Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Jessica Chastain, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. Indeed, even though there were some interesting things, in my opinion, it was still a rather generic ghost story. In fact, this movie could be a good example why horror flicks tend to have a rather lame reputation. The reason would be that this film, and so many other movies in this genre, was just so half-baked. For example, the intro was just rather weak. I mean, was that the only way they could find to have these 2 little girls end up in this cabin? Then, I was just amazed that nobody wondered how such young girls could survive for 5 years on their own in the wilderness. Concerning Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, he is a decent actor but what’s the point of playing a set of twins if none of them was developed whatsoever? At least, I was once again impressed by Jessica Chastain who played a completely different character than what I have seen her doing so far and she was as usual so convincing. I also have to admit that the ending was actually not bad at all as it took a really surprising turn while the rest of the movie was just seriously predictable. Anyway, to conclude, I think that my rating was actually generous here but I guess the damned thing might be worth a look but only 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 Matthew McConaughey, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it was a really interesting story with some great potential but it turned out to be only a decent watch at best, I’m afraid. Basically, the biggest issue was the lack of depth concerning Newton Knight. Indeed, during the 1st half the guy was described as some of kind of Southern Robin Hood which was fairly entertaining. Unfortunately, it made him also some kind of mythological figure instead of an actual real human being which was rather boring. For example, what did he think before the Civil War? Did he already felt conflicted about how the black folks were treated or he didn’t care at all at the time? Following the same principle, later on, Newton Knight actually lived with 2 women (1 black, 1 white) which must have been a pretty big deal in the South at the time. In fact, even today, it would be actually quite scandalous because, after all, polygamy is not really popular. And, yet, it was handled in this movie as something rather trivial. Furthermore, it was also really interesting that they focused on what happened in the South in the years following the end of the war but they struggled to link Newton Knight with each important event linked to the emancipation of black people. As the result, the whole thing became just way too episodic. Finally, it is understandable that they tried to also add the struggles of his great-grandson which was also an interesting tale but this mix was just really awkward and never really worked. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was a really interesting true tale and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

From the 3 DVDs my sister recently gave me as a gift, this was the one I was the most excited about since I am a big fan of Bertrand Tavernier’s work and of French cinema in general. Pretty much like Martin Scorsese did with the Italian cinema with ‘Il mio viaggio in Italia’ (even the titles of the two movies are really similar), Tavernier tells us here his memories about French movie which was fascinating but also, to be honest, sometimes rather frustrating. I mean, for some reasons, I was expecting that he would give us a full comprehensive analysis but, instead, pretty much like Scorsese did with his own movie, he focused only on the years going from the end of the 30’s to the beginning of the 70’s when I’m actually much more familiar with the movies that came afterwards in the 80’s and the 90’s. On top of that, I was really curious to hear what he had to say about some even more modern French movies but, even after more than 3 hours of running time, we never managed to get there. Still, it was just really neat to hear this master talking about all these other masters who had such an influence on his work but also in the Art of cinema in general. It was also a great reminder that I shouldn’t waste so much time watching some garbage and focus more on such amazing classics. Anyway, the damned thing is definitely worth a look, especially if you consider yourself a movie-buff. 

To be honest, I didn’t know anything from this flick so I had no idea what to expect from it and I actually ended up watching the damned thing because my sister bought me this movie on DVD. Well, first of all, even though ‘Intouchables’ is a decent flick, I still think it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made. Well, even if this movie won’t become a huge box-office, I have to admit that it was still a decent directing effort from Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano. As far as I’m concerned, after 5 minutes with Jean-Pierre Bacri, I was pretty much sold already. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for this actor and it was just a treat to see a comedy starring this guy after so many years. It was also pretty neat that they gave a rather realistic view on how such a large and fairly luxury wedding might go and how it is experienced by the staff. Concerning the rest of the movie, I’m afraid there were just too many characters involved and most of them were reduced to some one-note jokes. Concerning the jokes, it was rather hit-and-miss and, to make things worse, they kept repeating the same jokes over and over again which was obviously rather tiresome. Anyway, to conclude, I have to admit that my rating might have been slightly generous for this flick but it was not bad and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I already saw this movie but since I just bought a brand new awesome TV, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, even though it didn’t get much love when it was released, I thought it was not bad at all at the time but, to be honest, after rewatching the damned thing, I would have to agree that this movie was after all probably the most disappointing MCU instalment so far. Indeed, it was quite disappointing because, not only it was their first solo movie focusing on a female super-hero but, on top of that, it was dealing with their most powerful super-hero. I won’t blame Brie Larson, she was really charismatic and she tried really hard to sell it to the audience but, eventually, it turned out to be a very conventional origin story (basically, how Carol Danvers ended up with her super-powers) which wasn’t necessarily a bad idea but the issue was that it was told in such a convoluted way. Another thing that I did like the first time around but left me cold now was the choice of having the action take place in the 90’s. Sure, it was a rather simple way to focus only on this character without worrying about all the numerous other Marvel characters but, to be honest, I didn’t really get the link with this era and the main character though (the fact they used exactly the same gimmick with ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ probably didn't help). Concerning Captain Marvel herself, they obviously took their distance from how sexy she has been represented in the comic books and they went for a more bad-ass approach which was not bad but, to be honest, I’m not sure if I was really convinced though. On the other hand, I have been rewatching all the MCU instalments recently and I have to admit that it was rather cringe-worthy to see Black Widow  going to a random battle pretty much EACH TIME with some cleavage. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and, if you like the genre, it is definitely worth a look but there is no denying that it could or should have been so much better. 

I already saw this movie but, the first time I watched it, the circumstances were not ideal, so I thought I might as well check it out again. Indeed, the first time around, I saw this movie without subtitles and I have to admit that I did struggle to follow exactly what the characters were saying. On top of that, I think it is a rather frustrating movie but, while rewatching it, I have to admit that I was more able to appreciate its mood and its flow. Anyway, even if it turned out to be another decent directorial effort from Jeff Nichols, I think it was a slight step-back from his previous work though. Indeed, even if it was done on purpose, it didn’t help that Nichols chose to keep some big chunks of the story and of the characters involved in the dark through the whole thing. For example, while the cult thing was quite interesting, it turned out to be actually rather misleading and it had a rather minor impact after all. On the other hand, I don’t think that the plot or the dialogues were so important. Indeed, while a 3rd rate director would have probably delivered here a generic SF thriller, Nichols managed once again to create a really nice mood which made the whole thing quite spellbinding to behold, even if the concept was nothing really original after all. Furthermore, it is really neat that he keeps working with Michael Shannon who is such a fine actor and miles more interesting than many pretty faces working in Hollywood. Concerning the rest of the cast, Joel Edgerton and Adam Driver were fine as well, on the other hand, Kirsten Dunst was not bad but her character could have been more developed (in fact, all the characters could have been more developed). Anyway, to conclude, even if it was probably Nichols’s least interesting movie so far, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this director.