Posted : 14 years ago on 8 January 2011 12:32
(A review of
10,000 BC)
Even though this movie had a rather lame reputation, I really loved the idea of making a blockbuster feature set in the prehistoric era so I still wanted to check it out. Eventually, since I had some rather low expectations, I thought it would be total crap and, indeed, it was nothing great,Ā but, in my opinion, it wasn't so bad after all. I mean, I have to admit it, Steven Strait was one of the weakest lead actors I have ever seen (it is hardly surprising that his career never took off after this movie flopped) and the story was really too similar to 'Apocalypto' but, still, I donāt think this movie was a total failure. I mean, it is not very often that you get to see a blockbuster dealing with the prehistoric era and the whole thing was visually pretty impressive. So, this movie really had some potential and I think it could have been great. Unfortunately, Roland Emmerich didnāt try at all to deliver a convincing or even entertaining tale so the end-result was still rather disappointing. To conclude, I have to admit, it is and remains an average summer blockbuster but I donāthink it was as awful as everyone seems to think.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 03:51
(A review of
The Believer)
I know that 'American History X' is a real classic but, in my opinion, this unrated/unseen gem which deals with a similar subject is actually much better. Indeed, in contrary to 'American History X' which was filled with some rather obvious stereotypes, I thought that the story was quite heartbreaking, fascinating and much more subtle. At the center, you have this main character who has so many layers and who was so complex, it was quite spellbinding to behold. Indeed, on one hand, he seems pretty despicable but on the other hand, you can't help feeling sorry for him. In my opinion, it is a great study about the mind of a messed up boy who got really lost and tries to find some redemption in some really f*cked up way. This movie featured the breakthrough performance by one of the most talented actors at work nowadays, Ryan Gosling, 10 years before he became the new hot item in Hollywood with āDriveā in which he was indeed really impressive even though the movie itself was not that great. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie is pretty much forgotten nowadays, it is actually really good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ryan Goslingās work.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 03:45
(A review of
Time Out)
Usually, it is something that happens with blockbusters. You know, when they come up with two similar movies in the same time period (āDeep Impactā and āArmageddonā, āVolcanoā and āDanteās Peakā, āSnow White and the Huntsmanā and āMirror, Mirrorā and in 2014, they will release two movies about Hercule, āHerculesā and āHercules : The Legend Beginsā). On the other hand, when I think about it, it did occur with some art-house features as well (āCapoteā and āInfamousā, āValmontā and āDangerous Liaisonsā). Anyway, it is already the 2nd French movie based on this true story (the other one being 'L'adversaire') and what's amazing is that both movies were actually very good. I think I slightly preferred 'L'adversaire' but this one was very good as well. I think it has to do with the fact that I saw āLāadversaireā first and therefore, it had a greater impact on me. Anyway, this time again, the directing and acting were just amazing and I was just fascinated by the whole thing. Indeed, what a story! Honestly, I wonder how somehow could manage financially to maintain his familyās life style without an income but thatās the whole point of this tale. Indeed, this whole charade becomes basically his day job and focus with some rather dreadful consequences. To conclude, it is a really good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 03:31
(A review of
Tape)
Even though I always had a lot of respect for Richard Linklaterās work, he has never been of my favorite directors. Still, there is no deying that his latest feature, āBoyhoodā, was quite amazing and so far the best movie released in 2014. Anyway, another movie directed by Linklater that I really enjoyed was also this one. If I recall it correctly, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released and even though it never got some much love as āBoyhoodā did, I still thought it was quite a fascinating feature. Indeed, it is a rather simple feature taking place in one hotel room with just 3 characters and such movies work obviously only if you have some rather top-notch performances. Indeed, if you think that Ethan Hawke can't act, you should watch this picture where he gave his best performance. The directing was effective enough and the writing was very well done. In fact, there was nothing much going on here and there was not much of a plot but it didn't matter since the whole thing was based on the dialogs which were just great. To conclude, I thought it was a very interesting feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 03:27
(A review of
Bully)
I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago and since I have it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, even if I still think it is a pretty good, to be honest, it didn't really blow me away like it did the first time around. I mean, the directing and acting were really solid but, the first time around, I enjoyed above all the intriguing plot, apparently based on real events. Indeed, the story was just really bleak and chillingĀ and I thought the whole thing was really spellbinding to watch, at least, during the first half. Basically, as long as Larry Clark was focusing on a small group of characters, the whole thing worked fine. Indeed, the tone was rather oppressive and depressing and none of the characters were actually likeable but they were highly identifiable. However, at some point, the group of characters involvedĀ suddenlyĀ pretty much doubled and it completely changed the whole dynamic. Unfortunately, it seems that Clark didn't really manage to handle these extra new characters and the whole thing became so much more random and less effective. The reason why this group became much bigger was probably because, during theses real events, they were all involved in the actual murder so Clark apparently felt obliged to include them as well but, as mentioned before, it didn't really work. In my opinion, he should have focused on all of them right from the start and develop all these characters properly or focus only on a smaller group of characters (Marty, Bobby, Lisa and maybe Ali as well) which would have been my favorite option. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is a pretty good movie, by far Larry Clark's best directing effort, and it is definitely worth a look.Ā
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 03:21
(A review of
Ghost World)
To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Anyway, I really loved the damned thing. Indeed, after all those American Pie clones and other weak and underwhelming high-school comedies, we might forgot how it was to be in our late teens. Those movies may be entertaining (most aren't though) but they are always completely unrealistic. In my opinion, āGhost Worldā was a massive wake up call and send me right back in the reality which was pretty awesome. Back then, Thora Birch, who was playing the lead here, was quite popular, especially following āAmerican Beautyā, but this movie would be her last interesting movie and she has pretty much disappeared since then. On the other hand, it was one of the 1st high-profile projects for Scarlett Johansson and, even though she was there only as a supporting character, she would have eventually a much more impressive career than Birch after all. Anyway, the 2 girls gave some really solid performances and they had a great chemistry together. Later on, my sister would give me the comic-book as a gift, it also became of the my favorites and this movie was definitely really faithful to the original comic-book. Anyway, I really loved the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 02:37
(A review of
Monster's Ball)
I already saw this movie (In fact, Iām pretty sure I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released), but since it was such a long time ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. Marc Foster was, in my opinion, one of the most interesting directors back then and, if I recall it correctly, it was in fact the first movie I have seen directed by him. Unfortunately, ever since Ā āQuantum of Solaceā turned out to be arguably the weakest James Bond flick starring Daniel Craig, Iām afraid his career took a nosedive and it has been while since he has done something impressive which is too bad because, before that, his track-record was actually pretty much flawless. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it doesnāt seem to have such a great reputation nowadays, I thought it was a strong story with some solid directing and some top-notch acting. In fact, after all these years, was it perhaps the only very good performance by Halle Berry? I mean, I do believe that she was and still is one of the most beautiful actresses in the world but, except for this movie, for which she was the first and still only African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, she hasnāt done anything really impressive, Iām afraid. Finally, I shouldnāt forget to mention Billy Bob Thornton who maybe didnāt win an Academy Award at the time but the guy still did deliver one of his best performances here. Anyway, to conclude, in my opinion, it was and still is a fascinating tale about two broken souls falling in love with each other and it think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 02:20
(A review of
Avalon)
Basically, it is one of those unknown / underrated jewel but I think it is actually a great movie. Honestly, I have no idea how or why I ended up watching this flick. I mean, I did see it in the theater but I wonder what made me decide to watch this flick. Anyway, I thought it was really impressive, the visuals were amazing and the story was completely spellbinding. It was the first live-action feature directed by Mamoru Oshii, a guy mostly known for making mangas such as 'Ghost in the shell'. I did like 'Ghost in the shell' but I thought it was rather frustrating since it featured a plot almost impossible to follow and I enjoyed his live-action effort ten times more. I guess it could also be compared to 'The Matrix' in the way that it deals with another reality but this flick is actually much more ambitious and simply much better in my opinion. Even though I thought that the whole thing was really bleak but it was completely fascinating at the same time and I just loved it. To conclude, even if it is a really obscure movie, I thought it was really good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 02:10
(A review of
Benny's Video)
It has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should probably re-watch it at some point. Anyway, even though it didn't completely blow me away like 'Funny Games', I thought the whole thing was still quite impressive. Indeed, it gave such a chilling vision of humanity, seriously, it was just pitch black and utterly depressing. And yet, even though it was incredibly sad, I thought it was still quite mesmerizing to behold. Basically, I consider this flick as some king of warm-up for 'Funny Games' (the fact that Arno Frisch played basically the same psychotic character reinforced this feeling) but it was quite a warm-up for sure. Indeed, I thought it was such a haunting movie, even though I have seen it a while back, I still keep thinking about it until today and thatās the great thing about the best thrillers directed by this director. Indeed, even though the US productions in the same genre might be easier to digest, they are also terribly easy to forget and therefore, they donāt really have any impact, With this director, it is a completely different kind of ball game though. To conclude, even though it might not be considered as one of the best movies directed by the great Austrian master, it is actually one of my favorites and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Michael Hanekeās work.
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Posted : 14 years ago on 7 January 2011 02:03
(A review of
Unforgiven)
I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, even though some actors-turned-directors like Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson or even Ben Affleck got some immediate critical recognition, it surprisingly took Clint Eastwood 20 years to get there, to finally be acknowledged as a major film maker. What happened then? This movie happened and completely changed the outlook on this icon whose work as a director wasn't taken really seriously until that point. I mean, Eastwood had already made 3 Westerns so far ('High Plains Drifter', 'The Outlaw Josey Wales', 'Pale Rider') and even though they were all pretty good, this flick was easily the best Western directed by Eastwood. What was so great about this flick was not really the directing, the acting or the story, in my opinion, it was the tone. Indeed, I loved how rather grim and gloomy the whole thing was and the way Eastwood blurred the frontier between good or bad was just brilliant. This movie was also the proof that the Academy can pick up sometimes a worthy winner for the best picture award. Anyway, to conclude, it is a great classic, one of the best movies directed by Clint Eastwood and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Eastwood's work or if you really like the genre.Ā
0 comments,
Reply to this entry
Login
Home
581 Lists
7722 Reviews
Collections