Reviews by johanlefourbe

I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. In fact, I remember very well the first time I saw the damned thing. Indeed, I had actually never heard of it but since it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, I thought I should give it a try. Back then, I was actually quite blown away by the whole thing and I kept thinking about it through the years and 'that's the reason why I thought it was really time for a re-watch. Well, once again, I was really impressed. Indeed, I would go as far as saying that it is definitely one of the best movies directed by the great master. Personally, I always had a weak spot for movies with a simple set-up, you know, just one location, usually a house or an apartment, a handful of characters and a very smart plot. It is pretty straightforward but spellbinding when done properly. In this genre, it might be the best one I have ever seen and I thought it was just amazing. Basically, the two main characters are not likeable whatsoever (something terribly refreshing and fascinating) and even though you are not rooting for them, you wonder if they are going to pull it off resulting in some nail biting suspense. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is not always regarded as one of the best movies directed by Hitchcock, it is actually one of my favorites and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Personally, I always had a hard time with Wes Anderson. I mean, I always admired his work and his movies have always been visually impressive but I was missing something in his stories and I usually didn’t connect with them very well. Anyway, at last, with this movie, he finally nailed it. Indeed, he finally managed to mix his whimsical visual style and his hilarious characters with a very entertaining plot. To be honest, I still think I prefer ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ but this movie is definitely not far behind. Along the years, Wes Andeson has managed to get many interesting actors under his wings and it seemed that they all showed up for this movie. Indeed, every single character was played by some known figure and you might wonder if it was not really distracting but it actually worked out fine. Of course, Ralph Fiennes played the main character with a lot of gusto and he delivered once again a terrific performance. He is and remains one of the best actors of his generation and he was definitely one of the reasons why this movie worked so well. Still, at the end of the day, what was this movie all about? Nothing much, I’m afraid. But does it have to be? Not necessarily, especially when it is so entertaining. To conclude, I really enjoyed this movie a lot and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Wes Anderson’s work.

This is such a weird movie… I already saw it a while back but I kept thinking about it through the years and I was really eager to check it out again. It was the 3rd movie Don Siegel made with Clint Eastwood and probably the most osbcure one but, apparently, it was Siegel's favorite of all his films and I can see why. Indeed, basically, it is some kind of erotic thriller taking place during the Civil war which is one of the oddest mix you will ever get. In my opinion, Clint Eastwood always wanted to try different stuff as an actor but never got the opportunity so it was one of the reasons he started to direct his own movies in the first place. In this movie, he gets to play some kind of womanizer and you never know for sure if the guy is actually a total creep or just some random guy who just got messed up by the war. Anyway, through the whole thing, he managed to kiss 4 of those women (including a 12 years old girl) and sleeping with one of them who was not even 18 years old. In real life, Clint Eastwood was apparently a terribly womanizer himself (he has had 8 children by 6 different women and I’m not even counting his grand-children) and his awesome charisma made his character a rather mesmerizing sex predator among those women who hadn’t have a man around for many years. So, the whole thing is rather unsettling but quite mesmerizing and I’m not sure if it is really great but it is definitely worth a look.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Harrison Ford, I thought I might as well give it a try. Actually, the guy has been pretty productive lately, releasing no less than 4 movies in 2013 and the last time he made so many movies in one year was back in 1976. Unfortunately, pretty much like some other old legends like Robert de Niro or Al Pacino, you wonder about the choices he makes and this movie was a perfect example. I mean, it was actually not bad at all, especially compared to the recent movies starring de Niro or Pacino but it was far from the amazing classics he made in the 80’s. Basically, it is a rather well made and entertaining comedy with a pretty good cast (Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum) and there were some interesting and realistic looking moments about the hectic life behind a TV show but, ultimately, the whole thing still remained rather fluffy and predictable. Still, even though it was nothing ground-breaking, it remains a decent comedy and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a nice cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. Basically, it is a rather straightforward thriller. I mean, the directing was decent, and the cast was indeed pretty neat (Charlize Theron, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Fanning). At the time, Courtney Love, who already had a terrible reputation, seemed to have a possible future in acting following some decent performances in ‘The People vs. Larry Flint’ and ‘Man on the Moon’ but, after this movie, she pretty much gave up on the acting business. Furthermore, at the time, Dakota Fanning was still the biggest child actor around and Charlize Theron’s profile was growing every year (she would eventually win an Academy Award a year later for her performance in ‘Monster’). To round up the cast, you had the always dependable Kevin Bacon to play the major psycho. Eventually, the whole thing was fairly entertaining but it was just too pedestrian and predictable for my taste. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent 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 since there was a pretty good cast, I thought I should check it out. For Renée Zellweger, it was the time her career was really taking off but nowadays, her career is pretty much done (she has done only movie in the last 5 years and her last success was ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’ back in 2004). Anyway, she was pretty good here and to round up the cast, you had William Hurt, one of the most underrated actors, and the always great Meryl Streep who would get her 11th Academy award nomination for this part (right now, she has reached a staggering 18 nominations including 3 wins already!). Concerning the plot, it was not bad and fairly entertaining but, to be honest, it was nothing really original and a little bit too melodramatic. The point is that I have seen other movies dealing with the artistic father who happens to be in fact a major douche-bag and the way they handled this plot was efficient but fairly predictable. Still, to conclude, , even though it was nothing really amazing, it remains a solid drama and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Ever since I saw ‘Smoke’, I have been closely following Wayne Wang’s career. Unfortunately, none of his other movies reached this level of awesomeness (‘The Joy Luck Club’ was still very damned good though) but some of his other features were certainly decent and this movie was certainly one of those. The major point of interest was to have Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman together in one movie and, apparently, Susan Sarandon made clear that she wouldn’t do this movie if Natalie Portman was not cast as her daughter. At the time, Portman was just starting, she wasn’t an Academy award winner, she didn’t do the prequel Star Wars trilogy yet but, pretty much like the rest of us, Susan Sarandon was able to feel the tremendous potential displayed by Portman and nobody could blame her for her choice. Eventually, the plot was nothing really amazing, it was actually rather pedestrian and predictable but what was more interesting was the relationship between this mother and her daughter and how well handled it was by the two actresses. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is nothing really great, it is still a decent drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Susan Sarandon or Natalie Portman.

Since I have a weak spot for Mel Gibson, I thought I should check this movie. At the time, he was at the peak of his popularity (he made this movie just after ‘Lethal Weapon 2’ and, 5 years later he would direct and star in ‘Braveheart’). Eventually, it was nothing really great but it was at least better than ‘Air America’ released the same year, though I might give it a 2nd chance at some point. The selling point was to have Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn together in one action-comedy and, even though they played their usual characters, they had enough chemistry. There was also some major discussion other the fact that the climatic action scene was taking place in a zoo at the end. Indeed, it was actually a fake, a massive set, and it must have been pretty tricky to handle all these animals. Still, even though it was an intriguing fact, the scene was just another climax you always get to see in your average action flick, the fact that it was taking place in a zoo was not really amazing too me. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains an entertaining action flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It had been quite a while since I saw a movie directed by François Ozon, so I was quite eager to check this one. 8 years after ‘8 femmes’, easily one of his most successful features, Ozon was working again with Catherine Deneuve and she was easily the biggest asset in this movie. Indeed, this time, she didn’t have to share the screen with an all-star French female cast, this time, she was the big star and she delivered once again a very strong performance. I mean, how should you portray a trophy wife in her twilight years without making her really pathetic but not really bright either? It was really tricky but she nailed it. On top of that, she was once again working with Gérard Depardieu, another monster of the French cinéma, and their scenes together were really nice to behold. The rest of the cast was also decent and I especially enjoyed Fabrice Luchini who was quite hilarious as a major douchebag. Still, was it really a great movie? As usual with Ozon, I admired his work but I had no idea where he was getting at with this whimsical comedy. I mean, it was fun, no doubt it, but also rather shallow in my opinion. Still, to conclude, I thought it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

I always had a weak spot for Wayne Wang’s work and this movie is probably his best I have seen so far. I have still have to see his older movies but I was really impressed by this one. After this movie, he would finally make a movie not focusing on the Asian community, ‘Smoke’, and this flick was once again a tremendous critical success. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it focuses on four women who are all Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco and we see them as they gather to play mahjong, eat and discuss life. Through the movie, we discover their struggle with the American culture, especially concerning their relationship with their daughters who are a torn between between Chinese and US lifestyle. Since I’m myself an immigrant, son of an immigrant, I had no problem to connect with these characters, even though the gap between the French and Dutch culture is not as big as the gap between the American and Chinese culture. In my opinion, it is one of the best movies dealing with this topic and I thought it was really interesting. To conclude, I thought it was quite a fascinating flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in this subject.