Man with the gun (1955)

Genre: Western

Directed by: Richard Wilson

Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Henry Hull

Running time: 83 minutes

Clint Tollinger, a “town tamer” with a heavy reputation behind him, comes to Sheridan City to try to reconcile with Nelly Bain, with minimal success. As they are dealing with the heavy hand of Dade Holman and his gang, the town council of Sheridan City is reluctantly convinced to hire Tollinger to clean up the situation.

Having mostly seen Robert Mitchum in the bad guy role, in such films as the original Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter, it was a nice change to see him as a justice seeker, though with unorthodox methods. Mitchum was the perfect person to carry that role.

Man with the Gun offered some nice twists on the typical western flicks and it was a very entertaining contribution to the genre.

Rating: ««««

The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir (2014)

Genre: Documentary

Directed by: Mike Fleiss

Cast: Bob Weir, Trixie Garcia, Mike Gordon, Sammy Hagar

Running time: 85 minutes

This rock documentary takes a deep look at the life & times of The Grateful Dead, through the eyes of one of its founding and surviving members, Bob Weir. We are taken through the youth and early days of the man who was known to many as the good looking one in the band. He was most certainly a creative force for the group, and he is still going strong today.

I have never been a diehard fan of The Grateful Dead – or Deadhead, if you will – but I most certainly enjoyed learning more about that band who managed to cultivate quite a cult following through the years. I have always loved to hear about music and the people who create it, so, in that sense; this was very pleasant for me. It remains a documentary that was really well done.

Rating: ««««

Troublemakers (1994)

Genre: Western / Comedy

Réalisateur: Terence Hill

Distribution: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer

Durée: 101 minutes

Deux frères séparés par la vie se voient forcés de travailler ensemble, malgré leurs relations tendues, afin d’en arriver à leurs fins.

Ce film est arrivé un peu plus tard dans la lignée des spaghettis westerns/comédie de Bud Spencer et Terence Hill. Hill est aussi le réalisateur de Troublemakers. Je dois avouer que ce film m’a quelque peu déçu. Autant le scénario que le jeu des acteurs semblaient manquer d’inspiration. En plus, les voix françaises du doublage ne sont pas les mêmes que dans les plus vieux films, ce que j’ai trouvé dommage.

Rating: ««

Lewis Black: Black on Broadway (2004)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Paul Miller

Cast: Lewis Black

Running time: 58 minutes

Taking the stage at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, in New York, in 2004, Lewis Black delved into the kind of humor he has come to be very well known for: extremely political, yet politically incorrect. Black does not hesitate for a second to criticize and poke fun at his own country, but he does not come from a biased point of view. I like that. Both Democrats and Republicans get freely skewered over the course of almost an hour.

In this comedy special, Lewis Black discusses such topics as bottled water, corporate greed, stupidity in America and more. The tone is very acidic, so that might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I liked it. Lewis Black in a thinking man’s comedian that does his job quite well on stage. I highly recommend this show if you can track it down.

Rating: ««««

Muscle Shoals (2013)

Genre: Documentary

Directed by: Greg “Freddy” Camalier

Cast: Gregg Allman, Bono, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin

Running time: 111 minutes

This documentary film tells the story of two recording studios, FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, which have become two major players in the music industry. A great number of artists have travelled to Muscle Shoals, a little town in Alabama, to record at either of those two studios, and many of them share here on film their thoughts as to what made that little corner of the world so special. We also get to hear from the people behind these two mystical places.

It is amazing to think that this little town in the Southern United States had such an impact on the music industry and on the sounds of rock n’ roll, soul and R & B. Artists such as The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin and many more have found themselves in Muscle Shoals during various parts of their careers.

This is a film that is sure the please the music lovers out there. It went a bit long for me, with some superfluous details, but, overall, it was really interesting.

Rating: ««««

De père en flic 2 (2017)

Genre: Franco / Comedy

Réalisateur: Émile Gaudreault

Distribution: Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Karine Vanasse, Patrice Robitaille

Durée: 117 minutes

Jacques Laroche et son fils Marc ont encore des relations tendues, tant dans leur vie de tous les jours que dans leur milieu de travail, au sein de la police. Jacques est seul et au bord de la retraite, tandis que la relation de Marc avec sa copine Alice bat de l’aile. Marc et Alice se joindront à une thérapie de groupe, question de, à la fois, travailler à leur couple et talonner le bras droit du chef de la mafia. Jacques, pour sa part, ne pourra pas s’empêcher de s’immiscer dans le feu de l’action.

Ce film est la suite de la comédie de 2009, réalisée également par Émile Gaudreault et mettant en vedette les deux mêmes acteurs principaux. Cette deuxième mouture est somme toute mieux réussie, à mon humble avis.

Tout d’abord, la chimie entre Michel Côté et Louis-José Houde s’est solidifiée. Également, le matériel qui leur a été fourni était de meilleure qualité. Cette fois, les répliques du personnage de Marc Laroche semblaient avoir été écrites pour cadrer parfaitement dans la bouche de Louis-José Houde, et la livraison s’en est trouvée grandement plus naturelle.

Notons aussi que les personnages secondaires étaient mieux étoffés et mieux joués ce coup-ci. Karine Vanasse, Patrice Robitaille et Julie LeBreton ont bien su tirer leur épingle du jeu.

Tout compte fait, De père en flic 2 est une très bonne comédie, hyper divertissante.

Rating: ««««

It (2017)

Genre: Horror

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Cast: Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgard, Sophia Lillis

Running time: 135 minutes

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, published in 1986, It is the story of a shapeshifting evil force, most commonly seen in the traits of Pennywise the Clown, that has been terrorizing and abducting the kids of the little town of Derry, Maine. A group of seven school kids decide to league together to try defeating this evil presence in their lives.

A two part TV miniseries was produced in 1990. Back then, Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise was the highlight of an otherwise very cheesy made for TV product. In this modern version, that covers the first part of the miniseries, Bill Skarsgard takes over the role of the evil clown. He does so brilliantly, as he makes the character and its mannerisms his own.

In many ways, this modern version improves on the miniseries. The entire cast of children is really solid, which is not always the case when dealing with young ones. The filmmakers manage to deliver a truly scary product, filled with very tense moments where the viewer on the edge of his seat.

I highly recommend this one.

Rating: «««««

El Aura (2005)

Genre: Foreign / Thriller

Directed by: Fabian Bielinski

Cast: Ricardo Darin, Dolores Fonzi, Pablo Cedron

Running time: 138 minutes

This Argentine film tells the story of Espinoza, an epileptic taxidermist with an extraordinary memory and sense of observation. Espinoza particularly loves to fantasize about the ways to commit the perfect crime. While on a hunting trip, he accidently shoots and kills a man. When he realizes that the man he killed was a criminal about to rob an armored truck with a group of men, Espinoza feels like he has found the perfect occasion to make his dream a reality.

I had to give this neo-noir thriller a second chance. On a Friday night, after a long week at work, I tried to watch it. I could not keep up with a foreign movie subtitled in English. The next morning, I started it again. There it was: Loved it.

The pace of El Aura is very slow and deliberate, but the story pulls you in and never lets you go until the end. The acting was good and the whole mood that is set by the director is captivating. I was a bit disappointed by the ending, but, still, I found this film really enjoyable.

Rating: ««««

De père en flic (2009)

Genre: Franco / Comedy

Réalisateur: Émile Gaudreault

Distribution: Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Rémy Girard

Durée: 107 minutes

Jacques Laroche et son fils Marc Laroche sont deux policiers travaillant au sein de la même équipe, et leurs relations sont très tendues. Ils sont sur un gros coup, soit de finalement arrêter le motard criminalisé Luc « Mononc » Tardif. Sentant l’avocat de Tardif, M^e Charles Bérubé, sur le bord de craquer, ils réalisent que le seul moyen de l’isoler pour le convaincre d’être délateur est de participer, tout comme Bérubé et son fils, à un camp de thérapie axé sur la relation père-fils.

La prémisse du film est assez loufoque, mais le tout se prête bien à un film léger et divertissant. En ce sens, De père en flic rempli convenablement son mandat. Il y a un grand nombre de bons gags qui font beaucoup rire. D’autres tombent un peu plus à plat.

Pour ce qui est du jeu des comédiens, le tout est assez inégal. Michel Côté et Louis-José Houde avaient somme toute une bonne chimie à l’écran, mais l’humoriste sonnait parfois un peu faux. Et que dire de Jean-Michel Anctil en méchant? J’étais absolument incapable d’y croire une seconde.

Loin d’être un excellent film, De père en flic mérite tout de même le qualificatif de « pas mauvais ».

Rating: «««

The Revenant (2015)

Genre: Biographical / Drama

Directed by: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson

Running time: 156 minutes

This semi-biographical film, based in part on the novel of the same name written by Michael Punke, tells the story of Hugh Glass, a frontiersman who was left for dead by one of his fellow trappers around 1823 after getting mauled by a grizzly bear. Against all odds, Glass survives and comes back seeking revenge on the man who abandoned him and killed his son.

What is most striking about The Revenant is the cinematography. The scenery is breath-taking and the images are delivered on screen in beautiful fashion. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu also did a solid directing job here to tell this epic tale, though, standing at around 2.5 hours, this movie was a little long for me.

Though I have never been a fan of his, I must commend Leonardo DiCaprio for his dedication and craftsmanship in the portrayal of Hugh Glass. With a very minimal use of words, a lot of physical work and very convincing transformation, he pulled it off without a fault.

Overall, this is a very good movie.

Rating: ««««

Criminal (2016)

Genre: Action / Thriller

Directed by: Ariel Vromen

Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones

Running time: 113 minutes

After one of their agents, Bill Pope, gets tortured and killed on duty while trying to stop a Spanish industrialist from getting some nuclear bypass codes from a hacker known as The Dutchman, the CIA decides to ask Dr. Micah Franks if Pope’s memories can be transplanted into a living being so The Dutchman can be located and the codes secured. Franks says it can be done and chooses violent convict Jerico Stewart as the perfect candidate, because of the effects of some childhood trauma on his brain.

This film was trashed by critics, but I liked it. To me, it was heavily carried by Kevin Costner’s performance. I’ve never been one of his biggest fans, but it was something different from him here, and he did a good job of it. The story was a bit convoluted and required a huge suspension of disbeliefs, and some of the acting was over the top, but, for some reason, I could not help get invested in the characters and their fate. I was entertained.

Rating: «««

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Genre: Action / Romantic Comedy

Directed by: Doug Liman

Cast: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie

Running time: 120 minutes

John and Jane Smith are a married couple living a secret life. Each of them is unaware that the other is a very talented hired assassin. Things unravel when they find out that their respective employers have set them on a path to kill each other.

This is a fun movie that blends quite well the genres of action flick and romantic comedy. The action scenes are abundant and very cool, but what makes this film most charming is the evident chemistry that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had together. You could see that the two actors, who would then form a couple in real life, had fun shooting this. That attitude radiated through the screen.

A very entertaining night at the movies.

Rating: ««««

Rubberface (1981)

Genre: Comedy / TV

Directed by: Glen Salzman and Rebecca Yates

Cast: Jim Carrey, Adah Glassbourg, Lynne Deragon

Running time: 55 minutes

This made for TV film, made for the CBC, is the story of Janet, an overweight teenager that goes through school life poking fun at herself to make her classmates laugh. For a class assignment about laughter, Janet visits a local comedy club, where she meets Tony Moroni, an aspiring comic. The two will strike up an unlikely friendship and business partnership.

Originally, this short movie was called Introducing Janet, but, after Jim Carrey gained success outside Canada, it was released on DVD and renamed Rubberface.

I watched it because I am a Jim Carrey fan and wanted to at least see it once, but, unless you feel like you really have to watch it, you should skip it. The story had some potential, but the script sucked. And the acting was putrid. The famous funnyman showed some glimpse of promise then, but he was not given much to work with.

Rating: «