The Vow (2012)

Genre: Romance / Drama
Directed by: Michael Sucsy
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill
Time: 104 minutes

 

Very lightly inspired by true events, this film is the story of Paige Collins and her new husband Leo. Paige suffers from severe head trauma, after a car accident, that makes her forget about the most recent part of her life, including the identity of her husband. Leo tries to gain the love of his wife back, but her estranged family is back in the picture, trying to capitalize on the fact that she forgot why she was not longer talking to them.

This is a very Hollywood version of a touching true story, with beautiful actors telling a clichés story. There were a few good spots here and there, but, overall, this is a very forgettable film, with no head injury needed.

Rating: ««

La liberté en colère (1994)

Genre: Franco / Documentary
Réalisation: Jean-Daniel Lafond
Distribution: Pierre Vallières, Charles Gagnon, Francis Simard et Robert Comeau
Durée: 73 minutes

 

Plus de 20 ans après les faits, quatre anciens membres du Front de libération du Québec, Pierre Vallières, Charles Gagnon, Francis Simard et Robert Comeau, se rencontrent pour discuter de l’évolution de leur vision du militantisme et de la liberté. Leurs discussions entre eux et avec d’autres intervenants sont entrecoupées de voyages dans diverses régions du Québec et de la musique de Plume Latraverse.

De prime abord, je me suis intéressé à ce documentaire en raison de la présence de Plume Latraverse lui-même et de sa musique. Il ne parle pas, mais on le voit chanter à plusieurs reprises. Ce que j’ai trouvé ici, c’est un film fort intéressant sur un sujet qui représente une part importante de l’histoire du Québec. C’est une portion de l’histoire que je connaissais trop peu. Même si je n’étais pas d’accord avec tout, j’ai bien apprécié ce film. C’était aussi plaisant de revoir Michel Chartrand.

Rating: ««««

RoboCop 3 (1993)

Genre: Science-Fiction / Action
Directed by: Fred Dekker
Cast: Robert Burke, Nancy Allen, Rip Torn
Time: 104 minutes

 

Business conglomerate OCP is back at it trying to bankrupt the city of Detroit completely so it can build its planned new Delta City. With the financial backing of a major Japanese corporation, they are pushing families out of their homes to take over the land. RoboCop, looking to avenge the death of his fallen partner, joins force with the rebels trying to stop OCP.

As much as I disliked the first sequel, I hated this second one. Peter Weller was not back as RoboCop, as he had other commitments. They made an effort to make the new actor portraying the cyborg look like Weller without the face shield, but the voice was just so bad. And the acting was putrid. Even Nancy Allen, who was not so bad in the previous two films, came off really wooden and uninspired. A veteran such as Rip Torn was laughable, in a bad way, in his performance. The story was just dumb and silly. All things considered, this film never should have been made.

Rating: «

Scream 2 (1997)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Wes Craven
Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
Time: 111 minutes

 

A movie called Stab, inspired by the events of the first film, inspires the killing of more teens, and Sidney Prescott once again has to worry about her own safety, wondering who in her entourage is trying to kill her.

While I enjoyed the first Scream film, this one lost me. The movie within a movie and the poking fun at the genre came off forced and self-conscious to me. And the acting was really bad too. There were a few better moments, but, overall, I did not care for this one.

Rating: ««

Billy Madison (1995)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Tamra Davis
Cast: Adam Sandler, Bradley Whitford, Josh Mostel
Time: 89 minutes

 

Billy Madison is the only son of retiring hotel tycoon Brian Madison. Though Billy is 27, he’s immature and dimwitted. Having a phony diploma bought by his rich father, Billy decides to go back through all 12 years of school (2 weeks per grade) to get his diploma and inherit his father’s business.

When properly dosed and wrapped around a good storyline, Adam Sandler’s usual shenanigans can be amusing. It was not quite the case here. While Billy Madison is not as bad as some of Sandler’s later offerings, it was far from perfect. The film has its dose of cute and funny moments. Some of the cameos, like Chris Farley and Norm MacDonald, were also a nice treat. Some stuff made me laugh, but other things fell kind of flat. All things considered, this is an average silly comedy.

Rating: «««

The Hero (2017)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Brett Haley
Cast: Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon, Nick Offerman
Time: 93 minutes

 

Lee Hayden is an aging Western actor on the decline who has to come to terms with his own impending mortality after a cancer diagnosis. While he tries to repair his relationship with his estranged daughter before it is too late, he finds comfort in the arms of a younger stand-up comic.

What could have been a very clichéd story was greatly improved by Sam Elliott’s understated performance. And what a voice that man has. He was the perfect choice for that role; it was made for him. I felt like the ending was a little rushed here, but, overall, this film really hooked me and kept me interested all the way through.

Rating: ««««

Tendresse ordinaire (1973)

Genre: Franco / Drama
Réalisation: Jacques Leduc
Distribution: Esther Auger, Jocelyn Bérubé, Jean-Pierre Bourque
Durée: 82 minutes

 

Esther attend que son mari bûcheron, Jocelyn, revienne à la maison des chantiers, tentant de se désennuyer avec sa meilleure amie Bernadette. Jocelyn est sur le chemin du retour, en train et en auto, où il rencontre des gens aussi seuls que lui.

Ce film est en quelque sorte un petit poème sur la solitude et les petits moments de tendresse entre humains. Il ne se passe pas grand-chose, et il y a de longs moments de silence. J’ai bien apprécié voir Plume Latraverse, un de mes idoles, à l’écran dans un film. Pour le reste, ce film est un produit un peu sec que je ne consommerais pas trop souvent.

Rating: ««