Reviews by johanlefourbe

There was a time when, my wife and I, would watch many series together. It was been a while now but it was pretty neat while it lasted. We mostly watched US productions but also a couple of Dutch TV shows and even though after 3 or 4 seaons, I stopped watching ‘Gooische Vrouwen’, we did watch all the episodes of ‘All Stars’. Honestly, I think that my wife enjoyed it more than I did but it was still a pretty solid and entertaining show, especially under Dutch standards. Anyway, before all this, there was actually a movie which was so successful that they decided to launch the TV show (pretty much like ‘Flodder’ which is really well known in the Netherlands when ‘Flodder’ is in fact pretty awful). Pretty much like the show, the movie was rather fun and it was nice to see that they managed to keep the same cast between the movie and the TV show with the notable exception of Danny de Munk who did just this movie. 14 years later, they decided to make a sequel and I was actually positively surprised. Basically, it is a really whacky road trip with some ridiculous situations but many times, it was actually really funny. It was pretty nice that most of the cast came back (Danny de Munk, Daniël Boissevain, Peter Paul Muller, Thomas Acda, Raymi Sambo, Cas Jansen, Isa Hoes, Katja Schuurman) with the notable exception of Antonie Kamerling who commited suicide just before the production on this movie started. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it is actually a decent sequel and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of musicals and it must be one of the few movie genres I enjoy the least but, still, I try to keep an open mind and I watch from time to time one of the classics in this genre. This time, I picked up a winner of the Best Picture Academy award directed by Vincent Minnelli, one of the masters in this genre so I thought it should be really good. Eventually, I thought it was indeed not bad but not much more I’m afraid. Many people argued that it was just a well made copy of ‘My Fair Lady’ but I didn’t bother me (I might have seen ‘My Fair Lady’ after this one though so it could explain why I didn’t spot the resemblance). Anyway, what really bothered me was the story itself. Indeed, you have this guy who was about 40 years old and who falls in love with this girl who must have been 16 years old (in the movie though, not in real life) and none of the characters seem to find this rather odd whatsoever. Of course, it was something rather common back in those days but to watch it with our modern eyes and perspective makes the whole thing rather creepy while it was at the time, a rather innocent and harmless story. To conclude, even though I thought the whole thing felt rather awkward and dated, it is still remains a decent musical and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I might be generous with my rating but I actually liked this remake. Of course, you wonder what was the whole point of doing this remake since it didn't add much to the original which was also directed by the same guy, Géla Babluani. Still, it remains an intriguing concept even if, this time, I knew the whole story which wasn't the case with the first version. The first mistake they made was to start with the end of the game which removed most of the mystery involved in the first 20 minutes. Then, the ominous music was efficient but a little too omnipresent for my taste. Still, there were some nice touches. Indeed, this time, you didn't have a bunch of unknows, but some well known faces who were perfectly chosen (Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Michael Shannon, Ray Winstone, Alexander Skarsgård, Ben Gazzara, 50 Cent) and I liked the fact they tried to show the background of some of the players. It was indeed a nice approach, different than the original movie, and they should have gone further in this direction but, unfortunately, except for the main character, all the other characters were rather poorly developped. Still, even though it was a rather useless remake, the whole thing remained quite intriguing and even though you should rather watch the original, this version is still worth a look in my opinion.

It has been a while since I wanted to see this movie and it is rather surprising that it took me so long to check it out. It has probably to do with the fact that the Dutch channels don't show that much Dutch movies and rather focus on US productions. Anyway, I wanted to watch it because it has a pretty decent reputation in the Netherlands and the director Tim Olihoek came from the same movie school where I went years ago. Anyway, honestly, I thought it was not bad but it still didn't really blow me away. Basically, it is a rather wacky comedy with some pretty colorful characters but even though it was rather amusing, it was never really hilarious in my opinion. Still, there was a pretty cool cast (Jack Wouterse, Bracha van Doesburgh, Johnny de Mol, Cas Jansen, Cees Geel, Chazia Mourali, Estelle Gullit, Kim Holland) and it was above all nice to see the always dependable Jack Wouterse playing the lead for once. I was also impressed by some pretty convincing action scenes (even using some nifty CGI) which was something I think I had never seen before in a Dutch production. Still, they obviously tried to copy similar American features but even some French movies in this genre are most convincing than this. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it remains better than most of the average Dutch productions and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch cinema.

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.