Reviews by johanlefourbe

The most interesting about this movie is that it came at a turning point in Woody Allen's career. Indeed, until that point, in spite of the dramatic shenanigans in his private life, Allen had managed to release one movie virtually every year for almost 50 years without any trouble whatsoever. However, after this movie was released, Allen got caught up in the whole #MeToo movement and his career pretty much crashed and burned. He still managed to make 2 movies since then ('A Rainy Day in New York' and 'Rifkin's Festival') but, at this point, you might wonder if he shouldn't call it quits and just retire. Concerning the movie itself, well, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. I mean, it was visually quite a beautiful movie (no wonder that he worked with the same cinematographer he used for ‘Café Society’) and it was pretty neat to spend some time in Coney Island during the 50’s. However, even though I did like the fact that it was for once dealing with a middle-aged woman, unfortunately, she got entangled in another misguided love triangle, some gimmick used other and other again by this director. Above all, as usual, his approach was rather icky regarding this subject. Basically, Mickey starts an affair with Ginny (who happens to be married) and then falls in love with Carolina (who happens to be Ginny’s stepdaughter) which was, in my opinion, rather messed up. However, in Allen’s world, there is nothing really wrong in Mickey’s behaviour and choices because there is basically nothing you can do when you fall in love, some kind of Mantra Woody Allen has kept repeating ever since he himself fell in love with his girlfriend’s daughter more than 25 years ago. The other thing that bothered me with this movie was that it was, in my opinion, rather misogynistic. Indeed, while Mickey’s actions were deemed acceptable, Ginny, in spite of a really solid performance by Kate Winslet, was described as a selfish, moody and even borderline hysterical multiple home wrecker. They didn’t spend so much time on Carolina but they were not really kind with this young woman either. Indeed, pretty much all her decisions were considered as at best unwise but they always had a dramatic outcome not only for her but also for the people around her. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was another rather weak effort from this director, I guess it is still worth a look though, especially if you are interested in Woody Allen’s work.

I already saw this movie but since I’m planning to see ‘Glass Onion’ in a couple of weeks, I was quite eager to first rewatch it with my wife, especially since she didn’t see it yet. Well, even if I’m not sure she really cared for it (she really didn’t like Daniel Craig’s character at all), I thought it was still really good though. Basically, it is a very classic murder mystery but I still really enjoyed it though. Above all, I think was very well written and it was probably by far the smartest script delivered by Rian Johnson so far. Indeed, it seemed that the clue around Harlan Thrombey’s sudden death was given fairly early on but, obviously, the whole thing turned out to be slightly more intricate than that. Furthermore, there was such a great cast involved (Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell) and they were all game, especially Daniel Craig who definitely delivered here one of his best performances. It’s too bad that Blanc was disappearing from time to time when they would focus on some other characters because the guy was so much fun. Concerning the rest of the characters, most of them turned out to be barely developed after all but I guess it was rather inevitable with a big cast like this one. Eventually, the only thing that slightly did bother me was the whole gimmick around Marta puking each time she tells a lie. Indeed, I thought it was actually rather weak and the fact that she was one of the very few characters who actually knew almost everything made it rather easy for Benoit Blanc to eventually crack this case. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing was maybe nothing really ground-breaking, it was still really entertaining and it is definitely 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 ‘Spring Breakers’ had been pretty wild, I thought I might as well check out Harmony Korine’s next directing effort. First of all, his previous movie made apparently enough waves so he had for the first time a cast filled up with well-known actors (Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Zac Efron, Jonah Hill and even Martin Lawrence). Still, as usual with this director, Korine didn’t make it easy for us to really enjoy his new movie, that’s for sure. I mean, what were we supposed to feel about Moondog? Admiration? Disgust? Envy? Pity? I mean, sure, on one hand, the idea of going through life as some kind of endless party might sound pretty neat, even like the best thing ever for many people, on the other hand, even though it was rather unlikely that Moondog wouldn’t experience any physical issue with so much excesses, there was an obvious price to pay for his mind as you could see his mental state slowly deteriorating. Basically, what’s the point of all this fun if you’re going to become a vegetable in the process? How can you appreciate it if you can’t even remember your own name? But, maybe, that’s the whole point. Indeed, maybe, we should try to live for the fullest and die much younger and, as said by Jim Morrison who must have been an inspiration to Moondog, ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I wanna have my kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames’. And, indeed, the whole thing was just so wild and so unpredictable, it was quite spellbinding to behold. Still, it was also rather dark, messy and chaotic. The fact that Moondog didn’t even really flinch following the death of his wife during a car accident (during which he was actually present) also displayed his complete disconnect with the rest of humanity. It is actually a common character trait to all drug addicts and alcoholics and it certainly didn’t make his lifestyle attractive after all. Anyway, to conclude, even if I can’t say I really enjoyed the damned thing, I still think it was a decent watch and I guess it might be worth a look, at least, if you want to see something slightly more original than usual. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Joe Carnahan and since there was a solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the whole concept of using the ‘Groundhog Day’ gimmick for an action flick and mixing it with some 8 bit videogames references got me sold pretty much within 5 minutes. On top of that, Frank Grillo was completely game and just pitch-perfect for this character. Unfortunately, even though the damned thing definitely had some potential, pretty much like its ugly-ass poster, it turned out to be a rather weak cheap B feature after all, I’m afraid. The first mistake they made was that, instead of discovering his predicament with the main character, we start when he has already died more than 100 times. As a result, even though it was supposed to be super ‘fun’ for the viewers, in fact, at this point, the whole thing had already become a routine, even a chore for this guy and, in spite what the makers might think, it is not so entertaining to see a character going through the motions. What was also disappointing was the fact that even though the whole thing was made to look and sound like a videogame, the reason why this guy was stuck in some time-loop had eventually... nothing to do with a videogame after all which felt like a massive missed opportunity. Instead, they went for something seriously convoluted and not interesting or entertaining whatsoever. Finally, except for Grillo who basically carried the whole thing on his shoulders and pretty much delivered here his best performance so far, the rest of the cast (Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, Annabelle Wallis, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong) was completely wasted with some really half-baked characters. Eventually, I think that the damned thing would have better worked as an actual videogame than as an actual live-action film like this one. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think that the concept was still pretty neat and it is worth a look, at least, if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was starring Kate Winslet, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though I do have a weak spot for such survivalist dramas, this one was not really good, I’m afraid. Basically, the only thing this movie had to offer regarding this genre was that the 2 characters were played by some really charismatic actors (Kate Winslet and Idris Elba) but everything else was just terribly generic and predictable. Furthermore, they tried to tie the whole thing with a love story which might sound really misguided but, on the other hand, why not? However, even this angle was just so poorly developed. Indeed, if these characters would have had some deep conversations about themselves, about life in general, seriously about anything, after all, they were stuck together for weeks together, it could have actually worked. However, they didn’t seem to talk that much and, instead, the main argument provided by this movie was that, since they were both attractive and they were both likely to die soon, well, they might as well sleep together which wasn’t exactly really romantic. Eventually, the only interesting thing about this flick was that they spent the last act to show the aftermath following such a traumatic experience. Indeed, usually, in this genre, the whole thing stops after the rescue and you might assume that the characters resume their old lives as if nothing happened but, in this case, they displayed that it wasn’t the case which was quite interesting, at least, it was more refreshing than anything else displayed in this movie. Eventually, I wish half of the movie would have been about what happened to these characters after they went through such an ordeal but I’m afraid that it wasn’t the main focus here. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing was seriously pedestrian and forgettable, it was still a decent watch though and I guess it might be worth a look, if you really like the genre. 

Even though I have always been a big fan of Cédric Klapisch, it has been a while since I saw one of his movies so I was really eager to check this flick. Unfortunately, the damned thing turned out to be really disappointing and I’m afraid it must be Klapisch’s weakest directorial effort so far. Indeed, the whole concept (a blue-collar woman is hired to work as a cleaning lady for the broker who actually brought down the company where she used to work before) was not really strong and its serendipity quality was actually rather annoying. There was also not a clear approach chosen by Klapisch. Indeed, it was never really dark and realistic like, for example, a really socially conscious tale by Ken Loach (I really wonder what the British director would have done with this material) or flimsy and whimsical like a romantic-comedy such as ‘Pretty Woman’. I guess the main idea was to show how these 2 characters coming from the pole opposite of the social ladder would have an impact on each other but it was mostly rather eventless and, to be honest, barely interesting. The massive U turn that they made during the final act (eventually, they sleep together, she discovers who he really was, she kidnaps his kid and gets arrested) was just hard to swallow and, ultimately, a messy conclusion for a weak movie with a really shaky concept. At least, I won’t blame Karin Viard and Gilles Lellouche as they both delivered some solid performances but there was not much they could do with such misguided and poorly developed material. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look though but there is no denying that it is Klapisch’s most half-baked movie so far. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Keira Knightley, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I was rather surprised by how underwhelming the damned thing actually turned out to be. It’s too bad because it was actually dealing with a fascinating page of history with tons of potential. However, instead of focusing on how life was during the post-war reconstruction of Germany, they gave us one of the most tedious and unconvincing love triangles I have ever seen. Seriously, at the time, so many people were basically starving in the streets, so many cities were reduced to ruins, so who cares about the love life of these 3 characters? To make things worse, they were all so poorly developed. I mean, Rachael Morgan who first complained endlessly about her German roommates, completely out of the blue, decided to have sex with Stephen Lubert. Seriously, Keira Knightley didn’t have much chemistry with Jason Clarke and their relationship didn’t really work either but how she switched partners rather randomly was even less convincing. So, it was rather ridiculous how this British woman would leave her husband to live with a German just after the end of WWII but they kept hammering that it was definitely the best and only option for everyone involved. However, just at the moment that you would think they would then live happily ever after, well, she switched again! Seriously, in the very last scene, she actually dumped her fresh new German lover to go back to her husband… After watching so much baseless romantic non-sense, they managed to end up with something ever more ludicrous. At least, Keira Knightley did look gorgeous in some really nice vintage gowns and the whole thing was very well done but, boy, this story just didn’t work at all. Anyway, to conclude, I think my rating might be actually too generous for this movie, I guess you might want to check it out if you really like the genre though but there is no doubt that it could have been so much better since it was dealing with such an interesting subject. 

Following the debacle around ‘America: The Motion Picture’, I thought I might as well check the other animated feature produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also released on Netflix this year. To be honest, when I first heard about this flick, I have to admit that I wasn’t really interested but since it had received some really solid reviews, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, first of all, the animation was really neat and, as usual with Lord and Miller, the whole thing was really daft but, fortunately, it worked much better than the terribly disappointing ‘America: The Motion Picture’. Indeed, what I enjoyed the most were the Mitchells themselves. Basically, their masterstroke was to manage to give us some characters who were terribly ordinary but who they were still quite charismatic and, above all, really entertaining. It’s such a tricky balancing act, to deliver such average characters who were most of the time pretty stupid and borderline obnoxious and, yet, I actually cared for them because they were so relatable and actually quite endearing. Seriously, there were a couple of heartfelt scenes who actually reminded me of some of the best work from Pixar and that’s definitely meant as a completement. Concerning the whole invasion by the machines, well, it was not bad but it was also terribly pedestrian and it was pretty obvious that this whole generic story was there just to give the Mitchells something to do. Eventually, it’s too bad they couldn’t find something else more interesting to keep this group of great characters busy but, fortunately, it wasn’t a deal breaker though. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing ground-breaking, it was still another solid animated feature from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.