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CollectionsAn average movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 27 January 2014 09:39
(A review of I Don't Know How She Does It)I wasnât expecting much from this flick but my wife and I both have a weak spot for romantic-comedies so I thought we should check it out. Honestly, I donât really get all the hatred about this flick. Is it because Sarah Jessica Parker is not much loved anymore? I mean, indeed, she basically played once again some other form of Carrie Bradshaw and it seems she will be stuck playing this character forever. I have to admit it as well, the plot was quite pedestrian but, come on, it is something inherent to the genre and I was actually able to relate with what the characters were going through. The main thing that bothered me was why both parents had such a demanding job. I mean, one of them, why not? My mother was working all the time and I was raised by my father who went back to work when my little brother was about 12 years old. But both parents? Furthermore, if you have a job like hers, it is obvious from the start that you wonât spend much time with your family, it goes with the territory. I donât know, maybe Iâm generous with this movie because I was expecting something really terrible but I donât think it was bad at all and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 27 January 2014 10:37
(A review of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow)Back in 2004, there was not one but for 4 movies released which were entirely shot against blue screens. I have seen all of them : âImmortal (Ad Vitam)â, â Casshernâ , âSin Cityâ and this movie. Even though 10 years later, this process doesnât sound really impressive, I thought it was quite fascinating back in those days and I watched all of them. Eventually, except for âSin Cityâ, none of those movies were successful, this movie was not an exception and Kerry Conran hasnât direct another movie ever since. Personally, I really have a weak spot for this flick. Indeed, first of all, I thought it looked great and there was a pretty cool cast (Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon, Bai Ling) and they were all perfectly cast, even though back then, we were getting an overdosis of Jude Law who was pushed to become the next best thing. Unfortunately, I have to admit it, even though the plot was rather entertaining, it wasnât really impressive and it was quite obvious that the makers were mostly focusing on the visual aspect. Still, I appreciated the fact that they tried to push the envelop and I thought it was a rather impressive experiment. To conclude, even though the whole thing was not entirely successful, I thought it was an intriguing feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in experimental movies.
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A very good movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 27 January 2014 10:23
(A review of Black Book)Back then, before this movie was released, there was a huge buzz in the Netherlands. Indeed, not only Paul Verhoeven was finally releasing a new director effort after 6 long years but he was also back in his homeland more than 20 years after âDe vierde manâ, his last Dutch feature. Anyway, for Verhoeven, it was a successful comeback and, in the Netherlands, it was indeed a huge success but I noticed that Dutch people tend to give this movie slightly too much credit. Still, I have to admit that it was a really solid classic WWII resistance tale. For Carice van Houten, it was a huge breakthrough and even though her international career never took off , she is still the most famous Dutch actress at work nowadays and she gave here a really strong performance. However, in spite of its rather strong material, the story didnât always work. For example, the way the main character finally ended up with a resistance group was just rather convoluted and poorly put together. For example, why wasnât Rachel hiding with her family? Did they get separated? Then, they take the time to introduce a cute sailor but since the guy was killed within 10 mins, you wonder why they didnât just skip it right away. And, yet, it remains a strong story and Van Houten was just quite fascinating to behold. Â To conclude, in spite of its flaws, the story was definitely entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Paul Verhoevenâs work.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 26 January 2014 09:51
(A review of Nova Zembla)You probably have never heard of him but Reinout Oerlemans is a big success story in the Netherlands. Indeed, he started as an actor in the biggest Dutch soap-opera, then he became a TV personality but, at some point, he decided to become a TV producer and thatâs where he became really successful. Indeed, apparently, he is nowadays one of the richest men in the Netherlands and you think it would be enough but, no, he also decided to be a movie director as well. His debut was the smashing success âKomt een vrouw bij de dokterâ so with this follow-up, he went for an even more ambitious project, the first Dutch 3D movie. Honestly, you wonder why it was made in 3D since it was a period piece, anyway, even though it was again quite successful at the box-office, it wasn't very well received and I tend to agree. I mean, Oerlemans is a smart man but this project was just way out of his league. It was indeed an interesting story but it is quite a challenge to make a journey boat exciting and, therefore, they added a whole bunch of underwhelming sub-plots. It is also quite pathetic how they added as many scenes as possible with Doutzen Kroes (yeah, the famous supermodel) with a big focus on her mighty breasts. To conclude, even thought it is a failure, it is still an intriguing adventure though and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 25 January 2014 11:20
(A review of Appaloosa)Since I really loved âPollockâ, Ed Harrisâ directing debut, I was really eager to check out this follow-up. My guess is that Harris always wanted to be in a Western but since this genre is not so popular anymore, the only way for him was to direct one himself. Even though it was not as impressive as âPollockâ, it was still fairly enjoyable. Indeed, the directing was, once again, solid and, even though the plot was rather pedestrian, there was a great chemistry between Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen and they both gave some pretty good performances. Unfortunately, they added a woman to the story and, from that point, the whole thing became rather underwhelming. Basically, Zellweger played her typical quirky chick which was not really a bad thing, but what was more annoying, is the way this woman influenced the whole plot and Ed Harrisâ behavior. I mean, at least 3 or 4 times during the whole thing, I thought to myself âDump the b*tch, for crying out loud!â but, for no reasonable reasons, he sticks with her which terribly undermined his character. To conclude, even though it was slightly disappointing, I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 25 January 2014 10:44
(A review of Ender's Game)I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick but I thought it could be a nice watch for me and my step-son. Honestly, within the first 5 minutes, it was obvious that the whole thing had a lot of potential. Indeed, you could feel some pretty dark stuff underneath the surface, like how you create leadership or the psychological turmoil of a young genius who has to become a military strategist. It was some pretty great stuff but, unfortunately, it became also obvious pretty quickly that the makers had no intention to go to deep into those issues in order to reach the widest audience possible. As a result, there is a constant shifting in the tone between some compelling scenes lost in the middle of some familly friendly affair. Furthermore, while Viola Davis was perfectly cast, I thought that Harrison Ford was rather distracting and I kept wondering what the hell he was doing here. A part from that, it was visually quite compelling and I enjoyed the mind game and the war game at the end. The zero gravity game was not really my thing, it was just some futuristic paintball and I thought it was rather underwhelming. To conclude, it could have been great but they watered down the content so it could never really fulfill its potential. I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.
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A classic
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 24 January 2014 11:12
(A review of Foolish Wives (1922))Lately, I have been focusing on silent features and this one was the last one I saw (for now). Honestly, I think it's rather difficult to review this flick. Indeed, even though it was rather long (more than 130 minutes), especially for a silent feature, it was actually supposed to be 6 hours! After watching the whole thing, you wonder how Eric von Stroheim managed to get 6 hours from this story but, I guess, weâll never know. So, how can you review a movie when you have seen only a fraction of it? Many of us (include myself) blame Peter Jackson for indulging himself with overlong movies but, with von Stroheim, it goes to a whole different level and he must have been one of the most decadent directors that ever lived. As a matter of fact, at the time, this movie was the most expensive ever made and it figures. Indeed, even though the action takes place in Monte Carlo, and it seems as if they went there to make the movie, they actually recreated the whole thing at Universal Studios with some impressive accuracy in the details. Personally, I enjoyed above all von Stroheim who, of course, played the lead and he gave one of the best silent performances I have seen. To be honest, even though I have a weak spot for con-artists, nothing much happened during the whole thing but it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 24 January 2014 09:47
(A review of Go)Since I kept hearing good things about this movie, I became quite curious it and I really wanted to check it out. I always thought that Doug Liman was an intriguing director but he never seemed to break through in a big way and Iâm afraid his upcoming blockbuster âEdge of Tomorrowâ starring Tom Cruise wonât improve his status. Anyway, this movie must be the most popular one he has made so far (though âSwingersâ which I still need to see is pretty popular and âThe Bourne Identityâ is actually one of the best action flicks ever made). Coming back to our main feature, I thought it was indeed a pretty good flick with some pretty shady characters. Indeed, there was a pretty nice cast (Katie Holmes, Sarah Polley, Scott Wolf, Timothy Olyphant, William Fichtner, Taye Diggs, and Melissa McCarthy) and they all delivered some solid performances. It is another example that Katie Holmes was actually quite a promising actress before she got involved with Tom Cruise. In the meantime, they have already divorced and you wonder if her career will ever recover. To be honest, I donât think it was really that amazing, it surfs too much on the hype and quirky vibe, but it still remains a fun and very well made flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A classic
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 23 January 2014 10:10
(A review of The Thief of Bagdad (1924))Lately, I have seen quite a few silent features but, to be honest, I usually have a hard time to watch them. Personally, I find it pretty tough to sit through a full length feature without any dialogs, especially when it is about 3 hours long. However, I had a good time to watch this one though because it was actually quite fun. Indeed, it is a great adventure, a real escapist feature, and I thought it was more entertaining than all those heavy dramas directed by D.W. Griffith for example. I especially enjoyed the first part when you have Douglas Fairbanks making some trouble in Bagdadâs market. To be honest, as soon as he fell in love with the princess, the whole thing lost some steam and I preferred when he was just a devilish thief. Also, the fact that âAladdinâ, one of my favorites Disney animated features, was basically a remake of this old classic, might have played a part in the fact that I didnât completely enjoy this feature since I already knew most of the plot. Furthermore, the thief, as a character, is actually more fun than Aladdin but you miss the genius and, with a running time around 140 minutes, it was just too long for its own good. Still, it is definitely a fun and entertaining movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 5 months ago on 23 January 2014 12:11
(A review of Twisted)I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a pretty cool cast, I thought I should give it a try. If I recall correctly, I saw this one with my wife because she has a huge weak spot for thrillers. Personally, I always had a somewhat difficult relationship with the typical US thrillers and this movie is a perfect example. Indeed, it started quite alright, there was indeed a nice cast (Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Garcia, David Strathairn) and they all delivered some decent performances. I always had a weak spot for Ashley Judd, back in those days, she was still on the A list and she was basically the Queen of the thrillers after showing up in âKiss the Girlsâ, âDouble Jeopardyâ and âHigh Crimesâ. Furthermore, the mood was also quite decent and the whole thing seemed to be a watchable feature in this genre. Unfortunately, and this is the main reason why I have such a hard time with this kind of movies, the ending was just downright ridiculous. I mean, it is typical with thrillers, the build-up is pretty nice and entertaining but they always have to finish up with some preposterous twist ending, usually involving some random action scene, ruining the whole thing. Well, in this case, the ending was indeed very weak. To conclude, even though it had some potential, it is actually a rather weak thriller and it is not really worth a look, Iâm afraid.
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