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Posted : 14 years, 7 months ago on 25 August 2010 09:02
(A review of Memento)It is pure and simply my all time favorite movie. It is the only movie I can re-watch without being bothered by the small imperfections. The funny thing is that, when it was released, back then I was living in England, the trailer didn't really impress me. Honestly, I thought it looked like any other convoluted dark thriller with a guy with some weird tattoos. A year later, I was back in France renting a movie with my best friend and we had no idea what to watch. My friend suggested this because there was absolutely nothing else and we both had no idea what it was about. Eventually, we started the damned thing and it took us at least 15 minutes to figure out the weird structure but then, we were both hooked. The funny thing is that we were at his house and even though we started with only the two of us, every 15 minutes, someone else would show up so we would stop the movie, explain what was going on and further move on. At the end, we were like 6 people watching this flick, none of us had heard from it before but we were all mesmerized. Basically, I think this movie is really amazing. At the end, you are so confused. I'm sure a lot of people are annoyed by this but I just love this feeling. Even though you have more information than Leonard, the main character, at the end, it still remains a big blur. How long has been he on the run ? 1 year ? 2 years ? longer ? How many John D. has he killed ? Was his wife killed or did he made that up ? So many questions remain even if you watch the movies 20 times. I just think it is fascinating and even after multiple re-watch, I still remains flawless. There were even some hilarious bits, funnier than most of the lame comedies I have watched. Of course, there are some plot-holes. For example, with his disease, Leonard shouldn't be aware that he has this sickness and he shouldn't even know what is tattoos or his pictures mean. Furthermore, he always forget precisely at the right moment so that the movie could be properly edited. In my opinion, those are minor flaws though, and to me, this movie is the best one ever made and I just love it.
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An overrated movie
Posted : 14 years, 7 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:45
(A review of V for Vendetta)I remember it very well, before watching this flick, I had some huge expectations. Indeed, from the moment it was released, it became instantly a massive cult-classic. However, somehow, it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Indeed, it took me like 3 or 4 years to watch this movie, it was really high on my 'to-wach' movie list. It was supposed to be great and I was expecting so much but, at the end of the day, sure it was a nice movie with some very neat visuals but the story was not really compelling, in my opinion. Furthermore, I think Natalie Portman is a very good actrice but I didn't really believe in the connection she had with V. I also thought it was rather funny to hear some viewers saying that this movie had ‘a deep political and philosophical message’. Come on… The whole thing was actually rather shallow and it could have been so much more thoughtfull but it wasn't. Still, it is a nice movie to look at and, I have to admit it, it was still fairly entertaining but I seriously failed to see what was so amazing about the damned thing. Anyway, to conclude, it was after all a decent flick and it is worth a look but I really don't get why everybody thinks it was so great and it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made.
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An overrated movie
Posted : 14 years, 7 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:35
(A review of Inglourious Basterds)We (at least, the decent Tarantino fans) heard about this awesome project that Quentin Tarantino was working on for many years, some kind of WWII Dirty dozen style war flick. When I heard that he was finally making it happen, I thought it was a great idea and I was pretty sure that it would be a total riot. Apparently, after 'Grindhouse' flopped, Tarantino decided to finally take on this project because he knew it was pure gold. Eventually, when it was released, it was a huge critical success, his biggest hit at the box-office so far and, once again, an instant classic. However, what did I think personally of this flick ? Unfortunately, once gain, after 'Kill Bill 1 & 2', this was just another so-called Tarantino classic... Indeed, in my opinion, Quentin Tarantino dwells much too long on some parts while some characters (like the ones played by Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger) were barely developed. Furthermore, I think that the whole thing was not really well written. I mean, some scenes were great but some others didn't add much to the whole thing and all those sub-plots were pretty much half-baked in my opinion. The best example is the bar scene. It is in fact a great scene, the actors, the dialogs, the directing, everything was quite awesome but after spending at least 30 minutes biting your nails wondering how it will all end, eventually it all ends up in some huge bloodbath... How underwhelming... It gives the feeling that Tarantino seriously doesn't know how to conclude such situations and the only thing he can think off is to let the characters shoot each other. But don't misunderstand me, I actually liked this movie. Indeed, there was a terrific cast, Tarantino remains a great director but I just think that the whole thing could have been much better than this. To conclude, it is a nice and entertaining film but not great at all. Still, it is worth a look though, especially if you enjoyed Tarantino's previous efforts but it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made, at least, that's my opinion.
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A rather overrated movie
Posted : 14 years, 7 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:33
(A review of Seven)After 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.
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A really overrated movie
Posted : 14 years, 7 months ago on 20 August 2010 10:31
(A review of American History X (1998))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 : 14 years, 7 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 : 14 years, 7 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 : 14 years, 7 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 : 14 years, 7 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 : 14 years, 7 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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