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Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 27 September 2012 08:58
(A review of The Cabin in the Woods (2012))I wasnāt really planning to watch this movie so soon but Nick, my step-son, bought it so I eventually ended up watching it with him. I remember that the trailer was pretty intriguing so I thought it could be an interesting watch. Eventually, to be honest, I thought it was not bad but nothing really mind-blowing. Basically, it is a slasher flick which plays with the rules of the genre and goes pretty far with those rules but, unfortunately, even though the makers obviously tried to make us believe that the whole thing was really smart, I was not really convinced. Ā In fact, I even thought it was actually rather pretentious. I will try to discuss this without spoiling the whole thingā¦ Right from the start, there was obviously something fishy going on, they didnāt make it a secret, thatās for sure. So, you basically wait during the whole duration for some kind of explanation and what you get at the end was just really preposterous and not really satisfying. I mean, the number of plot holes were just mind-bobbling. Still, I cannot dismiss this feature. Indeed, at least, they did try something different, there were some pretty neat things visually speaking and I was fairly entertained from the beginning until the end. To conclude, even though it was not as revolutionary as the makers would like you to believe, it was still a decent and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 26 September 2012 05:47
(A review of Extraordinary Measures)Honestly, I had some rather low expectations concerning this movie but since I have always been a fan of Harrison Ford, I still wanted to check it out anyway. Eventually, I must admit it was not bad at all. I mean, the first 30 minutes were pretty terrible and it was not much better than your average made-for-TV real life tale with some awful sentimental cheesy music. However, when Fraser and Ford finally got in business, I must say that the whole thing got much better. Indeed, I thought the way they described the whole thing from a personal point of view but also from a scientific point of view and from a business point of view was really interesting. I also liked the performances delivered by Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford. Indeed, I usually don't like Fraser at all but I must admit that he was really good here and he even gave his best performance, at least, that's my opinion. Unfortunately, they never really managed to get rid-off of the over-sentimental stuff and it would have been more interesting if they focused more on the proceedings of creating a medicine in theory, getting the finance together and finally creating the actual cure and all the obstacles they had to face. Still, all in all, it remains an intriguing true story (even though they modified many elements), and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 26 September 2012 09:04
(A review of Practical Magic)Beforehand, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since there was a nice cast, I thought I should check it out anyway. Eventually, the whole thing was pretty average and not really thrilling to watch whatsoever. Indeed, the cast was pretty good (Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Goran Visnjic, Aidan Quinn, Evan Rachel Wood, Camilla Belle) but the plot was just too generic, pedestrian and predictable to be really entertaining. Basically, the only selling point is to have Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in the same movie and even though it is definitely an attractive thought, this flick doesn't have anything else to provide whatsoever. I don't think Bullock and Kidman should be blame though. Sandra Bullock does her typical performance but was charming enough and it was nice to see Nicole Kidman trying something else. Eventually, they both deserved a better movie than this and the whole thing felt like a wasted opportunity. To conclude, I have seen worse movies but this one is still pretty damned average and it is definitely not worth a look.
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A very good movie
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 25 September 2012 12:45
(A review of Millions)Since I saw āShallow Graveā in the movie theater when it was released, I have been following closely Danny Boyleās career. Since then, he hasnāt done anything remotely bad and he has become one of my favorite directors. The other thing that impress me with this guy, is that he keeps tackling new genre, new themes with every single movie and he is usually pretty successful. This time around, he made a family feature and I thought it was once again pretty amazing. Basically, it is a very touching modern tale with some very good directing and solid acting, especially by the young kids involved. Above all, contrary to most family features, it is absolutely never condescending to children, something I always find infuriating concerning this genre, and they treat children as smart individuals which Ā deserves to be treated with respect. My only complain would be that Iām no sure if young kids would really enjoy it though. But, on the other hand, you should never underestimate their comprehensive skills. To conclude, even though it is not Boyleās most highly regarded feature, it is actually really good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to watch an original family feature.
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A classic
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 25 September 2012 10:47
(A review of Rio Bravo)To be honest, Iām not really a fan of John Wayne (I have seen only 6 of his movies including this one so far), but since this movie is a real classic, I was definitely eager to check it out. In fact, I completely forgot it when I was watching the damned thing but I realized afterwards that this movie is actually regarded as one of the best Western ever made, inspiring such movies like āAssault at Precinct 13āĀ and many movie makers such as Quentin Tarantino. Personally, I thought it was a pretty good flick but I canāt say it was really mind-blowing though. I mean, it was definitely well made, the acting was solid and I thought it was entertaining but I guess it is just not my style of Westerns and Iād rather see the movies made by Sergio Leone. Concerning John Wayne, I thought he was pretty good but I thought there was not much chemistry between him and Angie Dickinson and I never really believed in their relationship. Above all, I thought that the story was all right but it was nothing really amazing, at least, in my opinion. Still, it remains a solid Western, a real classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 24 September 2012 11:47
(A review of The Opposite Of Sex (1997))Ever since I heard about this movie, I thought it sounded really fascinating and I was really eager to check it out. Indeed, the title was awesome and Christina Ricci was basically at the top of her game (by the way, itās really too bad that she has lost some much weight through the years as she looked much cuter back then). In fact, I remember watching the beginning of this movie a long time ago and, eventually, it took me a couple of years to finally watch this flick in its entirety. Anyway, basically, it is a solid dark comedy but, to be honest, not everything did really work in my opinion. At least, Christina Ricci was quite awesome here and the rest of the supporting cast was pretty good.Ā Lisa Kudrow was especially really hilarious as she completely stole the show every time she was on the screen. The main issue, I guess, is that all the characters were not only rather appalling (which was not a problem) but they were also not always interesting or entertaining. To conclude, even though it wasnāt exactly a home-run, it was still a decent watch, I enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 24 September 2012 09:32
(A review of Star Trek: Insurrection)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, the first time around, since I had heard only bad things about this flick, I wasnāt expecting much but, eventually, it was not bad at all after all. Of course, it is far from being one of the best Star Trek movies but, in my opinion, it was actually a devent watch. As usual, the beginning was pretty confusing and messy but I did like the concept of this civilization choosing to reject modern machines and technology (some typical Star Trek stuff). I must say that I was a little bit disappointed about how the whole thing looked. Indeed, the previous installment was actually visually pretty impressive but, in this feature, there was nothing really fancy on that level. In fact, the whole thing looked really cheap and it felt like a big step back. Still, Patrick Stewart was badass as usual and the story was entertaining enough in my opinion. To conclude, even though it might considered as one of the weakest Star Trek movies ever made, it is sure not one of the worse and it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 24 September 2012 08:50
(A review of Away We Go)Iām a huge fan of āAmerican Beautyā and I have been following Sam Mendes ever since. I must admit that I havenāt been really blown away by his following movies (except maybe by āRevolutionary Roadā which was pretty impressive) but they were always worth a look. His last feature was similar in the sense that it was definitely not a masterpiece but I still enjoyed it anyway. The biggest issue I had was that all the supporting characters were so over the top, it was not even funny or really interesting to behold. Furthermore, the two main characters seemed to have an average income but they still managed to make these huge trips going to Phoenix, Montreal,Ā Miami,ā¦ Still, I enjoyed this movie. The directing was indeed really solid and John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph both gave some very strong performances. Above all, I thought they made one of the sweetest and most fascinating couples I have ever seen. I mean, they were not glamorous, they didnāt look like photo models, they were rather neurotic and weird sometimes, always doubting about themselves and I just really loved them. They were some of the best balanced characters I have seen for a while and I could completely identify with them. In my opinion, those two characters were pure gold and they actually deserved a better movie. Anyway, all in all, in spite of its flaws, I still really enjoyed this movie and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Sam Mendesā work.
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A classic
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 23 September 2012 02:50
(A review of Key Largo)To be honest, I have to confess that I'm not really familiar with Humphrey Bogart. I mean, I have seen a couple of flicks but not many (After checking this out, I discovered that I did watch 9 of his movies which is not so bad after all). Anyway, this time, he was working for the 4th time with his wife, Lauren Bacall. He he was also working for the 4th time with John Huston, the director who gave his big break so I was in pretty good hands, that's for sure and I expected to have a good time. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Honestly, I don't think it is the best thing they made but it was still a pretty good flick though. As usual, Bogart and Bacall had some tremendous chemistry and they were quite spellbinding to watch. The directing by John Huston was also solid but I honestly didn't care much about the story though. I mean, it was definitely entertaining but it was just a little bit too pedestrian for my taste, I guess. Still, like I said before, it remains a solid and entertaining film noir and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 22 September 2012 04:36
(A review of Memoirs of a Geisha)Rob Marshall's directing debut was 'Chicago' and even though it was a tremendous succes (it won the best picture academy award back then), I thought it was terribly disappointing and a total bore to watch. For his second directing effort, Marshall had once again a high profile project so I was keen to give him another chance. Eventually, it was received with some mixed reviews. There was a lot of criticism because all the female characters are Japanese whereas none of the actress were actually Japanese (Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Zizi Zhang). Personally, I didn't care that the actresses were not Japanese, I mean, that is what acting is about eventually, portraying someone else. Personally, I found it more difficult that they all spoke in English. Furthermore, I honestly didn't care much about the story. On the positive side, I must say that the whole thing looked gorgeous and all the actors gave some very solid performances. To conclude, even though the story is nothing really mind-blowing, thanks for the actors involved and the solid directing, it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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