Bach et Bottine (1986)

Bach et Bottine (1986)

Genre: Franco / Comedy / Drama

Réalisateur: André Melançon

Distribution: Mahée Paiement, Raymond Legault, France Arbour

Running time: 96 minutes

Fanny est une jeune fille de 11 ans qui habite avec sa grand-mère depuis qu’elle a perdu ses deux parents dans un accident de voiture. Se voyant contrainte par sa santé d’aller à l’hospice, la grand-maman décide d’envoyer Fanny chez son oncle Jean-Claude, un homme célibataire fervent de musique classique. En raison d’un changement d’adresse, la nouvelle ne se rend pas au nouveau gardien de Fanny, qui reçoit l’arrivée de la petite et de sa moufette apprivoisée Bottine comme un vent de bouleversement dans sa vie bien rangée.

Ce film charmant se classe parmi les meilleurs selon moi dans la catégorie des Contes pour tous. La plupart des films dans cette série avaient des distributions pleines de jeunes sans beaucoup d’expérience au cinéma, et le jeu de ces derniers était souvent très approximatif. Dans ce cas-ci, la distribution principale est petite et le talent est clairement au rendez-vous.

Mahée Paiement en était à ses débuts au cinéma, mais elle a clairement su tirer son épingle du jeu dans Bach et Bottine. Elle était drôle et charmante dans le rôle de l’espiègle Fanny. Raymond Legault était aussi très crédible dans le rôle de Jean-Claude.

Bach et Bottine est un petit film léger qui fait sourire toute la famille. Il a marqué mon enfance, et je trouve encore plaisant de le voir aujourd’hui et de répéter certaines répliques en même temps qu’elle passent à l’écran.

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Metallica - Live Shit: Binge and Purge (1993)

Genre: Musical

Starring: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, Jason Newsted

Running time: 337 minutes

Back in 1993, I was a teenager, and Metallica was one of the biggest bands out there in and out of the heavy metal genre. The famous Black album had been released and then came the huge boxset titled Live Shit: Binge and Purge, which contained 3 audio CD’s and two concerts on VHS or DVD. If you bought the VHS version, that box was huge. It seemed everyone in my entourage had bought that thing, but, for some reason, though I was a fan of the band, I never did.

This particular review will focus on the two concerts included in the boxset. The most recent one was recorded at the San Diego Sports Arena, in January 1992. The other one was at the Seattle Coliseum, in August 1989. Two big arena concerts with a band in top form. Here, we have the long-haired edgy Metallica, Jason Newsted on bass guitar, doing what they do best: Rocking out on stage. The material is raw, but you can easily feel the energy of the guys and of the crowd in front of them. These are two awesome shows well worth seeing. We get over 5 hours of good rocking tunes, delivered with gusto on a big stage in front of very live crowds. Tons of fun for those who love Metallica and their music.

Rating: «««««

High Fidelity (2000)

Genre: Comedy / Drama

Directed by: Stephen Frears

Starring: John Cusack, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Joelle Carter

Running time: 113 minutes

Based on the British novel of the same name written by Nick Hornby, High Fidelity tells the story of Rob Gordon, a melomaniac and owner of a music store. After getting dumped by another girl, Gordon decides to look up his former flames to see what happened and to find out if he is to blame for the failed relationships.

John Cusack offers a solid performance here as Rob Gordon. This character felt so real, and the fact that he spoke directly to the camera at times made you feel like you were really walking into someone else’s life and being privy to some intimate information.

I could personally identify with the Rob Gordon character, especially when it came to the discussions he had in the music store with his employees. I have often been accused in the past of being a musical elitist, and I have judged people on their musical tastes. It was funny to see these guys act that way and I could relate. And I cannot tell you how many discussions of the top 5 genre I have had with a few friends of mine.

All things considered, High Fidelity is a very good character study of a guy looking for answers about himself. The character, in all his selfishness and self-centeredness, felt as real as anyone you can meet on the street. It took me a while to be hooked by this film, but, once I got in, it was a great entertaining ride. And, what soundtrack!

Rating: ««««

Rodney Carrington: Live at The Majestic (2007)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: David Newman

Starring: Rodney Carrington, Bob Hoban

Running time: 70 minutes

Rodney Carrington is part stand-up comic, part country singer. In this comedy special recorded at the Majestic Theatre, in Dallas, Texas, he starts with the comedy bits before strapping on his guitar and playing some funny songs, accompanied on piano by a fellow musician.

As for the material, it is the basic redneck stuff about sex, sexual orientation, women, body parts and bodily functions. If you are a fan of the likes of Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the cable guy, you should get a kick out of this. The jokes and songs are quite funny and made me laugh out loud many times, but his schtick tends to get repetitive after a while. Still good for an amusing evening of light entertainment, if you dig the genre.

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The Last Stand (2013)

Genre: Action

Directed by: Kim Jee-woon

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville

Running time: 107 minutes

Ray Owens is a former LAPD officer who has left the high-pressured life and is now living as a sheriff in a small Arizona town, where nothing much even happens. When an international drug lord being transported by the FBI escapes and starts driving his racecar towards his small town, to cross over to Mexico, Owens has to spring back into action to help the authorities catch the bad guy, with the help of his team.

The Last Stand was your typical Arnold vehicle for violence and mayhem, though the material they gave him that time was not as fresh as it used to be when he was a big star in Hollywood. The action scenes themselves were mostly fine for what they were, but I must admit the attempts at humor were very unfunny. The gunshot-and-one-liner combo can be good, but the one-liner has to be witty. None of that here.

The acting here was hugely uninspired. From the Governator, that is no surprise. But, when it comes to a veteran like Forest Whitaker, I expected so much more.

Overall, The Last Stand can be skipped without missing much. A few good moments, but it is mostly filled with clichés and bad acting. Seeing a sheriff and a drug lord having what looks like an MMA fight on a makeshift bridge between Mexico and the US made me laugh for all the wrong reasons.

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American Psycho (2000)

Genre: Comedy / Horror

Directed by: Mary Harron

Starring: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto

Running time: 101 minutes

This is the cinematic adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same name. It tells the story of Patrick Bateman, an investment banker in the Manhattan of the 1980’s who keeps up appearances to hide the fact that he is psychopath with a thirst for killing. As he goes along living that double life, he starts to wonder if he will be able to keep on hiding it from others.

American Psycho is a delicious mixture of black comedy and horror movie. Some of the scenes are gory and nasty, but, then, the sight of a business man setting his kills while discussing pop music from the 80’s will make you laugh for sure. There are no worries here about happy endings and catharsis, or about redeeming qualities. And, to be honest, I find this movie refreshing for that very reason.

Christian Bale was the perfect choice to bring this character to life. He is absolutely magnificent as Patrick Bateman, so much so that nobody else in the cast really comes close to him. If you have an open mind about black comedy, I highly recommend this one to you, if you have not seen it already.

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Snitch (2013)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Barry Pepper, Susan Sarandon, Benjamin Bratt

Running time: 112 minutes

John Matthews is the owner of a construction company who finds out that his estranged son has been arrested and is being charged as a drug dealer, even though he is no such thing. The young man has been snitched on by a friend who sold him out to save himself. Since his son refuses to snitch on anyone, Matthews makes a deal with the authorities to set up a real drug dealer to be caught so his son will get a deal.

The pace of the action is this film is fast and the story offers real potential. It is easy to identify with the plight of a father trying to save his son from prison time. This role offered a great opportunity to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to show some depth in his acting. Unfortunately, he did not deliver. The acting felt really uninspired, so it all just kind of fell flat. Same goes for the rest of the cast.

I did love the pace of the movie, and the use of a shaky hand-held camera in certain scenes was a nice touch. It is kind of disappointing that a film that offered such potential in its premise get lost in the delivery.

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Dazed and Confused (1993)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Richard Linklater

Starring: Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Wiley Wiggins, Adam Goldberg

Running time: 97 minutes

School’s out for summer at Lee High School, in Texas, and the kids are intent on celebrating this momentous occasion. Drugs are being consumed, alcoholic beverages too, freshmen are being hazed and absolute mayhem is to be expected.

In Dazed and Confused, we have an ensemble cast of actors and actresses who would later become big names in Hollywood. People like Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich and Matthew McConaughey were just starting in the business back then.

This 1993 coming-of-age comedy is such a fun film, as it brings you right back to high school, with the desire to be cool and to party and to have your idealism taken seriously. The actors all feel authentic, from the stoners, to the bullies, the jocks and the hangers on who do not want to leave. Though I must say I’m glad hazing was not so prevalent when I went to high school. If I am to be involved in paddling or spanking, on either side of the implement, I would rather the opposite sex be involved.

I love this movie, from the story, to the characters and to the soundtrack. I can watch this one over and over again.

Rating: «««««

Take Me Home (2011)

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Directed by: Sam Jaeger

Starring: Sam Jaeger, Amber Jaeger, Victor Garber

Running time: 97 minutes

Thom is an aspiring photographer whose career is not going the way he wants it to. After getting evicted and losing out on a job, he goes back to driving his illegal cab around New York City. His life takes a sharp turn when Claire gets in the car. She is a workaholic who suspects her man is cheating on her and who just found out the father she has not seen in years has just had a heart attack. The two set out on a road trip where they will learn a lot about themselves and each other.

The two main characters in this film are played by a real life couple, and let’s just say they have better chemistry than Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Good for them. As for the movie itself, I appreciate the fact that, in spite of it being a romantic comedy, they did not go full Hollywood on us by inserting the token hot love scenes and giving us an ultra-predictable ending. It was more of a subdued than an in-your-face kind of movie.

Take Me Home is character-driven movie with a compelling premise. The scenery was also a nice element, but, in the end, it just seemed to drag on for me, even though it is not a long film. There was a little je-ne-sais-quoi missing to make it very good, but it is still a decent film with a nice storyline and good acting.

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Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Genre: Thriller / Author’s Favorites

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michal Madsen

Running time: 99 minutes

For the 200^th review on this blog, I decided to go back to an all-time favorite of mine: Reservoir Dogs. This 1992 crime thriller is the first feature-length film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

A mob boss and his son hire six men who don’t know each other to work together on a diamond heist. When the crime does not go down as planned and cops arrive early, causing mayhem among the crooks, it becomes apparent that there might be a rat amongst the hired guns.

In true Tarantino fashion, the story of Reservoir Dogs is not told in linear fashion. We go back and forth through the events of the failed diamond heist and what followed and through the backstory of the characters. The acting is superb on everyone’s part and the movement in the action is seemless.

There are two scenes in particular that I absolutely adore in Reservoir Dogs. First, there is the opening scene, at the table in a restaurant, where Tarantino himself, as Mr. Brown, tells his interpretation of Like a Virgin, the Madonna song. Hilarious stuff that I still quote to this day with friends. The second scene, a little rougher, is the one where Michael Madsen, as Mr. Blonde, tortures a police officer while dancing to Stuck in the middle with you.

Reservoir Dogs is a true classic in my book, one that would launch the great writing and directing career of Quentin Tarantino. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it.

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Pas de répit pour Méllanie (1990)

Genre: Franco / Comédie

Réalisateur: Jean Beaudry

Distribution: Marie-Stéphane Gaudry, Kesnamelly Neff, Madeleine Langlois

Running time: 95 minutes

Ce film de la série des Contes pour tous raconte l’histoire de Mélanie, une jeune fille qui reçoit sa correspondante Florence chez elle à la campagne pour l’été. Inspirées par Le Petit Prince, les deux filles décident de tenter d’apprivoiser une vieille dame solitaire du village, que tout le monde traite comme une sorcière. Lorsque la dame âgée est victime d’un vol, les jeunes filles s’improvisent détectives.

J’ai regardé ce film la fin de semaine dernière avec ma femme. Il s’agissait d’un de ses films préférés dans sa jeunesse. Dans la lignée des Contes pour tous, cette œuvre cinématographique pour toute la famille raconte une petite histoire charmante et tente par la même occasion d’enseigner une petite leçon sur la tolérance et l’acceptation des autres.

Somme toute, Pas de répit pour Mélanie n’est pas un mauvais film dans son genre. Le jeu des acteurs n’est rien d’extraordinaire, mais il n’est pas affreux non plus. Un jeune Vincent Bolduc qui se plaint de l’odeur des navets fait rire avec sa phrase qui reste en tête. En plus, ça fait sourire de penser qu’on correspondait avec les gens par courrier régulier à une époque pas si lointaine.

Rating: «««