Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see] and since it was starring a solid cast, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it is rather baffling that the guy who made once upon a time 'All the President's Men' could deliver something so lame. Basically, it was a typical sleazy thriller from the 90's with some elements lifted from Alfred Hitchcock's work and, put it this way, the whole thing might sound nicer than it actually was. However, the damned thing was just terrible though. The first thing that bothered me was the fact that all the 4 characters involved were just so tedious and rather pathetic, especially the main character. As a result, I never saw the appeal of Eddy Otis at all. Indeed, the guy was just so smug and pretentious and it was pretty obvious from the start that he was some con artist so why would this couple be so fascinated by him was rather bewildering. Then, right from the start, most of it didn’t make much sense. You could start with the title which was rather misleading. I mean, why didn’t the main character tell his wife that he was fantasizing on his neighbor and that her husband was actually even offering to swap wives? And, yet, after fantasizing about this woman, after sleeping with her doubleganger (a plot point which was also completely useless since Otis still killed his wife after all), without mentioning the fact that his wife dumped him to get with the man who was married with the woman he allegedly killed, they simply got back together as if nothing happened which was either so lazy or completely far-fetched or probably a combination of both. At least, Rebecca Miller who really looked like Joely Richardson with this blond hairdo was quite gorgeous but it was probably the only high point in this flick. Anyway, to conclude, I could go on and on, the damned thing was just seriously weak and you should probably avoid it. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was the last movie from Neil Jordan that I haven’t seen yet, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, it wasn’t really good and, in  fact, it turned out to be a really generic and seriously tedious stalker thriller. Eventually, you might wonder what Neil Jordan saw in this derivative tale, especially since it was the first movie he made after 6 long years but maybe it was a pay-check gig. Eventually, the only saving grace in this tepid affair was the brilliant Isabelle Huppert, next to Catherine Deneuve the most legendary French actress at work nowadays, who managed to deliver a strong performance which was even more remarkable since her character was hardly interesting and, above all, so underwritten. Concerning Chloë Grace Moretz, I always had a weak spot for her and I can understand the appeal of working with a director like Neil Jordan and an actress like Isabelle Huppert but, to be honest, she seemed really out of her league. I mean, she wasn’t helped by the fact that the material was terribly weak but I’m afraid she doesn’t have the skills (yet?) to turn sh*t into gold like Huppert can for example. However, Maika Monroe managed to be even worse and it was only during the last scene that her character was not really insufferable. But, once again, the main issue was not with the cast, they did what they could with a really weak story. The first mistake they made was to not wait a little bit longer before Huppert jumped into full psychopath in order to have both characters really bond with each other. Instead, they revealed her true nature way too soon and, from this point on, the whole thing was just on auto-pilot. Something really stupid was also the fact that this deranged woman was a known stalker with the police before Frances disappeared so why her father or Erica didn’t reach out to the police once she was gone? Anyway, to conclude, I think I was actually rather generous with my rating here and, without Huppert, it could have turned out to be the worst directorial effort from Jordan so far. 

Since this movie was a big flop when it was released, I had somer rather low expectations but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even if the damned thing was not a total disaster, it was still seriously weak though. Eventually, the main issue was that they managed to deliver a story which was at the same time really derivative but also rather convoluted. The opening scene was a perfect example and displayed right from the start what was wrong with the whole thing. Indeed, it was a typical heist involving some big drug stash, nothing really new or exciting, but what was Vincent Downs's actual agenda? And who were these thugs that showed up afterwards trying to shoot him down? Eventually, the movie never really recovered from this weak opening and, in fact, I never really had the feeling that the whole thing ever really took off. Coming back on how unnecessarily convoluted this tale was, why were there 2 big bosses involved? I mean, Scoot McNairy and Dermot Mulroney were both not bad but one of them would have been probably enough. Concerning the main character, Jamie Foxx is a really charismatic actor but there is nothing he really could do to make his character really interesting, I’m afraid. Indeed, a major focus of this movie was to play with the idea that Vincent Downs might be a dirty cop but it never worked because the outcome was just so damned predictable. On the other hand, it was just obvious that David Harbour’s character was actually corrupt and, as a result, it made Bryant (played by the lovely Michelle Monaghan) look like a complete idiot for not figuring this out on her own. Anyway, to conclude, even if it could have been worse, pretty much nothing really worked with this movie and it is obviously not worth a look. 

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I thought I might as well check it out and I had some fairly high expectations because it had a really solid reputation. Well, to be honest, I wasn’t really impressed by the damned thing after all. Indeed, in my opinion, the concept was rather half-baked, the story was just seriously convoluted but, above all, I never thought that it was actually hilarious whatsoever. In fact, I thought that the similar ‘Tag’, also released in 2018, was actually much better with a much more interesting concept. Indeed, what was supposedly so wildly entertaining about a bunch of grown-ups playing some board games once a week? Well, not much I guess and it might explain why almost right away they actually switched to some kind of murder mystery game so they maybe should have changed the title of this movie but, above all, it shows how little faith the makers actually had in their concept. To make things worse, they were two sets of ‘fake’ criminal, two sets of actual criminals making the whole thing just way too convoluted and barely sensical. At least, Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams had some really nice chemistry and they made a very neat couple together. On top of that, I have to admit that Jesse Plemons was comedic gold and he pretty much stole the show every time he was on the screen. Unfortunately, I didn’t care much for any of the other characters as none of them was developed enough and none of them was really entertaining or interesting. Anyway, to conclude, it has been a while since I have seen such a disappointing movie but I guess it is still worth a look though, at least, if you really like the genre.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was starring Shia LaBeouf, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that I always had a weak spot for tennis (I remember watching Roland Garros on TV when I was growing up in France) and this might be actually the best movie I have seen dealing with this sport. Indeed, when played by the best players at the top of their game, tennis is basically a search for perfection, it can be just spellbinding to behold and this idea was perfectly displayed in this movie. I’m also glad I didn’t know or remember the outcome of this final, which is considered by many as the best tennis game ever played, or at least, the best Wimbledon final. As far as I was concerned, I was actually rooting for McEnroe but losing during such a mythic game actually made him a legend. Seriously, to see him coming up on the centre court being booed by the crowd and then leaving with a standing ovation was pretty awesome. Eventually, the only issue I had was the fact that they focused so much more on Björn Borg than on John McEnroe. Not that Borg was not an interesting character, he was probably one of the greatest tennis players and obviously a major inspiration for Roger Federer, in my opinion the best tennis player ever. However, I think that half of what they told about Borg could have been removed and, with the extra time, they could have developed more McEnroe’s background resulting in something more balanced. Anyway, to conclude, even though it might be an acquired taste, I actually really enjoyed the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in tennis. 

Since I have seen almost all the Disney Classic animated productions, I was quite eager to check their latest production, especially since it was now available for free on Disney+. Well, even if it won’t become one of their most memorable features, I thought it was still really enjoyable though. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for their exotic fairy tales (see also ‘Mulan’ or ‘Moana’) and the damned thing was just so gorgeous to look at but, at this point, I wouldn’t expect less from these guys. It was also neat to see a Disney animated features with so many strong female characters such as Raya herself but also Namaari who was definitely one of the most badass Disney characters I have seen. Concerning Sisu, Awkwafina was just pitch-perfect to voice this character and she was, as usual, often really funny. However, I wish they did develop more her character but I guess it’s something that could be said about all the characters involved in this tale. Concerning the story itself, to be honest, it was rather generic and predictable but I thought it was still entertaining enough though. Eventually, the only issue I had was that the whole thing was too short in my opinion. Indeed, even though the movie is advertised as being near 2 hrs, there is actually almost 20 mins of end-credits, Anyway, during her quest, Raya had to visit 4 different parts of this fantasy world which was pretty neat but, because of the rather short running time, each time again, the action was just so rushed. Indeed, her quest was really epic and gave her the opportunity to visit each corner of this world and, eventually, you might wonder if a full-length feature was actually the right format for this tale. Anyway, to conclude, all in all, it was still a really solid Disney animated feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.