Reviews by johanlefourbe

When was the last time that Jim Carrey had a hit? I guess it was with ‘Yes Man’ which was released almost a decade ago. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I had already seen the damned thing but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, that’s basically a typical comedy on which Jim Carrey has built up his career but I thought it was not bad at all. In fact, to be honest, the concept was actually rather idiotic and, to make things worse, it was really hard to care about the main character. I mean, he had a decent job, a girlfriend who looked like Jennifer Aniston and, yet, he kept complaining all the time. Eventually, what made this movie was worked was Jim Carrey himself. Indeed, with anyone else, it would have been pretty lame but Carrey was just really good here. Seriously, back in those days, the guy was at the top of his game and most of his jokes were just really funny. Eventually, since it was a box-office success, they obviously had to come up with a sequel called ‘Evan Almighty’ but Jim Carrey was smart enough to stay away from the damned thing and it turned out to be a really expensive flop. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was a decent comedy and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like Jim Carrey's work.

In 2016, they finally released a 3^rd instalment for this franchise and, even though I expected it to be a massive critical and commercial failure, it was in fact fairly well received and it turned to be even a box-office hit. With this in mind, I will probably give in and watch it with my wife since she was so eager to check the damned thing. Anyway, my lack of enthusiasm towards this movie probably had to do with the fact that this first sequel was just so damned underwhelming. Indeed, even though ‘Bridget Jones's Diary' was maybe not really flawless, it was seriously entertaining and it is definitely a classic rom-com. Obviously, since it was such a success, it was not surprising that they would come up with such a sequel but I never expected it to be so lame. The first mistake they made was to bring the very same trio of actors. Indeed, even though I always had a weak spot for Hugh Grant, there was no real reason to bring back his character. As a result, you got the very same dynamic between these characters, except that it was much weaker this time around. Above all, the biggest problem with this movie is that the whole thing was just so damned idiotic. Anyway, to conclude, I think it was one of the worst sequels I have seen and I don’t think it is worth a look at all. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Drew Barrymore, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, even though Drew Barrymore was incredibly cute back then, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing. Indeed, in my opinion, I thought it in fact was one of the most basic and boring chick-flick I have ever seen. I mean, seriously, just check this title, it was just so unsubtle and this fake feminist vibe was just so annoying. Anyway, the whole thing was basically some kind of lame version of ‘Thelma & Louise’ which was in fact alrady rather overrated in my opinion. Eventually, I was rather surprised to discover that the damned thing was written by Don Roos. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for Don Roos’s work, especially because he usually delivers some rather sharp and/or edgy stories so it was rather disappointing that he would come up with something so cheesy and boring. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought it was pretty weak and I  don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick. Still, I remember it very well, before watching the damned thing, since it was involving such actors like Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman and Bruce Willis, I had some rather high expectations. Eventually, I was actually amazed about how half-baked the whole thing turned out to be. Basically, it was some kind of really weak version of ‘Goodfellas’ taking place in the 30’s. The biggest difference between those 2 movies was that the main character in ‘Goodfellas’, Henry Hill, was really charismatic while Billy Bathgate was just such a wimp. Seriously, it is not very often that you will come across such an uncharismactic lead character. I mean, even though he was the title character, on the poster, the guy was actually hidden behind Dustin Hoffman and his name was not even mentioned. Eventually, even though Nicole Kidman never looked prettier, it’s hard to believe that such a girl would waste her time with this guy. It’s not surprising that Loren Dean’s career went pretty much nowhere after this movie as the guy never really impressed me in any of the movies he showed up afterwards. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was really disappointing and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

A couple of weeks ago, I saw ‘Arbitrage’ which turned out to be a pretty good flick and I was above all impressed by Richard Gere who gave in this movie easily one of his best performances. With this in mind, I thought I might as well check this other thriller he made just a year before. Well, this time, I was impressed again but, above all, about how underwhelming the whole thing was. Indeed, while he was great in ‘Arbitrage’, Gere gave here one of his typical wooden performances and the guy was supposed to be some kind of lethal double-agent spy but he just not convincing at all. Concerning Topher Grace, he was not really much better, I’m afraid. On the other hand, they were not helped by a rather idiotic story. First of all, to reveal who really was Cassius almost from the start was actually a mistake and the rest of the movie seemed rather pointless. Furthermore, at the beginning, Gere kept claiming that Cassius was long dead but, then, at some point, he then kept telling virtually everyone that Cassius was really dangerous and nobody thought it was weird. It’s like his killing method. A seasoned killer would never always use the exact killing method, especially such a technique which was so messy and unpractical. Anyway, to conclude, it was pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie but, if I recall it correctly, I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Basically, it is a rather typical British comedy with a fairly realistic social background. The interesting thing about this movie was also the fact that it was dealing with coal mining, an industry which was already dying 20 years ago and which is now pretty much extinct. In this case, on one hand, you feel bad for all this people who will lose their job and will definitely struggle to find something else, but, on other hand, was it really realistic to keep fighting? Anyway, I liked this combination between humor and realism. The very same year, Ewan McGregor already gave his breakthrough performance in ‘Trainspotting’ and the guy was definitely becoming one of the most interesting actors of his generation.  Concerning Tara Fitzgerald, I thought she was really lovely in this movie but even though she definitely displayed some potential, she never really became a household name. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie and I should definitely rewatch it at some point. First of all, I have been defending Nicolas Cage for as long as I could but, I have to admit it, his career has been seriously underwhelming the last 10 years and most of his movies are pretty much some garbage nowadays. It’s such a shame because, back in the 80’s, Cage was actually one of the most interesting actors at work and this movie is a fine reminder. Indeed, it was actually a milestone for the thespian as it was his first major starring role. About the movie itself, it was a rather simple story about 2 Vietnam war veterans but what I enjoyed the most was the gentle tone developed in this movie. Concerning Alan Parker, I always had a weak spot for his work and I think this movie was in fact the very best one he made and it’s a real shame the guy has retired already more than a decade ago. Anyway, to conclude, even though it seems to be rather forgotten nowadays, it is actually a really good movie and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wonder how I actually ended up watching this movie. If I recall it correctly, it was broadcast on TV and since the review in my TV mag was really positive, I thought I might as well check it out. Basically, it was a rather complex feature mixing 3 different stories and, even though it was universally heralded when it was released, I didn’t completely connect with the whole thing. I don’t know, maybe it was too complex or too ambitious for me. Still, it was a solid drama, no doubt about it, and definitely one of the best movies I have seen dealing with the war in Ex-Yugoslavia. It was also interesting to see Rade Šerbedžija playing the lead for once in a drama like this one as the guy has become mostly famous for all his supporting parts in some various Hollywood productions. Concerning the director Milcho Manchevski, he delivered a really strong directing debut but even though he seemed to have a bright future ahead of him, he spent the last 20 years making some rather obscure features. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though I don’t think it was really a masterpiece, it was still a pretty good drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.