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johanlefourbe posted a review of Hypnotic
“To be honest, since this movie didn’t get much love when it was released, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it but, since it was directed by Robert Rodriguez and was starring Ben Affleck, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. At least, it couldn’t possibly be worse than ‘Spy ” read more
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1920's) list
Notes: After watching Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, it was really time to finally watch something with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Back then, Arbuckle was actually the biggest star of them all but he was hit by a scandal at the beginning of the 20’s which crippled his career until his untimely death in the 30’s. Anyway, after 5 mins, I understood why the guy was so popular at the time. Sure, the damned thing was really random, there was no plot whatsoever and, instead, it was pretty much a succession of sketches. However, the end-result was seriously hilarious, in fact, it has been a while since I saw such a funny vintage short silent comedy. Of course, it did help that Roscoe Arbuckle was assisted by Buster Keaton (in fact, Arbuckle was the one who discovered Keaton and pretty much launched his career) and the two masters were quite marvelous together. Hopefully, in the future, I will watch more movies with and directed by Arbuckle (indeed, he also directed most of his movies, something really new at the time). 1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: After watching Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, it was really time to finally watch something with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Back then, Arbuckle was actually the biggest star of them all but he was hit by a scandal at the beginning of the 20’s which crippled his career until his untimely death in the 30’s. Anyway, after 5 mins, I understood why the guy was so popular at the time. Sure, the damned thing was really random, there was no plot whatsoever and, instead, it was pretty much a succession of sketches. However, the end-result was seriously hilarious, in fact, it has been a while since I saw such a funny vintage short silent comedy. Of course, it did help that Roscoe Arbuckle was assisted by Buster Keaton (in fact, Arbuckle was the one who discovered Keaton and pretty much launched his career) and the two masters were quite marvelous together. Hopefully, in the future, I will watch more movies with and directed by Arbuckle (indeed, he also directed most of his movies, something really new at the time). 1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Garage
“Recently, I have been focusing on older movies and, after watching Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, it was really time to finally watch something with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Back then, Arbuckle was actually the biggest star of them all but he was hit by a” read more
1 year, 5 months ago
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1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
“To be honest, I lost faith in Guy Ritchie a long time ago but I have to admit that the idea of him working again with Jason Statham after almost 20 years was pretty neat. I didn't get to watch 'Wrath of Man' yet which was their official reunion but, in spite of its rather convoluted title, this new” read more
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Movies I can't wait to see list
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 worst movies 2023 list
Notes: In spite of its rather convoluted title, this movie did sound promising. Indeed, it could have been a really cool Mission Impossible-like action flick with Statham leading a team of expert spies with some awesome action scenes and some cracking signature dialogues by Ritchie. Well, eventually, I was surprised by how underwhelming this movie actually turned out to be. Above all, the damned thing was just so flat, seriously, there was barely no pulse whatsoever. It also felt and looked rather cheap. I mean, why were there only 2 agents in this spy team? At least, Aubrey Plaza was fine, even if she was not given enough to do but Bugzy Malone who apparently barely had any acting experience was rather dull. But, that was basically the whole issue, the action scenes, the characters, the story, the dialogues, everything was just so boring. Eventually, the only thing that stood out was the weird relationship between Danny Francesco (played by Josh Harnett) and Greg Simmonds (played by Hugh Grant who basically stole the show every time he was on the screen). Indeed, somehow, these two men got along so well, it was actually quite fun to watch but it was just a tiny bit in this movie which was supposed to be actually focusing on Jason Statham who gave here a completely forgettable performance. Compared to this movie, 'The Man from U.N.C.LE' was actually pretty much a masterpiece after all.1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Ridley Scott's work list
Cast : Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett
What was it about?
The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.
My two cents:
Unfortunately, it turned out to be another typical Scott feature, I'm afraid. Indeed, while Stanley Kubrick had been working on this subject for maybe a decade but didn't manage to make his movie, it took Ridley Scott only 3 years between announcing that it would be his next project and actually delivering it (it took also only 60 days to shoot). I'm not saying that it was rushed, the whole think looked amazing and the directing and/or editing didn't feel clunky at all. However, it was certainly nothing dazzling either and even though you spend more than 2.5 hrs with Napoleon, it didn't really go deep into the notorious historical figure. Basically, it seemed that the guy was a military genius but, aside from that, he was actually fairly pathetic in pretty much everything else. Concerning Joaquin Phoenix, to be honest, I'm not sure if I really cared about his performance as it felt that Napoleon was constipated for most of the duration. Who knows, maybe it will work better with the 4 hrs version that will be released on Apple TV+ (it wouldn't be the first time that Scott would deliver later on a superior director's cut). At least, even though I was born in France and must have learned all that stuff in school years ago, I have to admit it that I forgot most about it and it was nice to get acquainted again with this page of French history.
My rating: 06/10
Check the full review1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of the Coen Brothers' work list
Cast : Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Pedro Pascal, Matt Damon
What was it about?
Jamie regrets her breakup with her girlfriend, while Marian needs to relax. In search of a fresh start, they embark on an unexpected road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals.
My two cents:
I have noticed that it didn't get much love when it was released and, indeed, I'm afraid it was a real mess. I gave Ethan Coen some slack because I hope (or wish) that this messiness was done on purpose but, even so, the damned thing was just pretty weak. The best example would be this couple of lesbians going on this road-trip. Indeed, on one hand, I had never seen Geraldine Viswanathan before but I thought she was quite fascinating to behold. Sure, her character seemed uptight but I thought she was still charismatic and I loved the way she played it so understated with mostly her eyes and body language. However, on the other hand, you had Margaret Qualley who also did deliver a solid performance but her character was just so loud and way too obnoxious. It was obviously done on purpose but it doesn't mean that I have to find this approach interesting or entertaining. Finally, it was already rather dubious that these 2 girls would be friend at all but to make the viewers believe that they would actually end up together was rather preposterous. Concerning the rest of the cast, none of the other characters made an impression, except for Beanie Feldstein who really nailed it and stole the show every time she was on the screen. About the story itself, I always believed that the road-trip might be the laziest genre ever but this one was particularly convoluted and unconvincing.
My rating: 06/10
Check the full review1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 3 items to A Complete Review of Steven Spielberg's work list
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Roman Polanski's work list
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Kenneth Branagh's work list
Cast : Kenneth Branagh, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh
What was it about?
In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.
My two cents:
To be honest, I have to admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised by the damned thing. In my opinion, even if it was the least successful instalment at the box-office, it was actually the best Poirot feature directed by Branagh so far. Indeed, it was visually pretty neat and the ominous mood was quite pitch-perfect. The other thing that I enjoyed was the fact that, even though I kept reading on the internet that Hercule Poirot was this time involved in some kind of supernatural case, the supernatural aspect turned out to be much more downplayed than I expected which was a relief. Eventually, most of what was supposed to be paranormal was debunked by Poirot who displayed that with wits and common-sense, he could explained pretty much everything that did happen in this 'haunted' house which was pretty neat. Sure, some of it remained unclear and ambiguous but it was exactly the right amount and it never overshadowed Poirot’s cerebral process which should be the whole point of these movies. I have to admit that I figured out who was the murderer fairly early on and it seemed easy to spot on just as it was apparently already the case in ‘Death on the Nile'. It didn’t matter though because the mood was really neat and it was just nice to see Poirot debunking all these supposedly supernatural shenanigans while he was actually also hallucinating himself.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Luc Besson's work list
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of the Farrelly Brothers' work list
1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Antoine Fuqua's work list
Cast : Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning
What was it about?
Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends' protector by taking on the mafia.
My two cents:
I have to admit that it was an improvement on the previous sequel. Indeed, the intro was solid and it was actually pretty cool that the action was taking place in Sicily. It was also a nice touch that all the Italian characters kept speaking their own language. I still ended up with some mixed feelings though. First of all, I really don’t like the vigilante genre and I don’t think that Antoine Fuqua did add really anything new or interesting to the genre with his franchise. Another issue was that, even though Denzel Washington is one of the best actors that ever lived and even though he was still really charismatic here, I’m sorry but, at around 70 years old, the guy was just too old to play such a lethal killer. Some kind of Easter egg was also to see Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning working together almost 20 years after ‘Man on Fire’. Well, Fanning did what she could with this material but, to be honest, she wasn’t really convincing. The fact that her character was rather poorly introduced also didn’t help. I mean, it seemed that Robert McCall was calling some kind of CIA helpdesk to give them some intel and, yet, 5 mins later, this helpdesk employee was actually on the field in Sicily dealing with a high-profile case which didn’t make much sense. Then, there was the fact that Robert McCall was facing the Camorra this time which was, of course, rather ridiculous, especially since he prevailed at the end.
My rating: 06/10
Check the full review1 year, 5 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Michael Mann's work list
Cast : Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley, Penélope Cruz, Sarah Gadon, Patrick Dempsey, Jack O'Connell
What was it about?
Set in the summer of 1957, with Enzo Ferrari's auto empire in crisis, the ex-racer turned entrepreneur pushes himself and his drivers to the edge as they launch into the Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy.
My two cents:
Even if it didn’t turn out to be a masterpiece, it was at least miles better than the abysmal ‘Blackhat’. Indeed, Ferrari must be the most famous car brand in the world and I think that the time period chosen, instead of going for a full biography of the famous Italian, was an interesting choice. However, even though everything going on in his professional life was quite intriguing, the focus on his private life didn’t work that well though. I’m not saying that his private life was not interesting but, when the movie starts, there had been already so much going on with this love triangle, so much had happened already between them that you don’t get to see, anyway, the end-result did feel rather half-baked. The fact that Shailene Woodley was rather miscast probably didn’t help either. Sure, neither Adam Driver or Penélope Cruz are actually Italian but they were certainly convincing which was definitely not the case with Woodley. Concerning Cruz, I have to admit that I’m going myself through a very ugly divorce with a difficult ex-partner right now so her hysterical behavior was hard to swallow but it had actually nothing to do with her performance which was fine. Eventually, I was mostly impressed by Adam Driver who once again completely disappeared in this character. Even though he might not look like a movie star, he is slowly becoming one of the most interesting actors of his generation, no less than that. Concerning the rest of the movie, it looked really neat and convincing. Furthermore, Mann did a great job shooting the racing scenes with such vintage cars and I definitely could feel the velocity and how hazardous it was to actually drive one of these.
My rating: 07/10
Check the full review1 year, 5 months ago
