Reviews by johanlefourbe

I had no idea what to expect from this movie but, to be honest, it did hit me like a truck though. With my film club, we do watch some really heavy movies from time to time (I guess we like to torture ourselves like that…) but this movie was definitely one of the most hardcore we have seen so far. It’s interesting that some other film club members were rooting for the main character to successfully come out of this endless vicious circle of violence and despair but, as far as I was concerned, even if I did care for the poor boy, I pretty much knew from the start that he was doomed (it is so weird that he was actually played by an actor called Thibaud Dooms). I mean, how could you expect any really improvement if you take a traumatized boy out of a highly dysfunctional environment and put him in just another dysfunctional environment? I’m not blaming the educators working there, they were doing the best they could with some f*cked up situations and I really did appreciate the hyper-realistic approach they chose to depict this environment but, at the end of the day, it didn’t seem to be a very efficient system. Coming back on Thibaud Dooms, wow, this guy was just incredible, so raw and so spellbinding to behold, I almost wish his career would end here just to make sure that he doesn’t have to go through something like this ever again. Eventually, the only thing that really didn’t work in this movie for me was the fact that the ‘bad’ guy, the real psycho in these group of messed up kids turned out to be Moroccan. Seriously, since it was a work of fiction, there was absolutely no need to give this character such a specific ethnicity, especially since there is already such a vile rhetoric about this matter in France, in the Netherlands and also in Belgium. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn’t flawless, the damned thing was quite unforgettable and it is definitely worth a look but you have to be able to handle such heavy material. 

Since it did sound like an intriguing story and since it was starring Matthew McConaughey, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though there is no doubt that it was quite a fascinating story, this movie itself was not bad but not really much more than that, I’m afraid. The first mistake they made, in my opinion, was they failed to clearly established who was actually Richard Wershe Sr. from the very start. Seriously, it took me so much time to figure this out. Basically, he was a poor guy who sold some weapons but then, why on Earth did Rick Wershe Jr. go to sell these AK47’s to these notorious thugs when he was just 15 years old at the time? So, the introduction was not really strong and during the rest of the movie, I think Yann Demange never really figured out which direction he should take with this story. Indeed, was Ricky a poor victim of the nasty tactics used by the police forces? Or was he some kind of juvenile version of Tony Montana? So, there was this huge splits between these two concepts and, of course, you could say that he was both and a stronger director might have managed to juggle both ideas at the same time but it was definitely too much to handle for Demange. I also did appreciate that they took such an average and rather uncharismatic actor like Richie Merritt to play the main character, that was definitely a bold move. However, in spite of its incredible path, the character felt rather spineless but, on the other hand, it seems unfair to blame Merritt since he wasn’t helped by the lack of clear direction. Concerning Matthew McConaughey, he was fine and stole the show pretty much every time he was on the screen but his character was just not the main interest here. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though 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, since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I didn’t remember much from the previous instalment but I have to admit that this sequel was not bad though. Anyway, I actually grew up with the Sonic games on the Master System and on the Megadrive, in fact, I always enjoyed these games more than the Super Mario games from Nintendo. As a result, it was really cool that they brought up this time such iconic characters like Tails and Knuckles and you have to give it to the makers that they managed to be faithful to the games. Once again, Jim Carrey had also quite a blast playing Dr. Robotnik and he nailed it, even if you might wonder what an actor of his caliber is doing in this franchise. Still, pretty much like the super successful ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, even if these movies managed to make the most of this material, even if it is fairly entertaining, to be honest, neither the characters or the story were really fascinating though. I wonder if I would like it more if I would have been 12 years old, but, back then, you played the games because they were fun and, without this aspect, it all seems rather silly. I mean, they were some moments where they talking about some intricate mythology and I honestly had no clue what they were talking about. The fact that it was slightly too long probably didn’t help either and I think they could have cut off about 30 mins. Anyway, to conclude, I think it would be probably mostly enjoyable for young kids but I think it was a still decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you did like its predecessor. 

The main reason why I wanted to watch this movie and, in fact, also the previous instalments, was because Indiewire called it one of the best movies released in 2022, no less than that. Well, with this in mind, I actually had some rather high expectations, especially since I have fairly enjoyed this franchise so far. Unfortunately, to be honest, the damned thing turned out to be rather disappointing. I mean, I really loved the intro, it was easily one of the best they have delivered, it was far-out, intricate and just really well done. The conclusion, on the other hand, was only decent at best though. Considering the rest of the movie, well, it was some pretty standard jackass stuff with too many dick jokes and not enough inspired stunts. There was also the fact that they added some new young members which seemed at first intriguing. I above all liked the idea that they added a woman (Rachel Wolfson) but she was barely involved after all. However, this idea actually backfired though. Indeed, it was so obvious that these new members were so self-conscious about being involved in jackass, it actually slightly ruined the vibe. The other older guys never cared that much, they just wanted to do some crazy stuff and have some fun in the process, that’s why the concept actually worked in the first place. The other thing that bothered was the fact that, even though they did a sweet emotional tribute for Ryan Dunn, they never managed to settle down their conflict with Bam Margera who was apparently fired from this movie. Sure, the guy was apparently a complete mess and it was probably impossible to work with him but it was rather weird to see this final instalment with the rest of the team pretending that he never existed. Anyway, to conclude, I wonder what was supposed to be so great about this movie according to Indiewire but I guess it is still worth a look but probably only if you really like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it seems to be intriguing and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I have to admit that, even though I had heard about Kid Cudi, I’m not familiar at all with his work and I didn’t even know that this movie was actually a visual companion piece to the album he made which had the same name. Anyway, eventually, I really enjoyed the damned thing. Indeed, the animation was really beautiful and reminded me of ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ which is definitely a compliment. I also enjoyed the fact that there was something so down-to-earth and relatable about these characters. Indeed, it did seem really plausible that this man and this woman would fall in love with each other and I was thankful that there was no annoying gimmick involved which is so often the case with your basic romantic-comedy. However, the simplicity of this tale which was so appealing was probably also its downside though. Indeed, at the end of the day, the whole thing did feel rather slight. The fact that this romantic relationship followed a really generic and predictable path probably didn’t help either. Finally, I wish that the 2 main characters didn’t have such amazing and creative jobs. Sure, it wasn’t in fact a big deal but it would be nice to see once in a while a movie character with an average job like most of us do. Still, this couple  was really beautiful, these two characters both had a beautiful soul and I thought that there were quite inspiring. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe nothing really ground-breaking, I actually really enjoyed the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by Richard Linklater and starring Cate Blanchett, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I noticed that it didn’t get much love when it was released and, to be honest, I understand why. It’s too bad because Bernadette Fox was actually a fascinating character and, on top of that, Blanchett nailed it and was quite fascinating to behold as usual. Unfortunately, the movie itself never really worked though. Indeed, it was rather bewildering that the whole point of the movie (the fact that Bernadette suddenly disappeared) actually occurred only during the 3rd act. However, instead of either really focusing on this disappearance or focusing on how Bernadette managed to get to this point, the whole thing seemed to just keep spinning around instead of actually going somewhere. I mean, fairly on, it was pretty obvious that the other women in this community seemed to be rather vapid and that Bernadette would never manage to really fit in but there was no need to keep hammering this point endlessly. For a good while, it was actually rather unclear where they were getting at with these stereotypical and slightly hysterical characters. I mean, what exactly happened to Bernadette after all? Sure, you can develop some theories of your own but the makers hardly seemed to be interested and instead gave us some random scenes during which she rescued her dog for example. Basically, the damned thing felt really disjointed, as if they delivered their script when, in fact, it did need a few extra drafts. I shouldn’t forget to mention that the voice-over in this movie was also so pretentious and annoying. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was actually an intriguing story and I still think it is worth a look, if only to see Cate Blanchett shine once again.

To be honest, I have to admit that I was never a fan of this franchise but I thought I might as well check this new instalment (in fact, another sequel has already been released in the mean time so I guess I’m still a little bit behind). Well, even though the makers did their best to convince the viewers and maybe themselves that they would deliver something surprising, I thought the end-result was terribly repetitive and predictable after all. Sure, I have to admit that there were a couple of scenes during which I thought ‘Wow.. that was actually quite insane…’ but you are talking about maybe 2 mins of screen time for a movie running almost 150 mins. By the way, that’s probably the biggest issue with this franchise as there is no freaking way that any of these movies required a running time above 2 hrs. The other issue is that, after all these years, Vin Diesel still can’t act whatsoever. I mean, no one did or was even required to really flex their acting skills here but Diesel was just the worst of the bunch and it was especially rather cringe-inducing during the ‘emotional’ scenes. Concerning the rest of the movie, to be honest, I watched it only yesterday and I’m already struggling to remember anything really memorable about it. At least, it is rather fun to see who’s going to show up again (they even brought back a character who was supposed to be dead for almost a decade) and who’s going to be added to the mix this time (John Cena was actually a solid addition). Anyway, to conclude, most of it was rather boring though but the damned thing was still quite successful at the box-office so I guess the fans are still having fun for now but you might wonder for how long they will keep milking this cow. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a really nice cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though the damned thing was fairly well received when it was released, to be honest, I thought it was rather disappointing after all. I mean, I always had a weak spot for ‘Romancing the Stone’ but, as far as I was concerned, it turned out to be a rather weak modern remake. Sure, the cast was neat (Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt), they were all game and there were a couple of decent ideas but I was surprised by how bored I was by most of it though. Sure, it was quite clever that Brad Pitt played a trainer called ‘Jack Trainer’, he really nailed it and it was pretty cool that he got killed very early on. In a similar fashion, Daniel Radcliffe had some fun playing a rather pathetic slightly hysterical bad guy. Concerning Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, in theory, they were both the perfect choices to play their respective characters but, I’m sorry, I thought they were just rather tedious to behold. I mean, I don’t blame them, I have actually a weak spot for both them and I’m well aware that they were both supposed to be some stereotypes but, in my opinion, this material was just too weak. It didn’t help that Channing Tatum’s was introduced as a really vapid model but, then, suddenly became this very sensitive and deep guy out of nowhere. Anyway, to conclude, it’s possible that my rating was too harsh but, even if I have to admit that the damned thing was harmless, I thought it was actually rather weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was the latest movie directed by Alex van Warmerdam, I was quite eager to check it out. I know that the members of my film club are huge fans of his work but, even though I have seen all his movies, to be honest, I usually struggle to get into them and this new directorial effort was not an exception, I’m afraid. In fact, the first half was pretty straightforward, much more than his usual stuff. However, obviously, it didn’t last forever and from the moment one of the characters (who suddenly became the lead which wasn’t the case at all before) planted a nail into the foot of one of his colleagues, the whole thing went completely sideways. The end-result was some kind of mix of absurdist Dutch humor (van Warmerdam is the all-time master of the genre) with some Lynchian mindf*ck and a dash of ‘Being John Malkovich’. Sure, it might sound intriguing but, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about all this. I mean, I really admire van Warmerdam’s unique directing style, the guy simply doesn’t care about the basic film narrative conventions which is really cool. Unfortunately, I don’t find his approach really interesting or entertaining though. I was also not really sure about the heavy anti-religious message. I mean, you could develop a whole movie about the subject but van Warmerdam spent maybe 10 mins on this so you might wonder why he bothered at all. Still, the ending came out pretty much out of nowhere and I have to admit that it was actually pretty awesome. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really work for me, I still give it some extra points for being so original and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by Felix van Groeningen and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I always had a weak spot for van Groeningen’s work and I think it was probably his most ambitious work so far. Indeed, it was one thing to direct his first English speaking feature with ‘Beautiful Boy’ but it seemed to be even trickier to do a movie in Italian with a bunch of Italian actors. What was even more impressive was how he completely nailed it. Indeed, it turned out to be such an epic and yet intimate friendship going over more than 3 decades. I really loved the opening scenes and it reminded me of the days I was growing up in a small village in France. Indeed, I did exactly the same things these boys were doing, even building a dam on some stream and I had to think about the buddies I used to have at the time. However, this cute childhood friendship was not the only purpose of this movie. Indeed, it was above all about how these 2 kids grew up apart and then became BFF’s once again when they were adults and, also in this case, the damned thing was quite spellbinding to behold. The cool thing was that van Groeningen never judged his characters, he never gave some clear answers about what might be tormenting them, he just showed them as they are and it was a quite beautiful to behold. Eventually, the only thing that prevented this movie from being really great was the fact that, even though their relationship was quite mesmerizing, neither Pietro or Bruno as characters or individuals were really fascinating after all. Sure, they were interesting but they never really dazzled me though. Anyway, to conclude, even if I still prefer ‘The Broken Circle Breakdown’, this was another really strong directorial effort from Felix van Groeningen and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.