Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie and maybe I should re-watch it at some point. Basically, it is one of those timeless romantic classics which has gathered some die-hard fans around the world, even though it didn’t grow old very well. Indeed, it is incredibly cheesy and it is therefore rather difficult to take the whole thing really seriously. And, yet, I have to admit it, it remains a decent romance and I think it has to do above all with Patrick Swayze’s charisma. The late Swayze never became a really great actor but, at some point in his career, he got involved in some movies which seemed really hopeless on paper but still somehow turned out to be some cult-classics after all (‘Dirty Dancing’, this movie and ‘Point Break’). In my opinion, the success of these movies owns a great deal to Patrick Swayze who managed to play each time a man who happens to be physically strong but also really sensitive. In this case, he had also some nice chemistry with Demi Moore and, at the time, the old gimmick used by Whoopi Goldberg was still fairly entertaining. To conclude, even though I‘m not a huge fan of the whole thing, it is still a decent watch and it is 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. Eventually, even though I did like this movie, somehow, it didn’t completely win me over. I mean, it has nothing to do with Gandhi, the guy was just amazing and one of the most aspiring human beings that ever lived and Ben Kingsley was just really impressive in the best performance of his career and yet the whole thing was still missing something in my opinion. I don’t know, maybe I was too young when I first saw it but, at the end of the day, even though it was really respectful, which was fine, it was also too straightforward, at least, that’s my opinion. I guess it goes with the territory though. Indeed, with such a beloved man, there is not much actual space to be really creative. In this genre, another example of this was with the recent ‘American Sniper’ which was, in my opinion, rather underwhelming even if it was a huge box-office when it was released. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it didn’t completely blow me away, it is still a decent biopic about a fascinating historical figure and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

It has been a while since I have seen this movie and maybe I should re-watch it at some point. To be honest, I never really understood why this movie was so popular. I mean, sure, it was not bad with a very nice cast involved. Above all, it was pretty awesome to see Angelina Jolie completely stealing the spotlight from Winona Ryder who was in fact planning to make her come-back with this feature but, still, at the end of the day, it remains a very glossy version of your average mental hospital drama. Indeed, if you are even slightly familiar with this subject or with this genre, it is actually rather difficult to take this movie really seriously. At the end of the day, it all depends what you expect from your average drama. Basically, if you want to see some glamorous and way too gorgeous actresses playing some mental patient switching their mood following the needs of the script, you will probably eat it up. However, if you’d rather have some mental patients who look like an actual mental patient and act like one, then, you would be rather disappointed. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is anything really amazing, I still think it is a decent watch but not much more than that, I’m afraid. 

I remember very well when this movie was released. Indeed, there was a huge buzz about it as it was a dream project for Martin Scorsese which he had dreamed to make for about 3 decades, it was definitely his most ambitious production so far and the expectations were huge. With this in mind, I was obviously really eager to watch the damned thing and I even saw it in the movie theater  when it was released. Eventually, it turned out to be a decent watch, that’s for sure, but it was definitely not the masterpiece that many, including me, hoped to get. Eventually, one of the biggest complains was, even though he did try really hard, Leonardo DiCaprio was never really convincing as he was still struggling with his heartthrob status following ‘Titanic’. Indeed,  it is rather funny to think that, nowadays, everybody seems to be a fan of those Scorsese-DiCaprio movies while, 10 years ago, it was really a different story that most of us forgot. Still, it was a pretty good flick though, it looked awesome, Daniel Day-Lewis was terrific (as usual) but DiCaprio didn't feel like the right choice and you could say the same about Cameron Diaz who was actually chosen by the studio. Anyway, eventually, it was a dream project for Scorsese and even though it didn't end up being his magnum opus like it was supposed to be, it is still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look.

Basically, it was one of these obscure French obscure movies that almost no one on this website have seen. In my case, the main reason I first wanted to watch the damned thing was because it was directed by Claude Miller. Indeed, Miller is not really famous or popular here in Listal but he was well known in France and I always had a weak spot for this director. Anyway, this movie definitely belonged to his best work and I really enjoyed the damned thing.  Basically, it was a rather straightforward story, with only one location and only a handful of actors and, yet, I thought it was just quite spellbinding to behold. Above all, the confrontation between Lino Ventura and Michel Serrault, both at the top of their game, was pretty awesome. Eventually, almost 20 years later, they would release a remake starring Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman in the starring roles but even if I prefer the original French version, this US remake was actually pretty decent. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it might not have been a real masterpiece, it was still a really solid thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies. 

Seriously, I’m still pissed off about this. Indeed, I was glad that I managed to find a UK double DVD with the director's cut for a decent prize but, for some reasons, they didn’t provide any subtitles and, as a result, I have to admit that I couldn’t completely follow the dialogues. Anyway, the whole thing was pretty hardcore, that’s for sure, in fact, Lars von Trier managed to make it even more hardcore than the first volume, something I didn’t think was really possible. Indeed, this time, he decided to add SM in the mix which was somehow  in fact rather unexpected. I have to say that I was slightly worried because for a good chunk of the movie, the main character apparently lost her sexual feeling which seemed rather pointless since we were dealing here with a nymphomaniac. But, eventually, so many crazy things happened during this dark 3 hours long roller-coaster and, to be honest, it was sometimes pretty random but it was always rather mesmerizing to watch. Eventually, the masterstroke was, just as with the previous installment, the long conversation between Joe and Seligman and how their relationship eventually ended in this movie was just spot-on and really priceless . To conclude, even though the whole thing was really dark and gloomy, I thought it was an interesting watch but you should be fully aware of its content before checking it out.