Login
Home
585 Lists
7768 Reviews
CollectionsAn average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 11 March 2018 11:04
(A review of Take Me Home Tonight)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. Apparently, this movie was shelved for 4 long years before it finally got released and I wish I could say it was worth the wait. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for it after all. First of all, the damned thing was just so generic and, by now, I think I have seen enough movies dealing with some loser who still manages to finally get some action with his high-school crush during some wild night/party. Furthermore, the whole 80's angle didn't really add much to the proceedings, except that the soundtrack was pretty neat. I mean, what would have been the difference if they would have set it up today? I mean, at least, in 'That 70's show', Topher Grace really looked like as if he was coming from this era but, in this movie, he didn't look any different than in his contemporary work. Concerning the jokes, it was just really hit and miss but mostly miss and sometimes even rather cringe-inducing to behold. Anyway, to conclude, I have seen worse but it was still a rather weak comedy and I don't think it is really worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 11 March 2018 08:44
(A review of Concussion)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Will Smith, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, even though it turned out to be a decent watch, I can't say I was really blown away by the damned thing. Basically, the main problem with this movie is that the makers tried to convince the viewers that it was dealing with a major discovery but, seriously, you don't need to be a fancy brain surgeon to come to the conclusion that (American) football is a violent and dangerous sport and that many of its players will end up, during or after their career, with some major brain damage. The other supposedly big revelation was that the NFL had been denying these scientific facts for many years or even decades was not surprising at all either. As a result, you end up with a historical drama which keeps pushing some open doors and it never really grabbed me. Another thing that bothered me was that they kept hammering the fact that football was still in spite of all this a great game but I was really not convinced at all. Seriously, after watching this, would you let you kid play this sport or rather baseball and basketball? Concerning Will Smith, even though I'm not sure if an American actor was the best choice to play this character, he delivered a solid performance. On the other hand, the lovely Gugu Mbatha-Raw was completely wasted playing a poorly developed and boring character. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was not bad and it is still worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 10 March 2018 08:49
(A review of Bullets Over Broadway)I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago and since I had it on DVD, I was really eager to check it out again. In fact, I first saw it when it was released but, to be honest, at the time, I didn't care much for it and I never really understood why it was such a critical hit back then but maybe I was just too young (14-15 years old) to really appreciate it. Well, I'm really glad I gave it a 2nd chance since it turned to be really enjoyable this time around. Indeed, even though I still don't think it was Woody Allen's deepest movie, it was still really funny and entertaining. Basically, even though the premise was actually rather straightforward and predictable, the dialogues were really good and some of the supporting characters were quite hilarious. I still wasn't really impressed by the main character but I won't blame John Cusack who gave a decent performance, it's just that the other characters around him were always more entertaining and interesting than him. Still, I really liked that, at the end, he came to the conclusion that he was not so talented and that he didn't care about the show business world after all, when in fact he finally just had his very first hit. Anyway, to conclude, this movie was much more enjoyable than I remembered and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Woody Allen's work.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 9 March 2018 10:48
(A review of The Fifth Estate)Even though this movie has a rather lame reputation, since it was dealing with an interesting story, I was still eager to check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be indeed a fascinating story but, unfortunately, they didn't manage to turn it into a great movie, I’m afraid. I mean, it shows that David Fincher is a great director to have managed to make such a fascinating movie about the creation of Facebook but I'm afraid Bill Condon is only a decent director and he really struggled with this material. Indeed, it seemed rather tricky to translate the digital world of hackers to the silver screen and the end-result was never really convincing or intriguing enough. In fact, it was downright annoying during some scenes. Another issue was that they never seemed to be able to choose how to represent the two main characters. Indeed, sometimes, they made them quite charismatic and then suddenly really nerdy. Even more problematic were the secondary characters who were so poorly developed that I couldn't keep track on who they actually were. The biggest victims were such fine actresses like Carice van Houten (I still don't know who she was actually playing) and the lovely Alicia Vikander who were completely wasted here. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing felt like a huge missed opportunity but, since it was such a terrific story, I still think it is worth a look though.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 8 March 2018 10:45
(A review of High Tension)Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. On top of that, since it was Alexandre Aja's breakthrough directing effort, it was definitely interesting. Well, eventually, I wasn't disappointed and this movie was easily Aja's best movie so far. Indeed, even though the story was nothing amazing, it was entertaining enough, the directing was really effective and Philippe Nahon was a solid bad guy. Above all, I was really impressed by Cécile de France. Indeed, she carried the whole thing on her shoulders and she was just quite spellbinding to behold. Basically, it shows that a horror movie works so much better with some strong performances delivered by some skilled actors. Concerning the twist at the end, I understand that the makers made this choice otherwise the whole thing would have been just too straightforward but, even if it didn't really bother me, I didn't care much for it. Indeed, because of this, it means that at least half of the movie never actually happened which is usually not really rewarding and I won't mention all the plot-holes that it implied. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a solid horror flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 7 March 2018 10:26
(A review of Rising Sun)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, the damned thing definitely had some potential. Indeed, I really liked the concept of mixing a neo-noir detective tale with a culture clash between Japan and the USA and the addition of a corporate war was also really neat. So, they seemed to have some very interesting ingredients to deliver a really solid thriller but, unfortunately, it all fell apart fairly quickly, I'm afraid. First of all, while most of the cast was good enough, Sean Connery was rather miscast in my opinion. Indeed, even though I always had a weak spot for this actor, he was never convincing as a supposedly expert in Japanese culture. It was also a mistake to add the private lives of the two main characters in the mix. Finally, they pretty much messed up the tone as it was obvious that it should have been gritty and realistic but they kept on throwing some lame jokes every two minutes which was just rather misguided. Anyway, to conclude, even though it could have been a really original and terribly entertaining thriller, it turned out to be rather half-baked after all and I don't think it is really worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 6 March 2018 09:47
(A review of The Last Witch Hunter)To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, it is not very often that you get to see Vin Diesel in something really new since he nowadays he only shows up in some sequels. Anyway, even though the guy was supposed to become the biggest action star in the world at the beginning of his career, he actually never fulfilled these expectations and he has always been a rather limited and boring actor. This movie was a perfect example. Indeed, Diesel was supposed to play a character who was cursed, an immortal who had lived already more than 800 years and, yet, he played this character without showing any mark of inner struggle whatsoever as if Dominic Toretto showed up on the wrong movie set. Still, I have to admit that the concept for this movie had some potential, the mythology displayed was not bad and, even though it was never really mind blowing, I was actually fairly entertained. Unfortunately, the last act turned to be so tedious and generic, it pretty much ruined the whole thing for me. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, I don't think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 5 March 2018 08:47
(A review of The Snowman)When I heard that they were adapting Jo Nesbo's best-seller book, I got pretty excited as it had the potential for another awesome Scandinavian franchise like 'Millenium' so this movie was definitely one of my highest priorities for 2017. Unfortunately, it was pretty much destroyed by the critics when it was released so I lowered down my expectations but I was still eager to check it out. Well, even though it wasn't a complete disaster, it was still seriously weak though. Indeed, the whole thing was just really poorly put together and I'm actually lucky that I read the book a couple of years ago because, otherwise, I'm not sure if I would have been able to follow the damned thing. What I missed the most is that while the story was not necessarily amazing (I actually preferred 'Phantom' from the same author and also involving Harry Hole), at least, in the book, the characters were really interesting but, in this movie, they were just all very poorly developed. I felt sorry above all for Michael Fassbender, easily one of the best actors of his generation, who got stuck playing nothing more than another drunk detective when Harry Hole was supposed to be such an intriguing character. It's a real shame because, with such a solid director and fine cast involved, the movie seemed to be at first a sure winner. At least, Norway looked pretty amazing and gave a nice background but that was probably the only interesting thing about this movie. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing turned out to be a huge missed opportunity and it certainly not really worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 4 March 2018 09:57
(A review of Twilight Zone: The Movie)It is another movie I have been tracking down for many years mostly because it was one of the very few movies directed by Steven Spielberg that I hadn't watched so far. On top of that, I have always been a huge fan of 'The Twilight Zone' so this anthology involving 4 major directors sounded pretty amazing on paper. Unfortunately, it turned out to be only a decent watch at best. Indeed, out of the 5 parts (4 segments and a prologue), 4 were not bad but nothing really amazing and one was just seriously weak. The prologue directed by John Landis was indeed rather misguided as it was too humorous and random and only its conclusion had anything to do with the mythical TV show. The 1st segment, also directed by Landis has a rather notorious reputation because Vic Morrow and several kids were killed by an helicopter during the shoot, but, to be honest, this part was actually decent. Indeed, the tone was right and it did feel like a Twilight Zone episode and the only issue with this part is that it didn't have a proper conclusion. Then, you had the 2nd segment directed by Steven Spielberg and, to be honest, it was pretty much the worst thing Spielberg as ever done in his career. Indeed, the whole thing was just lifeless, boring and the connection with the TV show was just really thin. Apparently, Spielberg had been so affected by the tragic helicopter accident that he didn't care much for this project anymore and he shot his part in just 6 days just to fulfill his contractual engagement which might explain why the damned thing was actually so weak. Then, you had the 3rd segment directed by Joe Dante which had some potential and yet still didn't blow me away. The issue with this part was that, even though it was sometimes fairly creepy, Dante has a rather goofy directing style which constantly undermined the creepiness of this concept. Then, the 4th and final segment directed by George Miller was probably the most effective part and the only issue it might have had is that it was such a classic Twilight Zone tale. Anyway, to conclude, even if the whole project turned to be rather half-baked, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 3 March 2018 08:55
(A review of The Butler)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a really interesting cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I must admit that, even though I initially had some doubts, it turned out to be a really strong story. Indeed, the tale of this black man growing up in the cotton fields who then served various American presidents for more than 30 years was actually quite fascinating and it gave a really different look on how a black man could behave in a rather opressive society just to be able to have a decent life. Unfortunately, they made the mistake of also including the various struggles in his private life but, not only it was completely made up for this movie, it just didn't work really well, especially everything involving his older son. Indeed, it greatly undermined the main character but it also gave a rather generic and predictable view on the Civil Rights movement without mentioning the fact that the guy somehow managed to be involved in every single major events occurring at the time. As a result, it seemed that the makers were not sure how we should perceive the main character. Should we feel sorry for him? Should we admire him? Should we think he was a coward? I believe that, if they had removef his son's quest for equal rights and if they would have focused only on this butler, it would have been much more interesting and powerful. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a pretty good historical drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry