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CollectionsA very good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 17 July 2018 09:57
(A review of Short Term 12)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Brie Larson, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I was seriously impressed by the damned thing and I'm not surprised that it gave Larson's deserved breakthrough. The first thing I enjoyed was the fact they didn't give a tedious introduction to make sure that the viewers understood what was going on. Sure, Rami Malek was playing a new employee on his first day so they gave him a few tips, obviously, to still informed somehow the viewers but, fortunately, they didn't focus too much on his character. Anyway, the way they presented this foster-care facility felt so realitisc and, very often, it felt like watching a fascinating documentary. I have to admit that I did struggle a little bit with how much time they spent on the private life of the co-workers and, to be honest, I don't think that someone with so much personal baggage like the main character was actually really suited for this kind of job. On the other hand, it was really interesting to see someone so damaged who has decided to help such kids in need until she got to the point that she couldn't handle anymore the pressure because her work reminded her that she should also face her own demons. Anyway, to conclude, it was a very strong and realistic drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A bad movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 15 July 2018 09:37
(A review of Lucky Trouble)To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Milla Jovovich, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though it was pretty neat to see her in a Russian movie for once, the damned thing turned out to be pretty terrible, I'm afraid. Basically, it was some kind of awful mix with some romantic-comedy, some sport elements and a family feature. Concerning the rom-com aspect, it was rather cringe-inducing as Jovovich and the lead actor didn't have some chemistry whatsoever, without mentioning the fact the guy spent the whole duration giving her some big fat lies. But, then, the movie focused mostly on the main character getting involved in some completely convoluted and ludicrous plot around a junior football tournament and then Jovovich was pretty much stuck the whole thing waiting for her fiancee to show up at their wedding (hopefully, I hoped she got a big fat check because it was obvious that it was the whole point for her). Concerning the rest of the movie, it was never funny or entertaining and it was rather awkward to see this 'trainer' pretty much abusing these kids to make sure that they would loose. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was just terribly and you should pretty much avoid it.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 15 July 2018 02:38
(A review of The Death of Stalin)Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. Well, eventually, I really enjoyed the damned thing and it turned out to be one of the most hilarious movies I have seen so far with my film club. Indeed, it has been years since I have seen such a sharp dark comedy and the jokes were just constantly spot-on. What also made this movie worked was the fact that it was based on some historical events and, through the whole thing, you keep wondering if it all really happened this way. Well, as a matter if fact, it was apparently historically fairly accurate as, for example, Beria was indeed a real notorious sexual predator and Vasili Stalin was such an alcoholic that he died at only 40 years old. Still, even though it was really funny and it gave a chilling vision of the Soviet Union history, it was pretty much a big farce but not much more than that in my opinion. In my opinion, it mostly had to do with the fact that they never focused on one character so none of them was really developed. The best example would be the pianist who showed up for only 2 or 3 scenes to constantly say that she hates Stalin. As a result, almost all the characters were limited as one-note jokes and you never get the opportunity to learn or care about them. Still, the damned thing was just so entertaining and it has been a while since I have seen such a fun dark comedy so it is definitely worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 14 July 2018 08:03
(A review of The Sicilian)Even though this movie has a rather lame reputation, since it was the last movie directed by Michael Cimino that I haven't seen so far, I still wanted to check it out. The first weird thing about this movie was that, in spite of its title and the fact that it was adapted from a book written by Mario Puzzo, it was actually not about a member of the Mafia but about some of kind of Robin Hood character. Well, even though the whole thing had some potential, it still turned out to be pretty weak. Basically, pretty much like 'Heaven's Gate' which was one of the most notorious flops in Hollywood's history, Cimino delivered here another bloated epic which never really worked. I mean, there was a couple of scenes that were actually pretty neat but most of it was just neither really interesting or entertaining. One of the biggest mistakes they made was also to give the lead to Christopher Lambert. I mean, sure, I have to admit that he did look good but the guy has always been a rather weak actor and he gave here another poor performance. As a result, I never really cared for this character who was supposed to be fascinating. Anyway, to conclude, it was easily Michael Cimino's weakest movie and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 12 July 2018 08:46
(A review of Ice Age: Collision Course)To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but I have seen all the previous installments in this franchise, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I have to admit that I always had a weak spot for 'Ice Age'. Indeed, it was a nice little animated feature and it mostly worked because it didn't pretend or have the ambition to be something else and the concept worked fine but, in my opinion, it was something too limited to be really expanded. Surprisingly, Blue Sky still managed to turn it into a hugely successful franchise but the sequels all turned out to be rather weak and this last installment was easily the weakest of the bunch. Indeed, by now, the makers were seriously running out of ideas so they gave an even more preposterous storyline than usual. As a result, you end up with Scrap, still by far their best character, going into space with a spaceship which was more ridiculous than actually entertaining. Another issue with this franchise is that they keep adding so many characters, most of them barely interesting or fun, and by now the whole thing has become just so over-crowded. To conclude, the whole thing was actually pretty weak and I don't think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of this franchise.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 11 July 2018 09:11
(A review of Walk of Shame)To be honest, since this movie has a rather lame reputation, I wasn't expecting much but since I have a weak spot for Elizabeth Banks, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, unfortunately, it turned out to be indeed pretty embarrassing, especially for Banks. I mean, she is actually a really solid actress and, after playing so many supporting characters though her whole career, she was finally getting the opportunity to play the lead for once but it's such a shame that she chose such a lame project. Seriously, the concept was pretty weak and except for the fact that Banks looked quite gorgeous as usual, this flick didn't have anything else to offer. Basically, the whole idea was about her walking around LA in a slutty dress and being called a hooker. I mean, how did she come to the conclusion that the end-result would be hilarious? She probably thought that since it was a R rated comedy, it would be a sure hit but she was seriously mistaken. At least, James Marsden was not bad and they had a nice chemistry together but since they spent maybe 10 minutes together, it didn't have much impact. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was a waste of time and you should probably avoid it.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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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