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

An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 4 January 2012 12:34 (A review of The Rookie)

Since I have a weak spot for Dennis Quaid, I thought I should check this one out, even though I didn't expect much from it. Basically, to enjoy this flick, it all depends where you stand towards sports movie. I mean, if you enjoy them, you wil love it and, if you cannot stand the genre, you won't like it much I'm afraid. The fact that is based on a true story doesn't change this whatsoever. Indeed, basically, it follows a very old formula and didn't add anything interesting to it. What remains is a pretty good performance by Dennis Quaid and some competent directing which managed to make the whole thing entertaining even though it was completely predictable. Personally, I'm not fan of this genre and I wish they spiced up the whole thing a little bit but since it is a Disney, what did I expect? Still, I have to admit, in this genre, it must be one of the best one I have seen so far (for example, with a similar plot, it was better than 'Invincible' which I have seen just recently). To conclude, even though it was quite generic, I still think it was a well made and entertaining sport flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are a fan of this genre.


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A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 4 January 2012 12:20 (A review of The Squid and the Whale)

Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be one of those typical quirky indie movies dealing with a dysfunctional family. To be honest, at first, it took me a while to get into this story as  none of the characters involved were actually likeable. Indeed, the 2 boys were pretty messed up, probably even before their parents divorced, and the parents were even worse, as they were really self-absorbed, egoistical and arrogant. Still, thanks to the directing and the actors involved, it was still pretty good. There was a terrific cast (Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, William Baldwin, Anna Paquin) and they all delivered some good performances, especially Jeff Daniels. Indeed, he is easily one of the most underrated actors at work nowadays. If you compare his performance in this movie, with his performances in 'Dumb & Dumber', 'State of play', 'The Purple rose of Cairo', you have here a very talented actor showing some impressive range. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing mind-blowing in my opinion, it remains a well made and interesting drama and it is definitely worth a look.



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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 4 January 2012 08:39 (A review of The Anderson Tapes)

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this movie but any movie starring Sean Connery is worth a look, especially if it was directed by Sidney Lumet. To make it even more awesome they had Christopher Walken also joining the party. All right, Walken didn't have much to do here but it was nice to see him in his first part. Anyway, it was basically a rather standard but well made heist movie and Sean Connery, as charming as usual, provided a decent performance. the directing by Sidney Lumet was  also pretty good but, to be honest, the 70's music was rather annoying. Still, there was obviously one thing that it didn't work at all in this flick though. Indeed, they basically tried to mix the whole heist thing with some taping like in 'The Conversation' for example but even though it made me wonder where they were going with this but, at some point, I came to the conclusion that it was going nowhere! I mean, they should have dropped the whole concept since it didn't add anything to the whole plot. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was rather flawed, it was still a decent and entertaining heist movie and it is worth a look, especially if you are a fan of Sean Connery.


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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 3 January 2012 01:44 (A review of The Contract)

Honestly, I had never heard of this movie before but since it was starring the great Morgan Freeman, I thought I should give it a shot. Apparently, since it was a direct-to-DVD release, I shouldn't have expected much from it but it was not that bad at all after all. Indeed, I think Morgan Freeman is just awesome, especially when playing the bad guy and his performance was, as usual, a real treat. On the other hand, you had John Cusack who tried to do something else than his usual comic part and he should be praised for that, even though his character was nothing really interesting. Eventually, I thought the story was not bad, even though it was rather generic and predictable. Of course, since it was an American thriller, you had the usual annoying action scenes and some unbelievable twist(s) but it goes with the territory, I'm afraid. To conclude, it was a rather standard but still well made and rather entertaining thriller and I think it is worth a look, especially if you want to see Morgan Freeman playing the bad guy for a change.


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A good movie

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 3 January 2012 01:25 (A review of The Seventh Continent (1989))

Well, it turned out to be such a depressing movie. It was in fact Michael Haneke’s directing début and there were already many of his trademarks : the sober and ascetic directing, the unknow actors (at least, to me), the osbcure plot and the pessimistic view on humanity. Anyway, by now, I had seen most of the movies directed by Michael Haneke so I should be used to it but still. Indeed, honestly, if you are somber or in a gloomy mood, you should definitely not watch this flick. Eventually, I did like it but it did hit me like a truck. As usual, he apparently tried to make a strong statement but, as usual, you never can be sure what it was but that's what awesome is about Haneke's movies, you have to figure it out for yourself. Still, I have to admit that it was a rather slow movie and it took me a while to understand what was going on but the last 20 minutes were really heavy. Since it was all very depressing and since there was actually no much going on during the whole thing, many viewers won't like it, that’s for sure. As far as I was concerned, I thought it was pretty good and thought-provoking and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Haneke's work.



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A classic

Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 3 January 2012 12:58 (A review of Bringing Up Baby)

Since this movie had a really solid reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be one of those typical screwball comedies from the 30's but, to be honest, I have never been a huge fan of the genre. Indeed, even though the plot was supposed to be ridiculous and shouldn't be taken too seriously, I still had a hard time to care about what was going on. On top of that, during the first 10 minutes, I wasn't really convinced by Cary Grant playing a nerd. Fortunately, as soon as Katherine Hepburn finally showed up, the whole thing started to grow on me. Indeed, I thought she was pretty amazing and, with Cary Grant, they had some really good chemistry and the whole thing became then quite hilarious. I have to admit it, it had been a while since I laughed so much. However, during the second half, the whole thing did loose some steam but it was still quite enjoyable anyway. To conclude, even though I'm not a big fan  of such screwballs comedies, this one is a classic, I really enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.



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A classic

Posted : 12 years, 12 months ago on 2 January 2012 05:15 (A review of Diabolique)

Since I kept hearing some great things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I was really impressed by the damned thing and I think it completely deserves its stellar reputation. Apparently, back in those days, the biggest rival to Alfred Hitchcock was the French director, Henri-George Clouzot. They were actually both competing to make this movie but, eventually, Clouzot was the one who had the honor to adapt this best-seller and he did it with great success as it became an instant classic. Indeed, some older movies didn’t grow old very well but this one is still pretty damned amazing, even after all these years. Basically, the directing was quite amazing and provided a mesmerizing eerie atmosphere. The cast included one of the biggest French stars Simone Signoret and also Vérat Clouzot and they both gave some impressive performances. In my opinion, this movie is the perfect example that you don't need any shootings, explosions or chases to make a fascinating thriller. The characters, the dialogues, the shots build up the tensions, that's it and that's more than enough. To conclude, it is a great classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.



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An underrated movie

Posted : 12 years, 12 months ago on 2 January 2012 10:41 (A review of American Dreamz)

Even though Hugh Grant has pretty much passed his prime, I still have a weak spot for him and I try to check his movies whenever I get the chance. To be honest, I thought this one was actually a nice surprise. Basically, it is a satire of 'Idols' and such talent shows and I thought it hit the right notes many times during the whole thing. First of all, there was also a pretty good cast (Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Willem Dafoe, Chris Klein, Jennifer Coolidge, Marcia Gay Harden) and they all delivered some decent performances, especially Hugh Grant who was, as usual, rather hilarious. Unfortunately, I must admit the whole thing was rather unfocused and, honestly, rather messy but still, I think it deserved more credits than it usually got. That's very often the problem with so many characters, you often end up with several half-baked stories instead of fully fledged plot. Still, to conclude, even though it was nothing mind-blowing whatsoever, I think it was still not bad at all and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are a fan of Hugh Grant.


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A classic

Posted : 12 years, 12 months ago on 2 January 2012 10:13 (A review of I Walked with a Zombie (1943))

To be honest, I wonder how I actually ended up watching this flick. Indeed, at first, I thought that it was included in the list ‘1001 movies you must see before you die’ but it wasn’t the case. Anyway, with such a title, you would get nowadays something really cheesy but more than 70 years ago, it was a really different kind of ball game. Indeed, with this movie, they gave a completely different approach to the zombie concept than the bloodsuckers we are used to get today. To be honest, the story was rather unfocused from time to time but, even so, the whole thing was usually quite mesmerizing to watch. In  my opinion, it was above all thanks to the eerie directing with some great use of black and white and the shadows and lights. I have to admit it, it was also sometimes borderline discriminating (for example, the natives were either some obedient servants or some primitive savages) but it was tolerable and it was not surprising for a movie produced 70 years ago. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.



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An average movie

Posted : 12 years, 12 months ago on 2 January 2012 09:34 (A review of Spanglish)

Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I thought I should check it out but I actually hard a hard time to enjoy it, probably due to my personal background. Indeed, my father is Dutch and came to live in France and, of course, is fluent in French. I'm French and went to live in the Netherlands and learn the language within 2 years pretty much on my own (indeed, my father apparently never thought it would be a good idea to teach me his mother-tongue). As a result, it was rather infuriating for me to see this Mexican woman who was living in  the USA for 6 years or more and still didn’t speak any word of English. And it was the same issue with her bosses. Indeed, they hired someone who didn’t speak any English but they still didn't try AT ALL to learn a few Spanish words so they could communicate with her. Furthermore the whole thing was basically about a boss who wants to f*ck his Mexican maid, no more no less, and Téa Leoni's character was beyond obnoxious and not funny at all. Actually, the only redeeming feature was, surprisingly, Adam Sandler. Indeed, he gave her a very good performance and his character was really believable and likeable. Without him, this flick would have been really terrible. Another thing that really bothered me, except that I couldn't buy the fact that Paz Vega would fall in love with Adam Sandler, was the ending. Flor (the mother) asked Cristina (the daughter) is she really wanted to become someone else than her mother but it was something really stupid and pathetic to say. Indeed, she was born and bread in Mexico whereas her daughter grew up and will probably spend all her life in the US so they WILL be different, it was just inevitable. It was something she should understand and accept, otherwise, she should have stayed in Mexico. Anyway, eventually, I didn't enjoy this movie but I was probably not the right audience for this and if you want to see Adam Sandler eventually shining as an actor, you should actually check this one out.



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