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CollectionsFor some reasons, I thought I already saw this movie but since I couldn't remember it at all, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, I'm glad I did because I'm pretty sure I never saw the damned thing before. To be honest, it was definitely not Wong Kar-Wai's easiest movie to watch. Indeed, his work has always been filled with some mesmerising melancholy but this movie was much darker than usual and, at times, even rather messed up. This mood was also reflected by the directing which was, as usual with Kar-Wai, visually pretty neat with some massive camera motions, some weird angles and some big close-ups. Eventually, it worked very well at first with this mysterious killer and his gorgeous partner who were both pretty neat but, unfortunately, I had actually a hard time to care about Takeshi Kaneshiro’s character who was often rather cringe-inducing to behold. As a result, as the movie moved along, it became more and more chaotic and I wish they did keep the whole thing slightly more grounded but it’s not something you should expect from this director. Anyway, to conclude, even though it wasn’t my favorite Wong Kar-Wai's movie, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 7 months ago on 29 March 2018 10:36
(A review of Fallen Angels)
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 7 months ago on 28 March 2018 08:55
(A review of Whisper of the Heart)To be honest, this movie was not a huge priority for me but since a colleague of mine brought me the DVD, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, first of all, the poster was terribly misleading as it made me believe that it would be another typical fantasy feature from Studio Ghibli (something similar also occurred to me with 'The Wind Rises'). Eventually, it turned out to be eventually a hyper realistic movie but it wasn't an issue, in the contrary, they gave us here one of the best depictions of teenage romance I have ever seen. Furthermore, I enjoyed also the complexity displayed by the main character who was much more interesting than many other Ghibli main female characters who usually turn out to be too bland and/or too cute for my taste. I wonder why most of their main characters are girls but it remains a refreshing trademark in the male dominated film business. To be honest, some of the scenes did feel like they were coming from a soap and the whole thing felt slightly unfocused from time to time but most of it worked fine though. Anyway, to conclude, it was a really neat animated feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Studio Ghibli's work.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 7 months ago on 27 March 2018 08:55
(A review of To Live and Die in L.A.)Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it is mostly famous for its amazing car chase and while this scene was indeed really impressive, this movie had actually also much more to offer. First of all, it was dealing with some counterfeit money makers which was so much more original than your usual drug dealers and it was apparently done in such a realistic way that it inspired some viewers to make some fake money after watching this flick. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the gritty tone, they really made some bold decisions and I was just floored by what they did in the final act. Indeed, you won't see very often a movie ending with the main character getting shot in the head just like that. So, the damned thing had a lot of qualities and it wasn't missing much to become truly amazing. Concerning the soundtrack, it was sometimes decent enough but most of it was some typical garbage from the 80's. Then, some of the scenes were still weak or generic. For example, when Richard Chance's partner goes on some scounting mission on his own, without back-up, just a couple of days before his retirement, you can easily guess what will happen to him in the next few minutes. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn't flawless, it is indeed a really underrated 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 26 March 2018 09:52
(A review of Annihilation)Since I really loved 'Ex-Machina', I was really eager to see Alex Garland's 2nd directing effort and it was definitely one of the my highest priorities for 2018. On top of that, it was suddenly available on Netflix which was a really nice surprise. Well, eventually, even though it turned out to be pretty good, I can't say I was really blown away though. The big difference between this movie and 'Ex-Machina' was that 'Ex-Machina' was one of the most original science-fiction features I have seen in a very long time but this movie was however nothing really groundbreaking. Indeed, this concept has been done so many times before, even recently with 'Arrival' and Garland didn't provide anything really new to the genre. Furthermore, I didn't really get the motivations of the characters. I mean, did it really make sense to keep on going like this? The best explanation they could give us was that 'they were all damaged goods' but it was rather weak. Furthermore, even though it was interesting that they chose an all female crew, it didn't make sense either to send a group of scientists with apparently only some basic weapon training in such an unknown and possibly dangerous area. Anyway, the whole thing still worked for me thanks to a very nice mood. Indeed, it was visually really neat and the cast, especially Jennifer Jason Leigh, delivered some solid performances. To conclude, even though it wasn't really another home-run for Alex Garland, it was still a decent watch 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 24 March 2018 10:45
(A review of Beau Travail)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie and the main reason why I wanted to check it out was because it was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list. Well, to be honest, my first reaction was that it seemed to be yet another really obscure entry that could be easily removed from this list but, eventually, the more I thought about it, the more I had to admit that it was actually quite intriging. First of all, Claire Denis has never been known to make some easy movies but it was by far her most difficult directing effort, at least, among her movies I have seen so far. Indeed, it was a poetic and really minimalistic feature, with no plot and barely any dialogue whatsoever and instead some rather obscure voice-over by Denis Lavant. So, what was it about? About manhood, about mankind, about the army? I'm not so sure, in fact, right now, I probably don't have a clue whatsoever and it made the whole thing equally frustrating and fascinating to me. Anyway, even though it is an acquired taste, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Claire Denis's work.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 8 months ago on 23 March 2018 10:09
(A review of Tomb Raider)I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Alicia Vikander and since Nick, my step-son, was really eager to check it out, we still went to see this movie when it was released. Well, to be honest, even though the previous installments starring Angelina Jolie have a rather lame reputation, at least, they were quite fun and while this movie took a (slightly) more realistic approach, it was only a minor improvement in my opinion. I mean, I don't blame Vikander who did what she could with the material and she was as usual quite convincing in a physically demanding role (apparently, she trained her ass off for this movie). Eventually, the biggest problem was the story itself. Indeed, it was really generic and, on top of that, they made a couple of mistakes. First of all, since it was an origin story, it made sense that Lara Croft wasn't yet an adventurous archeologist but, even at the end, she still didn't become one which was rather disappointing. To make things worse, she was never looking for an ancient artifact, which is supposed to be the whole point in this genre, but she was looking for her father and, as a result, it greatly undermined the impact that her 1st adventure was supposed to have. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, Alicia Vikander remains one of the most interesting actresses at work nowadays so I still think it is worth a look but I really wonder if they will go for a sequel.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 8 months ago on 22 March 2018 10:33
(A review of Kiki's Delivery Service)Since this movie was the last one directed by Hayao Miyazaki that I haven't seen so far, of course, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. Indeed, when I heard that it would be about a young witch called Kiki, I thought it would be really childish but I really enjoyed it, even if it was still too cute and gentle for my taste. First of all, as usual with this director, the animation was just really impressive, especially since it has been made almost 30 years ago. Then, even though Miyazaki gave us another nice little girl as a protagonist, she turned out to be much more complex than his usual characters who can be slightly boring to be honest. Basically, she was a teenager going through puberty explaining why she was almost rude during some scenes, at least, that's how it seemed to be for me. As a result, there was an interesting balance between the cuteness you get in your average animated feature and also in many Ghibli productions and a nice darker and more believable approach about growing up in a real or fantactic world. Still, the whole thing never reached the depth and complexity of 'Spirited Away' which remains by far the best movie delivered by this director. Anyway, it didn't miss much to be really amazing but it was still a really strong Ghibli production and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 8 months ago on 21 March 2018 10:08
(A review of Empire State)To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Dwayne Johnson and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it was actually not so bad after all. Maybe it was because I had some rather low expectations but I thought it was actually a decent story dealing for once with a believable heist. Still, they did mess up some stuff though. For example, the opening scene with some actual archive news footage was pretty neat but it gave away too much information and it should have been added at the end of the film. Furthermore, like the footage at the end, it was rather comical when the movie itself was nothing funny at all. Then, once again, Liam Hemsworth was really not convincing as lead actor. I mean, it wasn't his worst work but the guy simply cannot carry a movie on his own and it might explain why Dwayne Johnson was displayed prominently on all the promotional material when he actually showed for only a third of the duration. Anyway, to conclude, my rating might be generous here but I thought it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 8 months ago on 20 March 2018 10:43
(A review of The Shape of Water)Since I have seen all the other movies directed by Guillermo del Toro and since this movie just won the Best Picture Academy Award, obviously, I was really eager to see this flick. Well, as usual with this director, even though I did admire the work done and even though it turned to be quite enjoyable, to be honest, it didn't really blow me away though. Still, you have to give del Toro some credit as he once again has delivered another visually gorgeous picture with some really solid directing and the whole cast gave some strong performances. Unfortunately, eventually, I'm afraid I just didn't care much about this story. Basically, it was a decent romantic fairy-tale, no doubt about it, but what bothered me the most was how predictable the whole thing turned out to be. I mean, you just need to have a glimpse of the poster and you already know what will happen during the whole duration and, if you watch the trailer, it's even worse but that's something that can be said about most trailers. At least, with 'El laberinto del fauno', another del Toro picture I have always struggled to feel some connection with, I was still wondering what would happen during the whole thing. Anyway, to conclude, even though I wasn't really dazzled by this movie, it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Guillermo del Toro's work.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 8 months ago on 19 March 2018 10:25
(A review of As Tears Go By)Since this movie was Wong Kar-Wai's directing debut, I was really eager to check it out. First of all, it was visually definitely level below than what he would deliver afterwards but it was expected since it was his first movie. It was also much more violent than his usual work but these scenes were actually fairly well handled, especially for a first effort. On the other hand, as usual with this director, it was dealing with a doomed love story, a theme he will keep throughout his whole career. Concerning the characters, they were interesting enough, except for Fly. Indeed, there was a whole sub-plot about the main character constantly helping him out of trouble from some increasingly dangerous situations but, at some point, I was wondering why he kept saving his ass. I mean, all these low-level gangsters seemed to be more or less some losers but Fly was just really pathetic and pretty fast even cringe-inducing to behold. I understand that he was necessary to conclude with this strong ending scene but I wish they did find another way to get there. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Wong Kar-Wai's work.
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