dimanche 22 mars 2015

District 9 — An incredible sci-fi with a very novel and surprising setting — 10*/10

  • Scenario: When you don't know what to expect this flick is very disorienting at first, because everything is new and barely ressembles anything you've seen before. It's done as a faux documentary that slowly mixes in more and more "live" footage. It is gripping, emotionally heavily loaded, even though the story starts a little bit pathetically, it is gritty, dirty, it has an incredible background setting, as well as a ton of action, and it is full of details. The tension builds up throughout the movie and never lets you go as you learn slowly what this is all about.
  • Dialogs: Very realistic. The South African accent is sometimes difficult to understand, but it adds to the charged atmosphere.
  • Characters: Even if you don't get to know them all, they all leave you with a nice deep impression including the shallower roles. The main character is amazingly well built psychologically.
  • Actors: Great work on the part of everybody.
  • Photography: The camera work and effects get you right in with the characters. The sets, decors and costumes are perfect.
  • Sound: The music and score are strong and moving.
  • Special effects: Perfection. They feel absolutely real. If "prawn" type aliens and technology landed on Earth, they would look and feel exactly like that.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/
  • Who is it for? Anyone who doesn't mind violence or sci-fi. It's a must.

This is director Neill Blomkamp's first feature length movie and it's a masterpiece.

samedi 21 mars 2015

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl — This is THE pirate movie — 10*/10

  • Story: Well told with laughter, dark magic and a nice sound intrigue. It will captivate everyone.
  • Characters: Archetypical, but each is very interesting, unique, and well developed.
  • Dialogs: Glib, solid, funny.
  • Scenario: A roller coaster. Fast paced action mixed with nice moody scenes. Amazing battle scenes, with great sword fighting of high caliber and realism.
  • Actors: This is where Johnny Depp created his famous character Jack Sparrow who is now the default standard in any pirate world. Personally, I don't think Orlando Bloom is a good actor, but he did give here his best performance ever, and credible one, that he has yet to equal. All cast members did and great job and they include Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush and Jonathan Pryce.
  • Photography: Good action camera work. Amazingly beautiful sets and decors with loads of details, as were the impeccable costumes.
  • Sound: Absolutely stupendous music and score that bring out alternatively dread or fun, but mostly a great urge to shout, yell and join in the action.
  • Special effects: Marvellous. Great attention to details and perfect rendering which can still amaze today, more than 10 years later.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325980/
  • Who is it for? Anyone who doesn't mind action. A must see.

This is the best of the series without a doubt. The novelty and attention to details make it paramount.

jeudi 19 mars 2015

Excalibur — This was once the finest movie on Arthurian legends — 6*/10

  • Story: Makes you want to see more of the legends.
  • Characters: Simple. The most interesting one are Merlin, Uther and Morgana.
  • Dialogs: Too structured, not natural enough.
  • Scenario: Well paced.
  • Actors: Good performances, except for those playing Arthur and Lancelot who are unfortunately the worst of the lot. Cast members include Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, and Helen Mirren.
  • Photography: Acceptable. Sets, decors and costumes show their age from time to time.
  • Sound: Nice music and score, sometimes amazing. ADR is a bit below expectation. The ambient foley sounds are inadequate when it comes to weapons and armors.
  • Special effects: Not too many of them, aged badly.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082348/
  • Who is it for? Those who want to watch a fantasy classic. Don't expect too much, take into consideration its age.


mercredi 18 mars 2015

Conan the Barbarian — The legendary character in his original and greatest screen incarnation — 10*/10

  • Story: The storytelling transitions us with great smoothness from infancy to present and unto destiny. The narration is superb using Mako's singular voice.
  • Characters: The characters are just perfect. I love the wizard and Subotai.
  • Dialogs: Very little and that's fine suiting the genre to a dot.
  • Scenario: Tight with many different types of scenes and an inescapable momentum, like an avalanche.
  • Actors: Great work by everyone. Arnold Schwarzenegger was made to play this role, very few words and all attitude, his sword forms are attention grabbing. Let us not forget the incredible performance of James Earl Jones. Cast members also include Max von Sydow, and Mako.
  • Photography: Excellent. The scenes are gritty and realistic, something that wasn't well done at the time.
  • Sound: Perfect music and score that truly transport you and put your right in the action or gives you shivers and heighten the suspense.
  • Special effects: It's not a special effect movie, and that's a good thing because those that are present tend to show their age. Fortunately, there's few of them and usually very short, so they're easily overlooked.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082198/
  • Who is it for? Anyone who likes action fantasy. The film has aged well, even considering the special effects.

The collector's edition as a few nice additions and a fuller ending. Robert E. Howard's character is legendary and you can see the hand of Oliver Stone in the screenplay for its sheer genius.

mardi 17 mars 2015

Legend — The old gold standard for fantasy movies — 9*/10

  • Story: It's your basic heroic fairytale, lavishly heaped with all the magical dust that could be thrown at it at the time. Extremely enjoyable.
  • Characters: Nice and simple.
  • Dialogs: Very theatrical and well done.
  • Scenario: Very quick development, even short. You can't get bored.
  • Actors: Great performance by all. Cast members include Tim Curry, Tom Cruise and Mia Sara.
  • Photography: Nice.
  • Sound: Good music and score, fortunately not too 80s until the end credit.
  • Special effects: Aging, unfortunately, but not too badly considering the era.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089469/
  • Who is it for? Those who like a good fantasy movie and don't mind if it looks a little old.

This was for a long time the gold standard for fantasy movies, until TLOTR, and it still posses its magnificent aura. I consider it one of Ridley Scott's finest piece.

I'll review the Director's Cut at a later date.

lundi 16 mars 2015

Savages — A drug fuelled action flick fitting the mold — 7*/10

  • Story: It's a twisted drug story with plots and counter plots mixed with a sort of love triangle. It's very interesting, but has a number of flaws mainly in the too slick way some things are done. I must also say that I don't like the two phases ending, the narrative is a little weird at first, and some things are too predictable. However, the entertainment value is high.
  • Characters: Interesting, simple yet not too shallow.
  • Dialogs: Nothing impressive.
  • Scenario: Well paced, lots of action, a bit too smooth.
  • Actors: Bizarrely, the main roles are not done by the best actors. The better ones include Salma Hayek, John Travolta and Benicio Del Toro.
  • Photography: Nice.
  • Sound: Nice music and score.
  • Special effects: Nice.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615065/
  • Who is it for? Those looking for good entertainment who don't mind violence and blood.

This is not one of Oliver Stone's best production. A bit disappointing.

dimanche 15 mars 2015

The Scribbler — Not your average psycho movie, a must try for explorers — 8*/10

  • Story: Very interesting with lots of novel concepts or at least novel twists on old ones.
  • Characters: Nicely built. Some are simple and don't need much more, while the main ones well fleshed out.
  • Dialogs: Love them, except of the psychiatric talk and the final speech who is a bit too "final philosophical monolog" for my taste. We could have live with a shorter version or none at all.
  • Scenario: Overall, it's great. However, there are a few flaws, mostly related to multiple personality disorder and the psychiatric hospital. They can be overlooked, and if you can, the result is a great entertaining flick.
  • Actors: Solid work on the part of everyone, except the male cop and the male assistant psychiatrist who were barely believable. Cast members include Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg and Eliza Dushku.
  • Photography: Very nicely done.
  • Sound: Great music and score to plunge you in this dark tale.
  • Special effects: Acceptable, sometimes even good, except for the crap they're trying to pass as the burn machine and the light in the eyes.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2396721/
  • Who is it for? Those who want a great novel story and a nice intrigue, but don't mind if some parts of the movie are below minimum standard.


samedi 14 mars 2015

Detention — Totally out of whack and full of references — 7*/10

  • Story: It's difficult to understand anything in this freaky succession of barely related events. It's winks after winks to different horror movies riding a fine line between a goofy comedy and a parody.
  • Characters: Simple and caricatural.
  • Dialogs: Fast and funny.
  • Scenario: It's more than a simple roller coaster, because it spins every which way until the plots really thickens. It doesn't make any sense before then.
  • Actors: Nice silly work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Dane Cook.
  • Photography: Acceptable.
  • Sound: Nice music and score.
  • Special effects: Good.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1701990/
  • Who is it for? Those who want to see something totally crazy and don't mind violence and gore.


vendredi 13 mars 2015

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel — Lost some of its charm, but not totally devoid of it — 7*/10

  • Story: Lost some of its caliber in this new instalment. Compared to the first one, the story is more confusing, even figuring some wanna be philosophy.
  • Characters: They seem to become a sort of parody of their former selves with their various antics.
  • Dialogs: Very interesting, but annoying in the case Sonny Kapoor which is an enormous diarrhea of words.
  • Scenario: The pace is hectic and doesn't let us appreciate what is happening. The scenes are cut fast and crude. The wedding dance scene is pretty nice though, it shows off the Indian's famous capabilities for dance choreography in movies.
  • Actors: Mostly good work. Cast members include Dev Patel, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and, unfortunately, Richard Gere which didn't give too bad a performance.
  • Photography: Very nice, sometimes beautiful.
  • Sound: Good music and score.
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2555736/
  • Who is it for? For those who want to know why they did a sequel and are curious to know what happens. Just don't expect the same caliber. It's more of the same without the same attention to quality. It's not the best, it's the second best and it shows. However, it is entertaining, if nothing else.


mercredi 11 mars 2015

Unfinished Business — You might like it, but don't get your hopes up — 6*/10

  • Story: It walks a the fine line between pitiful and pathetic. It's full of good ideas, yet the result is poor. It's based on too many things that are just not true.
  • Characters: There's barely any. I couldn't tolerate the role of the young guy, Mike Pancake.
  • Dialogs: Probably the best part of the flick. Sometimes it's funny.
  • Scenario: Acceptable. If you want to see breasts without watching a porno, this is the film for you, and they're nice too. You see what I mean about this movie?
  • Actors: Acceptable work, but no more than that. Cast members include Vince Vaughn, James Marsden and Tom Wilkinson.
  • Photography: Acceptable.
  • Sound: Acceptable music and score.
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2358925/
  • Who is it for? For diehard Vaughn fans or if you've got a few hours to waste.


Bram Stoker's Dracula — The original story is still one of the best — 9*/10

  • Story: The amazing director Francis Ford Coppola tried to stay close to Bram Stoker's original dark romance story that gave birth to Dracula, and the onscreen result is quite gripping. 
  • Characters: Well done. The primary characters are strong, the secondary ones seem to have been done in a slightly caricatural manner, in an homage to the long line of Dracula movies, I think.
  • Dialogs: Very novelistic.
  • Scenario: Excellent. A great pace that keeps us riveted and our adrenaline up. It's full of action, romance and eroticism.
  • Actors: I don't really like Gary Oldman in this role even if he did a good job, and I think that Keanu Reeves didn't serve us as good a performance as he could have, but the rest did very well. Cast members include Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Richard E. Grant, Tom Waits, and Monica Bellucci.
  • Photography: Good.
  • Sound: Great music and score. Entrancing.
  • Special effects: Some purposefully chosen special effects give the production an old feel to it, like the miniatures and the very dark sets, an other sort of homage to its predecessors, I think. With those effects are mixed what used to be state of the art and are now aging, like the mists. The result is still quite enjoyable if you're looking at it from the right point of view.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103874/
  • Who is it for? Anyone looking for a dark tale or doomed ancient romance and, of course, vampire aficionados.


mardi 10 mars 2015

Chappie — An amazing sci-fi with everything and a cherry on top! — 10*/10

  • Story: It starts and it gives you the impression of a Robocop riff, but quickly evolves into a AI kinda flick with action and violence ensuing. By the end, you're ready to cry for the emotional charge. It's a mind blast.
  • Characters: They seem simplistic at first, and they might be a bit simple, but as the story evolves you get to know them more and more until you're unsure where to stand exactly about any of them. Excellent.
  • Dialogs: Simple and perfect.
  • Scenario: Not far from perfection. I'd just say he seems to learn a bit too quickly, jumping a few intermediary steps, but it's quickly forgotten as the story grips you.
  • Actors: Good solid work. Cast members include Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman and Dev Patel.
  • Photography: Nice, sometimes astounding.
  • Sound: Good music and score, incredible ambient and special effect sounds which really puts you IN the movie.
  • Special effects: Perfection.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1823672/
  • Who is it for? Everyone, because it has everything. Of course, it contains action and violence, but not so much as to detract the vast majority of viewers. Only the most sensible souls should abstain. However, it's not a comedy, but you'll smile a few times, if no more.

An other incredible movie by Neill Blomkamp, creator of District 9.

lundi 9 mars 2015

Interview with the Vampire — What it feels like to be a vampire — 10*/10

  • Story: Astoundingly detailed and with a profound melodramatic background. Really captivates you and makes you understand what kind of quandary a vampire can find himself in.
  • Characters: Extremely well built with great depth.
  • Dialogs: Scintillating. Perfect for the genre and the subject.
  • Scenario: Nicely paced, excellent for a more low key flick like this fantasy documentary/biography type production.
  • Actors: Excellent performance on everyone's part. Cast members include Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, a very young Kirsten Dunst who got shot into the spotlight with this film, Christian Slater, and Thandie Newton.
  • Photography: Great.
  • Sound: Good music and score.
  • Special effects: Perfect for the time and aged very well.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110148/
  • Who is it for? Those who like a good dark story and any vampire or fantasy fan. Beware, though, action is not a big part of it, but there is some.


samedi 7 mars 2015

Midnight Son — An usual vampire movie that could have been so much more — 6*/10

  • Story: Interesting concepts with lots of novel ideas. Unfortunately, poor execution ruins it all.
  • Characters: Acceptable.
  • Dialogs: Good if a bit weird.
  • Scenario: Nice slow pace. However, the only well done scene is the last one. Very powerful.
  • Actors: A few of them are good, most aren't.
  • Photography: Poor. Except for the last scene.
  • Sound: Acceptable music, poor score and even unacceptable at one point.
  • Special effects: Acceptable.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068961/
  • Who is it for? Only if you really need to and are curious as well as being a vampire fan who likes the unusual.


vendredi 6 mars 2015

Kiss of the Damned — Chilling psychological vampire film with a few novelties — 9*/10

  • Story: Chilling, dark and somber. Very psychological with a slow development, a number of surprises and a few new looks on the genre. Love the end.
  • Characters: Interesting and well made, except for the writer whom we'd wish a be more development, his story is too simple. In other cases, great depth and inner conflicts or ruthless intelligence with an edge of subtle madness.
  • Dialogs: Very interesting. Perfect for the genre.
  • Scenario: Well built with an incredible pace for such a short movie. The few very sexy scenes are just lovely. My favorite scene is the philosophical discussion between vampires, just perfect and very representative of the movie.
  • Actors: Great work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Michael Rapaport and Milo Ventimiglia.
  • Photography: Nice.
  • Sound: Good music and excellent dark dissonant score that reminds me a bit of The Shining giving you chills without even trying.
  • Special effects: Acceptable.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1959438/
  • Who is it for? It's for everyone who don't mind blood or a slow development. Of course, vampire lovers should definitively watch.


Byzantium — I highly recommend this vampire film if you don't mind the unusual — 9*/10

  • Story: Very unusual. Lots bizarre elements mixed in with a few recognizable ones. A number of big surprises.
  • Characters: Well developed with a nice depth to them.
  • Dialogs: Solid.
  • Scenario: Great pacing and montage, get you riveted.
  • Actors: Excellent work on the part of everyone.
  • Photography: Nice.
  • Sound: Good music and score.
  • Special effects: Acceptable.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1531901/
  • Who is it for? Those looking for a different type of vampire movie.


jeudi 5 mars 2015

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen — An easy witty romance to be discovered — 8*/10

  • Story: Love the details. Very captivating. Excellent overall. However, it falls flat from the moment they open the sluice. After that, it seems creativity went out the window.
  • Characters: Nice, with plenty of details for the most part.
  • Dialogs: Great with pleasant structure, wit and repartee.
  • Scenario: Nicely split up between the different parts.
  • Actors: Great work on the British side. The Yemenite side wasn't as strong, but probably just because the movie was aimed at occidentals so they didn't pay as much attention to the "foreign" roles. Cast members include Ewan McGregor, who was great in this very low key role, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas.
  • Photography: Pretty.
  • Sound: Nice music and score.
  • Special effects: None visible.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441952/
  • Who is it for? Those looking for a romantic movie that doesn't look too much like one.


mercredi 4 mars 2015

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 & informationhttp://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.


lundi 2 mars 2015

Tonight You're Mine — A love story born when animosity met a prophet — 9*/10

  • Story: Simple and elegant. Novel and classic. Very well told. Much better than what the synopsis might lead you to believe.
  • Characters: Weirdly enough, the lack of depth doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe it's because it's such a simple story to tell.
  • Dialogs: Great. Realistic.
  • Scenario: Excellent pacing. The length, even though short, is just right.
  • Actors: Excellent work on the part of everyone.
  • Photography: Nice. The inclusion of non-setting or non-controlled filmed shots is great.
  • Sound: The music is absolutely brilliant.
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1672845/
  • Who is it for? Those who love music, concerts, rock bands or those who want to see a different love story.

Another title for it seems to be « You Instead ».

dimanche 1 mars 2015

The Best Offer — Eerie and unusual movie that's always on the verge of giving us goose bumps — 9*/10

  • Story: Entrancing. Very unusual details. Fascinating intrigue that is only hinted at throughout the movie. One thing, though, the ending doesn't connect back to his final state which seems like a flaw.
  • Characters: Captivating with nice hidden depth. Not all motivations are explained, but enough to make us wonder at the end.
  • Dialogs: Solid.
  • Scenario: Well built, with a slow development that gives us an eerie feeling.
  • Actors: Excellent work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess and Donald Sutherland.
  • Photography: Beautiful.
  • Sound: The music and score are etherial and perfect for the piece.
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1924396/
  • Who is it for? For those looking for mysterious feel and slow development. A must discover if you don't need action.


jeudi 26 février 2015

McFarland — Well made for the genre, but nothing new — 6*/10

  • Story: Your basic inspirational biographical sport flick, with a little bit of laughter thrown in.
  • Characters: Well done.
  • Dialogs: Realistic.
  • Scenario: Typical to the genre.
  • Actors: Very good work. The notable cast members are Kevin Costner and Maria Bello.
  • Photography: Nice.
  • Sound: Nice music and score.
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2097298/
  • Who is it for? Those looking for a biographical flick with an unusual sport.


A Long Way Down — An interesting sad little piece with a positive spin — 6*/10

  • Story: Nice, a bit sad, touching at times, funny in a few rare moments. The intro is a bit clunky. The semi-intrigue makes you think of a crime investigation, but it's an emotional one. The notable things of this story are its novelty and the fact that they were able to give it a positive spin which is anything but novel.
  • Characters: Interesting.
  • Dialogs: Interesting.
  • Scenario: Nicely paced.
  • Actors: Good work for the most part. The notable cast members are Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Sam Neill and Aaron Paul.
  • Photography: Nice.
  • Sound: Unremarkable music and score.
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458413/
  • Who is it for? Those looking for something a little sad and a little different with a positive spin.


mardi 24 février 2015

The Fault in Our Stars — If you want a movie to cry on, this is it — 7*/10

  • Story: It is well told, it cannot fail to grab our attention and touch us. It contains many nice little details, but it is a tad easy. No big risks were taken, and the goal was obvious. They wanted us to cry, and they did it or will.
  • Characters: Interesting, not a lot of depth, maybe except for the male lead role.
  • Dialogs: Good, nothing more.
  • Scenario: Nice pacing with a good juxtaposition of events.
  • Actors: Great work on the part of everyone. The notable cast members are Willem Dafoe and Laura Dern.
  • Photography: Very pretty.
  • Sound: Nice music and score.
  • Special effects: None
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582846/
  • Who is it for? If you're in need of a sentimental story or a good cry.


lundi 23 février 2015

The DUFF — One of the better high school teen movie done recently — 7*/10

  • Story: Even though it possesses all the trappings of a standard high school teen comedy, it does strive to bring a few new twists to the genre. It's nothing grossly surprising, but it shows the writers wanted to make it interesting. Nice ending. It's rosy, but well made.
  • Characters: Simple and funny.
  • Dialogs: Mostly funny and interesting.
  • Scenario: Well built, nice pace with good switches in tone and speed.
  • Actors: Acceptable work, if poor in a few rare cases. The notable cast members are Allison Janney, Ken Jeong and Romany Malco.
  • Photography: Nice.
  • Sound: Good music, nice score.
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1666801/
  • Who is it for? If you need to see something very light, but still interesting, or you're a fan of teen flicks.


mercredi 18 février 2015

Kingsman: The Secret Service — The best spy action movie I've seen in a long time — 9*/10

  • Story: It's a spy film and it comes with a bunch concepts we are familiar with, however, it does take a few unexpected turns and has a number of nice details that are usually absent from this kind of flick. The good thing is that it doesn't take itself seriously. Excellent choice when it comes to the global threat.
  • Characters: Loved the super-vilain and his motivation. The rest are interesting if not novel. However, I thought that the evil female sidekick was a bit much.
  • Dialogs: Good, and at a number of time, even self-reflective on the genre.
  • Scenario: Tight and action gripped, loved it.
  • Actors: Love Colin Firth, perfect as the ultimate gentleman. Samuel L. Jackson showed us once again the range he's capable of. I thought Mark Hamill did a great work in his small role. The other notable cast members are Michael Caine and Mark Strong.
  • Photography: Very nice. The camera works are incredibly good in the fight scenes.
  • Sound: Nice music and score.
  • Special effects: Excellent.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802144/
  • Who is it for? Anyone, unless you're not looking for action or you prefer only serious movies.


mardi 17 février 2015

What We Do in the Shadows — It's ridiculous, but don't judge, just enjoy — 6*/10

  • Story: A completely goofy false documentary comedy a hair's breath away from ridiculous.
  • Characters: Nicely unpredictable.
  • Dialogs: Funny, if simple and a bit overdone.
  • Scenario: Interesting.
  • Actors: Good work.
  • Photography: Simple.
  • Sound: Acceptable, but at time the score would get a bit on my nerve.
  • Special effects: Acceptable.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt3416742/
  • Who is it for? Those who aren't afraid of ridicule, want to enjoy something off the wall and do not need a glamorous production. Not for vampire fans.


lundi 16 février 2015

Jupiter Ascending — Stupendous! An amazing sci-fi for all — 10*/10

  • Story: Great intrigue that grab your attention, you just wish it would keep on going, but at some point everything has been revealed and it's just a question of getting things done. It would have been better with a continuing intrigue. Still, it's some incredible entertainment even if you don't understand everything at first.
  • Characters: Not complicated, but well built with a bit of depth. Strong female lead.
  • Dialogs: Entertaining, sometimes funny.
  • Scenario: Totally engrossing. It's a basic Cinderella story in a sci-fi setting with a ton of action and some political intrigue.
  • Actors: Good work on the part of everyone. The notable cast members are  Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum and Sean Bean.
  • Photography: Breathtaking.
  • Sound: Nice music with a solid score and booming effects. Very loud!
  • Special effects: Amazing! Here, the 3D, even though I still think it's superfluous to a certain extent, is very well done.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1617661/
  • Who is it for? Everyone, unless you don't like sci-fi or action.

Another excellent movie by the The Wachowskis. This flick is totally underrated. I think it's because it's pretty complexe for most people, but this very complexity is what makes it so delectable. I just watched it for the second time and it's even better. I had to give it maximum rating.

dimanche 15 février 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey — Not as bad as most critic would have you believe — 6*/10

  • Story: Rather simple. Intro somewhat brusque. Interesting development. Perfect ending.
  • Characters: Acceptable, but we don't get to know them a lot, it's too short for that.
  • Dialogs: Piteous. They work for a book, but not a movie.
  • Scenario: Nicely paced, but there's not enough material to get anywhere.
  • Actors: Acceptable work. The only notable cast member is Marcia Gay Harden.
  • Photography: Very pleasing to the eye. Rich, and understandably so.
  • Sound: Great music, well scored soundtrack, but the ambient sounds were somewhat weirdly chosen, like some forest bird noise right downtown?
  • Special effects: None.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441/
  • Who is it for? Those looking for spicy erotic without having too much expectation. Think Harlequin in BDSM format.

There's been a competition on who's review would trash this little flick the most. I'm not sure why, but it's not that bad. Don't get me wrong, it's not a masterpiece, far from it, but it's nice entertainment. Contrary to complaints I heard, you might not see him as naked as her or as often, but you do see him well. Also, there might have been some better choice for Grey in Hollywood, but he's not bad looking.

vendredi 13 février 2015

Moonrise Kingdom — A starkly sweet story for those in need of nourishment — 10*/10

  • Story: Told in an incredibly unique and stark caricatural style that feels almost surreal, it is sweet and interesting, if plain at first. That being said, by the end, it is completely engrossing, culminating with an epic scene.
  • Characters: Captivating traits, each role nicely intertwined with the others. 
  • Dialogs: Simple, short, to the point and perfect.
  • Scenario: Excellent pacing. Takes you slowly from peaceable to, nearly, action packed.
  • Actors: Great work on the part of everyone. A surprisingly star studded cast. Its notable members are Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, and Harvey Keitel.
  • Photography: Pretty with invigorating camera work.
  • Special effects: Well done.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/
  • Who is it for? Everyone, except those who need their movies to be slick, fancy or violent.


jeudi 12 février 2015

Seventh Son — Only for your action fantasy fix — 6*/10

  • Story: Predictable if somewhat interesting. Great intro. Lots of weird storytelling choices.
  • Characters: One dimensional.
  • Dialogs: Mostly constructed sentences that do not convey emotions, but only ideas.
  • Scenario: Good pacing, excellent action.
  • Actors: Acceptable job for most. Great work on the part of Julianne Moore. Usually, I like Jeff Bridges a lot, but not this time, maybe it's just the directions he got that gave such caricatural result.
  • Photography: Very nice.
  • Special effects: Excellent. Seamless and beautiful.
  • Synopsis & informationhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1121096/
  • Who is it for? Those in need of action, adventure and fantasy, or for Moore fans.