
Posted : 14 years ago on 3 April 2011 06:18
(A review of
Flodder)
Personally, I never really understood the appeal of 'Flodder'. I mean, I'm pretty sure the whole thing is pretty much unknown abroad but in the Netherlands, it was really popular resulting in 3 movies and a TV show which has lasted no less than 5 seasons. As a matter of fact, in the Netherlands, this first installment is a huge classic and it is even one of the most successful movies ever released out there. Honestly, I really don't get how it has become so popular... Indeed, I'm pretty sure that every Dutch person between 30 and 50 years old have seen this movie at some point and most of them really love it and it just blows my mind. I guess it is not my type of humor but, in my opinion, the jokes were pretty lame, the characters were really obnoxious and even the typical 80's music was annoying. Allright, I have to confess, there were a few good scenes but the whole movie was rather lame and not really entertaining, in my opinion. To conclude, even though it is a huge classic in the Netherlands, I think it is actually pretty average and I don't think it is really worth a look.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 3 April 2011 11:07
(A review of
The Taking of Pelham 123)
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but since I always had a weak spot for Tony Scott’s work, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, There was a lot of talk about how the original version was much better and all but I haven't seen the original version so I can't compare the two movies. Anyway, I thought this remake was not bad at all. Indeed, Denzel Washington and John Travolta both did a good job as they were both pretty convincing in their performances. Furthermore, as usual, you can trust Tony Scott to direct a cool action movie. I have to say that I also always enjoy John Travolta when he plays such bad guys, I mean, you can say whatever you want about the guy but he sure can act, if you compare his performance in this movie, to what he did in 'Saturday Night Fever', 'Pulp Fiction' or 'A Love Song for Bobby Long'. Furthermore, I was rather captivated by the story until the end which I found rather weak and too much action-oriented. Eventually, the whole thing did feel like another pointless remake, even if it was very well made. Anyway, to conclude, there is nothing extraordinary here but if you like Tony Scott flicks, you will enjoy this one as well.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 2 April 2011 07:27
(A review of
RocknRolla)
When I heard the good buzz about this movie, I was so excited. Indeed, I loved 'Snatch.', it is one of my all-time favorite movies but everything Guy Ritchie has done ever since was downright disappointing so I was really glad to hear that he made a come-back with this movie. Unfortunately, to be honest, it didn't really blow me away after all. I mean, sure, I did like it but I thought it would be way better than this. I guess I'm still hoping with every new movies delivered by Guy Ritchie that he will make something amazing like he did in the good old days but I'm afraid it won't happen any time soon... Anyway, it was still a rather enjoyable and entertaining movie, no doubt about it. For example, Tom Wilkinson and Mark Strong really stole the show and they made me laugh throughout the whole thing. Toby Kebell who I had never seen before was also a great revelation. On the downside, Gerard Butler was decent but not much more. I mean, he is prominently displayed on the poster but he was not even really the lead character and he never reached the level of Jason Statham who was totally bad-ass in 'Snatch' and 'Lock, stock...'. Furthermore, the plot was entertaining but I personally have enough of those convoluted British crime features, it is really time for Ritchie to up his game and show he is not just a one trick pony. To conclude, before watching this, you shouldn't expect too much like I did but it was still a fun movie and it is definitely worth a look and if you enjoyed Guy Ritchie's previous efforts, you will definitely like this one as well.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 2 April 2011 07:31
(A review of
The Time Machine)
Honestly, I had some rather low expectations concerning this movie but since I always had a weak spot for Guy Pearce, I was quite eager to check it out. I remember reading the book when I was a kid and, at the time, I thought it was indeed pretty awesome. Of course, the movie was definitely not as good as the book but I thought it was still quite watchable. Back in the days, after doing the awesome 'Memento' which is in fact my all-time favorite movie, Guy Pearce was pretty hot and they gave him the opportunity to star in a big budget extravanganza but, unfortunately for him, it didn't work out very well. Furthermore, I thought that Jeremy Irons, who is pretty much like Pearce one of the most underrated actors at work nowadays, looked pretty cool but the other Morloks were definitely not convincing enough. At the end of the day, it was basically a B adaptation but since the story is actually pretty cheesy, I’m not so sure that they could have done much better with this material. Anyway, to conclude, it is not a masterpiece whatsoever but if you don´t expect too much before watching it, you may end up enjoying it after all.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 April 2011 05:03
(A review of
Open Water)
I have noticed that this movie has created some rather mixed reactions. Indeed, if you check the reviews on this website, half of the people are praising it and the other half think it was one of the worst thing that they had ever seen. After watching the damned thing, I was actually rather surprised by the low ratings on IMDB and Listal. Indeed, I thought it was actually a really solid movie. Of course, there was nothing much going on but that was exactly the point here and if you expected some explosions, cool special effects or awesome car chases, you should definitely watch something else. Basically, it is one of those movies where they don't really show you what is actually scary but you can read it on the faces of the leads then you have to try to put yourself in their shoes and, then, you think "Oh! my God! This is f*cking frightening!!!!". I have to admit though that the whole concept was too limited to make the whole thing really remarkable but, nonetheless, I thought it worked very well anyway. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, I thought it was a really original and efficient thriller and it is definitely worth a look.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 April 2011 04:54
(A review of
Wedding Daze)
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching it. As usual, Jason Biggs was basically playing the same character he plays in all his movies and he did quite well but, at this point, it is getting rapidly annoying to see him playing Jim Levenstein over and over again. Concerning Isla Fisher, this actress has just so much charm and talent, you wonder why she wastes her time in such average flicks... By now, I have seen more than half of her movies and most of them were rather underhwelming. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, the premise could have been interesting but it is just some bad excuse for some lame jokes. Basically, it is above a quirky couple going through some whimsical romantic adventure meeting some other quirky characters in the process but, unfortunately, most of those characters were in fact more obnoxious than funny. Concerning the director, Michael Ian Black, I had never heard of the guy before, he is mostly famous as a stand-up comedian but he never directed anything else after this misfire. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought the whole thing was pretty lame and I think you should pretty much avoid it.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 April 2011 04:54
(A review of
Wedding Daze)
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching it. As usual, Jason Biggs was basically playing the same character he plays in all his movies and he did quite well but, at this point, it is getting rapidly annoying to see him playing Jim Levenstein over and over again. Concerning Isla Fisher, this actress has just so much charm and talent, you wonder why she wastes her time in such average flicks... By now, I have seen more than half of her movies and most of them were rather underhwelming. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, the premise could have been interesting but it is just some bad excuse for some lame jokes. Basically, it is above a quirky couple going through some whimsical romantic adventure meeting some other quirky characters in the process but, unfortunately, most of those characters were in fact more obnoxious than funny. Concerning the director, Michael Ian Black, I had never heard of the guy before, he is mostly famous as a stand-up comedian but he never directed anything else after this misfire. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought the whole thing was pretty lame and I think you should pretty much avoid it.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 April 2011 04:39
(A review of
Shooter)
Since this movie had a pretty strong rating (7.2 on Imdb), I was expecting it to be a really strong action feature. Eventually, to be honest, I thought it was rather disappointing. I mean, sure, it was not bad and the whole thing was actually rather well done (Antoine Fuqua might not be one of the greatest filmmakers ever but he is usually delivers in the goods, especially in the action genre) but there was seriously nothing original about it. Indeed, basically all the elements involved in this movie (story, characters, shots, actions scenes,...) have been borrowed here and there. On top of that, I guess I’m still missing the interesting Mark Wahlberg from ‘Boogie Nights’, we just got a glimpse of this actor in this movie but I found him there 10 times more interesting and convincing than as a lethal sniper. Eventually, the only thing that left an impression was to see the lovely Kate Mara even though her scene in her underwear was rather gratuitous. To conclude, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you love action movies but it is also completely forgettable.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 April 2011 04:29
(A review of
Pieces of April)
After a ridiculous 6 years, Katie Holmes decided to divorce Tom Cruise and you wonder if the damaged done to her career might ever be recovered. Indeed, before becoming a circus show with her now ex-husband Tom Cruise, I believe that Katie Holmes was one of the most promising actresses around and this movie was a fine example. Basically, it was just a small movie, on eof these typical quirky indie features, but I thought that the story was nice, the directing was decent and all actors involved, including Katie Holmes, gave some solid perfomances. Indeed, the issue with many movies in this genre is that, even though the characters are supposed to be funny and/or whimsical, they sometimes end up being rather obnoxious but it wasn't the case here. Concerning the director Peter Hedges, I thought it was a solid directing effort and, a few laters, he stept up his game with ‘Dan in Real Life’, a feature similar in tone but definitely more ambitious. Eventually, ‘Dan in Real Life’ was not bad either but I still preferred his first directing effort. Anyway, to conclude, even though it wasn’t really a masterpiece, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 April 2011 04:20
(A review of
Gotcha!)
To be honest, it is quite an obscure flick and I wonder how I actually ended up watching the damned thing. On top of that, with such a lame title, this movie already had a massive disadvantage before I even started watching the damned thing. Anyway, at the end of the day, it was basically one of those typical 80's movies with a lot of cheese on the top of it. I have to admit it though, the concept was actually interesting and there was definitely some potential but the end-product was just too average for me. Furthemore, I think that Anthony Edwards was just not charismatic enough to be the lead and maybe the whole thing was just too cheesy for me... Still, I always thought that Linda Fiorentino was a fascinating actress (such a shame that she is pretty much retired nowadays), I’m pretty sure she was the main reason I watched this flick and, in the contrary to Edwards, she was just perfect for her role as she was basically born to play such femme fatales. To conclude, even though the whole thing was rather half-baked, somehow, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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