jimraynor

Melinda and Melinda (2004)

Is this supposed to be a good movie ?

What kind of a movie is that ? If it was a beginner's movie, it would probably have never been released. There is nothing in there but flat dialogs, boring situations, almost no humor, and SO conventional. Everybody is rich and beautiful, jobless yet living in wonderful Manhattan apartments, always the same setting with actors, art galleries and such... I used to like Allen's movies quite a lot, but his last few ones were clearly downhill. This one was the one too much, I'm not even sure I'll go and watch his next ones. I'm very disappointed. He can do so much better than that ! One good point, there are cute actresses and generally speaking the acting is pretty good, but I'm afraid it's not enough to make a movie.

Michel Vaillant (2003)

A very uneven movie

This movie is strangely uneven. On the one hand, all the shots on a racetrack or whenever somebody drives a car are very nicely shot and framed. But when it's a transition scene, it has the look and terrible acting of a third-zone TV feature. Some shots are not even really in focus ! Furthermore, all the post-production dubbing of the foreign actors is quite off, and the story has some big plot holes. For instance, why don't they even try to call the police ? What's left is a movie with some pretty girls, very nice cars and some good action sequences. Not that bad, but not enough to make a good movie.

Les marins perdus (2003)

Not bad, but...

Quite a good movie, except it was a bit too long. And mostly, there is really no need to see naked actors this way. When it serves the story, sure, no problem, but in that case it seemed really pointless and more gross than anything else. Pity, cause save for these two remarks, it's pretty well acted and nicely done.

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

There are NO emotions at all

A movie has rarely left me as cold as this one. There is not a bit of tension, not a second of fear, not a moment we jump, even a little bit. The girl is cute, yeah. That's it. Was that worth a movie ? I knew it wasn't supposed to be a great movie, but I was at least expecting one.

Tais-toi! (2003)

Better than expected

I did not really intend to see this movie, in fact I was waiting for it be on television, but I went with a friend and it is a lot better than the trailer could tell. Depardieu (looking suprisingly younger than usually) is pretty good, although I generally don't like him very much, and Reno is excellent as usual. Many members of the cast are Veber's old-timers and they all act okay. Overall, it is very fun to watch, not too long, a good entertainment.

Ying xiong (2002)

What a disaster !

This film had everything to be a great one : a good director, a very nice photography, a really good story, some pretty good actors (except for Jet Li who is not one) and so on. But I think it has been totally spoiled with incredibly stupid and grotesque phony fights, as boring as superfluous, to much kitsch wind, etc. People were laughing in the theater, which is a very bad thing when it's not meant to be. We kept imagining the film as it should have been, with more realistic fights (which is far from being antagonistic with heroism) and a real screenplay instead of the same tricks used again and again, with just a change of colors (which by the way were beautiful).

Père et fils (2003)

Pretty good, but...

This movie was extremely well acted. Of course, Noiret is a little bit too much "noiret-esque", but he's good, as well as the three "boys". But it was a bit long, and it felt like something was missing, that such a plot with such good actors could have make an even better movie.

Haute tension (2003)

What a piece of crap !

Honestly, I can't give my opinion for the full movie, since I only stood it for half an hour. The sound treatment is ridiculous, the acting very bad (except for Cecile de France, but even she is far from what she can give), the picture taking and framing is crap, every single cliché is present... To make bad stories short, I *really* didn't like it, even though I'm a fan of Cecile de France.

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

I was expecting even better.

Yes, it was great. Yes, the F/x, although not *perfect*, are OK. Yes, the action rocks. But why do they have to speak that much ? Not that I'm opposed to some speeches, but as long as they add something to the story. Here, like many other movies, it feels like we could cut at least half an hour and get a better movie. Too bad, I had hoped Matrix would spare us that. Plus, I personally do not agree with the way some secondary characters are conceived, but that's different. Apart from this, it is a good film, even a very good one, it's just that I was expecting something really beyond that, like the first one.

The Bourne Identity (2002)

That's an action movie !

Yeah, that was great ! A really good moment in the movie theatre, good actors, good story, and an amazing car chase, one of the best I have ever seen. The only thing was that the Paris geography is a little messed up, but that is not important. Go and see it !

Blanche (2002)

Baaaaaaaaaahhhhh

How can such good actors like Jean Rochefort and Carole Bouquet could have been involved in such a... a... well, such a thing ? I can't get it. It was awful, very baldy played (but some of the few leading roles), the jokes are dumb and absolutely not funny... I won't talk more about this movie, except for one little piece of advice : Do not go see it, it will be a waste of time and money.

S1m0ne (2002)

Pretty good, too bad it's spoiled with one very bad thing.

This film was very funny, yet a little deep, too. It reminded me a lot of "The Associate", with Whoppi Goldberg. But I was SO disappointed by one detail that I can't beleive is still possible in nowadays movies. They MUST have had a lot of computerists on the set, didn't any of them spoke to the film makers ? A hard drive with no cover ? A 5.25 floppy on a state-of-the-art imaging system ? A virus recovery technique by pressing several times a single key, although there is not even the data anymore ? Come on... I know it's a tale, and that one must agree with some concessions, but the computer matter is really easy to make at least a little beleivable... They could have change this without even having to alter a single line of the dialogs or the story... Except for this detail that drives me mad, it was good. So go and see it !

Willow (1988)

How can one not love this film ?

I don't understand why people are so hard on this film, which I consider as one of the best fantasy movie ever. Of course, the f/x from 1988 begin to look a little old, but they are still very enjoyable. And the plot, the characters, they're all very nice and different from the "usual hero". The babies playing Elora Danan are really cute, too.

Tekken 3 (1997)

THAT is fun

Even after having tried the brand new Tekken Tag Tournament on the PS2, I still like Tekken 3 much more. Fast, fun and furious, what more could we ask ? The characters are different enough, even if some are way too strong compared to the others (like Bryan !) Moreover, given it's age, the designs are still quite good, too.

Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991)

Goof report

• Near the end, when Jackie and Dar approch the military base, they are on a Mercedes. A few shots later, it has become a BMW - At the begining, Jackie leave her car in the desert and go looking for gas, but she let her lights full on. That is not logical, especially singe at the very end we see that her car is still having power. - At the end, just before Dar returns in his world, Jackie's car is facing the wall. After Dar leaves, the car is in the other side.