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CollectionsI already saw this movie but since it was such a while ago, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, I always had some mixed feelings about this movie. Indeed, back in those days, there was a huge buzz about this flick and, thanks to this feature, Geoffrey Rush's career finally took off (he even got an oscar for his performance) and he became afterwards a familiar face in many popular movies. It also launched the career of Scott Hicks who has been working in the US ever since even though none of his other movies have been really successful. Still, even if Geoffrey Rush was really strong, I wasnāt completely convinced by the rest of the movie. The first thing that I found rather odd was that, even though this movie was dealing with a mentally unstable man (thatās clearly an understatement), they spent actually very little time on his life following his breakdown and the time he might have spent in the psychiatric system. In fact, during the first half focusing on David Helfgott as a kid and as a young man, even though he was displayed as rather fragile, there was nothing much indicating that he was so mentally unstable. On the other hand, you could argue that the years of training and the huge amount of pressure might have eventually triggered his mentall illness. Eventually, instead of focusing on David himself and what was going on in his mind, they spent a huge amount of time arguing that his father was the bad guy in this story but that didnāt really work either. First of all, his behaviour didnāt really make sense as he first pushed his son to become a great pianist and, then, suddenly, he tried to stop him to go abroad to expand even more his career but why? Because he was jealous maybe? It was never clear and, in fact, many family members claimed that, in real life, the only reason he stopped David for going abroad was because he was actually worried about his mental health which made more sense than what was displayed in this movie. Furthermore, even if he would have been a huge pain in the ass, David eventually had his major mental breakdown when he was abroad and when his father was far away so, to constanly blame his old man was the wrong approach in my opinion. Anyway, to conclude in spite of its flaws, it was still an interesting story with a very strong performance by Geoffrey Rush and it is definitely worth a look.
A good but overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 09:19
(A review of Shine)
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A surprising movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 09:06
(A review of Switchback)Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. Eventually, I thought it was not bad at all. Indeed, it is a rather forgotten and unknown thriller but it's actually too bad since it was actually quite entertaining. Indeed, this flick was rather well made and I thought that the tension was very well built up. Furthermore, all the actors involved (Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, William Fichtner) delivered some solid performances. Of course, since we are dealing with a thriller and since it is inherent to the genre, there were some improbable and annoying twist(s) but, somehow, it didn't bother me that much this time. Afterwards, I have discovered that this movie was the directing debut of Jeb Stuart whose name might not sound familiar but it is actually the guy who wrote āDie Hardā, one of the best action movies ever made and, in this movie, there were also very nice scenes as well so it figures. To conclude, even though it is nothing groundbreaking whatsoever, it is actually an entertaining thriller and I think is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 08:58
(A review of Imagining Argentina (2003))Even though it is a rather obscure flick, since Emma Thompson is one of my favorite actress, I was really eager to watch this flick. Like I said before, it is actually a rather unknown and forgotten movie directed by Christopher Hampton who is mostly famous as a screenplay writer (he even won a Academy award for the screenplay he wrote for āDangerous Liaisonsā which was an adaptation of his own play). Coming back to our main feature, it is a rather well made drama with some solid performances but, unfortunately, I wasn't really convinced by the combination of the political intrigues (which were very interesting) and some paranormal phenomenon (which wasn't really spellbinding). It was a rather odd mix and while it was a bold move, it didnāt work out very well. Indeed, even though it started out as a rather gripping and realistic political drama, it suddenly lost itself in some paranormal mumbo-jumbo which was rather disappointing. For Hampton, it would be so far his last directing effort which is too bad because even though this flick was somehow misguided, it was still not awful whatsoever. To conclude, even though the whole thing is really flawed, I still think it is worth a look.
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A bad movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 08:41
(A review of Beerfest)Oh my God... Maybe you have noticed but I watch a lot of movies and sometimes I even watch some major garbage for the weirdest reasons you can possibly imagine. For example, I watched this flick which really looked and sounded terrible just because Donald Sutherland had a (very very) small part in it. Obviously, watching this flick was a huge waste of time. I mean, as you can imagine, the whole thing was just really moronic and I know it was actually the whole point but it was also supposed to be funny and it was not the case at all. Apparently, this project was developed by an American comedy group called Broken Lizard and their previous feature āSuper Troopersā (which I havenāt seen) became a cult classic. Anyway, with this new feature, in my opinion, it was basically about some stupid characters doing some stupid things from the beginning until the end and I was bored senseless while watching this. I donāt know, because I never really enjoyed drinking endless liters of beer in my youth (I was more a weed lover but thatās another subject altogether) so maybe I wasnāt really the best audience for this. Anyway, to conclude, it was neither funny or entertaining and I donāt think it is worth a look whatsoever.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 08:33
(A review of Pluk van de petteflet)In the Netherlands, kids movies are really popular and quite often very successful and since I have been living there, I have seen quite a few of them. However, I must admit it, most of them are actually boring to death and this flick was not an exception. It was directed by Ben Sombogaart, one of the very few Dutch directors with a really decent career, and he started his career with family features until he made āDe Tweelingā, a really impressive WWII feature. Afterwards, he went back to this kids flick which was an adaptation of a famous book written by Annie M.G. Schmidt (you might have never heard of her but she is pretty huge in the Netherlands and you can consider her the Dutch Roald Dahl). Anyway, coming back to our main feature,Ā I mean, it was rather well made and all but it was not entertaining whatsoever. Indeed, it was basically made for very young children but, personally, I thought that the characters were rather annoying and the story was just lame. Like I said before, maybe it is a nice watch for kids under 6 years old, otherwise I donāt think is really worth a look.Ā
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A surprising movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 08:26
(A review of Chaos)Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since there was a decent cast, I thought I should check it out. Fortunately, this movie turned out to be a nice surprise and it was actually better than I expected. Back in the 90's, Wesley Snipes was a major action star but nowadays his movies are really lame and most of a time directly released in DVD. As a matter of fact, I found out later on that this movie was actually also released on direct-to-DVD in the USA but it still turned out to be one of the best movies starring Wesley Snipes I have seen in the last 10 years. Indeed, the whole thing was rather well made with some cool action scenes and the story was rather decent with a good cast (Wesley Snipes, Jason Statham, Ryan Philippe). I read here and there that some viewers thought that Jason Statham gave a poor performance but I thought it was rather irrelevant. Indeed, Statham has a rather limited range as an actor and basically plays over and over again the same character but I thought he was rather convincing in this flick. Above all, I was entertained during the whole thing. To conclude, it is not a masterpiece whatsoever but it remains a decent action movie and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 08:16
(A review of Nacho Libre)Back in those days, I hadnāt see yet āNapoleon Dynamiteā (I have seen it in the mean time though) but , thanks to this flick, Jared Hess became a hot property and there were some rather high expectations with this follow-up. Eventually, it didnāt really get much love and never really became a cult classic like āNapoleon Dynamiteā. Personally, before watching this flick, I thought that the concept was pretty good and I thought that the whole thing could be hilarious. Eventually, it was alright but I can't say it was as funny as I expected. I mean, with this flick, Jack Black went way over the top here (even more than usual) and it became rather obnoxious after a while. Furthermore, I never really cared about the story or the characters involved. Indeed, Jared Hess manages to create some rather colorful and eccentric figures (definitely his trademark) but it feels sometimes like a gimmick as they tend to become some tedious caricatures. To conclude, it is not a great comedy but, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still rather original and entertaining and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jack Black's movies.Ā
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 08:09
(A review of Underworld: Evolution)Pretty much like the āResident Evilā franchise, it is one franchise which has been going on for far too long. I mean, the first movie was not bad and rather watchable but there was no way it needed 3 other sequels. Anyway, I have to admit it, even though the first movie failed to impress me, there was still something intriguing about it and this sequel basically gave meĀ the same feeling. I mean, once again, the movie looked pretty cool with some awesome action scenes but, once again, I was also terribly underwhelmed by the story and I really didn't care much about those intrigues involving those lycans and vampires. On a positive note, I always had a weak spot of Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen and they were definitely fun to watch here. Concerning Kate Beckinsale, I still have a hard time to make up my mind for good. I mean, sure, she looks great in a catsuit but I have some doubts about her acting skills. To conclude, it is far from being a bad movie but I still cannot really recommend it (Iām rather flabbergasted by the rather high rating it gets on Imdb). Still, I guess if you are a huge fan of the first movie, it could be worth a look though.Ā
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 08:04
(A review of The Lady from Shanghai)Since I'm a huge fan of Orson Welles, I try to watch all his flicks whenever I get the chance and I was really eager to check this one out. Eventually, this one was not as good as his masterpieces such as 'Citizen Kane' but it was still a damned fine picture. As usual with Welles, there was some major tempering from the studio and, as a matter of fact, Orson Welles only made this movie in the first place because he really need some quick cash at the time. Still, even though the whole thing was flawed, the directing was quite awesome and there was also a great mood. At the time, it caused some controversy that Orson Welles decided to have Rita Hayworth cut her hair and bleach it but I thought she looked great. On top of that, she gave a solid performance and stole the show every time she was on the screen. In my opinion, the main weakness was with the story which was nothing original and actually rather pedestrian. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a solid film noir feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Orson Welles' work.Ā
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 4 months ago on 16 August 2011 07:56
(A review of America's Sweethearts)Even though I wasn't expecting much from this flick, it still managed to disappoint me somehow. Apparently, this movie was a labor of love for Billy Crystal who wrote it years before and he was even supposed to direct this flick. I mean, there was definitely some potential and the 4 leads were all likable and charming (Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cusack) and the supporting cast was pretty cool as well (Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Seth Green, Rainn Wilson, Eric Balfour) but, unfortunately, the plot was just too lame. I mean, it is not necessarily that the plot was lame but the execution was just really lazy, in my opinion, and within the first 5 minutes, you already know pretty much how the whole thing will end which was seriously tedious. Of course, I am well aware that, with any average rom-com, you shouldn't expect an awesomely original story but the whole thing was simply not really entertaining and the fact that I didnāt care about any of the characters involved didnāt help either. To conclude, in spite of its potential, it remains an unoriginal and boring romantic comedy and it is not really worth a look.Ā
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