Login
Home
585 Lists
7768 Reviews
CollectionsAn average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 23 February 2017 09:01
(A review of Underdog)Well, to be honest, even though I had some really low expectations concerning this movie, I thought it was actually slightly better than I expected. I mean, don't misunderstand me, it was still seriously weak and the concept was just so misguided and lame, it was quite hopeless right from the start. Indeed, there is one gimmick I already don't like in the Disney family features and it is these cringe-inducing talking animals. Even with the recent live adaptation of 'The Jungle Book' which was a big critical and commercial success, it still barely worked in my opinion. To make things worse, with this movie, you had this dog who not only could talk but who could also do all kinds of ridiculous tricks with a rather pathetic end-result which was not helped by some rather weak CGI special effects. Eventually, there were only 2 things that saved this movie from becoming a total disaster. First, I thought that Jason Lee did a decent job voicing the main character which was quite an achievement considering the lame material he had. Secondly, this dog actually had a decent personality. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only positive elements about this movie so I still don't think it is worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 22 February 2017 09:14
(A review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World)First of all, this movie had a really neat title and I really liked the concept of making a quirky comedy about the end of the world. Unfortunately, it's too bad that the end-result turned out to be rather underwhelming. I mean, I don't blame Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, they did what they could but they were not helped by the fact that they were stuck playing their usual stereotypes, Carell playing another average loser and Knightley playing another quirky alternative girl. To make things worse, both characters were neither really interesting or entertaining and, even though they had nothing in common, you were supposed to believe that they would fall for each other which was really hard to swallow. At first, the focus was set on Carell's character whose life was pretty much already miserable even before the upcoming end of the world but, instead of doing something, anything, the guy simply decided to wait until the end and I think it was a poor decision since it made it for me almost impossible to really care for the guy. Furthermore, I didn't really understand in what way Keira Knightley's character was so wonderful that he would change drastically his attitude during his remaining days. Anyway, to conclude, even if the whole thing didn't really work for me, I guess it is watchable but it is pretty obvious that they could have done so much more with this concept.Ā
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 22 February 2017 09:14
(A review of The Water Diviner)Like any other actor, at some point, [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see]thought he might as well direct his own movie and this feature was the end-result. Apparently, it was rather well received when it was released but, eventually, I thought it was a decent watch but not much more than that, to be honest. I mean, it was an interesting story, the directing was not bad and Russell Crowe gave a solid performance but I canāt say I was ever really impressed by the whole thing. First of all, it was dealing with Gallipoli which was apparently a major battle/campaign during WWI involving Australia. Well, even though I have heard about Gallipoli, Iām not familiar at all with what happened there and Iām not sure if this movie was the best starting point to get acquainted with these events. Furthermore, I donāt know, there was something interesting about this guy who could find some water in a desert but the connection between his talent and the search of his lost sons was rather poorly developed and it didnāt help that all his connections with some Turkish people (a widow, her son and a soldier) were just too easy and predictable (above all, the ending when Olga Kurylenkoās character pretty much proposes to the guy was not only really cheesy but also rather unbelievable). Anyway, to conclude, even if it didnāt really blow me away, it was still a decent drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 21 February 2017 08:22
(A review of White Bird in a Blizzard)I have a somewhat strange relationship with Gregg Arakiās work. Indeed, ever since I saw āThe Doom Generationā about 20 years ago, I have been really eager to check his other movies but, somehow, I watch one of his movies only once every 5 years. Anyway, since this movie was also starring Shailene Woodley and Eva Green, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I think it must be the most accessible movie directed by Araki so far (except for a lot of topless nudity from Woodley, nothing really shocking or controversial happened during the whole thing) but, as a result, it didnāt really make a huge impression either, Iām afraid. Above all, the more I think about it, the more I believe that the ending didnāt really add up and I think it would have been more interesting if it would have been more ambiguous. Anyway, it doesnāt mean that it was a bad movie though, in the contrary. Indeed, I really liked the mood and how they managed to show this tale completely through the eyes of the main character and, as a result, it really seemed for a while that her mother vanished when, in fact, it was actually pretty obvious that she was killed probably by her husband. Furthermore, Ā Shailene Woodley, after āThe Descendantsā, āThe Spectacular Nowā and āThe Fault in Our Starsā, once again really impressed me, itās too bad that the āDivergentā franchise turned out to be such a failure and I hope her promising career wonāt be too damaged. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really ground-breaking, I thought it was still a solid drama and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 19 February 2017 07:40
(A review of Silence)Since I'm a huge of fan of Martin Scorsese, of course, I was really eager to check this flick but there were a couple of things that worried me about this project. First of all, even though Scorsese had announced that he will direct this movie, he kept pushing it indefinitely to release something else and, when it seemed that he would finally get it done, I had the feeling that it was partially because he was contractually obligated and also to finally getting done with it. On top of that, it wasn't exactly a huge critical success when it was released so, to be honest, I had lowered my expectations and I thought it might turn out to be a minor effort for this great master. Well, even though it was definitely one of his least accessible movies, the damned thing was actually quite spellbinding to behold. The fact that I have always been fascinated by the subject of religion certainly did help and I thought that this movie was a really interesting study on faith and on how, at the same time, it can be completely misguided but also really inspiring. With this movie, you can pretty much feel how conflicted Scorsese will always be towards the Catholic church even though you might wonder if almost 3 hours were really necessary for this journey. To conclude, even though it won't be one of his best movies, I'm amazed by how much it touched me and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested by this subject or by Martin Scorsese's work.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A bad movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 18 February 2017 08:26
(A review of Dumb and Dumber To)I actually saw 'Dumb & Dumber' in the movie theater when it was released 20 years ago but, to be honest, even if I should maybe check it out again after all these years, I really didn't like the damned thing, I have always been amazed that it is pretty much considered as a classic and, in my opinion, it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made. So, with this in mind, obviously, I didn't expect much from this sequel and, indeed, the whole thing was really lame confirming my beliefs that there was and there is still nothing funny about these 2 characters. I mean, I'll have to admit it, I did chuckle a few times but I didn't happen really often and most of the movie was just really painful to watch. At least, you'll have to give Jim Carrey some credit as, except for 'Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls', the guy managed to stay away from all these lame sequels for 20 years, even if he was sometimes offered a big fat paycheck and I guess you can't blame him for going back to one of his most famous roles after all this time but I'm afraid it gives also the feeling that this actor seems slightly desperate to finally get a hit (which he didn't even get with this movie). Anyway, I really didn't like this flick and I don't think it is worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 18 February 2017 08:07
(A review of Alien: Resurrection)To be honest, I never really understood the general grudge against this movie. I mean, sure, I have to admit it, it was definitely not a masterpiece and it was really not on the same level as 'Alien' Ā and 'Aliens' but, still, I think it is actually a decent movie and it has always been one of my guilty pleasures. Maybe it also had to do with the fact that it was the only Alien installment starring Sigourney Weaver that I managed to see in the movie theater when it was released and, at the time, there was quite some hype in France because Jean-Pierre Jeunet, after directing 2 major cult-classics ('Delicatessen' and 'La citĆ© des enfants perdus'), was making his first (and so far only) movie in Hollywood. Well, you can say whatever you want but I thought that the first half was actually pretty strong. Indeed, if you are familiar with Jeunet's earlier movies, you would recognize right away his visual style and the mood was quite spellbinding. I also liked the way they managed to bring back Ripley in this story and Weaver gave this clone a very distinctive personality from the original Ripley which was also pretty neat. Unfortunately, as soon as the Aliens managed to escape, Ā the plot moved on on auto-pilot, it was all way too generic and predictable and the whole thing became yet another remake of 'Alien' which was rather disappointing. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its obvious flaws and its rather lame reputation, I always had a weak spot for this movie and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 17 February 2017 08:19
(A review of The Deep Blue Sea)To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this rather obscure feature but since I have a weak spot for Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. First of all, this movie was another example that a random chronology must be one of the of the most annoying gimmicks because it is very often used only to make a story look more complicated that it actually is. In this case, Ā during the first half, I was really wondering where the story was getting at with these jumps back-and-forth but, at the mid-point, it finally became crystal clear what the hell was going on. Basically, it was about an attractive but really neurotic woman who married a rich but boring man and fell in love with a pretty but also really shallow fellow. Seriously, thatās all it was and, even though Rachel Weisz was very nice to look at and gave another strong performance, I never felt sorry for this woman at all. As pointed out by Freddie, the character played by Tom Hiddleston, it seemed that she married with the first guy who proposed to her and fell in love with the first guy who gave her a little bit of attention. Ā It is pretty obvious that the makers were inspired by some vintage British classics, especially 'Brief Encouter', but this movie never reached that level. At least, it was visually pretty neat and the actors involved were pretty good but Iām afraid the whole thing didnāt really work for me.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 15 February 2017 08:43
(A review of Bulletproof)Well, this movie would be one of the rare occasions that Adam Sandler would try something else than his usual (really lame) comedies. And, as usual, every time the guy goes out of his comfort zone, it turned out to be a flop at the box-office. To be honest, I thought it was not so bad after all. I mean, it perhaps had to do with the fact that, by now, I have watched so much garbage coming from this actor so I have learned to drastically lower my expectations concerning his work but I thought the damned thing was actually watchable. Sure, it was still pretty weak and the plot was just terribly generic and predictable but there were a couple of decent ideas here and there. Indeed, in my opinion, even though Sandler played his usual moron, there was something actually interesting about this loser 'gangster' without any friend who would become best pal only with an undercover cop. Seriously, if they would have played it more straight and not as such a goofy comedy, it could have worked. Anyway, since this movie was a failure, Sandler Ā would then mostly focus the rest of his career making other and other again some really stupid comedies involving some really stupid characters and, surprisingly, he got away with it for so many years becoming, until recently, one of the most successful comedian actors working in the US.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A very good movie
Posted : 8 years ago on 12 February 2017 06:53
(A review of It's Only the End of the World)Last year, my sister bought me a DVD box-set of the complete work of Xavier Dolan, I had the opportunity to watch all his movies in chronological order and I came to the conclusion that the guy really deserved his stellar reputation. With this in mind, I was really eager to see what he will do next, even if this last movie was apparently not a critical success like his previous directing efforts. Well, eventually, this movie really did hit me like a truck. Indeed, my own life was just so similar to what was going on with the main character, it was just uncanny. Basically, more than 12 years ago, I left France to go living in the Netherlands where my father was born and raised and I usually go only once a year back to France to see my parent, my brother and my sister so I pretty much knew what the guy was going through. The big difference is that I still go there every year which means that, when I get there, everybody including myself is really nice to each other and it gives us an excuse to avoid all the painful questions and subjects that we should be actually talking about. In fact, at first, I thought that Louis was living abroad which would explain why he would never see his family but he was in fact living in Paris so the guy didn't really have an excuse to leave everyone just like this. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal as the rest was pretty much pitch-perfect with an all-star French cast. Indeed, from the moment Louis gets inside, all hell breaks loose, you understand right away why the guy decided to take off without looking back and this situation was just so damned recognizable. I can understand that many viewers would find these characters borderline unwatchable, especially Antoine played by Vincent Cassel who was at the top of his game but, in my opinion, it was one of the best depictions of a dysfunctional family I have ever seen. Anyway, to conclude, once again Xavier Dolan really blew me away, I thought it was really a strong drama and it is definitely worth a look.Ā
0 comments, Reply to this entry