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freshy17
Reviews
L'armée des ombres (1969)
Promising but ultimately a failed execution
The story sounded very engaging. The final product is not all that. It fails to tel a coherent story. Instead it seems more a collection of stories. Some of them unconnected, filled with details, quite frankly, unbelievable. The photography and set decorating have not aged well either. The clothes, hair and overall style of the characters are noticeably sixtiish, when the story is supposed to take place in the 1940's. It seems more an idea of a story by Monsieur Melville than a fully accomplished one. Plot holes all over; you can tell that the editing must have been a nightmare trying to deliver a coherent finalmpicture. It's one of those cases when the movie's fame overshadows its real qualities, which are not many. Simone Signoret is one of them. The main actors are very good, unlike some of the secondary performers. Pity becuase, like I said the idea sounded very promising and with a better script would be better regarded.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)
The first one was better
I loved the first movie and was really looking forward to watching this one. Maybe my expectation were too high. The script just doesn't work.When making a sequel is only logical to make the characters follow the path traced by the first story, but recycling the same ideas,(the bitchy girl becoming Elle's friend, and resourcing to Elle's cosmetics knowledge to detect lies, one of her mentors betraying her, etc.) jokes,(then:"look! It's Malibu Barbie!" Now:"look! It's Capitol Barbie") and even the same lines, ("it's pink" "...and scented! It gives it a little something extra, don't you think?) is completely unoriginal. Jennifer Coolidge and Luke Wilson were totally wasted here, they had absolutely nothing to do. Couldn't they have written a more intelligent storyline for these characters for Pete's sake? Most of Elle's charm came from being "a fish out of the water" and making the people surrounding her taken aback, outraged, upset and/or uncomfortable by all that "pinkness", and now they turn a hard-boiled lady judge into a silly sorority soul-mate for Elle??? Fortunately, Reese is the one saving grace in the movie. Still endearing and effective as Elle, same goes for her two funny jello-for-brains friends from California. I wanted to like this movie so much, I really did...but didn't. I left the theater a little disappointed I must say.
Possession (2002)
Great film!
I usually enjoy period pieces and this one is remarkably done. I'm
no fan of Gwyneth but she was very well cast in this movie.
However, it was Jennifer Ehle who made the movie for me. What a
wonderful performance! Too bad it was overlooked at the award
season. I think hers was one of the best supporting performances
from last year. Jeremy Northam was great too. And those visual
transitions between past and present were a joy to watch.
Congratulations to Neil La Bute. Very enjoyable!
Daredevil (2003)
I liked it!
I'm surprised to read so many bad reviews for this movie. I'm not a
comic books expert or anything, but enjoy superheroes/adventure
stories as much as anyone else, and I found this film to be very
enjoyable. Maybe it starts a little slow, but it picks up fairly quickly.
Although I had some doubts about Ben Affleck, when I saw the
movie was pleasantly surprised.I totally believed he was
Daredevil. Colin Farrell does one charismatic crazed villain, really
cool! Over the top and absolutely fun. Jennifer Garner did an
excellent job as the heroine/love interest. And since I'm a romance
sucker I have to say that the part I liked the most was the love story
plot. These characters have a more human approach than say, in
Spiderman, and with a darker feel. Good fun!
Chicago (2002)
Brilliant!
OK, I'm part of the target audience for this film. I love musicals, and having had the chance to see the stage production of Chicago, I must say that its translation to the big screen didn't suffer one bit. Putting a stage show on film can't be an easy task, but Rob Marshall passes the test with flying colors. The movie keeps the essence of the show while taking advantage of the cinematic techniques, enriching the whole experience. The editing was fabulous, I think it elevates the narrative of the story.
All the performers are fantastic too, and in my opinion Catherine Zeta-Jones is the one who stands out here. She lights up the screen with her presence and energy. A well deserved Oscar nomination for her, a win would be nice. Loved Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger and Queen Latifah as well.
It amuses me a little to read some reviews of people claiming how awful this movie is "with all that singin' and dancin'...puaghhh!" Hee, hee IT'S A MUSICAL PEOPLE. They usually have lots of singin' and dancin' in them, and Chicago is one of the best musicals out there. This cinematic version is brilliant, perfectly recommendable. A real feast, go see it!
The House of the Spirits (1993)
Not as bad, but not good either
This movie is not as bad as you may think, but neither as good as
it should have been. I love the book but a lot was lost during its
translation to the big screen. I'm sure the director's intentions were
good but something seems perennially phony and misplaced in
this film. And I'm not referring to the actors' physique. By the way,
what is all this ridiculous criticism to Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep,
Glenn Close and Winona Ryder about not "looking Chilean
enough"? Maybe they are not close to the preconceived idea of
many people of "how Latin-American people should look like", and
while a vast part of the population in this part of the world is more
"Amerindian looking", there are also lots of people with this
"Caucasian appearance", I can assure you. Specially Mr. Irons
could pass for an Argentinian or Chilean gentleman anytime. In any case, I think the director messed up the final execution of
the story; something just doesn't seem right.
Meet the Parents (2000)
I just watched it for the second time
and I think I laughed even harder than I did the first one. I totally
understand that this movie might not be everybody's cup of tea, I'm
not saying is masterpiece or anything, but to me is hilarious. I think
the director did a very good job, and the casting is brilliant. Robert
de Niro's facial expressions during the Greg saying grace and the
urn breaking scenes are priceless! What I liked about Ben Stiller's
performance is that he doesn't overdo it. Subtlety worked better
here. A special mention to Blythe Danner who's perfect as the
bride's mom. Just relax when you watch it and I'm sure you'll enjoy
it as well. Can't wait to see "Meet the Fockers"!
The Sweetest Thing (2002)
If I could grade it with a MINUS -10 out of 10, I would.
I can't add anything new to what has been said in the comments below. Easily the worst so-called-comedy I've seen in many years.Simply embarrassing. What were these people thinking? When I got to the movie theater I wasn't asking for much, I just wanted to see a mindless, simple chick flick and have a good few laughs. Well, this piece of wasted film didn't even meet my already low expectations; it turned out to be worse than I thought.Sucks big time!
Road to Perdition (2002)
Very Enjoyable, but...
I watched this movie a while ago, so I've had more than enough time to chew on it. Since it has kept me thinking about it all this time, I guess that means the movie's pretty good. Sam Mendes has created a film of true beauty. It is visually stunning. Tom Hanks can add this one to his list of great performances, and Paul Newman, my gosh!, there's one particular scene he has with Tom in the church basement, in which he proves why he is considered one of the greatest. I wanted to give him an Oscar right there. Although I enjoyed it very much, I have a few minor complaints:
First, the director's visual techniques, like catching people's reflections on mirrors, glasses, windows, etc., as well as the focus-the-background-blur-the-foreground an vice versa thing, worked for me the first couple of times. It's a nice touch, but eventually it got over-used. It came to the point where we were waiting for these effects to show up instead of being surprised by them.
(Mild spoilers)
Second, maybe Tom wanted this character to look different, or memorable, or something, but really, that thing on his nose, his double-chin and his cheeks were very distracting. All I could think of every time he's on screen was how chubby he looked. It just didn't fit the character. How was he supposed to run for his life carrying all that weight? Third, Jennifer Jason Leigh, such a talented girl and so little to work with. She was barely given a couple of lines and hardly any screen time. Finally, Jude Law tries too hard to look ugly. (a la Brad Pitt in Snatch') , in my opinion, a more regular appearance would've made his character more believable and even creepier.
Apart from those minor details, I found the movie to be very enjoyable and totally worth of spending time watching it.
Miss Congeniality (2000)
I left the theatre hours ago and I'm still laughing
Honestly speaking I had not very high expectations for this one. Not because I thought it was bad, but because so much is revealed in the trailers nowadays. So I figured all the funny jokes had been given away already. I was wrong. This movie is truly entertaining and hilarious. I don't remember having such a great time at the movies in quite a while, even if some people think it is predictable, but... isn't that the reason most of us go to movies anyway? To spend a good time, have a good laugh and hopefully forget some of our everyday worries? Well this film did it for me. Congratulations to Miss Bullock, she did great job both as producer and as a leading lady, and the supporting cast was amazing. 10/10
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Entertaining
I can honestly say I had a good time while watching this film. A good popcorn movie. Despite its flawed special effects in one of the opening sequences, I found myself cringing in my seat and it was fun! I hadn't noticed this before, but if anyone ever thinks of casting an actress to play Julia Roberts' sister in a movie, they should cast Monica Potter. They look (and sometimes even "sound) so much alike. Morgan Freeman does a pretty decent job, and I was glad to see Penelope Ann Miller once again... too bad she spent most of her screentime sobbing. All in all I'd give it an eight out of ten.
Playing by Heart (1998)
I don't remember seeing so many people leaving a movie theatre
... and the movie hadn't even reached its first half. I have to >admit I was tempted to follow their example. Need I say more? Some performances were good though. Angelina Jolie, Jay Mohr, >Ellen Burstyn, Jon Stewart, and Ryan Philippe did a pretty good >job (Madeline Stowe was a big miscast here) but the plot really >sucks! Funny? Hilarious????? No, not even close. .