Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 15 June 2011 01:12
(A review of
Hot Shots! )
I remember it very well, when I was a kid, I saw the trailer for this flick and, at the time, I thought it looked quite awesome and I really wanted to see it back then. If I remember it correctly I did watch the sequel in the movie theater but I was just terribly disappointed. Anyway, concerning this first installment, even though I really wanted to see when it was released, it didn't happen and it took me about 20 years to finally watch the damned thing. Anyway, was it worth the wait ?!? Not really, IĀ“m afraid. I know, it is now more or less a classic but I thought it was rather underwhelming. Of course, if you compare it to the recent awful parodies they make nowadays (I wonĀ“t even name themā¦ Seriously, who watched those flicks ?!??) To be honest, I think IĀ“m just not a fan of this genre, as a matter of fact, I didnĀ“t care much for Ā“The Naked GunĀ“ either so that says a lot. Still, I think 'Airplane' is pretty cool but this one was just not really funny. To conclude, I didnĀ“t really like much this flick and you should watch it only if you're a huge fan of this genre.
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Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 15 June 2011 09:45
(A review of
Find Me Guilty)
Even though I didn't expect it, there was a lot of interesting things is going on with this feature. First of all, it was one of the last pictures directed by the late Sidney Lumet. With this feature, Lumet went back to the courtroom movie, the genre with which he started his career (his directing debut, one of the best movies ever made, was '12 angry men') but this time, it was not a drama, it was a comedy. I have to say the material was actually quite fascinating. Obviously, it has been dramatized but still what a story! Furthermore, I was also quite blown away by Vin Diesel. Who thought he could play so well?!? Indeed, he really managed to make his character hilarious but also, endearing. On one hand, he seemed to be telling some bullsh*t all the time but, on the other hand, he was actually saying really what he was thinking. I know it doesn't seem to make much sense... The movie was still not flawless though. Ā For example, there was one scene at the end when Jackie votes "NO!" and then all the characters in the room stand up and say "NO!" as well... It wasn't really realistic but it was a minor issue. A bigger problem was that the movie obviously took side with the gangsters and it would have worked even better if the whole thing was more balanced. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was actually a rather fascinating tale, it is a very underrated movie and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 15 June 2011 08:35
(A review of
Three to Tango)
To be honest, I wasnāt expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Matthew Perry and Neve Campbell, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to my surprise, this movie turned out to be much better than I expected. First of all, Neve Campbell was really charming and she was a perfect choice to play this part. Concerning Matthew Perry, he basically played the same character he played in 'Friends' but I didn't mind since Chandler was easily my favorite character in this TV-show. Above all, Perry but also Oliver Platt were just hilarious throughout the whole thing. Concerning the movie itself, basically, it was some kind of really goofy romantic comedy with tons of slapstick. Unfortunately, it wasn't a total success though. What really bothered me was that a good chunk of the story was based on what I call the 'gay misunderstanding' (the girl thinks the lead guy is gay when in fact he is in love with her and eventually they become best friends...). This was a very old and tired joke and I wish they found something else to hold up the story together. To conclude, even though it was definitely not a masterpiece,Ā it was still funny as hell and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 14 June 2011 07:37
(A review of
Edge of Darkness)
For a while , Mel Gibson had become actually more famous for his anti-social behavior than for his acting qualities. However, in my opinion, the guy was still an interesting actor so I was quite curious to see his comeback (indeed, he would give in this movie his 1st lead part in almost a decade). I mean, sure, it was a rather standard conspiracy based thriller but even though the whole thing was nothing really ground-breaking, I thought that the end result was not so bad at all. Basically, the weakest point was the story as they tried to keep it mysterious but, eventually, it was actually rather confusing in my opinion. Still, the directing was decent enough and there were a couple of nice action scenes with some rather dramatic conclusions. At the end of the day, the best aspect of the movie was actually Mel Gibson himself. Sure, he gave here a rather standard action hero performance but, in my opinion, he still managed to add some sensitivity to this performance and thatās somethine that only a few action stars are actually able to pull off. To conclude, even though it was not a masterpiece whatsoever, I thought it was still a decent action flick and I think it is still worth a look especially if you are interested in Mel Gibsonās work.Ā
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Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 13 June 2011 12:01
(A review of
Forgetting Sarah Marshall )
Back in 2008, when this movie was released, everything where Judd Apatow was involved was a huge success, and this flick was not an exception. Since it was another home run for Apatow, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, was it any good after all? It all depends how you will judge it. I mean, compared to all the average romantic comedies you usually get from Hollywood, it was indeed a huge improvement. It was funnier, better written and the characters were much more interesting. Still, was it great? To be honest, Iām not so sure. Above all, like almost all the Apatow productions, there is this most irritating thing, at least for me, is that that you're supposed to believe that a guy like Jason Segel will manage to hook up not only with Kristen Bell BUT also with Mila Kunis. I mean, come on! Guys, letās keep it realā¦ Still, it liked the damned thing though and they would even make a spin-off around Aldous Snow, the character played by Russell Brand, āGet Him to the Greekā, but it was something widely different and not really successful, in my opinion. So, coming back to our main feaure, it was not a masterpiece but it was still very entertaining and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 13 June 2011 09:48
(A review of
The Calcium Kid)
Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick and I watched it because there was Orlando Bloom in it. The main issue with Orlando Bloom, in my opinion, is that, right from the very start of his career, he got involved in two of the biggest franchises ever made (āThe Lord of The Ringsā and āPirates of the Carribeanā) so many thought he would become the next huge super star but it actually never happened and, nowadays, he is usually involved in some smaller movies. Well, he made this flick just in the middle when he was making all these huge blockbusters and it is definitely one of the most obscure movies he has made so far. To be honest, even though the whole thing might have had some potential (Iām not so sure though), it was actually rather average and it was basically a rather predictable and underwhelming sport movie. It is a fine example that when Orlando Bloom doesnāt have some huge special effects around him and some great actors at his side, he is not really able to carry a movie on his own (at least, not at the time). To conclude, I donāt think it is really worth a look and you should watch this only if you're a die-hard fan of Orlando Bloom.
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Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 13 June 2011 09:06
(A review of
Secret Window)
Honestly, even though I have seen many of them, I'm not a big fan of Stephen Kingās movie adaptations. Indeed, there are indeed a few great movies adapted from his books (āThe Shawshank Redemptionā, āStand by Meā, āThe Shiningā) but most of those adaptations are actually rather worthless. This flick basically falls in between, it is neither one of the good ones but not really a bad flick either . Indeed, the directing was decent and I enjoyed the mood created. Furthermore, as usual, Johnny Depp provided a good performance and it was nice to see him trying something else. Back in those days, Depp just became the king of the box-office and started to mostly focus on commercial features. Coming back to our main feature, unfortunately, the story was not really strong. Indeed, in my opinion, it was nothing original at all and actually rather predictable. Basically, it is one of those thrillers with a nice mood but with a really obnoxious ending. Even though it is supposed to surprise you, it is actually rather underwhelming and rather weakens the impact of the whole movie. Still, in spite of its flaws, it was fun to see Johnny Depp in a Stephen King thriller and I guess it is still worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 13 June 2011 06:51
(A review of
Untraceable)
What the hell happened to Gregory Hoblit?!? Indeed, from the mid-90ās until the end of the 2000ās, 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, Ā 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 āSawāand āHostelā. 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.
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Posted : 13 years, 10 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 didnāt really blow away, it is still a real classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
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Posted : 13 years, 10 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, Iām watching it again and, to be honest, Iām 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 Iām 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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