Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, it has been a while since I saw this movie and maybe I should give it another chance at some point. Basically, when I started to discover Pedro Almodovar’s work, I kept hearing about this movie and I had some rather high expectations. Well, to be honest, even though it turned out to be all right, I thought it was eventually slightly underwhelming. Basically, I really loved the title and it made the whole thing sound like something sexy and transgressive but, unfortunately, it wasn’t the case at all. Indeed, Almodovar himself has denied that this movie had any link with sadomasochism and, even though there was a great deal of controversy when the movie was released in the US, I thought it was actually rather tame. Eventually, I thought that it was just another typical over-the-top comedy from the Spanish director filled up with his usual hysterical characters. Back then, it was already the 5^th time that Antonio Banderas was working with Almodovar and it is apparently thanks to the international success of this movie that he managed to start afterwards a new career in the US. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t really work for me, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Pedro Almodovar’s work.

Recently, I saw ‘Trainwreck’ and I thought I might as well check this movie since it was the last one directed by Judd Apatow that I hadn’t see so far. Well, even though it was maybe nothing really amazing, I actually think it might be actually the best movie delivered by Apatow so far, at least, among his directing efforts. I mean, sure, ‘Knocked Up’ was really funny but there was something terribly unconvincing about this couple involving Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. In my oipinion, for real, there is no way that these 2 persons would end up together. Well, the first thing I enjoyed about this movie was the fact that Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann made a believable couple and I thought that they had some pretty good chemistry together. Furthermore, it was a realistic and relatable way to portray a couple and family life in general. Indeed, for example, I loved the way they keep saying that they hate each other and then, 5 minutes later, they say that they actually  love each other and then again, say they can’t stand each other,…. It was completely relatable. Then, I was also impressed by the 2 kids played by Judd Apatow’s and Leslie Mann’s children. Indeed, they were not too cute, they were not completely annoying either, they were actually acting like some average kids which was just so refreshing. Finally, what I also liked about this movie was that, even though this couple was struggling, they didn’t make it seems that to have some kids and a family was an actual nightmare like in many other comedies I have seen recently. So, most of it was pretty good but most of the supporting characters were actually rather weak and/or uninteresting and I guess the whole thing was too random to become really great but, still, I thought it was pretty good and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Judd Apatow’s work.

To be honest, it has been ages since I saw this movie but I remember it very well. Back then, I was still living in France and there was a huge buzz about this movie before it was released. Indeed, it was the 2^nd directing effort of Alain Chabat, there was a star-studded cast, the original animated feature was a childhood favorite of mine and, after I saw the hilarious trailer, I was pretty sure it would be really awesome. Eventually, I saw it in the movie theater when it was released but, unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. Indeed, I had some huge expectations and, even though it was a box-office success in France, I was amazed about how lame the damned thing turned out to be. First of all, even though it sounded really neat to have such a star-studded cast and, sure, it was awesome to have Monica Bellucci to play Cleopatra, it was actually borderline annoying to have some famous face popping up for no good reasons every 2 minutes. Furthermore, most of the jokes were in fact barely amusing above all because those jokes were rather moronic. As usual with Chabat, it was supposed to be really clever but it just didn’t work for me at all. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its great potential, I thought it was actually pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

I remember it very well, when ‘Analyze This’ was released, everyone praised Robert De Niro for trying something so drastically different than his usual work. Indeed, it was basically a commercial comedy but it was pretty neat that De Niro would choose to make fun of his legacy and, above all, the damned thing was actually genuinely entertaining. However, what we didn’t know at the time is that De Niro wouldn’t stop after this 1^st attempt and he would in fact eventually keep showing up in such commercial comedies but these movies would be more and more underwhelming to watch and, as a result, the once greatest actor ever has by now pretty much ruined his amazing legacy. This movie was a perfect example. I mean, sure, ‘Analyze This’ was a decent comedy but not much more that and the concept was just too limited to be properly expanded with a sequel. As usual, they couldn’t let it alone so they came up with this 2^nd instalment but it turned out to be rather lame. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, even from Robert De Niro, I still didn’t care much for the damned thing and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Since my wife and I both have a weak spot for romantic-comedies, I thought we might as well check this one out.  In my case, I was above all really intrigued to see this couple played by such great actors like [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see]. Furthermore, even though our Western world is getting older and older, there is still a massive lack of movies focusing on our elderly population so it was pretty neat that this movie was about a middle-aged couple. Well, eventually, it was pretty neat to see Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, especially Jones who was playing someone completely different than his usual tough guys. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the concept was slightly too thin. Basically, you get this couple going to a marriage counsellor who advises them to simply have sex and it solves apparently everything. I mean, sure, I believe that healthy sex and intimacy is a very important in a long-term relationship but I don’t think it is the only thing that needs some attention.  Eventually, it feels that the makers only scratched the surface of some very interesting subjet but they didn’t dig really deep, I’m afraid. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Who the hell is Lake Bell? I mean, I actually know who she is, I have seen her in a few movies but most of them were rather weak and even though she always seemed to have some potential, she was always stuck with some forgettable small parts. Well, maybe that’s why she decided to write, direct, produce and play the main character in this movie. Eventually, her bet paid off as this movie turned to be critically quite successful and you might wonder where her career will go from there. Anyway, I finally watched the damned thing and even though it was nothing really ground-breaking, I turned out to be a decent watch. Basically, what works the most was actually Lake Bell herself. Indeed, instead of her usual supporting roles that she gets, here, she was finally at the center of this tale and her quirky charm worked wonders. I also wonder how she came up with this idea to make a movie about the voice-over business which was an interesting idea but, at the end of the day, I’m afraid it was not really such a fascinating profession. Concerning the other characters, they were not bad but I can’t say I really cared for any of them. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie and maybe I should re-watch at it some point but, on the other hand, I’m not sure if it is a movie that really needs to be watched a couple of times. I mean, in my opinion, with such an intereting cast (Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett), there was definitely some potential, especially since I always had a weak spot for heist movies. In this case, I also enjoyed the fact that these convicts were non-violent but, unfortunately, they decided to deliver something quirky and this tone didn’t really work for me, I’m afraid. Indeed, the issue with this approach is that it made the whole thing eventually  for me just too difficult  to be taken really seriously. It’s like [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see]character. I mean, I don’t blame Cate Blanchett, she is one of my favorite actress and she did what she could but her character was more or less responsible for this rather lame love triangle. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I have actually already watched this movie but since it was a while back and since I had this movie on DVD, I thought I should check it out again. First of all, I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of musicals but this one was definitely an exception. Sure, it was yet another adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ but it is one of the very few movies which managed to give a satisfying modern twist to this timeless tale. Furthermore, most of the songs were pretty neat (even if none of the main cast actually sang those tunes) but, above all, I really loved the dancing which was some of the best I have seen in a musical. If you are familiar with Michael Jackson’s work, you will notice that this movie had a huge influence on him which was pretty cool as well. The only issue I might have had with this movie is that it was maybe slightly too long. Indeed, even though it was actually a rather simple story which took place only during 2 days, they still managed to reach more than 150 minutes of running time but that’s something that often happens with such musicals when the characters stop every 2 minutes to sing a song. Anyway, to conclude, it really deserves it stellar reputation, it is a huge classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Even though this movie seems to be rather forgotten nowadays, in my opinion, from all the movies directed by Sam Raimi, it is actually probably the best one he has delivered if you put aside the Evil Dead trilogy. As a matter of fact, it was hardly a personal project as Raimi was not even the first director involved (in fact, Ben Stiller, John Dhal and finally John Boorman all dropped out at some point before Sam Raimi finally took over) and, yet, the end-result turned out to be even more than satisfying. I mean, sure, it was a really straightforward story (which such a title, should you expect anything else?)  preventing the whole thing from becoming really amazing, but there was definitely something appealing about its simplicity and the whole thing was sure damned entertaining. Indeed, we all wondered at some point about ‘What would I do if I would find a bag full of money?’ and this movie basically shows one bleak but also very plausible scenario. Back in those days, I didn't know who the hell Billy Bob Thornton was (he had his breakthrough with 'Sling Blade' just a couple of years before) but he was certainly the best actor involved here. To conclude, it is a really solid thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Even though the 2^nd sequel of ‘The Karate Kid’ franchise seemed to be a critical and commercial failure, for some reasons, they still decided to come up with a new instalment, this time, with a girl playing the lead character. Well, right from the start, it seemed to be a really misguided project and, indeed, the whole thing turned out to be pretty lame. As usual, it took fovever before the whole thing started, seriously, I think it took them maybe 1 hour before they actually started the karate training. To make things worse, I was amazed by how underwhelming this training was. Furthermore, for once, there was no tournament, in fact, there was barely any fighting at all which was quite surprising considering the title. Concerning Hilary Swank, she must have been really excited to get finally her first starring part but this movie didn’t really manage to launch her career. In fact, she would go a long way after this movie, first winning an Academy Award for ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ and, then 10 years later, she would show up in another sport movie called ‘Million Dollar Baby’ for which she would win her 2^nd Academy Award. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t expect much, it still turn out to be pretty weak and I don’t think it is worth a look at all.