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johanlefourbe posted a review of London Has Fallen
“To be honest, since I didn't like 'Olympus has Fallen' at all, I wasn't expecting much from this sequel but, since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the damned thing after all which turned ou” read more
5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
Notes: To be honest, I thought it rather difficult to review this flick. Indeed, even though it was rather long (more than 130 minutes), especially for a silent feature, it was actually supposed to be 6 hours! After watching the whole thing, you wonder how Eric von Stroheim managed to get 6 hours from this story but, I guess, we’ll never know. So, how can you review a movie when you have seen only a fraction of it? Many of us (include myself) blame Peter Jackson for indulging himself with overlong movies but, with von Stroheim, it goes to a whole different level and he must have been one of the most decadent directors that ever lived. As a matter of fact, at the time, this movie was the most expensive ever made and it figures. Indeed, even though the action takes place in Monte Carlo, and it seems as if they went there to make the movie, they actually recreated the whole thing at Universal Studios with some impressive accuracy in the details. Personally, I enjoyed above all von Stroheim who, of course, played the lead and he gave one of the best silent performances I have seen. 5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Roman J. Israel, Esq.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Denzel Washington, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be one of the most intriguing characters played by Washington and the guy delivered one of his best performances here. Unfortunately, it” read more
5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
Notes: Well, it was definitely quite entertaining. First of all, even though it was shot almost 100 years ago (by the way, the version I saw on YouTube was of a pristine quality, it’s too bad there was some interruptions every 5 minutes for some damned commercials), the action was taking place almost a 100 years before so Keaton had obviously a lot of fun recreating this time period. Indeed, New York was pretty much unrecognizable and there was a long sequence involving the strangest little train I have ever seen. In fact, this train was actually accurate to the time period. There was also a hilarious vintage bicycle at the beginning. Concerning the story itself, it might sound like a drama but, in the hands of Keaton, it became quite a farce with many incredible stunts and even more visual gags. To be honest, at the end of the day, I have to admit that it was still slightly too random for my taste. Furthermore, you might wonder if the material was enough for a feature length movie as every joke was stretched for quite some time so a shorter version might have been more effective. Anyway, it was still definitely a solid silent comedy.5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to The Fast and the Furious : an All-star cast list
Brixton5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
“To be honest, I have never been a huge fan of this franchise but, somehow, I still ended up watching this spin-off. Well, I have to admit that I was actually positively surprised by the damned thing. Indeed, after ‘Fast Five’, it turned out to be the only instalment which I found fairly enjoyabl” read more
5 years, 3 months ago
5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 2 items to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
5 years, 3 months ago
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, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) 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. It’s only afterwards that I discovered that Jannings, arguably one of the best actors of all time, was actually a major Nazi supporter and I’m glad I didn’t know that before watching the damned thing. Anyway, it was still a powerful movie, so powerful, that they didn’t 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 I’m 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, I’m 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, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Hellboy
“Since this movie had been a critical and commercial flop, I wasn’t 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 ‘Hellboy II: The Golden A” read more
5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) 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 didn’t 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. It’s 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 didn’t focus too much on that. 5 years, 3 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to My favorite Italian movies list
5 years, 3 months ago