Reviews by johanlefourbe

Of course, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I was still curious to check if it was really as bad as it looked. Well, it wasn’t really good, that’s for sure. Apparently, they thought it would be a good idea to surf on Taylor Lautner’s new popularity but it didn’t really work out and this flick was a flop. Since he is still very young, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but, at that point, the guy is just not ready yet to lead an action flick like this one. The sad thing is that the story actually had some potential. Imagine you’re a teenager, you fell don’t you fit into this world (like most teenagers) but, some day by accident, you discover your face on a missing persons website. What do you do then? So, there were some good opportunities there and even though the action genre was not the most interesting option, they could have pretty much followed the Bourne franchise formula and add a teenage twist but, unfortunately, you got no depth whatsoever, not much character development and, instead, some rather underwhelming action scenes. To conclude, even though the whole thing actually had some potential, it remains a rather weak action flick and it is not really worth a look, I'm afraid.

I remember it very well, when this movie was released, I was honestly not really interested. Eventually, there was a massive word of mouth (back in those days, that’s how it worked, there was no internet or social medias involved), everybody was talking about it so I was eventually eager to check it out. And, indeed, it was really good, the genuine rebirth of the slasher flick and an impressive come-back for Wes Craven. Indeed, Craven pushed the genre to a different level, it became really meta and quite entertaining. Basically, instead of the usual naive or even stupid victims, here, the characters were all smart-ass and quite aware of the rules of this genre resulting in some pretty nifty dialogues. Eventually, even though they played with those rules, they actually still remained pretty faithful to the genre so I think it is actually more an homage than a parody like it was sometimes described. Of course, since it was a huge success, they made some sequels, all directed by Wes Craven which was rather unusual, but those other installments were all really disappointing (I especially dreaded the 1st sequel). Anyway, to conclude, I really liked this flick, it is definitely a 90’s classic and it is absolutely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Not so long ago, I saw the 4th installment of this franchise. I had some rather low expectations but I heard here and there that it was actually pretty good so I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, I thought it was terribly disappointing and, in my opinion, it was really not worth re-launching this franchise 10 years later. Personally, I really loved the first installment, it is a genuine classic, but all the sequels were disappointing. The point is that the ideas developed in ‘Scream’ were quite intriguing but there was no way it would work with some sequels. The first issue was to let the main cast survive all along. It kills a lot of the momentum. Then, you have the twist(s) which was pretty cool the first time around but those became really predictable and above all really ridiculous. This 3rd installment has the worst reputation but, personally, I think it was actually a slight improvement on the 2nd movie which was, in my opinion, really abysmal. At least, this time, there were some cameos by the awesome Jay and Silent Bob (on the other hand, to have them show how serious the whole thing was). To conclude, even though it wasn’t a total disaster, it remains a rather average horror flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I'm a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I was really eager to check it out. Basically, it is one of his very old silent features and, honestly, I had a hard time to care about the whole thing. In fact, I would go as far as saying that it is his weakest movie I have seen so far (apparently, Hitchcock himself thought that this film was his least favorite film out of all the films he had directed.). To be honest, it wasn't a complete disaster but it wasn't far from it, I'm afraid. Indeed, even though it was a comedy, we were far from the comic genius displayed by Charles Chaplin and the whole thing was seriously tedious to watch. Basically, it deals with a really obnoxious spoiled rich girl and even though I could spot the jokes, those were barely funny. It is one of those standard plot that they used a lot back in those days about someone rich who loses its fortune, struggle during the whole thing but at the end, everything is fine again ('Donwhill' also by Hitchcock followed the same pattern). In my opinion, those stories are usually quite boring, this time, the whole thing was also pretty sketchy and the scenes were pretty random. Eventually, even if Hitchcock was a master of thriller, comedy was definitely not his cup of tea, that's pretty obvious. To conclude, it might be the weakest movie ever made by the great master and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Alfred Hitchcock's work.

To be honest, I have never been a fan of the Farrelly brothers’s work. Indeed, I completely despised ‘Dumb & Dumber’ and I really didn’t like much ‘There’s something about Mary’. Last time, I saw one of their last movies, ‘Hall Pass’, and it wasn’t really good either. Still, they made a couple of good movies and this one is definitely one of them, at least, that’s my opinion. The weird thing is that it is one of their most obscure movies, a movie they made between their 2 biggest success, ‘Dumb & Dumber’ and ‘There’s something about Mary’. Of course, the story was completely preposterous and filled with gross jokes, I thought it worked quite well this time. Indeed, this time, they decided to make fun of bowling which is a rather ridiculous sport when you think about it, and it was really funny. Furthermore, they decided to cast 2 comic geniuses, Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray, and they just rocked their performances, as usual. It has been a while since Woody Harrelson has played the lead and that’s a shame because he is very charismatic and just plain badass. To conclude, even though it is nowadays pretty much forgotten, it is actually a solid comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in the Farrelly brothers’s work.

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of silent movies, except for those awesome comedies starring Charles Chaplin but since this movie is a huge classic, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it was quite mind-blowing and it really deserves its reputation as one of the best silent movies. Indeed, if nowadays, movies are dominated by huge blockbusters with some wall-to-wall CGI, well this movie is the complete opposite. Indeed, this movie is rather minimalistic and focuses on the trial of Jeanne D’Arc, so it is mostly indoors dominated by the dialogs between Jeanne and the juges and you barely get a glimpse of the (allegedly) really expensive decors ordered by Carl Theodor Dreyer. From the moment that Maria Falconetti shows up on the screen, I knew she was something else. Nowadays, her performance is still considered as one of the best ever given on the silver screen and it was indeed really impressive. You can imagine that Dreyer must have messed her up pretty bad to get this numb expression, her face is one you will never forget. This movie has also many layers. From an historical point of view, you can see that the Church, a powerful political force at the time, felt threatened by this girl who was amazingly popular among the French people and argued she had a direct connection with God. You can also read that it is a tale about Fanaticism. Fanaticism from Jeanne who goes to war after speaking to God and Fanaticism from her judges who will kill her because she doesn’t follow their dogma. To conclude, it is a great classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It is rather surprising that it took Kimberly Peirce almost 10 years after the amazing ‘Boys don’t cry’ to finally come up with a new directing effort (apparently, she did have some other movie projects but they all fell through). Honestly, this one could have been pretty good. Indeed, the material was quite interesting and there was a strong cast (Ryan Phillippe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Channing Tatum, Timothy Olyphant, Ciarán Hinds, Abbie Cornish) but, somehow, it didn’t really fly. The first thing that bothered me where those MTV style edited sequences. They popped up a couple of times during the movie, completely at random, and they really clashed with the tone of the rest of the movie. Then, there was this peculiar love triangle involving Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum and Abbie Cornish, a love triangle which should have been either dropped or properly developed. Then, from the moment Phillippe goes AWOL, the plot became rather random, in order to show almost everything involved in such a war (the parents who lost their boy, the wounded soldier, the stop-lossed soldier on the run, the peace activist helping the soldiers to go to Canada and even the Mexican border for a few seconds). It felt pretty awkward and not really subtle. Still, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you are interested in this war.

To be honest, I have never been a fan of the Farrelly brothers’s work. Indeed, I completely despised ‘Dumb & Dumber’ and I really didn’t like much ‘There’s something about Mary’. Last time, I saw one of their last movies, ‘Hall Pass’, and it wasn’t really good either. Still, they made a couple of good movies and this one is definitely one of them, at least, that’s my opinion. Of course, it starts with a very lame concept (in this case, Siamese brothers) but the big difference is that it actually worked this time. To start with, instead of the usual suspects like Jim Carrey or Owen Wilson, they made a master move by casting 2 very good dramatic actors (Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear). Thanks to Damon and Kinnear, this movie goes beyond the usual gross jokes but during the more serious moments, it was still interesting because those guys have the necessary acting chops. Of course, the whole thing was pretty messed up and not everything was really funny but I believed in those brothers and I did care about what they were going through. To conclude, even though it was nothing amazing, I think it is a pretty good comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the Farrelly brothers’s work.

Ever since I moved to the Netherlands, I have been interested in Dutch movies. Unfortunately, after 10 years, I must admit that I am rather disappointed by the Dutch movie industry and this movie is a perfect example. I mean, for once, it actually looked quite promising. Indeed, it was an adaptation of a successful Dutch book, I really liked the title and there was simply something really appealing about this flick. However, the whole thing turned out to be rather underwhelming. I mean, it was obvious that this movie really had some potential but it didn’t really impress me. For example, Kim van Kooten, an interesting actress which I don’t see very often, delivered a pretty good performance but her character, the title-character, was just rather annoying. Basically, it is one of those flicks which tries to convince you that the main character is charming but, in fact, this chick was just pretty obnoxious. From then on, it was rather difficult to get into the movie but the directing, as usual in a Dutch production, was not really impressing either. To conclude, even though I was expecting more, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

I’m pretty sure I did watch this animated feature when I was a kid, probably even at school. I was quite impressed back in those days and I thought it was time for a re-watch. Personally, I always had a weak spot with animated features trying to be aimed towards a grown-up audience. Indeed, the market is dominated by the kiddies stuff, which is fine, but the tone is rather monotonous. It was also one of the major weaknesses in this flick, the way they still added some little fluffy bits here and there. It is rather understandable, I mean, the whole thing was terribly bleak which was quite shocking for the audience at the time so, they added the children friendly stuff to make sure they didn’t completely alienate the viewers. Personally, I think they should have gone all the way. Still, I thought it was quite fascinating to behold. Indeed, in my opinion, even though this movie was used as anti-communist propaganda by the CIA (I’m deadly serious), I think it gives a very good depiction about what went wrong with this ideology. Basically, Communism is actually a great way of thinking but it has been corrupted by some opportunists with the results that everyone thinks that this ideology is complete rubbish. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is a rather unique animated flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.