
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 8 May 2018 09:10
(A review of
Predestination)
Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I have to admit that I was rather floored by the damned thing and it had been a while since I saw such a massive mind-f*ck. To be honest, I don't think it is possible to write a review for this movie without completely spoiling it so, if you haven't seen it yet, you should stop reading right now. Eventually, I'm glad I didn't know anything before watching the damned thing and I'm sure it made this movie much more enjoyable. Basically, it is a movie dealing with time travelling and, besides giving one of the most ridiculous time machines I have ever seen, it went all the way into the huge paradoxes involved in the concept of time travelling. Still, while the whole thing was quite spellbinding and entertaining, there were quite a lot of plot-holes. The biggest one, in my opinion, was the fact that John would start a relationship with Jane when he was fully aware of the fact they were in fact the very same person. I mean, could you imagine changing your gender, go back in the past and have sex with yourself? Especially in this case, even if you put aside how completely weird such a relationship could be, John knew it would actually ruin Jane's life and, in fact, his own life as well, so why would he do something like that? I could mention more elements that didn't really add up so the whole thing didn't make much sense but it was still quite fascinating to watch and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 8 May 2018 08:42
(A review of
Dear White People)
I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but the title was pretty catchy and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check out the damned thing. First of all, one thing I liked about this flick was how it depicted the life on a college campus. Indeed, you always get to hear in American movies that to go to college is just so damned amazing but I had always my doubts (personally, I went to college was myself in Europe and even though I didnât hate it, it didnât turn out to be anything really mindblowing). Well, this movie finally displayed that college is actually not much better than high-school after all which was a pretty good start. It was also dealing with an interesting subject, on how a supposedly educated environment as an Ivy league university is dealing with the complexity of the race issues nowadays in the USA. Â Still, even though the whole thing was pretty good, in fact, it could have been much better in my opinion. Â The main issue was that, even though the characters were interesting enough, because they were in my opinion just too many of them, there was not enough time to develop them and, as a result, they were all rather stereotypical after all. Sure, the black rebel was having sex with a white boy and the popular successful black guy was smoking weed and wanted to be a comedian but that was not enough to break these stereotypes. Still, even if it wasnât a complete homerun, it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Â

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 4 May 2018 10:24
(A review of
Anon)
Even though I really loved 'Gattaca', I didn't care much for the recent movies delivered by Andrew Niccol but since this movie was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, even though it was a decent watch, to be honest, it was only a slight improvement on 'Good Kill', 'The Host' and 'In Time'. Basically, while the concept was fairly interesting and extremely relevant today, it was nothing really groundbreaking and it seemed that it missed something to become really fascinating. Above all, a bigger issue was the fact that the whole thing was in fact rather boring. I mean, Amanda Seyfried, who was quite charming as usual, had a nice mysterious character but the main character played by Clive Owen was just not complex enough and a total bore to watch. Seriously, they had to go for the old gimmick of the divorced detective grieving for his dead child?!? That was just some really lazy writing, just like the fact that, in this mix of science-fiction with a film noire, this detective had to have sex with this femme fatale at some point. At least, the 3rd act wasn't completely lame but it still turned out to be pretty weak after all. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing turned out to be yet another half-baked science-fiction feature from Netflix which is slowly turning into some kind of dumpster, my rating was probably too generous for this movie, I guess it is worth a look though but only if you really like the genre.

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 4 May 2018 08:21
(A review of
Hidden Figures)
Since this movie was very well received, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, even though it was still slightly too sweet and upbeat for my taste, it was still a really solid historical drama. The first thing that I enjoyed was that these amazing black women didnât need some white folks to succeed which was something that seriously bothered with such movies like âThe Helpâ or âThe Blind Sideâ which might have been really successful at the box-office but these movies were actually seriously overrated and I actually preferred this movie. It was also interesting to see how segregation actually got in the way for the USA in their quest to remain a super-power, in the race for space but also in general and, because of this backward way of thinking, they were actually wasting some of their greatest minds. Still, this movie gave me the feeling, obviously not on purpose, that it was acceptable to treat these women like equals only because they were exceptional. Of course, you might argue that you have to start somewhere but I thought it was seriously unfair to the average black folks who also deserved to be treated fairly. Anyway, to conclude, even though I donât think it was anything really groundbreaking, it was still quite inspiring and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Â

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 3 May 2018 08:46
(A review of
Tyrannosaur)
Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. At first, I thought it would be a heartbreaking portrayal of a violent and pathetic man, the kind of movies you watch half fascinated by the work done by the leader actor and half disgusted by the antics of the main character. Eventually, it turned out to be slightly more subtle than I expected as the guy constantly switched between being seriously destructive and being actually almost kind and sweet. To be honest, I have to admit that I was not so sure if I really cared about the mood swings which were, in my opinion, slightly too convenient for the plot. Still, there is not denying that Peter Mullan, easily one of the most underrated actors that ever lived, gave another really strong performance and the guy was just spellbinding to behold. Concerning the woman the main character met, to be honest, Â I wasnât really convinced either. I mean, Olivia Colman gave also a solid performance but the way the characters met each other was just too random for my taste and, above all, I didnât really buy how they bonded either. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didnât completely blow me away, it was still a really solid drama with a great performance from Mullan and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. Â

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 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.

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 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.Â

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 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.

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 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.Â

0 comments,
Reply to this entry

Posted : 6 years, 10 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 âIron Manâ 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 MCUâs best movie? The first time around, I have to admit that I wasnât 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 wasnât 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 didnât 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.

0 comments,
Reply to this entry