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CollectionsAn average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 8 March 2017 08:09
(A review of Broken City)For the first time around, Allen Hughes was coming up with a new directing effort without his brother Albert and even though it barely got noticed when it was released, I still wanted to check it out. To be honest, even though I really loved 'Menace II Society', nothing else the Hughes brothers have done afterwards really managed to impress me and this movie was another fine example. I mean, sure, it was watchable but the plot was just really generic and fairly predictable. To make it more complicated than it actually was, they threw so many names that I wasn't really able to remember exactly who was who after 10 minutes. At least, there was a decent cast involved (Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffrey Wright, Barry Pepper, Natalie Martinez, Kyle Chandler) and I was above all impressed by Russell Crowe who was completely convincing in this part. On the other hand, I wish I could say the same about Mark Wahlberg but it is exactly with this kind of movies that you can see how limited his acting range can be. I mean, the guy is charismatic, I'll give you that, but through the whole thing, I didn't see much mental struggle or emotion coming from this actor. Apparently, Michael Fassbender declined to play the lead but some strong actor like him would have really helped this flick . Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still a decent watch, even if it was completely forgettable
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An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 7 March 2017 09:18
(A review of Joy)After 10 long years during which he managed to release only the really obscure ‘I Heart Huckabees’, David O. Russell made an impressive come-back with the very neat ‘The Fighter’ and following this come-back, Russell has been quite productive releasing 4 movies in just 6 years. Well, from all these movies, I really loved ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ which became no less then one of my all-time favorite movies but I already had a hard time with ‘American Hustle’ which was rather overrated in my opinion and this feature was even weaker, I’m afraid. The main problem I had is that, in spite of all the efforts from Russell and his stellar cast, I had a hard time to care about this true story about the woman who invented the marvelous self-wringing mop. Seriously, I thought it was pretty obvious that Russell tried to spice up the whole thing by making Joy’s family quirky and even downright weird just to cover up the fact that there was actually nothing really fascinating about this tale. It reminded me of ‘Flash of Genius’ which was a really obscure movie about the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper. The story itself was nothing really amazing but the approach (how this inventor was ripped off by Ford and how he became obsessed with his battle against this corportation) was really interesting. Well, in this case, the approach chosen by Russell (focusing on Joy and her quirky family members) really didn’t work. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, thanks to the really neat cast involved, it was still a decent watch and I still think it is worth a look though but Russell should maybe take a little bit more time on his next project to make sure that it really works this time.
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A very good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 5 March 2017 06:44
(A review of Selma)Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it has been a while since I have seen such an heartbreaking picture. Indeed, like everyone else, I do believe that Martin Luther King was one of the most inspiring human beings that ever lived and this movie was a great reminder on how difficult and sad his fight was. In fact, I thought the message delivered by this movie was now even stronger following the recent disaster represented by the victory of Donald Trump at the presidential election. Indeed, the main reason the guy actually won was because so many people didn't even bother give their votes and it is just infuriating when you think how hard some people, not only King but all the people supporting his movement, fought so that everyone would be allowed to vote. Indeed, one of the great lessons giving by this movie is that the right to vote is not really in fact about chosing the best person to represent you, very often, it is in fact about preventing some really awful people to get elected and it certainly what should have happened with Trump. Anyway, I thought it was a great historical drama and it is definitely worth a look.
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A very good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 4 March 2017 03:17
(A review of Memories of Murder)Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure. Indeed, right from the start, I recognized the unique style of Joon-ho Bong which was in this case to mix a very dark and realistic serial-killer thriller with some unexpected humor. He already did something similar with 'Gwoemul' in which he mixed a typical monster feature also with some humor but even though I liked this movie as well, it didn't completely convince me and I thought this previous directing effort worked better. Indeed, I really enjoyed the fact that there were just so many layers. Not only it gave a great look on how rural South Korea must have been in the 80's, there was also this clash between the modern methods used by a cop from Seoul and the (usually brutal) methods used by the local cops who seemed to be just terribly incompetent. It is also one of these few very brave thrillers which dare not to finish everything with some preposterous and annoying twist suddenly solving the case and it made the whole thing even more fascinating. To conclude, this movie completely deserved its stellar reputation, it was quite a spellbinding thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 3 March 2017 11:28
(A review of Logan)At last, you have to give some credit to Hugh Jackman as he managed to end his impressive 17 years run as Wolverine with finally a decent solo installment. Indeed, even though he was so far the big star in this franchise, he didn't get much luck with the previous movies focusing on his character. Still, even though it was indeed pretty good, I have to admit that I wasn't completely convinced though. Indeed, the biggest issue was that the story, even if it was fairly entertaining, was still seriously generic. Furthermore, it was rather disappointing that they didn't give the guy a decent opponent and the best they could come up with was to have him fight an evil version of himself which is a seriously old and tedious gimmick. Still, the damned thing worked anyway. Not really because it was finally R rated and seriously violent, a long lasting wish of Jackman, but above all because the tone was just so dark and gloomy. Indeed, through the whole thing, you get to see some older versions of Logan and Xavier and they were both really in bad shape which was just so refreshing. Concerning X-23, a lot has been said about this character but even if she was indeed interesting, I can't see her taking over the torch and the future of the X-Men franchise remains rather uncertain at this point. Anyway, to conclude, it was a really decent super-hero feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 2 March 2017 09:12
(A review of Pushing Hands)Since this movie was the last one directed by Ang Lee that I hadn't watch so far, of course, I was really eager to watch the damned thing. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a decent watch but it was definitely not one of Lee's best movies and it was pretty obvious that it was a directing debut. Indeed, it was visually efficient but, not much more than that but the focus was on the characters and what they were going through and, fortunately, Lee managed to deliver something interesting in this area, focusing on the clash between Eastern and Western cultures and between the modern and traditional ways of life. Still, even in this area, the movie didn't always work as it felt rather unbalanced. Indeed, on one hand, the Chinese grandfather was portrayed as rather quirky and charismatic but, on the other hand, the American daughter-in-law was displayed as rather uptight and neurotic which was rather unfair in my opinion. Furthermore, from the moment that the grandfather left the house, the whole thing actually slightly fell apart with a rather ridiculous confrontation at a Chinese restaurant. Still, the core subject was quite interesting and it would be further developed in the next 2 great movies delivered by this director ('Xi yan' and 'Yin shi nan nu'), launching the international career of one of the most promising directors in the world. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still pretty good and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ang Lee's work.
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A very good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 1 March 2017 10:05
(A review of Hacksaw Ridge)Even though Mel Gibson has been rather struggling as an actor ever since his return in 2010, many argued that he made a major come-back as a director with this movie which he directed 10 years after the really underrated 'Apocalypto'. Indeed, this movie was apparently so good that it is considered by many as one of the best movies released in 2016. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that it actually took me a while to really get into this story. Indeed, before watching the damned thing, I didn't watch a trailer and I didn't even read a synopsis so, at first, I thought it would be another rather straightforward tale of a young man going to war like so many others I have seen before. Obviously, it was really pleased that, for once, it was actually dealing with a medic, a guy who refused to even hold a rifle. Indeed, we never talk about them but those guys are just crucial in a battle and most of them are just heroes, even maybe more than all these soldiers trying to kill as many enemies as possible. For Andrew Garfield, 2016 was quite a banner year after his already impressive performance in 'Silence'. To conclude, Mel Gibson has made a name as a director after making some really violent movies and, this time, even if he still delivered some gruesome but impressive battle scenes, he decided to focus on the least violent soldier but also the most courageous and inspiring man ever witnessed on a battlefield and the end-result was just really impressive.
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A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 1 March 2017 09:50
(A review of Citizenfour)Even though I barely watch the news nowadays, like everyone else, I know who Edward Snowden is but, to be honest, when he came up with his big revelation, I wasn’t really surprised at all. I mean, with all this data available, it would be rather naïve to believe that most government organisations wouldn't be eager to tap into this huge source of information. I mean, I’m not saying that it is ok but I think it was just inevitable. Concerning this movie, it is quite striking to see Edward Snowden and the involved journalists discussing their plan just hours before releasing some of these highly classified documents. Still, even though Snowden tried to convince us that the whole endeavour was not about him, eventually, the guy still became a huge star. Eventually, you might wonder, if he didn’t reveal his identity so quickly, maybe the focus would have been set more on his quest than on himself. In fact, within only 3 years, Oliver Stone would make a thriller about all this and it was called ‘Snowden’ showing how the guy still got a lot of attention after all. Anyway, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a really interesting documentary and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested by this subject.
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An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 27 February 2017 10:41
(A review of In the Heart of the Sea)Back in 2013, Ron Howard and Chris Hemsworth made together 'Rush' which was a box-office flop but, at least, it was very well received and, apparently, this end-result was good enough for them so they came up afterwards with another true tale but the flop was even bigger this time, I'm afraid. To be honest, right from the start, the whole thing felt slightly misguided. Indeed, basically, in fact, it was not exactly about 'Moby Dick', it was apparently an adaptation of a book about how Herman Melville was inspired by a true story to write his own literary classic. I mean, right from there, how would you approach something so convoluted? Well, apparently, if you are Ron Howard, a decent but never really groundbreaking director, in the most conventional way possible so, of course, it failed miserably. I mean, in fact, it wasn't a bad movie at all, the production value was quite impressive, the action scenes were pretty badass and I was entertained thoughout the whole thing but I wasn't exactly inspired of gobsmacked by what was displayed on the screen at any moment and, eventually, I think a straight adaptation of 'Moby Dick' would have worked better. Anyway, it still think it was another decent effort from this director and, in spite of its flaws, I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ron Howard's work.
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A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 26 February 2017 07:06
(A review of The Lego Batman Movie)Usually, the first movie I see each year turns out to be pretty lame. For example, in 2016, I started the year with 'The Fifth Wave' which turned out to be so weak that, even after watching maybe 50 movies released the same year, it was still the worst of the whole bunch. Well, 2017 broke this tradition as the first movie was actualy pretty decent. Indeed, 'The Lego Movie' was at the time a nice surprise and this spin-off was a decent follow-up. Sure, it was maybe not an improvement but, at least, it was not a step down. This time, they slightly turned down the meta aspect of this franchise and, in fact, at least, a third of it was actually a rather straightforward batman installment but it wasn't an issue. Indeed, I really enjoyed how they managed to keep the dark and gloomy mood linked to this character but they still kept the daft sense of humor linked to the Lego franchise and this mix worked really well. To be honest, I'm not really sure if it will work with a 3rd movie as those movies are just so busy and, to be honest, rather hyperactive but, since this movie did fairly well at the box-office, it would surely come up at some point. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was fairly entertaining and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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