Reviews by johanlefourbe

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Gene Hackman, I thought I might as well check it out. On top of that, I had this movie on DVD for ages so I thought it was really time to watch the damned thing. Well, it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. Basically, it is one of those typical conspiracy thrillers but, to be honest, it might be the worst one I have ever seen in this genre. I mean, as an introduction, you get some news footage with a voice-over and, even though this sequence was there to set you in the right mood, it was in fact rather lame. Then, you had the beginning credits with some old pictures of Gene Hackman covered up by some dominos with some really cheesy tune. Again, this wasn't really impressive so even before the story actually started, I was already underwhelmed by the whole thing. Then, it just took too damned long before the story actually took off. I mean, how many conversations do you get between Hackman and 'them' in the prison? Then, he finally leaves the prison and spends some cosy time in Costa-Rica, I mean, seriously, during half of the movie, pretty much nothing happens at all. Then, finally, why would you go through some much trouble just to have someone commit a murder for you? Obviously, it would be much more efficient to just hire someone for half this budget to do the job for you. To conclude, the whole thing was pretty weak and I don't think it is worth a look at all. 

To be honest, I'm usually not really a big fan of Dutch movies in general but since this one was dealing with a very interesting story, I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, ever since I have lived in the Netherlands, every winter, many Dutch people wait to know if there will be a Elfstedentocht but then they always hear in the news that it won't take place because the ice is too thin (in fact, since every winter is less and less cold, you might wonder if it will ever take place again). Basically, it is a skating tour, almost 200 kilometres long and, when you see this movie, it is actually total madness and really difficult for a foreigner to understand why someone would take part in something so gruelling and downright dangerous. And yet, this insanity makes somehow the whole thing actually quite compelling to watch. So, there was definitely some potential here to make a great movie but, unfortunately, pretty much like 'De storm', another Dutch movie released the same year and dealing with another massive dramatic historical event, the whole thing was rather underwhelming, I'm afraid. Indeed, they decided to focus on 4 different skaters, each of them of course, with their motivations but none of their stories was in fact really compelling. In fact, one of the characters was mostly speaking in Frisian, a local dialect, and was therefore almost impossible to follow. In my opinion, at the end of the day, the girl had in fact the least underwhelming storyline but, of course, she was the only one to drop out while all the guys managed to finish. To conclude, even though it didn't reach its full potential, I still think it is a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies. 

Of course, I had already seen this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I should give it another try. In fact, it was my wife who actually introduced it to me when we first met. Indeed, it was one of her favorite movies, one of those that she saw so many times as a child, and she was (rightfully) shocked that I never saw the damned thing in my life. Well, even though it was indeed a decent watch, to be honest, I didn't really connect with this movie, I'm afraid. Basically, the oddest  thing about this movie is how it keeps  switching between  the rather cheesy dance scenes  (which were pretty  cool, I have to admit it, at least, if you like this kind of dance) and some realistic  dark moments which  were more compelling to watch, at least, for me. It seems that the makers were not able to make up their minds between  something  rather fluffy to appeal to the mainstream audience or something more dramatic to make sure that they were taken seriously. Or maybe I'm  completely mistaken and it was done on purpose  in order  to accurately represent  the life of the average teenager. Indeed, at the end of the day, their lifestyle  is filled up with some shallow glamorous fantasy but their lives have also some genuine drama  in it. I doubt it was intentional though. Anyway,  to conclude, even though I didn’t really connect with the whole thing, it was still not bad at all and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I already saw this movie but, since it was ages ago, I was really eager to check it out again. Well, back in 90's, Jim Sheridan was a really interesting director but his biggest achievement was probably the fact that he managed to make not one but 3 movies with Daniel Day-Lewis, considering how picky this actor can be. Well, this movie was the 2nd one they made together and, like 'My Left Foot', it was another critical success when it was released. Indeed, once again, Day-Lewis was really impressive and gave another strong performance. Pete Postlethwaite was fine as well but, to be honest, Emma Thompson didn’t have much to do and the fact that there were some inaccuracies about her character didn’t help either. Anyway, the whole thing was just really compelling to watch. Eventually, after rewatching the damned thing, I have to admit that the story was, after all, fairly generic and predictable. Furthermore, if you do a little bit of digging, you will discover that maybe half of it never really happened. For example, it didn’t make sense that the Conlons would be together in prison and, unsurprisingly, Joe MacAndrew, one of the most important characters in this story, never really did exist. Eventually, I think it would have even more powerful if they would have been more faithful with what really happened back then but this movie was so well made and played, it still worked fine though. Unfortunately, it has been a while since Jim Sheridan has released something really impressive. Among other things, 'Dream House' turned out to be such a half-baked thriller, without mentioning that he also got involved in this semi-biographical gangsta flick starring 50 Cent. Anyway, to conclude, coming back to our main feature, I think it is still a really solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

They used to call themselves 'The Wachowski Brothers' and nowadays, they go simply by 'The Wachowskis', probably due to the fact that one of them changed gender in the mean time but I'm digressing here. The Wachowskis once managed to make one of the most influential SF features ever made and, even if I'm not a huge fan, I can't deny the impact 'The Matrix' had and still has. Since then, for more than a decade, they have kept making some big budget features but all of them were either some critical failures (The Matrix sequels) and/or some huge bombs at the box-office (pretty much everything else they directed). Well, this last directing effort managed to be both, it was trashed by the critics and it was also one of the biggest flops released in 2015 and, to be honest, I don't think it really deserved better. Indeed, even though the whole thing had some potential, basically, half of it was filled with some murky dialogues trying to explain the complexities of this alien world (pretty much the same trick they used in 'Inception) and the other half was filled with some rather underwhelming action scenes. All in all, this mix was just so boring. On top of that, I think it was a mistake to include our world. Indeed, it was completely unnecessary and because of this choice, the characters had to spend way too much time explaining how those 2 different worlds could exist side by side like this. Anyway, to conclude, I have to admit that the whole thing did look pretty but it was still a boring mess and I don't think it is worth a look. 

Basically, it was another rather obscure movie that I had for such a long time on DVD so I thought it was really time to watch the damned thing. To be honest, while watching this movie, I kept wondering why I actually bought it in the first place and, if I recall it correctly, it was because Nicole Kidman gave a 10 seconds cameo. I mean, seriously, you should never buy or even watch a movie for such a lame reason. Anyway, after all, I saw the damned thing and it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. Above all, I thought it was rather poorly written. Indeed, who the hell was actually the main character? You might assume that it was Jon Bon Jovi's since his name was prominently displayed on all the promotional material and since he was the title character but he wasn't in fact the main character but I'm not sure if it was Lambert Wilson's character either. So, the whole thing was rather unfocused. Futhermore, coming back to Lambert Wilson, this guy was just so spineless, so pathetic, it was nearly impossible to care for what he was going through. Concerning Jon Bon Jovi, to be honest, I haven't seen very often someone so miscast in a movie. I mean, sure, he has a pretty face, I'll give you that, but why on Earth would you choose a rockstar to play an actor?!? It seemed to be some rather misguided stunt casting. Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was pretty weak and I don't think it is really worth a look. 

I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago, I thought I might as well check it out again. Back then, Cameron Crowe was quite a successful director and this movie was another critical and commercial success. To be honest, I never really understood what was really the fuss about this flick (it was even nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award). Sure, it was a decent watch and it was quite entertaining but I can't say I was really blown away by the whole thing. I mean, I have to admit it though, the concept did have some potential and the whole focus on the world of sports agents was pretty neat. Tom Cruise, who was at the top of his game at the time, was also a perfect choice to play the lead. The whole thing did seem to be quite genuine but, fairly early on, it became quite obvious that this movie was in fact basically a romantic-comedy. Actually, I have to admit that it was actually a pretty good one but I don’t think it was anything really groundbreaking. On top of that, there is absolutely no reason that such a romantic-comedy should have a running time of 140 mins. Anyway, to conclude, even though I think it is overrated, it is still a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick so maybe I should re-watch it at some point. In fact, I remember it very well when it was released. Obviously, River Phoenix was supposed to be there but tragically died before the production started and was subsequently replaced by Christian Slater but it was a rather minor part after all. Above all, back then, there was quite a controversy about the fact that Tom Cruise was to play Lestat and many thought, including the author Anne Rice, that he was a poor choice but, eventually, Cruise was really impressive here, giving one of his best performances. Concerning Brad Pitt, it was one of his biggest projects following his breakthrough in 'Thelma & Louise' and even though he was in fact upstaged by Tom Cruise, he was fine as well here (apparently, Pitt felt miserable during the production and actually wanted to drop out from the whole thing). To round up the cast, you finally had Kirsten Dunst who gave one of the best child performances I have seen launching another really steady career. Concerning the movie itself, to be honest, I think it was still missing something to become really amazing but it was still a really entertaining vampire flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It has been a while since I have seen this flick and, to be honest, I wonder how I actually ended up watching this flick. Anyway, I have noticed that , ever since it has been released, it has managed to reach quite a reputation and many would tell you that it is a great serial-killer thriller. Well, personally, even though I have to admit that it is indeed a solid entry in the genre, I don't think it is really so amazing after all. I mean, sure, it is original and rather well made, I'll give you that, but pretty much like any other thriller, the premise was just seriously far-fetched and, therefore, I had a rather hard time to really care about the whole thing. Obviously, there was a big twist at the end, but since there is always a twist in this kind of movies so it kind of lost some of its impact. On top of that, and that's probably what bothered me the most, is that they took a genuine mental condition but instead of having a realistic approach, they went completely over-the-top creating some kind of circus freak show. To conclude, even though I wasn't completely blown away, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch though and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.