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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I canāt believe I havenāt seen any movies directed by Akira Kurosawa for such a long time. A few years ago, I was doing a good job and ended up watching 13 of his movies but, by now, it has been ages since I saw another one of his movies. It is a real shame but maybe I will pick it up again at some point. Anyway, this flick is probably one of his most famous ones and therefore I was really eager to check it out. Indeed, it was a huge inspiration for Georges Lucas before creating āStar Warsā as R2-D2 and C-3PO were pretty much copied on Tahei and Matashichi. Apparently, Kurosawa wanted this time to make something more commercial and accessible after making some artistic features like āRashomonā, and indeed, in box-office terms, it was one of his most successful films at the time. Well, I thought it was pretty good and quite entertaining but it wasnāt one of his best movies in my opinion. Anyway, even if it didnāt really blow me away, it was still a pretty good flick though.2 years, 9 months ago
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Hawaiian Silver Certificates & Other Banknotes (9 art items)2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but I canāt say I found it really amazing. The point is that the story was just way too convoluted and fluffy for my taste and Iām rather amazed that many viewers compare this movie to Hitchcockās work. Hitchcockās movies were sometimes complicated but they always made sense and they were terribly smart whereas this movie was honestly full of non-sense and huge plot holes. As far as Iām concerned, if the characters or the makers donāt take the story seriously, why should I? Still, I thought it was quite enjoyable. Indeed, even though her character was rather clueless, Audrey Hepburn was just really charming, as usual. Above all, I thought that Cary Grant was just awesome. I mean, he is basically one of those actors who always plays the same part in every single movie but he is always great anyway. This movie was not an exception. It was one of his last movies and he stood above all the rest of the cast and delivered the best lines. Personally, I didnāt care much about the multiple identity thing and I thought it would have been more interesting if he remained a random guy who get accidentally involved in some shady spy conspiracy but, it didnāt matter, I thought he was great anyway.2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1940's) list
Notes: Eventually, even though I thought it was indeed pretty good, I failed to see what was so great about this movie. Apparently, I have read somewhere that it is even Roman Polanskiās favorite movie of all time. Basically, it is a very old movie and the most striking element about this movie is how dark and gloomy the whole thing was. It was still pretty good though , especially if you compare it to the garbage we usually get nowadays. One of the biggest asset in this flick was James Mason who was fine here (Mason himself thought it was the best performance of his career) and it was pretty neat to see him playing the lead for once. The directing by Carol Reed was decent and, eventually, a few years later, Reed would make āThe Third Manā which would get much more noticed than this flick.2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but I canāt say I found it really amazing. The point is that the story was just way too convoluted and fluffy for my taste and Iām rather amazed that many viewers compare this movie to Hitchcockās work. Hitchcockās movies were sometimes complicated but they always made sense and they were terribly smart whereas this movie was honestly full of non-sense and huge plot holes. As far as Iām concerned, if the characters or the makers donāt take the story seriously, why should I? Still, I thought it was quite enjoyable. Indeed, even though her character was rather clueless, Audrey Hepburn was just really charming, as usual. Above all, I thought that Cary Grant was just awesome. I mean, he is basically one of those actors who always plays the same part in every single movie but he is always great anyway. This movie was not an exception. It was one of his last movies and he stood above all the rest of the cast and delivered the best lines. Personally, I didnāt care much about the multiple identity thing and I thought it would have been more interesting if he remained a random guy who get accidentally involved in some shady spy conspiracy but, it didnāt matter, I thought he was great anyway.2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Pawn Shop Chronicles
“I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Wayne Kramer and since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, Kramer is another director who started with a really strong debut (āThe Coolerā) but then, each of his followi” read more
2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2000's) list
Notes: I remember it very well, before watching this flick, I had some huge expectations. Indeed, from the moment it was released, it became instantly a massive cult-classic. However, somehow, it turned out to be a huge disappointment, at least, for me. Indeed, at the end of the day, sure it was a nice movie with some very neat visuals but the story was not really compelling, in my opinion. Furthermore, I think Natalie Portman is a very good actrice but I didn't really believe in the connection she had with V. I also thought it was rather funny to hear some viewers saying that this movie had āa deep political and philosophical messageā. Come onā¦ The whole thing was actually rather shallow and it could have been so much more thoughtfull but it wasn't. Still, it is a nice movie to look at and, I have to admit it, it was still fairly entertaining but I seriously failed to see what was so amazing about the damned thing. 2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Eventually, even though I thought it was indeed pretty good, I failed to see what was so great about this movie. Apparently, I have read somewhere that it is even Roman Polanskiās favorite movie of all time. Basically, it is a very old movie and the most striking element about this movie is how dark and gloomy the whole thing was. It was still pretty good though , especially if you compare it to the garbage we usually get nowadays. One of the biggest asset in this flick was James Mason who was fine here (Mason himself thought it was the best performance of his career) and it was pretty neat to see him playing the lead for once. The directing by Carol Reed was decent and, eventually, a few years later, Reed would make āThe Third Manā which would get much more noticed than this flick.2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Backtrace
“To be honest, I wasnāt expecting much from the damned thing but since it was starring Sylvester Stallone, I thought I might as well check it out. Unfortunately, Stallone has never been one of the greatest actors in the world but, when he gets involved in such obvious paycheck gigs, well, he is pre” read more
2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 worst movies 2018 list
Notes: Unfortunately, Stallone has never been one of the greatest actors in the world but, when he gets involved in such obvious paycheck gigs, well, he is pretty much unwatchable, Iām afraid. At least, even if the promotional material might make you think otherwise, he was involved only in a few scenes though. Anyway, Stallone was not even the biggest problem in this movie since pretty much nothing worked in this flick. Seriously, the intro was just so weak that I was actually glad when they finally started to shoot at each other. Concerning the cast, well you had two famous actors (Sylvester Stallone and Matthew Modine) who both delivered some of their worst performances and a cast made of unknown or rather obscure actors who were was just as weak. Basically, it is the kind of movies in which every small or even slightly bigger female characters was played by some cute random but always talentless actress. Seriously, even the girl reading the news was not convincing whatsoever. Concerning the story, well, it managed to be rather generic but also far-fetched at the same time but it was definitely never entertaining whatsoever. Eventually, when you think about it, you might wonder who was actually the main character (simple, there was none) and the way they actually sided with Modineās character at the end was just ludicrous.2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe commented on a review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Itās so funny but after rewatching the movie 10 years later, this whole aspect, the fact that Lisbeth Salander falls in love with Mikael Blomkvist doesnāt bother me anymore, in the contrary. Event2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I remember it very well, before watching this flick, I had some huge expectations. Indeed, from the moment it was released, it became instantly a massive cult-classic. However, somehow, it turned out to be a huge disappointment, at least, for me. Indeed, at the end of the day, sure it was a nice movie with some very neat visuals but the story was not really compelling, in my opinion. Furthermore, I think Natalie Portman is a very good actrice but I didn't really believe in the connection she had with V. I also thought it was rather funny to hear some viewers saying that this movie had āa deep political and philosophical messageā. Come onā¦ The whole thing was actually rather shallow and it could have been so much more thoughtfull but it wasn't. Still, it is a nice movie to look at and, I have to admit it, it was still fairly entertaining but I seriously failed to see what was so amazing about the damned thing. 2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: I remember well when this movie was released. Indeed, it was a big critical success and it even won the Golden Bear in the Berlin Film and the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film among other prizes. Back then, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released, and I had some rather high expectations. Well, to be honest, even though I thought it was indeed pretty good, I canāt say it really blow me away though. I donāt know, maybe my expectations were too high but, somehow, I thought it was a decent story but nothing really amazing. Basically, even though it was a very well made dramatic road-trip with some solid directing, it still remained a road-trip nonetheless and I always had a hard time to really care for this genre. Indeed, I can understand why this format can be attractive for a filmmaker (it is basically a really easy way to develop a story) but, for the viewers, at least as far as Iām concerned, all road-trips follow the same rules which makes them seriously predictable. Still, I have to admit that Fernanda Montenegro and VinĆcius de Oliveira both gave some really strong performances and they made the whole thing still quite compelling to behold.2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: Unfortunately, I watched this movie on the BBC without subtitles and I have to admit that I did struggle a bit to follow the dialogues so I should probably re-watch it at some point. I still really enjoyed it though and it definitely deserves its reputation of best cold war paranoid thriller. The most interesting thing with this movie is how John Frankenheimer managed to mix a realistic approach with a totally far-fetched story. Indeed, the hypnotism and brainwashing thing was quite preposterous and, on paper, there is no way this story should have worked. However, the fact that it was taking place in a fairly realistic world created this constant mix of realism and surrealism. One of the most striking scenes was probably the āmeet cuteā involving Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh. Indeed, even though Bennett Marco was at his lowest and looked like a total wreck, Eugenie Rose Chaney still really flirted hard on him. To make this moment even more surreal, they had the weirdest conversation ever. Was Marco dreaming or hallucinating? Was Eugenie actually another spy? Those were really the best moments, when Marco seemed really vulnerable and when the viewers are not really sure what the hell is actually going on. To make the whole thing even more far-out, you had some anti-McCarthyism, the Communist Dr. Yen Lo who kept making jokes, Eleanor Shaw Iselin who might have had some incestuous feelings for her son and who happened to be a spy as well,ā¦ so there was a lot going on, maybe too much, but there is no denying that it was quite unique.2 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I remember well when this movie was released. Indeed, it was a big critical success and it even won the Golden Bear in the Berlin Film and the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film among other prizes. Back then, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released, and I had some rather high expectations. Well, to be honest, even though I thought it was indeed pretty good, I canāt say it really blow me away though. I donāt know, maybe my expectations were too high but, somehow, I thought it was a decent story but nothing really amazing. Basically, even though it was a very well made dramatic road-trip with some solid directing, it still remained a road-trip nonetheless and I always had a hard time to really care for this genre. Indeed, I can understand why this format can be attractive for a filmmaker (it is basically a really easy way to develop a story) but, for the viewers, at least as far as Iām concerned, all road-trips follow the same rules which makes them seriously predictable. Still, I have to admit that Fernanda Montenegro and VinĆcius de Oliveira both gave some really strong performances and they made the whole thing still quite compelling to behold.2 years, 9 months ago