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4 years, 9 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, 9 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, 9 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, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 8 items to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2020) list
4 years, 9 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, 9 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, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2000's) list
Notes: To be honest, even though 'Rosetta' did manage to win the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. However, afterwards, I really enjoyed all the other movies directed by the Dardenne brothers and this one must be my favorite one. Indeed, Olivier Gourmet who appeared very often in their movies, had this time the lead part and the guy gave here a really amazing performance. Like the directing, his performance was subtle and understated and it was just a marvel to watch. This time, the Dardenne brothers managed here to combine a social drama with a thriller and the end-result was just spellbinding to behold. Obviously, you shouldn't expect any shootings, chases or explosions. Instead, you get a character driven picture which went very deep to show the emotional and psychological turmoil of the characters. Eventually, you won't get any (easy) answers but a deep reflection on human nature but that's more valuable than any action scenes, at least, in my opinion. 4 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
“To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, even if the damned thing had some potential, it turned out to be rather weak, I’m afraid. The first issue was that, even if the ” read more
4 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1940's) list
Notes: To be honest, the circumstances I watched the damned thing were far from being ideal (I was really tired and the recording was seriously messed up). On top of that, this movie has the disadvantage of being already 80 years old and, by that time, I had already watched many other film noirs with or without Humphrey Bogart so I wasn’t completely blown away by the whole thing. Furthermore, it is always the same issue with this genre, the plot is terribly murky and, in fact, it never really matters which is always something that bother me a little. And, yet, it is still an awesome flick though. Indeed, it is historically quite priceless as it started the directing career of John Huston, the career of Humphrey Bogart and it pretty much launched the genre at the time. Indeed, even though Sam Spade might be the main character, he is not actually a hero, he is definitely not a nice guy and he pretty much dumps the female lead at the end without shedding a single tear. That’s the difficult thing with this flick, I have been accustomed with this archetype from the movies that came afterwards and while watching this movie, it is almost impossible to handle it as something new. Still, it is a huge classic.4 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, even though 'Rosetta' did manage to win the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. However, afterwards, I really enjoyed all the other movies directed by the Dardenne brothers and this one must be my favorite one. Indeed, Olivier Gourmet who appeared very often in their movies, had this time the lead part and the guy gave here a really amazing performance. Like the directing, his performance was subtle and understated and it was just a marvel to watch. This time, the Dardenne brothers managed here to combine a social drama with a thriller and the end-result was just spellbinding to behold. Obviously, you shouldn't expect any shootings, chases or explosions. Instead, you get a character driven picture which went very deep to show the emotional and psychological turmoil of the characters. Eventually, you won't get any (easy) answers but a deep reflection on human nature but that's more valuable than any action scenes, at least, in my opinion. 4 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, the circumstances I watched the damned thing were far from being ideal (I was really tired and the recording was seriously messed up). On top of that, this movie has the disadvantage of being already 80 years old and, by that time, I had already watched many other film noirs with or without Humphrey Bogart so I wasn’t completely blown away by the whole thing. Furthermore, it is always the same issue with this genre, the plot is terribly murky and, in fact, it never really matters which is always something that bother me a little. And, yet, it is still an awesome flick though. Indeed, it is historically quite priceless as it started the directing career of John Huston, the career of Humphrey Bogart and it pretty much launched the genre at the time. Indeed, even though Sam Spade might be the main character, he is not actually a hero, he is definitely not a nice guy and he pretty much dumps the female lead at the end without shedding a single tear. That’s the difficult thing with this flick, I have been accustomed with this archetype from the movies that came afterwards and while watching this movie, it is almost impossible to handle it as something new. Still, it is a huge classic.4 years, 9 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Nun
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since I did like ‘The Conjuring’ franchise, I thought I might as well check this spin-off/prequel. Last week, I actually saw ‘Annabelle’, the first spin-off based on ‘The Conjuring’ and, to be honest, I had a really hard time to ” read more
4 years, 9 months ago
