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johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Clint Eastwood's work list
Cast : Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates
What was it about?
Security guard Richard Jewell is an instant hero after foiling a bomb attack at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but his life becomes a nightmare when the FBI leaks to the media that he is a suspect in the case.
My two cents:
To be honest, I kinda of lost faith in Clint Eastwood a couple of years ago, however, since this movie had been rather well received, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, once again, Eastwood chose to tell the true story of an American hero and, while the end-result was at least miles better than the abysmal âThe 15:17 to Parisâ, to be honest, I still struggled to care about the damned thing. I mean, the whole thing was well made and there was definitely a solid cast involved but the story was just too pathetic for my taste. Of course, you might argue that it is how it all went down back then but, even so, this tale might have been strong on paper but I thought it was hardly fascinating. Basically, Richard Jewell was maybe a loser but it was just obvious that the guy was completely harmless and the fact that it took the FBI months to figure this out is just staggering and shows the lack of competence of everybody involved in this investigation. At least, they didnât plant some evidence to completely frame the poor fellow. The worst character was probably the one played by Olivia Wilde though. Indeed, in my opinion, the way this character was developed was terrible and actually rather misogynist. Sure, that this journalist was some kind of vulture looking for any juicy story was not really shocking but the way she would sleep with anyone to get some intel was just pushing it too far (and, apparently, it was completely made up for this movie). Basically, you spend 2 hours with some rather pathetic characters getting stuck into a pathetic story so it didnât feel really rewarding, even with a strong cast and a solid director like Eastwoord behind the wheel.
My rating: 6/10
Check the full review4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Christopher Nolan's work list
Cast : John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, ClĂŠmence PoĂŠsy, Michael Caine
What was it about?
Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
My two cents:
As usual, once again, this new directing effort was my highest priority for 2020. On top of that, because of the Coronavirus, even though the movie was completed, it kept getting postponed increasing my expectations in the process but also for everyone else. Well, I wish I could say it was worth the wait, as it is usually the case with this director. Unfortunately, I'm afraid Nolan has delivered the first misfire in an otherwise pretty much flawless career so far. The saddest thing is that it was, according to Nolan, his most ambitious movie so far. Anyway, what went wrong? Well, for me, it felt like they gave permission to David Lunch to direct a blockbuster with a 200 million dollar budget. The difference would be that Lynch would probably deliver something just as weird, bonkers and nonsensical as Nolan did but, at least, it would be on purpose. I mean, it is not as if Nolan was working for the fist with a rather far out complex. However, the question I keep asking myself is 'was it really such an awesome idea?'. Well, I'm not so sure. I mean, for more than 2 hours, the viewers and the characters struggle with the dammed idea but it never became really fascinating. To make things worse, every 5 mins, they would add another completely random piece of information making the damned thing even more confusing. Concerning the cast, this time, Nolan didn't have so many characters to deal which was probably a good thing. John David Washington and Robert Pattinson were both pretty good and had some good chemistry but, unfortunately, their characters were barely developed whatsoever. Concerning Kenneth Branagh, it didn't work so well though as he was completely miscast and you might wonder why they didn't simply hire a Russian actor. Anyway, was it really some complete garbage? Of course, not. The time passed by very quickly, the soundtrack was badass, it was visually still impressive and it felt good to go back to the movie theatre after almost 6 months but there is no doubt that the damned thing was seriously disappointing.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of David Fincher's work list
Cast : Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Amanda Seyfried
What was it about?
1930's Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
My two cents:
Unfortunately, even though I really admired the work done, to be honest, I canât say I was really blown by the end-result though. I mean, as usual with David Fincher, it was visually really impressive and I loved the way he tried to reproduce the vibe of a movie from the same time period. Furthermore, Herman Mankiewicz was an interesting character and Gary Oldman gave another really strong performance. In fact, the first issue was already the fact that, beside Mankiewicz, none of the other characters were developed whatsoever. However, the biggest problem was that, even though this movie was obviously a passion project for Fincher (it was even written by his father years ago), it was interesting at best but never really fascinating, Iâm afraid. In a sense, you could compare it to âOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodâ which was basically Tarantinoâs love songs to the end-60âs Hollywood, in this case, Fincher brought us back to the 1930's Hollywood with his meticulous attention to the details but, just like with Tarantinoâs acclaimed opus, I just didnât care much like they both did. Furthermore, concerning the conception of âCitizen Kaneâ, it didnât go really deep after all. I mean, basically, Mankiewicz locked himself up in some lodge in the middle of nowhere and delivered one of the best screenplays ever written, thatâs it. Anyway, even if I didnât care much the material, it was still another fine directing effort by David Fincher.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Roman Polanski's work list
Cast : Jean Dujardin, Emmanuelle Seigner,, Louis Garrel, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud, Denis Podalydès, Vincent Perez
What was it about?
In 1894, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment at Devil's island.
My two cents:
Eventually, it turned out to be tricky to judge the damned thing. Indeed, it was Polanskiâs most accessible movie in years and, in production value, also one of his most ambitious. And, indeed, it was in general visually neat and very well directed. However, on the other hand, he didnât add anything really interesting or surprising to this story so the whole thing still felt rather generic. It didnât help that there was an obvious attempt from Polanski to make a comparison between his predicament with justice and what happened to Dreyfus, an attempt which felt terribly misguided. Indeed, even if they both might have been victim of a flawed justice system, Dreyfus was completely innocent and condemned only because he was Jewish whereas Polanski was after all probably guilty. Concerning the story itself, Iâm not sure if it is well known abroad but it was one of the biggest scandals that ever took place in France so it was pretty neat to get a detailed account of what happened back then. Basically, it shows that 40 years before WWII, we were already plagued by some massive antisemitism and, obviously, not only in Germany. In my opinion, it also displayed the weakness of our modern justice system and I think it still applies nowadays, Iâm afraid. Basically, even though some naive people might argue otherwise, if the background of the accused (social, economic, ethnic) fits the bill, most of the the time, he/she will be condemned and the evidence eventually never really actually really matter because it can be completely twisted as it was displayed in this movie.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 2 items to A Complete Review of Steven Spielberg's work list
4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe voted for list
Most anticipated films of 2020 (45 movies items)4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Ridley Scott's work list
Cast : Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck
What was it about?
King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire by challenging him to a duel.
My two cents:
Eventually, this movie turned out to be a flop but I think itâs a shame, not because it was really a masterpiece but because it was at least something else than another Fast & Furious, Star Wars, Marvel instalment or any other big blockbuster franchise. Anyway, at least, you can trust Good Old Ridley Scott to deliver a lavish and gritty Medieval epic as the whole thing was visually really neat and convincing. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the âRashomonâ approach. Still, I thought there was a a huge plot hole in their story though. Indeed, even though they gave us basically 3 times the same story, in none of these versions, did they give us an explanation on how Jacques Le Gris managed to pay his âvisitâ to Marguerite de Carrouges exactly at the right moment when everybody had left her castle. Seriously, I thought there was a huge gap here. I think it was also pretty obvious that Ben Affleck was originally supposed to play Le Gris so he could face his BFF which would have been pretty awesome but, unfortunately, because of some schedule conflict, he had to settle down for a smaller part. Still, he definitely had some fun playing Pierre d'Alençon and the whole cast was actually really good here. Coming back to the âRashomonâ structure, it was pretty neat that basically pretty much all the male characters turned out to be some douchebags after all but Iâm not sure if it was really so interesting to display the woman involved in this conflict as some kind of immaculate innocent victim. Basically, it did turn the whole thing into some kind of medieval feminist #metoo pamphlet. On the other hand, it was a good reminder that women were pretty much treated like garbage back in those days.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 4 items to their collection
have watched
7/10
have watched
7/10
have watched
7/10
7/10
4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of David Lynch's work list
Cast : David Lynch
What was it about?
In a locked down train station, a homicide detective conducts an interview with a tormented monkey.
My two cents:
Well, it was a typical David Lynch short feature, completely surreal with a dark and gloomy mood. However, it was also terribly fun, which was quite refreshing coming from this director. Seriously, this monkey was actually hilarious. Furthermore, most of their dialogue was composed of proverbial phrases which was also quite entertaining. Still, even if the whole thing was pretty neat, I wonder if a shorter running time (around 5 minutes) wouldn't have been more appropriate. Indeed, even if the gimmick was neat, it was still a gimmick and it became rather repetitive rather quickly. Anyway, I really enjoyed the damned thing though.
My rating: 07/104 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Handmaiden
“To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect but since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick and since I always had a weak spot for Chan-wook Parkâs work, I was really eager to check it out. Well, eventually, I was really impressed by this movie. First of all, it looked re” read more
4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2016 list
Notes: Eventually, I was really impressed by the damned thing. First of all, it looked really gorgeous and, in this area, it is probably the best movie that Chan-wook Park has delivered so far. On the other hand, I have to admit that I didnât know anything about the plot when I started to watch the damned thing and, to be honest, I did struggle at the beginning to completely follow what the hell was going on and who was who. However, eventually, it turned out to be such a multi-layered fascinating tale. Indeed, for starters, this tale was told from 2 different points of view resulting in a strong thriller with no less than 3 different cons. But they didnât stop here as they managed to mix it with a strong love story. Seriously, it was quite fascinatng to see these 2 women trying to con each other but eventually falling in love. On top of that, there were some really neat erotic scenes.4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Bird Box
“To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Sandra Bullock and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. When it was released, Netflix made a big fuss that it had been watched by millions of viewers within a fe” read more
4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Crazy Rich Asians
“I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since it had been quite successful at the box-office, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, the story was rather generic and predictable and I have to admit that I was rather disappointed that at least 95% of the dialogu” read more
4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I think I had with this flick one of the best movie experiences in my whole life. Indeed, I must have been 15-16 years old the first I watched it and it completely blew me away. Back when it was released, it was a critical success and this movie won the prestigious Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival. Nowadays, it seems to be a little bit forgotten but it's actually a real shame. Indeed, it has one of the best soundtrack ever and the story, the directing, the acting, everything was just plain amazing. Basically, it was just a really mesmerizing picture to watch. In my opinion, it is also a really poectic picture with a hypnotising slow tempo which could bother impatient viewers but it did work for me, absolutely. Since then, I have been following Wim Wendersâs career and even though he has made many interesting features, no one of them really touched me like this one (even his following directing effort, âDer himmel Ăźber Berlinâ, which is supposedly a masterpiece didnât impress me that much). 4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Blood Ties
“To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a nice cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. On top of that, I was really intriguing to see Guillaume Canet delivering his first English-speaking feature as a director. Well, it turned out to be a rea” read more
4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: This movie is basically one of those that actually really shaped my movie taste. The first time I saw it, I must have been 14-15 years old and it just blew my mind. Indeed, I had never seen something similar before and I have re-watched at least once every decade ever since and its impact is still very strong. At the time, in my opinion, David Cronenberg finally found the best combination between his trademark gross horror style and some more mainstream elements and the end-result was just mesmerizing. Obviously, it is still really creepy but the whole gimmick around twins had been done before but not with such tremendous results and, in my opinion, this movie has one of the best performances ever. Indeed, Jeremy Irons portrays 2 different twins so well that he managed to create two distinct individuals who were essentially identical and yet slightly different and, at some point, you get lost in the story and you have the feeling that you are watching 2 different actors who just happened to look the same. On top of that, this messed up story about gynecology was just fascinating as well. 4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Wat gaan we in de bioscoop zien? (movies to watch) list
4 years, 10 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 worst movies 2016 list
Notes: Unfortunately, the concept turned out to be just as lame as I expected. Sure, there were a (very) few decent jokes but pretty much nothing did work though. At least, Robert De Niro and Zac Efron were charismatic but, without them, the damned thing would have been completely unwatchable. Still, it is really sad to see De Niro pretty much pissing on his own legacy with such garbage. Sure, in the same genre, I have to admit that I did like âMeet the Parentsâ. Indeed, back then, it was surprising and pretty neat to see the veteran actor showing up in a raunchy comedy and, above all, to see him really nailing it. However, 20 years later, this gimmick has really overstayed its welcome and it has become seriously cringe-inducing to behold. The saddest thing would be that this movie wasn't even the worse thing De Niro has delivered lately. 4 years, 10 months ago