Reviews by johanlefourbe

Since I have seen almost all the movies directed by Steven Spielberg (I know, I’m a very obsessive person…), I had to watch this movie at some point. Basically, it is arguably the only real flop in Spielberg's otherwise prestigious career. And indeed, it was not really good, I’m afraid. I mean, even though it was not a total disaster (there is always something intriguing when a movie shows this level of chaos), it was indeed a very average flick. It is also interesting to note that it is actually the only real comedy directed by Spielberg, maybe one of the few genres he didn't master. Basically, the whole thing was just really messy and not really funny at all. Somehow, even after watching ‘Animal House’, I always wondered why people thought that John Belushi was such a hilarious actor and this movie definitely didn’t change my mind on this subject. Concerning Spielberg, this failure didn’t scare him much and, following this failure, he directly went on directing such major classics called ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘E.T’, further establishing in the process his already impressive reputation. To conclude, even though it is a really wacky and messed up comedy and I still think it is worth a look though just to see Spielberg messing it up for once.

I already saw this movie with my wife but it was a while back and I thought it was time for a re-watch. Basically, it is a crime drama based on the life of Klaas Bruinsma, one of the most notorious Dutch dealers that ever existed. Bruinsma seemed to be quite a fascinating figure and he only focused his business on soft drugs, generating millions of revenue. Apparently, the movie was not completely faithful since all the names were changed and many characters were actually combined together but it was still a pretty good flick, especially if you compare it to the average Dutch productions. Indeed, the directing was slightly above average, even though it never reached at any moment the level of such masters like Scorsese or Coppola. Still, I liked how they managed to create the time period and the slow evolution of Bruinsma towards violence, even though it was fairly predictable, was quite interesting. Above all, I really enjoyed the acting, especially by Peter Paul Muller, one of my favorites Dutch actors, but also by Paul Lammers, also one of my favorites. Concerning Chantal Janzen, a very famous musical star and TV hostess in the Netherlands, she looked really cute but was not really impressive in the acting department when so much could have been done with her character. To conclude, even though it could have been much better than this, it still remains a solid feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

Honestly, it is a really obscure flick and I had no idea what to expect from it but since there was a pretty cool cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. Apparently, it is an adaptation of a classic book from the Russian literature written by Alexander Pushkin but since I haven’t read the book, I have no idea if it was actually faithful or not. This movie was also Martha Fiennes' directorial debut and it also starred her brother Ralph Fiennes in the title role. In my opinion, Ralph Fiennes is one of the most fascinating actors of his generation and he was really good in this. I have to admit, Eugene Onegin was not always a great character but Fiennes’ portrayal managed to make him intriguing enough. Concerning Liv Tyler, she was quite charming as usual but I never thought she was actually a really strong actress and against Ralph Fiennes, she was pretty much upstaged. The directing by Martha Fiennes was pretty decent, the whole thing looked pretty terrific and they definitely managed to create an interesting mood. To conclude, even though I’m not always a fan of those costume dramas, I actually liked this one and even though it is indeed pretty obscure, it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I had no idea what this movie was about so I seriously didn't know what to expect from it. Eventually, when the end credits rolled out, I discovered it was directed by Alan Ball, the creator of 'Six Feet Under', one of my favorite TV shows ever, and this was his directing debut. Well, even though it was an intriguing tale about the sexual awakening of a very young girl, it was also one hell of a creepy movie. I mean, right from the start, when the stepfather start shaving the private parts of his 13 years old step-daugther, the whole thing felt pretty awkward and it never got better. As a matter of fact, it had some similar aspects to 'American Beauty' (also written by Alan Ball), except that this time, Kevin Spacey would have sex with the girl and the girl wouldn't be 16 but 13 years old. Yeah, it is that kind of movie... And to make things even worse, they tried to convince the viewers that there was some ground for this 'romantic' relationship and, finally, I thought that they really overly sexualized this child. I know, I make it sounds as if it was terrible, but even though it was indeed a tough watch, there was some interesting things. First of all, all the characters had some depth and the acting was pretty good, especially by Summer Bishil. Eventually, there were just way too many characters, there was also some racial issues as if teenage anxiety was not enough and it was all too much to handle and all this sexuality was seriously poorly handled. To conclude, even though I have weak spot for Alan Ball's work, his directing debut was a failure and I don't think it is really worth a look.

Since there was a pretty good cast, I was definitely eager to check this movie. Back in those days, Joel Schumacher had a pretty decent reputation as a director but 3 years later, he would direct the major bomb ‘Batman & Robin’ and his career would never really fully recover. Anyway, this flick was something entirely different, one of those John Grisham’s book adaptations which were really popular back in the 90’s. Basically, it was one of the better Grisham thrillers but it was only slightly better in my opinion. Of course, the fact that I’m not a huge fan of the genre didn’t help either I guess. The main issue with those flicks is that they build up some intriguing court room settings but then, they add the most preposterous thriller elements to make it more spectacular but I always find those rather underwhelming. Still, the plot was quite entertaining and there was indeed a really cool cast (Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, Anthony Edwards, William H. Macy). I was above all impressed by Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones who delivered some solid performances and it was also interesting to see a young very Brad Renfro in his acting debut. Renfro displayed some talent right away but, unfortunately, he had some major substance abuse issues and tragically died of an overdose 14 years later (just a couple of days after Heath Ledger as a matter of fact). Anyway, even though this flick is nothing really mind-blowing, it remains a decent thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

When I was a kid, I saw ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ and it really impressed me. Indeed, first of all, it must be one of the coolest titles ever created and, secondly, I had never seen such a dark tale about sports. Surprisingly, I have never re-watched since then but I did bump into the other movie Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson would make together 3 years later. Obviously, it is something entirely different. Indeed, it is a rather basic action flick ‘à-la-Die-Hard’ with some buddy cops involved. Fortunately, Harrelson and Snipes still had some good chemistry and the whole thing was pretty entertaining. Back in those days, Jennifer Lopez was not yet a huge star and was stuck as the love interest but it was one of her better movies in my opinion. Apparently, while ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ was positively received, this movie got some pretty lousy reviews and was almost a bomb at the box-office. Of course, this movie was weaker, absolutely, but still, I thought it was actually a decent action flick and I was fairly entertained throughout the whole thing. Anyway, even though it is indeed nothing mind-blowing whatsoever, I thought it was not bad at all and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

A few years back, there was a pretty good buzz about ‘Ong Bak’ which was apparently a rather brutal and impressive martial arts feature and I was definitely eager to check it out. Eventually, one of my colleagues had the DVD, so I ended up watching it and I was pleasantly surprised. The very same colleague had also this other flick starring Tony Jaa and I thought it would be another treat but, honestly, I thought it was fairly disappointing. I mean, of course, the fighting scenes were pretty awesome but the story was seriously underwhelming, even more than with ‘Ong Bak’. Indeed, in Tony Jaa’s breakthrough feature, the story was pretty generic and pedestrian but, at least, it was entertaining. This time, they built up this boring story around some elephants and I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. Eventually, it is rather surprising that Tony Jaa didn’t do more movies afterwards (he has made only a little more than 5 movies after ‘Ong Bak’) but apparently, he will make his American debut next year in ‘Fast & Furious 7’ so who knows? It might be the start of a new international career (on the other hand, the guy is almost 40 years old so I’m not sure how long he will manage to physically pull it out his impressive acrobatic stunts. Such a shame that he was discovered so late). Anyway, to conclude, even though I thought it was slightly disappointing, it still remains a decent martial arts feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since the ratings were pretty decent, I thought I should give it a try. To be honest, at first, I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing and it took me a while to get into the story. Indeed, the beginning was really awkward and the way they started their relationship was very poorly built up. I mean, they tried to give it some extra meaning but something more simple would have worked better. After they got together, fortunately, it got better. Indeed, there was something nice and genuine about this romance. Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin had some good chemistry and they both delivered some solid performances. I also liked Pierce Brosnan who can be pretty impressive when given the proper material but his character could have been more developped. Than, there was this ending which seriously came out of nowhere... I guess, many people felt it was a great emotional conclusion but what did it have to do with the rest of the story? Seriously, you could end any movie, especially any drama, with a similar ending, just to add some extra impact so I wasn't really convinced. After watching this, I discovered that Allen Coulter had directed before this 'Hollywoodland', another movie which had even more potential but which also didn't deliver so it figures. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a decent romantic drama and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep and since Jonathan Demme is a fine director, I thought I should give it a try. 10 years after ‘Philadelphia’, Washington and Demme were working together and even though I didn’t care much about ‘Philadelphia’, I actually liked this thriller a lot. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the original version starring Frank Sinatra and, I have to admit it, it looks better and it is always rather unfortunate when you watch first the remake. Still, I thought it was a solid thriller. Indeed, there was a really interesting cast (Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep,Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Mackie, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Dean Stockwell, Bruno Ganz) and they all delivered some solid performances, especially Meryl Streep who was just great as usual and seemed to have a lot of fun playing the villain for a change. Furthermore, the directing by Jonathan Demme was also pretty solid and the whole plot was quite spellbinding. Of course, since you are dealing with an American thriller, it had to end with some rather preposterous twist but it is inherent to the genre and, this time, it didn’t bother me that much. To conclude, in my opinion, it is a pretty good thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since the ratings were pretty good, I thought I might as well give it a try. Back in those days, Alicia Silverstone was not really well known, she was basically ‘that chick’ who showed up in a few Aerosmith video clips. Thanks to this flick which was a surprising success, she became a star overnight and even signed a 3-movie deal worth $10,000,000 with Sony which was a huge gamble. Eventually, she made some huge flops, ‘Batman & Robin’ among them, and since then she is pretty much forgotten nowadays. Anyway, how was her breakthrough feature? Indeed, it was not bad, a rather decent high-school comedy but, in my opinion, it was a only slightly better than the average movie in this genre but not much more I'm afraid. I mean, it was entertaining enough but it was still too stereotypical and they didn’t add enough interesting elements to the formula to make it truly stand out from the rest. Furthermore, even though Alicia Silverstone who was just 19 years old at the time, did a decent job, her character was actually more obnoxious than really funny or interesting. To conclude, even though I think it is actually rather overrated, it remains a decent flick and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.