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.