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CollectionsBasically, there was a time when I would go to a video game shop (which is now closed) and I would buy there on a regular basis 5 DVDs for 5 euros and, sometimes, since I would be missing 1 DVD, I would pick up pretty much anything at random just to reach 5 movies. Anyway, following this amazing process, I ended up watching some rather obscure movies and this one was definitely one of them.Well, eventually, it was probably not the worst one I saw, it was still terribly weak. I mean, I donât think the actors should be blamed, they were actually all pretty good and it was even quite fun to see Macauley Culkin playing an adult for once. Unfortunately, the directing was not really convincing, it was borderline amateurish, and I kept having the feeling that the makers in fact didn't really know where to go with this story. Basically, it was another indie feature trying to be edgy when dealing with sex but this attempt didnât really work, Iâm afraid. To conclude, itâs too bad because the whole actually had some potential but, eventually, it was really disappointing and I donât think it is really worth a look.Â
An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 11 May 2011 11:28
(A review of Sex and Breakfast)
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A very good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 11 May 2011 06:54
(A review of The Class)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. For the French cinema, this victory was quite a milestone since it was the 1st time in 20 years that a French movie won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Eventually, I thought the whole thing was quite impressive and I think I enjoyed it even more with this rewatch. Indeed, by now, I have seen my share of Hollywood movies dealing with the same subject, the relationship between teachers and students, and even though some of them might have been entertaining, absolutely none of them was actually really convincing. Well, this movie was completely the opposite. Indeed, it was just so raw and realistic, it felt pretty much like a documentary even if you know you're actually watching a fiction. Another thing I enjoyed about this movie was the fact that there was no annoying and unnecessary sub-plots. Instead, it was completely focused and rather spellbinding to behold. Thanks to this movie, you can feel that being a teacher is probably the most important job in the world and probably one of the most difficult one as well. There was also the extra layer that this school was located in a rough neighborhood in the suburbs of Paris and it felt as if the classroom was some kind of pressure cooker ready to explode at every moment. As result, the whole thing felt sometimes like an hyper realistic thriller. Obviously, in contrary to your average Hollywood production, there was no cut and clear answer or conclusion. Eventually, some of these kids will be fine and some of them will be seriously messed up and the impact this teacher might have had on them at this point might be dubious. And, yet, the guy will keep trying again and again in the hope that he might achieve some kind of results with some of them which is quite remarkable. Anyway, to conclude, I turned out to be a great achievement and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.Â
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 01:10
(A review of Backtrack)Honestly, I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick but since I have always been a fan of Jodie Foster, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, it turned out to be one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. Indeed, at first , it did look like a thriller but, eventually, it went way beyond that. As a result, I thought it was kind of fascinating at some points but, sometimes, I had the feeling that they actually had no idea about what they were actually doing. Apparently, Dennis Hopper just had a critical success as a director with âColorsâ but, this time, he really didnât like the end-result at all and completely rejected this flick. It is difficult to judge the whole thing since there is not much information but there was at some point a 3 hours long version (which has never been released) and either it was pure genius or pure garbage but, anyway, the producers thought it was not suitablefor the mainstream audience, cut the whole thing which resulted in this really weird disjointed mess. Still, somehow, it was actually compelling to watch. My advice would be to watch it and make up your own mind but I still think it is worth a look.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 01:00
(A review of Intimate Strangers)Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I had a weak spot for Patrice Leconte but also for Fabrice Lucchini and Sandrine Bonnaire, I thought I might as well give it a try. Even though Leconte never really reached much recognition on an international level, he is definitely highly regarded in France where many of his movies have been some massive commercial or critical success. This feature definitely belongs to his rather more obscure work but even though it was nothing really amazing, I though it was stil pretty good and quite entertaining. To be honest, the plot was actually a little too far-fetched for my taste (how long can someone realistically pretend to be a psychiatrist and how long would it take you to notice that there is something fishy about the guy) but the directing was decent and both leads (Sandrine Bonnaire and Fabrice Lucchini) gave some very good performances. Eventually, Patrice Leconte didn't really care if the set-up was believable or not, he cared more for the characters and they were indeed quite intriguing and interesting to behold. To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I though it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look especially if you're interested in French movies.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 12:56
(A review of Beowulf)Personally, I was really intrigued by this flick and I was quite eager to check it out, even though it pretty much underperformed like the other motion-capture features directed by Robert Zemeckis. However, even though it was poorly received, I was actually positively surprised and I thought it was much better than âThe Polar Expressâ and âA Christmas Carolâ. Indeed, this time, I thought that the story was really cool, intriguing and it was definitely entertaining (at the time, it was the first version of this ancient tale I ever saw). Once again, the animation was very good (a big improvement on âThe Polar Expressâ) and really fit the story. Still, I must admit it, the human characters still looked pretty creepy sometimes but, like I said before, the technology has been really improved when you compare it to âThe Polar Expressâ. Personally, I always thought that it was pretty neat that Zemeckis was experimenting with the motion-capture (even though you could argue that 3 movies might have been a little too much) and if you should watch one of those, you should definitely pick this one. To conclude, I donât think it was that bad at all, I actually liked the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Zemeckisâ work.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 12:49
(A review of I Spy)That's it. I have seen all the movies starring Eddy Murphy. It is in fact rather surprising since I have never been a huge fan but, somehow, all his movie were broadcasted at least once on one of the Dutch channels I have. So, in the last 10 years, one by one, I have seen them all for free whenever they were passing by. Anyway, it is basically one of those very average Eddie Murphy flicks, his speciality, I'm afraid. It is actually too bad because this movie, at least, had some potential as it was not based on some really lame concept like âA Thousand Wordsâ, âImagine Thatâ or âMeet Daveâ but it was an adaptation of a seemingly cool TV show from the 60âs (I haven't seen it though to be honest) and, on paper, it sounded like a great opportunity for Eddie Murphy. Eventually, the whole thing was rather underwhelming and even Owen Wilson who is usually pretty good couldnât save this movie from being mediocre. Above all, the whole thing was just really lazy and I was bored from the beginning until the end. To conclude, it is a rather weak feature and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Eddie Murphy.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 12:46
(A review of Look at Me)I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick but since I enjoyed Agnès Jaouiâs directing debut, I was quite eager to check her 2nd directing effort. Indeed, even though Jaoui must be pretty much unknown abroad, she always had a solid career as actress in France for already many years but, back in 2000, she surprised everyone with her directing debut âLe goĂťt des autresâ which was a big commercial and critical success in France. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was not as good as its predecessor, it was still a pretty good movie nonetheless. I mean, basically, there was no real plot and it was rather a character driven picture. Fortunately, the characters were indeed very well nuanced and well portrayed by the cast which delivered some solid performances thoughout. Still, somehow, I was missing something in the story. I mean, sure, it was interesting but it was not really mind-blowing and, at the end of the day, I canât say I really cared about the characters or what they were going through. Still, even though it wasnât entirely successful, I thought it was a decent flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you're interested in French movies.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 11:29
(A review of The Meaning of Life)By now, I have seen all the movies involving the Monty Python and while I was wildly enthousiast at first, I must admit it that I was a little bit disappointed. I mean, I more or less enjoyed all their movies but I didnât find them really excellent and I came to the conclusion that their humor is not really my cup of tea. For example, I had some big expectations for this flick but, to be honest, I thought it was a little bit disappointing. I know this is a huge classic but I didn't think it was that great. Don't misunderstand me! I enjoyed it and I though it was pretty good but it was not a masterpiece in my opinion. I mean, the concept sounded awesome on paper but it was just too random. Indeed, for me, it is was too anarchic and incoherent and the whole thing was just a collection of sketches. Sure, there were many funny moments but I preferred the struture that they used for 'The Life of Brian' which had more or less a plot. In spite of all this, after all, it is still a very funny and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you're interested in Monty Python.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 08:09
(A review of And Now for Something Completely Different)Before studying the Monty Python's work, I was wildly enthousiast at first. Eventually, after watching all the movies they have released so far, honestly, I have to admit that, even though I like what they do, I don't think I really love their stuff and I came to the conclusion that their humor is not really my cup of tea. This flick is definitely a really good example. I mean, it is completely anarchic and wild, there is no coherence whatsoever. Maybe it may sound appealing for you but it wasn't actually, at least, for me. To be fair, it was an anthology of their best sketches from the 1st & 2nd seasons of their original TV show so, obviously, it was never meant to be something homogeneous at all. Anyway, in my case, it was pretty much hit-and-miss as some sketches were pretty awesome but I couldn't care less about some other bits. But, all in all, it was still quite enjoyable and fun to behold because there were indeed some great scenes and some great laughs. To conclude, I don't think it is a masterpiece but it is still pretty good and it is definitely a must-see if you're interested in the Monty Python's legacy.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 10 May 2011 08:02
(A review of Moonraker)The other day, I noticed something funny. Indeed, even though I always considered Roger Moore the weakest James Bond, or at least, the least interesting one, I came to realize that I actually didn't really dislike any James Bond installments involving this guy (on the other hand, none of them are among my favorites either). Anyway, If I'm not mistaken, it is the most succesfull James Bond movie with Roger Moore and the most succesfull James Bond movie until the Pierce Brosnan period so it is quite an achievement. Like I said before, I'm not a big fan of Roger Moore but he still did deliver a decent performance. The whole space aspect was something really hype back then following the success of âStar Warsâ and the audience must has been quite blown away (Indeed, the budget was more than the combined budget of the first six James Bond movies put together). To be honest, I wasn't really impressed but still it was rather well done and fairly entertaning. At the end of the day, it is a standard James Bond flick with the usual spectacular action scenes and you either dig them or not. To conclude, even though I'm not a huge fan of this franchise, it was still is rather entertaining and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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