Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seemed to have a decent reputation (it was nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. In fact, just a week ago, I actually saw ‘Heaven Can Wait’ (1943) but, even though this movie was adapted from a play also called ‘Heaven Can Wait’, both movies didn’t have much in common after all. Well, I was expecting another quaint movie from the 40’s but it didn’t last for long, fortunately. Indeed, it turned out to be a rather daft comedy with a rather silly concept and, yet, I have to admit that the damned thing was actually fairly entertaining. Above all, Robert Montgomery was quite fun, even if his character was not really interesting. In fact, even though this movie was dealing with the afterlife, it was rather nothing really deep after all. I mean, back then, it was competing with ‘Citizen Kane’ to win the Best Picture Academy Award (they actually both lost) but it’s clear that this movie was not from the same level. On the other hand, I did appreciate its lack of pretentiousness. Eventually, this movie was remade twice, back in 1978 (‘Heaven Can Wait’ directed by Warren Beatty, a movie I still haven’t watched so far) and in 2001 (‘Down to Earth’ directed by the Weitz brothers, a movie which certainly didn’t impress me). Still, to be honest, the fact that I have so little to say about this movie makes me wonder if I wasn’t too generous with my rating after all.  Anyway, to conclude, even if it was not a masterpiece, I have to admit that it was a solid vintage comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

The main reason why I wanted to check this movie was because it was directed by Sarah Polley and because there was such a stellar cast involved. However, since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I became even more eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, it turned out to be a movie which was equally fascinating and frustrating to behold. Indeed, when I heard about this movie, I became really intrigued by this story and read a detailed article about all the atrocities that took place at this ultraconservative Mennonite community located in Bolivia. However, this movie was not really about what happened before these men (or some of them) got caught or even what really happened when they got caught, instead, it turned out to be some kind of discussion these women, basically, the victims, might have had if you would have put them in a room for an extended period of time. However, such a meeting obviously never took place so it was all fiction. Even more problematic, at least to me, was the fact that such a group of women, basically illiterate, who were never allowed to think for themselves, would suddenly have such an elaborate even highly philosophical debate. Sure, it could be possible that one of them could have such conversation but all of them? To be honest, you might wonder if the women who went through these atrocities would recognize themselves in the portrayals given in this movie. Eventually, the whole thing was basically some kind of intellectual exercise but, even though I’m not sure if it was really the most interesting thing they could have done with such strong material, the end-result was still quite intriguing though. The top-notch cast (Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand, Ben Whishaw) certainly did help as well. The idea of giving these poor women such an articulate voice and dialogue was also quite appealing and even emotional. Anyway, to conclude, even if I believe this movie is an acquired taste, it was still a really interesting watch and it is worth a look, especially if the concept appeals to you. 

Even if this movie was a flop when it was released, since it was directed by Damien Chazelle, I was still quite eager to check it out. Well, unfortunately, even if it was definitely Chazelle’s most ambitious project so far, I’m afraid it didn’t really work out after all. It’s not that it was bad, there were so many great ideas and the damned thing looked quite amazing but it seems that Chazelle had watched too many movies directed by Baz Luhrmann and Federico Fellini at the same time. The first issue was with the characters. Sure, Brad Pitt was fine and the meta-casting was pretty neat. However, I thought it was rather difficult to root for him when, even at the top of his popularity, the guy was basically an unreliable drunk. Concerning Margot Robbie, well, she was obviously the biggest asset in this movie. However, the whole routine of the hysterical and destructive actress became old at some point and, in spite of a very strong performance from Robbie, it felt rather one-note, I’m afraid. However, the most problematic character was the one played by Diego Calva thougy. Sure, I won’t blame Calva who did what he could with his puppy eyes but his character was just too bland and boring. Finally, for some reason, they started to focus also on some black trumpet player but it lasted for only 20 mins so you might wonder why they even bothered if it was to spend so little time with the poor fellow. Eventually, what bothered me the most was probably the running time though. Indeed, even though not everything was working, during the first 2 hours, I was still admiring most of it. However, during the last stretch, they could have concluded so many times and I think they could have easily cut 1 hour of running time. Eventually, even though the end-result was definitely ambitious, it did feel rather pretentious as well, I’m afraid. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Damien Chazelle’s work. 

When I heard that this movie got some rather weak reviews, I was rather skeptical about the damned thing but since I have always been a huge fan of this franchise, I still wanted to check it out though. Well, to be honest, I don’t think it was so bad after all. Concerning the intro, I actually had some mixed feelings though. Indeed, on one hand, it was a solid Indiana Jones adventure taking place in the 40’s with our favorite adventurer facing a whole bunch of Nazi’s. However, on the other hand, the de-aging of Harrison Ford was technically so impressive, it was actually slightly creepy. Indeed, even if it was well made, you still could see that it was fake but it seems pretty obvious that, in 10 years time, the technologically will be so advanced that we won’t be able to see the difference which is rather unsettling. By the way, Harrison Ford at 80 years old was really impressive and, after all these years, Indiana Jones remain so fun and charismatic and it was really cool to spend more time with this iconic character. Concerning the rest of the cast, I really enjoyed the character played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Even though I always thought that Indiana Jones would chase at some point some Aztec treasure, they settled for Archimedes's Dial which was not a bad idea though and it was actually pretty neat to see the adventurer going back in time to actually witness some historical event taking place during the Antiquity. However, even if it was an improvement on ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, this sequel still felt rather useless, I’m afraid. Above all, the damned thing was just too long. Seriously, when will they understand that there is really no good reason why such a blockbuster should last more than 2 hours? Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was a decent watch though 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 it had been nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, I thought I might as well check it out. Even though I expected it to be another version of ‘Heaven Can Wait’ (1978) and ‘Down to Earth’ (2001), in spite of its title, it turned out to be something completely different after all. Anyway, to be honest, eventually, I had a hard time to connect with the damned thing after all. Basically, it was the story of a man from his birth to his death and the guy was convinced that he should go to hell because he spent his whole life seducing pretty much every single woman he met. Well, the conclusion provided by this movie was that being a serial womanizer (maybe even a sex-addict?) was not such a crime after all, in fact, the guy did make many of this women really happy, according to Satan himself. Well, I’m not sure I would agree with this assessment. At least, it was really neat to see the lovely Gene Tierney who must be one of my favorite classic actresses, some kind of vintage version of Milla Jovovich, and she was just a perfect choice to play this character. However, the actor I enjoyed the most was Charles Coburn though. Indeed, I have been focusing recently on movies released in the 40’s and I kept seeing this guy in many of these movies. Well, he always steals the show and this movie was no different. Still, I have to admit that Don Ameche, in arguably his most famous role, was also pretty good but I’m afraid I didn’t care much for the old-fashioned and outdated views displayed in this movie. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn’t completely sold, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Jean-Luc Godard and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. It was one of his earlier works but, back then, the guy was already taking his distance from traditional narrative filmmaking. Still, it was pretty cool to see the master of French New Wave delivering a war film and, well, it was pretty obvious that the guy was seriously anti-war. It’s interesting that, even though the scenes during which these two naïve farmers were recruited might seem ridiculous, I don’t think it was so far-fetched after all. Indeed, in France, I got lucky and the military conscription was cancelled just before I was supposed to be enrolled. Instead, you had to go to what they call the ‘Defence and Citizenship Day’ during which you basically spent the whole day watching some very boring videos about the French military forces. Well, at the end, they were some army recruiters who lured some young boys like me by talking about all the money they would make and the nice cars they could buy if they joined the French army and you wouldn’t believe the number of young boys who were actually attracted by this sales speech. Concerning the rest of the movie, to be honest, the scale was too small for me. Sure, Godard did try to add some war stock footage but it didn’t really fit the rest of the movie. Above all, with only a handful of characters involved, you never get the feeling that there was a major conflict going on. Still, all these texts randomly showing up were really spot on and the lovely Geneviève Galéa (who actually turned out to be Emmanuelle Béart’s mother) was some nice vintage version of Ana de Armas. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was pretty obscure, it was a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jean-Luc Godard’s work.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Patrice Chéreau and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, as usual with Chéreau, it turned out to be another intriguing directorial effort, that’s for sure. Indeed, even though he might not be one of the most famous French directors, I have always been impressed by his versatility. In this case, I was wondering if it was based on a play since it was mostly taking place on one location with mostly 2 characters involved. Well, in fact, it turned out to be adapted from a short story written by Joseph Conrad which made the whole thing even more interesting. On top of that, Pascal Greggory and Isabelle Huppert both gave some really solid performances. Still, eventually, the whole thing did feel a little bit dry. Furthermore, even though both characters seemed to have a rather high opinion of themselves, you might wonder which one of them was the most arrogant and I’m not sure if I really care for any of them. Still, with this voice-over telling you how perfect his life was, how well he (thought he) knew his wife and how happy they were together even if they not had been intimate for years (which should have been a red flag for the poor fellow) and, yet, it was rather priceless to find out that she couldn’t stand his guts after all. Seriously, how can you spend a decade with someone and have seriously no clue about what they really think or feel? That was also the issue with this kind of lifestyle. Sure, they had a half-dozen servants doing everything for them but how can you be together and develop a relationship when they are so many people around you? Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it turned out to be a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Patrice Chéreau’s work.