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CollectionsWhat the hell happened to Gregory Hoblit?!? Indeed, from the mid-90’s until the end of the 2000’s, he delivered some solid thrillers but this would be his last directing effort. Anyway, there was some good things and some not so good things about this flick. Indeed, I did like the directing and the mood of the movie was very well set. The subject of the movie was also interesting in the way that it dealt with our fascination/voyeurism concerning violence. Unfortunately, even though the acting was all right, I wasn't so convinced by the dialogues which were rather lame sometimes. Another issue was that the killer was, like in many similar thrillers, rather omnipotent and he seemed to have limitless access to whatever he needed. Furthermore, the whole torture thing was obviously ripped off from the current torture-porn wave including ‘Saw’and ‘Hostel’. Finally, the whole thing tried to condemn voyeurism towards violence but the movie itself was truly voyeuristic. You might think now that it didn't enjoy this flick but, in fact, these were actually some small critics, the whole movie was not bad at all and actually rather entertaining but just like most Hollywood productions, they did touch an interesting subject but instead of really study it thoroughly, they only entertained the viewers and left the thinking part aside. But if you like thrillers, I still think it is worth a look.
An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 13 June 2011 06:51
(A review of Untraceable)
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A classic
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 12 June 2011 10:11
(A review of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943))At some point, I started to watch the classics directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, especially since their movies were considered as the Golden Age of British cinema. This one was the 2nd movie they directed together and it would be their first critical and commercial hit. Well, to be honest, it actually took me a while to get into this story but it was eventually really worth it. Indeed, the whole thing turned out to be some rather fascinating study of a character with a 40 years span. I was first of all blown away by the make-up but it was also a very nuanced movie. The directing was also quite impressive and the actors were top notch. It was also rather amazing that they dared portray a German character in a postive light (It seems that Churchill hated this flick). And, yet, like most of the movies directed by these guys, even though I was able to admit the work done, I still had a hard time to connect with the damned thing. At the end of day, it is all a matter of taste and, if you are into this kind of movies, you will love it, otherwise, it might actually bore you. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t really blow away, it is still a real classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 11 June 2011 03:51
(A review of Kung Fu Panda 2)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out again. First of all, to be honest, even though I thought that 'Kung Fu Panda' was a decent animated feature, it didn't really blow me away. I mean, it looked great, there were some nice characters but I thought that the story was rather weak. Eventually, the thing that bothered me the most was that there was no real reason why we should believe that Po was actually good at martial-arts, except that it was supposedly hilarious to have a panda doing some kung fu. With this in mind, I went to see this sequel with some rather low expectations but, to my surprise, it was actually better than I thought it would be and it was even better than the first installment. Indeed, once again, the animation looked gorgeous but, above all, the whole thing was more spectacular, more entertaining and, most important, the story was much more compelling, especially the last 30 minutes. Of course, we were still far from the level of the best Pixar features but this movie was still a pleasant surprise. However, that was what I felt the first time I saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released... So, 10 years later, I’m watching it again and, to be honest, I’m wondering what I actually liked back then. Sure, the whole thing was visually appealing, there were a lot of action scenes but, still, I was actually rather bored through the whole rewatch. The main issue or wasted opportunity, as far as I was concerned, was that there were so many characters involved, probably too many, as a result, none of them was actually developed whatsoever. Anyway, to conclude, even if I’m obviously not a great fan of this franchise, this sequel is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 11 June 2011 06:34
(A review of Cat's Eye)Nowadays, I watch movies mostly with Netflix and Popcorn Time and, as a result, I have become slightly more picky about what I watch. In the past, I used to watch some really random stuff just because there were a few decent actors involved and this movie was a perfect example. Still, even though I have never been a fan of such Stephen King book adaptation, I thought that this one was actually not bad at all. It was basically some anthollogy with 3 fantastic tales. The first story centered on James Woods and I thought that the concept was pretty cool but there was a ratjer awkward mix of scary and funny stuff. But, as usual, James Woods was just awesome. The second story was easily the best one though.Indeed, the plot was quite captivating and it kept me on the edge of my seat and, this time, the combination of humor and suspense was very well done. The last story was not as good as the second story but there was still some interesting stuff. Indeed, the story was decent but Drew Barrymore gave a rather poor perfomance (was she already on drugs back then? I hope not...). On top of that, the special effects concerning the monster were just rather awesome. No CGI back then! To conclude, evenif it is not a masterpiece whatsoever, it is still worth a look, especially if you're a Stephen King fan.
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A nice surprise
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 June 2011 07:16
(A review of Van Wilder)Honestly, the whole thing looked and sounded really terrible, so I thought it would be be pretty bad but, somehow, I still ended up watching it. So even though I was expecting something very lame, to be honestly, I was actually positively surprised. Indeed, obviously, the story was nothing original and, if you have seen a teen comedy before, you pretty much know the drill. In fact, it was actually Ryan Reynolds who made the whole thing stand out and rather worthwhile to watch. Basically, he managed to portray a really genuine character who was quite funny, charming and still 3 dimensional which is something you would seriously never expect in this kind of movies. Since then, in the decade that followed, it was expected that he would become the next best thing but, unfortunately, he has made some serious flops, financially and critically, and it seems that his biggest achievement so far is to have managed to get married not only with Scarlett Johansson but also with Blake Lively which is quite a shame since the guy seems to be actually genuinely talented. To conclude, obviously, it is not a masterpiece whatsoever and it was still way too predictable for me, but if you love this genre, I still think it is worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 June 2011 07:11
(A review of Stir of Echoes)I don’t know if you have noticed it but I’m not a huge fan of thrillers. I mean, of course, some of them are really entertaining but they are always trying to sell you the most preposterous plots that you can imagine (and I won’t even mention the countless number of stupid twist endings they have given us through the years….). Still, they are some exceptions, some are them are actually pretty good and this one is definitely one of them, at least, that’s my opinion. The funny thing is that it is not even a really famous or popular thriller like ‘Seven’ or ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and I didn’t like much Koepp’s following effort ‘Secret Window’ starring Johnny Depp. For all the people trashing Kevin Bacon, they should really check this movie because he is the one who made this movie worked. Obviously, the story was nothing new or original but Bacon succeeded brilliantly in getting you involved in the torment lived by his character and I also enjoyed the directing which was really efficient. The plot may sound like something you have seen 1000s times before but, somehow, I thought it was actually quite engrossing. To conclude, even though it is far from being a masterpiece, I think it is a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A disappointing movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 June 2011 07:06
(A review of Running with Scissors)Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a very nice cast, I was quite eager to check this flick. Indeed, with such a cast (Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennesl Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gabrielle Union, Patrick Wilson, Kristin Chenoweth), I though it would be pretty good. And indeed, the actors gave some solid performances and the directing was decent as well but I can't say I really enjoyed the story though... Basically, it is one of those quirky indie features which goes just way over the top. Take for example Wes Anderson. He has pretty much become a master in this genre and, even though I do like this work, I think that sometimes he spend too much time creating a daft world with some eccentric characters when he should pay more attention to the story. I mean, I certainly don’t mind some quirkiness, it can be really nice but some movie makers will gamble everything on this element and, in this case, they really pushed it and after a while, I didn't care much about the characters involved and what they were going through. Eventually, it was too bad because the whole thing really had some potential and I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 June 2011 07:01
(A review of A Cool, Dry Place)Even though, I have never heard of this movie before, since there was an interesting cast, I thought I should give it a shot. An interesting thing to know beforehand is that, at the beginning of his career, Vince Vaughn actually tried other stuff than just his usual comedies. Unfortunately, almost all his attempts turned to out to be some failures, either critically and/or financially (except for 'Return to Paradise' which was actually pretty good but it was still barely seen when it was released). Anyway, this movie was not an exception, I´m afraid. Basically, this time it was a drama and Vince Vaughn tries very hard, just like the rest of the cast but, unfortunately, the story was just too weak and I didn't care much about the characters and what they were going through. Since then, Vaughn has decided to only focus on comedies and it was maybe a wise choice but, on the other hand, his comedies have been quite underwhelming as well so there is not much left for him, I’m afraid... Anyway, to conclude, even though I have to give Vaughn some credit for trying something else, the end-result was still rather disappointing and the whole thing was eventually not really worth a look.
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A bad movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 June 2011 06:56
(A review of V.I. Warshawski (1991))Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Katleen Turner, I thought I might as well give it a try. Indeed, back in the 80's, Katleen Turner was one of the most interesting actresses around. She looked good, she was funny and smart but, unfortunately, in the 90's, her career went down the drain... This movie is a good example as it must be her lowest point (though I haven't seen "Baby Geniuses"...). Nowadays, it is a rather obscure flick but, back then, this flick was in fact supposed to launch a new franchise starring Turner but since it was a massive flop in the USA, they dropped the whole project. Basically, it is a terribly underwhelming flick, it was not funny, not entertaining and it was just plain boring. It is a shame because Katleen Turner was born to play such characters and I don’t think she should be blamed since she did what she could with the material. To conclude, my rating might be a little too harsh but I really didn’t like it, I don’t think you should waste your time with this flick and you should probably avoid it.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 June 2011 11:43
(A review of Cassandra's Dream)Back in the 90's, Woody Allen was one of my favorite directors and I have watched more of his movies than any other director (already 37 films!). But honestly, even if I keep watching his features from time to time when I have the opportunity, I can’t say I'm still a big fan of his work anymore. Seriously, in my opinion, it has been many years since he actually directed a really good movie and this movie was not an exception, I’m afraid. I mean, it wasn’t a bad movie at all, the directing was actually pretty good and so were the two lead actors but the story was just rather weak. Basically, it was some kind of light version of ‘Match Point’, which was maybe a critical hit but I though it was actually rather overrated. The plot also reminded me of the last masterpiece directed by Sidney Lumet, 'Before the Devil knows you're dead', but 'Before...' was actually way more convincing. Finally, I couldn’t help wondering why on Earth the whole thing had to take place in England?!? I'm pretty sure it would have been better if it took place in New York. Anyway, to conclude, it was not completely terrible and I think it is actually worth a look but we were far from the golden years of Woody Allen's masterful career with this flick.
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