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Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 9 May 2011 11:25
(A review of White Noise)I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since it was a surprise success at the box-office (probably one of the last starring Michael Keaton), I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I thought the whole thing was actually a terrible waste. Indeed, in my opinion, this movie had such a great potential but, at the end of the day, they completely messed it up... To be honest, I really don't believe in EVP (electronic voice phenomena) but like exorcism, ghosts and other paranormal phenomenoms, you will actually never know for sure and there was actually something fascinating about this concept. However, instead of making an interesting study about this subject, they eventually went completely over the top and displayed some really unbelievable stuff that has never actually happened to anyone confronted with EVP... Sure, you could argue that I shouldn’t take the story so seriously but, for me, it completely ruined the movie and it was too bad because it could have been way better than this. To conclude, even though the whole thing was not completely awful, I still think it was really disappointing and I don’t think it is really worth a look, expect maybe if you love the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 9 May 2011 11:17
(A review of For Your Eyes Only)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, coming to our main feature, I thought it was a decent James Bond flick with the usual trick and treats. To be honest, in my opinion, there was absolutely nothing really original about the plot but the action scenes were (as usual) rather spectacular and it was entertainig enough. It was also pretty neat to see a very young Carole Bouquet, quite a famous actress in France, in such a huge international blockbuster and she was definitely a pretty good Bond girl. It is interesting to point that, at the time, Steven Spielberg who was still a young upcoming director was very interested in directing a James Bond flick and he was almost chosen to direct this movie but it didn’t happen after all. Apparently, they decided to take a step back after ‘Moonraker’ which was quite far-out and they went for something a little bit more down-to-earth with some decent results. To conclude, even though I have never been a huge fan of this franchise, this was a solid installment and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A classic
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 9 May 2011 11:12
(A review of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982))Even though I grew up watching many movies ('Indiana Jones', 'Star Wars', James Bond, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Lee,...), this flick was not one of those that I saw thousand times like many other people from my generation. I mean, I did see it back then when I was very young and even though I thought it was pretty neat, it didn't really blow me away like the other movies I mentionned earlier. Eventually, I saw it again not so long ago and it remains a pretty good flick, no more no less. In my opinion, it is a rather typical Spielberg picture, with its positive and negative aspects. The positive aspects are that it was very well done with some great shots and special effects and even though it is now almost 30 years old, it is still entertaining from the beginning to the end. Some of those scenes or the score have become just really iconic. On the other hand, the negative aspect is that it tends to be overly sentimental in my opinion, it is a very moral tale and it has a rather black and white psychology about the good guys and the bad guys. To be honest, I actually think it is more enjoyable if you watch it very young, between 8 and 13 years old, then it is definitely a great watch. Anyhow, in spite of all this, I have to admit that it remains a huge classic and it is a must see for any decent movie lover.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 9 May 2011 09:42
(A review of Tropic Thunder)Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. First of all, I have to admit that I really didn't like ‘Zoolander’ at all. Indeed, I thought it was completely lame and rather worthless but ‘Reality Bites’ and ‘The Cable Guy’ were both not bad at all so I thought I might give Ben Still the benefit of the doubt for this new directing effort. Well, fortunately, this flick turned out to be pretty good. Still, to be honest, I can’t say I was completely blown away by the whole thing though. The main issue I had is gthat the whole thing was just so over-the-top and I always had a hard time to care for such moronic characters. Still, even if it didn’t completely blow me away, the whole thing was still quite rather and very often really sharp. Furthermore, therewas a huge cast involved and they were quite entertaining. My favorite one would be Tom Cruise who delivered one of the best performances of his career. Seriously, it was so refreshing to have this huge star finally having fun with his image, I wish he would try more often to surprise like this. To conclude, even though it was probably not a masterpiece, it is still a really enjoyable and entertaining feature 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 6 May 2011 08:50
(A review of Leningrad)Ever since Mira Sorvino won an Academy Award for her performance in ‘Mighty Aphrodite’, I always had a weak spot for this actress and, as a result, I watched many obscure movies just because she was involved. This movie is perfect example. To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from the damned thing but, I have to admit it, the introduction was actually pretty good. Indeed, it was a really efficient way to put the viewers immediately in the horror of war and the damned thing was just very well done. However, instead of focusing on the hardship of the people living in Leningrad, they introduced this foreigner who became eventually the main character. Why did they think that a foreigner would be more interesting?!? In fact, it is a gimmick used in many movies. Indeed, even though the action is taking in some foreign country, they still choose to focus on some Western character because, I suppose, they think it would be easier for the Western audience to identify with this character. Well, it is usually a worthless gimmick and, on top of that, in this case, to make things worse, Mira Sorvino's performance was rather weak which didn't help at all. It is too bad but the whole thing really had some potential with some amazing historical background but, at the end of the day, it was pretty much just a weak movie about WWII.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 05:06
(A review of House of Sand and Fog)Since I have always had a weak spot for Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley, I was quite eager to check this flick. Eventually, there were so many good things in this movie. First of all, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley were both quite awesome and they gave some one of their best performances. The movie was also very well directed and, to be honest, it is actually a really bleak movie but it perfectly suits the plot. So, those were some fine ingreditens and it all sounded like a great picture but it wasn't completely convincinving eventually. First of all, Ron Eldard is not a great actor and it didn't help that his character was rather annoying. But that was actually a small issue, the biggest problem, in my opinion, was that they were all fighting for a house but why exactly? Basically, they have this argument to make sure that there is a plot for this movie, otherwise there would be no story to tell... I thought it was quite obvious at the end (which I won't spoil). Anyway, in spite of this flaws, I still think it is an interesting flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 04:58
(A review of Superbad)Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and which such an awesome title, there was definitely some potential. Eventually, to be honest, I thought it was quite entertaining but not as good as I thought it would be. I mean, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera were very good and the movie was pretty awesome until the end of the first half. Then, in my personal point of view, the story went just way over the top and I kind of lost interest in the whole thing. I mean, sure, it was still entertaining but I didn't feel involved as much as before. Eventually, this movie would launch the career of Jonah Hill and Emma Stone and, seven years later, they are still doing pretty good (it is actually pretty weird how much Jonah Hill has changed through the following years). Eventually, I could have been really great but it was just a fun comedy with some decent jokes, no more no less. To conclude, at the end of the day, even though it might not be a masterpiece, it is still a pretty good movie 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 6 May 2011 02:14
(A review of What's the Worst That Could Happen?)This movie reminds me of ‘The Cold Light of Day’, a movie I have just watched a couple of days ago. I know, it is an action flick and this one is a comedy but, basically, both of them have a pretty cool title which basically has nothing to do with the actual plot. Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but I always find that Danny Devito is actually a very funny and underrated actor so I thought I might as well check this flick. Concerning Martin Lawrence, the guy is usually ok but nothing great but what happen if you put them together? Not much, I'm afraid.... There were a (very) few good jokes but the plot was just not really entertaining and the whole thing was rather predictable and not really funny. Eventually, unsurprisingly, it was a commercial and critical failure when it was released. The weird thing is it was originally a project for the late Heath Ledger which is something really difficult to imagine. At least, it was nice to see the rather unknown but really charming Carmen Ejogo (apparently, she is married with Jeffrey Wright, the lucky bastard). Anyway, to conclude, it is a rather lame comedy and I don’t think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 01:45
(A review of Down Periscope)I had no idea what to expect from this flick and, to be honest, I’m not really sure why I actually watched it in the first place. My best guess is that I watched it because William H. Macy was involved but since he wasn’t playing the main character, it was pretty much a waste of time. I’m afraid. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of spoofs in general but this one actually had some potential. Unfortunately, you could see from the start that they settled for some lame jokes and a rather predictable plot. On top of that, the stellar cast was not bad but not really impressive either (Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Dern, William H. Macy, Rip Torn) and, from the moment that you have Rob Schneider in the mix, you can be sure that you will watch a rather lame comedy. For the director David S. Ward, it was quite a step-down after the really enjoyable ‘Major League’ (on the other hand, he had already made the rather abysmal ‘King Ralph’ so this movie was maybe just a confirmation). Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was quite underwhelming and it is definitely not worth a look, even if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 01:37
(A review of Brick)After hearing so many good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I was expecting something great. Unfortunately, even though I thought it was indeed pretty good, I must admit that I was actually little bit disappointed by the whole thing. In my opinion, it was basically based on a gimmick which consisted in putting a film noir in a modern settings with a bunch of teenagers which was an interesting approach but it was not really mind-blowing. Somehow, this gimmick was a big critical success and, as a result, it became a cult-classic with many fans but I never thought it was really fascinating. Still, if you put this aside, it remains a well directed picture with a very good performance by the always reliable Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Later on, Gordon-Levitt would work again with Rian Johnson and they would make the even more successful ‘Looper’. On top of that, in the near future, Rian Johnson will follow up J.J. Abrams and will direct one of those new Star Wars installments so it seems that his career is doing pretty well right now. Anyway, to conclude, coming back to our main feature, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, it is still a pretty good feature, a really solid directing debut, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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