Reviews by johanlefourbe

I already saw this movie but, since it was ages ago, I thought I might as well check it out again. In fact, I remember it very well when it was released. Indeed, there was quite some buzz about the damned thing but it sounded like a really stupid movie so I first avoided it. But, then, some of my friends did watch it, they really thought it was hilarious and they described me some of the scenes and it sounded so ludicrous, I got really curious so I still ended up watching the damned thing in the movie theater. Well, I have to admit it, it was actually not bad at all and some of the stuff displayed turned out to be indeed quite funny. In fact, after rewatching it, I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed the damned thing. Indeed, not only it was often quite hilarious but it turned out to be it actually a decent portrayal of some average male teenagers and how they obsess with sex around that age. Seriously, most of it was actually quite spot on. On the other hand, some scenes were still rather ridiculous though. The best example would probably be the iconic scene when Shannon Elizabeth takes of her clothes and Jason Biggs ejaculates a couple of times. On one hand, I have to admit it, it was pretty neat that they went so far but, on the other hand, the whole set-up was just so preposterous (a gorgeous girl goes into his room, starts to touch herself, he comes in but she doesn’t freak out and even asks him to join her and, in the mean time, the whole thing is displayed online and everybody gets to see the damned thing). Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it is actually seriously entertaining and it is definitely one of the best movies in this genre. 

I already saw this movie (in fact, I even saw it in the movie theatre when it was released) but since it was ages ago, I was really eager to check it out again. Well, after all these years, the damned thing was still pretty awesome, that’s for sure. First of all, even though Christian Bale had been an actor for already more than 10 years, it was with this movie that he finally got his breakthrough. Seriously, the guy was just terrific in this movie and it is difficult to imagine someone else playing this role. Furthermore, I really loved this story. Indeed, I usually have a hard time to really care about movies dealing with serial-killers but this one was just quite spellbinding to behold. Basically, Patrick Bateman was such a complex and fascinating character. Indeed, he is good-looking, rich but also so f*cked-up, completely shallow and, yet, you can’t help feeling sorry for the guy because he seems to feel so miserable. In fact, everyone around him seems to be just as depraved as he is so, as a result, you get a very dark and nihilistic vision of our world. The great thing is that, at the end, you don’t know for sure what Patrick Bateman did or didn’t do. Probably most of it didn’t happen but you don’t know for sure and it made the whole thing even more fascinating. Eventually, I enjoyed this movie so much that I ended up reading the book as well which was even darker and twisted than the movie. In fact, it is hands down one of the best books I have read, but even if this movie was maybe not better than the book, it was still a fine adaptation though. Anyway, to conclude, this movie is a cult-classic and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I had already seen the other movies  delivered by Scott Cooper so far, I thought I might as well check this one out. Well, from all the movies he has directed, I think this might be the best one so far. Indeed, what I loved the most about this movie was how fascinating those 2 brothers were thanks to some really strong performances from Christian Bale and Casey Affleck. Woody Harrelson was also really good in this movie. Still, even though the whole thing mostly worked for me, to be honest, the story was rather generic and predictable. Basically, it was a rather typical vengeance tale (the poster was also really stupid as it gave away way too much information) and, above all, from the moment Casey Affleck’s character died, the whole thing went pretty much on auto-pilot until the end which was too bad. Eventually, it seems that they have added a lot of stuff, most of it decent and interesting, mostly to hide the fact that the story was actually rather pedestrian. Take for example the very first scene. It was well done and well acted but what did it add to the story? Nothing much and that’s something that kept happening through the whole thing. Anyway, to conclude, even if the story didn't completely work, thanks to the fine actors involved, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

By now I have seen about 37 movies directed by Woody Allen and this movie might be the worst one I have seen so far. In fact, I’m not the only one who thinks this way and this movie is usually considered as one of his weakest efforts ever. The worst thing about this movie, especially if you would watch it nowadays, would to see an actor like Jason Biggs playing the main character in a Woody Allen feature. In fact, even though Allen might be rightfully considered as an artist, his team actually makes sure that the current hot actors and actress are cast in his movies (the reason why such actors like Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Kristen Stewart are cast nowadays in his movies and same thing with Scarlett Johansson 10 years ago). Back then, Biggs had been quite successful with the ‘American Pie’ franchise so the Allen’s team probably thought he would be a good choice. I have to admit it, Biggs was not really awful but he was still only merely adequate and usually rather underwhelming to behold. Concerning Christina Ricci, she was on the other hand a great choice but she was unfortanuly stuck with a really unlikable character. Above all, the whole thing was just so lazy and barely entertaining and it iwas another proof that Allen's movies would be so much better if he would release them once every 3 or 4 years instead of every f*cking year like has been doing for the 4 decades. 

To be honest, it has been ages since I have seen this movie but since it is hardly a classic, I don’t think I will ever watch it again. In fact, if I recall it correctly, I think I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Well, this movie is a perfect example that, even with a pretty cool concept, there is still no guarantee that you will get a good movie. First of all, the Western genre has been pretty risky for at least the last 30 years and , from all the movies that have been released in this genre, only a handful has managed to be either critically and commercially successful during that time period. In this case, they decided to focus on 4 women and they managed to have a really nice cast (Madeleine Stowe, Andie MacDowell, Drew Barrymore, Mary Stuart Masterson). Indeed, all these actresses were quite successful back in those days so there was definitely some potential. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much the only thing this movie had to offer. Indeed, the plot was just really inane and one of the first mistake they made was to show them as prostitutes.  Well, those 4 women were probably the least convincing prostitutes I haver ever seen in any Western. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was quite disappointing and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Since my wife always had a weak spot for such Dutch romantic-comedies, I thought we might as well check this one out together. Well, even though I didn’t have some huge expectations, I thought this movie still turned out to be seriously underwhelming. What bothered me the most was how fake it was. Seriously, they started the damned thing with a visually ambitious introduction with a terribly fake pigeon. Then, the whole thing took place in one restaurant, which wasn’t really a bad idea, but it was so obvious that the damned thing was just a movie set, it was just so unconvincing. Then, even though it took place in a restaurant, they never displayed any cooking, or at least, one of the dishes, reinforcing the general fake feeling (for example, ‘Chef’ was maybe not a masterpiece but Jon Favreau was really convincing and the food they cooked was just downright amazing). To make things worse, except for one awesome scene involving Lies Visschedijk ordering a very expensive wine bottle, all the characters were just so boring. At least, Georgina Verbaan did look lovely in her blue dress and I think she did what she could but this material was just really poor. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, I was rather amazed by how weak the whole thing turned out to be and I don’t think it is really worth a look.