Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 27 December 2019 10:13
(A review of
Jumanji: The Next Level)
Since Nick, my step-son, really enjoyed the last Jumanji, he was quite eager to see this sequel. Well, I have to admit that, once again, I was rather positively surprised by the end-result. Indeed, the most difficult thing was to find a reason why they would ever go back but they actually nailed it and it made sense that Spencer with his his low self-esteem would be eager to crawl back into the skin of Bravestone. On top of that, the new levels were quite awesome and Awkwafina was a great new avatar (the horse was rather lame though). Finally, it was a smart move to bring 2 new characters who were some clueless old guys and it was even smarter to scramble most of the avatars. So, it seemed that they had covered the hardest part of the work but, still, they made a couple of mistakes preventing the whole thing to completely work. First of all, like many similar blockbusters, the running time was just too long resulting in some rather dull moments. Another mistake was to switch again the avatars for the final act. Indeed, Eddie-Bravestone was just really hilarious and we didn't need to get back Spencer-Bravestone or the other combinations from the previous movie. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still really fun and entertaining and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 26 December 2019 12:50
(A review of
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken)
I wasnāt 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. To be honest, at first, I thought it would be another misguided and completely unnecessary American remake. Ok, it was still not really an improvement on the Dutch version and it was also rather annoying to see all these Dutch characters speaking in English but this version was actually slighty better than I expected. At least, they kept the real names of the protagonists but Peter R. de Vries, the guy who wrote the book which inspired this movie, still disapproved the end-result as it was not accurate enough with many of the historical facts. Still, I was quite intrigued by how these working-class guys managed to deliver one of the most famous kidnapping cases ever committed. Unfortunately, instead of developing these interesting real-life characters, we never got the chance to know them and, instead, they gave us some rather pathetic supposedly funny one-liners. Same thing with Freddy Heineken. Indeed, Anthony Hopkins was a great choice to play this part and he did whatever he could when he was on the screen but he was simply not given enough time to deliver anything really worthwhile. Anyway, to conclude, I still think it was a decent remake and I guess it is worth a look but there is no doubt that they could have deliver something so much better with this fascinating material.Ā
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 26 December 2019 08:21
(A review of
Sing)
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the damned thing but since it had been been fairly successful at the box-office, I thought I might as well check it out. I have to admit that I was also intrigued by the fact that Garth Jennings was directing here his first animated feature. Well, even if the concept did seem rather lame to me, I have to admit that it actually turned out to be a decent watch after all. First of all, the animation was really neat but, at this point, I wouldn't expect less from Illumination Entertainment. Above all, I really enjoyed the singing and dancing which was quite surprising since I usually don't like musicals at all. I guess the master move from Illumination was to go for some very catchy hit songs. However, the main story was still rather weak though and he didn't help that they had some many different characters involved. At first, it seemed promising but each character had its own half-baked sub-plots so it didn't really work and, as a result, the whole thing was pretty messy. In fact, if they have pushed it even further and make it completely wacky, it could have been really neat though. Anyway, to conclude, even if it could and probably should have been seriously underwhelming, it was actually not bad at all and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 24 December 2019 10:24
(A review of
The Tall Man)
I had no idea what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Jessica Biel and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, during the first half, I had a hard time to care about the damned thing as it seemed to be a rather generic and predictable thriller. But, then, they completely turned around the story with an interesting twist and, afterwards, I have to admit that I was intrigued and wondering how it would actually end up. Unfortunately, the conclusion was rather far-fetched and underwhelming. First of all, even though they did give some explanation, some huge chunks were kept in the dark which was rather lazy. The most frustrating thing was how they clearly refused to develop any character, especially the main one. For example, how did she end up doing this and why? Apparently, her husband had been a prominent member of this community but how did he fit in all this? On top of that, there were some massive plot-holes. Indeed, it was rather ridiculous to make us believe that such children would just switch from parents and family without saying or doing anything about it. Also, why didn't they kidnap very young babies instead? Finally, what was the point of raising them for a while on the very same location where they were snatched instead of sending them away right away? Anyway, to conclude, even if the concept didn't really work, the mid-twist was actually entertaining and I think it is worth a look, at least, if you like the genre.Ā
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 24 December 2019 08:41
(A review of
Secret in Their Eyes)
To be honest, I wasnāt 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, unfortunately, it turned out to be another misguided and completely unnecessary American remake. Obviously, they had to tweak this story to make it fit the US setting and I have to admit that making the murderer a snitch to an anti-terrorist unit was not a bad idea. However, it was probably the only interesting thing they changed from the original story. Above all, it was a mistake to make the mother of the victim not only a colleage but also a very close friend of the main character. As a result, it completely messed up the fragile balance between the characters and it created an awkward triangle involving Ejiofor, Kidman and Roberts. There was no such triangle in the original version and the biggest victim was the platonic relationship involving Ejiofor and Kidman which used to be fascinating but, with this movie, it actually fell out of place. Seriously, I think that Kidmanās character could have been easily removed and it wouldn't have had such an impact on this version of the story. Another issue was that, since Jessica Cobb and Ray Kasten were such good friends, it didnāt make much sense that she didnāt tell him that, at least, she had killed Marzin. I mean, she knew how much he was hurt, how much he was obsessed by what happened to her daughter so to let him chase this for 13 years seemed rather unlikely. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was another rather half-baked American remake, I guess it is still worth a look but, eventually, you should skip it and watch instead the amazing original Argentinian version.Ā
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 23 December 2019 10:34
(A review of
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) )
To be honest, I have to admit that I wasnāt a huge fan of āAnchormanā and I wasnāt surprised that this long delayed sequel didnāt get much love when it was released. The issue with this movie and its predecessor is that Ron Burgundy is such a moron. Sure, I get that is the whole point but I always find it difficult to care about comedies which are constantly making fun of stupid characters. In fact, they managed with Brick Tamland to give a character who was even more pathetic and cringe-inducing than Burgundy. At least, I really liked the way they made fun of the fact that the news back then in the 80ās but also nowadays have actually become another form of entertainment instead of a reliable source of information. To be honest, I was also not really sure what to make of the final scene. On one hand, it was completely wild with tons of cameos but, on the other hand, I wonder if it wouldnāt have been more fun to spread all these cameos throughout the whole thing instead of delivering them all at once during the last 5 minutes. Anyway, to conclude, even if I didnāt care much for the damned thing, it was not bad though and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 22 December 2019 08:07
(A review of
6 Underground)
To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. At least, it was refreshing to see Michael Bay finally making an action flick with no Transformers involved. On top of that, the car chase at the beginning, which lasted a whopping 20 mins, was just amazing. Seriously, it was hands down one of the best chases I have ever seen. Unfortunately, while the rest of the movie was not bad, it turned out to be too generic though. There was also too much use of flashbacks and voice-oversĀ obviously to make the whole thing look more fancy than it actually was. Furthermore, concerning this group of lethal agents, except for Ryan Reynolds, it was pretty much a bunch of B actors. I mean, they were not bad but I wish they came up with a slightly more charismatic group. On a side note, I still don't get why they chose MĆ©lanie Laurent to play a former CIA agent. Why didn't they make her a former spy from a French agency or why didn't they simply pick up an American actress? Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it turned to be a decent effort from Michael Bay and even though it is completely forgettable, I think it is worth a look but only if you like the genre.
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 21 December 2019 01:51
(A review of
Melody Time)
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Basically, it was one of these Package films Disney released during WWII before going back to some more prestigious work like 'Cinderella'. Well, I usually don't care much about these obscure Disney features but I have to admit that I was actually positively surprised by this one and I think it was the best of these Package deals (I still have to watch 'Make Mine Music' and 'Fun and Fancy Free' though). Sure, the damned thing was pretty much a low-brow and cheap version of 'Fantasia' but the music was pretty neat and most of these shorts turned out to be actually fairly enjoyable. Eventually, the main issue and the only thing preventing this movie from becoming a real success was that there was absolutely no consistency regarding the length, theme, tone and general quality involved in all these short movies and, as a result, it felt seriously random. Anyway, to conclude, even if it is a rather obscure Disney production, it was not bad at all and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 21 December 2019 08:18
(A review of
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
Of course, like most guys of my age, I have been watching Star Wars my whole life (the first trilogy with my dad, the second trilogy with my buddies and this 3rd trilogy with my step-son) so, obviously, I was really eager to watch this final episode. Unfortunately, it was still the least satisfying installment in a trilogy which turned to out to be not really amazing after all. Eventually, what bothered me the most was how they poorly handled pretty much all the characters just to cater their plot and end this thing. Poe was still a rather boring copy of Han Solo but that was from the very beginning. Finn, who had been really awesome in 'The Force Awakens' was once again really wasted here like he had been in 'The Last Jedi'. They once again tweaked on Rey's origins which was just a chicken sh*t move which cancelled one of the better ideas developed in 'The Last Jedi'. Even though the evolution of Kylo Ren was expected, it wasn't convincing at all and they basically turned the best character into a wimp. Even though they did defend casting Kelly Marie Tran in the previous movie, she eventually ended up playing only in a couple of scenes. Why did they bring back Palpatine to the mix? Why was C-3PO responsible for most of the jokes through the whole duration? There was even a new character played by Keri Russell who wanted to kill Poe and then escape with him within only 5 minutes which was just rather bewildering. I could go on and on with this but I think you got the idea. I guess you might think that I hated the damned thing but, in fact, it was actually not bad though. Indeed, it was great to look at and really spectacular so it was still worth a look but there is no doubt that this whole trilogy turned out to be only a massive cash making machine and I hope they will bring some much needed creativity if they come up with something new in the future.
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Posted : 5 years, 2 months ago on 19 December 2019 11:58
(A review of
Don't Look Now (1973))
Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even if I really liked it, to be honest, I have to admit that it didnāt really blow me away though. The main issue, I guess, was that there were some big chunks of time during which nothing much really happened. Still, there is no doubt that Nicolas Roeg delivered here a fascinating movie above all thanks to some stellar cinematography and editing. Indeed, the whole thing started with the most nightmarish intro you could imagine. Afterwards, Venice had never look so spooky before and the damned thing was just seriously ominous and unsettling. Of course, the fact that most of the action took place abroad also increased the sense of alienation experienced by the two main characters. On top of that, Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie also gave some of their best performances and got involved in one of the most notorious sex scenes ever made. Itās interesting that many viewers consider it as one of the best horror movies when in fact it is clearly really different than your average horror flick. Eventually, I think I should rewatch this movie at some point to make up my mind for good about the damned thing. Anyway, to conclude, it was a really strong psychological thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
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