Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Jay Roach
Cast: Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles, Seth Green, Michael York, Robert Wagner
Time: 94 minutes

 

Dr. Evil is back with another plan for world domination. He travels to 1975 to collaborate with a Dutch man known as Goldmember on the production of a tractor beam set to be used to pull a meteor into the earth. Austin Powers follows him to the 70’s, where he will work with undercover FBI agent Foxxy Cleopatra to thwart his arch nemesis’ plans.

In my humble opinion, this was the one installment too many in the Austin Powers franchise. The story is a mess that makes no sense and the acting took a drop. Beyoncé was horrible as Foxxy Cleopatra and Mike Myers should have maybe stopped taking on too many roles. His portrayal of Goldmember was weak and uninspired.

Here, it just felt like the filmmakers tried to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at the wall to see what would stick. Not much stuck. A few good flashes, but the rest is so very forgettable.

Rating: ««

Adrift in Manhattan (2007)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Alfredo De Villa
Cast: Heather Graham, Victor Rasuk, Dominic Chianese, William Baldwin
Time: 91 minutes

 

The lives of three very lonely people intersect in New York City. There is Rose, an ophthalmologist who is separated from her schoolteacher husband and who is still mourning the loss of her young son, who accidently fell from a window. There is Tomaso, an old painter who just found out he is quickly going blind. There is also Simon, a young and timid photo shop clerk living with his alcoholic mother.

This film is a little dreary, but it offers a very compelling look at loneliness from the points of view of three different characters. The characters are complex and are delivered on screen by a talented cast. Overall, I liked this film very much.

Rating: ««««

Jean-Sébastien Girard: Un garçon pas comme les autres (2024)

Genre: Franco / Comedy
Réalisation: Luc Sirois
Distribution: Jean-Sébastien Girard
Durée: 75 minutes

 

Dans ce one-man-show, Jean-Sébastien Girard nous raconte son histoire, de son enfance modeste dans Rosemont jusqu’à la réalisation de son rêve ultime, soit de devenir présent à la télévision. Girard se décrit lui-même comme un croisement entre Mike Ward et Michel Louvain. Bizarre comme comparaison, mais très appropriée. Girard passe rapidement de l’attendrissant au grinçant, et ce, avec beaucoup d’agilité. Dans le touchant, c’est fort réussi. Sa relation avec sa mère est réellement fusionnelle. Dans le corrosif, c’est très inégal. Certaines blagues ratent un peu la cible. Il faut dire que son public ne semblait pas trop prêt à prendre l’humour plus raide. Et comme Girard n’est pas le plus aguerri comme humoriste, il se retrouvait à rigoler de ses blagues dures plus que les gens dans la salle.

Somme toute, pas mauvais comme show. Ça ne passera pas à l’histoire, mais c’est divertissant pendant que ça passe.

Rating: «««

Here Comes the Boom (2012)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Frank Coraci
Cast: Kevin James, Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler, Bas Rutten
Time: 105 minutes

 

Scott Voss is a disillusioned biology teacher at Wilkinson High School. When he finds out that budget cuts at the school mean the end of the music program and the loss of a job for his friend Marty Streb, the 42-year-old man, who used wrestle in college, decides to turn to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), figuring that, even he loses a few fights, he’ll manage to raise the money needed to save the school’s music program.

If you put aside the total lack of believability of the story of this film, you can manage to be entertained. Kevin James, who co-wrote the screenplay, does a good acting job here. You forget the actor and believe the character, though, in real life, he would never stand a chance in MMA. Henry Winkler and Bas Rutten were also very good. As for Salma Hayek, talented and so gorgeous.

This comedy has good heart and a certain sweetness to it. There is a good dose of toilet humor also, that kind of clashes with the rest. Overall, a decent offering.

Rating: «««

Lucy Grizzli Sophie (2024)

Genre: Franco / Thriller
Réalisation: Anne Émond
Distribution: Catherine-Anne Toupin, Guillaume Cyr, Lise Roy
Durée: 89 minutes

 

Après avoir quitté Montréal, consommé une dose considérable d’alcool et roulé une bonne partie de la nuit, Sophie se retrouve fatigué au gîte de Louise. Elle y est accueillie par Martin, le neveu de la propriétaire. Sophie et Martin développent une complicité assez troublante, alors que la vérité s’apprête à éclater au grand jour.

Ce film est basé sur la pièce de théâtre La Meute, écrite par Catherine-Anne Toupin. Je me souviens que, durant la tournée de promotion autour du film, les descriptions de l’histoire étaient assez vagues. Je comprends maintenant pourquoi il en était ainsi : En tant que spectateur, on ne comprend tout qu’au dernier acte. C’est alors que nous avons toutes les informations en main.

Lucy Grizzli Sophie raconte une histoire fort actuelle, avec des personnages complexes, sur le pouvoir des mots, surtout lorsque vient le temps de faire du mal. C’est très facile de s’investir émotivement dans ce film. Le jeu des acteurs et actrices est fort efficace. On y croit sans jamais douter. Ce film est excellent. C’est cru, c’est dur, c’est lourd, mais on ne décroche pas du début à la fin.

Rating: «««««

Adam Sandler: Love You (2024)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Josh Safdie
Cast: Adam Sandler
Time: 74 minutes

 

In his latest comedy special, actor and comedian Adam Sandler is in what seems to be a small venue. Being close to the crowd, it gives an intimate feeling to the whole shindig. As for the material itself, it is very uneven. Some of the jokes and songs hit the mark and make you laugh or at least smirk. Some of the stuff, though, felt like filler. The whole show had a very weird and chaotic atmosphere. I think it might had been what they were going for, but it might have scored better with more solid overall material. Like he did with his previous special, Sandler closed with a more touching song about the power of laughter in his life. While it was not as strong as the Farley tribute, it was still quite good.

Rating: «««

La Moitié gauche du frigo (2000)

Genre: Franco / Drama
Réalisation: Philippe Falardeau
Distribution: Paul Ahmarani, Stéphane Demers, Geneviève Néron
Durée: 90 minutes

 

Christophe, un ingénieur à la recherche d’un emploi, accepte de participer au documentaire sur le chômage réalisé par son ami et colocataire, Stéphane. Ce dernier, un acteur au théâtre qui milite aussi socialement, suit donc Christophe partout avec une caméra. Ce projet cinématographique mettra leur amitié à rude épreuve.

Quel beau et bon film de Philippe Falardeau. On a vraiment l’impression d’être dans l’intimité de deux amis réalisant un documentaire. Le jeu des acteurs, fort réaliste, compte pour beaucoup dans cette illusion très réussie. C’est un film brut, sans artifice, qui pousse à réfléchir et à se questionner sur plusieurs enjeux encore très actuels, plus de 20 ans plus tard.

Rating: «««««

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Jay Roach
Cast: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner
Time: 95 minutes

 

Dr. Evil returns from space with another plan to take over the world. To stop Austin Powers from interfering, Dr. Evil goes back in time to the 1960’s, when the super spy was cryogenically frozen, to steal his mojo. While feeling the effects of the theft on his charisma and vitality, Powers also goes back in time to stop Dr. Evil, with the help of a new young female agent, Felicity Shagwell.

This is certainly the best film in the franchise. Mike Myers was truly at his peak here. There is so much humor hidden in every little detail. There are so many cultural references that some might be easy to miss, so I find it nice to revisit this one once in a while.

This second installment in the Austin Powers trilogy is such a fun film. I love it. Sure, it is low-brow, gross comedy, but it doesn’t take itself seriously, which makes it so charming. The Flint and James Bond inspirations are clear and it is wonderful to witness, with the colors, the costumes and the laughter.

Rating: «««««

Twisters (2024)

Genre: Thriller
Directed by: Lee Isaac Chung
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos
Time: 122 minutes

 

Kate Carter gives up storm chasing in Oklahoma after losing most of her team, including her boyfriend, in an EF5. She moves to New York and gets a job at the NOAA office. Five years later, the only other surviving member of her former team tracks her down. He is working for a mobile tornado radar company called Storm Par and he convinces Kate to join them for a week to investigate a tornado outbreak back in Oklahoma. On site, Kate finds out that storm chasing is now big business, as multiple groups are clashing.

As a standalone sequel to the 1996 film called Twister, Twisters clearly improves upon the original. The story is a lot more fleshed out, the acting is better, and the visuals are amazing. Some of the stuff is a little predictable, but, overall, I was greatly entertained. The story felt very actual, rooted in a reality we can all relate to.

Rating: ««««

Emporte-moi (1999)

Genre: Franco / Drama
Réalisation: Léa Pool
Distribution: Karine Vanasse, Pascale Buissières, Milo Manojlovic
Durée: 94 minutes

 

Hanna est une jeune adolescente de 13 ans vivant dans la Québec des années 1960. En quête perpétuelle de son identité propre, au milieu de la relation tumultueuse entre son père écrivain souvent sans emploi et sa mère dépressive, Hanna est lourdement inspirée par le film Vivre sa vie, de Jean-Luc Godard, qu’elle visionne à répétition.

Karine Vanasse, qui en était alors à ses premières armes, transperce l’écran dans le rôle principal. Le reste de la distribution fait du bon boulot aussi. Léa Pool nous offre ici un regard doux-amer sur la quête d’identité. En tant que fan de cinéma et de musique, j’ai apprécié le regard jeté sur la recherche de réponses dans ces diverses inspirations. Vraiment un excellent film ; c’est à voir.

Rating: «««««

Along Came Polly (2004)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: John Hamburg
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Time: 90 minutes

 

Reuben Feffer is an actuary for a big insurance company. While on his honeymoon in St. Barts, his new wife leaves him for her scuba instructor. Back home and dejected, Reuben reconnects with Polly Prince, a former classmate from middle school. Polly is a free spirit, a polar opposite of Reuben, who is used to calculating risks and living by the rules.

The main attraction of this film was in the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Sandy Lyle, Reuben’s best friend and a former child actor who is hanging on for dear life to his past glory. He is so funny here. Man, I miss that actor.

Stiller and Aniston are fine working with the material given to them. A lot of low-brow humor. Some of it hit the mark, some not so much. An entertaining film that doesn’t revolutionize the genre but that manages to be pretty good.

Rating: «««

Blink Twice (2024)

Genre: Thriller
Directed by: Zoë Kravitz
Cast: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex
Time: 102 minutes

 

Frida and her best friend Jess are working as waitresses for an exclusive cocktail party, where they encounter controversial billionaire tech mogul Slater King, who invites them to join him and a group of people to party on a private island. Some time after her arrival there, Frida starts to realize that things might very well not be as they appear to be there.

Considering that, even before the movie starts, the producers shared a “trigger warning”, I was expected to be shocked or at the very least surprised by the content of Blink Twice. I had forgotten that this is 2024. The violence and the sordid matters are suggested much more than they are seen. There are a few rough flashes here and there, but it is not that bad. I get that the viewer sees the memories of the victims as they come to them. That is a choice that can easily be defended, but the warning was a bit much in my book, since it is clearly not usual.

Blink Twice offers a slow burn story-wise. Things are slow to get going to the point that I almost got bored, but, once it kicks into high gear, it gets better. I can clearly see the feminine prints on the story, as the moral of the whole thing is in bold and underlined a few times. Blink Twice is neither bad nor great. It is a decent movie about some bad people doing bad things. The acting is a little over-the-top at times, but it was mostly okay.

Rating: «««

Beetlejuice (1988)

Genre: Horror / Comedy
Directed by: Tim Burton
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Micheal Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara
Time: 92 minutes

 

Barbara and Adam Maitland are a married couple planning to spend their vacation decorating the country home they love so much. On their way home from a shopping trip to town, they get into a car crash. As they walk back into their house, they realize that they are now ghosts unable to leave their home. The house is sold, and with the no always desired assistance of Betelgeuse, a charismatic ghost, they try to find a way to get ride of the new owners.

This film is the epitome as what has come to be known as the Tim Burton style. It is creepy, it is funny, it is colorful. Michael Keaton just shoots off the screen here. He is at his most maniacal and charismatic. I would even have taken more of his character, really. The rest of the cast is also good, but Betelgeuse steals the show.

Beetlejuice was fun to revisit, as a sequel is coming out soon.

Rating: ««««