Reviews by johanlefourbe

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 at 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, since it had received such stellar reviews, 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 feelings though. Basically, even though it is a very well made dramatic road-trip with some solid directing, it is still 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 too 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. 

To be honest, I wonder how I ended up watching this flick but I remember that it was broadcast on TV. Anyway, it is not very often that I had the opportunity to witness the birth of a new star just in front of me. Indeed, I had never seen Clive Owen before and it would take him a couple of years to finally breakthrough with the mainstream audience but, while watching this flick, I really knew it would happen soon enough. Basically, this movie had a rather generic story but the mood was pretty neat and there always has been something intriguing about casinos. Above all, Owen was just so damned charismatic. Indeed, even though I have seen this kind of character many times before, he still managed to make this character interesting to follow. Eventually, 5 years later, Clive Owen would work again with Mike Hodges for ‘I'll Sleep When I'm Dead’ but even though the title was pretty awesome, the whole thing was just too pedestrian for my taste. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was not a masterpiece whatsoever, I thought it was a decent neo-film noir and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Clive Owen’s work. 

It wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, I’m rather surprised that this movie is pretty much forgotten as it is in fact a fairly realistic and quite entertaining thriller dealing with a possible nuclear threat. In fact, I think it must be the most realistic disaster movie I have ever seen. It is rather interesting that, even though we have a genuine and probably legitimate fear of nuclear power, there is however no other way to provide enough juice to sustain our decadent lifestyle, I’m afraid. So, in the sense, there was something slightly hypocritical about the whole thing. Furthermore, I guess, another issue was perhaps that the whole thing felt slightly too easy somehow. Indeed, you have here a political thriller dealing with a topical subject and maybe to have Jane Fonda playing the nosy reporter was a little bit too obvious. Anyway, to conclude, even though it wasn’t really a masterpiece, I thought it was a decent political thriller and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Like any other major popstar, at some point, Madonna thought she should be an actress as well. However while most of her colleagues like Britney Spears, Mariah Carey or Christina Aguilera would all stop after making one terrible movie, for some reason, Madonna kept on going for more than 17 years even though virtually all of those movies were critically trashed. Anyway, this movie was her first leading part and it was released not so long after her 2^nd album ‘Like a Virgin’ became a huge hit worldwide. Eventually, even though she wasn’t the main character in this film, her profile was such at the time that the movie was heavily marketed as a Madonna vehicle. Anyway, even though the whole thing was watchable and better than many later movies involving Madonna, it was still not really good, I’m afraid. First of all, pretty much like in ‘Who's That Girl?’, Madonna was playing someone so close to her public image, you can’t say that she really had to display some massive acting range here.  Above all, the main issue with this movie was that the story was was rather weak. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, I don’t think it is really worth a look, except if you are a die-hard fan of Madonna or if you are seriously nostalgic about the 80’s.