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Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 16 December 2013 01:59
(A review of Animal Farm (1954))Iām pretty sure I did watch this animated feature when I was a kid, probably even at school. I was quite impressed back in those days and I thought it was time for a re-watch. Personally, I always had a weak spot with animated features trying to be aimed towards a grown-up audience. Indeed, the market is dominated by the kiddies stuff, which is fine, but the tone is rather monotonous. It was also one of the major weaknesses in this flick, the way they still added some little fluffy bits here and there. It is rather understandable, I mean, the whole thing was terribly bleak which was quite shocking for the audience at the time so, they added the children friendly stuff to make sure they didnāt completely alienate the viewers. Personally, I think they should have gone all the way. Still, I thought it was quite fascinating to behold. Indeed, in my opinion, even though this movie was used as anti-communist propaganda by the CIA (Iām deadly serious), I think it gives a very good depiction about what went wrong with this ideology. Basically, Communism is actually a great way of thinking but it has been corrupted by some opportunists with the results that everyone thinks that this ideology is complete rubbish. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is a rather unique animated flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 16 December 2013 01:42
(A review of Walkabout (1971))Now, thatās what I call a weird movie. Indeed, I wasnāt ready at all to watch something like this and I was expecting actually something else. I thought it would be a movie about a walkabout done by an Aborigene but I was really mistaken. This movie is definitely something else entirely and I would have a rather hard time to explain what it was actually really about. First, you have about 5 minute of rather random scenes of urban life, then rather suddenly, you get a father and his kids having a picnic in the desert but thatās just the start. Indeed, the guy has an unexplained meltdown and tries to shoot his children before setting his car on fire and killing himself. So, the kids are left alone in the merciless Australian desert and you would think that they would panic but, no, they remain calm during the whole movie. Thatās the one of the many things that flabbergasted me with this flick. How could they remain so calm in such circumstances? Anyway, when it seemed that they wouldnāt survive, they finally met this young man during his walkabout but the story didnāt stop getting weird. Indeed, there were tons of sexualized imagery, it was constantly intercut with some rather random stuff and I wonāt even start with the ending. Later on, I discovered that Roger Ebert really loved this flick and he developed some interesting views about the communication issues between the 3 main characters but, personally, I had a hard time with those 3 characters, above all, with their numb behavior. Still, there was definitely something mesmerizing about the whole thing. To conclude, it was a really weird flick but it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in experimental movies.
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A good movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 16 December 2013 11:37
(A review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)I already saw this movie, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released, but since I just bought an awesome brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again. On top of that, I just bought the Extended edition on Blu-ray. Honestly, the first time around, I was already rather skeptical about this flick. Indeed, while most of us were happy that Peter Jackson managed to make 3 movies for the LOTR trilogy (a bold move at the time), we also dreaded the fact that he decided to make also 3 movies from āThe Hobbitā which is, in contrary to 'The Lord of the Rings', a rather modest book. Furthermore, the more I thought about the first installment, the more I thought that my rating was too generous. Still, this sequel turned out to be quite a spectacle after all. The first positive thing is that I really enjoyed the 3D HFR version (in IMAX). The year before, I wasnāt sure about this technique but, this time, it looked just gorgeous . Concerning the story, it was still fairly entertaining but, unfortunately, it had become quite obvious that this trilogy will never reach the epicness of the LOTR. The first issue was that everything had a feeling of dĆ©jĆ vu and most of what they came across (the spiders, the hidden door, the elf city,ā¦) was already displayed in the previous trilogy. Furthermore, the fellowship with humans, elves, dwarves and hobbits was just awesome, whereas this company of dwarves was fairly entertaining but not really charismatic. On the other hand, in my opinion, Tauriel was a nice addition and her romantic angle with Kili didnāt bother me like so many other viewers. Furthermore, Middle Earth is still a fascinating world and Iām obviously a huge fan. Anyway, to conclude, I have to confess it, my rating for this movie was too generous and I had to lower it after watching this movie a couple of times but I still think it is a solid fantasy feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 14 December 2013 10:13
(A review of Straw Dogs)When the news came out that they were remaking this classic, as usual, it gathered some buzz but pretty much like all those remakes (the most recent one being the āOldboyā remake directed by Spike Lee), it came and went pretty quickly at the box-office. Personally, I really liked a lot the original version directed by Sam Peckinpah but it has been more than a decade since I saw it so I thought I could check this new version. While watching this flick, I was wondering āwhy do they remake these movies instead of re-releasing the good old classics?ā. I mean, it would be cheaper and the younger audience would get to watch some really good flicks instead of those half-baked new version. Anyway, this remake was not that bad, Rod Lurie is a decent director (even though it is easily his weakest movie I have seen so far) but the mood never reached the intensity of the original version. Basically, from an intense and nerve-wrecking psychological thriller, they made a watchable but really forgettable horror flick. Iām not sure if it actually qualifies as an horror flick but the characters were rather poorly sketched and I didnāt care much for the whole thing. To conclude, even though I think my rating might be a little bit generous, it is actually not a bad remake and I guess it is worth a look, but you should definitely watch the original classic instead.
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A bad movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 13 December 2013 11:12
(A review of Jack and Jill)With this movie, itās official, Adam Sandler has finally hit rock bottom. I mean, most of his movies were rather underwhelming, some of them were pretty bad, but this time, he really nailed it. Indeed, this is a truly awful movie. Dear god, not only the concept was terrible, it wasnāt funny at all and rather pathetic but, the worst of all, heās managed to drag Al Pacino in this nightmare. I mean, Al Pacino has been doing a pretty good job at ruining his career on his own, he didnāt need that to speed up the process. Furthermore, can you believe that you need to watch this piece of turd to finally see Al Pacino and Johnny Depp sharing the screen together again, 14 years after the great āDonnie Brascoā? I know that Adam Sandler has some fans out there but how could they defend this flick? Can they spot any redeeming features because it could be quite enlightening for the rest of us? Somehow, it might have worked a little bit better if an actress would have played the twin sister but Sandler wanted to go all the way with this and the end result was just abysmal. To conclude, it is indeed a really bad movie and you should definitely avoid it.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 13 December 2013 11:18
(A review of The Thomas Crown Affair)The main issue with this flick is that it is a remake and I have watched the original version not so long before. Aside from this, it is actually a rather decent flick, probably the last decent movie directed by John McTiernan (would he ever direct another movie? The guy just spent 1 year in prison and might be burned for good in Hollywood. Anyway, weāll see..). The biggest asset in this movie was the great chemistry between Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. Indeed, Brosnan was born to play those smooth talkers (it was not for nothing that he potrayed James Bond over 4 movies) and Rene Russo was really good in this. It is a real shame that the studios seem to have given up on her, seemingly because she might have become too old (even with āThorā, her first movie in 6 long years, they managed to kill her in the sequelā¦). Basically, the movie is a standard heist movie, a well made and entertaining production, but it was missing something to becom it truly remarkable and, honestly, it still felt like one of those unnecessary remakes. For many years, there were rumors that they would make a sequel, another remake based on āTopkapiā and directed by Paul Verhoeven, but it wonāt happen Iām afraid. To conclude, even though you should actually watch the original, it remains a decent heist feature and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 13 December 2013 10:40
(A review of Waitress)Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I thought it was indeed not bad at all but it was still too pedestrian to become truly remarkable. You could feel that they tried to go a little further than the average movies in this genre but, thatās exactly what they did, they just went a little further but not much more than that, Iām afraid. It was like the tone, they tried to make it a little bit darker but it was still too sweet to be taken seriously. Still, Keri Russell was quite charming and I was actually quite impressed by Nathan Fillion. Indeed, Iām not really familiar with this actor but I thought he was pretty convincing as a romantic lead. Still, I didnāt really get what was going on with his wife. I mean, during the whole thing, you donāt see her, nobody really talks about her but, suddenly, at the end, she pops-up for a few seconds and she actually seems to be quite nice. Concerning Jeremy Sistoās character, it was even worse. I mean, Sisto is a fine actor but his character was so annoying, he was such a douche-bag, it was just cringe-inducing. Still, even though it wasnāt as original as I was hoping for, I have to admit that it was still a decent romantic-comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 12 December 2013 03:38
(A review of Sweet Home Alabama)I have just came across an article in the Guardian about the fact that Reese Witherspoon, for the 2nd time in a row, was in the top Forbes list of overpaid actors, once again at the 3rd place. So, it seems that she is not having the greatest success in her career right now but, back in 2002 when she made this romantic-comedy, she was a really hot item. Indeed, a year before, she showed up in āLegally Blondeā, a movie with a really lame concept which turned out to be actually decent. It was a huge box-office and she joined the A list, a spot she has never left ever since. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I have to admit it, Witherspoon was really charming and whimsical and she had a good chemistry with Josh Lucas (this guy was supposed to become the next Brad Pitt, what happened to him actually?!?) but the plot was not really good, Iām afraid. Basically, it is one of those romantic-comedies based on a lie and it was just really underwhelming. I mean, it is a gimmick they keep using but, boy, it is always tedious and cringe-inducing. To conclude, even though the whole thing was watchable, it was a rather disappointing romantic-comedy and I donāt think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 12 December 2013 03:16
(A review of Hall Pass)After the disappointing āThe Heartbreak Kidā, the Farrelly brothers came up 4 years later with a new directing effor but, unfortunately for them, it was yet another flop. It seems that those guys will never reach the same success they got with āDumb & Dumberā and āThereās something About Maryā (Honestly, I wasnāt really a huge fan of those films anyway). Still, this movie definitely had some potential and I liked how they started with some pretty genuine portrayals of average family life, although, in my opinion, Owen Wilson was rather miscast for this part (somehow like Ben Stiller or Steve Carell would have been more suited instead of a notorious womanizer). However, even though the whole thing could or should have been a really oversexed raunchy party, it was actually surprisingly tame. Indeed, it is only towards the end that you get to see the very hot coffee lady topless (the only moment it seems that something will actually happen but it doesnāt go further than this and she puts her clothes back on pretty quickly) but, for the rest of the movie, those guys just spent their hall pass hanging out together and not actually chasing the ladies which I thought was the whole point . While, in the mean time, one of their wives was having sex with a college student thatās how dubious the whole thing was. To conclude, even though it could have been a funny comedy, it was rather disappointing and I donāt think it is really worth a look, expect maybe if you are die-hard fan of the Farrelly brothers's work.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 3 months ago on 11 December 2013 12:56
(A review of About Adam)Honestly, it is a rather obscure feature but since I have a weak spot for romantic-comedies, I thought I might as well give it a try. Actually, it kind of reminded me of āTeoremaā, the mesmerizing masterpiece directed by the late Pier Paolo Pasolini, in the way that the title character seduces everyone else in this tale but, of course, it was a much fluffy version. The main attraction here was to see Kate Hudson and Stuart Townsend before they were supposed to make it big. Of course, the biggest thing that ever happened to Stuart Townsend was to be Aragorn for āThe Lord of the Ringsā trilogy for a couple of days before being kicked out and also being Charlize Theronās boyfriend for almost a decade (Ok, I wouldnāt mind being a boyfriend either). Concerning Kate Hudson, pretty much like her mother Goldie Hawn, she has since become a professional in these kind of fluffy romantic-comedies and it would be nice if she tried something different (look at her colleague Matthew McConaughey, it worked out pretty good for him lately). Still, even though the whole thing was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent rom-com and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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