Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 3 February 2012 10:04
(A review of
Imagine That)
Do you know what is even worse than a movie starring Eddie Murphy? A family feature starring Eddie Murphy... Seriously, this movie was just so lame. Of course, it turned ou to be again a huge flop for Murphy when it was released and it was not a surprise, I'm afraid. I mean, the whole thing was just so embarrassing to watch and I barely laughed while watching this movie. To make things worse, was it really supposed to be fun for kids? I don't think so. I mean, during the whole thing, he played some rather mean and unpleasant guy who only started to take interest in his little daughter when he saw that it could benefit his work. Furthermore, there was nothing fun or appealing concerning the stock-market for a young audience. I mean, it could have worked if it would have been a drama about a stock-broker actually losing his mind when he starts to listen to his little daughter for advice. At least, Thomas Haden Church was not really bad but even his character became rather obnoxious after a while. Anyway, to conclude, I really didn't like the damned thing, I was bored during the whole duration and it is definitely not worth a look, even for your kids.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 3 February 2012 10:55
(A review of
Executive Decision)
This is easily one of the most surprising and underrated action movies I have ever seen. I mean, it was surprising in the sense that I didn't expect much from it but it ended up being really entertaining. The first masterstroke was to give Steven Seagal a supporting part (after 7 starring roles in a row, it was actually his very first supporting part) and, of course, to kill him within the first 30 minutes. I mean, after this shocking scene, you know you are watching something else than the usual action flicks. The 2nd masterstroke was to have Kurt Russell playing an analist, instead of his usual tough guys. Of course, it is a rather standard action movie with a standard plot but the movie is very well made and there are many bigger or smaller details like the one I mentionned before that make the whole thing really entertaining to watch. The best way to watch this is when you know nothing about it. Anyway, to conclude, in my opinion, it is one of the most underrated action movies ever made and it is definitely worth a look.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 3 February 2012 10:07
(A review of
Green Zone)
Following ‘[Link removed - login to see]’ and ‘[Link removed - login to see]’, Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass decided to do something completely different together this time, to the despair of their studio. Eventually, it turned out to be a huge flop when it was released but I still wanted to check it out anyway. Well, the main issue with this movie was that, from the start, you already had the answers about what was going on (Basically, there were no WMDs in Irak, in spite what the Bush administration said). So, as a viewer, it was not really rewarding to watch since there was nothing much at stake. Still, in spite of these flaws, I thought it was an entertaining flick. Indeed, Greengrass is a very talented director, the movie had a really realistic feeling and I enjoyed the decent performances delivered by the cast (Matt Damon, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear). Above all, it gave a good look (even if it was a fiction) on the war in Irak which was/is pretty dirty and rather messed up. In spite of what they say, it was eventually all about political power and intrigues and it had nothing to do with improving the life of the poor Iraki people. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it was a well made, interesting and entertaining thriller and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Paul Greengrass's previous work.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 3 February 2012 09:02
(A review of
Mission: Impossible II)
This movie is easily the least appreciated installment in the Mission Impossible franchise but I think it doesn't deserve such a bad rep. Indeed, it was the most successful installment (until 2012 when the 4th movie came out) and it was even the highest grossing movie in 2000. Of course, it has barely anything to do with Mission Impossible and it was basically a one-man-show by Tom Cruise but it didn't bother me. What bothered me was that, once again, the whole plot was based on a rogue agent, just like the 1st movie. Couldn't they come up with something else? However, their biggest mistake was to make Ethan Hunt fall in love with a female member of his team. It terribly dragged down the whole story and it was just a bad idea. There is reason why James Bond never falls in love with any woman he meets (all right, except for 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and 'Casino Royale'). Still, in spite of these flaws, I still think it was an entertaining action flick. Above all, the masterstroke was to hire a director with a total different style than the style used in the previous movie. Indeed, you can say whatever you want about John Woo but the guy knows how to direct action scenes and there were some gorgeous shots out there. To conclude, even if the story is rather preposterous and disappointing, it remains an entertaining and well made action flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Woo's work.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 2 February 2012 08:45
(A review of
Escape from L.A. )
Snake Plissken is one of the most badass characters ever created and it is not a surprise that, after all these years, the finally decided to make a sequel to his first adventure. It is probably the most charismatic character in Kurt Russel's career and, once again, he delivered a solid performance. The main issue is that, unfortunately, the plot is way too similar to the first installment. I mean, you could almost consider it a remake instead of a sequel, seriously. I guess the die-hard fans must have been very glad but, honestly, I thought it was rather disappointing. I mean, it could have been awesome to see Snake Plissken in some new adventures in this doomed futuristic world but I guess, it wasn't meant to be. By the way, in my opinion, it was also the last decent flick directed by John Carpenter. After that, he made only 3 movies ('The Ward', 'Ghosts of Mars, 'Vampires') and all were rather worthless, if you ask me. To conclude, it is a rather disappointing sequel but it is still pretty entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you missed Snake Plissken.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 2 February 2012 08:08
(A review of
Mission: Impossible (1996))
Back then, Tom Cruise was the biggest movie star in the world and Brian De Palma was one of the most highly regarded directors. But the time has changed and for De Palma, it would be his last hit... Anyway, it was back then a huge success and 16 years later and it has now become a bonafide franchise with already 5 installments. This first movie is probably the most faithful to the TV-show and I really liked how that the whole movie took place in Europa. Anyway, De Palma is definitely here in his element and the directing was just very efficient. Furthermore, you had here an impressive international cast (Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Emilio Estevez) and they all gave some decent performances, except maybe Emmanuelle Béart who never managed to find the right tone (no surprise she didn't breakthrough abroad afterwards). Still, I wasn't convinced by the whole thing. In my opinion, the main issue is that the plot was just too far-fetched and, as a result, after 20 minutes, I didn't care much about what was going on, as long as it looked good. Still, it is a rather entertaining spy movie with 2 of the most amazing action scenes ever made and it is definitely worth a look.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 1 February 2012 01:31
(A review of
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium)
A movie starring Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman should be really worth a look, right ? Not in this case, I'm afraid... Indeed, it is a kid flick but a rather boring one. I mean, Dustin Hoffman portrays an excentric guy, some kind of Willy Wonka copycat, and this character is supposed to be fascinating and/or funny but I found him rather obnoxious. Natalie Portman has a 'straight' character and, as a result, was not really interesting and, honestly, rather boring. You have to credit them for trying something else and they both did their best but this flick was just not original enough and, above all, not entertaining enough. To conclude, the whole thing looks pretty good and there were, here and there, a few good ideas but I was just terribly bored from the beginning until the end and it was not really worth a look, expect maybe for very young kids who may end up enjoying it more than I did.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 1 February 2012 12:06
(A review of
Adventureland)
Like everyone else, I enjoyed 'Superbad' and I was curious to see what Greg Mottola would do next. Well, this time around, he came up with a rather sensitive comedy which was not so over the top like his previous directing effort. Evetually, I did enjoy how rather subtle the whole thing was, they also managed to give a good feeling of this time period and it was just plain and simply a good story. However, even if it was rather enjoyable, to be honest, I was still not really convinced by the whole thing. The first issue I had was that Jesse Eisenberg was rather miscast. Indeed, the guy looked way too dorky to be able to get a girl like Kristen Stewart. Or then they should have cast a more plain looking girl than Kristen Stewart. Anyway, in my opinion, there was not much chemistry between them. And it was the same thing concerning the relationship between Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds, there was just no chemistry between them either. Furthermore, I must say that it was interesting to see Ryan Reynolds playing a jerk for a change but his character was unfortunately just way too stereotypical. Anyway, in spite of these flaws, I have to admit that it was still rather entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 31 January 2012 10:43
(A review of
The Final Cut)
Obviously, Robin Williams is known first for his comedies (which are most of the time fun to watch, even though, he can get obnoxious sometimes) and his overly sentimental dramas (as you can guess, I'm not really a fan of those). However, from time to time, he tries some other stuff like this movie for example. It is a rather unknown flick but, I must say, it did work pretty well for him. Indeed, for once, he toned down the hysteria and gave a really decent performance. The plot is some kind of science-fiction story about manipulating memories (sounds a little bit like 'Inception' actually....). Like many modern SF, this world is pretty similar to ours, with the addition of a few obligatory futuristic gadgets but the whole thing was rather convincing. Eventually, even though the concept was rather intriguing, I was still not really blown away as it was still rather half-baked and reminded me of too many (better) SF flicks I have seen before. Still, it is an intriguing and original SF flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Robin Williams in something different.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 31 January 2012 09:46
(A review of
Let the Right One In (2008))
After such movies like 'Twilight', 'Underworld', 'Blade', '30 days of night' or 'Daybreakers', we finally got, out of nowhere, an original and striking vampire movie. I know, Sweden is not exactly 'nowhere' but I thought it was rather unexpected. Anyway, this movie was definitely one of a kind and I'm not sure you could describe it as an 'horror' movie since it really pushed the boundaries of this genre. Indeed, they seamlessly mixed the vampire loneliness with some teenage anxiety and the end result was quite impressive. Another thing I enjoyed was that, not like in 'Twilight' for example, they didn't add some mindless and boring action scenes. There was still some blood sucking but most of it was off screen but it was obviously not the point here. I guess the damned thing would still be an acquired taste since it was rather slow and there was no action scenes but it didn't bother me at all. However, I must say that a few details didn't really work for me, like for example, who was this old guy hanging out with her? And the (happy) ending was far from convincing, in my opinion, but these were some minor flaws. Anyway, to conclude, it was rather spellbinding to watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in something original involving some vampires.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Login
Home
585 Lists
7791 Reviews
Collections