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CollectionsA very good movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 27 December 2017 10:06
(A review of Hell or High Water (2016))Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. Well, I always had a weak spot for the heist genre but the most common mistake they make in these movies is that the actual heists are very often just way too convoluted and, as a result, it is rather difficult to take them seriously. Fortunately, it wasn't the case here as everything made sense and seemed doable which made the whole thing so much more interesting to watch. Of course, it wasn't only about showing a realistic heist, it was also about showing some interesting characters and also their environment. Indeed, the makers delivered a bleak and fascinating view of West Texas showing how life has been hard on the folks down there and, eventually, the bad guys didn't seem to be the bank robbers but the banks pushing some average people to take such drastic measures. The only thing that slightly bothered me was the fact Jeff Bridges figured the whole thing out rather easily but, eventually, this movie was not about his investigation so it wasn't a big issue. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn't really groundbreaking, it was a really made and seriously entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 26 December 2017 10:27
(A review of The Man in the Moon)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since it was featuring Reese Witherspoon's acting debut, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I was actually rather impressed. It wasn't really the story itself though. I mean, it was not bad but it was nothing really amazing either. In fact, they even had to bring not one but two freak accidents, of course one being lethal, to spice up the whole thing. Unfortunately, it is such an old artificial trick to add some drama and it is usually rather annoying. Eventually, what really made this movie work was the amazing performance delivered by Reese Witherspoon who was acting for the first time at only 14 years old. Indeed, while the rest of the cast was only decent at best, Witherspoon was just so pitch-perfect, so charismatic, she was just mind-blowing. She went so deep, showing the transition of a child becoming a young woman and experiencing for the first time the joy and sadness of falling in love. I wonder if it would have worked better with a younger actor than Jason London who was actually a few years older than his character but it was a minor issue. Anyway, to conclude, even if this movie was not a masterpiece, it is still definitely worth a look, just to see Reese Witherspoon already stealing the show with her very first performance.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 26 December 2017 05:52
(A review of The Last Jedi)After hearing so many positive things about this movie, I was so eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Well, even though I did enjoy it, I thought it was actually a step down from 'The Force Awakens' which already wasn't much more than a remake of 'A New Hope'. I mean, I still had a good time. Indeed, during the Christmas holidays, I went to see it with my step-son in glorious IMAX 3D and it was just pretty awesome when you think that I used to watch the first trilogy with my dad more than 30 years ago. Still, even though it was definitely a fun blockbuster, I still struggled with the story they gave us. First of all, it had actually nothing to do with all the critics from the die-hard fans, in fact, I'm glad that Rian Johnson actually played around with this legacy. No, what actually bothered me was the fact that there was no real story but just a succession of scenes to keep the trio of main characters busy. Let's start with Rey. She was supposed to get some training from the legendary Luke Skywalker but this training was actually pretty much a joke. Eventually, he gave her maybe only one lesson but, at least, it was great to see Mark Hamill playing this iconic character and he did a fine job. Concerning Poe and Finn, they were both involved in some pointless missions and I felt especially bad for Finn. Indeed, he was such an interesting character, well played by John Boyega, but, seriously, his character could have been easily removed and it wouldn't have had any impact on this story. Seriously, what was the point of sending him to some casino planet and then on a ship of the First Order? In 'The Force Awakens', they had to introduce these new characters, it was inevitable, but, with this new installment, since the introduction was out of the way, I was hoping to see them involved in something more interesting than some boring missions leading to nowhere. Eventually, the only character who had something interesting to do, the only one who displayed some evolution and development, was Kylo Ren who was already interesting but has now become easily the most fascinating character in this new trilogy. Anyway, to conclude, even though the damned thing was actually rather disappointing, it was still entertaining though and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 25 December 2017 11:07
(A review of Nocturnal Animals)Since I really loved 'A Single Man', I was really glad that Tom Ford was finally coming up with a follow-up after 8 long years and I was really eager to check the damned thing. Well, I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure. I think the thing I enjoyed the most about this movie was how completely different it was from its predecessor. I mean, both films were visually really neat but that was pretty much the only thing they had in common. The next thing I really enjoyed was the way he managed to perfectly mix the different timelines and storylines. Indeed, it is something really tricky to do, in fact, it can be a useless and annoying gimmick but it worked here so well and I'm pretty sure that these different tales wouldn't have worked so much if they would have been told separately. The only thing that I was slightly confused about was the age of the characters in the present time. As a result, I did miss the fact that the main character received the book maybe 20 years after divorcing her first husband but it was probably because I didn't pay enough attention. Anyway, to conclude, once again, Tom Ford came up with another fascinating tale and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 24 December 2017 01:55
(A review of Desert Bride)In fact, with my film club, we were supposed to watch 'Happy End' from Michael Haneke but, because of some huge snow storm, it was cancelled at the last minute. Our meeting was eventually rescheduled a couple of weeks later and we went to see this movie instead. Well, even though the majority of my film club really enjoyed this movie, to be honest, I really struggled to care about the damned thing. I mean, the Argentinian landscapes were gorgeous, I really liked these characters thanks to solid performances from the cast but, eventually, this story didn't really work for me. Seriously, I felt bad for this poor woman who seemed to be already so sad and, suddenly, she also lost her bag with all her belongings and the only reason why was that, otherwise, she wouldn't meet this guy and there wouldn't be any story to tell which was rather mean. Then, to make things worse, this bag remained a main issue through the whole thing just to provide an excuse for the characters to spend more time together. Well, I thought it was some rather poor story telling and I wish they would have found some other way for us to spend some time with these otherwise interesting characters. Anyway, even if I didn't care much for this movie, it was still an interesting watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 23 December 2017 09:20
(A review of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword)Even though this movie turned out to be a box-office flop, since I have seen all the other movies directed by Guy Ritchie, I was still eager to check it out. Well, eventually, I didn't care much for the damned thing, I'm afraid. Indeed, first of all, it was such a misguided idea to make yet another movie about King Arthur. I mean, seriously, there have been already so many movies about this story and its character and, even though Ritchie did manage to recycle Sherlock Holmes (which was in fact slightly overrated), he obvisously didn't succeed here in providing anything new or really interesting about this classic tale. In fact, I have to admit that the first 30 minutes were actually not bad, at least, it was better than I expected but, as soon as Arthur got his hands on Excalibur, the damned thing became increasingly boring. The biggest mistake they made, in my opinion, is that the whole thing took itself so seriously. Indeed, everytime they brought some humor, it became slightly more entertaining but all this was buried under some seriously underwhelming action scenes combined with way too many CGI. Concerning the overdose of GCI, sometimes, I did lok decent but, for some other scenes, it felt like watching a video game. Regarding the cast, even though Charlie Hunnam and Jude Law were not bad, the rest was actually pretty weak, especially Astrid Bergès-Frisbey who got on my nerves through the whole thing. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was watchable but the damned thing was still pretty much a waste of time for all the people involved.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 22 December 2017 08:55
(A review of The Grifters (1990))It’s another movie I wanted to watch for so many years, I think at least 15 years, so I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Well, to be honest, even though I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with con artists, I still struggled to really get into this story. While watching this movie, I was thinking that the tricky thing with this genre is that you never can trust a con artist and, as a result, it is actually rather difficult to invest yourself in a such a tale. I mean, when do you know when they are on the level? As a result, during the whole thing, I was expecting one of the characters or maybe all of them to be running some kind of long con but, eventually, it wasn’t the case at all. In fact, towards the end of the movie, they simply tried to steal each other like some common thiefs. So, I wasn’t really sure what to think of these characters, especially the one played by Annette Bening, and I was constantly expecting them to be something else that they actually were. Still, there is no doubt that it was a good movie. Indeed, the main cast (John Cusack, Anjelina Huston, Annette Bening) gave some really solid performances and I really enjoyed the neo-noir mood delivered by Stephen Frears. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t really blow me away, 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, 11 months ago on 20 December 2017 06:05
(A review of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974))Even though Michael Cimino had been blacklisted throughout most of his career, I always had a weak spot for his work so I was really eager to check his directing debut. Well, eventually, the whole thing was just too damned random and chaotic to ever really work but its massive randomness was also quite appealing. For example, you only need to see the insane way the main characters meet up at the beginning of this film. Still, it was all rather hit and miss, there were some scenes that felt seriously pointless and I didn't care much for this downbeat ending, even if it was a daring choice. Anyway, the best thing about this movie was to have Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges together and they made a really neat duo. Eventually, even though Eastwood did try to shake up his image for his movie, he never really succeeded but he was still pretty cool as usual. On the other hand, I was really impressed by Jeff Bridges who pretty much stole the show (eventually, he would even be nominated for an Academy Award for his performance). To conclude, even though it wasn't a masterpiece, it was a still a solid directing debut and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 18 December 2017 11:23
(A review of Super)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, it took me a while to get into the damned thing. First of all, with 'Kick-Ass', we already had a dark comedy about a major loser trying to become a super-hero and this movie didn't seem to provide any new or interesting ideas about the genre. Furthermore, it was rather ridiculous to try to make us believe that a girl looking like Liv Tyler would end up with such a pathetic loser, even if she was a recovering addict. Fortunately, the whole thing got much better as soon as Ellen Page got really involved. To be honest, it still rather sad that Page seems to be stuck playing Juno over and over again but I have to admit that her character pretty much saved this movie. Indeed, from the moment she decided to join the Crimson Bolt in his demented crusade, the whole thing then became so much more messed up and also way more intriguing. In the contrary to 'Kick-Ass' which made the whole concept look really cool, in this case, they displayed how completely misguided and deranged it actually is. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still 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, 11 months ago on 18 December 2017 10:09
(A review of Crimes and Misdemeanors)Even though I have seen more movies directed by Woody Allen than any other director, except Alfred Hitchcock, to be honest, it has been at least a decade since the guy delivered something that really impressed me. Since this movie is considered as one of his best movies, I had some high expectations and I was really eager to check it out. Well, even though I did like it, to be honest, I was still not really blown away by the damned thing, even if it was miles better than his recent output. Basically, this time around, Allen went for 2 different stories which were both linked to adultery. The first story with Martin Landau was obviously heavily inspired by ‘Crimes and Punishment’ while the second story was just another tale about Woody Allen feeling miserable in his marriage and trying to cheat on his wife. As you can guess, it didn’t care much about the second tale and they could have dropped it as far as I was concerned. Concerning the part involving Landau, even though it was intriguing, it still felt too predictable to me. Eventually, what made this movie really work was its surprisingly bleak ending. I have to admit that I didn’t get it while I was watching this movie but, later on, I understood that the whole thing was basically about the idea that there is actually no God or if there is a God, what’s the point in believing in him since people can get away with such terrible acts? It was an intriguing idea but it was maybe too subtle for me. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really blow me away, it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Woody Allen’s work.
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