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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Ever since I saw this movie as a kid in the movie theater when it was released, the damned thing has never ceased to fascinate me. By now, I have seen it so many times but it has never lost its charms and it is easily my favorite Indiana Jones movie. Basically, it is, in my opinion, the ultimate adventure film. The first masterstroke was to cast Sean Connery as Professor Henry Jones. Indeed, there was this great chemistry between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery and they made the whole thing completely spelbinding to watch. The second masterstroke was to pick up the ultimate archological artifact, the Holy Grail. That was for example a huge let down concerning the last installment (honestly, who cares about a crystal skull coming from space...) whereas the Holy Grail is one of the most fascinating myth in the whole human history and it was just awesome to see Dr Jones Jr and Sr chasing it around the globe. Finally, there were also loads of cool action scenes which kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning until the end. Basically, the whole thing is quite pitch-perfect.4 years, 7 months ago
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4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: When this movie was released, there was a pretty good buzz about it so I thought I should check it out. Back in those days, I didn't know who was Terrence Malick and haven't heard about the legends surrounding him but I sure loved this movie. I must have been 18-19 years old and I had never seen something like that, this mix of metaphysics and war and I was quite blown-away. Fast-forward 15 years later and I though it was really time for a re-watch. In the mean time, I have seen all the movies directed by Malick and I have read a lot about the crazy stuff about this guy. Basically, in spite of the poetic tone and metaphysics involved, it is still his most straight-forward and accessible movie to date. Indeed, most of the movie is about the battle of Guadalcanal and it was and is one of the best depictions of war I have ever seen. One thing that really impressed me is the way it keeps switching between characters and I thought it really made sense since war is a confused mess not involving one macho hero but a whole bunch of dudes trying not to get killed. With this switching of characters, you can also try to spot all the familiar actors and there was a whole bunch of them. Out of all of all those guys, Jim Caviezel, a complete unknown at the time, managed to outclass everyone, even the great Sean Penn and Malick became so infatuated in his awesome performance and the character he created that a good chunk of the movie was devoted to him when it wasn't supposed to be the case. It is actually impressive that the movie was really well structured since Malick didn't follow the book at all, didn't follow the script either and spent at least 3 months shooting hours and hours of footage. When it was released, even though it was heralded, it was still overlooked mostly because the same year, Spielberg released the much more conventional and far less superior 'Saving Private Ryan'.4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: There are a few movies which I consider milestones in my movie watching history but this movie is definitely one of them. It is one of those movies which you keep hearing about and when you watch them, they basically hit you like a train. The first time I watched it, I must have been 15 or 16 years old, I thought it was just awesome and it became right away one of my favorite movies of all time. Basically, it is just a boy, a girl, a car and a gun, that's it, but because it is so simple, it became a really pure movie experience. However, even though those elements were quite simple, Godard did something quite revolutionary at the time which was stripping down many of the conventional narrative stereotypes (a core aspect of the French New Wave) making the whole thing even more spellbinding. Eventually, I re-watched it years later and I did lower my rating a little bit since there were a few dull moments but I absolutely remains one of my favorite French movies. Unfortunately, later on in his career, Godard would start to make some really obscure movies and, in the process, more or less deliberately started to alineate his audience but this was his first directing feature and it became instantly a timeless masterpiece.4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1970's) list
Notes: Every year, I organize a poll concerning the best movies according to the Listal members and even though ‘The Godfather part I’ usually wins or ends up in the top 3, this movie doesn't get much love. Indeed, in spite of its greatness, it will always remain a sequel, probably the best sequel ever made but still a sequel nonetheless. Anyway, the fact remains that it is a great flick, probably as good as the first one. The masterstroke was to continue the story with most of the same characters but it still stands on its own though. To do so, Coppola chose a different structure which was quite spellbinding. Indeed, not only you follow Michael Corleone in his rise (or fall, it depends how you see it) as the new godfather but you follow also Vito Corleone going from Sicily to New York with literally nothing and slowly climbing his way up in the mob hierarchy. To make things even more amazing, to portray a young Vito Corleone, Coppola picked up a then still unknown Robert de Niro so he had two acting giants at the top of their games to play 2 generations of Corleones. Honestly, it doesn't get much better than that. 4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: When this movie was released, there was a pretty good buzz about it so I thought I should check it out. Back in those days, I didn't know who was Terrence Malick and haven't heard about the legends surrounding him but I sure loved this movie. I must have been 18-19 years old and I had never seen something like that, this mix of metaphysics and war and I was quite blown-away. Fast-forward 15 years later and I though it was really time for a re-watch. In the mean time, I have seen all the movies directed by Malick and I have read a lot about the crazy stuff about this guy. Basically, in spite of the poetic tone and metaphysics involved, it is still his most straight-forward and accessible movie to date. Indeed, most of the movie is about the battle of Guadalcanal and it was and is one of the best depictions of war I have ever seen. One thing that really impressed me is the way it keeps switching between characters and I thought it really made sense since war is a confused mess not involving one macho hero but a whole bunch of dudes trying not to get killed. With this switching of characters, you can also try to spot all the familiar actors and there was a whole bunch of them. Out of all of all those guys, Jim Caviezel, a complete unknown at the time, managed to outclass everyone, even the great Sean Penn and Malick became so infatuated in his awesome performance and the character he created that a good chunk of the movie was devoted to him when it wasn't supposed to be the case. It is actually impressive that the movie was really well structured since Malick didn't follow the book at all, didn't follow the script either and spent at least 3 months shooting hours and hours of footage. When it was released, even though it was heralded, it was still overlooked mostly because the same year, Spielberg released the much more conventional and far less superior 'Saving Private Ryan'.4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of If I Stay
“To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Chloë Grace Moretz, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though the damned thing definitely had some potential, unfortunately, there were a couple of things that prevented this movie to really ” read more
4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: I actually already heard about this movie 6 or 8 before it was released and, of course, I was really intrigued by this concept but, to be honest, I didn’t expect it to be so amazing. I mean, sure, it is a very nice gimmick (shooting a movie over a period of 12 years starting with a boy at 6 years old until he reaches 18 years old) but a gimmick remains a gimmick unless you manage to do something great with it. Well, Richard Linklater certainly did something quite amazing here. Indeed, a traditional movie would give you a nice story, a great story if you’re lucky, but here they gave us a genuine slice of life. Of course, you could argue that they could have shot a documentary and you would have ended up with the same results but I highly doubt it. Indeed, for almost 3 hours, you spend more than a decade with these characters and even though nothing hugely dramatic happens, the whole thing was just spellbinding to behold. 4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Every year, I organize a poll concerning the best movies according to the Listal members and even though ‘The Godfather part I’ usually wins or ends up in the top 3, this movie doesn't get much love. Indeed, in spite of its greatness, it will always remain a sequel, probably the best sequel ever made but still a sequel nonetheless. Anyway, the fact remains that it is a great flick, probably as good as the first one. The masterstroke was to continue the story with most of the same characters but it still stands on its own though. To do so, Coppola chose a different structure which was quite spellbinding. Indeed, not only you follow Michael Corleone in his rise (or fall, it depends how you see it) as the new godfather but you follow also Vito Corleone going from Sicily to New York with literally nothing and slowly climbing his way up in the mob hierarchy. To make things even more amazing, to portray a young Vito Corleone, Coppola picked up a then still unknown Robert de Niro so he had two acting giants at the top of their games to play 2 generations of Corleones. Honestly, it doesn't get much better than that. 4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Pelle the Conqueror
“It is another movie that I wanted to watch for so many years. Seriously, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had been looking for this movie for more or less 20 years. Well, I wish I could say it had been worth the wait. However, even though I did like the damned thing, to be honest, I can’t say I was ” read more
4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: It is simply an amazing political thriller, easily one of the best I have ever seen. To be honest, it is rather slow paced but the directing was nothing short of amazing. Personally, I always dread it when US thrillers tend to loose focus and throw some random and tedious action scenes but it never happened here. Costa-Gavras keeps instead a realistic approach, almost clinical, and the thing was so sharp, there was not even room for any sub-plots or romantic angles. The only thing which could resemble a romantic angle was the wife mourning her dead husband but even this was quite realistic. Still, the whole process remained fascinating, it played like a spellbinding thriller and it was quite chilling to discover that basically the very same events actually took place in Greece just a few years before this movie was released. Eventually, towards the end, when you think that, surprisingly, everything will end well, that justice will prevail, there is this shattering epilogue making the whole message even more resounding. Not only it is an entertaining feature but it is actually one of very few movies which are important historically and you ought to yourself to check it out. 4 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Dead Don't Die
“Even though this movie was really poorly received when it was released, since I have always been a fan of Jim Jarmusch, I was still eager to check it out. Well, eventually, even if it was maybe not Jarmusch’s worse movie, unfortunately, it was still his laziest effort so far. Basically, the main i” read more
4 years, 7 months ago