Login
Home
585 Lists
7789 Reviews
CollectionsI 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 out again. Well, to be honest, it is a rather obscure feature and it is rather forgotten nowadays but anything directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson was pretty much a must see in my book. Eventually, even though the performances were decent enough (Would you expect anything else Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson?), unfortunately, the story was rather weak. Apparently, it was based on the life of Nora Ephron and her failed marriage with Carl Bernstein, the famous journalist involved in the Watergate scandal. Even though thus concept was not necessarily bad, in fact , you realize pretty quickly that the whole thing was seriously one-sided (Basically, the wife is a poor victim and the husband is worthless unreliable cheater) and it didn’t result in a really rewarding watch. To make things worse, neither of these characters was really interesting and what they were going through was just seriously generic and therefore not really spellbinding either. A year later, Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson would work again together in the movie ‘Ironweed’ which I haven’t seen yet but it seems slightly more promising than this feature. Anyway, to conclude, it’s too bad because this movie had some potential but, in spite of its flaws, it is still worth a look though, especially if you are interested in Meryl Streep or in Jack Nicholson.
An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:45
(A review of Heartburn)
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:43
(A review of Spaceballs)From all the movies directed by Mel Brooks that I have seen so far (I’m missing only ‘Dracula: Dead and Loving It', ‘High Anxiety’ and ‘Silent Movie’), this one was probably the most disappointing one. I mean, sure, it wasn’t the worst I have seen from this director but, considering its stellar reputation, I was expecting a lot from this movie. Indeed, it is probably one of the most popular comedies ever made and it is definitely a classic but, personally, I thought it was seriously underwhelming and I really couldn’t see what was so great about the damned thing. I mean, sure, the concept was interesting and it was really smart to parody the Star Wars franchise but, at the end of the day, there were just a few decent jokes. Seriously, I had to smile a few times during the whole thing but I never thought that it was actually hilarious. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t really impressed by the whole thing and Roger Ebert didn’t really care for it either. To conclude, even though it wasn’t really awful, I really didn’t like it much but, if you are a fan of the genre, there is a fair chance that you might end up enjoying it more than I did.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:38
(A review of My Mom's New Boyfriend)To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this movie but since there were a couple of decent actors involved, I thought I might as well give it a try. Of course, with such a lame title (even the alternate title was rather lame), it was pretty obvious that the whole thing was pretty hopeless and, indeed, even though it wasn't a complete waste of time, it wasn't far from it, I'm afraid. I have to admit it, there were actually some good things though. For example, Selma Blair was pretty much stealing the show as usual. Personally, I always found her intriguing, even when she was involved in such underwhelming productions and it's a shame that, except for the decent 'Hellboy' franchise, pretty much all her movies have been rather disappointing and she never really managed to breakthrough in a big way. Concerning Meg Ryan who was playing the lead here, it is pretty obvious that her days of Rom-Com Queen are long gone, her career is pretty much dead right one and you wonder if she might manage to recycle herself in something new some day. Anyway, most of the movie was just very average and I don't think it is worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A good movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:31
(A review of Harper)Even though I'm a big fan of Paul Newman, I haven't actually seen many movies starring this fine actor and that's a real shame. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm too much focused on recent movies. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but since Paul Newman was playing the lead, I was really eager to watch this flick. And of course, the guy was pretty awesome here. To be honest, I have to admit that I saw this movie on the BBC without subtitles and I kept missing some bits here and there so I was quite confused by the story but it was still a really enjoyable detective story. Of course, this kind of movies is more about the mood and the characters involved and those elements were fine here resulting in a very fine watch. Eventually, almost 10 years later, Paul Newman would come back for a sequel called 'The Drowning Pool' but I thought it was slightly more underwhelming than this feature. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really exceptional, it was still a really entertaining feature and it is definitely worth look especially if you're interested in Paul Newman's work.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:30
(A review of Roxanne)I have nothing against Steve Martin but most of his movies are usually rather lame so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick. However, the ratings were pretty decent and Roger Ebert really loved the damned thing so there was some hope. Unfortunately, I thought that it was really disappointing and I really had a hard time to care about the story and the character involved. I don’t know, maybe it had to with the fact that I’m French so ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ is a really classic story in my home country and I don’t think I really needed a modern comedic twist on this timeless tale. Above all, I was just rather bored by the whole thing and I didn't think it was funny at all. At the end of the day, it is all supposed to be harmless, whimsical and charming but I just didn’t connect at all with the whole thing. Basically, even if you handle this concept within a drama, it is already difficult to take it really seriously but, in a comedy, I think it was just completely hopeless. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought it was pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An interesting movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:29
(A review of Man of the Year)It doesn't very often but from time to time, a movie end up being much better than I thought it would be. It is really rare but it does happen and this flick is a perfect example. Indeed, I thought it would be really lame because I only heard bad things about it but it was actually not bad at all. As a matter of fact, I really liked the first part which worked as a satire but, unfortunately, I wasn't so found of the the second part which looked more like a thriller. So, it is indeed rather unfocused and flawed but there were some good ideas and a terrific cast (Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Jeff Goldblum, Tina , Amy Poehler), above all Christopher Walken was awesome as usual. So, instead of a bad flick, I ended up with a movie with a good concept which was just poorly developed but since I have weak spot for movies dealing with politics, there were many things I enjoyed here, especially the first half. To conclude, though not completely successful, it is actually a decent political satire mixed with a weak thriller but it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A disappointing movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:25
(A review of Levity)Even though this movie is really obscure, since there was a really nice cast, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, even though the whole thing really had some potential, even though there was indeed a very good cast (Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Holly Hunter) who delivered some decent performances, the whole thing didn’t really convince me. Apparently, this movie was the directing debut of Ed Solomon (it would be also the last one he made), a writer behind some decent movies like ‘Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure’, ‘Men in Black’ or ‘Now You See Me’ but also some rather misguided project like ‘Charlie's Angels’ or even awful like ‘Super Mario Bros.’. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, basically, even though the story was not bad and the characters involved were actually rather interesting, the whole thing just tried way too hard to be thoughtful. Indeed, at the end of the day, I thought it was actually rather pretentious and even slightly underwhelming. It is one thing to have some messed up characters but I’m afraid it is not enough to make a really compelling movie. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch, thanks to the fine actors involved, and I think it is worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
A great classic
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 12:23
(A review of Once Upon a Time in the West (1968))It had been a while since the last time I saw this flick so I thought it was definitely time for a re-watch. And, of course, it was pretty awesome. To be honest, 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' remains, hands down, my favorite Western directed by Sergio Leone but this one was very good as well. Indeed, the directing, the acting, the music, everything was quite amazing. Back in those days, it was pretty shocking to see the great Henry Fonda, who always played the righteous man, portray this time a cold heartless SOB. I mean, if I recall correctly it, he even shots a kid in his very first scene. It was also pretty neat to see Charles Bronson in a decent movie for once. Apparently, at the time, Sergio Leone actually was done making Westerns and wanted to move on towards something else but then when he was given the biggest budget he ever had and the opportunity to work with Henry Fonda, he reconsidered and created arguably one of the best Westerns ever made. Personally, even though I did like it very much, the story didn't grab me as much as 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' but it was still pretty spellbinding. To conclude, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An old classic
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 27 January 2011 08:57
(A review of To Be or Not to Be (1942))The main reason why I wanted to watch this flick was because it was included in the list ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’. To be honest, usually, even though I have a lot of respect for such old classic comedies, I find most of them rather dated and they never really blow me away (a notable exception would be the greatest masterpieces directed by Charles Chaplin which are just amazing and hilarious). This movie was however an exception and I seriously enjoyed it a lot. First of all, the whole thing was actually slightly weird as the makers tried to combined seamlessly a comedy and a thriller. It was a really tricky mix but I was really amazed about how well it worked. Indeed, as a result, half of the time, I was laughing my ass off and, the rest of time, I was actually wondering if the characters were actually going to make it. The whole thing is even more impressive when you think that it was made in the middle of WWII and released just a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have usually a hard time to care about such old comedies, I thought this one was very good and it is definitely worth a look.
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An underrated movie
Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 26 January 2011 12:12
(A review of Bringing Out the Dead)In my opinion, it is easily the most underrated movie directed by Martin Scorsese. Indeed, when it was released, it was barely noticed and didn't get much love and even nowadays it is usually considered as one of Scorsese's minor efforts. Personally, I do think it is actually a very good flick and it featured one of those great weird performances by Nicolas Cage. You know the Cage rule, right? For every 10 movies, he will make 9 terribly bad flicks and the last one will be great, fortunately this movie was one of the few great ones. Furthermore, I thought that there was a great dark mood and it made the whole thing rather spelbinding to watch. Finally, I really loved the idea of a paramedic who just starts to losing it because he has some personal issues but also because his work is just terribly depressing. I mean, paramedics are always shown as some kind of perfect righteous heroes (I'm sure many paramedics fit this description though) and I thought it was really refreshing to see one who was a real basket case. To conclude, I really loved this flick, it is totally underrated and definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Scorsese's work.
0 comments, Reply to this entry