Reviews by johanlefourbe

More than 10 years before directing ‘Spider-Man’, Sam Raimi actually already directed a super-hero flick. It was actually his first studio feature and, apparently, it was far from being a really pleasant experience. I mean, it was his 4th movie and the movies he made before were more like independent productions but, suddenly, he had to make compromises with studio bosses and there were apparently some intense post-production battles. At the time, Sam Raimi was already eager to adapt a famous super-hero character, either Batman or the Shadow, but since he coulnd’t secure the rights, he decided to create his own super-hero. Personally, I thought it was a pretty neat flick and it was interesting to see a new super-hero which wasn’t an adaptation from some already existing material. Furthermore, Liam Neeson, who was still rather unknown at the time, was a really good choice for the part. Still, at the end of the day, it is a not really a great movie. Indeed, even though they went for a realistic plot, the whole thing was still rather preposterous and there were some major plot holes that didn’t really work. To conclude, in spite its flaws, it remains a decent cult classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It is one of those cases of ‘Let’s check if this movie is as bad as everyone seems to think…’. Well, it was pretty bad indeed, that’s for sure. The funniest thing is that, as a result, Cindy Crawford had the shortest movie career ever. I mean , this movie was supposed to launch her movie career but it was such a flop, she decided to quit right away. Well, where should I start? The plot was laughable, the dialogs were pathetic but, at least, it didn’t last for too long. The other funny thing about this movie is how they managed to have her wearing all those revealing outfits throughout the whole thing. They even managed to get her not once but twice under the shower (you have to understand, after all these chases and action scenes, you get pretty dirty). And what about the really random sex scene in the train? Even though a whole bunch of bad guys are after them, they still manage to get some action and, even in the middle of it, Good Old Cindy managed to kill one of those thugs. To conclude, if you want to get a good laugh, it is actually a fun movie but otherwise, it is not really worth a look whatsoever.

Since it had been ages since I last saw this flick, I was quite eager to watch it again. Eventually, even though it was indeed nothing really amazing, I still think it holds up pretty good. I mean, I know, it is a rather minor effort coming from Martin Scorsese and it is a pity that Paul Newman finally got an Academy award for this when he had done actually much better and everyone pretty much agree that they finally gave him the award most of all because they felt guilty that he didn’t get anything before. Still, I think it was quite entertaining and Paul Newman and Tom Cruise made a pretty cool duo. The main issue, in my opinion, is that, while Fast Eddie Nelson remains a very fascinating character even after 25 years, Vincent Lauria, played by Tom Cruise, was really annoying and it took him forever to understand how to hustle. As a viewer, it was rather obvious that it was not about playing pool, it was actually about playing the man (or woman) facing you but Vincent only finally got it during the last 30 minutes. Eventually, compared to 'The Hustler' which was really awesome, it was nothing really mind-blowing but I definitely have a weak spot for this sequel and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Martin Scorsese’s work.

I remember it very well, when I saw the trailer of this movie, I thought it looked pretty weird and quite intriguing so I was definitely eager to check it out. Eventually, I have to admit it, it wasn’t really groundbreaking whatsoever but it still remained a weird and moody thriller and I enjoyed most of it. To start with, I’m afraid that Brendan Fraser is one of the actors I like the least (I don’t t think I hate any actors, hatred is much too harsh for any actors in the world) and this movie must be one of the very few where he didn’t annoy the hell out of me. To round up the cast, you had Viggo Mortensen (way before he reached fame with the LOTR trilogy) and Ashley Judd (who just broke through a couple of years before with ‘Ruby in Paradise and who was basically just starting in the acting business). Coming back to Fraser, I think it is the only thriller he made (at least, it is the only I saw) and I thought it was surprisingly good. Indeed, there was this creepy mix of religion, sexuality and obsession and I thought it was quite spellbinding. To conclude, even though it is a really obscure feature, it is actually pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I don’t exactly why but I thought it could be a good idea to check this movie. At least, you have to admit it, the title was pretty catchy. Well, eventually, the whole thing turned out to be actually rather underwhelming. I don’t know, I usually find it easy to relate with teenage boys around 14 years old (at least, when the movie is well written) but, this time, they focused on girls around the same age and I seriously had a hard time to care about the whole thing. Honestly, is it really a realistic depiction of teenager girls? I hope not. I mean, it is not that they were stupid but I thought that those girls were just vapid with nothing interesting to say. At least, it was a nice touch that the main character was not one of the usual bimbos but a normal looking girl so that was rather refreshing and some of the dialogs did sound genuine. Furthermore, it was pretty neat to see Aaron Taylor-Johnson, one of the most promising actors of this generation, when he was a bit younger. To conclude, even though this movie had some potential, I thought the whole thing was rather disappointing and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

That’s another seriously obscure movie that almost no one has seen on listal (I’m the first one who has rated it and, apparently, only one other user has rated it since then). Anyway, back in those days, I used to have TV5, a french speaking channel which would often broadcast French movies, either old classics or more recent but really unknown flicks. Well, this movie definitely belonged to the 2nd category. Basically, it is a rather experimental and quite difficult to follow feature (the fact that I missed the first 5-10 minutes didn’t help either, I guess..) but I still enjoyed it. It was Christophe Honoré’s directing debut, a rather obscure director but who has developed a decent reputation in France. You can feel that it is a debut as there are a lot of creative impulse but also an obvious lack of focus preventing this movie from reaching its full potential. The other appealing aspect was the casting. Indeed, Romain Duris and Béatrice Dalle are some of the most charismatic actors at work in France and they both gave some solid performances. However, since the movie was so oddly constructed, you never really get to know those intriguing characters. To conclude, even though it was flawed, I thought it was an interesting experimental picture and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I thought this movie was so vastly disappointing… I mean, it was pretty obvious that the makers were inspired by ‘Bad Santa’ but why not? Indeed, on a paper, it sounded a great idea to have a female teacher completely misbehaving. I have to admit it, they got a few things right as the main character was actually well written and Cameron Diaz delivered also a solid performance. Unfortunately, aside from the main charater, the whole thing was actually poorly written from the plot to all the other characters. In my opinion, they should have kept the intro, that worked fine, but just skip the whole breast implant thing. What a poor gimmick to move on the plot… Just drop the main character back to school, facing the everyday struggle, half drunk and stoned, while the rest of her colleagues have the best time of their life. Concerning Justin Timberlake, his character started out fine but then, again, this guy was so under-written, it was just boring and the way they ended up in bed was just terribly contrived. It would have been better if she found a soul mate with Jason Segel right from the start and see how they could make fun of their colleagues and mess up the school everyday life. To conclude, the whole thing felt like a missed oportunity, it is eventually a rather weak comedy and it is not really worth a look.

Ever since I have lived in the Netherlands, I have been interested in Dutch movies, especially the classics. Furthermore, after Paul Verhoeven, Dick Maas must be the most successful Dutch director ever. I mean, unlike Verhoeven, he never managed to build up an international career (he did try though at the end of the 90’s, directing actors like Naomi Watts and William Hurt but both movies ‘Do Not Disturb’ and ‘Down’ were huge flops). Anyway, in the Netherlands, he had some major success, especially with the awful ‘Flodder’ franchise but he has made also some major Dutch classics and this movie was definitely one of them. Eventually, even though this movie has a very good reputation in the Netherlands I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. The point is that, yes, it is well directed, yes, there is a good mood created but, honestly, what a ludicrous story. Of course, it is difficult to sell a story about a killing elevator but, in my opinion, the makers pretty much expected the viewers to accept this concept at face value without asking any question. Anyway, to conclude, even though I thought it was slightly disappointed, it is a classic in the Netherlands and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

That’s where it all started for Julia Roberts. I mean, the year before she made ‘Mystic Pizza’ which was her first lead part but it is with this movie that the mainstream audience noticed her and, of course, a year later, she would be in ‘Pretty Woman’ and the rest is simply history. Anyway, this movie definitely has a fan base but I’m not one of those fans, I’m afraid (it is a major chick-flick so it is not really surprising after all). To be honest, it is not a bad movie. Indeed, there is a pretty cool cast (Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, Dylan McDermott), it indeed displayed some strong female characters and the whole thing was mostly entertaining. Still, at the end of the day, the plot (or lack of it) was just rather pedestrian and the whole thing was rather predictable. Eventually, in most of the movies, women are limited to be a damsel in distress or the love interests of the male main character so it is always nice when a story focuses on them. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really great, it remains a decent drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I was really eager to check this out. Eventually, I must admit it, I was slightly disappointed. I mean, it was pretty good and I quite enjoyed it but, compared to his numerous masterpieces, it remained far behind. At least, it was one of his very few comedies and there were indeed a few funny moments. At first, when the young boy finds the body, you get a typical ominous music and it seems that it will be another nail-biting thriller like only Hitchcock was able to make. But then, pretty quickly, it became obvious that it was something entirely different. Indeed, basically, it is above all a romantic-comedy mixed with some rather dark humor. A black comedy, that sounded quite promising but, unfortunately, the plot was rather simple. For example, they bury and dig up poor old Harry’s body maybe 3 times during the movie and it was funny at first but since they kept repeating the same gimmick over and over again, it grew thin after a while. Still, it was pretty neat to see Shirley MacLaine in her acting debut and, somehow, she reminded me of Renée Zellweger with her accent and quirky attitude. Anyway, to conclude, it is rather harmless and nothing really amazing but I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Hitchcock’s work.