Reviews by johanlefourbe

Since I kept hearing some really good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I had some rather high expectations but even though I did like it, to be honest, I had some trouble to really connect with the damned thing. I don’t know, maybe, I have seen by now too many movies dealing with a degenerate gambling addict to really care. Seriously, within the first 5 minutes, it was pretty obvious how the whole thing would go. Still, I have to admit that I didn’t see the ending coming but, while it was shocking, it was after all hardly surprising, considering the highly destructive behaviour of the main character. Another thing was that, except for the main character, none of the other characters were developed as they were all reduced to being some indirect or direct victims of his gambling addiction. There was the rather weird exception of Julia who suddenly, out of nowhere, was upgraded during the ending to a mighty sidekick who had to handle the biggest bet of the movie. Of course, you could argue that the guy was at this point so desperate that he grabbed the only person available at that moment. On the other hand, it was pretty neat to see Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd playing more or more less themselves and I will definitely not blame Adam Sandler. Indeed, many critics considered that he delivered his best work in this movie and I would have to agree with them. Furthermore, the Safdie brothers delivered here a gritty and convincing underworld where Jewish jewelers in New York have to deal on a regular basis with famous athletes and hip-hop artists because they all really love their bling-bling. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Adam Sandler showing up in a good movie for once.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Kate Mara, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I thought it was a rather weak mix of a standard thriller with a junkie drama and this mix never really worked in my opinion. It’s too bad because Kate Mara and David Oyelowo were both not bad at all but the makers never really managed to bring the separate storylines together. On the other hand, I have to admit that, while I was watching the damned thing, I forgot that it was actually based on a true story.  Eventually, it was reduced to some spiritual, even divine, link which was hardly convincing to me. Anyway, what really ruined the whole thing for me was the ending though. Sure, it is understandable that they wanted to give some real footage of the people involved, after all, it is rather standard with this genre, but, seriously, it went on for just way too long. Above all, when they even gave us the real Ashley Smith showing up at the Oprah Winfrey Show and, this point, I thought I was actually watching the Lifetime Channel. Anyway, to conclude, in spite some decent efforts from Kate Mara and David Oyelowo, the material turned out to be really misguided and I don’t think it was worth a look after all. 

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. To be honest, it might seem at first like a really stupid concept but I have to admit that I was actually rather pleasantly surprised by the end-result. Indeed, it pretty much followed my theory that grown-ups are basically kids who are taking themselves too seriously and it was just so refreshing to see a group of adults deciding to keep having fun together even while they were getting older. On top of that, the energy and vibe during some of the tagging scenes were pretty wild and entertaining. Still, I’m not so sure about the approach they chose. Indeed, the makers decided to focus on one specific tagging season. However, while it did make sense, as a result, they had to go seriously over-the-top and I think it would have been more effective and interesting to see the evolution of their game through the years, starting when they were kids until today. Another mistake they made was also to turn this game into some kind of team sport. Indeed, the way Jerry played the game was whow it was supposed to be played, at least, that’s what I can remember from when I used to play the damned thing as a kid. Finally, it is interesting that the best way these guys could find to maintain their relationship was to play a game during which you are not supposed to touch anyone. Anyway, to conclude, even though the whole thing seemed to be rather misguided, it turned out to be a fun comedy 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 it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I have never been a huge fan of this franchise, I thought that this new instalment was actually not bad at all. Indeed, even if it was expected, it was pretty neat that they managed to bring back all the cast, even some minor characters. Then, I liked the fact that they all, except for Chris Ostreicher, had a rather average job and an average life in general. Unfortunately, even if it was expected as well, each character had their own sub-plot which was a little bit too much to handle. Furthermore, for all the guys who were in a relationship, all their respective sub-plots were dealing with cheating on their partners and it’s too bad that they couldn’t come up with something else. Concerning the jokes, it was rather hit-and-miss but, at least, most of these jokes were not so over-the-top and even actually believable. Another thing that stroke me was the fact that, 13 years later, they still remain a bunch of rather weak actors and Seann William Scott, who is far from being a great actor, remains the only one who manages to do anything remotely interesting with his character. On the other hand, you might blame the material but I think it’s not surprising that none of them had a really impressive career after the success of the first instalment. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit it was actually a decent watch and 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 was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I have to admit that I had never heard of Sergio Vieira de Mello before watching this movie but he was definitely an interesting guy. Unfortunately, it seems that the life of a diplomate was rather difficult to turn into a movie. Indeed, most of their job, even if it can be terribly important, basically consists in sitting around a table and have a discussion with someone else which doesn’t sound narratively really exciting. On the other hand, Netflix also released recently ‘The Two Popes’ which was basically about two guys talking about various things and it worked fine. Anyway, I believed that the makers somewhat struggled with the material and, to cover it up, they used the usual gimmick of mixing up the chronology. As a result, it made the whole thing looked more complex than it actual was and it also allowed them to deliver several scenes which were either really similar or even identical. Another bewildering choice was to focus so much on his romance with Carolina Larriera. I mean, I believe that Ana de Armas is really lovely and she might have a bright future ahead of her but  it felt rather misguided to spend half of the running time on this love affair. At least, Wagner Moura delivered here another strong performance. Indeed, his work here was completely different than what he did in ‘Narcos’ or in ‘Tropa de Elite’ but he was once again completely convincing and riveting to watch. Anyway, to conclude, even if the whole thing turned out to be rather disappointing, I still think it is worth a look, thanks to Wagner Moura and because de Mello was a compelling man. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching the damned thing.  Well, as usual with Nakache et Toledano, even though this movie definitely had some potential, I still ended up with some mixed feelings. Indeed, they were dealing here with a very interesting subject, something much more topical than their monster hit ‘Intouchables’, but their approach seemed rather misguided. Indeed, they took a real tragic situation impacting so many people around the world and turned it into some kind of Cinderella story during which a helpless black man falls in love with a relatively wealthy white woman. Another thing that bothered me was that Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character was just so cluelessly annoying. In the 2^nd half, her background was finally explained but I think it was a mistake to give such crucial details about her so late as it partially ruined this character. Another disappointing character was Jonas. Indeed, at first, the guy seemed to be interesting but, eventually, he turned out to be a gimmick so they could reach a specific goal at the end. And yet, there were some good stuff in this flick. Indeed, some other characters like Manu and Walid AKA Wilson were really good and, above all, Omar Sy was again so charismatic and just really convincing. Furthermore, the subject of this movie was really interesting but the makers, like they did in ‘Intouchables’, tried too hard to squeeze a harsh reality into a feel-good feature but it never really worked in my opinion. 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.