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johanlefourbe added 1 item to Ronny's Dutch Film Club list
chosen by Ietje
Notes: I have been following Pedro Almodovar's career for more than 20 years so it was really neat to see his last directing effort with the film club. Well, it turned out to be his most autobiographical movie so far and you might wonder what really happened and what was made up. Still, even if it was not as over-the-top as some of his previous movies, it was still slightly too messy for my taste. Indeed, there was a mix of various storylines dealing with drug addiction, his career, his youth, his health issues, his relationship with his mother and with an actor with whom he had a feud for 3 decades. Some of them were really interesting and some of them, well, not so much. Eventually, there was enough material to make at least 3 different movies and I think it would have better worked for me if the whole thing would have been slightly more focused. Still, the Spanish master has a unique directing style, his very own narrative approach, and it made the whole thing quite spellbinding to behold. Finally, it is such a treat to see Antonio Banderas working again with Amodovar, after all these years in Hollywood, and he probably gave here his best performance so far.
(Sep. 2019)5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2019 list
Notes: I have been following Pedro Almodovar's career for more than 20 years so it was really neat to see his last directing effort with my film club. Well, it turned out to be his most autobiographical movie so far and you might wonder what really happened and what was made up. Still, even if it was not as over-the-top as some of his previous movies, it was still slightly too messy for my taste. Indeed, there was a mix of various storylines dealing with drug addiction, his career, his youth, his health issues, his relationship with his mother and with an actor with whom he had a feud for 3 decades. Some of them were really interesting and some of them, well, not so much. Eventually, there was enough material to make at least 3 different movies and I think it would have better worked for me if the whole thing would have been slightly more focused. Still, the Spanish master has a unique directing style, his very own narrative approach, and it made the whole thing quite spellbinding to behold. Finally, it is such a treat to see Antonio Banderas working again with Amodovar, after all these years in Hollywood, and he probably gave here his best performance so far. 5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: This flick is just a massive masterpiece and it really blew me away the first time I saw it. Basically, in my opinion, it is the ultimate psychopath movie and during the last 80 years(!), they have tried to improve the formula but they never improved on the blue print developped in this feature. The funny thing is that I have always been a little bit dismissive towards the serial killer sub-genre. Indeed, most of them, even such massive classics like ‘The Silence of The Lambs’ and ‘Seven’, are so far-fetched, so over the top, I always have a hard time to really connect with them. This one is different though. Indeed, there are no chases, no shootings, no explosions like you see in your typical US thriller. What you have instead is just a frightening and fascinating psychological study of a sick mind and I thought it was much more interesting to behold. Anyway, to conclude, I think it is a great flick.5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Whisky Galore! (1949)
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was on the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be a rather odd movie praising the virtues of alcohol, especially whisky. Sure, it was all rather innocent but i” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: Even though Carl Theodor Dreyer himself was Danish, this movie really felt like it belonged to the German expressionism. It was also pretty obvious that it was produced at the end of the silent movies era as there were very few sounds and dialogues and most of the story was told through some (rather massive) cards with caption and some whole pages of a book dealing with vampires. I don’t know, maybe the damned thing was too random for my taste but there is no doubt that the atmosphere was grim and quite mesmerizing at the same time. Indeed, it’s rather difficult to imagine a vampire movie nowadays without either a rather heavy script or some huge action scenes. This one was actually much more straightforward and, when you think about it, really simple and, yet, its stripped-down aspect was really intriguing. Concerning the actors, they were apparently almost all non-professionals but even though they all had a striking look, I had a rather hard time to connect with any of them. It probably had to do with the fact that most of what we learned about them was through some title cards and not through the dialogues or their performances. Anyway, even if I wasn’t completely sold, it was still a solid watch.5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
“Even though this movie had been a huge commercial and critical flop, since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Indeed, I'm one of the lucky guys living in the Netherlands who had the opportunity to use Disney+ 2 full months before anyone else in the world. Anyway, co” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: I haven't seen this one yet...5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Deliver Us from Evil
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I actually think that this story had some potential and I really wonder how it all went down in reality.” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: Since Jean Renoir is one of the best French directors ever, I was really curious to check out this flick. It also stars Michel Simon who was back then the best actor in France. Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but not Renoir's best work though. Indeed, in my opinion, the story was a little too simplistic, there was no plot and there were only a few characters developped. I know that many people would said that it is actually the strength of this movie and because it is simple that is why it is so great but I wasn't really blown away by the whole thing. The acting was fine though above all from Michel Simon who was quite hilarious. Eventually, the best thing about this movie was how relevant it is though, even 90 years after it was made. Indeed, the different attitudes of people coming from different social classes, the way norm and values dictate our behavior, it was really spot on here in this movie. 5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Movie A Year (Part 1) list
Note : Quentin Tarantino managed to make an Artsy flick without making it dreary and, for once, you could watch something which was smartly built up and also having a great time watching it. What else should I add ? The music was great (one of the best selling soundtracks ever), the dialogues were hilarious, the cast was awesome (with a major come-back for John Travolta) and the whole thing was just so damned entertaining to watch. To be honest, I sometimes struggled with Tarantino’s most recent work but this movie is still an impressive masterpiece and a must-see for any decent movie lover.
For more info : Top 10 best movies 19945 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Christopher Robin
“To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Indeed, I'm one of the lucky guys living in the Netherlands who had the opportunity to use Disney+ 2 full months before anyone else in the world. Anyway,” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: To be honest, even though Maurice Chevalier was quite famous in the 30’s, it was actually the first time I saw a movie starring this guy. However, from the moment he started to speak, I remembered right away that he was the guy who actually sang the title song for ‘The AristoCats’. The funny thing is that I would usually never care for a character speaking English with such a heavy French accent, it is such a tiresome and annoying gimmick, the fact that I barely can stand probably has to do with the fact that I’m French myself. However, with Chevalier, I have to admit that it actually worked so well. Indeed, this way of speaking of English was pretty much his trademark and the guy was just really charismatic. It is only afterwards that I discovered that Chevalier spent most of his career as a singer, which might explain why I didn’t see him before in another movie and, indeed, the songs here were not bad at all. Concerning the rest of the cast, they were quite entertaining as well and Chevalier definitely had some nice chemistry with Jeanette MacDonald (even though Myrna Loy was probably even more intriguing though). Concerning the story itself, sure, it was really feather-light and I have to admit that it is usually not my thing but I thought it was this time actually quite entertaining. 5 years, 2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Rim of the World
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, that’s not with this movie that McG will improve his poor reputation, that’s for sure. I guess it might be slightly more enjoyable for kids around 12 years b” read more
5 years, 2 months ago
