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Posted : 7 years ago on 5 November 2017 06:22
(A review of Loveless)After watching 'The Return' and 'Leviathan' from the same director, I was expecting again something massively dark and depressing but, to be honest, compared to this 2 previous directing efforts, this movie turned out to be almost easy to swallow. Still, it was far from being a comedy, that's for sure. In fact, this time, I felt mostly anger while watching this movie. Indeed, Andrey Zvyagintsev gave us such selfish and most of the time rather despicable characters, they were possibly the worst parents I have ever seen and it was fairly easy to hate their guts. Sure, they didn't beat or sexually abused their son but the mental mistreatment was massive. My theory is that, after decades under the communist dictatorship, the Russian people suddenly had to switch to the individualistic capitalism and, apparently, this change was so abrupt that they became even more decadent than we are. Basically, the generation of my parents fought to be free and, us, their children took this freedom for granted and became the 'Me' generation, always focusing and obsessing about our needs and what is supposedly important for us. Well, if you would believe Zvyagintsev, the middle-class Russians apparently took this to the next level. In fact, this was only half of the movie and it was quite interesting to behold but, the other half was some kind of thriller investigation involving the search of the missing boy. This part, however, didn't work so well though. Indeed, the outcome was pretty obvious from the very beginning, it was pretty damned slow and eventless and the characters involved didn't evolve whatsoever so it felt rather pointless. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn't really a home-run, it was still a solid drama and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A classic
Posted : 7 years ago on 3 November 2017 09:03
(A review of La Haine)I already saw this movie, in fact, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released more than 20 years ago, but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, even though it is a huge classic, in France but also abroad, to be honest, I always had some mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, sure, it is a well made movie with some solid performances and I have to admit that it is really entertaining but, somehow, I always felt that it missed something to become really amazing. In my opinion, it is a fine movie as long as you don't analyse it too much but, if you start to look into the details, it tends to actually fall apart. Eventually, the main issue I had was that it was so damned pretentious. Indeed, back in those days, Quentin Tarantino had released 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction' which were amazing and superior to this movie because, among other things, they didn't pretend to be providing some supposedly deep comment about our society. Especially if you are French and familiar to what they were displaying, this movie felt rather condescending. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have never been completely sold by this movie, it is still a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 2 November 2017 10:13
(A review of My Old Lady)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Kristin Scott Thomas, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I thought it was rather odd that, even though it was taking place in France, none of the main characters or actors were actually French, even if Thomas was perfectly cast as a half-French woman. Furthermore, this effect was made even worse by the fact that they gave the typical romantic postcard image of Paris. Concerning the story itself, it started like a rather light comedy but, slowly, it became more and more dramatic and, in the 3rd act, the whole thing had turned into something seriously depressing. Even though I'm French, I have to admit that I was really clueless about this whole 'viager' concept but, combined with the rather convoluted family drama displayed, it resulted in something rather difficult too swallow and sometimes even mean-spirited. So, eventually, I never really cared for this story but I have to admit that the main cast was actually pretty good, even Kevin Kline who fortunately toned down his usual hysterical gimmick. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 1 November 2017 10:04
(A review of War Machine)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Brad Pitt, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, to be honest, it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. The biggest issue, in my opinion, is that it wasn't really a great story to start with. They did try to cover this fact with a rather pretentious voice-over, obviously, to make it sound more clever than it actually was but they didn't fool me. I mean, I do like a smart satirical black comedy but I wonder if it might not have better worked with a more straightforward approach. I also didn't really get how they handled the main character. I mean, one minute, they portrayed him as a very efficient and successful career soldier but, then, the minute after, they would make him look like a complete idiot. It didn't help either that half of the actors were playing it straight while the other half was going for something much more caricatural, especially Brad Pitt who gave here probably one of his most over-the-top performances ever. Anyway, to conclude, it wasn't really bad but it wasn't good either and it is fairly possible that my rating was actually rather generous for this movie.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 31 October 2017 09:24
(A review of Jimmy's Hall)Even though this movie didn't get much love when it was released, since I have a weak spot for Ken Loach's work, I was still eager to check it out. Well, first of all, I already enjoyed the directing and it was pretty neat that Loach went for a periode piece this time around. Indeed, he really managed to give a good feeling for this time and place and the characters were interesting enough, even though they were all rather stereotypical. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for the story itself, I'm afraid. Indeed, even though it was apparently based on a true story, it still felt like a vintage Irish version of 'Footloose' and 'Footloose' wasn't already a masterpiece in my book. I don't know, if they did add some nuances, maybe, it could have worked better but, the way it was told, it seemed rather silly that they would make such a fuss about a rather innocent country hall like this one, even if it was apparently what happened at the time. To be honest, even though they criticized the propaganda at the time backing the church, in fact, Loach's movie also felt like some leftist proganda and it didn't help that Jimmy Gralton was so righteous and seemingly perfect. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ken Loach's work.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 29 October 2017 06:32
(A review of Wonder Woman)In a couple of weeks, I'm supposed to go to see 'Justice League' and I was really eager to watch before this first installment involving the most famous female super-hero. I was actually planning to see the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released but, for some reason, Nick, my stepson, decided that we should watch instead 'The Mummy'... Anyway, even though everybody seemed to have lost faith in the DCCEU, at last, they finally delivered something really good. In fact, even though 'Marvel' is completely ruling the market, somehow, they took way too long to deliver a movie with a woman playing the lead character. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, well, even though Gal Gadot was trashed by the fans when she was chosen, eventually, she was really impressive. Indeed, of course, she was quite gorgeous but she was really convincing during the fighting scenes and, above all, she managed to deliver such a charismatic and still relatable woman. The issue with this character, in fact, with almost all the female character coming from a comic-book, is that she could have been reduced to some bimbo which was definitely not the case here. Eventually, I really think it was the right thing to hire a woman to direct this movie and Patty Jenkins did a fine job here showing how women can be just as strong and tough as men and yet still retain their feminity. Chris Pine should also get some credit as, even though his character was rather thankless, he made the most of it and he had some great chemistry with Gal Gadot. So, most of the movie did work fine but, to be honest, I still didn't care much for the story though. Sure, it was entertaining enough but, above all, the message was pretty murky. I mean, it seems that Wonder Woman wants to stop this war in particular and all the wars in general but she is also one of the greatest warriors ever and she kills so many people during her mission without even blinking an eye. As a result, as long as the movie was focusing on her struggle to fit in our world, it was pretty much pitch-perfect, but as soon as she started to fight, even though it looked really badass, it became another bombastic super-hero flick like so many others I have seen before. Anyway, to conclude, even though I think it is rather overrated, it was still a really solid blockbuster and it is definitely worth a look.
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A very good movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 28 October 2017 08:15
(A review of The Killing)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was really eager to check it out again. Well, even though Stanley Kubrick had already directed a few movies before, it was really with this directing effort that he started to display the extent of his talent, becoming one of the most exciting upcoming directors. From this movie and during the following 40 years, each and every movie he will deliver afterwards would turn out to be pretty much amazing which is something no other director has ever managed to achieve. Coming back to our main feature, sure, it was probably not one of Kubrick's very best movies but it was still one of the best heist movies I have seen. Indeed, back then, Kubrick was already displaying some impressive directing skills and his obsessive eye for details. The only flaw would be towards the end when most of characters are all killed within seconds during some massive shoot-out. Until that moment, everything was just so tight and so well put together but this scene didn't really work and felt like a rather cheap way to tie up most of the loose ends. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was still pretty damned entertaining and spellbinding to watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Stanley Kubrick's work.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 27 October 2017 10:09
(A review of Thor: Ragnarok)I already saw this movie but since I just bought a brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again. I remember well the first time around I saw it though. Indeed, back then, since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, of course, I was really eager to watch the damned thing. And, indeed, it turned out to be easily the best movie with Thor as a lead character (and still is, even after ‘Love and Thunder’ was released) but, to be honest, it wasn't such a difficult goal to achieve, especially after 'Thor: The Dark World' which might be so far the weakest movie coming from the MCU. But was it really a great movie? I'm not so sure. I mean, it was really neat that Thor and the Hulk had to be some gladiators on some weird alien planet but the whole plot involving Thor's sister taking over Asgard was just so generic and redundant. Seriously, wasn't it what Loki was already trying to do in the 2 previous movies? At least, the always dependable Cate Blanchett delivered another solid performance. On top of that, it was really awesome that Marvel gave Taika Waititi so much freedom as he went really wild on the dialogues and on the tone which was just so wacky. The other thing they really nailed was to allow Bruce Banner to be the Hulk for much longer than usual because it is always rather frustrating to have to wait for the big green guy to finally show up. I have to admit it though, after rewatching it, it is actually still pretty good though. Anyway, to conclude, it won't be my favorite movie from the MCU but the damned thing was still seriously fun and entertaining and it is definitely worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 26 October 2017 08:26
(A review of Bro's Before Ho's)To be honest, I was pretty sure what to expect from this movie and the only reason I watched it was because I have a weak spot for Sylvia Hoeks. Well, even though the concept was actually pretty cool and definitely had some potential, the whole thing still turned out to be rather lame, I'm afraid. I mean, the basic idea with this kind of comedies is to have the characters swearing and being gross all the time and, while it can be fun for 5 minutes, it becomes rather cringe-inducing fairly quickly. It didn't help that they stole so many ideas from other movies. For example, the awful jokes about mentally impaired people has been used so many times by the Farrelly brothers and the scene in the DVD shop when the main character reads a list of porn movies in front of an old lady and her grand-daughter while talking to someone else on the phone was shamelessly lifted from 'Clerks', one of my favorite movies. Eventually, the only thing that really worked for me was the lovely Sylvia Hoeks. Indeed, even though she had a rather thankless part, she was just pitch-perfect and mesmerising to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, I still didn't care much for the damned thing and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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A very good movie
Posted : 7 years ago on 25 October 2017 09:08
(A review of Carol)Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. Well, I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure. Indeed, I really loved the damned thing and it was pretty much one of the best love stories I have ever seen. First of all, the whole thing looked gorgeous and I wonder if Todd Haynes had been inspired by Edward Hopper's paintings since this movie reminded me of his work. Anyway, even though I admired the (few) movies I had seen so far directed by Haynes, it was the first time that he impressed me so much. Above all, I enjoyed even more the 2 main characters who were completely developed and so fascinating to behold. And, of course, it was just amazing to see Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mars, easily some of the best actresses around, working together and they both delivered some of their best performances I have seen so far. Eventually, the only thing that slightly didn't work for me was the family drama in Carol's life. I mean, sure, I understand that it was a struggle to be gay at the time but it was something that I already knew and, above all, it was something that had already been covered by so many other movies, even by Todd Haynes himself in 'Far From Heaven'. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a fascinating love story and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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