A Complete Review of Gore Verbinski's work

Cast : Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth

What was it about?
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps, but soon suspects that the spa's treatments are not what they seem.

My two cents:
Well, from an aesthetic point of view, it was probably Verbinski’s most beautiful movie to look at with some really intriguing scenes and awesome camera set-up. Unfortunately, even though the story was fairly entertaining, it wasn’t really amazing though. Above all, the biggest mistake they made was that the damned thing was just too long. Indeed, 150 minutes for after all a rather basic thriller taking place in a spa was really way too much. As a result, there were a bunch of random and rather pointless scenes during which the movie was flirting with the mindf*ck genre (the best example would be when, out of nowhere, a female employee gets topless and her male co-worker starts to whack off in front of her). Unfortunately, Verbinski is no David Lynch and it was never really convincing. So, in my opinion, they could have easily removed 1 hour of running time instead of getting lost on the way and creating some massive plot-holes. Concerning Dane DeHaan, he was a fine choice but it’s too bad that there was no much consistency in his character’s behaviour. Still, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent watch, at least, visually speaking.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Helena Bonham Carter, Barry Pepper

What was it about?
Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.

My two cents:
Personally, I never had some high expectations concerning this flick and when it turned out to be a huge flop with some pretty negative reviews, I pretty much lost all hope. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed most of it and when I was just starting to think that Johnny Depp was slowly becoming the most overrated actor in the world, he reminded me why once I used to love his work so much. Indeed, I thought that Johnny Depp was quite hilarious and with Armie Hammer, they made a great couple composed of a crazy Indian and an incompetent lawyer who doesn't want to shoot anyone. Unfortunately, all the rest of the movie, especially the plot was quite underwhelming, except for a few decent action scenes. Indeed, it was all rather pedestrian with the evil railroad tycoon, the outlaws disguised as Indians, the two brothers loving the same wife,... Furthermore, they really messed up the tone. To conclude, of course, it was indeed nothing amazing, but I still think it was actually quite entertaining.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone, Timothy Olyphant

What was it about?
Rango is an ordinary chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff.

My two cents:
To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from this flick. Indeed, nowadays, the market for CGI animated features is pretty much saturated and it doesn’t seem to be the best gamble for a director like Gore Verbinski to experiment with this genre when the competition is already pretty intense. Eventually, it was actually pretty successful and it even won the Academy Award for the Best Animated Film. Personally, I thought it was indeed pretty good and I was above all impressed by the animation. Indeed, wow ! This was a really gorgeous animated picture ! Only for this, it was worth watching it and, in my opinion, it looked much better than all those crappy 3D animated movies I have seen in 2010 or ever since. Unfortunately, the story was not that great at all but it was entertaining enough and I still laughed a couple of times.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-fat, Naomie Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Keith Richards, Jonathan Pryce

What was it about?
Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.

My two cents:
This 3rd installment was not bad and even rather entertaining but it all depends to which movies you will compare it eventually. I mean, if you compare it to some other recent blockbuster such as the ‘Transformers’ franchise or ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, then it is rather decent with some impressive action scenes and some pretty cool special effects. But if you compare it to Johnny Depp older and more obscure work such as ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, ‘Dead Man’, ‘Ed Wood, ‘What's Eating Gilbert Grape’, ‘Arizona Dream’, … than it is pretty damned disappointing. Above all, the story was just a mess. Indeed, it went along for way too long and it was just way too convoluted. After watching this 3rd movie, you wonder if they should have made those sequels at all but since the 1rst movie was a huge success, it was rather inevitable. To conclude, even though it is nothing amazing whatsoever, in my opinion, it still remains a fun blockbuster.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgård, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Naomie Harris, Geoffrey Rush

What was it about?
Jack Sparrow races to recover the heart of Davy Jones to avoid enslaving his soul to Jones' service, as other friends and foes seek the heart for their own agenda as well.

My two cents:
After the surprise success of the 1st installment, of course, they quickly went forward with some sequels and they even shot those 2 sequels back-to back for a huge budget. Eventually, this bet paid off and those movies were hugely successful, especially this first sequel. Indeed, it is so far the most successful installment of this franchise, it broke many records when it was released and even ended 3rd highest grossing movie of all time (behind ‘Titanic’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King’). That’s all really nice but was the movie actually any good? Personally, I had some rather mixed feelings about the whole thing. I mean, sure, it was fun and rather well made and it was pretty neat to see again good old Captain Jack Sparrow but the whole thing was nothing great whatsoever. Above all, the plot was just way too convoluted for its own good. Still, for a blockbuster, I have seen much worse than this and it remains a fun flick, no doubt about it.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Nicholas Hoult

What was it about?
A Chicago weather man, separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive.

My two cents:
For Gore Verbinski, this flick was quite a change of pace but his fans were not really supportive apparently. The main character portrayed by Nicolas Cage (who was for once showing up in a decent movie) was indeed a total loser, or at least someone who didn't appreciate his life but, still, I thought this flick was pretty good and I don't really understand why everyone says it was depressing. In fact, I thought it was pretty funny, sometimes even hilarious. For once, you had here a rather realistic comedy, which was more interesting than all those moronic comedies produced every year. Furthermore, Nicolas Cage was pretty good but I enjoyed even more Michael Caine who gave once again one of his amazing understated performances. The only issue was maybe that there were too many sub-plots dealing with archery, pedophilia and other things but the relationships between the different characters were already interesting, in my opinion.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Zoe Saldana, Jonathan Pryce

What was it about?
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.

My two cents:
This movie is nowadays pretty much the stuff of legend and it has become a huge pop-culture phenomenon. However, many forgot that the whole thing was a huge gamble. Indeed, it had been decades since a pirate feature had been a success at the box-office (the last one ‘Cutthroat Island’ was a resounding flop), Johnny Depp was considered a box-office poison at the time and many thought it would really tank. Of course, the rest is just history and it was the start of one of the most successful movie franchises ever made. Still, is the movie actually that good? At the time, I had been a huge fan of Johnny Depp for almost 10 years already and the idea of seeing him in such a huge production was already hilarious and I wasn’t surprised to see that he completely nailed this performance. Unfortunately, for the 10 following years, he became the most popular actor in the world, making one underwhelming blockbuster after the other… Still, I liked this movie. I mean, it is far from being one of the best movies ever made but Depp was indeed great, the story was quite entertaining and the whole thing looked terrific, no doubt about it.

My rating: 07/10

Cast : Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, Amber Tamblyn, Adam Brody

What was it about?
A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it.

My two cents:
Honestly, in my opinion, I think this movie is pretty damned overrated. I mean, to be honest, I have to admit it, it was not bad at all, the directing was alright, Naomi Watts delivered a decent performance but compared to the Japanese version, it was actually rather weak. Furthermore, it is because this movie was so successful at the box-office that we got all those worthless remakes of Asian horror flicks... I'm always rather annoyed by viewers who says that this movie is 'totally awesome'. I mean, sure, it is not bad but compared to some Asian horror flicks, it is not really impressive, I'm afraid. The main issue in my opinion is that they spend way too much trying to explain and rationalize the weird things happening to the main characters. Still, for a remake, it was decent.

My rating: 06/10

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Cast : Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini, J.K. Simmons

What was it about?
A man tries to transport an ancient gun called The Mexican, believed to carry a curse, back across the border, while his girlfriend pressures him to give up his criminal ways.

My two cents:
I know, my rating might seem a little bit harsh but, in my opinion, this movie was a just a joke, and not a good one. Indeed, before this flick was released, there was a huge buzz about it since it was the first movie starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, two of the biggest stars in the world at the time. Eventually, it was a flop at the box-office so I didn't expect much but it was even worse than my wildest dreams. Indeed, basically, it is a very misguided action-comedy and I was seriously bored to death during the whole thing. The plot was pretty inane, the characters were rather obnoxious and it was neither funny or entertaining at any point. Back in those days, Brad Pitt was still struggling about which movie project he should choose and it would take a couple of more years before he becomes one of the wisest movie stars in the world (alongside his buddies Matt Damon and George Clooney). To conclude, the whole thing is just a big waste of time.

My rating: 04/10

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Cast : Nathan Lane, Christopher Walken

What was it about?
Two stumblebum inheritors are determined to rid their antique house of a mouse who is equally determined to stay where he is.

My two cents:
To be honest, it is a rather tough sell. Indeed, it seemed rather too quirky for the kids and it seemed also rather too childish for the grown-ups, the main characters were not portrayed by some huge stars and the story was pretty wacky. Still, even though it was indeed nothing remotely mind-blowing, I thought it actually was not bad at all. Indeed, the whole thing was just really over the top (which is actually a compliment in this case), there were a few funny scenes and, of course, since there was the almighty Christopher Walken in it, it was enough good reason for me to watch this movie and appreciate it for what it’s worth. Indeed, as usual, Walken came out seemingly from nowhere, gave one of this really weird performances and completely stole the show in a few minutes.

My rating: 06/10

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