Posted : 13 years, 3 months ago on 22 October 2011 04:49
(A review of
The Russia House)
Even though I wasn’t sure if this movie was any good, I was still really eager to check it out. Indeed, a spy flick starring the great Sean Connery is always a treat and it is a real shame that the guy has already retired about 10 year ago. This time, it was something quite different than his good old James Bond movies but it is exactly what made it interesting. This time, he was just a normal guy who happens to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Indeed, there was no heroic stuff here, chases, fights, explosions or stuff like that. It is actually not surprising since it was an adaptation of a book written by John Le Carré who wrote some rather cerebral spy stories. However, you still had some romance here and I must say that there was some great chemistry between Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. So, they were both well cast and delivered some solid performances but still the movie didn't really blow me away. Indeed, at the end of the day, it remains a rather generic spy story. Still, the two actors were really charismatic and since the story was rather entertaining, it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 13 years, 3 months ago on 21 October 2011 02:07
(A review of
The Four Feathers)
Like everyone else, I think Heath Ledger was a very talented actor and he was the main reason I wanted to watch this flick on the first place, but, honestly, how many great movies did he actually make? If you take a closer look, In my opinion, he only made 2 very good movies ('The Dark Knight', 'Brokeback moutain' and I don't count 'Monster's ball' since he had a minor part) and his others flicks were actually nothing mind-blowing whatsoever, when you think about it. This movie is a perfect example. I mean, Ledger was indeed pretty good, just like the rest of the cast (Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou, Kate Hudson, Michael Sheen) and , back then, Kate Hudson was trying other things than her usual romantic-comedies so it was quite refreshing. Furthermore, the directing was decent enough, the movie looked pretty good so what went wrong here? Basically, the story was just a rather pedestrian costume drama, I can't say I was really thrilled by the plot and the whole thing was rather underwhelming. To conclude, it remains a well made but rather generic costume drama but I think it is still worth a look, especially if you are interested in Heath Ledger or if you like the genre.
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Posted : 13 years, 3 months ago on 21 October 2011 12:43
(A review of
You Don't Mess with the Zohan)
Even though I'm far from being a fan of Adam Sandler, since this movie was written by Judd Apatow, I thought I should give it a try. Futhermore, the concept actually did have some potential. Well, eventually, even though I don't think it was Sandler's worst movie, far from it, I still can't say I really enjoyed the damned thing though. Basically, the whole point of the movie was to throw at the viewers every 5 seconds the most preposterous, outrageous, ridiculous and tasteless jokes. Unfortunately, most of the time, the whole thing just looked stupid and not funny but I have to admit that I couldn't help laughing during some scenes. Indeed, some supporting characters were actually really funny but, as usual, the biggest issue was that the main character portrayed by Sandler who was supposed to be stupid/funny but the guy was in fact just obnoxious/moronic and he got on my nerves during the whole duration. As I mentioned before, I think the whole concept had some potential, more than your usual Sandler vehicles, but they handled the subject so badly, it was just a terrible waste. Eventually, I have seen worse, especially starring Adam Sandler but I’m afraid this comedy was still really average and definitely not really worth a look.
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Posted : 13 years, 3 months ago on 21 October 2011 11:33
(A review of
Contagion)
I already saw this movie but since we are right now in the middle of a massive worldwide pandemic with the coronavirus, like many other people, I was really eager to check it out again. Well, like I expected, most of it turned out to be seriously accurate and even pretty scary. Eventually, I think they were only 2 points where they actually did miss the mark. First of all, beside Jude Law’s character using the pandemic to manipulate the stock exchange, they didn’t spend any time on the impact it would have had on the worldwide economy. On the other hand, even if it wasn’t displayed on the screen, you can assume that there was still a collapse of the economy. More problematic was the development of a vaccine. Indeed, even though everything displayed seemed to be technically convincing, the timeline seemed off and still way too rushed. I mean, even with the vaccine for the coronavirus which should be one of the fastest vaccines ever created, it took about a year before they starting developing it until they would finally start to give it to the population. Anyway, after all these years, I still think this movie was a really well made and effective virus thriller which was very well directed with an impressive all-star cast (Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, John Hawkes, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, Elliott Gould). Furthermore, they chose a more realistic and scientifical approach so there were no shootings, chases, explosions and it was much appreciated. So, the whole thing was interesting and entertaining and I liked it but I can't say it was really mindblowing though. Maybe it had to do with the fact that there were so many characters and story lines and none of them was actually really developed. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was a decent virus thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested Soderbergh's work.
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Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 20 October 2011 11:12
(A review of
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)
Even though this flick has a pretty bad reputation, since Nick (my step-son) enjoyed the previous installments, I thought we should give it a try anyway. Honestly, I don't think it was that bad after all. First of all, even though the first 2 movies were rather entertaining, they were not great whatsoever in my opinion, so I didn't really have high expectations before watching this movie. Anyway, I really enjoyed the change of scenery, I think it really added something new to the whole concept. Furthermore, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh were both pretty good but , of course, like everyone else, I was rather disappointed by Maria Bello. I mean, she is a good actress but she never managed to make the role her own and she never managed to find the right tone. On the other hand, the guy playing her son was even worse or maybe I just couldn't stand his character who was just so obnoxious. But, these were small details and I think, at the end of the day, it remains a decent blockbuster, no more, no less, and if you enjoyed the previous movies, I don’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy this one as well. To conclude, in spite of its bad rep, I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 20 October 2011 10:57
(A review of
The Mummy Returns)
I have to admit that it has been a while since I have seen this movie and maybe I should re-watch it at some point. Anyway, since the first movie had turned out to be a success at the box-office, it was pretty obvious that a sequel will follow pretty soon. To be honest, I was actually positively surprised by this sequel. I mean, the whole thing didn't blow me away whatsoever but, at least, it was a decent follow-up and even if it wasn't really better than the first movie, it wasn't worse either. The same cast did return and, once again, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah really stole the show. It did help when you have some good actors who manage to handle such cheesy dialogues. Furthermore, the action scenes were rather neat, well-made and definitely entertaining. On the downside, even though The Rock was displayed prominently on all the promotional material and back then, it was supposed to be his big début, in fact, he was actually for a really short time in the movie (Should we even count the terribly bad looking monster at the end?!? 'It' didn't even really look like him...). Anyway, to conclude, all in all, I think it is a decent sequel and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you liked the first movie.
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Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 20 October 2011 10:29
(A review of
The Mummy)
Honestly, beforehand, I didn't expect much from this flick but I always had a weak spot for adventure movies, especially the Indiana Jones franchise, so I thought I should check it out. To start with, I haven't seen the original version but, from what I have heard, is that, except for the title, there is actually nothing in common between those 2 movies. Anyway, like I said before, I didn't really have some high expectations for this flick but I thought it was not bad at all. Indeed, it is basically a well made and entertaining adventure flick, no more, no less. Honestly, I really don't get the appeal of Brendan Fraser with his goofball face but I guess he was allright here. Better than him and definitely stealing the show were Rachel Weisz and John Hannah who managed to find the perfect tone for their performances. Furthermore, there were loads of action scenes and I thought the whole thing was rather well made and actually pretty entertaining. To conclude, it is of course not a masterpiece but I think it remains a decent and entertaining blockbuster and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 20 October 2011 09:59
(A review of
Separate Lies)
Nowadays, I have Netflix and Popcorn and not only I have since then an endless selection or 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 starring Emily Watson. Indeed, she must be one of the most underrated actress I know and I try to watch most of her movie whenever I get the opportunity. This time around, she was working with another underrated actor, Tom Wilkison, and together, they gave some really solid performances. I aslo enjoyed the story which was a realistic thriller/detective story with some touch of Agatha Christie. Indeed, it dealt very well with such themes like guilt, punishment, love and infidelity. I must say that the story did loose its focus towards the end and I thought that some actions of the characters were rather plot-driven but I still enjoyed it very much. To conclude, even though it is a rather obscure watch, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 20 October 2011 08:50
(A review of
Stealth)
To be honest, it didn’t expect much from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. I think it is quite obvious that they wanted here to go for a modern version of 'Top Gun' (which I already didn't really like in the first place). Well, their first mistake was to set the movie in the future and, as a result, they gave us this very cheap and cheesy looking introduction and those planes were far from being convincing. Furthermore, the 3 lead characters where just so shallow, it was just rather pathetic : the hot white guy who is of course a hotshot, the hot white girl who is secretly in love with the white guy and the black playboy smartass who of course gets killed in the proceedings. The story was actually even worse as it was just a boring mess. On the bright side, I have to admit that there were a few neat action scenes. The funny thing was that the whole thing actually had some potential if they developed more the implications of a robot-AI controlling an army jet but, of course, they were not interesting in this concept. Anyway, to conclude, it was a really average special-effects extravaganza and it is not really worth a look.
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Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 19 October 2011 10:22
(A review of
Eden Lake)
I heard it was pretty hardcore and during the first seconds, they give you some quick flashes about what will happened so I was warned but, still, what an ordeal! There were here some really violent sadistic gore scenes and the movie was slightly going towards the torture porn (such as 'Hostel', 'Saw', ...) but they still managed to stay away from that genre. The main difference was that the whole plot was actually pretty realistic and the story described something that could actually take place which was pretty scary when you think about it. Furthermore, the characters were rather well written and I could easily identify with them. Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender (one of the fast rising stars nowaday), both delivered some strong and convincing performances. The 'kids' were terrific as well, in every sense you can possibly imagine. So, I liked this flick but I'm not sure if I can recommend it. Indeed, the whole thing was pretty hardcode and, at the end, I even felt a little bit nauseous, so if you are sensitive, I would advise to avoid this one. To conclude, I think it was a a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you have a strong stomach and even more if you like the genre.
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