Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it did win the Best Picture Academy Award back in those days, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, while this movie started, I suddenly remembered that I actually read this book maybe 30 years ago when I was a kid and I remembered how much I actually loved the damned thing at the time. Well, this movie is usually considered the best adaptation of this classic book and, indeed, they definitely got the tone right. Seriously, I was actually quite in awe during the flamenco scene and I thought the damned thing could turn out to be a seriously awesome adventure flick with so many exotic locations accurately depicted. Unfortunately, the very next scene with Passepartout involved with some bullfighting (Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t in the book) was already much less interesting, at least, I didn’t care much for it. Eventually, it was then hit-and-miss and another thing that did bother me with this movie was the fact that it was quite long. To be honest, it became rather exhausting at some point. Eventually, they really tried to make it look and feel authentic, which was especially tricky since so many countries and locations were involved, and they mostly succeeded but a glaring exception was Shirley MacLaine who was clearly miscast here (even MacLaine herself thought she was miscast). Indeed, it could have been the opportunity to hire a famous Bollywood actress. This movie is also famous for the countless cameos involved but even though these cameos were harmless, they were also all rather pointless. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was definitely not a masterpiece, it was still quite entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a really strong cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even if it definitely had some potential, to be honest, it didn’t really impress me after all. The first really bewildering thing about this movie was the fact that Francis Lee decided to take a historical figure like Mary Anning, apparently a famous paleontologist, and give her a lesbian affair with a married woman when there is actually no evidence whatsoever that she was actually lesbian at all. Eventually, even if I don’t think it was really shocking, it was still a rather weird artistic choice. The fact that their affair didn’t really sparkle probably didn’t help either. Basically, Francis Lee tried once again to depict here a sad and nostalgic gay romance but, while it worked fine with his intriguing directorial debut ‘God's Own Country’, to be honest, it all felt more dreary than really passionate this time around. I mean, when this two women met, you felt no connection whatsoever and they eventually ended up living in the same house in the most completely random way. Then, after Charlotte Murchison felt better, she started to act completely differently than at the beginning of the movie and this change of behavior was just too abrupt and never properly explained. Concerning Mary Anning, well, her behavior was more consistent through the whole duration but you might wonder why she actually fell in love with Charlotte Murchison. At least, the damned thing did look fine and I won’t blame Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, they both delivered some solid performances even if the material provided to them was not exactly stellar. Finally, the fact that the similar but far superior 'Portrait de la jeune fille en feu' was released only the year before probably made the flaws in this movie even more obvious. Anyway, to conclude, even though it turned out to be rather disappointing, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Since this short was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. I thought I already saw the damned thing but it was apparently not the case. Anyway, even if Disney had already released other cartoons before, this one really stood out because it introduced Mickey Mouse, their most iconic character. Of course, after all these years, you could argue that the animation might seem crude and rudimentary but you have to keep in mind that it was made almost 100 years ago. In fact, the way the characters moved, all their motions, was already quite impressive and not so far from what more modern animated features would eventually display. Concerning the story, well, it was pretty obvious that it was one of their early efforts since this short barely had a plot and was seriously random. While watching the damned thing, I was also wondering if it was not borderline some animal abuse with Mickey using all of them as some kind of musical instruments but I have to admit that it was still fairly entertaining. Indeed, what was even more groundbreaking then the animation was the fact it used some synchronized sound for the first time ever and I think that Disney understood early on that sound and music would be some essential ingredients for their future animation features. Anyway, back then, it was a huge success  when it was released but still, who could have imagined that, from a cute cartoon lasting less than 10 mins, Disney would become this huge entertainment empire almost 100 years later?

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it did win the Golden Calf for the Best Dutch movie of the year, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even if it definitely had some potential, to be honest, I thought the damned thing was rather disappointing after all. First of all, even though I’m half-Dutch and spent the last 20 years living in the Netherlands, I’m rather oblivious about Curaçao which is a remote island in the Caribbean and yet it is still a member of the Netherlands. Still, since it was the first movie I saw taking place in this island, the possibility were pretty much endless and, yet, the end-result felt flat, empty and even rather pretentious. Seriously, even if it barely reached 80 mins, it still felt like it was lasting forever which is never a good sign. Eventually, you do get to see the main character going to school but it was dropped fairly quickly, you never get to see her father going to the police station or interact with his colleagues or doing any actual police work. Same thing with her grandfather who seemed to have more imaginary friends than actual human interactions. Eventually, it almost felt like a deserted island with only 3 people left which was probably not the intended effect. At least, it was visually pretty neat, there is no doubt that Curaçao is a beautiful and intriguing island and the makers definitely managed to make it not look like some pretty postcard. On top of that, all the 3 main actors delivered some really solid performance and I was above all impressed by Everon Jackson Hooi who has been famous in the Netherlands for almost 2 decades as a soap actor. Anyway, to conclude, I still gave this movie some extra points since it did try to tackle something completely new to me and I think it is worth a look, in spite of its flaws. 

I already saw this movie but it was ages ago and I didn’t remember it at all so I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, I’m glad I gave it a 2^nd chance since I was much more able to enjoy this time around. Indeed, first of all, I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of such classic screwball comedies, in fact, it was probably the first one I have ever saw almost 20 years ago which might explain why I didn’t connect with the damned thing at first. Anyway, sure, it is actually a really silly story but that’s why it’s actually quite fun because no one involved actually took the damned thing seriously. The cast was also pitch-perfect (Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe). Sure, you might argue that Grant was maybe not really convincing as a super smart scientist and, in fact, I think that Rogers actually stole the show here. Indeed, she was actually the most convincing of the two playing not only a caring housewife but also a hyperactive teenager and a mischievous young kid. Concerning Marilyn Monroe, she was not yet a super star but she was soon going to be and she was playing here her usual brainless pin-up but it was exactly what was needed here. Another thing that I enjoyed with this movie was that the fact that it was not dealing with a couple who was supposed to fall in love after the usual shenanigans, it was actually dealing with a strong stable couple which was just quite refreshing and I think that Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers had some really nice chemistry. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is not remembered as one of the best screwball comedies, I thought it was quite entertaining and it is definitely 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, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I think it’s pretty awesome that, in France, someone could manage to deliver such an edgy surreal and mature animated feature. Sure, the content might be too dark for some viewers but I thought it was actually extremely refreshing. On top of that, even though some might not be impressed by the quality of the animation, I thought it was really cool that they went for some hand-drawn animation. However, what was above all enjoyable was this really surreal story. Indeed, at first, I was wondering how they would tell a whole story over a severed hand and, eventually, it wasn’t really surprising that they would go for some flashback scenes but I was amazed by how efficient it turned out to be. The interesting thing is that this surreal tale was actually taking place in a hyper realistic setting. Indeed, they didn't give us the typical glamor version of Paris but a much more realistic version with some grey landscapes, dirty metros and people being generally unfriendly with each other (the first encounter between Naoufel and Gabrielle was such a fine example and the scene was so pitch-perfect). Eventually, you don’t learn much about Naoufel which could be frustrating but I think you learned enough and this lack of information and context did make his character even more intriguing and it was pretty much the same thing with Gabrielle. Eventually, it has been a while since I have seen such a poetic movie with so many intricate layers. Anyway, to conclude, I really enjoyed the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in more experimental animated features or experimental movies in general.