Interesting failures

Note: Being a Kubrick fan, I was really anxious about seeing this. Eventually, there was a lot of good things about it. First of all, it looked great, something expected when it is directed by Steven Spielberg and I was rather captivated by the story. But unfortunately, you miss the Kubrick touch, going the extra mile into the human psyche making this movie a real masterpiece. Instead, you may remain in the Spielberg comfort zone, with great visuals but little too sentimental and not challenging enough.

Why should you watch it anyway?
Kubrick + Spielberg ! Do you need anymore reasons?!?

Note: Oh boy! It looked really gorgeous, the directing was just very very good and Nicole Kidman gave a very a good perfomance and so did the rest of the cast. The story was really fascinating so what went wrong ? I think they tried too much to rationalize the plot, to rationalize something completely impossible so you ended up with this unsatisfactory ending.

Why should you watch it anyway?
In spite of its weaknesses, I was kind of fascinated by this movie and it could have been great. The directing is just amazing.

Note: First of all, any movie with Edward Norton is interesting but this is a really weird one. I mean, Edward Norton was, as usual, very good. So was Evan Rachel Wood. I liked the directing and I was really caught by the story. But then, the movie didn't go anywhere storywise... I have seen this movie on DVD with 3 different endings(!) and not of them was good or made any sense.

Why should you watch it anyway?
It all depends what your feelings are for Edward Norton. If you hate the guy, you should probably avoid this one. But, if like me, you think he is one of the best actors around, you should definitely check it out.

Note: This movie has some of the most amazing scenes ever shot. Honestly. And then, there is the plot... Which is not bad but still rather underwhilming and feels like a cheap excuse so that the director could include his great visuals and then you have Jennifer Lopez... I'm still not sure if she was a real asset for the movie or not.

Why should you watch it anyway?
Again, this movie has some of the most amazing scenes ever shot. If you love movies, you ought to yourself to see it. It is that amazing.

Note: This movie is rather unknown and it is not a surprise because it is a remake (ok, that was a cheap move but come on! 99.9 % of all remakes are worthless don't you think?) and it is kind of a mess. However, there is something about it which really fascinated me which probably has to do with the directing and acting by both leads (Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd).

Why should you watch it anyway?
I'm not sure if you should watch it but I really want to watch it again. I saw it completely by chance on the BBC a few years ago and it has not been shown anymore on any of the channels I have...

Note: From the 70's until the end of the 90's, Brian de Palma was one of the most highly regarded directors. Now he is pretty much forgotten and that's a pity. Femme Fatale is a typical De Palma picture, a mysterious thriller drenshed with intrigues, erotics and violence. It's a pity the plot doesn't make much sense and is kind of hard to follow.

Why should you watch it anyway?
In spite of the weird plot and annoying twists, De Palma gave here some great directing. The movie is rather spellbinding and Rebecca Romijn shows she can definitely act.

Note: The set-up was great. A woman gets on a plane with her kid. She falls asleep and when she wakes up, the kid is gone. She looks for her child but when asking for help, everybody says she came on the plane alone and might be hallucinating... Unfortunately, they were not able to develop this set-up and eventually provided a very lame ending.

Why should you watch it anyway?
The set-up is very good and it is carefully built up by some very good directing. Jodie Foster gives a very good perfomance and if you like her work, you should definitely check this one out.

Note: Like above, it is a brilliant set-up, Harrison Ford is in Paris with his wife. At his hotel, he goes to the bathroom or something and suddenly, when he comes back his wife is gone! But just like Flightplan, the conclusion is rather disappointing...

Why should you watch it anyway?
You should watch anything directed by Roman Polanski, seriously... And you have Harrison Ford during his 80's glory. What else do you need?!?

Note: The whole movie you just have Matt Damon and Casey Affleck wandering in a desert, talking about everyday stuff. It may sound lame but I found it rather fascinating. Too bad, the ending didn't work for me at all...

Why should you watch it anyway?
Come one! Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are 2 of the most exciting actors right now and Gus van Sant knows how to direct a movie. If you don't mind when a movie goes experimental, you should definitely check this one out.

Note: Again, a very interesting set-up. A black boy is born looking like a white boy and when he becomes adult he decides to lie about his origins and pretends to be white to avoid being discriminated. Sounds fascinating, right ? Unfortunately, the story was not developed really well and the end product was rather messy...

Why should you watch it anyway?
In spite of its flaws, the story remains spellbinding. Anyway, anything with Anthony Hopkins is worth watching.

Note: I was expecting something very bad before watching this but the beginning of the movie surprised me. It was a very good satirical comedy. But then the movie lost his soul and became a boring thriller...

Why should you watch it anyway?
The beginning of the movie is at the same time very funny and fascinating at the same time and there is Christopher Walken in it so it is definitely worth a look.

Note: Actually, I'm quite surprised that the ratings are so high for this movie. I guess it has to do with "Meet Joe Black" fans, like my wife for example, who just loves it. Anyway, there is so many great things about it but the end is just really bad.

Why should you watch it anyway?
The concept (the Death comes in our world to check it out) is great, the first ten minutes are awesome (if you have seen it, you know what I mean...) and Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins both give some very good perfomances.

Note: It is one of those movies (like I am Sam or Rain man) where the actor portrays an handicapped person in a heartbreaking perfomance but the plot is just damned worthless and goes for the cheap thrills.

Why should you watch it anyway?
Back in the 90's-80's, Jodie Foster was one of the best actress around. If you don't believe it, go check this movie.

Note: When Jim Carrey tries something else, it is usually pretty good (The Truman Show, The Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, Man on the moon,...). Carrey is indeed good and I really loved the mood of this movie but the conclusion was just so disappointing.

Why should you watch it anyway?
I'm a real sucker for this kind of moody pictures. In its genre, it is definitely worth a look.

Note: It is difficult to describe this movie. Let's say it is a great mind-f*ck. Unfortunately, I was rather underwhelmed by the end.

Why should you watch it anyway?
In spite of its flaws, it remains rather fascinating. There is a great cast (Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts) and the directing by Marc Forster is really amazing.

Note: I have seen it again like a year ago and it stroke me how accurate it was concerning a terrorist attack. It is even more scary that the movie was made 3 years before the attacks on the WTC. Too bad they ruined the movie with such a lame happy ending...

Why should you watch it anyway?
If you put the end aside, this movie is very entertaining and fascinating. One of the best big budget movies about terrorism. Definitely worth a look.

Note: This movie is so bleak and creepy... I mean, I have seen some tough sh*t but this one is pretty hardcore. You don't believe me? In the first 10 min., the mother of the girl you see above dies of overdose and then in the following 15 minutes, she helps her father (played by Jeff Bridges) to shoot heroine and he also dies of overdose and until the end of the movie, this little girl spends a good chunck of her time talking to the dead rotting corpse of the father...

Why should you watch it anyway?
Even though the topic or the story don't sound really appealing, the directing and acting are very good and if you love Terry Gilliam's movies, you should check it out.

Note: Before watching this movie, to really enjoy it, you should know nothing about the plot. Let's say, if you think Memento was good, you will probably like this. Unfortunately, the end is pretty bad.... What a waste !

Why should you watch it anyway?
The set-up is really great. It is a really entertaining picture and the cast is really worth it (James Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Joe Pantoliano, Jeremy Tisto).

Note: It is a very interesting study about Death but, as it is involving Robin Williams, it unfortunately sinks pretty fast into boring sentimentality...

Why should you watch it anyway?
In spite of its flaws, this movie is visually really striking and develops some interesting ideas. Definitely worth a look.

Note: The biggest problem is that they all fight for a house but why? To make sure there is a plot for this movie, otherwise there would be no story to tell... I thought it was quite obvious at the end (which I won't spoil). Basically, the story didn't work very well.

Why should you watch it anyway?
There are so many good things in this movie. Above all, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley are both awesome and give some of their best perfomances ever.

Note: This movie is so wrong on so many levels. Indeed, it gives one of the most stereotypical vision of nymphomania that you could possibly imagine and it is also terribly misogynic. Basically, the makers tried to sell a tough concept and they definitely not succeeded.

Why should you watch it anyway? On the other hand, this flick is actually also bad-ass. To think that blues could cure anything might sound stupid (it is in fact pretty stupid) is still quite awesome. In this competely weird and messed up flick, Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci both rise above the level of this material and gave some of their best performances as well.

Note: I thought "Perfume" was an amazing movie and I was really curious about what would Tom Tykwer do with his next flick. This sounded to be like a nice conspiracy thriller but the end-result was rather disappointing, due to a rather weak story.

Why should you watch it anyway? Tom Tykwer is a very good director and simply cannot direct a bad movie. There is an amazing action scene taking place in a museum which makes it worth it watching the whole movie. And of course, a thriller with Clive Owen is always watchable.

Note: I really enjoyed this one...until the last 15 minutes. There is this really bad twist at the end which is supposed to be really schocking and/or entertaining but it actually didn't make much sense and definitely ruined the whole thing for me.

Why should you watch it anyway? In spite of this ending, there are so many good things in this movie. It may not be really original but it is very well done and there is a rather amazing cast.

Note: Honestly, with this one, I'm not sure which one should be blamed... I mean, both Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried were not really impressive but, honestly, what could you do with such poorly developed characters? The plot was also terribly disappointing.

Why should you watch it anyway?
Pretty much like 'Gattaca', also written and directed by Andrew Niccol, there is in this movie an awesome futuristic concept developed, one of hte best concepts I have seen lately, and only therefore it is still worth a look to check this flick.

Note: Serirously, the whole thing is a mess. I mean, was the main character a complete idiot? Or was he actually aware of Song Liling's true nature and was he wrapped up into some kind of really weird sexual fantasy? Unfortunately, the makers never did confront this issue at any moment through the whole duration, even towards the end, when René Gallimard was asked point-blank what was going on during a trial.

Why should you watch it anyway?
Even though the whole thing was seriously half-baked, there was still something quite fascinating about this weird romance.

Note: The list started with Spielberg and it will end with him. When this movie came out, the critics were so bad, I wasn't expecting much of it and, indeed, it wasn' t really good and, above all, the ending was really underwhelming.

Why should you watch it anyway?
Honestly, following the bad reviews, I wasn't expecting much but, eventually, I was rather pleasantly surprised. Of course, it is not a masterpiece and it is not even a good movie but it is still damned entertaining. The visuals are great and there are some very good special effects, something that can be expected with Steven Spielberg. The best about this movie is that it was really suspenful, almost scary. I was rather captivated ... until the end which was really weak.