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Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 26 March 2014 04:09
(A review of Le cri du cormoran, le soir au-dessus des jonques)Basically, it is once again one of those really obscure French movies that nobody else have seen here on Listal (I just checked, on Imdb, not even 200 users have seen it). So, it is probably one of the most obscure movies I have seen and, if I recall correctly, I saw it while I was in a business trip in Belgium. The main point of interest is that it was directed by Michel Audiard. Yeah, he was indeed the father of Jacques Audiard, one of the most heralded French directors and while Jacques A. is mostly famous for his deep and emotional dramas (āDe rouille et d'osā, āUn prophĆØteā, āDe battre mon coeur s'est arrĆŖtĆ©ā, āSur mes lĆØvresā, āRegarde les hommes tomberā), Michel A. was known mostly as a screenwriter and wrote some memorable movies with some very colorful dialogs. Eventually, Michel Audiard tried a career as a director at the end of the 60ās but he wasnāt satisfied by the end-results and decided to go back as a full-time writer. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I thought it was a pretty nice flick, nothing really amazing but still quite entertaining and it was above all pretty neat to see a very young GĆ©rard Depardieu in his very first part. To conclude, it is nothing great but I thought it was not bad at all and it is worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 25 March 2014 10:01
(A review of The Great Muppet Caper)Continuing my reviews of the Muppets movies, I went further with the 2nd installment and since the ratings were pretty good, I was rather hopeful. Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but not much more than that, Iām afraid. This time, they are sent to England, for no particular reasons, and they are investigating on some jewel heists and, once again Miss Piggy falls in love with Kermit and it begins to become a tired old gimmick. I thought that the intro in the balloon was pretty cool with some funny comments about the opening credits but Iām afraid it was the funniest scene in the movie. To start with, pretty much like the 1st installment, I had a hard time to care about all those songs. I mean, they are not bad and obviously a trademark of the Muppets but they popped up too often and they were simply not that good. The other thing that bothered me is why do they cram all these muppets in each movie? Just keep the leads and add a few supporting characters but donāt put all of them everytime around. Still, even though it didnāt really blow me away, it remains a fun and entertaining movie and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 25 March 2014 06:17
(A review of Music of the Heart)Wes Craven is above all famous for his horror flicks but, at some point he decided to make this drama which was quite surprising. Apparently, it was a labor of love for Wes Craven and he made a deal at the time with Miramax that he would only direct āScream 3ā if he could also direct this movie which would be his first and only non-horror/thriller film. Honestly, the whole thing sounded pretty cheesy (I mean, come on, just check the title...) and I wasnāt expecting much from this flick but, I have to admit it, it was actually a decent drama after all. Indeed, even though it is and remains rather pedestrian and quite predictable, it was above all thanks to Meryl Streep that it actually mostly worked. Indeed, even though Madonna was originally cast, Meryl Streep eventually got the part which would get her her 12th Academy award nomination (right now, she has reached a staggering 3 wins and 18 nominations already!). Eventually, the main issue with this movie is that it followed to closely the formula of the genre but I have seen worse. To conclude, it is nothing really amazing but I thought it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 24 March 2014 09:58
(A review of The Burning Plain)Guillermo Arriaga has written some very good screenplays for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (āAmores Perrosā, ā21 Gramsā and āBabelā) so I was really eager to check his directing debut. Unsurprisingly since it is his trademark, he went for a hyperlink feature which is when some unrelated stories are developed separately and brought back together towards the end. Unfortunately, even though I have a weak spot for the genre, it didnāt work very well here. The point is that it didnāt add much to the story and felt more like an annoying gimmick to trick the audience. Eventually, I figured it all out midway through (Charlize Theron and Jennifer Lawrence portrays the same woman at difference age). I mean, visually, you donāt get absolutely any clue that there are actually two different time periods involved which was once again a rather worthless way to put the audience on the wrong foot. Above all, when you get what was actually going on, you wonder what was the whole point and you might wonder if a more linear narrative woulnāt have been more appropriate. Still, it is not a bad movie, far from it. Indeed, the directing was actually pretty solid, the 3 tales were quite intriguing and the 3 main actresses (Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger and Jennifer Lawrence, two years before her breakthrough in āWinterās Boneā) gave some very intense performances. To conclude, even though it remains a failure, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Guillermo Arriagaās work.
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A good movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 24 March 2014 12:18
(A review of The Count of Monte Cristo)Following respectively āThe Thin Red Lineā and āMementoā, James Caviezel and Guy Pearce became hot properties and the studios decided to surf on their new found popularity and make this ambitious period piece. Well, even though Iām not a huge fan of the genre, I thought it was pretty good but, unfortunately, it was a flop and for both those guys their career never became as huge as some thought it would be (personally, I donāt really care, Guy Pearce remains a great actor no matter what). Coming back to our main feature, it is a classic of the French literature (as usual, I didnāt read it but donāt make a fuss about it) written by Alexandre Dumas pĆØre, the guy also responsible for āThe Three Musketeersā. To be honest, even though Iām familiar with this tale, I donāt think I saw another adaptation before and I thought it was a pretty cool adventure flick, one of those flicks they donāt make anymore nowadays. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing or groundbreaking, I thought it was a pretty good flick, I really enjoyed it and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 24 March 2014 12:10
(A review of The Hole)I wasnāt sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Keira Knightley, I thought I should give it a try. Indeed, even though she didnāt have the lead yet, it was a her first significant part (before that she only had small roles in āInnocent Liesā and in āStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menaceā for which she played Natalie Portman's clone). She would eventually breakthrough big time 2 years later in āPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlā. Anyway, in fact, this time, the big star was actually Thora Birch who just had a major success with āAmerican Beautyā but after this movie and āGhost Worldā, she has been mostly involved in some rather obscure features. Coming back to our main feature, it was a decent watch but, to be honest, the whole concept was not really original. Indeed, even though it was rather entertaining, it was still too pedestrian and predictable for my taste and the usual twist ending didnāt helped either. Still, even though it is nothing really amazing, I thought it was not bad at all and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are a fan of Keira Knightley.
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A very good movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 23 March 2014 10:44
(A review of Zero Dark Thirty)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. The first timeĀ around, I was really impressed by āThe Hurt Lockerā so I was really eager to see Kathryn Bigelowās next directing effort, especially after it was heralded by the critics. Eventually, she came up with another thriller about the war against terrorism and she once again pretty much nailed it, even though I thought that āThe Hurt Lockerā was still superior. Still, this chick really can direct some realistic and spellbinding thrillers, no doubt about it, and I was on the edge of my seat during the whole duration which is quite remarkable since we all pretty much knew how it would end from the very beginning. The first touch that I did appreciate where the first few minutes where you hear those horrific (and probably real) phone calls from the victims of 09/11. It was just heartbreaking and gave a background to what would happen next. Basically, I donāt think Bygelow tried to make us think that it was ok to torture all these people but, with this introduction, it explained why the USA was (and probably still is) at war and why they would use any means necessary. The point was to show without judging and the point was well made. Personally, I always wonder why it took them so long to find Bin Laden and, with this movie, you get more or less an explanation but weāll never know for sure. ConcerningĀ Jessica Chastain,Ā I was once again really impressed as she probably is one of the best actresses of her generation, she really carried the whole thing on her shoulders but, in fact, it was one thing that actually bothered me. I mean, if you follow this story, she basically single-handedly tracked down Osama Bin Laden for about a decade, and, apparently, no one else was really instrumental in his capture. It seems rather hard to believe that only person would have been behind all this though. Furthermore, by trying to be really realistic, which was fine, the whole thing got pretty murky at some point (I still didnāt get what happened with that crashing chopper towards the end). Anyway to conclude, in spite of these flaws, it was still a really good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 22 March 2014 10:39
(A review of Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem)Ever since I saw the videoclip for āOne More Timeā and I heard that Daft Punk made a full length feature in the same style, I became intrigued and was really eager to check the damned thing. Apparently, the guys from Daft Punk and myself are from the same generation and we all grew up watching those Japanese cartoons produced by Toei Animation. So, I can understand that it must have been a blast for them to work with Leiji Matsumoto, the guy who created āSpace Pirate Captain Harlock', probably one of the best of those Japanese cartoons. Anyway, how was the damned thing eventually? Personally, I thought it was a nice watch, something you donāt see everyday but I canāt say I was really blown away. The point is that, when I was a kid, those cartoons really looked awesome but, 20 years later, this animation style, though it definitely has a retro charm, feels rather stiff and outdated. Furthermore, even though it was quite daring to put no dialogues and only some minimal sound effects, it made it difficult to invest yourself in the story and the characters involved. As a result, you get above all the feeling that you are watching a very long videoclip. Still, to concude, in spite of its flaws, it remains an original animated feature and I think it is definitely worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 21 March 2014 10:25
(A review of Nine)Basically, it was one of those movies that garnered some buzz even before it was released and it was quite understandable. Indeed, it was the adaptation of a successful broadway musical and the last time Rob Marshall directed a musical (the dreadful āChicagoā), it won the Best Picture Academy award and, on top of that, there was a really impressive cast. Unfortunately, it didnāt get much love when it was released and it eventually vanished pretty quickly. Personally, I thought it was not bad (at least, it was much better than āChicagoā) but I canāt say I was really convinced. Above all, the main issue, in my opinion, is that, if you are a little bit familiar with Federico Felliniās work, the movie hasnāt much to do with it. I have to confess, I have seen ā8 Ā½ā only once and it was ages ago but I did watch half of his movies and this adaptation certainly didnāt capture the essence of the great master. Anyway, in my case, the most attractive aspect in this feature was to see the great Daniel Day-Lewis (considering how very few movies he might make in the future, we shouldnāt be picky, I guess) and he delivered as usual a solid performance but you wonder why he decided to join this production. Of course, the whole thing looked pretty good, there was indeed an impressive female cast (Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, PenĆ©lope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Fergie Duhamel) but none of the songs really blew me away and, to be honest, I was fairly bored during the whole thing. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it remains a decent musical and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 11 years, 1 month ago on 21 March 2014 09:53
(A review of Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior)Recently, they released āThe Raid: Redemptionā, it became quickly a huge cult classic and it was hailed as the best action flick of the last 10 years. To be honest, I havenāt seen it yet and, somehow, Iām rather skeptical and the fact that Roger Ebert didnāt like the movie at all doesnāt help either. Anyway, 10 years before āThe Raid: Redemptionā, another movie was produced and was also called the next best thing in the martial-arts movie genre and, in the contrary of āThe Raid: Redemptionā , I did watch it. Eventually, I thought that āOng-Bak' was indeed pretty impressive but, to be honest, the story was nothing really mind-blowing. Of course, the action die-hard fans would argue that it doesnāt matter, that it is only about watching some bad-ass fight scenes but I donāt agree. Action scenes are way more compelling when they are inserted into a really good story (see for example āThe Bourne Identityā). Here, you have the very old tale of the master killer fighter who of course doesnāt want to fight (such an old and boring gimmickā¦) but, obviously, he will have to fight at some point and, in the mean time, the audience is getting bored senseless. Still, when Tony Jaa finally gets going and kicks some ass, it was pretty damned impressive. Indeed, without any special effects, CGI or wires, the guy displays some of the most amazing fighting skills I have ever seen. To conclude, Iām not sure if it is really a masterpiece, the story is just too weak, but if only for the fighting scenes, it is definitely worth a look.
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