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Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 9 July 2018 10:12
(A review of A Futile and Stupid Gesture)To be honest, I really had no idea what this movie was actually about but since it was on Netflix and since the ratings were (for once for a Netflix original production) pretty decent, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a biography about Doug Kenney, one of the founders of National Lampoon, and since I didn't know much about National Lampoon and nothing about the guy, it was actually quite interesting and fairly entertaining. I mean, the impact that the guy had on American humor was huge and only therefore it made this movie quite valuable. Sure, at the end of the day, it was still a rather basic and straightforward biopic and I still don't think that I care much about this kind of humor but the whole thing still worked. I also have to admit that I wasn't really blown away by 'Animal House' the first time I saw the damned thing but this movie really made feel like rewaching this classic. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it was nothing really groundbreaking, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested by this subject.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 8 July 2018 07:26
(A review of Allegiant)Well, after watching some movies for more than 25 years, to be honest, I have never seen anything like this before. Indeed, it happens very often that a franchise gets cancelled after the first installment, it might also happen after the first sequel, but it is the first time ever that I see a franchise getting cancelled before releasing the very last instalment. But that's actually what happened with this franchise and, even though the whole thing was never anything really amazing, it kinda of sucks that we will never get any kind of closure, especially after taking the time and trouble to watch 3 movies. Anyway, coming back to the movie itself, I have to admit that it was indeed pretty weak though. I mean, after going through all this trouble, Tris basically ends up in another dystopian world with another bad guy running the show. What was also frustrating was that it took her so long to figure this out when it was just so obvious from the very beginning. As a result, Four was actually more interesting this time around and the movie focused a lot on him. Still, it was a step down from the already weak previous installments and it shows that this annoying gimmick of splitting the last book of a trilogy into 2 movies still doesn't work at all. Anyway, to conclude, I feel bad for Shailene Woodley who is one of the most interesting actress of her generation as she really wasted her time with this franchise and, eventually, I don't think this final installment is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 8 July 2018 07:49
(A review of The Dark Half)To be honest, it seemed to be a rather obscure adaptation of a Stephen King book (it was apparently a flop when it was released) but since it was directed by George A. Romero, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be a typical example of why I always had a hard time to care about Stephen King's work. I mean, the concept had some potential, Romero had managed to create a rather creepy mood (I especially loved the scene during which the main character was dreaming) and Timothy Hutton was a good choice to play this double-character. Unfortunately, as usual with King's stories, it became rather presposterous at some point and, above all, there was a total lack of psychology. Indeed, at some point, a reporter pointed out that the main character was displaying some sympoms of schizophrenia which would have been a great angle but this option was never explored. Still, even if they would have kept a more fantastical angle, they could have developed more the impact that it had on the characters. Instead, Romero gave us some rather misguided funny oneliners, something he also did in this trilogy of the Dead, but it was just rather misguided as it ruined the tone. Same thing with this George Stark character, I won't blame Timothy Hutton who did what he could, but the guy started as dark and ominous which was the right approach but, soon, he started to deliver some supposedly funny oneliners like Freddy Krueger which turned this character into a joke. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I guess it is worth a look but don't expect anything really amazing before watching the damned thing.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 6 July 2018 09:35
(A review of The Fate of the Furious)To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since it had been another huge hit at the box-office, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I still don't understand why this franchise is so popular and, except for the fifth installment which was pretty solid, all these movies just seriously bored me and this movie was not an exception, I'm afraid. I mean, sure, I have to admit it, there were some really neat action scenes (my favorite one being when Hobbs and Shaw were getting out of jail) but some of them were rather ridiculous, especially the one involving a whole bunch of remotely controlled cars. Obviously, the whole gimmick this time around was to have Dom joining the bad guys (a gimmick actually already used with Letty in the 6th installment) but it was obvious from the start that he was coerced so it didn't have any impact whatsoever. But, as usual with this franchise, the worst part were the dialogues which were just so tedious and sometimes even rather laughable. Concerning the cast, at least half of the characters could and probably should have been removed and, for Charlize Theron, at least, she was playing the bad guy for once but she didn't really try to make her character really interesting. Anyway, to conclude, I guess I'm not the right audience for this kind of movies but I still don't think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 4 July 2018 09:37
(A review of The Drop)I already saw this movie but I was quite eager to check it out again.The main reason I watched it the first time around was because there was such an interesting cast involved. However, even though I have to agree with everyone else that the cast was indeed really good, to be honest, the story itself was decent but nothing really amazing. I mean, I have to admit that it definitely had some potential but there were just too many things that didn't really work for me. First of all, the whole concept of the 'drop' was interesting but just too limited. Apparently, the makers were aware of that so they did add another major plot about a dog and they tried to mix these 2 storylines rather awkwardly. Concerning the dog angle, it was a rather obvious gimmick to show that the main character was actually a nice guy and also to make sure that he would meet some girl. There were also a whole bunch of sub-plots which were all rather half-baked. And, yet, the cast was really strong. Indeed, Tom Hardy remains one of the most interesting actors of his generation. Same thing with Matthias Schoenaerts who managed to create a fascinating character in a just a few scenes and I could watch a whole movie only focusing on this mysterious guy. Concerning Noomi Rapace, she was once again so charismatic but it's a pity she usually ends up playing such thankless characters nowadays. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.
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A bad movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 3 July 2018 09:46
(A review of Dirty Work)To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since it was on TV, I still ended up watching the damned thing. Well, somehow, it managed to be even worse than I expected. Basically, do you know what's even worse than all the garbage starring Adam Sandler? Well, when his buddies actually end up playing the lead characters. Seriously, thoses movies are just terrible. In this case, it might have been even worse than usual because it was originally conceived and shot as a R rated comedy but it was apparently retooled at the last minute by the studio to get a PG-13 rating. Anyway, even if it would have been R rated, I'm pretty sure it would still have been pretty lame though. Indeed, nothing worked here, the concept was just really poorly developed and the jokes were really pathetic, just cringe-inducing and rather often seriously misguided (for example, during the very first minutes, they gave probably the worst pedophile joke I have ever seen). At least, Jack Warden was fun but he was the only slightly entertaining thing in this movie and I still felt bad for him that he got involved in this mess. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was pretty bad and you should definitely avoid it.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 2 July 2018 09:24
(A review of Carmen Jones (1954))I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since it was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, even though it was a decent watch, I actually had a hard time to really care about the damned thing. I don't know, maybe it was due to the fact that I saw it on the BBC without subtitles or maybe it was due to the fact that I have never been a huge fan of musicals. Furthermore, I couldn't shake the idea that the whole thing was trying to be too clever for its own good. I mean, they took a classic opera and they turned it into a modern musical with an African-American cast but did these changes really add something to this tale? Not really in my opinion. Still, the cast was pretty good and Harry Belafonte was fine, even if his character was rather thankless. Above all, Dorothy Dandridge was just so charismatic and really spellbinding to behold. Of course, I had heard about her but it was the first time I saw her in a movie and she was just downright amazing. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn't really blow me away, it was still a decent musical and it is still definitely worth a look, especially to see Dorothy Dandridge shining on the screen.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 1 July 2018 06:53
(A review of Incredibles 2)Even though I have always been a fan of Pixar (I actually saw 'Toy Story' in the movie theater when it came out and I saw most of their movies when they were released), it has been disappointing that most of their recent movies have been some sequels instead of something really original. To make things worse, all these recent sequels have been disappointing, even 'Toy Story 3' is probably Pixar's most overrated feature. However, if there was one movie that could work with a sequel, it was definitely 'The Incredibles' and, indeed, Brad Bird really nailed it. Indeed, it was really a strong sequel, it looked great and the humor was just spot-on. The only thing preventing this movie from becoming really amazing was the fact that the story was just way too similar to its predecessor's and, as a result, it turned to be too predictable. I'm rather surprised that it took so long for Brad Bird to come up with this movie because, allegedly, he was looking for a great story all these years when, in fact, he pretty much recycled the plot of the first movie. Anyway, even if it wasn't a complete home-run, it was still easily one of the best sequels delivered by Pixar so far and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A bad movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 30 June 2018 09:00
(A review of Lost in Space)Even though this movie was a huge flop at the box-office, since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be even weaker than I expected. Basically, pretty much nothing worked in this flick. First of all, it seemed that the makers couldn't make up their minds if they should go for an ambitious science-fiction blockbuster or for an old-fashioned cheezy B feature. As a result, the whole thing just looked just cheap and seriously ugly and it has been a while since I have seen such awful CGI effects. But it was not only the CGI, even the costumes and decors just looked terrible. Concerning the cast, except for William Hurt and Gary Oldman, it was composed of actors whose career never went anywhere (Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert, Matt LeBlanc) and they were all rather pathetic but, on the other hand, they were not helped by the fact that their characters were all rather poorly developed. On top of that, even though the whole thing had some potential to become a thoughtful SF epic, instead, they went for some really boring action scenes. To make it even sillier, they even brought up some time-travelling which made the whole thing even more overloaded and half-baked. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing really deserves its lame reputation and it is definitely not worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 29 June 2018 08:51
(A review of Tarnation)The first time I heard about this movie was maybe 10 years ago. Back then, during a talk-show, a Dutch actress displayed a short sample and it seemed so disturbing that I became instantly seriously intrigued by the damned thing. Eventually, I'm surprised that it took me so long to see this flick but it was definitely worth it. To be honest, it didn't turn out to be so disturbing after all and, apparently, this damned Dutch actress had chosen to show the most dramatic scene. Anyway, even though I did like this movie, the main issue I had was that it did feel like a huge ego trip. I mean, 90% of the movie was about Jonathan Caouette in movies and pictures and the fact that he referred to himself in the third person didn't help either. Still, from a collection of pictures and home-videos, Caouette managed to deliver something at times jarring but most of the time visually quite impressive and, even if I was maybe not completely fascinated by this family, there was still something quite interesting about them. Eventually, the whole thing might seem like a way for Caouette to deal with his messed up background but, in my opinion, it was pretty obvious that, even though he obviously had some issues of his own (who doesn't?), he was after all far more stable than his poor mother. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in experimental movies.
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