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CollectionsAn average movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 2 May 2018 08:15
(A review of Vinyl (1965))I heard of Andy Warhol's experimental movies but even though they did sound rather boring and pretentious, since this one was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, let's be obvious, would anyone really care about it if it would have been directed by another really obscure artist? I seriously doubt it but I have to admit that it was still an interesting watch though. First of all, it did help that I did read 'A Clockwork Orange' and saw Kubrick's version a couple of times, otherwise, I would have been completely unable to follow the damned thing. Concerning the directing, was it really artistic or just really amateurish? Again, it is hard to tell but it is something that might be said about all the Art work delivered by Warhol. And, yet, there was still something quite mesmerising about the damned thing and, somehow, he did manage to display the nihilism and the oppressive feeling from this classic book. Still, I'm glad that it was fairly short as it became increasingly random and chaotic towards the end. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Andy Warhol's work or if you are into experimental movies.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 1 May 2018 10:11
(A review of The Killer Inside Me)Since I always had a weak spot for Michael Winterbottom's work, I was really eager to check this movie. Well, even though I actually liked the damned thing, unfortunately, like most of Winterbottom's other movies, it still turned out to be rather half-baked. First of all, the guy has tackled so many genres and, this time, he went for a film noir and really nailed it. Indeed, it looked fine and the mood was just spot-on. Then, Casey Affleck, one of the most interesting actors at work nowadays, gave another strong performance, he basically carried the whole thing on his shoulders and his character was just spellbinding to behold. I must admit that I was also quite impressed by Jessica Alba who gave here one of the very few interesting performances in her otherwise seriously boring career. And, yet, in spite some very strong potential, it still didn't completely worked, I'm afraid. Indeed, basically, there were too much stuff in the story that didn't really add up. For example, it didn't make much sense that Elias Koteas's character, who was just some union guy, would keep playing the detective like this. Then, in the 3rd act, the whole thing started to make less and less sense and the ending was pretty much ludicrous. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still liked the damned thing and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 1 May 2018 05:34
(A review of Viy or Spirit of Evil)To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from this flick and the main reason why I wanted to watch it was because it was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list. Well, I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure, and it turned out to be one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. First of all, it is pretty much impossible to pinpoint a specific genre to this movie. Indeed, as far as I was concerned, it seemed to be a really daft and surreal comedy but it is usually considered as a horror movie but both genre did indeed fit in this movie. It was also one of the most virulent anti-church films I have ever seen which might be explained by the fact that it was made in the Soviet Union. Basically, while the witch was able to summon some really weird monsters and do all kind of crazy sh*t, Khoma, a so-called 'philosopher' who was in fact constantly drunk and vastly incompetent, didn't get much help from his God who was consistently absent and rather useless. Finally, there were also some pretty nifty special-effects reinforcing the weird aspect of this fantasy. Concerning the humor, it was mostly about the characters getting or being drunk so it was fun but not really mind blowing to be honest. Anyway, to conclude, I had never seen anything like this before and, only therefore, it is definitely worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 27 April 2018 07:07
(A review of Your Sister's Sister)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a huge weak spot for Emily Blunt, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it turned out out to be a really minimalist drama (there were only 3 characters and 1 location) or was it a comedy? In fact, it was something pretty neat about this flick, the fact that it wasn't getting into one specific genre. Furthermore, I also enjoyed how hyper-realistic it was, at least, most of it. Indeed, one thing that wasn't really convincing was the idea that a guy like Mark Duplass would manage to have these two sisters falling for him, especially since one of them was a lesbian and the other one was basically Emily Blunt. And, of course, the whole business with the baby was also rather over-the-top. So, it wasn't really flawless but I still really enjoyed it, especially since these 3 characters were so very well drawn and the 3 actors (Mark Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt, Emily Blunt) delivered some very good performances. I was especially impressed by Blunt who played so well this woman who was obviously in love but her performance was just so subtle, it was just really amazing but Duplass and DeWitt did a fine job as well. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, it was a fine low-key feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 26 April 2018 08:13
(A review of Avengers: Infinity War)I already saw this movie but since I just bought an awesome brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again. I remember very well the first time I saw the damned thing though. Indeed, after following the MCU for the last ten years (I even saw ‘Iron Man’ in the movie theater when it was released), I was quite eager to check this flick. And, indeed, if you are into the MCU, this movie will be really rewarding as you get to see more than 30 characters involved in some non-stop back-to-back action scenes. Seriously, the whole thing felt like watching some kind of MCU All-Star Game which was obviously pretty awesome. Still, will it become the MCU’s best movie? The first time around, I have to admit that I wasn’t so sure, even if it was obvious that it would shatter the box-office and, to be honest, I actually ended up with some mixed feelings. However, I was surprised by how well it worked when I rewatched it. Indeed, the damned thing was just so spectacular, it was really fun and it was impressive to see how they managed to deal with so many characters. Sure, it was too bad that some interesting darker scenes involving the characters facing some great loss, something never done before in the MCU, were handled in just a few seconds before moving on to the next huge action scene. Eventually, even though it was the longest movie delivered by Marvel so far, it could or should have been at least 1 hour longer to provide more room to develop the characters and some of the more emotional scenes. Finally, I wasn’t completely convinced by the ending the first time around. Sure, it was a bold move to have so many beloved characters killed within a few seconds but I think they actually blew it. Indeed, among the victims, there was Spider-Man and Black Panther which was really unexpected but it was also rather stupid because, from all the MCU characters, these two guys were the only characters who were confirmed to have a sequel coming up in the next few years. What did it mean? Well, it meant that, in the following sequel coming up the year after, they will find a way to cancel somehow what Thanos did, bringing back all or most of the deceased characters making all these death scenes, as a result, actually rather meaningless. However, when I was rewatching it, it didn’t bother me at all because I knew what would be coming next. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing turned out to be downright impressive the second time around, it is simply a really neat blockbuster and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are a fan of the MCU.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 24 April 2018 08:48
(A review of Cop Car (2015))Since I really enjoyed 'Spider-Man Homecoming', I was really eager to check Jon Watts's previous directing effort, especially since it was available on Netflix. Well, from a seriously limited concept, he managed to make the most of it and I really enjoyed the damned thing. Indeed, even though it started as some kind of black comedy, it eventually became a thriller and even though I had my doubts on how it would all end up, it actually worked fine. Concerning Kevin Bacon, he was in top shape as he delivered another solid performance. I can imagine that Marvel chose Watts to direct their reboot of Spider-Man as he did here such a fine job to direct these two small boys. Still, it must have been a huge leap to go from such a small production involving only 5 characters and barely any location to a big Marvel blockbuster but this gamble paid off handsomely since it turned out to be the best Spider-Man installment so far. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it was nothing really groundbreaking, it was a solid minimalist thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 6 months ago on 22 April 2018 10:01
(A review of Red River (1948))To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of John Wayne but since this movie was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, I have to admit that it is a real solid Western and it definitely deserves its reputation as a major classic in this genre. First of all, even though I haven't seen many movies starring Montgomery Clift, he was a really fine actor and it was really neat to see him in his acting debut. Concerning John Wayne, in my opinion, he is usually seriously boring but this movie belongs to the few exceptions in which he played a much more complex character than usual. In fact, his character was at the same time the hero but also the villain of this tale and it made him quite spellbinding to behold. Concerning the story itself, it was a solid classic tale of cowboys moving some cattle through miles and miles and it worked fine except for the ending which was just way too cheesy for my taste. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn't completely blow me away, I still enjoyed this movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 7 months ago on 22 April 2018 07:49
(A review of Hour of the Wolf)Right now, I'm doing some really overdue catching up with Ingmar Bergman's work and since this movie was on the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', I was really eager to check it out. Well, as usual with Bergman, I have to admit that I did struggle to get into this movie. I mean, when I heard that it was about Bergman going for the horror genre, I expected something more conventional but it was obviously foolish of me to expect a basic horror flick from this director. And, yet, the whole thing was quite fascinating, in fact, it was even quite terrifying. Indeed, instead of going for some vampires, zombies, monsters or other serial killers, Bergman went for some psychological horror and he basically delivered in the process a major mind-f*ck. In fact, in my opinion, the end-result was some kind of mixed between Bergman and David Lynch. In fact, Lynch would release his feature length feature much later on and I wondered if he had been inspired by this movie as the line between dream and reality was constantly blurred which is a typical trademark in Lynch's work. Anyway, even though the end-result was maybe difficult to swallow, it was terribly effective and, very often, I had the feeling that I was watching a horrifying nightmare. To conclude, I think I might watch it again at some point to make up my mind about the damned thing but, in any case, it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ingmar Bergman's work.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 7 months ago on 20 April 2018 09:35
(A review of The Post)Since I have seen pretty much all the movies directed by Steven Spielberg (Right now, I'm missing only 'Ready Player One' which I should watch in a couple of months) and since this movie was fairly well received, I was really eager to check it out. First of all, I must admit that, since it was about 'The Washington Post' during the 70's, I thought it would be about the Watergate but it was in fact about another story preceeding this other scandal and, in fact, this movie was pretty much a sequel to 'All the President's Men', especially with its end scene. Anyway, eventually, even though it didn't turn out to be anything really groundbreaking, it was still an effective historical thrillers and, at least, I thought it was better than 'Bridge of Spies' which was rather overrated in my opinion. With such historical thriller, it is always rather tricky to keep the viewers on their toes since the outcome is pretty obvious from the very start but it was still entertaining enough. As usual with this director, it was also technically a very well made movie, especially visually speaking. Concerning the actors, Tom Hanks was not bad but I was above all impressed by Meryl Street who is still one of the very best actresses at work nowadays which is so impressive considering how long she has been in this business. To be honest, like most the of other work from Spielberg, it was still slightly too upbeat for my taste and it was even borderline cheesy towards the end but it wasn't a big issue. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Steven Spielberg's work.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 7 months ago on 18 April 2018 09:26
(A review of The Passion of Anna)A couple days ago, I saw 'Shame' and since I really liked it, I thought I might as well check the following movie directed by Ingmar Bergman since it was also available on YouTube. Well, even though this movie seems to be loved by Bergman fans, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. Indeed, it was just so cold and cerebral and I really didn't connect at all with this movie which was rather odd because I usually have a weak spot for smart movies but, I guess, this one was just too smart for me, I'm afraid. Basically, there was no plot and, instead, Bergman focused on 4 characters but, even though they were interesting, they were never fascinating. In fact, they were seriously neurotic and even slightly pathetic. To make it even more obscure and difficult to follow, except for Anna who obviously went through some massively traumatic experience, there was no explanation provided to explain the behavior of the other 3 characters which made it rather difficult to care about who they have become and what they were going through. Instead, the movies stopped 4 times to allow the actors to actually tell what they thought about their respective characters but, in my opinion, it was a rather pretentious gimmick. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie didn't really work for me, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Bergman's work.
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