Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, since I didn’t care much for John Huston’s version and since this movie turned out to be a critical flop, I didn’t expect much from the damned thing but since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I always thought it was actually a rather boring story and this modern version, except for giving some Hip-Hop versions of the famous songs and casting a black kid to play the lead, didn’t really improve the formula. At least, I have to admit that their version of ‘It’s A Hard-Knock Life’ was pretty cool but all the other songs were rather weak. On the other hand, I won’t blame the lovely and talented Quvenzhané Wallis who was actually pretty good. In fact, Willow Smith, Will Smith’s daughter who was the producer on this movie, was supposed to play the lead but after the movie lingered in development, she became too old to play this part but the whole thing would have been probably worse with her. Another problem was Cameron Diaz. I mean, sure, I understand that she wanted to play the bad guy for once but she was pretty weak,I'm afraid. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse, I thought it was rather underwhelming and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Before this movie was released, there was a decent buzz about this movie and many hoped that it would become the best adaptation of Stephen King’s famous book. Unfortunately, just before it was released, it was apparently butchered by the studio (allegedly , they would have removed up to 45 minutes of footage) and it was pretty obvious when you watched the damned thing. Indeed, the whole thing felt rather out of balance and while the prom scene took at least a 1/3 of the whole running time, there was barely any development of the characters. Above all, I wish they developed more Carrie White’s background. Indeed, at the beginning, you only get some awkward volleyball game to set up her situation and her relationship with her classmates. Well, it was simply not enough to explain why she would be considered as a freak by the whole school. I mean, she seemed to be a lonely girl but not much more than that. Anyway, to be honest, even if this movie would have been longer, I’m not sure I would have really enjoyed it. Indeed, after reading the book and watching 2 movie adaptations (1976 and 2013), I still don’t think it is one of the best stories written by Stephen King. Anyway, at least, Chloë Grace Moretz was not bad at all to (at least, she was an actual teenager), Julianne Moore was a great choice to play the mother and the iconic prom scene was still quite impressive. To conclude, even though it felt like a failed opportunity, I guess it might still be 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 Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though this movie looked decent and the cast was pretty neat, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. Basically, the whole thing was just a mess. First of all, even though the poster was not bad, it was completely misleading. Indeed, never during the whole movie do you get to see those 2 actors together in this fashion and it gave the feeling that Colin Farrell might be Keira Knightley’s bodyguard which wasn’t the case at all. Anyway, this movie turned out to be some kind of British remake of ‘Carlito's Way’ which wasn’t necessarily a bad idea but, unfortunately, they went for a quirky tone which was a rather misguided choice. To make things worse, they added way too many half-baked sub-plots and barely developed characters and the way this former gangster and this former film star got acquainted was never convincing whatsoever.  I mean, there were some good ideas, here and there, but most of this movie just didn’t work at all. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, the whole thing was eventually pretty weak and I don’t think it is worth a look. 

There was in at first a pretty good buzz about this movie before its release and Jake Gyllenhaal was especially praised for another really strong performance. Well, I have noticed that, eventually, it didn’t make so much waves when it came out but I was still quite eager to check it out.  Indeed, once again, Gyllenhaal  was really strong and, after checking the damned thing, I have to agree that all the praise was really deserved. Unfortunately, I can’t say that the movie itself really blew me away. I mean, sure, it was a decent boxing drama but the makers seriously used all the clichés in the genre. Indeed, you had the champion losing everything but making a mighty come-back, the evil manager and the evil opponent, the wise trainer who doesn’t want his boxer to go to the big fight, the training montage … I mean, if you are familiar with the genre, especially the ‘Rocky’ franchise, there won’t be anything really surprising for you if you watch this flick. Fortunately, Gyllenhaal was really awesome, not only physically, as he was really ripped but it was also pretty neat to see how deep he went into the psychology of his character. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though, thanks to  Jake Gyllenhaal, and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.