Pineapple Express (2008)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: David Gordon-Green
Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole
Time: 112 minutes

 

Dale Denton is a process server who witnesses a murder perpetrated by a hitman and a crooked cop one evening while parked in front of a house. With his cover blown, he escapes, but he leaves behind a roach filled with the rare brand of pot he was smoking. With the evidence left behind, Denton and his pot dealer friend Saul Silver become the target of a group of bad people looking to eliminated anyone who can interfere with business.

This is a silly pot buddy comedy filled with low-brow humor. Some of the material hits the mark quite well, while some other stuff kind of miss the target. The acting itself is good enough. It is fun entertainment that is meant to be taken for what it is.

Rating: «««

Francoeur: on achève bien les rockers (2023)

Genre: Franco / Documentary
Réalisation: Virginie Francoeur et Robbie Hart
Distribution: Lucien Francoeur, Virginie Francoeur
Running time: 94 minutes

 

Dans ce documentaire, la professeure et auteure Virginie Francoeur revient sur le parcours de son père, le poète et chanteur Lucien Francoeur. Elle nous mène jusqu’au présent, où le paternel voit maintenant sa santé affaiblie par les années d’excès. Père et fille partent pour la Californie, question de retrouver les racines familiales, de revisiter les inspirations de Lucien le poète et de se questionner sur le chemin qu’il reste à parcourir.

À l’image de la poésie et de la musique de Lucien Francoeur et d’Aut’ Chose, ce film ne se pare pas d’artifices. La vérité est exposée crue et nue devant nous. C’est parfois lourd. Cela dit, j’ai toujours apprécié les personnages comme Lucien Francoeur et j’ai trouvé fort intéressant d’en apprendre plus sur sa vie et son parcours. J’ai aussi aimé entendre des proches et d’autres gens du milieu parler de son influence sur l’art au Québec. Le voyage en Californie m’a aussi donné le goût d’en faire un semblable.

Rating: ««««

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron
Time: 144 minutes

 

Kevin Lomax is a brilliant young defense lawyer who has gained a reputation for never losing a case, no matter how guilty some of his clients may seem. He is recruited by a big New York City law firm to help with jury selection in a case. After the case is won, Lomax is offered a permanent job with this firm, so he moves to The Big Apple with his wife. As Lomax’s wife is more and more haunted by crippling nightmares, Kevin Lomax realizes that his new boss, John Milton, could very well be the devil.

Stylistically, this film is very well done. It is visually interesting. Some of the material is overly cheesy, but that aspect of it is greatly helped by some of the acting performances. Al Pacino is particularly convincing in this over-the-top role. This is a fun film. More funny than scary, but still entertaining.

Rating: «««

The Holdovers (2023)

 Genre: Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
Time: 133 minutes

 

Paul Hunham is a stubbornly strict classics teacher at a New Hampshire all-male boarding school. Profoundly disliked by his students and colleagues alike, Hunham is forced to stay at the school over the Christmas break to watch over the students who cannot go home for the holidays.

I loved how authentically old the director managed to make this film set in 1970-1971 feel. It truly felt like a movie from that era. The director and his cast made an awesome job bringing this coming-of-age story to life. It was absolutely brilliant. Paul Giamatti is so convincing every time I see him in a role. And he was well supported here. Overall, a great film.

Rating: «««««

The Rolling Stones: Bridges to Babylon Tour "97-98 (1998)

Genre: Musical

Directed by: Bruce Gowers
Cast: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Charlie Watts
Time: 120 minutes

 

Live in TWA Dome in St. Louis, Missouri, we witness here the young Rolling Stones — well, relatively young, as they were in their mid-fifties at this point — giving an enthusiastic crowd a raucous set of around 2 hours, performing a good chunk of their classic material, along with some songs that were new back in 1997-1998.

This is not the best Stones concert I have seen on my film, but it is still a badass, fun show. The band was tight. Though I am not the biggest Dave Matthews fan, it was cool to see him join Jagger for Wild Horses. They gave a heartfelt performance of the classic track. The set for Bridges to Babylon was magnificent. Seeing the band cross a tall bridge to reach a smaller stage in the midst of the crowd was cool. Lots of female undergarments went a-flying at that point.

Rating: ««««

Ru (2023)

Genre: Franco / Drama
Réalisation: Charles-Olivier Michaud
Distribution: Chloé Djandi, Chantal Thuy, Jean Bui, Patrice Robitaille, Karine Vanasse
Running time: 117 minutes

 

Tinh est une jeune adolescente qui fait son arrivée au Québec avec ses parents et ses deux jeunes frères. Toute la famille a dû quitter le Viêt Nam suite à la chute de Saigon, en 1975. Ces ressortissants aboutissent au Québec, en plein cœur de l’hiver, après un passage dans un camp de réfugiés en Malaisie.

Ce film est inspiré du livre autobiographique de Kim Thuy. Ce récit est tellement intense et lourd, mais il est raconté avec brio à l’écran. Le jeu des comédiens est sans faille, et l’utilisation de l’éclairage et des décors est remarquable. Souvent, les mots ne sont pas nécessaires dans ce films pour nous faire ressentir l’ampleur de cette terrible période de l’histoire du monde. Vraiment un film à voir. On en ressort touché, voire soufflé.

Rating: «««««

Confidence (2003)

Genre: Thriller / Drama
Directed by: James Foley
Cast: Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Paul Giamatti
Time: 97 minutes

 

A group of grifters are making a living perpetrating elaborate cons against various marks. After seeing one of their own being brutally eliminated, they realize that the latest money they stole belonged to a crime lord nicknamed The King. Instead of trying to run away and getting killed in the process, they try to make a deal with The King, hoping to pull off the con of all cons.

While the plot of Confidence is elaborate and a little convoluted at times, the movie is saved by the solid acting performances by most of the cast members involved. Pretty much everybody here was operating on all cylinders, thus making this film quite entertaining in spite of its flaws.

Rating: «««

Virginie Fortin: Mes sentiments (2023)

Genre: Franco / Comedy
Réalisation: Charles-Antoine Thériault
Distribution: Virginie Fortin
Running time: 101 minutes

 

Il s’agit ici du deuxième one-woman-show de l’humoriste québécoise Virginie Fortin. Avec beaucoup de philosophie, Virginie Fortin s’interroge ici sur l’existence, sur la maternité et sur les sentiments qui mènent l’existence sur terre.

Bien honnêtement, je n’ai pas beaucoup aimé ce spectacle. L’humour philosophique et existentielle n’est pas vraiment pas tasse de thé. De temps en temps, l’humoriste offrait de bon flashs, qui m’ont fait sourire et parfois même rire. La minute suivante, elle me perdait à nouveau dans les méandres de sa pensée. Le propos ne me rejoignait pas, et le delivery ne venait pas me chercher non plus. Donc, j’ai souvent décroché.

Rating: ««