Reviews by johanlefourbe

It is rather surprising that it took them so long to finally adapt this seminal US classic and when I heard that Walter Salles was directing, it sounded really promising but, when it was released, it was rather poorly received. I still wanted to check it out though. Eventually, even though it was a decent attempt, the whole thing was indeed still rather disappointing. I mean, it did look pretty good and there was a rather impressive cast (Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Tom Sturridge, Alice Braga, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Buscemi) but, unfortunately, the whole thing felt rather flat. Indeed, their way of life, this neverending journey was supposed to be fascinating and full of excitement but, while watching this, I couldn't help thinking that it seemed rather pointless. I also thought that Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund were rather miscast. Indeed, in this adaptation, I thought that Sal Paradise was pretty much a wimp and Dean Moriarty an underwhelming gigolo. Those people should have been amazingly deep and smart, especially Moriarty who was supposedly the muse of the whole beatnik generation, but they sounded more or less like some rambling junkies/alcoholics. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it remains an intriguing story and I still think it is worth a look but they could have done so much better with this material.

As you may have noticed, I’m not exactly a huge fan of thrillers in general. Sure, some of them are quite entertaining but I’m always amazed and rather annoyed by the over-the-top and usual stupid twists involved and even with such classics like ‘Seven’ or ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. Still, there are some exceptions and this movie is actually one of them. It is not in fact a really famous flick and it has never been considered as a masterpiece but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, I’ll admit it, it is nothing really amazing and, indeed, the story was rather far-fetched and there was some rather unbelievable twist but, at least, the whole thing was well constructed and very tense from the beginning until the end. It does help  when you have such fine actors like Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close and they both delivered some solid performances (I especially enjoyed Jeff Bridges, such an underrated actor, it was great to see him tackle a really different character for once). To conclude, even though it was definitely not a a game-changer whatsoever, it remains a solid thriller and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but the title sounded cool and there was a really nice cast involved so I thought I might as well give it a try. Eventually, the whole thing turned out to be a huge disappointment though. Indeed, it has been a while since I have seen such a messy thriller. I mean, it is quite usual, with this genre, that they keep you in the dark for a while but, slowly, you are supposed to understand what’s going on but, here, it wasn’t the case at all. Indeed, at the beginning, you know basically nothing and, at the end, you know just as much which was still nothing. The issue is that, from time to time, it seems that the plot was going somewhere and you think you might get a grip on the story but, then, it seemingly dropped what was going on and then they would move towards something else and, as a result, the whole thing was terribly underwhelming to behold. For example, why was there this sporadic argument about jurisdiction? It was never properly developed and you wonder what was the added value for the main story. Same thing about the fact that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was a cop from New York or the fact that Sam Worhington and Jessica Chastain were married. It’s a pity because the actors involved (Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain, Chloë Grace Moretz, Annabeth Gish, Sheryl Lee) did a decent job with some poorly developed characters. Still, the mood was pretty good and the whole thing seriously had some potential. Anyway, to o conclude, I think my rating might be a bit generous here but I still think it is worth a look somehow.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since it is such a classic, I thought I should check it out. To be honest, I always had a hard time to care for these old comedies, even the supposedly great ones, and this one was not an exception, I’m afraid. The point is that the plot was so fluffy, so unsubstantial, I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. Somehow, this movie and the other classics in this genre are still considered as hilarious even today but, personally, I thought it was just amusing at best. Obviously, it is still a solid comedy though. Indeed, Cary Grant was one of the best actors at the time (at least, one of the most popular ones but I still think the guy was also great), he was very good here and he had some very good chemistry with the charming Rosalind Russell. Furthermore, even though nothing much happen during the whole thing, the dialogues were really witty and funny and they were definitely the biggest asset in this flick. To conclude, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it remains a solid comedy, a classic, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but Jean Renoir is regarded as one of the best French directors that ever lived so I was quite eager to check it out. This time, he was working with Jean Gabin who was at the time easily the most illustrious French actor. Indeed, together, they made 'La Grande Illusion' which became one of the greatest classics in motion picture history (I have seen again this classic not so long ago and it was even better than I thought, a real masterpiece) and, a year later, they made this flick. This time, it was an adaptation of a very famous book written by Emile Zola. On paper, the whole thing sounded like a great combination and it was indeed a really solid flick but, to be honest, I wasn’t completely blown away by the whole thing. I mean, as usual with Zola, the whole thing was a very grim social drama which is something I did appreciate but, somehow, I didn’t really connect with the story. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, it was still a pretty good drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since I have always had a weak spot for Gael Garcia Bernal, I though I might as well give it a try. Unfortunately, it was a really weak feature and I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. The main issue was that they tried to mix up a typical romantic-comedy with a terminal cancer drama and, even though it is not impossible to combine such an heavy subject with a comedy, it is really tricky and the makers really failed to make this work. For example, each time something quite dramatic was happening, they will throw something really fluffy just in case we might forget that we are actually watching a romantic-comedy (the best example is the pathetic scene involving Whoopi Goldberg). At least, Bernal was, as usual, very good and it is such a pity he had to waste his time with something underwhelming like this. Concerning Kate Hudson, for once, she tried something a little bit heavier than her usual work but the whole thing was still after all a rom-com, her trademark genre, and she basically played the same character that she always plays. Anyway, to conclude, even though it could have been an interesting flick, the whole thing was rather weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

It has been a while since I have seen this flick and I will probably re-watch it when I get the opportunity. Back then, it was in fact the most expensive movie directed by Kevin Smith but, eventually it was a critical and commercial failure and it is usually regarded as one of the weakest movies made by Smith. Personally, I tend to disagree and I don’t think it was that bad after all. First of all, it was not Smith’s fault that Affleck was going through a very bad period in his career and, just before this movie was released, he had a much publicized split up with Jennifer Lopez. As a result, Lopez’ role was reduced as much as possible and we never actually saw the version meant by Smith. On the other hand, you could argue that Kevin Smith might not be the best director to handle a mainstream rom-com like this one (he did a pretty good job with ‘Chasing Amy’ though). Still, in my opinion, it was a rather believable and sweet romantic feature and the characters involved were interesting enough. To conclude, even though it is obviously not a masterpiece, I think it is actually pretty good and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Kevin Smith’s work.

The Wachowski siblings… After creating one of the most iconic features of the last millenium (even though I’m not a huge fan of ‘The Matrix’, I can’t deny its huge impact), they have been pretty much struggling ever since and all their following efforts have been rather poorly received (personally, I thought that ‘Cloud Atlas’ was actually quite amazing though). The funny thing is that their directing debut was not a massive SF extravaganza but actually a rather small neo-noir feature. To be honest, it wasn’t really a game changer but it was still a thoroughly entertaining feature and the whole thing was actually a pretty solid for a directing debut. The most interesting aspect was that the two main characters were actually two women which is something you don’t see enough and it was also nice that they went for Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon, two interesting actresses who don’t get often the opportunity to shine in the lead. Eventually, this movie was barely seen when it was released but the word-of-mouth was pretty good and, after that, they got the opportunity to direct their magnum opus. To conclude, I think it is a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the the Wachowskis’ work.

Even though it is a rather weaker effort in Cameron's career, it was, at that time, the most expensive movie ever made (a recurring trademark in Cameron's work). Basically, it is a rather light and goofy action comedy with some rather impressive action scenes thanks to the massive budget mentioned before. As a matter of fact, it was also a remake of a French movie called 'La Totale' but it was barely seen abroad (I haven't even seen it myself to be honest). Eventually, I have re-watched this flick recently and I thought it was a decent watch. For once, it seems that James Cameron didn’t take himself too seriously and, in fact, it is his only film which could be described as a comedy (there is still tons of action though). Therefore, you have a rather odd mix. For example, you have the now iconic lapdance by Jamie Lee Curtis, a scene which is quite awesome on one hand, but on the other hand, it doesn’t make much sense to have all those spies trying to trick this housewife. On the other hand, at the end, you have this spectacular action scene with this plane and there was Eliza Dushku hanging there for maybe 15 minutes and, honestly, I wonder if it was really appropriate. Still, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains a decent action-comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to give it a second chance. On top of that, I'm planning to watch soon 'Jay and Silent Bob Reboot' so I thought it was a good opportunity to finally revisit this movie. The first time around, I had some rather high expectations but, to be honest, I thought the damned thing was seriously underwhelming after all. I mean, to make a movie centering on these 2 characters was such a great idea and the whole thing definitely had some potential and it could have been a blast if it would have been developed properly. However, the end-result was eventually a big mess. Well, after all these years, I was finally able to appreciate the damned thing. I mean, it is still a big mess and at least half of it didn't work at all but I still love these characters and some bits were actually quite brilliant. For example, the light saber fight with Jay AKA Chronic against Mark Hamill AKA Cocknocker AKA Luke Skywalker was just epic. I also loved all these little scenes involving Randal and Dante. I wish Kevin Smith could have come up with a better story though because the whole concept of this group of hot girls being some international diamond thieves was just so lame. It's too bad because the idea of Jay falling in love was actually pretty cool as you could see how it would impact his usual appalling behavior with women. The fact that an orangutan had to tag along for the rest of the movie afterwards was hardly surprising but it was also barely entertaining either. Anyway, to conclude, it could have been great but it's definitely not, I think I'm being slightly too generous with this movie but, if you are a fan of Kevin Smith's work, it is actually worth a look.