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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1950's) list
Notes: Even though he did manage to direct arguably the greatest movie ever made, Orson Welles did have one very tumultuous career but some of his other directing efforts were still pretty damned amazing and this flick was definitely one of them. Like many other movies directed by the great master, he had once again some major issues with the studio producing this picture and they tempered with the end-results without consulting Welles who was fired during the post-production. Fortunately, at the end of the 90’s , the movie was re-cut following his wishes with some tremendous results. To be honest, I’m not so sure the story was really amazing, it was pretty much a dark and murky film noir but it was definitely entertaining and, above all, the directing was really impressive. Indeed, it has one of the best openings ever, a legendary 10 minutes take, something only a director like Welles could pull off. Seriously, if only to see this marvelous scene, it is already worth watching the damned thing.4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: This is indeed a true masterpiece directed by Jean Renoir and I thought it was just brilliant and worked on so many levels. Indeed, not only it is a great war drama, one of the best ever made, but there are also some thrilling escaping schemes and even some hilarious bits here and there. One of the thing I appreciated the most is that there was no bad guy, on either side, which is something actually quite unique. Basically, they had to kill each other because it was their duty but without the war, they could have been friends. All those characters might seem rather stereotypical but they were all actually really 3 dimensional individuals and quite spellbinding to watch, especially von Rauffenstein portrayed by the great Erich von Stroheim. And, obviously, it is a movie which deals with illusions, that this war would be the last one, that all those people from different social backgrounds (working class, wealthy ( Jewish or not), aristocrats) would get along after the war as well as they did while they were fighting together and that the Aristocrats were not actually a dying specie. Basically, it is one of the best movies about the 1rst World War and simply one of the best movies produced back then.4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 2 items to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2020) list
4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Last Days of American Crime
“After this movie had received to some really bad reviews, I didn’t expect much from the damned thing but, since it was on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I think there was in fact a couple of good ideas but most of it was just terribly average at best and some of it” read more
4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1920's) list
Notes: Apparently, this movie was the last one Charles Chaplin made during the silent era and it is yet another flick I have seen many times when I was a kid. Indeed, I remember it very well. At some point, the greatest classics directed by Charles Chaplin were broadcast on one of the French channels and my mother recorded all of them. Eventually, I was really grateful and I ended up watching this movie so many times back then. Personally, I tend to prefer this one over 'City Lights' but, I have to admit it, it is mostly pure our of pure nostalgia, I guess. Anyway, even though the plot was basically pretty basic, the whole thing worked amazingly well. Indeed, even though I'm usually a tough customer concerning comedies, I thought this one was just downright hilarious and completely entertaining from the beginning until the end. Eventually, the only thing that might have prevented this movie from becoming even better was probably the fact that there was no actual plot and the whole thing was therefore pretty random. Anyway, I still loved the damned thing.4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Even though he did manage to direct arguably the greatest movie ever made, Orson Welles did have one very tumultuous career but some of his other directing efforts were still pretty damned amazing and this flick was definitely one of them. Like many other movies directed by the great master, he had once again some major issues with the studio producing this picture and they tempered with the end-results without consulting Welles who was fired during the post-production. Fortunately, at the end of the 90’s , the movie was re-cut following his wishes with some tremendous results. To be honest, I’m not so sure the story was really amazing, it was pretty much a dark and murky film noir but it was definitely entertaining and, above all, the directing was really impressive. Indeed, it has one of the best openings ever, a legendary 10 minutes take, something only a director like Welles could pull off. Seriously, if only to see this marvelous scene, it is already worth watching the damned thing.4 years, 6 months ago
Games for the Sega 32Xjohanlefourbe posted a review of Always Be My Maybe
“Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. There has been recently a resurgence of the romantic-comedy genre on Netflix but this movie was easily the best one I have this so far in this genre on the str” read more
4 years, 6 months ago
4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 worst movies 2020 list
Notes: To be honest, I think there was in fact a couple of good ideas but most of it was just terribly average at best and some of it was some total garbage. Eventually, the most bewildering thing was why such a generic action flick required a whopping running time of 150 mins?!? Seriously, it was as if they forgot to actually edit the damned thing and put every single shot in the actual movie. As a result, they did end up with a whole bunch of scenes going on for way too long with no actual purpose whatsoever. At least, they could have given us plenty of interesting or fun characters, after all, there was apparently plenty of time for that but, no, there were only 3 characters who were not even developed at all. I almost forgot that there was in fact a 4th character played by Sharlto Copley but his sub-plot was so half-baked and completely useless, I wonder why he was even there at all. Seriously, who was this guy and what did he have to do with the rest of the story? It’s too bad because the concept was not bad, at least, it was not much worse than the concept developed in ‘The Purge’ and this movie did manage to spawn several sequels.4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: Well, it turned out to be one of the finest documentaries I have seen in a very long time. What I liked the most was that there were just so many interesting layers. First of all, even though you might feel nothing about skateboarding, you'll have to admit that there was something quite spellbinding about watching these guys dashing through such a ugly urban landscape doing some incredible tricks. Indeed, in such a socially and economically deprived environment, they still found a way to push themselves creatively, honing their skills through hours of training, delivering something artistic while their relatives completely ignored them. But, of course, the whole thing went just way beyond skating. It was also an intimate look on these skaters and the fact that the director was one of them was something that you rarely get to see since, most of the time, a documentary maker is basically an outsider. As a result, the whole thing was just as much about Bing Liu himself than about his two friends. Concerning his buddies, it did help that they were both really charismatic. Anyway, I could go on forever, basically, it was a really strong documentary.4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Apparently, this movie was the last one Charles Chaplin made during the silent era and it is yet another flick I have seen many times when I was a kid. Indeed, I remember it very well. At some point, the greatest classics directed by Charles Chaplin were broadcast on one of the French channels and my mother recorded all of them. Eventually, I was really grateful and I ended up watching this movie so many times back then. Personally, I tend to prefer this one over 'City Lights' but, I have to admit it, it is mostly pure our of pure nostalgia, I guess. Anyway, even though the plot was basically pretty basic, the whole thing worked amazingly well. Indeed, even though I'm usually a tough customer concerning comedies, I thought this one was just downright hilarious and completely entertaining from the beginning until the end. Eventually, the only thing that might have prevented this movie from becoming even better was probably the fact that there was no actual plot and the whole thing was therefore pretty random. Anyway, I still loved the damned thing.4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 8 items to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2020) list
4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, it turned out to be one of the finest documentaries I have seen in a very long time. What I liked the most was that there were just so many interesting layers. First of all, even though you might feel nothing about skateboarding, you'll have to admit that there was something quite spellbinding about watching these guys dashing through such a ugly urban landscape doing some incredible tricks. Indeed, in such a socially and economically deprived environment, they still found a way to push themselves creatively, honing their skills through hours of training, delivering something artistic while their relatives completely ignored them. But, of course, the whole thing went just way beyond skating. It was also an intimate look on these skaters and the fact that the director was one of them was something that you rarely get to see since, most of the time, a documentary maker is basically an outsider. As a result, the whole thing was just as much about Bing Liu himself than about his two friends. Concerning his buddies, it did help that they were both really charismatic. Anyway, I could go on forever, basically, it was a really strong documentary.4 years, 6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: More than 20 years ago, I started to get really interested in movies and I started to discover the great classics. In this journey, one of my first discoveries would be Akira Kurosawa. In the 90’s, I have seen many of his movies and he has been ever since one of my favorite directors. Even though Kurosawa has been mostly famous for his samuraï movies (‘Rashomon’, ‘Ran’, ‘Kagemusha’, ‘Yojimbo’, ‘Shichinin no samurai’,…) , he also did direct a few contemporary features and this one was the best of the bunch in my opinion. Indeed, basically, it is a raw and realistic thriller and it was so spellbinding that, in its own sub- genre (abduction thriller), it is easily the best movie I have ever seen. It was actually a rather simple and straightforward tale with no shootings, no chases, no explosions, but it was still really spellbinding to behold. In my opinion, the masterstroke was to focus on the characters and what they were going through instead of the usual far-fetched gimmicks involved in this genre. Anyway, it was just a captivating story brought by an amazing cast and it shows that Kurosowa was a director with a very wide range.4 years, 6 months ago