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johanlefourbe posted a review of The Flowers of War
“I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Christian Bale and since it seemed to have a decent reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I was really surprised by how lame the damned thing actually turned out b” read more
4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie so maybe I should re-watch it at some point. Basically, when I started to discover the great treasures of the motion picture history, I became interested in the Italian masters and I saw at the time many movies directed by Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti but, somehow, only 2 movies directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, this one and 'Teorema' . I really loved 'Teorema' and it had a massive impact on me but this directing debut was also really strong as well. Indeed, it was much more straightforward but still quite spellbinding and it could be considered as a late neorealist feature since it had many trademarks of the genre. For example, the whole thing was seriously bleak and if you think that they tried to glamorize the life of a pimp, well, that was definitely not the case, that's for sure. And yet, even though it was certainly a gloomy affair, there was still something quite poetic about the damned thing and this mix was just quite spellbinding to behold. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: First of all, I have to admit it, I'm a sucker for romantic comedies, I have watched many of them through the years but, honestly, 90% of them end up being usually rather disappointing. Not this one though. I mean, during the first 10 minutes, it seemed to be one of those typical 80's highschool comedies, fairly decent but nothing amazing. But then, when they finally got to know each other, I got really hooked by the whole thing and, in my opinon, it is easily one of the best romantic comedies I have seen. I just loved how genuine the relationship was and also these characters. The relationship between the daughter and the father was also very interesting and complex and, in a lesser movie, he would just argue with his daughter to add up some drama but, here, they developed it to another level and it was quite impressive. Basically, it was a rather simple story, which has been told many times before and after but, this time around, they were dealing with some intriguing 3 dimensional characters and the whole thing was quite spellbinding to watch.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1950's) list
Notes: To be honest, it has been ages since I have this movie and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Anyway, even though I was very young or maybe it was in fact because I was so young but I thought that this movie was just quite mesmerizing to behold. Basically, in my opinion, this movie is all about mood and either youāll be hypnotized by this mood (what happened in my case) or Iām afraid the whole thing might bore you to death. Indeed, there is no real plot, there is definitely no action scenes, in fact, nothing much really happened during the whole thing. And, yet, I thought it was quite mesmerizing. We basically follow this 2 characters and their fascinating conversation filled with some beautiful dialogues. Indeed, in my opinion, this movie is the closest thing you will get of watching a poem instead of reading it. Alain Resnais did deliver a really impressive directing debut here but even though he always had a stellar reputation in France, I canāt say I really ever cared for the rest of his work.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: First of all, I have to admit it, I'm a sucker for romantic comedies, I have watched many of them through the years but, honestly, 90% of them end up being usually rather disappointing. Not this one though. I mean, during the first 10 minutes, it seemed to be one of those typical 80's highschool comedies, fairly decent but nothing amazing. But then, when they finally got to know each other, I got really hooked by the whole thing and, in my opinon, it is easily one of the best romantic comedies I have seen. I just loved how genuine the relationship was and also these characters. The relationship between the daughter and the father was also very interesting and complex and, in a lesser movie, he would just argue with his daughter to add up some drama but, here, they developed it to another level and it was quite impressive. Basically, it was a rather simple story, which has been told many times before and after but, this time around, they were dealing with some intriguing 3 dimensional characters and the whole thing was quite spellbinding to watch.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of PelƩ
“Like every boy growing up in Europe, I was fascinated by football/soccer at some point and since PelĆ© was the best the football player ever, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, after hearing so many great things about the guy, I was actually really neat to see so much footage showing his might” read more
4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: To be honest, even though I really enjoyed this movie, it didnāt really blow me away though. Basically, the first issue I had is that I heard so much about it before watching the damned thing, I already knew about the bear attack, about his son being killed, about the main character left behind and coming back for his revengeā¦ Seriously, nothing happening in the first half was really surprising. Then, the 2nd issue I had is that Iām afraid I didnāt really care much about this story. I mean, sure, it was entertaining but it was not really original and it was certainly nothing really groundbreaking. Still, I really loved this movie above all because the whole thing just looked really amazing. Unsurprisingly, visually, it was highly influenced by Terrence Malickās movies (Emmanuel Lubezki, who won his 3rd Oscar in a row for his work on this film, also worked for Malick on some of his movies). Concerning DiCaprio, sure, he was pretty impressive but, to be honest, Iām not so sure if it was really his best performance. Still, the work done on this movie to create something so realistic and so believable was quite amazing.4 years, 3 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 movie and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Anyway, even though I was very young or maybe it was in fact because I was so young but I thought that this movie was just quite mesmerizing to behold. Basically, in my opinion, this movie is all about mood and either youāll be hypnotized by this mood (what happened in my case) or Iām afraid the whole thing might bore you to death. Indeed, there is no real plot, there is definitely no action scenes, in fact, nothing much really happened during the whole thing. And, yet, I thought it was quite mesmerizing. We basically follow this 2 characters and their fascinating conversation filled with some beautiful dialogues. Indeed, in my opinion, this movie is the closest thing you will get of watching a poem instead of reading it. Alain Resnais did deliver a really impressive directing debut here but even though he always had a stellar reputation in France, I canāt say I really ever cared for the rest of his work.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: Usually, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of costume-dramas but since this movie had received some great reviews, I thought it might be worth a look. Well, it didn't disappoint me, that's for sure, and I would go as far as saying that it is one of the best movies I have seen in this genre. First of all, Yorgos Lanthimos delivered here a gorgeous movie shot on location with natural lights. Then, the cast was really strong, especially the 3 main actresses (Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone). Finally, it turned out to be such a fascinating tale with many layers and some complex characters. The damned thing sometimes also quite hilarious. Eventually, each time you think you have figured out one of these women, they would come up with something rather unexpected making them even more interesting than they already were. Of course, you might argue that it was much more straightforward than Lanthimos's previous work such as 'Kynodontas' or 'The Lobster' but it was more accessible and, above all, much more entertaining, at least for me. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, even though I really enjoyed this movie, it didnāt really blow me away though. Basically, the first issue I had is that I heard so much about it before watching the damned thing, I already knew about the bear attack, about his son being killed, about the main character left behind and coming back for his revengeā¦ Seriously, nothing happening in the first half was really surprising. Then, the 2nd issue I had is that Iām afraid I didnāt really care much about this story. I mean, sure, it was entertaining but it was not really original and it was certainly nothing really groundbreaking. Still, I really loved this movie above all because the whole thing just looked really amazing. Unsurprisingly, visually, it was highly influenced by Terrence Malickās movies (Emmanuel Lubezki, who won his 3rd Oscar in a row for his work on this film, also worked for Malick on some of his movies). Concerning DiCaprio, sure, he was pretty impressive but, to be honest, Iām not so sure if it was really his best performance. Still, the work done on this movie to create something so realistic and so believable was quite amazing.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: I have to admit that I was already sold with the 8 bit Universal logo. And I think that was the main issue with this flick. Basically, it was made for a very speficic audience and other people wouldn't care for it, I'm afraid. I mean, if you have never been into gaming specifically the older games from the 80's and the 90's or if you never cared for those, all the video games references will be lost on you and they might even bother you. As far as I was concerned, I thought it was awesome though. But it didn't stop there, no, that was just the beginning... I had never seen a movie with such an ADHD syndrome and it is also something that can wear you down pretty quickly but, once again, for me, it made the whole thing even more appealing. Of course, the characters were really cartoony but most of them were pretty funny and the whole thing just looked awesome. This flick is another example that CGI can be a great tool to enhance a director's vision, if it is used properly. Anyway, I had so much fun watching this.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Usually, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of costume-dramas but since this movie had received some great reviews, I thought it might be worth a look. Well, it didn't disappoint me, that's for sure, and I would go as far as saying that it is one of the best movies I have seen in this genre. First of all, Yorgos Lanthimos delivered here a gorgeous movie shot on location with natural lights. Then, the cast was really strong, especially the 3 main actresses (Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone). Finally, it turned out to be such a fascinating tale with many layers and some complex characters. The damned thing sometimes also quite hilarious. Eventually, each time you think you have figured out one of these women, they would come up with something rather unexpected making them even more interesting than they already were. Of course, you might argue that it was much more straightforward than Lanthimos's previous work such as 'Kynodontas' or 'The Lobster' but it was more accessible and, above all, much more entertaining, at least for me. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Ricki and the Flash
“I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have always been a huge fan of Meryl Streep, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it could have been an interesting cautionary tale showing that, even if you are passionate and talented (which seemed to be the case with Ricki), th” read more
4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with prison escapes and this one was easily one of the best I have seen in this genre. Indeed, eventually, the whole thing was just so raw and gritty and, yet, without any catchy soundtrack, without fancy special effects or bombastic action scenes, it was actually seriously quite spellbinding to behold. You also get the feeling that you enter a strange underworld with 5 guys stuck into a small room for hours, almost sleeping on top of each other. Except for Claude Gaspard with his good looks, weāll never know how they did end up there but you might wonder if they really deserved to live in such dehumanizing conditions. As a result, you might argue that the characters were not really developed but I think it goes along with how dreadful this place was. Indeed, slowly, they all lose some trademarks specific to their personalities, becoming one grey uniform human mass in the process. Finally, the neat thing with such a vintage prison break is that, back then, they didnāt have such advanced security systems like they have nowadays and, as a result, it was actually believable that these guys would try and actually manage to pull this out. Even the ending actually made sense. Of course, you could blame Gaspard but both options had some massive downside. I mean, would it really make sense to escape with his buddies when he was supposed to be released soon? No really but it doesnāt change the fact that what he did was really a rat move.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with prison escapes and this one was easily one of the best I have seen in this genre. Indeed, eventually, the whole thing was just so raw and gritty and, yet, without any catchy soundtrack, without fancy special effects or bombastic action scenes, it was actually seriously quite spellbinding to behold. You also get the feeling that you enter a strange underworld with 5 guys stuck into a small room for hours, almost sleeping on top of each other. Except for Claude Gaspard with his good looks, weāll never know how they did end up there but you might wonder if they really deserved to live in such dehumanizing conditions. As a result, you might argue that the characters were not really developed but I think it goes along with how dreadful this place was. Indeed, slowly, they all lose some trademarks specific to their personalities, becoming one grey uniform human mass in the process. Finally, the neat thing with such a vintage prison break is that, back then, they didnāt have such advanced security systems like they have nowadays and, as a result, it was actually believable that these guys would try and actually manage to pull this out. Even the ending actually made sense. Of course, you could blame Gaspard but both options had some massive downside. I mean, would it really make sense to escape with his buddies when he was supposed to be released soon? No really but it doesnāt change the fact that what he did was really a rat move.4 years, 3 months ago
