Gilles_de_Rais
commented Kantai (Hospitalite)
Hopefully, their Facebook status would be "It's complicated"?
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about Headhunters (8)
Very solid thriller. I've read most Nesbo's Harry Hole books & so I am a fan in general but hadn't read that novel. But Headhunters the movie is efficient and powerful and doesn't require much in terms of suspension of disbelief. It has a very European twang and is the stronger for it. Highly recommended if thrillers are your thing.
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about 21 Jump Street (6)
I mostly missed the original 21 Jump Street saga so, although I got the fact that Depp appearance was an in-joke, I very much treated this movie as stand-alone. And it's quite a fun comedy - I especially liked the use of modern teen trends to inverse the who's cool, who's not classics. OTOH, it's a fairly standard comedy and the jokes have all been seen before in one shape or another. Nothing really jumps (sorry) off the screen. But everyone does a good job, from the actors to the director and [...] Read more
Gilles_de_Rais
rated 21 Jump Street
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1 other
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about John Carter (8)
I am a sucker for epic sci-fi in pretty much all its forms. And I am a geek, with quite a lot of love for Conan, Elric, Tarzan, LOTR and other classical fantasy stuff. Here, I think the critics got it right - The movie suffers from being a bit too close from its source, when its source has been relentlessly pillaged since it was first published, a long time ago. But, but, but - It is still high swashbuckling sci-fi adventure and that is enough for simple old me... :)
Gilles_de_Rais
commented Drive (2011) - Nicolas Winding Refn
I was quite interested in that movie. Now less so. At least, I won't go in with overblown expectations... :)
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about The Descendants (6)
Believe it or not, I went in wanting to like that movie. I am quite fond of George Clooney and he manages to pull movies I am not otherwise very excited about. Since everyone was saying how good 'The Descendants' was, if Oscar-bait, I possibly had high expectations. In any case, I ended up being disappointed - The scenario is weak (if tear-inducing), character development not overly interesting/involving & George Clooney performance seemed, to me, weaker than in comparable movies such as 'Up in [...] Read more
Gilles_de_Rais
rated The Descendants
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1 other
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about The Ides of March (7)
I hesitated between rating 6 and 7. Clearly the actors are good, no surprise there. And the Obama reference is... interesting. But it lacks fire-power. It's clearly made for liberals (not a problem) but, apart from the beautiful line "You broke the only rule in politics. You want to be president? You can start a war, you can lie, you can cheat, you can bankrupt the country... but you cant fuck the interns. They'll get you for that", it doesn't have a strong storyline. I know Obama/Clooney is going [...] Read more
Gilles_de_Rais
commented The Crow (1994) - Alex Proyas
The Crow was a comic before being a movie and you can feel the influence. As you pointed out, it's not 'great' in the sense that the story is over-simple but it's quite cult... At least for people in their mid-thirties with a geeky interest in comics/goth... Thanks for reminding me of it. Good ol' memories... :)
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (6)
The premise isn't necessarily bad. However, in the delivery, this movie lacks punch - there's a couple of decent lines, a couple of embarrassing/funny situations etc but at no point do you really care or are really challenged. I mean, would a group of friends really be able to pull an orgy? The answer's no. But let's admit you'd try. The angst would be tremendous. Here, the angst feels... very romcom. There's no dramatic tension to be had. And the romantic plotline between Jason Sudeikis and Leslie [...] Read more
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about Margin Call (6)
Bof, bof, bof. Maybe it's because I work in finance but I wasn't that caught up by this movie. They got the various 'tribes' (geeks vs. salesmen vs. risk/compliance vs. management) and their respective social codes relatively right & the actors do a decent job of their roles, esp. Paul Bettany. But there is nothing thrilling into this and them trying to be serious-fiction-yet-not-documentary kinda of fail. There was no real drama or suspense. I mean, was there any doubt that a bank would do anything [...] Read more
Gilles_de_Rais
rated Margin Call
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about Real Steel (6)
It's hard to argue that "Real Steel" is a good movie - the plot is thin, the hooks are obvious and the father/son stuff never strays from what you expect. OTOH, it's hard (for me at least) to dislike the movie. Maybe I am in an emotional phase but the father/son stuff still got me, somewhat, despite the cliches. So there you go - I wouldn't recommend you seeing it but, if you do so and are in a generous mood, you probably won't hate it. Oh and Jackman's forearms are really getting me jealous. [...] Read more
Gilles_de_Rais
rated Real Steel
Gilles_de_Rais
commented Defiance (5)
I'd be more generous. It was a little known event (I wasn't aware of it) and it certainly required insane courage and will to survive. I thought the acting performances were good but, otoh, I've got a soft spot for both Craig and Schreiber so that was easy.. I thought that it thus made a 'simple' war movie quite interesting and powerful.
Gilles_de_Rais
wrote about Stranger Than Fiction (10)
Another rare occurrence where the algo rating went wrong. I've just watched that movie again and maybe it's because it's Christmas Eve (although I don't think so) but I thought it was great. Yes, it's uplifting and sweet rather than dark and broody. I still like it.
Gilles_de_Rais
commented Stranger Than Fiction (2)
run-of-the-mill? Wow! Okay, it is a rather sweet and gentle comedy and so, if you only thrive on despair and darkness, it won't be your thing. How is "Adaptation" so much better?