Reviews by johanlefourbe

I already saw this movie but I was wondering if it was still deserving its poor reputation after all these years so I wanted to check it out again. Well, the answer would be ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Indeed, back then, this movie was really poorly received and it was even considered as one of the worst movies displayed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. To be honest, I have to admit that the damned thing was much weaker than I remembered. The one thing that bothered me even more the second time around were the flashback scenes. Sure, the scenes were there to establish why the main character would go to Japan to kill himself but it would have worked better without these flashbacks which felt rather useless. Indeed, even though Naomi Watts and Matthew McConaughey made an attractive couple, it was probably one of the most pathetic couples I have ever seen in a movie. I mean, sure, they probably loved each other at some point but, by now, it was pretty obvious that they hated each other guts so why on Earth did they stay together? Especially if they were both healthy and they didn’t have any kids, I really didn’t see why they should keep on going on like this. The fact that I’m myself in a very toxic relationship for almost 20 years obviously made the whole thing even more annoying to watch. Finally, the idea that a life threatening illness would suddenly solve all their problems in their marriage was also naive and even ludicrous (Indeed, my wife did get seriously ill at some point and it didn’t improve our relationship, it just made our situation even more complicated). And why on Earth did she have to die in a car accident? Seriously, that was another ridiculous useless twist. Eventually, the focus should have been set on his trip in this strange forest and this forest is the main reason why I don’t think this movie was a complete disaster. Indeed, I had never heard of this place, this Aokigahara forest where almost 100 people go to take their own life every year, and there was something quite fascinating about this place. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing didn’t work at all though and I would have to agree that it is indeed one of Gus Van Sant’s worst movies.

To be honest, since it is a rather obscure feature, I really had no idea what to expect from the damned thing but since I have a weak spot for Kirsten Dunst, I thought I might as well check it out. The fact that it was directed by John Stockwell who was responsible for such underwhelming movies like ‘Into the Blue’ didn’t make me feel really optimistic either. Eventually, I was actually positively surprised by the damned thing. I mean, sure, it was rather basic story and the whole thing was fairly predictable but, somehow, it still worked for me. Indeed, I really liked the tone, those characters were interesting and charismatic enough and I thought that Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez had a pretty good chemistry together. Concerning Dunst, we don’t hear much from her anymore and it seems that she mostly focuses on some small movies nowadays but I think she gave here one of her best performances. Concerning Jay Hernandez, it was a promising debut but even though he had a decent career afterwards, he never became a major player. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was definitely not a masterpiece whatsoever, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

It has been a while since I saw this flick but I’m pretty sure I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Even though it turned out to be the most expensive movies directed by Woody Allen (mostly due to the fact it was set in the 40’s) , it is usually considered a minor effort for this director. In fact, even Woody Allen himself thought that it was one of his worst movies, above all because he never planned to be the lead but his other choices apparently declined. Personally, I always had a hard time to care about his comedies mixed with a periode piece (see also ‘Magic in the Moonlight’, ‘Bullets Over Broadway’, ‘Radio Days’) and this one was probably the worst of the bunch. Indeed, it is a rather awkward mix involving a love triangle, some hypnotism and some jewel thefts and none of these elements really worked. At least, it was really neat to see the gorgeous Charlize Theron working again with Woody Allen as she already completely stole show in ‘Celebrity’, easily the most underrated movie coming fromt this director. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Woody Allen’s work. 

Even though this movie was rather poorly received, since I have a weak spot for Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, I thought I might as well check it out. Furthermore, I have always thought that there was something quite fascinating about gambling and to make a movie about the new gambling business on the internet sounded really promising. Unfortunately, the whole thing turned out to be rather disappointing. I mean, right from the start, the set-up was actually pretty weak. Basically, the main character looses his money online and go all the way to Costa Rica to complain with the website owner face-to-face. I mean, seriously?!? That was really far-fetched and it was even more  stupid when you think that this scheme concluded with him getting a job in this gambling world. Another problem was that even though the movie was about gambling, the main character was not actually a gambler so they really struggled to convince the viewers that being involved in this world was really illegal and actually dangerous. It's like someone organizing a poker game at home but without actually playing, the risks are actually rather low. Concerning Justin Timberlake, he tried really hard but since this movie started with this really stupid plan, it was really difficult to take his character seriously and to understand his motivations. Concerning Gemma Arterton, it was actually even worse. I mean, during the whole thing you wait for her to do or to say something really interesting or unexpected but it never happened at all. Seriously, it was one of the most underwhelming female characters I have seen for a while. Eventually, the only one who managed to do something with this really weak material was once again Ben Affleck. Indeed, Affleck managed to be charming, manipulative and threatening at the same time and his character was pretty much the only one who was convincing and interesting enough. Anyway, to conclude, I think my rating was actually generous here, it was a rather weak thriller but I guess gave it a few extra points only because I did like the concept.

It has been a while since I saw this flick but I’m pretty sure I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. It is usually considered as one of the better movies delivered by Woody Allen in the 90’s. Indeed, it was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Screenplay and at some point, it was even included in the amazing list ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ but it has been removed later on. Well, in spite of this, I actually had a rather hard time to really care about the damned thing. I mean, there was a really impressive cast involved and it was definitely more ambitious than most of the movies he made during the last 20 years and, yet, I didn’t really feel much connection with the material. Basically, Allen tried to make something similar to Bergman’s and Fellini’s work but, as far as I’m concerned, it didn’t really work and I thought it was one of his most pretentious movies. On the other hand, I was much younger when I saw it and maybe I should give it a 2^nd chance at some point. 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 Woody Allen’s work. 

To be honest, it has been ages since I saw this flick and I should probably re-watch it at some point. Basically, a while back, I used to play the saxophone and I followed some lessons for 5-6 years. At some point, my sax teacher asked me if I would be interested to play in a band and, of course, I thought it sounded pretty neat. Eventually, it turned out to be a blues-band which was pretty much like the band in this movie with some kids coming from the projects of my city. I mean, we even had ‘Mustang Sally’ in our set list! So, obviously, everyone in my band just loved this movie for some obvious reasons but, to be honest, I always had some rather mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, sure, it was quite entertaining, the characters were convincing and believable and some of the dialogues were quite hilarious but, eventually, I thought the whole thing was just too pedestrian and predictable for my taste. Indeed, the whole thing pretty much followed the formula in this genre and they took no risk whatsoever. Still, to conclude, even though I’m not really a huge fan, it is a solid cult-classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have this flick and I should probably re-watch it at some point. By now, I have seen more than 7000 movies and, following this mad obsession about movies, I have seen many very old classics and I have noticed that it is very often hit-and-miss with such timeless  features. Indeed, with some of them, I could see right away why they have been heralded through all the years but, for some others, it seems more that they were groundbreaking when they were released but they seem to be rather dated nowadays. Well, in this case, with this movie, it thought it was pretty good and, from a technical point of view, Eisenstein was quite a genius who came up with some movie technics that were never used before but, still, was it really such a fascinating story? I’m not so sure. I mean, it is probably the best propaganda film ever made but, even so, the propaganda genre has its limitations and, as a result, this movie still didn’t really blow me away. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t become one of my all time favorite movies, it was still a really interesting watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre and it is pretty much a must-see for any decent movie buff.