Login
Home
588 Lists
7860 Reviews
CollectionsA good movie
Posted : 12 years, 7 months ago on 7 November 2012 10:02
(A review of Days of Heaven)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Unfortunately, pretty much like āBadlandsā, this movie never really did fulfill my expectations. I mean, I did like it, thatās for sure, but I canāt say I was really blown away by the whole thing. Indeed, I didnāt really care about the plot (Iām pretty sure Malick didnāt care for the plot either, if there was any) and I also didnāt care much about the characters either. It is probably a results of the choice made by Terrence Malick to have the story told by a young child. Even though it had some interesting aspects (it must be one of the most daunting voice-over I have ever heard), it was also terribly alienating as you never get to know the three main characters. It is actually something quite inherent in Malickās work, the fact that you are never explicitly told what the characters are exactly thinking or feeling, a more realistic approach than your standard Hollywood feature where everything is explained and dumbed down so I understand and usually appreciate this approach but it was rather frustrating this time. Still, it remains a fascinating picture. Indeed, the directing was just flawless and it is definitely one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. Basically, most of the movie is shot outdoors at dusk or dawn, something technically terribly difficult to achieve (how long can you manage to have the right light for example?) but so awe-inspiring to watch. Most of the shots were just so perfectly composed, it was just jaw dropping and, even if you donāt like his movies, you have to admit that the guy is a true artist. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didnāt really blow me away, it is still a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Malickās work.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 6 November 2012 10:33
(A review of Dave)Not to be confused with another US president related comedy called āThe American Presidentā which was released in the same period. Personally, I enjoyed more āThe American Presidentā but this one was not bad either. Basically, it is one of those typical comedy where a decent guy takes the place of a not so decent guy and everybody thinks he is awesome and much better than his predecessor against, of course, all expectations. It was rather entertaining but the whole idea was hardly original (one of the most famous examples is āTrading Placesā featuring a star-making performance by Eddie Murphy. I knowā¦ A good movie starring Eddie Murphy sounds rather surreal but it really did happen). Anyway, like I said before, they just followed the formula and, unfortunately, they didnāt add much anything to the whole thing. Ivan Reitman is a solid comedy director, he knows his thing, thatās for sure, but I wish they pushed even further into the black humor but it wasnāt meant to be, Iām afraid, and the whole thing remained too gentle for my taste. Kevin Kline did a decent job but I canāt say Iām fan of his, I donāt know, he usually gets on my nerves, especially when he is playing in a comedy. Above all, I really enjoyed Sigourney Weaver who was really good. She tends to get overlooked but she is actually a very good actress with a perfect comedic timing. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains a well made and entertaining comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 6 November 2012 08:42
(A review of 300)Even though it was a surprise success at the box-office upon its release, it seems to be nowadays a rather polarizing movie. Indeed, basically, you either love or you hate this flick. Personally, I thought it was pretty good. Indeed, above all I thought it was just visually really impressive. I mean, nowadays, we get a massive overdose of CGI but this movie is a good example that it can definitely enhance the story telling. The Spartans were also pretty awesome, they were totally badass and I thought they were rather believable as some of the deadliest warriors ever. This flick obviously displayed a progression for Zach Znyder from his interesting debut, āDawn of the Deadā, and this progression was confirmed by āWatchmenā, his best movie so far which is really underrated in my opinion. Many viewers thought those guys looked really ridiculous in their outfit and, even though they definitely had a point, I thought it fit the āhistoricalā context. Still, even though, I really enjoyed it, I have to admit it was far from being flawless. Indeed, the story was entertaining but rather pedestrian and the political intrigue was really poorly developed (I mean, the bad guy gets killed and look how convenient! He was carrying some enemy coins in his pocketā¦ How corny can you getā¦) Furthermore, their way of speaking wore me down after a while. I mean, it is like every time they open their mouth, even the most trivial conversation becomes some kind of overblown speech. Still, I thought it was a pretty cool flick and I had a good time watching this. To conclude, even though Iām far from being an action movie fan, I thought this one was really entertaining and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 5 November 2012 01:08
(A review of The Iron Giant)Way before becoming a major player with Pixar and even becoming a successful action movie director with the Mission Impossible franchise, Brad Bird started his career with this little seen animated gem. Since then, it has reached a decent cult following but when it was released, it was unfortunately barely seen, even myself I saw it much later when it was broadcasted on TV. It is one of the hand-drawn animated features which was victim of the obsession towards computer animated movies. Many of those like āSpiritā or āThe Road to El Doradoā didnāt managed to get an audience when they were actually not bad at all. Anyway, this directing debut was pretty good. Indeed, the animation was just gorgeous (just too bad they dropped this technic altogether). Still, I must admit that even though it was entertaining enough, the story was rather pedestrian and honestly nothing really mind-blowing. Still, even though it was a flop, thanks to this flick, Brad Bird got noticed by Pixar and the rest is just history. To conclude, even though it is nothing really revolutionary, it is a gorgeous and charming animated feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 5 November 2012 12:01
(A review of Across the Universe)Since Iām not a huge fan of musicals and since I donāt really care about the Beattles, I didnāt seem to be the right audience for this flick but since I kept hearing positive things about it (for example, according to Roger Ebert, it was one of the best movies released in 2007), I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, it was not bad at all. Indeed, the songs were all right and I especially enjoyed their version of āI want to hold your handā. Furthermore, the directing was really solid, with some very nice visual experiments by Julie Taymor. The cast was also pretty good, above all Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood who had some very good chemistry together. It was also pretty neat to see Joe Cocker and Bono coming along to sing a song. Still, I canāt say that the whole thing was mind-blowing though. Indeed, personally, I thought that the story was rather pedestrian and really unoriginal and I really didnāt care much about it (something I always dread in most of the musicals I see). Furthermore, I found it was a rather odd choice to set the action in the USA in the 60ās. I mean, the 60ās was an obvious choice but why in the USA? Still, it remains a decent flick though. To conclude, if you are a fan of the Beattles, you will probably have a blast watching this but even if you are not, it remains a very well made musical and I still think it is worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 5 November 2012 08:49
(A review of Dementia 13 (1963))Even though I have seen all the major masterpieces directed by Francis Ford Coppola, I still try to catch his other less known features when I get the opportunity. In this case, Coppola directed this flick back then when he was working with Roger Corman. Indeed, while on location shooting a totally different movie, Corman actually proposed Coppola to shot his own flick in 9 days for $40,000. Even though the whole thing is pretty shabby (above all the opening scene), there was still some quality about it. Indeed, after the very weak introduction, you get involved in some kind of horror-thriller with many Hitchcockian elements and I thought it was not bad at all. Back then, Coppola already displayed some nice directing skills here and itās a pity he never tried something similar later on during his career. Of course, since it is a Corman production, you had some obligatory sleaze with one of the female characters getting undressed and going for a swim in her undies. All in all, even though Iām not a real fan of this genre, I thought it was a decent exploitation flick and it was just really neat to see where Coppola was coming from. To conclude, even though it is nothing remotely amazing, it is not bad at all and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 4 November 2012 11:41
(A review of Places in the Heart)Even though it tends to be overlooked because of Sally Field's rather embarassing acceptance speech, it is actually a pretty good flick. Indeed, I thought it would be a rather over-sentimental drama but, eventually, it was actually enjoyable. Of course, the story is nothing really original or mind-blowing, the directing was pretty solid and there was a really good cast (Sally Field, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, Terry O'Quinn). Sally Field actually reminds me of Hilary Swank. Indeed, like Swank, Field was nominated twice at the oscars, won twice and did nothing really amazing before or after. Personally, I do like Hilary Swank but I have to recognize that they both had a rather similar career path. Anyway, did Sally Field deserve her academy award? Her performance was pretty good but not really amazing in my opinion. However, if you look at it, the competition was rather weak for that particular year (Judy Davis in 'A Passage to India', Jessica Lange in 'Country', Vanessa Redgrave in 'The Bostonians', Sissy Spacek in 'The River'). To conclude, even though it is nothing really mind-blowing, it is a decent drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like Sally Field.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A classic
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 4 November 2012 10:21
(A review of Assault on Precinct 13)Since I have seen every single major movie directed by John Carpenter ('The Thing', 'Escape from New York', 'The Fog', 'Halloween') except this one, I just had to watch it really bad. Eventually, it took me a very long time to finally get my hands on it. Unfortunately, something quite dreadful happened under way. Indeed, even though I finally managed to secure a DVD while vacationing in France, when I was back home, I realized it was a French dubbed version with no original version with or without subtitles... So, that was a major disappointment but I still didn't want to throw the damned thing away. Anyway, eventually, I thought the movie itself was pretty good. Basically, it is a B movie, an exploitation flick, and even though, I'm not a huge fan of this genre, this was definitely one of the best that I have seen so far. Of course, the acting and the dialogues were not nothing amazing but it is really inherent to the genre, and since the whole thing was in French (shrug...), maybe it was just some poor dubbing. The plot was not bad, sometimes a little bit hard to follow, and apparently inspired by 'Rio Bravo', another classic I have just seen recently, but pretty much like its illustrious predecessor, I failed to see what was so amazing about this story. Above all, I really enjoyed the amazing score by John Carpenter. Indeed, Carpenter is not only a very good director but also an impressive composer who produced some really memorable soundtrack (I'm pretty sure everyone has heard the 'Halloween' theme at least once in their life). To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, as a B feature, it is pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 3 November 2012 03:19
(A review of Skyfall)I already saw this movie, I actually saw it in the movie theater when it was released, but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well re-watch it, especially since my wife never saw it before. Well, first of all, even though I have seen every single James Bond flicks except the very last installment starring Daniel Craig, I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of this franchise though. However, in this case, since I kept hearing here and there that it was one of the best James Bond installments ever made and Sam Mendes being a terrific director, it did seem really promising. Unfortunately, even though I have to admit that this movie was not bad at all and that it was even fairly entertaining, to be honest, I really failed to see what was supposed to be so great about it. Indeed, in my opinion, it was a little bit better than 'Quantum of Solace', which wasn't that bad but I still preferred 'Casino Royale' which wasn't really great after all. Above all, I was rather underwhelmed by the story. Seriously, was it really supposed to be a brilliant story? I have to admit that it was still an enjoyable flick though with some pretty cool action scenes. On top of that, Daniel Craig was getting better and better every time and, by then, he definitely owned the part. Furthermore, even though the bad guy was rather uninspiring, Javier Bardem gave a really solid performance and completely disappeared behind the character. It was also pretty cool what they did with Q, Moneypenny and Mallory (AKA the new āMā). However, even though BĆ©rĆ©nice Marlohe was a gorgeous and intriguing Bond girl, it was rather disappointing that she was given very little screen time and, as a result, she had very little to do. Anyway, to conclude, I have to admit it was still a decent James Bond flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre, even if I don't think it is anything brilliant after all.Ā
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 12 years, 8 months ago on 2 November 2012 10:00
(A review of The Last House on the Left)I didn't have some huge expectations regarding this feature but since the ratings were rather decent, I thought I should give it a try. Honestly, I haven't seen the original version but I do hope it is better than this remake. I mean, it was not really bad, the directing was solid and the actors did a decent job but it really felt like a very weak version of 'Funny Games' which is one of my all time favorites (the original version, not the remake). It was indeed pretty violent with a rape, some mutilations and a few kills and, even though, it was all very well done from a technical point of view, I couldn't care less about the whole thing. And what was this about the sexy shots of Sara Paxton earlier in the movie?! Are we supposed to get aroused before she gets raped?!? And don't even start with the infamous macrowave scene at the end... Except from Justin (played by Spencer Treat Clark) which was a rather interesting character, I didn't care much about the others, victims or executioners. Basically, it was one of those rather tedious torture-porn flicks which inflict you one nauseous scene after the other just to see how much you can take. Unfortunately, I was never interested in this genre. To conclude, I have seen worse but this one was still pretty damned average and I don't think it is really worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry