Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though I saw ‘Ip Man 2’ only a few months ago, I have to admit that I actually forgot most about it which is not really a good sign but I thought I might as well check this 2^nd sequel, especially since it was available on Netflix. Well, to be honest, I actually struggled to get into his movie. I mean, it’s not that it was much weaker than the previous instalments, it's just that, after 3 movies, the whole thing had started to become rather repetitive and, to be honest, even though Ip Man remains a fascinating man, I’m not sure he required 3 movies (there is even another one coming up in 2019), especially since they were all so similar. The most frustrating thing about this franchise is that Ip Man is mostly known because he had been Bruce Lee’s trainer, something really milked by this franchise and yet, after 3 movies, we still didn’t get a glimpse on how it actually went down between them. In this case, it was especially frustrating. Indeed, during the very first scene, you get to see to Bruce Lee as a grown-up showing up at Ip Man’s school to ask to become his pupil which was really promising. However, it was apparently only some kind of introduction and the rest of the movie had once again nothing to do with Bruce Lee which was just disappointing. Instead, it was dealing with Ip Man involved with some random events taking place in his neighbordhood. Seriously, it was just really generic and this plot was apparently not enough so the 3^rd act was suddenly dealing with yet another fight with a wannabe kung-fu master which had not much to do with the rest of the movie. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie is rather popular, I think the writing was rather poor but, still, I have to admit that it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing some interesting things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though I was fully aware of Jackie Robinson’s story, it remains such an amazing tale and it is not surprising that the guy is considered as one of the most influential African-Americans that ever lived. However, if the story itself was really strong, I don’t think it became such an amazing movie though and I wonder what Spike Lee who had tried to make a movie about Robinson for a very long time would have done with this material. I mean, Brian Helgeland delivered a solid directing effort, probably even his best movie so far, but, after all, it was pretty much a straightforward historical sports biopic. For example, you get to see pretty much the whole team of the Brooklyn Dodgers being against Robinson but, slowly, almost one by one, they started to root for the guy. Of course, you might argue that it was actually historically accurate. To be honest, I don’t really care though and it was definitely some rather generic and predictable narrative trope. Concerning Harrison Ford, even though I always had a weak spot for this actor and even though it was pretty neat to see him playing something else than his usual characters, I’m afraid he didn’t really nail it. Branch Rickey had apparently a huge impact on baseball, in fact, even on US history, but Ford kept playing him way over-the-top which made it difficult to take his character really seriously. On the other hand, Chadwick Boseman gave a really strong performance providing this actor with a deserved breakthrough.  Of course, you might argue that they could have developed more Robinson as a character but Boseman was always convincing playing an athlete constantly under pressure who not only had to excel at his sport but who also had to pretty much change the course of American history. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe nothing really groundbreaking, it remains such a fascinating and inspiring story and it is definitely worth a look. 

I already saw this movie but since I just bought an awesome brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, pretty much like with ‘Infinity War’, I have to admit that the damned thing turned out to be much more enjoyable the 2^nd time around. I remember the first time I saw it though. Of course, like anyone else who had been following the MCU for more than a decade by then, I was really eager to see this massive conclusion but I was expecting something more mind blowing at the time. Eventually, the only thing that still bothered me now was how they handled Captain Marvel. Indeed, I’m still amazed by how little impact she eventually had. Seriously, I thought she would be a major player to stop Thanos but she showed up only for a couple of scenes after all and, in spite of Brie Larson’s effort, it must be Marvel’s most underused and underwhelming character so far. Fortunately, a part from that, the rest of the movie was just so damned entertaining though. Hell, even the time-travel gimmick which seemed lazy and rather lame the first time around didn’t bother me at all anymore. In fact, it almost seemed to make more or less sense now (it still did create some major plot-holes though). Anyway, it was pretty awesome to see these iconic characters going back to such iconic moments in the MCU, seriously, it felt as if they were doing some kind of medley of their greatest hits. On top of that, pretty much like 'Infinity War', it was obviously a massive blockbuster. Indeed, the action scenes were, as expected, really badass and the final battle was the biggest one I have seen since 'The Return of the King'. Finally, there was maybe a dozen of really emotional punches and it was an incredibly rewarding movie on this level, giving a proper send-off to the most important Avenger among other things. Eventually did Thanos  and the Infinity Stones really require more than 5 hours of running time? I doubt it but these 2 movies were still pretty awesome after all. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was definitely not flawless, it was still one of the biggest blockbusters ever made and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the  genre.

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I really struggled to get into this flick. I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t in the right mood but I didn’t really get what was so ‘fun’ or’ entertaining’ about seeing some evil kid killing a bunch of people. I have to admit that the cast was fine though and it is very rare to see some decent actors in a horror flick like this one. However, even if Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard had a decent chemistry, most of their decisions and actions were dictated by the plot and not by what these characters would actually choose to do. Anyway, there were just so many things that rubbed me in the wrong way. Basically, it is a movie that toys with the concept that, since you were not involved in the first years of an orphan, they can never really be trusted which is just an appalling idea. Furthermore, if you would believe this flick, you shouldn’t trust ‘weird’ kids and you should even be entitled to make fun of them since they could actually turn out be some psychotic killers. Finally, it was just ridiculous to see a shrink deliver a full psychological profile of her client after just one session. At least, I have to admit that the 3^rd act was actually fairly entertaining and effective and the twist at the end was actually not bad but, still, most of the damned thing didn’t really work for me. Anyway, to conclude, even though I didn’t like it much, I have to admit that, in the evil kid genre, it might be one of the better movies I have seen so I guess it is worth a look if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Jake Gyllenhaal, I was really eager to check it out. Well, even though the whole thing had some potential, I wasn’t really convinced, to be honest. Basically, in my opinion, it was one of these movies that try to be original but actually end up being rather random. Of course, you might argue that life is pretty random but, in this case, the damned thing was just too damned quirky for my taste. Furthermore, I did like the burgeoning relationship going on between Gyllenhaal’s and Watts’s characters but, instead of developing this relationship, they put the focus on her teenage son which was a mistake. Indeed, it was just so lazy, generic and predictable to see this rebellious but actually really cool teenager getting along with this messed-up but actually really cool grown-up. Also, it was such a pity to see the lovely Naomi Watts pretty much wasted here playing another half-baked character. Still, it was not bad and it was a decent take on the grieving process. Above all, the whole thing was still quite watchable thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal who gave here another solid performance and the guy basically remains one of the best actors of his generation. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look, if only to see Gyllenhaal nailing another performance.