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johanlefourbe posted a review of Hands of Stone
“I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I have to admit that I knew pretty much nothing about Roberto Duran before watching this flick and, only therefore, it was pretty neat to discover t” read more
3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I saw this movie and maybe I should re-watch it at some point. Basically, I bumped into this movie in a DVD shop, if I recall it correctly, and since I have always been a fan of Luchino Viscontiās work, I thought I might as well check it out. Indeed, I always thought that there was something fascinating in his work, more than with any other Italian director, even Fellini. This movie was apparently acclaimed when it was released but, to be honest, I had actually a hard time to connect with the damned thing. Basically, it is a very long bleak tale about a rather decadent German family in the 30ās and I'm afraid it was not really fun to spend so much time with such despicable characters. I mean, sure, Iām well aware that it was never supposed to be āfunā but I just didnāt care much for these characters and what they were going through. I donāt know, to be honest, sometimes, it felt like watching āCaligulaā but, this time, dealing with some Germans instead of some Romans. I know, it might sound weird to compare an acclaimed movie like this one to some notorious garbage like āCaligulaā and thatās why I should probably re-watch it at some point.3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Ronny's Dutch Film Club list
chosen by Johan
Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I was slightly worried that Paul Verhoeven would come up with something rather sleazy. Well, eventually, the Dutch master didnāt disappoint, at least, not me as it turned out to be a massive Verhoeven festival. Indeed, he went pretty much all the way with some over-the-top hallucinations, violence, blood, full frontal nudity and some good old sex. Seriously, even if probably not everything did work, the whole thing was still seriously intense. Eventually, he gave us all the various ways anyone at the time might approach religion (as a real vocation, as a capitalist enterprise, as a powerful political weapon, as a simple way to get fed or a way to escape a toxic household). What I enjoyed the most was how ambiguous Benedetta was until the very end. Indeed, was she some kind of con artist? A complete lunatic? Another sexually frustrated nun? An actual prophet who could communicate with God, somehow? Or maybe it was a combination of all this all together. Well, you wonāt get any easy answer which was the movieās biggest strength but also its weakness. Indeed, at the end, all the other charactersās thoughts, feelings and motivations were pretty clear but Benedetta remained an impenetrable wall which was slightly frustrating and, yet, it made her rather fascinating. I also think that the whole lesbian relationship was not very well linked with her religious āawakeningā. The best thing that I can think of was that, by being touched by Bartolomeaās love, she was then more able to get in touch with God? Or maybe, after all these years of sexual abstinence, it pretty much blew up her fragile mind? Still, the damned thing was quite a roller coaster.
(Oct. 2021)3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: I heard of Andy Warhol's experimental movies but I thought I might as well check this one out. First of all, let's be obvious, would anyone really care about it if it would have been directed by another really obscure artist? I seriously doubt it but I have to admit that it was still an interesting watch though. First of all, it did help that I did read 'A Clockwork Orange' and saw Kubrick's version a couple of times, otherwise, I would have been completely unable to follow the damned thing. Concerning the directing, was it really artistic or just really amateurish? Again, it is hard to tell but it is something that might be said about all the Art work delivered by Warhol. And, yet, there was still something quite mesmerising about the damned thing and, somehow, he did manage to display the nihilism and the oppressive feeling from this classic book. Still, I'm glad that it was fairly short as it became increasingly random and chaotic towards the end. 3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I saw this movie and maybe I should re-watch it at some point. Basically, I bumped into this movie in a DVD shop, if I recall it correctly, and since I have always been a fan of Luchino Viscontiās work, I thought I might as well check it out. Indeed, I always thought that there was something fascinating in his work, more than with any other Italian director, even Fellini. This movie was apparently acclaimed when it was released but, to be honest, I had actually a hard time to connect with the damned thing. Basically, it is a very long bleak tale about a rather decadent German family in the 30ās and I'm afraid it was not really fun to spend so much time with such despicable characters. I mean, sure, Iām well aware that it was never supposed to be āfunā but I just didnāt care much for these characters and what they were going through. I donāt know, to be honest, sometimes, it felt like watching āCaligulaā but, this time, dealing with some Germans instead of some Romans. I know, it might sound weird to compare an acclaimed movie like this one to some notorious garbage like āCaligulaā and thatās why I should probably re-watch it at some point.3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Life in a Day 2020
“To be honest, I have to admit that I hadnāt been really impressed by āLife in a Dayā but since this sequel was once again directed by Kevin Macdonald and since it was available for free on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I didn'tĀ have some huge expectations” read more
3 years, 1 month ago
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3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Unfortunately, Netflix really screwed up the aspect ratio for this movie so, unfortunately, I didnāt really have the best viewing conditions. On top of that, it was a 3 hours long very contemplative movie with no plot whatsoever so it turned out to be rather challenging. Anyway, the end result was basically some hyper realistic portrait of the peasants life in Italy at the end of the 19th Century (in fact, all the actors were some peasants coming from the region where it was filmed). Well, I guess it is a matter of taste as the material can be rather difficult to digest since not only you donāt have a plot but you donāt get to know any of the members of the 4 families working at this farm. There was also no political or social judgment on their predicament and, if you might expect their landlord to be turned into some kind of bad guy, well, it wasnāt the case after all. Eventually, you had only two dramatic events that took place, First, there was a diseased cow who miraculously got better and, later on, one of the families got kicked out because the father cut down some tree which seemed rather harsh. Anyway, these were tough times, thatās for sure, and you can understand that most of them were deeply pious since their situation was so bleak that religion was the only thing meaning that someone or something might actually care about their wretched lives. 3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Unfortunately, Netflix really screwed up the aspect ratio for this movie so, unfortunately, I didnāt really have the best viewing conditions. On top of that, it was a 3 hours long very contemplative movie with no plot whatsoever so it turned out to be rather challenging. Anyway, the end result was basically some hyper realistic portrait of the peasants life in Italy at the end of the 19th Century (in fact, all the actors were some peasants coming from the region where it was filmed). Well, I guess it is a matter of taste as the material can be rather difficult to digest since not only you donāt have a plot but you donāt get to know any of the members of the 4 families working at this farm. There was also no political or social judgment on their predicament and, if you might expect their landlord to be turned into some kind of bad guy, well, it wasnāt the case after all. Eventually, you had only two dramatic events that took place, First, there was a diseased cow who miraculously got better and, later on, one of the families got kicked out because the father cut down some tree which seemed rather harsh. Anyway, these were tough times, thatās for sure, and you can understand that most of them were deeply pious since their situation was so bleak that religion was the only thing meaning that someone or something might actually care about their wretched lives. 3 years, 1 month ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)
“To be honest, I wasnāt sure what to expect from this flick but since it did win the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, first of all, Netflix really screwed up the aspect ratio for this movie so, unfortunately, I d” read more
3 years, 1 month ago
Contemplative/Unspoken Movies
