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All reviews - Movies (7741) - TV Shows (10)

An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 5 April 2012 10:20 (A review of The Return)

Even though Sarah Michelle Gellar has reached some major success with 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', she actually never really managed to break through on the silver screen. One of her very few success would be 'The Grudge' (which was actually rather disappointing in my opinion) and, afterwards, they quickly made another horror flick starring her obviously to make some easy money. I mean, the directing was not bad but the tension came mostly from the music which is a rather cheap gimmick. Furthermore, I have nothing against Sarah Michelle Gellar, I have to admit it, she is quite charming but she is honestly a rather poor actress and she didn't convince me here. Above all, I thought the whole thing was just so uneventful. Seriously, for most of the duration, nothing much was actually really happening and I was rather bored. Of course, at the end, they gave some really far-fetched explanation and you're basically supposed to buy it without any question. To conclude, I believe I'm actually generous with my rating as it was a rather lazy and boring horror flick and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar.



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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 5 April 2012 09:03 (A review of Below)

I always had a weak spot for U-Boot movies and it was the main reason I wanted to check this flick. I guess this flick went below the radar (pun intended...) because there were no major stars involved but I thought it was not bad at all. As a matter of fact, it was actually written by Darren Aronofsky and he was even supposed to direct it but he decided to do 'Requiem for a Dream' instead, so it was definitely a promising movie. And indeed, there were a lot of things to enjoy here. The mood was pretty good and I thought it was fairly well directed. I mean, after 'Das Boot' is practically impossible to add anything new to the genre but I thought they did a good job here. So, they gave this movie an interesting mysterious atmosphere but, unfortunately, they didn't really develop it very well. Of course, at the end, they manage to tie the loose ends but it was not really satisfactory. Also the fact that all the characters didn't have much personality and were only some stererotypes didn't help much. Still, it was a well made and spooky feature and I was entertained throughout the whole thing. To conclude, even though it never reached its full potential, it was a decent U-Boot flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.



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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 4 April 2012 07:32 (A review of White Sands)

Honestly, beforehand, I had never heard of this movie before but since there was a pretty good cast, I thought I should give it a try. Before his deserved comeback and before starring in all kinds of worthless flicks, Mickey Rourke showed up in this rather unknown feature. It is a well made but rather pedestrian film noir which features indeed a very interesting cast (Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Maura Tierney). As I said before, the directing was pretty good and I really enjoyed the mood they gave to the proceedings. Furthermore, it was nice to see Dafoe having the lead part for a change. However, even if the story was entertaining enough, it was still nothing special or original and it was the same concerning the characters as they were rather stereotypical. Still, I think it remains a rather well made and entertaining film noir and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 4 April 2012 07:19 (A review of Blue Velvet)

Since I saw this classic about 20 years ago, I guess it was time for a re-watch. First of all, I have to admit that I have a somewhat difficult relationship with David Lynch. I mean, by now, I have seen all his movies and even though I admire his work and consider him a genuine artist, I usually have a hard time to enjoy most of his features and this movie was a perfect example. Indeed, as usual with Lynch, the beginning was a spellbinding and thrilling film noir which would have made Hitchcock proud. But then, again as usual with this director, he obviously didn't care about the plot, he seamelessly threw it out the window and what remained was a succession of weird and unsettling scenes. In my opinion, it is a pattern used too often by David Lynch and I always find it eventually more frustrating than rewarding. Still, the directing was really neat and there was a fine cast involved (Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Dean Stockwell, Brad Dourif, Jack Nance) above all Dennis Hopper was really impressive and probably gave here his best performance ever. Anyway, to conclude, it is an acquired taste but there are still plenty things to love here and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in David Lynch's work.



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A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 3 April 2012 08:30 (A review of La Séparation)

It is a rather unknown French flick and I have seen it a couple of years ago but I thought it was pretty good. It stars two of the best French actors at work nowadays (Isabelle Huppert, Daniel Auteuil) and I thought they both gave some tremedous performances. Basically, it is one of those typical French movies dealing with romantic relationships and it is rather chaotic and messy. It is an acquired taste and, for example, my wife don't like movies dealing with love like that but, personally, I find it is a much more interesting approach than the irrealistic and shallow romantic features coming from Hollywood (for exampe, a couple of days ago, I saw 'Bride wars' and it was just abysmal...). Here, you deal with some real 3 dimensional characters and I actually cared about those characters and what they were going through. On the downside, I must admit the story was nothing really mindblowing but the movie was still quite spellbinding to watch. To conclude, even though it is a rather unknown flick, it is actually pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 3 April 2012 08:02 (A review of The Hills Have Eyes)

Even though I'm not really a big fan of those remakes of horror classics, since the reviews were not bad, I thought I could check this one out. Furthermore, I was rather curious to see Alexandre Aja's Hollywood debut. Well, to be honest, I ended up with some mixed feelings. Basically, the first half was rather weak, predictable, boring with some really poor acting but then the second half was not bad with some  heavy stuff (Indeed, you get to see some gruesome murders, a rape, a bonfire and .... even some breastfeeding). I also have to give the makers some credit for trying to develop the premise with some background story dealing with nuclear tests but, honestly, it made the whole thing even more convoluted than it already was. Still, eventually, it remained a rather pointless exercise, I'm, afraid. I mean, the original version was not bad but the reason why they made such cheap horror movies back then was because they didn't have the money to make something more elaborate so to remake such stories with 10 times the same budget doesn't make much sense, except of course if you want to make some easy money. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing amazing whatsoever, I have to admit that it was still a decent remake and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.



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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 2 April 2012 07:32 (A review of 9½ Weeks)

Since it is a such a 80's classic, I really had to watch it at some point. Eventually, I ended up with some mixed feelings about the whole thing. In my opinion, the best example to explain my feelings about this flick this would be the notorious fruit-sex scene. Indeed, it has been parodied 100s in other movies and TV-shows afterwards and I guess some people find it really erotic but when you think about it for more than 10 seconds, it is actually rather laughable and ridiculous. And the rest of the movie is about the same as it is a collection of really contrived and rather far-fetched sex scenes. Still, above all thanks to the Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke who were really charismatic, I think it still remain rather fascinating to watch somehow. Furthermore, Adrian Lyne (Unfaithful, Lolita, Indecent Proposal, Fatal Attraction) has always been the specialist of the sexually ladden features and he managed to make this movie still spellbinding. To conclude, it is really flawed and sometimes rather ridiculous but I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 31 March 2012 10:03 (A review of Antitrust)

I don't know why exactly but I was really eager to watch this flick. Eventually, I thought it was rather disappointing. As a matter of fact, I actually really enjoyed the beginning. Indeed, by now, I have been working for more than 7 years in the IT business and I thought it was pretty neat to see a movie taking place in this world and, at first, it was quite promising. Indeed, it looked pretty good and the behavior of the charaters was actualy convincing. However, rather quickly, it became some kind of unbelievable and far-fetched hi-tech thriller and I kind of lost interest pretty soon in the whole thing. Basically, if you have any computer knowledge at all, this movie will be a big joke for you and that's too bad. A part from that, you have a decent cast (Ryan Phillippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani , Tim Robbins), they all gave some decent performances and the directing was not bad as well. However, the story was just rather weak and it all felt like a missed oportunity. To conclude, I have seen worse movies but it is still pretty average and I don't think it is really worth a look.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 31 March 2012 09:54 (A review of Impostor)

Honestly, before watching this flick, I had never heard of it before and I'm pretty sure it was a flop when it was released. Anyway, when I heard it was dealing with a short-story written by Philip K. Dick, I thought it could be pretty cool. Unfortunately, I thought the whole thing was rather disappointing. I mean, the material, as usual with this author, was quite provocative and it could have been awesome but I thought the execucation was rather poor. Indeed, you have here a rather interesting cast (Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe , Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub, Mekhi Phifer, Gary Dourdan) but I thought they all gave some average or even poor performances. The directing was even less impressive and I thought this vision of the future looked very cheap and far from convincing. I mean, 20 years earlier, they were able to produce something much more striking with 'Blade Runner'. Furthermore, even though the story had some potential, it was nothing amazing and I guessed the twist within the first 15 minutes ( there was even a 2nd twist but it wasn't a surprise either...). To conclude, it could have been good but it remains an average SF flick and it is not really worth a look, even if you love this genre like me.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 31 March 2012 09:14 (A review of Bride Wars)

I didn't expect much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for romantic-comedies, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, unfortunately, I turned out to be seriously average. I mean, I have to admit it, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway were both quite charming but their characters were just so shallow and boring  and the plot was not really entertaining at all. Actually, I thought it was sad to see them putting their friendship through this ordeal when they could have simply arrange a double wedding in June at the Plaza. Of course, they wouldn't have been any story to tell but it would have made much more sense. The only funny thing about this movie was that, when it was released, it was actually rather successful... I know, the average moviegoer doesn't have much critical sense but, still, what a waste of time and money... I mean, it was not really awful but it was just so generic and forgettable and, and above all, not really funny or charming whatsoever. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have a weak spot for romantic-comedies, I still think it was pretty weak  and it is not really worth a look, even if you love the genre.



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