Login
Home
580 Lists
7682 Reviews
Collections
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Sorrows of Satan
“To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by D.W. Griffith and since it was available on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have been focusing on watching older movies on YouTube and, sometimes, the quality is not great but I” read more
1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1920's) list
Notes: I have been focusing on watching older movies on YouTube and, sometimes, the quality is not great but Iām afraid this one was pretty much the worst of the bunch. Seriously, even the sound would break down every 10 mins. Concerning the movie itself, itās interesting that it was released exactly the same year as āFaustā by F.W. Murnau as both movies shared very similar plots. Unfortunately for Griffith, sure, he was a legendary director but, compared to Murnauās masterpiece, his own take on selling your soul to the Devil was, to be honest, not really impressive. From a visual point of view, there were a couple of scenes which were pretty neat, especially the opening scene, but most of it was pretty straightforward though. Concerning the story, it seemed rather weird to me that Geoffrey would never at least talk to Mavis to tell her what was going on. However, it made also the whole thing quite intriguing, in the sense that Prince Lucio de Rimanez was quite hypnotizing, by the way, Adolphe Menjou gave here quite a subtle but actually strong performance and it seems the main character couldnāt resist doing whatever he was asking for. Eventually, the happy ending with the couple beating the Devil and living happily ever after was hardly convincing and, once again, the approach chosen in āFaustā was so much more compelling. 1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I have been focusing on watching older movies on YouTube and, sometimes, the quality is not great but Iām afraid this one was pretty much the worst of the bunch. Seriously, even the sound would break down every 10 mins. Concerning the movie itself, itās interesting that it was released exactly the same year as āFaustā by F.W. Murnau as both movies shared very similar plots. Unfortunately for Griffith, sure, he was a legendary director but, compared to Murnauās masterpiece, his own take on selling your soul to the Devil was, to be honest, not really impressive. From a visual point of view, there were a couple of scenes which were pretty neat, especially the opening scene, but most of it was pretty straightforward though. Concerning the story, it seemed rather weird to me that Geoffrey would never at least talk to Mavis to tell her what was going on. However, it made also the whole thing quite intriguing, in the sense that Prince Lucio de Rimanez was quite hypnotizing, by the way, Adolphe Menjou gave here quite a subtle but actually strong performance and it seems the main character couldnāt resist doing whatever he was asking for. Eventually, the happy ending with the couple beating the Devil and living happily ever after was hardly convincing and, once again, the approach chosen in āFaustā was so much more compelling. 1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a video
1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1920's) list
Notes: Well, the beginning was quite promising. Indeed, I had never seen John Gilbert before (he was apparently a big star at the time but faded away when talkies came out) but the guy was just so charismatic and pretty much pitch-perfect for this role. Same thing with Eleanor Boardman (who would eventually get married with King Vidor), not only she was quite lovely but her character was quite charismatic as well. I also loved the dialogues, seriously, it might have been the best intertitles I have seen so far. So, the damned thing definitely had some potential. However, itās too bad that the plot itself turned out to be such a predictable drag though. I mean, I did like the fact that this wager was basically a win-win for the Comte de Chatellerault. Indeed, even if he would loose this wager, his biggest competitor would be then out of the game. Unfortunately, pretty much everything that happened afterwards was really routine though. I wish they instead spent more time developing why they actually fell in love with each other. I mean, at least for Bardelys, it did make sense since it was probably the first time he met a woman with actually some brain instead of the usual bimbos he seduced at the French court. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Roxalanne de Lavedan, a seemingly strong smart woman, fell too easily in love with him. I mean, sure, their trip on a rowboat was quite dreamy but it seemed to be another standard trick that Bardelys would pull with any other woman. At least, the swashbuckling scene towards the end was actually pretty neat and even quite impressive for a movie almost 100 years old.1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Well, the beginning was quite promising. Indeed, I had never seen John Gilbert before (he was apparently a big star at the time but faded away when talkies came out) but the guy was just so charismatic and pretty much pitch-perfect for this role. Same thing with Eleanor Boardman (who would eventually get married with King Vidor), not only she was quite lovely but her character was quite charismatic as well. I also loved the dialogues, seriously, it might have been the best intertitles I have seen so far. So, the damned thing definitely had some potential. However, itās too bad that the plot itself turned out to be such a predictable drag though. I mean, I did like the fact that this wager was basically a win-win for the Comte de Chatellerault. Indeed, even if he would loose this wager, his biggest competitor would be then out of the game. Unfortunately, pretty much everything that happened afterwards was really routine though. I wish they instead spent more time developing why they actually fell in love with each other. I mean, at least for Bardelys, it did make sense since it was probably the first time he met a woman with actually some brain instead of the usual bimbos he seduced at the French court. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Roxalanne de Lavedan, a seemingly strong smart woman, fell too easily in love with him. I mean, sure, their trip on a rowboat was quite dreamy but it seemed to be another standard trick that Bardelys would pull with any other woman. At least, the swashbuckling scene towards the end was actually pretty neat and even quite impressive for a movie almost 100 years old.1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Bardelys the Magnificent
“To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by King Vidor and since it was available on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the beginning was quite promising. Indeed, I had never seen John Gilbert before (he was apparently a big s” read more
1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Spiral: From the Book of Saw
“To be honest, even though I have seen almost all the instalments, I have actually never been a huge fan of this franchise. However, since this movie was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out anyway and I have to admit that I was first slightly intrigued. Indeed, Chris Rock was” read more
1 month, 4 weeks ago
1 month, 4 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Santosh
“To be honest, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from this flick but it was definitely pretty exciting to see for the first time an Indian movie with my film club. Well, even though I did like it, I think it was still missing something to really blow me away though. The main thing was probably th” read more
2 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Strange World
“Since this movie had been a huge box office failure, I wasnāt really sure what to expect from it but I have watched pretty much all the animated features from Disney and, since this one was now available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out after all. Well, after watching the damned ” read more
2 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2024 list
Notes: Well, it has been a while since I have been so positively surprised by a movie, especially since the production was pretty messy. Indeed, its release was delayed several times which is usually not a good sign. One of the main reasons was because their lead actor, John Boyega, left the project while they were filming so they had to start from scratch again with another actor and they had to re-shoot all his scenes. The amazing thing, especially for Jeremy Saulnier, was that his replacement, Aaron Pierre, was just so good here. Indeed, the guy gave here a pitch-perfect performance and I canāt wait to see him again in something else. I was actually amazed when I discovered afterwards that I already saw him in āOldā and these 2 characters couldnāt have been more different which shows that the guy has a great potential. Concerning the plot, for a good while, it was just so captivating to behold. Basically, itās as if they took āFirst Bloodā but really toned down the over-the-top action scenes and focused instead on making John Rambo one of the most level-headed men that walked the Earth which was such a cool and fascinating approach. Unfortunately, they managed to keep it awesome only up until the cousin of the main character tragically died. I mean, the movie still worked afterwards and it was still quite entertaining but it all became routine as the main character became somehow some kind of lethal unstoppable machine (yeah, pretty much like Rambo once again). 2 months ago