Reviews by johanlefourbe

I’m well aware that this franchise has a rather lousy reputation but, to be honest, I have to admit that ‘London Has Fallen’ was slightly better than its predecessor so I thought I might as well check this 3^rd instalment.  Well, unfortunately, this sequel turned out to be a huge step back, I’m afraid. Indeed, above all, the plot was just so generic and seriously tedious. I mean, by now, I can’t remember how many flicks I have seen dealing with the main character being setup for some complot. Obviously, Mike Banning then spent most of the duration trying to prove his innocence while the good guys and bad guys were hunting him down. On top of that, he had also some major health issues which was also not terribly original. I mean, all this was not necessarily a bad idea but the biggest issue was that the makers didn't add anything new, surprising or entertaining with these tired old concepts and, as a result, I was seriously bored through the whole thing. It was also pretty obvious that they had slashed in the budget (it was apparently almost half cheaper than ‘Olympus Has Fallen’) as, this time around, they didn’t have a huge cast of over-qualified actors involved. They still managed to add Danny Huston, Nick Nolte and Jada Pinkett Smith to this franchise though. Huston was actually not bad, Nolte was obviously completely wasted but I felt above all bad for Pinkett Smith. Is it really the only gig she could find to show to the world that she still has a career beside being Miss Will Smith? Anyway, to conclude, even if this movie was rather harmless, I seriously struggled not to fall asleep while watching the damned thing so I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe 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 Andrew Garfield, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though the beginning was extremely strong and promising, unfortunately, the whole thing slowly fell apart though. I mean, it was an interesting turn of event that Dennis Nash would work for Rick Carver. Of course, you could blame the guy but since no one else would hire him, what else could he do to feed his family? However, I don’t think it really made sense that Rick would hire him though. Sure, it made for a nice plot twist but a guy like him could hire pretty much anyone else instead of someone he just evicted. However, it became even more far-fetched when he decided to make Dennis evict other people. I mean, would you ask a plumber or a carpenter to do this kind of job? Eventually, I think it was the biggest issue with this movie, the fact that, in spite of another really solid performance by Michael Shannon, Rick Carver’s motives regarding his relationship with Dennis Nash remained really obscure through the whole duration. Concerning Dennis, I wish they didn’t turn him into such a wimp who got sucked into Carver’s messed up schemes. I mean, there is nothing wrong about getting a f*cked-up job especially if there is really nothing else available but I think it would have been more interesting if they would have chosen to have him keep both feet on the ground instead of getting filthy rich and buying a ridiculous mansion in the process. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, the material was still terribly topical and interesting and it is definitely worth a look. 

It is rather doubtful that we needed a new ‘Bad Boys’ instalment (isn’t it the case with most sequels though?) but since this movie had been fairly well received and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though it was probably nothing really amazing, at least, it was miles better than the rather abysmal ‘Bad Boys II’. Indeed, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence had once again a pretty good chemistry and they were quite funny to watch together. However, even if the story was decent enough, the running time was 2 hours and it was just way too long though. Seriously, there is no good reason whatsoever that an action flick with such a generic plot should last for so long. Still, there were a couple of nice ideas though. Indeed, I liked the fact that Mike Lowrey’s reckless behaviour might be finally catching up with him after 25 years, resulting in him getting shot, and it would have been interesting if they further developed this. In the same way, it was pretty neat that Lowrey actually fell in love with a major drug dealer when he was young but, unfortunately, this franchise will always stick to its mantra ‘Bay Boys Forever’ (which could be the title of their next instalment) so everything deviating from this was unfortunately swiftly discarded though. It was also not necessarily a bad idea to give them some new partners but, next to the charismatic team of Smith and Lawrence, they didn’t stand a chance, I’m afraid, and they were all baredy developed at all. Anyway, to conclude, even it might seem that I wasn’t really enthusiastic, it was actually a decent action flick and I think it is actually worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre. 

Since I always had a weak spot for Sam Mendes’s work and since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. Well, like many other heralded movies released in 2019, even if I really liked the damned thing, it didn’t really blow me away though. The point was that, sure,  it was indeed visually and technically impressive. However, even though the story was decent enough, to be honest, it was nothing really original or amazing. At least, the plot wasn’t as ridiculous as it was in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (a movie with an amazing intro but otherwise seriously overrated). Indeed, everything happening was fairly realistic but, again, there was nothing really ground-breaking about these 2 soldiers involved in some seemingly impossible mission to bring some crucial message. Furthermore, pretty much like Christopher Nolan with ‘Dunkirk’, Sam Mendes chose a realistic approach regarding his characters but, while this approach definitely has its merits, it also has its downside. I mean, on one hand, you really feel that you are dealing with some average soldiers, that they could be anyone, the boy-next-door, yourself, your brother,… However, on the other hand, you do end up with some ‘average’ characters who were barely charismatic and who didn’t have any real distinctive features or personalities. Still, there is no doubt that the visuals by Roger Deakins (easily one of the best cinematographers at work nowadays) were just so impressive and it is possible that I would have enjoyed this movie more if I had seen it on the silver screen and not at home. Anyway, to conclude, all in all, it was still another strong directing effort from Sam Mendes and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Johnny Depp, I still wanted to check it out. Well, it wasn’t really good, in fact, it was even pretty weak. Indeed, the damned thing turned out to be just terribly generic, uninspired, lazy and pretentious. I mean, it seems that the makers took the basic core of ‘American Beauty’ and simply switched the middle life crisis with some terminal cancer hoping that the audience wouldn’t notice it. Concerning the main character, it wasn’t much better, I’m afraid. Seriously, I never really cared about the guy. However, the supporting characters were even less interesting but, at least, they had the excuse that they were not developed whatsoever. And, yet, even though most of this movie was pretty much a disaster, somehow, Depp was once again terribly charismatic. Indeed, in spite of the rather poor material, the guy still managed to deliver an actually solid performance and, basically, he was just really fun to watch. While watching this other misfire from the stellar actor, I couldn’t help thinking about the trajectory of his career. I mean, the guy had been the king of the teenager heartthrobs in the 80’s, the king of the indies in the 90’s and then the king of the blockbusters in the 00’s. However, he seems nowadays to be pretty much lost and you might wonder if he might make a come-back at some point but it seems highly doubtful. The bottom line is, basically, does Johnny Depp really care anymore or does just he go from one pay check to the other just to finance his outlandish lifestyle? Anyway, to conclude, I was probably too generous with my rating here and I guess the damned thing might be actually worth a look but only if you are a die-hard fan of Johnny Depp. 

I actually had no idea what this movie was about but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though Annette Bening and Ed Harris had some nice chemistry together, to be honest, I really struggled to care about the damned thing. The main issue was that, even though I understood what the makers were trying to do, I just didn’t care much for their approach. Basically, according to them, the relationship between Nikkie and Tom was pretty much sick and doomed to fail but I strongly disagreed. Indeed, for many, or even for most, romantic relationships, people get together for the most misguided reasons such as money, social status, ethnic background, pressure from your parents,… Hell, even Woody Allen eventually got married with the adopted daughter of his girlfriend. To get with someone because they physically look similar to an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend is hardly uncommon and, even though it might be indeed misguided, I don’t believe it should be such a deal breaker. Especially in this case, Nikkie was indeed at first interested in Tom because he looked like Garret but if the guy would have been a jerk, she would have walked away. However, she stuck around not because Tom looked like Garret but simply because he was actually a nice guy showing that this relationship could have worked on the long run. Of course, it still would have been weird and misguided but many romantic relationships are just as weird and misguided only for some other reasons. It’s too bad because Benning and Harris were both pretty good and it would have been interesting if they had tried to give this relationship a chance to succeed. 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 wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I guess it was bound to happen that Adam Sandler would deliver some Halloween comedy at some point but I have to admit that it was not so bad after all. Indeed, at least, it was a slight improvement on the abysmal ‘Murder Mystery’. However, as usual with Sandler, the damned thing was still pretty weak though. It is difficult to pinpoint what was the biggest issue between the annoying moronic main character (such a cringe-inducing trademark from Sandler) or the completely misguided approach. Indeed, even though the movie was supposed to be about the fact that bullying someone mentally impaired, or anyone for that matter, is wrong, most of the jokes were actually at the expense of this main character. So, what were we supposed to do? Blame the bullies or laugh about their ‘awesome’ jokes? Concerning these jokes, most of them were some running gags involving people throwing stuff at Hubie, Hubie getting scared about pretty much anything and Hubie using his ‘awesome’ Swiss thermos. Well, none of this was really funny and the fact that it was constantly repeated didn’t help either. Concerning Julie Bowen, she was as usual quite charming and I have to admit that it was fun to see her playing again Sandler’s love interest almost 25 years after 'Happy Gilmore' but it was probably the least likely romance I have seen so far in a Sandler flick. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing was rather harmless, I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Adam Sandler’s work.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with gambling, especially poker, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, making a poker movie with Ryan Reynolds was just a brilliant idea,  even if, eventually, Reynolds didn’t do much poker after all. In fact, this movie was even not really about gambling after all. Indeed, it was above all about these 2 men and their relationship. Concerning Ben Mendelsohn, he was basically playing another gambling degenerate but there was also some kind of sweetness about this guy and the fact that he was completely aware of his affliction made it easier to root for him. However, Ryan Reynolds’s character was quite harder to understand though. I guess he was some kind of drifter who, somehow, always managed to get enough money and pretty girls without too much effort but there were still some massive question marks regarding this guy. Indeed, what did he see in Gerry? Was it really realistic that he stuck for so long with him in spite the fact that the guy was pretty much a walking disaster and a ticking bomb combined? As a result, the fact that the guy remained such an enigma made him equally interesting but also frustrating. To be honest, it felt as if the writers got stuck at some point and pretty much stopped working on the script. At least, I did appreciate the fact that they tried a different approach, a different take, on the whole gambling addiction thing. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it still turned out to be a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.