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Reviews
Le flic de Belleville (2018)
Likeable multi-lingual buddy cop movie
Better than anticipated, and better than the reviews suggest, this is an odd couple / buddy cop movie, a little old-fashioned, but with enjoyable performances from Omar Sy and Luis Guzmán. It has the same plot and structure as a Jackie Chan film, or indeed Beverly Hills Cop. It's a little slow to get going, and flabby in parts, but Sy has the charm and presence to carry the leading role. The easy switching between French, Spanish, and English is well done, but may partially explain why the film is so poorly received (unless you're comfortable in those three languages you need to read a lot of subtitles). Miami, Paris, and Colombia (standing in for a fictional African country) are colourful and easy on the eye. Not the worst comedy action flick on Netflix.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Watch it with the sound off and supply your own dialogue
Looks good and develops at pace. The dialogue is desperately bombastic. There are places you'd like to visit, but not many people you'd want to spend time with in them. Not because they're unpleasant, but because they're dull and virtuous and one-dimensional. (Also because they'd be sure to make a generalisation about good and evil in such a pompous manner that you'd stab them and run off to join the orcs. At least the orcs are down to earth). Most of the characters aren't really characters, they're cyphers, they exist for the plot and you can't imagine them outside it. The Harfoots (proto-Hobbits) are a partial exception and bring a touch of personality. There's a key dwarf / elf friendship that is intended to supply some of the gentler drama but for me it doesn't ring true enough to hold the attention or drive the story. As a result, we're left with a big tale of self-sacrificing (elf-sacrificing?) nobility taking on unspeakable evil. You'd expect this from a take on Tolkien, but LOR and the Hobbit both have roots. They have character and culture and humanity (or hobbitity ...). This one has the courage and the grandeur, but it misses the charm.
The Gray Man (2022)
Empty, slick, cynical
There is a wise-cracking, ultra violent hero and a psychopathic super villain. There are a thousand explosions and massive action set-pieces. There are car chases and exotic travel. There is not a single interesting character. The wise-cracks are forced and almost always fall flat. The action starts fast and keeps on cranking up until you cannot wait for it to stop. Every international espionage cliché in existence pays us a visit. Relentless video game violence, interspersed with awkward attempts at emotional engagement that fail to justify it. Every actor involved is diminished by this unpleasant production. Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, all capable of much better things.
Army of Thieves (2021)
Enjoyable heist movie
This is a great deal better than the 'parent' movie, Army of the Dead. Just about the only good thing about the dreadful first film was the character played by Matthias Schweighöfer, who had a limited role. This time he's the lead (not to mention the director), and he makes it an easy watch. Nathalie Emmanuel is effective and likeable as the leading lady this time round.
It is very silly stuff, but it is funny and has a good few twists and a bit of action and lots of well-rendered safe-cracking tension. 6 or 6.5 / 10.
Girlfriend's Day (2017)
Whimsical but just too glum
An oddball mystery-comedy set in an imagined world of greetings card writers and their hangers-on. It is a goofy idea, played straight and with a very bleak aesthetic that I found difficult to like. Just too dry for me - nobody to root for in a world that I never got into.
Teenage Bounty Hunters (2020)
Funny and irreverent
Surprisingly likeable teen crime / high school / family comedy, with strong performances from Anjelica Bette Fellini and Maddie Phillips as sixteen year-old twins navigating the labyrinths of first love, orthodox christianity, frozen yogurt, and bond enforcement. The best scenes bring them together with Kadeem Hardison as bounty hunter Bowser.
A real shame the series was cancelled after one season.
Army of the Dead (2021)
Long and grim
On the positive side, the action sequences are well put together. There are a couple of interesting / likeable minor characters who have a modicum of charm. But mostly it is a mess. There are far too many subplots. The tone veers between relentlessly blood-spattered and mawkish. Most of the characters are one-dimensional. The pace in the last act is wrong and loses the momentum.
Game Night (2018)
Some proper laughs
This is a light, uncomplicated comedy with some really good lines and some funny set-pieces. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdam set the tone, and there are entertaining performances from the supporting cast. The usual mawkish Hollywood ending, but never mind that.
Kastanjemanden (2021)
Creepy, competent Nordic noir
A well-constructed series with decent performances. A contrived storyline (as is sometimes the case in the genre), but worth watching for likeable characters and well-maintained tension. Not the best example of Nordic noir, but an above-average murder story all the same.
Les rivières pourpres (2018)
Preposterous
Clichéd, self-indulgent, and so unbelievable. Olivier Marchal as the tough as old boots detective the ladies can't resist (he's a tubby, swaggering, cantankerous old git). His idea of getting into character is to turn up the collar of his overcoat and loosen his tie. Erika Sainte is his unusually attractive sidekick with a paper-thin back-story. Both of them get results generally by shouting at witnesses or beating them up, at which point the witnesses co-operate without complaint. The plots are centred around daft stories of ancient cults. It is like Midsomer Murders trying to do noir. Hint to the producers - it is easier to suspend your disbelief if there's a kernel of truth. Macho nonsense.
Rock the Kasbah (2015)
Promising but ultimately disappointing
A good cast, a decent Bill Murray character at the core of the film, a promising first half-hour, but then it goes to pieces. It is at its best when it is dry, cynical, and amoral. As soon as it moves into happier territory, it fails. None of the characters are strong enough or likeable enough to make the big story work. A shame.
Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)
Enjoyable but flawed - 6.5 out of 10
Charles Aznavour as Charlie Kohler, a down-on-his-luck virtuoso from a poor background who finds himself involved in the criminal troubles of his crooked brother. The film is enlivened by exotic scenes of life in the quartiers of Paris, not least the neighbourhood bar in which Charlie is the pianist. The most engaging characters are the leading lady Marie Dubois and a luminous supporting turn from Michèle Mercier, although there is an enthusiastic cameo from Boby Lapointe, his first film role. The treatment of social taboos (the film includes nudity and overt reference to prostitution) must have made this a daring work for the period. Strong cinematography and good use of music in what is ultimately an overly melodramatic crime drama. 6.5/10 may be harsh, but for me Aznavour fails to convince as a leading man, and the story is barely credible.
The Sleepover (2020)
Entertaining
A very silly kids' adventure film. The four children are the stars; they have all the best lines and some good chemistry. Maxwell Simkins is absolutely hilarious.
Gringo (2018)
Excellent
Funny, exciting, gritty, full of twists, with outstanding performances from a fantastic cast. Add to that exotic locations and a bit of social / political subtext. I don't understand why the film has been so poorly received.