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Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 24 November 2014 04:20
(A review of This Boy's Life)Way before Leonardo DiCaprio became one of the most interesting actors of his generation thanks to a bunch of great movies directed by Martin Scorsese and even before he became a massive teen idol with âTitanicâ, he actually got his breakthrough with this feature. On top of that, you didn't get only to see a very young DiCaprio shining here but also the great Robert De Niro (at the time, De Niro was still doing some pretty good job and he wasnât only focusing on getting some fat paychecks). So, it was quite an awesome clash of two acting monsters from 2 different generations and those guys did a terrific job. To be honest, the plot was a little too pederstrian and predictable to be truly remarkable but it was entertaining enough and those guys were just great and rather spellbinding to behold. Eventually, DiCaprio will definitely break down the house with âWhat's Eating Gilbert Grapeâ (still easily his best performance so far) and the rest is pretty much history. To conclude, even though I donât think it is really a masterpiece, it still a very solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 24 November 2014 03:35
(A review of Tootsie)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, I always had some rather mixed feelings about this flick. Indeed, it is supposed to be a massive 80âs classic but I always thought it was fairly entertaining but not much more than that, Iâm afraid. Basically, even though it is definitely better than âMrs. Doubtfireâ, the concept is actually really similar and it is so preposterous, it is actually really difficult to take the whole thing seriously. I mean, is it really believable to think that a guy wonât get any acting jobs as himself but would manage to be hired instantly as soon as he dressed up in drag? Sure, Dustin Hoffman was at the top of his game, he gave a really solid performance here and the whole thing was enjoyable but I was never able to shake the idea that the whole thing was actually rather stupid. Furthermore, in my opinion, the damned thing was actually rather sexist. Indeed, in this movie, the women are basically portrayed as either hysterical or spineless. In fact, they are so incompetent that a man can apparently be a better a woman than they are. Anyway, to conclude, even though Iâm not a huge fan of this flick, I have to admit that it is still a fairly entertaining comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 22 November 2014 11:40
(A review of Flight)I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. First of all, after experimenting for about a decade with motion-capture with some rather mixed results (I wonder how he felt after James Cameron reached such a massive success with 'Avatar'), Robert Zemeckis was finally back with a good old live action feature and I was therefore really curious about the damned thing. On top of that, Roger Ebert really loved this flick when it was released so it did sound like a very interesting feature. Well, I have to admit that I enjoyed the damned thing even more the second time around. Sure, you might wonder if Zemeckis was the right director as the guy was behind such movies like 'Romancing the Stone', 'Back to the Future' and 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' so Iâm not so sure if he was really the best choice to handle such very dark material. However, it turned out to be such a strong story, even a fascinating one. In my opinion, itâs not often that you get so see such compelling portrayal of a massive alcoholic who happened to be a hero in spite of his totally reckless behavior. It also helped that Denzel Washington was just so damned impressive and gave one of his best performances. Eventually, the only thing was that the sub-plot involving Kelly Reilly was rather weak and it seemed pretty obvious that this character was added to the mix there only to make sure that the main character had someone to talk to. Anyway, to conclude, it is actually a really strong drama with a Denzel Washington on top of his game and it is still definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Â
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A good movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 21 November 2014 11:20
(A review of 10 Years)Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but I was really surprised about how much I enjoyed it. Indeed, in 2012, Channing Tatum had a huge year with 3 hits ('The Vow', 'Magic Mike' and '21 Jump Street) but the year before, he released no less than 5 movies (including also 'Haywire', 'The Eagle', 'The Son of no one', 'The Dilemma') and even though they all flopped, this movie was easily the one which got the least attention but, in fact, it turned out to be easily the best of the whole bunch. To be honest, the whole concept of high-school reunions is something which we don't practice in Europe, or at least, in France, and I have never been attracted by the idead of meeting my high-school 'friends' 10 years later but, somehow, this movie still really worked for me. Indeed, to start up, there was a really impressive cast (Channing Tatum, Jenny Dewan, Rosario Dawson, Justin Long, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Chris Pratt, Kate Mara, Anthony Mackie, Lynn Collins) and while they all did a fine job, I was above all impressed about how well written and developed were their characters. Indeed, most of them felt like some genuine human beings so that was quite refreshing. Eventually, the only thing which prevented this movie from being really amazing is that there were in fact too many characters and too many sub-plots for such a short running time. I mean, most of those little stories were actually pretty good but they didnât have the time to develop them properly which was quite a shame. Still, I thought it was a very nice little movie and I think it is definitely worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 21 November 2014 09:48
(A review of Thelma & Louise)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, to be honest, I always had some rather mixed feelings about this flick. In fact, it was a surprise success at the time when it was released and, eventually, the only real success booked by Ridley Scott in the 90âs but even though this flick received a lot of love, in my opinion, it was just a rather standard buddy movie with a pseudo feminist message. Basically, as usual with this director, it was really well directed and the whole thing was actually fairly entertaining but, in my opinion, the story was not really amazing. I mean, I did like the melancholy displayed and the downbeat ending but there were still too many silly scenes here and there. Above all, like in any road-movie, the characters would have to evolve somehow but it is a rather tedious gimmick and it was rather unbelievable how much those two girls would change. The biggest jump was made by Thelma who was at first a rather annoying and clueless housewife and suddenly became some kind of philosophical criminal mastermind in just a couple of days. Still, there is no denying that Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were both charismatic and they had some nice chemistry together. On top of that, we finally got to see Brad Pitt in his breakthrough performance which was definitely something quite memorable. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I believe it is actually rather overrated but I have to admit that it is still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 20 November 2014 09:58
(A review of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist)To be honest, there is a fair chance that my rating might be actually too generous for this movie. First of all, the first issue is that Michael Cera was once again playing the same character all over again and while it was quite cute when he got his breakthrough with 'Superbad' and 'Juno' (2 decent movies which were still rather overrated in my opinion), it is getting rather tiresome by now. Furthermore, except for the gay guys, all the supporting characters were either clueless and/or obnoxious. Even Caroline, played by Ari Graynor, was at first alright but she spent most of the movie drunk providing a really underwhelming sub-plot. Still, somehow, I actually enjoyed the damned thing and it was above all thanks to Kat Dennings, a really underrated actress with a very interesting look and tons of charisma. For once, she was playing the lead and everytime she was on the screen, I was interested again while the story was actually nothing really amazing. On top of that, I have to admit that she had some pretty good chemistry with Cera. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was actually a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 20 November 2014 01:26
(A review of Spy Kids)Honestly, I was always had a hard time with this franchise. Indeed, even though this 1st installment was a surprise success at the box-office, I thought it was rather underwhelming which is too bad because the concept actually had some potential. Anyway, at the time, it seemed that Robert Rodriguez found his new cash-cow and kept making Spy Kids flicks until the audience really got fed up (which happened pretty quickly eventually). To be honest, my children really liked this movie (and its sequels) a lot so I guess it was a success with its target audience but, in my opinion, I donât think it is really enjoyable for grown-ups. On top of that, the whole thing didnât grow old very well and it feels rather dated 10 years later (maybe the reason why the recent 4th installment was such a flop). Still, I think we should give Robert Rodriguez some credit for going from some really R rated features to some familly material like this one and still being quite successful in the process which is quite rare. To conclude, even though the whole thing could have been really good, I thought it was quite average but you might still give it a try if you want to watch something with your kids.
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A good movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 19 November 2014 11:28
(A review of The Hunger Games)At last, I have seen this flick. Indeed, for some movies like this one, I seriously don't care about the hype and, to be honest, I was actually planning to wait until they released a dvd box with all the installments but since this movie was broadcasted for the first time on Dutch TV, I thought I might as well watch it for free. Eventually, I thought it was a decent watch, even though it was certainly nothing really great. I mean, sure, it was well made and entertaining but it was nothing I hadn't seen before already a couple of times. What I really liked was actually the elistist and decadent society living in the Capitol and, to be honest, I would have rather dropped the whole games thing and have a movie focusing on those guys instead. Thatâs the whole issue here, even though the concept was pretty awful, those games were in fact the main reason why we all watched the damned thing so there was this rather weird and unsatisfying vibe about them. Still, all in all, it was a decent watch and Jennifer Lawrence really ruled this thing (even though she was way more interesting in the far superior 'Silver Linings Playbook'). To conclude, even though it was far from being a masterpiece, for a young adult book adaptation, it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 19 November 2014 01:56
(A review of The Terminal)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, the more I think about this movie, the more I believe I should lower my rating. The point is that it was actually based on an interesting true story but I'm not sure if it was enough material to fill in 2 hours of running time. On top of that, Spielberg decided to turn into some kind of modern fairy tale and, even though it still worked, the end-result was hardly a home-run. Eventually, it was a minor effort from Steven Spielberg, one of those movies he makes like âAlwaysâ to fill in the gaps between his more ambitious projects (for example, after that, he would direct âWar of the Worldsâ which wasnât really amazing either but, at least, it was a massive blockbuster). At least, Tom Hanks gave a really solid performance but, eventually, it would have been more rewarding if they had taken some risks, something I very often miss in Spielbergâs movies. Still, I had a good time watching it and even though it was obviously a minor effort, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Steven Spielbergâs work.
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An average movie
Posted : 10 years, 7 months ago on 19 November 2014 12:15
(A review of Tomorrow Never Dies)In my opinion, this James Bond was the best one starring Pierce Brosnan. I mean, âGoldeneyeâ was definitely decent but I really didnât like much âDie Another Dayâ and âThe World is Enoughâ and this one was the best of the bunch. To be honest, I think the circumstances during which I have seen this flick also helped me to enjoy it even more. Indeed, back then I was in the Netherlands on holiday, for the first time without my father, I was there with my best friend at the time. We were having a blast and on the 1st of January (if I recall it correctly), we went to see this flick in the oldest movie theater in the Netherlands. It is in Amsterdam, it is called the PathĂ© Tuchinski and it looked gorgeous. Anyway, it was the perfect movie for us at this moment as it was rather brainless with tons of cool action scenes but the whole thing was really entertaining. As usual with those James Bond features, the story was not really amazing but I thought it was good enough. On top of that, I thought that Michelle Yeoh did a great job and, in my opinion, she was one of the most interesting James Bond girls as she was a little bit more than the usual eye-candy. To conclude, even though it is nothing really ground-breaking, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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