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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: Up to that point, David Cronenberg had been involved with some rather gruesome horror features for a limited audience and it was his second mainstream project, after 'The Dead Zone' which, for some reason, didn't really work for me. The most startling aspect about this movie, in my opinion, is that it seamlessly combines 3 different genres: horror, science-fiction and romance. Even more surprising was that this mix worked so well. Obviously, it still retained its B vibe that you can find in Cronenberg's previous work which was definitely an asset but it was also why I wasn't probably completely blown away. I mean, I did really enjoy the whole thing but most of it still remains a preposterous freak show. Still, you have to give the guy some credit since he managed to make something quite fascinating out of this material whereas another director would have probably ended up with something much more underwhelming. 4 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Lost River
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut, I was still eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, it wasn’t really good, I’m afraid. Indeed, it seems that, after working with such directors like Terrence Malick or Nicolas Winding Re” read more
4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Up to that point, David Cronenberg had been involved with some rather gruesome horror features for a limited audience and it was his second mainstream project, after 'The Dead Zone' which, for some reason, didn't really work for me. The most startling aspect about this movie, in my opinion, is that it seamlessly combines 3 different genres: horror, science-fiction and romance. Even more surprising was that this mix worked so well. Obviously, it still retained its B vibe that you can find in Cronenberg's previous work which was definitely an asset but it was also why I wasn't probably completely blown away. I mean, I did really enjoy the whole thing but most of it still remains a preposterous freak show. Still, you have to give the guy some credit since he managed to make something quite fascinating out of this material whereas another director would have probably ended up with something much more underwhelming. 4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1930's) list
Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of such classic screwball comedies. Indeed, even though some of them are still really popular, in my opinion, they usually didn't grow old very well. However, this movie was actually an exception and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Obviously, it had all the trademarks of the genre but, even though it might seem really frivolous like the other movies in the genre, I thought it was actually quite sharp and so much satiric. Indeed, in such movies, we are supposed to care about the so-called difficult life of the Rich or Aristocrats but, here, they were all portrayed are completely hysterical and seriously dim-witted and the homeless seemed to be much more sensible. I also liked the idea that if we stopped complaining about our little problems and simply gave the people in need a chance, they would actually grab it with both hands. To be honest, I think it would have better worked if Godfrey didn't come from the same social class as his 'masters' and I didn't care much for the ending which was some typical screwball silly nonsense. Still, I really enjoyed this movie though.4 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Army of the Dead
“Following the ‘Justice League’ debacle (I still have to watch the Snyder’s cut but, to be honest, I’m not really holding my breath to watch a 4 hours bloated super-hero mash-up), Zack Snyder managed to deliver another directorial effort, this time with Netflix, and I thought I might as well ” read more
4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of such classic screwball comedies. Indeed, even though some of them are still really popular, in my opinion, they usually didn't grow old very well. However, this movie was actually an exception and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Obviously, it had all the trademarks of the genre but, even though it might seem really frivolous like the other movies in the genre, I thought it was actually quite sharp and so much satiric. Indeed, in such movies, we are supposed to care about the so-called difficult life of the Rich or Aristocrats but, here, they were all portrayed are completely hysterical and seriously dim-witted and the homeless seemed to be much more sensible. I also liked the idea that if we stopped complaining about our little problems and simply gave the people in need a chance, they would actually grab it with both hands. To be honest, I think it would have better worked if Godfrey didn't come from the same social class as his 'masters' and I didn't care much for the ending which was some typical screwball silly nonsense. Still, I really enjoyed this movie though.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2000's) list
Notes: Unfortunately, even though I did like this movie, I didn’t really connect with it eventually. To start with, Haneke is not the easiest director and he always challenges the traditional narrative conventions but it is something recurrent in his work. One of his trademark is to put his characters in some very stressful situation/environment and whereas a conventional movie would explain what’s going on, why all this is happening, Haneke doesn’t follow this path and you have to make up on your own what is exactly going on. I thought it worked amazingly well with ‘Caché’, ‘Funny Games’ or ‘Benny’s video’ but, here, I really had a hard time to get into the story. The first issue, I think, is that there were just too many characters. In the previous movies I mentioned before, Haneke was focusing on just one family (with one single child usually) so you could focus on those characters, on what they were going through. Here, there was a multitude of characters so it was rather difficult to keep track on who was who and who did what. I also had a hard time to invest myself in those characters since you didn’t spend much time with each of them and would constantly jump from one to another. Furthermore, I was not completely convinced by how the whole thing was written. I mean, early on, they give you the feeling that there is something fishy about those kids but then, the plot (if you could call it a plot) moves away from them, but then it comes back to them, then move away again and, then, at the end, it seemed there would be some kind of closure but, as usual, with Haneke, it was denied to the viewer. Apparently, I would later find out, the children in the film happened to be the generation of Germans who became Nazis, no less. Personally, I kind of missed that while watching this flick. Still, even though it didn’t really blow me away, I still enjoyed this movie though. First of all, it is probably the most beautiful movie made by Haneke so far. Indeed, the photography was in gorgeous black and white with some very nice understated shots. I also enjoyed the love story which was one of the most touching and genuine romances I have seen lately. Furthermore, even though I didn’t really connect with the whole thing, there was still definitely something mesmerizing about this village.4 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Hunter Killer
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but the title did sound pretty badass and since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I had a rather hard time to care about the damned thing after all. I have to admit that some of the acti” read more
4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: Even though it is pretty much a classic from the 80’s that managed at the time to win 5 Academy Awards including the Best Picture Academy Award, to be honest, I don't think the whole thing did grow old very well, I’m afraid. Above all, something that really prevented this movie from getting a higher rating from me was this terrible cheesy 80's soundtrack. Another thing that bothered me was how they added a lethal disease in the 3rd act just to add some extra drama. Seriously, it is just such a cheap gimmick. Still, I have to admit that it is a decent watch, above all, because pretty much all the characters involved were so flawed and messed-up and thanks to some really solid performances from the whole cast involved. On top of that, I have to admit that the scene when you get to see Shirley MacLaine bursting at the reception of the hospital shouting ‘Give my daughter the shot!’ was amazing and probably one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen. 4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: Honestly, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Anyway, it is definitely a typical Cronenberg feature and I thought it was pretty good. At the time, Cronenberg was still transitioning to some more commercial features easier to digest for the mainstream audience but there were still many of his famous trademarks that you could find in his rather gross horror features he made at the end of the 70’s. As a result, even though the whole thing was quite accessible , it was still pretty weird and sometimes a little bit hard to follow but there was definitely something quite spellbinding about the whole thing and there was no denying that it was visually quite impressive. James Woods, one of the most underrated actors that ever lived, was a perfect choice and he delivered one of his typical hysterical and over-the-top performances which did fit really well in Cronenberg’s demented world. 4 years ago
