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CollectionsAn acquired taste
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 8 March 2011 09:25
(A review of Team America: World Police)Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, the whole thing was just so preposterous and so over the top but I still thought it was pretty good. You can say what you want but I thought it was quite brilliant to make an outrageous comedy with some puppets. Above all, the parts with Kim Jong II were just hilarious. The whole idea is that you can show and get away with about anything (for example, one of the weirdest sex scenes you'll ever witness) with puppets whereas with 'real' actors, it wouldn't be possible (at least, I hope so...). Still, it is definitely an acquired taste and many people won't like it, for example, Roger Ebert really despised it. I was already positively surprised by the full length version of 'South Park' (whereas I don't really like the show) and I'm amazed that their following feature was also pretty good but the question is what will be the next step for Trey Parker and Matt Stone ? It all remains rather in bad taste and limited in my opinion but we'll see. Anyway, I thought it was pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A very good movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 01:05
(A review of Sicko)First of all, I won't deny it, I'm big fan of Michael Moore and therefore I was really eager to check this flick. Well, he didn't disappoint me with this picture, thatâs for sure. Basically, even though I was expecting most of it, it was still just heartbreaking to see all those people in the US not able to get proper health insurance (shouldnât it be a basic human right?). The only main issue I had is when Moore talks about the other health care systems like for example in Europa, he made them seem perfect. In fact, even though the situation is much better than in the US, it is far from perfect. A part from that, it is a shocking movie about the supposed greatest super power which suddenly look like a third world country. I especially loved to see that Cuba, land of the devil communism, has a capable health system much better than in the US. Sure, there is a lot of manipulation here but there is no such thing as a completely straightforward documentary and I just really dig Mooreâs point of view. To conclude, I thought it was a fascinating documentary and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Michael Mooreâs work.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 12:47
(A review of High School Musical 3: Senior Year)I know, it might be surprising but, to be honest, I thought that the first âHigh School Musicalâ installment was actually not bad at all. Sure, it was nothing amazing whatsoever, but even though Iâm a definitely not a huge fan of the genre, I thought it was a solid musical, especially for its target audience. Indeed, there were some catchy songs, the characters were charismatic and likable and the whole thing was simply really watchable. Obviously, they had to come up with a sequel but this second installment was just really weak (it didn't even take place in a high school...). Finally, they made this third installment which was even released theatrically and, in my opinion, this last feature was pretty much between the 2 previous movies, quality-wise. I mean, it was a good move to finish this franchise with a Senior Year but, unfortunately, the whole thing was still pretty weak and boring and, at this point, the formula was starting to really get on my nerves. To conclude, I didnât like this flick and I donât think it is really worth a look and you should watch it only if you're a fan of those kind of movies.
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A bad movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 12:37
(A review of Beverly Hills Chihuahua)Obviously, I wasn't expecting much from this flick and the main reason I bought it was because my wife has 6 chihuahuas (I know, thatâs a lot and that's a very long story...). Well, eventually, I did reach my goal, my wife really liked it and my daughter as well but, I'm sorry, as far as I'm concerned, Â this movie was actually pretty bad. Seriously, even though I had some low expectations before watching the damned thing, it was even worse than I expected. Indeed, the dogs were just completely obnoxious (I fist saw it dubbed in Dutch and it was really pathetic. At least, it did work better in the original verison but only slightly, I'm afraid) and the plot was just so generic and boring. On the other hand, what should you expect from a movie with such a title?!? Eventually, they would release a couple of sequels, all direct-to-DVD, without anyone from the original cast involved, and, obviously, my wife had to buy those as well but, fortunately, I managed to avoid them. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was seriously lame but I guess it might be a decent watch for very very young children but if you're a grown-up, you should just seriously avoid it.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 12:17
(A review of Bedtime Stories)Personally, I never understood the appeal of Adam Sandler, even after watching about 20 of his movies  (I know, it was definitely a big waste of my time...) and, for at least 15 years, he was one of the very few movie stars who could guarantee  a hit at the box-office. Well, at least,  those days are long gone now. Anyway, I have to admit it, a few of his movies are actually watchable and this one was one of them. This time, instead of his usual raunchy comedies, he tried the family genre and, for some reasons, Disney thought they could work with this guy which seemed to me like a fairly misguided idea considering how moronic and borderline offensive his usual material can be. Well, eventually, this weird Sandler/Disney combination actually worked. Indeed, in order to keep  a low rating, he definitely had to tone down his jokes and, as a result, those jokes were usually slightly more amusing than what he usually provides. On top of that, the whole concept was actually pretty neat, with some endless possibilities but, unfortunately, it was rather poorly developed, I'm afraid, and it was all rather pedestrian and predictable. To conclude, I think I'm being rather generous with my rating here but, for a Sandler feature, it was actually not bad at all.
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A classic
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 11:43
(A review of Rebel Without a Cause)To be honest, I thought it was rather difficult to judge this movie because there is James Dean in it and, in my opinion, everyone tend to overly praise his movies. I mean, by now, I have seen all 3 movies starring James Dean (see also âGiantâ and âEast of Edenâ) Â but, to be honest, I think it is really weird that the guy became such a legend just after showing up in 3 movies. Anyway, after watching this flick, I thought it was even more obvious. I mean, sure, I liked the damned thing and Dean gave a solid performance but I didn't think it was really a masterpiece. I donât know, maybe, at the time, the teenagers thought it was fascinating as they were really able to identify themselves with the characters but, to be honest, I thought they were all rather whinny and even a little bit obnoxious. I mean, they were just really self-centered and I guess thatâs what you are supposed to feel at this age but I thought they made it rather melodramatic. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasnât completely convinced by this feature, I have to admit it was still a solid drama, I have to admit that James Dean was terribly charismatic, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 11:37
(A review of Days of Thunder)By now, I have seen all the movies directed by Tony Scott and it is probably the worst one he has made. I mean, I have seen this movie like ages ago but I still remember that the whole thing was pretty boring... The biggest issue, in my opinion, is how can you make an exciting movie about a sport like Nascar racing?!? I mean, no offense, but you only have those guys making circles for hours and it looks rather tedious, except maybe when they crash but it sounds rather morbid to follow a sport for those reasons. Anyway, back then, Tom Cruise was becoming the biggest movie star on earth and it was the second time around he was working with Tony Scott, following 'Top Gun' which was for both their first bonafide box-office success. Honestly, this movie was not so bad, I mean, Tony Scott is one of the best action director, no question about it but the story was kind of boring, not original at all and completely predictable. Even the great Robert Duvall couldn't make this more interesting. For Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, it was the start of a new romance but, eventually, it didn't end up very well for them, I'm afraid. To conclude, the whole thing is pretty average and not really worth a look, in my opinion.
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A bad movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 11:33
(A review of Skinwalkers)To honest, I wasnât expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Rhona Mitra, I thought I should check this one out. By the way, what the hell happened to her? I didnât even know that but, apparently, she started as the live action model for Lara Croft from the âTomb Raiderâ video game series before Angelina Jolie took over the role and, about 6-7 years ago, she managed to get the lead in such big productions like âDoomsdayâ and âUnderworld: Rise of the Lycansâ, becoming a hot item in the process, but she pretty much disappeared as quickly as she came in the spotlight. Anyway, I always thought that she was be pretty bad-ass and the poster for this movie looked actually pretty cool (let me give you a piece of advice : never watch a movie just because you like the poster...) Unfortunately , the whole thing turned out to pretty bad and just plain boring. Seriously, even the action scenes were just really lame. Actually, the only thing I liked about this movie was eventually the poster... Anyway, to conclude, it was pretty bad, I donât think it was worth a look whatsoever and you should pretty much avoid it.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 March 2011 08:18
(A review of For Love or Money)I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Barry Sonnenfeld's work and since Michael J. Fox was also starring, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, the whole thing was really underwhelming. Indeed, I like Michael J. Fox but this movie was just not my thing. I mean, sure, Fox is a charming fellow but, seriously, the guy had absolutely no range as an actor, and each time I see in him in a movie, it is basically some variation of his most famous character, Marty McFly. I mean, like I said before, the guy was charismatic and fun to watch but it gets rather tiresome if you watch many of his movies. To play his love interest, you had also a charming actress, Gabrielle Anwar, who seemed to break through at that time but her success lasted only a couple of years and she disappeared fairly quickly. Coming back to the movie itself, to be honest, I could have been something if the material had been more edgy and the main character more cynical but, unfortunately, the whole thing was just too damned soft and predictable for my taste. To conclude, it is probably the most obscure movie directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and it is probably one of his worst one as well so I don't think it is really worth a look.
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An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 6 March 2011 07:56
(A review of Year One)I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since Michael Cera and Jack Black can be both pretty hilarious. I thought I might as well give it a try. Eventually, Black and Cera were not bad and the beginning was actually promising with a few good jokes. But then, unfortunately, pretty fast, the whole thing got very lame, boring and above all rather unfunny... Itâs too bad because this concept had some potential but, towards the end of this movie, I was just rather bored and even annoyed by this flick. I mean, from a decent concept, the whole thing turned out to be seriously lazy after all which was rather disappointing. Concerning Cera, I thought he was also pretty good in âScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldâ which was released a year later but, since then, we donât hear much from him anymore but you could say the same about Jack Black. Concerning Harold Ramis, who passed away just a couple of years ago, it would be his last directing effort which is rather sad. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, the whole thing was still pretty damned average and I donât think it is worth a look.
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