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All reviews - Movies (7793) - TV Shows (10)

A good movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 16 December 2017 10:44 (A review of Of Mice and Men)

That's another movie that I wanted to watch for so many years. First of all, even if I probably should have, I have to admit that I haven't read yet the classic novel written by John Steinbeck. Concerning Gary Sinise, like other actors such as Vin Diesel, Sam Neill or Billy Bob Thornton, he actually launched his career by directing a few movies before focusing solely on acting. Coming back to our main feature, to be honest, even though it was a decent story with a strong performance by John Malkovich, I thought it was actually rather predictable. I mean, you can guess every dramatic event occurring miles ahead and, as a result, I have to admit that I wasn't exactly blown away. Eventually, what really sold me was its ending, because it was so bleak, so heartbreaking and, in the contrary to the rest of the movie, it actually took me by surprise. I mean, when I think about it, it really made sense but I was expected that Lennie and George would have simply run away, like they always did but, instead, Steinbeck chose such a more powerful way to end his tale which I won't forget for quite some time. Anyway, to conclude, it was a really solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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A good movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 13 December 2017 09:04 (A review of Rodney King)

To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from this movie but since it was directed by Spike Lee, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, even though  I knew obviously what happened to Rodney King, I have to admit that I didn't really remember much of the details on how it all went down at the time so, only as a reminder, this movie was already quite valuable. Seriously, after hearing how this case was handled, it is rather difficult to still have faith in the American justice system. But, eventually, the whole thing was not only about telling the simple facts which were very often seriously heartbreaking and Roger Guenveur Smith went way beyond that and  delivered a rather chaotic, surreal but very often spellbinding performance. Basically, as pointed out on a regular basis during this show, it wasn't only about what happened to Rodney King but it was more about how the African-Americans have been traumatized by decades, even centuries, of unfair mistreament and how difficult it is to cope with this legacy. To conclude, even though it was maybe missing something to become really amazing, it was still a really interesting one-man show and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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An average movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 12 December 2017 09:24 (A review of Soof 2)

To be honest, I didn’t expect much from this flick but since my wife really liked the 1st instalment and since this movie was available on Netflix, I thought we might as well check it out together. Well, I have to admit that I was actually positively surprised by this sequel and, in my opinion, it actually worked better than it predecessor. The main issue with ‘Soof’ was that, in spite of the fact that the concept had actually some potential and even though Lies Visschedijk was just so charming and charismatic, the damned thing was unfortunately rather poorly written.  Well, with this movie, it really worked better though. Indeed, the biggest improvement was that they managed to get the tone right this time, smoothly switching between light comedy and light drama. Furthermore, the makers stopped to shamelessly copy some other romantic-comedies and, this time around, it felt more like something original than just another copycat. Eventually, the only thing preventing this movie from really convincing me was the fact that it was still too random above all because there was just too many supporting characters involved. And, yet in spite of its randomness, the damned thing was still too predictable as well. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is actually worth a look, at least if you really like the genre.



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A good movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 10 December 2017 10:43 (A review of A Passage to India)

Since it was David Lean's last directing effort, I was really eager to check it out. Well, even though it was pretty good, I can't say it reached the level of other Lean's masterpieces such as 'Lawrence of Arabia' and, to be honest, I was rather surprised that Roger Ebert loved it so much. I suspect that Ebert eventually loved this movie more than I did mostly because he had read the classic novel written by E.M. Forster. Obviously, I didn't read the book and, quite often, I was quite struggling to understand what this movie was getting at and the whole thing felt rather messy and confusing to me. I mean, was there actually a main character? There was more or less a plot but it was still rather murky to me. It doesn't mean that I didn't like this movie though. Indeed, Judy Davis, who apparently didn't get along at all with David Lean, was really good and it gave a good idea on why the English and the Indian didn't manage to get along during the time that India was still a colony and why it didn't work. It displayed also that India, which I have never visited, seems to be a country which is equally fascinating but also so disturbing for us coming from the West. Anyway, to conclude, even though I don't think it is really a masterpiece, it was still an interesting watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in David Lean's work.


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An average movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 10 December 2017 08:47 (A review of Paddington)

Even though I heard about Paddington, I have to admit that my knowledge of his character didn't go beyond a set of coffee mugs that my wife brought in when we went to live together. Anyway, even though this movie turned out to a big commercial and critical success, to be honest, I didn't really care much about the damned thing, I'm afraid. At least, I have to admit that it was miles better than some similar movies also dealing with some CGI animated animals like 'Garfield', 'Alvin and the Chipmunks', 'Hop' or 'Yogi Bear'. Eventually, that was pretty much my main issue, the fact that even if Paddington himself was really cute and charming and even though this movie was probably the best one in this genre, it remains after all such a tedious genre nonetheless. I guess it didn't help either that I didn't grow up reading the stories involving the famous little bear. Still, if you look at the story slightly more carefully, you would notice that it is in fact really generic and predictable after all. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn't really impressed by the damned thing, I have to admit that it was still a solid family feature and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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An average movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 8 December 2017 06:16 (A review of Insidious: Chapter 2)

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since this franchise does have a solid reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. In fact, before watching this sequel, I have to admit that I didn't remember much about 'Insidious', except that, at the time, I thought that it was actually rather overrated. Well, as a result, it was already the very first fun thing to do while watching this 2nd installment which was to figure out what the hell already happened during the previous movie. Still, even though sequels in the horror genre tend to be usually underwhelming, I was actually positively surprised by this one which was at least as good as its predecessor was, if not even slightly better. I don't know, maybe it might have helped that it didn't have some really high expectations this time around (like I actually had with 'Insidious') but, anyway, this sequel did work for me. I was above all rather impressed by Patrick Wilson who was really convincingly switching between a loving father and a seriously creepy psychopath. Eventually, you might wonder why I didn't give this movie a higher rating since I was actually positively surprised by the damned thing. Basically, to be honest, even though it is inherent to the genre, the story was still too far-fetched and silly for my taste and something more grounded and focusing more on the psychological side of things would have been actually more interesting in my opinion. On top of that, like with is predecessor, I’m pretty sure I will forget most of it within a couple of days. Anyway, to conclude, it still turned out to be a decent sequel and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like genre.



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A good movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 7 December 2017 10:22 (A review of Richard III)

I don’t really remember why but I was actually really eager to watch this movie for quite some time. I guess it was probably because it had some really solid ratings and/or because there was a stellar cast involved. To be honest, I have to admit that I always had a hard time to get into these movies adapting William Shakespeare’s plays and keeping the original text. I mean, the language is awesome but it gets rather tiresome, especially in this case as I saw this movie in English with some Dutch subtitles (French is actually my mother tongue). Still, this movie is usually considered as one of the best Shakespeare adaptations and there was indeed many things to enjoy here. For example, it was pretty neat that they set the action in some alternative fascist version of England in the 30’s. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the cast was pretty impressive and they all delivered some really solid performances, especially Ian [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see]in the title role. For McKellen, this movie was a labor of love as he also wrote and produced the damned thing but it was really worth it and he was rightfully really proud of the end-result. To conclude, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a solid adaptation and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 



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An average movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 5 December 2017 03:10 (A review of Collateral Beauty)

Even though it seemed rather lame and even though it didn't get much love when it was released, since there was a really nice cast involved, I was still eager to check it out though. Well, it turned out to be really weak, I'm afraid. Seriously, you might wonder how did they manage to get such an impressive cast to show up for such a weak tale? I mean, heavy depression is a tough but fascinating subject. However, this movie is pretty much the end-result when you let Hollywood handle such a sensitive matter. Indeed, instead of showing what might goes on in someone's mind when they struggle with depression which is something that you almost never get to see in a movie, they gave some kind of whimsical drama but it was just so convoluted, ridiculous and even in fact rather mean and misguided. I mean, to be able to connect with their friend, they decide to hire some actors to make him think and the rest of the world that he actually became really crazy? Not to mention that they needed him to sign some contracts so they could become filthy rich. Seriously, it was a just terrible idea and, from the very beginning, it was pretty much doomed to fail, I'm afraid. Anyway, to  conclude, I think I was actually generous with my rating here but I guess it might still be worth a look, if only to see all these great actors working together.


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An average movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 4 December 2017 09:25 (A review of Life of Crime)

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a nice cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. On top of that, since I really loved ‘Jackie Brown’,  it was pretty neat to see again Ordell and Louis. Unfortunately, the whole thing didn’t really work for me. The first thing that bothered was that, even though Mos Def and John Hawkes were not bad, they played these 2 characters completey different than Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro did in ‘Jackie Brown’.  In this case, what was the point of bringing these characters in this case? Indeed, they might just as well give them some different names. Concerning Melanie, it was even more confusing. Was it the same real girl? How come she was about the same age as she was in ‘Jackie Brown’ then? Still, even if you would manage to forget that ‘Jackie Brown’ even existed, the story was decent but not really amazing. Indeed, it felt like a rather weak version of ‘Fargo’ and the ending barely made sense whatsoever. Anyway, to conclude, even though the damned thing really had some potential, it was rather disappointing but I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 



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A very good movie

Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 3 December 2017 07:34 (A review of Coco)

I already saw this movie but since it was available on Disney+, I was quite eager to check it out again. Since I have been following Pixar ever since 'Toy Story' was released and since this movie was really well received, the first time around, I saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, it was another great feature coming from Pixar and it shows that they should clearly focus more on some original material instead of constantly releasing some sequels or prequels. Anyway, as usual with these guys, the animation was just gorgeous to look at but, above all, the story was just quite fascinating showing that Pixar is still so much ahead of their competition. Indeed, another company, like Disney for example, would have focused only on the Mexican culture in great details but would have also delivered a rather generic plot ('Moana' would be a perfect example) but Pixar went way beyond that and the end-result was actually really deep. Of course, to dare talking like that about the dead in a family feature was already an impressive move but the struggle of the main character who was supposed to choose between his passion and his family was also just quite fascinating to behold. Indeed, on one hand, I was rooting for Miguel to follow his dream but, on the other hand, his family was not the usual bad guys and they clearly cared for him. Indeed, what's the point of becoming a super-star if you are going to leave everyone you love behind? And, of course, the ending was really strong and actually seriously heartbreaking. Anyway, to conclude, it was another amazing production from Pixar and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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