Reviews by johanlefourbe

I already saw this movie but since I have it on Blu-ray and since I just brought a brand new awesome TV, I was quite eager to check it out again. First of all, even though I have never been a huge fan of Steven Spielberg, his movies are always a big event so I was quite intrigued by this movie, especially since it turned out to be quite successful at the box-office. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that I was actually quite positively surprised and, as far as I’m concerned, it was Spielberg’s most enjoyable movie in years. Indeed, the damned thing was visually really impressive and I wish I actually saw it in the movie theater when it was released. I was also surprised that most of the movie was actually CGI animated but, in this genre, it is easily one of the most satisfying movies I have seen so far. Furthermore, the story was quite entertaining and, while watching the damned thing, I was thinking that ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ could have been also a box-office hit if Luc Besson didn’t write such a half-baked plot. On the downside, it’s too bad the whole thing was too long though. I mean, with 140 mins, it wasn’t exactly a very long movie but they could or should have removed 30 mins and the whole thing above all lost some steam during the 3rd act. Furthermore, even though the potential was pretty much limitless with this concept, they didn’t take much risks after all and, like pretty much everything else directed by Spielberg, it was too light-hearted and sentimental for my taste. Still, there were some really cool scenes and the whole 'Shining' sequence should go down as one of the best things ever delivered by this director. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was maybe not a masterpiece, it was still a really fun and gorgeous blockbuster and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Steven Spielberg’s work. 

Since I really loved ‘Nightcrawler’, I was really eager to see this new directing effort from Dan Gilroy once again starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo and the fact that it was directly available on Netflix was another reason to watch it straight away. Well, it turned to be something really ambitious, some rather weird mix of a satiric look on the Art business world with a surreal horror flick. Still, even though it was definitely some bold combination, I wasn’t completely blown away though. Indeed, I really liked to dive into this Art world which was quite fascinating and obnoxious at the same time thanks to a very strong cast but the horror stuff was never really interesting though. Basically, at best, it did feel like a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode but, at the end of the day, it was not so original after all and it was more like an average slasher flick. On top of that, it was also a distraction. Indeed, just when I was starting to learn more about the characters and their relationship with one and another, this interesting process was unfortunately abruptly interrupted by these random killings. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still enjoyed the damned thing, it was especially really neat to see Jake Gyllenhaal nailing another performance and I think it is worth a look. 

Since I really loved ‘A Separation’, I was really eager to see Asghar Farhadi’s following directing effort, especially since it was well received. Well, even though there was some really good things in this movie, to be honest, it never really blew me away though.  I mean, Farhadi displayed some really solid directing, I just love his realistic approach, and he managed once again to get some really strong performances from all the characters, even from the kids. However, even if the characters were quite interesting, to be honest, they were not exactly spellbinging. Furthemore, the fact that it was sometimes rather difficult to root for them didn’t help either. For example, Bérénice Bejo was quite amazing but you could feel that her character always had a rather destructive behaviour not only with Ahmad and Samir but with probably all her previous partners as well, she was also smoking while she was pregnant and she lashed out again her kids many times when she couldn't handle the pressure anymore. And yet, the fact that these characters were all flawed and humane made them still quite interesting to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even if the whole thing didn’t completely grab me, it was still a strong drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Asghar Farhadi’s work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a decent comedy but, to be honest, not much more than that in my opinion. First of all, I saw the damned thing on the BBC without subtitles so I have to admit that I didn’t get all the jokes so maybe if I rewatch it with some subtitles, I might be able to enjoy it more. Still, it was a fun flick with another strong performance by Alec Guinness. Furthermore, I always had a weak spot for the heist genre, especially when the heist is actually quite realistic like it was in this case, at least, until the 3^rd act. Indeed, at some point, the characters started to chase these little girls with their golden Eiffel towers and, in my opinion, even if it was maybe entertaining, the whole thing didn’t make much sense after that. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn’t completely blown away by the whole thing, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.