Reviews by johanlefourbe

It is another movie I have been tracking down for many years mostly because it was one of the very few movies directed by Steven Spielberg that I hadn't watched so far. On top of that, I have always been a huge fan of 'The Twilight Zone' so this anthology involving 4 major directors sounded pretty amazing on paper. Unfortunately, it turned out to be only a decent watch at best. Indeed, out of the 5 parts (4 segments and a prologue), 4 were not bad but nothing really amazing and one was just seriously weak. The prologue directed by John Landis was indeed rather misguided as it was too humorous and random and only its conclusion had anything to do with the mythical TV show. The 1st segment, also directed by Landis has a rather notorious reputation because Vic Morrow and several kids were killed by an helicopter during the shoot, but, to be honest, this part was actually decent. Indeed, the tone was right and it did feel like a Twilight Zone episode and the only issue with this part is that it didn't have a proper conclusion. Then, you had the 2nd segment directed by Steven Spielberg and, to be honest, it was pretty much the worst thing Spielberg as ever done in his career. Indeed, the whole thing was just lifeless, boring and the connection with the TV show was just really thin. Apparently, Spielberg had been so affected by the tragic helicopter accident that he didn't care much for this project anymore and he shot his part in just 6 days just to fulfill his contractual engagement which might explain why the damned thing was actually so weak. Then, you had the 3rd segment directed by Joe  Dante which had some potential and yet still didn't blow me away. The issue with this part was that, even though it was sometimes fairly creepy, Dante has a rather goofy directing style which constantly undermined the creepiness of this concept. Then, the 4th and final segment directed by George Miller was probably the most effective part and the only issue it might have had is that it was such a classic Twilight Zone tale. Anyway, to conclude, even if the whole project turned to be rather half-baked, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a really interesting  cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I must admit that, even though I initially had some doubts, it turned out to be a really strong story. Indeed, the tale of this black man growing up in the cotton fields who then served various American presidents for more than 30 years was actually quite fascinating and it gave a really different look on how a black man could behave in a rather opressive society just to be able to have a decent life. Unfortunately, they made the mistake of also including the various struggles in his private life but, not only it was completely made up for this movie, it just didn't work really well, especially everything involving his older son. Indeed, it greatly undermined the main character but it also gave a rather generic and predictable view on the Civil Rights movement without mentioning the fact that the guy somehow managed to be involved in every single major events occurring at the time. As a result, it seemed that the makers were not sure how we should perceive the main character. Should we feel sorry for him? Should we admire him? Should we think he was a coward? I believe that, if they had removef his son's quest for equal rights and if they would have focused only on this butler, it would have been much more interesting and powerful. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a pretty good historical drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

When I heard that Duncan Jones was coming up with a new movie, that it was a passion project he had worked on for maybe a decade, that it was somehow linked to 'Moon', it became instantly one of my highest priorities for 2018. The fact that it would be also available only a few weeks later on Netflix was pretty much the cherry on the cake. Unfortunately, I was amazed by how underwhelming the damned thing turned out to be. Indeed, while 'Moon' was pretty much a flawless minimalistic science-fiction masterpiece, this movie was actually the opposite as it was seriously over ambitious and filled up with some poorly developed characters and a rather half-baked story with too much going on. First of all, even though I really love 'Blade Runner', it was actually  getting on my nerves to see another SF feature copying its visual style and it would be neat if, 30 years later, the current filmmakers would finally bring something new to the table. Eventually, what bothered me the most were all these countless and pointless scenes. I mean, for example, at some point the main character had to go to the library searching for the Berlin yellow pages books so he could find a phone number. Seriously, it is the freaking future, why didn't he look it up on the Internet? Of course, you could argue that it was what an Amish would do but he already used a smartphone and other modern devices during the movie. Finally, it wasn't a strong story but I don't feel like going into details explaining why. Anyway, to conclude, this movie was a major step back for Duncan Jones, I hope the damage done to his career was not too big and that the guy will soon come up with something that really dazzle us this time around.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I was surprised by how much I didn't care about the damned thing. I mean, the cast was indeed interesting and they definitely had some nice material to deliver a romantic-comedy about a realistic couple and, yet, it just didn't work. First of all, most of the jokes were mostly cringe-inducing and not funny whatsoever and that pretty much killed the whole thing for me. On top of that, even though it might have been actually quite realistic, I was rather annoyed to see how this couple was struggling after being married for such a short period of time. Unfortunately, it was pretty much representative on how people deal with their relationship nowadays, I'm afraid. Indeed, a long lasting romantic relationship represents a lot of hard f*cking work and an endless set of compromises, frustrations and deceptions and people nowadays don't want to be bothered anymore so they just bail because they believe that their own happiness should always be their main focus. So, was it really the right material for a romantic-comedy? I still think so because it was dealing with something real but the level of the humor was just way too shallow for me. Anyway, even though I have seen worse, I didn't really like this movie and I don't think it is really worth a look.  

To be honest, this movie was not really a high priority for me but since it was recommended by another listal member and since it seemed to be intriguing, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, even though the poster looked pretty good, at the same time, in my opinion, it gave away too much information and was still rather misleading. Anyway, even though the damned thing didn't really blow me away, it still turned out to be a very beautiful and well made vintage horror movie. Furthermore, a tale about witchcraft works much better when it is set in this time period since superstition was really common back in those days. Finally, the cast was also pretty good, especially the kids. And, yet, to be honest, I never really cared much about this story though. Sure, it was creepy enough and they didn't go over the top like so many underwhelming horror flicks but, at least as far as I was concerned, it was still missing something to becoming truly remarkable. Maybe it was because the characters were rather poorly developed or maybe they should have made the whole thing more ambiguous instead of being so literal. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I was surprised by how much I liked it and it was easily one of the best romantic-comedies I have seen recently. Indeed, what I enjoyed the most was the believable friendship involving Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan. On top of that, Efron and Teller were just so hilarious and this movie was once again the proof that Teller might be the most underrated actor of his generation. Concerning Jordan, the guy was pretty good as usual but he ended up with a rather thankless part and his co-stars pretty much stole the show. Unfortunately, even though the whole thing was fairly realistic, they made the mistake of following too much the typical formula of this genre so the 3 guys were stuck with this really lame betting thing. I mean, if two of them fell in love, what was the big deal? As a result, Efron's character had to skip a funeral which was just rather unbelievable and he did it only because the plot required it. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Since I'm a big fan of Michael Haneke's work, I was really eager to check this movie, even if it eventually didn't make much waves when it was released. In fact, we were supposed to see this movie with my film club in the movie theater but it was cancelled at the last minute because of a snow storm so I was thrilled to see it only 2 months later, especially since it was one of my priorities for 2017. Well, eventually, even though it turned out to be a decent watch, it was still one of his least interesting movies though. Basically, it was dealing with a rich dysfunctional family but, as usual with this director, nothing was told straightforward and instead, he would often provide some rather obscure scenes. As a result, I spent maybe the first 30 minutes trying to figure out who was who and what the hell they were doing but that wasn't a big deal. Eventually, even though the characters were all realistic and believable, they were all fairly unlikeable but, above all, not really interesting. On top of that, Haneke tried to add in the mix various subjects like our current obsession with social media, especially among the youth, and also the dramatic situation of the illegal immigrants in Calais but I didn't really get how it was supposed to connect with this family tale. Anyway, to conclude, it might seem that I didn't like this movie but I was constantly intrigued and wondering what would happen next so it is still worth a look but it was definitely a minor effort from the Austrian master. 

I already saw this movie but since I just bought an awesome brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again. I remember the first time I saw the damned thing though. Indeed, since I kept hearing some great things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Well, eventually pretty much like with ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, even though I really liked the damned thing, I didn’t think it was so revolutionary though. In my opinion, the main issue was that, after already 18 movies, the MCU has become too big and it has become a shore to link all these movies together and make sure they don’t break the continuity. In this case, as a result, at least half of the movie was spent on explaining why Wakanda and Black Panther were not involved before in the MCU and why they will be involved from now on. I mean, it was rather well done but it wasn’t really compelling and I hope that, after ‘Infinity War’, Marvel will stop to link all their movies together and provide some much needed flexibility to their directors (after all, it is not like all their 1000’s of comic-books have been tightly linked together in the past). Anyway, beside this point, it was still a really cool super-hero flick, no doubt about it. In fact, it will probably be a milestone in motion picture history as being the first major black blockbuster ever made, not less than that. Indeed, Ryan Googler delivered a gorgeous movie with a fascinating fantasy African world. On top of that, they gave us an all-star black cast and 2 of the best bad guys in the MCU history (Erik Killmonger and Ulysses Klaue). In fact, I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to focus only on one of these guys but it wasn’t a big deal. Anyway, to conclude, even though it might be slightly overrated, it is still impressive that Marvel keeps delivering some quality blockbusters after all these years and the damned thing is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Hilary Swank and since this movie had some decent rating on IMDb, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, the story was seriously generic and predictable. Indeed, the caregiver was at first a mess but, of course, she turned out to be amazing, resulting in a seemingly perfect relationship with her patient. On top of that, I always find it really annoying when they release a movie just when a terrible disease has been all over the media. Because of these flaws, there was no way that this movie could have been really amazing and, yet, I have to admit that it still worked. First of all, I gave it a few extra points because it was the first movie I ever saw dealing with ALS so, only therefore, it was still an interesting watch. Then, even though the characters were rather stereotypical, Hilary Swank and Emmy Rossum both delivered some solid performances. In fact, even though you might think that Swank would steal the show, I think that Rossum with her very messed-up character was actually more interesting but eventually, both characters didn't get much space to evolve as the makers faithfully followed the rules in this genre. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject.