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Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 10:18
(A review of Citizen Ruth)Honestly, I'm rather surprised that only so few listal members have rated this movie. I mean, sure, it isn't really a masterpiece but Alexander Payne is certainly of the best American directors at work today. Anyway, since I always had a weak spot for Payne's work, I was really eager to check his directing debut. Eventually, even though it didnât really convinced me, I thought it was still pretty good. Indeed, it is basically one of those really pitch black comedies with loads of sarcasm and cynicism and it is always tricky to make comedy focusing on a character who is really unlikeable. Fortunately, Laura Deen really impressed me and it has been a while since I have seen her delivering such a good performance and I thought she was just pitch perfect in this flick. Still, it was pretty obvious that it was a directing debut since you could feel that they were a little bit stuck on the main concept. Sure, Ruth is pretty obnoxious and the people supposedly helping her were eventually not much better but it wasnât really entertaining or interesting at some point. Still, if you love dark comedies, you should check this one out and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Alexander Payne's work.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 10:13
(A review of U-Carmen eKhayelitsha)Even though it is a rather obscure flick, since it has won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, I was rather curious to check it out. Unfortunately, even though it was interesting, I canât say I was really blown away by the whole thing. I mean, the concept itself was indeed pretty interesting (it was an adaption of the famous opera âCarmenâ with a modern African settings) and I enjoyed a few songs but the whole thing was not really spellbinding to watch. Indeed, I thought that the story was actually rather boring and, to be honest, the actors were not really convincing whatsoever (at least, I have to admit that the actress playing thet title character was quite stunning to look at). On top of that, while watching this, I couldnât help wondering who could be actually interested by an experimental feature like this one (the opera lovers maybe?). Anyway, to conclude, even though the whole thing definitely had some potential, I thought it was rather flawed but there were some interesting elements and I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are curious to see a movie made in Africa (which is something actually quite rare).
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 10:07
(A review of The Watcher)Honestly, I wasnât expecting much from this flick as I thought it seemed to be a rather lame serial-killer feature and I ended up watching this flick with my wife because she is a huge fan of this genre. On top of that, even though this movie was fairly successful at the box-office (at least, during the opening week-end), it had received some rather abysmal reviews. To my surprise, I thought it was actually not bad at all. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for Marisa Tomei, I think she is a nice actress and as usual she delivered a competent performance. On top of that, James Spader is also a rather underrated actor and he did a decent job here as well. I guess the main critic against this movie would be, as usual, Keanu Reeves's poor acting skills but I thought he was actually a rather believable serial killer. Of course, the story was obviously rather far-fetched but it is inherent to the genre and, for once, it didnât bother me. Anyway, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was decent watch and if you're a fan of serial killers flicks, you should definitely check this one out.
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A classic
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 09:54
(A review of The Apartment)Since it is a huge classic, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather huge expectations. Indeed, it is supposed to be one of the greatest comedies ever made but, to be honest, even though I thought it was quite enjoyable and entertaining, I canât say I wasn't really blown away by the whole thing. I mean, sure, it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it but I wasn't really laughing out loud but merely smiling during the whole thing. In my opinion, it is one of those comedies which was really great and ground-breaking when it was released but, nowadays, it all feels rather out-dated. I mean, it still remains a pretty good comedy, it is just I donât really see what was so great about it. Still, I have to admit that Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine both gave some solid performances but, to be honest, I didnât really care much for their characters. On top of that, the whole thing was just too long in my opinion. Considering Billy Wilderâs work, after watching 9 of his movies, I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed much more his dramas (âSunset Blvd.â, Stalag 17â, âWitness for the Prosecutionâ, âDouble Indemnityâ) than his comedies (âSome Like It Hotâ, âThe Seven Year Itchâ, âSabrinaâ). Anyway, to conclude, even though Iâm not a huge fan of this flick, it is still a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very bad movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 09:42
(A review of The Animal)Honestly, I wonder how I ended up watching this flick. Indeed, I have never been a huge fan of Adam Sandler but, in fact, his buddy Rob Schneider is actually even worse so to see a movie with this guy playing the lead character didnât sound like a great idea at all. Eventually, I would have a rather hard time to pick up which one was worse between this movie and âDeuce Bigalow: Male Gigoloâ but, at least, this flick didnât get a sequel which was still something somewhat positive. As usual with Schneider, the whole thing was based on a terribly lame ass concept and the whole thing was just terribly abysmal to watch. Concerning Colleen Haskell who played the obligatory romantic interest, she was actually one of the final contenders in the very first season of the US version of the TV show âSurvivorâ and she represented one of the weirdest casting choice ever but,at least, she was quite cute. However, since it was her only acting credit, this movie pretty much started but also killed her acting career right from the start. To conclude, I think the whole thing was actually pretty bad and you should definitely watch something else.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 09:37
(A review of Glory Daze)Honestly, I didnât know beforehand that this movie was so obscure (Indeed, I was only the 2nd user on this website who actually rated it). To be honest, it was basically your typical stoner/student flick but, still, I thought it was actually not bad at all. I mean, indeed, there was actually completely nothing original about the whole thing but it was just very nice to see this cast of young actors who all became quite famous afterwards (Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Sam Rockwell, Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon but also Alyssa Milano and John Rhys-Davies). If only for this cast, I think it is already worth watching it and if you like those kind of flicks, you may actually end enjoying it. Concerning Ben Affleck, 2 years later, he would finally get his breakthrough with âGood Will Huntingâ and even though his career has been pretty much chaotic, he has always been a major player in Hollywoord, even winning two Academy awards in the process (his next step will be to become the new Batman and I really wonder how it will turn out to be). To conclude, even though it is quite an obscure feature, 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 6 May 2011 09:25
(A review of Hamlet)I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a really nice cast, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I'm not at all a fan of those modern Shakespeare adaptations, Indeed, by now, I have seen at least 3 of them (this flick, 'O', and âRomeo+Julietâ) and none of them has really convinced me. However, I have to admit it, there were still some good things about this version. First of all, the cast was quite impressive (Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Shepard, Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Steve Zahn, Jeffrey Wright, Casey Affleck) and they all delivered some solid performances. The directing was pretty good as well (by the way, I have noticed that even though Michael Almereyda had a rather prolific career during the last 25 years, I have never seen anything else directed by this guy). Eventually, at the end of the day, even though it was defintiely an interesting watch, I think the main issue is that I was rather bored the whole thing. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, 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 6 May 2011 09:19
(A review of Urban Legend)Honestly, I wasnât expecting much from this flick but, still, I thought I should give it a try. Basically, it is one of those many slashers features like âI know what you did last summerâ which tried to emulate the success of âScreamâ responsible of the revival of the genre. Actually, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Indeed, it was a rather well done slasher and I liked the whole Urban legend concept, even though this concept was actually rather poorly developed. Thatâs the major issue with this genre, except for âScreamâ, the rest of them definitely had an obvious lack of ambition resulting in some rather disappointing features. Still, there was also a pretty cool cast (Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Joshua Jackson, Tara Reid, John Neville, Robert Englund, Brad Dourif). Unfortunately, as usual with this genre, there were the usual annoying twists at the end (if Iâm not mistaken, the twist ending was especially stupid and disappointing in this case) and it kind of ruined the whole thing for me. To conclude, even though the whole thing actually had some potential, it was rather average and Iâm not sure if it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.
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A bad movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 09:14
(A review of Urban Legends: Final Cut)I wasnât expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching it. If I recall it correctly, I actually saw it because I have a weak spot for Eva Mendes (it was actually one of her very first movies). On top of that, I thought that the first installment in this franchise was not that bad as it was a well done slasher and I liked the whole urban legend concept. Unfortunately, this sequel was actually rather lame and, in fact, it had actually not much to do with any urban legends whatsoever (in fact, they did add some urban legends like, for example, when a character warns another one that cell phones cause cancer but it was just an underwhelming way to link this sequel to the previous installment). This time, they focused on some killings occuring on a movie set but the story and the characters were not interesting or entertaining at all. A few years later, they would come up with a 3rd installment, obviously a direct-to-dvd release, but I didnât even bother check it out. Anyway, to conclude, I think it was a really weak slasher feature and I donât think it is worth a look whatsoever, even if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 6 May 2011 09:05
(A review of The Lives of Others)Since I kept hearing some very good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I some really high expectations. Eventually, it was one of those cases that I had such high expectations that it became almost impossible for the concerned picture to fulfill those expectations. For example, Carice van Houten said it was even the best movie that came out during the last 10 years so it was supposed to be really great. Eventually, to be honest, even though I did like it, even though I thought it was very good, unfortunately, I never thought it was really amazing though. Basically, the story was quite interesting and it was definitely very well done but the main issue was that I didn't care much about any characters, neither the secret police agent or the intellectual couple. As a result, even though I admired the work done, I had a rather hard time to connect with the whole thing. Anyway, to conclude, don't misunderstand me, it is still a very good picture, it is even considered as the modern classic so it is definitely worth a look, I just don't think it is actually one of the best movies ever made.
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