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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.3 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
3 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.3 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. Event3 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. 3 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.3 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.3 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.3 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Mike Newell and since it was starring Lily James, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, with this title, I was expecting a rather cheesy vintage picture about some stuffy book club but I have to admit that the” read more
3 years, 9 months ago
3 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1950's) list
Notes: Eventually, even though it was never really impressive, it was still pretty good and I was fairly entertained throughout the whole thing. Indeed, the directing was all right and, above all, James Stewart was, as usual, really charismatic and rather awesome to watch. The main issue with this kind of movies is that, even though they are usually highly regarded, it seem to me that they are really outdated. I mean, for some movies like 'Citizen Kane', 'M' or basically anything directed by Charles Chaplin, they are just as much valuable today as they were when they were released decades ago. On the other hand, I have to admit that, even though this movie has some solid rep, it is definitely not one of the best in this genre so it might be unfair to take it as an example. Anyway, teven if I don't think it is really a masterpiece, it was still a decent watch.3 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe 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.3 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 6 items to their collection
3 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Eventually, even though it was never really impressive, it was still pretty good and I was fairly entertained throughout the whole thing. Indeed, the directing was all right and, above all, James Stewart was, as usual, really charismatic and rather awesome to watch. The main issue with this kind of movies is that, even though they are usually highly regarded, it seem to me that they are really outdated. I mean, for some movies like 'Citizen Kane', 'M' or basically anything directed by Charles Chaplin, they are just as much valuable today as they were when they were released decades ago. On the other hand, I have to admit that, even though this movie has some solid rep, it is definitely not one of the best in this genre so it might be unfair to take it as an example. Anyway, teven if I don't think it is really a masterpiece, it was still a decent watch.3 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: Well, once again, Koreeda really impressed me and, for some reason, I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the damned thing. I have to admit that I did struggle a little bit to follow everyoneās story (for example, I still donāt know what actually happened to Suzuās motherā¦ I guess she died at some point but Iām afraid I missed that bit of informationā¦). Furthermore, there were 4 sisters, their deceased father who was married with 3 different women, their grandmother, their grandmotherās sister, ā¦. Basically, it was quite lot of people to deal with and, as a result, none of them was really developed but it wasnāt a deal breaker though. Indeed, I always admired Koreeda as one of the most humanist directors that ever lived and, with this movie, he just surpassed himself. In most movies, some of the characters would have some kind of personal agenda with the goal of breaking up this sisterhood and, as we have been conditioned by decades of generic storytelling, we actually expect that something horrible will happen to them at some point but, no, fortunately, it never happened. Instead, you get a set of vastly different but all intriguing young women who were dealt some pretty shitty cards but still made the best of it and, all together, they managed to find such a beautiful and inspiring harmony. 3 years, 9 months ago