Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, 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. Well, first of all, even though the title did sound pretty cool, even after watching the damned thing, I still have no idea what it actually meant. Anyway, the beginning was really promising and, if this movie would have been properly developed, it could have turned out to be a pretty neat Hitchcockian thriller. I'm not surprised that it was adapted from a book from Patricia Highsmith since Rydal keept reminding me of Tom Ripley. Unfortunately, the whole thing fell apart rather quickly, I’m afraid. Indeed, from the moment the 3 characters ran off together, except for MacFarland killing his wife by accident, nothing really noteworthy happened to them afterwards. To make things worse, none of them really evolved through this ordeal. As a result, even though Kirsten Dunst looked really lovely, she was stuck playing a thankless role as her character didn’t have any impact on the story. Oscar Isaac’s character was even more problematic though. Indeed, it seemed that the makers didn’t know what to do with this guy so, instead of further developing him and explaining what could be his game plan, he remained terribly murky from the beginning until the very end. Eventually, Viggo Mortensen was the only one who managed to be completely convincing but he also had the advantage that this character was the only who was at least rather well defined. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie had some potential, the story really went nowhere but I guess it might still be worth a look if you like the genre.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Paul Greengrass’s work and since this movie had been rather well received, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I took me a while to get into this movie and I guess it mostly had to with the fact that the plot was actually really generic and predictable. And, yet, it still managed to grab me at some point. Indeed, even if it wasn’t the darkest Western I have seen, the tone was still quite sad and I think that’s why the two main characters eventually bonded, not necessarily because they were kind to one and another but because they shared a deep sorrow. What made this even more interesting was that their pain and sorrow actually echoed the pain and sorrow experienced by the whole nation at the time including the Indians, the settlers, the black slaves, the Civil war veterans and the South in general. In my opinion, these two characters were fairly well developed and even though it was obvious the kid needed the captain to move forward, he also needed her to be able to face his past. Eventually, the whole thing did end on a hopeful note but I think it also echoed how, in spite of a very rough start, the USA as a nation still became a world leader, whether you like it or not. In fact, it was apparently the first movie Greengrass made with a happy ending and it was a conscious choice from the director. Anyway, to conclude, even if the story was maybe generic, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Thomas Vinterberg's work and since there was a really nice cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. I have to admit that I haven't read Thomas Hardy's classic book but I did see an older adaptation directed by John Schlesinger and starring Julie Christie and, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of this story. With this version, they decided to show Bathsheba Everdene as a woman ahead of her time, some kind of early feminist, which was, at first, an interesting approach. Indeed, within this context, even if it was a bold move for the time period, it was rather understandable that she would refuse the marriage proposals of two men she barely knew at the time and because she wasn’t ready to get hitched yet. However, this whole approach was completely ruined by the fact that, for some reasons, she did accept to marry a 3rd guy for some rather obscure reasons. Indeed, why did she get married with Francis Troy? Because he was so romantic? To be honest, it is rather hard to take this argument seriously since she had spent maybe 10 mins with the guy. To make things worse, on her wedding night, she was already regretting her decision... Of course, you could argue that it was the whole point, to show Bathsheba as a fascinating but also flawed woman but, eventually, I had a hard time to really root for her and, at some point, you might wonder why all these guys were actually chasing her. Still, I have to admit that the directing was fine and Vinterberg had delivered here a really gorgeous movie to look at. Furthermore, even though the characters in this tale might seem weak or poorly developed, I still think that the cast involved did deliver some really solid performances (Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge). Anyway, to conclude, even if I didn't care much for this tale, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre. 

To be honest, 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. First of all, it was apparently a conscious choice made by Rashida Jones to write about a couple breaking up instead of falling in love and it was definitely a interesting approach towards the romantic-comedy genre. On top of that, Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg had some great chemistry together. That was also the tricky thing with this movie, especially at the beginning. Indeed, if Celeste and Jesse still got along so well, why didn’t stay together then? Still, it was quite refreshing to see a couple which did break up but still was friendly with each other, even if their friends thought that it was really weird. Eventually, the movie displayed very well that, even if you have the best intentions, even if it might seem the most sensible choice, to break up with someone you deeply loved for so long will always remain such a messy process. It’s too bad that, for some reasons, Jesse completely disappeared at some point and the movie only focused on Celeste. Even more problematic was the fact that, from the moment that Jesse finally started a relationship with someone else and as a result pretty much vanished from Celeste’s life, the rest of movie was basically about Celeste drowning herself into self-pity. I mean, sure, her feelings were understandable but she was stuck for too long in this mode, seriously, it took about half of the duration, and, as a result, it was rather hard to care about what she was going through and root for her. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn’t a complete home-run, it was still a decent watch and 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 and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, making a movie with only 1 location and only 2 characters basically arguing non-stop with each other for almost 2 hours might be challenging but, on the other hand, it might be the only kind of movies you can shoot during a worldwide pandemic. In fact, I do have a weak spot for such minimalistic features and, when they are well made, they can be quite spellbinding. Unfortunately, to be honest, this one never really impressed me though. I mean, the black-and-white cinematography was quite beautiful but it gave also an artsy-fartsy feeling and I couldn’t help thinking that the makers went for this option just to make the whole thing looking more sophisticated than it actually was. Concerning the actors involved (John David Washington and Zendaya), obviously, they had to carry the whole thing on their shoulders and, not only they were both quite charismatic, they both provided some really solid performances. However, the biggest issue with this movie was that, in spite of the two actors, I never really cared about their characters. I mean, I did like the fact that they reached some balance between these two characters arguing, never taking sides. Still, the structure of their conversations was also slightly weird. Indeed, in fact, they never really had an actual conversation, instead, they took turns monologuing about their discontent regarding their partner and their relationship. Basically, you had two attractive characters who were not completely stupid but their constant bickering was hardly as interesting as the makers were hoping it to be. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really work, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you really like the genre. 

To be honest, I kinda of lost faith in Clint Eastwood a couple of years ago, however, since this movie had been rather well received, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, once again, Eastwood chose to tell the true story of an American hero and, while the end-result was at least miles better than the abysmal ‘The 15:17 to Paris’, to be honest, I still struggled to care about the damned thing. I mean, the whole thing was well made and there was definitely a solid cast involved (Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates) but the story was just too pathetic for my taste. Of course, you might argue that it is how it all went down back then but, even so, this tale might have been strong on paper but I thought it was hardly fascinating. Basically, Richard Jewell was maybe a loser but it was just obvious that the guy was completely harmless and the fact that it took the FBI months to figure this out is just staggering and shows the lack of competence of everybody involved in this investigation. At least, they didn’t plant some evidence to completely frame the poor fellow. The worst character was probably the one played by Olivia Wilde though. Indeed, in my opinion, the way this character was developed was terrible and actually rather misogynist. Sure, that this journalist was some kind of vulture looking for any juicy story was not really shocking but the way she would sleep with anyone to get some intel was just pushing it too far (and, apparently, it was completely made up for this movie). Basically, you spend 2 hours with some rather pathetic characters getting stuck into a pathetic story so it didn’t feel really rewarding, even with a strong cast and a solid director like Eastwoord behind the wheel. Anyway, to conclude, even if I thought it was slightly disappointing, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.