Reviews by johanlefourbe

I have to admit that I really have a weak spot for ‘Moana’ and I was quite surprised that they would come up with a sequel 8 years later, especially since the first installment didn’t turn out to be such a huge box-office success. Well, it seems that this bet paid off though since this sequel might become one of the most successful movies released this year, no less than that. However, even if I do believe that ‘Moana’ is actually one of the most underappreciated animated features delivered Disney, unfortunately, this sequel was just terribly boring though. Indeed, instead of expanding what was developed in the previous movie, it seemed that they only amplified what actually didn’t work already in the first place. Indeed, Moana might be one of the most charismatic characters delivered by Disney, her journey was not exactly super original and, by giving her another really similar quest, it was even more obvious but, above all, really tedious. Concerning Maui, he is a cool character but, in fact, he is basically some kind of cheap copy of the Genie from ‘Aladdin’ and it was even more obvious the 2nd time around. For this sequel, they also did give Moana a whole crew which wasn’t a bad idea, except that none of them was developed at all and, even worse, none of them was entertaining whatsoever. And who the hell was Matangi? Seriously, she turned out to be one of the most half-baked characters I have seen in a Disney animated feature. At least, the animation was really nice but it was really nothing new compared to the previous installment. Anyway, to conclude, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing but I have to admit that it was rather harmless and I guess it is worth a look but probably only if you really like the genre. 

I already saw this movie but, since it was ages ago and since it was available on HBO Max, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, I’m really glad I gave it another shot after all these years because I was much more able to enjoy it. The point is that, I must have watched it when I was maybe 16 years old and, to be honest, I actually had some mixed feelings about this movie. Indeed, in my mind, the whole thing was sugarcoating the whole ordeal of being a patient in a mental institution, back then in the 60’s but also nowadays. However, after rewatching the damned thing, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the case after all and the end-result was actually more realistic than I thought it was (except maybe for Chief’s escape at the end). Basically, they displayed that the main goal of this institution was not really to cure these patients but to contain them. McMurphy wasn’t after all some kind of wonder cure that made them whole again but his masterstroke was to treat them as actual fully-fledged human beings. Will they ever be cured? Probably not but it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have a life like anyone else instead of being locked up forever in the most depressing place you could possibly imagine. Concerning Jack Nicholson, he really had a stellar career but this could be his all-time best performance. McMurphy was indeed a perfect fit for him and the guy was just spellbinding to behold. Eventually, the only real plot hole in my opinion was that it didn’t make any sense that they would keep McMurphy after evaluating him. I mean, it was obvious that the guy didn’t have any mental illness so why keeping him? It was certainly not helping him, it wasn’t making the job of the employees working there any easier and his erratic behavior certainly didn’t have a soothing influence on the other patients. Anyway, to conclude, even if it might not be flawless, it is still a great classic and it is pretty much a must-see for any decent movie lover. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it seemed to have a decent reputation and since it was available on HBO Max, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I can understand why this movie was very well received and, for a good while, I thought it was going to be really great. Indeed, it finally featured a really good performance from Al Pacino (which unfortunately, doesn’t say much considering how sketchy his recent track-record has been). Furthermore, Jack Kevorkian was a fascinating guy and the whole topic of euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide was really intriguing. And, yet, after a very strong start, I’m afraid the damned thing just kept repeating itself instead of going deeper into this guy and his work. At some point, it became clear that his work of assisting people in ending their life became somehow tolerated, which was already a major milestone, but he pushed it too far by doing the deed himself and, as a result, he ended up for almost 10 years in jail only because he couldn’t accept to compromise his vision. However, the fact that this character was flawed made him actually even more interesting. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the title was actually quite accurate and, at the end, you still don’t know who really Jack Kevorkian was which was slightly frustrating. In fact, for the supporting actors such as John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, it was even worse though as they were barely given anything to do even though there were 2hrs of running time. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t completely blow me away, it was still a super interesting movie with a fascinating subject and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Al Pacino in something really worthwhile for once. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, if you are familiar with the John Wick franchise, this movie will really feel like it was some kind of spin-off focusing on the Continental (which did get a mini-series in 2023). So, basically, because of the super famous franchise, this movie did feel rather derivative after all but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t entertaining though. Indeed, the mood was neat and it was visually not bad at all. However, what really worked in this movie was the cast though (Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Dave Bautista, Brian Tyree Henry, Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto, Jeff Goldblum). Indeed, even though all their characters could have been beter fleshed out (with barely 90 mins of running time, there was simply not much room for that), they were quite game and it was pretty cool what they all managed to do with this material. The only exception might be Jeff Goldblum who was such a pitch-perfect choice to play this character but, with only 5 mins of screen time, he was pretty much wasted here. Above all, it was neat to see Jodie Foster after 5 long years and, contrary to some acting legends like Robert de Niro or Al Pacino, she doesn’t apparently feel the need to piss on her legacy by showing up in dozens of awful features seemingly for an easy paycheck. Anyway, she obviously had some fun here and she was quite entertaining. Anyway, to conclude, it was basically a B feature but the makers never pretended it to be anything else so it actually worked pretty well and I think 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 available on Netflix and since it was starring Nicolas Cage, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, at first, it did seem to be another lame flick like the endless others Cage has been making during the last 20 years. This time, they came up with some kind of mix of ‘American Beauty’ with the Zombie genre and, as far as I was concerned, it was pretty much as half-baked as it might sound. And yet, even though the damned thing did look really cheap and even though the concept was barely interesting at all, I have to admit that some bits were actually entertaining though. First of all, I can’t remember the last time I saw Selma Blair in a movie and she was pretty good here. However, I especially enjoyed Nicolas Cage in this movie and I wish they did focus more on his character. Indeed, the guy gave here one of his typical gonzo performances and he pretty much stole the show each time he was on the screen. Eventually, I’m not surprised that Cage himself said that it was his favorite movie he has made during the last 10 years (I actually checked what he did and, to be honest, most of it was actually pretty weak though…). Still, was there anything else really noteworthy in this movie? To be honest, not really and, for his first movie without his buddy Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor didn’t really impress me. Anyway, to conclude, my rating was probably too generous here but, compared to the garbage usually starring Nicolas Cage, at least, it was watchable and it’s clear that Cage had a blast here so only therefore, I guess it might still be worth a look. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seemed to have a decent reputation and since it was on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. Even though I have seen so many movies dealing with Frankenstein or Dracula, probably too many, it had been a while since I saw a feature focusing on this iconic character and I actually enjoyed this vintage version. Indeed, it was visually pretty neat, especially for a movie produced more than 100 years ago. To be honest, even though Edward Hyde did look pretty hideous, I wish they did develop more this character though. In my opinion, even though Dr Henry Jekyll is described as a righteous man, deep down, he actually wanted to indulge in this dark ‘stuff’ (I wish they did display more specifically what was so depraved about Hyde's behavior) and I do believe that he was using Hyde as an excuse. By the way, I had heard of John Barrymore before (mostly because he was Drew Barrymore’s grandfather) but I have to admit that the guy really impressed me here. Indeed, Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde were so completely different, I even wondered if they had hired 2 different actors but, as it should be, it was Barrymore who played both parts and he was pretty much pitch-perfect in both cases. Even though I couldn't care less about a new version of ‘Frankenstein’ (both Guillermo del Toro and Maggie Gyllenhaal are coming with some new versions in 2025), it would be pretty cool to see a modern version of this classic tale. Anyway, to conclude, even if I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, it was still a really solid vintage horror feature and it is definitely 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 seemed to have a decent reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I always had a weak spot for minimalistic features and, on top of that, even if I’m not a religious man, I have always been fascinated by religion so this movie definitely had some potential. I have to admit that, after I watched the trailer, I was expecting this ominous house to become some kind of huge labyrinth but the scale turned out to very small after all but it wasn’t an issue. Still, the material was completely in my ball park and it all worked fine up until the Hugh Grant’s character showed up with his ‘prophet’. Indeed, I was quite intrigued by this theological debate between the 3 characters but, from this moment, they kind of lost me though. I have to admit that, at first, I was also rather skeptical about Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East. Indeed, I never saw them before and I thought they would be the usual pretty faces that you get in your average horror flick. However, both girls were actually pretty good and there was more depth to their characters than I expected. And, of course, it was quite a blast to see Hugh Grant, once the 90’s King of the romantic-comedies, playing a deranged serial killer in a horror flick this one and the guy really nailed it. Instead of getting them involved in some weird non-sensical gory theatrics, they could have developed more these characters though. Indeed, as long as these 3 characters were involved in  some kind of theological debate, I was really in. By the way, I was amazed that none of them ever mentioned the concept of ‘faith’, the fact that you actually believe, not because it is supposed to make sense but because you simply chose to believe. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t completely work out, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Gerard Butler and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, with Butler, when you watch his most recent movies, it either can turn out to be actually fairly decent like ‘Greenland’ (also from the same director) or borderline awful like ‘Angel Has Fallen’ (and also from the very same director). Well, even though this one didn’t make much waves when it was released, I thought it was not bad at all after all. Indeed, during the first half, when you get introduced to all the people involved in some way in this spy world, it was surprisingly convincing for what seemed to be at first a rather generic Butler action feature. Unfortunately, from the moment the main character and his guide/translator left Herat to go to Kandahar, it became much more generic and less interesting though. Basically, the movie then became a very long chase which was watchable but it wasn’t exactly thrilling, especially if you would compare it to the intriguing first half. It was also rather bewildering how little they eventually did with Mohammad, considering that they took a full scene to show his dramatic entrance in his home country. Of course, there was also some stuff involving the private lives of some of the characters, probably in an attempt to make them look like some really fully-fledged human beings but it didn’t really work, especially with the main character (seriously…. These guys never have a harmonious family life…) Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn’t anything groundbreaking, it actually turned out to be a solid action flick and I think 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 King Vidor and since it was available on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, with only 130 viewers on IMDb, it is probably is one of the most obscure movies I have seen so far. In fact, by now, I have seen 6 movies directed by Vidor (I won’t count ‘The Wizard of Oz’ because he did direct only a handful of scenes) and it was probably the least impressive one I have seen so far. However, on the other hand, his output in the 20’s was not really stellar. First of all, even though it was supposed to be dealing with the conflict between English and Irish, both groups were hardly fleshed out at all and I think it was pretty obvious that it was a US production. Concerning the story itself, it was also pretty flimsy, even for a movie made more than 100 years ago. Eventually, as far as I’m concerned, the only thing which was really noteworthy was Laurette Taylor. Indeed, she was actually pretty good, even if she was probably the only interesting actor from this otherwise rather dull cast.  Eventually, I was even more impressed when I found out afterwards that she was almost 40 years old when she played this character. Apparently, she would only play in a few movies after this one but she was considered as one of the greatest stage actresses of all time, no less than that. Anyway, to conclude, even if I didn’t care much about the damned thing after all, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is 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. To be honest, it is one of those rare movies which, while I was watching it, I was constantly wondering how on Earth it did actually end up in my queue. The fact that it turned out to be so lame made this choice even more dubious and I have to admit that I was already skeptical from the moment I saw the ‘Nickelodeon’ logo when the movie started. Then, within a few mins, it became clear that they did dare cast Victoria Justice and Jane Levy as supposedly two losers in high-school which was just ridiculous. Seriously, either you make them play some really popular girls or you hire someone completely different who might looked more convincing for these characters. So, pretty much from the start, the damned thing was rather hopeless and, to be honest, it never really got better afterwards. Indeed, even though Wren and Roosevelt were obviously meant to end up together, Victoria Justice and Thomas Mann had basically no chemistry whatsoever. Concerning the jokes, like the rest of the movie, it was also rather pathetic, I’m afraid. The tone was also seriously uneven. Indeed, even though it was a Nickelodeon feature and even though it did seem to be targeting young children, some jokes were actually much more adult oriented. The whole sub-plot about Chelsea Handler’s character dating a young man only 10 years older than her daughter was a really good example. Anyway, to conclude, even though my rating might seem to be harsh and I have to admit that it was rather harmless but, even so, I just didn’t care at all about the damned thing and I think you should probably avoid it.