Reviews by johanlefourbe

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. 

With such an interesting director and above all such an all-star cast, it was not surprising that this movie had a pretty good buzz before it came out. However, when it was released, it didn’t make much waves after all. And, indeed, I’m afraid the whole thing didn’t really work. I mean, this star-studded cast (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Aaron Paul, Kate Winslet, Gal Gadot, Norman Reedus, Teresa Palmer, Clifton Collins Jr.) might actually have been part of the problem. Basically, very often, you got to see too many characters at the same time and no one of them got enough room to be properly developed. The victim was also the plot. Indeed, because the whole thing was so over-crowded, everything was rushed and, even if you got here and there some bits of information about the characters involved, at the end, you never get the opportunity to get close with any of them. Still, the whole thing definitely had some potential. You could feel that all the actors believed in this story and they all gave some solid performances (Kate Winslet seemed rather miscast as a Russian mob boss though) and I also liked the fact that there was no really good or bad guy in this story. To conclude, even though it sounded quite promising, it turned out to be rather half-baked but I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Hillcoat’s work. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Barbet Schroeder’s work and since there was a pretty cool cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Back then, Barbet Schroeder had a decent run in the USA (I especially loved 'Reversal of Fortune') and this movie would be pretty much the most obscure one he made during this time. Well, I thought it was not bad at all. Indeed, the set-up was actually pretty good and I thought it was a solid mix between thriller and drama. It was also pretty neat to see such fine actors like Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson working together. Unfortunately, the whole thing lost some steam during the second half and, eventually, I thought the story was not bad but the material was just not strong enough. Concerning Edward Furlong, it would be one of the last interesting movies he would be involved in and the rest of his career would be filled with some really obscure movies. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Barbet Schroeder’s work.

I think it must be at least 10 years since I saw a movie directed by Takeshi Kitano for the last time. It is a real shame because he was definitely one of my favorite directors in the 90’s. In fact, I wasn’t the only one who loved his work and, eventually, his international status became so important that he got the opportunity to make this movie in the USA, the first and only movie he would direct outside of Japan. I remember it very well, there was quite some hype around this movie before it was released but, eventually, it turned out to be a decent watch but not much more than that, I’m afraid. I mean, it was still a solid gangster flick coming from this master but this mix between his unique style and the American way of making films was rather often really awkward. Above all, I think it would have been much more interesting if he could have worked with some really good American actors instead of the rather weak cast he ended up with . Eventually, Kitano himself didn’t like this experience at all and he decided to never ever make another movie outside Japan. To conclude, even though the whole thing didn’t live up to my expectations, I thought it was still fairly entertaining and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Takeshi Kitano’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. Anyway, ever since I saw ‘The Crying Game’, I have always been a fan of Neil Jordan’s work but, unfortunately, it has been a while since he blew me away and I’m pretty sure the last time he really impressed me was actually with this movie. It is actually a rather obscure feature but it has fortunately still managed to reach a cult status through the years. Basically, it is some kind of whimsical dark tale and even though this mix might sound impossible, I thought it worked really well and the end-result was quite unique. Indeed, not only, it felt socially accurate but you had also a really fascinating portrait of a teenage boy who is put under such a huge pressure that he slowly starts to lose his grip on reality. At the center of this tale, you had the young Eamonn Owens who gave one of the best acting debut ever and it is a real shame he didn’t manage to have a solid career after this movie. Coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it seems to be rather forgotten nowadays, I really liked the damned thing and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Neil Jordan’s work.