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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: I watched again this movie recently and I was surprised by how little I actually remembered this movie which wasnāt really a good sign. Itās interesting that the only thing I did remember was when Alexander, Fanny and their mother went to live with Edvard Vergerus but, somehow, I think it does make sense. Indeed, even if Vergerus was pretty much a dreadful guy, he was however the only fully developed character in this whole story and, therefore, the only one who made an impression on me. For example, at some point. Emilie made the decision to marry with Edvard but they never gave us any explanation why and, then, 5 mins later, she was complaining about her marriage and wanted out. As a result, it was rather difficult to root for her but itās something that could be said about all the characters in this movie. Indeed, you spend more than 3 hours with them but you donāt really get to know any of them. At least, even he still remained an enigma, I was more able to appreciate the mysterious scenes involving Alexander who was an intriguing young boy. However, I still donāt get why his sister was mentioned in the title since she did so very little and had so little impact on everything happening around her. Anyway, this movie is obviously considered as a massive masterpiece, and, I guess, as far Iām concerned, it belongs to the category 'misunderstood masterpieceā. What I mean by that is that I was able to see all the craft behind it, I could see it was obviously a work of Art but I'm afraid I didn't really get it. Basically, there was a lot of symbolism that went just way over my head. I mean, during the whole thing I was scratching my head thinking 'What did he mean with all this?' and, honestly, at the end of the movie, I didn't get many answers. Still, such a challenging movie should always be praised when you see how simplistic and moronic are the movies produced by Hollywood and I will not a blame a movie because I just didn't get it.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2019 list
Notes: To be honest, it was not completely sold by this movie. Indeed, from the moment you see these two men showing up on this shore, you actually pretty know how it will all end. To make things worse, nothing much really happened afterwards, except seeing the two characters switching between being more or less friendly with each other and vastly antagonizing one another. Still, there is no denying that this movie was quite impressive to behold. First of all, there was the visual aspect. Indeed, the damned thing did look quite amazing and even though black-and-white movies are not so rare nowadays, here, it perfectly fit the story and the tone chosen by Eggers. Then, the whole thing was seriously minimalistic, there were basically only two characters but the two actors involved both delivered some very strong performances, in fact some of the best performances of their respective careers. For Willem Dafoe, it is quite amazing that, after a career going over more than 4 decades and more than 100 movies, the guy still can come up with such powerful stuff and a couple of the speeches/soliloquies he made were just simply amazing and unforgettable. Concerning Pattinson, he had to face a Dafoe at the top of his game and he actually managed to be pretty much just as convincing as his colleague was. For the people still making fun of him because, 10 years ago, he did show up in the āTwilightā franchise, well, if the guy keeps impressing like this, he might actually become one of the most interesting actors of his generation.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Well, it must be by far one of the weirdest alien features I have ever seen. Basically, it was a little bit like 'E.T.', except that the alien character was not a puppet but was played by David Bowie and the makers were apparently running on acid. First of all, let's state the obvious, Bowie was basically born to play such a character. Back in those days, the rock star was actually a major drug addict but, even without the drugs, the way he looked and his attitude was just perfect to play this alien creature. Concerning the movie itself, it was rather hit and miss, to be honest. I mean, its random and experimental aspect made the whole thing rather unique but also terribly messy and, very often, I had seriously no idea what the hell was going on. Furthermore, it didn't help that I didn't care much for any other character, especially the characters played by Rip Torn and Candy Clark. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it is still an interesting cult-classic though. 4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I watched again this movie recently and I was surprised by how little I actually remembered this movie which wasnāt really a good sign. Itās interesting that the only thing I did remember was when Alexander, Fanny and their mother went to live with Edvard Vergerus but, somehow, I think it does make sense. Indeed, even if Vergerus was pretty much a dreadful guy, he was however the only fully developed character in this whole story and, therefore, the only one who made an impression on me. For example, at some point. Emilie made the decision to marry with Edvard but they never gave us any explanation why and, then, 5 mins later, she was complaining about her marriage and wanted out. As a result, it was rather difficult to root for her but itās something that could be said about all the characters in this movie. Indeed, you spend more than 3 hours with them but you donāt really get to know any of them. At least, even he still remained an enigma, I was more able to appreciate the mysterious scenes involving Alexander who was an intriguing young boy. However, I still donāt get why his sister was mentioned in the title since she did so very little and had so little impact on everything happening around her. Anyway, this movie is obviously considered as a massive masterpiece, and, I guess, as far Iām concerned, it belongs to the category 'misunderstood masterpieceā. What I mean by that is that I was able to see all the craft behind it, I could see it was obviously a work of Art but I'm afraid I didn't really get it. Basically, there was a lot of symbolism that went just way over my head. I mean, during the whole thing I was scratching my head thinking 'What did he mean with all this?' and, honestly, at the end of the movie, I didn't get many answers. Still, such a challenging movie should always be praised when you see how simplistic and moronic are the movies produced by Hollywood and I will not a blame a movie because I just didn't get it.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, it must be by far one of the weirdest alien features I have ever seen. Basically, it was a little bit like 'E.T.', except that the alien character was not a puppet but was played by David Bowie and the makers were apparently running on acid. First of all, let's state the obvious, Bowie was basically born to play such a character. Back in those days, the rock star was actually a major drug addict but, even without the drugs, the way he looked and his attitude was just perfect to play this alien creature. Concerning the movie itself, it was rather hit and miss, to be honest. I mean, its random and experimental aspect made the whole thing rather unique but also terribly messy and, very often, I had seriously no idea what the hell was going on. Furthermore, it didn't help that I didn't care much for any other character, especially the characters played by Rip Torn and Candy Clark. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it is still an interesting cult-classic though. 4 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Complete Unknown
“Since the ratings were rather low for this movie, I didnāt have some really high expectations but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, to be honest, it has been a while since I have seen something so weak starring either Rachel Weisz or Micha” read more
4 years ago
Films About Confinementjohanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: It is supposed to be one of the greatest comedies ever made but, to be honest, even though I thought it was fairly entertaining, I canāt say I wasn't really blown away by this movie. I mean, sure, it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it but I wasn't really laughing out loud but merely smiling during the whole thing. In my opinion, it is one of those comedies which was really great and ground-breaking when it was released but, nowadays, it all feels rather outdated. I mean, it is still a pretty good comedy, it is just I donāt really see what was so great about it. Still, I have to admit that Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine both gave some solid performances but, to be honest, I didnāt really care much for their characters. On top of that, the whole thing was just too long in my opinion. Considering Billy Wilderās work, after watching almost half of his movies, I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed much more his dramas than his comedies . Anyway, even if Iām not a huge fan of this flick, it is still a classic.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: It is supposed to be one of the greatest comedies ever made but, to be honest, even though I thought it was fairly entertaining, I canāt say I wasn't really blown away by this movie. I mean, sure, it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it but I wasn't really laughing out loud but merely smiling during the whole thing. In my opinion, it is one of those comedies which was really great and ground-breaking when it was released but, nowadays, it all feels rather outdated. I mean, it is still a pretty good comedy, it is just I donāt really see what was so great about it. Still, I have to admit that Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine both gave some solid performances but, to be honest, I didnāt really care much for their characters. On top of that, the whole thing was just too long in my opinion. Considering Billy Wilderās work, after watching almost half of his movies, I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed much more his dramas than his comedies . Anyway, even if Iām not a huge fan of this flick, it is still a classic.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Now, thatās what I call a weird movie. Indeed, I wasnāt ready at all to watch something like this and I was expecting actually something else. I thought it would be a movie about a walkabout done by an Aborigene but I was really mistaken. This movie is definitely something else entirely and I would have a rather hard time to explain what it was actually really about. First, you have about 5 minute of rather random scenes of urban life, then rather suddenly, you get a father and his kids having a picnic in the desert but thatās just the start. Indeed, the guy has an unexplained meltdown and tries to shoot his children before setting his car on fire and killing himself. So, the kids are left alone in the merciless Australian desert and you would think that they would panic but, no, they remain calm during the whole movie. Thatās the one of the many things that flabbergasted me with this flick. How could they remain so calm in such circumstances? Anyway, when it seemed that they wouldnāt survive, they finally met this young man during his walkabout but the story didnāt stop getting weird. Indeed, there were tons of sexualized imagery, it was constantly intercut with some rather random stuff and I wonāt even start with the ending. Later on, I discovered that Roger Ebert really loved this flick and he developed some interesting views about the communication issues between the 3 main characters but, personally, I had a hard time with those 3 characters, above all, with their numb behavior. Still, there was definitely something mesmerizing about the whole thing.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: Even though Iām not a huge fan of musicals, since it is a huge classic, I was still interested in this flick. The directing by veteran George Cukor (āA Star Is Bornā, āBorn Yesterdayā, āAdam's Ribā, āThe Philadelphia Storyā) was solid and Audrey Hepburn was also really charming and gave a decent performance even though she wasnāt even nominated at the Academy awards at the time. Hepburn was back then at the top of her popularity and she reprised the role which was originally played by Julie Andrews on Broadway. Eventually, it was a tremendous success and eventually won 8 Academy awards and since then, it has became one of the most beloved musicals ever made. Eventually, personally, I thought it was pretty good but nothing really mind-blowing though. I mean, it is a very well made musical, with some pretty good songs but like most of the musicals, I thought the story was actually pretty weak. I know it is inherent to the genre but I donāt believe it is necessary that musicals should have such fluffy storylines. Still, it remains an enjoyable flick, absolutely. 4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Now, thatās what I call a weird movie. Indeed, I wasnāt ready at all to watch something like this and I was expecting actually something else. I thought it would be a movie about a walkabout done by an Aborigene but I was really mistaken. This movie is definitely something else entirely and I would have a rather hard time to explain what it was actually really about. First, you have about 5 minute of rather random scenes of urban life, then rather suddenly, you get a father and his kids having a picnic in the desert but thatās just the start. Indeed, the guy has an unexplained meltdown and tries to shoot his children before setting his car on fire and killing himself. So, the kids are left alone in the merciless Australian desert and you would think that they would panic but, no, they remain calm during the whole movie. Thatās the one of the many things that flabbergasted me with this flick. How could they remain so calm in such circumstances? Anyway, when it seemed that they wouldnāt survive, they finally met this young man during his walkabout but the story didnāt stop getting weird. Indeed, there were tons of sexualized imagery, it was constantly intercut with some rather random stuff and I wonāt even start with the ending. Later on, I discovered that Roger Ebert really loved this flick and he developed some interesting views about the communication issues between the 3 main characters but, personally, I had a hard time with those 3 characters, above all, with their numb behavior. Still, there was definitely something mesmerizing about the whole thing.4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: Well, the damned thing definitely deserves its notorious reputation and it is indeed by far the bleakest WWII movie I have seen. Of course, Iām well aware of the atrocities that happened back then in Western Europa but Iām not so familiar with what happened in Eastern Europa, in particular, the Soviet Union, but the horrors perpetuated there reached a really despicable level. To make it all even more horrific, everything was also told from the point of view of a very young boy. Eventually, this movie also displayed how kids might develop some massive PTSD by spending so much time, sometimes even years, in such war zone and by being relentlessly confronted with such horrific events. To be honest, I have to admit that it is a rather difficult movie to grasp though. Indeed, nothing is told in a straightforward way and, instead, you get a series of really chaotic events and, as a result, it can be frustrating to watch. However, if you manage to hold on to it, you might come to the conclusion that its chaotic nature could be actually a perfect reflection of the chaotic nature of war itself. Indeed, many more war movies might be easier to swallow but, in fact, all these movies are just way too neat and, as a result, they could be actually glorifying war, even if it was unintentional. Here, war is the stuff of nightmare that you will probably never forget and thatās probably how it should be. 4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, the damned thing definitely deserves its notorious reputation and it is indeed by far the bleakest WWII movie I have seen. Of course, Iām well aware of the atrocities that happened back then in Western Europa but Iām not so familiar with what happened in Eastern Europa, in particular, the Soviet Union, but the horrors perpetuated there reached a really despicable level. To make it all even more horrific, everything was also told from the point of view of a very young boy. Eventually, this movie also displayed how kids might develop some massive PTSD by spending so much time, sometimes even years, in such war zone and by being relentlessly confronted with such horrific events. To be honest, I have to admit that it is a rather difficult movie to grasp though. Indeed, nothing is told in a straightforward way and, instead, you get a series of really chaotic events and, as a result, it can be frustrating to watch. However, if you manage to hold on to it, you might come to the conclusion that its chaotic nature could be actually a perfect reflection of the chaotic nature of war itself. Indeed, many more war movies might be easier to swallow but, in fact, all these movies are just way too neat and, as a result, they could be actually glorifying war, even if it was unintentional. Here, war is the stuff of nightmare that you will probably never forget and thatās probably how it should be. 4 years ago
