Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though this movie apparently didn’t get much love when it was released, since it was directed by Sam Mendes, I was still eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I would have to agree with the critics on this one and it seems that Sam Mendes did deliver his least compelling movie so far, I’m afraid. It’s not that it was really bad though. First of all, it was shot by Roger Deakins, arguably one of the best cinematographers in the world, so the damned thing looked fine (he was actually even nominated for an Academy Award for this movie). Furthermore, Olivia Colman, who is slowly becoming one of the best actress at work nowadays, delivered a very strong performance here. Indeed, her character went through so many emotional states and Colman managed to display these emotions sometimes only through her eyes which was rather uncanny. Eventually, the main issue was with the writing provided by Sam Mendes himself. Indeed, for the first time in his career, Mendes got sole writing credits (he usually is not involved at all in the writing process) and, well, the end-result was not really impressive, I’m afraid. Basically, there was not a single moment during which this rather generic and not really thrilling love story was properly linked to this intriguing movie theater. To add the historical racial tensions going on at the time in the UK was also a mistake because it didn’t fit at all with this rather quaint love story. In fact, even this love story didn’t really work after all. I mean, why did these two individuals did fall in love after all? What did Stephen see in Hilary and what did Hilary see in Stephen beside a young hot black man? Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, Sam Mendes still can’t direct a bad movie though so I still think it is worth a look, even if it is probably his weakest movie so far. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but since it seemed to have a decent reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, the whole thing was rather disjointed but it make sense since the production on this movie was rather chaotic. Indeed, if you think that this movie was rather dark and seedy, the play it was based on was so much worse involving a brothel instead of a casino and such fun things like nymphomania and drug addiction. As a result, it took more than a decade to adapt it and, after so many rewriting attempts, the end-result was slightly bewildering. Indeed, there was no real plot and too many characters involved which was probably not such a great idea since the damned thing lasted less than 100 mins. As a result, it was never really clear what the hell was going on with most of the characters. The best example would be the character played by the lovely Gene Tierney. Indeed, because of all the censorship going through all the script revisions, there wasn’t much left to characterize this woman so they never properly explained what was going on with her and what she was exactly doing in this casino. However, the other characters were probably even less developed than she was. And, yet, Josef von Sternberg who was working here on his final movie (he did work on some other movies such as ‘Macao’ in 1952 and ‘Jet Pilot’ in 1957 but he always managed to get fired) did create such a spellbinding mood. In fact, even though this movie was supposed to be about Shanghai, you actually almost never leaves this casino but it didn’t matter as, like all the players coming there, once you enter, you actually never ever want to leave this place. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seemed to have a decent reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. In fact, I just saw yesterday ‘Dark Victory’, another classic starring Bette Davis. Basically, back in those days, these movies were really tailor-made around her, and, to be honest, it takes a while to get used to the fact that these movies didn’t have much else to offer, at least, as far as I was concerned. Still, I was more able to enjoy this one though. Sure, the gimmick of the ugly duckling transforming into a gorgeous woman has never been really interesting but there is no doubt that Davis absolutely made the best of it. Indeed, she was so good when playing this fragile and psychologically disturbed young woman. Later on, when she played the same woman but as strong and independent, it was obviously not such a stretch for Davis who was basically being herself but I have to admit that she was so charismatic. This movie was also a perfect example of toxic narcissistic behavior and the character of the mother was actually quite fascinating, even if her behavior could have been slightly more subtle. At least, the main character didn't fell in love with her doctor like she did in ‘Dark Victory’, the romance was here more convincing here and I think Davis had some pretty good chemistry with Paul Henreid. I have to admit that I was really surprised that they didn’t end up together but it was actually a refreshing way to conclude this romance. Eventually, the whole thing was narratively too scattered though (I didn’t even mention that the main character suddenly ended up taking care of the child of the man she loved during the final act). Anyway, to conclude, even if I don’t think it was a masterpiece, it was still a solid vintage drama 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 seemed to have a decent reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I had a rather hard time to get into the damned thing. Sure, I have to admit that the fact that I did watch on it on the BBC without subtitles probably didn’t help. Indeed, I was rather confused by the opening scenes and it took me a while to figure out what was going on. Still, I think it went beyond that. Anyway, the biggest asset of this movie was obviously Bette Davis and she was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Actress in a Leading Role for this movie (in fact, she would be nominated 8 times in 10 years back then which is quite impressive). And, indeed, there is no doubt that Davis was really good here (it was apparently her favorite role). However, I don’t think this movie had much else to offer after all. I mean, the plot was actually really thin. Basically, you were introduced to this rich young woman who was right away seriously ill and, for the rest of the movie, we see how she handles this predicament which was, as far as I was concerned, not really fascinating, in spite of Davis’s efforts. Furthermore, even though the rest of the cast was praised, I thought all their characters were really flat. Still, it was rather fun to see Humphrey Bogart a couple of years before he got his big break with ‘The Maltese Falcon’. It was especially interesting to see him playing such an emasculated man when he will be mostly remembered for playing some major tough guys. Eventually, I might check again this movie in the future to make up my mind about the damned thing. Anyway, to conclude, even if this movie didn’t really impress me, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from the damned thing but since there was a solid cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, as expected, it turned out to be one of these cheap direct-to-VOD action flicks and, even if it was maybe not the worst of the bunch, I still didn’t care much for it though. First of all, even though they didn’t overuse filters which is often the case with these movies, the end-result was still not really impressive, visually speaking. Above all, in this area, I was rather amazed by the number of shots which seemed to be out of focus. Concerning the story, even if it was nothing really ground-breaking, it did have some potential though. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for heist movies and taking the action into a bus was a bold move (don’t except some adrenaline rush like in ‘Speed’ though). Still, some bits didn’t make much sense though (for example, how did Luke Vaughn knew that their getaway car would bail and that they would end up in this bus?). Still, the cast was pretty cool though (Robert De Niro, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista, Kate Bosworth, Gina Carano, Morris Chestnut, Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and it was rather impressive what they all managed to do with this material. The only exception would be Gina Carano who’s such a poor actress, the only exception is when she is involved in some badass fighting scenes which was unfortunately not the case here. Still, even the best actors involved did struggle with the dialogues which were fairly often rather pathetic. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have seen worse, the damned thing was still pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seemed to have a decent reputation (it was nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. In fact, just a week ago, I actually saw ‘Heaven Can Wait’ (1943) but, even though this movie was adapted from a play also called ‘Heaven Can Wait’, both movies didn’t have much in common after all. Well, I was expecting another quaint movie from the 40’s but it didn’t last for long, fortunately. Indeed, it turned out to be a rather daft comedy with a rather silly concept and, yet, I have to admit that the damned thing was actually fairly entertaining. Above all, Robert Montgomery was quite fun, even if his character was not really interesting. In fact, even though this movie was dealing with the afterlife, it was rather nothing really deep after all. I mean, back then, it was competing with ‘Citizen Kane’ to win the Best Picture Academy Award (they actually both lost) but it’s clear that this movie was not from the same level. On the other hand, I did appreciate its lack of pretentiousness. Eventually, this movie was remade twice, back in 1978 (‘Heaven Can Wait’ directed by Warren Beatty, a movie I still haven’t watched so far) and in 2001 (‘Down to Earth’ directed by the Weitz brothers, a movie which certainly didn’t impress me). Still, to be honest, the fact that I have so little to say about this movie makes me wonder if I wasn’t too generous with my rating after all.  Anyway, to conclude, even if it was not a masterpiece, I have to admit that it was a solid vintage comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

The main reason why I wanted to check this movie was because it was directed by Sarah Polley and because there was such a stellar cast involved. However, since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I became even more eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, it turned out to be a movie which was equally fascinating and frustrating to behold. Indeed, when I heard about this movie, I became really intrigued by this story and read a detailed article about all the atrocities that took place at this ultraconservative Mennonite community located in Bolivia. However, this movie was not really about what happened before these men (or some of them) got caught or even what really happened when they got caught, instead, it turned out to be some kind of discussion these women, basically, the victims, might have had if you would have put them in a room for an extended period of time. However, such a meeting obviously never took place so it was all fiction. Even more problematic, at least to me, was the fact that such a group of women, basically illiterate, who were never allowed to think for themselves, would suddenly have such an elaborate even highly philosophical debate. Sure, it could be possible that one of them could have such conversation but all of them? To be honest, you might wonder if the women who went through these atrocities would recognize themselves in the portrayals given in this movie. Eventually, the whole thing was basically some kind of intellectual exercise but, even though I’m not sure if it was really the most interesting thing they could have done with such strong material, the end-result was still quite intriguing though. The top-notch cast (Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand, Ben Whishaw) certainly did help as well. The idea of giving these poor women such an articulate voice and dialogue was also quite appealing and even emotional. Anyway, to conclude, even if I believe this movie is an acquired taste, it was still a really interesting watch and it is worth a look, especially if the concept appeals to you.