taliesin-8 Reviews

The Smurfs (2011)

I liked it and so did my two daughters.

[9/10 · 3 October 2011]

This is a movie aimed for children. However, I, as a parent, also enjoyed it. Some of it was pretty standard (insert CGI character fart joke here) but there were also some very touching moments in it - specially if you are a dad.

Go see it with your kids.

On the other hand, if you are a male teenager with ADHD, skip it and go see something else, WITH EXPLOSIONS.

Some people have been posting very negative reviews, and honestly, this movie doesn't deserve all the bad rap it's getting. It's no Avatar or Citizen Kane, but, come on, relax and enjoy it. I was a smurfs fan when I was a kid, and I liked to see a lot of the elements of the comics brought onto the big screen.

Mac and Me (1988)

Don't lose your time, please

[1/10 · 22 March 2006]

It's a pitiful remake of ET. It seems someone thought "now, why don't we make ET again (without consent of anyone) and try to put a lot of merchandising in it".

I saw ET as a child, and i laughed and cried, and i really identified myself with Elliot. The history is brilliant, and 20 years later my kids still love that film.

I saw Mac and Me when i was a child too, and it made me angry, furious. How did they dare to rape my memories of a pretty good story ? The plagiarism was so obvious that it made me forget about anything good in this movie. I still recall that hideous bubble gum ball at the end promising that they would be back, and that memory has haunted me for years.

Don't watch this one, please. Please.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Enervating !

[9/10 · 17 November 2004]

Excellent acting by those all involved. It's hard to tell where the movie is going, and that allows for tension to develop. Nice use of the music. I really wanted to kick the walls, break the windows and smash my neighbour's face when the tension was raising, and raising, and raising... Anger at its best.

It has a couple of humorous moments, but that's not the main strength of the movie. The camera work, the music, the acting. And Adam Sandler exploding at the peak moments is just amazing. He reminds me of the acting skills of Jim Carrey. He may be a joker, a clown, but when he puts his intent on developing a character or showing off strong emotions (think The Truman Show), he really shines. The same thing happens here with Sandler. From a comic guy who makes funny voices and impersonations, to the terrible Barry Egan, there's a whole leap, and he goes all the way easily.

Bootleg (2002)

Nice, subversive metaphore for all the family.

[9/10 · 23 August 2004]

The government imposes the ban on chocolate ! Well, that might be a stupid point to start a movie, but it handles the idea very well: if you forbide something that people want, they will fight to get it back. Black market will appear, and everybody that we know will suffer the consequences.

It is a good family movie, but also it works at another level: replace the word "chocolate" by "cocaine", "pot", "heroine", or "iron maiden LPs", and you'll get the idea. The writers have managed to understand the mechanics of the black market and all the clichés of the underground movements and put it into a nice Sunday evening cable movie. Of course that it went unnoticed under all the Harry Potter hype, but it has that kind of stories that will touch some kind of fiber in you, even with all those clichés flying around.