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johanlefourbe added 1 item to Ronny's Dutch Film Club list
chosen by Johan
Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I'm not a car race fan but when I heard that they were making a movie about the 24 hours of Le Mans, I thought it would be really cool to watch it with the film club. Well, even if it didn't turn out to be anything really groundbreaking, the damned thing still turned out to be so fun and entertaining. First of all, it is pretty clear that Matt Damon and Christian Bale had a blast here as they both delivered some strong performances, especially Bale who was often quite hilarious. It was also nice that they didn't rush this tale, that they took their time to show that car racing goes beyond than only building up the fastest car. As a result, it is probably the best film I have seen dealing with this genre and the racing scenes felt really realistic and were quite thrilling to behold. To be honest, I thought it was rather odd that the Ford company, in particular Leo Beebe and even Henry Ford II, were turned into some villains when the whole point was to show how Ford managed to win this legendary race but it wasn't a big deal and I really enjoyed this movie.
(Nov. 2019)5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: Even though it might seem to be a simple story (it is basically about a guy losing his job, not much more), I have to admit that I was really impressed by the sheer power of its visuals and of the performances, especially by Emil Jannings who played the main character. Itâs only afterwards that I discovered that Jannings, arguably one of the best actors of all time, was actually a major Nazi supporter and Iâm glad I didnât know that before watching the damned thing. Anyway, it was still a powerful movie, so powerful, that they didnât have to use a single title card for the dialogues. Seriously, it was quite impressive and there was not a single moment while what was going on was not crystal clear. Furthermore, it was such a sad movie, probably one of the saddest I have seen so far. The saddest part, at least for me, was when his neighborhood found out that he had actually lost his job and was pretending to still be a doorman. Indeed, for some reason, maybe Iâm too optimistic but I was expecting them to be supportive but, eventually, they were all mocking him which was just so cruel but I guess it was actually true to human nature, Iâm afraid. There was also this rather weird and ridiculous happy ending coming from nowhere. Apparently, the producers forced F.W. Murnau and Carl Mayer to end up with something else and more upbeat than the inevitable death of the poor doorman but since they really hated this idea, they went for something really far-fetched and cynical. At first, this ending really bothered me but, the more I think about it, the more I believe it was actually quite brilliant. 5 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Hellboy
“Since this movie had been a critical and commercial flop, I wasnât expecting much but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, this movie will probably be remembered as the most misguided movie released in 2019. Indeed, ever since âHellboy II: The Golden A” read more
5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: I was surprised to find out that it was actually Sergei Eisenstein's directorial debut as the damned thing was quite complex and ambitious for a first-timer. Still, to be honest, I have to admit that I had actually a rather hard time to get into the damned thing though. The fact that such Soviet propaganda movies actually never focused on the characters individually and instead handled the working class as one single character probably didnât help. On the other hand, I have to admit that it was just quite inspiring and exhilarating to see this crowd of working men rising up all together against their bosses but also the whole system in general. Even if you believe that Communism and Socialism were the worst possible thing in the world, there was a time when an alternative was actually possible. At least, for a short while, it was explored and this alternative did provide something else than our current endless chase after financial profits and personal gain. The final act during which the ruthless repression took place was also strong and, unfortunately, felt quite realistic. Itâs interesting that, when you read other reviews, they mostly focus on the technical aspects of this movie which was, for the time, apparently quite groundbreaking, but, to be honest, I didnât focus too much on that. 5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to My favorite Italian movies list
5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2003 list
Note : Eventually, I was surprised by how easy it was to watch the whole thing and, if you are interested to watch this flick, I would advise to watch both parts back to back or, at least, during one day. I have to admit that the beginning was rather awkward but, fairly quickly, the damned thing became a massive epic during which you follow 2 brothers through 3 decades. Obviously, Marco Tullio Giordana had plenty of time to deliver some completely fully formed characters and I also believe that this movie is one of the greatest humanist pictures I have ever seen. Indeed, among many incredible scenes, there was this one when some students start to beat up a policeman and then Matteo himself starts to beat up one of the students as well showing that, in real life, nothing is completely black or white. And, even more impressive, is to see how much love Matteo and Nicola always have for each other, even when they both chose some completely different paths in their respective lives. Of course, you also get to learn more about Italy but they made sure it didnât become some kind of commercial as you get to see Italy in its full glory but also its darker sides. 5 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Best of Youth (2003)
“Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I was slightly worried to watch a movie which had a whopping running time of 6 hours. Well, eventually, I was surprised by how easy it was to watch the whole thing and, if you are interes” read more
5 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Free Solo
“Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick and since it was available on Disney+, I was really eager to check it out. First of all, even if I suffer from vertigo or maybe because I suffer from vertigo, I have always been fascinated by professional climbers and I always had a weak ” read more
5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2018 list
Notes: Even if I suffer from vertigo or maybe because I suffer from vertigo, I have always been fascinated by professional climbers and I always had a weak spot about movies dealing with this subject. Well, this movie was easily one of the best I have seen in this genre. Indeed, it is maybe the only film I have seen during which they actually explain how technical it is to climb such a mountain. Basically, when the guy finally goes free-solo, he does it after weeks and weeks of training and to behold this process was just fascinating. Furthermore, in my opinion, you get to understand that the drive of Alex Honnold is not fame or being the best in his field. In my opinion, what drives him is the quest for perfection, and when he finally achieves to climb this rock without a rope, something most people would describe as impossible, he basically has reached perfection and this moment is just exhilarating, mostly for him but also for the viewers. The only critic I might have is that the actual climb of El Capitan was done in only 10 minutes of running time and I wish they did spend more time on this massive achievement but that was a minor issue though. 5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: To be honest, so far, after watching around 5 of his movies, I canât say I have become a huge fan of Buster Keaton's work. However, since this movie had a rather stellar reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure. Indeed, the damned thing was a total blast and easily one of the best silent comedies I have seen so far. Indeed, as usual with Keaton, the whole thing was quite random but, in the contrary to his other movies, it worked fine here. Basically, most of the duration was just a dream but it didn't stop here as they also gave us a 'movie within a movie'. In fact, it was probably the first time this gimmick was ever used but it was visually quite clever and actually very well done. Anyway, from the moment Keaton went through this screen, pretty much everything became possible and it became one of the most freewheeling movie experiences I ever had. Indeed, it was so wild and I don't how many times I was gasping at the insane scenes that Keaton gave us combining some magic tricks, some marvellous daredevil stunts and even some awesome pool trick shots. There were a couple of times I even had no clue how they actually pulled this off. Anyway, the damned thing definitely deserves his awesome reputation and it is, in my opinion, Buster Keaton's magnum opus. 5 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Yesterday (2019)
“To be honest, I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have seen all the previous movies directed by Danny Boyle, I was quite eager to check this one out as well. Indeed, even if the concept didnât sound really amazing, I still thought it was pretty neat that, once again, ” read more
5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: To be honest, I was at first rather annoyed that the only available version available on YouTube was colorized. However, I have to admit that, as soon as they got to Antarctica, the damned thing looked amazing with these vast white landscapes against this bright blue sky. I also expected these explorers to go straight to the South Pole but it was interesting that they first settled for a while in Antarctica when they arrived. Seriously, I forgot how long they stayed there but they definitely spent many months out there before finally starting their final journey to the South Pole. This way, it allowed Herbert Ponting to shoot so many interesting scenes displaying some incredible landscapes and some of the fauna that you can find in this remote region. While watching the damned thing, I actually forgot that it was the very first time that anyone shot this kind of images in this particular place which makes this movie historically incredibly valuable. Anyway, at last, during the final act, they did really go up to the South Pole and the whole team who went there, well, they all died actually. Not only it was surprising because it was definitely a tragic outcome for an otherwise rather cheerful expedition but it was a shot in a way that you (at least, I did) believed that Ponting also came along but it wasnât in the case so how did they come up with this footage? Eventually, it seems that a lot of it was staged, just like with âNanook of the North, another documentary dealing with the Artic also released in the 20âs.5 years ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Populaire
“I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Romain Duris, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. I mean, it was basically like watching âRockyâ except that they switched boxin” read more
5 years ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: I have seen quite a few silent features but, to be honest, I usually have a hard time to watch them. Personally, I find it pretty tough to sit through a full length feature without any dialogs, especially when it is about 3 hours long. However, I had a good time to watch this one though because it was actually quite fun.Basically, it is a great adventure, a real escapist feature, and I thought it was more entertaining than all those heavy dramas directed by D.W. Griffith for example. I especially enjoyed the first part when you have Douglas Fairbanks making some trouble in Bagdadâs market. To be honest, as soon as he fell in love with the princess, the whole thing lost some steam and I preferred when he was just a devilish thief. Also, the fact that âAladdinâ, one of my favorites Disney animated features, was basically a remake of this old classic, might have played a part in the fact that I didnât completely enjoyed this feature since I already knew most of the plot. Furthermore, the thief, as a character, is actually more fun than Aladdin but you miss the genius and, with a running time around 140 minutes, it was just too long for its own good. Still, it is definitely a fun and entertaining movie.5 years ago