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CollectionsJust a couple of days ago, I saw ‘Huo zhe’ also directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li, and since I enjoyed this movie so much I was quite eager to check this movie they also made together, especially since it had also such a solid reputation. Well, to be honest, even though it was definitely an interesting watch, I can’t say it really blew me away though. I mean, as usual with this director, it was very well directed and visually really neat. Gong Li was once again so charismatic and gave also another strong performance. Eventually, I guess I hard a hard time to really care about this story which was definitely intriguing but never really spellbinding. I don’t know, maybe it was just too subtle for me and since the characters never really clearly stated their feelings, I had a hard time to really care about what they were going through. For example, at first, the main character seemed to be really distraught that her life was turned upside down after she was given away for a marriage she didn’t choose. However, as soon as she got in this mansion, she started to fight for her position but I didn’t really understand why. Indeed, her life was pretty much over, she would spend her whole life stuck in this place to be some kind of sex slave so why should she care about all this? Anyway, to conclude, even though I didn’t really connect with this movie, it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 3 April 2018 09:14
(A review of Raise the Red Lantern (1991))
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A very good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 2 April 2018 09:42
(A review of When Marnie Was There (2014))I was recently catching up on Hayao Miyazaki's work and one of my colleagues suggested me to also watch this Ghibli production even if Miyazaki wasn't involved in this project. Well, I have to admit that I really enjoyed it a lot, in fact, I thought it was actually better than many movies directed by Miyazaki. Of course, it had the advantage that it was released only a couple of years ago so the animation was just gorgeous but I wouldn't expect less from a Ghibli production. Then, after watching 'Mimi wo sumaseba' and 'Majo no takkyûbin' which both featured some really interesting main female characters, this movie delivered an even more complex and fascinating character with Anna. Indeed, the teenage anxiety, especially among girls, has always been a Ghibli speciality but it had never been done so well before. Concerning the story, I have to admit that it was nothing really groundbreaking and it was probably one of their most predictable efforts but, as a result, it was also more much focused. Indeed, even though I have a huge respect for Miyazaki's work, many of his movies don't really have a traditional structure and, in spite of this interesting approach, it is actually often alienating, at least for me. Coming back to our main festure, even though it was borderline cheesy, I was still somehow touched by this tale. Anyway, to conclude, I really liked the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A classic
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 1 April 2018 08:44
(A review of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962))Since this movie has a really solid reputation, I was really eager to check it out. Well, even though I really liked it, to be honest, I wasn't completely sold though. First of all, the whole point was obviously to see two huge acting icons, Joan Crawford and Better Davis, playing some sisters and the fact that they apparently hated each other in real life made the whole thing even more spellbinding to watch. However, even though Davis took some major risks and gave an outstanding performance, Crawford played the whole thing way too safe constantly trying to protect her glamorous reputation. Indeed, she tried to play the whole thing as some innocent victim but it didn't work as it made her character rather flat and boring and she was as a result completely upstaged by Davis. If both women would have been on the same level, playing some demented old movie stars who have hated each other since childhood, pretty much matching the actual hatred the actresses had for each other, then, the whole thing would have been really awesome. On top of that, another issue was that most of the movie was about the two sisters living together in the same house but it actually didn't make much sense that Jane would actually take care of her sister after all what happened between them. The twist at the end also had very little impact and only proved again that Crawford had chosen the wrong approach all along. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a solid psychological thriller with a very strong performance by Bette Davis and it is definitely worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 1 April 2018 07:35
(A review of Legend)Since I'm a big fan of Tom Hardy, I was really eager to check out this movie, especially since the material sounded pretty awesome. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a decent watch but not much more than that, to be honest. I mean, it was really neat to see Hardy playing a set of twins and he delivered here another fine performance(s) but, unfortunately, the movie didn't have much else to offer, I'm afraid. Sure, the directing was decent enough and it was visually convincing but, in spite of this strong material, I didn't care much about the story after all. The first mistake was to have Frances, Reginald Kray's wife, telling this tale. I mean, I won't blame Emily Browning who was not bad but her character was just boring and rather thankless. I mean, she obviously knew what she got into when she got involved with Reggie but she still spent most of the movie complaining about his lifestyle so she wasn't really the most interesting narrator. But, to be honest, it wasn't really much better with the Kray brothers. Indeed, right from the start, Reggie was introduced as the usual handsome charismatic leader and Ronnie as the usual unpredictable psychopath (they also spent way too much time on the fact that he was gay when, in reality, it was something he was actually trying to hide at the time) but, even though you spend more than 2 hours with them, you don't get to learn really anything else about them. Anyway, to conclude, even though it turned out to be slightly disappointing, it was still an interesting story and Tom Hardy was just awesome so I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 months ago on 31 March 2018 07:46
(A review of To Live)Since this movie has a really solid reputation, I was really eager to check it out. Well, I wasn't disappointed and, after each movie I watch from this director, I understand more and more why Zhang Yimou was considered as one of the greatest directors in the 90's. Indeed, it was such a fascinating tale which was, at the same time, actually pretty simple and yet it was still told on a epic scale and this combination was quite amazing. Basically, it was the story of an average family trying to simply live but you had to witness them experiencing the impact of some major events on their lives through decades of Chinese history as a background. You could argue that it did feel like a Communist propaganda film at times, especially in the beginning, when the main character found salvation only when he became poor after losing all his fortune. As far as I was concerned, I actually did like how it showed that wealth is not important after all. Anyway, if you would think that this movie was too sympathetic to the Communist ideology, you would be mistaken as this movie has always been banned in China. Indeed, even though they displayed some positive aspects about the Chinese revolution, it was still far from being a perfect situation and, above all, you could feel the constant fear of the main characters of being imprisoned or even executed for just saying something wrong. Concerning Gong Li, she gave another really strong performance and it is a shame that all the movies she made in the US and outside China afterwards turned out to be rather disappointing. Anyway, to conclude, it was a strong drama 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 29 March 2018 10:36
(A review of Fallen Angels)For 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.
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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, 11 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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