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All reviews - Movies (7834) - TV Shows (10)

An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 22 November 2011 11:16 (A review of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa)

To be honest, who would have expected 'Madagascar' to launch such a successful franchise, especially in the very competitive animated market? Personally, I must say I was really surprised by the 1st installment. Indeed, the animation was original and rather gorgeous, the characters were funny and I really enjoyed the plot. Of course, as usual with Dreamworks, in the contrary to the amazingly creative Pixar, it was nothing mind-blowing but it was pretty funny and I was entertained throughout the whole thing which I didn't really expect. However, I wasn't really convinced by the idea of a sequel. I mean, it was a nice little story but it was enough as it was and I don't think the characters had much more to say. Eventually, I was right, this sequel looked good and there were some funny bits but it didn't add much to the whole thing. Above all, the movie is called 'Madagascar' but it doesn't take place there anymore! I know, it is a small detail but it shows that this sequel wasn't necessary and it couldn't possibly be an improvement. To conclude, it is a well-made but average animated feature but if you are a fan of the genre, or if you are younger than 13 years old, it is still worth a look though.


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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 22 November 2011 10:28 (A review of Jack the Bear)

To be honest, I had never heard of this flick but since I have a weak spot for Danny Devito, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, it turned out to be a rather weird but still intriguing family drama. Indeed, I really enjoyed the directing, the kids performances were decent enough and Danny Devito was really good in this. He usually plays some supporting parts so it was pretty neat to see him playing the lead for once. On top of that, I thought it was a really interesting character, DeVito managed to not overplay it and he gave the character many different layers. However, even though I did enjoy the directing, it did get a little bit over-sentimental and over-dramatic (For example, what the hell was this all about with the psychopatic Nazi neighbour?!?). Furthermore, I wish they centered the movie on the father and not on the oldest son. Indeed, in  my opinion, stories narrated by children are usually not really convincing and satisfying. I mean, even though it might have been narrated by a child, in fact, the screenplay was written by an adult and as a result, you end up with some  projections of what a grown up would expect from a child to say, to do and to think. Anyway, in spite of these flaws, it was still a decent drama and it is definitely worth a look.



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A very good movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 22 November 2011 09:13 (A review of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans)

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Since I am a huge fan of the original version directed by Abel Ferrara, I was definitely intrigued by this 'remake'. Usually, remakes are rather useless but when I heard that this one would be directed by Werner Herzorg and starring Nicolas Cage and Val Kilmer, I was most definitely interested by the damned thing. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. First of all, it was a completely different movie. Indeed, the location was different, the directing was different, the acting was different and the tone was different. Basically, Herzorg and Cage went so over-the-top, they just blew up the roof and I was really glad to see again Nicolas Cage finally in a good flick. Eventually, it was some rather dark and completely amoral material so the mainstream audience probably won't dig it but I really loved the damned thing. This time, they even added some dark funny moments and I thought it was a very nice twist compared to the original version. Eventually, I wish Val Kilmer had more to do in this movie since I really enjoyed his performance as well and I think I still prefer Ferrara's version  as it was more intense and even more awesome but, in my opinion, it is easily one of the best remakes ever made. Anyway, to conclude, if you don't mind really dark movies, it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Werner Herzorg’s work. 



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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 21 November 2011 11:08 (A review of Un crime au paradis)

Basically, it is once again one of those really obscure French movies which almost no one has seen here on Listal (as a matter of fact, I was the very first listal member to actually rate the damned thing). Jean Becker, Jacques Villeret, Josiane Balasko, André Dussollier, you have probably never heard of those names but they are actually pretty much French cinéma royalty. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of French comedies but I thought this one had some potential and it could have been quite hilarious. Eventually, it was alright but nothing mind-blowing whatsoever. The main issue I have with this kind of features is that it doesn't take its characters really seriously at all and, as a result, you don't care much about them or the film itself. Furthermore, if you make a dark comedy, in my opinion, you should go all the way but, here, the whole thing remains rather harmless so they could reach the widest audience possible and that was rather disappointing, Still, the actors were quite funny and some scenes did work pretty well. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, if you like the genre, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.


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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 21 November 2011 10:16 (A review of Driven)

Watching a movie directed by Renny Harlin has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Indeed, with this director, I already know before watching his movies that they won't be really good but I still watch them anyway because they still end up being entertaining somehow. This movie was a perfect example. Seriously, I don't know what was worse : the directing, the acting or the writing. I think I'm going to blame the writing though. Apparently, the screenplay was written by Stallone who really should stick to acting, even if he is not really such a great actor either. In my opinion, there were just way too many characters and too many subplots. On top of that, the dialogues were laughable and there were so many ridiculous scenes (when they 'stole' the cars and raced throughout downtown Chicago, when they stopped racing to save a fellow driver, when the rookie had to do a stupid test before driving with a broken foot and it went on and on like this...). Still, the driving scenes were not bad at all and the (many) crashes were quite spectacular. Actually, this racing world was quite fascinating, the whole project had some potential and they could have made something interesting with this material. Anyway, eventually, it was a really silly and ridiculous action flick but if you don't take it too seriously, it remains watchable but, honestly, I don’t think  it is really worth a look.



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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 20 November 2011 08:11 (A review of Last Holiday)

I have noticed that Wayne Wang is not a really famous director here in Listal or even in general but ever since I have seen 'Smoke' (which is a really awesome and underrated movie, you should definitely check it out if you haven't seen it yet), I always try to check his other movies when I have the chance. Here, he gave us a rather mainstream standard romantic comedy. First of all, to be honest, I have nothing against Queen Latifah but I don't think she is charismatic enough or simply a good actress enough to be the lead but I must admit that she was alright in this flick. On the other hand, the supporting actors were all pretty good, especially the great Gérard Depardieu who really rocked his performance, as usual. It's really too bad that such a great actor doesn't get more opportunities to shine in some more interesting international productions than such fluffy features. To conclude, it remains a rather generic and predictable romantic-comedy but I still think it was very well made and the actors were all really charming, so I still think is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 19 November 2011 06:08 (A review of The Good Night)

I had never heard of this movie but since it had a rather nice cast, I thought I should give it a shot. Well, it was basically one of these typical quirky indie comedies which tried rather awkwardly to mix 'Music and Lyrics' with 'Inception'. I know, it was a weird combination and, indeed, the movie didn’t turn out to be really convincing. One issue was that it was dealing with lucid dreaming which is a really fascinating subject but even though they wanted the viewers to take this subject seriousl,  the makers themselves didn't really handle the subject very well so it was a rather difficult to really care about the damned thing. For example, the main character decided to do some experiment and,  the very next day, without any practice whatsover, he was already able to do basically whatever he wanted while dreaming. I guess the lucid dreaming thing was not actually the main focus in this tale so I guess I shouldn't pay too much attention if it was accurate or not. Furthermore, I thought the whole cast was pretty neat (Penélope Cruz, Danny DeVito, Martin Freeman, Michael Gambon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Simon Pegg) and most of them delivered some solid performances. To conclude, even though it was rather flawed and even though the whole thing didn't really know if it should be a comedy or a drama, thanks to the cast involved, it was still worth a look though. 



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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 19 November 2011 07:24 (A review of The Break-Up )

If I recall correctly, this movie was released back when Jennifer Anniston was recovering from her separation with Brad Pitt so the movie kind of surfed on this wave which does sounds pretty lame if you ask me. Anyway, I think Vince Vaughn is funny in general (at least, back in those days, it seems like ages since the last time I saw him in something funny or remotely entertaining) and he was pretty funny here. On the other hand, Anniston keeps playing the same character over and over and it is getting really annoying at this point. At least, Angelina Jolie tries different roles from time to time, maybe that's why Brad dumped her.... Anyway, let's get back on the movie, shall we? Even though they were an item back then, it was actually rather difficult to spot the chemistry between Vaughn and Anniston. Above all, the biggest issue was that you feel that the makers couldn't make up their mind if they should stay together or not. So, you have this constant annoying back-and-forth 'They love each other, they don't, they love each other, they don't...' but it didn’t have much to do with their actual feelings for each other, in fact, it had more to do with the fact that the makers wanted to keep the viewers on the edge during the whole thing and also with the fact that, actually, they just plain didn't know what do with those characters. Still in my opinion, it remains a rather well made romantic-comedy, Vaughn was funny, Anniston was charming and I was fairly entertained throughout the whole thing. To conclude, even though it is nothing mind-blowing, I still think it is worth look, especially if you like the genre.


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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 18 November 2011 01:03 (A review of For Queen and Country)

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but I'm a big fan of Denzel Washington and I think he is one of the most charismatic actors at work nowadays so I thought I should check this one out. This must be one of the most obscure flicks he has done before reaching fame and, I must say, it was not really good. I mean, the only critic I have against this guy, is that he always plays the same type of character and here, for once, he actually tried something completely different but, I must admist, he failed pretty miserably. Indeed, Washington tried to provide an English or an Irish accent but it is far from being convincing. Furthermore, I thought the directing was rather poor as well as they never managed to make the whole thing really appealing or entertaining. I have to admit, this movie and this plot had some potential and it could have been an interesting thriller/drama about the conflict in Northern Ireland but the end-result was rather average. To conclude, I thought it was a rather disappointing feature and I don’t think it is really worth a look, expect maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Denzel Washington.


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An average movie

Posted : 13 years, 6 months ago on 18 November 2011 11:14 (A review of Push)

Since this movie had a rather lame reputation, I didn’t expect much but, to be honest, I thougth it was not so bad at all. Basically, pretty much like 'Jumper' which was released a year before, they obviously tried to surf on the current super-hero wave but it didn't work out really well and the planned sequel was cancelled. Still, I actually liked the directing, the movie really looked good and Hong Kong was also a great location. Furthermore, the cast was all right and they all delivered some decent performances. Unfortunately, the story turned out to be really weak. Basically, it was some kind of mix of a little bit of 'Akira', a little bit of 'Total Recall' and lots of 'Heroes' but it was just really unfocused and plain average. There were also so many plot holes and,  as a result, it was sometimes rather difficult to make sense of the whole story. Eventually, it was just an average plot which happened to be really messy and it's too bad since the whole thing actually really had some potential. Anyway, to conclude, it was nothing mindblowing whatsoever but thanks to the interesting directing, the whole thing was still fairly entertaining and I still think is worth a look, especially if you like such brainless super-hero flicks.



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