To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. As usual, I didnāt know anything about this movie before watching it and, for some reason, I thought it would be a decent romantic-comedy that I could watch with my (now ex-)wife. Well, it was probably a good thing that I eventually watched this movie on my own after all since it turned out to be a really raunchy R rated comedy. Indeed, they basically took the concept of āAmerican Pieā and swapped the gender of the main character which wasnāt necessarily a bad idea. Unfortunately, I donāt care about most of these movies because the end-result is usually that such raunchy comedies focusing on women can be just as lame as the usual raunchy comedies with male characters. Well, this movie was not an exception, Iām afraid. Sure, there was a pretty cool cast involved and it was above all really neat that Aubrey Plaza was playing the lead for once. Still, I thought it was rather annoying that all the characters who were playing some teenagers were 7 or 8 years too old, even if it was apparently done on purpose for this movie. However, a bigger issue was the fact that most of the jokes were hardly funny and even more problematic was that the tone felt sometimes rather misguided. The concept was basically to have this girl finally discover her sexuality which was intriguing and even supported by her best friends. However, her experiments went pretty far and it was rather weird, even borderline unsettling, that really no one told her how f*cked-up it actually was. I mean, sure, it was a good thing to show some parents being considerate about the sexual life of their kids and that they had a good talk about it but to give them some lubricant before they have sex for the 1st time? Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing had some potential, I didnāt care much about it after all and I donāt think it is really worth a look.Ā
An average movie
Posted : 7 months, 1 week ago on 21 August 2023 07:41 (A review of The To Do List)0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 months, 1 week ago on 20 August 2023 05:21 (A review of Forever)0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 7 months, 1 week ago on 18 August 2023 07:44 (A review of Paris, 13th District)To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Jacques Audiard, I was quite eager to check it out. The first thing I enjoyed with this movie was that it was so different then Audiardās previous work and the fact that his work is so versatile is probably one of the main reasons why he has become one of the most interesting French directors that emerged during the last 20 years. Even the black-and-white photography which can be a fancy useless gimmick was pretty neat here. Indeed, it was quite beautiful and it gave the whole thing a classy look. On top of that, it did match my feeling about Paris which is, in spite of its romantic reputation, a rather grey place in my opinion. Concerning the content itself, well, even though it was also interesting, it never really reached the level of Audiardās best work though. Eventually, I think the main issue was with the 3 main characters involved. Indeed, they were all intriguing enough but never really fascinating after all. Especially Ćmilie Wong, she was such an annoying egocentric woman, a fact which was actually pointed out by her own sister. And, yet, I have to admit that there was something really genuine about this girl and she was a good reminder of all these frustrating years when I was living in France and I desperately tried to start a relationship which such neurotic girls. No wonder I left the country when I was 20 years old and never looked back again but thatās a different story. For the rest, the movie was a combination of good ideas and some really half-baked ones. For example, the ending during which 2 really random couples were formed didnāt really work. Anyway, to conclude, even if it turned out to be a minor effort, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jacques Audiardās work.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 17 August 2023 08:43 (A review of A Visit to Peek Frean and Co.'s Biscuit Works)Recently, I have been focusing on older movies and this one is one of the oldest I have seen so far. In fact, I think it must be the oldest documentary I have ever seen. Sure, I saw āLife of an American Firemanā not long ago which was even older but so much of it was obviously staged, Iām not sure if you should really consider it as a documentary. However, in this case, you really fell like you have been dropped in a factory more than hundred years ago and, as far as I was concerned, for some reason, I thought it was quite mesmerizing to watch somehow. Indeed, you get to see the industrial revolution in its full glory and I thought it was quite interesting to see, in spite of all these fancy steam machines, how much people were still needed at the time to do some repetitive (and seemingly really boring) manual labor. Of course, at the time, nobody had any issue to have some kids involved as well. The main critic about this movie was the fact that a biscuit factory was extremely dull to watch but, while I would have to agree, I actually did appreciate that they focused on such a basic and decidedly not fancy establishment as you got a good taste of what it must have been for the folks doing this kind of jobs at the time. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really mind-blowing, I think it was actually pretty neat and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in film history.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A classic
Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 16 August 2023 11:34 (A review of Playtime)It has been ages since I saw a movie directed by Jacques Tati (the guy madeĀ onlyĀ 5 movies though) but since this movie has a really solid reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. I remember the first time I saw a Tati movie, I think it was āJour de fĆŖteā, it must have been more than 20 years ago. Well, after hearing so many great things about his work, I have to admit that I was actually slightly disappointed. Eventually, itās something that took me a while to understand, the fact that Tatiās movies are actually much deeper than your usual vintage silent comedies and it was eventually even more obvious with this movie. To be honest, Iām hardly surprised that this movie was a commercial and critical flop when it was released. Indeed, there was definitely something unique about this movie and, if you have any understanding of movies in general, you canāt deny that it was the work of a true artist. The attention to the details was quite impressive and, eventually, you have to figure out on your own what Tati was trying to achieve here. The one thing that struck me the most was when you get to see some advertisement showing London with a skyscraper and, then, a few seconds later, you basically got exactly the same landscape in Paris and itās a feeling that I had so many times while I used to travel as much as possible. And, yet, even though I really admired the work done, Iām afraid it was still too random for me though. Itās not that I did mind the fact there was no real plot but there was also no real dialogues or even a main character. Indeed, even Mr Hulot only showed up and disappeared completely at random through the whole thing so there was not much for the audience to really hang on to. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasnāt completely sold, it was still a really original and intriguing movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jacques Tatiās work.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 15 August 2023 08:35 (A review of Septembers of Shiraz)To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. I wonder what was the meaning of this beautiful title but you wonāt get any answer after watching this flick. Anyway, even though the end-result was definitely half-baked, I still think it was a really strong story. Of course, there was the issue of casting Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek to play some Iranian characters, even though Hayek does have some Lebanese roots. Above all, beside this dubious casting, both actors didnāt deliver some strong performances here but they were not helped by the approach chosen with this material. Indeed, at some point, Isaac got arrested and it was as if the whole movie stood still for way too long after that. Basically, they gave us a seemingly endless back-and-forth between Isaac getting tortured and Farnez worrying about him and not much else. In fact, the most interesting thing was not the relationship between Isaac and his wife but between Farnez and Habibeh, her servant. Indeed, instead of showing the Iran revolution being led by some religious fanatics, they gave a different point of view showing that the social inequalities in this country also played a role. As a result, I was quite surprised that, according to this movie, the main motivation behind the Iranian revolution was actually maybe not religion but financial discrepancies between rich and poor in Iran. Unfortunately, this angle was never properly handled which really felt like a wasted opportunity. Instead, they kept hammering the fact that the Western Capitalist way of life is apparently the answer to all problems which is definitely not the case. Indeed, our way of life only seems to be the least of all evils and all alternative lifestyles are simply not tolerated. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject.Ā
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 13 August 2023 07:05 (A review of Claire Darling)0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 12 August 2023 05:42 (A review of Meg 2: The Trench (2023))0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 11 August 2023 12:44 (A review of The Goat)I have finally started to dig into Buster Keatonās work only recently but, since then, I have seen my share of movies starring the classic comedian and, by now, I think I have a good understanding of his work. In this case, I think it is the oldest movie I have seen starring the legendary actor and, at first, I was wondering why it was called āThe Goatā but I think it was probably some kind of abbreviation of āscapegoatā. Anyway, this short apparently does have a solid reputation but, even though I have to admit that it was pretty good, I donāt think it was one of his best shorts though. I donāt know, it felt really random but I have to admit that it is inherent to the genre. The concept was also rather preposterous, the fact that nobody checked who was actually on this picture before printing it out all over the place. Still, Keaton was just a great comedian and, obviously, one of the greatest stuntmen that ever lived so, in spite of its flaws, the damned thing was seriously entertaining. Anyway, to conclude, even though the material was maybe too slight, it was still a really solid silent comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A very good movie
Posted : 7 months, 3 weeks ago on 10 August 2023 10:13 (A review of Alice in Wonderland)Recently, I have been focusing on older movies and this one is one of the oldest I have seen so far. In fact, the day before, I actually watched āRescued by Roverā which was also directed by Cecil M. Hepworth and while āRescued by Roverā surprised me by its simplicity, I was amazed by how complex this movie turned out to be, at least, for a vintage feature made 120 years ago. It is mostly famous for being the very first adaptation of this iconic tale and I was wondering how they could tell this story in less than 10 mins (in fact, there is only one copy left of this movie and it is apparently missing some parts). Well, the end-result turned out to be some kind of supercut, jumping from one famous scene to another. To be honest, the damned thing was actually borderline incomprehensible, especially if you are not familiar with this story, and yet, I thought it was quite fascinating somehow. Indeed, the sheer ambition, especially considering the technical limitations back then, was just so inspiring and most of it was actually visually pretty neat. Anyway, to conclude, I do believe that this movie was quite a milestone and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in film history.
0 comments, Reply to this entry