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Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 19 January 2018 09:42
(A review of The Sessions)Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though it was indeed pretty good, to be honest, somehow, it still slightly rubbed me the wrong way. First of all, I don't know, it seems that, by now, I have seen too movies dealing with a character with a terrible handicap and, yet, the guy still turned out to be terribly smart, witty and inspirational. Wouldn't it be refreshing to see someone in this situation understandingly dreading his life and acting like a major douchebag with other people? The other thing was that I wasn't really convinced about this whole sex-surrogate concept. I mean, even though they explained that she was something completely different, eventually, to me, she still seemed to be a prostitute providing some special skills to her profession. In this case, it wasn't helped by the fact that her husband didn't have a regular job and, therefore, pretty much lived like a pimp. Finally, it might seem to be a ridiculous detail but I don't believe that any woman could get an orgasm just like that without some major work from her or his side. Still, I had never seen a movie dealing with this subject before so it was really interesting and John Hawkes and Helen Hunt both gave some really solid performances. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn't completely work for me, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 18 January 2018 10:32
(A review of Split)Even though this movie was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, since it was very well received when it was released, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though it was indeed better than 'The Visit' and all the garbage Shyamalan had delivered through the years, to be honest, I still thought it was actually rather disappointing. I mean, it was not bad and there were definitely some good ideas but it was still rather weak in my opinion. First of all, the biggest mistake they made was to add a supernatural angle. With 'Unbreakable', still easily Shyamalan's best movie so far, even though it was dealing with some super-heroes, the approach was actually rather realistic which made the whole thing so interesting to behold. With this movie, it was the other way around, it started fairly realistically but became more and more preposterous by the minute. Then, even though they kept talking about Kevin having 23 or even 24 personalities, you get to see mostly only 3 of them which was also rather disappointing. Finally, the last thing that bothered me was the fact that the 3 young girls were actually rather sexualized. Indeed, one of them spent most of the movie wearing only her bra, the other one wearing only her underwear and the last one a very revealing tight white top. I hope it wasn't intentional but it felt rather awkward. Still, as I mentioned before, there were some good ideas, the concept was really neat and I loved the idea of a movie focusing on a character with so many different personalities. And, of course, you have to praise James McAvoy who was quite amazing and he delivered here easily one of his best performances. Obviously, as usual with this director, there was a twist but it was so poorly concealed, I already knew it months before watching this movie but, at least, it was a decent twist. Anyway, to conclude, to be honest, I don't really understand why everybody seemed to be so enthusiastic about this movie, maybe it's because we have been used to get so much crap from this director, but even though at least half of it didn't work for me, I have to admit that it is actually still worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 16 January 2018 10:05
(A review of About Time)Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I really liked it a lot as it turned out to be one of the best romantic-comedies I have seen in quite a while and it is easily one of the best movies delivered by Richard Curtis who has always been a master in this genre. Indeed, the characters were just lovely and so well played by a very strong cast, especially Domhnall Gleeson who gave a here a star-making performance. Unfortunately, to be honest, I have to admit that I actually didn't care much about the time travelling concept. I mean, I understand that it was pretty much the only thing that made this movie stand out from you average rom-com but what did it really add to this story? Nothing much, in my opinion. Indeed, eventually, even though the main character ends up with an amazing gift, he only used it to make some minor changes in his life so it felt rather pointless, without mentioning the major plot-holes it created or the fact that he never told the love of his life about this major trademark. Eventually, even though it felt like a rather useless but harmless gimmick, it didn't bother me and I still enjoyed so much this cute couple and, therefore, the damned thing is really worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 15 January 2018 10:32
(A review of Joe)There is no denying that Nicolas Cage, like many other great actors I used to love, has been wasting his talent with some Direct-to-DVD garbage already for many years. Fortunately, from time to time, but unfortunately, more and more rarely, he would still be showing up in something actually decent and this movie was definitely one of these very welcome exceptions. To be honest, it was pretty much straightforward and I guess it was missing something to become truly remarkable but it was still a really solid drama. First of all, David Gordon Green managed to deliver quite a realistic and to be honest rather depressing background for the characters. Of course, Nicolas Cage was pretty strong delivering one of his best performances in years in order to create one of his most complex characters. I don't think it was a coincidence that the main character was called Joe. Indeed, it was pretty much an average guy, neither great or awful. In fact, he seemed to be really struggling in life in general, barely keeping his head above water, only to be able to be at least functional. Suddenly, he meets this kid, also very wel played, who has been dealt only some bad cards in his life, and yet, this young boy still want to keep fighting, even if it seems to be completely hopeless. Even though Joe has been described as a role-model, in fact, I think it was actually the other way around, and it was this kid who turned out to be his role-model after all. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn't seem to be much, this movie actually worked for me and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 14 January 2018 10:28
(A review of Spy)Recently, I saw 'The Heat' which turned out to be terribly weak but since this movie had been rather successful at the box-office, I thought I might give Paul Feig another chance to redeem himself. Well, even though this movie was indeed an improvement, the improvement was unfortunately only minor, I'm afraid. At least, there was a nice cast involved, the concept had some potential and there were some decent jokes. And, yet, it still didn't really work. The first thing that annoyed me was that the whole thing was just a mess. Indeed, it was too long and they kept switching from ideas every 5 minutes. For example, at first, it seemed that the main character would be a really incompetent agent because of her lack of field experience but, then, she became suddenly some kind of super-spy. Then, most of the supporting characters changed side at some point or another which became really tedious very quickly. Finally, most of the jokes were rather lame and Jason Statham, who had a great opportunity here to make fun of his usual action flicks, was completely wasted with a rather boring and unfunny character. 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 good movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 14 January 2018 06:56
(A review of You Were Never Really Here)To be honest, I actually had no idea what this movie was about but since I have always been a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, since I had to keep guessing what the hell was going on at least during the first half, it turned out to be quite fascinating but also slightly frustrating at the same time. At last, when it became pretty obvious what the story was actually about, I can't say I was really blown away. Indeed, it was rather preposterous but, eventually, I don't think that Lynne Ramsay actually cared much about the plot. I think she was more interested in delivering a specific mood and, in this area, she definitely succeeded. Indeed, the combination of striking visual scenes with a strong soundtrack was just really neat. And, of course, her other goal was to show one of the most tormented souls I have ever seen and Joaquin Phoenix was once again pretty impressive. Indeed, I think he was in every single scene and he was just so intense, as a result, his portrayal was at the same time heartbreaking and spellbinding to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even though the story didn't really work for me, thanks to some very strong directing and acting, it was still really good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 13 January 2018 08:45
(A review of China Moon)I was pretty sure that I already saw this movie but since it was a very long time ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, after re-watching the damned thing, I'm pretty sure now that I never saw it before. Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty decent neo-noir feature. Indeed, the mood was nice but what I enjoyed the most was the cast which was really neat (Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe, Benicio Del Toro). Unfortunately, they made 2 mistakes preventing this movie from being more than just a decent watch. First of all, they took too much time before the murder actually took place. As a result, they didn't have enough time to develop the investigation which had to be wrapped up too quickly. Then, the other mistake they made was to have Benicio Del Toro being also involved in this murder conspiracy. Basically, all the characters were pretty much involved and guilty in some way or another which was rather far-fetched. In my opinion, it would have been more effective if Del Toro had nothing to do with it and tried to figure it all out putting all the pieces all together while Ed Harris would try to find a way to get out of this mess. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still not bad at all and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 12 January 2018 10:15
(A review of The Last Samurai)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, the first thing I noticed while re-watching the damned thing was that it was actually pretty much 'Dances with Wolves' in Japan. As a result, they made a similar mistake which was that, in 'Dances with Wolves', Kevin Costner actually became a better Indian than the Indians themselves and, here, Tom Cruise pretty much mastered the art of being a samurai in a few months when it would take an actual samurai years to reach this level. Another thing that bothered me was that they never clearly explained why there was actually some rebellion in Japan at the time. Finally, even though it was interesting that the main character was suffering of PTSD, it didn't really make sense that he would go to Japan to crush another rebellion, even for a lot of money, since he would already know what the outcome would be. Concerning Tom Cruise, the guy was and still is seriously charismatic but, as usual, even though his performance was solid, he didn't take enough risks and, as a result, it all felt really safe and completely predictable. At least, I did like the fact that the Japanese characters were always talking Japanese to each other and not suddenly in English just only because it would be more convenient for the American audience. Anyway, eventually, the whole thing was still visually really neat and, in spite of its flaws, it was fairly entertaining and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 11 January 2018 10:39
(A review of Mannenharten 2)To be honest, I didn't expect much from this movie but since my wife really enjoyed the first installment, we still ended up watching this sequel together. First of all, even though my wife was really convinced that 'Mannenharten' was a nice movie, we both could barely remember what exactly happened in this movie when we actually saw it less than 2 years ago and it shows, in my opinion, how completely forgettable the damned thing actually was. Anyway, once again, I really struggled to care about this sequel. At least, it wasn't not really worse, it was about the same level but it wasn't something that the makers should be really proud of. Basically, they followed the same formula, delivering several half-baked romantic little stories, and, in my opinion, this gimmick has become such a lazy way to write romantic-comedies which can already be pretty tedious even without using this gimmick. At least, the cast was decent but they really deserved some better material. Anyway, even though the damned thing was rather harmless, I thought it was still seriously boring and 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, 3 months ago on 10 January 2018 10:38
(A review of Stand Up Guys)Al Pacino used to be one of my favorite actors but unfortunately, pretty much like Robert De Niro, he has spent the last 10, maybe even 20 years, wasting his great talent with some really weak movies. With this in mind, I wasn't expecting much from this movie but since the ratings were actually decent, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though it turned out to be watchable, it was still nothing amazing though. In fact, pretty much half of it was really generic or even some serious garbage. At least, they gave us the opportunity to spend a whole day with Christopher Walken and Al Pacino which was pretry neat. I wish they did bring Alan Arkin earlier in this story as it got even better when he was involved. Eventually, it all boils down to the question if you should give the makers some slack for giving us a rather weak story just because you love, or used to love, so much the actors involved. In my case, with such movies, I'm never able to stop wondering how awesome it could have been if they had been provided with some stronger material. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it was worth a look, if only for the cast involved.
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