Reviews by johanlefourbe

By now, I have seen all the James Bond instalments, sometimes, even several times, but to be honest, most of them are actually rather forgettable and I would have a rather hard time to really recall most of them in details. However, there are a few exceptions and this first instalment is definitely one of them. Indeed, back then, they had their lowest budget so it was probably not the most elaborate instalment but it was understandable since the formula was new at the time. They still managed to already introduce many elements that they still use more than 50 years later. Indeed, the whole concept of the James Bond girl started here with the gorgeous Ursula Andress and it would always be a great challenge for many actresses to fill in her shoes (most of them would ultimately fail). Dr. No would be also a really memorable villain and the blueprint for many other villains that would come later on in this franchise. And, of course, the ultimate masterstroke was James Bond himself. I mean, right from the start, he became one of the most iconic characters and even though many believed that Sean Connery was a poor choice (even Ian Fleming himself), he was just awesome giving this character many of his most famous trademarks. To conclude, even though it was maybe not a masterpiece, it remains one of the best James Bond flicks and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

This movie is pretty much the stuff of legends. Indeed, even though it is probably the least regarded movie directed by David Lynch (himself always considered it a massive failure), it has now reached more or less a cult status. Anyway, it must sound surprising but I thought it was actually not bad at all. I have to admit it, the fact that  that I did read the book before watching this movie might have helped me as the story was never really confusing to me. I guess, without this previous knowledge of the material, I wouldn't have enjoyed this movie that much. Still, it was the first and last time that David Lynch was directing a big budget feature and, honestly, I thought it was pretty neat to see him at work within a totally different environment. Of course, with a director like him, the whole thing was pretty much doomed from the start but I always had a weak spot for SF features and I enjoyed the way Lynch developed this epic tale (Can you imagine if they did give him the final-cut on this production?). Apparently, Lynch didn't enjoy much being a director-for-hire and he would only make his own personal projects in the future. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie has a really lame reputation, I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

When I heard that Bernardo Bertolucci was coming up with a new directing effort, I got pretty excited. I mean, sure, it had been already a couple of decades since he had released a great movie but the guy had such an impressive legacy so I was really eager to see this movie and I even went to see the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. For this come-back, Bertolucci decided to make something smaller, something more intimate than some of his previous work, but even though it was an interesting approach, I’m afraid it rather backfired since the whole thing had such a small scale and therefore it had little impact. It’s like the characters themselves, they tried to make you believe that they were some very interesting individuals with some fascinating thoughts but I wasn’t really convinced. It’s like showing them naked and being promiscuous, it was maybe groundbreaking in the 60’s when the action was taking place but in 2003, it was nothing really new. Still, it was pretty neat to discover a very young Eva Green who not only looked quite gorgeous but who was also really talented. To conclude, 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 Bernardo Bertolucci’s work. 

To be honest, I have never understood the appeal of this movie but, on the other hand, it has been a while since I saw it so maybe I should give it a 2nd chance. In fact, I even saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Back then, out of nowhere, Jim Carrey took over the box-office following ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’ and ‘The Mask’ and this movie would be his 3^rd box-office hit all during 1994. Since I enjoyed both ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’ and ‘The Mask’, I was quite eager to check this movie and I was expecting it to be seriously hilarious. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a massive disappointment, that’s for sure. Of course, I fully understand that this movie was supposed to be dealing with some really stupid characters but, as far as I was concerned, I thought it was seriously cringe-inducing to behold and I can’t recall a single moment when I thought I was watching something really hilarious. The Farelly brothers would manage to strike gold again with ‘There's Something About Mary’ (another rather overrated comedy in my opinion) but most of their following movies would eventually under-perform at the box-office. Anyway,  coming back to our main feature, I think it is one of the most overrated comedies ever made and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I wonder how I actually ended up watching the damned thing. I think one of my friends at the time suggested to me to watch it. Anyway, it was the first time I saw a movie directed by Gregg Araki and I was definitely impressed. Indeed, I really liked his directing style and this movie definitely had a very interesting dark mood.  I also really enjoyed these ambiguous and rather messed-up characters and it was pretty neat to discover a very young Rose McGowan (by the way, it is such a shame that her career turned out to be rather disappointing after all). So, the whole thing was definitely something original and it really had some potential but it didn’t completely work out, I’m afraid. Indeed, at the end of the day, the weirdness which was rather fascinating at first slowly started to annoy me and it felt rather gimmick and even slightly pretentious. Still, to conclude, even though it didn’t completely convince me, it was a decent watch and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Gregg Araki’s work.