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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1920's) list
Notes: After watching Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, it was really time to finally watch something with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Back then, Arbuckle was actually the biggest star of them all but he was hit by a scandal at the beginning of the 20’s which crippled his career until his untimely death in the 30’s. Anyway, after 5 mins, I understood why the guy was so popular at the time. Sure, the damned thing was really random, there was no plot whatsoever and, instead, it was pretty much a succession of sketches. However, the end-result was seriously hilarious, in fact, it has been a while since I saw such a funny vintage short silent comedy. Of course, it did help that Roscoe Arbuckle was assisted by Buster Keaton (in fact, Arbuckle was the one who discovered Keaton and pretty much launched his career) and the two masters were quite marvelous together. Hopefully, in the future, I will watch more movies with and directed by Arbuckle (indeed, he also directed most of his movies, something really new at the time). 5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: After watching Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, it was really time to finally watch something with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Back then, Arbuckle was actually the biggest star of them all but he was hit by a scandal at the beginning of the 20’s which crippled his career until his untimely death in the 30’s. Anyway, after 5 mins, I understood why the guy was so popular at the time. Sure, the damned thing was really random, there was no plot whatsoever and, instead, it was pretty much a succession of sketches. However, the end-result was seriously hilarious, in fact, it has been a while since I saw such a funny vintage short silent comedy. Of course, it did help that Roscoe Arbuckle was assisted by Buster Keaton (in fact, Arbuckle was the one who discovered Keaton and pretty much launched his career) and the two masters were quite marvelous together. Hopefully, in the future, I will watch more movies with and directed by Arbuckle (indeed, he also directed most of his movies, something really new at the time). 5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Garage
“Recently, I have been focusing on older movies and, after watching Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, it was really time to finally watch something with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Back then, Arbuckle was actually the biggest star of them all but he was hit by a” read more
5 months, 1 week ago
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5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
“To be honest, I lost faith in Guy Ritchie a long time ago but I have to admit that the idea of him working again with Jason Statham after almost 20 years was pretty neat. I didn't get to watch 'Wrath of Man' yet which was their official reunion but, in spite of its rather convoluted title, this new” read more
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Movies I can't wait to see list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Movies I can't wait to see list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 worst movies 2023 list
Notes: In spite of its rather convoluted title, this movie did sound promising. Indeed, it could have been a really cool Mission Impossible-like action flick with Statham leading a team of expert spies with some awesome action scenes and some cracking signature dialogues by Ritchie. Well, eventually, I was surprised by how underwhelming this movie actually turned out to be. Above all, the damned thing was just so flat, seriously, there was barely no pulse whatsoever. It also felt and looked rather cheap. I mean, why were there only 2 agents in this spy team? At least, Aubrey Plaza was fine, even if she was not given enough to do but Bugzy Malone who apparently barely had any acting experience was rather dull. But, that was basically the whole issue, the action scenes, the characters, the story, the dialogues, everything was just so boring. Eventually, the only thing that stood out was the weird relationship between Danny Francesco (played by Josh Harnett) and Greg Simmonds (played by Hugh Grant who basically stole the show every time he was on the screen). Indeed, somehow, these two men got along so well, it was actually quite fun to watch but it was just a tiny bit in this movie which was supposed to be actually focusing on Jason Statham who gave here a completely forgettable performance. Compared to this movie, 'The Man from U.N.C.LE' was actually pretty much a masterpiece after all.5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Ridley Scott's work list
Cast : Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett
What was it about?
The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.
My two cents:
Unfortunately, it turned out to be another typical Scott feature, I'm afraid. Indeed, while Stanley Kubrick had been working on this subject for maybe a decade but didn't manage to make his movie, it took Ridley Scott only 3 years between announcing that it would be his next project and actually delivering it (it took also only 60 days to shoot). I'm not saying that it was rushed, the whole think looked amazing and the directing and/or editing didn't feel clunky at all. However, it was certainly nothing dazzling either and even though you spend more than 2.5 hrs with Napoleon, it didn't really go deep into the notorious historical figure. Basically, it seemed that the guy was a military genius but, aside from that, he was actually fairly pathetic in pretty much everything else. Concerning Joaquin Phoenix, to be honest, I'm not sure if I really cared about his performance as it felt that Napoleon was constipated for most of the duration. Who knows, maybe it will work better with the 4 hrs version that will be released on Apple TV+ (it wouldn't be the first time that Scott would deliver later on a superior director's cut). At least, even though I was born in France and must have learned all that stuff in school years ago, I have to admit it that I forgot most about it and it was nice to get acquainted again with this page of French history.
My rating: 06/10
Check the full review5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of the Coen Brothers' work list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 3 items to A Complete Review of Steven Spielberg's work list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Roman Polanski's work list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Movies I can't wait to see list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Kenneth Branagh's work list
Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh
What was it about?
In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.
My two cents:
To be honest, I have to admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised by the damned thing. In my opinion, even if it was the least successful instalment at the box-office, it was actually the best Poirot feature directed by Branagh so far. Indeed, it was visually pretty neat and the ominous mood was quite pitch-perfect. The other thing that I enjoyed was the fact that, even though I kept reading on the internet that Hercule Poirot was this time involved in some kind of supernatural case, the supernatural aspect turned out to be much more downplayed than I expected which was a relief. Eventually, most of what was supposed to be paranormal was debunked by Poirot who displayed that with wits and common-sense, he could explained pretty much everything that did happen in this 'haunted' house which was pretty neat. Sure, some of it remained unclear and ambiguous but it was exactly the right amount and it never overshadowed Poirot’s cerebral process which should be the whole point of these movies. I have to admit that I figured out who was the murderer fairly early on and it seemed easy to spot on just as it was apparently already the case in ‘Death on the Nile'. It didn’t matter though because the mood was really neat and it was just nice to see Poirot debunking all these supposedly supernatural shenanigans while he was actually also hallucinating himself.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Luc Besson's work list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of the Farrelly Brothers' work list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Antoine Fuqua's work list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Michael Mann's work list
Cast : Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley, Penélope Cruz, Sarah Gadon, Patrick Dempsey, Jack O'Connell
What was it about?
Set in the summer of 1957, with Enzo Ferrari's auto empire in crisis, the ex-racer turned entrepreneur pushes himself and his drivers to the edge as they launch into the Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy.
My two cents:
Even if it didn’t turn out to be a masterpiece, it was at least miles better than the abysmal ‘Blackhat’. Indeed, Ferrari must be the most famous car brand in the world and I think that the time period chosen, instead of going for a full biography of the famous Italian, was an interesting choice. However, even though everything going on in his professional life was quite intriguing, the focus on his private life didn’t work that well though. I’m not saying that his private life was not interesting but, when the movie starts, there had been already so much going on with this love triangle, so much had happened already between them that you don’t get to see, anyway, the end-result did feel rather half-baked. The fact that Shailene Woodley was rather miscast probably didn’t help either. Sure, neither Adam Driver or Penélope Cruz are actually Italian but they were certainly convincing which was definitely not the case with Woodley. Concerning Cruz, I have to admit that I’m going myself through a very ugly divorce with a difficult ex-partner right now so her hysterical behavior was hard to swallow but it had actually nothing to do with her performance which was fine. Eventually, I was mostly impressed by Adam Driver who once again completely disappeared in this character. Even though he might not look like a movie star, he is slowly becoming one of the most interesting actors of his generation, no less than that. Concerning the rest of the movie, it looked really neat and convincing. Furthermore, Mann did a great job shooting the racing scenes with such vintage cars and I definitely could feel the velocity and how hazardous it was to actually drive one of these.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Eli Roth's work list
5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Zack Snyder's work list
Cast : Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins, Cary Elwes, Jena Malone, Corey Stoll
What was it about?
When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by a tyrannical ruling force, a stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival.
My two cents:
To be honest, I don’t think it deserved such harsh critics though as I don’t think it was such a disaster after all. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for such epic Sci-Fi adventures and the damned thing was definitely ambitious. Still, even if I don’t think that it was really abysmal, it was still not good either though. I mean, it was visually not bad and it actually had some potential but, at the end of the day, I’m afraid most of it didn’t work. The most frustrating thing was probably the fact that, even though this first part was more than 2 hrs long, the story still felt curiously empty. Another issue was the fact that the characters were either poorly developed or barely entertaining or probably a combination of the two. A perfect example would be Gunnar. Indeed, the idea of a simple farmer getting involved in some intergalactic rebellion against a ruthless seemingly almighty empire was actually pretty cool but, unfortunately, Michiel Huisman did nothing interesting with this character. In fact, it was in fact exactly what he did, nothing, as he looked stunned and wooden through the whole duration. However, the worst of the bunch was probably Sofia Boutella though. Indeed, as long as she didn’t say anything, she was quite charismatic and badass but, as soon as she was speaking, it was seriously rather cringe-inducing. Sure, she wasn’t helped by the rather pathetic dialogues she was provided with and, in the contrary to the rest of the cast, she basically had to carry the whole thing on her shoulders but still. It is too bad because the fact that Netflix is still willing to put so much money in something new should be celebrated but the damned thing felt like a huge waste.
My rating: 05/10
Check the full review5 months, 1 week ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Guy Ritchie's work list
5 months, 1 week ago