Reviews by johanlefourbe

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, even though the story had some potential, to be honest, I didn’t care much about the damned thing. At least, Basil Brown was an intriguing character and Ralph Fiennes delivered another solid performance though. Unfortunately, even though it was visually appealing enough, the makers never managed to make me feel how amazing it must be to dig up such ancient artifacts. Indeed, even though we were supposed to marvel at Basil Brown’s mighty skills, it didn’t seem to be so much work. Basically, Edith Pretty showed him some hillock, the guy started to dig and, a few days later, he found some super old ship. Eventually, I wish they delved in deeper into the technicality of such an archaeological digging but the only thing you learn is that digging a big hole can be dangerous and that small women are more suited for this job because they don’t weigh so much. Even more problematic was how Basil Brown was actually pushed aside at some point and, suddenly, they started to focus instead on the Piggotts’s marital issues. Seriously, not only this subplot was completely generic and predictable, above all, it really had nothing to with the main plot so I still wonder why it was added in the first place. It wasn’t even historically accurate as Stuart Piggott and Peggy Piggott did get a divorce but after almost 20 years of marriage. Seriously, it has been a while since I have seen such a half-baked and above all pointless sub-plot. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it was a decent watch though and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, at this point, I was pretty much done with this franchise but since this new instalment was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, after watching this flick, the Spierig brothers did sound familiar and I wondered where I heard of them before. To my surprise, I had already seen 2 solid movies directed by them (‘Daybreakers’ and and above all ‘Predestination’). So, they managed to get some solid directors to relaunch this franchise but even though you might hope they could do something interesting, eventually, I’m afraid this movie was actually a step back considering their previous work. At least, it was visually better than the previous instalments, I will give them that, but that was probably the only improvement they made. Indeed, the whole cast was weak but they were not helped with the fact that all their characters were boring and poorly developed. Above all, they came up with such a generic plot with, as usual, some massive plot-holes. For example, to make the central 'game' work, it would mean that the murderer would be able to predetermine in advance who would die at each level which is simply not possible. Then, it seemed rather illogical that, when the murders started, the cops would start to suspect right away their colleagues without any evidence. And, as usual, they really struggled with the fact that John Kramer A.K.A Jigsaw died already ages ago (or maybe he didn’t?) and the only thing they could think of was to bring yet another sidekick, a tired old gimmick they have used time and time again in this franchise. Anyway, to conclude, you might wonder why this franchise has been so popular for so long but I guess you can skip on this (for now…) final instalment. 

Of course, I didn’t expect much from this flick but, after watching 2 movies, I thought I might as well finish up this franchise. At least, I think we should praise the producers for not splitting this final instalment into 2 entries as it is such an annoying gimmick (for example, it pretty much ruined ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise for me). However, I’m afraid it was pretty much the only positive thing I could find regarding this flick. Alright, I have to admit that watching Dakota Johnson wearing as little as possible clothes on was not bad either but the rest of this movie was still seriously worthless. Basically, when the movie starts, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey got married which was hardly surprising and, even though they had more sex than in the 2 previous movies combined, they were still the most boring couple I have ever seen. Seriously, they both had barely any personality whatsoever and, after spending 3 movies with them, they had become borderline cringe-inducing to behold. Eventually, the makers struggled through the whole duration to find any conflict to rock this relationship and, as a viewer, you just wait for almost 2 hours to finally see something happening to them. The only thing they could find was to have Christian Grey freaks out because Anastasia got pregnant but this conflict was completely bogus. I mean, they are both young, healthy, filthy rich, head over heels for each other, so having a kid seemed to be hardly an insurmountable tragedy. As it was obviously not enough, they brought back Jack Hyde who turned out to be such an underwhelming bad guy. Eventually, this whole franchise was a big waste as it could have been an interesting introduction to the BDSM lifestyle to the mainstream audience. However, to make it work, Christian Grey should have been so much more twisted in his mind but, somehow, Anastasia Steele would have been attracted to him because of this and it would have made their couple so much more interesting to behold. Instead, what remains is a very flat and tedious romantic tale about 2 boring individuals who pretend to have some kinky sex. Obviously, you should avoid the damned thing. 

To be honest, I did start to lose faith with Terrence Malick as his recent directorial efforts were increasingly underwhelming. However, since his last movie had received some solid reviews, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, it was his most straightforward movie in years which was really refreshing and promising. However, as usual with this director, the damned thing was still quite challenging though. Indeed, with almost 3 hours of running time, it was Malick's longest film and, with his typical slow and meditative directing style, it was almost a lethal mix. Anyway, Malick might be the most spiritual director I know and it might be his most spiritual movie so far. Indeed, the whole thing was basically a reflection about the soul and, if you would follow the logic of this movie, the redemption of our soul might be actually more important than our own life. However, I'm not sure if I really agree with this assessment. Indeed, WWII was a huge waste of human life, and, in my opinion, with Franz Jagerstatter, the waste was even worse. I mean, it was completely understandable that the guy refused to fight for the Nazis and to choose to rather die than taking part in this massive senseless killing machine was not only courageous but also the only moral thing to do. However, at some point, he was provided a way out and he basically died because he refused to pledge an oath to Adolf Hitler and, in this context, his choice became more dubious, at least, for me. Indeed, if all the people who tragically died back then had been given the same choice, they might have survived after all and his stubbornness felt more selfish and arrogant than really courageous. Still, even though I had some trouble to root for the guy, as usual with Terrence Malick, even if Emmanuel Lubezki was not involved, this movie was quite beautiful to look at and the guy still makes the most poetic movies out there. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn't really blown away, it was still a vast improvement on the previous movies delivered by Malick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in this director's work. 

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of classic musicals but since this one has a really solid reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that the whole thing looked really nice and the production value was quite impressive. Judy Garland, who was only 21 years old at the time, was also at the top of her game. Indeed, she was really quite charming and, even if I didn’t care much about the songs in this movie, her voice was still quite marvellous. Unfortunately, those were pretty much the only things I did enjoy in this flick. Sure, Margaret O'Brien did give a decent performance as Tootie Smith but I still didn’t care much about her character and the rest of the characters were even more tedious, at least, to me. Above all, the story was just so flimsy and shallow. Seriously, what did really happen during this movie after all? Not much. Nobody loses his job, Nobody gets sick, nobodies dies,… I mean, the most and only dramatic event was for the family to move from St Louis to New York but even this ‘tragic’ event didn't occur after all. Sure, I’m well aware it is inherent to the genre to give 2 hours of entertainment with songs and dance with very little drama or without even a basic plot. However, in my opinion, the best movies in this genre still manage to do something original or at least interesting with this formula but it wasn't the case here. Anyway, to conclude, even if I didn’t care much about the damned thing, it is still a classic and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I have to admit that I’m not really familiar with Ramin Bahrani's work but since the guy has a decent reputation and since his last directing effort was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. This movie has been compared with 'Slumdog Millionaire' and, while the comparison is understandable (both movies deal with a poor Indian boy's rise from nothing and they have a similar chronological structure), I still think that both movies were vastly different. Indeed, 'Slumdog Millionaire' should be considered as some kind of modern fairy tale while this movie was much darker and more cynical. Well, even though I did like the realistic approach chosen by Bahrani, I still think that the opening scenes were rather misleading. Indeed, I assumed that Balram, with his wit and intelligence, would manage to find something brilliant to make a fortune but, instead, we find out that he was actually after all a simple thief who became rich only after murdering his master. Of course, it did follow the realistic approach chosen for this movie but, as a result, it was rather difficult to root for the main character. In fact, this critic could be also extended to the other characters as they were all rather common and average after all. Indeed, you might think that Ashok and his wife Pinky were better than the rest as they seemed to be gentler and more respectful towards Balram. However, they eventually represented the modern Western attitude which is to show a polite front and be always politically correct, when in fact, we are all extremely selfish and self-centred. Still, even though the whole thing might be really dark and pessimistic, I did appreciate that they didn't put any gloves on and displayed that, if you are born on the wrong side of the tracks, becoming a criminal might be eventually the only option you might have to really improve your future. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn't completely sold, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely work a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Finally…. I’m almost done with this franchise… The fact that this movie started with a completely random scene with a ‘game’ taking place for the first time outside was already not a good omen. I mean, the fact that it was outside was not a bad idea but what was rather lame and lazy was the fact that it didn’t have any link whatsoever with the rest of the movie. Anyway, as expected, Mark Hoffman unfortunately did survive after what happened to him during the previous instalment and he was still the main antagonist but, at least, he was slightly less pathetic. Still, it remains a rather weird artistical choice to have a whole franchise based on a serial killer who actually died 3 or 4 movies ago (in fact, Tobin Bell eventually showed up for only 3 mins this time around). I was also disappointed by the fact that, after 5 movies, they eventually didn’t do anything interesting with Jill Tuck. Indeed, it is one of the few things I enjoyed with this franchise, the fact that they gave this character more and more screen time with each new movie but, unfortunately, it led to nothing at all after all. I have to admit that the idea of focusing on the few people that did survive through the whole franchise had some potential but it was still poorly developed. Above all, it was a mistake to turn Dr. Gordon as yet another jigsaw’s sidekick since this gimmick had already been done with Amanda. There was also yet another cop whose name I already forgot assigned to investigate these murders but the guy was even more uncharismatic than his predecessors and he didn’t last long, I’m afraid. Anyway, to conclude, I didn’t care much for the damned thing and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre. 

This is another movie that I had been chasing for so many years. Well, I wish I could say it had been worth waiting for so long but, unfortunately, the damned thing turned out to be quite terrible, even borderline unwatchable. Of course, since this movie had a really bad reputation, I can’t say I was really surprised though. Basically, imagine if Lovecraft was born 100 years later and wrote some horror story with some Nazis, add up a really esoteric soundtrack by Tangerine Dream and, surprisingly, it might actually seem appealing. However, Michael Mann had apparently no clue what the hell he was doing and it seems that he had actually regressed as a director after ‘Thief’ which had been a really promising directorial debut. Of course, you could argue that the movie had been butchered by the studio as the original cut of the film ran more than three hours but my guess was that this original cut was already a terrible mess. However, by cutting so much, the whole thing became almost incomprehensible. Indeed, as a result, even though Scott Glenn was given top-billing, he showed up only half way through and it is obvious that many scenes explaining slightly more his mysterious character were now missing. For example, it was rather bewildering to see Glaeken jumping into bed with Eva Cuza 10 secondes after he just met her. There was also the issue that, even though they did hire Wally Veevers, a legend in special effects who also worked on ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, the guy died 2 weeks into post-production so they had to finish up all the special effects without him and the end-result looked just terrible. Eventually, you might wonder if making a fantasy feature taking place during WWII was maybe not misguided but, 20 years later, Guillermo Del Toro did manage to pull it off fairly nicely with ‘El laberinto del fauno‘. Anyway, to conclude, even if I’m glad I finally watched the damned thing, it was still terribly weak and it is not worth a look, even if you are a die-hard fan of Michael Mann’s work.      

By the way, if you still want to check it out, you can use the following links here underneath: 

Part 1: [Link removed - login to see]

Part 2: [Link removed - login to see]

A movie directed by James Gray and starring Brad Pitt did sound really promising and, on top of that, I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with outer space so I was definitely eager to check the damned thing. Well, even though this movie had been fairly well received, as usual with James Gray’s movies, even though I did admire the work done, I can’t say I was really blown away though. The timing for making this movie was also rather unfortunate as there had been recently so many similar movies released such as ‘Gravity’, ‘Interstellar’, ‘The Martian’ and ‘First Man’. As a result, even though the movie was visually pretty neat, I had already seen by then a couple of movies managing to be visually just as impressive as this movie was. Eventually, without this competition, there is a fair chance that this movie would have impressed more in this area. To make things worse, they couldn’t have chosen a more generic story with this astronaut joining a seemingly impossible mission to save the world from impending doom. However, what was left and what made this movie still interesting to behold was a rather fascinating main character played by a pitch-perfect Brad Pitt. Indeed, if you would remove all the futuristic outer-space stuff, what remains is a close-up on a seemingly talented man crippled by the legacy and absence of his father. As a result, what could have been a huge bombastic space blockbuster had become a rather intimate one-man-show. The interesting thing is that even though you spend so much time with the guy, even though there is this recurring voice-over talking to us, his thoughts and feelings remained still somewhat unclear but it made the character even more interesting to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn’t completely sold, thanks to a really rock-solid Brad Pitt, it was still a decent watch and 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 solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the topic was really interesting and I did appreciate the realistic approach chosen by director by Fernando León de Aranoa (by the way, it was also the first movie I saw directed by this guy). As a result, the whole thing was pretty much the worst commercial possible for humanitarian aid jobs. Indeed, it is quite dangerous, badly paid and it seems in fact rather useless because of lack of budget and because their work is constantly hindered by some murky bureaucracy. But, once again, it all seemed rather realistic but, to be honest, it didn’t make for a really rewarding viewing experience. Indeed, most of the movie was dealing with the aid workers looking for some rope and a football/soccer ball and, while I understand that it was a way to show how frustrating their job can be or usually is, to be honest, it was hardly fascinating. There was also another thing that slightly bothered me was and it was the way they tried to make this job seemed to be kind of Rock and roll, with some fitting soundtrack. Sure, as displayed mostly by Tim Robbins’s character, you have to be Rock and roll especially if you want to make it on the long run but I don’t think there is anything Rock and roll about the job itself. Finally, it seems rather unlikely that such a young boy in the Balkans (who probably didn’t go to school for many years) could master the English language so well. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch as it gave a good view of what is the job is about and I think it is worth a a look.