The Santa Clause (1994)

Genre: Christmas / Comedy
Directed by: John Pasquin
Cast: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson
Time: 97 minutes

 

Scott Calvin is a 37-year-old divorced father working as a marketing director for a toy company. As he spends Christmas Eve at home with his 8-year-old son, he accidently causes Santa to fall from his roof to his death. Calvin is then set on the path to becoming the new Santa Claus.

This is your typical Disney movie with a Christmas twist to it. It is cute, it makes you feel good and it puts you in the holiday spirit. It is fun, light entertainment perfect for this time of year.  

Rating: ««««

Bullet to the Head (2012)

Genre: Action
Directed by: Walter Hill
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Jason Momoa
Time: 91 minutes

 

A hitman named Jimmy Bobo and a WDCPD detective named Taylor Kwon are forced to work together to counter a common enemy, another New Orleans hitman that has been targeting the both of them.

This is a fun action film with some good action scenes and some snappy dialogue. It does not reinvent the wheel or bring anything fresh to the table, but it entertains you while it lasts.

Rating: «««

Mike Birbiglia: Thank God for Jokes (2017)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Seth Barrish and Mike Birbiglia
Cast: Mike Birbiglia
Time: 70 minutes

 

Live on stage, comedian Mike Birbiglia discusses events in his life and his vision of humor. He talks about the importance of jokes in his life. Birbiglia is a great storyteller and he is also pretty solid when it comes to crowd work. A very good show overall. Some weaker moments, but very entertaining.

Rating: ««««

Being Flynn (2012)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Paul Weitz
Cast: Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Olivia Thirlby
Time: 102 minutes

 

Nick Flynn is an aspiring writer who was raised by a single mother, whom he lost to suicide in his late teens, something for which he blames himself. Working in a homeless shelter, he crosses path with his estranged father Jonathan, an alcoholic ex-con who proclaims himself a masterful writer that was never published.

This is a fine film, especially for De Niro’s performance. As usual, the legendary actor manages to bring a character to life and make him believable. Paul Dano was also pretty good himself. The film had its moments, but the whole thing fell kind of flat in the end.

Rating: «««

House (2004-2012)

 Genre: TV / Drama
Starring: Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Robert Shawn Leonard
Number of seasons: 8

 

Dr. Gregory House is a medical genius leading a team of diagnosticians in a big fictional New Jersey hospital. Despite chronic pains in one of his legs that has him addicted to painkillers and misanthropic attitude, House goes through his career solving puzzles and saving lives in the process. Even when his personal life is crumbling around him, his genius comes through in the end.

Dr. House is such a strong anti-hero character. He can be abrasive, merciless and despicable to people in his entourage, but, you know that, deep down, he is a good guy. And Hugh Laurie does such a powerful acting job here. He brings House to life and makes you feel like it is a real person. The supporting cast, that changed a lot over the eight seasons of the series, were all very good also.

I dug how, over each episode, new cases came along, as the lives of the main characters evolved. It is a long series, with a large number of episodes, but it is worth the investment in time.

 Rating: «««««

A Little Bit Zombie (2012)

Genre: Comedy / Horror
Directed by: Casey Walker
Cast: Kristopher Turner, Crystal Lowe, Shawn Roberts, Kristen Hager
Time: 87 minutes

 

Shortly before his wedding, Steve takes his fiancée Tina, his best friend and best man Craig and his sister Sarah to the family cabin to spend some quality time. Things go awry when Steve gets bitten by a weird bug that is slowly turning him into a zombie-like human that craves flesh.

This film is quite a bit on the lighter side of things, but the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously is part of its charm. It was also a treat to see Acadian wrestler Robert Maillet have a small role in this thing. Overall, this was fine for what it was.

Rating: «««

Mick & Keith (2021)

Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Finley Bald
Cast: Tony Calder, Gerry Conway, Mick Jagger
Time: 67 minutes

 

Through archived footage and interviews with music critics, this short documentary looks at the careers and lives of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, two of the founding members of rock band The Rolling Stones. I was not expecting much with this one, but I gave it a chance as major Stones fan. I was pleasantly surprised. Though it sure felt unauthorized, a good deal of footage has been obtained and the new interviews done for the film were quite interesting. Nothing new was brought out, but it was a solid overview of an amazing career.

Rating: ««««

Borderline (2008)

Genre: Franco / Drama
Réalisateur: Lyne Charlebois
Distribution: Isabelle Blais, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Angèle Coutu, Sylvie Drapeau
Running time: 109 minutes

 

Kiki est une jeune étudiante en littérature vivant avec un trouble de la personnalité limite. Pour calmer son mal de vivre, elle se réfugie dans le sexe et la toxicomanie. Elle revient sur son passé trouble question de finalement faire un peu de ménage dans sa vie et dans ses pensées.

Ce film, inspiré de deux romans de Marie-Sissi Labrèche, est très dur et très cru. Il ne donne pas dans la demi-mesure, à l’image de la condition décrite par le titre. Ayant une personne borderline dans mon entourage très rapproché — elle n’a heureusement pas tous les mêmes symptômes —, disons que j’ai reconnu l’intensité du personnage principal.

Isabelle Blais est criante de vérité ici. Elle se livre corps et âme dans ce rôle certainement pas évident à livrer. Beau travail de réalisation de Lyne Charlebois également.

Rating: ««««

Mike Birbiglia: The New One (2019)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Seth Barrish
Cast: Mike Birbiglia
Time: 85 minutes

 

Live on Broadway, comedian Mike Birbiglia goes into great details about his long and difficult journey to parenthood, from the perspective of a man who had never wanted to be a dad. Birbiglia is like an open book here, discussing his various health issues and his flaws. This show both hilariously funny and touching at times. Birbiglia is a solid storyteller. There is a point towards the end of the show where he gets a massive reaction out of everyone. It was pure magic. I loved this show. Smart, funny and brilliant.

Rating: «««««

Candy Cane Land (2023)

Genre: Christmas / Comedy
Directed by: Reginald Hudlin
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell 
Time: 117 minutes

 

Chris Carver is man who has forever been obsessed with Christmas. After getting laid off from his office job in December, he puts all his efforts into winning his neighborhood’s decorating contest, going to lengths that will put the safety of himself and his family in danger.

My wife wanted to watch something this weekend and I know she loves Christmas movies, so we gave this one a chance. It is not without sweetness and a few moments made us laugh here and there, but it was overly silly. The acting was decent, but the story dragged on and got too over-the-top at times.

Rating: ««

Showgirls (1995)

Genre: Drama / Thriller
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon 
Time: 131 minutes

 

Nomi Malone hitchhikes to Las Vegas with hopes and dreams of becoming a dancer. She starts as a stripper, but she soon finds herself hired as a showgirl at the Stardust. Stuck between a troubled past she is trying to escape, and a future filled with pitfalls and backstabbing, she finds herself in a world she was not prepared for.

What a horrible movie this is. A lot of people complained about the amount of nudity, but, to me, that is the only saving grace. The acting is so bad, and the story is mind-numbing, you find solace where you must. Boobs cannot be a bad thing, but most of this movie is.

Rating: ««

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Laurence Fishburne  
Time: 169 minutes

 

Hitman John Wick is left for dead, but he survives, and he recuperates hidden with the Bowery King, who also had a falling out with the High Table. After licking his wounds, Wick sets out for revenge on those who wronged him, while fighting for the freedom he so much longs for. On his path, he finds an old friend, who has been tasked with killing him.

This fourth installment in the John Wick franchise contains a lot more story, beyond the senseless killing of unknown characters, but it is maybe too much. The story gets convoluted at times, as if they had tried to squeeze two movies into one. All things considered, a decent thrill ride, with some good notes on freedom and redemption that touched my heart.

Rating: «««

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Genre: Thriller
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson
Running time: 139 minutes

 

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, tech billionaire Miles Bron invites a group of his closest friends to his mansion on a private Greek island to take part in a murder mystery game. Private investigator Benoit Blanc is also there. As secrets surface between the group of friends, an actual murder happens, and it’s a race to figure out what happened.

This whodoneit film is a stand-alone sequel to Knives Out, who came out in 2019. While not as strong as the original, this movie is quite enjoyable, thanks to a riveting storyline and strong acting. It bordered on being too long at one point, but I still loved it very much. Edward Norton is so good at the weird character.

Rating: ««««

12 Angry Men (1957)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley  
Time: 96 minutes

 

A teenager stands on trial in New York, accused of murdering his father by stabbing. The evidence seems clears, and a jury of 12 men is tasked with deciding whether the accused is indeed guilty of the crime or if there is reasonable doubt. As the jury gathers to debate the case, 11 of them are convinced that the accused is guilty. One man, Davis, juror 8, has reasonable doubt and votes not guilty. As the discussion wears on, working on a consensus, the men of the jury are forced to question their own views and values.

This film is an absolute classic and should me viewed by all at least once. While it came out in the late 1950’s, it is still very current, with social media and mob mentality being what it is today. The acting here is absolutely brilliant on everybody’s part. The characters are well defined in the writing and delivered masterfully on screen. The director did a bang on job, also, bringing all the pieces together. Watching this, it feels like you are in the room with them, stuck there sweating and debating. It feels real.

Rating: «««««

Revelations (2005)

Genre: TV / Drama
Starring: Bill Pullman, Natascha McElhone, Michael Massee
Number of seasons: 1

 

In this story inspired by the Book of Revelation, in the New Testament, an astrophysicist, Dr. Richard Massey, and a nun, Sister Josepha Montaflore, work together to stop the end of the world from happening, through the work of Satanist cult leader Isaiah Haden.

I am not much on biblical and religious stuff, but this mini-series still managed to be somewhat interesting to me, through the work of a talented cast. Some of the story felt really silly to me, but I remained watching all the way through. The fact that it was only a 6 episodes season helped.

Rating: «««

Jigsaw (2002)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Don Adams and Harry James Picardi
Cast: Barret Walz, Aimee Bravo, Mia Zifkin
Time: 78 minutes

 

A group of art students are working on a project where they each decorate a body part from a disassembled mannequin. They gather at a local bar with their teacher to put the pieces together and share personal stories. As the evening goes on, they get drunker and decide to set fire to the assembled mannequin. Unfortunately for them, it ends up coming to life and hunting them down for their body parts.

I came upon this film by mistake when I mistook it for the installment in Saw franchise while reserving it blindly from the library. I decided to watch it nonetheless. This was just a stupid horror movie with not much merit to make it passable. The characters are uninteresting, the story is pointless and the acting is bad. Maybe a bit more filth would have helped, but this was pretty clean, all things considered.

Rating: «

Sans rendez-vous (2022-2023)

 Genre: Franco / TV / Comedy
Distribution: Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, Mikhail Ahooja, Mylène Mackay, Isabelle Vincent
Nombre de saisons : 3

 

Sarah est infirmière-sexologue dans une clinique de santé sexuelle. Avec ses collègues tous aussi dysfonctionnels les uns que les autres, elle vit sa vie personnelle dans le chaos, tout en étant confronté à des patients qui en vivent des vertes et des pas mûres.

Sur les trois saisons de cette série, il y a un bon nombre de moments qui m’ont fait rire et sourire. Il y aussi d’autres moments qui m’ont presque fait décrocher, tellement ils détonaient du reste. Pas mauvais, mais pas génial non plus. Passable.

Note: «««

Borders of Love (2022)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Tomasz Winski
Cast: Hana Vagnerova, Matyas Reznicek, Eliska Krenkova
Time: 95 minutes

 

Hana and Petr are a young couple who are getting bored with the routine of their love life, and after discussing their personal fantasies, they decide to try opening their relationship as a way to spice things up.

This erotic Czech-Polish film was easy enough to follow for me who does not speak the language, with the help of subtitles. The dialogue is not too heavy, so you easily read along and follow the action. It is an interesting study on the boundaries of love. Sure, the outcome is a little predictable, but it is still a fun little movie. It doesn’t revolutionize, but it entertains.

Rating: «««

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne
Time: 131 minutes

 

After committing the unforgivable crime of killing a High Table crime lord on Continental grounds, John Wick is condemned to be excommunicated from his organization, but he is given a head start before the bounty on his life comes into effect. He goes on the run, fighting multiple hitmen. An adjudicator for the High Table comes to town, seeking to dole punishment on people she considers having given Wick too much of a chance to survive after his transgression.

The further we go into this franchise, the more it feels like we are watching a video game in action. Sure, the action itself is thrilling. It is visually impressive. But it starts to feel like overkill at a certain point. It’s a bunch of nameless people getting beaten and killed by an invincible man. Halle Berry and Anjelica Huston appearing in this one was a nice touch.

Rating: «««

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

Genre: TV / Drama
Starring: Aria Mia Loberti, Louis Hofmann, Lars Eidinger, Hugh Laurie, Mark Ruffalo
Number of seasons: 1

 

This four episode mini-series tells the story of Marie-Laure, a French blind teenager girl living in occupied Saint-Malo during World War II. Left there by her father, who had to leave to get the Nazi soldiers away from his family, she does a daily broadcast on home radio equipment. She crosses path with Werner, a German soldier with a soft spot who was picked by the Nazis from an orphanage and used for his knowledge on radios.

Based on the novel of the same name, this is a beautiful mini-series. It starts slow, but it gets more and more riveting as it goes along, building to an emotional crescendo. The acting is superb, and so are the writing and directing. This was absolutely brilliant. It was nice seeing Hugh Laurie again. Overall, I can only highly recommend this.

Rating: «««««

The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

Genre: Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Rob Burnett
Cast: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez
Running time: 93 minutes

 

Ben Benjamin is a writer who is dealing with the tragic loss of his son. As he is trying to avoid being served divorce papers by his estranged wife, he takes a course to change career path and become a registered caregiver. For his first job, he is a hired by Elsa, a single mother and bank manager who moved to Seattle from England, to take care of Trevor, her 18-year-old son with Muscular Dystrophy. A singular bond will form between the two men as they decide to go on a road trip together.

This is a really sweet film. I laughed a lot. I was also moved by certain scenes in situation. The story is compelling, and the acting was good. It was a little cheesy at times, but, overall, I really enjoyed this movie with a weird title that I never can seem to remember.

Rating: ««««

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (1974)

Genre: Musical
Directed by: Rollin Binzer
Cast: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor
Running time: 83 minutes

This film shows material recorded in 1972, in Forth Worth and Houston, Texas, by The Rolling Stones, who were out to support their album Exile on Main Street. The material here is very raw and not overly produced. Some of the performances, especially Jagger’s singing, was not as tight, and the sound recording did not help. Still, in its rawness, this is a fun concert film showing the great rock n’ roll band of all-time having a good time on stage, performing very upbeat sets of music.

Rating: ««««

Priscilla (2023)

Genre: Biographical / Drama
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Dagmara Dominczyk
Running time: 113 minutes

 

Based on the 1985 memoirs Elvis and Me, written by Priscilla Presley, this film tells the story of the relationship between Priscilla Beaulieu and rockstar Elvis Presley, from their first meeting in Germany, when she was only 14, to her leaving him years later.

What a life these two lived together. This film offers a very artistic look at that roller-coaster of a life. I loved how Coppola sped-up on the telling of some events, to show that Elvis would just get his way anyhow. I also found that using Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You as Priscilla leaves Elvis was a nice touch. That was one of those songs that got away, so to speak.

Cailee Spaeny was very good in the title role. Jacob Elordi, on the other hand, suffered from the comparisons to Austin Butler, who brilliantly played the King in Elvis. Some weird acting choices were made here, such as the constant holding of the belt buckle, the constant smoking and the exaggerated mumbling. Older Elvis mumbled a lot, but not the Elvis from the period shown here. He was often hard to understand in this film. As for the smoking, he sometimes smoked cigarillos, but not as much as shown here.

Beyond some details, this is a very good film that serves as an interesting counterpart to Lurhmann’s Elvis.

Rating: ««««

All Together Now (2020)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Brett Haley
Cast: Auli’I Cravalho, Rhenzy Feliz, Judy Reyes  
Time: 92 minutes

 

Amber is a high school senior living with her mother in Oregon. Her mother’s alcoholic boyfriend becomes abusive, so mother and daughter end up being homeless and sleeping in a school bus. Amber is a busy girl, volunteering at school and in the community, while working and aspiring to study in music. When her mother passes in a car accident and her dog gets sick (needing surgery), Amber is willing to put her life on hold to save her fury friend, but her entourage is not willing to let her do that without trying to help her.

This is a sweet Netflix film with a compelling story and some good acting. Sure, it’s sappy and overly predictable, but hey, it comes with the territory with this genre. It was a nice treat to see Carol Burnett again on screen. While she had a limited role, she made the best of it.

Rating: «««

Escape From New York (1981)

Genre: Action / Science-fiction
Directed by: John Carpenter
Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasance, Isaac Hayes
Time: 99 minutes

 

In the dystopian world of a fictional 1997, Manhattan has been turned into a huge walled maximum-security prison, due to the steep increase in crime. Former special forces soldier, Snake Plissken has been arrested and he’s due to be locked up. He is offered a pardon if he can manage to retrieve US president John Harker, who has been taken hostage by a group of terrorists who overtook and crashed Air Force One on its way to peace summit in Hartford.

I cannot believe I had never seen this one before in my life. Snake Plissken is such a badass antihero character, and Kurt Russell was the right guy for the role. Boy, did he ever bring Snake to life? There is also a talented cast surrounding Russell, and John Carpenter showed his great talent in the direction. There is some hokiness here and there, but it such a fun science-fiction film, which is quite something, since I usually do not care much for that genre.

Rating: ««««

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Ricardo Scamarcio
Time: 122 minutes

 

After recuperating the car that was stolen from him in the previous film and getting his full revenge on the people involved, John Wick is looking to retire from the hitman life. But, a crime lord comes knocking, asking that Wick fulfill a blood oath and kills someone else. Wick begrudgingly accepts and finds himself in the middle of another fight for his life.

This second chapter in the John Wick franchise is a fun, fast-paced thrill ride. The action never stops. The problem is that, with all those unknown henchpeople getting killed one after the other, it starts to feel more like a video game than like a movie with defined characters. You stop caring after a while. It is good entertainment, but it is a little overblown, so to speak.

Rating: «««

Old Dads (2023)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Bill Burr
Cast: Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine
Time: 104 minutes

 

Jack, Connor and Mike are three colleagues and best friends in their late 40’s or early 50’s who just sold their business to a younger man, and they now find their personal and professional lives falling apart in a society that is rapidly changing around them.

This feature film is clearly an extension of Bill Burr’s comedy act. Many of the same themes are brought back and stretched out. Personally, I prefer it in stand-up comedy form. Nonetheless, I was entertained. The acting was decent enough and a good chunk of the dialogue made me laugh out loud. I also could relate quite a bit. I’m not a dad, but I am old.

Rating: «««

Bon Jovi: No End in Sight (2022)

Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Lucy Ciara McCutcheon
Cast: Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres
Time: 46 minutes

 

This documentary is a huge waste of time. It has such a cheap unauthorized feel to it. It is just a voice-over telling the story of the band, with a few pictures and some public footage. The rest is a bit of stock footage repeated on loop. The information given is not even that accurate. At least, it’s not a hit piece, but there are no fresh interviews done expressly for this.

Rating: «

Le dernier placard: Vieillir gai (2023)

Genre: Franco / Documentary
Réalisateur: Christian Lalumière
Distribution: Dany Turcotte
Running time: 46 minutes

 

Dans ce documentaire, l’humoriste et animateur Dany Turcotte s’interroge sur ce que cela peut représenter d’atteindre le 3^e âge en tant que membre la communauté LGBTQ+. Quelle est la réalité de la vieillesse au sein de cette minorité parfois cachée? Turcotte rencontre divers intervenants pour en discuter plus en profondeur.

En tant que spectateur hétéro, je n’ai jamais eu à me poser la question de la prémisse de ce documentaire. J’ai trouvé cela fort intéressant, quoique je trouve que ce petit film est somme toute demeuré pas mal en surface.

Rating: ««««

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Genre: Drama / Western
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone
Time: 206 minutes

 

Members of the Osage Nation, in the Oklahoma of the 1920’s, are getting killed one after the other for the money they got when oil was found on their tribal land. Among the white people targeting them are William King Hale, a man pretending to be a benefactor for the Osage people, and his nephew Ernest Burkhart, who married a native woman called Mollie to then target her and her family.

This is a true epic masterpiece given to us by Martin Scorsese. It is great to see this great director still at it at his age. The cinematography was just magnificent. You can see that Scorsese was passionate about telling this story, and he did it with all the respect and reverence in the world.

The cast was brilliant. De Niro and DiCaprio were both solid, and so was Lily Gladstone. Overall, I loved this film and I intend on seeing it again.

Rating: «««««

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: William Malone
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs
Time: 93 minutes

 

A sadistic amusement park mogul invites a group of strangers to a party in an abandoned insane asylum for his wife’s birthday. He intends to have them play a game for his own amusement, but he might be less in control than he actually thinks.

This was a putrid supernatural horror flick. The story is stupid, the acting is horrible and the whole thing just feels like a total waste of time.

Rating: «