Reviews by johanlefourbe

As you may have noticed, I often watch some pretty obscure movies. For example, that time, I bought a DVD of ‘What’s eating Gilbert Grape’ for 5 euro or something and it was a double-feature including this movie as well. Honestly, I wasn’t really keen to watch this but since I had the movie basically for free, I thought I might as well give it a try. Anyway, if I recall correctly, back in those days, Tara Reid’s career was not yet a big joke and Kip Pardue seemed to have a bright future as well. Fast-forward 10 years later, and Kip Pardue seems to have more or less disappeared and Tara Reid’s last project was ‘Sharknado’. Anyway, the whole thing was pretty weak, basically, a very cheap and underwhelming thriller. Basically, it is rather minimalistic flick with only 2 characters stuck on an island which is actually a rather intriguing premise but it could have worked only with some decent actors which was obviously not the case here. Indeed, Reid and Pardue try really hard and gave their best to convince us that they had what it takes but the end-result was pretty pathetic, I’m afraid. To be honest, they shouldn’t be the only one to blame since the whole thing was rather poorly written. To conclude, it was rather a waste of time and I don’t think it is worth a look, even if you like the genre.

I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. Surprisingly, from all the movies DiCaprio and Scorsese made together, for some reason, it was the only one I didn't see in the movie theater when it was released. Anyway, personally, I always had a rather conflicted relationship with this flick. Indeed, on one hand, it is absolutely a solid feature and, finally, after being snubbed for so many years by the Academy, Scorsese finally received some recognition. But, on the other hand, honestly, was it really his best movie? Even though it was really well made, even though there was a great cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin) and even though it was absolutely entertaining, in my opinion, it never came near the level of his real masterpieces such as 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull' or 'Goodfellas'. Furthermore, one thing that really bothered at the time was that this flick was merely a remake and the fact that I was a huge fan of the original Asian version probably didn’t help. Well, I'm glad I rewatched this movie after all these years though. Indeed, I have to admit that it is probably Scorsese’s most accessible movie and the damned thing is just so entertaining. Back then, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon were also at the top of their game and they were both really charismatic but also super convincing. The only thing that still did bother me was the fact that it was just too convoluted that Vera Farmiga's character would get romantically involved with the two characters. Anyway, to conclude, even though I still don't think it is the best movie ever delivered by Martin Scorsese, it have to admit that it is actually a really good movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Scorsese’s work.

Even though there was a pretty good buzz about this flick, it wasn't really successful when it was released but I think it's too bad. Since then, Ryan Reynold has been showing up in some commercial features which all pretty much flopped ('Turbo', 'R.I.P.D.', 'The Change-Up', 'Green Lantern') so I wonder how his career will further go. Anyway, this movie is probably his best I have seen so far. Indeed, the premise was really intriguing and it was really surprising how minimalistic the whole thing was. Indeed, for 90 minutes, you just have Ryan Reynolds stuck in a coffin and there is no flashback, no images of the outside world but it was terribly efficient. This way, you are really able to share the claustrophobia and I can't imagine how terrible it must have been for Reynolds (apparently, they shot the whole thing in just 14 days but still). Eventually, the whole concept was quite bold but, unfortunately, rather limiting. I mean, what can you do with a guy in a coffin for 90 minutes? Therefore, they threw in a whole bunch of stuff in this box to occupy the running time and, even though it was efficient, it didn't always add up. Still, the tension was pretty high towards the end and the ending was pretty crushing. To conclude, even though it wasn't really amazing, it remains a very interesting thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I had been a while since I saw this flick so I thought it was time for a re-watch this time with my daughter. If I recall correctly, I saw this one in the theaters when it was released with my wife and step-kids but I’m not completely sure. Anyway, since ‘Ice Age’ was a surprise success, commercially and critically, it was not really surprising that they came up with a sequel. Eventually, this 2nd installment was not bad, providing the same nice looking animation but the plot was this time definitely weaker. I mean, it was a nice touch to add a new mammoth but the opossums were not really interesting and then whole thing about the mammoth who thinks she is an opossum was just terribly underwhelming. Eventually, it is above all Scrat, the awesome saber-toothed squirrel, who basically saved the day. Indeed, Scrat fortunately came very often with some unrelated scenes to the plot and all those scenes were constantly hilarious. Basically, this little fellow managed to make this movie rather enjoyable but without him, the whole thing would have been honestly pretty tedious. To conclude, even though it was rather disappointing, it remains a decent animated flick and it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I always had a weak spot for Costa-Gavras and it has been many years since I wanted to watch his magnum opus. And boy, I wasn't disappointed! Indeed, it is simply an amazing political thriller, easily one of the best I have ever seen (I still think that 'La battaglia di Algeri' is better though). To be honest, it is rather slow paced but the directing was nothing short of amazing. Personally, I always dread it when US thrillers tend to loose focus and throw some random and tedious action scenes but it never happened here. Costa-Gavras keeps instead a realistic approach, almost clinical, and the thing was so sharp, there was not even room for any sub-plots or romantic angles. The only thing which could resemble a romantic angle was the wife mourning her dead husband but even this was quite realistic. Still, the whole process remained fascinating, it played like a spellbinding thriller and it was quite chilling to discover that basically the very same events actually took place in Greece just a few years before this movie was released. Eventually, towards the end, when you think that, surprisingly, everything will end well, that justice will prevail, there is this shattering epilogue making the whole message even more resounding. Not only it is an entertaining feature but it is actually one of very few movies which are important historically and you ought to yourself to check it out. To conclude, I thought it was just brilliant and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I really didn’t like ’Space Jam’ much but, I have to admit, it was actually pretty successful so, unsurprisingly, 7 years later they came up with another movie mixing living action and those awesome Looney Tuned and guess what? It was even worse! The main issue with ‘Space Jam’ is that it shamelessly combined the most popular sport man at that time, Michael Jordan, with the Looney Tunes when those had nothing to do with each other. So, this mix was kind of stupid but, at least, it was a good marketing stunt and the movie made some bucks. This time, they followed more the true spirit of the Looney Tunes (apparently, Joe Dante really hated ‘Space Jam’) but, somehow, the end-result was even more underwhelming. I don’t know, maybe it is because Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman didn’t have enough star power or maybe it is because the story was just plain tedious. Anyway, the extreme failure of this film discouraged Warner Bros. from making any other installment and they even cancelled the release of the newer Looney Tunes shorts that Warner Bros. Animation completed, and canceled those in production. For Joe Dante, this failure was a huge blow and we don’t hear much from him nowadays. To conclude, I really didn’t like this movie at all and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

Nowadays, Antoine Fuqua has built up a decent career, above all as an action movie director, and this movie was his directing debut. The other intriguing element is that this movie was also Chow Yun-Fat’s debut in America. Pretty much like his colleagues like Jackie Chan or Jet Li, Chow Yun-Fat tried his luck in the US and since then has built up a pretty decent career but, to be honest, pretty much like Li or Chan, I don’t really care much about his US productions and this movie was not an exception. I mean, it looked ok and Yun-Fat was pretty bad-ass as usual but I seriously had a hard time to care about the whole thing. I don’t know, apparently, the studio was not really happy with the version delivered by Fuqua so all the romantic elements between Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino were removed, along with most of the characters' motivations (in this case, there was therefore not much left to tell…). Concerning Mira Sorvino, she looked as charming as usual but she didn’t have much to do in this flick and I really wonder how the whole thing would have turned out if they had kept the romantic angle. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen much worse, it remains a rather weak action flick and it is not really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

It had been many years since I saw a movie directed by Pedro Almodovar but within a few minutes, I was completely sucked in his world. Indeed, during the first scene, you have the main character, a blind screen-writer, who manages to have sex with a total stranger who happens to be an insanely good looking blond woman. This and the voice-over set you right away in the right mood for the rest of the movie. To be honest, I have seen a whole bunch of Almodovar's features and, even though I respect his work, I have never been a huge fan. I mean, his movies are always intriguing but they never really blow me away (there are a few exceptions though like 'Hable con ella' which I found really amazing). For example, with this flick, as usual, he mixed different genres such as comedy, drama and even some Hitchcokian thriller but I was sometimes confused between the various timelines, storylines and intrigues. I even thought that the main character was faking his blindness all along but, apparently, that was not the case at all. There were also some massive ellipses which made me wondered what happened in the mean time. Still, this guy has a unique directing style and I had a good time watching this. To conclude, I thought it was pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Almodovar's work.

Honestly, I was rather disappointed. I mean, the premise was just pure gold. Indeed, two geegs portrayed by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost bump into an alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) who is just a rude SOB who likes to smoke and drink beers. If you read it like this, it all sounded great on paper but, unfortunately, the whole thing was ok but not much more than that I'm afraid. First of all, I didn't care at all about Paul's superpowers. I mean, it was the whole point of this flick : to have an extra-terrestrial being who is neither a psychotich killing machine or a nice and cutty creature who wants to help human-kind but just an average slacker who just wants to have fun and chill around. The second thing that bothered me was that there were too many boring supporting characters. I know, it is the whole point with a road trip, they meet some colorful people and hilarity should follow. Well, it wasn't always the case here. Still, Pegg, Frost and Rogen were all pretty good here so I was still entertained throughout the whole thing but it couldn't have been much better in my opinion. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it remains a decent comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Oh dear... I really wanted to like this flick... And, indeed, most of it was pretty good but, still, so far, it remains the most disappointing movie I have seen in 2013. I mean, I really liked how it started. Indeed, Blomkamp kept the same visceral visual style he used for 'District 9' and it simply looked pretty terrific. Then, I also enjoyed how they mixed all these languages and different accents, that was a nice touch which was unfortunately undone by the fact that most of the action was taking place only in Los Angeles. The actors were all pretty good, even though Alice Braga basically played the same characters she always plays in all US productions and Jodie Foster seemed to have some fun with her villainous character but she was surprisingly thrown away in the middle of the 3rd act. Eventually once again, Shartlo Copley was the one really stealing the show and I really wonder how his career will further develop. So, what went wrong then? In my opinion, the story was not really strong. I mean, this whole concept has already done before and there was this déjà vu with too many elements coming from 'District 9'. Also, some details just didn't add up. Take the exo-skeleton for example. It was supposed to be bad-ass, to explain that, even though the guy is dying, he still has some super powers to complete his mission. Honestly, it didn't add much to the story and looked pretty ridiculous. Personally, I would have simply replace it by a chip to the back of his head and some super lethal drug giving Damon the same powers. Finally, the whole focus on those med-pods was terribly limiting. Indeed, it is as if the people on Earth only cared for those when there are many other reasons than better medical care explaining why so many people risk their life to illegally cross borders. So, the whole thing did look really good, they created an interesting futuristic world and it was rather entertaining but the story was just too weak for my taste. To conclude, I still think it remains a decent SF feature and it is worth a look but don't expect anything really amazing.