Bottle Shock : a simple house wine

Rachael Taylor part of the cast of Bottle Shock

Inspired by a charming historic anecdote, Bottle Shock is the story, of course embellished, of a small victory for America, that is not military victory (it’s about time). A small victory in the sense that some California winemakers have been able to prove the face of the universe (ie to France) that in terms of wine, the USA do not produce wine as bad as some “piquette”.

Bottle Shock: Review

In 1976, during a blind tasting, an obscure Chardonnay arouses curiosity and enthusiasm of the members of the jury who awarded it the first prize, ignoring the humble beginnings of that wine, peasant and, most importantly, the U.S. origin of this wine, the vineyards of Chateau Montelena in Calistoga, CA.

Bottle Shock therefore retraces the difficult and exemplary route of Viticulture Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), his son, his close associates, and supporters until the final triumph somewhere in France.

A big lesson in courage and determination as we Americans like them, a lesson where ordinary people see their dreams become a reality by force of will, even if nothing has predestined them to reach glory. Bottle Shock is not so different from all these sport movies where the “least favored team” invariably wins the final match. The impeccable Alan Rickman in the role of a totally snob oenologist British scholar is a totally dedicated coach here.

This small slice of American history is in itself very interesting and lends itself very well, as they say, to a film adaptation. But the director, Randall Miller, who puts in this movie no more efforts than the minimum union standard, and an armada of 12 producers have made it a going nowhere movie, obviously made to please everyone a little by using and abusing convenient clichés: they laugh at the “french taste" and the “pédanterie” of the wine world while they could of shown the kind of simplicity and good humor typical Americans have, always cool and, of course, who just like to "make wine" without “flafla”.

Bottle Shock dwells unnecessarily on a little sentimental intrigue, completely awkward (if simply not needed) that, instead of adding a touch of romantic taste to the story, distracts us in vain. The music, a kind of endless waltz “musette”, is omnipresent and annoys us as soon as we try to listen to it.

Bottle Shock is not that bad, the acting of Rickman, refined even in a caricature, brings a little humor to what would be otherwise a sort of historic, patriotic and dull docudrama. Let’s just say that this movie is to the seventh art the equivalent of a glass of wine mixed with polluted water.

Bottle Shock’s new movie trailer:

Tropic Thunder: the war in stucco

Tropic Thunder poster

The lyricism of the manly and martial look of the movie Platoon was a source for your crying moments?

The warrior spirit and patriotism of Rambo stimulated the GI sleeping inside you?

Apocalypse Now’s psychedelic schizophrenia has deeply marked you?

Finally, are you looking for war movies?

Tropic Thunder scars joyfully all the classics of the genre, scratches the a few recent American cinema greats and takes on the Hollywood industry as a whole.


Tropic Thuner: Review

But all that is done in a good war, without any real irreverence, humor here is quite benign and, in extreme cases, consensual and family oriented, if your family is not easily shocked by a tank full of swear words and a barge of farts. After Scary Movie, Love Movie and Epic Movie, here is what might be War Movie.

Tropic Thunder tells the impossible adventure of a group of actors rather jaded and without any strengths who, during a disastrous shooting in Vietnam, find themselves trapped without relief in the heart of a forests full with armed enemies. Unaware that they face real opponents, the actors take their roles seriously, playing in a actually mined war zone.

This is a fun and inspiring concept which Ben Stiller (actor, screenwriter and director) failed to make the best use. If the big stars seem to have a good time, the characters they interpret with natural and nonchalance, lack the character that would make them real cartoons on legs.

The first 30 minutes left me vaguely hoping that I was about to see a great comedy where all the endless clichés inherent in Hollywood cinema would be crushed and beaten, but the movie quickly turns into a succession of jokes of a rather mediocre genre, until the final unnecessarily fireworks.

Like many popular comedies, Tropic Thunder is basically just an accumulation of sketches more or less skillfully made into a whole and fragile quilt. There are good moments, almost memorable (like the false advertisements that precedes the film, an idea also done by Grindhouse), a few funny flashes (Tom Cruise, unrecognizable, as a vulgar and corrupt movie producer, or Robert Downey Jr. all black-painted, painfully trying to be a cool black philosopher), but too many gags fall short.

The whole movie disappoints by its fragmentation and its incessant comings and goings from the parody to the basement joke. In short, it is a "bag of surprises": a few treats for a handful of uninteresting tricks.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Review

Maria Bello stars in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor"

Rick and Evelyn O'Connell are absolutely bored in their English mansion. Their son Alex is now a grown man and has halted his studies to try to find the tomb of the Emperor of China. Aided by Roger Wilson, he managed to locate the entrance to the millennium nest…

Meanwhile, his parents accept a mission from the "Foreign Office": bring back a precious stone to the museum of Shanghai, a city where Jonathan holds a cabaret music hall.

The O'Connell discover that their son is also in town and has brought back from his journey the body of the Dragon Emperor. A mysterious killer wants to eliminate Alex: she appears to be protect something...

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – Review

This Mummy is too old

The saga of “The Mummy” will never have the aura of Indiana Jones. It is a fact. But the first two films, directed and written by Stephen Sommers in 1999 and 2001, have the merit of giving the viewer a lot for his money: the viewer laughs, shudders, even if he does not have much to remember afterwards. A pure and successful entertainment movie is quite rare nowadays.

This time Sommers lets Rob Cohen run the show. Cohen is an honest film-maker who made the winning XXX and FAST AND FURIOUS. The preamble is encouraging: the heroes have aged and would almost let their son carry on. But the poverty of the dialogues and situations leaves us with bad surprises.

The show is boring because of a flat or inappropriate realization. Best example, the chase in Shanghai, supposed to be a moment of bravery, disconcerts us because it is so poorly constructed. Result: the pleasure is greatly blunted.

With too many characters at their side, Brendan Fraser and John Hannah, the only two survivors of the previous movies, are struggling to exist. Too bad... they could of given a comic flavor to this very basic show.