Reviews by johanlefourbe

When was the last time that Luc Besson has delivered a really good movie? I’m not even talking about the lame movies he has been producing lately but even his directing efforts have been rather disappointing. Well, with this is mind, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but I certainly didn’t expect it to be so underwhelming. I mean, it was nice that he was trying something really different than his previous movies, I’ll give him that, but barely nothing did work with this feature. At first, it seemed to be some kind of female version of Indiana Jones which sounded actually rather promising but, as soon as the main character got back to Paris, it all became some kind of terrible mess involving a pterodactyl and some mummy who had to be resurrected. Concerning Louise Bourgoin, sure, she was very nice looking and she displayed some potential but her acting was sometimes decent but usually rather weak. Still, I don’t think she was the one really to blame here. Indeed, the tone was more annoying than really entertaining and the story, as mentioned before, was just a boring mess. To conclude, surprisingly, it turned out to be the weakest movie delivered by the French director, at least, in my opinion, and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

I remember very well when this movie came out in France. Indeed, before its release, there was quite some buzz. Since 'Delicatessen', the previous movie directed by Caro & Jeunet turned out to be a huge cult-classic in my home country, the expectations were really high concerning their follow-up, especially since it was the most expensive French movie ever made at the time if I recall it correctly. Anyway, I even went to see in the movie theater when it was released but, to be honest, I actually ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. Sure, it was visually impressive, no doubt at about it, but there was something that slightly bothered me with this tale.  I mean, it was  fairly entertaining but, somehow, I had a rather hard time to care for these characters and what they were going through. Eventually, it would be the last movie made by Caro & Jeunet together and even though Jean-Pierre Jeunet had a pretty good career on his own afterwards, I think it’s too bad those guys never worked again together. Anyway, even though  I wasn’t completely sold by the damned thing, it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

The day before, I just watched ‘Nous finirons ensemble’ with my wife and since we both enjoyed it, I thought I might rewatch this movie, especially since my wife didn’t see it. Well, I actually think that she enjoyed more the sequel but I think that both movies worked fine. I think that this first instalment took much more time to finally take off (it’s also much longer) and it’s actually more dramatic. Anyway, the damned thing did start with a really neat one-take shot and Guillaumet Canet was a little bit a show off with this scene, obviously inspired by some similar ones especially  the famous club scene in ‘Goodfellas’. Still, it was really well done and a great way to introduce Ludo. Eventually, this story wouldn’t be actually about Ludo but about his friends who surprisingly decide to go on their traditional holiday while Ludo is lying in the ICU. The funny thing is that I witnessed a really similar situation the very same year I watched this movie the first time around. Indeed, every year, my stepchildren go to some luxury ski holidays with their father and the rest of his family and, back then, just a week before they were supposed to go, their grand-father got a severe cerebral haemorrhage but guess what? They still went anyway to their ski holidays as usual. Seriously, that’s something I really don’t understand (are holidays really that important?) but that’s apparently something that people really do. Anyway, coming back to the movie itself, I thought it was pretty good, thanks above all to a really strong cast but not everything did work though. The main issue, in my opinion, was that there were so many characters involved (If you count all the various couples, you would come up with more than 10 men and women) and, as a result, even if the movie was rather long (150 mins), there was still not enough room to really develop all of them. Still, in spite of its flaws, I really liked the mood, it was a well-made movie with some solid performances and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

I wasn’t really expecting much from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see]work, I thought I might as well 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 one of the last he would make there before heading back to Europe. Well, it wasn’t really good I’m afraid, in fact, I’m pretty sure it was the weakest movie delivered by Schroeder so far. Indeed, basically, it was one of these far-fetched thrillers and the story was so over-the-top, I thought it was actually more ridiculous than actually entertaining. I don’t actually blame Barbet Schroeder as I don’t think that even the best director in the world could have done something with this tale. Concerning the actors involved, back then, Andy Garcia was still trying to be a leading man but I thought he was rather boring. On the other hand, the always underrated Michael Keaton was actually not bad a all but he clearly deserved some better material than here.To conclude, even though Michael Keaton seemed to have some fun, it was a rather weak thriller and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Before this movie came out there was really a good buzz about it. Indeed, not only was Johnny Depp apparently giving a great performance but, at last, he was finally involved a very good movie. Well, eventually, it didn’t make such waves when it was released but I was still really eager to check it out. And indeed, even though it was a decent watch, I thought the whole thing was missing something to become really amazing. It was actually some strong material but I guess it wasn’t helped by the fact that this story was really notorious and, therefore, nothing really surprising or unexpected happened during the whole thing. I mean, sure, Johnny Depp was quite impressive (he actually said that it was his favorite out of all his films) but the whole thing felt unfortunately like some kind of one-man-show and most of the other characters, even though they were played by some well known actors (Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, Juno Temple,…) were barely developed at all. The only exception was Joel Edgerton who had a nice evolution going from a well-meaning FBI agent to an informant working for his gangster buddy, even behaving like a thug himself . I mean, even with Whitey Bulger, they kept telling us that he became in the process a major crime lord in Boston and, yet, you didn’t see any actual change in his behavior, in his appearance, in his surroundings suggesting that there was any actual improvement concerning his status. Basically, Bulger seemed to be exactly the same guy before working with the FBI and after working for them which was rather poorly done. Anyway, even though it was slightly disappointing, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to finally see a good movie starring Johnny Depp. 

I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. In fact, I remember well when this movie was released. Indeed, it was a big critical success and it even won the Golden Bear in the Berlin Film and the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film among other prizes. Back then, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released, and I had some rather high expectations. Well, to be honest, even though I thought it was indeed pretty good, I can’t say it really blow me away though. I don’t know, maybe my expectations were too high but, somehow, I thought it was a decent story but nothing really amazing. Well, after all these years, even after rewatching the damned thing, I still ended up with pretty much the same feeling. Basically, even though it was a very well made dramatic road-trip with some solid directing, it still remained a road-trip nonetheless and I always had a hard time to really care for this genre. Indeed, I can understand why this format can be attractive for a filmmaker (it is basically a really easy way to develop a story) but, for the viewers, at least as far as I’m concerned, all road-trips follow the same rules which makes them seriously predictable. Still, I have to admit that Fernanda Montenegro and Vinícius de Oliveira both gave some really strong performances and they made the whole thing still quite compelling to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even though I wasn’t completely sold, it was still a solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago and since I had on DVD, I was really eager to check it out again. Recently, I discovered a list on Indiewire ranking all the movies directed by Roman Polanski and I was really surprised that this movie was so low on their list (Indeed, it was on the 4th lowest spot only behind ‘What?’, ‘Pirates’ and ‘Oliver Twist’).  Well, I didn’t share their opinion, that’s for sure, and even though it might not be one of the best movies delivered by the Polish master, it is easily one of his most underrated features. Indeed, even though the set-up was pretty basic, I thought it was just really spellbinding to watch. As usual with this director, the border between right or wrong, good and evil, was really blurred and you had to make up your mind on your own about what you should make from this tale. Eventually, even though Sigourney Weaver will be always remembered as one of the most bad-ass female characters, many viewers forget that she is actually a fine actress. Basically, she was terrific in this  movie and she gave here one of her best performances. To conclude, even though it seems to be an acquired taste, I really loved the damned thing and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Roman Polanski’s work.