Back to School (1986)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Alan Metter
Starring: Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young
Running time: 96 minutes

 

Thornton Melon is a self-made wealthy businessman living large despite never having had any formal education. After divorcing his trophy wife, he decides to visit his grown-up son at college. On campus, he realizes that his son hates the college experience. To keep his son from dropping out, Thornton decides to enroll as a freshman in college.

This movie is mostly a vehicle for Rodney Dangerfield’s usual antics. As such, it contains a good dose of funny business and hilarious moments. On the other hand, most of the support characters are very one dimensional and the acting is not very good. Another bright spot, beside Rodney, is Sam Kinison, as a college professor with a bad attitude. It was also cool to see how far Robert Downey Jr. has come.

Back to School is entertaining for what it is, but, revisiting it today, it feels very dated. It did not age so well.

Rating: «««

Pig (2021)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
Running time: 92 minutes

 

Robin Feld is a former chef turned recluse truffle forager. He lives alone in a wooded area, in Portland, with his pet pig, that helps him find the treasured mushrooms. One night, Robin gets attacked in his little shack and his pig gets stolen. After waking up, bloodied from the attack, Robin decides to go back into the city, hoping to locate his precious pet.

While the premise of this film does sound odd, the finished product is a great piece of cinema. The cinematography is brilliant and it is so refreshing to see Nicolas Cage back playing something up to his great talent. I was hooked by Pig from the moment it started and the film stayed with me after it was over. Well done.

Rating: «««««

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Genre: Science-fiction /Action
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick
Running time: 127 minutes

 

Artificial intelligence network Skynet sends back in time a highly advanced Terminator to kill the future leader of the human resistance, John Connor, when he was a teenage boy. The resistance sends back a repackaged and less advanced cyborg to protect John. With the help of the boy’s mother, Sarah Connor, who escapes from the facility where she was kept after the events of the first film, he will do his best to keep the killing machine away from John.

While the original Terminator was quite good, this one goes on all cylinders. Arnold Schwarzenegger is at his peak here, as the good guy this time. Everything was done to make his character memorable, and he pulled it off. Linda Hamilton was also truly badass in her role. Robert Patrick was never better. Even the kid was good. While this is not usually my type of movie, I cannot help absolutely loving this flick. The story is compelling, the acting was great and the director did a solid job too. And the special effects were amazing.

Rating: «««««

Two If By Sea (1996)

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Directed by: Bill Bennett
Starring: Colin Firth, Heather Graham, Minnie Driver
Running time: 96 minutes

 

Frank O’Brien is a petty thief who is trying to pull a last job with his girlfriend Roz, hoping to then settle down for a more normal life away from crime. They steal a valuable painting, with the hope of selling it to an unknown buyer. As they travel to the meeting point, on an island on the coast of New England, things unravel.

This is a silly film. The acting is very uninspired, the characters are all one dimensional, the story is full of clichés, and it all goes nowhere fast. The kid character brings a little sweetness to the deal, but, overall, this is a very forgettable movie, other than for the Nova Scotian scenery.

Rating: ««

Hope Springs (2003)

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Directed by: Mark Herman
Starring: Colin Firth, Heather Graham, Minnie Driver
Running time: 92 minutes

 

Colin Ware is a British artist that travels from the UK to the little town of Hope, is the US, as a means to run away from issues with his fiancée. In Hope, he meets Mandy, a nursing home worker, that helps him get over his heartbreak. Things get complicated when Vera, Colin’s fiancée, tracks him down in America.

As your run-of-the-mill rom-com, this film is nothing much to write home about. It is not great, but it is not bad either. The acting itself is decent. It is filled with clichés, but it is not without charm. A nice little simple movie for a slow night where one does not want to think too much.

Rating: «««

Dans l'ombre du Star Wars Kid (2022)

Genre: Franco / Documentary
Réalisation: Mathieu Fournier
Distribution: Ghyslain Raza
Durée: 80 minutes

 

En 2002, Ghyslain Raza, alors adolescent, est devenu une célébrité virtuelle planétaire bien malgré lui lorsqu’une vidéo le montrant en train d’imiter un personnage des films Star Wars a été mise sur Internet sans sa permission. Après avoir été ridiculisé en privé et sur la place publique, celui qui est maintenant un homme adulte s’est construit une bonne vie. Ce documentaire permet de faire la lumière sur cette folle aventure qui était tellement imprévisible au début des années 2000.

Ce documentaire est fort intéressant. Il offre un regard captivant sur les dérapages de la technologie. C’est vraiment fou de voir l’impact que certains comportements en ligne peuvent avoir sur la vie des gens. Heureusement, dans ce cas-ci, le jeune homme a été bien entouré et a démontré beaucoup de résilience. Je le recommande fortement. Très bon film.

Rating: «««««

The Terminator (1984)

Genre: Science-fiction /Action
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Running time: 107 minutes

 

Two beings travel through time from 2029 to 1984. One is a cyborg assassin called The Terminator, whose mission is to kill a woman named Sarah Connor. The other is a human soldier named Kyle Reese who is sent to protect Sarah from The Terminator.

While not as flashy as the sequel that would follow, The Terminator offers a compelling story with some good action and a good pace to it. The film maximized Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting chops, with lots of looking menacing and very few lines. While I am not usually a fan of the genre, this film was lots of fun. Some solid light entertainment that keeps you hooked while it lasts.

Rating: ««««