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johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2022 list
Notes: I have to admit that I actually ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. Maybe it was due to the fact that my expectations were too high after hearing some many great things about this movie or it was because I saw it at home and maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had managed to see it in the movie theater. Still, there is no denying that it was a really satisfying sequel and even an improvement on its predecessor. Indeed, the damned thing was just so spectacular, you have to appreciate all the efforts they took to avoid green screens and to make it look as real as possible. As a result, the action scenes were just visceral and quite thrilling to behold. It was also pretty neat how they tried to emulate Tony Scottās directing style, especially with the intro. However, what made this movie really stand out from its predecessor was the emotional baggage involved. Indeed, Maverick did grow older, by the time this 2nd movie was taking place, the guy should have retired or at least been promoted but he basically spent his whole career burning bridges which was maybe cute when he was younger but not so much nowadays. On top of that, he was still struggling with what happened to Goose so many years ago and the scene with Val Kilmer, himself a cancer survivor, was quite heartbreaking. Basically, Maverick was this time much more vulnerable which made him a much more interesting character. 2 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1940's) list
Notes: Iām usually not a big fan of such vintage Western and this one turned out to be some kind of romantic love letter to the US cavalry. In fact, if there would have been enough Indians alive to fight at the time, it could have been almost described as a propaganda film. Still, I have to admit that the damned thing was not bad at all. Personally, I enjoyed above all the numerous horse chases which were so well made and quite thrilling to watch. Furthermore, I have to admit that Iām not really familiar with John Wayneās work but he did deliver here a solid performance. Indeed, it was neat that he wasnāt playing a character who was way too young for him and I thought he was playing for once someone close to his age. Eventually, I was really surprised that his character was actually 20 years older than Wayne was at the time (in fact, he was even younger than Iām today which seems incredible). It shows how convincing the guy was and it is deservedly considered as one of his best performances. 2 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
“Of course, since I really enjoyed āKnives Outā, I was really eager to check this sequel. Well, even though I have a little voice constantly telling me Iām actually overrating these movies, I have to admit that I actually really enjoyed the damned thing though. First of all, for Daniel Craig, i” read more
2 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2022 list
Notes: Even though I have a little voice constantly telling me Iām actually overrating these movies, I have to admit that I actually really enjoyed the damned thing though. First of all, for Daniel Craig, if he was ever scared to get stuck by James Bond like so many actors before him, well, he couldnāt have wished a better rebound than Benoit Blanc. Indeed, it is so obvious that Craig has such a blast with the character and I thought he was once again so damned entertaining (However, it is apparently not everyoneās cup of tea since my wife thought he was awful in āKnives Outā). Once again, they had also a all-star cast involved and they were all game. Of course, you could argue that they were all playing some really vapid and dislikeable characters so I can understand that if you didnāt care much about them. Concerning the story, I wonder if some viewers were actually capable of finding out what was actually going on early on. I certainly didnāt, I was expecting someone completely different to get killed and the damned thing was just so intricate but thatās what made this movie so entertaining. Anyway, at the end of the day, the conclusion, at least for me, was that, even if you become super successful and super rich in the process, it doesnāt automatically mean that you are super smart which was pretty awesome. Was it better than its predecessor? I donāt think so but it was definitely at the same level. The brilliant thing done by Rian Johnson was that there were so many similarities and, yet, both movies were still quite different.2 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Great Train Robbery
“To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a nice cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, first of all, I have always had a weak spot for the heist genre and a vintage one like this movie are quite rare which was already pretty neat. I wis” read more
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
“To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this movie but since it seemed to have a decent reputation (it is indeed included in the āThey Shoot Pictures, Donāt They?ā list among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. Well, first of all, I saw it on the BBC without” read more
2 years, 2 months ago
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally
“To be honest, I wasnāt sure what to expect from the damned thing but since it was starring Al Pacino, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though, like many other recent movies starring the legendary actor, it did receive some rather abysmal reviews, I thought it was not so bad thoug” read more
2 years, 2 months ago
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Neil Jordan's work list
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Antoine Fuqua's work list
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Alex van Warmerdam's work list
What was it about?
Found in the German woods as a four-year-old boy, Gunter grows up in a foster family. Four decades later he leads a normal life. When a man on a bridge whispers a single word in his ear, he starts to wonder about his origins.
My two cents:
In fact, the first half was pretty straightforward, much more than his usual stuff. However, obviously, it didnāt last forever and from the moment one of the characters (who suddenly became the lead which wasnāt the case at all before) planted a nail into the foot of one of his colleagues, the whole thing went completely sideways. The end-result was some kind of mix of absurdist Dutch humor (van Warmerdam is the all-time master of the genre) with some Lynchian mindf*ck and a dash of āBeing John Malkovichā. Sure, it might sound intriguing but, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about all this. I mean, I really admire van Warmerdamās unique directing style, the guy simply doesnāt care about the basic film narrative conventions which is really cool. Unfortunately, I donāt find his approach really interesting or entertaining though. I was also not really sure about the heavy anti-religious message. I mean, you could develop a whole movie about the subject but van Warmerdam spent maybe 10 mins on this so you might wonder why he bothered at all. Still, the ending came out pretty much out of nowhere and I have to admit that it was actually pretty awesome.
My rating: 7/10
Check the full review2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of the Farrelly Brothers' work list
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of M. Night Shyamalan's work list
Cast : Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, Embeth Davidtz
What was it about?
A vacationing family discovers that the secluded beach where they're relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly, reducing their entire lives into a single day.
My two cents:
With this director, especially nowadays, you can never be sure what you really get. Indeed, it could be a decent horror/thriller or it could turn out to be just so lame. In this case, this movie pretty much landed in between. Like many other Shyamalan features, there was a cloud of mystery around the whole thing which was fairly entertaining and the concept had some potential, even if it wasnāt as clever as Shyamalan thought it was. Unfortunately, there was just too little psychology involved and I think it was pretty obvious that the director had no idea how to handle the concept of having people living a whole lifetime within the span of a single day. Instead, you get one of them becoming homicidal with no real explanation, just to make sure that there was some random threat. Eventually, what saved Shyamalan this time was the fact that he had such a strong cast at his disposal and all of them managed to do quite a lot with the rather half-baked material that was given to them. And of course, as usual with this director, there was a supposedly āsurprisingā twist but it is such a predictable trademark with this guy, it was hardly surprising at all and, on top of that, it was not really convincing or entertaining whatsoever. Anyway, even if the end-result was rather half-baked, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch though.
My rating: 6/10
Check the full review2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Ron Howard's work list
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Michael Bayās work list
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Barry Sonnenfeld's work list
2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Steven Spielberg's work list
Cast : Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano
What was it about?
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
My two cents:
The cool thing about this movie is that I saw it with my mother who is also a major movie buff and she was the one who introduced me to the movies more than 30 years ago. Anyway, to be honest, I had actually a hard time to judge the damned thing after all. I think that the biggest issue I had was that I actually really loved so much the first 15 mins. Indeed, it was just so awe-inspiring to see this little kid watching a movie and getting his mind blown in the process. This sequence was just so identifiable and pretty much pitch-perfect and, for a moment, I thought this movie could turn out to be an amazing masterpiece. Unfortunately, it seemed that this movie delivered its climax right at the beginning and even though everything else was interesting enough, I never became really much more than that and it never reached the level of awesomeness displayed during the opening scene. The basic idea was to show how his parents' divorce would greatly influence his work but, eventually, I thought that none of them (his mother, his father, Uncle Bennie) as an individual really influenced him as a film maker after all. The fact that none of them was really intriguing as a character probably didnāt help either. It is interesting that, even though everybody involved claimed that all these memories were accurately portrayed, Spielberg did modify something crucial. Indeed, for maybe a couple of decades, he actually blamed his father for this separation but, in this movie, he actually completely changed his point of view for something more nuanced (in fact, in this movie, you could say that his mother was more the one to blame). Eventually, whether you like his work or not, there is no denying that Spielberg's impact on Cinema as an Art has been huge but I'm not so sure if his life was so fascinating after all.
My rating: 7/10
Check the full review2 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 4 items to A Complete Review of the Coen Brothers' work list
2 years, 2 months ago