Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, it has been a while since I have this flick but since I didn’t like it much the first time around, I don’t think I will waste my time a 2nd time with this movie. First of all, I have to admit it, even though it seemed to be really lame, eventually, ‘American Pie’ turned out to be not bad at all. Obviously, since the movie was a big success, they had to come up with a sequel but it barely worked for me. I mean, since all the characters were now in college, there was actually some potential to push the envelop even further but I thought they failed miserably. I don’t know what bothered me the most, the fact that the whole thing was completely random or the fact that all these sub-plots were just seriously underwhelming. I thought they also completely ruined the Nadia character in this movie. I mean, her character was completely unbelievable in the 1st movie but it was even worse this time and she was completely wasted here. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse, I thought it was pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.

I already saw this flick but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. In fact, I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Anyway, even though it was nothing amazing, I always had a weak spot for this flick and it is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. Basically, it is a solid action flick with two really charismatic actors, no more, no less. Back then, Michael Bay didn't have a virtually unlimited budget so there was still more or less a raw feeling to the proceedings. This movie was also a milestone for many people involved. Indeed, not only it was Bay's directing debut and the start of his collaboration with Jerry Bruckheimer which would last 8 years and 4 more movies but it was also, for Will Smith, his first genuine starring role and his first opportunity to really break his 'Fresh Prince' image. Not only was it a personal success for him but nobody was expecting that he would become the King of the box-office for the next 13 following years. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is nothing really groundbreaking, it was still a decent action flick and it is in fact better than most of the movies that Michael Bay has made afterwards.

I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, after watching all these terribly underwhelming transformers sequels, this movie turned out to be actually better than I remembered. Basically, the point is that, so far, all the movies directed by Michael Bay had somehow more or less some redeeming features. With this flick, you had to dig really deep to find something valuable though. At least, I have to admit that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence still had a pretty good chemistry together and the action scenes were decent enough. Still, some of these action scenes were just too long and the final one in Cuba was just rather ridiculous and such an overkill, even for Michael Bay. For the rest, it was just a just a very long, often preposterous and actually sometimes rather boring action flick which was too bad because the 1st installment was actually pretty good. It is interesting to note that it was the last time Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer would work together and since it was their weakest effort so far, it seemed appropriate that they decided to end their partnership. To conclude, I didn’t care much for the damned thing and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre. 

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, even though this movie seems to be rather forgotten nowadays, it was actually a big critical success when it was released and both Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt ended up winning the Best Actor and Best Actress Academy awards. With this in mind, I had some rather high expectations but, to be honest, I didn’t really see what was so amazing about this movie and this rewatch didn’t change my mind, I’m afraid. At least, this time around, I have to admit that I was really impressed by Jack Nicholson who probably gave here one of his best performances. In fact, Helen Hunt who I find usually rather boring was also very good in this flick. On top of that, for some various reasons, I have always been interested in psychological disorders and I’m always eager to check movies dealing with this fascinating subject. However, to be honest, I still had a rather hard time to really care about the damned thing. What still bothered me was the evolution of Melvin’s relationships with other people, especially with Carole. Indeed, the bottom line was that Melvin was simply not a nice guy, mostly because he was plagued by OCD, but that’s basically who he was. However, in this movie, it was only when Melvin started to act completely out of character that other people started to care for him but I believe that they should have befriended him for who he actually was and not for who they expected him to be. With Carol, I think it was even worse. I mean, at first, they couldn’t stand each other but, from the moment that he helped her out with her sick kid and gave her a few romantic compliments, she suddenly fell head over heels for him?!? This turn of events was just too drastic for me. On top of that, if you would believe this movie, the only way Melvin could ever be loved would be if he would act like a completely different guy which is not really the best foundation for any healthy relationship. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie didn’t really work for me, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, even if I believe it is in fact rather overrated.

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.