Login
Home
586 Lists
7823 Reviews
Collections
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2010's) list
Notes: I have to admit that I was 'glad' that I saw 'Shoah' not so long ago as it greatly helped me to understand what the hell was going on and to appreciate this impressive movie. To be honest, I'm not sure if you can get into this movie if your knowledge about the holocaust doesn't go beyond 'The Schindler's List' or what they teach you in school. Anyway, basically, with this movie, right from the beginning, you are immersed in some kind of chaotic and irrational mayhem, it's so relentless that the makers don't give you one single wide shot in order to breath, to take a few seconds to understand what just happened, to actually see and try to understand this whole situation. Instead, you stay close, very close, to some random man who also seems to act really irationally but, in such a doomed time and place, after spending your days helping to exterminate men, women and children, just so you could survive another day, was it in anyway possible to keep your sanity and act like a sensible human-being? Coming back to their choice of never really show what was exactly going on, the effect was so more powerful, effective and horrifying, as a result, you will never forget something that you actually never really saw. 5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie, like all the major masterpieces directed by Charles Chaplin, I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Anyway, I have noticed that, according to IMDb, this movie is supposed to be the best one delivered by this great master but I personally prefer 'Modern Times' and 'The Great Dictator' because I believe they are socially and historically more relevant than this movie which I considered as merely a romantic comedy. Back then, Chaplin was apparently facing some extreme pressure to make the film as a talkie, but his popularity and power in Hollywood were such that he was able to release the film as a silent feature (with recorded music though) at a time when the rest of the American motion picture industry had converted to sound. Just a moment ago, I mentioned that it was merely a romantic comedy but I should add that it is also probably one of the very best one in this genre though. Indeed, it is funny, beautiful and really poetic. 5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Stronger
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Jake Gyllenhaal, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I have to admit that I didn’t even know before watching the damned thing that it was dealing with the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. It didn’t m” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2000's) list
Notes: To be honest, so far, I had some rather mixed feelings about Alejandro Amenabar's work. Indeed, I thought that 'Abre los Ojos' was pretty good but nothing really amazing and, in my opinion, 'The Others' was well made but eventually rather overrated. Anyway, this time, Amenabar didn't disappoint me, in the contrary, in fact, he really blew me away. It might seem morbid but I always thought that euthanasia was a really interesting subject. Indeed, if we are allowed to chose what we want to do with our life, why shouldn't we have the right to choose what we want to do with our own death? So, it is an interesting subject and this movie is definitely the best one about it. Indeed, the directing was really solid but I was above all blown away by Javier Bardem. A few years later, he eventually won a Oscar for 'No country for Old men' but I think this movie and his performance in this movie was actually much better.Anyway, it was a riveting story and Bardem gave his best performance.5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I have to admit that I was 'glad' that I saw 'Shoah' not so long ago as it greatly helped me to understand what the hell was going on and to appreciate this impressive movie. To be honest, I'm not sure if you can get into this movie if your knowledge about the holocaust doesn't go beyond 'The Schindler's List' or what they teach you in school. Anyway, basically, with this movie, right from the beginning, you are immersed in some kind of chaotic and irrational mayhem, it's so relentless that the makers don't give you one single wide shot in order to breath, to take a few seconds to understand what just happened, to actually see and try to understand this whole situation. Instead, you stay close, very close, to some random man who also seems to act really irationally but, in such a doomed time and place, after spending your days helping to exterminate men, women and children, just so you could survive another day, was it in anyway possible to keep your sanity and act like a sensible human-being? Coming back to their choice of never really show what was exactly going on, the effect was so more powerful, effective and horrifying, as a result, you will never forget something that you actually never really saw. 5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Men, Women & Children
“To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Jason Reitman, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, following the rather disappointing ‘Labor Day’, at least, Reitman didn’t waste much time to come up with a new directing effort but, unfo” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1980's) list
Notes: It is definitely my favorite Science Fiction flick and even one of my favorite movies of all time. Furthermore, by now, I have seen all the movies directed by Ridley Scott and it is easily his best one. Basically, the look and the mood were great, the story was just plain fascinating and the cast was also pretty awesome. Back then, Harrison Ford was in the zone, and everything he touched turned into gold and it is hard to believe that, when this movie was released, it was actually a flop. You could blame the marketing but I'd rather believe that it was just way ahead of its time and nowadays it has reached a huge cult status which is totally deserved in my opinon. I guess it is/was maybe too slow for some viewers but it didn't bother me, in the contrary. Eventually, after 35 years, they will finally come up with a sequel and even though you might wonder if this movie really needed a sequel, since it was directed by Denis Villeneuve, one of the best directors at work nowadays, it was still a smashing critical success (and still another box-office flop). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even if you don't like it, you would have to at least recognize the fact that it has influenced all the SF movies that came afterwards.5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1930's) list
Notes: To be honest, even though some older movies are still considered as classics, in fact, they feel rather dated and I’m not always a fan of them (especially comedies like ‘Some Like It Hot’ or ’Breakfast at Tiffany's’). However, some other movies are still as powerful as when they were released decades ago and this movie was definitely one of those. Basically, it is one of the first great war movies and the whole thing was quite impressive to behold. Indeed, it was just terribly realistic and greatly done and even though this flick was very old, I thought the whole thing was still completely spellbinding. It gives such a bleak view on the concept of war and, as a result, this movie belongs to the great anti-war features. I also liked the fact that it didn’t focus on a single character, there is no hero here and that’s the best way to deal with this subject because, in a war, it is never about the individuals but always about the group.5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1960's) list
Notes: From all the massive classics directed by David Lean, it is easily and by far my favorite one. I mean, of course, I enjoyed ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’, ‘Great Expectations’, ‘Brief Encounter’ and even ‘Doctor Zhivago’ but this movie is definitely from a different level. First of all, visually speaking, it is Lean’s most thrilling epic. For example, at the beginning of the movie, you have this amazing paranomic shot of the desert and it was just mesmerizing. It is a very long static shot of the desert and, at some point, you finally see a camel rider coming from afar and coming slowly towards you. In this very shot, you have the real essence of this movie. Indeed, it is slow but also very meditative and so beautiful to look at. Of course, Peter O’Toole was just brilliant in this star-making performance and ever since I saw him in this movie, I became fascinated by this actor and I try to check his other movies whenever I get the opportunity. Somehow, I also connected with this character torn apart between two cultures which maybe has to do with the fact that I’m half-French and half-Dutch.5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Le Cercle rouge
“I already saw this movie not so long ago but I thought I might as well check it out again. The first time around, since I kept hearing some great things about this flick, I had some rather high expectations. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a fairly realistic but also really stylish crime thril” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: It was the first movie directed by Stanley Kubrick I saw and I can remember when I saw it for the first time. I was about 15 years old at the time and I was jut completely blown away by the whole thing. I mean, I had seen some good movies before but nothing like this. The thing that most impressed me, back then, is that even though it was made almost 25 years before, it felt actually really modern. This flick had basically everything : the visuals, the direction, the acting, the music, the thoughtfulness,.... Obviously, the whole thing was bleak and grim and it is rather understandable that many viewers wouldn't like it (Roger Ebert, for example, really despised it). Furthermore, he main character was really despicable and I think it is an aquired taste but you can't deny that the directing was just flawless. Later on, I have read the book and it is interesting that the book has actually one more chapter with a happy ending. Even though the book was pretty awesome, I enjoyed the movie even more because it is was darker, more pessimistic and just more compelling in my opinion. The only small critic I would have, preventing this movie from being really perfect, is that I'm not sure about the purpose of the whole thing but that's a small thing. 5 years, 2 months ago
