Posted : 14 years ago on 2 February 2011 09:05
(A review of
Deception)
I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a nice cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, even though the whole thing had some potential, it turned out to be a seriously disappointing thriller. I mean, I did like the directing, there was a really nice nĆ©o-noir mood and the cast was impressive (Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Natasha Henstridge, Charlotte Rampling, Maggie Q) but, unfortunately, the story was rather lame. The plot was just so convoluted and I went on and on and on.... Ā I just hate it when a movie ends with 3 different twists ! It's a real shame considering the cast and I really liked the tone of the movie but the story was so average and disappointing. The whole concept about this sex club was actually really neat but it was ruining by everything else, by the fact that the main character would fall in love in one of this women but, above all, by this con which was just so underwhelming and far-fetched. To conclude, even though it really had some potential, at the end of the day, it was just an average thriller and it is not really worth a look.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 2 February 2011 08:07
(A review of
Death Race)
To be honest, I wasnāt really expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Jason Statham, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I wasn't really sure what to make out of this movie. First of all, I have to confess that I havenāt seen the original version starring starring David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone but maybe it was a blessing as it allowed me to enjoy more this remake. Anyway, on one hand, the whole thing was completely preposterous and rather stupid but, on the other hand, I thought it was rather well done and you probably shouldnāt take the whole thing too seriously. Concerning Jason Statham, I didnāt have yet an overdose of seeing him constantly playing the same character over and over again and I thought he was pretty cool in this flick. Concerning Natalie Martinez, sure, she didnāt need to deliver a strong performance but she certainly looked gorgeous and I was always surprised that she didnāt become more famous after showing up in this movie (since then, I saw her only in ā[Link removed - login to see]ā which isnāt much considering that she made this movie almost 10 years ago). Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I have to admit that it turned out to be a decent watch and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre. Ā
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 03:25
(A review of
Michael Collins)
It has been a while since I have seen this flick and maybe I should check it out again at some point. To be honest, I have to confess that I didnāt even know who was Michael Collins before watching this movie and I was mostly eager to check it out because it was directed by Neil Jordan and starring Liam Neeson. Anyway, I thought that Neil Jordan delivered a very interesting movie here with a great performance by Liam Neeson. Sure, Iām happy for the guy that he has developed a new fan base with his action flicks but I think those movies are actually a waste of his dramatic talent. As I mentioned before, I was completely unaware of this historical figure before watching this flick so I'm not sure if the story was really accurate but I thought it was a captivating page of history. You could argue that the whole thing was really straightforward but it didnāt bother me at all. To conclude, even though it might not have been a real masterpiece, I thought it was a rather spellbinding biopic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested by the subject.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 03:15
(A review of
Fly Away Home)
Honestly, Iām not sure how I ended up watching this movie in the first place but it was eventually a very nice surprise. Indeed, in my opinion, most of the children movies are actually rather worthless and a big waste of time, even for the kids. Still, from time to time, there are some exceptions and this movie is one of them. The funny thing is that the plot shouldnāt have been appealing, as it really sounded like some many underwhelming family features involving animals. Of course, it sounds rather ridiculous to let go a young girl flying with some geese but, somehow, this one worked (it might even be the best in this genre) and I really cared about the characters and what they were going through. Somehow, the directing was above the movies in this genre and they managed to avoid making it too mushy. Furthermore, Jeff Daniels (a really versatile and underrated actor) and Anna Paquin delivered some solid performances. As a side note, 10 years later, Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels would become lover in āThe Squid and The Whaleā which is pretty awkward since they played father and daughter in this movie. To conclude, it is a very good movie and it is definitely worth a look, as much for the kids and the grown-ups.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 03:11
(A review of
The English Patient (1996))
I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. To be honest, when I first heard of this movie, I thought it would be a terribly cheesy romantic feature. On top of that, it seemed to be another shameless attempt from the Weinstein brothers to sweep the Oscars, an attempt which was this time successful since it managed to win 9 Academy Awards including the Best Picture. So, with this in mind, I had my doubts at first but, eventually, I have to admit it, I really loved the damned thing. Basically,Ā it is one of the very best romantic features I have ever seen. Indeed, the directing was just really strong and it is one of the few movies I have seen in which the back-and-forth in time actually worked and really enhanced the whole story. Furthermore, all the actors involved were perfectly cast and they gave some of the best performances in their respective careers, especially Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche. There were still a couple of weak scenes which were just too cheesy involving Juliette Binoche and Naveen Andrews but these were some really minor flaws. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie seems to be overlooked nowadays, it is actually a really strong romantic drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 02:56
(A review of
Fargo)
I have been following their career for about 25 years now and it is above all thanks to this flick that the Coen brothers became pretty huge. I mean, before that they had a solid cult following (my older sister, for example, introduce me to their work even before this movie was released) but it is only after this feature came out that their popularity grew up exponentially. Indeed, it became basically their first classic movie and many think it should have won the best picture award back then (It lost eventually against 'The English Patient'). Personally, I have a strange relationship with this movie (In fact, I have actually the same feeling with almost all the movies made by the Coen brothers...). The first time I watched it, I thought it was great, the second time, I thought it was just Ok, the third time, it was great again, the fourth time, just ok again.... It's rather weird, isn't it ? I guess it all depends on my mood. Still, there was a great cast involved (William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, Frances McDormand), they all delivered some terrific performances and, if you are in the right mood, the whole thing is just funny as hell. Anyway, to conclude, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the Coen brothers' work.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 02:51
(A review of
Trainspotting)
Either you like this movie or not, the fact remains that it is easily the most influential British movie released in the 90's. Even though I prefer 'Shallow grave', I must admit that I was really impressed by the second movie directed by Danny Boyle. Indeed, there was some great directing, some great acting and it was plain and simply a very entertaining movie. Still, even though I think it is really good, I'm not sure if it is really that great though. This is a really personal point of view that you may not share at all but, personally, I think it has an ambivalent attitude towards drugs. Of course, there are some horrible parts shouting "KEEP OFF THE DRUGS" but, in some over scenes, they rather seem to have a grand time. Eventually, I think it is a very well made and fun movie with some great characters but, at the end of the day, the whole thing is actually pretty shallow. As a matter of fact, I have just re-watched it recently and, I must admit it, the 1st half was really hilarious, some of the funniest sh*t I have ever seen, which is quite striking when you consider the subject. The 2nd half, on the other hand, was definitely weaker and felt more unfocused. Still, to conclude, even though I don't believe it is really a masterpiece, it still think it is a very good flick, a British classic, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 02:33
(A review of
The Promise)
At the end of the 90ās, following their winning of the Golden Palm at the Cannes, I discovered The Dardennes brothers with āRosettaā but even though I thought it was indeed a decent drama, I canāt say I was really blown by the whole thing. And, yet, after this bumpy start, those guys would turn out to be eventualy some of my favorite directors. Indeed, after the disappointing āRosettaā, I still wanted to give those guys a 2nd chance so I decided to watch their previous directing effort. And, this time, I was finally really impressed. Once again, the whole thing was really raw and realistic but the big difference was that, this time, it was completely spellbiding to behold. Indeed, not only it was socially completely relevant but I was also impressed in the depth provided to the characters and I really cared about what they were going through. For the young JĆ©rĆ©mie Renier, it was a really impressive acting debut at only 15 years old, he would eventually have a decent career, working 3 times again with those guys (āLāenfantā, āLe silence de Lornaā, āLe gamin au vĆ©loā). To conclude, I thought it was a great drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the Dardennes brothersās work.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 02:11
(A review of
The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996))
It has been a while since I saw this flick (I even think I saw it back when it was released in the movie theater) and since I really enjoyed it the first time around, I was really eager to give it a second look. Well, I think it is still a really fascinating story and, once again, Milos Forman managed to deliver an impressive biographical tale of one notorious famous figure (see also the even better āAmadeusā and the not so great but still decent āMan on the Moon'). It is such a pity that Milos Forman is not really productive nowadays but I guess that at 80 years old, the guy has pretty much past his prime. Anyway, he did display once again some very solid directing and the acting was very good as well. In this department, the biggest surprise was Courtney Love, in my opinion. Indeed, honestly, who thought she could act so well?!? Itās too bad she pretty much dropped the acting thing and basically became a mess because she definitely showed some potential. It was also nice to see a young Edward Norton in a smaller part at the time when he was still one of the greatest hopes in cinema. And, finally, we get to see the great Woody Harrelson for once playing the lead, the guy was just great and he must be one of the most underrated actors at work nowadays. To conclude, I really liked this flick a lot and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 1 February 2011 01:51
(A review of
Microcosmos)
To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie but, after all these years, it is still one of the most unforgettable movie experiences I ever had. I remember it very well, when it was released in France, there was a huge buzz about the whole thing, it was eventually critically acclaimed and was watched by 3 500 000 viewers. Basically, this movie is just really unique and should be watched by anyone who has any remote interest in movies. In my opinion, the biggest masterstroke was to avoid providing any comment. Indeed, even though most people would find it actually interesting and educational to have some comment throughout their animal documentaries, I find those actually terribly distracting and sometimes ever annoying (the best example would be āLa marche de l'empereurā which was partially ruined to me because of the rather lame voice-over). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I thought it was just a gorgeous documentary about insects with no comments, just some beautiful classic music. To conclude, I guess this picture is pretty much forgotten nowadays but it's a shame because it is a true masterpiece and it is definitely worth a look.
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