johanlefourbe added 6 items to their collection
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, I was slightly worried to watch a movie which had a whopping running time of 6 hours. Well, eventually, I was surprised by how easy it was to watch the whole thing and, if you are interested in watching this flick, I would advise to watch both parts back to back or, at least, during one day. I have to admit that the beginning was rather awkward but, fairly quickly, the damned thing became a massive epic during which you follow 2 brothers through 3 decades. Obviously, Marco Tullio Giordana had plenty of time to deliver some completely fully formed characters and I also believe that this movie is one of the greatest humanist pictures I have ever seen. Indeed, among many incredible scenes, there was this one when some students start to beat up a policeman and then Matteo himself starts to beat up one of the students as well showing that, in real life, nothing is completely black or white. And, even more impressive, is to see how much love Matteo and Nicola always have for each other, even when they both chose some completely different paths in their respective lives. Of course, you also get to learn more about Italy but they made sure it didn’t become some kind of commercial as you get to see Italy in its full glory but also its darker sides. Anyway, even if watching this movie might seem like doing some kind of movie marathon, to follow these characters was just such a fascinating journey.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Well, that was definitely a very intriguing picture. Basically, it was dealing with a talented man who made the decision to literally throw it all away and, in the process, he also decided to make a mess of himself and his life. Eventually, the guy didn't give a sh*t about anything or anyone else and it led to a rather destructive behavior. Who else than Jack Nicholson could play such a conflicted part?!? Not many actors, I guess. Following his guest part in 'Easy Rider', this movie definitely put him in the spotlights and he didn't leave the A list for the following 50 years. To be honest, the first half was in fact rather slow and I wasn't really interested by the whole thing but, during the second half, you finally get acquainted with his dual side and then the movie became a fascinating character study. Eventually, you come to the conclusion that this guy didn't fit anywhere. He despised the elitair crowd with which his family was hanging out but he despised just as well his working class ‘friends’. You really wonder what he will be doing with himself but you get the feeling he didn’t have a clue himself either.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
“To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of classic musicals but since this one has a really solid reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. 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” read more
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, that was definitely a very intriguing picture. Basically, it was dealing with a talented man who made the decision to literally throw it all away and, in the process, he also decided to make a mess of himself and his life. Eventually, the guy didn't give a sh*t about anything or anyone else and it led to a rather destructive behavior. Who else than Jack Nicholson could play such a conflicted part?!? Not many actors, I guess. Following his guest part in 'Easy Rider', this movie definitely put him in the spotlights and he didn't leave the A list for the following 50 years. To be honest, the first half was in fact rather slow and I wasn't really interested by the whole thing but, during the second half, you finally get acquainted with his dual side and then the movie became a fascinating character study. Eventually, you come to the conclusion that this guy didn't fit anywhere. He despised the elitair crowd with which his family was hanging out but he despised just as well his working class ‘friends’. You really wonder what he will be doing with himself but you get the feeling he didn’t have a clue himself either.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: To be honest, it has been ages since I have this seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Basically, it is one of those movies that I saw as a teenager which just had some huge impact on me. I mean, back in those days, I was already fascinated by movies but I hadn’t watch so many great movies yet so I was basically a blank page, ready to absorb pretty much anything. Anyway, I had never seen anything like this before and, at the time, I thought the whole thing was quite mesmerizing to behold. Through the years, I always enjoyed Gus van Sant's work and it must be one of his most typical movies. Concerning Keanu Reeves, even if you like him or not, he would keep a steady career ever since showing up in such massive classics like ‘The Matrix’ or some more dubious choices such as ‘Chain Reaction’. Above all, this movie would be always linked to River Phoenix, one of the most highly regarded young actors of his generation who would tragically die just a couple of years after working on this movie.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The White Tiger
“I have to admit that I’m not really familiar with Ramin Bahrani's work but since the guy has a decent reputation and since his last directing effort was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. This movie has been compared with 'Slumdog Millionaire' and, while the comparison ” read more
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2000's) list
Notes: Eventually, I thought it was a very interesting and entertaining movie. I especially enjoyed the 1st half which was just great. Then, the 2nd half was little too much action-oriented for my taste but still it was a very good and original picture. One of the best thing about this flick was also the main character, Wikus Van De Merwe. I mean, the guy is a total moron and I thought it was really refreshing, in contrast with all the stereopycal heroes you get in your usual commercial productions. It's too bad Wikus wasn't so interesting in the second half when, suddenly, he got himself a conscience. It seems that, the during the following 10 years, this movie's reputation took a dive because Neill Blomkamp's following directing efforts weren't exactly amazing ('Elysium', 'Chappie') but, still, for a directorial debut, in spite its flaws, it was pretty damned impressive.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, it has been ages since I have this seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Basically, it is one of those movies that I saw as a teenager which just had some huge impact on me. I mean, back in those days, I was already fascinated by movies but I hadn’t watch so many great movies yet so I was basically a blank page, ready to absorb pretty much anything. Anyway, I had never seen anything like this before and, at the time, I thought the whole thing was quite mesmerizing to behold. Through the years, I always enjoyed Gus van Sant's work and it must be one of his most typical movies. Concerning Keanu Reeves, even if you like him or not, he would keep a steady career ever since showing up in such massive classics like ‘The Matrix’ or some more dubious choices such as ‘Chain Reaction’. Above all, this movie would be always linked to River Phoenix, one of the most highly regarded young actors of his generation who would tragically die just a couple of years after working on this movie.
3 years, 11 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2021 list
Notes: This movie has been compared with 'Slumdog Millionaire' and, while the comparison is understandable, I still think that both movies were vastly different. Well, even though I did like the realistic approach chosen by Bahrani, I still think that the opening scenes were rather misleading. Indeed, I assumed that Balram, with his wit and intelligence, would manage to find something brilliant to make a fortune but, instead, we find out that he was actually after all a petty thief who became rich only after murdering his master. Of course, it did follow the realistic approach chosen for this movie but, as a result, it was rather difficult to root for the main character. In fact, this critic could be also extended to the other characters as they were all rather common and average after all. Indeed, you might think that Ashok and his wife Pinky were better than the rest as they seemed to be gentler and more respectful towards Balram. However, they eventually represented the modern Western attitude which is to show a polite front and be always politically correct, when in fact, we are all in fact extremely selfish and self-centred. Still, even though the whole thing might be really dark and pessimistic, I did appreciate that they didn't put any gloves on and displayed that, if you are born on the wrong side of the tracks, becoming a criminal might be eventually the only option you have to really improve your future.
3 years, 11 months ago