Je voudrais qu'on m'efface (2021)

 Genre: TV / Franco / Drama
Distribution: Sarah-Maxine Rozefort, Malik Gervais-Aubourg, Jean-Nicolas Verreault
Nombre de saisons: 1

 

Quatre enfants de trois familles différentes vivant dans le même immeuble à logements de Montréal, qui s’apprête à être vendu pour faire de la place à un projet de construction majeur, vivent de sérieuses problématiques dans leurs vies quotidiennes et à l’école en raison de leurs situations familiales précaires.

Très bonne série étalée sur huit épisodes. Le jeu des acteurs, même les plus jeunes, est fort crédible, et le scénario est très bien ficelé. Somme toute, un petit bijou qui vaut le détour, même si la fin semblait un peu rapide et trop parfaite.

Rating: ««««

Beginners (2010)

 Genre: Romantic Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Mike Mills
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent
Running Time: 105 minutes

 

As he starts a new relationship with a French actress he met at a costume party, Oliver looks back on the last moments of the life of his father, who, at the age of 75, after losing his wife, came out of the closet and was then diagnosed with terminal cancer.

This is a very compelling story of humans living their human lives. The pace is slow, but the screenplay is well done, the characters are well defined and the actors do a solid job. Overall, this is a very good film. It dragged in a few spots, but I was quite touched by this one.

Rating: ««««

Ghostbusters (2006)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Paul Feig
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones
Running Time: 116 minutes

 

A group of four New York women interested in the supernatural, with their incompetent male assistant, form a ghost hunting business to rid their city of malevolent forces terrorizing it.

This was a reboot of the original franchise. I might get labeled as a misogynist for saying so, but I hated this movie. I like McCarthy and Wiig, but the material they were given here was subpar. The filmmakers were probably too busy cashing in on the girl-power aspect to bother create some good stuff for these talented women to perform on screen. It felt like an overly long SNL skit, with very lame one-dimensional characters. The only good thing about this film is that it ended.

Rating: «

Spider-Man (2002)

Genre: Superhero
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst
Running Time: 121 minutes

 

Peter Parker is a nerdy and socially-inept high school student. A spider bite suffered during a school trip to the museum gives him superpowers overnight. After his uncle Ben is murdered by an armed robber, Peter decides to become Spider-man, a superhero. Then, he has to contend with disgruntled scientist and businessman Norman Osborn, the father of his best friend, and his alter ego, Green Goblin.

I remember seeing this one when it first came out. I enjoyed it more then than now. It is still fun and entertaining, but, compared to the most recent superhero offerings, it pales. The main cast is mostly solid, but the supporting cast is weak here. The storyline is compelling, though some of the stuff feels overly sappy. Kirsten Dunst in a wet shirt, on the other hand, is still nice.

Rating: «««

The Devil's Rejects (2005)

 Genre: Comedy / Horror
Directed by: Rob Zombie
Cast: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie
Running Time: 109 minutes

 

Following the horrific sacrifices perpetrated by the Firefly family in and around its secluded farmhouse, as depicted in House of 1,000 Corpses, Sheriff John Quincey Wydell makes a personal matter of finding and eliminating Captain Spaulding and his degenerate family.

This is the second film in the Firefly family trilogy directed by singer/filmmaker Rob Zombie. While I enjoyed the first one very much, this one is even better. The acting is better and the story is better panned out. While gruesome in its horror, the black comedy aspect of the film was well done too. I loved the dialogue a whole lot.

Rating: «««««

An American Crime (2007)

 Genre: Drama
Directed by: Tommy O’Haver
Cast: Elliot Page, Catherine Keener, Hayley McFarland
Running Time: 98 minutes

 

This film is based on the true story of sisters Sylvia and Jenny Likens, the daughters of carnival workers, who were left by their parents in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski, a poor woman with multiple jobs for little amounts of money. Gertrude Baniszewski saw two more children in her house as an opportunity for more money, but Sylvia soon became the target of horrible abuse at the hands of her caretaker and the rest of the family.

This film has a TV movie feel, but the acting makes it a lot better than you would expect from that genre. Elliot Page and Catherine Keener are both very solid in their respective roles. They carry this film on their shoulders. In spite of the TV movie feel, the director sets an atmosphere that is so heavy, in large part due to the subject matter. Some scenes are hard to take, when you realize this really happened. Thankfully, not everything is explicitly shot. The twist at the end was a ray of hope in a bleak setting. A mean trick that was if you do not know the endgame.

Rating: ««««

Chaos (2021)

 Genre: TV / Franco / Drama
Distribution: Simon Morin, Pascal Buissières, Carla Turcotte
Nombre de saisons: 1

 

INVO est un chanteur de renommée internationale qui revient finir sa tournée chez lui, à Montréal, au bar Santorini. Le soir de ce dernier spectacle de la tournée, une grave explosion tue quelques personnes et en blesse plusieurs autres. Pendant que les survivants et les membres de leur famille se remettent du choc, les autorités tenter de déterminer qui était derrière ce crime.

Honnêtement, je n’ai pas trouvé cette série hyper accrocheuse. Je me suis rendu à la fin par habitude et parce que je savais que c’était court. Je voulais voir le dénouement, qui a offert une belle surprise. Le chemin pour s’y rendre a été cahoteux. Le scénario contenait une tonne de choses qui ne faisaient aucun sens, les noms d’endroits et de personnages sonnaient faux, comme si on avait voulu se la jouer « cool », et le jeu était souvent trop gros.

Rating: ««