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CollectionsAn interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 04:28
(A review of Gerry)Back in 1997, Gus Van Sant scored his biggest box-office hit with āGood Will Huntingā. Not only was this movie a success for Van Sant, it meant at last a major breakthrough for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who are pretty much Hollywood royalties nowadays (ok, the journey was pretty tortuous for Affleck but he got there eventually, didnāt he?). Anyway, 5 years later, Gus Van Sant and Matt Damon were reunited and this time, Benās little brother, Casey Affleck, joined the party. Personally, I never really cared for Van Santās more commercial outings but this flick definitely belonged to his more experimental work and that was most welcome. Indeed, in the whole movie, you just have Matt Damon and Casey Affleck wandering in a desert, talking about everyday stuff. It may sound lame but I found it rather fascinating. Indeed, both actors delivered some really strong performances and Iām a sucker for Van Santās understated directing style. Unfortunately, since there is not plot and no other characters to interact and even though the whole thing was really intriguing, it felt also rather empty and the ending was downright disappointing. Indeed, it came seriously out of nowhere and it was as if the makers tried to force some meaning on the proceedings but it didnāt work, at least, for me. To conclude, even though the whole thing was rather flawed, it still think it is a really interesting experimental feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 04:10
(A review of Frantic)Honestly,even though Iām a huge of Roman Polanskiās work,Ā I thought this movie was rather disappointing. Basically, it is probably the most mainstream feature coming from the Polish director and it is probably even more accessible than 'The Ninth gate' so it Ā was really perfect for the mainstream audience who might be intimated by his darker work. I mean, to be honest, it was actually not bad all. As a matter of fact, the intro was just brilliant. Indeed, Harrison Ford gets to Paris with his wife, check into a hotel. He goes to the bathroom or something and suddenly, when he comes back, his wife is gone! Up to that point and included the next 30 minutes, the whole thing was just spellbinding to watch and it was just awesome to see this average guy very well played by Harrison Ford losing his head because he has lost his wife without a shred of explanation. Unfortunately, at some point, they had to explain what was exactly going on and thatās when the movie really became truly disappointing. It is quite obvious that Polanski didn't care much about the plot which was rather weak, especially the second part, and cared more about the mood which was pretty cool. Honestly, I don't remember much about the whole explanation, what I do remember is that it was a really weak disposable conspiracy theory, the typical stuff you get in your average thriller. Coming out from someone as brilliant as Polanski, this was a real letdown. To conclude, even though it is one of the weakest efforts by Roman Polanski, probably his most commercial outing, it is still worth a look though, if only for the brilliant first 30 minutes.
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An interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 03:47
(A review of Flightplan)Even though Jodie Foster is not anymore really one of the major leading ladies, I still have a weak spot for her so I always try to watch her more recent movies when I get the opportunity. This time, she showed up in a thriller and, at first, the whole thing was actually pretty intriguing. Indeed, in my opinion, the set-up was great. Basically, you have this woman who gets on a plane with her kid but then, she falls asleep and when she wakes up, the kid is gone. She looks for her child but when asking for help, everybody says she came on the plane alone and might be hallucinating... It was a great concept and, for a while, I got the impression I might be watching a rather smart and insightful psychological thriller. Unfortunately, the makers basically chickened out as they were not able to develop this set-up. Instead, they provided this very lame twist ending (it must be one of the most infuriating things in movie historyā¦ Those stupid twist endings at the end of every average Hollywood thrillerā¦) and they pretty much managed to destroy all the great things built before. Basically, they dropped the whole psychological aspect of the movie, the only thing that made this feature really stood out from the rest. Indeed, the explanation provided is that she was right all along! There was indeed some kind of lame conspiracyā¦ To conclude, if you remove the last awful 20 minutes, the rest of the movie is actually pretty decent and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 03:38
(A review of Femme Fatale)From the 70's until the end of the 90's, Brian de Palma was one of the most highly regarded directors, now he is pretty much forgotten and that's a pity. Anyway, this is a typical De Palma picture, a mysterious thriller drenched with intrigues, erotic and violence. It's a pity the plot was rather hard to follow and the whole thing barely made much sense. If I remember it correctly, I even saw it when it came out and I thought it was time for a re-watch. The funny thing is that, even though, I knew what would happen, I still ended up with the same feeling I had 10 years ago. Basically, it is one of the most messed up and convoluted thrillers I have ever seen. Indeed, the plot didn't make much sense and I won't even start to point out all the major plot holes. Still, there was something fascinating about this flick. Indeed, the directing was quite amazing, and pretty much like 'Snake Eyes', it started up with an impressive opening scene but then pretty much right from this great opening scene, it all went downhill afterwards. Back then, Rebecca Romijn was just starting as an actress and this movie would end up being her only really interesting role, I'm afraid. If this movie didn't end up being a failure financially and critically, her career could have been quite different. Anyway, pretty much like the movie itself, Romijn didn't even act very well but there was something about her, enhanced by De Palma's directing, which made her quite fascinating to behold. Anyway, to conclude, after re-watching it, I still can't say I really like it, it is just too messed up, but, deep there somewhere, I'm pretty sure there was a great movie hidden and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in De Palma's work.
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An interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 03:34
(A review of Eye of the Beholder)Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, I was really eager to check it out. Basically, this movie is rather unknown and it is not a surprise since it is a remake (ok, that was a cheap move but come one! 99.9 % of all remakes are worthless don't you think?) and, to be honest, it was kind of a mess. Indeed, there was a really weird mood throughout the whole thing and I couldnāt help wondering what the writer were smoking when they were working on this. Same thing concerning Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd. I mean, they provided some pretty good performances but there was something really eerie about their characters. Eventually, even though the whole thing was just too weird for its own good, I have to admit that I was quite mesmerized by this flick. Eventually, I saw the original French version and I think I actually slightly preferred this remake. To conclude, even though it is a really obscure feature and even though the whole thing was rather half-baked, it still remain a rather fascinating thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 03:24
(A review of The Cell)Back then, Jennifer Lopez used to be a bankable actress and this flick reached the first spot at the box-office when it came out. But, honestly, who am I kidding, who cares about Jennifer Lopez? Indeed, the actraction here was the director, Tarsem Singh, who made here one of the most striking directing debuts ever. Indeed, this movie had in my opinion some of the most amazing scenes ever shot. Unfortunately, even though the story was not bad, it wasnāt really strong either, Iām afraid. Indeed, it felt like a cheap excuse so that the director could include his great visuals. Furthermore, I had also a a hard time with Jennifer Lopez. Indeed, even though I have seen this movie a couple of times by now, I'm still not sure if she was really an asset for the movie or not. Anyway, the bottom line was that the whole thing was a rather pedestrian serial killer thriller with some amazing visuals, no more no less. Ten years later, Tarsem Singh would make 'Immortals' which turned out to be also really impressive visually but it also had terribly disappointing story, even more than his directing debut. It would be nice if the guy could focus a little bit more on the plot and if he didnāt put all his energy and attention on the visual aspect (some people would argue that his second feature 'The Fall' was a real masterpiece but I was still not really convinced). Anyway, in spite of its flaws, his first movie was a very well made thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 03:02
(A review of Down in the Valley)Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I was a huge fan of Edward Norton, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, it was a rather typical movie illustrating how Nortonās career turned out to be. Indeed, basically, even though Edward Norton was, as usual, very good, it is a really obscure flick which was barely seen when it was released and even though there was definitely something mesmerizing about the characters involved, the whole thing was still deeply flawed. Basically, it is a really weird movie. I mean, I did like the directing and I was really caught in this tale but then, the plot didn't go anywhere... Somehow, it stopped abruptly and even after seeing this movie on DVD with 3 different endings(!), none of them was good or made much sense. Honestly, it is not often that I have seen such a half-baked flick. I mean, basically, Ā¾ was actually pretty good but then the last Ā¼ just seriously ruined the whole thing for me. To conclude, even though it is another disappointing flick starring Edward Norton, I still think it is worth a look though but donāt expect anything really amazing.
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An interesting failure
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 02:59
(A review of Birth)Basically, it is one of those movies which, even though I know the whole thing was flawed, it was still quite fascinating and I was still rather fascinated somehow. Indeed, it did look really gorgeous, the directing was indeed quite amazing and Nicole Kidman gave a very a good perfomance and so did the rest of the cast. The story was really fascinating so what went wrong ? I think the main issue is that they tried too much to rationalize the plot, to rationalize something completely impossible so you ended up with this unsatisfactory ending. Also, after rewatching it, I noticed that the main focus was on the mood, which was great by the way, but as a result, you get the feeling that the whole thing is just about mood and no substance whatsoever. I mean, if you think about it for a few minutes, the whole thing was completely preposterous and that's why it was quite fascinating but it makes also it really difficult to sell it to the viewers and, in my opinion, they actually failed. Still, in spite these flaws, it had really some potential and I still think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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An interesting movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 02:54
(A review of A.I. Artificial Intelligence)Being a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick, I was really anxious about seeing this movie. Eventually, there were definitely many things to enjoy here. First of all, the whole thing looked great, something always expected when Steven Spielberg is directing. Furthermore, I was rather captivated by the story and the cast was pretty good (Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor, Jude Law, William Hurt). But unfortunately, it wasn't really great after all, I'm afraid. Indeed, basically, you miss the Kubrick touch, which means going the extra mile into the human psyche making this movie a real masterpiece. Instead, they always remained in the Spielberg comfort zone, with some great visuals but also with a weak, over-sentimental fluffy story. Eventually, my mistake is that I went there expecting a Kubrick feature but I got a Spielberg movie so I guess it was rather unfair from me. It is like comparing '2001' and 'E.T.'. I mean, in my case, I think that 'E.T.' is a nice little movie but it never came near the level of such a masterpiece like '2001'. To conclude, I have to admit that even though I was rather disappointed, it remains a very well made and intriguing SF flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A classic
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2011 10:05
(A review of Fanny and Alexander)I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since it is a classic, I was quite eager to give it a second chance. Well, even if I was able to enjoy it slightly more this time around, to be honest, I still had a hard time to care for the damned thing though. Fist of all, I was surprised by how little I actually remembered this movie which wasnāt really a good sign. Itās interesting that the only thing I did remember was when Alexander, Fanny and their mother went to live with Edvard Vergerus but, somehow, I think it does make sense. Indeed, even if Vergerus was definitely a dreadful guy, he was however the only fully developed character in this whole story and, therefore, the only one who made an impression on me. For example, at some point, Emilie made the decision to marry with Edvard but they never gave us any explanation why and, then, 5 mins later, she was complaining about her marriage and wanted out. As a result, it was rather difficult to root for her but itās something that could be said about all the characters in this movie. Indeed, you spend more than 3 hours with them but you donāt really get to know any of them. At least, even he still remained an enigma, I was more able to appreciate the mysterious scenes involving Alexander who was an intriguing young boy. However, I still donāt get why his sister was mentioned in the title since she did so very little and had so little impact on everything happening around her. Anyway, this movie is obviously considered as a massive masterpiece, and, I guess, as far Iām concerned, it belongs to the category 'misunderstood masterpieceā. What I mean by that is that I was able to see all the craft behind it, I could see it was obviously a work of Art but I'm afraid I didn't really get it. Basically, there was a lot of symbolism that went just way over my head. I mean, during the whole thing I was scratching my head thinking 'What did he mean with all this?' and, honestly, at the end of the movie, I didn't get some answers. Still, such a challenging movie should always be praised when you see how simplistic and moronic are the movies produced by Hollywood and I will not a blame a movie because I just didn't get it. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is definitely an acquired taste, it is still a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ingmar Bergman's work.
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