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CollectionsI 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.
An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month ago on 7 March 2018 10:26
(A review of Rising Sun)
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month 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.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month 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.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month 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.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month 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.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month ago on 2 March 2018 10:20
(A review of Mute)When I heard that Duncan Jones was coming up with a new movie, that it was a passion project he had worked on for maybe a decade, that it was somehow linked to 'Moon', it became instantly one of my highest priorities for 2018. The fact that it would be also available only a few weeks later on Netflix was pretty much the cherry on the cake. Unfortunately, I was amazed by how underwhelming the damned thing turned out to be. Indeed, while 'Moon' was pretty much a flawless minimalistic science-fiction masterpiece, this movie was actually the opposite as it was seriously over ambitious and filled up with some poorly developed characters and a rather half-baked story with too much going on. First of all, even though I really love 'Blade Runner', it was actually getting on my nerves to see another SF feature copying its visual style and it would be neat if, 30 years later, the current filmmakers would finally bring something new to the table. Eventually, what bothered me the most were all these countless and pointless scenes. I mean, for example, at some point the main character had to go to the library searching for the Berlin yellow pages books so he could find a phone number. Seriously, it is the freaking future, why didn't he look it up on the Internet? Of course, you could argue that it was what an Amish would do but he already used a smartphone and other modern devices during the movie. Finally, it wasn't a strong story but I don't feel like going into details explaining why. Anyway, to conclude, this movie was a major step back for Duncan Jones, I hope the damage done to his career was not too big and that the guy will soon come up with something that really dazzle us this time around.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month ago on 1 March 2018 10:03
(A review of I Give It a Year)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, I was surprised by how much I didn't care about the damned thing. I mean, the cast was indeed interesting and they definitely had some nice material to deliver a romantic-comedy about a realistic couple and, yet, it just didn't work. First of all, most of the jokes were mostly cringe-inducing and not funny whatsoever and that pretty much killed the whole thing for me. On top of that, even though it might have been actually quite realistic, I was rather annoyed to see how this couple was struggling after being married for such a short period of time. Unfortunately, it was pretty much representative on how people deal with their relationship nowadays, I'm afraid. Indeed, a long lasting romantic relationship represents a lot of hard f*cking work and an endless set of compromises, frustrations and deceptions and people nowadays don't want to be bothered anymore so they just bail because they believe that their own happiness should always be their main focus. So, was it really the right material for a romantic-comedy? I still think so because it was dealing with something real but the level of the humor was just way too shallow for me. Anyway, even though I have seen worse, I didn't really like this movie and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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A bad movie
Posted : 7 years, 1 month ago on 27 February 2018 09:11
(A review of Josie and the Pussycats)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. On top of that, last year, I saw the TV-show ‘Riverdale’ on Netflix so I thought it should be pretty cool to see another movie taking place in the same universe. Unfortunately, it turned out to be rather lame after all. Indeed, right from the first scene involving some boyband called ‘Du Jour’, I had already lost pretty much any interest I might have had in the damned thing. Basically, I guess they tried to make a satire but it was not sharp enough but, above all, it was never funny or entertaining whatsoever. There was also this idea of having this omnipresent product placement. Obviously, it had to do with the plot but it felt really misguided since it was dealing with some actual brands. Concerning the actresses involved, I finally understood why Rachael Leigh Cook’s career never really took off as this movie pretty much ruined what any chances she might ever had. Concerning Tara Reid, even though she played a really clueless and annoying girl, I have to admit that I was actually amazed by how cute she used to be back in those days. Eventually, it seems that Rosario Dawson was the only one who managed to still have a decent career afterwards. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was rather cringe-inducing to behold and you should pretty much avoid it.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 24 February 2018 11:07
(A review of The Witch)To be honest, this movie was not really a high priority for me but since it was recommended by another listal member and since it seemed to be intriguing, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, even though the poster looked pretty good, at the same time, in my opinion, it gave away too much information and was still rather misleading. Anyway, even though the damned thing didn't really blow me away, it still turned out to be a very beautiful and well made vintage horror movie. Furthermore, a tale about witchcraft works much better when it is set in this time period since superstition was really common back in those days. Finally, the cast was also pretty good, especially the kids. And, yet, to be honest, I never really cared much about this story though. Sure, it was creepy enough and they didn't go over the top like so many underwhelming horror flicks but, at least as far as I was concerned, it was still missing something to becoming truly remarkable. Maybe it was because the characters were rather poorly developed or maybe they should have made the whole thing more ambiguous instead of being so literal. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 24 February 2018 07:42
(A review of That Awkward Moment)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, eventually, I was surprised by how much I liked it and it was easily one of the best romantic-comedies I have seen recently. Indeed, what I enjoyed the most was the believable friendship involving Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan. On top of that, Efron and Teller were just so hilarious and this movie was once again the proof that Teller might be the most underrated actor of his generation. Concerning Jordan, the guy was pretty good as usual but he ended up with a rather thankless part and his co-stars pretty much stole the show. Unfortunately, even though the whole thing was fairly realistic, they made the mistake of following too much the typical formula of this genre so the 3 guys were stuck with this really lame betting thing. I mean, if two of them fell in love, what was the big deal? As a result, Efron's character had to skip a funeral which was just rather unbelievable and he did it only because the plot required it. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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