Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Frances McDormand and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it turned out to be some rather obscure feature based on some apparently popular children books written by Ludwig Bemelmans. Anyway, I really struggled to care about the damned thing. I mean, I never really cared about the genre, even when I was a kid, and this one was basically a rather weak mix of ‘Mary Poppins’ with ‘The Aristocats’ or ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’. At least, it did display that Frances McDormand can play pretty much anything but, to be honest, her character was barely developed at all. I mean, who was Miss Clavel actually? Where did she come from? What was her feelings and her thoughts? Did she always want to be a nun? Through the whole duration, you might wonder about this woman but, unfortunately, you will learn pretty much nothing about her. Same thing for the twelve girls living at this boarding school, except for Madeline, none of them was developed whatsoever and I would be hard-pressed to give the name of any of them, even though I saw this movie only yesterday. Concerning the rest of the movie, there was barely a plot and, instead, it was succession of episodic adventures involving Madeline, Miss Clavel and the other students but none of these events was really interesting and/or entertaining. Unsurprisingly, a major thing was the owner of the school trying to sell this house which was probably the most generic approach you could think with this material and, obviously, at the end, they didn’t sell the school which was also just so predictable. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have to admit that it was rather harmless, it was also terribly tedious and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you need to entertain some young kids. 

To be honest, I didn’t care much about ‘Book Club’ but, since this sequel was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, I have to admit that I was at first actually pleasantly surprised. Indeed, the intro taking place during the COVID pandemic was a little bit random but it was fine but, above all, I just loved the fun banter between this group of life-long friends. Indeed, it was so entertaining, it seemed for a while that it might turn out to be a massive improvement on its seriously underwhelming predecessor. At least, up until they went to Italy. Indeed, even though it wasn’t a bad idea to send these characters abroad, everything happening there was just not interesting or entertaining enough. Basically, it became some kind of very long commercial for Italy which was as boring as it might sound. Indeed, there was no drama or tension whatsoever as these women went from one quirky event to another. I was also seriously annoyed by the ending. Indeed, the whole point of this trip was Vivian’s bachelorette party, the conclusion of this trip was her finally getting married with Arthur, something which seemed impossible for such a glorious independent woman for decades but then she didn’t go through with it after all?!? I completely disagree with the approach chosen by this movie which was basically that getting married was supposed to be some kind of surrendering for her. In my opinion, it was the opposite, it was an incredibly romantic gesture from her and the start of a new adventure. Of course, they then swapped their couple with Diane and Mitchell which was predictable but having this couple getting married was so much less symbolic and therefore so much less interesting. Anyway, to conclude, even though the beginning was actually promising, it turned out to be rather weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except if you really like the genre.  

To be honest, I have to admit that I have never been a fan of this franchise (even if I actually saw the very first installment in the movie theater when it was released). On top of that, since this (supposedly) last movie did receive some poor reviews, I didn’t have some huge expectations. Still, nowadays, there is such a buzz with this franchise, each time with the promise of some massive insane stunts so I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, unfortunately, I would have to agree with the critics on this one as it turned out to be indeed one of their most underwhelming instalments. Of course, the fact that I didn’t remember ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ at all probably didn’t help but I don’t think it really mattered though. The main issue was the fact that, with these 2 movies, there was a whopping 5 hrs of running time which was obviously way too much for such a rather brainless blockbuster. I mean, it was not bad that Ethan Hunt had to prevent this time a real apocalypse (if they want to continue with this franchise, you might wonder how they will be able to top that) but if they had kept the action stuff, removed all the needless chats, it could have easily been done in  one single movie within 2hrs resulting in something probably more entertaining. Especially with this last installment, if you were expecting some non-stop action scenes, you will be seriously disappointed. Indeed, there were basically 2 big action scenes, 1 involving a defunct submarine at the bottom of the ocean and 1 involving 2 vintage biplanes which was, I have to admit it, pretty badass. However, the rest of the movie, and we are talking about easily 2hrs of running time, was about the various characters endlessly discussing what the hell was going on which was, most of the time, rather nonsensical but, above all, pretty boring. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch though and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, it seemed to be a rather obscure war movie involving some B-list actors so I kept postponing it for a while. However, since I had it seemingly for years on my queue, I thought I should finally watch the damned thing. Well, I was actually surprised by how solid it actually turned out to be after all. It actually reminded me of ‘Warfare’ which I saw maybe a month ago (in fact, Taylor John Smith was in both movies). Indeed, both movies went for a really visceral realistic gritty approach which I really did appreciate. I was also surprised that Orlando Bloom, the most famous actor of the bunch, was killed off within the first 15 mins but, even if it was a bold choice, it displayed how completely random war can be.  The big difference was, with this movie, I understood more what was the actual mission of these soldiers. However, just like in ‘Warfare’, even though the soldiers were seemingly competent and really brave (most of them or even all of them did receive some medals, they even became the most decorated unit of this war), it all felt so pointless though. Indeed, right from the start, it was pointed out that this outpost was completely undefendable, in fact, it was pretty much a suicide mission. Eventually, I think they should show this movie to young men (and women) who want to become soldiers. I mean, it’s one thing to want to fight for a good cause (which was already highly disputable when you talk about the wars in Afghanistan and Irak) but do you really want to be sent on a mission with no purpose whatsoever and for which there is a fair chance that you might die? The other ironic thing when you watch this movie was that, after a whopping 20 years, the US army finally left Afghanistan and, within weeks, the Taliban took over the country as if nothing had changed during these 2 decades making the whole thing even more pointless than it already was. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe not a masterpiece, I thought it was actually pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, sure, it was nothing original but I thought it turned out to be a solid addiction drama though. I still think the title was a mistake though. Indeed, in my opinion, it basically spoiled the fact that Molly wouldn’t make it after all. I was also not really convinced by the last scene showing that, even though she didn’t make it, which was actually a grim but solid conclusion, they reversed it again by showing that, after a few months, she still managed to get clean after all. Of course, you could argue that it was based on a true story but, since they already changed the names of the main characters, you could can be sure that a lot was dramatized and didn’t happen at all. Some other details did bother me as well like the fact that it was rather weird that she would talk to some students when she was clean for only a few days. Sure, after a few months or even a few years, why not? But to do something like this so soon when she was barely hanging there seemed really precocious and, to be honest, rather ridiculous. Anyway, I still think it was intriguing enough though thanks to some really solid performances from Glenn Close and Mila Kunis. From such a fine actress like Close, I wasn’t surprised and I really enjoyed the depth she brought for her character who was so compelling to behold. For Kunis, I thought she was quite convincing as well and she probably gave here the best performance of her career so far (on the other hand, the fact that, beside ‘Black Swan’, none of her other movies was really memorable meant that it wasn’t such a remarkable achievement after all). Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was available on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. The funny thing was that, even though I have seen ‘My Own Private Idaho’, I saw it only once, it was probably about 30 years ago and I don’t remember it at all. In fact, I wish I would see it again at some point. Anyway, it was pretty weird to see this other version composed of discarded footage while I actually wish to watch again the real thing instead for so long. It was still an intriguing movie though, even if these deleted scenes were deleted probably for a good reason. While watching this experimental feature who mostly focused on River Phoenix’s performance (some viewers even complained that Keanu Reeves almost ‘disappeared’ with this new cut but I didn’t really agree with this criticism), I kept thinking that, only a few years later, the guy would die of an overdose. In my opinion, he actually seemed to be high while making this flick and, if he wasn’t, than he was giving one hell of a performance. Either way he was quite spellbinding to behold. By the way, I was so surprised that the 2 guys went to Italy, I thought it was something they added with this new edit but it was actually already in the original version which shows how much I forgot about it and how much I should really re-watch it. Concerning the rest of the movie, well, if you thought that the original was hard to follow, it was probably even worse here though. Anyway, to conclude, I’m not sure if I can recommend this movie but I guess it is worth a look, at least if you are interested in the late River Phoenix. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by John Woo and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. In fact, it was actually a come-back for Woo since it was his first US production in 20 years. As far as I was concerned, it was also at least a decade since I saw one of his movies. Anyway, even though it didn’t make much waves when it was released, I thought it was not bad though. To be honest, I usually don’t like much vigilante features (I still don’t understand why the ‘John Wick’ franchise can be so popular) but, in this case, I did like how they tackled this material. Indeed, the intro was neat, I have a weak spot for movies which starts with the main character running towards some unknown goal or destination so it was definitely a good start. Sure, the whole thing about the main character unable to speak was a gimmick and not a great one but it worked fine though. In fact, it was surprising that even the other characters didn’t speak at all either and, as a result, it was almost like watching a silent movie which was intriguing. Eventually, the dialogues in such action flicks are usually abysmal (You just need to watch any instalment of ‘The Fast and The Furious’ franchise) so why not getting rid off them altogether? Concerning Joel Kinnaman, I always had a weak spot for this actor and he was a perfect choice to play the main character. Indeed, I don’t know many action stars who could pull off an action flick like this one without uttering a single word but Kinnaman, only with his face and body language, managed to tell so much. On the other hand, I was surprised to see Kid Cudi suddenly popping up and, since his character had no added value whatsoever, you might wonder why he showed up at all. Same thing with the lovely Catalina Sandino Moreno, it had been years since I saw her in anything but she had a really thankless role here. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, it turned out to be a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Woo’s work or if you like the genre. 

Even though I have seen so many movies with Nicolas Cage, I can’t remember the last time I saw one of his movies in the movie theater. This one turned out to be quite strange though. Indeed, I can’t say I was expecting the US movie star to show up in a thriller like this one taking place in Australia with no surfing whatsoever, in spite its title. Eventually, the end-result was an intriguing mind-f*ck but, to be honest, it never really became fascinating though. In my opinion, the main issue was that the material was just too slight. At least, there is no denying that the director, Lorcan Finnegan, did make the most of it though. Indeed, the mood was pretty neat and there was something rather dreamy not only about the location but also about the way it was visually presented. Concerning Nicolas Cage, he was not bad even though you might wonder if he was not completely out of place in an Australian thriller like this one (it was even pointed out by one of the other characters the fact that he didn’t sound at all like someone born there). Coming back on the story itself, the main asset was the cloud of mystery around, well, pretty much everything. Indeed, who was really this man? Was he dreaming all this? Who were all these local surfers (eventually, you get the name of only their leader, that’s how far they went to describe this group)? Who was the hobo? What was actually going on this damned beach? However, even though withholding information is an efficient way to create an ominous atmosphere, it is also a rather cheap artificial gimmick and, at the end of the day, I’m pretty sure I didn’t care one way or another. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and it is worth a look. 

To be honest, I gave up on this franchise a long time ago but, since this last instalment was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Like most guys from my generation, I grew up in the 90’s with these toys and cartoons so there was definitely some potential. However, even though these movies were commercially really successful, they turned out to be increasingly boring to watch though. Their main mistake was to keep directing them by Michael Bay for a whopping decade. So, since Bay finally stepped down from the directing chair, maybe there was some hope left for this franchise? I mean, the spin-off ‘Bumblebee’ directed by Travis Knight was still not really amazing but, at least, it was actually a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, this new sequel/reboot/spin-off/whatever turned out to be so underwhelming though. Basically, even if Michael Bay didn’t direct the damned thing, it still felt like one of his movies though. I also felt bad for Anthony Ramos as the guy had to follow up Shia LaBeouf and Mark Wahlberg as the new lead. Sure, he seems to be a nice guy and it must have been awesome to helm such a big blockbuster but I’m afraid he was not charismatic enough. He wasn’t helped by the fact that his character was just so poorly written. I mean, the guy was an ex-military, expert in electronics (an aspect the movie did absolutely nothing with), struggling to find a job and who took care of his sick little brother. Nothing wrong with that but all this grim dramatic stuff didn’t matter much since he out-of-the-blue had to drop everything to save the world. But then, if it didn’t matter at all, why on Earth did they lose some time, energy and attention on this? What was the point? At least, it worked better with Dominique Fishback. Indeed, we learned nothing about her (possibly grim) home situation, she was basically some kind of student archeologist which was just perfect for this kind of story. To be honest, like ‘Bumblebee’ whose main character was played by Hailee Steinfeld, I wish that Fishback, such a charismatic actress, would have played the lead as well here. Concerning the transformers, well, it was the same thing as usual. They were looking for some mysterious gizmo and were involved in some rather underwhelming loud battles every 10 mins which was just as lame as it might sound. Anyway, to conclude, they should really do something different with this material, the damned thing was rather weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look.