Reviews by johanlefourbe

Is SpongeBob still really so popular? I remember that, 10 years ago, he was pretty huge and I even went to see 'The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie' with my kids in the movie theater when it was released. With this in mind, I thought I might as well check out this sequel. Well, it turned out to be a decent watch but not much more, I'm afraid. On the other hand, you shouldn't probably expect something really amazing from this material. Anyway, what was slightly disappointing was that the title and the posters were actually rather misleading. Indeed, it was only during the last 20-30 minutes that SpongeBob and his buddies got out of the water and it was even later that they finally became some kind of goofy super-heros. By the way, from the moment they got out the water was definitely the best part of the movie. Indeed, they then became CGI animated and it was something really different than what they gave us in the TV-show. Before this moment, it was just some really generic plot about Plankton trying to steal the secret formule for their supposedly amazing burgers but it was something that had already been explored too many times in the TV-show already. At least, the wacky humor was still pretty neat, even after all these years. Anyway, to conclude, I'm not sure if it it is really worth a look but if you are a fan of this TV-show, you will definitely love the damned thing. 

Even though this movie has obviously a terrible reputation, I still wanted to check it out for many years, especially since I always had a weak spot for Michael Cimino's work. Well, after finally watching the damned thing, even though it was definitely not the worst movie I have seen, it still didn't really work though. The main issue I had was how long and how slow the movie was. I mean, the shorter version seems awful but I have seen either the original cut or the director's cut lasting almost 4 hours and it was just pretty tedious. Even though 'The Deer Hunter' was 3 hours long, I never had any problem with this movie as every single minute was interesting, entertaining and helped the whole picture to become more and more spellbinding. However, with this directing follow-up, even though it was a decent story, did it really need such a long running time? I doubt it. And even though you might have expected many sub-plots to fill up the running time, there was surprisingly only one and it was a really boring love triangle involving Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken and Isabelle Huppert. Eventually, what bothered me the most was the fact that the characters were just so poorly developed, you learned pretty much nothing about them and they didn't evolve whatsoever which was just also really surprising since you spend so much time with them. And yet, I don't think it was a total disaster. Indeed, the whole thing looked amazing and it was probably one of the most beautiful Westerns I have seen but Cimino pretty much killed its potential because he was obsessed about delivering the greatest epic ever. Anyway, to conclude, even though the damned thing was indeed really flawed, I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Michael Cimino's work.

Since this movie was John Carpenter's directing debut, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing, probably because I was expecting something completely different. Indeed, with its title and its poster and since it was directed by John Carpenter and written by Dan O'Bannon, I thought it would be some kind of dark vintage SF thriller but, in fact, it turned out to be some really goofy science-fiction comedy. The fact that there was no plot but instead a succession of supposedly funny scenes didn't help either. Finally, it was probably the most cheap-ass science-fiction production ever and it was probably the least convincing spaceship I have ever seen. Especially when they were inside, I never had the feeling that they were actually in a spaceship. There were still some nice things though like the bombs actually discussing and arguing with the crew or the fact that the crew really looked shabby and pretty much depressed. Anyway, to conclude, I think I have been actually generous with my rating here but this movie is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in John Carpenter's work.

I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but since Nick, my step-son, was really eager to see it, we ended up watching it in the movie theater. In fact, I actually saw 'Jumanji' in the movie theater when it was released at the time so it was actually pretty cool to see this new installment with my step-son. On top of that, I have to admit that the damned thing turned out to be surprisingly satisfying. I mean, with such sequels, they usually recycle the  same storyline with some rather underwhelming end-result but, in this case, they only kept the original concept but changed pretty much everything else and it really worked. Even though you might wonder if it was really necessarily to switch from a board game to a video-game, it was actually a good idea since it allowed the makers to try some new ideas. This time around, they also mostly focused on the humor and it was also a good move to have more characters involved in the game and the cast involved  (Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black) was actually pretty solid. To conclude, even if this movie was not a masterpiece, it still turned out to be quite entertaining and probably the most surprising movie released in 2017. 

To be honest, I didn't really expect much from this flick but since the previous installments involving Robert Langdon were actually watchable, I thought I might as well give it a try. Well, even though it was not awful, I still had a hard time to care about the damned thing, I'm afraid. First of all, the twist concerning one of the main characters was actually fairly easy to figure out. At least, it was fun to follow once again Robert Langdon trying to solve one of his elaborate puzzles and I always had a weak spot about movies dealing with amnesia. Unfortunately, the whole trick about giving Robert Langdon some hallucinogenic drug was just rather ridiculous. I mean, sure, it will mess around his mind and his memory but how can you predict what he will eventually remember and when he will get back his memories? And, of course, as usual with these kind of movies clouded with mystery, at some point, they had to uncover what was actually going on and, to be honest, the end-result was so far-fetched and rather ridiculous. Seriously, I don't think much of it actually made sense. Maybe I should read the book at some point to see if it works better (they apparently did make some modifications for the movie) but, with Dan Brown, I highly doubt it. Anyway,  to conclude, if you don't analyse it too much, it is not so bad but I will certainly forget the whole thing fairly quickly which is never really a good sign.

I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well give it a second chance. To be honest, I didn't remember much about it which is usually not a good sign. Well, even though the penguins in Madagascar were indeed probably the best characters in this franchise, I'm not sure that to make a spin-off around these guys was such a good idea though and, eventually, I'm afraid didn't care much for the damned thing. First of all, it was really plagued by some severe ADHD and I sometimes struggled to really followed what the hell was going on but what annoyed me the most, was the fact that the whole thing was just so full of non-sense. I mean, 'Madagascar' was always taking place in a fairly realistic world, even if they started to really stretch it in the 3rd installment, but here, it didn't make sense whatsoever with an evil octopus disguised as a mad scientist and, even worse, a elite spy team coming from the North fully equiped with some high-tech gadgets. I mean, seriously?!? The second time around, I was slightly more able to follow what was going on but I was still amazed by how random the whole thing was. At least, the penguins were still pretty awesome though and the intro with Wernez Herzorg was pure gold. In fact, maybe they should have done something similar to what they did in 'Minions' and told an origin story of these daft penguins. I mean, sure, to develop some kind of spy adventure around these characters did seem to make sense but they should have kept it more grounded. Anyway, to conclude, even though the damned thing was rather harmless, I didn't really like it and I don't think it is really worth a look. 

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, it is a rather obscure feature and the only reason I watched it the first time around was because it was Baz Luhrmann’s directing debut. In fact, if I recall it correctly, I actually bumped into this DVD when I was at the supermarket. Anyway, I thought it was a decent watch. To be honest, ballroom dancing wasn’t really my thing (my wife was however rather glad that the movie was dealing with this topic) but you have to give Baz Luhrmann some credit for making a fairly entertaining feature about a rather tedious topic (at least, as far, as I’m concerned). For this directing debut, Luhrmann didn’t have some big stars at his disposal but it was maybe a good thing as it made the characters more believable. Furthermore, I have to admit that some of the dance scenes, especially the ones involving the paso doble, were actually quite amazing. Eventually, it was a rather simple story but since it didn't pretend to be anything groundbreaking, it actually worked. Anyway, even though it might not be a huge masterpiece, I thought it was pretty neat nonetheless and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Before this movie was released, the buzz was really positive. Indeed, it was starring two of the most popular actors in the world and it was directed by an upcoming European director so it sounded really great on paper. Eventually, when it came out, it was poorly received by the critics and it didn't get much love at the box-office. Well, in spite of all this, I still wanted to check it out but, I have to admit it, it wasn't really good indeed. I mean, it was visually pretty neat and it was watchable but that's pretty much what you get when a Hollywood production is trying to deliver a minimalist science-fiction story. Basically, the material was pretty grim and bleak but, unfortunately, they tried really hard to tone down the dakness of its concept and, as a result, the whole thing never really worked. I mean, sure, what Chris Pratt's character did was pretty creepy but that's why it was really interesting and, to be honest, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people would end up doing the same thing. The issue was that they never really tried to develop the psychology of the main characters when it was obviously the whole point here. Furthermore, from the moment Laurence Fishburne's character showed up and they went on this mission to save this ship, it became even more underwhelming. Not mentioning that it was rather unbelievable that these 2 characters would be able to fix such heavy damages. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing felt like a missed opportunity, I guess it is still worth a look though, at least, if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out. Well, I always had a weak spot for the heist genre but the most common mistake they make in these movies is that the actual heists are very often just way too convoluted  and, as a result, it is rather difficult to take them seriously. Fortunately, it wasn't the case here as everything made sense and seemed doable which made the whole thing so much more interesting to watch. Of course, it wasn't only about showing a realistic heist, it was also about showing some interesting characters and also their environment. Indeed, the makers delivered a bleak and fascinating view of West Texas showing how life has been hard on the folks down there and, eventually, the bad guys didn't seem to be the bank robbers but the banks pushing some average people to take such drastic measures. The only thing that slightly bothered me was the fact Jeff Bridges figured the whole thing out rather easily but, eventually, this movie was not about his investigation so it wasn't a big issue. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn't really groundbreaking, it was a really made and seriously entertaining flick 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 it was featuring Reese Witherspoon's acting debut, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I was actually rather impressed. It wasn't really the story itself though. I mean, it was not bad but it was nothing really amazing either. In fact, they even had to bring not one but two freak accidents, of course one being lethal, to spice up the whole thing. Unfortunately, it is such an old artificial trick to add some drama and it is usually rather annoying. Eventually, what really made this movie work was the amazing performance delivered by Reese Witherspoon who was acting for the first time at only 14 years old. Indeed, while the rest of the cast was only decent at best, Witherspoon was just so pitch-perfect, so charismatic, she was just mind-blowing. She went so deep, showing the transition of a child becoming a young woman and experiencing for the first time the joy and sadness of falling in love. I wonder if it would have worked better with a younger actor than Jason London who was actually a few years older than his character but it was a minor issue. Anyway, to conclude, even if this movie was not a masterpiece, it is still definitely worth a look, just to see Reese Witherspoon already stealing  the show with her very first performance.