Reviews by johanlefourbe

I didn’t have some really high expectations regarding this movie but since it was directed by Jeff Nichols, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, ‘Midnight Special’ had been a decent watch but, in spite some really solid reviews, it didn’t really impress me and this new directing from Nichols turned out to be slightly better but not much more than that. I mean, it was definitely an important story with a huge impact on US laws and jurisprudence but Nichols never really managed to turn it into a really fascinating movie, I’m afraid. The main issue was probably that you never really get to know Richard and Mildred Loving, even after spending 2 hours with them. Basically, they spent the whole duration claiming their love for each other which obviously nobody should have denied them but it could have been interesting if they could have displayed why they were in love or if they could have at least develop slightly more these 2 characters. Another thing that bugged me was that I kept wondering if this whole struggle had been really worth it for them. I mean, they were not some civil rights activists and, of course, if nobody would fight and sacrifice themselves, nothing would ever change in our world, but why would they stay in this place where at least half of the population really hated their guts? Maybe my personal experience is clouding my judgement though. Indeed, almost 20 years ago, I left France to leave in the Netherlands and I never really miss it. On the other hand, if someone would force me to leave the Netherlands because, for example, I don’t have a Dutch passport, it might disrupt my life in a similar way. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a well made movie with some solid performances and it think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject. 

I really had no idea what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Sally Potter and since there was a really nice cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Even though Potter has a solid reputation, I have to admit that I don’t have a clear view or understanding of what her work is actually about but it might have to do with the fact that it was only the 3rd movie I saw from this director. Anyway, even if this movie was barely 70 mins long, it felt more like 2 hours which wasn’t really a good omen and, to be honest, I had a rather hard time to care about the damned thing. I have to admit that the black-and-white cinematography was quite gorgeous, even if it was maybe slightly pretentious and it probably made the whole thing look more artistic than it actually was. Concerning the story, it did have some potential but, very quickly, it became a farce mixed with a soap which was hardly an entertaining mix, at least, as far as I was concerned. It’s a pity since all the characters seemed to be quite smart and articulate but they were all pretty much wasted doing some hysterical shenanigans. At least, the stellar cast (Timothy Spall, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy) didn’t disappoint and they all seemed to have a blast. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit it was still a decent watch and I think it might be worth a look but only if you really like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the damned thing but since it had won the César of the Best French movie of the year, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I was really impressed by the damned thing, that’s for sure. Through the years, I have seen a few US movies dealing with the AIDS pandemic but it was pretty neat to finally see a French movie on the subject. Indeed, when I was growing up in France in the 90’s, it was constantly in the media and I think my generation has been pretty much traumatized as we will forever link sex with sickness and death. This movie focused actually more on what happened before. Indeed, it took about 10 years for the French government to finally take the necessary actions but, in the meantime, 1000’s of people actually died and that’s what the people in Act Up Paris were fighting for or fighting against. At first, you might wonder why they were so passionate or so fanatic about this cause but the last act during which Sean died made it pretty clear. Indeed, behind all their witty jokes, even though most of them were quite young, they would still die fairly soon if they didn’t get the right help so they were actually more desperate than passionate. It was also quite interesting that most of the duration actually took place during their weekly meetings. You might wonder why the makers made this choice but I think it was a way to show this group all together while they were sharing not only their ideas and thoughts but also their feelings about their situation and their individual and collective struggle. The only downside was that the whole thing was a little bit messy. Indeed, while at some point they finally really focused on Nathan, it seemed that they were never really sure if he should be handled as a main character. Anyway, to conclude, I really loved the realistic approach, it was some really fascinating material and the damned thing is definitely worth a look. 

I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though there were a couple of decent ideas, to be honest, I really struggled to care about the damned thing. I mean, Ray Garrison was a decent character, maybe a little too strong and indestructible, but at least the guy was really badass. However, Vin Diesel has become (or maybe has always been?) such a boring actor… Basically, it was pretty much like watching Dominic Toretto with some super-powers which might sound really neat for Diesel’s fans but, as far as I’m concerned, I would rather see him play someone completely different. To make things worse, the story was just too convoluted. Seriously, there was probably for Emil Harting some easier way to get rid of his former colleagues. On top of that, the whole thing was seriously derivative and felt like a weak mix of such movies like ‘Memento’, ‘The Matrix’ and even ‘Terminator 2’. I have to admit that it was at first amused to see Sam Heughan from ‘Outlander’ but, unfortunately, his character turned out to be rather boring. At least, even if KT was not really a fascinating character either, Eiza González was once again quite gorgeous to look at and this actress is just terribly charismatic. Wilfred Wigans played by Lamorne Morris was also a fun character so if they had focused more on his character, more on KT, had cast someone else to play the main character and basically completely rewrote the whole story, it could have had some potential. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse from Vin Diesel, the damned thing was still pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Mia Wasikowska, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, even though it is a huge classic of French literature, I have to confess that I still haven’t read this book yet but, to be honest, I hope it is actually better than this rather tedious movie. The main issue was that Emma Bovary is, supposedly, supposed to be a complex and fascinating character but, in this adaptation, she was pretty much reduced to a spoiled bored and boring woman and, as result, I was never able to root for her. I mean, she basically spent the whole duration whining about her situation without doing much anything about it except spending way too much money and having some rather pathetic love affairs. Basically, her character barely had any redeeming features, except for wearing some gorgeous dresses, and, frankly, I never cared about what happened to her. On top of that, the fact that neither her of her husband noticed before that they might be spending way too much money was hardly convincing. I won’t blame Wasikowska as she gave here another solid performance and I can imagine that this role was on her bucket list (Wasikowska is a notorious bookworm). Furthermore, visually, the whole thing looked fine, especially her costumes, but they never managed to make me understand what was the deal with Emma Bovary and what was she exactly yearning for. Anyway, to conclude, I guess I should have read the book instead but it was still a decent watch and I guess it might be worth a look but only if you really 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 Scarlett Johansson, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, it was really neat that Johansson would try something completely different, in this case, a lowbrow raunchy comedy. On top of that, the rest of the cast not bad at all (Jillian Bell, Zoë Kravitz, Ilana Glazer, Kate McKinnon). So, it seemed that they had the necessary ingredients to deliver at least something decent but, unfortunately, the end-result didn't really work after all, I’m afraid. Indeed, the main issue was that they came up with such a generic  and, in fact, rather lame plot. Basically, it was some kind of mix of ‘Girls Trip’ (which was actually released the same year) with ‘Very Bad Things’ so it was definitely rather derivative. Furthermore, it is always tricky to make a comedy around a dead body. Indeed, in my opinion, the only way to make it more or less work, is to make the content really pitch-black and, even so, the end-result is usually rather cringe-inducing. In this case, to make things  worse, they kept trying to make this group of girls still likable after what happened which was a mistake. Indeed, if you go that way, if you make the decision that your main characters will dump a dead body to cover their ass, then, you should go all the way and make them some truly heartless selfish b*tches. As a result, there was this huge contrast between the dramatic events taking place and the very light tone resulting in something terribly half-baked. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing was rather harmless, it was still pretty weak though and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Even though I did see both ‘The Maze Runner’ and ‘The Scorch Trials’ in the movie theatre with my step-son when they were released, we actually skipped this movie which shows how much we cared about this franchise after all. Still, I have to admit that I was curious to see how it would all end. First of all, I want to congratulate the makers for not splitting this final instalment into 2 movies. Indeed, ever since they did it with Harry Potter, virtually all the following movie franchises adapted from YA novels did split the last book into 2 movies but, while it wasn’t such a terrible idea for Harry Potter, the end-result was quite terrible with trilogies such as ‘The Hunger Games’ or 'Divergent'. Anyway, coming back to the movie itself, if you put aside the whole mythology around this apocalyptic world, it was actually a fairly decent ‘Mission Impossible’ knock-off. Indeed, most of the movie was basically about Thomas with only a couple of his buddies going into a seemingly impregnable building to save another survivor from the Maze. Concerning the conclusion of this franchise, well, it was in this case rather disappointing though. Indeed, from the very start, everything was rather ambiguous which did work in the previous instalments but I’m afraid it all fell apart here because the plot-holes were just huge. Above all, even if the Maze was actually really interesting and by far the most intriguing aspect of this franchise, what was actually the freaking point?!? Seriously, after watching 3 f*cking movies, I’m still not sure. Sure, it was obviously some kind of experiment but for what purpose? Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look but only if you really like the genre. 

I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, the damned thing was really derivative. I mean, the intro and this nerd with his weird gadgets were pretty much lifted directly from ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and the gimmick of a bird who can’t fly had already been done by Blue Sky Studios in ‘Rio’. And, yet, Will Smith was a perfect choice to play Lance Sterling. Basically, Smith actually managed to play the first black James Bond and I think the guy really nailed it. On a sidenote,  I have to admit that I actually completely forgot before watching the damned thing that it was actually dealing with a spy turned into a pigeon which did sound terribly lame. And, yet, once again, Will Smith was actually really funny playing some pissed off frustrated pigeon. Eventually, since the plot and all the characters involved were so generic, I think the makers actually made the most of it but there is no denying that Will Smith was basically born to play such a character, being a regular spy or a pigeon spy. It’s too bad they never managed to do anything remotely interesting or entertaining regarding Tom Holland’s character though. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you need to entertain some young children.