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.
4 years 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
4 years 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.
4 years 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.
4 years 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.
4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2009 list
Notes: Somehow, it did remind me of 'Zodiac' in the way that the main character was obsessed with this case for 25 years. At first, I wonder how they would manage to keep my attention since I (thought I) knew how it would end. Eventually, many unsuspected things happened and I was captivated until the end which was quite impressive as well. I usually don't care much about such twist endings but this one gave much food for thought. I mean, did the murderer really get his rightfull punishment? Didn't Morales become a monster by treating this man this way? Didn't he throw his whole life away to get his revenge which basically meant for him to take care of his worst enemy for the rest of his life? Just like the rest of this movie, it was really intriguing and thought provoking. Basically, this flick takes its time to develop some very interesting characters, even the smaller ones, instead of throwing at us some typical boring gimmicks. Even the unconsumed love story was quite fascinating and the fact that they never ended up with each other made complete sense considering the way the characters were developed.
4 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Saw: The Final Chapter
“Finally…. I’m almost done with this franchise… The fact that this movie started with a completely random scene with a ‘game’ taking place for the first time outside was already not a good omen. I mean, the fact that it was outside was not a bad idea but what was rather lame and lazy was th” read more
4 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: Since I'm a huge fan of Indiana Jones, of course, I just love this flick. Even though it is not my favorite one in this franchise (that would be the 3rd installment), it is still quite awesome. Indeed, when I was a kid, I saw it so many times with my father but after so many years later, I keep watching it from time to time and it is still so damned entertaining. Basically, with this movie, Steven Spielberg set up the golden rules for this mighty franchise and he introduced to us one of the greatest most iconic characters in motion picture history. Indeed, even though Harrison Ford was not even their first choice, he completely nailed this part and managed to create a character who was even more awesome than Han Solo which was quite an achievement. By the way, the big difference with this movie and 'Star Wars' is that, when I watch again nowadays this other classic, I find it slightly childish while it is not the case at all with this great flick. Anyway, not only it is technically pretty much flawless, it is also just such a fun movie and it is completely entertaining from the very first minute until the very last seconds.
4 years ago