Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Jack Black and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, the concept did seem to be so lame, Jack Black’s character seemed to be so pathetic and annoying, I was pretty sure that it would be another really stupid and tedious comedy. Well, to my surprise, I was amazed that the damned thing turned out to be actually good after all. Basically, it was not really about an insufferable guy organizing a 20 year high-school reunion, which was just such a boring idea, it was actually about 2 complete losers who somehow felt a connection even though they had basically nothing in common, except for going to the same high-school 20 years before, and I still can’t believe how compelling it was. To be honest, Jack Black’s character was still quite a train wreck, even if Black was pretty good as he was basically born to play such hopeless dudes. However, the real wild card in this movie turned out to be James Marsden and his character though. Indeed, I can’t remember the last time I saw such a complex and fully developed character in a low-brow comedy like this one, I wouldn’t be surprised if it would be actually the very first time. Indeed, like Dan, Oliver was also a loser but, contrary to Dan, he was completely aware of this. You might also expect him to be a huge douchebag, that’s what you always get in this genre, but the guy was actually honest and straightforward most of the time. However, he wasn’t perfect either which made him so interesting to behold. It was hands-down the most intriguing character James Marsden ever played and, in my opinion, he delivered here the best performance of his career. Anyway, to conclude, sure, the damned thing didn’t completely work, no wonder with such a concept, but it was still one of the most intriguing comedies I have seen in years and I think it is definitely worth a look. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by Steven Soderbergh and since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I want to discuss something which has nothing to do with this movie. Indeed, nowadays, many directors are praising what they called the ‘cinematic experience’ but, even though I still love movies, I sometimes doubt if it’s really necessary to watch them in the movie theater though. Indeed, I saw this flick yesterday in the movie theater, it was really late, it was the very last screening of the day and there was not even a third of room filled up. And, yet, behind me, there was a row of guys who kept talking and laughing through most of the duration and, as a result, it was pretty much impossible for me to follow the damned thing. It was especially annoying in this case as it was a rather smart and complex feature. Indeed, if you were expecting some action scenes with care chases, explosions or gun fights, you will be seriously disappointed. I especially enjoyed the diner scene at the beginning. The interesting thing about this movie was how they tried to show how difficult, some say even impossible, for spies like them to sustain a long lasting romantic relationship but, to be honest, I don’t necessarily agree. Indeed, as far as I’m concerned, even if you have the tools at your disposal to convincingly lie or hide things to your partner like the people in this line of work, you are still the one making the choice to use these tools, nobody forces you to do such things, as perfectly displayed by George and Kathryn. Concerning the plot, to be honest, I’m not sure if it all made sense though. I mean, the starting point was basically that James Stokes was too drunk at some point and spoke too much but it seemed rather unconvincing. Finally, like pretty much everything delivered by Soderbergh the last 25 years, even though the concept was definitely interesting, the end-result still felt rather half-baked though and I wonder if an extra 30 mins to better fleshed out all the characters might not have done some wonders here. Anyway, to conclude, even though the viewing conditions were just terrible, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Steven Soderbergh’s work. 

To be honest, I have never been a fan of this franchise so I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but, since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, it turned out to be even more boring than usual, I’m afraid. It probably had to do with the fact that, like most of the movies in this franchise, with a running time above 2hrs, it was just too long. In this case, it was even worse because it was only half of the damned story so there wasn’t even a conclusion. At least, the intro which brought us back to the 5th installment (as a matter of fact, ‘Fast Five’ was the only installment which I found enjoyable) was not bad and I thought it was a decent way to introduce Jason Momoa as Dante Reyes. On top of that, Momoa was the only one who was actually pretty good here (and you are talking about a huge cast including 20+ actors and even some Academy Award winners). Indeed, he managed to find the right tone as Dante was some kind of daft cartoon character. Okay, I have to admit that John Cena in cute uncle mode was also pretty good as well. Unfortunately, pretty much everything else was a huge hot mess though. Indeed, at this point, with half of the characters dead and brought back at some point and the impossible ludicrous plots, I really struggled to follow what the hell was going on. The weirdest and most hilarious example was with Brie Larson’s character. Indeed, I was convinced that she was already involved in this franchise, I assumed from ‘F9’, but no, it was actually her first movie so, now, I’m scratching my head wondering if she was introduced at all in this movie. On one hand, I’m wondering if I should watch this movie again just to check how she was introduced but, on the other hand, I have certainly more interesting things to do with my time. Seriously, at this point, does anyone care about this franchise anymore? Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was pretty weak and you should probably avoid it, except if you are a die-hard fan.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Deborah Ann Woll and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Last year, I finally did some kind of Escape Room but it wasn’t really a classic one, it was with some touch screens on all the walls and it was involving some videos telling you the story and the puzzles to solve. So, I still haven’t really done an Escape Room but, to be honest, I’m pretty sure I would really suck since I’m really bad at solving riddles and such puzzles. Anyway, even though I didn’t expect much from this movie, I have to admit that I was actually surprised by the damned thing. Eventually, I guess it’s like watching movies like ‘Vertical Limit’ or ‘Everest’, since I’m terrified of heights, there is something just thrilling about watching some experts risking their lives climbing some mountains. Here, it was a similar experience as it was quite spellbinding to see some actually pretty smart and resourceful characters cracking these really intricate and complex puzzles, something I would be completely incompetent to do. Sure, the puzzles were seriously convoluted and I wish they didn’t started right away with something so lethal (the 2nd puzzle was for example much more low-key, even the 3rd one was also seemingly less threatening). I also think it was a mistake to start with Ben alone dealing with one of the last puzzles as it basically spoiled what happened to the other players pretty much from the very beginning. Finally, it would have been nice if they managed to find some other way to wrap this whole up but it wasn’t a big deal though. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really amazing, it turned out to be quite entertaining and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Julianne Moore and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. This movie was also interesting because it was Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut. I have noticed that it didn’t get some strong ratings but, as far as I was concerned, I thought it was not bad at all though. It was pretty obvious that it was his first directing feature as, I have to admit it, the material was just too slight. Basically, except for the 2 main characters, this movie didn’t really have much else to offer. However, the characters played by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard were just so flawed and complex, I thought they were quite spellbinding to behold. At some point, the father/husband called them some ‘narcissist’ and the guy really nailed it with this description. It’s too bad that it basically was his only contribution to the whole movie (seriously, what was his name actually?). Still, there was something quite humanistic in Eisenberg’s approach and I think that’s what impressed me the most, the way he managed to create such characters who both were sometimes really unlikeable, even cringe-inducing and, yet, they also had some redeeming features as well. I think that Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore also delivered some solid performances but, at this point, I wouldn’t expect less from Moore. To be honest, the ending, especially for the mother, was rather clunky and felt rather random and unearned so once again, not everything really worked. Still, Eisenberg displayed here that he had a talent to deliver some compelling characters and, now, I can’t wait to see his follow-up, ‘A Real Pain’, especially since it was critically acclaimed when it was released. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I actually liked it and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by Sofia Coppola, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, 20 years after ‘Marie Antoinette’, Coppola decided to tell the tragic story of another privileged white girl. Apparently, Lisa Marie Presley was actually seriously against this movie but she passed away soon after she made this comment before the movie was even released. It’s interesting because Sofia Coppola seriously glossed over how creepy this relationship was. According to this movie and Priscilla Presley herself, even though Elvis met her when she was 14 years old, they only started to have sex when they got married when she was 22 years old, a whopping 8 years later, but I found it hard to believe though. There was also the fact that Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi were almost the same age but, above all, Spaeny was around 24 years old when she shot this movie, 10 years older than Priscilla was at the time she met Elvis. Can you imagine if they would have cast a 14 year old actress? I think it would have been more accurate but it would also have been impossible to shoot the more intimate scenes. Another issue was the fact that, even though I have some doubts that Elvis, beyond his music, was a really interesting individual, it was even more so for Priscilla. I mean, she married one of the most famous persons in the world which was basically her only really defining feature according to this movie. And yet, I have to admit that the damned thing was still intriguing though. Indeed, like her father, at least when he was at the top of his game, Sofia Coppola is actually a really solid director with her own unique style. Above all, Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi were both pretty good, especially Spaeny who was quite fascinating to behold when it was actually a rather thankless role in my opinion. Anyway, to conclude, even though it won’t go down as one of Coppola’s strongest directing efforts, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick and I did actually postpone watching it a couple of times but, since it was leaving soon Netflix, I thought I should finally watch the damned thing. To be honest, I have to admit that I had never heard of Harriet Tubman before watching this movie so, only therefore, it was really neat to discover this amazing and inspiring woman. Seriously, I was on the verge of tears through most of the duration. Eventually, many viewers criticized the fact that they focused too much on the religious and mystical aspects of her life and it was definitely a ballsy move. Eventually, it didn’t bother me that much but you might wonder if it was really the best approach to tell the incredible story of such an important historical figure. Still, there is no denying that Cynthia Erivo gave such a strong performance and, also, a performance so completely different than what she did in her other movies such as ‘Wicked’. I might actually watch again ‘Widows’ and ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ just to compare her work in these various movies. To think that it was only her 3rd acting job is even more impressive and I’m not surprised that she was at the time nominated for an Academy Award. It’s too bad that they didn’t manage to do anything interesting with any of the other characters involved. The poster was a good example. Indeed, why on earth did they display Leslie Odom Jr. and Janelle Monáe when both their respective characters had actually so little impact on Harriet’s journey according to this movie? It did show the limitation of this whole messianic approach they took to tell her story. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested to learn more about this incredible woman. 

Already for a while now, the MCU has been struggling but, since this movie had received some better reviews than their last efforts, I became slightly optimistic. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it turned to be only slightly better but not really much more than that though. First of all, there was the issue that the concept of focusing on some team of misfits super-heroes was hardly original. I was also not convinced by how it was developed. I mean, the way they all got together was rather clunky and the ending was probably even worse. Seriously, John Walker already became a weak-ass version of Captain America and it was just a terrible idea to have him also end up in some weak-ass version of the Avengers. And was it supposed to really exonerate Valentina from trying to kill them, experimenting on Bob (and who knows how many more people) and being responsible for the destruction of New York? Still, they definitely got some stuff right this time around though. First of all, they did scale down the action which I did appreciate (even though they still ended up with some big 'climatic' fight with some bad guy which was just so generic and underwhelming). Even more interesting was how they tried to show the psychological tole of such a lifestyle and what could happen if a super-hero (or a super-villain) might become heavily depressed. Finally, once again, Florence Pugh completely nailed it and, even though it was supposed to be about a new team of super individuals, she actually did carry out most of it on her shoulders. It's quite impressive when you think that she had to take over from someone so badass like Scarlet Johansson as the Black Widow and actually pulling it off. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Eli Roth’s work but, since this movie was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. First of all, it’s interesting that, even though ‘Grindhouse’ was a flop when it was released, we are slowly getting full length features for most of the fictitious trailers (see also ‘Machete’,  ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’ and this movie). Coming back on Eli Roth, from all his projects, this one was probably the most stupid one so far and, yet, exactly because of this fact, it had the potential to be really awesome. Eventually, it was not bad and I especially enjoyed the opening lambasting the Black Friday craziness showing how a traditional national holiday became an insane capitalist circus. The rest of the movie was basically a typical slasher flick but like so many other projects from this director, even though it had some potential, the end-result was just adequate but not really much more than that. I mean, from the trailer, you had this feeling that you were watching some nasty creepy even depraved flick from the 70’s but most of it was gone here though. Indeed, he shot this movie digitally which had automatically a clean but boring look. At least, the murder scenes were usually quite gnarly and some of the jokes were decent so he still managed to keep that. Concerning the cast, sure, it was fun to see Patrick Dempsey in a gory horror flick directed by Eli Roth but the rest of the cast was rather unremarkable and completely forgettable. I guess they were not helped by the fact that Roth didn’t give their respective characters any personality whatsoever. Anyway, to conclude, even though I wish it would have been much wilder, darker and nastier, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Obviously, since this movie has a rather abysmal reputation, I didn’t expect much but, since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out, just to see if it was really so bad after all. Well, I’m afraid it did deserve its lame reputation though. Eventually, it’s just wild that it was written by Shonda Rhimes, only a few years before she came up with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. Anyway, for her acting debut, Britney Spears went for a road-trip which is, in my opinion, the laziest genre ever, even if, I have to admit, I did like the idea of these 3 girls being best friends, drifting apart for years, and finally getting back together for this road-trip. Unfortunately, it was probably the only thing that worked here. The first thing that bothered me was how they constantly sexualized Britney Spears (seriously, within the first 15 mins, there were already 2 scenes during which she was wearing only her underwear). Then, I have to admit that Zoe Saldaña and Taryn Manning were actually not bad but Spears was just terrible though. To have her play a nerd/bookworm/model-student was also a huge mistake as she was not convincing whatsoever. I was also amazed by how weak the scenes were during which she was singing. I mean, it was already disappointing that she was lip-synching in all these scenes (in fact, it is pretty notorious that she might actually never sing live) but, to make things worse, it was also really poorly done. The funny thing was that, okay, she went to this audition in Los Angeles and then what? Well, nothing, the movie stopped there and you might wonder what happened to her character afterwards. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have to admit that it was rather harmless, the damned thing was just too weak and you should probably avoid it.