A Complete Review of Barry Sonnenfeld's work

Unfortunately, I haven't seen this one yet...

Cast : Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Christopher Walken

What was it about?
A stuffy businessman finds himself trapped inside the body of his family's cat.

My two cents:
Only a couple of weeks ago, Kevin Spacey was still regarded as one of the best American actors from the last 20 years but, overnight, he turned out to be a major sexual creep and many are predicting that his career is now pretty much over. On the other hand, considering Spacey’s latest movie choices, it seems that the guy himself actually didn’t really care anymore and this movie was a perfect example. I can imagine that when Kevin Spacey read this script, he knew from the start that it was some garbage but he also knew that he would only have to show up for a couple of scenes and do some voice-over work for the cat for the rest of the movie so he basically went for the easy money. Considering the movie itself, it was just such a misguided concept. Indeed, the body-swap is an old gimmick which has never been really interesting even when it was something new and this movie certainly didn’t add anything worthwhile to this concept. Eventually, the whole thing was just so boring and it was a big waste of time.

My rating: 04/10

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Cast : Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Nicole Scherzinger, Alice Eve

What was it about?
Agent J travels in time to M.I.B.'s early days in 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.

My two cents:
What a nice surprise! At first, I was really wondering what was Will Smith thinking... I mean, he hasn't released anything for the last 3 years and seems to be linked to at least 20 different projects and the one gig he picks up is a sequel for a 10 years old franchise that nobody is really actually expecting. Fortunally, the end result was actually pretty good. At first, you have a slow (and rather boring) introduction where he argues all the time with Tommy Lee Jones. But fortunately, Jones disappears pretty quickly and then the movie finally started to get interesting. J meets the younger version of K, portrayed by Josh Brolin who just blew me away. Not only he physically really looked like a younger Jones, but he sounded just the same. From now on, I was just sold and enjoyed the whole time travel paradox. Of course, the rest of the movie is just made of preposterous action scenes and of some weird looking aliens, but it was fun and I had a good time.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque, Josh Hutcherson, Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Arnett

What was it about?
Bob Munro and his dysfunctional family rent an RV for a road trip to the Colorado Rockies, where they ultimately have to contend with a bizarre community of campers.

My two cents:
Honestly, it started allright and I think the concept actually had some potential but then the story became more and more lame rather rapidly. After a while, the whole thing was just terrible, unfunny and rather painful to watch. Basically, it is one of those movies where Robin Williams acts rather hysterically which was never funny and to add some even more annoying characters was definitely not a good move. For Barry Sonnenfeld, it was his 4th disappointing movie in a row and he won't release another movie for the 6 following years.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Rip Torn, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub, David Cross, Nick Cannon

What was it about?
Agent J needs help so he is sent to find Agent K and restore his memory.

My two cents:
Even though it was rather successful at the box-office, it was still universally panned and, I must admit, it had the weakest plot of the whole trilogy. The point is that they made a huge mistake by wiping out K's memory in the first installment. I mean, it is a good move if you want to end up a franchise but not to start one. So, basically, this time around, they built the whole plot in order to recover this blunder and the end result was rather underwhelming. Still, in my opinion, I think it is a fun flick with some cool action scenes. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones both really rocked those characters again and Lara Flynn Boyle was a pretty cool villain. Personally, I think it remains a fun blockbuster, no more, no less.

My rating: 06/10

Cast : Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Tom Sizemore, Johnny Knoxville, Dennis Farina, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Foster, Zooey Deschanel, Omar Epps, Jason Lee, Sofía Vergara, DJ Qualls

What was it about?
The lives of several Miami denizens, from ad agents to gunrunners to street thugs to law enforcement to school-children, intersect with humorous and dangerous results.

My two cents:
In my opinion, it is hands down the worst movie made by Sonnenfeld. Yes, indeed, I do think it is even worse than 'Wild Wild West' which is generally considered as one of the worst movies ever made. To start with, this flick was definitely one of Sonnenfeld's biggest flops and after watching it, I can't say it was a surprise. Indeed, the cast was not bad but the plot was just really tedious and it follows the incredible list of boring flicks starring Tim Allen. Indeed, by now, I have seen about half of his movies and most of (all of ?) of them were amazingly tedious to watch. I really don't understand why he is so popular but the fact that most of his flicks don't score well at the box-office convince me that I'm not the only one thinking that way.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek

What was it about?
The two best hired guns in the West must save President Grant from the clutches of a 19th century inventor-villain.

My two cents:
This movie shows that not everything that Will Smith touches changes in gold... This one didn't work out too good for him. The critic were very negative and it was rather a disappointment at the box office (even though it still made some dough and even reached $50 million in its opening weekend). Anyway, even though Will Smith and Kevin Kline were actually quite charming, they didn't manage here to make this flick really entertaining. Apparently, Will Smith turned down the lead role in 'The Matrix' to star in this movie because he was a fan of the television series but he later admitted that it was the worst decision he made in his career. To be honest, I don't it is actually really bad (many consider it as oneof the worst movies ever made), I think it is watchable but it is and remains a really average blockbuster and a major blunder in Will Smith's career.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub

What was it about?
A streetwise NYPD detective joins a secret organization that polices extraterrestrial affairs on Earth.

My two cents:
Event though I know it is nothing really amazing, I still have a weak spot for this flick. Indeed, if I recall it correctly, I saw this one while I was on holiday in the USA when it was just released and I had seriously a very good time. Back then, Will Smith was becoming the biggest movie star and you could hear his hit song constantly on MTV. Like I said before, it was a very fun blockbuster with a decent concept, some very good special effects and a badass duo with two actors on top of their game. Of course, it is nothing deep whatsoever but it sure was entertaining and I wish that all the summer blockbusters would be at least that good. 2 years later, Will Smith and Barry Sonnenfeld tried again their luck with 'Wild Wild West' but the end result was rather disappointing.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini

What was it about?
A mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job.

My two cents:
This is a movie I have meant to re-watch for many years. Indeed, I saw it when it was released and the critics were really good, probably the best any Sonnenfeld features has received, and I had some rather high expectations. Eventually, even though I enjoyed most of it, I can't say I was really blown away by the whole thing. I don't known, it was entertaining, there was a pretty good cast and the concept had some potential but, somehow, I thought that the tone was just too light for my taste and the whole thing was just too goofy and, as a result, I never felt that there was anything really at stake. In my opinion, the whole thing should have been more cynical. On the other hand, like I said before, it has been ages since I saw this flick and a re-watch might change my opinion.

My rating: 06/10

Cast : Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack, Christina Ricci

What was it about?
A comical Gothic horror-movie-type family tries to rescue their beloved uncle from his gold-digging new love.

My two cents:
Usually, sequels tend to be really disappointing. But not this time. When I was a kid, I really liked this flick and I saw it again after all this years and I found myself still enjoying it. The great cast all came back and it was a blessing since they all delivered the goods once again. The tone and the look were about the same which was a good thing and they added some good ideas (the new kid, the summer camp, the psycho nanny). Once again, the story was not really strong and there are some slow moments like when Fester decides he won't see his familly anymore. Still, it remains a funny and rather original mainstream feature.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Michael J. Fox, Gabrielle Anwar, Udo Kier, Dan Hedaya

What was it about?
Doug is a young man who works all day as a concierge at a luxurious hotel, saving money to make his own business. Unfortunately, when he finds the financial supporter he needs, he discovers that his "saviour" is having an affair with the woman he loves! Now, he must choose between money and love...

My two cents:
The whole thing was really underwhelming. Indeed, I like Michael J. Fox but this movie was just not my thing. Fox is a charming actor but, seriously, the guy has absolutely no range as an actor, and each time I see in him in a movie, it is basically some variation of his most famous character, Marty McFly. I mean, like I said before, the guy is charismatic and fun to watch but it gets rather tiresome if you watch many of his movies. Coming back to the movie itself, to be honest, I could have been something if the material had been more edgy and the main character more cynical but, unfortunately, the whole thing was just too damned soft and predictable for my taste.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Christina Ricci

What was it about?
Con artists plan to fleece the eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long lost Uncle Fester.

My two cents:
To start with, I have never seen the TV-show so I can't say if it is a good adaptation. All I can say is that, when it was released, there was some buzz around this flick, it was eventually a success and I really enjoyed it back then when I was a kid. I really enjoyed the tone, the look of the whole thing and the characters were perfectly casted. The only weak point would be the story since there was actually no real plot and it tends to drag along at some points. I still think it was a pretty impressive directing debut and it is rather surprising that he would choose such a rather big project to start with but it was a success and Sonnefeld continued pretty well with 'Get Shorty' and 'Men in Black'. It went well for him until 'Wild Wild West' which was a total critical disaster and it seems that his directing career never really recovered. Anyway, coming back to his directing debut, in my opinion, the whole thing is actually pretty funny and entertaining.

My rating: 07/10

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