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All reviews - Movies (7779) - TV Shows (10)

An average movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 5 June 2023 08:11 (A review of Abominable)

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from the damned thing but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even if it wasn’t really awful, the damned thing was not really good either, that’s for sure. I mean, sure, I have to admit that it looked nice enough, especially this Yeti creature, but by now, the technology involved in CGI animation has become so advanced, I wouldn’t expect less, especially from DreamWorks. Eventually, I’m not sure what bothered me the most, the fact that the whole thing was some kind of shameless commercial for some famous Chinese touristic spots or the fact that the writing was just so lazy. I mean, to make a movie about the Yeti, sure, why not? But why on Earth did this creature also needed some magical powers? As a result, it meant that each time they had to face any kind of obstacles, he would then use his powers which was just too easy and this misguided approach drastically lowered the stakes. Another thing that bothered me was the fact their journey was supposed to go over 1000’s of kilometers, it was supposed to be a thrilling adventure but it seemed that it took them only a couple of days which was also rather disappointing. Only a year before this movie came out, they also released ‘Smallfoot’ also focusing on this mythical creature and, while it was also pretty weak, this movie managed somehow to be even more underwhelming though. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have to admit that the damned thing was rather harmless, it was still lame and boring so I don’t think it is worth a look, even if you have some young children to entertain, there are so many more interesting animated features out there to show them.  



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A good movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 4 June 2023 05:48 (A review of Plan 75)

I have to admit that I haven't heard anything about this movie before watching it and I had really no clue what to expect. Well, I think it was pretty bold from Henk to choose this movie when most of the members of our Filmclub are near or even above the 75 year old threshold displayed in this movie. It's interesting that, even though the concept developed here felt like it came from some science-fiction flick, it was however handled in a really sober way, in fact, it was even hyper-realistic and this approach to handle such a SF concept was maybe not really original but it still worked really well though. Even more intriguing was the fact that, even though this Japanese law was obviously ridiculous and inhuman, the way the elderly were treated in this movie didn't really differ from the way we are already treating then nowadays which was rather sad and confronting. Eventually, the main issue, as far as I was concerned, was the fact that it all felt rather disjointed. Sure, I didn't mind that there was no real plot. However, there was also no main character and, instead, they kept jumping from one character to another (seriously, some characters showed up for maybe only 5 mins and then never came back afterwards). I won't blame the actors involved as they all did a fine job but, as a result, you never get the opportunity to really know any of their respective characters. Eventually, it did create such a distance between them and the viewers and it was then hard to really care about what they were going through. Anyway, to conclude, even if this interesting concept could have been probably better developed, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look.


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A very good movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 3 June 2023 06:50 (A review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse)

Back then, we didn't even see 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' in the movie theater when it was released (as a matter of fact, we went to see 'Aquaman' instead). In fact, I have to admit that it wasn't a priority at all but, like anyone else, I just loved the damned thing after all and I'm really glad we managed to catch this amazing sequel on the big screen this time. Anyway, it was again visually so neat, there were maybe slightly too many details but the end-result was still quite amazing to behold. It's also the reason why such multiverse features actually works better with animation because, this way, they could tweak each dimension, give its own specific visual identity, which would be much harder to achieve with a live-action feature. It was also neat to see Miles Morales growing up and becoming an anxious and insecure teenager. In general, it was a much more emotional feature, probably the most emotional Spider-Man feature ever made so far. I mean, not only Spider-Man had to live a life of secrets and loneliness but, in this case, he was even called an anomaly which was then tracked down by 100's of other Spider-Men and Women. Eventually, the only minor issue I had was that, nowadays, we get just too many movies dealing with multiverses (Hell, even the last Best Picture Academy Award winner was a multiverse feature), even if, in this case, I have to admit that it is slightly unfair since its predecessor was the first movie to explore this genre. It was also impressive that even though it was really long, even though it was only half of this story, there was never a dull moment and I was completely entertained from the beginning until the end. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing turned out to be amazing, even an improvement on its predecessor which was already great so it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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A good movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 2 June 2023 09:05 (A review of Men)

Even though this movie apparently didn’t get much love when it was released, since it was directed by [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see], I was still quite eager to check it out. Well, first of all, visually speaking, it was hands down one of the most impressive movies I have seen released in 2022. Garland also delivered a nice haunting mood, at least, during the first hour. Furthermore, I have discovered Jessie Buckley only 2 years ago in ‘I'm Thinking of Ending Things’, I think that there is something so charismatic about her and she was really good here once again. Of course, I shouldn’t forget to mention Rory Kinnear. I have to admit that, even though I knew his name and saw him in a few movies, Kinnear never seemed to be an interesting actor but, here, the guy did manage to play about 10 different characters in this movie which was quite impressive. Concerning the rest of the movie, well, it was a decent mindf*ck, some kind of feverish nightmare but, to be honest, it did feel rather empty after all. It’s strange that this movie was described as ‘misogynic’ because, in my opinion, it was in fact exactly the other way around. Indeed, the main character was basically traumatized after what happened with her ex-husband and, from then on, in her eyes, all men were the same and they were all a threat but it wasn’t as deep or clever as the makers obviously were hoping for. Eventually, this movie wasn’t empty because of the lack of characters, Buckley and Kinnear were indeed fine, it felt empty because the ideas and concepts (or lack of it) didn’t really impress me and, as a whole, it felt rather shallow and even pretentious. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have to admit that my rating might be too high for this movie, I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Alex Garland’s work. 



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An average movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 1 June 2023 11:33 (A review of For Whom the Bell Tolls)

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation (it is included in the ‘The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made’ list selected by the New York Times, among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I really loved the title, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about this movie. First of all, for some reason, I thought it would be a Western but, obviously, it turned out to be something completely different after all. At least, it was neat to see a vintage Hollywood movie dealing with the Spanish Civil War but it was rather unfortunate that, even though there was only one American character, everyone was speaking English and not Spanish. Even more hard to swallow was the idea of casting Ingrid Bergman, possibly the most famous Swedish actress that ever lived, to play a Spanish woman. And, yet, I have to admit that Bergman, who was so gorgeous and so charismatic back then, was probably the only thing I really enjoyed in this movie. On the other hand, even though Gary Cooper was praised for his performance and even though I have to admit that he was quite charismatic as well, in my opinion, his character was actually terribly bland and even rather boring. Eventually, the most interesting characters were Pilar and, above all, Pablo. Still, the movie was often pretty cheesy and, above all, so damned long. Seriously, maybe half of the duration was about this group of guerrilla fighters having some really tedious discussions and the other half was about Robert Jordan and Maria constantly declaring their love for each other which was hardly more exciting. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing turned out to be rather disappointing, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre. 



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A good movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 31 May 2023 11:01 (A review of The Whale)

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I’m a huge fan of Darren Aronofsky, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be another fascinating emotional rollercoaster coming from this director, that’s for sure. Obviously, this movie will be mostly remembered for Brendan Fraser’s performance and, even though I always thought that Fraser was one of the most underwhelming actors ever, I have to admit that he was actually quite amazing here. Of course, you might argue that they could have cast an actually obese man for this part but it would have never worked since the character was in such a life-threatening situation through the whole duration. As a result, an actor in a fat suit was the only option. The fact that the character himself and his background was so fascinating also tremendously helped. Sure, Aronofsky with ‘The Wrestler’ already delivered a movie about a man on a self-destructive path who tries to reconnect with his daughter but these similarities didn't bother me. This movie also reminded me of ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ with Nicolas Cage delivering another Academy Award winning performance for portraying an alcoholic drinking himself to death. Eventually, the only thing that didn’t really work was the fact that, for a man completely isolating himself from the world, there were just too many people orbiting around him. On top of that, the characters themselves didn’t really work, at least, not all of them. Seriously, did we really need Thomas? It was above all his convoluted backstory that bothered me. It was the same issue with Liz. Sure, Hong Chau gave a really solid performance and it was a good idea to have a nurse taking care of Charlie. However, it was just too much that she also took her of his lover who tried to starve himself to death and that the guy turned out to be also her brother. I think it would have worked better if she would have been simply his nurse without all this extra far-fetched baggage. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a strong drama with an unforgettable performance from Brendan Fraser who finally managed to redeem himself to me after years of delivering some garbage. 



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A good movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 30 May 2023 07:11 (A review of The More the Merrier)

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation (it is included in the ‘The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made’ list selected by the New York Times, among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of screwball comedies and the fact that this one had a rather bewildering concept probably didn’t help. Indeed, while WWII was raging all over the world, especially in Europe, the biggest concern for the folks in Washington was apparently to find some housing. Sure, I can understand that the American audience needed something light during these dark times but what was displayed in this movie was just so remote from what was going on in the rest of the world that I found it rather hard to digest. If you would put aside the historical context, the movie itself was basically about the fact that it was (and still is?) considered indecent for a single woman to live with a single man if they are not in a romantic relationship, even preferably married. So, yeah, the concept was just so paper-thin and, yet, I have to admit that the damned thing still worked somehow and I think that the main reason was that Jean Arthur was just so charming and charismatic. The romantic relationship of her character with Charles J. Pendergast was rather pathetic and unconvincing but, fortunately, she had some solid chemistry with Joel McCrea. Sure, the seduction scene on the stairs came out of nowhere but it was actually quite daring and fascinating to behold and both actors really nailed it. Concerning Charles Coburn’s character, he was rather silly and probably the least likely matchmaker I have ever seen but I have to admit that he was actually quite fun. Anyway, to conclude, even if it might be one of the most forgettable screwball comedies I have seen, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 



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A good movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 29 May 2023 06:56 (A review of Veronika Voss)

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that I had a rather hard time to connect with the damned thing. I think it must he the 3rd movie I saw from this director and I think I'm getting slowly acquainted with his style though. Basically, all his movies have a rather dark, oppressive and depressing mood and, as result, at least as far as I'm concerned, they are not really easy or fun to watch and this movie was not exception. In this case, he seemed that he was inspired by 'Sunset Boulevard', possibly one of the best films ever made and I have to admit that the downfall of Veronika Voss was quite intriguing. Indeed, Voss was a former famous actress in the 30's and now some kind of bipolar decadent drug addict and there is no denying that Rodel Zech was just so charismatic and pretty much pitch-perfect in this role. However, the whole 'Sunset Boulevard' angle was only half of the movie, the other half focused instead on a psychiatric clinic and its doctor who was basically functioning as a fancy drug dealer. Well, this turn of events was seriously bewildering and, to be honest, it seemed to be too far-fetched and, therefore, I didn't really care for it. However, I found out afterwards that it was actually based on the true story of Sybille Schmitz, a famous German actress who couldn’t find work after WWII, became an addict under the influence of her physician and indeed committed suicide in a similar fashion. Anyway, the most interesting thing with these movies is probably the subtext, how Fassbinder wanted to show that, after WWII, even though most Germans wanted to forget everything and move on with their lives, there was actually something terribly rotten about German society, at least, that's what Fassbinder seemed to believe. Anyway, to conclude, even if it never really fascinated me, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's work.


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An average movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 26 May 2023 09:26 (A review of The Tales of Hoffmann)

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though it might not belong to their famous movies, it was still probably one of their most ambitious productions. However, even if I really did admire the work done, I have to admit that I had an incredibly hard time to connect with the damned thing though. In fact, it wasn’t the first movie adaptation of an opera I have seen. Indeed, I have also seen ‘The Magic Flute’ which was directed by Kenneth Branagh, even if it was a seriously obscure movie which was never even released in the US. Anyway, basically, I have never been a huge fan of musicals in general and operas are basically musicals, except that the performers are singing constantly very loudly and the stories are borderline impossible to follow. Sure, I have to admit that this description might be slightly too reductive, especially if you really love the genre, but, I’m really sorry, with all respect, this genre is borderline unwatchable for me. Seriously, for most of the duration, I was wondering what the hell it was really about. As a result, it seems that Powell and Pressburger delivered here their most baroque and super-charged feature ever. At least, it was definitely a feast for the eyes and, on top of that, the ballet dancing and singing were all top-notch (it’s interesting to note that, except for Robert Rounseville and Ann Ayars, all the actors were actually dubbed by some opera singers). Anyway, to conclude, even if I never really worked for me, it was still an interesting watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 



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A good movie

Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 25 May 2023 01:36 (A review of Supernova)

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the damned thing. Sure, there was nothing really original about the story and the outcome was quite predictable. Still, I think that dementia is a really fascinating subject and, as far as I’m concerned, it must be one of the most terrifying things in the world. Eventually, I can’t imagine anything more dreadful than to be aware that your mind is slowly drifting away and eventually even disappearing. On the other hand, as displayed in this movie, it might be even more terrifying for the people that love you, especially your romantic partner. In this movie, they tackled also the topic of euthanasia and you get both sides of this debate. Indeed, should you stay forever together whatever happens or should you be able to quit this life on your own terms? So, these concepts and ideas were nothing really new but they were fairly well developed here. However, the greatest pleasure with this movie was to see such fine actors like Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci at the top of their games. Sure, you might argue that none of them is actually gay but I thought that they were both really convincing and they had such great chemistry together. Indeed, I really believed that these two men had spent all these years together and it was just heartbreaking that they were not allowed to spend another 20 more years together. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really groundbreaking, it was still a solid drama with some top performances and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 



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