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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: Even though there has been countless movies about the Vietnam war, the conflict in Cambodia has been criminally forgotten whereas there was there a massive genocide which was still taking place even when this movie was released. Only therefore, it is already a really important feature. Like many other movies dealing with foreign conflicts like âCry Freedomâ or âShooting Dogsâ, it uses the gimmick of having a white main character so we can easier focus and identify with whatâs going on but, for once, this gimmick didnât bother me. Furthermore, even though it was Roland JoffĂ©âs directing debut, the directing was really efficient and this depiction of war was really relentless and quite heartbreaking. Eventually, the ultimate masterstroke was to give a good chunk of the story to Dith Pran, amazingly played by a non-professional actor called Haing S. Nor who was himself a survivor from the Khmer Rouge. It made the whole thing much more compelling to watch and it is hard to imagine what it must have been to play this character after what he has been through. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, even though I thought it was really good, I have to admit that it didn't completely blow me away though. I mean, it was definitely a strong production, no doubt it, with a great cast, a very solid directing and one of the best stories about the war on drugs I have seen for a very long time. While watching this, somehow, I couldn't stop thinking about all the people going on holidays in Mexico. I mean, how could you go there to have some fun when you are aware of all the atrocities going on in this country? So, it was definitely some strong and dark material and, yet, something bothered me about the damned thing though. Basically, you are pretty much like Emily Blunt's character, they keep you in the dark during the whole thing and, as a result, the plot was sometimes rather murky, I'm not sure if I was really able to follow everything and now that I have seen the damned thing, I'm not sure that everything really made sense. Anyway, even though it wasnât a complete home-run, it was not far from it though. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Even though there has been countless movies about the Vietnam war, the conflict in Cambodia has been criminally forgotten whereas there was there a massive genocide which was still taking place even when this movie was released. Only therefore, it is already a really important feature. Like many other movies dealing with foreign conflicts like âCry Freedomâ or âShooting Dogsâ, it uses the gimmick of having a white main character so we can easier focus and identify with whatâs going on but, for once, this gimmick didnât bother me. Furthermore, even though it was Roland JoffĂ©âs directing debut, the directing was really efficient and this depiction of war was really relentless and quite heartbreaking. Eventually, the ultimate masterstroke was to give a good chunk of the story to Dith Pran, amazingly played by a non-professional actor called Haing S. Nor who was himself a survivor from the Khmer Rouge. It made the whole thing much more compelling to watch and it is hard to imagine what it must have been to play this character after what he has been through. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: I remember very well when this movie was released. Back then, I was about 13-14 years, it was a big critical success and it even won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. And yet, even though I have always been eager to check this movie, it eventually took me more than 20 years to finally watch the damned thing. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that it turned out to be a tough watch though. Indeed, even though I have myself always been interested in Asian movies, it still struggled to connect with this tale which lasted almost 3 hours. Furthermore, it didn't help that the beginning was rather confusing and messy. Still, when it was finished, I had to admit that the whole thing was still a fascinating epic tale. I did remind me of 'Stage Beauty' which was made 10 years later but even though they both shared some elements, this movie was definitely from another level. Indeed, the scope was so much bigger, with so many layers, it was just fascinating to behold. It was also pretty neat to see a younger Gong Li at the height of her career (seriously, after all these years, she pretty much still look exactly the same). 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Mississippi Grind
“To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with gambling, especially poker, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, making a poker movie with Ryan Reynolds was just a brilliant idea, even if, eventually, R” read more
4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I remember very well when this movie was released. Back then, I was about 13-14 years, it was a big critical success and it even won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. And yet, even though I have always been eager to check this movie, it eventually took me more than 20 years to finally watch the damned thing. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that it turned out to be a tough watch though. Indeed, even though I have myself always been interested in Asian movies, it still struggled to connect with this tale which lasted almost 3 hours. Furthermore, it didn't help that the beginning was rather confusing and messy. Still, when it was finished, I had to admit that the whole thing was still a fascinating epic tale. I did remind me of 'Stage Beauty' which was made 10 years later but even though they both shared some elements, this movie was definitely from another level. Indeed, the scope was so much bigger, with so many layers, it was just fascinating to behold. It was also pretty neat to see a younger Gong Li at the height of her career (seriously, after all these years, she pretty much still look exactly the same). 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2000's) list
Notes: I have actually a rather conflicted relationship with this flick. Indeed, on one hand, it is absolutely a solid feature and, finally, after being snubbed for so many years by the Academy, Scorsese finally received some recognition. But, on the other hand, honestly, is it his best movie? Even though it was really well made, even though there was a great cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin) and even though it was absolutely entertaining, in my opinion, it never came near the level of his real masterpieces such as 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull' or 'Goodfellas'. Furthermore, whereas those movies were truly groundbreaking, this flick was merely a remake and, in my opinion, the original Asian version was actually better. To be honest, it gets on my nerves how much credit this movie gets but, still, compared to the average garbage you get nowadays coming from Hollywood, if you donât compare it to the rest of Scorseseâs work, if you donât compare it to the superior original version, it is actually a rather spellbinding thriller.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Old Man & the Gun
“To be honest, I had actually no idea what this movie was about but since I have a weak spot for Robert Redford and since it might be his last leading part, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even if it was maybe nothing really original, it was still a really entertaining story. In fact, y” read more
4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Sidney Lumet had a rather productive career managing to direct more than 40 movies, some major classics, some major bombs and a whole bunch of really obscure features. However, there is no doubts that this movie definitely belongs to his masterpieces. To be honest, I still think that 'Dog Day Afternoon', which Lumet made 2 years later also with Al Pacino, is superior but it is still a fine picture. To start up, it is rather fascinating story, albeit depressing, but still very interesting. It is basically what happens when you give an average guy a gun and some power, there is a fair chance that they will abuse it. In my opinion, the greatest asset in this movie is Frank Serpico himself. Indeed, he is such an interesting character, even if you would remove the whole corruption story, the guy would still be interesting and it is obviously thanks to a great performance by Al Pacino. Like Robert de Niro, I have been following Pacino for almost 25 years and, honestly, most of his recent work is just not worth your time and it is in fact much more rewarding to watch such old classics like this one. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I have actually a rather conflicted relationship with this flick. Indeed, on one hand, it is absolutely a solid feature and, finally, after being snubbed for so many years by the Academy, Scorsese finally received some recognition. But, on the other hand, honestly, is it his best movie? Even though it was really well made, even though there was a great cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin) and even though it was absolutely entertaining, in my opinion, it never came near the level of his real masterpieces such as 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull' or 'Goodfellas'. Furthermore, whereas those movies were truly groundbreaking, this flick was merely a remake and, in my opinion, the original Asian version was actually better. To be honest, it gets on my nerves how much credit this movie gets but, still, compared to the average garbage you get nowadays coming from Hollywood, if you donât compare it to the rest of Scorseseâs work, if you donât compare it to the superior original version, it is actually a rather spellbinding thriller.4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 5 items to their collection
have watched
5/10
have watched
7/10
have watched
5/10
have watched
7/10
4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Sidney Lumet had a rather productive career managing to direct more than 40 movies, some major classics, some major bombs and a whole bunch of really obscure features. However, there is no doubts that this movie definitely belongs to his masterpieces. To be honest, I still think that 'Dog Day Afternoon', which Lumet made 2 years later also with Al Pacino, is superior but it is still a fine picture. To start up, it is rather fascinating story, albeit depressing, but still very interesting. It is basically what happens when you give an average guy a gun and some power, there is a fair chance that they will abuse it. In my opinion, the greatest asset in this movie is Frank Serpico himself. Indeed, he is such an interesting character, even if you would remove the whole corruption story, the guy would still be interesting and it is obviously thanks to a great performance by Al Pacino. Like Robert de Niro, I have been following Pacino for almost 25 years and, honestly, most of his recent work is just not worth your time and it is in fact much more rewarding to watch such old classics like this one. 4 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2000's) list
Notes: I do remember quite well when it came out. Indeed, back then, âBeing John Malkovichâ had become a big cult-classic but, to be honest, even though I did like how wild and original it was, it didnât completely convince me. However, with this follow-up, Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman really managed to blow me away. Indeed, it was once again a really wild and surrealist tale but, in contrary to âBeing John Malkovichâ, it managed to keep my attention until the very end. Seriously, I donât think I haver seen a movie managing so well to mix fiction and reality. You could say that the makers already tried something similar with âBeing John Malkovichâ but it worked much better here and the end-result was just spellbinding. For example, I just loved how Charlie Kaufman created a fictitious twin brother who also got credited for writing this movie. I know a lot of people trash Nicolas Cage and it is true that most of his recent movies were completely worthless but, back in those days, he gave a hell of a double performance for this movie.4 years, 3 months ago
