walidoo Reviews

Barbie (I) (2023)

A great movie for all grown ups and teens

[9/10 · 20 July 2023]

I can only recommend to see this joyful movie with an incredible cast.

If you like fun, creativity, colors and a great plot that is both entertaining and thoughtful this is one of the best movies you can see.

Songs are OK but choreographies are amazing. Everything in the movie is weird but in the best sense because it is unlike any other movie. Ryan Gosling plays both a brilliant regular guy and kinda stupid at the same time, which is super cute and sensitive. While the movie is full of intentional stupidity and fun, it makes us man rethink manhood, not really because of the feminist discourse - which is a bit too much present here - but in more subtile way because of Gosling's character reactions and evolution throughout the movie.

It is also a movie about American culture at its best : Barbieland is a reflection of America and vice-versa. The plot nourishes itself brilliantly from that reflection and challenges both men and women's conception of our dreams. Consumerism, business, idealism, self deprecative humour, all ingredients are there. The only downside we can find to this movie is the labyrinth style plot that is too stretched sometimes and unnecessary. More importantly this makes it unsuitable for younger audience. Thank you Mattel for this piece of fun !!

The Little Mermaid (I) (2023)

Probably the best live-action adaption ever

[10/10 · 29 May 2023]

What a marvelous movie !

This is the best live-action adaptation of a Disney ever done so far, even though the bar was very high with Aladdin.

Halle Berry is delivering an Oscar-deserving performance, maybe the best female act seen in years. This was so emotional I wanted to cry, cry with no reason, not like in Encanto because some story was reflecting on our own experiences, but simply because it was emotionally intense, beautiful, marvelous. Sisters and brothers, there's nothing about race and skin colour, it's all about love, beauty and art, and Disney has succeeded in this demonstration while it often over-manufactured diversity in some cases in recent years.

The pictures are of extreme beauty, and I'm adding the 10th stars because it's so funny both for kids and grown ups, and the musics are a hit.

Please don't listen to negative people who are using excuses for their lost soul.

My favorite movie of 2023 so far, and from now it's in my top most loved movies ever and one that I'll re-watch again and again with delight.

The Last Queen (2022)

Such a great historical fiction !!

[8/10 · 21 May 2023]

First and foremost I loved this movie which is probably one of the best historical fictions on the Arab world since Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven.

The press reviews were not bad but frankly when I was watching it and quickly understood it has been completely underrated. The main actress (Adila Bendimerad) is litterally amazing and what to say about Dali Benssalah which is again delivering a monumental performance after the Netflix' released Athena movie.

The movie's decor, costumes and landscapes are beautiful even though it can't be compared to Hollywood for the outdoor settings (only expect natural ones, because re-generating 1500' Algiers seemed to be out of budget). Interior ones are more than compensating it and costumes and cinematography are awesome.

The plot itself is great and sticking well to a credible history with a great cast making it lively and enjoyable, especially the pirates.

There is also a great pleasure to hear real, north african dialect.

If you love history, action, romance, and beauty in a movie this is a must see.

L'immensità (2022)

A total fail

[2/10 · 14 January 2023]

This movie is full of cliches about macho men beating up wives, raping them, cheating on them and intolerant to the lgbtq people. I really tried to find an interest in this but every new scene was a new disaster. Of course frivolous women are depicted positively and divorcing is promoted as you can imagine. The only excuse that could be found for such prejudiced vision is the fact that it's supposed to happens in the 1970s. But it can't explain such ridiculous story which reminded me of "not without my daughter" in its black and white way of praising mother-child relationship by demonizing father-family ones.

I add a 2nd start for Penelope act.

Ms. Marvel (2022)

A great tv show for Ms Marvel comics fans

[10/10 · 24 December 2022]

I've been reading Ms Marvel comics for years and frankly I didn't expect the tv series to be that good. I don't really understand how can people can put less than a 7 to such a greatly directed tv series ( pilot from Adil & Bilal Fallah ), with such a great cast, except maybe haters ?

The plot is taking a few liberties with the original book series but it stays overall consistent.

What I loved is that it is even more graphic than the already beautiful paper comics, and really adds a great dimension with the music.

Only regret I have so far is that i wish we saw more Jersey City and less Atlanta, even though the end is credible.

Last thing, but not the least, it is a family friendly show (which makes some narrow minded people say it's for kids) but definitely a show for all family members, enjoyable for 10 years old till 120 years old.

Scream (I) (2022)

A must see for Scream fans, a good movie for others

[7/10 · 16 August 2022]

This Scream movie offers a lot of fun and action that completely respect Wes Craven's original Scream movies, and like in the Original series, you never get bored. Maybe it goes a bit beyond the original with its comedy aspect and more gore-style scenes without betray the initial Screams spirit. If you've never seen a Scream movie don't start with this one but rather with the Scream 1 before as there are a few spoilers.

The cast is amazing and I was thrilled to see Arquette, Cox, and the iconic Neve Campbell be part of it, the directors and writers made their appearance very natural and meaningful.

C'mon C'mon (2021)

Definitely not a family movie

[2/10 · 7 August 2022]

I tried to watch this with my 10 years old son but the film is too de-structured to be followed along even for adults, and there's a very negative atmosphere not in the story itself but in the tone and words used. Phoenix is a huge actor and I added the 2nd star for him. Maybe if you want to watch it without kids it may be OK but I didn't bother finishing to watch. It's boring.

Lamb (2021)

A modern fairy tale

[8/10 · 16 February 2022]

The movie reminded me of uncensored version of fairy tales as they were produced or written by masters such as Grimm, Perault, or even 1001 nights. They did not try to cut any corners, or to make it child-friendly. It is a masterpiece in the sense that it shows beautifully the brightest and darkest side of what humans can be, what real love really is, and the power of human sentiments (don't want to spoil which sentiments).

Arab Blues (2019)

OK if you like french movies

[6/10 · 19 April 2020]

I found this rather a french movie than a tunisian movie. A lot of the dialogues are in french, the main character's french (although of Tunisian background) which leads to some disappointment if you're looking for a real tunisian movie. That being said, the main actress is really credible and plays very well her role. I also appreciated many comic situations especially at the beginning of the movie which makes it an overall pleasant movie, not too boring or long like many other indy french or tunisian movies. We can regret also a bit too much of cliches on both parisian (the rudeness of the psychanalyst) and tunisian people but that is done without any bad intention which makes those OK.