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Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 11 September 2015 08:40
(A review of Marius and Jeannette)Once again, it is another really obscure French feature that almost no one here on listal has seen. First of all, even though Robert GuĂ©diguian doesnât seem to be very well known abroad, he always had a stellar reputation in France but, to be honest, I always had a hard time to connect with his work. This movie is a fine example. Indeed, when it was released in France, it was a huge critical success (it was even nominated for the CĂ©sar for the Best French movie of the year) and since I kept hearing some interesting things about this director, I was quite eager to check it out. Unfortunately, eventually, I must admit that I didnât care much for the whole thing. I donât know, it is basically a sober romantic drama with a realistic social background and, on paper, it should have been appealing and, yet, I just didnât connect with the characters and what they were going through. Basically, only because this couple is from the lower-middle class, they should get some extra quality, some nobility and while it works fine with Ken Loachâs work, it simply just bored me here. To conclude, I think it is actually overrated and I donât think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 10 September 2015 09:12
(A review of Back to the Future Part III)First of all, I have to admit it, I never really cared about the 'Back to the Future' franchise and, with this last installment, it was even more obvious why. I mean, sure, I did like those movies, they were all absolutely fun and entertaining but I never really understood the cult surrounding them, even when I was a kid. Basically, the main problem I always had with those movies is that if we really had a time-machine, I always thought it would be really neat to see the future but, with these movies, there has always been this obsession with the past which I never really understood and, as a result, I always thought that the way they developed this concept was actually slightly underwhelming. This time, they went back even further in the past and the whole thing was turned out be actually some kind of goofy Western, no more and no less than that. Still, Michael J. Fox was really charismatic in those days, Christopher Lloyd was still one of the best crazy professors and Zemeckis as usual delivered some solid directing so, all in all, it remains a decent popcorn feature. To conclude, even though it is easily the weakest installment in this franchise, it is still definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 10 September 2015 08:48
(A review of Ma 6-T va crack-er)Once again, it is another really obscure French feature that almost no one here on listal has seen (there are apparently only 2 of us who have watched the damned thing). Back in the mid-90âs, the most influential French movie was obviously âLa Haineâ which was at the time a huge critical success. Personally, I always had some rather mixed feelings about this classic and, in fact, 2 years later, Jean-François Richet released his own movie about the huge tension in the French suburbs. Of course, you might argue that âLa Haineâ was better looking and in general better made than this movie but I always thought that the ideas developed in Mathieu Kassovitzâs film were actually rather shallow while, this movie had a much more obvious political angle and that really appealed to me. After this promising debut, many including myself had high hopes for Jean-Francois Richet but those hopes were destroyed by his following directing effort âDe l'amourâ. Even though it was also taking place again in pretty much the same barren Parisian suburbs, the plot and the characters involved were just so underwhelming. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie was definitely not perfect, I still think it must be the best movie about this subject and it is definitely worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 9 September 2015 09:20
(A review of Double Whammy)Basically, it was one of those movies that I wanted to watch for many years, probably more than a decade. Indeed, I just loved 'Living in Oblivion' and after releasing quickly the decent 'Box of Moon Light' and 'The Real Blonde', I was really curious to see Tom DiCillo's next directing effort. Eventually, after 4 long years, he came up with this flick and I'm afraid it was quite a step down from his previous work. Indeed, except for a cool title and a nice soundtrack, this movie didnât have to much to offer, I'm afraid. Basically, the different sub-plots were just really underwhelming and I didnât care for any of the characters involved. The only actor who managed to do something with this weak material was Steve Buscemi but the guy is so talented, he always manages to be compelling to watch. I wish I could say the same thing about Denis Leary who is always boring and he was really a poor choice to play the lead. The biggest waste was probably with Elizabeth Hurley who did what she could with a completely underwritten character. I mean, she definitely had some charisma, which is pretty much the case in all the movies I have seen her, but it is such a pity that she always got involved in such weak movies. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was a huge disappointment and I don't think it is worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 9 September 2015 10:00
(A review of Will It Snow For Christmas?)Once again, it is another really obscure French feature that almost no one here on listal has seen and, to be honest, I actually wonder how I actually ended up watching the damned thing. If I recall it correctly, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released and I think I saw it because the reviews were really good at the time. Well, the whole thing turned out to be a huge disappointment. Indeed, even though I pretty much understood that they wanted to go for a realistic approach, showing the hard and supposedly pure countryside way of life. However, the end result was just really dreary and, above all, so boring to watch. Seriously, I never cared for the characters and what they were going through and, in my opinion, it is a perfect example of how such cheap art house feature aiming to be deep and truthful can actually turn out be dreadfully tedious and pretentious. Even the realistic and almost documentary directing style couldnât save this movie for me. To conclude, I thought it was one of the most underwhelming movies I saw at the time and I seriously donât think it is worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 9 September 2015 08:03
(A review of The Man Without a Face)In 2016, 10 years after âApocalyptoâ, Mel Gibson will finally come back with a new directing effort. Nowadays, Gibson is no longer the A list star he used to be and he has even a rather lousy reputation. Anyway, even though his work as a director was never really prolific (he has made only 4 movies in 20 years), I think it has been quite intriguing so far. The funny thing is that between his huge box-office successes (âBraveheartâ and âThe Passion of the Christâ) and his other movies (âThe Man Without a Faceâ and âApocalyptoâ), I definitely prefer his âflopsâ, especially âApocalyptoâ which is by far his best directing effort in my opinion. Coming back to our main feature, it is definitely the least ambitious movie directed by Gibson so far but, since it was his directing debut, I think it was a smart move to start with something small. On top of that , at the end of the day, it is a rather straightforward and predictable drama but I thought it did work and I liked the damned thing. To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Mel Gibsonâs work.
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An average movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 8 September 2015 10:17
(A review of The Man Who Cried)There was a time when I was a huge fan of Johnny Depp but, from the moment that he became a huge box-office draw thanks to the âPirates of the Caribbeanâ franchise, I started to loose interest in his work and his last movies have all been some critical and commercial flops (âMortdecaiâ, âTranscendenceâ, âThe Lone Rangerâ, âDark Shadowsâ). Hopefully, at some point, he will go back to some smaller indie features like the ones he used to make in the 90âs. However, I have to admit that not all his small movies from that era were great and this movie was a fine example. First of all, it was basically one of these productions showing Depp prominently on all the promotional material when, in fact, he had a rather small part. In fact, the lead was actually played by the lovely Christina Ricci and it would be the 3rd movie she would make with Depp (after âFear and Loathing in Las Vegasâ and âSleepy Hollowâ). Anyway, the whole thing was a decent periode drama with some solid directing but, to be honest, I actually had a rather hard time to care about the story and the characters involved. Surprisingly, after all these years, even though she has a solid reputation, it is still the only film directed by Sally Potter that I have seen so far. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was slightly underwhelming, I still think it is worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 8 September 2015 08:08
(A review of 2010: The Year We Make Contact)I wasnât really sure about this flick, even before watching the damned thing. Indeed, it seemed to be a really misguided idea to make a sequel to this seminal classic, especially by Peter Hyams, a director who has only made some B features throughout his career but, on the other hand, I have to admit that I was still intrigued by this movie. Indeed, it was actually based on another novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick, even though he obviously refused to be involved, actually approved this sequel which wasnât something I expected. Eventually, I have to admit that it was not bad, in fact, it is easily the best movie directed by Peter Hyams but, of course, it never came close to the awesomeness delivered by â2001â. Basically, they kept some of the same elements but they added also a lot of characters, a lot of dialogues and even some jokes but all of this was actually pretty useless. Sure, as a result, the whole thing was actually easier to swallow than â2001â but also much more forgettable. Indeed, by giving so much information, they removed much of the mystic that made its predecessor so mesmerizing to behold. Still, all in all, it was a decent watch and I think it is actually worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 7 September 2015 02:00
(A review of Marathon Man (1976))I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance because I was much more able to enjoy it this time around. Indeed, it is basically one of these typical paranoĂŻd thriller from the 70's with some really solid directing and a perfect cast. Above all, I really enjoyed the first half during which there was a great tension and during which you keep wondering how this mild-mannered student will end up being entangled in this spy conspiracy. Furthermore, Dustin Hoffman was at the top of his game, he was a great choice to play the lead and it was just really refreshing and reletable to see a lead actor who looked like an average guy instead of the usual movie stars who looked more like some top-models. However, the second half, during which you finally get some answers, was not so strong though. I mean, it was still quite entertaining but it was after all rather far-fetched and some stuff just didn't make much sense. For example, they tell us that, in 1945, Szell would trade gold and diamonds with Jews to help them escape but I don't think that so many Jews still had anything to trade so late during the war. In fact, even if Laurence Olivier was rightfully praised for his performance, most of what his character did didn't make much sense in my opinion. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a really entertaining thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 9 years, 9 months ago on 7 September 2015 12:11
(A review of Mask (1985))Not to be confused with 'The Mask' made almost 10 years later starring Jim Carrey, even though this movie wasnât really original, I thought it was still a decent drama. In fact, this movie was quite a milestone for many players involved. Indeed, after âThe Last Picture Showâ turned out to a huge critical success, many thought that Bogdanovich would become the next best thing. Unfortunately, his following movies were rather underwhelming but, with this movie, he made somewhat a come-back. For Cher, at the time, she was trying to launch her acting career and I have to admit that she was pretty good in this flick. Concerning Eric Stoltz, the upcoming actor got a huge blow after he was replaced by Michael J. Fox after shooting half of âBack to the Future â but he got some critical acclaim for his performance in this movie. Coming back to our main feature, even though they all tried very hard to convince the viewers that the whole thing was quite edgy, in fact, it is a rather straightforward true life story but, even though I have never been a huge fan of the genre, I thought it was fairly well made and effective. To conclude, even though it might not be a masterpiece, I still think it is worth a look.
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