Reviews by johanlefourbe

Way before the The Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson reached some massive success, there was another adaptation of these books, an animated flick directed by Ralph BakshiI. Bakshi is a rather controversial director with a rather notorious reputation in the animation world as he created some adult-oriented flicks like ‘Fritz the Cat’ which was pretty successful when it was released. Anyway, at some point, Ralph Bakshi decided to develop some fantasy features and this flick was definitely his most ambitious project. Indeed, at the time, most people thought that Tolkien’s epic trilogy was impossible to adapt and it was quite an hazardous production. Indeed, at first, it was agreed it would be a series of three films, which was later reduced down to two but the sequel would never be made, even though this first installment was actually a financial success. The main issue when you watch it nowadays is that we have been used to watch Peter Jackson’s trilogy and if you compare those two productions, this animated production is not really amazing. Still, you have to be fair and keep in mind that it was made almost 25 years ago and that Bakshi didn’t have the same budget or production team behind him. Eventually, even though the whole thing is rather flawed, it remains an intriguing animated flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

For many years, Robert de Niro has been my favorite actor and I have been watching obsessively all his movies (so far, I have seen 68 of them) but, honestly, it has been a rather ungrateful task as his recent movies have been increasingly disappointing. This movie is actually pretty interesting as it was just made before de Niro’s career started to become rather pathetic so it could be seen as a turning point in his career. Indeed, it is not bad at all and rather entertaining but it was still rather pedestrian and predictable and we are still far from the amazing masterpieces Robert de Niro used to make back in the 70’s and 80’s. For Cuba Gooding Jr., this movie would be also a turning point as he was, at the time, considered an actor with a bright future (he won an Oscar 4 years before for ‘Jerry Maguire’) and this movie would be one of the last for which he could be taken seriously.  Two years later, he would show up in the dreadful ‘Snow Dogs’ and ‘Boat Trip’ and since then, his career has been downright terrible. Anyway, to conclude, it is a rather average but well made uplifting drama based on a true story but I still think it is 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 Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker, I thought I might as well give it a try. Obviously, to start with, the main issue is what is the point of remaking this movie at all? Of course, it is rather pointless but it doesn’t mean that a remake should be really bad (for example, I don’t think that ‘Quarantine’ was bad at all even though it was not an improvement on ‘[REC]’). Well, in this case, as long as they followed the blueprint of the German version, it was still pretty entertaining but, as soon as they tried to give it their own flavor, it became really disappointing. Basically, even though it is supposed to be a story about psychological behavior, I thought it was terribly unsubtle. For example, after just a couple of days in this prison, Cam Gigandet ends up looking at a porn mag and decides he will rape one of the prisoners. I mean, seriously?!? Instead of making you wonder if this experiment could happen in real life, you just get some rather messed up scenes about some guards losing their shit for no reasonable reasons. Also, the ending was really underwhelming but I don’t feel like developping this point. Just see it for yourself and tell me if it was a good way to end this. To conclude, even though it wasn’t completely awful, it was still terribly underwhelming and you should definitely watch instead the original German version which is pretty much a classic.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since there was an intriguing cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. Well, it wasn’t really good, I’m afraid. I mean, to start with, I’m not a huge fan of costume dramas but this one was particularly tedious with some rather dull characters. Furthermore, I really had a hard time to figure out what was the motivation of the main character. Seemingly out of nowhere, he gets a shot to do something with his life but I never really understood what he was looking for. Was it love, lust, money, power? I mean, he basically has sex with 3 women, married one of them, than even marry the daughter of one of his mistresses but the reason why he did all this never became really clear during the whole thing and I can’t say I really cared. On top of that, there was some really murky political intrigue which I never really fully grasped. Apparently, it was an adaptation of a novel written by Guy de Maupassant and only this piece of information is already more intriguing than the movie itself. To conclude, even though it wasn’t a total disaster, it was still a rather weak drama and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

By now, I have seen most of the movies directed by Mike Leigh and even though I’m not really a huge fan of his work, he still is a really interesting director so I was quite eager to check his last directing effort. And this time, once again, even though I did enjoy it, I still had a hard time to really connect with it. The point is that Mike Leigh has a very nice sober directing style and he always manages to get some very impressive performances from his actors who are mostly improvising. As a result, you get some very realistic and quite intriguing characters. His realism is also increased by the lack of plot which gives the feeling that you are watching a genuine slice of life. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I didn’t have any clue about where the whole thing was getting at. Basically, it centers on one of the most charming and harmonious couple I have ever seen  and how they deal with their rather messed up friends and relatives (it is pretty impressive how they never loose their temper in spite of all what is going on around them). Like I said before, it is on one hand quite spellbinding to watch thanks for the work of all the people involved but, on the other hand, I couldn’t help thinking ‘What is actually the whole point?’. Maybe his directing style is too subtle for me but, anyway, it still remains a solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Mike Leigh’s directing style.

It is obviously the first masterpiece directed by Steven Spielberg and also a huge milestone in motion picture. I saw it again recently and even though it is almost 40(!) years old, it is still quite amazing and completely entertaining. We all know the story by now, Spielberg didn't have such a huge budget back then but he still managed to make one of the most thrilling flicks ever made. Indeed, because the budget was so small, the shark really looked cheap and just plain terrible so Steven Spielberg decided to show the beast as least as possible but it turned out to be a blessing. Since then, virtually every year, you get similar movies but none of them has ever reached its sheer awesomeness. Back then, it was only Spielberg's 3rd directing effort but it became the highest grossing movie ever made at the time (he will beat his own record in 1982 with 'E.T.' and again in 1993 with 'Jurassic Park'). So, already very early in his career, starting with this movie, he had a huge influence on the movie world and he introduced to us the summer blockbuster, if you like it or not, and it is a concept which is still going strong almost 40 years later. To conclude, even though I’m not always a huge fan of Spielberg’s work, I have to admit it, this one is quite awesome and a must see for any decent movie lover. 

I remember it very well, while I was on holiday in France, this movie was just released there and it was already a huge success. Right away, I dismissed it. Indeed, I thought it was just another successful French comedy based on a very old formula and I was really not interested. But then, it became this massive international success, becoming the highest grossing French movie ever made in the process (surprisingly, it didn’t beat ‘Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis’ which is still the most successful French film in France, a movie which seems even less appealing than this one). Obviously, since this flick was such a success, I started to wonder if I might have been mistaken so I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, I have to admit it, it is actually a pretty good flick but does it really deserve such praises and box-office records? I don’t really think so. I mean, it is a solid feelgood feature with some good performances by Omar Sy (who will soon have his international debut with ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’) and François Cluzet and there were some funny scenes but, seriously, what was actually so amazing about this story? In my opinion, even though it tried to break some stereotypes, it was still rather stereotypical, pedestrian and quite predictable. Still, even though it might not be as amazing as everyone seems to think, I have to admit that it remains an enjoyable flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I’m not sure how or why I ended up watching this flick. I think I have even saw it when it was released in the theaters. Anyway, it is a really obscure and odd feature, which came and went completely unnoticed but I thought it was fairly enjoyable. Of course, you could think that the appeal was to see Jason Priestley playing around with his image (he was still actually playing in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ at the time)  but even though it was indeed interesting, I enjoyed above all John Hurt in this flick. Indeed, at 70 years old, John Hurt is still a hard working man and you keep seeing him in some big blockbusters like the Harry Potter franchise, ‘Hellboy’ or ‘Immortals’ and art movies like ‘Melancholia’ or ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ but he is always playing a supporting part. Well, in this movie, he plays the lead for once and I thought he was quite impressive. Indeed, he could have played the character as your standard creepy stalker but Hurt managed to add other layers to his character. I mean, he still remains kind of creepy but you also feel some melancholia about the guy and the fact that he was some sort of intellectual was also a nice touch. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent drama and I think it is worth a  look.

Like all the major action movie stars, Arnold Schwarzenegger had to make some comedies and, even though I have to admit it, he made a few mildly enjoyable funny flicks like ‘Twins’, ‘Kindergarten Cop’ or even ‘Junior’, this movie was truly dreadful. To start with, I’m not a huge fan of Christmas movies, even less Christmas comedies and this one must be one of the worst. The main issue was above all that they never managed to figure out the tone of the whole thing. I mean, sometimes, he seems to become a rather dark satire which could have been pretty cool but, then, they made sure to water it down with some really tedious supposedly family friendly jokes. At the end, when all hope seems to be lost for any kind of redemption for Arnold Schwarzenegger who is basically playing a hopeless douche-bag, they throw in a rather misguided action climax during which a kid is hanging from a building. Was it really necessary to put this boy in such a life threatening situation? To conclude, even though the concept had some potential, they completely messed it up and made one terrible comedy in the process, probably one of the worst movies starring Schwarzenegger and it is definitely not worth a look.

Honestly, even though ‘Shakespeare in Love’ was a huge success, financially and critically, I didn’t care much for this flick. Anyway, following this movie, John Madden became in demand and there were some rather high expectations concerning his directing follow-up.  Eventually, it was a flop and received some poor reviews when it was released. With this in mind, I didn’t expect much from this flick but I still wanted to check it out and, in my opinion, it was not so bad after all. I mean, of course, the whole thing is deeply flawed but I still think it was a rather charming romance and it was entertaining enough. The main issue was that the actors were widely miscast. Indeed, Nicolas Cage as an Italian, Penélope Cruz, John Hurt and Christina Bale as Greeks?!? They were all not really convincing and, from then on, it was rather difficult to take the whole story seriously. Still, like I said before, for a romantic feature, it looked really nice and if you are not too picky, you might enjoy most of it. To conclude, even though this movie was basically a failure, it was still not a complete disaster and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre