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CollectionsBack in the 90's, when I was pretty much starting to discover the greatest treasures Ā in the motion picture history, Ken Loach was definitely one of my favorite directors but, even though by now I have been following him for about 20 years, I have to admit that it has been a while since he really impressed me. Ā This movie was a perfect example. I mean, it was not bad at all and the whole thing had some potential but there were many aspects in the story which were not really well developed. Indeed, even though the concept was really realistic, some of the events happening were rather far-fetched in my opinion. However, in spite of its flaws, I still liked the damned thing. Above all, I really liked the way they described our society and how we very often end up exploiting each other. Indeed, it was really quite sharp and riveting. Especially, the ending was just so dark and bleak but it made sense and it shows how messed up our capitalistic world has become. To conclude, in spite of its defaults, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
A good movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 12 March 2011 05:38
(A review of It's a Free World...)
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 12 March 2011 08:20
(A review of Jungle 2 Jungle)To be honest, I wonder how actually ended up watching this flick. In fact, Iām pretty sure I actually saw the damned thing only because it was Leelee Sobieskiās acting debut. It was a rather stupid idea since she had a really small part. By the way, even though she seemed to have a bright future at the beginning of the 2000ās, her career turned out be rather underwhelming after all which is too bad. Coming back to our main feature, I haven't actually seen the original French version but I remember that it was a huge success in France back then so it is not surprising that they would go for an American remake. Anyway, since it was starring Tim Allen, easily one of the most underwhelming actors I have ever seen, I had some rather low expectations about this movie. Well, I have to admit that it was not so bad after all. Indeed, it was in fact a typical case of expecting something so bad that, at the end, the movie left almost a positive impression. The whole thing was still pretty weak though but it was rather harmless and I guess it might be enjoyable for the young kids.
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A bad movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 02:25
(A review of Anaconda)Before watching this, I had some rather low expectations but, at least, I thought it could be fun to watch. Unfortunately, I thought it was just pretty bad. I know, you're not supposed to take such a movie too seriously but still... It is just bad on every possible level (acting, directing, plot,...). It could have been something but, at the end, it is just worthless. Maybe if you are a fan of B movies, you may end up enjoying it more than I did but I wouldn't count on it. Eventually, more than 10 years later, I re-watched it with Nick, my step-son, because he loves all these monsters movies and I have to admit it, there were a few redeeming features. First of all, you would never get a cast like this for a B feature nowadays (Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, Danny Trejo) and the special effects were actually not as bad as I remembered. Still, the plot about Jon Voight highjacking the boat to hunt some giant snakes was utterly idiotic and unnecessary. Just build up a story about a rich guy who wants to hunt down some snakes hiring a crew with Jon Voight as a leader, that would have been already an improvement. To conclude, the whole thing is pretty lame and I donāt think it is really worth a look whatsoever.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 02:17
(A review of Against All Odds (1984))For some reasons I donāt fully grasp, I always had a hard time with this movie but maybe I should give it a 2nd chance. I mean, the movie had a decent reputation and, on paper, it sounded pretty good. Eventually, I did like the mood which was very much in a film noir style. Unfortunately, very soon, I thought the whole story became rather ridiculous. First of all, the whole concept of a gangster hiring a ex-US football player to find his girlfriend was already rather preposterous to start with. I mean, at some point, the whole thing started to look more like some sort of romantic soap opera than a slick film noire, at least, thatās my opinion. I was surprised to discover that this flick was in fact a remake of āOut of the Pastā, easily one of the best film noirs ever made and while it wasnāt necessarily a bad idea to make a modern version of this classic, it still think it was a really misguided choice to replace a private investigators with a ex-football player. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing had some potential but I thought it was actually pretty weak and I donāt think it is really worth a look.
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A very good movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 02:02
(A review of Good Night, and Good Luck.)Before Ben Affleck surprisingly became the hottest actor-turned-director at work nowadays, it seems at some point that George Clooney would get this prestigious title. Indeed, with this movie, he was apparenly becoming a director to reckon with in the future. Unfortunately, his follow-up would be the really underwhelming āLeatherheadsā and it has been a decade since we have been waiting for something brilliant coming from this director. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though I still have a preference for his debut āConfessions of a Dangerous Mindā, this follow-up was still quite impressive. Indeed, the directing was just top notch, they really managed to nail the time period and the story was rather fascinating. On top of that, David Strathairn displayed his acting talent all over the screen and itās a pity that he has done anything really amazing in the following decade. Even though you might argue that the whole thing was probably not accurate, it did feel really accurate to me and, above all, I thought it was a really important story which is not something that you canāt say about most movies. To conclude, I really liked this flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested by this subject.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 01:48
(A review of Doom)To be honest, I find it rather difficult to judge this flick. Indeed, like most of the video-game movie adaptations, the whole thing had a really lousy reputation so I was an expecting something pretty terrible. And yet, it was one of those cases that I was expecting something so bad, that I end up actually being positively surprised by the movie. I mean, sure, it is not a good movie at all but it was not as bad as I expected, that's all. I donāt know, maybe it has to do with the fact that, even though Iām familiar with the video-game, it was never a favorite of mine so this movie couldnāt possibly let me down. On top of that, āDoomā might be a fun game to play but, to be honest, it seems that the concept is just too limited to build up a satisfying story, at least, thatās my opinion. Eventually, even though I thought that Dwayne Johnson was pretty badass here, apparently, he stated that the whole thing was a complete failure. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was slightly better than I expected , it still remains a very generic action flick with nothing original and Iām not sure it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 01:42
(A review of Air America)Honestly, I don't remember much about this flick. I mean, on paper, it sounded great to have Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr playing some buddies in an action comedy like this one but, eventually, I thought the whole thing was terribly underwhelming. Probably, the biggest issue was that the tone was not really well defined. Indeed, if you watch the poster or the trailer, the whole thing seems to be a lighthearted buddy action comedy but the film was actually more serious dealing with stuff like drug trafficking and war in general. Eventually, the audience didnāt care much for this flick when it was released and it was pretty much a flop. At least, this movie would be the start of a long lasting friendship between Gibson and Downey Jr. Apparently, it went so deep that Gibson who would vouch for Downey Jr when nobody would and he hired him to play the lead in āThe Singing Detectiveā which would pretty much re-launch his career. So, basically, it means that, even though Mel Gibson has pretty much a very lousy reputation, it seems that we should still be thankful that he managed to restore the career of one of the most popular actors nowadays. To conclude, in spite of Robert Downey Jr and Mel Gibson, it was a rather boring and average flick.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 01:38
(A review of A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child)In fact, I already saw this movie but it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, when I was watching it again, I couldnāt remember a thing so it apparently didnāt make much of an impression the first time around but it made sense. Indeed, it was probably the weakest sequel in this burn-out franchise and it was pretty obvious that the makers didnāt even really try to deliver something decent. Eventually, it turned out to be the lowest grossing film of the franchise. I mean, there were a few good ideas, for example, the steamy intro was pretty good but, ultimately, most of it didnāt work at all. Above all, they made the very same mistake that they already made with the 1st sequel which was to allow Freddy Krueger to kill his victims when they were wide awake. Seriously, it completely contradicted the most basic rule in this franchise and, as a result, the whole thing didnāt make much sense and what was left was just a succession of messed-up but still elaborate killing scenes. At least, Lisa Wilcox was not the worst leading actress in this franchise. To conclude, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing and I donāt think it is really worth a look, Ā only if you are a hardcore fan of Freddy Krueger.Ā
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A bad movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 01:29
(A review of One Tough Bastard)To be honest, I wasnāt expecting much from this flick but since āEquilibriumā was a pretty good movie, I was curious to see the first feature directed by Kurt Wimmer. Apparently, it is quite an obscure flick as I was only the second listal member who rated it. Anyway, to watch this flick was a big mistake. Indeed, I thought it was just plain bad on every possible level (story, acting, directing,...). Ok, I have to admit it, the title was pretty awesome but thatās pretty much the only thing I actually enjoyed. Basically, it is one of those brainless action flicks and, maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre, you might find some redeeming features but I highly doubt it. Concerning Brian Bosworth, I was wondering from where the guy was actually coming from and it seems that he was some failed NFL player. Anyway, apparently, Kurt Wimmer has on several occasions said that āEquilibriumā was his directorial debut and indeed, even though he was credited as director for this flick, he was apparently fired early during filming and the producer Kurt Anderson took over as director. To conclude, I thought the whole thing was pretty lame and I would suggest to avoid it if you donāt want to waste your time.
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An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 1 month ago on 11 March 2011 01:24
(A review of Miracle)Since this movie had a really solid reputation and an impressive rating (no less than 7.5 on IMDB), I was quite eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Eventually, sure, the story was pretty neat, Kurt Russel gave a solid performance and the directing was decent but still, was it really enough to make this a good movie? Iām not so sure. Indeed, unfortunately, like most of the other sport movies, it was way too predictable for my taste. The main issue with this kind of movies is that, sure, it must have been awesome to see this game, especially if you are American or you are into hockey but what does work in sport, the anxiety and the euphoria when your team is the underdog but still manages to win again all the odds, well, it doesnāt work very well when you try to translate it to the movies. Indeed, the main issue is that you know beforehand the outcome before they are actually playing the big game and what is left is their journey to get there but, in my opinion, this journey was fairly entertaining but not really mind-blowing. To conclude, even though I thought that the whole thing was slightly disappointing, it is still worth a look though especially if you like the genre.
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