ex-girlfriend who was/is a refugee from Eritrea and I was wondering if her travel to go from there to the Netherlands was at nightmarish for her as it was for Nazir. She is actually a massive survivor who doesnât dwell on the past and she did tell how it went down for me but I always wonder if she doesnât tone it down when she (rarely) talks about it. So, as you can imagine, this story really touched me on a personal level and, all in all, I thought it was rather well made. I was actually rather surprised to learn that, according to this movie, Tunisia was seemingly in a state-of-war back in the 2010âs. However, what the movie failed to display was that the revolts at the time were actually some pro-democracy anti-government protests, not some radical Muslim take-over, which was what I thought it was when I was watching this movie. Indeed, the complete lack of political commitment from either Kimmy or Nazir made them look like rather egoistical after all. However, you could argue that the real issue was how the movie tried to avoid as much as possible the political angle which was rather ridiculous concerning this material and, instead, focused on turn it into some doomed romance. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this topic.Â
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An average movie
Posted : 1 week, 1 day ago on 24 June 2025 07:21
(A review of Anyone But You)I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it had been a surprise success at the box-office and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I have to admit that I do have a weak spot for romantic-comedies, to be honest, this one was only slightly better than the ones directly released on Netflix. What did work though were the leads. Indeed, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell both looked quite gorgeous but they also had tons of charisma and you could only wish what they could have done with some slightly better material. By the way, it has been a while since I saw any adaptation of âMuch Ado About Nothingâ and I didnât recognize the play at all but, to be honest, the only version I saw was the one directed by Kenneth Branagh and I saw it maybe 30 years ago. Anyway, the concept actually did have some potential (like most romantic-comedies, it was still really gimmicky though) but it was just so poorly written. For example, why on Earth did the action have to take place in Australia? I have nothing against this country but going to some supposedly exotic location didnât add any substance to this romance, except giving some postcard backdrop. Furthermore, even though Sweeney and Powell managed to do a lot with some rather poorly developed characters, the supporting cast, while talented, didnât fair so well. Basically, they were all stuck with some really one-note characters only there to deliver once in a while some barely entertaining jokes. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, thanks to its leads, I have to admit that it was still fairly entertaining and it is worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre.Â
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An average movie
Posted : 1 week, 2 days ago on 23 June 2025 07:14
(A review of The Salt Path)To be honest, I had never heard of this movie or the book it was adapted from so I wasnât really sure what to expect. In fact, more than 10 years ago, Bea chose a very similar movie for the film club called âWildâ starring Reese Witherspoon. The funny thing is that she didnât remember choosing this movie and none of the other members of our film club remembered it either (good thing that we have this diary). Anyway, coming back on the movie itself, it probably featured the most beautiful couple I have seen so far with our film club. Indeed, you might wonder how they managed to never have some major argument during this sometimes really grueling path but I think it displayed how much they loved each other which was very sweet. On top of that, Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson both gave some really solid performances and they had some very nice chemistry together. Unfortunately, I didnât care much about the rest of the movie though. I mean, the landscapes were amazing and, many times, the whole idea of doing such a long walk became really attractive to me. However, it was actually a real nightmare for them which was something this movie adaptation failed to display as they romanticized too much their adventure. There was also the fact that Iâm not a huge fan of the road-trip genre. Indeed, in my opinion, it is a rather lazy way to tell a story and, in this case, some encounters were intriguing but most of them were just too whimsical but, above all, not interesting or entertaining enough. Finally, it was interesting that they didnât spend much time explaining how they ended up in this situation but they also didnât really show what they were going through mentally and emotionally while they were on this trail. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Â
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A bad movie
Posted : 1 week, 5 days ago on 20 June 2025 11:44
(A review of Trauma Center)I wasnât expecting much from the damned thing but, since it was starring Bruce Willis, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. To be honest, I wonder why I actually keep watching the cheap movies Willis was making at the end of this career (and I still have 25 of those to watchâŠ). I guess thatâs what happens when you are seriously obsessive about your movie watching. Anyway, even though the title was seriously derivative, for some reasons, I thought it sounded more intriguing than his usual B action flicks. Of course, I was wrong. First of all, even though all these movies look really cheap, this one probably did cost close to nothing (except, of course, Bruce Willisâs paycheck). Indeed, it seems that they found some abandoned hospital in Puerto Rico, they then added only 5 characters which was really low even for this genre, and it was basically the whole thing for slightly less than 90 mins. In fact, I do have a weak spot for minimalist features but this movie actually displayed why itâs not that easy to deliver something satisfying when you are dealing with such minimalistic proportions. To make it work, you need either some strong characters or some strong actors or some strong story (a combination of these 3 elements is of course the best option). This movie was however abysmal in all 3 departments. Concerning Bruce Willis, he actually had more screentime than usual and it was actually not a total rip-off to show him on the promotional material this time around. However, he still managed to shoot somehow all his scenes in just 2 days which shows how much invested he was in this garbage. It still difficult to judge his work here since the poor guy was probably already dealing with aphasia so he probably had higher concerns than delivering a solid performance. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was really lame and you should probably avoid it.Â
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