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CollectionsSince I really enjoyed the 2 previous installments in this franchise, I was quite eager to check this one as well. Well, to be honest, even though I did like this flick, I thought it was still a slight step back from the previous movie. The main thing with this movie was that, even though some of the scenes were really strong, the sum of these scenes was however never really great. Furthermore, in my opinion, it didn’t provide anything really new this time around. For example, what was the point of this mute girl? What did she really add to this story? In my opinion, nothing much as she was just another attempt to show that the apes are so nice and in fact much more humane than the humans fighting them but it has been done before in this franchise and, by now, I really got the point. At least, I really liked this new character ‘Bad Ape’ who gave a new dimension to the whole ape concept concerning their origins and their possible evolution. And, of course, Caesar remains such a fascinating character and this franchise keeps displaying some of the best use of CGI I have ever seen. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was maybe not a masterpiece, it was still a solid blockbuster and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 4 December 2018 09:00
(A review of War for the Planet of the Apes)
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 2 December 2018 12:25
(A review of Art School Confidential)Since I really loved 'Ghost World', I was really eager to see this other collaboration involving Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes and I had some rather high expectations. Well, unfortunately, this movie turned out to be rather disappointing after all. I mean, you could see the damned thing definitely had some potential providing us with a compelling and gritty depiction of an Art school but, to be honest, it never really worked. Basically, I guess that the makers tried to play around with the idea that Art schools are in fact pretty much like any other schools, with exactly the same clichés, except that what you learn in Art school might be even more meaningless. Indeed, can you actually learn to become an artist while following some classes? How are you supposed to grade a work of Art? So, on paper, it did sound fine but it just never worked and it was not much better than your average college flick. To make things worse, even though Max Minghella did look the part, he gave a rather weak performance but he wasn't helped by the fact that his character was rather pathetic by claiming to be willing to become a great artist when in fact he was obsessing about getting laid, especially with the hottest girl in his school. Finally, there was this weird and completely half-baked sub-plot about some serial-killer around the campus which didn't work at all. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look but, considering the great people involved, there is no doubt that it should have much better than this
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 1 December 2018 10:29
(A review of Hartenstrijd)I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since my wife really likes this kind of Dutch romantic-comedies, I thought we might as well watch it together. Well, even though it was slightly better than the other movies in this genre, I still didn't care much for the damned thing, I'm afraid. To be honest, I have to admit that it actually had some potential. In my opinion, if they would have chosen a darker and more realistic approach, it could have been actually even pretty good. Indeed, there was something interesting about this womaniser losing his father who was also apparently a womanizer himself. Instead of following the traditional formula, they could have made this character going through a depressing mourning phase rethinking his way of life in the process. Unfortunately, this aspect was actually barely developed and, instead, they came up with some bet which is such a really old boring rom-com gimmick. Concerning Jennifer Hoffman, she must be one of the loveliest Dutch actresses nowadays and she was just really charming here but she wasn't helped with such a generic and rather tedious story. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse, it was still rather weak and I don't think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 1 December 2018 07:59
(A review of The Grinch)I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but I haven't seen many movies so far this year with my youngest daughter so I thought we might as well watch this one in the movie theater. Well, even though it turned out to be another decent effort from Illumination Entertainment, to be honest, I didn't care much for the damned thing. I mean, sure, the animation was fine and the Grinch remains a fun character but, in my opinion, the story was rather tedious. In fact, I don't really blame the makers, the issue is that, even though the concept might be fine for a children book, it is just too fine for a full length feature for the whole family. I know, this tale is considered as one of the most iconic kids stories ever told but I just don't feel much connection at all with this tale. In fact, while watching this movie, I was thinking that 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', probably one of my favorite movies, actually took most of its plot from this story but it was so much more spellbinding to behold. Maybe I should watch Chuck Jones's version which has always been heralded and since it was much shorter, it didn't have to fill the running time with some rather useless jokes so it might be fine. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is not the worse thing you could watch with your kids but, on your own, it will probably seriously bore you.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 1 December 2018 02:03
(A review of The Warriors)Since this movie has a really strong reputation and since it is considered as major cult-classic, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, even though it was indeed an interesting watch, I still had a hard time to really care about the damned thing. Basically, this movie was half-realistic and half-cartoonish and even though this mix might have been done on purpose, I'm afraid it didn't really work for me. For example, one thing that bothered me was that all these gangs looked rather ridiculous. Sure, someone might argue that that's what the outfits of the New York gangs looked like back in those days (I doubt it though) but, as a result, it was rather hard for me to take the whole thing seriously. And, of course, as pointed out by many critics at the time, most of these actors involved didn't remotely looked like some actual gang members. Eventually, even though they tried to make the whole thing seems gritty, it was never gritty enough for me. Still, I did like the simple structure of the story, the way these guys are stuck at the other side of the city and how they have to spend the whole night trying to get back home in one piece. In my opinion, the main issue with this movie was that it tried to be, at the same time, realistic and entertaining but eventually it failed to be either. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn't really work for me, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 27 November 2018 09:24
(A review of Alex Cross)Even though this movie has a lame reputation, somehow, I still ended much watching the damned thing. Well, even though I had some rather low expectations, it turned out to be even weaker than I expected. I mean, I don't think it was a bad idea to make a prequel involving Alex Cross and I do think that Tyler Perry was actually a decent choice to play a younger version of Morgan Freeman, at least, physically. However, pretty much nothing really worked with this movie. Where should I start? The opening scene was just so generic and tedious but the rest of the movie was never really much better. Then, when Morgan Freeman was playing this character, have you ever him seen running around and shooting at some bad guys? Well, that's what Tyler Perry kept on doing through the whole thing which was just so annoying. Indeed, Alex Cross was always meant to be some kind of modern Sherlock Holmes who's supposed to use his brain to solve crimes and not some weapon like any other average cop. At least, I have to admit that Matthew Fox did a pretty good job and his killer was quite charismatic and entertaining but even the only slightly interesting character was ruined by the fact that you get exactly zero information about his background. Anyway, I think I was actually rather generous with my rating here, the damned thing was really weak and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 27 November 2018 09:01
(A review of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)I wasn’t really dying to see this flick but since my wife really loved the first installment, I thought we might as well watch it together. Well, they basically followed the same formula and if you didn’t like ‘Mamma Mia!’, you probably won’t like this flick either. For this new installment, they combined a sequel with a prequel which wasn’t really a bad idea but the end-result was not ‘The Godfather II’, that’s for sure. In fact, I really struggled to get into this flick and, for a while, I was thinking that the damned thing would turn out to be downright terrible. Eventually, as soon as Lily James was on screen, it finally started to become watchable. Indeed, it was a bold move to kill off Meryl Streep’s character since she was probably the major draw in the first movie but it actually paid off since Lily James really nailed it. Indeed, according to my wife, she was a pretty good singer but, as far as I was concerned, she really channelled the same energy displayed by Streep in the first movie and she was just really fun and charismatic. Unfortunately, she was pretty much the only thing that I enjoyed though. I mean, I have to admit that it was fun to see Cher showing up to play the grand-mother, even if she is in fact only a few years older than Meryl Streep. Anyway, to conclude, even though I didn’t care much for the damned thing, I have to admit that it was in fact a decent sequel and it is actually worth a look, at least, if you really enjoyed the first installment.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 25 November 2018 01:08
(A review of Sicario: Day of the Soldado)To be honest, even though I really enjoyed 'Sicario', I was surprised that they decided to make a sequel. Indeed, it seemed to be a rather self-contained story and it wasn't really what you could call a huge blockbuster. Anyway, I wanted to check if this sequel was any good, even if it wasn't directed by Denis Villeneuve but he did give his seal of approval so I was hoping it would be at least a decent watch. Well, at least, Stefano Sollima did manage to keep the same visual style and mood and both Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro once again gave some really solid performamces. Furthermore, it was also interesting that the focus was this time not on the war on Drugs but on human trafficking which apparently has become the biggest source of income for the Mexican cartels. However, the whole thing was still missing to become truly remarkable. First of all, coming back to 'Sicario', even though I did like this movie, I didn't think it was really so amazing and it was even slightly overrated in my opinion so while watching this sequel, I couldn't help thinking that the whole thing was rather unnecessary. Furthermore, I wasn't so sure about the story. For example, there was this major plot-hole about why they kept going back and forth between the USA and Mexico. It was even pointed out by one of the characters and the best explanation they could come up with was that ' they didn't have there the necessary infrastructure' by it wasn't really convincing. Indeed, why didn't they kidnap the girl and brought her right away to her final destination? Furthermore, when they brought her back back to Mexico, why did they go by car which was pretty much the most dangerous option? Why didn't use again an helicopter? Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 24 November 2018 05:53
(A review of Meeting Evil)To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Samuel L. Jackson, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. The first issue I had was with Luke Wilson. Indeed, even if he did look the part, he gave a rather weak performance and he was never convincing. Another thing that bothered me was that the whole thing looked so fake, especially Luke Wilson's house. For a very long time, I was wondering if the general fakeness was by design, if it was some kind of Twilight Zone deal, but it was apparently giving this movie way too much credit. Indeed, the 3rd act finally gave some kind of resolution but it was a really weak conclusion to an already rather underwhelming movie. Eventually, the only thing that worked was Samuel L. Jackson. Indeed, it is not very often that he gets the opportunity to play a lead character and, in contrary to Wilson's really limp performance, he was pretty badass and really convincing. Anyway, to conclude, I think I was actually rather generous with my rating here, the damned thing was pretty much a waste of time and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 23 November 2018 10:41
(A review of Pawn Sacrifice)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this flick but since the story was intriguing, I was really eager to check it out. Indeed, even though I'm a rather lousy chess player, I think it is a fascinating game so it was really neat to see a movie dealing with Bobby Fisher, probably one of the best chess players that ever lived and easily the most famous one. Well, Fisher turned out to quite a spellbinding character and, with this material, you could definitely make a great movie but, unfortunately, it turned out to be only decent but not much more than that, I'm afraid. I won't blame Tobey Maguire who gave here a really solid performance but, in my opinion, the biggest issue was with the directing. I mean, Edward Zwick is not really a bad director, in fact, he usually choses some interesting projects, but he is not what you would call a fascinating 'author' and it was unfortunately pretty obvious here. Indeed, Bobby Fisher was pretty much an icon back in those days, his game with Boris Spassky was a huge event followed by millions of people, and yet Zwick delivered such a safe uninspiring by-the-numbers biopic which was watchable but not really satisfying. You can only imagine what a director like David Fincher (who was actually attached to this project for several years) could have done with this fascinating material. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still an entertaining story though and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested by this subject.
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