Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it had won the Gouden Kalf for the Best Dutch movie of the year, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, it was the first movie I saw dealing with an acid attack victim so, only therefore, it got some few extra points from me. I also believe that I did attend the NFTA (Dutch Film Academy) around the same time as Sacha Polak did but, back then, I didn’t work with her. Anyway, she delivered here a gritty drama with a strong performance by newcomer Vicky Knight. Indeed, her performance was so convincing and genuine that you might wonder if she really went through such a terrible experience and, in fact, she did. Indeed, when she was a kid, she survived a fire so most of her scars were actually real. I also did appreciate the fact that they didn’t develop too much her life before her attack but you can imagine that it wasn’t already so amazing. Unfortunately, they struggled to properly develop her relationship with the other characters. For example, they spent a good chunk of the running time with a really generic and half-baked love triangle involving the main character, her best friend and her best friend’s boyfriend. To fix this, I would have actually dropped the best friend and focus on this boy who was still falling in love with her in spite of what happened to her. It would have been really unexpected and interesting to behold but, instead, you never get to understand what it is going on with this guy. There was also another half-baked relationship with a colleague which could have been easily removed. Then, the rest of the movie focused on the fact that she wasn’t fit to be a mother but this argument was hardly concinving. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent drama though and it is definitely worth a look. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, even though I had heard about the college admissions scandal, I didn’t really know in details what exactly happened back then so I was quite curious to learn more about this story. Well, the process of re-enacting what happened might seem rather cheesy but the fact that all or most of the dialogues were based on some actual wire tapes from the FBI made this approach actually really effective. However, if the testimonies of (real?) students were understandable as it was the only way to include them in this tale, it didn't work so well, I’m afraid. Furthermore, I wish we did learn more about Rick Singer (how awesome it would have been if the guy himself had given an interview for this documentary?) but nobody really knew him after all so the way they handled him was better than speculating too much. On the other hand, even though Singer was obviously the mastermind behind this scam, plenty of people involved such as the parents, coaches and other people working at the top of the colleges hierarchy were also guilty so I’m not sure if it was really fair to put so much focus on him. Of course, the guy was basically a con artist but, eventually, he simply found a loophole and used it but he never really forced the parents to use this strategy. It was also so interesting that while the whole thing should have displayed how f*cked up their system has become, it actually made the Ivy league colleges become even more in demand somehow. They also argued that it was incredible that white rich people would take this length to fraud this system but I believe most people, black or white or yellow, if they have the financial means, would do pretty much anything as long as they believe that they won’t get caught. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe nothing really ground-breaking, it was still a really solid documentary 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 I have a weak spot for Woody Harrelson, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, at least, you have to admit that it was an ambitious project. Not only Harrelson was directing for the first time but he also wrote the damned thing but it went just way beyond that. Indeed, it was shot with only one take and it was even broadcasted live while it was filmed in a few theatres. On top of that, it was also fairly meta as Harrelson was playing himself with another actress playing his wife. By the way, it was a nice touch that they hired an Asian actress to play this character (Laura Louie, Harrelson's actual wife, is indeed Asian) but Eleanor Matsuura was maybe 20 years too young to play this part. Anyway, as a result, this movie did feel sometimes more like some performance Art than an actual movie. So, for its experimental aspect, I’m willing to give this flick a few extra points but, to be honest, it wasn’t really good, I’m afraid. Concerning the one take gimmick, sure, it is something actually terribly difficult to pull but, in this genre, it was probably the least impressive movie I have seen so far. I mean, it was visually fairly ugly with some major shaky cam along the way but, above all, I didn’t really see the added value of shooting the whole thing in one take. Concerning the story itself, well, it was seriously random which was rather expected but the only scenes that really worked for me where the ones involving Owen Wilson. Indeed, Wilson had a nice energy and, to be honest, he was actually much more entertaining than Harrelson. Anyway, to conclude, I actually didn’t care much for the damned thing but I still think it is worth a look if only for its experimental aspects. 

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the (only) interesting thing with this movie was that, for a very long time, Mel Gibson was ruling the A list and, at some point, Emile Hirsch and Kate Bosworth got close to get there but the fact that they nowadays get involved in such generic and borderline worthless action flicks shows the current bad shape of their respective careers. In fact, with such a title and since it was taking place during a hurricane, I thought it would be a disaster movie but, in fact, it turned out to be some kind of very cheap version of ‘Die Hard’ taking place in Puerto Rico. By the way, you might wonder why the action was taking place in Puerto Rico since all the main characters were actually American. It’s like the hurricane, it had actually so little impact on the generic plot, it could have been actually easily removed. To make the whole thing even more random and half-baked, you had also some stolen Art by the Nazis and also some mysterious beast. Concerning this ‘beast’, it was rather disappointing that it didn’t have more impact on this tale but when it finally showed up for a split second, it actually seemed to only be a rather large dog after all. Concerning the actors involved, I’m afraid Emile Hirsch was not really convincing but Mel Gibson was not much better and gave here a rather weak performance. Eventually, Kate Bosworth was probably the only one who was not bad but she wasn’t helped by this poor material. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was really weak and you should probably avoid it. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I turned out to be actually slightly disappointing. I mean, I have to admit it, the concept was interesting. Indeed, it was the first time I saw a movie focusing on the psychological damage following the harsh living conditions on the Frontier. Unfortunately, the first issue was that we never get to know these 3 women. Sure, they gave us a few flashback scenes explaining how and why they snapped at some point but we never got to see them before. To make things worse, they became more apathic and lifeless as the story moved forward so it was rather difficult to relate with them and care for what might happen to them. Still, they did something so bold in this movie, something I had never seen before and I have watched more than 6000 movies by now. Indeed, before the 3rd act, they actually killed the main character and not with an accident, some random illness or a brutal murder but by suicide. Following what happened to this poor woman, it was actually an understandable outcome but it was so shocking mostly because we are so used that the main character somehow ALWAYS prevail, no matter the dramas and obstacles they have to face. In this case, the main character basically just gave up before the story was actually finished and it went against the most basic narrative rules. So, for this bold move, this movie did get a few extra points from me but, to be honest, the rest was pretty much a rather generic Western road trip and while it was well made with a solid cast, it never really dazzled me. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. I actually saw another movie about Ned Kelly starring Heath Ledger but it was ages ago and, to be honest, I don’t remember much about it. Anyway, in this case, I think it was a nice approach to show Kelly as a kid and the harsh conditions he had to grow up in. This part actually worked because, even though the mood and visuals were fairly surreal, everything happening actually made sense and it displayed fairly well how this kid could become an outlaw. Unfortunately, from the moment Ned Kelly was displayed as a young adult, it didn’t really work so well, I’m afraid. I don’t blame George MacKay who gave here another strong and even intense performance (after his already impressive work in ‘1917’, I will definitely follow this guy from now on) but, to be honest, there was definitely something wrong/missing with his character. I don’t care about the fact that, apparently for the first time, they gave a version of the famous outlaw without his iconic beard. What bothered more was the fact that the guy always remained a blur. Indeed, it seems as if the makers didn’t manage to figure out in which direction they should go so they tried to keep him mysterious. Unfortunately, it didn’t make him more interesting, in fact, it actually made him a random mess and, above all, it actually deprived him of an actual personality. Still, I really liked the surreal approach and it’s too bad the punk vibe showed up only during the last act because it made the whole thing even more intriguing. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from this flick but since it was starring Elijah Wood, I thought I might as well check it out. I watch all kinds of movies, very often really randomly, and I have to admit that, in many cases, many movies are actually a waste of time. Well, for once, I was actually positively surprised. Indeed, even it was not a masterpiece, it turned out to be a nice little thriller though. I always had a weak spot for minimalistic movies dealing with one location and only a few characters involved. The fact that it was dealing with an insanely talented musician made the whole thing even more intriguing. I also discovered that this movie had been written by Damien Chazelle before he got his breakthrough with 'Whiplash' and I think he managed to deliver a solid intro. Indeed, he gave just the right amount of information regarding the main character to get a good grip on what was going on but you were still missing some intel making you wonder what would then happen next. Of course, the premise was rather ridiculous and it is rather doubtful that a musician would be able to perform flawlessly at gun point but the damned thing was still actually quite entertaining. I mean, how do you build up a thriller around a main character who’s performing on a piano through most of the duration? Eventually, I think it was a nice metaphor on how extreme stage fright might feel. I also did appreciate the fact that not everything was completely explained towards the end. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really ground-breaking, it was still a solid thriller and it 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 there was a nice cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Fist of all, I thought it was such a strong story.  Indeed, it was dealing with a heralded journalist who was fired in shame from the New York Times after basically making some stuff up in one of his articles. However, out of nowhere, a psychopath took over his identity but, fortunately for this journalist, this killer was actually eager to meet and work together but he turned out to be a pathological liar which was hardly surprising. On top of this intriguing story, it had been a while since James Franco had delivered such a solid performance. Indeed, even though Franco was at some point one of the most promising actors of his generation, unfortunately, he had scattered his talent being involved in so many projects for so many years. Well, the guy was actually really good here. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really convinced by Jonah Hill though. I mean, his constant look of bewilderment did work fine at first but, unfortunately, he never managed to get his character beyond this point which was rather disappointed. The fact that the guy pretty much disappeared in the 3^rd act didn’t help either. Instead, they went for some completely random scenes involving his girlfriend played by Felicity Jones but they clearly struggled to properly include this 3^rd character in this story. Eventually, the biggest failure with this movie was the fact that even though you might expect Christian Longo to remain an enigma, I thought that Finkel’s thoughts and motivations were even murkier and it seemed that they never really figured out how to handle this character. It’s too bad because the material was actually pretty awesome. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.