Truth or Dare (2018)

Genre: Horror

Directed by: Jeff Wadlow

Cast: Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane

Time: 100 minutes

A group of friends decide to travel to Mexico to spend Spring break together. While partying, one night, they get suckered into a haunted game of truth or dare with disastrous implications that will follow them home back to college.

The filmmakers here failed to make their film memorable enough to set it apart from other offerings in that genre. It is not really scary, the sadistic potential of the truth or dare game is never fully exploited; and the sexy possibilities were also left untapped. The acting was decent, but the actors and actresses were not given anything substantial to bite their teeth into. You never get to develop any kind of attachment to these characters, so, in the end, you don’t care what happens.

Overall, there were more missed opportunities than anything else here.

Rating: ««

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Adam McKay

Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen

Time: 108 minutes

From a very young age, Ricky Bobby was obsessed with speed. As a mild-mannered member of a Nascar pit crew, he gets designated to replace the driver, who no longer seems to care to do his job. As he shoots to fame, with his best bud Cal Naughton Jr, Ricky’s ego grows by leaps and bounds. When Jean Girard, an openly gay French Formula One driver decides to move over to Nascar to challenge Ricky, the American champion’s life spirals out of control.

Watching this again, recently, I was shocked to see how I seemed to remember it more fondly than I should have. Sure, there was some funny stuff here, but there were also some weak attempts at comedy. Still, Ferrell and Reilly had a great chemistry on screen and it helped bring this car to the finish line well enough for it to still be an entertaining time of movie-watching.

Rating: «««

La Bolduc (2018)

Genre: Franco / Biographical

Réalisateur: François Bouvier

Distribution: Debbie Lynch-White, Émile Proulx-Cloutier, Mylène Mackay

Durée: 103 minutes

Ce drame biographique raconte l’histoire de Mary Travers, mieux connue sous le nom de La Bolduc. Jeune mère de famille, elle se laisse convaincre d’aller jouer de la musique dans un théâtre question de gagner quelques sous pendant que son mari est incapable de travailler. Elle obtiendra bientôt le succès en tant que porte-étendard du petit peuple qui a tant besoin de se divertir de sa misère.

La Bolduc a en quelque sorte été la première vedette du Canada français. Même si sa musique a longtemps été regardée de haut par les snobs, je suis content que ce film puisse contribuer à lui redonner ses lettres de noblesse. Debbie Lynch-White est criante de vérité et fort touchante dans le rôle-titre. Elle rend bien cette grande dame du Québec. Les autres comédiens et comédiennes ont aussi bien fait dans leur rôle respectif.

Les lieux et l’atmosphère de la période où a vécu La Bolduc a été bien rendu à l’écran. J’ai aussi apprécié que la place de cette chanteuse du peuple dans l’histoire du Canada ait été placée dans son bon contexte, en juxtaposition avec d’autres personnages comme Thérèse Casgrain.

Le rythme du film était peut-être un peu trop effréné à un certain moment, donnant l’impression qu’on tentait trop de se dépêcher pour arriver à quelque chose de plus intéressant, mais, somme toute, La Bolduc est un très bon film qui vaut la peine d’être vu. Beaucoup de scènes touchantes.

Note: ««««

Sing Street (2016)

Genre: Musical / Drama

Directed by: John Carney

Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy

Time: 106 minutes

Forced to change school due to his father’s precarious financial situation, Conor Lawlor, a timid Irish teenager, decides to start a band with a few of his new classmates to impress a girl that he has just met. Turning to his older brother, a rebellious (in words more than in action) music fan, for advice, Conor might very finally break out of his restricted shell in grand fashion.

Sing Street is a wonderful feel-good coming-of-age story. As somebody for whom music was so very important in his life, I totally can relate to Conor, even though the musical influences are not necessarily the same.

The acting here is very good. You have no problem believing those characters and caring about their fate. The idea of creating music has always been a romantic idea to me, and this film totally captured that romanticism and pulled me in for its duration. By the end, you feel the urge to express the same kind of happiness as does Conor’s older brother.

Rating: «««««

The Runaways (2010)

Genre: Biographical / Drama

Directed by: Floria Sigismondi

Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon

Time: 106 minutes

Based on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, by Cherie Currie, this 2010 film tells the story of the female rock band The Runaways, from their formation in 1975 to their rise to fame and to their break-up. The movie mostly focuses on the relationship between singer Cherie Currie, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joan Jett and their producer Kim Fowley.

Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart and Michael Shannon all need to be commended for their performances. They all carry this film to success. Though the story feels rushed and truncated, in this film that lasts well under two hours, it captures quite well the feeling of that era.

Cherie Currie and Joan Jett have both said that The Runaways does not tell the full story as it truly happened. That can rarely be expected anyways in Hollywood. But, the vibe of the 70’s is there and feels authentic, and the performances of the actors make it a very enjoyable flick.

Rating: ««««

Garfunkel and Oates: Trying to be Special (2016)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Jeremy Konner and Riki Lindhome

Cast: Riki Lindhome, Kate Micuci, Anthony Jeselnik

Time: 62 minutes

This is a comedy special where musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates put on a concert in the hopes of raising enough money for a comedy special. Sounds weird? It is, but in a funny way. Some of the antics are a bit cheesy for my tastes, but many of their songs are quite funny and had me laughing out loud. I did not know what to expect here and I was actually very positively surprised.

Rating: ««««

Requiem for the American Dream (2015)

Genre: Documentary

Directed by: Peter Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, Jared P. Scott

Cast: Noam Chomsky

Time: 73 minutes

In this documentary film, academic and activist Noam Chomsky discourses on the concentration of wealth and power in America and on the financial inequality it creates.

Quite honestly, while the subject matter itself is an interesting and important one, the presentation was so dry that this film lost me completely pretty fast. After 15 minutes, I realized I was not paying attention anymore. This is a very static documentary, with only one point of view. Had I not gone in blind, I probably would have skipped this one. Some might like it, but it is not my thing.

Rating: «

Bob Saget: That Ain't Right (2007)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Beth McCarthy-Miller

Cast: Bob Saget

Time: 60 minutes

Live on stage in Manhattan, New York, comedian Bob Saget delivers a comedy special that is thousands of miles apart from the roles he is most known for, as Danny Tanner on Full House and as host of American Funniest Home Videos. Saget refers to these roles in this stage act, while also discussing sex and other topics.

Bob Saget gives me the impression of a guy who is trying to be vulgar for effect, just to shock at all costs. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. He just rambles on and on without any cohesiveness to hold it all together. There were a few good jokes and the songs he sang at the end, accompanying himself on guitar, were quite good. I recommend finding these excerpts online and skipping the rest.

Rating: ««

Triple 9 (2016)

Genre: Thriller

Directed by: John Hillcoat

Cast: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gal Gadot, Kate Winslet, Woody Harrelson

Time: 115 minutes

Two corrupt cops assemble a crew to perpetrate a bank robbery to retrieve a safe deposit box for a Jewish-Russian mafia boss. They hope that will settle the score to set them free from their criminal ties, but they are forced into another mission that will prove a lot more difficult to pull off.

Considering the ensemble cast involved, I was expected more from this. With such names as Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gal Gadot, Kate Winslet, Woody Harrelson, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus and more, I had high expectations. While this film had its moments, both stylistically and story-wise, it fell short in the end for me. I was left a little unfulfilled. Honorable mentions to Kate Winslet (who was quite transformed) and Woody Harrelson for their performances.

Rating: «««