Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 14 May 2011 04:36
(A review of
Garage Days)
Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Alex Proyasâs work, I thought I should check it out. Indeed, Proyas is mostly known as an expert in Fantastic/Science-Fiction flicks and, by the way, we will have to wait until 2016 to finally get another directing effort from this guy, it is called âGods of Egyptâ, and it would be a gap of 9 long years with his previous movie âKnowingâ. Anyway, this time, he definitely tried to do something completely different, a comedy about a garage band. I really wonder how he came up with this project but, eventually, the end result was not bad but not much more than that, Iâm afraid. I mean, sure, it was rather well done but there was really nothing new, original or really exciting about it. At the end of the day, it is the typical story about a rising band and even though the directing was decent, I canât say I was really blown away by the whole thing. Still, even though it is nothing really amazing, it is a decent flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you want to see something else from Proyas.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 14 May 2011 04:33
(A review of
Sunset Boulevard)
I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Eventually, it is a classic which definitely lives up to its strong reputation. Indeed, the directing by Billy Wilder was pretty impressive but Gloria Swanson was the one who really stole the show with her amazing performance. It was quite amazing that even though some scenes in this movie were rather over the top, this movie was still well nuanced and subtle. Personally, I have not always been a huge fan of Billy Wilderâs work, especially his comedies like âSabrinaâ, âSome Like It Hotâ or âThe Apartmentâ, but here, he delivered a really dark tale and it was just spellbinding to behold. You can say whatever you want about Hollywood but, from time to time, they do allow a great director to go really dark and, in this case, the end-result was just quite amazing. On top of that, this movie works on so many levels, it tells a story about the characters, about the actors involved, about Hollywood in general and it goes on and on. Anyway, to conclude, I really enjoyed this flick, it is a great classic and a must see for any decent movie lover.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 14 May 2011 04:16
(A review of
Second Best)
Honestly, since it is such an obscure flick, I had no idea what to expect but since I always had a weak spot for William Hurt, I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, in the 80's, William Hurt was one of the most successful and respected actors and almost all his movies were critically heralded and most of them were actually nominated for the best movie Academy award. Then, in the 90's, after making a few dubious choices, he wasn't anymore on the A list but it does not mean that all this movies were actually worthless. This feature is actually a fine example. Like I said before, this flick is actually completely unknown (I was only the 3rd listal member who rated it) and the story is nothing really great to be honest but thanks mostly to Hurt's very good perfomance, it was actually pretty good and I thought it was a solid drama. Indeed, the relationship displayed between this man and this boy was quite convincing and very interesting to behold. To conclude, even though it is no materpiece whatsoever, I actually liked it and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 14 May 2011 02:20
(A review of
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien)
I donât know if you have noticed it but, sometimes, I watch some really obscure flicks and, sometimes, it is quite rewarding but, honestly, sometimes, it is pretty much a waste of time. In this case, I watched it mostly because Peter O'Toole has a small part in it but the rest of the cast (David Wenham, Jan Decleir, Derek Jacobi, Kris Kristofferson, Sam Neill, Tom Wilkinson) was pretty good as well. Honestly, during most of the duration, I seriously wondered how did they come up with such a story. I mean, it was so obscure, so unknown to me, I canât say I really cared about the whole thing. Sure, the guy did a terrific work and maybe it was sufficient to develop around a story around his work but, to be honest, Iâm not sure every inspirational stories are good enough to get a movie adaptation. A part from that, it was not bad at all, itâs just that I wasn't really interested by this true story and, at the end, I didn't feel I had really learned some vital information. Still, even though it is terribly obsure, it remains a rather well done historical drama, all the actors involved were pretty good so I guess it might be worth a look but donât expect anything really amazing.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 14 May 2011 11:50
(A review of
Incendiary)
I had no idea what the whole thing was about before watching this and, to be honest, I thought at first that it was a story about adultery but then suddenly, something really unexpected happened. Before this event, I was really into the story but then, when this pivotal event took place, Iâm afraid it didn't work for me anymore. The focus on Michelle Williams was in fact rather well done but all the other sub-plots (Ewan McGregor, the little moslim boy, her husband's colleague, the âconspiracyâ theory) were unnecessary and/or poorly developped. Also, it was pretty obvious that the whole thing didn't know where to go. Indeed, was it a psychologial drama or a conspiracy thriller? Still, It wasn't a bad movie either, that's for sure. Indeed, the directing was pretty good and I really loved the mood. Michelle Williams delivered a good perfomance (Still, you might wonder wonder why they didn't actually pick an English actrice for this part) and Ewan McGregor was, as usual, very good as well, even though his character was barely developped in my point of view. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was a failure, it wasnât a disaster and, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 13 May 2011 09:36
(A review of
Envy)
To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Jack Black and Ben Stiller, I thought I might as well check it out. Indeed, with such actors involved, you have the right to expect at least a decent comedy. Indeed, they are usually pretty funny but, Iâm sorry, this was just a rather lame movie. The whole "shit" thing was really stupid and, above all, the characters were just so annoying, definitely more annoying than funny and that's not a good thing when you are making a comedy. Even the great Christopher Walken couldn't save this wreckrage. I mean, when I saw him, I have to admit, I did get a smile on my face for maybe 10 minutes (that's quite an achievement) but then his character started to annoy me as well... Above all, the saddest thing was to see such a fine actress like  Rachel Weisz involved in this. Seriously, what on earth was she doing in such a lame comedy?!? Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen much worse and even though it was still watchable, the whole thing remained a failure and I donât think it is worth a look.Â
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 12 May 2011 09:07
(A review of
Rambo III)
To be honest, I always thought that the damned thing looked really lame but I thought I should give it a try anyway. Well, I have to admit it, even though I didnât care much about the damned thing, I turned out to be much better than I expected. First of all, I thought it was good idea set the action in Afghanistan against the Soviets. Indeed, it was a nice change of scenery and there was also a nice irony when you think that there is nowadays a war going on there between the Americans and the Afghan fighters. Eventually, the action scenes were not bad but even if I got bored sometimes. Â Still, even though Sylvester Stallone was not bad at all when he played âRockyâ or even John Rambo in âFirst Bloodâ, in this movie, I thought his acting was just rather painfull to see. Eventually, it would take Sylvester Stallone no less than 20 years to finally come up with a 4th instalment but, even though it was very well received, I thought it was only a slight improvement on this movie. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didnât really work for me, if you love this kind of big cheesy action movies from the 80âs, you may end up enjoying this one.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 11 May 2011 02:50
(A review of
Behind Enemy Lines)
Honestly, I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson, I thought I might as well check it out. In fact, it was really surprising to see Owen Wilson in an action flick (at the time, he was still trying some different genres but it wouldnât last for long eventually), I thought it was not bad at all after all. Indeed, instead of his usual comedy, Owen Wilson tried out a good old action movie and even though it was rather tricky to take him seriously, I thought he actually pulled it off quite well, at least, thatâs my opinion. On the other hand, Gene Hackman did pretty much the same thing he did in most of his movies, the grumpy leader, but he did it very well as usual (Such a shame the guy has retired, I seriously miss this great thespian). Anyway, a part from that, honestly, it is a rather standard action feature with one of those rather preposterous plot but I thought it was rather well done and fairly entertaining. To conclude, even though it is nothing amazing whatsoever, I think it was still a rather decent action flick and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 11 May 2011 02:41
(A review of
Gigli)
Obviously, I heard so many bad things about this flick that I became eventually quite curious about it and I wanted to make sure if it was really so bad. And the conclusion? Alright, indeed, it is a bad movie but it is definitely not one of the worst movies ever made, at least that's my opinion. It is above all just a huge negative hype which was built up because Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were together at that time. But, I have to admit it, the whole thing still remains pretty lame... The main issue, a part from the ridiculously lame title, is obviously the story, it goes nowhere and it is not remotely funny. It is also quite dubious to present us with a lesbian character who eventually fall for the hetero macho guy (actually, it is already the second movie where Ben Affleck managed this). Fortunately, both Christopher Walken and Al Pacino showed up to give some great cameo performances but there was nothing else worth spending my time. To conclude, even though I still believe this movie didn't deserve such a negative hype, I have to admit that it more or less deserves its bad reputation and you should probably avoid watching it.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 11 May 2011 02:29
(A review of
Knetter)
Honestly, I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Carice van Houten, I thought I might as well give it a try. Indeed, in my opinion, van Houten is a fascinating actress, probably the most successful Dutch actress of the last 10 years and I try to watch everything she's involved in. Anyway, she was definitely the best asset in this movie, providing a very good performance of a mother with a bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, I didnât care much for the rest as it basically remains after all a typical Dutch kids flick with all its negative aspects. Indeed, in my opinion, the whole thing was just over sentimental, it always remains in the comfort zone and, at the end of the day, it was just so damned boring at times. At least, if you compare it to the other family features produced in the Netherlands, this one actually had some potential, itâs just a pity it wasnât better developed. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a fairly decent watch and even though it could have been much better, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Login
Home
585 Lists
7788 Reviews
Collections