Reviews by johanlefourbe

The funny thing with this movie is that even though it is rather lame, it still managed to become a classic. Anyway, I remember it very well, my wife told me that it was a classic from the 80's and that I should check it out. First of all, the interesting thing about the damned thing is that it would be pretty much impossible to release a movie like this one nowadays. Indeed, back in those days, it was already quite controversial because Brooke Shields was only 14 years old and, nowadays, you will never see a young girl or boy naked in a movie, even if they would use some body doubles like they did in this movie. As a result, there is a weird vibe coming from this movie. Indeed, on one hand, it is a really cheesy and rather harmless romance but, on the other hand, sometimes, it also feels like a shameless teen erotic feature. I wonder how it would have turned out to be if they did use a more realistic approach instead. Indeed, this story is in fact not bad at all but they took such a misguided approach towards this materia that it was rather impossible to take it seriously. To conclude, I didn’t like it much and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Even though this movie didn’t make much waves when it was released, since it sounded quite intriguing, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, what I found most shocking about this movie is the fact that almost everybody in the cycling world apparently actually knew that something was wrong with this athlete and, yet, virtually nobody said anything about it. The other interesting thing was the fact that doping seems to be actually really common in this sport, something apparently even inevitable, and you might wonder if you wouldn't find exactly the same issue in any other top sport. Anyway, Lance Armstrong’s story was quite incredible and there was definitely some potential to deliver a very strong movie but, to be honest, I wonder if a documentary wouldn’t have been more efficient. For example, even though Ben Foster delivered a decent performance, the guy is always so intense that he made Armstrong looked psychotic which might seem to be the right approach if you wanted the guy to be the bad guy but, in my opinion, it would have been more interesting if they chose an actor who looked like a nice fellow like John Krasinski for example. Furthermore, I wish they developed more his motivation behind his acts. Indeed, throughout the whole thing, you never get any explanation about why he did what he did. For example, why did he create the Livestrong Foundation? Was it just some smart PR strategy? Concerning his personal life, it was even worse. I mean, at some point, he was asking some random questions to some random girl and, then, 30 secondes later, they were married but you never saw her again after that. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject. 

At some point,  I bought this movie on DVD but, for some reasons, I sold it afterwards which is too bad because it could have been pretty neat to re-watch it (on the other hand, I think it is available on Netflix so I should be able to watch it again whenever I want).  Anyway, it is probably regarded as one of the best Westerns ever made and I believe it really deserves this reputation. Indeed, back then Robert Redford was still an upcoming actor and it is with this movie that he would become a major movie star, especially in the 70’s. Eventually, it would be a great masterstroke to combine him with Paul Newman as they had together some great chemistry. In fact, this combinaction was so awesome that this movie became the inspiration for virtually all the buddy movies that came afterwards. Eventually, a few years later, George Roy Hill would try to give the same gimmick with ‘The Sting’, also starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and even though it would be again a big critical and commercial success, I thought it was a decent watch but not much more than that. To conclude, coming back to our main feature,  it is pretty much a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

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I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. I actually remember it very well when it came out. Indeed, it was at the time a big commercial and critical success, especially in England. Well, to be honest, back then, I actually had some mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, sure, I thought it was a charming and fairly entertaining feature but not much more than that, I’m afraid. Above all, I thought this tale was just too generic and predictable. Well, I'm glad I gave it a second chance after all these years because I was much more able to enjoy it. Basically, I still don't think that the story is anything great whatsoever and it is definitely not a masterpiece. However, I didn't pay enough attention the first time around on how grim the situation was for Billy's family and how they were all going towards complete disintegration and, therefore, how important it was for them that Billy would manage to get out of all this. Still, the whiplash between his father being completely against it and suddenly becoming a super fan was too big though. Anyway, what really worked in this movie though was Jamie Bell who gave such an intense performance, it was some really strong stuff, especially for someone at such a young age. After that, Bell did have a steady career but it might still be his best performance so far after all these years. Concerning Stephen Daldry, it was definitely a solid directorial effort but his next movies would be so much more challenging and interesting, at least, in my opinion. Anyway, to conclude, even if I'm still not a huge fan, I have to admit that it is actually a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I thought I already saw this movie but I actually got it confused with ‘Sabotage’, another thriller that Alfred Hitchcock did direct 6 years before this movie. Well, basically, it is one of his typical thrillers involving an average guy wrongfully accused of some crime and that was probably the first issue I had with this movie. Indeed, Hitchcock has done this kind of stories too many times and often way better than in this movie. Furthermore, even though Robert Cummings was not bad, he wasn’t really a strong lead either and, to be honest, I thought he was rather boring. Concerning Priscilla Lane, I just saw her a couple of days ago in ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ and it was really neat to see this lovely actress again but, unfortunately, she didn’t have much chemistry with Robert Cummings. Eventually, I liked more the supporting characters, especially Otto Kruger who was one of the best villains I have seen in a Hitchcock picture. I was rather surprised to find out that Hitchcock was actually never really pleased with this villain. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t really blow me away, I thought it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Alfred Hitchcock’s work.

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. It is considered by many as Terry Gilliam's Magnum Opus and even though it might not be my favorite movie he made (I think I actually prefer ‘12 Monkeys’), it is still pretty obvious that this movie completely deserves its prestigious reputation. Surprisingly, Roger Ebert really didn’t like it at all but he was an expection as the movie was really well received when it was released. Somehow, I still can understand Ebert though. Indeed, I really believe that Gillim is one of the most imaginative directors out there and for already more than 30 years but his movies are always confused and confusing and they can be sometimes rather frustrating to watch. Still, as usual with this director,  the whole thing was visually impressive but there was also something quite spellbinding about this tale. Personally, I always had a weak spot for futuristic dystopian stories and this must be one of the most famous movies in this genre. To conclude, it is probably one of the most heralded cult-classics out there and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Terry Gilliam’s work.

I already saw this movie but since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, I never really understood why this movie was so popular. I mean, at some point, according to IMDb, this was even the best movie released in 2016 (not anymore though). I have to admit it, it was far from being a bad movie, it’s just that I didn’t see anything really amazing about it. Sure, the animation was really neat but, by now, I wouldn’t expect less from Disney. However, I thought that the story was rather generic and, at times, even slightly tedious. For many years, one of the most enduring and annoying trademarks in the Disney animated features have been these talking animals and, in this case, they just took this gimmick and gave it a modern twist, that’s about it. I mean, they went for something so modern that they even added a Breaking Bad methlab with Wolter and Jesse, a reference which will be completely lost on the young viewers but also on everyone else within the next 5 years. Eventually, even it might seem pretty deep for a Disney animated feature, in my opinion, the ideas displayed were remained rather skin-deep, even if it was obviously good-hearted. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was still fairly entertaining, I’m still surprised that it turned out to be such a massive box-office success but I guess it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to check it out again at some point. I have to admit it, the first time I saw it, even though this movie had a really solid reputation, I didn't care  much for the damned thing and, back then, I ended up with some really mixed feelings. Well, I'm glad I gave it a second chance and I wonder why I was so critical about it back then. I mean, to be honest, I still don't think it is anything really groundbreaking. Indeed, the plot remains just too simplistic for my taste and the characters were barely developed but I have to agree that it is actually a pretty good horror flick with some solid directing by Brian De Palma and a very good performance by Sissy Spacek. Eventually, almost 40 years later, they came up with a remake with Chloë Grace Moretz playing the title character but, even though it seemed to be promising, it turned out to be a commercial and critical flop. Coming back to our main feature,  to conclude,  I still don’t see what is so great about this story but I have to admit that it is a decent horror movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.