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A good movie

Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 2 February 2011 01:00 (A review of The Double Life of VĆ©ronique)

I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, to be honest, while rewatching this movie, I didnā€™t feel the same fascination I experienced the first time around. The fact that I didnā€™t remember much about the damned thing was definitely not a good omen. Anyway, back in those days, Krzysztof Kieslowski delivered some of the most striking movies of the 90's and 80's. I canā€™t believe he passed away already more than 20 years ago and, in fact, I should myself watch many more of his movies. On top of that, I was probably too young to really appreciate his Three Colors trilogy and I hope I will give it a second chance at some point in the future (On the other hand, I did rewatch ā€˜Rougeā€™ recently and it still didnā€™t really blow me away though). Anyway, in this case, the whole thing was basically some kind of ephemeral poetic fairy tale which should/could be mesmerizing (at least, if you are into the right mood which was apparently not the case when I rewatched the damned thing). I have to confess that probably most of the symbolism went over my head and, the second time around, I didnā€™t feel such a great connection with this story and the characters involved (something I was also missing with the Three Colors trilogy). I still really loved the mood though. Concerning IrĆØne Jacob, back then, it seemed that she would become the next great French actress but aside from the massive classics she made with this great master, her career turned out to be rather underwhelming after all. Still, in this movie, there is no doubt that Jacob was not only quite gorgeous but also really fascinating to behold, playing two identical and yet completely distinct women. Anyway, to conclude, even if it can be challenging, it is a very strong drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Kieslowskiā€™s work.



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A very good movie

Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 2 February 2011 12:53 (A review of My Own Private Idaho)

To be honest, it has been ages since I have this seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Basically, it is one of those movies that I saw as a teenager which just had some huge impact on me. I mean, back in those days, I was already fascinated by movies but I hadnā€™t watch so many great movies yet so I was basically a blank page, ready to absorb pretty much anything. Anyway, I had never seen anything like this before and, at the time, I thought the whole thing was quite mesmerizing to behold. Through the years, I always enjoyed Gus van Sant's work and it must be one of his most typical movies. Concerning Keanu Reeves, even if you like it or not, he will keep a steady career ever since showing up in such massive classics like ā€˜The Matrixā€™ or some more dubious choices like ā€˜Chain Reactionā€™. Above all, this movie would be always linked to River Phoenix, one of the most highly regarded young actors of his generation who would die just a couple of years after this movie. To conclude, I think it is really an acquired taste but I like it very much 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 2 February 2011 12:35 (A review of Roujin Z)

I'm a huge fan of Katsuhiro Otomo, the guy who has created ā€˜Akiraā€™ and when I saw this movie at the local video shop (no dvds back in those days), I was really eager to check it out (Eventually, I loved this movie so much, later on I even bought the dvd when I got the opportunity). To be honest, even though Otomo is mentionned prominently on all the promotional material, he didnā€™t actually direct this flick so that was a little bit disappointing. Still, Katsuhiro Otomo did write this futuristic tale and it was once again quite fascinating. What I really enjoyed is that even though it was dealing with the near future like ā€˜Akiraā€™, the tone was really different and the whole thing was actually quite funny. Usually, I have a rather hard time with comedies because, usually, they are just plain stupid. Not here, I thought it was actually fairly deep, with some interesting thoughts about how the world population is rapidly growing old and how we might handle this phenomenon. Furthermore, the animation was fine, even though there again Otomo was not actually responsible for the design. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a beautiful, thoughtful and entertaining movie 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 2 February 2011 12:15 (A review of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993))

I have seen this movie many times, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released and it has never lost its appeal. Basically, it is a gorgeous picture at the same time dark and bleak but also joyful and charming. However, I find it rather annoying that Tim Burton got most of the credit concerning this picture when in fact, Henry Selick is the one who actually directed the whole thing. Eventually, in my opinion, Henry Selick is the one responsible for his greatness whereas Tim Burton was too busy working on other projects to actually directing it ... Selick should be the one credited for this jewel, not Burton. Of course, I have to admit it, you can see Tim Burton's influence as he provided many sketches in order to create the characters. Anyway, it is one of the darkest fairy tales I have ever seen, it is very bold and you should probably don't show it to young children. Anyway, it is visually mind-blowing, the characters are fascinating and I even liked the songs . In this genre, it is the best of its kind and, as far as I'm concerned, it is way better than 'Corpse Bride', 'James and the Giant Peach' or 'Coraline'. To conclude, it is a great picture and it is definitely worth a a look, especially if you like the genre.


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A very good movie

Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 2 February 2011 12:01 (A review of The Piano (1993))

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out again. In fact, I remember it quite well when this movie was released, it was critically acclaimed and even managed to win the prestigious Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Anyway, I thought it was a rather unique movie with a mesmerizing mood. Indeed, the story was just fascinating, something I had never seen before, the directing by Jane Campion was very good and Holly Hunter easily gave the best performance of her career (she eventually won the Academy Award for the Best Actress, a prize completely deserved). Furthermore, back in those days, the great Harvey Keitel was making an impressive come-back thanks to his performance in ā€˜Reservoir Dogsā€™. He was one of my favorite actors at the time and he was really good in this movie as well, continuing his winning streak, it is a shame this renaissance didnā€™t last long and he is involved nowadays either in some weak blockbusters or some underwhelming obscure features. Of course, there was something rather creepy about how their relationship did start but the end-result was incredibly sensual. You might also wonder how this specific woman and this specific man could end up with each other since they had nothing in common but, personally, I don't believe that you have to necessarily fall in love with someone who should be exactly the same as you are, in the contrary. Concerning Jane Campion, even though she had an interesting career afterwards, her following films didn't have such a huge impact like this one. However, she did make an impressive come-back almost 30 years later with 'The Power of The Dog' which was a huge critical success, even if I myself didn't really care much for it. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a really impressive drama 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 2 February 2011 11:55 (A review of The Age of Innocence (1993))

For many years, I have been tracking down the movies directed by the great Martin Scorsese, so I absolutely had to watch this movie at some point. And, once again, I wasn't disappointed, thatā€™s for sure. Indeed, I thought it was a very good movie and it is definitely one of the best costume dramas I have ever seen. Unfortunately , it has become one of the most underrated movies directed by Scorsese. Indeed, after making some of the best gangster movies ever, Scorsese decided to completely shift gear and directed a costume drama. And you know what? It worked. In my opinion, it is a gorgeous and really fascinating picture. Usually, I really have a hard time to relate with such characters but, here, they managed to make me care about them and what they were going through. Of course, it helps when you have Daniel Day-Lewis in your cast... Day-Lewis was, as usual, terrific but Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder should also be credited for their performances. To conclude, I thought it was a very good movie, one of the best in this genre, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Scorsese's work.


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A very good movie

Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 2 February 2011 11:40 (A review of Menace II Society)

There are so many Hood movies, especially released back then in the 90's, and most of them are actually rather forgettable. However, there are a few exceptions and this movie is definitely one of them. Indeed, it turned out to be a great and heartbreaking movie and, in my opinion, it was even slightly better than 'Boyz n the hood' which is probably the most famous movie in this genre. I mean, both movies are really good and eventually 'Boyz n the hood' got a lot of attention whereas this movie went by pretty much unnoticed. I preferred this one because 'Boyz n the hood' ended up with a rather hopeful message while this movie was bleak and relentless from the beginning until the end and it made more sense to me. Indeed, for most of the people living in those ghettos, there is no happy ending at the end, just a lot of misery along the way. It is such a shame that the Hughes brothers, the guys who directed this movie, never managed to really break through afterwards. I mean, they still managed to direct a movie once in a while but none of them reached the level of their amazing debut. Anyway, to conclude, it is a really good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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A great movie

Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 2 February 2011 11:28 (A review of Carlito's Way)

For some reasons, I have always been fascinated Ā by this movie. It probably had to do with the fact that I was very young when I saw it (I was probably around 14 years old), at that point, I havenā€™t watched yet so many gangster features such as ā€˜The Godfatherā€™ or even ā€˜Scarfaceā€™ and it probably made me appreciate more this movie. Anyway, somehow, even though this movie has some very strong ratings (according to IMDb, it is the 2nd best movie directed by Brian De Palma only behind ā€˜Scarfaceā€™), it seems to be rather forgotten nowadays which is rather sad because I really believe it is actually one of the very best movies in this genre. Indeed, 10 years after ā€˜Scarfaceā€™, Brian de Palma and Al Pacino were working again together but, even though it was another crime feature dealing with some latino gangster, both movies were actually really different. Indeed, the big difference was that Carlito was not such a bad guy but, even though he really wanted to get straight, he kept getting pulled back in this dirty business and this process was just so fascinating and heartbreaking to behold. Anyway, to conclude, I think it is actually one of the best crime movies ever made and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā 



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A great classic

Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 2 February 2011 11:25 (A review of Schindler's List (1993))

Since I heard so many good things about this movie, I was really curious to check it out. Even if Steven Spielberg has definitely made many very entertaining flicks in the past , I always had been kind of annoyed by his movies because they are most of the times not challenging enough, or too "nice" for my taste (For example, 'ET' is a good movie but the alien and the children tend to get on my nerves and the music is pretty cheesy). However, with this movie, Spielberg finally displayed his skills showing a terribly bleak and dark tale. Of course, you could say that Schindler is a little too heroic but you can't argue that Amon Goethe is one of the most despicable and yet fascinating bad guys seen on the silver screen. The directing was great, the cast (Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes) was awesome and the story was completely heartbreaking. It was so good that the Academy finally HAD to give Spielberg his Oscar which he had been denied for so many years. Anyway, to conclude, it is a great classic and a must see for any decent movie fan, especially if you are interested in Spielberg's work.


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A very good movie

Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 2 February 2011 10:26 (A review of The Bridges of Madison County)

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it again. Following his two great movies ā€˜Unforgivenā€™ and ā€˜A Perfect Worldā€™, with his next directing effort, Clint Eastwood displayed again that he was a major director we should all reckon with and he displayed that he also could direct basically anything. Indeed, apparently, even romantic features become masterpieces with him. It is something I always enjoyed with Eastwood as a director, his versatility and, if you give it a close look, you will notice that he has done movies in almost every single genre you could think of. This time around, it was basically a rather simple love story but the way it was told was so striking and pure at the same time, it was quite mind-blowing to behold. Of course, to have those two acting giants, Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, playing this couple was also a masterstroke and they were both great in this. Indeed, together, they created a very touching and believable couple and one of the best romantic tales I have ever seen. With this feature, Clint Eastwood showed that he was actually one of the most sensitive directors out there and his understated directing style never worked better than here. Anyway, to conclude, I really loved this flick, it is one of the best romances I have seen and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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