Posted : 3 years ago on 12 June 2022 09:29
(A review of
Insidious: Chapter 3)
Even though it does have a decent reputation, I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of the âInsidiousâ franchise but, since this 3rd chapter was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the fact that I didnât remember at all the previous installments didnât matter much since it turned out to be a prequel which, by the way, has become apparently one of the most popular gimmicks in the horror genre. In this case, it allowed them to bring back Elise who died in Chapter 2 (I think?) which probably did please the fans. Anyway, I have to admit that it was not bad but, like the rest of this franchise, I will probably forget most of it within a couple of days. Coming back on Elise, it was fairly annoying that she kept saying that she wouldnât use her psychic powers all along when these powers were the only reason why she was included in this story. Such an annoying approach⌠Itâs like all these action flicks with some martial-arts master who refuses to fight. It was also rather weird that the main victim was basically crippled as it clearly limited their option narratively speaking. I mean, I have to admit that the fact that she couldnât run away made her situation even more precarious and eve more spooky but how many scenes can you give with her being scared sh*tless in her bed? Finally, what was the deal with this demon with his breathing mask? Can demons get lung cancer? One explanation would be that Elise was actually mistaken, that it was a ghost after all and not a demon. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of it flaws, I have to admit that it was actually watchable after all and it is worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre.Â
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Posted : 3 years ago on 12 June 2022 06:05
(A review of
Huda's Salon)
Well, to be honest, Iâd a rather hard time to get into this movie. Indeed, even if it was maybe not the heaviest movie we have seen so far with my film club, it was still probably the most depressing one. On top of that, Iâm not sure if the spy operation taking place in Hudaâs salon really did make sense. I mean, basically, there could be 2 main reasons why some secret services would want to force someone to work for them. The first one would be because of what they know and who they know. The second one would be because they have a set of skills that could be useful for them. In this case, why on earth would they go through so much trouble to recruit an average housewife? Of course, you could argue that everybody in the occupied territories know someone with some links with the resistance but it doesnât mean that any man or woman could be suitable for this really hazardous job. And indeed, as displayed in this movie, Reem understandably completely freaked out to such point that she couldnât even normally function so I donât see how she could have been a valuable asset. I guess you could argue that this whole setup was some kind of metaphor about this war as both of them are just cruel, senseless and seriously ineffective. But, in fact, you never get the opportunity to see Reem doing any spying because the goal was actually to show what would happen if such organization would be discovered. However, even if their approach to show this process was commendable, Iâm not sure if I really cared for it though. Indeed, they really tried to humanize all these characters, to show that none of them was really good or bad but, in the process, they actually all became really hopeless instead of being really interesting to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didnât really work for me, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 3 years ago on 11 June 2022 09:06
(A review of
Brazen)
I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have weak spot for Alyssa Milano and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, pretty much nothing worked with this movie, Iâm afraid. Indeed, right from the start, they gave us the most unconvincing webcam show you could imagine. Sure, I have to admit that I have never seen a real webcam show but Iâm pretty sure it doesnât look anything like what was displayed in this movie. Anyway, the writing was just so damned lazy. I mean, a top homicide detective was living next door of the first victim and he was actually going on a date with the sisterâs victim the very same evening she was killed without mentioning the fact that, somehow, Grace was also visiting her sister apparently just at the right moment. Basically, it was all too convenient. I mean, there were so many ways they could have spiced up this setup. For example, they could have removed the sibling connection between this writer and the victim and they could have moved the romantic relationship involving this writer and the detective way later in the timeline. Then, they could have said that this famous mystery novelist could have heard in the news about this webcam girl who was murdered and that this writer would somehow become obsessed with this murder, entering this dark and sleazy webcam world, and interfering with the police investigating the case. Instead, she actually got the greenlight from the police chief to actually be directly involved in this investigation which was just ridiculous. One of her great contributions was to replace her sister as a webcam girl, a idea actually supported by the police chief, as some kind of bait for the killer but the best part was that, without it, they would still have found out who was actually the killer. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was really weak and you should probably avoid it.Â
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Posted : 3 years ago on 9 June 2022 10:04
(A review of
Jurassic World: Dominion)
To be honest, I didnât remember much about âFalling Kingdomâ, except that didnât really impress me. However, I have to admit that I was still curious about this new installment since it was supposed to be the conclusion of this new trilogy. On top of that, the set-up did sound pretty epic. Indeed, this time around, there would be dinosaurs roaming free all around the world and they were going to bring back not only the main duo of the âJurassic Worldâ franchise but also the main trio of the very first âJurassic Parkâ movie. Unfortunately, even though the damned thing definitely had some potential, to be honest, I didnât care much about it. Indeed, it was basically not much better than an average B movie with a blockbuster budget. First of all, even though it did make sense narratively to have two different stories involving the two sets of characters, the end-result turned out to be a drag. I mean, I have to admit that I was impressed by how much Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum managed to do with the little material they were provided but Chris Pratt and Bruce Dallas Howard didnât fare so well, Iâm afraid. Indeed, their characters felt terribly flat and, eventually, I wish they did bring all these characters together much sooner. Furthermore, it was also terribly disappointing that they yet again brought up another evil company aiming to meddle with these dinosaurs. Seriously, after 6 movies, couldnât they come up with something else? I mean, they could have simply focus on the characters trying to survive in a new world order with some freaking dinosaurs everywhere. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I guess it was still a fairly decent blockbuster and the fans of the genre will probably be pleased but, if they decide to stop with the concept for the time being, I would really not mind.Â
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Posted : 3 years ago on 8 June 2022 09:19
(A review of
Hustle)
As always with Adam Sandler, I had some rather low expectations with this movie but since it did receive some decent reviews and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I thought it was rather difficult to judge this movie. I mean, I have to admit it, back when I was a kid, even if I was (and still am) mighty short, basketball was hands down my favorite sport so it was really cool to have a movie trying to give a fairly believable picture on what happens backstage with the agents and the scouts looking for the next rough diamond. On top of that, for a Sandler vehicle, especially a Happy Madison production, I have to admit that it was miles better than what Sandler has given us, in fact, it was probably the best movie he ever made without a strong director involved like Paul Thomas Anderson, Noah Baumbach or the Safdie brothers. And, yet, I was still bothered by the fact that the damned thing was just really generic and predictable. Sure, it was quite entertaining and Sandler definitely deliver a solid performance but it was nothing I hadnât seen so many times before. Ben Foster, probably one of the best character actors at work nowadays, was also completely wasted playing such a one dimensional bad guy. I also wonder if it was really necessary to have this great prospect playing three games to finally being discover. I mean, it did make sense that it didnât work out the first time around but, by the second game, it should have been a done deal already. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe nothing really groundbreaking, it was still an entertaining feelgood picture and it is worth a look, especially if you are curious to see an Adam Sandler picture which is not completely lame.Â
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Posted : 3 years ago on 6 June 2022 09:05
(A review of
Father Figures)
To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it wasnât really good, Iâm afraid. I mean, I did like the idea of a set of twins who were completely different and Owen Wilson and Ed Helms were a good match, even if they both played exactly the same characters that they always play in all their movies, but it was probably the only thing that was slightly interesting. Indeed, pretty much nothing else was really entertaining. I mean, the whole search of their missing father was just an excuse to get them involved in a road-trip which is such a tedious and generic gimmick. To make things worse, the concept was pretty weak and even rather messed up. Indeed, what was the deal with their mom? For starters, she told them all kinds of fake stories while they were growing up but, sure, why not? Itâs easy to judge while youâre sitting on your sofa watching this flick. But then, instead of finally coming clean and tell them what they were yearning to know their whole life, she just sent to meet a random boyfriend she had 40 years ago while she perfectly knew he wasnât their father at all? That was a rather weird move. And of course, after they met Terry Bradshaw after just 15 mins, you already know he wonât be the guy so they go to the next possible candidate and so on but this whole process was never really fun to behold. Basically, the whole idea was to have these two brothers spending some time with each other and finally bond which wasnât a bad idea at all but I wish they found something else than this rather underwhelming wild-goose chase. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was pretty weak and I donât think it is really worth a look.
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Posted : 3 years ago on 5 June 2022 11:21
(A review of
Doris)
To be honest, I wasnât expecting much from the damned thing but since I have a weak spot for Bracha van Doesburgh, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, first of all, van Doesburgh had eventually a very small and completely half-baked character. On top of that, such Dutch romantic comedies are always seriously derivative and this one wasnât an exception, Iâm afraid. Indeed, in this case, it turned out to be some kind of mix of âBridget Jonesâs Diaryâ with âMy Best Friendâs Weddingâ. And, yet, even if the concept was pretty weak, the damned thing was actually not bad at all, at least, it was much better than most similar Dutch productions. Above all, all the characters turned out to be fairly well developed which was even more impressive since, considering the short running time, there was actually very little time to spend on each of them. The other thing I enjoyed was Tjitske Reidinga (jezzz⌠with such a name, she can pretty much forget about a career outside the Netherlands) as she was pretty much pitch-perfect here. Sure, her character was basically a Bridget Jones knock-off but I think she was actually even better than RenĂŠe Zellweger in her star-making performance. Itâs such a tricky thing to portray a completely ordinary woman and yet make her charismatic enough but Reidinga really nailed this tricky balancing act. Itâs too bad that the whole concept of having her falling in love completely out of the blue with her best friend, someone she knew for decades, was just so weak. Anyway, to conclude, even though the damned thing should have been a complete failure, it turned out to be a decent watch after all and I think it is actually worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre.
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Posted : 3 years ago on 5 June 2022 07:25
(A review of
Boy Erased)
To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a solid cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, my first thought while watching this movie was how polarized our world has become nowadays. Indeed, one hand, you have a whole group of people believing that we should give sexual orientation courses (including LGBTQ awareness) at all schools while there is another huge group of people who believes that homosexuality is actually an illness that can be cured. Seriously, how are we going to make this work? My second thought was that a major issue with Christianity, and other major religions, is that itâs based on a set of beliefs and rules which were established 2000 years ago and while it might have made sense back then, it really doesnât nowadays and this reluctance to move on might explain why the concept is actually pretty much broken. To be honest, these points and reflections were not even developed in this movie but it still did get some extra points as it did give me some food for thought. Concerning the movie itself, it was still pretty solid but I think it might have worked better as a mini-series though. Indeed, while many have praised Russell Crowe for his performance, he maybe had only 3 or 4 conversations with the main character after all. For Nicole Kidman, it was pretty much the same thing, she was fine as well but only got slightly more to do. Even worse was the always wonderful Xavier Dolan who always showed up with some unexplained bruises and just sat there during the therapy and, for the rest, pretty much did nothing else during the whole movie. With a miniseries, they could have taken the time to develop all of these interesting characters. Of course, you could argue that the movie was actually about Jared so it did make sense that they focused on him and there is no denying that Lucas Hedges delivered once again another strong performance here. However, even Jared could have been better developed as well and the decision to go back-and-forth in time (probably the most overused and annoying gimmick right now) was definitely a mistake. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of flaws, it was still a very interesting drama and it is definitely worth a look.Â
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Posted : 3 years ago on 3 June 2022 07:02
(A review of
The Secrets We Keep)
To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I donât think it was bad at all but Iâm afraid it was still missing something though. Afterwards, I noticed some reviews on the internet complaining that it was too similar to âDeath and the Maidenâ and some were even blaming this movie of plagiarizing Roman Polanskiâs movie. As far as I was concerned, it didnât bother me that both movies were so similar (after all, Polanskiâs movie was also adapted from a play). Concerning the cast, I think itâs a pity that Joel Kinsmanâs character was gagged through most of the duration. As a result, he couldnât do much with his character. Towards the end, his character also suddenly completely changed his attitude towards his situation (you might argue that it was maybe his survival instinct kicking in) and it might have better worked if it came sooner. I have to say that I cared even less for Chris Messina who is in general not really charismatic and his middle-mannered character was never interesting. Of course, he wasnât the one who experienced the war so his life might have been less dramatic but the fact that he was stuck between his wife and this man both telling two completely different stories was intriguing and could have been better exploited. Finally, you had Noomi Rapace whoâs always so interesting to see and she gave here once again another solid performance. Itâs such a pity that she very often ends up in such rather half-baked movies. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it was a decent watch though.Â
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Posted : 3 years, 1 month ago on 31 May 2022 09:13
(A review of
Tempo)
I wasnât really sure what to expect from this movie and, to be honest, I actually wonder how I actually ended up watching the damned thing. Well, it turned out to be one of these rare movies during which pretty much nothing worked. I mean, for starters, what the hell did the title had to do with the story? Then, right from the beginning, they gave us such a cheap-looking intro with some cheesy slow-motion with a supposedly intense action climax. Well, it looked just terrible and, of course, they went back to show us how these three characters did end up in this situation which is such an overused gimmick. Afterwards, it never really got better, Iâm afraid. Indeed, none of the characters were interesting and Iâm not sure if I should blame the actors involved (Melanie Griffith, Hugh Dancy, Rachael Leigh Cook) because they all gave us such weak performances or if I should blame the writers because the characters were so poorly developed. The only one who slightly worked better than the rest was Jenny since it was not completely ridiculous that such a lonely expat who fall in love with an attractive American. However, Sarah and Jack were both such poorly conceived characters. Indeed, how did they end up in this relationship? Why would Sarah be in charge of such precious cargo with no security involved whatsoever? Seriously, nothing worked with them and it seems that these two characters were taken from a very cheap erotic movie. Concerning the story itself, as soon as Sarah was gone for a few days, Jack apparently couldnât handle it and, right away, seduced the very first young girl he met but thatâs one of the many things that just didnât work at all in this movie. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was a big waste of time and you should probably avoid it.Â
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