Jean-Daniel_Gauthier
Joined Nov 2012
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges2
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Ratings10
Jean-Daniel_Gauthier's rating
Reviews9
Jean-Daniel_Gauthier's rating
Some movies almost don't need a narrative at all (Alien, Aliens, Mad Max: Fury Road come to mind). In these works, the whys and hows are left as an exercise to the viewer and fade into the background to let the action create an emotional resonance.
Alien: Covenant attempts the opposite, and smothers its own pace with lazy exposition and confusing explanations. After so many years of xenomorphs killing humans, the franchise was in dire need of either a return to its source, or some drastic innovation, expectation which aren't met either as the movie deliver action scenes everyone is already used to, without proper build up and without any surprise at all.
One would have also expected Alien:Covenant to have learned from the many mistakes committed by Prometheus. Sadly, the story only goes forward thanks to plot holes combined to the terrible absent-mindedness of the characters who seem to repeat the very same gaffes as the crew of the previous movie.
In short, a film which would have deserved a moist, dark, intense claustrophobic atmosphere and desperate struggles for survival was instead given the plot of, well, mostly every other action movie with disappointing CGI monsters thrown-in, shaped like xenomorphs to remain faithful to the license.
I wish I could give it more than 3 stars (for the okay acting), but considering the waste of potential of this movie and the hype it created, it's only fair (at least in my books).
Not recommended. Wait for the DVD if you're curious.
Alien: Covenant attempts the opposite, and smothers its own pace with lazy exposition and confusing explanations. After so many years of xenomorphs killing humans, the franchise was in dire need of either a return to its source, or some drastic innovation, expectation which aren't met either as the movie deliver action scenes everyone is already used to, without proper build up and without any surprise at all.
One would have also expected Alien:Covenant to have learned from the many mistakes committed by Prometheus. Sadly, the story only goes forward thanks to plot holes combined to the terrible absent-mindedness of the characters who seem to repeat the very same gaffes as the crew of the previous movie.
In short, a film which would have deserved a moist, dark, intense claustrophobic atmosphere and desperate struggles for survival was instead given the plot of, well, mostly every other action movie with disappointing CGI monsters thrown-in, shaped like xenomorphs to remain faithful to the license.
I wish I could give it more than 3 stars (for the okay acting), but considering the waste of potential of this movie and the hype it created, it's only fair (at least in my books).
Not recommended. Wait for the DVD if you're curious.
A Dark Song is one of these movies where everything is set by the ambiance and the claustrophobic dimension of its writing. Taking its time to expose its core, it manages to keep viewers on its toes during half its length, making them forget about details that should in all logic ruin the suspension of disbelief.
Unfortunately, passed that point, it becomes clear that the movie fails to deliver, losing its identity somewhere between psychological thriller and slow paced horror.
Where these two genres could have blended together to create not only an almost original approach to horror/paranormal in the manner of The Babadook or as a darker, much more grounded, ascetic version of Pan's Labyrinth, or even as Identity with an occult twist... it just falls flat
The lack of dramatic climaxes, consistency, and an extremely clumsy third act gives the impression that the writer created the rules of the movies' universe as the story was progressing. Some would argue that that A Dark Song is meant to be appreciated more intellectually than viscerally, but too little is exposed to trigger any reflection, yet too much is revealed to leave some room to the viewer's imagination.
The cherry on the half-baked cake is a very disappointing ending, which seems to belong to another movie altogether.
There are redeeming qualities: the scoring, disturbing yes not annoying, fits the ambiance perfectly, and the acting is all in all pretty good (probably the only reason why some scene retains a certain level of intensity).
If you're in need of some slower paced horror, give Uzumaki or Kairo a chance, but skip this, there are many other, better ways to spend 130 minutes.
Unfortunately, passed that point, it becomes clear that the movie fails to deliver, losing its identity somewhere between psychological thriller and slow paced horror.
Where these two genres could have blended together to create not only an almost original approach to horror/paranormal in the manner of The Babadook or as a darker, much more grounded, ascetic version of Pan's Labyrinth, or even as Identity with an occult twist... it just falls flat
The lack of dramatic climaxes, consistency, and an extremely clumsy third act gives the impression that the writer created the rules of the movies' universe as the story was progressing. Some would argue that that A Dark Song is meant to be appreciated more intellectually than viscerally, but too little is exposed to trigger any reflection, yet too much is revealed to leave some room to the viewer's imagination.
The cherry on the half-baked cake is a very disappointing ending, which seems to belong to another movie altogether.
There are redeeming qualities: the scoring, disturbing yes not annoying, fits the ambiance perfectly, and the acting is all in all pretty good (probably the only reason why some scene retains a certain level of intensity).
If you're in need of some slower paced horror, give Uzumaki or Kairo a chance, but skip this, there are many other, better ways to spend 130 minutes.
Some movies come up with a message, so do some cartoons. UP tackled the issue of loneliness, Frozen was a legit allegory for depression and how you should never leave your kid's education to trolls, and Boss Baby... well... has none.
Okay, there is some kind of message, yes: don't so self-centered that you'll break the harmony of your awesome family, but that's "standard movie message #948" and there's no need to discuss it further.
So, there is this kid, his life is all great as far as modern kid's standards go and, somehow, a supernatural, baby-shaped CEO hijacks his parents in order to pursue a secret mission which is revealed all over the trailer. The story unravels from there, completely disjointed, illogical, with the epic sort of surrealism that can sometimes emerge from the mind of a seven (and a half) year-old.
That's where and why the movie really shines. Yes, there are some gross jokes here and there, but didn't we make them all when we were this age? The Boss Baby isn't an 'R' rated flick in disguise, it's a goofy, funny (not quite hilarious, but funny) story where "Kill Bill" minus all the snakes meets "Tom & Jerry", with a flurry of colors and motions as well as a quite daring art style (sometimes borrowing a tad from "Kung-Fu Panda" and "Horton Hears a Who").
Technically, the animation is par with what's available these days, the score is okay, and the acting is actually good, with extra kudos for rather caricatured but very convincing facial expressions.
Nothing in this movie makes sense, but nothing has to. It's refreshing, it's well paced, and it's a good way to spend a standard movie length of time. It will make you laugh on more than one occasion -if you don't take it too seriously, the flick itself doesn't, so why should you ;)
Okay, there is some kind of message, yes: don't so self-centered that you'll break the harmony of your awesome family, but that's "standard movie message #948" and there's no need to discuss it further.
So, there is this kid, his life is all great as far as modern kid's standards go and, somehow, a supernatural, baby-shaped CEO hijacks his parents in order to pursue a secret mission which is revealed all over the trailer. The story unravels from there, completely disjointed, illogical, with the epic sort of surrealism that can sometimes emerge from the mind of a seven (and a half) year-old.
That's where and why the movie really shines. Yes, there are some gross jokes here and there, but didn't we make them all when we were this age? The Boss Baby isn't an 'R' rated flick in disguise, it's a goofy, funny (not quite hilarious, but funny) story where "Kill Bill" minus all the snakes meets "Tom & Jerry", with a flurry of colors and motions as well as a quite daring art style (sometimes borrowing a tad from "Kung-Fu Panda" and "Horton Hears a Who").
Technically, the animation is par with what's available these days, the score is okay, and the acting is actually good, with extra kudos for rather caricatured but very convincing facial expressions.
Nothing in this movie makes sense, but nothing has to. It's refreshing, it's well paced, and it's a good way to spend a standard movie length of time. It will make you laugh on more than one occasion -if you don't take it too seriously, the flick itself doesn't, so why should you ;)