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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Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 11:28
(A review of
Tombstone (1993))
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I kept hearing some good things about it, I was quite eager to check it out. It is one of the most famous stories about the Wild West and there have been already numerous versions of it. Furthermore, the production was rather messy (Kevin Jarre was the original director but was fired during the first days of shooting) but in spite of all this, they still managed to make a pretty good movie. To be honest, in my opinion, the whole thing was still not really original but it was still quite entertaining and there was a very neat cast all giving competent perfomances (Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Charlton Heston, Jason Priestley, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Dana Delany, Michael Rooker, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Zane, John Corbett, Terry O'Quinn). At least, it was miles better than the terribly misguided ‘Wyatt Earp’ starring Kevin Costner. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, I still think it is a solid Western, the best I have seen so far about this legendary story, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 11:21
(A review of
Final Destination)
To be honest, I never felt any attraction towards this franchise but one of my colleagues at the time had a box-set with the first trilogy (I still have to watch the last 2 installments but I'm seriously in no rush), so, in this case, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, I have to admit it, this first installment was actually rather well done and there was indeed an interesting concept behind it. But, still, I have to make this clear, this concept was not bad but that's about it. Basically, if you constantly and only watch some rather lame slasher flicks, I can imagine that you could be blown away by its cleverness but if you have a little more experience in movie watching, in horror or in other genres, I'm pretty sure it will only entertain you to some point. Basically, it is a little bit like 'The Butterfly Effect', it has a neat idea and, as a result, the makers believe they don't have to further develop this to make sure that it is really watertight so you end up with some major plot-holes and nonsensical BS. To conclude, it is rather enjoyable and entertaining but also very much forgettable but it is still worth a look though, especially if you are into horror movies.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 11:15
(A review of
The World's Fastest Indian)
To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since Anthony HokPIns is definitely one of the greatest actors ever, I was quite eager to check this flick. On top of that, I'm not always a big fan of those ‘based on a true story’ movies but, eventually, I thought that this one was actually pretty good. The only major complain I might have is that it probably displayed one of the most misleading titles I have ever seen and either you are bike fanatic or you are from New-Zealand or you’re like me and you would expect something completely different. And yet, even though the whole thing was rather predictable and a little far-fetched sometimes, I thought that this story was still quite captivating. Indeed, the directing was competent (apparently, the whole thing was a labor of love for Roger Donaldson and he spent 20 years developping this project) and, above all, there was something quite awesome about this character thanks to a great performance by the always dependable Anthony Hopkins. It was also nice to see Hopkins playing the lead for once, and not his usual supporting role. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 11:09
(A review of
My Dog Skip)
To be honest, I had some rather low expectations about this flick. Indeed, if there was ever one really boring cinematic genre, it is definitely all those family features involving animals (talking or mute). However, I have to admit it, this movie was definitely an exception. Sure, the story was nothing ground-breaking and the structure was a little too episodic for my taste but I think they really nailed the tone completely. Indeed, even though it was indeed pretty cheesy, I really believed in the relationship between this lonely boy and his dog so, in my opinion, the whole thing was actually rather well done and the story was quite heartbreaking at some points. Obviously, not everything did work like the fact that everbody seemed to know this dog or they got involved with some moonshiners but the whole thing was above all about a kid and the relationship with his dog and they certainly got this right. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, it is actually a pretty good flick, probably one of the best in its genre, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you have a weak spot for this kind of features.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 28 March 2011 10:21
(A review of
Watchmen)
I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was really eager to check it out again. I remember it very well, back then when it was released, there was a huge buzz about this flick. Eventually, pretty much like 'Sucker Punch' also directed by Zach Snyder, it turned out to be a disappointment at the box-office. I guess it was above all due to the fact that it was dealing with some rather obscure super-heroes and the fact that the tone was seriously bleak didn't help either. Anyway, I thought it was a damned fine feature, in fact, in my opinion, it is one of the best of its genre no less than that. Indeed, it must be the darkest super-hero movie ever made, alongside 'The Dark Knight', and the more I got to know about the characters and their inner struggles, the more I felt captivated by the whole story. Furthermore, I thought it was a really gorgeous movie. Later on, Zack Snyder would be in charge of the DCCEU but, even though I did like 'Man of Steel', eventually, he wasn't really the right guy to carry the whole thing on his shoulders and none of his other movies in the DC universe would be as awesome as this movie was. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though I'm not surprised it actually tanked, I thought it was actually quite awesome and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 27 March 2011 10:19
(A review of
Red Cliff Part II)
Even though I didn't expect it, I did watch both parts of 'Red Cliff' during the very same day, in spite the fact that it was 5 hours long, which should prove how much I enjoyed the whole thing. Honestly, I don't know if I could choose between Part I and Part II which one was the best movie. Eventually, I actually consider the whole thing as one big movie which was just really entertaining. Indeed, as it was expected with John Woo, the action scenes were really well done (he easily delivered some of the best war scenes I have seen and those were so much better than in 'Windtalkers', probably the most underwhelming US production directed by John Woo). And, as usual, it was a real pleasure to see Tony Leung who remains my favorite Asian actor. The story, even though it was nothing really great, remained entertaining enough and they managed to add some nice little scenes here and there next to some really badass battle scenes and this mix worked very well. To conclude, I really enjoyed those movies and it was nice to see something good coming from Mr Woo after all those average and disappointing Hollywood productions and I believe it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 27 March 2011 10:11
(A review of
Red Cliff)
Before watching this movie, I thought I would watch it bit by bit during a whole week, maybe in 5 sessions since it was about 5 hours long. Eventually, I watched both movies back-to-back just in one single day! It shows that the duration was definitely not an issue and I was definitely entertained from the start until the end. It may sound strange but while watching it, I thought it was some kind of Asian version of 'The Lord of the Rings'. Especially, when you see the heroes gathering, forming some kind of fellowship and then preparing for the battle which eventually take place in great details and which they eventually win whereas the odds were against them, you have to admit it, it was definitely reminiscent of 'The Lord of The Rings'. To be honest, sometimes, I have to admit that it was a little bit difficult to remember everyone's name but it wasn't really big deal. Anyway, after spending many years working in the US and making usually some rather disappointing flicks, it was very nice to see John Woo back in his homeland and above all, in such a good shape. To conclude, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing, it is a very well made and entertaining epic and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 25 March 2011 09:45
(A review of
The Exorcism of Emily Rose)
I really had no clue what to expect from this movie and, to be honest, I thought at first that it would be another underwhelming modern horror-thriller dealing with exorcism. Eventually, I have to admit that it was not bad at all after all. Indeed, it was in fact an interesting combination of two different genres (courtroom and exorcism) and I thought it was very well done with some good performances from the whole cast, especially by Tom Wilkison, Laura Linney and Jennifer Carpenter. Indeed, it was dealing with some interesting ideas, like how can you judge someone, a judgment which should be based on proven facts, when beliefs are at the centre of the whole process ? I thought it was quite captivating to watch, at least more captivating than your usual Hollywood thriller which always go for the cheap thrills instead of giving you some real things to think about. Unfortunately. it is too bad the movie was not really neutral and they clearly chose the side of the priest but I thought that there were not too much theatrics and it remained a very interesting reflection on the subject. Anyway, to conclude, it was actually a very well made and entertaining thriller and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 24 March 2011 10:56
(A review of
The Fall)
I already saw this movie but, since I have it on Blu-Ray, I thought I might as well check it out again. The issue with this movie is that, before I saw it the very first time, I kept hearing from here and there that it was amazing so I had some really high expectations towards the damned thing. Eventually, after watching it a couple of times by now, I think it is a very intriguing movie, but, to be honest, not really much more than that though. First of all, the whole thing didn't turn out to be as gorgeous as I expected it to be, even if there were still a few quite amazing shots. Then, the story was not bad but, to be honest, I actually had a hard time to really get into this tale. Apparently, for some reason I can't recall anymore, the first time around, the ending did blow me away. Back then, this ending felt so heartbreaking and so powerful that, suddenly, the whole thing finally made complete sense and I felt a deep connection with what was going on and I was finally touched by this story. Unfortunately, after each re-watch, I couldn't see anymore what was supposed to be so great about this ending after all. Sure, it was better, story wise, than 'The Cell', Tarsem Singh's previous directing effort, and there was definitely something striking about it but it was still missing something to become truly remarkable. Concerning Tarsem Singh, in spite of all the praises this movie has received, his career did turn out to be rather underwhelming after all. Anyway, to conclude, even though I don't think it is really a masterpiece, it is still a very unique picture and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Tarsem Singh's work.
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