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CollectionsAfter all these years, I still think this movie is actually rather overrated. In fact, I even saw it twice in the movie theater when it was released. The first time, I was completely blown away and I thought it was great. But the second time, I could step back and pay more attention to the small details. I won't deny it, the visuals and the mood were quite impressive and it remains an entertaining feature but, in my opinion, the story is actually rather shallow. I mean, it is basically a typical story about an omnipotent serial-killer who knows everything, even the future apparently and the guy seemed also to have a massive budget at his disposal. Personally, I always had some issue with this genre because it is always really preposterous and this movie was not an exception, I'm afraid, and the amount of plot holes was just massive. On top of that, when you think about it, there was in fact barely any investigation whatsoever, the two cops were just some puppets at the mercy of a thankless plot which made the whole thing even more tedious for me. Eventually, it is just nicely done but, at the end of the day, not really deep whatsoever. To conclude, even though it is considered a major masterpiece, I believe it is a well made but still rather generic psychopath thriller and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
A rather overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:33
(A review of Seven)
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:31
(A review of American History X)Since it is such a classic and since it had been more than 10 years since I last saw it, I thought I should give it a 2nd chance but I ended up exactly with the same feelings. I mean, indeed, the movie has some qualities and, obviously, Edward Norton and Edward Furlong gave some really strong performances. But, unfortunately, the story didn't work so much for me. For example, I didn't buy that idea that a neo-nazi who really hates black people would suddenly completely switch of ideoloy while in prison (in fact, it usually the opposite, they become even worse when they go to jail) and it was the same thing with the little brother, they both kept changing their minds way too easily just for the convenience of the script. Furthermore, there was some very poor symbolism for example with the Black against the White people basketball game or with the end. If you check this movie on the internet, you will see that the production was actually a real mess and the director completely rejected the movie. Most of the time, it is not a really good sign. I have to admit it, there was definitely some powerful stuff in here, absolutely, but it seems that it has blinded somehow the audience concerning its obvious flaws. Anyway, to conclude, it is not a bad movie at all, there was some really strong acting involved but it is definitely not great at all and, in my opinion, it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:29
(A review of Saving Private Ryan)Even though it is supposedly a huge classic, I just don't agree. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, it is actually the most overrated movie directed by Steven Spielberg. To makes things clear, of course, the movie is not awful, absolutely not. In fact, the opening is one of the best introductions I have ever seen. This is what war is about, just a big slaughter party. But then, it was just the beginning and the rest of the movie had nothing to do with this great intro. It is a little bit like 'Titanic'. In 'Titanic, even though the last 45 minutes are really impressive, they have actually nothing to do with the rest of the movie which is basically a rather basic love story. Here, you have a similar situation. You start up with the best war scene ever made but, then, the rest of the movie is dealing with something entirely different. Basically, they send a whole platoon to save 1 guy... Do you really believe Obama or (even better) W. Bush would do such a thing ? I don't think so. And even if they did, it wouldn't make the story really much more interesting to me. Basically, in my opinion, it is just some kind of Disney version of 'Apocalypse Now' and it just didn't match with the greatest depiction of the D-Day. To conclude, of course, it is not a bad movie, the directing and acting were really solid and it is worth a look but I really don't see why it is supposed to be such a great movie and it is definitely one of the most overrated movies I have ever seen.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:25
(A review of Casino Royale)When it came out, the critics were super enthusiast and it was a huge commercial success. And indeed, there were some great action scenes and Daniel Craig did a very good job as James Bond. But I wasn't convinced by the story at all. Who's actually the bad guy ?!?! I thought the whole thing was rather confusing and I wish they spent more time on the poker table but well... Indeed, is there anything more awesome than James Bond playing a game of poker? Still, even if this scene looked and sounded awesome, it was actually rather underwhelming (when you think about it, in fact, it was highly pedestrian and predictable, he plays hard, looses everything, come back in the game and win the whole thing. How surprising… ) . I mean, to be honest, story-wise, it was actually better than most of the other James Bond flicks and there was greatness all over it but they should have simplified the story, for example, by making Le Chiffre the real bad guy and/or by making Vesper Lynd a more straightforward character for example. To conclude, in spite of these flaws, it is still remain a pretty good and entertaining action movie but it is not a great flick and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:21
(A review of Gladiator)In fact, I did see the damned thing back then with my buddies in the movie theater when it was released. At the time, it was not yet hailed as a great classic and, to be honest, I thought it was a decent watch but nothing really amazing. Since then, I have re-watched it at least 3 times but I still don't get why everybody seems to think it is one of the best movies ever made. I mean, it did look awesome, the directing was off the chart, Russel Crowe delivered an impressive performance but what about the story? Yes, it was entertaining but it was really also nothing ground-breaking in my opinion. I know, it is a huge classic and it is definitely a solid feature but it is not much more than that, I’m afraid. In my opinion, at the end of the day, the story was in fact a rather generic peplum and it didn't add much to the formula. In this style, I'd rather watch 'Spartacus' or 'Ben Hur' anytime. At least, thanks to this movie and after struggling for many years, Ridley Scott finally managed to make a massive come-back releasing afterwards no less than 12 movies in 15 years. To conclude, coming back to our main feature, it is in fact a decent action movie, I'll give you that, but it is definitely not a great flick and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:04
(A review of Dead Poets Society)This is yet another big classic from the 80's... Personally, I do like Robin Williams. I think he can be quite funny and it is a good thing that he tries from time to time another genre but, unfortunately, he is usually really irritating in these melodramatic movies... But, in my opinion, he is not even the worst thing in this movie... I just hate its message. The best example was when they pick up their book and started to destroy them. Come on ! Is it so brilliant to destroy a 30 euro book ?!? In some countries, they don't even have books for their education. I found it was just revolting. And it is just one example of the dubious philosophy provided by this movie. You know, it is one of those movies which is supposed to deal with poetry but there is no poetry at all during the whole thing and don't start with the whole 'Carpe Diem' crap ... Like Roger Ebert said "Dead Poets Society" is a collection of pious platitudes masquerading as a courageous stand in favor of something: doing your own thing, I think.Of course, the directing and acting were pretty good but the story is nothing amazing, in my opinion. To conclude, it is actually not bad at all and actually rather entertaining but it is far from being a great movie and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:02
(A review of The Sixth Sense)I remember when this movie came out as if it was yesterday. Indeed, I actually saw it in the USA when I was there on holiday. At the time, everybody was talking about this movie. Every time you would talk about movies someone would say at some point 'Have you seen The Sixth Sense? Dude, that was just awesome. I was just blown away by this twist ending !'. I have to admit it, I didn't get the twist before the end but, to be honest, I never felt it was such a strong ending. In my opinion, it was actually rather underwhelming as I thought it was a cheap way to give some supposedly 'deep' meaning to an otherwise decent story. I mean, the directing was pretty good, Bruce Willis gave a decent performance and Haley Joel Osment was definitely impressive but, in my opinion, the concept was actually completely bonkers. Indeed, why doesn’t Malcolm notice that he is not able to connect to his wife, his colleagues or anyone else? Well, simply because ghosts choose to see what they want to see. I mean, come one, what a lame explanation! Just like all the other twists developed by Shyamalan in his next movies, it was a just terribly weak way to cover up some major plot holes. The whole thing was basically about a young boy who is completely freaked out because he can see some dead people, which is quite understandable, and somehow, he becomes friend with one of them and this ghost helps him to overcome his fears and to handle his gift. It's too bad because it was actually a really good story and it is a real shame that Shyamalan tricked the audience by making us believe that Malcolm was actually alive during the whole thing. I mean, seriously, what did it really add to the story? To conclude, it is not bad at all and actually really entertaining but, in my opinion, this so-called great twist pretty much ruined a strong story. In my humble opinion, it is far from being a great movie and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 09:41
(A review of Rain Man)I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. Obviously, it is a big classic from the 80's but, to be honest, I have never been a huge fan of this flick. First of all, I don’t think it grew old very well. Was everybody really so clueless about autism back in those days? I mean, at some point, a doctor mentioned that Raymond was not so ‘bad’ since he was still able to communicate whereas his autism was actually fairly extreme and that comment was coming from an actual doctor. On top of that, it really annoys me every time when these guys from Hollywood make a picture about an autist as he always has to be some kind of genius... Of course, some autists are really gifted but just as much as neurotypical people (my stepson is autistic, he is a great guy and I love him but he is just a regular block, no great special talents and it doesn't make him less wonderful or interesting). Then, I have to admit that it took some guts from Tom Cruise to take the usual cocky arrogant character he was always playing at the time and turned him into some major unlikable douchebag. However, it was rather cringe-inducing to see Charlie pretty much molesting his autistic brother through most of the duration. The fact that he suddenly had a change of heart and out of nowhere grew a conscience during the final act was also hardly convincing. Still, I have to admit it, Dustin Hoffman gave quite an impressive performance and he must have fought very hard to be able to keep the character as it is without softening the edges. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it is actually fairly entertaining but it is far from being a great movie and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 09:39
(A review of The Matrix)I know... I know... It is such a milestone in motion picture history !!! Let me explain myself... In fact, I saw the damned thing when it came out back then thinking it would be just a fun SF movie. But, as a matter of fact, it started much better than I expected and it seemed really promising. Indeed, the visuals were great, there were some great actions scenes and the theme was really neat : "our world is not real, we live in an illusion". My God ! They are going for the big question "what is the meaning of life ?" at least "What is real and what is not?". I was completely hooked and waiting to see what would happen next. But that was only the first 30 minutes... Then, came this black dude with the famous blue and red pills. And then, I got my answer. We don't live for real, actually, our brains are sucked out by some machines... Come on ! Really? Give me a break ! So, basically, those guys implied that our world was not real, that there might be something else out there but, instead of giving us an amazing and inspiring new world, they went for a vision even more sordid and underwhelming than our actual world. What was then the freaking point?!? I still think it was visually great and indeed a milestone in this area but the story was in fact not great at all. At least, according to my taste. To conclude, it is not bad at all and actually rather entertaining but it is far from being a great movie and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 13 years, 9 months ago on 20 August 2010 09:32
(A review of Kill Bill: Vol. 2)Honestly, I was not a big fan of 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1' but it was fun and I liked it even if it wasn't a masterpiece, in my opinion. So, I had some rather low expectations before watching this second part. To my surprise, this movie was eventually even more disappointing. Indeed, in my opinion, it was not really fun and honestly even quite boring... Basically, it might be the worst movie directed by Tarantino so far. Sure, since Tarantino was directing, it was still not bad at all and actually rather entertaining but it was far from being a great movie and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made, at least, in my opinion. Some viewers (probably Tarantino as well) think that those two movies are actually one big epic story and I tend to respectfully disagree. Indeed, there was an obvious difference in style and tone between the two movies. Basically, the first movie was a fun throwback to the 70's martial arts movies from Hong Kong whereas the second movie was just ... something else rather boring to behold. To conclude, even a boring movie directed by Tarantino is still much better than all the garbage you can see nowadays, so I still think it is worth a look but I seriously don't get what was the fuss about this flick.
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