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All reviews - Movies (7794) - TV Shows (10)

A good movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 1 June 2020 06:52 (A review of Goon)

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be not bad at all after all. In fact, I would go even as far as saying that it is easily one of the best movies starring Seann William Scott (sure, it was a low bar to clear, I'll admit that). First of all, Scott was for once playing something else than just another version of Steve Stifler and it was quite refreshing. His character was also interesting, in fact, most of the characters in general were rather well written. Then, I have to give some credit to the makers of this film since, even though they focused so much on the fact that hockey can be such a brutal sport, they still managed to make it look actually pretty damned entertaining. Hell, even most of the jokes were pretty funny. I guess the only thing preventing this movie from becoming really great was the fact that it followed too much the traditional sports movie formula and, as a result, it was completely predictable and probably too generic. And, yet, the raw and raunchy approach was really appreciated and it has been a while since I have seen such a fun movie in this genre. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really groundbreaking, it was still a really enjoyable sports comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā 


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A classic

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 30 May 2020 12:51 (A review of Cinderella)

I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago and since it was available on Disney+, I was really eager to check it out again. Well, even though it is definitely a classic, in this genre, I think that 'Sleeping Beauty' is actually vastly superior. Indeed, even though the animation was fine here, it was however really gorgeousĀ  and quite mesmerizing in their other classic fairy tale and, compared to Maleficent, Lady Tremaine was a rather pathetic bad guy. I was also surprised by how little I did remember the first half but it made sense since it was in fact terribly unremarkable. Indeed, eventually, they didn't spend so much time with the main character who could have been more developed and instead focused on some mice which was rather disappointing. Eventually, it's only when the Fairy Godmother finally showed up that the damned thing finally took off but, fortunately, it was definitely worth the wait. Indeed, it remains one of the most iconic scenes ever delivered by Disney and it remains so enchanting even after so many decades have passed by. From this point on, the whole thing remained fairly entertaining even if you already know how it will all end. It's a pity that they pretty much messed up a good chunk of the running time with the typical Disney talking animals, and, especially with a rather short running time, they should have probably not wasted any of it. Anyway, to conclude, even if it is far from being one of Disney's best animated features, it is still a classic romantic fairy tale and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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A good movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 29 May 2020 07:48 (A review of LA Originals)

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but it seemed to be interesting and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I have to admit that, before watching this documentary, I had actually never heard of Estevan Oriol or Mark Machado A.K.A. Mister Cartoon. Anyway, these guys were (and still are) definitely really cool and I especially loved Mr. Cartoon visual style, in fact, one of my tattoos was supposed to be in this Chicano style but, for some reason, my tattoo artist at the time advised me to go into a different direction. Still, even though the material was really interesting, to be honest they didn’t go much further than constantly saying that these guys were great and super influential. Indeed, eventually, no offense to Oriol, I think he is a great photographer but, as a film director, I have some doubts because this documentary was pretty neat but still missed some dramatic curve. I mean, the only thing slightly going in this direction was that, towards the end, Cartoon was still mighty successful while Oriol seemed to be somewhat struggling but this idea was barely developed so you might wonder why it was even mentioned. Eventually, in my opinion, this movie was a good example that, even if the work of an Artist can be amazing, it doesn’t mean necessarily that themselves or their lives are also fascinating. Anyway, to conclude, even if this movie was nothing really ground-breaking, it was still quite interesting and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject.Ā 



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A bad movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 28 May 2020 08:54 (A review of Domino)

Even though this movie had been really poorly received, since I have always had a weak spot for Brian De Palma, I thought I might as well check it out, especially since it was available on Netflix. Well, it turned out to be really terrible and, if De Palma always did have some ups and downs during his prolific career, this was probably his lowest point so far, I’m afraid. Seriously, pretty much nothing worked in this flick. The first thing that bothered me was the music. Indeed, not only it was completely generic, but it was also omnipresent, and, above all, it almost never matched the scene that was taking place. Then, if the cast seemed interesting enough, they all gave some rather weak performances, especially Carice van Houten who was pretty pathetic but, on the other hand, she wasn’t helped with this material. However, eventually, the biggest issue was with the story though. Indeed, even though it was again pretty generic, it still managed to be quite confusing and the end-result was just a boring mess. I mean, it was apparently supposed to be some kind of international spy thriller dealing with terrorism with several international locations but , while it might sound ambitious, it was never convincing, interesting or entertaining whatsoever. It’s such a pity that Brian De Palma could deliver such a weak movie in this genre when the guy actually used to be a thriller master back in the 80’s and 90’s. Anyway, to conclude, this movie turned out to be even worse than I expected and you should pretty much avoid it.Ā 



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An average movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 27 May 2020 11:11 (A review of The Girl in the Spider's Web)

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since I have always been a huge fan of Lisbeth Salander, I still wanted to check it out. Well, even though this character still has some huge potential, I’m afraid the damned thing was rather misguided. Indeed, even though for many years, many were hoping that David Fincher, Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig would come back for a sequel after ā€˜The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, well, it never happened. Instead, they went for the 4th book which had not been adapted yet which wasn’t necessarily a bad idea, except that this story was not really good. I mean, sure, it was entertaining enough but not much more than that. Above all, like ā€˜The Girl Who Played With Fire’ and ā€˜The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest’, I think it remains a mistake to link Salander’s private life so closely with the plot. This time, they decided to bring her sister, played by the lovely Sylvia Hoeks, even if she had been barely mentioned in the previous books/movies. On top of that, why did they bring back Mikael Blomkvist and Erika Berger since they barely had any impact on the story? Eventually, I think it would have worked better if they had removed most of the useless old characters and the link with Salander’s family but, even so, I’m afraid it would have still been a rather generic tale. At least, it was bold that Claire Foy would take over such an iconic part and she was not bad at all. However, it was already quite amazing how well Rooney Mara managed to provide her own convincing version and, eventually, as far as I’m concerned, Noomi Rapace would always remain the ultimate Lisbeth Salander. Anyway, to conclude, even if the whole thing was maybe misguided, it was still nice to spend some more time with this awesome character and, only therefore, I think it is worth a look but don’t have some huge expectations before watching the damned thing.Ā 



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An average movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 26 May 2020 10:48 (A review of Paddington 2)

To be honest, I didn’t really much care for ā€˜Paddington’ but since this sequel had been also a critical success, I thought I might as well give it a try. Well, I have to admit that I did enjoy it slightly more than its predecessor and it is always refreshing when a sequel doesn’t turn out to be a major step-down from its predecessor. Indeed, the story was fairly original and I have to admit that the main character finally started to grow on me. Sure, the CGI was once again fine but it obviously went way beyond that and, this time around, I started to think that Paddington was quite charming and fairly entertaining. Furthermore, Hugh Grant had obviously a blast and he delivered here his best performance in years. However, like its predecessor, even though it was probably one of the best movies I have seen in this genre lately, I’m afraid it still didn’t really blow me away though. I mean, even if it had been wildely well received by the critics (It is, apparently, the best-reviewed movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes so far), I think it was actually rather shallow. Of course, you could argue that this movie was actually meant to be more magical and whimsical than really deep and, indeed, I have to admit that there was absolutely nothing really wrong about the whole thing. Eventually, it was mostly a matter of taste and I guess it was just too sweet for me. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn't really my cup of tea, there is no doubt that the damned thing is worth a look, especially if you need to entertain some young kids.Ā 



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A good movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 25 May 2020 09:08 (A review of Clouds of Sils Maria)

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be a rather complex movie with a lot going on. Indeed, it provided a reflection on stardom, on getting older and still stay relevant, about the fact that famous people can be so lonely and isolated from the rest of the world, about the odd relationship between personal assistants and the famous people they work for… They even took the time to admire the beautiful Swiss landscape and eventually, in my opinion, all of this was maybe too much too handle. To be honest, I was expecting this movie to focus more on the relationship between Maria Enders and Jo-Ann Ellis since they were going to work together and since Jo-Ann would take over the role that made Maria famous but, eventually, Moretz did show up only in a few scenes which were barely enough to flesh out her character. Eventually, they cared more about the relationship between Maria and Valentine and even this relationship was much more complex than it seemed. The most intriguing thing was that you never get to know what Kristen Stewart’s character was really thinking and feeling and the way she suddenly completely disappeared made her character even more enigmatic. On top of that, Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart both gave some really solid performances and the movie was above all interesting in the 2nd act when it was only focusing on them. Still, in my opinion, they tried to cover too much ground and they did falter a couple of times. For example, the scene coming from Moretz’s superhero movie was just so pathetic and, to make it even worse, to have Valentine defending the merit of this movie was just even more bewildering. Anyway, to conclude, even this movie didn’t completely work, I did like it and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā 



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A good movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 22 May 2020 06:46 (A review of Dolemite Is My Name (2019))

Even though I have seen almost all the movies starring Eddie Murphy, I lost all hope for him and his career a long time ago. However, from time to time (not very often though), the once hilarious comedian finally comes up with something slightly more interesting and since I kept hearing some good things about this movie, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, first of all, I have to admit that I had never heard of 'Dolemite' or Rudy Ray Moore before watching this flick and, to be honest, I don't think I would care much about his movies. As a result, I had a similar feeling I had while watching 'Ed Wood' and 'How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass', I think it's slightly weird to care about the making of a movie while you actually don't care much about the movie they were making. Anyway, at least, there is no doubt that Rudy Ray Moore and his new act was actually pretty damned funny and Murphy was just a perfect choice to play this part. I was also really surprised by Wesley Snipes and it took me a while to actually recognise him. Such a pity the guy wasted most of his career doing some weak*ss action flicks. Concerning the rest of the movie, well, it was still some fairly generic and predictable stuff but, at least, it was entertaining enough. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really groundbreaking, it was a decent watch and it was quite refreshing to see Eddie Murphy showing up for something which was for once not some total garbage.Ā 


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An average movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 21 May 2020 07:01 (A review of Words and Pictures)

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, to be honest, it turned out to be a decent but generic romantic comedy. However, what made it still fairly entertaining was the couple played by Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen. Indeed, they were both quite charismatic, they had a lot of chemistry together and they were above all much more interesting than the usual characters you get in this genre. On top of that, as usual, Binoche didn't disappoint here but I was above all positively surprised by Clive Owen who gave here one of his best performances in years (sure, it was a low bar to achieve but still). Unfortunately, there was one thing that prevented this movie to overcome its generic aspect and it was the fact that Owen's character was an alcoholic. Beside the fact that a washed-up writer/teacher having a major drinking problem was such a cliché, it was just a weak approach to show that this character had also some demons to fight like his female counterpart. I mean, first of all, being an alcoholic and having an incurable disease was hardly comparable but, above all, it was just a lame dramatic gimmick. At least, they could have turned it around, by making him incredibly creative and awesome when he was drunk, that could have been slightly more interesting. Anyway to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 


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An average movie

Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 20 May 2020 10:41 (A review of Z for Zachariah)

To be honest, I wasn’t 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, I always had a weak spot for minimalistic movies dealing only with a few characters and there was something quite topical about these few survivors following some major worldwide disaster, considering our own current crisis with the coronavirus. Unfortunately, I think it was a mistake to bring Chris Pine’s character into the mix and I’m not surprised that there were only two protagonists in the novel it was adapted from (Obviously, Ann and John). Seriously, it was as if they reduced the end of the world to a rather tedious and predictable love triangle which was rather disappointing. On top of that, I thought the idea rather sad that, if the whole humanity would be completely wiped out, one of the last 2 guys would have to die because getting the last girl would be just so much more important than keeping alive what was left of human kind. Concerning the cast, Chris Pine was not bad but, as mentioned before, his character was rather useless and, to make things worse, they constantly changed his behavior depending on the needs of the plot. Concerning Margot Robbie, she was not bad either and her character was more interesting than Pine’s was but the whole pure, innocent, naĆÆve girl routine did outstay its welcome at some point. They should have developedĀ moreĀ this girl because it would have been interesting to see her shifting somehow and I’m sure that Robbie could have pulled it off. Eventually, Chiwetel Ejiofor ended up with the only fully-fledged and by far the most complex character and was therefore much more interesting to behold. It’s too bad that most of his actions were triggered by such a lame gimmick as a love triangle and it’s too bad the makers apparently didn’t trust enough the material that they felt the need to add such a bogus and generic conflict. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā 



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