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Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 22 February 2018 10:26
(A review of Happy End)Since I'm a big fan of Michael Haneke's work, I was really eager to check this movie, even if it eventually didn't make much waves when it was released. In fact, we were supposed to see this movie with my film club in the movie theater but it was cancelled at the last minute because of a snow storm so I was thrilled to see it only 2 months later, especially since it was one of my priorities for 2017. Well, eventually, even though it turned out to be a decent watch, it was still one of his least interesting movies though. Basically, it was dealing with a rich dysfunctional family but, as usual with this director, nothing was told straightforward and instead, he would often provide some rather obscure scenes. As a result, I spent maybe the first 30 minutes trying to figure out who was who and what the hell they were doing but that wasn't a big deal. Eventually, even though the characters were all realistic and believable, they were all fairly unlikeable but, above all, not really interesting. On top of that, Haneke tried to add in the mix various subjects like our current obsession with social media, especially among the youth, and also the dramatic situation of the illegal immigrants in Calais but I didn't really get how it was supposed to connect with this family tale. Anyway, to conclude, it might seem that I didn't like this movie but I was constantly intrigued and wondering what would happen next so it is still worth a look but it was definitely a minor effort from the Austrian master.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 22 February 2018 09:13
(A review of Black Panther)I already saw this movie but since I just bought an awesome brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again. I remember the first time I saw the damned thing though. Indeed, since I kept hearing some great things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Well, eventually pretty much like with ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, even though I really liked the damned thing, I didn’t think it was so revolutionary though. In my opinion, the main issue was that, after already 18 movies, the MCU has become too big and it has become a shore to link all these movies together and make sure they don’t break the continuity. In this case, as a result, at least half of the movie was spent on explaining why Wakanda and Black Panther were not involved before in the MCU and why they will be involved from now on. I mean, it was rather well done but it wasn’t really compelling and I hope that, after ‘Infinity War’, Marvel will stop to link all their movies together and provide some much needed flexibility to their directors (after all, it is not like all their 1000’s of comic-books have been tightly linked together in the past). Anyway, beside this point, it was still a really cool super-hero flick, no doubt about it. In fact, it will probably be a milestone in motion picture history as being the first major black blockbuster ever made, not less than that. Indeed, Ryan Googler delivered a gorgeous movie with a fascinating fantasy African world. On top of that, they gave us an all-star black cast and 2 of the best bad guys in the MCU history (Erik Killmonger and Ulysses Klaue). In fact, I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to focus only on one of these guys but it wasn’t a big deal. Anyway, to conclude, even though it might be slightly overrated, it is still impressive that Marvel keeps delivering some quality blockbusters after all these years and the damned thing 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 20 February 2018 10:31
(A review of You're Not You)I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Hilary Swank and since this movie had some decent rating on IMDb, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, the story was seriously generic and predictable. Indeed, the caregiver was at first a mess but, of course, she turned out to be amazing, resulting in a seemingly perfect relationship with her patient. On top of that, I always find it really annoying when they release a movie just when a terrible disease has been all over the media. Because of these flaws, there was no way that this movie could have been really amazing and, yet, I have to admit that it still worked. First of all, I gave it a few extra points because it was the first movie I ever saw dealing with ALS so, only therefore, it was still an interesting watch. Then, even though the characters were rather stereotypical, Hilary Swank and Emmy Rossum both delivered some solid performances. In fact, even though you might think that Swank would steal the show, I think that Rossum with her very messed-up character was actually more interesting but eventually, both characters didn't get much space to evolve as the makers faithfully followed the rules in this genre. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 19 February 2018 09:42
(A review of I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore.)I had no idea what to expect from this movie but since it was recommended by one of my favorite listal members, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, even if it turned out to be a decent watch, I'm afraid it didn't really work for me. I mean, the beginning was pretty good and I really liked the main character thanks to a solid performance by Melanie Lynskey. Concerning Elijah Wood, he was also pretty good, even if his character was slightly too quirky for my taste. Eventually, the main issue I had was that, even though the state of mind of the main character was interesting and relatable, I just didn't care much about her quest. Seriously, what did she expect to achieve? I mean, she was lucky enough to find back her most valuable stolen goods so what was the point of tracking down the guys responsible for the burglary? Of course, you can blame the police force for their negligence but the guy had a point when he said that she would get in trouble if she would further go down this road. Anyway, to conclude, even if I didn't really care much for the damned thing, I have to admit that it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 19 February 2018 09:09
(A review of The Notebook)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Since this movie has been released, it has become a classic in the romantic genre and I think it definitely deserves its reputation. What I loved the most about this movie was the fact that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were actually quite pitch-perfect and they had such a great chemistry. Eventually, it is hardly surprising that Golsing would turn out to be one of the best actors of his generation. Concerning the other part involving some older version of the characters played by James Garner and Gena Rowlands, I’m still not sure if it was really necessary but it still worked thanks to some really solid performances delivered by Garner and Rowlands. Eventually, the only thing preventing this movie from becoming really amazing was the fact that the story was in fact terribly generic and, without the cast involved, I don’t think I would have cared much about the damned thing. Another issue was that, following the success of this movie, they would give us no less than 8 other adaptations of Nicholas Sparks's books but, unfortunately, none of them turned out to be really worth a look. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of a terribly unoriginal and predictable story, I still have a weak spot for the damned thing 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 18 February 2018 06:53
(A review of On Body and Soul)As usual, I didn't have any clue about what this movie was about but it turned out to be very popular amongst our film club members. To be honest, it was a rather challenging movie to analyze and, personally, I did struggle with the lengthy and gruesome depiction of this slaughterhouse and I couldn't really figure out what was the link with the rest of the movie. Thanks to an article provided by Ietje, I learned that, apparently, the director wanted to show the hypocrisy in our world. Indeed, the name ‘slaughterhouse’ will always be relevant and, even if you have the most human and cleanest slaughterhouse in the world, it will always be a bloody mess. Regarding the rest of the movie, I came to the conclusion that it was in fact a super romantic tale but told with a rather sober but very often gorgeous directing and some hyper-realistic performances. And, eventually, I'm not so sure if I really cared about the fairy-tale like elements in this movie. I mean, if you would remove the fantasy dreams with the deers, would this autistic woman have been interested in this man? I doubt it and, as a result, even if everything else happening in their relationship felt really organic and quite fascinating to behold, the way they became closer felt rather manufactured. Still, the whole thing was sometimes gorgeous to look at and the actors were really strong so it is definitely worth a look.
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A very good movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 16 February 2018 10:14
(A review of Animal Kingdom)Back in 2017, 'War Machine' was announced as the first big movie produced by Netflix. Eventually, it turned out to be rather disappointing but I was still curious to see what David Michôd had done before and since this movie had a solid reputation, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it was definitely so much better than 'War Machine', that's for sure. First of all, they gave us an amazing introduction. Indeed, even though you might think that the main character was watching TV with his mother asleep, it turned out she was dead for a while from an overdose and the guy was actually waiting for the paramedics to show up while watching some random TV game show. That was maybe the trickiest thing about this movie, the fact that the main character seemed rather dim-witted when it was not the case at all. The voice-over might also seem like an easy gimmick but I think it was an important addition to explain how these characters all lived in fear that something terrible might happen at any moment. Of course, you might argue that they got what they deserved but it seemed to be rather ruthless that the cops would execute one of them in the middle of the day just because they couldn't manage to build up a case against him. Finally, the cast was really strong, especially Ben Mendelsohn and Jacki Weaver. To conclude, even though it was not flawless, it was still a really strong crime drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 15 February 2018 09:17
(A review of Holidays)I really had no idea what to expect from this movie but since one of the segments was directed by Kevin Smith, I thought it might as well check it out. First of all, the concept had some potential but, at least, they could have come up with a less generic title. Well, except for Kevin Smith, I had never heard of the other directors involved in this project but, to be honest, I don't think I will do my best to look up what they have done before or afterwards as I wasn't really impressed with what they displayed here. Indeed, even though the first and last stories were watchable ('Valentine's Day' and 'New Year's Eve'), everything else was just too weak and/or too weird. The weirdest parts were 'St Patrick's Day' and especially 'Easter' which gave us a really creepy and misguided mix of the Easter Bunny and Jesus. Concerning the segment delivered by Kevin, it was not bad but it was the only story which had really nothing to do with this specific holiday and the only link was that it was taking place during Halloween which was rather disappointing. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was pretty weak and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 14 February 2018 09:21
(A review of Vacation)Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out and since it is considered as one of the best American comedies ever made, I had some rather high expectations. Well, to be honest, it turned out to be a decent watch but not much more than that, I'm afraid. Eventually, what bothered me the most was that even though it was fairly entertaining, it was never really hilarious. On top of that, some of the jokes were just seriously misguided. I mean, I didn't mind so much about the dog who died because they forgot that he was tied to the rear bumper but the scene where they just dumped their dead aunt first on their roof of their car and then on the porch of some relatives was just seriously lugubrious and not funny whatsoever. Concerning Christie Brinkley, sure, she was very lovely to look at but her scenes were just silly and didn't work with the rest of the movie. At least, Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo had a nice chemistry and the Griswolds made a believable and relatable family. Anyway, once again, it shows I don't feel much love for John Hugues's work but I have to admit that this movie is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 13 February 2018 08:01
(A review of Half a Chance)Back in the 90's, Vanessa Paradis was already a huge star in France and, after her first 2 movies ('Noce Blanche' and 'Elisa') turned out to be some big critical successes, it seemed for a while that she might also have another great career as actress. Unfortunately, after 'Une amour de sorciére' and this movie became some huge critical and commercial flops, it seemed that her once promising acting career was already finished after a few years. Back then, there was actually some buzz about this movie before it was released because it was the first time ever that Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Felon, two huge movie icons in France, were making a movie together. Furthermore, even though he might not be famous abroad, Patrice Leconte had a really solid track-record and had directed many French classics. Unfortunately, the whole thing turned out to be really weak and completely misguided after all. I mean, this movie was pretty much what would have happened if Robert De Niro and Al Pacino had decided to make 'Gigli' instead of 'Heat'. Indeed, the concept of a young girl trying to find out which one of them was her father was already lame but, on top of that, they also added a really convoluted and ridiculous sub-plot involving these characters fighting some Russian gangsters. Seriously, not only pretty much nothing made sense but, above all, it was just so tedious to behold. Anyway, to conclude, I think I was actually rather generous with my rating here, the damned thing was seriously weak and I don't think it is really worth a look.
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