Reviews by johanlefourbe

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A good movie

Posted : 11 hours, 22 minutes ago on 19 May 2013 03:58 (A review of Un frère...)

It is once again one of those really obscure French movies which I'm the only one to have seen here on Listal. Gosh, as a matter of fact, if you check Imdb, not even 60 people(!) have seen it so it might one of the most obscure movies I have ever seen. Anyway, I thought it was pretty good, albeit not really original. Basically, the main attraction was to see the lovely Emma de Caunes in one of her very first parts. You probably have never heard of her but she was in (the terribly dreadful) 'Mr. Bean's Holiday'. Anyway, she is the daughter of a very famous French TV host, Antoine de Caunes, and she is quite known in France as well. Eventually, she won the prize for the Most Promising Actress back then at the Césars (the French Oscars) and I think she definitely deserved it. Indeed, she gave a very convincing and impressive performance, especially at such a young age and when she was just starting as an actress. To be honest, the movie itself was not really amazing but it was still a decent drama. To conclude, even though it is really really obscure and completely unknown, it is actually a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

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An average movie

Posted : 11 hours, 54 minutes ago on 19 May 2013 03:26 (A review of Going the Distance)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Drew Barrymore, I thought I should give it a try. Even if my rating might seem rather low, I actually enjoyed many things about this movie which was definitely one of the better romantic-comedies I have seen lately. Unfortunately, there were still too many elements which prevented me from giving it a really positive grade. First of all, absolutely none of the supporting characters were either interesting or really funny. Secondly and mostly the reason why they didn't really nailed it is because the dilemma in the relationship was just rather phony, at least to me. I mean, from the moment Drew Barrymore gets this great job opportunity, there is no real reason for Justin Long to say in New York, expect moving along the plot so they can split up and of course get back together in the end. And that's the whole point! They do get together eventually rather easily so it makes it rather difficult to take what happened before really seriously. So, they messed up a few things but they still managed to get many things right. First of all, I'm not sure if Barrymore and Long were still an item at the time but they really had some great chemistry and their scenes were pure gold and felt really genuine. Furthermore, their relationship was actually very well built, based on reality instead on some idiotic concept and that was much appreciated. To conclude, even though the whole thing didn't work completely, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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A good movie

Posted : 22 hours, 58 minutes ago on 19 May 2013 04:22 (A review of The Magnet)

It is once again one of those really obscure French movies which I'm the only one to have seen here on Listal. As a matter of fact, if you check Imdb, not even 200 people have seen it. Anyway, one of the main person involved in this feature was Philippe Fragione A.K.A Akhenaton, one of the biggest hip-hop artists in France. He is above all known as the leader of the band IAM. I was surprised that to discover that Akhenaton actually co-direct this flick. Anyway, like most US rap artists, he got involved in the movie business and wisely took a subject he knew from in and out, the inner life of a Marseilles neighborhood. To be honest, it was nothing really original or groundbreaking, but it was well made and they didn't try to sugarcoat the whole thing. Furthermore, there was a pretty cool soundtrack provided by Akhenaton himself and his buddies. To conclude, like I said before it is nothing really amazing but I still think it was pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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An average movie

Posted : 2 days, 1 hour ago on 18 May 2013 02:17 (A review of Alfie)

The original version was one of those classics starring Michael Caine. As a matter of fact, I had seen this movie not so long before but, to be honest, I didn't really blow me away. I mean, Michael Caine was, as usual, pretty awesome but the main character was such a douche-bag and the story was hardly compelling in my opinion. At least, it was pretty controversial for its time. Anyway, since I didn't enjoy the original version, I wasn't expecting much from this remake. Eventually, it was not that bad at all but it wasn't an improvement either. Obviously, Jude Law was a good casting choice to be this quintessential playboy , even if he never managed to be as amazing as Michael Caine and there was also a pretty cool supporting cast (Jane Krakowski, Marisa Tomei, Omar Epps, Nia Long, Susan Sarandon, Sienna Miller). Still, you wonder what is the added value of making this story in our modern time, except for taking advantage of Jude Law's pretty face and sudden popularity (Back in those days, his relationship with Sienna Miller was a tabloid favorite). Still, even though the whole thing was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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An average movie

Posted : 2 days, 12 hours ago on 17 May 2013 03:20 (A review of The Great Gatsby)

To be honest, this movie was not a priority but since there was not much else to watch, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, I thought it was not bad but still nothing really amazing in my opinion. Basically, it is one of those visual extravaganzas which have been Baz Luhrmann's specialty for quite a while now. Honestly, even though it was an interesting approach, it was also rather distracting, especially the first 30-45 minutes which were basically Gatsby on acids. Later on, the whole thing settled down a little and I was more able appreciate the visual wizardry involved. For Leonardo DiCaprio, it was yet another portrayal of a neurotic individual which can be added to his ever growing list (J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, Teddy Daniels or even Cobb, Calvin Candie or Billy Costigan). Frankly, even though he did a decent job, he didn't really nail it this time and I preferred Robert Redford's version. On the other hand, Jay Gatsby is such a mythical larger-than-life character, one of the most fascinating fictional figures ever created and if he works amazingly on the paper, I'm not sure he can be put on the silver screen because since you actually see him in flesh and blood, a lot of the mystery surrounding him is gone. Another thing that disappointed me was the relationship between Gatsby and Carraway. I mean, they picked up two actors who happened to be BFF since childhood so I expected some awesome brotherly chemistry but it was just not there. Finally, if Jay Gatsby is one of my favorite literary characters, Daisy Buchanan must be one of the shallowest I have ever seen, even in the book I thought she was tedious to death and I never understood why Gatsby went through all this hustle for this broad. Well, in this movie, she was again pretty annoying. Still, the whole thing remains a nice watch, the modern music didn't bother me, and there was some very nice use of 3D (for once). To conclude, even though it is far from being a masterpiece, it is still worth a look, especially if you enjoyed Baz Luhrmann's previous work.

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A good movie

Posted : 2 days, 18 hours ago on 17 May 2013 09:09 (A review of The Science of Sleep)

Ever since I watched and loved 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', I became instantly a fan of Michel Gondry and I was really eager to check what he would do next. His first follow-up was a decent documentary called 'Block Party' but I was eagerly waiting for his next fiction. To be honest, it wasn't really mind-blowing like I was hoping for but it was still a pretty solid flick. First of all, it was pretty neat that he shot the movie this time in France, his motherland,and there was a couple of familiar figures who you may have never heard of (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou-Miou, Emma de Caunes). As usual with Gondry, the whole thing was visually really appealing. Unfortunately the story was not really amazing in my opinion. I mean, like everything made by Michel Gondry, it was pretty quirky and whimsical but it was missing something to be really spellbinding. It seemed that Gondry put too much effort to make his movie looked awesome and as a result, the script was not really strong, especially compared to 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' which had an amazing story with some really interesting characters. Still, it remains a cute tale and Bernal and Gainsbourg were both terribly charming. To conclude, even though it is not a masterpiece, it still remain a pretty cool flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Michel Gondry's work.

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A good movie

Posted : 2 days, 18 hours ago on 17 May 2013 09:03 (A review of The Messenger)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I heard some good things about it, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, it was an interesting and pretty deep drama about one of the most thankless jobs in the world. So, I did like it but, somehow, it didn't really grab me. I'm not so sure why but maybe it had to with the fact that there was no real storyline but just some episodes randomly put together. Furthermore, I wasn't sure what to make of the two romances involving Ben Foster, especially the one involving Jena Malone. Basically, there were many little stories but none of them was really fully developed. Still, it is a strong drama, absolutely, with some tremendous acting by the whole cast (Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone). It was especially nice to see Foster and Harrelson finally in the spotlights. Those guys are among the most underrated actors nowadays and they gave some of their best performances here. To conclude, it is a pretty solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the actors involved.

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An average movie

Posted : 3 days, 18 hours ago on 16 May 2013 09:11 (A review of The Married Couple of the Year Two)

Jean-Paul Rappeneau is not really famous abroad but he is pretty well known in France. In fact, he is basically the French Terrence Malick. Indeed, even though Rappeneau’s career spread out over almost 40 years, he made eventually only 7 movies. The most famous one must be ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ which was a massive success in France back then and was even noticed abroad. Anyway, this movie was one of his first ones and, to be honest, I don’t think it was really good. Basically, it is one of those fluffy comedies starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. Belmondo started with the French new wave but quickly became a super-star in France and to a lesser extent abroad as well. Then, he turned away from the Art house movies and focused more on commercial efforts with a tremendous success. This time, even though there is an actual historical background, like I said before, it is not a serious affair and I had a hard time to care about the whole thing. Somehow, it reminded me of ‘Tout Feu, tout flamme’, another feature directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau which was even more underwhelming than this one. At least, Belmondo and Marlène Jobert were really charismatic and had a good chemistry together and the whole thing was mildly entertaining. To conclude, even though it was nothing amazing, it remains a decent comedy and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

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A good movie

Posted : 4 days, 11 hours ago on 15 May 2013 03:55 (A review of Minority Report)

I remember, when this movie was released, there has some huge buzz about it. I mean, it is quite understandable since the biggest movie star and the biggest movie director (at least, if you consider the box-office revenues) were finally working together and we all expected some fireworks. Eventually, it was pretty successful financially and critically but even though Roger Ebert chose this movie as the best one coming out in 2002, I can't say I share his opinion. I mean, it is definitely a solid SF feature, no doubt about it. Indeed, the visuals were awesome, Spielberg managed to create a really intriguing vision of the future and, for once, the whole thing was pretty gloomy which is something you don't expect in his work. Furthermore, the original concept was really interesting and created some neat moral dilemmas. Finally, you can say whatever you want about the guy but Tom Cruise can deliver and gave here a solid performance. Unfortunately, I thought the ending was rather convoluted with too many annoying twist(s) for my taste. The point is that if you deal with future, present, premonitions and stuff like that, they will be plot-holes without a doubt, but the last 30 minutes made this even more obvious and this last act was rather weak in my opinion. Basically, the story was just fine until Anderton eventually shot the guy. Everything before was fine and really spellbinding and everything after was far-fetched, nonsensical and pretty disappointing. Still, even though I don't think it is really amazing, it remains a visually fascinating SF feature, most of it is damned entertaining and spellbinding to watch so I think it is definitely worth, especially if you like the genre.

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A bad movie

Posted : 4 days, 18 hours ago on 15 May 2013 09:02 (A review of Dreamcatcher)

I have never been a fan of those Stephen King's novels adaptation but this one must be the worst I have seen. It is even more disappointing considering that there was a pretty good director (Lawrence Kasdan) and a decent cast (Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg). Back in the 80’s, not only Lawrence Kasdan had some major success as a screenwriter (he wrote ’The Empire Strikes back’ , ’Return of the Jedi’ and ’Raiders of the Lost Ark’ , not too shabby, ain’t it?), he developed also a solid career as a director and all his movies were acclaimed efforts (’Body Heat’, ‘The Big Chill’ , ‘Silverado’ , ‘The Accidental Tourist’) . Way later in his career, he made this movie which is his worst so far, a huge flop in the US (it did manage to just break even thanks to the worldwide gross). It was a huge blow for his career and it took him almost 10 years to direct another feature, the also underwhelming and underperforming ‘Darling Companion’. So, what went wrong here? Actually, the first half was watchable. I mean, it was still pretty weak and not really above your average B feature but there was something appealing about those guys with a special ‘power’. However, in the 2nd half, they brought in some kind of Alien invasion and the whole thing became really horrendous. I mean, seriously, it must have been one of the worst movie sequence I have seen. Yeah, it was that bad. The story became really idiotic, the aliens looked awful, hell, even Morgan Freeman looked awful (just check those eye brows…). If the 1st half would have been as bad as the rest, it would have probably ended up in my top 10 of the worst movies ever made. To conclude, I really really didn't like this flick, it is a mess and it is not worth a look whatsoever.

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