Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn't exactly dying to see this movie but my daughter was really eager to see it so we ended up watching it in the movie theater. This year, she turned 9 and, suddenly, she has decided to suggest some movies which is fine but, last time, she chose to see 'Home' which was not bad but way too childish for my taste. This time, I thought, it would be a little bit more entertaining but, eventually, the whole thing was still rather underwhelming. I mean, to start off, even though 'Despicable Me' and its sequel were not bad, I still think those movies were rather overrated. However, it was really obvious that the minions were by far the best thing in this franchise and a movie focusing on them was rather promising. Unfortunately, they came up with a rather underwhelming plot and I can't say I really cared for this story. Basically, the whole thing is supposed to show how those minions ended up with Gru which wasn't really a bad idea but this whole concept was rather poorly handled and this journey was basically rather boring. Still, at least, the animation was fine, those little yellow guys were fun to watch and my daughter had a good time so that's still worth something, I guess.

I already saw this movie when it was released but since it was such a long time ago, I was quite eager to see it again. I remember it quite well, before it was released, there was quite some buzz about it, the whole thing seemed to be a really ambitious project and some thought it might be as good as ‘Gladiator’. Eventually, it didn’t get much love when it was released. In fact, I'm maybe in the minority but I actually liked this flick and, as a matter of fact, I thought it was even better than 'Gladiator'. I know, Orlando Bloom is not really an amazing lead actor and he has been mostly blamed for this failure and I have to agree that he was the weakest point in an otherwise stellar cast but this movie had more to offer than the famous sandal epic, at least, in my opinion. Indeed, it was pretty spectacular and rather well grounded in history (at least, it felt so). On top of that, I'm always intrigued by movies dealing with religion and I thought this one was pretty good, even if it was a flop back then. A few years later, Ridley Scott released a director's cut with 40 mins of extra running time and this longer version has been much better received so I might check it out at some point. Anyway, to conclude, even though it has a rather lousy reputation, I have actually a weak spot for this movie and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ridley Scott’s work.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. I wish I saw this time the Final Cut but I saw (again) the Redux version but maybe I will buy the Final Cut at some point. Anyway, eventually, it is rather difficult to judge this movie without thinking about how messed up the production was. Indeed, the behind-scenes details have become pretty much as famous as the movie itself but we shouldn’t forget that this flick was on its own quite brilliant already. Through the years, the Vietnam war has been a big source of inspiration for the American directors and, in this genre, it must be one of the best (I still prefer ‘Platoon’ though). To be honest, it is not the easiest film to digest but, after multiple re-watches, there are still many things to get from it. However, after rewatching it again and rewatching the longest version on top of that, I was rather surprised by easily it went down this time around and I was probably even more fascinated by the damned thing. Seriously, pretty much right from the intro with ‘The End’ by the Doors, I was actually already pretty much hooked and, even if this movie is not flawless, there are some many iconic and unforgettable scenes though. Eventually, for Coppola, who spent 16 gruling months shooting this flick, spending pretty much all his money, losing about 45 kilos while filming, even threatening suicide several times during the making of the film, it seems that the film permanently burned him creatively and, unfortunately, he never managed to make again something so amazing during the next 35 years. Anyway, to conclude, it is a rare movie I enjoy more each time I watch it, it is pretty much a classic and a must see for any decent movie lovers.

Basically, it is once again one of these really obscure French movies that almost no one has seen here on listal. If I recall correctly, I didn’t see this one when it was released but I saw it later on on VHS I guess (yes, there was a time when we didn’t download movies or have dvds and, instead, we used some good old videotapes). Anyway, even though Cédric Klapisch never really managed to breakthrough internationally, I always had a weak spot for this director and, in my opinion, he is definitely one of the best French directors that emerged in the 90’s. From all his movies, I think this flick was one of the most obscure ones but I thought it was actually pretty good. Basically, it was nothing really ground-breaking but I though it was a well made and fairly entertaning néo-film noir. I mean, sure, the whole set-up was rather underwhelming but it is all compensated by some solid performances and the always fine directing by Cédric Klapisch. To conclude, even if it is no masterpiece whatsoever, I thought it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

It has been a while since I have seen this flick but I was quite impressed back then. I guess it must have been either my mother or my father who bought this on VHS, anyway, I bumped into this and it sounded quite intriguing so I watched the damned thing. Apparently, the whole concept was not exactly new as Picasso did pretty much the same thing some 7 years before for some rather obscure Belgian documentary but even so, I thought it was just quite fascinating to behold. Basically, the whole thing is pretty straightforward and the only thing you get to see are some long shots with a fixed camera showing Picasso doing his thing, that’s it. Eventually, this whole approach was quite brilliant and, basically, there is no interference between you and the great master and it was just mesmerizing to see one of the greatest artists ever at work. Concerning Clouzot, it was yet another impressive feature following his classics ‘Les diaboliques’ and ‘Le salaire de la peur‘. To conclude, I think it is one of the most original movies I have ever seen and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Art in general.

Honestly, it has been a while since I have watched this flick and it is actually a fairly obscure feature (I was only the 3rd listal member who rated the damned thing). Back in the 90’s, I was quite a fan of Ken Loach’s work and I’m pretty sure I saw this one in the movie theater when it was released. Eventually, it must be one of his most forgettable directing efforts and I really preferred his following movie ‘Sweet Sixteen’. Still, it doesn’t mean that it was a bad movie, in the contrary. Basically, it is one of his typical dramas taking place in a highly realistic sociological and political context and, either, you like this approach or you find it really tedious and you’d rather switch to something more glamorized like any other feature produced in Hollywood. The issue here is that Loach mostly focused on the theme, which was really interesting, and not really on the characters or the plot, which were pretty average. To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I still think it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you if you are interested in Ken Loach’s work.

This movie is one of the examples of why I still love the French cinema very much. I mean, sure, it is pretty obscure (I was only the 3rd listal member who rated the damned thing) and I’m not sure if it was really noticed outside France but I thought it was a fascinating minimalistic drama. I remember it very well, when it was released, it was a critical success and it would be Claude Sautet’s last directing effort, another underrated French director and I should watch many more of his movies. Basically, it is a perfect example of how a French romantic feature mostly focuses on the dialogs and the characters, instead of focusing on the nudity and sex (like most of the Dutch movies) or the artificial gimmicks of your average rom-com (like most of the American movies). I find this approach always interesting and this movie is one of the best examples. In this case, it goes even further as it deals with an unconsummated relationship which might be frustrating for some viewers but it made it even more intriguing for me. To play the main characters, you had Michel Serrault and the always lovely Emmanuelle Béart and they both gave some really impressive performances. To conclude, I really enjoyed this movie a lot and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

Back in the 90’s, way before he became the king of the box-office, I used to be a huge fan of Johnny Depp and I was eagerly watching all his movies. To be honest, even though his track-record was pretty amazing at the time (‘Edward Scissorhands’, ‘Arizona Dream’, ‘Benny & Joon’, ‘What's Eating Gilbert Grape’, ‘Ed Wood’, ‘Dead Man’, ‘Donnie Brasco’, ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’), not everything Johnny Depp did at the time was completely amazing and this movie was probably one of the most obscure he made in his career. Indeed, it seems that he was specialized in rather odd and excentric characters (still one of his trademarks nowadays) but, this time, he was portraying the most average guy you could think of in a very standard thriller. And yet, I thought it was not bad at all, after all. Indeed, the whole thing is a little bit too classic but the concept was decent enough and it was rather well made. And, indeed, it was actually really nice to see Johnny Depp playing out-of-character for once and, of course, Christopher Walken (the main reason why Depp got involved in this project) was just a great opponent. To conclude, even though it is nothing amazing whatsoever, I think it is a decent thriller and it is worth a look, especially if you are a fan of Johnny Depp’s work.

After watching only 2 movies directed by Alex van Warmerdam, I can already say that he has become one of my favorite Dutch directors. Some people might say that they love his unique way to throw in some absurdism in his pictures but, personally, what I enjoy the most is his humor. Indeed, the tone is always pitch-black, filled with witty oneliners and some really funny dialogues. Basically, I think his movies are just hilarious even if the characters themselves are not really funny. Anyway, this time, he made almost a straightforward picture which was less ambitious but definitely more accessible than 'Borgman', his previous directing effort. To be honest, even though I have definitely a weak spot for this director, the same things keep bothering me though. Indeed, between the weird things going on, I keep thinking that the guy doesn’t really care much about the plot or the characters involved and, as a result, I always find it difficult to really care about the whole thing. To conclude, Alex van Warmerdam remains one of the only Dutch directors to bring something really interesting nowadays and his last directing effort is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

Usually, Paul Thomas Anderson is not what you could call a quick director. Indeed, it took him 5 long years after 'Punch-Drunk Love' to come up with 'There Will Be Blood' and then 5 more years before he came up with 'The Master' so I was really glad that his following directing effort was coming up relatively fast. Eventually, this flick didn't get much love, in fact, it is so far his lowest rated movie in IMDB (Still, 6.8 is nothing to be ashamed off). And, indeed, I have to admit it, I wasn't exactly blown away by the whole thing. I mean, 2 years ago, I already had a difficult time with 'The Master' because I thought it was a little bit murky but it was nothing compared to this movie. Indeed, I think I understood maybe 50% of it. Basically, there were so many characters, all more or less connected with each other but their connections were barely explained and none of them had some straight dialogs, always some rather obscure riddles. I don't know, maybe it works better with the book but, somehow, I doubt it. And, yet, there is no denying that the directing was really solid and, once again, Joaquin Phoenix showed that he is one of the best actors at work nowadays. Above all, I had never seen somthing like this before, a rather typical film noir but set in the 70's with some completely stoned characters. To conclude, even though my rating might be a little too high, even though I was actually disappointed by the whole thing, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Paul Thomas Anderson's work.