Reviews by johanlefourbe

Well, that was definitely another minor effort from Woody Allen, that’s for sure… I mean, I have seen worse from this director but there is no doubt that this movie was pretty weak. It’s too bad because Allen had this time one of his most impressive cast (Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Freida Pinto, Antonio Banderas, Ewen Bremner, Anna Friel, Theo James). Anyway, the concept was that all these characters were involved in some relationship and they all ended up being unfaithful  some way or another. Apparently, Allen must have been convinced that it would be hilarious but it was barely amusing or entertaining as all these characters turned out to be rather pathetic and even unlikable. The most cringe-inducing moment must have been when Roy (Josh Brolin) invites his gorgeous neighbor (Freida Pinto) for lunch and he confesses that he has been watching her getting undress through his window. I mean, the guy was basically a total stranger and he turned out to be also a creep, so any average woman would just slap his face and get the hell out of here but, no, Pinto's character didn’t seem to really mind which shows that, sometimes, Allen has a rather messed up view on man/woman romantic relationships. I won’t start on the whole fortune teller gimmick which was also really tedious, a gimmick Allen used at least once already in his career with ‘Magic in the Moonlight’. Anyway, to conclude, even though I didn’t like it much, I guess it is still worth a look though thanks for all the fine actors involved but you should check it only if you are really interested in Woody Allen’s work. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I saw this movie. Anyway, Alain Chabat might not be famous abroad but he is pretty big in France for already 30 years. Basically, he started with a comedian group called ‘Les Nuls’ and when the group stopped, he started to show up in some successful comedies like ‘Gazon maudit’. Apparently, since it was apparently not enough, soon afterwards, he decided to be a director as well and this movie was his directing debut. If I recall it correctly, it was fairly successful when it was released and I thought it was not bad. I mean, sure, the concept was pretty stupid and seriously limited but I think Chabat managed to make the most of it.  Above all, I always had a weak spot for Jean-Pierre Bacri and the guy was just a perfect choice to play Didier’s ‘master’. Chabat would deliver 5 years later his 2nd directing effort, ‘Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre’ which turned out to be a massive box-office success. In fact, it is one of the most successful movies ever released in France but, to be honest, I thought it was actually really lame and easily one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was still a decent comedy and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies. 

Recently, my wife and I just finished watching ‘The Killing’ and since we were both eager to check something else involving Joel Kinnaman, I thought we should check out this movie. Eventually, I thought it was not bad but I’m pretty sure I will forget about it soon enough. I mean, sure, it was a decent action flick and it was fairly entertaining but the plot was seriously generic and really predictable. Furthermore, even though Liam Neeson started to play a loser, which was rather surprising, eventually, it only lasted for 20 mins and, after that, he was just playing another lethal bad-ass, apparently the only thing he can do ever since his unexpected success with ‘Taken’. Seriously , this gimmick is getting really old and I wish this fine actor would move on with something really different. Still, above all thanks to a really solid cast (Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman, Genesis Rodriguez, Vincent D'Onofrio, Common, Nick Nolte),  the whole thing actually worked. Indeed, especially the trio Neeson-Harris-Kinnaman managed to deliver some solid performances, better than what you usually get this with this kind of material, and a result, I was still able to care a little bit for these characters. Anyway, to conclude, 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.

I know, it is another seriously obscure feature but I remember quite well when I saw this movie. Indeed, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from the damned thing but since it was one of the first movie directed by Robert Altman, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, the whole thing turned out to be a massive disappointment and it must be easily the weakest movie I have seen from this director (though, I have to admit that ‘Prêt-à-Porter’ was not far behind). The only interesting thing about this movie was probably the fact that it was released just 18 months before Neil Armstrong actually walked on the moon but the whole thing was just so tedious to watch. I mean, sure, it seemed rather realistic (they had the full co-operation of the NASA) and James Caan was quite charismatic but I’m afraid it wasn’t enough to make this movie interesting/entertaining enough. Of course, you could blame the fact that Robert Altman didn’t have much freedom when he made this movie and the studio re-shot it and edited it without Altman but I don’t think the whole thing had much potential from the very beginning. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, it was a seriously boring movie and I don’t think it is worth a look, even if you are a die-hard fan of Robert Altman’s work.

Basically, it is another really obscure French movie. In fact, if I recall it correctly, I’m pretty sure I saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released at the time. Indeed, a few years before, I saw ‘Le péril jeune’ when it was on TV (for some reasons, it was released at the same time in the movie theater and broadcast one of our French channels). Since this movie automatically became a massive guilty pleasure of mine, I was really eager to check the following director effort from this guy. In fact, back then, in 1996, Cédric Klapisch also released ‘Un air de famille’ which would become a massive cult-classic in France but I actually preferred this movie. To be honest, it must be the least ambitious movie delivered by Klapisch so far (it is only about a young woman looking for a cat) but its simplicity was probably its biggest appeal after all. The fact that newcomer Garance Clavel was quite charming also helped but it was quite refreshing to see a movie which was not plot-driven and which cared more about showing some really genuine characters. To conclude, even though it was probably not a masterpiece whatsoever, it was still a really charming little movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.     

Recently, my wife and I just finished watching ‘The Killing’ and since we were both eager to check something else involving Joel Kinnaman, I thought we should check out this movie. Indeed, it was with this movie that Kinnaman got his international breakthrough. Well, eventually, even though it was maybe nothing really groundbreaking, I thought it was still a solid gritty crime thriller. Above all, it was really neat to a much younger Joel Kinnaman and, for the first time, speaking in his mother tongue. Seriously, this guy is just so charismatic and he was once again quite spellbinding to behold here. Concerning the story itself, it was quite entertaining and it gave a realistic view on the criminal underworld in Stockholm, involving the Yugoslavian mafia but also some Chileans. Eventually, the only thing really preventing this movie to become really amazing was probably the fact that there were many slightly too many characters and sub-plots to deal with. For example, JW is a student, pretends to be wealthy to get entrance in the upper-class world, he has a rich girlfriend, he drives a cab and then get involved in some cocaine deal. I mean, that was a lot and that was just the main character. I also had a hard time to believe the way he got involved with these thugs. Furthermore, if those guys were so impressed about his financial skills/knowledge, why would they get rid off him so quickly? All the characters involved tried to convince the viewers that it was the most logical thing to do but I don’t agree, in this business, they usually don’t dump someone who is doing a really good job like that because it doesn't make much sense. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should probably re-watch it at some point. The tricky thing with Francis Ford Coppola is that even though his movies from the 80’s were not really so bad, they never reached the level of the masterpieces he made in th 70’s ('Apocalypse Now', 'The Godfather: Part II', 'The Conversation', 'The Godfather') and he nowadays, the guy is pretty much considered a has-been. This movie is a perfect example as it turned out to be another box-office bomb for Coppola. I  mean, it have seen worse, the whole thing was well made but I just had a hard time to really care about the damned thing. That’s something that occur right often when Richard Gere is playing the lead. Indeed, in some (very) few movies, the guy was fairly interesting to watch but, most of the time, his acting range is just really limited and, aside from his pretty face, he doesn’t have really much to offer, I’m afraid. Surprisingly, Roger Ebert actually loved the damned thing so much, he eventually chose it as one of the best movies released in 1984, no less than that, so maybe I should give it a 2^nd chance at some point in the future. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Francis Ford Coppola’s work. 

Since this movie had a really lame reputation, I wasn’t expecting much but since I have a weak spot for Naomi Watts and since my wife has always been interested in Diana, I thought we might check this one together. First of all, even though my wife was always convinced that she was someone really fascinating, I was never convinced. In fact, it is not really Diana’s fault but, in my opinion, the Royal figures must be one of the most useless kind of celebrities, just behind the Reality TV stars. In this case, during the whole thing, they keep telling us that she was the most famous woman in the world at the time but, seriously, what did she actually do to actually earn this title? Well, this movie certainly didn’t improve the perception I had on this woman, that's for sure. Basically, according to this tale, she was a boring woman, with a boring life and she was involved in some rather boring romances. In fact, I don’t think we should blame Naomi Watts as she gave as usual a really solid performance but the material was just really too weak. It was also surprising and disappointing that, even though they keep showing the paparazzi constantly during the whole thing, they still chose not to show their final chase which would be obviously fatal for her. It could have been a powerful and suspenseful ending but I guess they either thought it was inappropriate or they just didn't have the budget to shoot such a complex action scene. Anyway, it is really difficult to believe that this movie was delivered by the same guy who was also responsible for ‘Der Untergang’, easily one of the most fascinating biographical movies ever made. To conclude, I'm afraid this movie really deserves its poor reputation and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Diana. 

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.