Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 4 November 2018 11:55
(A review of
Pitch Perfect 2)
To be honest, I didn't expect much from this sequel but, somehow, I still ended up watching this movie. Well, I didn't care much for the damned thing, even if I did enjoy it slightly more than its predecessor but I think it mostly had to do with the fact that I had such low expectations this time around. Anyway, once again, they came up with such a derivative and predictable story and, once again, I was amazed about how fake the a cappella singing did sound. At least, the singing battle was neat and their final performance was decent enough but I was still rather bored through the whole thing. It's too bad because those girls seem to be fun and entertaining but this movie or even whole franchise only managed to give each of them only 30 seconds at the time only to deliver a supposedly funny oneliner so none of them get enough attention. Take for example Becca, she gets maybe 3 scenes showing her new work as an intern, one showing her first day at work, a second one showing her demo being rejected and a third one during which she gets the respect of her new boss. Seriously, it was so poorly developed, they should have just dropped the whole idea. The biggest victim was probably Flo who could only make some awful jokes about being an illegal immigrant. Anyway, to conclude, once again, I think I was quite generous with my rating, I seriously don't understand why this franchise is/was so popular but I guess this movie might be worth a look if you like the genre.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 3 November 2018 10:04
(A review of
Don't Breathe)
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this flick but since it has a decent reputation and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it turned out to be a decent minimalist cat-and-mouse horror flick but, to be honest, I didn't really blow me away. I mean, the directing was really solid and Stephen Lang did deliver a pretty good performance but there were just too many elements that didn't really work for me. First of all, it was pretty much one of the most stupid burglaries I have seen but you could argue that the characters involved were no mastermind. Even more problematic was the whole deal with the abducted girl. Indeed, before she showed up, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be really rooting for these thiefs since, after all, they were robbing an old blind man. However, with this twist, the makers made clear who was actually the bad guy which was rather disappointing. On top of that, it didn't make much sense. I mean, how would a blind man be able to kidnap a grown woman and bring her home against her will? It's like the ending, even though the only survivor was supposed to be scared shitless because the guy was still alive and free, how on earth would he be able to track her down and find her? Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still fairly entertaining and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 1 November 2018 10:49
(A review of
Ocean's Eight)
Did we really need another sequel/spinoff from 'Ocean's Eleven'? Probably not but, at least, it was pretty neat that they came up this time with an all new female crew. Unfortunately, the damned thing still turned out to be terribly disappointing, I'm afraid. First of all, even if the cast was nice, I was still missing some other big names like Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon or Sigourney Weaver. To make things worse, the directing was terribly bland. Eventually, it's only after watching this movie that I understood how important was Steven Soderbergh for the success of the first installment. Indeed, it was full of energy, fun and witty and this new installment terribly missed all this. Another issue was that the story was rather boring and even if it was a nice idea to have them steal some jewels, the actual heist was still actually underwhelming. Seriously, I never had the feeling that I was watching some seasoned con artists and it felt more like watching some girls playing thiefs. Furthermore, why did Sarah Paulson pick up the fake necklace? It should have been someone else not involved in their scam and why wasn't she considered as a prime suspect by the insurance guy? Anyway, all in all, I didn't care much for the damned thing, I think I was actually rather generous with my rating here but I guess it might be worth a look if you are a real fan of the genre.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 1 November 2018 09:15
(A review of
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming)
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Norwan Jewison, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually it did remind me of ‘Dr. Strangelove’ which was released a couple of years before and even though it didn’t reach the level of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, it still turned out to be a pretty good Cold War comedy. What I enjoyed the most about this movie was probably the fact that, even though the concept was quite preposterous, it was actually handled quite reastically, except for the ending though. Indeed, I understood that they wanted to end with a climatic scene but it was a big mistake in my opinion, especially how they set aside decades of conflict to save a young boy and suddenly becoming big friends afterwards. Furthermore, even though the romance between this Russian soldier and this American girl was cute, it was also terribly cheesy. Still, some of the jokes were pretty good and I especially enjoyed Carl Reiner on his bike with this hat in a scene which might have been a homage to Jacques Tati. I was also impressed by Alan Arkin who I barely recognised in his first part. Still, there were probably too many characters so none of them was really developed but it wasn’t a big issue. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 29 October 2018 10:30
(A review of
The Shallows)
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. Well, even though it was nothing really original, it was still a decent shark flick mixed with a typical survival tale. What made this movie worked was, above all, the realistic minimalist approach that they chose. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for such movies dealing with one character trying to survive on their own and most of the scenes were actually quite believable. The big exception was of course the ending which was quite over-the-top but it is understandable that the makers wanted to end with something climatic. I also enjoyed a lot the surfing scenes at the beginning which were really gorgeous and, while watching the damned thing, I wondering if Blake Lively actually did the surfing herself. Well, she didn't but it was so well filmed that I couldn't make the difference with her surfing stunt double. To be honest, everything involving the background of the main character was rather generic and tedious (those scenes with the smartphone screens were just a useless gimmick) but they needed some fillers and at least Blake Lively was quite charismatic in one of her very rare star billing parts. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really groundbreaking, it was still fairly entertaining and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 28 October 2018 11:11
(A review of
Blended)
Of course, since I have never cared for Adam Sandler, I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching the damned thing. Well, even though it was nothing really amazing, it was still far from being his worst movie. Indeed, Sandler was working here with Drew Barrymore for the 3rd time around and while this movie never reached the level of 'The Wedding Singer' and '50 First Dates' (some very rare watchable flicks starring Sandler, by the way), at least, they had once again some good chemistry together. Furthermore, I have to admit that the whole thing was rather harmless but, unfortunately, someone thought it would be really fun to send them to some resort in Africa which was just a terrible idea. Indeed, the way they all ended up going on this trip was just so convoluted and the movie never really recovered from this mistake. On top of that, to have Sandler going to Africa was asking for some trouble and many jokes were going from being misguided to being cringe-inducing or even borderline discriminating. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse from Adam Sandler, the damned thing was still pretty weak and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 28 October 2018 07:41
(A review of
Bright)
Since this movie has a rather lame reputation, I wasn't expecting much but I have to admit that I was still curious about the damned thing. Well, I have to agree with all the critics, this movie was just seriously weak. Basically, it turned out to be some kind of mix of 'End of Watch' with 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'District 9' which was pretty weird but, except for some very poor jokes, it actually had some potential. However, from the moment they get their hands on this magic wand, the damned thing just became rather lame. Indeed, not only the plot was just a convoluted mess but, above all, the whole thing was just a succession of boring generic action scenes. Sure, technically speaking, these action scenes were not bad but it became so tedious when the 2 main characters got stuck in a new shoot-out just after surviving one. Furthermore, I won't blame Will Smith and Joel Edgerton but their characters were just boring. Indeed, even if there was a running time of 2 hours, since there was such a focus on the action stuff, there was no room left to develop these 2 guys or any other character. For David Ayer who had impressed everyone with 'End of Watch', it was another disappointing directing effort and, for Netflix, well, I guess we will have to wait a little bit longer before they blow us away with an amazing blockbuster. Anyway, to conclude, even though I don't think it was the worst movie released in 2017, I have to admit that it was still pretty weak and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 26 October 2018 08:11
(A review of
Great Balls of Fire!)
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I didn’t know much about Jerry Lee Lewis, except for the fact that he had been married with his 13 year old cousin, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it was actually quite an incredible story and it could have been one of the darkest biopics I have ever seen. Unfortunately, they completely messed up the tone. First of all, I have to admit that I was quite impressed by Jerry Lee Lewis and the guy was not only a pretty good singer but also a great piano player. However, he also had a dark side as he was in fact a creepy pedophile but it was something that this movie completely failed to address properly. Indeed, like I said before, the material was actually pretty dark and creepy and, yet, the makers insisted to keep a rather light tone which was completely misguided. To make things worse, Winona Ryder’s attempt to play a very young child was actually pretty pathetic which was above all due to the fact she was just way too old to play this character. I wonder how the whole thing would have been if they would have cast a really young girl for this part. Basically, it would have been as if Millie Bobby Brown (14 years old) would get married with Timothée Chalamet (22 years old). That would have been really creepy, right? Anyway, even though they turned a really dark tale into a run-of-the-mill biopic, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jerry Lee Lewis.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 25 October 2018 07:56
(A review of
Creepshow)
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by George A. Romero and since it has a decent reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though I usually don’t care much about horror anthologies, this one was pretty good and probably the best one I have seen so far. Indeed, first of all, each story worked pretty well which is rather unique in an anthology like this one and I thought that it was rather well written by Stephen King who managed to give the same feeling that you might get when you would read one of these creepy comic-books. To be honest, I think it would have even better if they would have toned down the humor and instead would have made the whole thing even creepier but it was still quite entertaining. I mean, it was quite neat to see Stephen King playing in one of his stories but his Looney Tunes act was actually rather distracting from the rather dramatic predicament of his character. Same thing with Leslie Nielsen, even though he tried his best, it was rather difficult to take him seriously playing some kind of psychopathic jealous husband. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was maybe not a masterpiece, I thought it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 23 October 2018 09:39
(A review of
The Skin I Live In)
Since it had been years the last time I saw a movie directed by Pedro Almodovar, I was really eager to see this one, especially since it had received some stellar reviews. Well, I wasn't disappointed as it was easily his best movie in years. Indeed, it was a fascinating tale and the Spanish master delivered here a really strong thriller. On top of that, after 20 long years, he was working again with Antonio Banderas who gave here one of his best performances. Unfortunately, even though the whole thing really had the potential to be a real masterpiece, it still didn't completely worked, I'm afraid. First of all, I was worried when this guy in tiger suit showed up. Seriously, this character came from nowhere and he was basically one of these typical obnoxious characters that are a trademark in Almodovar's work. Fortunately, he was killed off within the next 10 minutes. Then, I also struggled with the daugther. I mean, she was supposed to be a major drive behind the main character's actions but she was actually poorly developed and reduced to a rather pathetic mental case. Finally, even though the story was quite powerful and already pretty messed-up, which is rather usual with this director, they still felt the need to go for a really random structure which wasn't really interesting after all. In fact, it wasn't only the structure, the whole thing was actually pretty random. For example, the way Marilia tells that she is Zeca's mother but also Robert's mother came out from nowhere, it didn't add much to the whole thing and why on Earth would she tell this to Vera? Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a fascinating thriller, a really original take on the Frankenstein tale, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Almodovar's work.
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