Happiness (1998)

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Directed by: Todd Solondz

Cast: Jane Adams, Elizabeth Ashley, Dylan Baker

Running Time: 139 minutes

 

This black comedy-drama focuses on the lives of three sisters and the people around them. This film deals with difficult topics, such a pedophilia. Some scenes tend t make you uncomfortable, thugh nothing graphic is shown. Philip Seymour Hoffman was a nice presence here.

 

Rating: «««

Everest (2015)

Genre: Biographical

Directed by: Baltasar Kolmakur
Distribution: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes

Durée: 121 minutes

 

This film tells the story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, focusing on te survival attempt of two expedition groups.

With breathtaking images and an ensemble cast, Everest is a captivating take inspired by a true tragedy. Watching th film, I thought many times over: Why would anybody want to put themselves through this. I did not find the answer, other than acknowledging the principle of wanting to challenge yourself, but I quite enjoyed the film.

Rating: ««««

Pour mieux t'aimer (2019)

Genre: Franco, Drama

Réalisation: Denise Bouchard et Gilles Doiron

Distribution: Donat Lacroix, Pascal Lejeune, Pierre Guy Blanchard

Durée: 104 minutes

 

Une mère abandonne son mari et ses deux enfants sans laisser de trace. Trente ans plus tard, une jeune roumaine arrive dans leur petite collectivité de la Péninsule acadienne avec de nouveaux éléments qui forceront les membres de cette famille à affronter leur vérité une fois pour toutes.

Ce drame familial entièrement acadien trace le portrait complexe d'une famille cachant de nombreux secrets. À mesure que les vérités font surface, le spectateur ne peut qu'être surpris. Le jeu des comédiens est très juste dans la plupart des cas. Le travail des réalisateurs est aussi solide. On se sent pris dans ce petit milieu encerclé par la neige et le froid...et les secrets. Malgré quelques longueurs, j'ai bin aimé ce film.

 

Rating: ««««

Get On Up (2014)

Genre: Biographical

Directed by: Tate Taylor

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis

Running Time: 139 minutes

Get On Up tells the story of singer James Brown, from his difficult childhood, to his rise to fame and to his personal problems, that got him to jail.

Chadwick Boseman is very convincing as James Brown. Maybe he is too convincing. This film made me dislike Brown more than anything. The older he got, the harder he was to understand when he spoke and the more aggravating he got. Maybe that is a reflection of reality, but it was annoying. That being said, the film was still an interesting look at someone who had a major impact in musical history.
 

Rating: «««

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Lasse Halstrom

Cast: Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio

Running Time: 118 minutes

Gilbert Grape is a young man living in Endora, Iowa. He has taken a heavy role in his family since his father's death. He works at the local grocery store and he takes care of his mentally impaired brother Arnie, while his morbidly obese mother is stuck at home and his sisters try to handle the house work. Gilbert's outlook on life is very grim until a new girl comes into town.

I loved this movie. The acting is solid and the story is very compelling. Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio were quite young, but the talent was already there. Props to Leo especially for pulling off the mentally impaired character and making him believable. Darlene Cates is also extremely convincing as te obese mother of Gilbert Grape. 

 

Rating: «««««

Pete Davidson: Alive From New York (2020)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Jason Orley

Cast: Pete Davidson

Running Time: 49 minutes

Live on stage in New York City, SNL cast member Pete Davidson has a few funny stories, such as the one about Louis CK trying to get him fired from Saturday Night Live and the one involving his ex Ariana Grande. Unfortunately, his delivery is often awkward, with loads of hesitation and mumbling. And it is an awfully short comedy special.

 

Rating: «««

Cleanskin (2012)

Genre: Thriller

Directed by: Hadi Hajaig

Cast: Sean Bean, Abhin Galeya, Charlotte Rampling 

Running Time: 108 minutes

A Secret Service agent is tasked with the undercover job of stopping a group of terrorists who stole a briefcase and then created a bomb that was detonated in a restaurant, killing a bunch of people.

There is some decent action here, with a cat-and-mouse chase around the very real topic of terrorism. The execution is far from perfect though. The acting is not bad, but the story drags quite a bit here and there. There is a nice twist at the end I mut say.
 

Rating: «««

Pour toujours, les Canadiens (2009)

Genre: Franco, Drama

Réalisation: Sylvain Archambault

Distribution: Dhanaé Audet-Beaulieu, Antoine L'Écuyer, Céline Bonnier

Running Time: 95 minutes

William Langlois est un jeune homme de 17 ans qui a beaucoup de succès au hockey. Mais, un changement de collège et d'équipe et une relation tendue avec deux parents beaucoup pris par leur travail ont un impact sur ses performances sur la patinoire. Des conversations avec un vieil employé des Canadiens de Montréal et un jeune garçon gravement malade que soigne sa mère infirmière aide William a reprendre la bonne voie.

La prémisse de ce film est surtout un prétexte pour raconter la glorieuse histoire des Canadiens de Montréal, qui célébraient leur centenaire à ce moment-là. Et, il ne faut pas se cacher que le CH a une grande histoire et pas beaucoup de présent.

Ce film est cute et sirupeux à souhait. C'est pas mauvais en soit, il suffit de convenir de ce qui nous est servi.
 

Rating: «««

Bert Kreischer: Hey Big Boy (2020)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Jeff Tomsic

Cast: Bert Kreischer

Running Time: 62 minutes

Bert Kreischer, the shirtless comic who became viral with the I Am The Machine story, has just served a new Netflix comedy special, recorded live in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2019. Here, Kreischer discusses such topics as Starbucks, raising girls, his competence as a father and much more. This is a really funny show The Starbucks bit was a great start and the ball was kept on rolling with good material all the way through.

Rating: «««««

Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster (2011)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Nathan Morlando

Cast: Scott Speedman, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Durand

Running Time: 105 minutes

 

This film is inspired by the true story of Edwin Alonzo Boyd, a Canadian WWII veteran who had a hard time to find his place in civilian life. Dissatisfied with the possibilities to make money to support his wife and children, Boyd turns to bank robbery. After an original stint in prison, he meets a group of other robbers, and they escape to form the Boyd Gang and keep on robbing banks. 

I found tis film truly interesting. I did not know the story of Edwin Boyd, so I was glad to learn about this little tidbit of Canadian history. Overall, the story is compelling. Some of the acting performances were a little weaker, but, all things considered, I was entertained.
 

Rating: ««««

The Avengers (2012)

Genre: Superhero

Directed by: Joss Whedon

Cast: Robbert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth

Running Time: 143 minutes

 

Nick Fury is compelled to launch the Avengers program to stop Loki, who came down to Earth from Asgard to launch an attack. Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Black Widow will put their efforts together to stop Loki from getting his way. 

Maybe I was expecting too much out of this one, but I was a little disappointed. It felt overly long, with lots of gibberish. Maybe the nerd power is not strong enough in me to fully appreciate it. The film is well done, visually-speaking, and there are some entertaining moments. Iron Man had some good lines and the fight between Hulk and Loki made me laugh really hard.
 

Rating: «««

Angie Tribeca (2016-2019)

Genre: TV / Comedy

Starring: Rashida Jones, Hayes MacArthur, Jere Burns

Number of seasons: 4

Angie Tribeca is a comedic cop show spoof created by Steve and Nany Carell. It follows lead character Angie Tribeca, a Los Angeles police detective, through various investigations, assisted by her team of zany characters.

Through forty 20 minutes episodes, over four seasons, Angie Tribeca offers a great deal of comic relief, with loads of absurd humor. It is entertaining, though it all gets a bit repetitive after a while.

Rating: «««

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Genre: Superhero

Directed by: Joe Johnston

Cast: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving

Running Time: 124 minutes

Steve Rogers wants to join the army and serve his country in WWII, but he keeps getting rejected for various health issues and for his small size. He is eventually recruited as part of science experiment to create a super-soldier. After he becomes Captain American, Rogers will gather a team to fight Nazi Officer Johann Schmidt and his evil plans.

This first installment in the Captain American franchise offers a very compelling story delivered on screen by a cast of talented actors. There is a lot happening, and the story might drag a bit at times, but, overall, I was thoroughly entertained.

Rating: ««««

The Onion Movie (2008)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: James Kleiner

Cast: Len Cariou, Larissa Laskin, Scott Klace, Steven Seagal

Running Time: 80 minutes

This comedy focuses on fictitious Onion television anchorman Norm Archer and his growing discomfort with the on-air advertisements by the parent company, Global Tetrahedron. Around that storyline, there are a number of comedy skits with fake movie trailers, fake music videos and much more.

There were many entertaining parts to this film, such as the Britney Spears spoof and the fake Steven Seagal movie. I laughed out loud many times. There was also a bit of social commentary, but, as a whole, it all got old quite fast, though the movie was not that long.

Rating: «««

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Jeff Fowler

Cast: James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz

Running Time: 99 minutes

Inspired by the Sega video game franchise, this movie tells the story of Sonic, a blue extraterrestrial Hedgehog possessing great speed, that takes refuge in Green Hills, Montana, after he and his guardian are attacked. Sonic is living hidden in the rural US, but, after his loneliness gets the best of him, he creates a power surge that will get him the attention of the evil Dr. Robotnik. Sonic will seek the help of Sheriff Tom Wachowski to find his way to safety.

This is a cute family film with a nice message for young and old to enjoy. It is also a great excuse for Jim Carrey to overact and show the extent of his ability in that field. The visual effects are quite spectacular.

Rating: «««