Reviews by johanlefourbe

It was my turn this time to pick up a movie for my film club and, this time, I did struggle a bit (this movie was only my 4th option) but, since this movie did receive some stellar reviews (it even won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival), I thought we could check it out. Well, I was eventually really glad because I really enjoyed the damned thing after all. I have to admit that I was expecting more romance maybe because I’m a romantic and even though the outcome was predictable, I hoped that Anora and Ivan would enjoy their relationship for a bit longer (seriously, I think it did last for maybe 5 mins). I noticed that the rest of the film club didn’t care much for how seedy this strip-club life was but I don’t think that Sean Baker, the director, was interested in delivering a cautionary tale about this world. Basically, guys go to such places and girls work there, that’s how it is and how it will always be. In fact, I think he was more interested to display that this Russian oligarch family was actually just as messed up (maybe even more) than all these girls working as strippers. Concerning Anora, sure, it might seem sad but I think she just gambled but what did she have to loose? The big difference with Ivan was that he actually never cared for her after all but, even if he has all the money in the world, it’s not so sure that he will ever find happiness if he keeps on going like this. At least, even if you might not care for this movie, you can’t deny that Mikey Madison gave such a strong performance here. I’m also really glad that they took the piss at ‘Pretty Woman’ and delivered an actually really good story about a sex-worker falling in love with some rich dude. Anyway, to conclude, I really loved this movie and I think it’s definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Sean Baker’s work. 

Since this movie was a huge critical and commercial flop when it was released, I had some rather low expectations about the damned thing but, since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, after the already weak ‘Strange World’, Disney somehow managed to deliver something even more underwhelming. Seriously, thanks to a (very few) redeeming features, it didn’t become their worst animated feature but, to be honest, it wasn’t far from it, I’m afraid. Indeed, even though making a movie about the Wish star to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Disney was not a bad idea, the story they came up with was just terribly half-baked. Eventually, the only things that worked were the animation and the main character. Indeed, the animation, especially the characters, was quite gorgeous. Concerning the main character, Asha was indeed nice and really charismatic. Unfortunately, pretty much everything in this movie was, well, rather worthless. Even the bad guy was just so lame, even his name, Magnifico, was just terrible. The supporting characters were just all completely forgettable as well, the only one I do remember by name was a talking goat called Valentino. However, the story was probably the main issue. So, the people gave their wish to their king who kept it to give it back at some point because…? Well, I don’t really know… And they tried to argue that these wishes were the most important things for this people but, again, really? It did sound rather convoluted from the start but it was never really interesting and, above all, it was never entertaining whatsoever. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was pretty to look at, this new animated feature was one of the weakest delivered by Disney so far and you should probably avoid it. 

To be honest, watching Adam Sandler’s Netflix movies is a terrible chore (can you imagine that I have watched almost all of them…). Still, this one did seem to be interesting so I thought I might check it out after all. Well, even though it didn’t get much love when it was released, I thought it was not bad at all, at least for a Adam Sandler feature. Indeed, once again, the guy displayed that if he decides to play in something else than a terribly moronic comedy, he is actually a solid actor after all. I also have a weak spot for such minimalistic SF features so the damned thing definitely had some potential. Still, trying to play in Tarkovsky’s and Kubrick’s turf was an ambitious but also terribly risky bet but, even though it was a commendable effort, I’m afraid it didn’t really work out though. I mean, one major issue was to put some much focus on Jakub and Lenka’s relationship. Seriously, even though the most lonely man ever could think about anything, including the meaning of life or what it means to be human, he kept whining about his messed up relationship. The fact that they were both rather moronic and unlikeable also probably didn’t help. For example, why would Lenka decide to leave him now when he won’t come back for maybe 6 months? I mean, she was physically already separated from him, what was the point of making it official right now? Seriously, it was just a really dick move which seemed to be terribly plot-driven. Concerning Jakub, well, the guy seemed to be rather an *sshole when they were together so he basically had it coming. Finally, Hanus was definitely an intriguing character with so much potential but it’s a pity they basically reduced him to be some kind of marriage counsellor. So, it was some derivative but still interesting material but the approach they took never really worked though. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

After being stuck in development hell for maybe 30 years, Eddie Murphy finally managed to get this 4th installment for his signature franchise. Well, guess what? I thought it was not bad at all after all. To be honest, I think my appreciation for this movie had more to do with the usually dreadful output from Murphy than the actual quality of this feature. Anyway, after all these years, the guy is still quite funny playing Axel Foley and the fact that, at 60 years old, he still looks pretty fit doesn’t make it ridiculous that this guy is still chasing bad guys. However, the real wild card in this movie turned out to be Taylour Paige though. Indeed, I thought she was super charismatic, she had some really solid chemistry with Murphy and I wish the movie focused even more on their relationship. Concerning Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I really have a weak spot for this actor but, to be honest, his character was rather useless and it was rather weird to see such a fine actor playing second fiddle in the 4th installment of a franchise that nobody cared about anymore. Concerning Kevin Bacon, it was even worse though. Seriously, his bad guy was just so cartoony, it was more cringe-inducing than actually entertaining to watch. On the other hand, he wasn’t helped by the story which was just too derivative. I mean, each time around, they have to find some way to have Axel Foley going all the way from Detroit to Beverly Hills which has become too convoluted and I think they should just drop Detroit and have the guy simply living in Beverly Hills, especially since his daughter is also living there. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was rather forgettable, I have to admit that it was still fairly entertaining and I think it is worth a look but probably only if you really like the genre. 

I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of the Beach Boys but I always liked watching documentaries about famous bands like this one because it’s pretty neat to discover a band this way and, since this one was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I was actually surprised that I knew so much about them after all. It was probably due to the fact that I saw ‘Love & Mercy’ not so long ago and this movie starring Paul Dano turned out to be pretty accurate after all which was pretty cool. Coming back on the documentary, well, it was some pretty basic stuff but I thought it was no bad though. In fact, it was above all interesting to see what happened with the band when Brian Wilson went into his downward spiral (something which wasn’t developed at all in ‘Love & Mercy’ since it was about Brian Wilson and not about the rest of the band). Still, there is no denying that their output would never be the same without Brian Wilson who was and still is considered as a musical genius. It was also pretty neat to see how their music had such an impact and even influenced the Beatles who were, arguably, the most famous band ever (it’s funny that I actually never cared for these two bands though). I wonder why they didn’t mention that Dennis Wilson really struggled with substance abuse at the beginning of the 80’s and drowned, probably drunk out of mind, at not even 40 years old. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing groundbreaking whatsoever, I thought it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this legendary band. 

A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with some aunts and an uncle of mine and they kept talking about this movie and how hilarious it was so I became intrigued. Eventually, I checked it out and the IMDb ratings were actually pretty good so, since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well watch it. Well, I wish I did share the same enthusiasm about this movie but, to be honest, it didn’t really impress me though. At least, I will have to admit that Leny Breederveld and Martin van Waardenberg were really good and they both gave some really solid performances. Unfortunately, even though these 2 actors were fine, I didn’t care much about their characters though. On one hand, there was Jaap who was grumpy not because he did fit his personality or because he was shaped by life this way but, obviously, because it was supposed to be entertaining and, from time to time, he would suddenly become someone else entirely different when it was needed for the plot. For Maartje, it was actually even worse though. Indeed, she was basically limited to be a poor old woman having some random Alzheimer episodes instead of being given an actual real personality. However, what really bothered me the most was the story they were stuck with. Basically, they went for the road-trip genre which is the laziest gimmick ever. Indeed, without making any efforts whatsoever, some whimsical and (supposedly) entertaining events will then automatically occur during their journey which is, in my opinion, some rather poor storytelling. Finally, the last thing that bothered me was how, at the end, they tried to suddenly show that this couple used to be super fun and entertaining when they had spent the whole rest of the movie showing how average tedious and sometime plain mean they were. I thought it was so cheap and not convincing whatsoever. I mean, there is no way that such a loving couple would be after all these years so bitter, so completely uninterested and uncaring for each other only because they got old. And even if it might be possible, it actually made this people even less interesting than they already was then. Anyway, to conclude, this review might seem harsh but I have to admit that the damned thing was actually rather harmless and it is actually worth a look but probably only if you really like this kind of Dutch dry sense of humor. 

To be honest, 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. I have noticed afterwards that this movie did get some rather weak reviews and, now, I understand why. Last year, I also saw ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ on Netflix (I’m so glad I didn’t pay to watch these movies…) and I have to admit that it was actually a decent sequel/reboot but this new installment was just seriously underwhelming though. Basically, in the previous movie, they had introduced a new group of characters so, it seemed to be a no-brainer that they should focus on some cool new exciting ghost adventure. However, they unfortunately came up with something so derivative and above all so boring. Since they mixed the new characters with the legacy characters this time, there were therefore many characters involved, maybe too many. On top oft that, beside the boring main plot, there were also as result a whole bunch of subplots but they were all pretty lame as well. The only exception was the sub-plot involving Phoebe Spengler becoming friends (maybe even falling in love?) with a ghost and it actually had some potential.  Can you imagine if they had dropped the whole thing about the evil entity who wanted to take over our world (seriously, how many times did they already do something really similar in this franchise…) and focused instead on some doomed lesbian love story involving one of the Ghostbusters and some cute ghost? Of course, they would never do that and, at this point, you wonder if they shouldn’t drop this franchise by now. Anyway, to conclude, I think I was actually rather generous with my rating, I guess it might still be worth a look though but only if you are really a fan. 

As usual with this franchise, this movie took a severe beating from the critics but I still ended up checking it out. Well, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing but I have to admit that,  because of some personal stuff, I wasn’t in the mood at all to watch this movie which probably didn’t help. Still, the story was just so lame though. Indeed, once again, they came up with a super powerful being who was going to alienate mankind which is the most derivative angle I can imagine. Another issue was that, even though they did add some solid actors in the mix (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans), they all played such tedious and underwhelming characters. The least boring one was the conspiracy theorist played by Rhys Ifans but, even if this character might have had some potential, they really did nothing interesting with him. Fortunately, the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom was still quite entertaining (and probably the only reason why people kept showing up for each installment). On top of that, they didn’t make the same mistake they did in the previous installment during which they tried to split this duo. The best scene was probably when Venom became some kind of demented horse, that was actually pretty much gold. The other good thing with this movie was it lasted less than 2 hrs which is always appreciated when you are watching such a brainless action flick. Still, it’s too bad that, after 3 movies, they never managed to come up with a more or less satisfying plot involving this hilarious odd couple. Anyway, to conclude, even if I didn’t really care much for this movie, I still think it is worth a look but probably only if you are a fan of this franchise though. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was written by Charlie Kaufman and since it had received some solid reviews, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I thought the damned thing was rather disappointing after all. I mean, the concept really had some potential, I wouldn’t expect less from Kaufman, and it was really neat to see a family feature which actually had some ambition and which wasn’t completely condescending towards children. Indeed, the whole idea of a kid completely crippled by anxiety (something terribly relatable for most of us) becoming friend with Dark himself was really cool. The fact that Dark himself was full of complexes as well, even if it was fairly predictable, was a nice angle. However, even though these foundations were really solid, the whole thing just drifted in quick sand fairly quickly after these two solid characters met. Indeed, they gave us a whole system/mythology involving other entities of the night but it made the whole thing even more convoluted when it should have been a simple children tale and, above all, these extra characters were all barely entertaining. Even more problematic was the fact that, suddenly, you find out that Orion has actually become a grown-up who’s telling this story to his own daughter who happened to be also scared of the dark. Seriously, this new approach really came out of nowhere after maybe 30 mins of running time and it made the whole thing even more convoluted than it already was. Sure, I can imagine that it was supposed to be endearing but it actually severely undermined the impact of this story. Basically, if it’s only a bedtime story, who cares what might happen after all? Eventually, since anything could happen at any moment, basically, nothing really mattered after all. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really work for me, I guess it is still worth a look but there is no doubt that it could have been so much better though.