Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but since it has won the Golden Kalf of the best Dutch movie of the year, I was quite eager to check it out. In fact, the Dutch movie industry is so limited that there are basically only 2 kind of movies that manage to win this prize. Indeed, they are either some really commercial feature which were usually some big box-office success or they are some really obscure Art-house features that really nobody saw when they were released. Well, this movie definitely belonged to the 2^nd group, that’s for sure, but I thought it was actually pretty good. What I found most interesting about this movie is how it started presenting the father as someone wise and tough and the son as some wimp. However, this image didn’t last very long and, eventually, it became quite clear that it was actually the other way around, that the son was was the one who was really street-wise and the father was in fact a major loser. I thought it was a really interesting way to develop their relationship. Unfortunately, the makers were just relentless with the father as the guy turned out to be a massive walking disaster. Seriously, they pushed it so far that he eventually ends up killing his son in a car accident which was just too much. It is pretty obvious that they tried to emulate Michael Haneke’s and the Dardennes brothers’s style which wasn’t a bad idea. Indeed, the directing was solid and the actors gave some good performances but I wish the whole thing would have been more subtle. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing,  I thought it was a decent drama and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Dutch movies. 

[Link removed - login to see]Basically, that’s another really obscure French movie. In fact, it is so obscure that, even 6 years later, I’m still the only Listal member who has rated the damned thing. Well, to be honest, I really wonder how I actually ended up watching the damned thing at the time. Anyway, it is basically one of these typical sweet documentaries that you only get to see in France. Indeed, you won’t find here any deep or thoughtful analysis, instead, you just get to follow a quirky village in the south of France during a whole year. To be honest, the tone was slightly too whimsical for my taste but I have to admit that those Espigoule inhabitants were often quite hilarious. In fact, that’s the interesting thing about a documentary like this one, as a result, you might come to the conclusion that, very often, some average people who remain themselves can actually be more entertaining than some professional actors who actually try to be funny. 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 are interested in French culture but I guess it is more enjoyable if you are fluent in French though. 

Before this movie was released, there was a very good buzz about it and many thought that Steve Carell had a shot at winning the Academy Award for for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role but, eventually, when it was released, it didn’t turn out to be such a huge critical success after all (it still managed to get 5 Academy Award nominations though but it won none). In fact, after ‘The Program’ and ‘Unbroken’, this movie was in fact the 3^rd one that I have seen recently which was based on a fascinating true story and yet, just like the other 2, this movie didn't turn out to be so amazing after all. However, out of these 3 pictures, this movie was easily the best one though. Indeed, the directing by Bennett Miller was really solid and the 3 actors involved (Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum) gave some solid performances. The issue, in my opinion, was more how they approached this material. Indeed, the main focus was put on Mark Schultz but this man said so little, in fact he basically never really said what was on his mind and, as a result, I often had the feeling that the guy was kind of retarted. Well, since we already had John du Pont who was paranoid schizophrenic, I don’t think it was a good move to have another major character with some mental issues. Concerning John du Pont, their approach was basically to present him as someone really weird and mysterious thanks to a stellar performance by Steve Carell and, as a result, I was wondering until the very end what the hell was going on with this guy but, unfortunately, I'm afraid this approach actually backfired. Indeed, eventually, I never had the feeling at any moment that I was getting any kind of understanding about what was actually going on with du Pont. Basically, I spent more than 2 hours with this guy but I felt I knew just as much as I did before watching the damned thing. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was slightly disappointing, it was still a fascinating story and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.  

Basically, it was another really obscure feature that almost no one has seen here on Listal (I was in fact the 2^nd listal member who rated the damned thing). To be honest, I wonder how I actually ended up watching the damned thing but I actually saw it in the movie theater when it was released. In fact, if I recall it correctly, I actually saw the poster for this movie somewhere when I was living in England and I became really intrigued by this concept of ‘betel nut beauties’. In fact, I’m pretty sure I had never heard of this practice before watching this movie and, for this reason onnly, I thought it was already a really intriguing feature. Indeed, there was something pretty weird about this concept of  ‘betel nut beauties’, a concept that was to be found only  in Taiwan, and it is always pretty neat to get in touch with a new culture. Concerning the movie itself, the plot was pretty basic but I thought it was eventually entertaining enough. To conclude, even though it was nothing really groundbreaking, I thought it was still a decent watch and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Asian movies.  

To be honest, it has been a years since I have seen this movie and I should really re-watch it at some point. Well, in Oliver Stone’s filmography, this movie definitely has a solid reputation but, even though I really loved 'Platoon', I didn't think his 2nd Vietnam feature was really so amazing. I mean, sure, it was a decent watch but I thought it was also rather over-sentimental and even sometimes even cheesy. Anyway, Stone still managed to get his 2nd Academy award for Best director and it is quite surprising that the movie was snubbed for the Best picture, especially in favor of the rather underwhelming 'Driving Miss Daisy'. Concerning Tom Cruise, this movie was also quite a milestone because it was his first high-profile dramatic role (he did show up in ‘Rain Man’ the year before but, back then, it was Dustin Hoffman who did most of the heavy lifting). As as result, Cruise got his first Academy Award nomination and his status as the biggest movie star in the world became even more obvious.  Anyway, to conclude, even though I think it is slightly overrated, it is still a a pretty good drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

More than 10 years ago, John McTiernan released this movie which would be, so far, his last directing effort. Indeed, in the following years, he had some major issue with the Justice system since roughly 2007 and in 2013, he was sentenced to federal prison to serve a one-year term for lying to FBI agents. Anyway, I hope for him that he will have eventually the opportunity to direct something else since his last movie was rather disappointing. I mean, sure, if you would compare it to the really dreadful 'Rollberball', it was actually not bad but, still, the whole thing was just a rather  generic and average thriller. The mood was decent, the cast was actually pretty good (indeed, it was the first time that John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson were working together since 'Pulp Fiction' which was released almost a decade before) and the story had some potential. Unfortunately, it is one of those thrillers which ends up with a really far-fetched and idiotic twist ruining the whole thing. In fact, it goes even further, the whole thing is pretty much succession of rather ridiculous twists. It’s too bad because if they kept a more straightforward story, it could have been a decent thriller but, at the end of the day, I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Recently, I just finished to read ‘Les liaisons dangereuses’ and, even though it was a tough read, I really enjoyed the damned thing so I thought it was a nice opportunity to re-watch this movie since I hadn’t see it for so many years. Indeed, first, there was a book, then there was a play and, finally, there was this movie and, something rather exceptional happened here as all these versions turned out to be some huge critical success. Personally, I always find it rather difficult to care for costume dramas as they usually focus on the so-called difficult love life of the aristocracy. However, in this case, those characters were so morally depraved, it made them just really fascinating to behold. The other fascinating thing about this movie is that even though it deals with some promiscuous characters, the whole thing was more about how they mentally manipulate people to get whatever they want than actually getting in bed with them. In fact, the book was much more erotic but that wasn’t a big issue. The other interesting thing about this tale is that it was released just a few years before the French Revolution and it gives a glimpse on how the French aristocracy, the ruling class at the time, had become really decadent and they would eventually have to pay the highest price for their arrogance and their depravity. To conclude, almost 30 years later, it is still a spellbinding movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.