2010-05-31

Back from California!

For those who wondered where I was all that time, don't worry anymore! I'm back for more movie blogging, classic film reviews, new releases criticism, the Top 25 most influential directors of all time poll and more surprises to come!

During this month of may vacations I've been to San Francisco, Sonoma Valley, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, San Simeon, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Newport Beach, San Diego, Palm Springs, Barstow and finally Las Vegas. Well, I've been everywhere man, in California (Johnny Cash)!

I've seen or reseen some movies on american television as: Hysteria, He's Just Not That Into You, Encino Man, The Hangover, and Role Models. I've been to Barstow's Drive-in, in the Californian desert to see Shrek Forever After which I will share some thoughts with you later this week.

It's great to be back! Even if I could have taken another whole month of vacation...

2010-05-04

On Vacation for the Month of May!


I will be in California for the Month of May! So don't be upset if I don't answer to your comments! When I'll come back I promise to feed this Blog with better reviews than ever and bring more recent movie reviewed too!


Remember to vote for the ongoing poll of the 25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time!

See ya!

Michaël

2010-05-03

All the President's Men


All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976)

Recalling the inspired work of the two journalists of the Washington Post that brought light into the scandal that moved America and made President Richard Nixon dismiss: the Watergate. Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) had an informant named Deep Throat that gave them hints to make light on the break-in that happened in the Democratic Party National headquarters. All the President's Men shows their hardwork and stubborn perceptivity to preserve and maintain democracy.

All the President's Men is the kind of film that you don't want to close your eyes to miss any single detail of the plot. This is the kind of script that I would love to write. Being a historical fact the ending of the story is sort of secondary and there are no twists or punches at the end: we all know how it's gonna end. So the story has to be interesting and make us forget that we know the ending and that the facts are obvious to anyone. Alan J. Pakula delivers an extraordinary film from William Goldman's screenplay adapted from the book of Woodward & Bernstein. The investigation is so tight and entertaining that every bit of information the journalists obtain is like a victory from your favorite team in the playoffs. Redford and Hoffman are excellent in roles that required so much objectivity in their plays when we think that journalists must be totally out of any political allegiances...

A true classic of the 1970's, far from being as inspired as other Hollywood productions of its time like Taxi Driver or The Conversation, All the President's Men proved that the chase is always better than the catch. For fans of David Fincher's Zodiac too!


A Review by Michaël Parent

2010-05-02

Top 5 of 1983 aka The Year I Was Born

Taking from a MEME I've seen this year on some Blogs I've dig through my film memories to try to find all the films I've seen that were made in 1983 aka the year I was born. Well, the first I've seen from this year is without a doubt The Return of the Jedi directed by Richard Marquand(!?!), by automatic mistake we always think it's from George Lucas, it's mostly but he's not credited as the director. I remember the first time, and I'm pretty sure it was the only time, I've seen The Return of the Jedi; my dad and I rented it with the two other episodes on a hot rainy saturday evening of the 1990's...

Well, cinematic memories are very important and I think the context of the viewing of a film is very important to appreciate it. The rest of my family, my brother was too to stay up until the third movie of the evening and he isn't as a cinephile as we are so is my mother. I'll always remember those evenings of watching movies with my dad, as long as I can remember we were fans of the Back to the Future the trilogy, Tom Hanks & Chevy Chase comedies, every Spielberg picture around and every action movies too. Well before passing judgments you have to remember that I was around 8-12 years old at the time...

Now you're thinking why does he talks about all those childish memories? First of all, I don't want to brag or anything but it's been three years since I haven't seen my father, it relieves me to talk about it, but mostly because my number one spot is Andrei Tarkovsky's Nostalghia.

Below you will find my long awaited Top 5 films of 1983, starting from number 5 to number 1, I will post reviews of these films each week before my birthday and the final review, the number 1 of this list Nostaghia, will be posted August 2, which is my birthday by the way.


1. Nostalghia (Andrei Tarkovsky)



2. Videodrome (David Cronenberg)

3. The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese)

4. Scarface (Brian De Palma)


5. Vivement Dimanche! (François Truffaut)
Not yet included: Prénom Carmen (Jean-Luc Godard)


The ones I want to see that may change the order of this list:
Zelig
(Woody Allen)
L'argent
(Robert Bresson)
Rumble Fish
(Francis Ford Coppola)
The Right Stuff
(Philip Kaufman)
Sans Soleil
(Chris Marker)
Pauline à la plage
(Eric Rohmer)

...and your suggestions for 1983!

Michaël Parent

2010-05-01

Rome Season I (2005)



I don't usually review television shows but when it comes to history and quality I let go the fact that it was aired on television. I did my major in History at the University and I visited Italy from North to Pompei, so I had grand interest in that show.

Starting with the end of the War of Gaulle and ending at the Kalends of February in Roman history, the first season of the show reveals how historically accurate the show is. Well, the two main characters Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus have dramatized or if you prefer "Romanized" lives. The plot of the show stands on the grounds of the historical facts. That's what makes Rome the best television show ever to reconstitute the past. Being on HBO, it helped the creators to reflect the violence and orgies of that period. But beware, it's not Caligula; this extravaganza of violence and pornography has its qualities but it's never as good as Rome.

Continuing with HBO, the network that brought TV series so well written and produced that it practically killed the Theaters. Rome is the kind of series that surpasses its media: Television, and with its qualities is able to ascends to Cinematic ambitions.

Rome is much more than just about a historic reconstitution. Its two main characters are used like Forrest Gump; they lived their lives through History and they could have been anybody, you or your neighbor. It helps the viewer to identify himself in this labyrinth of historic characters in that different (not that much) world order than ours.

A Television Series Review by Michaël Parent

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