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johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 worst movies 2021 list
Notes: The interesting thing with Olga Kurylenko is that she always had a rather versatile career, in fact, she actually started her acting career with such French productions. As a result, it was pretty neat to see for her for the 1st time playing in a French movie, even though, it took me so much time to get used to hear her speaking in French (Seriously, I even thought for a while that she had been dubbed). Unfortunately, Kurylenko has also spent at least half of her career showing up in some really weak stuff and this movie was definitely one of those, I’m afraid. Seriously, pretty much nothing worked in this flick. First of all, its title and the presentation they gave at the beginning would make you think that it would be about ‘vigipirate’, the French anti-terrorism policy, but, except the fact it was the job of the main character, it had actually nothing to do with the plot after all. Instead, they gave us a really generic and predictable story about a traumatized soldier becoming a vigilante. Concerning the directing, it was just so flat and uninspired, it was not much better than a really cheap TV movie. And, yet, the main character had some potential and Kurylenko gave a solid performance, even if she looked way too thin for a seasoned and highly trained soldier. Eventually, it’s such a pity that she very often wastes her potential in such lame movies and, even if this movie might not be the worst she has made, it was still really weak.3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, it turned out to be a really solid film noir, that's for sure. In fact, the opening scene in the subway was just amazing and probably one of the best scenes I have seen in this genre. I liked as well the fact that there was no main character and also that pretty much everyone involved in this tale was actually pretty murky. The main issue, in my opinion, was that, even though it was fairly realistic how they found out who was the pickpocket, it happened really soon in the movie and, from this point on, the whole thing became rather repetitive. I mean, how many times did Candy or the cops eventually went to Skip's shack? Apparently, I did watch a version 20 mins longer than the official one and maybe it worked better with a shorter running time. Another thing that slightly bothered me was that, even though it made sense that Skip would fall for Candy (who wouldn't?), it was harder to believe that she would fall in love with him. Anyway, even if it wasn't a real masterpiece, it was still really entertaining.3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: There was a time when the James Ivory/Ismail Merchant team was the unbeatable champion in the British costume drama genre and this movie was definitely one of their biggest critical successes. Well, I was rather surprised by how little I actually remembered it and, to be honest, I wasn't exactly blown away while rewatching this flick. Indeed, in my opinion, it is such a rather convoluted story and I was wondering how all these characters were supposed to be connected with this plot. Basically, it was some kind of jigsaw puzzle and it took such a long time to reach its conclusion. On top of that, I always find it rather difficult to care about the so difficult life of the British upper-class. Still, when they are so well made like this one, it work just fine, even for me. Above all, there was a very strong cast (Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins). Back in those days, Anthony Hopkins just gave his breakthrough performance in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and Emma Thompson was definitely one of the most successful actresses so they were both at the top of their game (Thompson would eventually win the Academy Award for the Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in this movie). A year later, the very same team would work again with both Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins resulting in ‘The Remains of the Day’ which would be also critically acclaimed.3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Red Joan
“To be honest, I had no idea what this movie was about but since it was starring Judi Dench, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, at some point, I did hear about this Russian spy who had worked undercover in England for decades and it was definitely a strong story with a lot of potential. Un” read more
3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: There was a time when the James Ivory/Ismail Merchant team was the unbeatable champion in the British costume drama genre and this movie was definitely one of their biggest critical successes. Well, I was rather surprised by how little I actually remembered it and, to be honest, I wasn't exactly blown away while rewatching this flick. Indeed, in my opinion, it is such a rather convoluted story and I was wondering how all these characters were supposed to be connected with this plot. Basically, it was some kind of jigsaw puzzle and it took such a long time to reach its conclusion. On top of that, I always find it rather difficult to care about the so difficult life of the British upper-class. Still, when they are so well made like this one, it work just fine, even for me. Above all, there was a very strong cast (Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins). Back in those days, Anthony Hopkins just gave his breakthrough performance in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and Emma Thompson was definitely one of the most successful actresses so they were both at the top of their game (Thompson would eventually win the Academy Award for the Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in this movie). A year later, the very same team would work again with both Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins resulting in ‘The Remains of the Day’ which would be also critically acclaimed.3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Woman in the Window
“Since this movie had been really poorly received, I didn’t expect much from the damned thing but since it was directed by Joe Wright and since there was a solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, probably because I was expecting something so awful, to be honest, I ” read more
3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1950's) list
Notes: Well, eventually, I really liked it and I thought it was much more enjoyable than 'Lola Montès', another classic from Max Ophüls which I saw already twice. The tricky thing with this director is that his movies are always visually so elaborate, they are always a marvel to look at, but, as a result, they might seem really superficial. In this case, the fact that it was dealing with the frivolous romances of the Aristocrats didn't help either. And, yet, even though I usually don't care much for this genre, this story did work very well. It mostly had to do with the stellar performances from Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux and Vittorio De Sica but their characters were also very well written. Indeed, they really evolved through this tale and I actually cared about what these characters were going through. I have to admit that my rating might be slightly too harsh and I will probably re-watch it at some point. 3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1940's) list
Notes: To be honest, I always had a hard time to care for these old comedies, even the supposedly great ones, and this one was not an exception, I’m afraid. The point is that the plot was so fluffy, so unsubstantial, I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. Somehow, this movie and the other classics in this genre are still considered as hilarious even today but, personally, I thought it was just amusing at best. Obviously, it is still a solid comedy though. Indeed, Cary Grant was one of the best actors at the time (at least, one of the most popular ones but I still think the guy was also great), he was very good here and he had some very good chemistry with the charming Rosalind Russell. Furthermore, even though nothing much happened during the whole thing, the dialogues were really witty and funny and they were definitely the biggest asset in this flick.3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Well, within the first 10 mins, I remembered how challenging John Cassavetes's work can be. Indeed, with this movie, Cassavetes probably gave one of the less glamourous and definitely the bleakest look of what it can mean to be an actor. Still, as mentioned before, the damned thing was quite challenging, above all, because the main character was so destructive and also rather pathetic. As a result, I had a hard time to really care about what she was going through. Especially, at the end, when the actual opening night finally took place, I thought it was just infuriating to see her showing up very late, completely inebriated and even barely able to walk. I mean, I didn't really mind the money that could be lost or the fact that the audience maybe showed up for nothing, I was actually pissed off for her crew and colleagues. Indeed, so many people worked so hard so that this drunken diva could go on this stage and there might be 1000's of actresses who would do anything to be in her position but will never get such an opportunity. Still, there is no doubt that Gena Rowlands was just amazing and she gave here such a fearless and pretty much pitch-perfect performance. On top of that, I just love the way Cassavetes shot and edit his scenes, it gives his pictures such a raw and realistic feeling. 3 years, 8 months ago
DVDecember 2020johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, within the first 10 mins, I remembered how challenging John Cassavetes's work can be. Indeed, with this movie, Cassavetes probably gave one of the less glamourous and definitely the bleakest look of what it can mean to be an actor. Still, as mentioned before, the damned thing was quite challenging, above all, because the main character was so destructive and also rather pathetic. As a result, I had a hard time to really care about what she was going through. Especially, at the end, when the actual opening night finally took place, I thought it was just infuriating to see her showing up very late, completely inebriated and even barely able to walk. I mean, I didn't really mind the money that could be lost or the fact that the audience maybe showed up for nothing, I was actually pissed off for her crew and colleagues. Indeed, so many people worked so hard so that this drunken diva could go on this stage and there might be 1000's of actresses who would do anything to be in her position but will never get such an opportunity. Still, there is no doubt that Gena Rowlands was just amazing and she gave here such a fearless and pretty much pitch-perfect performance. On top of that, I just love the way Cassavetes shot and edit his scenes, it gives his pictures such a raw and realistic feeling. 3 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1910's) list
Notes: D.W. Griffith is nowadays considered the first great movie director and even though I'm really curious to check his work, I also have some mixed feelings about the guy, even before I have watched anything he made yet. Indeed, his great masterpiece 'The Birth of Nation' is highly controversial but, still, considering myself a great movie buff, I couldn't avoid his work for much longer so I decided to check this flick. Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but there were many elements, inherent to the era that bothered me. I mean, the main character is an Asian man called 'The Yellow Man' and he was played by a white guy. I'm really sensitive to this kind of things and it was pretty offensive. Of course, I know, it was a common thing back in those days but, still, I couldn't help thinking that with an Asian actor, the whole thing would have been greatly improved. Still, it remains a solid drama, very dark and gloomy, and from a visual point of view, it was quite amazing. Indeed, without any dialog, Griffith still managed to drag you into this dark tale and it was quite fascinating. You can see that everything was shot on stage but the details were great and created an immersive atmosphere. Finally, it displayed one of the most striking death scenes I have ever seen and Lillian Gish was definitely a great actress.3 years, 8 months ago
