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CollectionsI 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. Following his breakthrough with 'Mean Streets', Martin Scorsese directed this feature. In fact, Ellen Burstyn was the one coming up with this project and she chose the, at the time, up-and-coming director. Anyway, following 'Boxcar Bertha', it was Scorsese's 2nd feature with a woman as a leading character something that he will never do afterwards. Still, he was already a very good director and I thought that the whole thing was rather well made. Furthermore, Ellen Burstyn is a hell of an actress, criminally underrated, and she gave here one of her best performances. Still, even though Roger Ebert is a huge fan of this movie, to be honest, I can't say I was really blown away by the whole thing though. Indeed, even though the characters were rather interesting, I didn't care much about the story. In fact, he movie was originally much longer but Scorsese had to cut it to reach less than 2 hours of running time which he did regret. Apparently, the first part involving Aliceās husband was more fledged out and, by removing a good chunk of this part, this character was barely developed at all and, in my opinion, we missed an important piece of Aliceās journey. Anyway, to conclude, I don't think this movie belongs to Martin Scorsese's best work but it is still a decent drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in this director.
A good movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 02:46
(A review of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore)
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A very good movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 02:32
(A review of Control)Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out but, eventually, it turned out to be even better than I expectecd. To be honest, it must be one of the most depressing movies I have ever seen but it was still very good anyway. Indeed, the directing by Anton Corbijn was kind of mesmerizing which is even more impressive when you take into account that it was his directing debut and the main actor (Sam Riley) provided a great performance as well. Itās interesting that, for both of them, Corbijn and Riley, I had some great expectations after such an impressing debut but, unfortunately, their career didnāt really deliver the goods after that. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, the whole thing was very efficient in providing the feeling of that period and a feeling of the punk movement. You could also almost feel Ian Curtis's malaise. The best thing about this flick is that I didnāt really like Joy Divisionās music, to be honest, but this biopic was still quite mesmerizing nonetheless. To conclude, I thought it was a really impressive picture and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Joy Division.
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A very good movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 02:21
(A review of Curse of the Golden Flower)To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a really interesting director (Zhang Yimou) and a pretty cool cast (Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li), I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I was actually really positively surprised by this movie and it was much better than I expected. Apparently, most of the critics thought it was decent feature but still a lesser effort compared to Zhang Yimouās previous prestigious work. The fact that I havenāt seen most of Yimouās older work (except for his directing debut āHong gao liangā and āQiu Ju da guan siā ) maybe made that I was more able to enjoy this movie for what it was. I mean, first of all, the whole thing looked really gorgeous. Furthermore, I'm a big fan of Gong Li and I thought she was awesome in this movie but the rest of the cast did a fine joob as well. Finally, even though I have to admit that it was very often quite over the top, I thought that the story was actually rather fascinating. To conclude, I really liked this movie a lot and it is definitely worth a look, especially if are interested in Asian movies.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 02:11
(A review of Step Up)Honestly, I didn't expect much from this flick and, indeed, I thought it was rather underwhelming... Obviously, the story was really weak and predictable but, at least, I knew this even before watching the damned thing. However, what was more surprising was the fact that Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan were both neither really good or charming, at least, thatās my opinion. Indeed, I thought that there was not much chemistry between them which is kind of weird because, a few years later, they eventually got married in real life. On top of that, what was even more most surprising and disappointing for me was that the dance sequences were not even really impressing. At least, I thought I would be blown away by the dance sequences but it never happened during the whole thing. In fact, I saw the sequel before watching this first installment and even though the story was just as lame, at least, some of the dance scenes were quite amazing. To conclude, it is a very average and boring flick, I didn't like it at all so it is not really worth a look, only maybe for a very young audience or if you are die-hard fan of this genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 02:01
(A review of Rush Hour 3)First of all, I never really understood the appeal and popularity of those āRush Hour'movies. Indeed, I don't think Chris Tucker was really that funny and honestly, I have never been impressed by Jackie Chan. Eventually, 6 years later, they finally came up with a 3rd installment and, indeed, nobody really cared anymore since this flick was pretty much a flop at the box-office. Personally, I think it did deserve such a fate since it was easily the worst movie of the trilogy and even the fact that it took place in France didn't help much. Basically, it is just a rather average flick and all of the thing about the Asian and black buddy cops was never really funny in the first place. At least, I have to admit it, there was a surprising cameo by Roman Polanski but it was really a minor pleasure. Apparently, they might make a 4th installment which is rather depressing but if they wake up, they might just drop the whole thing. Anyway, to conclude, I think Iām being rather generous with my rating, the whole thing was just really underwhelming and I donāt think it is worth a look, except maybe if you are die-hard fan of this franchise.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 01:55
(A review of 30 Days of Night)I have noticed that this movie had reached quite a cult status so I was quite eager to check it out. On top of that, before directing this movie, David Slade had directed the very interesting and above all very intense 'Hard candy', so, I was really curious to watch his next effort. To be honest, I canāt say I was really blown away by the whole thing. I mean, sure, I was able to see why it was quite popular as it was very well made and pretty entertaining but, in my opinion, there was nothing really original about the damned thing. Concerning Josh Hartnett who was once set to become the next Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt, this movie would be his last commercial success and, for the last 8 years, he has been busy making some very obscure flicks with some rather dubious artistic merit. To conclude, even though I tend to think that it is slightly overrated, I have to admit that it was a still a decent flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
And guess what was David Sladeās next movie ? The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.... Talking about a buzz killer after 2 very promising features.
And guess what was David Sladeās next movie ? The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.... Talking about a buzz killer after 2 very promising features.
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A good movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 01:26
(A review of The Princess and the Frog (2009))This movie was actually the first movie my little daughter saw in the movie theater so it has a special value to me. Anyway, even though it wasn't really a box-office success, I thought it was actually not bad at all. First of all, it was really nice that Disney tried again to make a hand-drawn animated movie, just like in the good old days. Unfortunately, it would be their first and last attempt which is rather sad (at least, so far). Still, it was definitely a nice looking movie but there is no denying that it could have been much better. For example, why did it take place in the New Orleans? Why was the princess actually black? These were actually some really nice ideas though (New Orleans, Voodoo, Jazz,...) but none of them were developed enough, just like the whole concept behind the story. Indeed, I loved this concept of the Princess becoming a frog but it showed up way too late in the story and, like the other things mentioned before, it was hardly developed enough. Furthermore, I'm not sure it was a good idea to mix all those elements together. Still, in spite of these flaws, I think it was an entertaining and enjoyable feature and it is definitely worth a look especially if you like the good old Fairy tales created by Disney.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 12:06
(A review of The Evening Star)Not so long ago, I actually re-watched āTerms of Endearmentā and I have to admit that it was actually better than I remembered, even if I still didnāt become a huge fan. With this in mind, I thought I might re-watch this sequel as well but, eventually, it seems that I got rid off of the DVD at some point. Eventually, it was probably not a huge loss as Iām not sure if it was really a movie that needed to be watched several times anyway. To be honest, you might wonder if anyone was asking for a sequel 16 years after the first movie was released and, indeed, it was barely noticed when it was released. Still, it was pretty neat to see Shirly Maclaine playing again Aurora Greenway but I wish they gave Jack Nicholson more to do as he had such a small part this time around. Furthermore, even though it did make sense to focus on her relationship with her grand-children this time around, it was not as compelling as the complex relationship she had with her daughter in the previous movie. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was not bad and I guess it is still worth a look, especially if you enjoyed āTerms of Endearmentā.Ā
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A great classic
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 11:53
(A review of Anatomy of a Murder (1959))Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and, eventually, I wasnāt disappointed, thatās for sure. Indeed, what an entertaining movie! Basically, it is actually a really simple story but it was still completely spellbinding and I thought it was pretty awesome to behold. In my opinion, this movie is pretty much the proof that you can make a movie without any explosions, shootings, CGI or whatsover but it still can be compulsively watchable. Not so long ago, I saw āWitness for the Prosectionā, another classic courtroom drama made in the 50ās and while I really enjoyed this movie as well, there was a very far-fetched twist towards the end which was rather underwhelming. Fortunately, there was no such gimmicks in the flick. Indeed, I believe it is one of the most straightforward thriller ever made and therefore, you donāt get the usual BS involved in this genre which resulted in a much more rewarding experience. Of course, you could argue that James Stewart was basically playing his typical righteous guy but it didnāt bother me whatsoever. To conclude, it is an impressive classic which completely deserves its reputation and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 11:45
(A review of Next Stop Wonderland)Honestly, I had no idead what to expect from this flick and I watched it above all because the late Philip Seymour Hoffman was involved. Eventually, even though Hoffman was, as usual, very good, unfortunately, he had only a small part. So, that was slightly disappointing and, a part from that, I was not really captivated by the story. Apparently, this movie was a big success when displayed at the Sundance Film Festival and a bidding war among studio distributors resulted in Miramax Films paying $6 million for the film's North American distribution rights but it turned out to be a flop at the box-office after all. To be honest, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was not bad but it was missing something to become really interesting or entertaining. At least, it was quite interesting to have Hope Davis playing the lead for once and even though Davis might not be the greatest actress in the world, I think she is one of the very few women in the world who can be just as convincing playing a plain looking chick or a real sex-bomb. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing great, I think it is still a decent indie feature and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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