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CollectionsOf course, I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I was really eager to check it out again. In fact, I remember it very well when it was released in France. Indeed, it was a huge critical and commercial success, everybody was talking about this flick to the point that it was even getting slightly annoying. Anyway, I still saw it in the movie theater back then but, to be honest, even though I really admired the work done, it never completely blew me away though. I mean, it was definitely visually really neat, the soundtrack by Yann Tiersen was just mesmerizing and it was a charming movie, no doubt about it. Eventually, it might be the quirkiest movie ever made, even the best movie in this genre but I’m afraid its quirkiness actually backfired. I mean, the whole thing was all nice and cute but, in my opinion, it is ultimately also rather shallow. Indeed, even though the whole movie tried very hard to convince the viewers that Amélie Poulain was a fascinating girl who will change our life forever, I thought she was cute but not much more than that. It was like those random anecdotes popping up every 30 secondes about the characters or life in general. Sure, it was entertaining but were these little scenes really so fascinating or life changing? Not really, at least, it wasn't for me. Anyway, even if I’m not a huge fan of this movie, I have to admit that it is still pretty good and it is definitely worth, especially if you like the genre.
A classic
Posted : 8 years ago on 11 April 2017 07:43
(A review of Amélie)
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An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 9 April 2017 06:53
(A review of Dheepan)Since I'm big fan of Jacques Audiard and since this movie won the Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival, I was really eager to check it out. I remember that, at the time, it was a rather controversial win since many didn't expect this movie to get this prize, especially since it was competing against the seemingly far superior 'Saul fia'. Well, even though it turned out to be a decent watch, it was still far from being Audiard's best directing effort. Indeed, in my opinion, even though half of it was really compelling and even quite fascinating to behold, the other half, on the other hand, barely worked, I'm afraid. First of all, even though the 3 actors involved delivered some strong performances, they must have been the best looking refugee family I have ever seen which made them maybe easier to watch but it felt also rather misguided and I always felt conscious that I was watching some actors. Furthermore, the fact that they seemed to get along fine right from the very beginning felt too good to be true. Then, you had this completely failed scene where Dheepan gets in touch with a colonel from Sri Lanka. Seriously, the guy orders him to gather some money to buy some weapons but how the hell is Dheepan going to achieve this goal with his job as a caretaker? But then, the colonel and his 'mission' were never mentioned again showing how completely pointless the scene was. They eventually had some bigger problems with some local gangsters but even though it was quite interesting, even this storyline was rather half-baked and towards the end, I had the feeling that I was suddenly watching 'Scarface' or some classic Honk-Kong action flick from the 80's directed by John Woo. To conclude, even though the whole thing was seriously flawed, it was still a compelling tale about some refugees, something really topical nowadays, so I still think it is worth a look but it is probably one of the least deserving winners of the Golden Palm.
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An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 8 April 2017 08:31
(A review of Identity Thief)To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Jason Bateman, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be rather lame, I'm afraid. I mean, identity theft is a rather fascinating subject and I'm rather surprised that they don't try to make more movies about this subject. For some reasons, one of the first major production about this topic turned out to be a comedy and it seemed to be really tricky to try to deliver something funny about something so serious involving some victims whose life can be really shattered about such crimes. And, indeed, the whole thing never worked. I mean, they even ended up with such scenes involving Jason Bateman completely smashing a guitar on Melissa McCarthy. Seriously, that was basically the level of the humor displayed in this movie. To make things worse, not only the jokes were often cringe-inducing but it was also fairly unconvincing. I mean, of course, they went on a road-trip which must be the most overused gimmick ever but how could they bond like this? Seriously, because of her, the guy had no money left, he will probably loose his job as well but, still, he actually sympathized with her but for what reason exactly? Anyway, eventually, thanks to Bateman and McCarthy who did what they could with this material, it was still watchable but, even so, I don't think it is really worth a look.
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A classic
Posted : 8 years ago on 7 April 2017 09:30
(A review of The Evil Dead)Of course, I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, maybe 20 years ago, I was really eager to check it out again. Obviously, it has become since then a major cult-classic but, to be honest, even though I did like it, I have never been a really huge fan and, to be honest, this re-watch didn't change my mind. I mean, sure, I have to admit it, it is definitely a fun horror-comedy, no doubt about it, but, at the end of the day, I think it was above all a cheap flick that Sam Raimi made at the time to start up his career. Eventually, after all these years, if you look back at his legacy, it still is pretty much his most acclaimed directing effort which is, at the same time, pretty neat but also pretty sad, when you think about it. Since then, they have recently released a remake which was approved by Sam Raimi and since it was fairly well received, I was really eager to check it out but, eventually, I was amazed by how underwhelming this remake turned out to be after all. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I have to admit it, after more then 30 years after its release, it still holds up pretty well, it is still really entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 6 April 2017 09:23
(A review of People Like Us)To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a pretty cool cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though the beginning was promising, as soon as the main character got this bag full of money and learned his father's secret, the whole thing became just so damned predicable and I lost pretty much all my interest in this movie. I mean, just take a look at the poster, it is no rocket science to guess what will eventually happen to these characters. In fact, it reminded me of a Canadian movie I saw recently called 'Juste la fin du monde' which was also dealing with a young man going back to his family after a very long absence. The big difference between the 2 movies was that this movie had to deal with such obvious mechanism and strings linked to the plot, it was rather annoying and to say that it was based on some true events at the beginning made it even worse. And, yet, I have to admit that the damned thing actually managed to slowly win me over. Indeed, the characters were actually rather well written and they deserved a better story. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still watchable and I guess it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 5 April 2017 08:13
(A review of Fruitvale Station)Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, even though it was definitely a decent watch, I can't say it really blew away though. I guess it had to do with the fact that even though Oscar Grant was an interesting character, he was still not really fascinating, regardless of his really tragic death. Eventually, this movie raises the following question: should your life becomes suddenly more interesting from the moment you die in the most random way possible? Anyway, in spite of these flaws, it was still a pretty good movie though thanks to some solid directing from Ryan Coogler, especially when you think that it was his directing debut, and a star-making performance from Michael B. Jordan. Indeed, even though I had already seen couple of his other movies, it is actually thanks to this movie that I finally saw his true potential. Indeed, the guy has enough charisma and talent to actually become the next Denzel Washington. Anyway, to conclude, even though I don't think this movie was really a masterpiece, it was still a solid drama 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 4 April 2017 08:29
(A review of A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence)To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from this movie but since it did win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I must admit that I was really surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the damned thing. Basically, they gave us some small vignettes always shot with one single shot with a static camera and it was some kind of mix involving some really dry humor with some absurdism. To be honest, I never thought that something like this would appeal to me and I usually have a hard time to connect with this typical Scandinavian humor but, somehow, I actually got most of the jokes and I thought it was simply really funny. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they did spend too much time with these 2 loser salesmen though. I mean, those guys were at first quite entertaining but they spent at least a 3rd of the running time on them and, as a result, their gimmick became just too repetitive at some point. At least, I understand why Roy Andersson is such a highly regarded director and I will make sure I check his other movies in the future. Anyway, to conclude, even if I don't think it was really a masterpiece, I thought it was one of the funniest comedies I have seen in quite some time and it is definitely worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 3 April 2017 09:07
(A review of Mother)Not so long ago, I saw 'Salinui chueok', and since I really loved this movie, I was quite eager to check out this other thriller directed by Joon-ho Bong. Well, even though I did like the damned thing, I have to admit that it didn't completely blow me away though. What bothered me the most was probably the fact that it borrowed so many elements from 'Salinui chueok' like the obviously innocent dim-witted suspect, the incompetent police force, the ridiculous crime reproduction or the small town where everyone seems to know everybody. The main difference was the mother but even though she was interesting enough, I never thought that she was really fascinating. And, of course, you had the fact that the conclusion was in fact pretty much completely the opposite of what happened in 'Salinui chueok'. I mean, this twist didn't really bother me but it is something actually rather difficult to achieve (to have a suspect and spend the whole movie to prove his innocence when he was actually guilty all along) and it didn't really work here. Indeed, when you discover the truth, it felt as if half of the movie was actually a waste of time and it felt also seriously random (basically, the guy had no idea who this girl was and he killed her only because she called him an idiot). Still, I really have a weak spot for Joon-ho Bong who alway manages to give an unique mix of drama, thriller and humor and, therefore, the damned thing is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 2 April 2017 07:47
(A review of Son of Saul )Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out and, eventually, I was definitely not disappointed by the damned thing. Indeed, it turned out to be the best movie released in 2015, no less than that. I have to admit that I was 'glad' that I saw 'Shoah' not so long ago as it greatly helped me to understand what the hell was going on and to appreciate this impressive movie. To be honest, I'm not sure if you can get into this movie if your knowledge about the holocaust doesn't go beyond 'The Schindler's List' or what they teach you in school. Anyway, basically, with this movie, right from the beginning, you are immersed in some kind of chaotic and irrational mayhem, it's so relentless that the makers don't give you one single wide shot in order to breath, to take a few seconds to understand what just happened, to actually see and try to understand this whole situation. Instead, you stay close, very close, to some random man who also seems to act really irationally but, in such a doomed time and place, after spending your days helping to exterminate men, women and children, just so you could survive another day, was it in anyway possible to keep your sanity and act like a sensible human-being? Coming back to their choice of never really show what was exactly going on, the effect was so more powerful, effective and horrifying, as a result, you will never forget something that you actually never really saw. To conclude, it is rather amazing that this movie was actually a directing debut, it was quite flawless and it is definitely worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 1 April 2017 07:12
(A review of Life)To be honest, I had no idea what this movie was actually about and it was Nick, my step-son, who suggested that we should check it out. Well, I have to admit that the whole thing had some potential, especially with such a strong cast involved but, eventually, I thought it was still rather disappointing. Basically, they went for some kind of mix of 'Gravity' and 'Alien' but, even though it was certainly watchable, it was also completely forgettable. Indeed, I did like the realistic approach they took and I won't blame the cast, they all gave some decent performances. Unfortunately, in the contrary to 'Gravity' in which there was only one character, there was a crew of 6 members here and, while it didn't like seem like a lot of people to handle, none of them was developed at all and, as a result, it was rather difficult to really care for them. A bigger problem was that, from the moment that the alien became hostile, it became really predictable and even rather boring. I mean, seriously, ever since 'Alien' came out, how many science-fiction movies have we seen following pretty much the same formula? Well, this movie's biggest failure was that it didn't add anything new to the genre. To conclude, actually, it wasn't bad at all, it was even rather well made so I guess it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre, but don't expect anything really mind-blowing before watching the damned thing.
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