Reviews by johanlefourbe

This movie was actually supposed to be Matt Damon's directing début but, I guess, it wasn't meant to be. Eventually, he still remained to play the lead but Gus Van Sant took over the directing duties. Anyway, even though it really had some potential, even though I really wanted to like it, the whole thing was ultimately rather disappointing. Indeed, most of it was actually quite subtle and intriguing. First, you get introduced to Matt Damon and Frances McDormand’s characters who were both likable and, yet, when you are starting to root for them, it actually turns out that they actually could be the bad guys after all. And that’s when the movie was actually really interesting, maybe they are not the bad guys, maybe they are no bad guys at all, and, as a result, you had a rather complex and subtle view of the world and I was wondering how they would further handle this. Unfortunately, it was pretty much all ruined by the ending. Indeed, they gave us 2 twists. The first one almost worked but not entirely (it was pretty neat to discover how sly and deceitful a huge corporation can be in order to reach its goals. It was pretty efficient and believable but, however, it was rather disappointing that they had to introduce after all a bad guy in this tale). Eventually, it was the second twist that really messed up everything. Indeed, so far, Matt Damon’s character was fairly believable and compelling to watch but his final speech was just really underwhelming and really naive. I mean, he seemed to be a smart guy, so how could he be so surprised that his company would do so such a thing? How could he be not aware of their dirty sales methods especially if he is a salesman for them? Furthermore, this whole conclusion pretty much changed this movie into some rather weak ecological propaganda.To conclude, it’s too bad this conclusion was so disappointing because the rest of the movie was not bad but I still think it is worth a look after all.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Jane Campion, I thought I might as well check it out. I have noticed it has a rather lousy reputation (according to IMDB, it is the worst movie Campion has made so far) but I have to admit that I actually liked the damned thing and, in my opinion, it is the last decent movie starring Meg Ryan that I have seen. Basically, it is another steamy thriller dealing with some psychopath and, of course, the whole thing was rather far-fetched. However, I really liked the dark mood and also the really flawed characters well played Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo. In fact, Nicole Kidman had been working for a very long time with Jane Campion on this movie and she was supposed to play the lead but dropped out for some personal reason. She still remained as a producer though and Meg Ryan took over but I was, for once, rather impressed by Meg Ryan and she was indeed praised by most of the critics for playing against type for once. To conclude, even though it didn’t get much love, I thought it was a decent thriller and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I actually already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had this movie on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, finally, after 4 long years, they decided to continue the wacky adventures of Marty McFly and Doctor Emmett Brown and it was once again a big success at the box-office. At last, those guys were actually travelling to the future and I was expecting a lot from this flick. Indeed, I remember it very well, when I was a kid, I just loved this scene where Marty McFly gets some futuristic clothes and this cool hoverboard. I thought it looked awesome and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Unfortunately, they only spent maybe 30 minutes in 2015 and the rest of the movie was about chasing some sports almanac and this plot was just rather underwhelming in my opinion. Apparently, at the time, they decided to reduce the scenes in the future as much as possible because they didn't have the budget or technical means to fully display this futuristic world. That’s a shame and, instead of exploring the future and its infinite possibilities, we were stuck with Marty McFly's family once again and they even gave us another alternate version of exactly the same events taking place in 1955, for crying out loud. To conclude, I was expecting a little bit more from it but I have to admit it though, it is still a cool and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look.

Even though it seemed to be another flop from DreamWorks, my daughter was apparently quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I wasn't really familiar with the cartoon it was based on but the fact that it was a spin-off from 'The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show' wasn't really a good omen. Indeed, I really didn’t like it at all and the whole thing completely rubbed me in the wrong way. I mean, you start with a dog who is a genius and who can talk, then he adopts a kid and one of his most important rules is that the boy is not allowed to call him 'daddy'. Seriously?!? Maybe it was hilariously 50 years ago but it just didn’t work for me. What was even worse was the fact that, ok, we apparently live in a fantasy world where such things can happen but, against any logic, it gets all serious and they start to question the fact a dog might not be able to raise a child. By then, the whole thing was pretty hopeless for me but they even managed to add to one of the most annoying little girls I have ever seen. Finally, and that will be the last nail in the coffin, the whole episodic structure made it quite obvious that it was and should have remained a TV show. At least, I have to admit it, the two main characters were cute and funny but everything else was pretty much worthless. To conclude, I thought it was one of the weakest animated features I have seen for a while and I don't think it is worth a look.

Even though time can be roughed on some actresses (indeed, 90% of them will eventually disappear by the time they have reached 40 years old), they are a few of them who seems to be even more beautiful as the years go by and Diane Lane is definitely one of those. Indeed, even though she seemed to have a bright future, after a few flops, her career went downhill but she still managed to make a come-back in the mid-2000’s with the steamy thriller ‘Unfaithful’. Following this come-back, she would come up with this flick a year later. To be honest, even though my wife really liked it a lot, I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. Indeed, I thought it was just a rather weak and really generic romantic comedy filled with some annoying stereotypes about Italy. I don’t know, maybe it had to with the fact that I’m myself an immigrant, son of an immigrant, and I find it difficult to see a movie handling this subject so poorly just because it is supposed to be a whimsical romantic feature. At least, Diane Lane was really charming and, without her, it would have been a complete failure. To conclude, I didn’t like it very much and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you like the genre.

After his come-back with ‘The Player’, Robert Altman would be mostly involved usually with some high profile projects but he also made some slightly more small and obscure movies like this one. In fact, he still had an interesting cast (Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey Jr., Daryl Hannah, Tom Berenger, Famke Janssen, Mae Whitman, Robert Duvall) but not of them was actually a real A list actor. Anyway, apparently, the whole point for Robert Altman was to direct a thriller for once and he managed to get a John Grisham story and Grishman was really hot in the 90’s. To be honest, I have never been a real fan of those far-fetched thrillers based on Grisham's work but, this time, the whole thing was heavily rewritten by the script so much that John Grisham asked to have his name removed. In fact, even though it didn’t turn out to be a box-office succes like ‘The Firm’ or ‘The Pelican Brief’, I thought it was still fairly enjoyable. Indeed, even though it was still rather generic, I did like the way Altman changed the characters to make them rather dark and flawed. To conclude, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

When I first heard about this project, I thought it became automatically a front-runner for the upcoming Best Picture Academy award. Indeed, after ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Atonement’, it was yet another high profile adaptation of a classic book once again directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley so it seemed at the time rather likely that it would be another critical success. However, eventually, it didn’t get much love when it was released. Well, I finally saw this movie and I must admit that I had a rather hard time to care for the damned thing. First of all, instead of giving us a literal adaptation, they decided to go for a rather theatrical approach which wasn’t necessarily a bad idea, the whole thing was as a result visually quite impressive, but I thought it was eventually rather distracting and, at the end of the day, it didn’t add much to the story. On top of that, to be honest, I wasn’t really familiar with this timeless story but I always find it difficult to care for the so-called difficult and convoluted love life of the aristocrats. Still, it was a decent watch thanks to a really strong cast (Keira Knightley, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Olivia Williams, Alicia Vikander, Cara Delevingne, Shirley Henderson). To conclude, even though I thought it was rather disappointing, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

If I recall correctly, I actually saw this movie when it was released because my girlfriend at the time was a huge Disney fan. Damned, it was almost 20 years ago! I feel so old right now... Anyway, even though I really enjoyed it and even though it was definitely a solid effort from Disney, it never really became one of their real classics, at least, in my opinion. Basically, it was a fascinating story taking place in Asia for once, an area never explored by Disney before. However, even though it worked very well during the darker and dramatic moments, those scenes were constantly undermined by some rather underwhelming supposedly funny sequences. Take the intro with Mulan for example, it was a just a rather cringe-inducing segment supposed to make you smile but, in fact, it completely ridiculed some Chinese tradition without giving any insight on the purpose of this tradition. That was also the problem in this movie, the way it was constantly shifting between showing the Chinese culture and history and then showing some gross Americanism along the way. At least, Mushu was pretty good even if it was pretty obvious that they tried to get the same results they had with Robin Williams with 'Aladdin'. Obviously, Murphy never reached that level but he was still entertaining enough. Eventually, 3 years later, he would have much more success giving Donkey's voice in 'Shrek'. I also loved Shan-Yu who must be one of the most badass villains in Disney's history. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still really liked the damned thing and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

First of all, I never really cared for this franchise but, finally, with the 5th installment, it seemed that they finally managed to nailed the formula and I have to admit that this movie was actually fairly enjoyable and entertaining. Since this 6th installment was even more popular, again breaking the box-office record of this now very successful franchise, I had some rather high expectations. Unfortunately, it turned out to be rather disappointing and a step down from the previous installment. I mean, sure, it was spectacular but the idiotic dialogues and the really non-sensical plot really bothered me this time. Furthermore, the location, Europe and London in particular, was rather underwhelming, especially compared to the previous one. Indeed, Rio, with its climate, its exoticism, its favelas, its criminal background, seemed to be a perfect match for this franchise while London was, well, rather boring. The way they brought back Michelle Rodriguez to the franchise was also seriously convoluted (how original! the whole amnesia gimmick...). I mean, it did create some emotional impact, I'll give you that, but, still, it was rather cumbersome. At least, Luke Evans gave a solid performance and this villain could be have been truly bad-ass if they would have dropped the whole omnipotent angle. To conclude, I thought the whole thing was rather disappointing and I don't think it is really worth a look, except if you really love this franchise.

By now, I have seen pretty much all the Disney (animated) classics and, after all these years, this movie still remain my favorite one. I remember it very well, it was released during the big renaissance of Disney, it was a huge critical and commercial success at the time, even their biggest box-office hit ever. Unfortunately, just one or two years later, they would release 'The Lion King' which managed to became even bigger. Indeed, it was so huge, it became their biggest success for the next 20 years, until 'Frozen' finally broke this record. Therefore, 'Aladdin' always remained in the shadow of 'The Lion King' when it is, in fact, much superior in my opinion. Basically, it was just another timeless fairy tale but, this time, they managed to add so many great elements to this old formula and the end-result was just amazing. Of course, it will be always remembered for the Genie thanks to one of the most memorable performances by Robin Williams. Nowadays, it is something common to have some big names giving their voices for the most insignificant animated characters but, back then, it was someting new and Robin Williams managed to create one of the most fun and memorable characters in Disney's rich history. In fact, what makes also this movie really work is also his lengthy introduction. Indeed, it takes its time to introduce this fascinating time and place but also to let us know Aladdin and Jasmine and to understand their motivations. Hell, I even liked a lot most of the songs when it is usually the most annoying trademark in those movies! Anyway, to conclude, even though it is not quite perfect, it was not far from it, I really love the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.