Reviews by johanlefourbe

I’m not sure if François Ozon is really well known abroad (‘Swimming Pool’ did get some really solid international reviews but that was more than 10 years ago) but, in France, he definitely has a respectable reputation. I actually saw his first 2 movies in the movie theater when they were released (‘Sitcom’, ‘Les amants criminels’) but, even though those movies were rather positively received at the time, I didn’t like them much, especially ‘Sitcom’ which was really dreadful in my opinion. Still, even though his work was really rubbing me in the wrong way, it was obvious that the guy had some potential so I kept checking his work which was really prolific (indeed, he has directed 15 movies in 17 years). Eventually, it is with this movie that Ozon finally convinced me that he could be a compelling director. At the time, it was (rightfully) eclipsed by ‘Sous le sable’ which was released the same year and which was his first real success but I still really enjoyed this movie anyway. Indeed, once again, he was dealing with some messed up characters but, at last, it was finally compelling to watch. To conclude, it was still missing something to become really remarkable,(the fact that the pacing was rather sluggish with only one location and only 4 characters might have had something with this) but I thought it was a huge improvement on Ozon’s previous movies and it is definitely worth a look. 

I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, I was really eager to check it out again. Well, basically, after struggling for many years, Martin Scorsese finally managed to get his breakthrough with this movie. Indeed, even though this movie was not his debut, it was here that he finally introduced his directing style and displayed his huge potential. Of course, Robert De Niro was involved and he would also get  his breakthrough thanks to this movie. To be honest, I don't think it is one of Scorsese's best movies though. Indeed, there was basically no story and it was rather messy. Eventually, he would make ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘Raging Bull’, ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino’ and those are only some of the movies he would direct with De Niro so that’s rather unfair to compare this movie to such impressive classics but it was still really solid. Above all, with this movie, you were able to witness the birth of one of the greatest American directors that ever lived. The most interesting aspect, in my opinion, was how gritty the whole thing was and how genuine it felt. Indeed, so far, gangsters had been usually rather glamorized but, here, they were displayed as human beings, albeit twisted but still human which was really refreshing. This attention in constructing some well defined characters would eventually become a trademark in Scorsese's work. Anyway, to conclude, it is and remains a fine movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Martin Scorsese's work.

Next year, Roland Emmerich will come back with a new sequel for ‘Independence Day’, 20 years later after the original movie, and we will see if it becomes a huge success like ‘Jurassic World’ or just another unnecessary sequel. In the mean time, I decided to watch this obscure flick which would be Emmerich's last German production. Unfortunately, the DVD I found was only dubbed in French but, eventually, since the whole thing was just really weak, I don’t think I really missed much. Indeed, even though it was visually appealing, the story and the characters involved were just rather abysmal. Basically, the plot was really murky but, above all, really boring. Concerning the actors, of course, you had Malcolm McDowell playing the bad guy and cashing his paycheck but I was above all amazed by Michael Paré, the lead actor. I mean , the guy had a pretty face, I’ll give you that, but I don’t think I ever have seen an actor who was so expressionless. Basically, the guy provided 2 faces throughout the whole thing: with or without a cigarette. To conclude, even though the whole thing had some potential, it was pretty much a really weak B feature and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Like many other movies directed by the Coen brothers, I have actually seen this one when it came out. Eventually, as usual with those guys, I had to re-watch it again a few years later to actually make up my mind for good about the damned thing. I have noticed that, even though it was very well received when it was released, it is pretty much forgotten nowadays but I think it might actually be one of their best movies. First of all, the whole thing looked quite gorgeous and their directing style was just perfect for such a film noir. Furthermore, back in those days,  I wasn’t really familiar with Billy Bob Thornton (at the time, he was more famous for his marriage with Angelina Jolie than his actual acting skills) but  he was pretty impressive and he gave here pretty much one of his best performances. He definitely displayed some potential and it’s too bad he seems to get stuck in his 'Bad Santa' mode nowadays. Anyway, the rest of the cast was really solid as well (Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub). To conclude, it is a terrific black comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the Coen brother’s work. 

Sometimes, you keep hearing about a movie, everyone seems to agree that it is a great classic, you get some high hopes, expecting to watch something truly amazing. But then, you watch the damned thing and, as it turns out, you don’t connect at all with the movie. Well, unfortunately, that’s what happened for me with this movie. I mean, sure, I thought it was not bad but I seriously couldn’t see what was so amazing about it. First of all, I have to admit that I was very young when I watched it and, maybe, if I would re-watch it nowadays, I would be blown away but I have my doubts. Basically, the main issue I had is that I never really cared for the episodic structure. Sure, I don’t necessarily need a plot but all these little stories were rather half-baked. On top of that, many people (including the great Roger Ebert) thought it was just hilarious and, once again, I thought it was fairly amusing but not much more than that, I’m afraid. To conclude, even though it is a classic, I didn’t like it much but, considering its stellar reputation, it is still definitely worth a look. 

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, I always had a weak spot for this movie. Indeed, for once, Ridley Scott made this time an 'actor' movie which was quite refreshing. What I mean with this is that, instead of focusing on the directing and the visuals, the strength of this movie were the performances of the 3 main actors (Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman). By the way, it is rather sad that all these actors turned out to have a rather disappointing career in the following 10 years. Indeed, Nicolas Cage who was at the time a really interesting actor, spent most of his time showing up in some increasingly disappointing features and the guy has become pretty much a joke in the film community. Considering Alison Lohman, it is actually rather sad. Indeed, with this movie, she got her breakthrough and it seemed that she had a bright future ahead for her. However, she got married in 2009 and then pregnant and, apparently, she pretty much retired which is just too bad. For Sam Rockwell, the situation might be a little less dramatic but I think he is still incredibly underrated after all these years. Concerning the plot itself, to be honest, it was pretty obvious that a long con was going on but it was still fairly entertaining. Anyway, to conclude, even though it might not be anything really amazing, I thought it was a decent heist feature and it is definitely worth a look especially if you like the genre. 

Even though Ron Howard has a rather dubious track-record, since this movie was very well received (indeed, according to IMDB, it is so far the best movie directed by Ron Howard), I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, even though it was indeed a decent watch, to be honest, I can’t say I was really impressed by the whole thing. The first problem I had is that I had never heard of James Hunt before. I assumed that it was because of my lack of interest in Formula 1 but, at the end of the movie, we learned that Hunt just won one championship and retired pretty soon afterwards. From this point of view, it seems hard to believe that the guy was actually a legend. Then, there is of course the problem that it was directed by Ron Howard. I mean, sure, for a Howard feature, it was pretty gritty but it was certainly not gritty enough and you can’t help wondering what would Paul Greengrass would have done with this material (Indeed, Greengrass was supposed to direct this movie and Howard was supposed to direct ‘Captain Phillips’ but they switched projet during the development stage). Still, the whole thing was well made, with some solid performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl and, above all, it was quite entertaining so it is worth a look, but I don’t believe it is a real masterpiece like some seem to think.