Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and maybe I should re-watch it at some point. In fact, if I recall it correctly, I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Indeed, back in those days, after I saw ‘Paris, Texas’, I became a huge fan of this director and I went to see a couple of his movies in the movie theater. Anyway, like most of the movies released by this director in the last 20 years (except for his documentaries), it was really poorly received but I thought it was actually pretty good. In the very same year, Bill Pullman would show up in another thriller, ‘Lost Highway’ directed David Lynch, and even though this one was also seriously obscure and difficult to follow, I thought it worked slightly better, at least, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know, I thought there was something quite fascinating already about the title and even though the story was seriously murky, I thought it was fairly entertaining. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was definitely not a masterpiece, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Wim Wenders’s work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Lasse Hallstrom’s work, I was quite eager to check it out. On top of that, there was a top cast involved (Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Pete Postlethwaite, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans) so it really sounded promising. This movie followed up ‘Chocolat’ which was a critical success but, to be honest, I always had a hard time to care for this movie and I actually preferred this flick which didn’t get much love when it was released. I mean, I have to admit it, the story was either too far-fetched or too dull to become really amazing but, this tale  was not bad at all and, in contrary to ‘Chocolat’, the tone was much more consistent in my opinion. Furthermore, it was shot on location in Newfoundland, it looked pretty neat and, even though the story was not really strong, the characters were still interesting thanks to the fine actors involved.  To conclude, in spite of its flaws and even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Lasse Hallstrom’s work.

To be honest, I had no idea what this movie was about so I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the damned thing but since I’m a huge fan of Meryl Streep, I was quite eager to check it out. What makes this movie interesting is that it mixes 2 dramas, a modern one and a period piece, involving somehow the same people but not exactly the same characters. I know, it sounds rather confusing but, if you watch the damned thing, it will definitely make sense. So, the set-up was quite interesting and Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons (in his first leading part) were both really good here. Eventually, I’m afraid that this gimmick (which actually didn’t exist in the original novel, it was added to provide some kind of substitute to the 3 alternate endings provided by the book) while it was interesting, it still remain a gimmick with its limitations. Still, the whole thing definitely had some meta quality and it is one of the many really strong performances delivered by Streep in the 80’s. To conclude, even though it was maybe not a masterpiece, it was still a very original drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Meryl Streep’s work. 

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. Following the really popular but also rather generic ‘Billy Elliot’, Stephen Daldry came up with this follow-up which was much more ambitious and it turned out to be another critical success. Well, I"m glad I gave it a 2nd chance because I enjoyed it more this time around. Indeed, to be honest, the first time I saw this movie, even though it was definitely a decent watch, I have to admit it that I actually had a hard time to care about this story. Basically, the tricky thing with this movie is that you have to be able to have an emotional connection with these 3 women, even though you barely get to know them. Still, there is no denying that the directing was really solid. Above all, there was a stellar cast involved and they all gave some fine performances (Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, John C. Reilly, Toni Collette, Ed Harris, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels). Especially for Kidman, this movie was basically the highlight of her career as she was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Eventually, the main issue I still have with this movie is that I still haven't read the actual 'Mrs Dalloway' book which would probably allow me to appreciate this movie even more. Anyway, to conclude, it turned out to be a really good drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since it is a rather obscure feature, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the damned thing but since I’m a huge fan of Roman Polanski, I was really eager to check it out. Basically, a year before,  Polanski just made ‘Repulsion’ with Catherine Deneuve. This movie turned out to be Polanski's first genuine masterpiece and, as a follow-up, he would make this flick starring Deneuve's older sister, Françoise Dorléac. You might have never heard of her but, in the 60’s,  she was actually, just like her sister, a very talented actress but she tragically died in a car accident a year after this movie was released. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it is definitely one of the weirdest movies made by Polanski and, like most of his movie, it was obviously not really oriented towards the mainstream audience, that's for sure. There was not much of a plot and the whole thing was rather gloomy and unsettling but thanks to Polanski's directing, it was still quite spellbinding to watch, at least, that's my humble opinion. To conclude, even though it was not really a masterpiece, it was still a decent watch and  I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Roman Polanski’s work. 

Since I kept hearing some really great things about this franchise, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I even managed to convince my wife to watch this and we had the opportunity to watch the extended versions  as they were divided in 6 episodes on TV. Well, we were not disappointed and we both really loved the damned thing. Indeed, the directing was really solid, it was a very intense and entertaining story and, above all, Lisbeth Salander turned out to be one of the most fascinating characters I have ever seen. Indeed, not only Noomi Rapace gave a very strong performance and then became an international star thanks to this franchise, this character was just so well written, she was just mesmerizing to behold. Eventually, since I really loved these movies, I read all the books and, in fact, I think that Salander was even better in the movies because she was more mysterious. Anyway, it was a great thriller, not doubt about it. Eventually, only 2 years later, they would come up with a US remake which gave me some mixed feelings. Indeed, on one hand, since it was directed by David Fincher, it was obviously pretty awesome, but, on the other hand, it was also seriously pointless since this original Swedish was already amazing. Anyway, to conclude, I really loved the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Since I always had a weak spot for Clint Eastwood, I was really eager to check this movie. On top of that, it was the last movie Eastwood would make with Don Siegel (they eventually made 5 movies together) so the whole thing sounded really neat. Basically, it turned out to be a rather classic and straightforward prison break thriller but the whole thing was so well made and Clint Eastwood was so charismatic, I thought it was pretty damned entertaining. Furthermore, to make this story take place in Alcatraz, probably the most famous prison that ever existed, was a great idea as well. Eventually, even though this movie never got the status of ‘Dirty Harry’, it was certainly not far behind quality-wise. In my opinion, I believe it was slightly missing some depths about the characters and the plot, while very effective, was after all still rather generic. In this genre, I prefer ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ which is still the ultimate masterpiece but this movie is still one of the best anyway. To conclude, even though it was probably not really groundbreaking, it was still pretty bad-ass and entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Clint Eastwood’s work as an actor.