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Posted : 13 years, 11 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 didn’t 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, 11 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, 11 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 ‘Star Wars’ 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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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 10 May 2011 06:38
(A review of Winter in Wartime)When this movie was released, it was quite successful in the Netherlands so I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I watched it with my wife and she really loved the damned thing. Well, to be honest, even though, I have to admit it, it was better than most of the Dutch movies I usually watch, I can’t say I was really blown away by the whole thing though. Indeed, in my opinion, it was just another typical and rather predictable WWII drama that usually make in the Netherlands but I have seen too many of them to be easily impressed. Furthermore, there was also a rather annoying twist at the end but, fortunately, it didn't ruin the whole thing for me. Still, I have to admit it, I have to agree with my wife on this, this movie was rather well done and fairly entertaining and it was probably one of the best Dutch movies I have seen for a while. Eventually, it would take almost a decade for Martin Koolhoven to come up with a new directing effort and his next movie would be the ambitious ‘Brimstone’ featuring an impressive international cast (Dakota Fanning, Carice van Houten, Kit Harington, Guy Pearce). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was nothing great, it thought it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look especially if you're interested in Dutch movies.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 9 May 2011 05:03
(A review of Wild Hogs)Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since it was a surprise success when it was released, I thought I might as well give it a try. To be honest, it is actually a rather lame story. I mean, at the end of the day, it all depends if you can stand the actors involved or not. For me, it was basically a mixed bag. One one hand, there was John Travolta, William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei who are always watchable and entertaining in my opinion. However, on the other hand, you had Martin Lawrence who is usually just ok and, above all, you had also Tim Allen who is never but really never interesting at all in any movie he has been involved with. Basically, it is one of these movies which manage to attract an audience thanks to a star-studded cast even though the movie itself is not really that good (in fact, on its opening weekend, it was number 1 at the box-office and nearly tripled the debut of fellow opener ‘Zodiac’ which is rather depressing when you think about it). Anyway, to conclude, the end result is a rather average and predictable comedy but, I have to admit it, it was actually not bad at all and still entertaining enough.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 9 May 2011 04:55
(A review of Next)Honestly, even though this movie had a terrible rep (like most of the movies involving Nicolas Cage nowadays), since there was a pretty neat cast, I was still eager to check it out. Indeed, before watching the damned thing, I had heard so many bad things but I was (almost) positively surprised by the end-result. Indeed, there were indeed a lot of good things and the best was probably the concept which was actually pretty awesome. Eventually, they had this very cool idea which was very well developped for about, let's say, 15-20 minutes, but then the movie took a very bad direction and it became watchable at best but still pretty average. And, then, there was the end.... I have seen about 5000 movies so far but this ending must one of the worst I have ever seen. I mean, it is so underwhelming, so lame, it completely shattered the little hope I still had at this point for this movie. To conclude, I still think it was a great concept but it was eventually very poorly developped which was too bad because it actually had some potential. Anyway, all in all, I don’t think it is worth a look, except if you want to be disappointed again by Nicolas Cage.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 9 May 2011 04:48
(A review of Lepel)Honestly, I wasn’t 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. Unfortunately, she actually had a very small part and even though she is a very good actress and always a pleasure to watch, I was bored to death during the whole thing. It is too bad because the late Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen made some pretty good dramas but this flick was just terribly underwhelming and it was definitely not an improvement on the average Dutch family production we get to see every year. For Carice van Houten, following her breaktrough success with ‘Minoes’, another family feature which was actually decent, this movie was actually a step back but considering the rather weak Dutch movie industry, I guess she didn’t have many choices. To conclude, even though the whole thing was pretty harmless, it was still pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look even though it might be more enjoyable for a very young audience.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 9 May 2011 04:38
(A review of Eulogy)Honestly, since it is a pretty osbcure flick, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it but since there was an interesting cast, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, I thought this movie was not bad at all and the whole thing definitely had some potential. First of all, there was indeed a nice cast with the always charming Zooey Deschanel and it was a really nice surprise to see Debra Winger who had pretty much disappeared for almot a decade. Unfortunately, there were a couple things that bothered me about the whole thing. First of all, like many indie productions, they tried sometimes too hard to make the story too quirky but, honestly, it became more annoying than entertaining at some point. On top of that, I always find Ray Romano terribly underwhelming and rather annoying and any movie starring this guy would really need to be great to make me forget him. That was unfortunately not the case with this flick. For the director Michael Clancy, it would be his only directing credit so I guess it didn’t turn out to be a huge success. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is a decent dramedy and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 9 May 2011 04:31
(A review of Ocean's Thirteen)I had already seen this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. Of course, like everyone else, I did enjoy 'Ocean's eleven' but, honestly, I do think it was actually kind of overrated. I mean, sure, it was a fun flick but it was certainly nothing really amazing, at least, that’s my opinion. On the other hand, I don't think the sequels were actually so bad. Anyway, the biggest issue with this 3rd installment is that we had all seen this not only once but already twice before so it was becoming a little bit tiresome and repetitive at that point. Still, there was still a prestigious cast involved (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Elliott Gould, Al Pacino, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Eddie Izzard, Ellen Barkin, Vincent Cassel, Andy Garcia) and they obviously had a blast making this flick. It is just a shame that they only got together to make such a shallow commercial picture. I mean, I get that it was for them a lot of fun to make but, to watch it, it was enjoyable but completely forgettable. Still, to conclude, if you want a star studded cast and some brainless entertainment, it is actually a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A good movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 9 May 2011 12:42
(A review of Monsieur Verdoux)I'm a big fan of Charlie Chaplin so I really had to watch this flick at some point. Apparently, the film was originally meant to be directed by Orson Welles and starring Charles Chaplin, but Chaplin backed out at the last moment, saying that he had never had anyone direct him before and didn't want to start. Can you imagine this combination?!? Eventually, Chaplin directed the thing himself and regarded the film as the cleverest and most brilliant film of his career. Unfortunately for him, it was a huge flop when it was released which was not really surprising when you think about it. Indeed, Chaplin was beloved for a playing the same character for years and, suddenly, he decided to do something entirely different and, a usual, the ruthless audience wouldn't have it. Personally, even though I didn't enjoy it as much as his previous movies, I still think it was pretty good and it is now highly regarded. You can't deny that it was way ahead of its time, some kind of lugubrious dark comedy. As a result, it is much more cynical and dark than his previous work but I really enjoyed it and I will probably re-watch it some day to make up my mind about it. To conclude, it is yet again another brilliant movie by Chaplin and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in his work.
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