Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, after I saw the trailer, I got slightly worried but since I loved 'Deadpool' so much, I was still quite eager to check this sequel. Fortunately, it turned out to be pretty entertaining, even if its predecessor was much better. The problem was mostly due to the fact that since 'Deadpool' had turned out to be such a tremendous success, they thought that they had to double the budget but this plan actually backfired. Indeed, there were more big action scenes and many more characters involved but, as a result, it felt like a much more generic super-hero flick with only more blood and cursing which was slightly disappointing. Another mistake they made was to bring back all the supporting characters (Deadpool's girlfriend, Deadpool's blind roommate, Deadpool's buddy bartender, Deadpool's buddy cab driver,...). I mean, the recipe for a good sequel is never to bring EXACTLY the same things that worked the first time around. At least, they could have delivered some other cool X-Men like Mystic, Magneto, Professor Xavier or even Storm  (with the success of the first movie, it should have been doable) instead of, again, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. I was also slightly disappointed by Domino who was prominently displayed on all the promotional material but this character didn't turn out to be so entertaining after all. On the other hand, Josh Brolin, after being already impressive as Thanos in 'Avengers: Intinity War' just a couple of weeks before, was just really badass as Cable. And, of course, Deadpool remains such an awesome fun character, Ryan Reynolds was obviously having a total blast and the guy completely nailed it again. Eventually, they will have to be careful with the inevitable 3rd installment and make sure they bring something really new and interesting on the table but it is still worked this time around and the damned thing is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since this movie is a classic, I was really eager to check it out, especially since it is included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list. At first glance, it seemed to be about the rise of Fascism in Italy and its impact on the rich Jews living in a small city but De Sica obviously went beyond that but, to be honest, I'm not sure I fully understood what he was getting at. Eventually, what were we supposed to feel about the Finzi Contini? Were we suppose to feel sorry for them because even their incredible wealth couldn't save them from the Fascist madness? Also, what was the deal with Alberto who was sick throughout the whole movie? Same thing with his sister Micòl, what was the deal with her ice queen bitch act? At least, it was intriguing that most of these Jews were attractive with blond hair and blue eyes which made them look like some perfect Nazis which shows that Fascism is not only an ignorant ideology but, apparently, it is also blind. Anyway, even if I didn't care much about the characters, they were still complex and interesting. To conclude, even if it didn't completely blow me away, it was still a good historical drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I really had no idea what to expect from this movie but since it was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be one of the most fascinating thrillers I have seen lately and I'm glad I didn't know anything about this movie before watching it as it made the whole thing even more spellbinding to behold. To be honest, I feel slightly guilty that it didn't notice that it was done in one single continuous shot lasting no less than 134 minutes. I did feel that they were using some long takes but I didn't notice that there was no cut at all but it was so well done, you just get lost in this fascinating tale. It did create some immediate urgency and it made the performances even more impressive in retrospect. Of course, you might argue that it didn't make sense  that the main character would tag along with some guys she barely met, especially concidering the mess she ended up into but I don't agree. Indeed, once, when I was alone abroad in the USA, feeling alone like her, I ended up with some guys I barely knew, I spent the whole night with them and I had a great time even though they ended up smoking some crack and even stealing some gas at a gas station so I definitely understood her. It was also very well explained, she had spent all her youth working her ass off to become a professional piano player which resulted in nothing and she ended up in this foreign country all alone so what did she have to loose? Of course, it was reckless and it all ended up in chaos but, to feel alive, shouldn't we take some risks and see what will happen? Anyway, to conclude, I really loved the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look.

I really had no idea what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Angelina Jolie, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that I was really surprised by how awesome the concept was. Indeed, it was dealing with a great surgeon who lost his license because he was a junkie and, when the movie began, he started to work for a big gangster who might need a surgeon when his henchmen get shot. It reminded me of 'Breaking Bad' and it was just seriously brilliant. Unfortunately, even though the concept was fascinating, it turned out to be rather poorly developed. For example, David Duchovny was actually pretty good as long as he played the main character as some kind of junkie antihero who didn't give a sh*t about anything anymore but still enjoyed the thrill of surgery and of saving lifes. Unfortunately, it didn't last long and, at some point, he grew a conscience, cleaned up his act and outsmarted everybody including the mob and the FBI which was just lame and boring. Same thing with Timothy Hutton, he was not bad but his bad guy was still too stereotypical and boring. Imagine if his character, basically a gangster, would have been the smartest and nicest character in this movie? It would have been so much more interesting. Instead, the nice dark edge displayed at the beginning completely disappeared in the 3rd act and, suddenly, this conflicted and interesting main character became a hero and saved the day which was not only unconvincing but, above all, rather tedious. Anyway, to conclude, it has been a while since I have seen such a great concept in a movie but, unfortunately, it was poorly handled so I don't think it is really worth a look after all.

Since this movie is a huge classic and is very often considered as one of the best movies directed by Ingmar Bergman, I was really eager to check it out and I had some really high expectations. Well, to be honest, as usual with this director, I had a rather hard time to connect with the damned thing. It didn't help that I saw a very poor version on YouTube so maybe I should give it another chance in the future. Still, the fact that I didn't connect with this movie was probably because I'm not smart enough and not because it wasn't a good movie, that's for sure. Eventually, as usual with Bergman's work, I enjoyed more thinking afterwards about his movies than actually watching them and this one was a perfect example. First of all, even though our Western world is getting older and older, we still get very few movies dealing with old age and this movie is easily one of the best about this subject. Indeed, through his whole life, the main character was really successful professionally but he didn't care at all about his relationship with the people around him but, in his twilight years, he is looking back to his past, which is rather usual, and starts to show more compassion towards the few people still around him. However, if this change of attitude and way of thinking made complete sense with the main character, I think it was rather unbelievable that Marianne would suddenly change her mind about him and think that he was a great guy just after spending one road trip with him. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn't completely blow me away, it is still a major classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ingmar Bergman's work. 

Since this movie is a classic and since it was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though it was indeed pretty good, to be honest, it didn't completely blow me away. First of all, even though Joan Crawford delivered a solid performance and won at the time the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, in my opinion, her character should have been more complex. Indeed, even though Mildred Pierce was first presented as a possible murderer, Crawford slowly removed any evidence that this woman was anything else than perfect and it backfired as it made this woman much lesser interesting then when the movie started. Eventually, the more complex character turned out to be actually Veda Pierce thanks to a really strong performance by Ann Blyth but even this character didn't really work after all. Basically, all what Mildred Pierce did was to give a better life to her children, especially Veda. However, at some point, she managed to become really rich which should have been more than sufficient but Veda kept on being impossible to deal with with no real explanation whatsoever except to provide some conflict to move the story forward. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn't completely work for me, it was still a solid film noir and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since this movie had a solid reputation and since it was involving a strong cast and a very good director, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Well, even though it was at the time a critical and commercial success, to be honest, I was actually surprised by how half-baked the whole thing turned out to be. I mean, the cast was really strong and this story definitely had some potential but it was just so damned murky, it just never really worked for me. First of all, I never had a clear sense about when the action was exactly taking place and I wasn't helped by some really useless and annoying back-and-forth jumps in time. On top of that, Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave looked exactly the same when they were supposedly teenagers and middle-aged women. Another issue was that the whole thing was supposed to be about this great friendship involving these 2 fascinating women but it was never really clear how they got acquainted with each other and, even worse, why they were so fond of each other. Indeed, during the really half-baked flashbacks, they gave some fairly meaningless scenes instead of showing why they became such great friends and they should have spent more time on this subject instead of showing Jane Fonda's character struggling to write some play. Anyway, to conclude, even though it turned out to be rather disappointing, I still think it is worth a look but there is no doubt that it could have been so much better.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Kathryn Bigelow's work, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though this movie has become a cult classic following its release, I actually had a hard time to really care about the damned thing. I mean, the beginning was not bad and they managed to deliver a nice mood with a nice soundtrack but, from the moment that Caleb turned into a vampire, it became just way too pedestrian for me. Sure,  it was still watchable but, in my opinion, Bigelow didn't add anything really new or interesting to the genre. In fact, the biggest issue I had was with the 3rd act which turned out to be even more tedious. Basically, somehow, out of completely nowhere, the main character managed to find a cure against vampirism and I couldn't believe how ridiculously simple this cure was. On top of that, one of the most interesting trademarks about vampires is the fact that they are doomed to live forever and I think it was a huge mistake to remove this element, especially in such a lame way. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie didn't really work for me, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect from this movie but since since it was included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it turned out to be a really weird experimental movie, almost a documentary but with no dialogue or comment whatsoever. At least, the soundtrack was pretty neat but there was still something quite intriguing about the damned thing. I have to admit that I'm not familiar at all with Kenneth Anger's work but apparently he was (and still is) a cult filmmaker who specialised in such short modern experimental features. In this case, he gave a weird mix of bikers who seemed to be gay but there was also some random Nazi symbols and some religious icons and movies popping up from time to time. There was also some homo-erotic vibe through the whole thing and the combination of all these elements resulted in something quite unique but I'm glad the running time was rather short since it was rather difficult to digest. Anyway, to conclude, I guess it is an acquired taste but I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in experimental movies.