Login
Home
583 Lists
7760 Reviews
Collections
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Predator
“Even if this movie was a big commercial and critical flop, I still wanted to check it out though. Itâs a shame because a Predator flick written and directed by Shane Black sounded so cool at first. However, it was indeed pretty weak, in fact, it turned out to be only slightly better than the terri” read more
5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Ronny's Dutch Film Club list
chosen by Wilma
Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I had never heard of Carlos Acosta before watching this movie. Well, only to discover this incredible dancer, apparently one of the best in the world, it was already worth watching this flick but the whole thing went so much beyond your usual biopic. Indeed, what maybe even more fascinating than to discover his undeniable talent was to witness his intern struggle, something he apparently still has to deal with even nowadays. Basically, even if Acosta did enjoy doing some breakdancing in the streets with his buddies, he never actually had the ambition of becoming a ballet dancer. However, his father had some different plans for him and, eventually, Acosta loved but also despised the man. Basically, his father gave him a future, a life as a renown artist and, without him, Acosta would have struggled against poverty his whole life but, on the other hand, he had a life of solitude far from the people he loved. As a result, it is never clear if he actually really loved being a dancer which was surprising consider his status as one of the greatest dancers that ever lived. However, it made the whole thing so much more interesting than your average biopic because it makes you wonder about Art and the actual impact it might have on the artist's life.
(Jun. 2019)5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker
Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit
Notes: Fortunately, it turned out to be much easier to swallow than âTriumph des Willensâ which was a very interesting but also really despicable and nauseating movie. Sure, it was still some Nazi propaganda but it was also more than that. Indeed, it is a neat record of some vintage Olympic games as well and you can say whatever you want about Leni Riefenstahl but she definitely knew how to shoot a movie. To be honest, Iâm not so sure about the introduction of the 1rst part with these Greek statues. Sure, it was quite artistic but it felt also rather pretentious (on the other hand, what else should you expect from such a propaganda piece?). However, I have to admit that the transition to the discus thrower was pretty neat. The opening ceremony was also an interesting part. Itâs in fact pretty much the same that we have nowadays, except for the fact that some delegations were giving the Nazi salute towards Hitler which was expected from Germanyâs allies. However, I was rather appalled that the French athletes who do it as well but I guess these morons didnât know that Germany would invade their country only a few years later. It was also something quite fascinating with this movie, the fact that while you had all these countries involved in some friendly sports competition, only a few years later, most of them would be eventually involved in one of the largest world conflicts we ever had. And, of course, it was just awesome to see Jesse Owens kicking their Nazi butts time and time again. Concerning the 2nd part, I thought it was a missed opportunity that they did not end with something more spectacular but, eventually, it was rather short and quite anti-climactic. It didnât help that the ending ceremony was included for some reason in the 1rst part which, in my opinion, didnât really make sense. Eventually, as far as I was concerned, I think it would have worked better to combine the two movies and cut it into a 3 hour long movie instead. Still, some scenes in both movies were just mesmerizing to behold and I donât think I will ever get enough of watching such incredibly majestic athletes in slow-motion.5 years, 8 months ago
5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
Notes: At first, I was wondering where the whole thing was getting to and, during the first scenes, I thought it would be some kind of farce. Eventually, I understood that the hotel sequence was actually there only to establish all those peculiar characters. Indeed, the real action was to take place later on, on the train. There, it became one of those spellbinding thrillers that only Hitchcock could make back then more than 70 years ago. It was just fascinating to see this woman getting back to her seat and asking where was this old lady who simply vanished. I mean, this has been copied so many times through the years, it was just pretty neat to see Hitchcock's own version. Another fascinating aspect was the total lack of music. Indeed, music is usually a key element in your typical thriller and it constantly underlines the action, telling when you should pay attention, when you should be scared and it is usually quite effective but also really intrusive. Here, since there is no music queue, you are left alone wondering which emotions you should feel and I thought it was a great approach. 5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Mid90s
“I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, following the already amazing âMinding the Gapâ, it turned out to be another really solid feature dealing with skaters also released” read more
5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2018 list
Notes: Following the already amazing âMinding the Gapâ, it turned out to be another really solid feature dealing with skaters also released in 2018. Of course, it was pretty neat that I was about the same age of the main character while I was growing up in the 90âs but the whole thing went just way beyond some nostalgic trip. Indeed, the joy experienced by the main character after finally joining a motley crew of kindred spirits looking amazingly cool to him, even if it might be fulling his destructive personality, was highly recognizable. Hell, even the way he met his first girl was pretty much EXACTLY how I met my first girl. On top of that, the characters were very well written and so well played by a bunch of mostly first-timers. The only exception would be Lucas Edges who I saw already 2 times during the previous weeks (in âLady Birdâ and in âThree BillboardsâŠâ but also âManchester by the Seaâ) and whoâs quickly turning into one of the most interesting actors of his generation). Itâs too bad that the tension in his family was not more developed though. I mean, the mother made a huge scandal because her son was hanging out with some skaters but there was never a mention of the fact that her older son was beating the shit out of him on a regular basis. Anyway, a bigger issue was probably the fact that, at the end of day, the whole thing was fairly generic and predictable but I still think it was an impressive directing debut.5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
Notes: To be honest, I'm usually not a huge fan of romantic costume dramas but I was actually surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this one. Indeed, it must be one of the gloomiest doomed love stories I have ever seen and, as a result, it was much more entertaining than most of the other movies in this genre. Basically, it is one of the most famous love stories but what made it so interesting was that the two main characters, Heathcliff and Cathy, never could make up their mind if they should passionately love or hate each other and, eventually, they basically destroyed one another and also the people that happened to be around. On top of that, the cast was really strong, especially Laurence Olivier who was at the top of his game back then. There were still a couple of things that slightly bothered me like the fact that Cathy's brother provided a very convenient villain or how easily Heathcliff went to America and came back as a rich man. Anyway, I wonder if this movie was a good adaptation and I might read the famous book it was based on at some point but I really enjoyed this flick.5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
“To be honest, Iâm not really a huge fan of BeyoncĂ© but since I kept hearing some good things about this movie and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it turned to be a decent watch, even if a running time of almost 150 mins was a little bit too much fo” read more
5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
Notes: Apparently, this movie was first developed as a sequel to âMr. Deeds Goes to Townâ but since Gary Cooper was not available, they changed the name of the main character and they gave this part to James Stewart who gave here a star-making performance. Indeed, I thought that Stewart was actually more convincing than Cooper to play the pure and innocent Jefferson Smith. I also liked the fact that Capra didnât take any gloves to show how corrupted the politicians were in Washington at the time and, in fact, you could say that the situation didnât change much 80 years later. I was also impressed by Jean Arthur who was not only lovely but she managed to give a character who was a strong and smart woman .Still, this movie gave a strange mix between the realism and cynicism displayed by the political world and the idealism and sentimatility displayed by Jefferson Smith and this mix was rather difficult to swallow. Itâs like the ending during which, Smith basically highjacks the Senate until they would listen to him and the worst thing is that it actually worked as Capra still managed to squeeze a happy-ending which was rushed within the last minutes. Thatâs when the movie felt the most cheesy and outdated in my opinion. Still, even though I wasnât really a huge fan, it remains a decent watch.5 years, 8 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Mr. Holmes
“I wasnât really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Ian McKellen, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, by now, I think I have seen my share of Sherlock Holmes movies and the whole gimmick of making the character older was only mildly interesting in” read more
5 years, 8 months ago
