Reviews by johanlefourbe

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but Nick, my step-son, was really eager to check it out so I bought the DVD for his birthday. Well, 'From the Producers of Underworld’ was displayed prominently on all the promotional material and it was pretty obvious that the same guy were responsible for this flick. Indeed, instead of Lycans and Vampires, you get here Gargoyles and Demons involved in some obscure fight during our modern age. They even hired the great Bill Nighy, one of the best things in the Underworld franchise, to play once again the bad guy which was rather underwhelming this time around. The fact that the main character was played by the famous Frankenstein’s monster was not nearly enough to make the whole thing stand out, I’m afraid. I mean, I always had a weak spot for Aaron Eckhart, I really think he needs a shot as a lead actor but it is not with a weak flick like this one that his profile will improve anytime soon. Indeed, I have never been a fan of the ‘Underworld’ franchise but this flick was even less entertaining (it was pretty much a flop at the box-office so you can forget any sequel). To conclude, I think my rating is actually quite generous here and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

I had already seen this flick but it was a while back and I thought it was time for a re-watch. Basically, it is one of the few cult-classics starring John Cusack like ‘The Grifters’ (also directed by Stephen Frears, a movie I have surprisingly not seen yet), ‘Say anything…’ , ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’, ‘Stand by Me’ or ‘Being John Malkovitch’. With this in mind, I had some rather high expectations the first time I saw it and, to be honest, I was slightly disappointed. I mean, sure, I thought it was pretty good but it didn’t really blow me away so I really wanted to check it out again to make up my mind for good about the damned thing. Eventually, I felt exactly the same thing. Indeed, basically, it is a solid and original romantic comedy and there was a lot to enjoy about it but, somehow, it did rub me in the wrong way. I don’t know, even though the main character was very well written and well played by John Cusack, I had a rather hard time to care about the guy and what he was going through. In fact, the only scene which was really excellent, in my opinion, was the one when he got to see again Catherine Zeta-Jones. Indeed, it was just so relatable in the sense that we (the guys at least) have all met when we were young a girl who was gorgeous and who seemed to be really brilliant as well. Afterwards, we pretty much spend the rest of our lives more or less idealizing this chick. Well, when he meets this chick again after all these years, she still look fantastic but, man, she turns out to be one shallow boring girl after all and that felt exactly right. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only scene which was really amazing in my opinion. Anyway, to conclude, even though I’m not a huge fan, it is still a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Nowadays, Abdellatif Kechiche is one of the most heralded French(speaking) directors in the world. Indeed, his last movie, ‘La vie d’Adèle’, has won the Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival and two of his previous movies, ‘L’esquive’ and ‘La graine et le mulet’, have won the César of the best French movie of the year. Not too bad after directing only 5 movies. With this in mind, I was really eager to check this flick as well but honestly, it wasn’t really great. Basically, it is a very long drama dealing with a black woman who was constantly mentally and physically humiliated and the whole thing was just really sad, heartbreaking and sometimes even disgusting. The main issue is that it wasn’t really interesting, I’m afraid. Indeed, you never really get to know this woman, you never really get to know what she really thinks or feels, in spite of a solid performance by newcomer Yahima Torres, even though she didn’t have much to say. Instead, Kechiche spent much more time developing her various persecutors which was definitely not a rewarding approach. The ending, when you find out that this woman really existed, was not really a shock but made the whole thing even more depressing. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I think it is still worth a look though, especially if you are interested in Abdellatif Kechiche’s work.

Back in 1994, Frank Darabont made ‘ The Shawshank Redemption’ but it was a flop at the box-office and even though it was nominated for 7 oscars, it won nothing again. However, in the years following its release, it became a massive classic and it is now considered by many as the best movie ever made (it has been on top of the IMDB Top 250 constantly for the last 10 years at least). Obviously, with this cultural phenomenom, Darabont’s status grew exponentially and there was a huge hype surrounding his following directing effort. Once again, it was a Stephen King adaptation and it was starring Tom Hanks who was, at the time, probably the biggest star at the box-office. It was obviously a very smart plan and the whole thing was a big critical and financial success (and of course, it ended up also in the IMDB Top 250). However, did I really like this flick? Honestly, I thought it was not really amazing though. Sure, it was a decent and rather entertaining flick but I always preferred Stephen King’s stories when they remain realistic but, here, the whole fantastic angle was rather underwhelming. I actually did the read the book way before the movie was made and I had the very same feeling with the book as well. Anyway, to conclude, I think it is actually overrated but I have to admit that it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It has been a while since I saw this flick so I thought it was time to give it a 2nd chance. Even though it is not really great in my opinion, it still managed somehow to become a cult classic and there is definitely something quite intriguing about the damned thing. Indeed, on paper, the idea of combining some surfer/hippy ideology with some bank robberies sounded really silly but, somehow, there was something quite mesmerizing about it. First of all, it was thanks to Kathryn Bigelow’s slick directing style. She managed to make the whole thing quite entertaining and she made also some very neat surfing footage. Furthermore, I was actually quite impressed as well by Patrick Swayze who gave here, in my opinion, the best performance of his career. Indeed, he did look the part and he really nailed his character who was half-guru, half-Clyde Barrow and whereas the character could have been a ridiculous caricature or over the top, there was really something interesting going on with this guy and it was above all thanks to Swayze. Eventually, the major weakest point in this flick was Keanu Reeves in my opinion. I mean, he looked exactly right, the character was actually rather well written but, damned, his delivery and performance in general was just awful. Seriously, it was so wooden, it was borderline pathetic. To conclude, even though I’m not a huge fan, it is still a solid flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I remember it very well, when this movie was released, I read a very enthousiast review and it made it sound as if it was one of the best movies of the year so I was really eager to check it out. With this in mind, I had some huge expectations before watching it and, I must admit it, I thought it was a little bit disappointing. I mean, I did like it but it wasn’t as nearly as amazing as they said. The point is that the characters were really interesting, the directing by John Sayles was really solid, but somehow, I had a hard time to care about the story. I mean, sure, it was entertaining but like most thrillers, it was so far-fetched, I thought it was rather hard to take it seriously. Still, it remains an intriguing flick and I might need to re-watch it to make up my mind for good. An interesting aspect was to see a young Matthew McConaughey just at the beginning of his career before he got involved in all these underwhelming romantic-comedies. Anyway, to conclude, even though I thought it was rather disappointing, it is still a decent flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago and since I had it on DVD, I was really eager to check it again. I remember it very well though, before it was released, there was a huge buzz about this movie and the expectations were really high. Indeed, in 1992, it was the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus so, obviously, the studios wanted to cash in on this massive event by releasing a big prestigious epic directed by Ridley Scott, one of the best directors around at the time and still today. Eventually, it didn’t get much love and many thought it was a disappointment. Sure, it wasn't a masterpiece but I did like it (and compared to the abysmal ‘Christopher Columbus: The Discovery’, well, it was definitely not so bad after all). Indeed, as usual with Ridley Scott, the directing was solid, the music by Vangelis was truly epic and Gérard Depardieu was an unexpected but interesting casting choice, even if he barely mastered the English language at the time. Eventually, even though the whole thing was pretty strong in the first half, I still have to admit that Scott didn't really know what to do during the second half which was rather unfocused. Anyway, to conclude, in my opinion, this movie doesn’t deserve such a bad rep, I believe it deserves a second chance and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Denise Richards, I thought I might as well give it a try. To start with, even though Denise Richards is displayed in front of the rest of the cast on all the promotional material, she had a rather minor part but it is something usual with this kind of direct-to-dvd flicks. Then, obviously, the plot was really prespoterous. Indeed, the main character gets to a bar and, somehow, ends up in bed with a gorgeous MILF. Honestly, do they really believe we are going to buy this?!? But then, it gets worse, we are supposed to believe that most of her girlfriends would pay a huge amount of money to have some casual sex with some high-school boys. I mean, seriously?!? It seems that the whole thing was written by some frustrated oversexed teenagers. Concerning the directing, they tried to make it edgy but, once again, it was hardly convincing. Finally, the whole structure was just so pedestrian, from the very lousy introduction, you could actually stop the movie and know already how the whole thing would turn out. To conclude, I think I’m being really generous with my rating here, it is a very weak feature and I don’t think it is worth a look.

Personally, I have always been a huge fan of ‘Nikita’ which is by far the best movie directed by Luc Besson. Indeed, in my opinion, it is the only movie for which he managed to mix his impressive directing style with a really compelling story (indeed, I think it is much more superior to ‘Léon’ which must be one of the most overrated movies ever made). A few years later after this movie was released, instead of releasing the damned thing with some subtitles, they decided to make a US version and obviously, the end-result was quite underwhelming. The first thing I was missing was that the mood was not hardly dark enough. Indeed, the original version provided some really claustrophobic atmosphere whereas this US version was just way too slick. Finally, there was the casting of Bridget Fonda. Fonda was definitely on the A list at the time but she has pretty much been retired for already 10 years which is too bad. Well, I alwas had a weak spot for Bridget Fonda and she was an interesting choice with her girl-next-door look but she missed some edge, especially compared to Anne Parillaud from the original French version. It is also interesting to note that this French movie has also inspired 2 different TV shows: ‘La Femme Nikita’ made in Canada and the current ‘Nikita’ from the US. To conclude, it is not really awful but it is still a really weak version and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Honestly, I have never had anything against Julia Roberts, she is usually quite charming but she is rather limited as an actress and the fact that she always plays basically the same character doesn’t really help. Still, there are some very few exceptions and this movie is definitely one of them (in fact, I don’t think she ever took so many risks before or after in her career). At least, you have to give her some credit for playing a rather plain looking maid and, for once, you really got the idea that she was actually acting. Unfortunately, as usual when an actor leaves his/her comfort zone, she was not rewarded by the box-office and the whole thing was considered a flop, financially and critically. Honestly, I thought this reception was a little bit harsh. Sure, it wasn’t anything really amazing but, in my opinion, it was still a decent and rather entertaining thriller. I also enjoyed the approach of focusing on a smaller character witnessing those terrible events, instead of going for the main character which is more traditional. To conclude, I think it is actually pretty good and I think it is worth a look, especially if you want to see Julia Roberts doing something completely different for once.