Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Rachel Weisz, I thought I might as well check it out. I have to admit that I had no idea what the damned thing was about before watching this movie but it turned out to be some fascinating material. Indeed, we live in such a polarized world, hell, Donald Trump was a master denier and, nowadays, denial doesn’t concern only the holocaust but all kind of subjects such as global warming or the Corona pandemic. In fact, I had never seen before a movie focusing on holocaust denial and, even though the concept might seem preposterous, the way it was tackled in this movie was really interesting. Indeed, most of our knowledge is based on the fact that we trust all kinds of scientists and historians who are supposed to be way smarter and more knowledgeable than us but, in fact, we will never know for sure if everything they claim is actually true. In fact, many things that have been claimed 200 years or 300 years ago turned out to be false after all. So, how do you handle this? It’s really a tricky question and, fortunately, when you are dealing with the holocaust, there is still plenty of evidence to counter all these demented deniers. Another interesting thing about this movie was that it gave a clear view on how the British judicial system works and I was actually unaware that it was so much more different than how it works in the US. To be honest, they did struggle with the main character though. Indeed, even if Deborah Lipstadt seemed to be an interesting woman and even if Rachel Weisz did deliver another solid performance, her main job was basically to shut up and let her legal team do all the heavy lifting. Another minor issue was that, even though they tried to make it all quite suspenseful, in my opinion, the conclusion of this trial had actually a foregone conclusion. Indeed, can you imagine if they had concluded that this holocaust denier was actually right? It would have had some seismic impact not only in the UK but also in the rest of the world. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe not flawless, it was still a really strong drama with a solid cast 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 have a weak spot for Gemma Arterton, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though the movies dealing with the UK during WWII are usually intriguing because the British people had such a different experience of this war than the other people living in Europe, I still had a hard time to care about the damned thing though. At least, I have to admit that the film-within-the-film was actually really well done and I completely understood that the British audience would feel a deep connection with this flick but I’m afraid it was pretty much the only thing that really worked though. Indeed, even if Gemma Arterton was, as usual, really lovely, to be honest, she delivered another rather uninspired performance and Sam Claflin wasn’t much better, I’m afraid. Obviously, their characters were both supposed to be smart and witty but I thought they were such a bland couple after all. On top of that, Arterton’s was not stuck in 1 half-baked romance but actually in 2 half-baked romances resulting in some rather useless love triangle. Seriously, if Jack Huston’s character would have been removed, I'm not sure if it would have had much impact on the whole story. Finally, the way her relationship with Buckley did end was also completely random and a really cheap way to give the whole thing an extra dramatic edge that it really didn’t need. At least, Bill Nighy was, as usual, quite fun but it is the kind of role that he could pretty much play in his sleep. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that the damned thing was still rather harmless and I guess it might be worth a look if you really like genre. 

I wasn’t exactly dying to see yet another adaptation of this classic Shakespeare play but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I was actually seriously bored by the damned thing and, even if it might not be the worst adaptation, it was probably the most pointless one I have seen. I mean, visually, it was not bad and it seemed to be rather faithful (However, it turns out that very little of the original Shakespeare’s text actually remained). Of course, if you are not familiar with the original text like me, you won’t really notice this but if the writers thought they could write in Shakespeare’s style and replace his work, it was already presumptuous and obviously a rather misguided approach. However, what bothered me the most was the fact that they didn’t add anything interesting to this old tale. At least, Hailee Steinfeld was the right age to play this character which was rather refreshing but even this had already been done in Franco Zeffirelli’s version more than 50 years ago. On the other hand, Douglas Booth might be good-looking but he was also 6 years older than Steinfeld and this age gap made it really difficult to make them believable as a couple. The fact that they didn’t have enough chemistry also probably didn't help. At least, Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti did deliver some solid performances but since they both played some rather minor role, it wasn’t really enough, I’m afraid. Anyway, to conclude, I didn't care much for the damned thing, I should actually lower my rating but I guess it might be worth a look if you really like the genre. 

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick and since it was suggested by a fellow Listal member, I was quite eager to check it out. First of all, you can’t deny that this movie was quite prescient as it was released more than a year before George Floyd was killed by a white police officer and the Black Live Matters became afterwards a worldwide phenomenon. However, you might argue that such tragic events are unfortunately rather common for the black folks living in the US. On top of that, the cast was also really strong, especially Amandla Stenberg who was pretty much pitch-perfect through the whole thing and she will definitely be someone to follow in the future. And, yet, something was still missing to make this movie really amazing though. I guess it might have to do with a lack of complexity in the characters. Indeed, one of the most intriguing aspect displayed in this movie was the duality of the main character, the fact that she had to adapt herself and constantly switch between 2 vastly different worlds, but this duality basically went out of the window from the moment Khalil was killed. However, this lack of character complexity above all applied to the other characters though. It’s not that they were not interesting or not convincing, in the contrary, it’s more that they were given a label right from the start and then never did deviate from this label. Basically, you had the beautiful loving and inspiring parents, the rather clueless but still sweet boyfriend, the clueless but not so sweet (girl)friend, the ruthless drug dealer,… Once again, it’s not that these characters were lame, it’s more that they never really evolved or did anything really unexpected. Anyway, to conclude, all in all, it was still a really good drama though, completely timely and topical, and it is definitely worth a look. 

Even if this movie doesn’t really have a stellar reputation, since it was written by Guillermo del Toro, I thought I might still check it out. Well, even though del Toro has a solid track-record as a director, even as a producer, this movie is easily the weakest thing he has delivered so far. To start with, the title was not bad but it had actually nothing to do with the story but it wasn’t a big deal. A bigger issue was that the story was just so generic and, to be honest, quite boring. I mean, the house and these weird creatures did look nice but, by now, I have seen my share of haunted houses features and this movie definitely didn’t add anything really interesting or entertaining to the genre. Another issue was that Bailee Madison was actually pretty weak but I have to admit that she wasn’t helped by the fact that none of the characters were properly developed whatsoever. I was also bothered by some major non-sense displayed in this movie. For example, how did these creatures end up in this basement? What was Harris’s agenda in all this? Did it really make sense to sell this house after discovering that there were some weird creatures festering in the basement? Anyway, eventually, considering all the seemingly talented people involved in this project, I felt mostly bad for Katie Holmes. Indeed, ever since her career had been derailed by her failed marriage with Tom Cruise, her career never really recovered and this weak horror flick was probably one of the highest profile gigs she managed to get during the last 15 years and I think it is rather sad as she always seemed to have some potential. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing was not a complete waste of time, it wasn’t far from it though and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since the story did sound intriguing and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though it turned to be a decent watch, it wasn’t really much more than that, to be honest. Basically, their approach was to focus mostly on the fact that this murder investigation was partly solved because the family made their own investigation through a vintage social media website called ‘myspace.com’ (in fact, even though I thought I did disappear following the rise of Facebook, it apparently still exists today). Well, it might have seemed clever but, while I have to admit that it was fairly spectacular, I’m not sure if it was really the most interesting thing about this true tale. I mean, at some point, they mentioned the fact the family was also involved in criminality but it was dropped fairly quickly. In a similar fashion, they gave us some interviews with various people involved in the 5150 gang or close to the people involved in this gang but they never went really deep into this matter either. Of course, the fact that some civilians would get some better results in a murder investigation than the cops was intriguing but going deeper in the people involved, especially developing their social background, might have been more interesting, at least, to me. For example, considering how rough this neighbourhood was, it was in fact hardly surprising that some completely random shooting would result in the death of some innocent girl and this case only got more attention sadly only because of the social media angle. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really mind-blowing, it was still not bad at all and I guess it is worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it had been very well received, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I have to admit that I was at first not really interested as I expected it to be another predictable vintage flick about Blues. And, indeed, during the first scene, you get to see Ma Rainey and Levee performing on stage, the tension between them was just so obvious and the whole thing seemed to be about a talented jazz musician and his jealous band leader. Fortunately, it went just way deeper than that, and at the center, you had Chadwick Boseman who not only delivered his very last performance but, actually, the very best performance of his tragically short career. To think that the guy was in the middle of his battle against cancer will working on his movie was not only quite mind-bkowing but also did add another tragic layer to this tormented character. Indeed, at first, Levee might seem to be another cocky trumpet player but he turned out to be so much more complex. Basically, even though the guy had some skills and seemed to be confident, he had been also heavily traumatised by life in general and, if you expect this movie to end up with a glorious happy-ending with Levee becoming the next Jazz sensation, you will be quite disappointed. In fact, while all the black characters were constantly cracking jokes, you could feel that under the surface, they were actually all some damaged goods and they were actually almost constantly functioning in survival mode. Concerning Viola Davis, she gave here also another strong performance but even though this woman was just as complex as Levee was, I think she didn’t get enough running time to fully develop her character. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing turned out to be much more interesting than I expected and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Chadwick Boseman shining one last time. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even if it wasn’t a complete disaster, I’m afraid the damned thing never really worked for me. Basically, it was one of these quirky indie love features and, while the whole thing was still quite whimsical, it mostly stood out for how bleak the tone turned out to be. In fact, this approach didn’t bother me, in the contrary, what bother me more was how completely random the damned thing was. Indeed, right from the start, the ghost of the main character’s mother showed up to tell him to go to Bucharest for really no reason whatsoever and, from that point on, the randomness really never stopped ever. I mean, there was even Ron Weasley playing some kind of wannabe porn actor, for crying out loud. And yet, even though Shia LaBeouf is getting an increasingly lousy reputation, the guy is just so good playing such lost souls and, even if the material was constantly borderline preposterous, he was actually always convincing and entertaining to behold. Concerning Evan Rachel Wood, I had some rather mixed feelings. I mean, she was, as usual, quite charismatic and her performance was not bad but it was rather disappointing that they didn’t hire a Romanian actress to play this part. In fact, except for the guy who died in the plane after 10 mins, none of the major actors involved was actually from Romania which made the whole thing look even more fake than it already was. Anyway, to conclude, my rating might have been harsh this time around since there were some elements that I actually did enjoy, still, most of it was actually pretty weak and, eventually, I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

To be honest, I had really no idea what to expect from this flick but since there was a solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, like I said before, I didn’t know anything about the story before watching this movie and it has been a while since I saw a movie which made me wondering for so long, in fact, even after the damned thing was all over. Indeed, the characters were so complex, really fully fledged and it was definitely an impressive acting showcase (Kelvin Harrison Jr., Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Octavia Spencer). Eventually, Luce was the whole way an enigma and remained so, even when the movie did end. It was so interesting to see this young man with such a great potential but also with a really complex background and, to be honest, it was practically impossible to try to put yourself in his shoes. Indeed, what was going on in his mind? What was actually his endgame? The fact that the ending didn’t give any clear answer didn’t really surprise me and it might seem to be a cop-out from the makers. Indeed, eventually, by providing no closure, they could keep the cloud of mystery around their character forever which was slightly disappointing but, as a result, I keep re-thinking about what I saw which is actually quite rewarding. This movie is also the stuff of nightmare if you’re a parent yourself (I have 3 children myself). Indeed, even if you deeply love your children, even if you completely trust them to do the right thing, at some point, around 14-15 years old, they will leave your radar (except maybe if you are a major control freak) and, to be honest, you won’t really know for sure what they are actually doing with their time which can be really daunting. So, what should you do then? Always blindingly trust them or jeopardize your relationship with them when they are facing some major crisis? It was yet another fascinating topic developed in this movie. Anyway, to conclude, they probably tried to tackle too many ideas but the damned thing was still quite spellbinding and it is definitely worth a look.