The Da Vinci Code — A great intrigue plunging into Christian myth — 8*/10

This great movie by director Ron Howard is a bit difficult to rate straight on. The reason for its initial popularity was the great intrigue and the fabulous backstory. Having seen it a second time today, I can say that the rest, beyond the visual, is as great. I will say no more beyond encouraging anyone who hasn't seen it to do so.

• Known actors: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina and Jürgen Prochnow.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382625/
• Entertainment value: Excellent the first time, then not so much.
• Who is it for? Anyone who hasn't seen it.

The Holiday — A well done, sweet, light and funny romantic comedy — 8*/10

• Scenario: Sweet and funny, this little romantic piece relies on the quality of the actors and the incredibly perfect settings the evolve in. The story is simple, yet compelling. The scenario doesn't innovate but has a few nice surprises. Light and very entertaining.
• Known actors: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black and Rufus Sewell.
• Visual & sound: Beautiful, in a too perfect way.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457939/
• Who is it for? Anyone looking for a light romantic comedy that's well done.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest — A very worthy sequel — 8*/10

• Scenario: Even if the novelty of it all has worn off after the first chapter (read its review here) it is still an amazingly entertaining flick. Tons of action and great fun. The end is a bit of a let down, though, they could have worked more on tying in the next one. That being said, this film is totally worth the time.
• Dialogs: Witty and funny.
• Characters: Simple, but well done and captivating.
• Actors: Good work for the most part. Cast members include Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Jack Davenport and Stellan Skarsgård.
• Photography: Gorgeous sets and decors, even more impressive than the first one.
• Sound: The music and score are lively and commanding.
• Special effects: Great, near perfection. There's just one bit that's not so good, but it doesn't ruin anything.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383574/
• Who is it for? Anyone in need of some lively action. A must for the fans of the first one.

Day Watch — The grimy Russian fantasy finally makes a lot of sense — 8*/10

• Scenario: It's full of nice ideas and details. After seeing the confusing first instalment (read review here), it's a joy to watch this final chapter that takes the time to explain a few things without doing so or patronizing us. It also heightens the value of having watch the preceding chapter. One of the rare sequel that's better than the original. I guess money helped.
• Dialogs: As previously.
• Characters: Much more depth to the characters now.
• Actors: Even better work on the part of everyone.
• Photography: Improved camera work probably because they didn't have to hide things anymore.
• Sound: As previously.
• Special effects: Much improved, even good looking.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409904/
• Who is it for? For all fantasy lovers, especially those who have watched the first chapter. Or anyone looking for a flick with a grimy setting.

She's the Man — Very light romantic comedy for easy entertainment — 6*/10

• Story: It's your basic identity switch romantic comedy with multiple love triangles. There's absolutely no deviations from the standard. Funny is its main thing as well as has some strong female roles.
• Characters: Simple.
• Dialogs: Simple and at times a little forced.
• Scenario: Nice pacing.
• Actors: Channing Tatum really makes this flick. He's the best actor by a long shot. The others are acceptable. The better ones include Amanda Bynes, which is not that believable as a soccer player or a guy, and David Cross who does his little thing.
• Photography: Acceptable.
• Sound: Acceptable music and score.
• Special effects: None.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454945/
• Who is it for? Those looking for a simple romantic comedy and have some time to waste, or for Tatum fans.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop — Un comédie québécoise remplie d'action à ne pas manquer — 9*/10

Bon Cop, Bad Cop est d'après moi la meilleure comédie québécoise qui ait été produite. Très drôle, rempli d'action et de blagues bilingues ainsi qu'unilingues, ce film possède un solide scénario dont l'intrigue nous captive jusqu'à la fin.

Pour tout bon Québécois, surtout les Montréalais.
9*/10

Arthur and the Invisibles - Great for children - 6*/10

Arthur and the Invisibles will be a hit with your children, but you might find it lacks in depth. Great and very imaginative world, lots of nice details, plenty of jokes, but with aging graphics, a fact mostly visible in a few scenes.

Great for children, somewhat entertaining for adults.
6*/10

The Pursuit of Happyness — One man's battle against the odds of life — 10*/10

The Pursuit of Happyness is an incredibly moving drama where Will Smith and his real life son Jaden Smith shine like only true stars can. The story is at time incredibly bitter, bad luck mixing in with bad judgment, unfair turn of events, as well as bad people. At other times, it shows sweetness that touches you deeply. It is about perseverance against all adversity.

A must for everybody.
10*/10

X-Men 3 — Great new mutants in a poor production — 5*/10

X-Men 3 is a very weak movie, yet I still watch it from time to time, just because it part of the X-Men saga.

The good. Juggernaut is fantastic! Ellen Page is a great choice for the role of Kitty, as well Kelsey Grammer for Beast.

The bad. So many logical flaws in the scenario, it's idiotic.

The ugly. Awkward cookie cutter dialogs. Weak scene construction. Drama that rarely translate into emotions.

The result. I can't recommend it because of  it poor quality, unless you really want to see an other X-Men movie.

5*/10

The Devil Wears Prada — For the fashion concious or the goal oriented — 7*/10

The Devil Wears Prada is about setting goals and achieving them.

The good. Nice clothes. Glamour. Well built and well paced script. Very interesting story. Entertaining laughs. Solid dialogs.

The actors. Meryl Streep is perfect as the driven cold calculating top editor. It suits her better than mousy anxious mother. Anne Hathaway gives us a very good performance as the wide eyed innocent, and her transformation is very believable. Emily Blunt has the same aplomb as the competitive shallow fashion obsessed assistant. Finally, Stanley Tucci is surprisingly well tailored for the career man with the cold look but soft heart.

The bad. Why would she wants grilled cheese in Boston, when he was so unsupportive and refused to understand her situation? That's ridiculous. He acted like a self-centered child.

The ugly. Nothing, really.

The result. Light and entertaining movie. Recommended to fashion lovers.

7*/10

Clerks II — An other day behind the counter 10 years later — 8*/10

Clerks II is all that Clerks. aimed to be but couldn't achieve because of lack of funds or experience. This time around writer-director Kevin Smith had what he needed, and it unfolded the way he wanted it to. It has the same feel as it predecessor, but smoother.

The acting is better, in some case because they gained experience —Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith — and in others, because they're seasoned actors, like Rosario Dawson, who plays the wisest and nicest character of the bunch. The sets, camera shots, editing, and images quality are much better.

The diatribes are different, but have the same vibe. They're excellent, and the points well made, as usual. You'll laugh at the various antics, and appreciate the underlying romance much more, since it has a more prevalent share of the story.

The only thing negative I have to say is that the ending is a bit Hollywoodish. but it's inline with the story, and is kind of the logical conclusion, so it's difficult to hold it against Smith.

8*/10

Talladega Nights — Wacky testosterone charged car racing comedy — 6*/10

Talladega Nights is a typical Will Ferrell movie. It features him, and his usual antics, but with a more straight face attitude appropriate to Nascar. This time, it's all about driving, good old fashion American testosterone, and dealing with your past.

You can't take this flick seriously, if you do, you're missing the point. That being said, I'll have to contradict myself and talk about the French guy. The "pépé le pew" stereotype is over the top, even for this movie. The actor, maybe at the demand of the director, really went overboard with the accent, without even bringing in anything new. At least, when they mocked American bravado in the crepe scene, they didn't make Will more brave, they fed him counter points by having all the other characters defecting, even himself and his best friends who still told him not to concede the point.

Alright, that was too long.

The movie is an excellent laugh, and the twist really funny, especially the instant take over of the family, the cougar, and the taming of the young ones.

If you love Nascar or Will Ferrell or want to see a wacky movie, it's for you.

6*/10

Accepted — An unrealistic but very cool comedy about college — 7*/10

Accepted will let you dream about the ideal college for slackers. The situation is completely unrealistic, and would never happen, but it's cool to imagine such a thing.

As the movie progress, you get whisked away from one funny thing to an other without too much thought about the logic of it all. If you shut off that part of your brain, you'll have a pleasant ride. The only elements that really bring you back to an outdated teen flick are the "evil" guys. Too archetypical.

The actors are doing a fairly good job, if you take into account the tone of the movie. Lots of female eye-candy. Some feel-good philosophy. Lots of dialogs. The end has a realistic ring to it, which makes for a surprise.

All in all, easy listening, and good entertainment.

7*/10