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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1940's) list
Notes: Well, I have to admit that the whole thing looked really nice and the production value was quite impressive. Judy Garland, who was only 21 years old at the time, was also at the top of her game. Indeed, she was really quite charming and, even if I didn’t care much about the songs in this movie, her voice was still quite marvellous. Unfortunately, those were pretty much the only things I did enjoy in this flick. Sure, Margaret O'Brien did give a decent performance as Tootie Smith but I still didn’t care much about her character and the rest of the characters were even more tedious, at least, to me. Above all, the story was just so flimsy and shallow. Seriously, what did really happen during this movie after all? Not much. Nobody loses his job, Nobody gets sick, nobodies dies,… I mean, the most and only dramatic event was for the family to move from St Louis to New York but even this ‘tragic’ event didn't occur after all. Sure, I’m well aware it is inherent to the genre to give 2 hours of entertainment with songs and dance with very little drama or without even a basic plot. However, in my opinion, the best movies in this genre still manage to do something original or at least interesting with this formula but it wasn't the case here. 3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: It was pretty neat that, after a WWII drama and a medieval epic, Tarkovsky was coming up with something completely different and again really ambitious. Anyway, as usual with this director, it turned out to be terribly challenging though but, at this point, I wouldn’t expect less from the Russian master. And, yet, even if it was pretty tough to watch, there was still something quite mesmerizing about the damned thing. In my opinion, it was some kind of reflection on the fact that we are, as a specie, terribly arrogant because we have been ruling this Earth for millenniums but, in fact, we barely know ourselves after all. As a result, we are actually rather poorly equipped if we would encounter another kind of life form in some distant future. Indeed, in the vast majority of SF films, aliens are portrayed either as some human-eating monsters or as a superior life-form who actually are very similar to us and they always fit some logical frame corresponding with how we see ourselves and how we see life in general. However, as it was displayed in this movie, we would probably encounter something completely ‘different’. In fact, the gap between what we would expect and what we would actually get would be so huge that we would probably not have the mental and psychological capabilities to handle such an encounter. At least, that’s what I got from the damned thing but maybe Tarkovsky actually meant something completely different.3 years, 7 months ago
3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, I have to admit that the whole thing looked really nice and the production value was quite impressive. Judy Garland, who was only 21 years old at the time, was also at the top of her game. Indeed, she was really quite charming and, even if I didn’t care much about the songs in this movie, her voice was still quite marvelous. Unfortunately, those were pretty much the only things I did enjoy in this flick. Sure, Margaret O'Brien did give a decent performance as Tootie Smith but I still didn’t care much about her character and the rest of the characters were even more tedious, at least, to me. Above all, the story was just so flimsy and shallow. Seriously, what did really happen during this movie after all? Not much. Nobody loses his job, Nobody gets sick, nobodies dies,… I mean, the most and only dramatic event was for the family to move from St Louis to New York but even this ‘tragic’ event didn't occur after all. Sure, I’m well aware it is inherent to the genre to give 2 hours of entertainment with songs and dance with very little drama or without even a basic plot. However, in my opinion, the best movies in this genre still manage to do something original or at least interesting with this formula but it wasn't the case here. 3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Even though this movie is a huge classic, to be honest, I always had a hard time to really care for this movie. Basically, before I watched the damned thing, I was expecting something really scary but eventually I didn't think it was scary at all. As a matter of fact, the first time around, I thought it was actually even rather funny. My guess is that 40 years ago, when it came out, people were quite shocked and possibly scared but nowadays, there are so many movies which are really more disturbing. Seriously, when the girl is screaming, swearing, puking, playing with the crucifix, did you think it was really scary ? I did not. Still, it is far from being a bad movie. Indeed, I saw it again not so long ago and it definitely had some qualities. To start off, the directing was very good and the eerie tone of the whole thing was actually very well done. The main flaw, I guess, was with the story. Basically, you can feel that it was the first big movie dealing with Excorcism since they spent way too much time trying to 'scientifically' prove that the girl was not possessed. I mean, the most incredible things happened to this girl and you kept seeing again and again those scientists saying 'there is a perfect logical explanation for this phenomenon' and you could see the mother nodding 'yes, of course!'... As a viewer, it takes you about 5-10 minutes to figure out the whole thing, but it takes the movie about 90 minutes to get there so it gets really tiresome and really unbelievable after a while. But again, in my humble opinion, the least successful part was when the girl goes completely Lucifer on us. Most of the time I was actually shocked about how ridiculous the whole thing looked. Anyway, it is definitely not a bad movie but, in my opinion, it didn't grow old very well.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Annabelle Comes Home
“To be honest, I didn’t expect much from this sequel but, since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, pretty much like the previous sequel from this franchise, I have to admit that I was actually rather positively surprised by the damned thing. Fir” read more
3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: I saw the damned thing when it came out back then thinking it would be just a fun SF movie. But, as a matter of fact, it started much better than I expected and it seemed really promising. Indeed, the visuals were great, there were some great actions scenes and the theme was really neat : "our world is not real, we live in an illusion". My God ! They are going for the big question "what is the meaning of life?" at least "What is real and what is not?". I was completely hooked and waiting to see what would happen next. But that was only the first 30 minutes... Then, came this black dude with the famous blue and red pills. And then, I got my answer. We don't live for real, actually, our brains are sucked out by some machines... Come on! Really? Give me a break ! So, basically, those guys implied that our world was not real, that there might be something else out there but, instead of giving us an amazing and inspiring new world, they went for a vision even more sordid and underwhelming than our actual world. What was then the freaking point?!? I still think it was visually great and indeed a milestone in this area but the story was in fact not great at all. At least, according to me.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Even though this movie is a huge classic, to be honest, I always had a hard time to really care for this movie. Basically, before I watched the damned thing, I was expecting something really scary but eventually I didn't think it was scary at all. As a matter of fact, the first time around, I thought it was actually even rather funny. My guess is that 40 years ago, when it came out, people were quite shocked and possibly scared but nowadays, there are so many movies which are really much more disturbing. Seriously, when the girl is screaming, swearing, puking, playing with the crucifix, did you think it was really scary ? I did not. Still, it is far from being a bad movie though. Indeed, I saw it again not so long ago and it definitely had some qualities. To start off, the directing was very good and the eerie tone of the whole thing was actually very well done. The main flaw, I guess, was with the story. Basically, you can feel that it was the first big movie dealing with excorcism since they spent way too much time trying to 'scientifically' prove that the girl was not possessed. I mean, the most incredible things happened to this girl and you kept seeing again and again those scientists saying 'there is a perfect logical explanation for this phenomenon' and you could see the mother nodding 'yes, of course!'... As a viewer, it takes you about 5-10 minutes to figure out the whole thing, but it takes the movie about 90 minutes to get there so it gets really tiresome and really unbelievable after a while. But again, in my humble opinion, the least successful part was when the girl goes completely Lucifer on us. Most of the time I was actually shocked about how ridiculous the whole thing looked. Anyway, it is definitely not a bad movie but, in my opinion, it didn't grow old very well.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Wat gaan we in de bioscoop zien? (movies to watch) list
3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Venom: Let There Be Carnage
“Even though the critics really hated it, I actually enjoyed ‘Venom’ so I still wanted to check this sequel out. Well, this time around, I’m afraid I would have to agree with the critics though. Indeed, even if I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece, it still turned out to be rather disappointing, ” read more
3 years, 7 months ago
3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: In fact, it was my wife who actually introduced this movie to me when we first met. Indeed, it was one of her favorite movies, one of those that she saw so many times as a child, and she was (rightfully) shocked that I never saw the damned thing. Well, even though it was indeed a decent watch, to be honest, I didn't really connect with this movie, I'm afraid. Basically, the oddest thing about this movie is how it keeps switching between the rather cheesy dance scenes (which were pretty cool, I have to admit it, at least, if you like this kind of dance) and some realistic dark moments which were more compelling to watch, at least, for me. It seems that the makers were not able to make up their mind between something rather fluffy to appeal to the mainstream audience or something more dramatic to make sure that they were taken seriously. Or maybe I'm completely mistaken and it was done on purpose in order to accurately represent the life of the average teenager. Indeed, at the end of the day, their lifestyle is filled up with some shallow glamorous fantasy but their lives also involve some genuine drama. I doubt it was intentional though.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I saw the damned thing when it came out back then thinking it would be just a fun SF movie. But, as a matter of fact, it started much better than I expected and it seemed really promising. Indeed, the visuals were great, there were some great actions scenes and the theme was really neat : "our world is not real, we live in an illusion". My God ! They are going for the big question "what is the meaning of life?" at least "What is real and what is not?". I was completely hooked and waiting to see what would happen next. But that was only the first 30 minutes... Then, came this black dude with the famous blue and red pills. And then, I got my answer. We don't live for real, actually, our brains are sucked out by some machines... Come on! Really? Give me a break ! So, basically, those guys implied that our world was not real, that there might be something else out there but, instead of giving us an amazing and inspiring new world, they went for a vision even more sordid and underwhelming than our actual world. What was then the freaking point?!? I still think it was visually great and indeed a milestone in this area but the story was in fact not great at all. At least, according to me.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1940's) list
Notes: Eventually, this movie will be mostly remembered for winning the Best Picture Academy Award at the expense of 'Citizen Kane' but I was still eager to check it out to see if it was actually any good. Well, while the reputation of 'Citizen Kane' has only increased through the years and it is usually considered by most as one of the greatest movies ever made, this movie on the other hand didn't grow old very well, I'm afraid. I can imagine that it had been a big commercial and critical success at the time when it was released but, nowadays, it seems terribly cheesy, at least, that's what I felt watching the damned thing. I mean, I have to admit that it was well made with some solid performances so it turned out to be OK but not much more than that. Sure, it was dealing with some nice and decent people but, as far as I'm concerned, I would rather have instead the complexity displayed in 'Citizen Kane'. At least, it was very neat to see the lovely Maureen O'Hara who must have been one of the most gorgeous actress ever.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: In fact, it was my wife who actually introduced this movie to me when we first met. Indeed, it was one of her favorite movies, one of those that she saw so many times as a child, and she was (rightfully) shocked that I never saw the damned thing. Well, even though it was indeed a decent watch, to be honest, I didn't really connect with this movie, I'm afraid. Basically, the oddest thing about this movie is how it keeps switching between the rather cheesy dance scenes (which were pretty cool, I have to admit it, at least, if you like this kind of dance) and some realistic dark moments which were more compelling to watch, at least, for me. It seems that the makers were not able to make up their mind between something rather fluffy to appeal to the mainstream audience or something more dramatic to make sure that they were taken seriously. Or maybe I'm completely mistaken and it was done on purpose in order to accurately represent the life of the average teenager. Indeed, at the end of the day, their lifestyle is filled up with some shallow glamorous fantasy but their lives also involve some genuine drama. I doubt it was intentional though.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Beautiful Boy
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but I have to admit that I was quite eager to see Felix van Groeningen’s first English-speaking directing effort. To be honest, even if it was definitely not bad at all, I still think they struggled to bring something new to the genre. Furtherm” read more
3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: Almost 30 years ago, Disney was going through a glorious period. At the time, this movie was their biggest one and, for many years, it had been the highest grossing animated feature ever made. Back then, I saw it in the theater when it was released and it was pretty neat to re-watch it after all these years. Anyway, to be honest, I'm not exactly a huge fan and, from the same era, I think that 'Aladdin' (which was also a huge success when it was released but it has always been overshadowed by this classic) was actually much better. I mean, sure, it is definitely a solid feature, the animation was top-notch and, for once, Disney was creating something rather dark (the reason why my wife never really connected with this movie) almost creating a Shakespearean tragedy ('Hamlet' was a big inspiration for this tale). Still, somehow, I had a hard time to connect with the whole thing. Maybe because I didn't really like the combination of musical songs side by side with some rather dramatic material (the songs were also not really amazing) or maybe it was because it was taking itself too seriously? Still, even though it is not among my favorites, it remains a classic.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Eventually, this movie will be mostly remembered for winning the Best Picture Academy Award at the expense of 'Citizen Kane' but I was still eager to check it out to see if it was actually any good. Well, while the reputation of 'Citizen Kane' has only increased through the years and it is usually considered by most as one of the greatest movies ever made, this movie on the other hand didn't grow old very well, I'm afraid. I can imagine that it had been a big commercial and critical success at the time when it was released but, nowadays, it seems terribly cheesy, at least, that's what I felt watching the damned thing. I mean, I have to admit that it was well made with some solid performances so it turned out to be OK but not much more than that. Sure, it was dealing with some nice and decent people but, as far as I'm concerned, I would rather have instead the complexity displayed in 'Citizen Kane'. At least, it was very neat to see the lovely Maureen O'Hara who must have been one of the most gorgeous actress ever.3 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
3 years, 7 months ago