Reviews by johanlefourbe

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Amanda Seyfried, I thought I might as well give it a try. Well, right from the start, I was rather annoyed by the whole thing. Indeed, they gave one of those typical introduction when they building some tension about some dark past involving the main character. It is such a tedious gimmick… Basically, you wait and wait until they finally tell you what is bothering this girl which was rather boring and then, what followed, was one of those really far-fetched thrillers involving Amanda Seyfried running endlessly, half private detective, half super spy that no police force can catch up. Furthermore, it is also one of those thrillers which give you an obviously mentally disturbed lead character but instead of developing the psychological aspect of this situation, it turns out that every single wild theory this character can think of turns out to be true (see also ‘Flightplan’ or ‘The Flock’). That was rather underwhelming and the number of plot holes didn’t help either. Do you believe the police would spend so much time, energy and police forces to go after her? What did she do after all? The best for me was to see Wes Bentley for maybe 10 minutes, than completely disappear for half of the movie and then turn up at the end. I mean, why was he in the movie at all? To conclude, it wasn’t really awful and still watchable but it still remains a really weak thriller and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Even though I tend to think that ‘Rocky’ is somewhat overrated (It won the Best Picture Academy Award against such classics like ‘Network’, ‘All the President’s Men’ and above all ‘Taxi Driver’), I still thoroughly enjoyed it and it was one hell of an underdog tale. However, it is such a shame that Sylvester Stallone went on and on with those sequels. I mean, to start with, one of the biggest assets of the first movie is that Rocky Balboa, even though we root for him, still loses at the end concluding this dramatic story with a huge emotional punch but, right away with the first sequel, the whole effect was undone since he eventually became the new champ. Fast-forward 10 years later and Stallone comes now with a bewildering 4th sequel and the end-result has become really pathetic. I mean, it was actually a pretty good idea to have Rocky to become a trainer but Tommy Morrison was a bad choice and there was no chemistry between him and Stallone. Eventually, the whole thing was just terribly tedious and the last fight in the street between Stallone and Morrison was quite ridiculous (as if the makers couldn’t let go, Rocky absolutely needed to fight at the end and, of course he had to win). To conclude, this movie was pretty bad, even Sylvester Stallone was embarrassed by the whole thing and it is not really worth a look.

Ever since I have been living in the Netherlands, I have been interested in the Dutch movies. In the 10 years I have been there, I have seen many movies and, I have to admit it, the Dutch movie industry is not really impressive. For example, every year, only a few Dutch movies manage to make a splash at the box-office and not really because they are really great. Indeed, one of the leading genres is the family feature which has been quite successful for many years. Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that, in the Netherlands, except for the animated features, all the movies remain in their native language and if the parents wants to watch with their kids a live action feature for a change, they basically have to watch a Dutch movie. Anyway, some of them are actually not half bad and this movie was definitely one of them. Indeed, even though I thought it was still rather pedestrian and predictable, it was quite entertaining and it is definitely a nice watch for young kids. To conclude, even though I think it might be slightly overrated in the Netherlands, it is actually worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

Since it is such a classic, I was really eager to check it out and I had some very high expectations. Eventually, even though I enjoyed it, I can’t say I was really blown away by the whole thing. To be honest, I have seen it only once and a re-watch might change my opinion about this flick. I don’t know, like some other classics, I didn’t really connect with it and maybe I wasn’t in the right mood. The point is that I’m pretty sure that the movie was pretty shocking back then in 1969, but nowadays, there are so many movies much more violent than this one so I have become rather numb and uninterested by the genre. It is pretty much like ‘Staw Dogs’ (a movie I enjoyed more than this one), even though it developed some strong ideas, I still think it is rather dated. Anyway, for Peckinpah, this controversial movie would be his breakthrough and he will be forever remembered for his extremely violent features. Still, even though it didn’t really meet my expectations, it remains a really solid and entertaining Western and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Sam Peckinpah’s work.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a pretty good cast, I thought I might as well give a try. First of all, it was really nice to see the late James Gandolfini playing the lead for once. The guy was definitely a fine actor and he was probably the best thing in this movie. On a sidenote, the whole current wave of impressive TV shows on HBO but also on other US channels pretty much started with ‘The Sopranos’ and his terrific turn as Tony Soprano. That’s how influential the guy was. Coming back to our main feature, even though Gandolfini was very good, I wasn’t sure about the whole thing though. I mean, I really had a hard time to accept how his relantionship with Kristen Stewart evolved. I mean, there was no real reason why she let him stay that long with her. To be honest, I don’t think Kristen Stewart should be blamed, I thought it was just poorly constructed. And the way Melissa Leo finally decides to leave her home and go all the way to New Orleans was even more preposterous. Still, the actors were really good and the characters felt genuine. To conclude, even though the story didn’t really work out, it still remains a decent watch and I think it is worth a look.

I already saw this movie but, following the huge of success of 'Joker', I thought I might as well check again this previous directing effort from Todd Phillips. Well, in fact, for many actors involved, this movie was where it all really started. Indeed, after this movie, the press created the concept of the ‘Frat Pack’, a nickname given to a group of comedy actors who would appear together in many of the highest grossing comedy movies during and after the late 1990's. Anyway, for Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn, that’s when it all started to really take off. It was also another success for Todd Phillips and, 6 years later, he would even be more successful and get a massive blockbuster with ‘The Hangover’. Coming back to our main feature, to be honest, I wasn’t really sure about the concept as it did sound rather moronic if you ask me. Indeed, the whole thing about some grown-ups starting a college fraternity did sound pretty stupid. Still, back in those days, Ferrell and Vaughn were pretty much on fire and the jokes were often quite hilarious. Eventually, the main issue I had is that they didn’t dare to go even further and the whole thing remained rather safe and predictable after all. Anyway, to conclude, even though I don’t think it was really anything great, I have to admit that it is actually quite entertaining 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 I have a weak spot for Harrison Ford, I thought I might as well give it a try. Well, it is a rather obscure feature (only 6 listal users have rated it so far) and Harrison Ford filmed this just before ‘Star Wars’ even though it was released afterwards. Eventually, even though it was about a very interesting subject (war post traumatic disorder), it was apparently one of the first movies dealing with this subject, the end-result was rather disappointing. I mean, there were actually some very good ideas but there were all rather half-backed. For example, they never really explained how Sally Field decided to tag along with Henry Winkler. Furthermore, they really messed up the tone and you never know if they were aiming for a comedy or a drama. Still, there was some pretty good stuff, like the fact that those two apparently messed up people were falling for each other, it was kind of endearing and I reminded me of how I met my wife but that’s a different story altogether. Anyway, to conclude, even though the whole thing really had some potential, it remains a rather average flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Not so long ago, I have discovered that Sergio Leone’s last movie project was a massive epic about the Stalingrad battle. Apparently, he spent many years making some research about this flick, he managed to gather an impressive $100 million budget but he died just two days before officially signing the contract for this film. It doesn’t get much tragic than this, does it? Apparently, Jean-Jacques Annaud claimed that Leone had wanted him to take over the project, but he bailed when he discovered that there was no actual screenplay. Eventually, many years later Annaud eventually managed to make another movie about Stalingrad. To be honest, it has been a while since I saw this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Still, I thought it was not bad at all. Indeed, visually, it was pretty impressive, Jude Law and Ed Harris were both quite convincing and the fact that I always had a weak spot for stories dealing with snipers might have helped as well. At the end of the day, I have to admit it, the plot was a little bit disappointing and especially the love triangle involving Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz was really underwhelming. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains a decent war feature and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Basically, it is once again one of these really obscure French movies that almost no one has seen here on Listal. I don’t know why really but, back in the days, I was really intrigued by this flick and I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I have to admit it, it wasn’t really original, it is more or less a French remake of ‘Fatal Attraction’ but I still enjoyed the damned thing. To start with, I thought that Nadia Farès was quite mesmerizing. At the time, she was was just 20 years old and it was just her 3rd movie but she really nailed it. Indeed, not only she was obviously really attractive but you really felt that she was quite messed up and potentially dangerous. Concerning Thierry Lhermitte, I have never been a huge fan of this actor but he was well cast here as a rather unlikeable lead. Obviously, I have to admit it, the plot was rather far-fetched with some major influences to Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma but I thought it was actually quite entertaining. Anywya, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent thriller and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

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.