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johanlefourbe added 4 items to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2019) list
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: Nowadays, they usually adapt the classic Shakespeare plays with a modern setting but I really did appreciate that Laurence Olivier set the story in the 15th century like it was in Shakespeareās original work. I was also impressed to discover that it was actually Olivierās directorial debut as this lavish production was quite ambitious for a first time effort. Still, to be honest, it has been a while since I have seen such a challenging movie though. Indeed, even if I did watch it with some English subtitles, I still struggled with these 2 hours of non-stop vintage Shakespearean dialogues. Furthermore, is it me or was the story actually super simple? In fact, I actually saw Kenneth Branaghās version but it was ages ago and I canāt say I remember much about it though. Anyway, it seemed that Henry V, for some rather dubious reasons at least to me, went to France, kicked their ass, and married the daughter of the French king, Charles VI, but I thought it all seemed rather thin for more than 2 hours of running time. Eventually, the whole point was obviously not the plot but the intricate but still marvelous dialogues written by the Bard. On top of that, it was probably the most faithful adaptation of a Shakespeareās play I have seen so far. Indeed, Olivier went as far as having the first scenes taking place as an actual play in some theater in 1600 and this approach was unexpected but really neat. The rest of the story was then handled in a much more straightforward way but it still worked though.5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Tim Burton's work list
Cast: Eva Green, Michael Keaton, Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito
What was it about?
A live-action remake of the animated Disney film, "Dumbo", in which a young elephant with extraordinarily large ears develops the skill to fly.
My two cents:
Eventually, it turned out to be a decent watch but not much more than that, I'm afraid. The biggest issue was that the original animated movie was really short so, obviously, they had to expand it somehow. Unfortunately, even if it could have been an opportunity to come up with something new and interesting, they basically kept repeating the same thing over and over again. Furthermore, I didn't mind that they focused this time around on the human characters but they were all rather boring. For example, it was pretty neat to see Michael Keaton working again with Burton and he obviously had some fun but his character was just rather tedious. Finally, even though they needed to expand it, a running time of 110 mins was just way too long for such a simple tale. Anyway, I still think it would be a decent watch for the young kids but there is no doubt that Tim Burton has here delivered another forgettable directing effort.
My rating: 06/10
Check the full review5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Dumbo
“To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but 'Dumbo', the original animated version, was the first movie my youngest daughter ever watched, so, I thought it would be pretty cool to see this new version together. On the other hand, it is quite sad to see that Tim Burton is still struggli” read more
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Suite FranƧaise (2014)
“I wasn't really sure what to expect from this flick but, after watching 'Focus' a couple of days ago, I was quite eager to watch another movie starring Margot Robbie and this one was available on Netflix so I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I didn't care much for the damned” read more
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Rollerball (1975)
“Since this movie has a rather solid reputation as a cult-classic, I was quite eager to check it out. In fact, I did see at some point the awful remake they made about 15 years ago and I hoped this original version would be much better. Well, to be honest, even if I still believe that the concept is ” read more
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2019) list
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 3 items to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2019) list
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Notes: Eventually, I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure. Indeed, it was a spellbinding film noir, easily one of the best movies in this genre, and it completely deserved its stellar reputation. What I loved the most was the simple and minimalistic way this story was told. Indeed, most of the movie was just about Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck only together in one room talking with each other and giving us some of the best dialogues ever written for a movie. Nowadays, they would give us some boring climax with some huge action scene and, of course, the usual tedious twist at the end but, here, the whole thing remained focused and sharp from the beginning and until the end. It was like the plan they came up with, it was not so far-fetched at all and it made the whole thing even more spellbinding to behold. I also loved the fact that the main character was not fooled by this girl and at first simply walked away when he found out what she was up to, even if he felt terribly attracted to her. That's another great thing about this movie, the characters were all rather shaddy and you could never be sure what they were actually thinking.5 years, 7 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, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 4 items to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2019) list
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Listal's 100 Films To See Before You Die (2019) list
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2020) list
Part I (1944)
Part II (1958)
Notes: Among Eisensteinās prestigious track-record, this movie and its follow-up are considered as some of the best movies ever made and I could see right away why. Indeed, even if this movie was backed by Stalin himself, it clearly stood out from the propaganda movies made by Eisenstein during the 20ās. Above all, the damned thing was visually so impressive. On top of that, the performances were pretty good, especially by Nikolay Cherkasov who was just so strong here. Seriously, it is hard to believe that it was the same actor who played the Czar Ivan IV at the beginning and at the end of this movie. However, even if the scale was epic thanks to its visuals and the strong performances, to be honest, in my opinion, nothing much really happened after all. Basically, most of the duration was about the boyars either complaining or plotting against the Czar but, right from the start, Ivan was well aware of the fact that the boyars were against him but I donāt get why he didnāt do anything to get rid of them or, at least, diminish their influence since they were clearly his biggest enemies. Still, this movie did provide a very interesting balance showing at the same time that Ivan was a charismatic leader and visionary who set the foundations for modern Russia but also a paranoid delusional megalomaniac. Concerning the 2nd part, Even though it was shot just after the 1st installment, this movie was eventually released more than 10 years later because Stalin apparently hated the damned thing. It would be released only after his death (by then Sergei Eisenstein had long passed away as well). Basically, even though Stalin was positive about Eisensteinās first movie, he didnāt care for this sequel because its portrayal of Ivan was too negative but, to be honest, I didnāt see much difference with the previous movie. Itās not that it was bad though, not at all. Indeed, once again, it was visually quite impressive and Ivan was once again a really interesting character. However, I was expecting more evolution from happened in the previous movie, above all, I thought that Ivan would evolve but, as far as I was concerned, it was all pretty much the same. On the other hand, I have to admit that I really enjoyed how Ivan completely flipped around the plot to assassinate him. It was also really neat to see Eisenstein experimenting with color and one can only imagine what he could have done if he didnāt die fairly young and if he wouldnāt have been crippled by the Soviet regime for most of his career.5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of My Mother Mia madre
“I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Nanni Moretti, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I have to admit that, even though I have always admired Morettiās work, somehow, I always had a hard time to really connect with his movies and this on” read more
5 years, 7 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
5 years, 7 months ago