zxgerard's Reviews

Exam (2009)

10/10

17 March 2013

I've just watched this movie... six times in a row ! After my first watching, I just wanted to re-watch the beginning. But I saw the entire movie a second time. And I re-watched again and again to see how the temper was rising, what was the point of view of each character, the invisible clues... and of course, what was the meaning of the most important clue (which stays blurred for me).

So I understand the objective of the director : we are like the candidates in the movie, we are in search of the real meaning of all this. There are several : capitalism criticism, human weakness criticism, idealism (the firsts will be the lasts).. and so on... The fact is, we can't stop think about the movie after watched it. This is addictive ! Very smart idea. Anyway, It was many years I haven't watched such an addictive movie("Matrix" was my previous), so I can't do anything else than to give the maximum 10/10.

Now, I must leave you, I feel the urge to re-watch it again ! ;)

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Letters to God (2010)

7/10

A positive use of religion

3 October 2012

I don't care this movie is a Christian movie. "Ben Hur" was also a "christian" movie, but first of all, it was a good movie. Majority of religious movies are tragedies, violent and sinister, as the Bible.

So, to make a positive religious movie is not easy. The risk is to be too cheesy or to seem dump and naive. "Letters to God" avoids these mistakes.

God is not really the subject of the story, we can watch the movie from an atheistic point of view : The letters are a medium to communicate with everybody and to make psychological analysis on self.

The life or death of the little boy is not either the subject. There is no "Hitchcock's suspense" to know if the little boy will win against cancer. This is not E.T.

The subject is "a positive use of religion by normal people". No miracles, no horrors, no super-action nor apocalypse. Just a kid who's teaching adults to be more "adult" to face life. Maybe some audiences are not adult enough to appreciate it, but the challenge is courageous and the movie well made. No need to be a believer to appreciate it.

I liked it.

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The Pumaman (1980)

4/10

Don't mistake bad movies and "nanars" !

24 July 2012

In France, when a movie is so bad he becomes funny (unintentionally, it's important) we call it a "NANAR".

And there's a real audience for this kind of movie (Ed Wood like). These movies are treasures because they become rare. Nowaday, the bad movies have at least decent SFX, decent editing, the directors have all followed a formation... But during the 60-70-80's absolute incompetent directors could make movies. So there is a bunch of them, but a limited bunch, and this one is famous.

So if "Puma man" made me laugh and spent a good time, I must give more than 1 or 2 stars. And I must recommend it.

My favorite quotes :

Boss ! This man is FLYING like...

Like ?..

... like a PUMA !

(Because, as everybody knows : the pumas fly.) LOL !

;-))

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

9/10

The best one of the "planet of the apes" saga !

23 July 2012

Warning: Spoilers

The first book I read in my life was "The Planet of the apes" from Pierre Boule. I saw all movies about "planet of the apes". I really liked only the first one, despite the fact it doesn't respect the novel (the end is totally different in the novel, you should read it).

And even the last try by Tim Burton disappointed me, So I was waiting for the worst with this one...

Happy surprise ! It is a great movie, totally different of all the other "planet of the apes". At last, we're talking about APES and not "apes talking like human, walking (almost) like human, wearing clothes like human"... and THIS is the very spirit of the original novel. I saw finally what I've imagined when I was a kid reading this novel.

Of course, the story is far from the novel and referred in fact to "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" (1972) but with a much more credible story. In the 1972 plot, all humankind use apes as slaves. So dumb ! Who wants a monkey slave ? Not me. This plot is far from us... But here, in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", we have scientists making research to find a cure against a brain disease. This is our reality. And the apes are the same apes we all know. So the story begins slowly in our reality. Wyatt waits to give credibility to the plot before entering the subject. It's appreciable instead these blockbusters which love to start with a big action scene before we are ready to believe what they show us.

The choice to use CGI instead of actors with make-up is a also a good choice. It allows fine shades in the expressions and more emotion. (And of course allows grand action scenes).

In brief, this is really a good movie and I can't wait to see the announced "Dawn of the planet of the apes" by the same director Ruppert Wyatt, and who knows, one day, a real adaptation of the Pierre Boule's novel.

PS : Nevertheless, the best music score for the "planet of the apes" saga remains the Jerry Goldsmith masterwork. Too bad there isn't one little reminder here... that's why I don't give a ten.

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Limitless (I) (2011)

7/10

Can stupidity imagine how intelligence looks like ?

21 July 2012

I like this movie fort these flaws.

Not only to laugh at, but really to question myself. Of course, I've laughed to see the authors of this film imagining the super-intelligence as must serving first of all... TO GET MORE MONEY, 2) to get sex with more girls, 3) to kick ass like Bruce Lee, 4) to get political power. (end of list)

I've laughed because I've more ambition than that and of course, because I think I'm more intelligent than the authors. Everybody is sure of its own intelligence, right ? But everybody forgets this certainty is limited by his own intelligence. So what could be a real "super-intelligence" ? It's hard to imagine it since nobody is super-intelligent, but I'm sure it's not what this movie shows.

At least, this movie makes me asking the question (between laughs), and had some good action scenes and visuals.

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Héros (2007)

7/10

A "king of comedy" more crazy...

20 July 2012

" A frustrated comedian has kidnapped a star and sequesters him to obtain attention from the medias " ...

Of course, the reference to "King of comedy" from Scorcese is obvious, but the comparison ends after that. Because the hero has no plan and seems over-crazy. And the story is also crazy with no realism about "a kidnapping followed by negotiations with police forces". In fact, we are in the dream-nightmare of a frustrated comedian and we have to guess what is real or not. Perhaps nothing is real, but don't wait to have the answer by the end.

Despite this rambling story line, the movie is hypnotic, we cannot stop watching it, thanks to Michael Youn who brought his crazy character and universe in his part, and perhaps his own real life-experience as a "frustrated comedian"...

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South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

4/10

Farts and songs

1 July 2012

I'm a huge fan of South Park TV Show.

Behind the profanity there is a fine introspection on our society. But sometimes the authors seems to become like their creations : childish and scatological with no purpose behind. That's why I love the show except the songs parts and the farts parts...

Bad luck : there is only these parts in their movie. More : the jokes are old ones, picked up in firsts episodes (Terance & Philip, Sadam Hussein, the rude word...). And almost 50% of the movie is songs. All what I hate. Finally, any South Park TV show episode is better than this movie.

I hoped to see the better of South Park and I saw the worst. Too bad. (nevertheless, some corny gags, I admit, that's why I give 4/10)

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Alone in the Dark 2 (2008 Video)

2/10

Shooting on ghost

6 March 2012

Warning: Spoilers

The first "Alone in the dark" featured new ammo to shoot the ghosts (bullets made of lights). Hard to believe, but logic.

In this sequel, they use ordinary ammo, so, of course, it's useless against the ghost of the witch. Nevertheless, they try again and again, everybody has his gun and shoot on the ghost, there is even a big machine gun in the panic room with the same uselessness.

So all the action is based on a non-sense but in reading the reviews I saw nobody noticed it. Is this cultural ? Is American audience find normal to have characters with guns shooting all time for nothing ? Is this for made a good trailer ? (maybe if there is no shooting guns that means there is no action ?) Conclusion : this movie seemed to me really incoherent in spite the beginning is better than the first opus.

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Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008)

5/10

Celebrity cameos festival, but nothing more....

4 February 2008

Of course I was expecting celebrity cameos, but I hopped the movie won't stand only on this. Unfortunately it does it.

At each minute a celebrity face arrives, (french and European celebrities of course) makes a reference and gets out. What about ASTERIX himself ? Well, he's also making a "cameo" since he is not the main character of this movie. And the worst stands at the end of the movie (when the story is finished) when a bunch of sport's stars arrived to show themselves without having nothing to do in the spot line. Sort of "we didn't have time to put you in the story, but you will appear at the end, to increase our credits"...

The good points : The special effects and the set decoration are really great. We understand this picture costs the price of a "STARWARS". Too bad to have spent so much for a tiny joke...

"THE MOST EXPENSIVE FRENCH MOVIE OF ALL TIME !".

What a pride ! :)

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Papillon (1973)

10/10

Uncredited music for PAPILLON

31 January 2008

The music score of Jerry Golsmith for PAPILLON is great. However, I didn't find a very important part : in the movie, during the 2nd escape of Papillon with Maturette and Clusiot, the prison's orchestra plays a music...

I've always wanted to know what was this music, because I found it very appropriate with the action. I supposed it was "classical music" since it was not on the official score of Jerry Goldsmith. But I didn't find it in the credits either, so I made my own search and I found it !

It was "FAUST" composed by Charles GOUNOD in 1859.

...

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