Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, 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 it is probably the best movie I have seen released by Netflix so far this year (it is actually a rather low bar), I was still not really impressed though. I mean, it was definitely a decent watch but I’m afraid I had already seen too many similar movies which were vastly superior. Still, the makers definitely managed to describe a harsh and grim reality, a world where basically virtually no one can succeed, even the kid who joined in the army to get out of the hood. On the down side, I think they did overuse the mixed chronology though. I mean, some of the flashbacks did work, especially when the main character was just a small kid, but the back and forth in the present time before and after the murder was much less convincing. There was also the choice of making the main character rather unremarkable. On one hand, it made the whole thing more realistic and it was rather refreshing that, for once, the main character didn’t turn out to be someone with an exceptional talent who gets crushed by his merciless environment as it is very usually the case in this genre. However, on the other hand, it was rather difficult to root for a guy who didn’t have a lot of redeeming features. At least, the acting was strong thanks to some really solid performances by Ashton Sanders and Jeffrey Wright. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, 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 it was directed by Asghar Farhadi, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, after his French movie (‘Le passé’) and before his Spanish movie (‘Todos lo saben’), Farhadi went back to Iran to make this flick which turned out to be another critical success. Indeed, even though it is admirable that the Iranian master would try to direct some movies abroad, to be honest, the movies made in his home country were so much better. As usual, I didn’t know anything about the story before watching the damned thing and I have to admit that it took me a while to get into it but, pretty much like ‘Jodaeiye Nader az Simin’, it turned out to be another fascinating mix of a thriller with a realistic drama. Indeed, the core of the story was dealing with what did happen to Rana which was basically some pretty basic thriller setup. However, in the contrary to your average US thriller, there was no intrusive music cue telling what you should expect or what you should feel, in fact, there was no music whatsoever. Above all, what was so interesting was the fact that there were no good guys or bad guys. I mean, for example, you could argue that Emad was sometimes acting pretty much like a douchebag but, considering the circumstances, it was actually rather understandable and, in fact, it was completely relatable to me. Eventually, in my opinion, this movie was about the fact that the aftermath following a dramatic event can be just as or even more traumatic than the actual event itself. Anyway, Farhadi’s movies display such an indepth analysis of what it means to be human, it is just fascinating to behold and this movie was another great example. To conclude, it was an incredibly rewarding movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Asghar Farhadi’s work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Anthony Hopkins and since it was directed by Richard Attenborough, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I had really a hard time to care about the damned thing. First of all, I have to admit that I had no idea what this movie was about before watching it. Eventually, it turned out to be a biopic about C.S. Lewis but, instead of focusing on his work such as the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ books, they focused on how he fell in love with his wife. And that was already the first issue, was it really the most interesting thing that happened to the renowned author? Obviously, the idea was to focus on a seemingly very intelligent man who has figured out many theories about God and the meaning of life and who, suddenly, sees his life turned upside down when he finally discovered love. While this concept might seem intriguing (apparently, this movie was very well received by the critics when it was released), I can’t say I was really blown away though. I guess it is a matter of taste but, as far as I’m concerned, the process of seeing a really smart man struggling with his feelings for more than 1 hour before finally becoming aware that he was actually in love was actually rather tedious. At least, there is no doubt that Anthony Hopkins gave here another really solid performance. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really work for me, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Anthony Hopkins’s work. 

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.