Reviews by johanlefourbe

It had been a while since I wanted to check this flick. Indeed, since it was nominated for the Best Picture Academy award back in 1986, I thought I should give it a try. To be honest, even though I thought it was pretty good, it was nothing really great. The first issue I had is that the whole thing was some obvious Oscar-bait (dramas based on handicap or diseases always score well with the Academy). I was also concerned at first because it started pretty much like 'Dead Poets Society' with the excentric teacher who becomes really popular with the kids and, of course, the conventional director becomes his nemesis... Thankfully, it didn't go that road and instead we got a rather striking love story involving the two leads, one hearing, the other obviously not. There were some very strong stuff here and William Hurt and Marlee Matlin were both really good in this. Still, I was missing something. I mean, the whole thing got stuck really soon because they were both stubborn (he wants her to speak, she doesn't want to...). I mean, at least half of the movie was about this conflict which was rather disappointing. For example, I heard that Hurt and Matlin became an item for a couple years but, apparently, their relationship was really stormy with some substance abuse on both sides. Now, that sounds a little bit more compelling. Finally, like Roger Ebert pointed out, you wonder why there is not one single scene during which William Hurt stopped translating what they say so you can finally experience this peculiar world of silence (I mean, it is not that difficult, you just add some subtitles and you are good to go...). Still, in spite of its flaws, it is probably the best movie dealing with this subject, the actors were excellent and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick. Basically, I bought the DVD because there was Winona Ryder and Charlie Sheen on the cover and it took me almost 2 years to finally watch it. Still, at some point, I discovered that Roger Ebert chose it for his top 10 of 1986 so I must admit I was rather intrigued. At first, I had a hard time during the first 10 minutes to get into the story, probably because of the awful cheesy 80's soundtrack but, pretty quickly, I was rather fascinated by the whole thing. Indeed, it was probably one of the best depictions of adolescence I had ever seen. To start with, all the actors looked pretty much the right age which was a nice touch and they all acted pretty well. Above all, I was really amazed about the behavior and even more by the dialogues which sounded for once really realistic. Indeed, those kids had some conversations which were really intriguing and you could feel that the makers really put their heart into it. The only thing which felt rather phony was the ending at the school which was too overblown and out-of-proportion and the soundtrack was pretty horrendous throughout the whole duration but, a part from that, it was a very satisfying viewing. To conclude, I really loved this flick and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It is another DVD I had for more than a year on my shelves and I'm glad I finally watched it. The fact that two of my favorites Listal members actually advised me not to watch it probably influenced me pushing it indefinitely but since Christina Ricci and Liam Neeson were involved, I still wanted to check it out. Well, it was indeed not really good I'm afraid. The point is that there was definitely a good story, there somewhere, but I thought that the directing was really underwhelming and I had a terribly hard time to care about the whole thing. I don't know, for starters, I thought the whole thing looked terribly phony (the funeral home, the school,...). Furthermore, it was also rather annoying how the director tried to trick you all the way about the fact that she might be dead or not. It felt also rather phony and manufactured. Finally, why on Earth was Christina Ricci completely naked during half of the movie?!? Not that I complain about it but I wonder how it provided any support for the story. Still, I give it a few extra points just because the actors involved (Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson, Justin Long) were trying something really different than their usual work. Still, to conclude, I think I'm being really generous with my rating here, I didn't like it much and I don't think it is really worth a look.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick. Indeed, I didn't care much for the latest Pixar productions, even 'Toy Story 3' was vastly overrated in my opinion. Still, those remained enjoyable so I thought I might as well give it a try. Eventually, I was positively surprised. I mean, it was still not really great but it was as least as good as 'Toy Story 3' and a big improvement on 'Brave' and 'Cars 2'. What worked this time was basically the same thing that did work in 'Toy Story 3', the fact that the two main characters, Mike and Sullivan, evolve in a realistic and compelling way and, at the end, you really believe that those guys are the best friends in the world. I also liked the way they rehabilitated Mike Wazowski's character. Indeed, in 'Monsters, Inc.', he was certainly hilarious but it felt as if he hanged on Sullivan's skills and fame. Here, they clearly explain that the guy is actually the brain of their operation, that he is actually courageous, nice and devilishly smart. Unfortunately, once again just like 'Toy Story 3', the story was nothing really amazing. I mean, those two fascinating characters were stuck in this plot about college life which was fun but basically just an assembly of the common clichés you get about college movies. Still, I actually liked the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you enjoyed Pixar's previous work.

At last, I finally watched this flick! I thought I had the DVD for a long time but I didn't expect it would take me more than 2 years(!) to finally watch it. I don't know, I guess I kept pushing it back but since Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore were involved, I still wanted to check it out. Eventually, I was at first positively surprised. Indeed, in my opinion, the first half was actually pretty good. The built up was pretty strong and I really believed in this neighborhood and how the various conflicts were constructed. Of course, I'm always cautious with American thrillers since they are usually pretty good in setting up the whole thing but, usually, completely disappoint me with their far-fetched ending. This time, it started to go down when they added this searching party and this Freedomland places. I mean, up to that point, the whole thing was really intriguing but the makers decided to throw those elements in the mix but they didn't work at all with the rest. From there, the story jumped from one thing to another, without making much sense story-wise, and I kind of lost interest in the whole thing. Apparently, Michael Winterbottom, one very intriguing director and probably the biggest workaholic in the business, was the original director and did extensive work before leaving this project and I really wonder what was his take on this story but I guess we'll never know. Still, in spite of these flaws, it is still a rather intriguing thriller and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It has been a while when I watched this flick but I really liked it back then when I was a teenager (by the way, in France, the title was 'Rasta Rocket' which was for once, a pretty decent title). To be honest, I had never heard of the Jamaican bobsled team but I really had a lot of fun watching this. Indeed, I thought it was a very entertaining flick and I always had fond memories of it. Of course, it remains a rather straightforward sport comedy with some really underwhelming and unnecessary villains (as a matter of fact, those Jamaican fellows were met with open arms by the international Bobsledding teams). It could have been pretty awesome to see a movie where nobody has any bad intention and only want to help out the underdog but the makers weren't that ambitious. There is also a good chance that, now I'm a grown-up, I would be bothered by all the stereotypes about Jamaican people but, back then, it didn't bother me and, if I recall correctly, it was rather harmless. It was one of the last movies starring John Candy who was not bad but I think he was upstaged by the guys playing the Jamaican team, those guys were just quite hilarious. To conclude, even though it is nothing amazing, I still think it is a decent comedy 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 I'm a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I thought I should give it a try. It is the oldest movie made by Hitchcock I have seen so far but it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. To be honest, I didn't really follow the whole thing (I saw it without subtitles) but, even so, the story was not really interesting and I didn't care much about the characters involved. Indeed, none of them was really likeable or intriguing enough. Still, even though we were far from Hitchcock's best work, there were some pretty nice scenes, especially the auctioning scene worked pretty well. The actors were also pretty good and there were some very nice monologues. Still, this movie has an interesting value. Indeed, whereas a director like Orson Welles started his career right away with 'Citizen Kane', arguably one of the best movies ever made, it took Alfred Hitchcock longer, between 10 and 15 years, to finally get there. Basically, he was making often 2 movies a year back in those days and not all of them were that good but his journey was really interesting. To conclude, even though it is not a really good flick, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Hitchcock's work.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Alan Parker’s work, I thought I should give it a try. Right after becoming successful as a singer, Madonna tried her chance as an actress as well. Unfortunately, most of her movies were flopped and her performances were usually ridiculed. There were however a (very) few exceptions and this movie was definitely one of them. Basically, it is one of those adaptations of a successful musical written by Tim Rice. Some people are huge fans of those but, personally, I don't really care about them but I try to keep an open mind and watch some of them from time to time. To be honest, I think it is rather weird to make a musical about such a real historical figure and, to be honest, I really wonder what was so fascinating about Eva Peron. I mean, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, those were and was some fascinating historical figures. On the other hand, she was pretty glamorous and her life, I have to admit, was an interesting rag-to-riches tale. Furthermore, I really have a hard time to care about those wall-to-wall singing musicals but this one was very well made and I thought that Madonna did indeed a decent job in the lead performance. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is anything really amazing, I still think it is a rather decent musical and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I kept coming across this movie so I became really curious about it. Wow... I wasn't disappointed! Indeed, I tend to be rather critical about action movies but this one was really impressive. Basically, the beginning scenes were some kind of very dark and gloomy version of 'The Shawshank Redemption' and it was pretty amazing, easily one of the best depictions of jail life I have seen. If you expect some Hollywood glitter and glamour, you can just forget about it. So, right from the start, it was pretty spellbinding. Then, those guys eventually ends up in a train and you think it might loose some steam but, again, it was really spellbinding to watch, even if the scene with the helicopter was pretty far-fetched (I don't think that a jail warden would come himself on this mad train). To be honest, I never really cared for Eric Roberts but I was very good in this but Jon Voight is the one who really blew me away. Indeed, what a performance! He totally looked the part, the body language, the speech patterns, it was just completely convincing. I always thought that Voight had something interesting but he gave here easily one of his best performances. To conclude, it was a very impressive action flick, I really loved it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Even though he started to direct movies from the beginning of the 70's, Curtis Hanson had his real breakthrough only in 97 with 'L.A. Confidential'. His following movies were also pretty successful except for the last 2, 'Lucky You' and 'Chasing Mavericks'. As a matter of fact, he dropped from the shooting of 'Chasing Mavericks' in the last weeks for health reasons. Since I wondered what the hell was going on with him, I looked it up and discovered that he actually retired due to Alzheimers (!). That was rather unexpected and pretty sad to hear. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it was not as impressive or ground-breaking as 'L.A. Confidential', it was still a really enjoyable and better than average romantic-comedy. Even though the structure was rather conventional, the characters were very well written and Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz both gave some very strong performances. To conclude, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing, I still really enjoyed this flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.