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All reviews - Movies (7698) - TV Shows (10)

A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 29 January 2012 02:12 (A review of Breach)

I was really eager to check this flick but, to be honest, I actually ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. First of all,  it was actually a fascinating story with a decent performance by Ryan Philippe and, above all, by Chris Cooper who completely stole the show. This guy is so underrated but fortunately, this time, he really had the opportunity to showcase his talent. Indeed, there were so many layers to his character, it was just spellbinding to watch. However, like I said before, the whole thing didn't completely blow me away though. Indeed, first of all, they were dealing here with a spy whose work streched over two decades but I'm not sure that the last 2 months of his career were really the more interesting part. Imagine a movie dealing with his whole career, I think it would have been much more interesting. Furthermore, there were some scenes with some rather lame dialogues which just didn't work. For example, O'neill (Ryan Phillipe)'s wife kept complaining about the fact that he didn't tell her what was going on with his work. I mean if your wife or husband would be working for the FBI, would you really except them to tell you anything about their work since it concerns some highly sensitive information? Furthermore, during the whole movie, they described O'neill as a very ambitious and talented aspiring agent and the guy eventually took part in the biggest case in the FBI history, displaying his skills in the process and then... he quits?!? I mean, I know in real life, O'neill did quit indeed but they should have taken a different approach because this end was far from being convincing. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a fascinating story, Chris Cooper was quite amazing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in seeing a realistic spy movie.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 29 January 2012 01:13 (A review of Mama's Boy)

I wasn’t really expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Diane Keaton, I thought I might as well check it out. By the way, what the hell happened to her?!? I mean, I still believe that she is one of the best actresses around but, my God, most of her recent movies have been some really worthless comedies. Actually, she wasn't really the one to blame for this movie. Indeed, in my opinion, the biggest issue was that they spent the whole duration making sure we really despised the main character, but of course, at the end, he suddenly understood that he was an *sshole which was just really convenient. Anyway, as a result, I didn't care much about the whole thing. The weird thing is that I couldn't help laughing from time to time as there were here and there, some hilarious scenes and dialogues. Furthermore, I believe that Anna Faris actually gave here her best performance so far. Still, what happened during the whole duration of the movie was just way too contrived and plot-driven for my taste. Anyway, to conclude, even though I think the whole thing had some potential, it was just plain average and not really worth a look whatsoever.



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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 28 January 2012 08:36 (A review of De-Lovely)

Even though Irwin Winkler is mostly known as a producer, for Martin Scorsese for example, he has actually directed a few movies. Nothing really amazing but some of them were rather interesting so I thought I should check this one out as well. The other reason why I wanted to watch this flick is that it was starring the very talented and always charming Ashley Judd. Unfortunately, I can't say I really enjoyed this movie. I mean, before watching this, I wasn't really familiar with Cole Porter's music and that it was rather interesting to discover it but the movie was just rather tedious to watch. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm not a big fan of Kevin Kline. I mean, I know he is actually a good actor but I always find him rather annoying when he plays this kind of excentric characters. Eventually, I probably didn't really like it because they tried to make it some kind of whimsical biography but, honestly, I was just bored during the whole thing. To conclude, I didn't like it but, maybe I wasn't the right audience for this, anyway, I don't think it is really worth a look, expect maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Cole Porter.


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A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 27 January 2012 08:46 (A review of Two for the Money)

Matthew McConaughey is nowadays famous for his generic and rather boring romantic-comedies but I think it's too bad since he is actually not half bad as everyone thinks. For example, this movie must be his most underrated one. Indeed, it deals with gambling, a fascinating subject, if you ask me, and McConaughey was perfectly cast. In the mentor part, you have Al Pacino who, as usual, delivers effortlessly one of his completely entertaining perfromances (When I think about it, it must be his last movie I really enjoyed). Furthermore, I must admit that the story was nothing really mindblowing and rather predictable but I still think it was absolutely entertaining and I think it gives a good idea about how exciting, thrilling but also addictive and just plain dangerous gambling can be. To conclude, in my opinion, it is an entertaining and underrated gem and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Matthew McConaughey in something else than another boring romantic-comedy.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 27 January 2012 07:33 (A review of Vampire in Brooklyn)

Nowadays, I have Netflix and Popcorn and not only I have since then an endless selection of movies to choose from but, as a result, I have become slightly more picky regarding the movies I watch. Before, I used to watch pretty much anything as long as it was starring one or two actors I was interested in and, as a result, I would sometimes end up watching some really obscure features. This movie was a perfect example and the only reason I watched it was because it was featuring Eddie Murphy. In fact, back in the 90's, Eddie Murphy's career was already not in a really good shape and, at some point, he made this vampire movie with Wes Craven who was obviously one of the great horror masters. At least, we have to give Murphy some credit for trying something different but, unfortunately, the end-result turned out to be just really disappointing. Indeed, they basically tried to combine Murphy's humor and Craven's horror but the whole thing was never really funny or scary. Back then when it was released, this flick was a huge flop and it wasn’t really surprising. Fortunately, the year after, Wes Craven would direct 'Scream' and make an impressive come-back. For Eddie Murphy, unfortunately, he kept making some worthless comedies without much success. Anyway, to conclude, even though the whole thing had some potential, it was again another average effort from Eddie Murphy and it is not really worth a look whatsosever.



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A very good movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 26 January 2012 01:05 (A review of The Son (2002))

To be honest, even though 'Rosetta' did manage to win the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. However, afterwards, I really enjoyed all the other movies directed by the Dardenne brothers and this one must be my favorite one ('L'enfant' was also pretty amazing though). Indeed, Olivier Gourmet who appeared very often in their movies, had this time the lead part and the guy gave here a really amazing performance. Like the directing, his performance was subtle and understated and it was just a marvel to watch. This time, , the Dardenne brothers pretty much managed here to combine a social drama with a thriller and the end-result was just spellbinding. Obviously, you shouldn't expect any shootings, chases or explosions. Instead, you get a character driven picture which went very deep to show the emotional and psychological turmoil of the characters. Eventually, you won't get any (easy) answers but a deep reflection on human nature and that's more valuable than any action scenes, at least, in my opinion. To conclude, it is definitely an acquired taste but I really loved the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the Dardenne brothers work.



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A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 26 January 2012 12:09 (A review of Running Scared)

Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. First of all, in the contrary to many viewers, I had seen Wayne Kramer’s previous movie which was also his directing debut, 'The Cooler'. I really loved this flick so I was genuinely excited by this 2nd movie. Well, to be honest, I actually ended up with some mixed feelings about the whole thing though. Sure, on one hand, it was refreshing to see a 'good' movie starring Paul Walker, after all his forgettable flicks and, honestly, I thought he managed to give a convincing performance. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the kinetic directing by Kramer (a completely different style than for 'The Cooler') and, all in all, it was a really entertaining flick. However, on the other hand, I still think it is rather overrated. Basically, the story was nothing mind-blowing, when you think about it for a minute, and the twist at the end was nothing original and rather annoying if you ask me. Still, it remains a well made and entertaining néo-noir feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Paul Walker in something actually worth watching.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 26 January 2012 11:18 (A review of Wolf Creek)

Since I was reall positively surprised by 'Rogue', I was really eager to see Greg Mclean's directing début. However, even though this movie seems to have a decent reputation, I thought the whole thing turned out to be rather disappointing. Basically, since there were only 3 characters, I knew pretty much from the beginning that it would take a while before anyone got killed but it didnt really bother me. In fact, I did like the beginning with some naturalistic directing and acting, including some improvisations by the actors. Indeed, it was an interesting and refreshing approach. However, the second half, when the sh*t really hits the fan, was nothing really mind-blowing.  I mean, sure, it was technically rather well done but it wasnt really scary and it was nothing I haven't seen 100 times before. Another detail that bothered me was that they made a big deal about the fact that it was a true story but, in fact, the only thing that really happened was that, on a regular basis, some people is disappearing in the outback. Indeed, the characters, the circumstances, even what they tell you at the end, everything was entirely fictional. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing original or mind-blowing,  I have to admit that it was still a rather well made horror flick and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.



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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 26 January 2012 10:42 (A review of Confessions of a Shopaholic)

First of all, Jerry has always been famous for producing some huge blockbusters like 'Pirates of the Carribean', 'Prince of Persia' or 'Bad Boys'. However, from time to time, the guy does try something really different and this comedy was a very good example. This time around, he was working with P.J. Hogan who had some success in the past with 'My Best Friend's Wedding'. Anyway, the whole thing turned out to be seriously average. I mean, there was an interesting cast involved (Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas) but the whole thing wasn't never actually funny and I was eventually rather bored during the whole duration. Eventually,  I felt really bad about Isla Fisher. Indeed, she always seemed to be a very funny and talented actress but I keep seeing her only in boring and average flicks like this one. Eventually, I do think that this premise actually really had some potential but the end-result was just way too generic and predictable for my taste. Anyway, to conclude, I have to admit that I have seen worse movies but the whole thing was still pretty damned average stuff and it is not really worth a look whatsoever.



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A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 25 January 2012 07:58 (A review of 3:10 to Yuma)

I remember when this movie came out, there was a big buzz about it so I was rather curious about it. First of all, I haven't seen the original version so I have no idea if this remake is an improvement or not. Obviously, the main attraction here was the confrontation between big power actors, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. The funny thing is that, even though they were both pretty good, Ben Foster was the one actually stealing the show. He is easily one of the most underrated and talented supporting actors at work nowadays. Even if the movie he is in, like 'Hostage' for example, is nothing mind-blowing, he always delivers a terrific performance and here, he was rather electrifying. However, to be honest, I thought that, even though the story was entertaining enough, it was nothing really amazing, at least, in my opinion. Also, I thought it was too bad that the Russell Crowe character got soft at the end. I mean, if Crowe finally portrays a bad guy, it would have been pretty cool if he would have beeen really badass until the very end. Still, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains a very enjoyable Western, a rather forgotten genre nowadays, and it is definitely worth a look.


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