Archive for the 'Movies' Category

Amazon (Canada): More stellar customer service

Monday, April 22nd, 2013 • 1:42 pm

As a long-time customer of the Amazon (France), Amazon (US) and Amazon (Canada) web stores, I must say that I have always enjoyed stellar customer service, and my latest experience is no exception. Back in December 2012, I took advantage of a special offer at Amazon.ca to order a copy of Martin Scorcese’s Hugo on […]

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The Death of HD DVD: Maybe the name itself had something do with it

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 • 4:21 pm

At least that’s what my experience with my father-in-law suggests.

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Stretching the iTunes concept

Monday, October 17th, 2005 • 3:59 pm

What’s so tuneful about an episode of “Desperate Housewives”?

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Alexander Payne, Sideways (2004)

Friday, August 12th, 2005 • 10:36 am

Nothing unforgettable, but an enjoyable enough romp through wine country in California.

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Zach Braff, Garden State (2004)

Friday, March 18th, 2005 • 1:10 am

It is so refreshing to see that such debuts can still happen in this world. Zach Braff is both the director and the leading actor in this excellent romantic comedy… If the very genre (romantic comedy) makes you cringe, this movie will probably not change your opinion. But if you are not prejudiced against the […]

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John Boorman, Excalibur (1981)

Saturday, January 22nd, 2005 • 7:53 am

I saw this movie in a French movie theatre in the 1980s, while I was still a university student — and I remember being quite taken by it, especially because of my original attraction to the Arthurian legend, and also because of the way music was used in this movie. I think it was one […]

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John Curran, We Don’t Live Here Anymore (2004)

Saturday, January 22nd, 2005 • 7:00 am

I’d read a rather glowing review of this film in The New Yorker a few months ago, and it was on pay-per-view this week, so I thought I’d give it a try. I don’t really like pay-per-view much, mostly because the programmers still haven’t grasped the fact that, even in North America, most movie watchers […]

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Michael Moore, Farhenheit 9/11 (2004)

Friday, October 15th, 2004 • 1:07 am

I had the opportunity to watch this movie on DVD this week. Even for someone who’s stayed reasonably well informed over the past few years, there were enough surprises and unseen footage in it to keep it fresh and powerful. It really is amazing. I keep reading in the media about how George W. Bush […]

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Agnès Jaoui, Le goût des autres (2000)

Wednesday, July 14th, 2004 • 10:49 pm

Bon petit film qui réussit — ce qui n’est pas rien — à nous attacher aux divers personnages, dans toute leur inconséquence. Ce qui je trouve particulièrement réussi, c’est le foisonnement de petites intrigues parallèles. L’intrigue centrale est évidemment celle qui concerne Castella (Jean-Pierre Bacri) et Clara (Anne Alvaro), mais le film a le mérite […]

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Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Saturday, July 10th, 2004 • 12:27 am

As Sydney Pollack’s character would say, I am probably way out of my league here, but still… How plausible is this whole thing? There’s probably some universal truth in the contrast between the woman’s ability to stick to fantasizing only and the man’s irrepressible need to act on his own fantasies, but is it enough […]

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Francis Veber, Le placard (2001)

Wednesday, July 7th, 2004 • 10:24 am

Comme toujours avec Francis Veber, il y a une garantie minimum de qualité, ne serait-ce qu’en raison de la pléiade d’acteurs de premier ordre (Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte, Michel Aumont, Jean Rochefort, etc.) et du soin avec lequel le film a été conçu et réalisé. Cet épisode particulier de la vie du générique […]

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Bryan Curtis on ‘How Widescreen Won’

Friday, May 28th, 2004 • 6:37 am

Slate associate editor Bryan Curtis has an interesting column on movie viewing habits in the US and how widescreen movies have become the standard in DVD products — as while “pan and scan” used to be the preferred format in the days of VHS tapes. As a lover of quality movies, I am obviously pleased […]

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François Ozon, Sous le sable (2001)

Monday, May 10th, 2004 • 7:03 am

Je dois avoir ma dose de François Ozon pour un moment… Après 8 femmes et Swimming Pool, le hasard (plus ou moins) a voulu que nous regardions Sous le sable l’autre soir. Des trois films, c’est sans doute le moins artificiel. Une histoire de disparition non acceptée, de deuil impossible à faire… Cela pourrait presque […]

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François Ozon, Swimming Pool (2003)

Monday, April 5th, 2004 • 7:26 am

J’ai déjà eu l’occasion d’évoquer 8 femmes, cet autre film récent de François Ozon qui m’avait semblé de peu d’intérêt. Dans ce contexte, Swimming Pool m’a agréablement surpris. Ce film n’est pas particulièrement original, mais il est plutôt bien réussi dans son exécution et suscite un plaisir indéniable. Ce plaisir tient en grande partie au […]

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Raoul Ruiz, Le temps retrouvé (1999)

Monday, January 19th, 2004 • 11:50 pm

Je ne suis pas forcément très bien placé pour parler du Temps retrouvé en tant que film, vu que je fais non seulement partie d’une petite minorité de gens qui ont lu l’oeuvre de Marcel Proust À la recherche du temps perdu dans son intégralité, mais que j’en ai même fait le sujet de mon […]

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