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Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 9 December 2013 12:25
(A review of On the Town)Honestly, Iām not a huge fan of musicals but since this movie is a classic, I thought I might as well give it a try. As a matter of fact, a couple of weeks ago, I finally managed to read (most of) a book about movies my wife bought for me and, in this book, they developed some interesting views about musicals. Indeed, according to the writer, back in those days, there was a really rigid production code in the USA and the musicals with their mix of reality and fantasy were a way to show things that were not really allowed. With this in mind, I might give musicals some extra credit in the future but, unfortunately, I wasnāt really blown away by this one. I mean, I couldnāt help thinking that the whole thing was mostly a marketing stunt presenting Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra (who was at the peak of his popularity) together. Also, even though the dance scenes were not bad, I thought they were actually rather underwhelming. And, of course, the story and the characters were terribly fluffy and, even though Iām fully aware it is a trademark of this genre, I always find difficult to care about whatās going on. To conclude, even though I thought it was slightly disappointing, it remains a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A bad movie
Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 7 December 2013 12:19
(A review of Snow Dogs)Honestly, I didnāt expect much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for James Coburn, I thought I might as well give it a shot. Unfortunately, the whole thing turned out to be pretty lameā¦ I mean, as soon as you have Cuba Gooding Jr. playing the lead, you already pretty much know that the whole thing will stink. I mean, the guy was so promising, first in āBoy n the Hoodā and he later on won an Acamedy award for his performance in āJerry Maguirreā. Well, since then, most of his movies have been pretty abysmal and 2002 was especially a bad year for him since he also showed up in āBoat Tripā, arguably one of the worst movies ever made. Concerning James Coburn, it was just sad that this movie would be one of this last one (he died the year it was released). Basically, it is one of those terribly tedious Disney features, I mean, sometimes their animated features are hard to swallow but their live-action stuff are often even worse. At least, 4 years later, they would make āEight Belowā, about the same subject, even starring some of the very same dogs, and even though it was nothing great, it was 10 times better than this. To conclude, the whole thing was pretty bad and it is not worth a look whatsoever.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 6 December 2013 08:14
(A review of Vertical Limit)Even though I wasnāt expecting much from this flick, somehow, I was still eager to check it out. Basically, I think there is something fascinating about climbing, especially those guys who try to go for those amazingly high mountains like Mount Everest or K2. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have a pretty nasty fear of heights so there is no way they get me out there. Furthermore, whatās the point of risking your life just to be able to get to the top of a mountain?!? It is a concept I find difficult to grasp, therefore, watching an action flick about climbing is enough thrills, as far as Iām concerned. Coming back to our main feature, well, it wasnāt really good, Iām afraid. I mean, Martin Campbell is a decent director and there were definitely some pretty cool action scenes but thatās about it. Indeed, even though the beginning was alright, pretty quickly, we were back into the world of those preposterous Hollywood thrillers with their annoying twists. The characters were not really interesting either so I lost interest pretty quickly while watching this. To conclude, even though the whole thing had some potential, it remains a rather weak action flick and I donāt think it is really worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 5 December 2013 08:26
(A review of The Black Cauldron)Well, first of all, back in the 80's, Disney had a really hard time with their animated features. Indeed, they were all pretty much some critical flops, including this movie. Personally, even though I have to admit that it is not one of Disney's greatest movies, I always had a weak spot for the damned thing though. Indeed, I saw it when I was very young (even possibly in the theater when it was first released) and I really enjoyed it back then. Eventually,Ā 20 years later,Ā I bought it again on DVDĀ and, even as a grown-up, I still thought it was actually pretty good. Above all, I give this movie some extra points because it was one of the very few times that Disney actually took some risks with one of their animated productions. Indeed, the whole thing was basically some pretty dark fantasy and it clearly stands out from their other classics. I especially loved the Horned King who must be the most sinister villain ever delivered by Disney. Anyway, this darkness was probably why it never could find an audience and it definitely doesn't belong to their most beloved features. I mean, I have to admit it, the whole thing was not entirely successful though.Ā For example, the level of the animation was never really consistent. Indeed, they gave us some sections beautifully created and some others that were awkwardly mixing drawing with some live footage resulting in something rather ugly. However, the worst thing was probably this psychic magical pig who was at first the whole starting point of this tale and, yet, this character was completely dropped halfway through. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I think it isĀ still an intriguing animated feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 4 December 2013 09:22
(A review of Ninja Assassin)Before this movie was released, there was a pretty good buzz about it. Eventually, it turned out to be a flop (it seems that the Wachowskis canāt get a break nowadays) but since it looked pretty badass, I still wanted to check it out. Eventually, even though the concept really had some potential, I thought the whole thing was actually quite underwhelming. Yes, there are some nice action scenes but because those Ninjas work mostly at night or in the shadows, you barely see a damned thing and the story was really weak. I mean, it starts basically with 3 storylines (Raizo as a kid training, Raizo as an adult training and the investigation by Naomi Harris). I understand that the whole investigation thing was to give the proceedings a more grounded setting but, man, that was really tedious. And, honestly, you spend a good chunk of the movie watching the guy training. The only thing which was remotely interesting was the conflict between Raizo and his trainer but, apart from that, I thought that the whole thing was pretty boring. Personally, even though I did like āV for Vendettaā, I thought it was vastly overrated and this movie was a huge step backward for McTeigue and the Wachowskis. To conclude, even though it could have been pretty awesome, I thought it was actually pretty weak and I donāt think it is really worth a look.
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A really good movie
Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 4 December 2013 06:39
(A review of Buena Vista Social Club)Nowadays, Wim Wenders doesn't do anything really amazing anymore but, back in the 90's, I was a huge fan and tried to watch as many of his movies as possible. This movie was the last one he made in the 90's and it was definitely a great flick. If I'm not mistaken, it was one of the first documentaries I ever saw in the theater and I really loved it. To start with, the music was just downright amazing (eventually, a couple of years later, I had the privilege to see Omara Portuondo in a concert in my hometown in France. Good times!). Those old guys were also quite interesting and I thought that the whole thing was really spellbinding to watch. I'm afraid most of them must have passed away by now (I don't dare to double-check this on the internet... It would be really disheartening.) but it was just pretty neat to see them finally get some deserved recognition, even if it was really late in their career thanks to Ry Cooder for making this great CD and thanks to Wim Wenders for making this documentary which was a great marketing stunt. To conclude, I thought it was a great flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in music.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 4 December 2013 08:24
(A review of The Crimson Rivers)Back in the 90ās, after āLa Haineā, Matthieu Kassovitz became overnight the most exciting French director. His next movie āAssassin(s)ā (a great movie in my opinion) was barely seen so, with his 4th directing effort, he decided to go for a more commercial flick. It was a big commercial success, at least in France, and after that, he tried his chance in Hollywood (with not much success, Iām afraid). Coming back to our main feature, Kassovitz was working again with Vincent Cassel, arguably the most successful French actor of the last two decades, and he decided to give him Jean Reno, another French icon, as his partner, creating a pretty lethal combination. I mean, Kassovitz+Cassel+Reno, marketing-wise, it was very smart and, even if the movie would have sucked, it still would have made some money. Eventually, it was very well received and a huge box-office success. Personally, I thought it was rather overrated. I mean, it was an entertaining thriller with a very nice mood . Furthermore, Vincent Cassel and Jean Reno delivered some good performances and they had some great chemistry. Still, at the end of the day, it is pretty much like most American thrillers, they built up the tension pretty nicely, but the twist at the end was pretty far-fetched and rather underwhelming. To conclude, even though I donāt think it is really great, it remains an entertaining thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 3 December 2013 09:39
(A review of Downhill)Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I'm a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I was really eager to check it out. Basically, it is one of his very old silent features and, honestly, I had a hard time to care about the whole thing. I mean, the whole thing was rather oddly constructed. At first, it seemed to be a tale about loyalty and honor but, at the end of the day, it is pretty much 4 segments glued to one and another without much cohesion. The first part, which was the best, reminded me somehow of what Harry Potter could have been if they removed all the magic elements. Then , the main character got married with a gold-digger. Then, he got to France (!) where he became a ballroom dancer for hire and, in the last part, he went back home from Marseilles, apparently starving and delirious. It was rather funny to see the same actor from āThe Lodgerā, another old feature directed by Hitchcock but the whole thing was just terribly messy and rather misogynic (indeed, the guy keeps getting screwed by different women during the whole story and they were all pretty devilish). To conclude, even though it was not really bad, it remains a rather odd picture but I guess it is still worth a look, especially if you are interested in Alfred Hitchcockās work.
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A very good movie
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 3 December 2013 07:59
(A review of Silkwood)Since Iām a huge fan of Meryl Streep, I was really eager to check this flick. First of all, when you read the plot, it does sound a little bit like the material they would use for a real-life TV feature but the execution was quite impressive. Indeed, it was directed by Mick Nichols, who was coming back from a 8 years break, and he really managed to mix the raw daily routine of these characters with a nail-biting conspiracy thriller. With this movie, Meryl Streep got her 5th nomination at the Academy awards (for a total of 17 nominations!) and, as usual, she was quite amazing. To complete the cast, you had the always dependable Kurt Russell and Cher, who was launching at the time her acting career and who would become a major actress in the 80ās, even winning an Academy award for her performance in āMoonstruckā. The problem with Cher is that her public image is so obnoxious, you tend to dismiss her work when she made some pretty good movies in which she was half-decent. Coming back to our main feature, even though Iām not a huge fan of real-life tales, I thought that this story was quite spellbinding. To conclude, even though nowadays this movie is pretty much forgotten, it is actually really good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Meryl Streepās work.
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An average movie
Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 2 December 2013 06:42
(A review of A Price Above Rubies (1998))Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for RenƩe Zellweger, I thought I should check it out. Basically, it is one really obscure movie she made just a few years after breaking through with 'Jerry Maguire'. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a decent feature with an intriguing religious background but, somehow, it never became really amazing though. I mean, it did feature some pretty good performances by RenƩe Zellweger and Christopher Eccleston (easily one of the most underrated actors at work nowadays) but the whole thing was just too one-sided to be really satisfying. Basically, Zellweger's character was too nice to be true and her family was just too stubborn as well. At the end of the day, it was just a drama about a modern woman stuck into a traditional community and the whole thing was fairly predictable. Coming back to Zellweger, what happened to her actually? At some point, she was definitely on the A list but ever since 'Cinderella Man' flopped, she hasn't done anything really worthwhile. Anyway, to conclude, even though it wasn't really great, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in RenƩe Zellweger's work.
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