Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Carice van Houten, I still wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, even though the whole thing actually had some potential, I thought it was eventually really half-baked. Indeed, it basically follows the very old road-movie formula but they really didn’t add anything really interesting to the genre (they even threw in the really pedestrian karakoe scene…). On top of that, they made it really hard to root for Holly Hunter’s character who was rather obnoxious and who barely spoke a word during the whole thing. Finally, the ending, with a really lame double-twist, was seriously underwhelming and it felt terribly anti-climatic. And yet, I really liked those 3 actresses and they all gave some decent performances but they really deserved a better story than this. In fact, it is not really that the story was really bad, it is more that it was rather poorly written, at least, that’s my opinion. To conclude, the whole thing felt like a missed opportunity but, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

It has been a while since I have seen this flick and it would be nice to actually re-watch it at some point. To be honest, I don’t really remember how I ended up watching this flick and, on top of that, I have to admit that I hadn’t seen yet at the time the seminal classic ‘Nosferatu’ but, still, I thought there was something quite mesmerizing about this movie. Indeed, it is such a weird feature, half of it actually really took place and the other half was based on some legend that Max Schreck was in reality a vampire. Of course, it is a really ridiculous idea (expect maybe if you believe that vampires do exist, just like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) but there was something quite exhilarating to see that a film maker that would dare to tell such a far-out story. Still, it remains a really weird tale and I thought it was rather difficult to take it really seriously. To conclude, even though I don’t think if it is really a masterpiece, I thought it was a very intriguing feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in something a little bit more experimental.

Honestly, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I might rewatch it at some point. The first time I saw it, I must have been a teenager and, even though I did like it, I can’t say it really blew me away. I mean, sure, it was a decent comedy but there was nothing really amazing about the whole thing, at least, that’s my opinion. I believe this movie got a legendary status above all for the famous scene involving Marilyn Monroe's dress blowing up around her legs but pretty much like in ‘Some like it hot’, Marilyn Monroe looked positively charming but, honestly, her character was rather moronic and obnoxious. Therefore, I had a hard time to really care for the whole thing. On top of that, it does feel rather dated nowadays. Considering Billy Wilder’s work, after watching 8 of his movies, I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed much more his dramas (‘Sunset Blvd.’, Stalag 17’, ‘Witness for the Prosecution’) than his comedies (‘Some Like It Hot’, ‘The Apartment’, ‘Sabrina’). Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is still a decent comedy 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 and, as a matter of fact, I even think I saw it when it was released. The main reason I wanted to watch this movie was above all because it was directed by Catherine Breillat, one very most famous ‘enfant terrible’ of the French cinema who managed to reach fame with some really controversial movies like ‘Romance’. Eventually, even though I was expecting something bold again, it was in fact pretty light but it wasn’t not bad a thing and, in fact, I would go as far as saying that it is my favorite movies of hers that I have seen so far (ok, I have seen only 3 of them but still..). Indeed, as usual with Breillat, the whole thing took itself a little too seriously but I did like this meta reflection on how ridiculous a filmmaker’s work can become. It was also pretty neat to see again Anne Parillaud, the French actress who really impressed me in ‘Nikita’. On top of that, I thought the whole thing was quite funny but it is because I have a rather unhealthy sense of humor. To conclude, even though it wasn’t really a masterpiece, I thought it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

I remember very well the first time I was told about this movie. Indeed, one of my colleagues at the time asked me if I had seen this amazing martial-arts movie and I just told him I actually never heard of the damned thing. It sounded quite intriguing so I looked it up on IMDb and, when I saw the impressive ratings, I became even more eager to check it out. Eventually, it took me more than 5 years to finally watch the damned thing but it was certainly worth it. Of course, the fight scenes were just really impressive but I thought the whole thing went way beyond that. Indeed, even though you might wonder if the actual guy was really like this, I thought that this character was just really fascinating. Indeed, every time he did or didn’t fight, it always made sense and his attitude towards everyone was just so gracious, it was just a breath of fresh air and it was quite inspiring to behold. I can’t say I'm really familiar with Donnie Yen's work but the guy really gave a strong perfomance and I'm pretty sure he will be always remembered for the great job he has done in this movie. Anyway, to conclude, even though the whole thing was maybe not flawless, it probably gave the most fascinating study about one of the greatest legends in kung-fu and this movie is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, it has been a while since I have seen this movie and I should probably re-watch it at some point to make up my mind for good about the damned thing. Obviously, Woody Allen has always been famous for his comedies but, a very few times in his career, he did try to make a drama and this movie belonged to this group. It is usually considered a rather minor work which might have had to do with its rather convoluted production. Indeed, Woody Allen shot the whole thing once, edited it but since he didn’t like the end-result, he rewrote the entire script, recast virtually all the characters and re-filmed the whole thing. Obviously, this had a huge impact on the budget which was pretty much doubled and since it was apparently his lowest-grossing movie, Woody Allen said it his biggest financial disaster (with ‘A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy’). The weird thing is that Allen was willing to do the whole thing a third time again. Anyway, coming back to the movie itself, it was pretty much a rather gloomy chamber piece filmed like a play but, in spite of the strong cast, it never really took off. To conclude, even though it might be a minor effort, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Woody Allen’s work.

To be honest, it has been while since I have seen this flick but like everything directed by Luchino Visconti, it was quite fascinating to behold. Even though Visconti started his career with ‘Ossessione’, the first Italian neorealist film, later on in his career he would become famous for his luxurious dramas involving the Italian aristocracy, the most famous one being ‘Il Gattopardo’. Surprisingly, I still haven’t watched ‘Il Gattopardo’ but I did watch his one which Visconti made 10 years after his directing debut. To be honest, I’m not sure I really cared about the story. Basically, it was a rather standard doomed love story and the fact that I wasn’t really familiar with this time period didn’t help either. Eventually, what I really enjoyed about this movie was above all the mood created thanks to a gorgeous cinematography. On top of that, apparently, Visconti wanted Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando to play the lead roles but Alida Valli and Farley Granger were some great choices as well. To conclude, even though it might not be one of Visconti’s best movies, it was still a really solid period drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this movie. Indeed, as a matter of fact, I got this movie in a package deal at a dvd shop, something like buy 3 dvds for the price of 2, and I already got 2 movies that interested me and this one was the only left which I hadn't see it and which seemed slightly interesting. Anyway, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was still a decent watch. Indeed, basically, it is one of those quirky indie features with some excentric characters and, fortunately, those characters were pretty interesting to follow. On the downside, the story was not really strong and even though the makers try to convince you that it was all really smart and clever but I was hardly convinced. Furthermore, there is something I really didn’t get. Indeed, they make a real fuss that Michael Sheen’s character raised his daughter as a psychology experiment in a world free of gender bias but, honestly, what does it actually means? What did he actually do with her? It was really unclear to me but that wasn't really important. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was not bad and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Obviously, I wasn't really expecting much from this flick but since there was a nice cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. To start up, the introduction involving Cameron Diaz was incredibly abysmal and it seemed like an impossible mission to recover the damage after such a lame start. Fortunately, it became slightly better but nog enough to become really enjoyable. Basically, it is one of these romantic-comedies which focus on a lot of characters (5 couples if I'm not mistaken) all played by a star-studded cast instead of the usual single couple and, as a result, you get a whole bunch of half-baked stories instead of a fully fledged tale. What's too bad is that most of those stories could have worked if they would have been developed as stand-alone (my favorite was probably the one involving Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford). Another disappointing detail was that except for Jennifer Lopez (surprisingly, the only woman who didn't get pregnant during the movie), none of the actresses involved actually ever got pregnant in real life so I thought it was some poor casting. To conclude, even though it wasn’t really awful, it was still pretty weak and I don't think it is really worth a look.

Since I kept hearing some great things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, up to that point, David Ayer's biggest credit was to have written the rather overrated 'Training Day' but there was no doubt that the guy had some talents and, here, he really made his mark. The first thing I enjoyed in this flick was that, for once, it wasn't dealing with some dirty cops or some wild cowboys but with some decent police officers who are really dedicated to their work which was quite refreshing. Concerning the documentary-style directing, obviously, it wasn't really original but it was efficient enough and it definitely gave the whole thing a really realistic look. Finally, in my opinion, the biggest asset was the great chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. Indeed, this movie was not just about the shootings and chases, it was also about those two men who spent most of their time in their car and how they deal with that. They both gave some really strong performances and while we have been used to greatness with Gyllenhaal (probably one of the best actors of his generation), it was really neat to see Michael Peña shining in a such a star-making performance. Anyway, to conclude, even though the material was maybe not original, it was handled in such a good way, this movie might be one of the best cop dramas ever made and it is definitely worth a look.