Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick, since there was an interesting cast, I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for Emir Kusturica’s work as a director (it is such a pity this guy so has been so unproductive those last 15 years) and it was really surprising to see him being an actor in this movie (apparently, Patrice Leconte asked him to take this part after he saw his picture in a newspaper). Anyway, a part from Kusturica, there was definitely a nice cast. Indeed, Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil are among the best French actors already for several decades and they definitely delivered some decent performances here. On top of that, I really enjoyed the mood as well but I wasn’t sure about the plot though. I mean, it was not bad and it was actually fairly entertaining but I can’t say it was really mind-blowing though. Basically, it is a rather odd story and you wonder how they came up with a tale like this one taking place in such a place. To conclude, even though it was not really amazing, I still think it was a decent drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

I remember it very well, I saw this flick when I was very young, I was maybe 12 years old and probably much too young to watch something like this but I was quite impressed at the time and I thought it was really awesome. Anyway, after all these years, it remains my favorite Mad Max installment (apparently, Mel Gibson shares this feeling as well). Indeed, in my opinion, it is with this movie that they really created the trademark look of this franchise inspiring most of the post-apocalyptic features which have been made ever after. This time, George Miller had a bigger budget (allegedly 10 times larger than its predecessor) and it was apparently the most expensive Australian production ever made at the time. Anyway, the whole thing looked pretty awesome and Mel Gibson was really bad-ass back in those days. Still, even though I always had a weak spot for this movie when I was a kid, I’m not so sure if it is actually so amazing. I mean, it was really original (at least back then) and the mood was really interesting but the story was not really amazing in my opinion. Still, it remains one of the best sequels ever made and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I actually would like to re-watch it at some point to make up my mind about the whole thing. Actually, I have noticed that even though all the movies directed by Sofia Coppola were really interesting, I actually had a a hard time to connect with them (even ‘Lost in Translation’ which was hailed as a real masterpiece was interesting but not really mind-blowing in my opinion). With her directing debut, it was pretty much the same thing. I remember it very well, the first time I watched it, I was living in England, I saw it with my roommates and while I thought it was actually pretty good, they thought it was just pretty terrible. Honestly, I couldn’t really blame them. Indeed, I really enjoyed the look and the mood of the whole thing and there was definitely something quite spellbinding about it. On the other hand, you never really get the opportunity to really know or connect with the characters and, on top of that, it felt rather pretentious. Still, even though it is not really a masterpiece and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in this director.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this but many movies starring Jackie Chan are broadcasted on the Dutch channels and my step-son Nick has a weak spot for this actor so we ended up watching it. Contrary to most of the movies with Jackie Chan, this one actually had some potential but, unfortunately, the plot was jut way too convoluted. Indeed, you basically had two story lines very awkwardly combined, a modern one (easily the weakest one) and a period piece and also a meteorite with some powers and also an immortality pill on top of that. I mean, it was nice that Jackie Chan was involved in a rather complex story for once but that was just way too much. In my opinion, they should have focused only on the period piece which wasn't really amazing but it was the only thing that really hold my attention. Seriously, the whole thing was just so messy, I could barely follow it and since I didn't really care, I didn't even really try. To conclude, it was yet another underwhelming production involving Jackie Chan and I don't think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of this actor.

I remember it very well, after this movie was released in France, it became a huge cult-classic. Sure, since then, we had ‘Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulaine’ or ‘Intouchables’ which were not only some massive success in France but also abroad but, in fact, some really typical French comedies which are quite unknown outside of France are also hugely popular in my motherland and ‘Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis’ is by now the most successful French film in France. In fact, ‘La Grande Vadrouille’ (a great classic by the way) was for a staggering 30 years the biggest success at the French box-office until ‘Titanic’ broke all the records. Anyway, for many years , everybody was talking about this flick in France and since I hadn't seen it for so many years, I was really eager to check it again. To be honest, in my mind, the whole thing was just really hilarious but, for the 2nd time around, I thought it was mildly funny but not much more than that, I'm afraid. I mean, it was pretty obvious that they were aiming towards a sarcastic black comedy but even though it was fairly entertaining, I wasn't actually really blown away. Still, to conclude, it remains a French classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

Honestly, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Anyway, it is definitely a typical Cronenberg feature and I thought it was pretty good. At the time, Cronenberg was still transitioning to some more commercial features easier to digest for the mainstream audience but there were still many of his famous trademarks that you could find in his rather gross horror features he made at the end of the 70’s. As a result, even though the whole thing was quite accessible , it was still pretty weird and sometimes a little bit hard to follow but there was definitely something quite spellbinding about the whole thing and there was no denying that it was visually quite impressive. James Woods, one of the most underrated actors that ever lived, was a perfect choice and he delivered one of his typical hysterical and over-the-top performances which fit really well in Cronenberg’s demented world. To be honest, I actually preferred ‘eXistenZ’ which Cronenberg made much later on his career as it was more compelling to watch in my opinion but I still enjoyed this one and I will definitely check it again in the future. To conclude, even though I’m not sure if it is really a masterpiece, it is still a really intriguing feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in David Cronenberg’s work.

Like most of us, following the impressive 'In Bruges', I had high hopes for Martin McDonagh's follow-up but, somehow, it didn't make much waves when it was released. Eventually, it was a decent flick with some great stuff but, unfortunately, it didn't really convince me though. In the opening scenes, you actually have two characters talking about overkill and it would actually be the best way to describe this movie. Indeed, while 'In Bruges' was dealing with about 3 characters and was therefore really focused, this movie had an all-star cast with about 10 characters at least and while it might sound great on paper, it didn't work out so well, I'm afraid. I mean, sure, some of those guys were great, especially Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson, and some bits here and there were really neat but the whole thing was actually pretty aimless, some characters could or should have been removed (why Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurylenko even bothered showing up is beyond me) and the whole plot about the dog was seriously tedious. Basically, it is a movie about nothing really in particular and you either dig the concept or you don't. Still, in spite of its flaws, it was an enjoyable feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I remember it very well when this movie was released in France, it was pretty huge. Sure, since then, we had ‘Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulaine’ or ‘Intouchables’ which were not only some massive success in France but also abroad but, in fact, some really typical French comedies which are quite unknown outside of France are also hugely popular in my motherland and ‘Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis’ is by now the most successful French film in France. In fact, ‘La Grande Vadrouille’ (a great classic by the way) was for a staggering 30 years the biggest success at the French box-office until ‘Titanic’ broke all the records. Anyway, that’s what happened with ‘Les Visiteurs’, when it was released, it was a huge success in France, everybody was talking about it so I was really curious about the damned thing so I ended up watching it in the movie theater. At the time, I was just a kid, about 13 years old, but honestly, I wasn’t really impressed. In my opinion, it was a rather cheap time-travel flick with some midldy funny jokes but not much more than that. Jean Reno (who later on developed a fairly successful career abroad) and Christian Clavier were really famous in France at the time and delivered some decent performances but I just didn’t care much about the whole thing. To conclude, even though it might be a classic in France, I think it is actually a rather lame comedy and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Honestly, I had some rather low expectations about this flick but since there was a rather intriguing cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. Eventually, it was rather surprising that it was written by 2 women and directed by one of them since the damned thing gave such a terribly weak view on female teenage sexuality. At least, 'American Pie' may not have been a masterpiece but, at least, it was fun and that was definitely not the case here. I mean, it was actually interesting that it was dealing with some rich girls in some fancy prep-school but this angle was so poorly developed, it could have taken place in a regular school, there won't have been any difference. Eventually, the most interesting aspect was to see a very young Ryan Reynolds who used to specialise in such quirky roles before trying to become a blockbuster star with some rather poor results (at least, he got to get married with Scarlet Johansson and Blake Lively before he reached 37 years old so that should be worth something). Eventually, it's not it was really bad, it's just that it was rather boring and those three girls were just so plain with nothing interesting to say or to do. Anyway, to conclude, it was just a really weak comedy and it is really not worth a look.

Back in the 90’s, I was a a huge fan of Takeshi Kitano. At some point, I thought he was so awesome, he might have been even better than Akira Kusosawa. Actually, I wasn’t the only one to think so, indeed, Kitano was definitely one of the major movie directors in the 90’s but it’s such a shame we don’t hear much from him anymore (in fact, the guy has been pretty prolific in the last decade but none of these movies have been really impressive unfortunately). Anyway, I was definitely eager to check his directing debut and it was certainly not disappointing. Indeed, the whole thing is actually the stuff of legend. In fact, someone else was supposed to direct the damned thing but the guy quit when he discovered that Kitano, who was playing the lead character, was only available during some specific time periods (the guy was at the time a massive TV star in Japan and was therefore busy with some television commitments). Kitano joked that he could direct it (having no prior directing experience), took over the director's chair after heavily rewriting the script to remove all traces of comedy. As a result, it is not his best work because he took it over right into the middle of the production but it also had many of his trademarks inherent to his work, like the violence and the poetry for example . To conclude, even though it might not be a masterpiece, I really enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Takeshi Kitano’s work.