Cinema and Popcorn

Genre: Fantasy; Romance; Drama; Director: Rob Marshall Writer: David Magee Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay and Javier Bardem The Little Mermaid is the best Disney live-action adaptation. It doesn't mean it achieves brilliance, but it does rise above the bar previously set by the previous adaptations. It offers some new takes on subjects like sexuality, a feminist approach to some scenes that were first presented as "damsel in distress" situations and it also sets a multicultural/diverse set. But the movie's secret ingredient is Halle Bailey - she's the best reason for audiences to buy a ticket and go watch the film on a movie theatre. The movie starts with a relatively dark approach in the visual department (for a Disney movie), but it then evolves for the standard and brighter looking (and more family friendly) movie audiences expect it to be. The visual effects work is inconsistent - it does ...

Genre: Comedy; Drama; Action; Sci-fi. Director: James Gunn Writer: James Gunn Starring:  Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Will Poulter, Sean Gunn & Chukwudi Iwuji James Gunn is back in full power for the MCU and he does bring the Guardians of the Galaxy  movie with most heart when compared with the previous installments. It does respect the typical MCU formula, but it adds an extra spice thanks to spot-on comedy moments and a small reflexion on loss, grief and getting back what was once lost. The entire cast delivers (as in previous movies), but the spotlight goes to Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) this time, with Zoe Saldana shinning brighter in some scenes. First of all, Guardians takes place after the many events of the MCU and while one could expect it to focus on Peter Quill's internal dramas, it takes on a fresh new direction and explores Rocket's past while giving the audience a lesson about wh...

Genre: Comedy; Drama Director: Ben Affleck Writer: Alex Convery Starring: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker & Julius Tennon People who go watch Air expecting a groundbreaking sports drama will have a letdown, but Air is a solid real-life story put on-screen and told in a very straightfoward way. It's the "boy next door" of sports drama, but it doesn't mean it has nothing special: there's something very charming about this movie. The ensemble cast is great, the pace is great and the script is excellent - I was never truly impressed, but I was never bored... in fact, it is one of the most engaging "simple" comedy/dramas in recent years. Air is made of great direction decisions. Ben Affleck has offered us some impressive heavy work in Gone Baby Gone , The Town and Argo , but he's equally effective and narrative-focused with the lighter material Air is made of. In fact, I believe Affleck relies most...

I've been on a horror marathon these days, considering the box-office (and critical) success of the latest horror movies that have been released in theaters. But it's Cannes time right now and there are some reviews I wanted to share with you before entering the first phase of the Oscars 2024 season - the post-Cannes Film Festival phase.  So have a look at some scary and bloody film features' reviews: EVIL DEAD RISE There's something quite cruel about this movie, but it never cross the "too much" line. Evil Dead Rise is quite tense and quite graphic bloody horror film that they don't get made anymore. Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland lead an ensemble that give life to empathetic characters, but the others can't quite match the acting bar set by the two actresses. They are put in a very claustrophobic set in a a nail-biting situation. It's thrilling, it's engaging and it's scary and God-damned bloody. There are some great scenes (the ele...